Upbeat: Baton charge

YOU have to be quick to keep up with the Dublin orchestral scene. If you don't recognise the National Symphony Orchestra that's probably because it used to be the RTE Symphony Orchestra. If the last thing you remember about its principal conductor is the arrival of George Hurst three years ago, you are way behind. He resigned unexpectedly in March 1991, and after 15 months his successor was announced as Kees Bakels. This month Bakels, who was due to take up the appointment on 1 January, has withdrawn from the season's opening concerts because of contractual difficulties with RTE, the Irish broadcasting organisation. Adrian Leaper conducts in his place, and takes over the linked Naxos recordings of two Nielsen symphonies.

That makes four conductors who have had problems there in less than a decade. Janos Furst, Hurst's predecessor, also ended his association with the orchestra early, in 1989. Before him the late Bryden Thomson, popular with audiences and players, was not reappointed when his contract expired in 1986. RTE now hopes to reach agreement with Bakels before his next scheduled group of concerts in February.