Classical music and the arts are chock full of age-old traditions, superstitions and dubious habits, some treasured, some getting a little stale by the 21st century. In our new column, Sacred Cow, we’re asking readers and arts professionals to tell us about the ‘Sacred Cows’ of the arts that they’d like to do away with.

Sleeping in the theatre, a British satirical illustration. Photo © iStock

So far we’ve already had Robert Veel take a swipe at gratuitous stage action during the overture in operas, Phillip Sametz call out unwelcoming program notes at classical concerts, Phillip Scott warn of the menace of ‘masterpieces’, Jill Brown sighing at the naffness of story ballets and Chad Vindin asking why ‘elitism’ is celebrated in sport but not in the arts? What are the traditions and institutions in classical music that you’d like to see taken down a peg – or thrown out completely?

If you’ve got an axe to grind, send us your name, contact details, and a couple of sentences on your ‘Sacred Cow’ for a chance to...