BBC Two is airing an “ambitious five-part series in which the punky cellist Matthew Barley puts 18 teenage musicians through their paces, after which a panel of classical experts either votes them through to the next round or consigns them to musical history. The result, it is hoped, is that the one who survives the final cut will be the proverbial ‘complete package’ – a superstar-in-the-making who can survive the commercial market while also managing to ‘broaden the appeal of classical music’. Classical Idol this definitely isn’t, however.”