Klarinet Archive - Posting 000950.txt from 1997/09

From: Robin Fairbairns <Robin.Fairbairns@-----.uk>
Subj: Re: B&H for sale, any takers here?
Date: Sat, 20 Sep 1997 23:59:41 -0400

> According to the Blumberg Business reports digest which appears in
> the New York Observer, the British-based Boosey & Hawkes (owner of
> Buffet and several clarinet mfrs.) is for sale. [...]

I heard reports about this ages ago. When did this digest appear?

> There seems to be nationalist opposition to the sale in Britain, in
> part because Boosey and Hawkes's publishing division owns exclusive
> rights to many British standards,

I'm not sure what you're saying here. Boosey are the publishers for
many significant composers, and there is of course concern that those
composers' works will continue to be published. Naturally, a good
proportion of those composers are British, but the reports I read
didn't imply that there was a nationalistic element in the concern
about the expected sale.

> as well as a desire to keep the
> national B&H manufacturers in place. The report isn't clear but it
> would seem that efforts to muster legislation against the sale have
> been fruitless.

Are there any British B&H manufacturers? (This is not a rhetorical
question. I've only ever owned B&H instruments, for odd personal
historical reasons.)

Legislation against such a sale is plainly a ridiculous idea: such
things just don't happen. If (I don't quite see how) the sale could
be regarded as analagous to the sale of an important "work of art"
there already is legislation under which the Secretary of State for
National Heritage (yes, that really is Chris Smith's job title) could
act to delay while funds were sought to purchase within the UK.
However, UKP 200 million is a factor of 10 larger than the largest
such appeal I've ever heard of.

Robin Fairbairns