Kennedy is a fine classical player.A lovely silvery tone to his playing. He has very fine Elgar.Unfortunately,there’s a lot of snobbery around classical music. Dismissing him is very common. It’s the same for those singers that move into crossover, like Pavarotti, Boccelli etc. They are essentially excellent soloists, just a different delivery. I have thought that Boccelli, away from the amplification etc, reminds me somewhat of Bjoerling. I think Alan Blyth also remarked on this. Sometimes you’ve got to see beyond the personality or more populist leanings.I remember watching a documentary about a group of godawful people who camped outside the Proms, establishing their pecking order and where they stood etc. This seemed to occupy them more than the performance or the music. I’m more bothered about these people than talented musicians who decide to take different, sometimes eccentric,paths.
