So why, all of a sudden, is radio enjoying a renaissance? What's the reason for the orchestral resurgence at a time when public broadcasting is making stringent savings and the concert economy as a whole is under intolerable pressure? 

What seems to be happening is that radio orchestras have stumbled upon their original advantage. When they first came into being, radio was king and its technology unrivalled. Eighty years on, a rewiring has taken place. Connections are being broached with giant telecoms to carry concerts nationwide, worldwide. 

The syntax of broadcasting is the lexicon of the internet. As a result, radio orchestras are better positioned to understand the new media environment than other musical establishments. The Berlin Philharmonic has blown a bank's millions on a paywall website that few find friendly. No independent orchestra has figured out a coherent way of occupying the internet infinity.

For their part, radio orchestras are straining at the leash for permission to let loose their work online. The BBC has been rapped over the knuckles several times by the music industry for being too competitive. The Swedes want to project their work beyond boundaries but are being held back by national prudence. These barriers will fall. In the decade ahead we will see broadcast orchestras coming into their own, in varied alliances with telecom moguls and content aggregators. Watch out for radio deals with Google, Twitter or Facebook. Read my lips: radio days are here again.