Do we have to associate classical music with mourning?

Sir,

Of course it was sad that Mr Papadopoulos lost his fight with cancer last weekend, but it is a fact that this is a battle many have lost, including children, which is more tragic.

However, the excessive media coverage, especially by the national broadcaster was ridiculous. All CyBC channels went into ‘mourning mode’, which means classical music. While I am a classical music fan, is it necessary to use this music always to portray sadness? While one requiem might be suitable, most of the classical music chosen was simply slow.

The most ridiculous and distasteful programming, however, occurred on Channel 1 on Monday evening with Christmas carols played at 10pm – the day of the funeral! Prior to this programme, we even heard a Beethoven symphony played with the movements in the wrong order! Doesn’t the broadcaster realise that there are educated people listening? On Channel 2, there was a far more suitable sombre mood. Are there no qualified classical music producers at the CyBC?

It is high time that this association with tragedy and classical music be stopped whether it is Easter or a high profile death.

A classical music lover, Nicosia

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.