Elisabeth Lutyens’ score for the 1965 film features at the Proms

• ONE of the joys of the BBC Proms – where you can decide on the day to go to a concert for just a few pounds – is that it makes it financially viable to try things you might not like; Proms often include a mix of known and new works.

When I had the time, many years ago, I’d sometimes get a Proms season ticket and drop into lots of the concerts; I made many discoveries.

On the basis of that experience, I can say that your music reviewer’s reference to the late Elisabeth Lutyens as “an abrasive, hard-line modernist” is, if anything, an understatement, (Proms; Tosca; Grimeborn Opera, August 26).

I was standing at the front of the Albert Hall arena, at a Prom concert just over 50 years ago, when a new work by Lutyens was being performed.

Prom-goers are a tolerant lot, often revelling in more experimental music; but the Lutyens piece met with, shall we say, a very obvious lack of enthusiasm.

When the composer was brought onto the stage to acknowledge the audience’s appreciation – as is the custom with new works – she glowered at those of us standing chuckling just in front of the stage, clearly livid at our reaction.

Rather than acknowledging what applause there was, from some parts of the hall, she just hissed “ignorant peasants” at those of us in front of her, turned on her heel, and stomped off the stage.

ALBERT BEALE
Little Russell Street, WC1