James MacMillan

Tartan-ing up the arts

Instead of colluding with politicians and embracing venality, Scottish artists should aim to transcend and transform

issue 13 August 2016

Many years ago an arts spokesperson for the SNP launched an extraordinary attack on Scottish Opera, saying, ‘If push comes to shove, if I were arts minister and had to choose between the survival of Gaelic music and Scottish Opera, I would say rich people could always go to Salzburg for lieder and Sydney for opera.

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