Germany 'more cultured' than UK, says composer Karl Jenkins

Criticising cuts to arts budgets in Britain, Karl Jenkins said increased public funding was needed to invest in the “cultural future” of a country.

Describing Government cuts to the creative sector as “tragic”, the 69-year-old Welsh composer, whose works include Adiemus and The Armed Man, said: "In Germany it's just the opposite - increasing funding.”

"I read something the other day when they were asked 'how can you do this in these economic times?'

"The response was that 'we are investing in the cultural future of our country', and that's how it should be seen."

Speaking to BBC Wales, he added: "One would come to the conclusion that [Germany is] a more cultured society, a more cultured nation I suppose. I think these things are important, I don't know how endemic it is here really - if at all."

The composer’s intervention drew criticism from Chris Heaton-Harris, a Conservative MP.

"We have a thriving arts sector in the UK, better than it has ever been. Part of that is the Olympic legacy and part of that is natural talent, which includes him. He should know better," the Daventry MP said.

The main funding body for the creative sector, Arts Council England, saw its annual budget cut five per cent from 2015, as part of the Government’s latest spending review announced in June.

The reduction to £372.8 million was less than the seven per cent cut to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) overall budget.

By contrast, in November the German government announced it was raising the budget for the Bundeskulturstiftung, its federal cultural foundation by eight per cent, to €40 million (£34.26 million). The federal government's overall culture budget will rise by 2.3 per cent to €1.2 billion (£1.03 billion) next year.

However German state governments provide separate sources of funding and some states have seen major cuts in recent years.

The increase in the Bundeskulturstiftung's budget was for one year only and the overall figure will return to €35 million (£30 million) next year.

Jenkins, a fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, described how opportunities for free lessons while at a grammar school in Gowerton, South Wales, helped him to progress onto regional orchestras and ultimately the Welsh National Youth Orchestra.

“That was a completely gratis, free journey really, which was amazing, wonderful – not only if one wants to do music as a career, but it just enriches people,” he said.

Jenkins is best known for his music used in advertisements for firms such as Levi’s, British Airways and Cheltenham & Gloucester.

He regularly appears in Classic FM's Hall of Fame rankings, becoming the only living composer to appear in its top 10 composers list in 2009. He has three entries in this year's listings.

His intervention comes after one of Britain’s leading playwrights suggested the arts would be better off as a result of spending cuts.

Speaking at the Edinburgh Festival earlier this month, Mark Ravenhill, the Royal Shakespeare Company's writer in residence, said that generous spending on the arts by the last Labour government had led the performing arts "astray".

A DCMS spokesman said Maria Miller, the Culture Secretary, had secured a “good settlement” from the Treasury which has been welcomed by cultural organisations across Britain.

"A five percent reduction for the arts - and for museums - demonstrates the Government's recognition of their economic and social value. The Government is committed to supporting the arts and over the life of this Parliament the sector will receive £2.9bn - £1.888bn in direct Government funding, plus more than £1bn in Lottery funding," he said.