Music is a continuum and the modern and avant-garde composers of today will be part of the standard repertoire 30 years from now.
If we perform the romantic repertoire we need more musicians.
If the (British) Arts Council give you money, they also tell you how to spend it.
As you know, there are certain languages that lend themselves very easily to vocal use.
We don't want other people poking into our artistic pie.
So I've never found there was any particular separation between the two cultures at all, musically speaking.