THE major recommendation of the PIANO Report that the National Symphony Orchestra he established under an independent hoard outside of RTE - has been lying in limbo for some 18 months, writes Michael Dervan. The protracted period of inaction, however, has done nothing to dampen the players' interest in achieving some sort of autonomy, which is now most likely to come in some form of wholly owned RTE subsidiary.

Their condemnation of RTE's decision to create the new post of Director of Music is, in essence, an objection to RTE's proposal to create a subsidiary to contain all its music groups, an eventuality that was not envisaged by PIANO and one that has never appealed to the members of the NSO. It may seem like bad news that RTE and the NSO find themselves once again at loggerheads. But it has to be good news that RTE's new Director General, Bob Collins, chose to put the orchestras so quickly on his immediate agenda. With a new DG at the helm, it will be interesting to see what change and development actually arise from whatever compromise the two sides manage to reach.