19 November

Around 50% of the art in the world’s galleries is estimated to be fake. Nobody even notices. Art in our time, including music, is obsessed with originality, with ‘authenticity’. The worst sin is to do ‘cover’ versions. Without even thinking that’s all most symphony orchestras do, for example, and jazz bands. Authenticity is the secret key to understanding our culture, I think. Our obsession with the authentic. Do we realise we share that obsession with fundamentalists? That’s their obsession too.