It is home to some of the Europe's best composers. The Guardian Paris has fantastic facilities for the arts. Massive state subsidies, generous provisions from the city's local government, and an inheritance of remarkable buildings devoted to culture mean that the French capital commands an awesome reputation. With one exception. Paris has lousy venues for orchestral music.
Classical music gets a raw deal.
There isn't much interest among government leaders for our musical heritage, never mind contemporary compositions. And it's true. Go to the Salle Pleyel, home of the Orchestre de Paris, by contrast, and you will, as often as not, find an ageing, unfashionable, dwindling audience. It's essential that a large symphony hall is built in Paris. A property group, which had bought up the property, wanted to convert the building into offices and apartments.