ABSTRACT
This is the story of one remarkable individual's involvement with twentieth-century Britain's most powerful musical institution. It was to many eyes an unlikely relationship - certainly it was never an easy one - but it left the cultural life of this country significantly affected and immeasurably widened the influence of a brilliant and original musical mind. Broadcasting was only a part of Hans Keller's musical life, however; as a critic, teacher, analyst, psychologist, sociologist and polemicist, he was already an important figure in musical London before he joined the BBC and, partly through his association with the Corporation, he became a profound influence on a whole generation of musicians. Nevertheless, as he wrote shortly after his retirement, 'I gave 20 years of my life and its central loves to the BBC', 1 serving a medium which he believed was of crucial importance to the future of music.
