In May 1927 Manchester mourned the passing of Langford, who had followed the progress of the Hallé since the days of Richter. Harty was reputed to have stayed away from the funeral. ‘Why should I go to the funeral of that – market gardener?’, was his anecdotal reply (making reference to Langford's predilection, like that of his father, for horticulture). Langford's place was taken by Neville Cardus, who was already well known to readers of the Manchester Guardian for his imaginative prose and his columns on cricket and the theatre. His admiration for Langford's work was considerable, and as a tribute to his former colleague he edited a selection of his reviews for publication in 1929. Cardus, untrained in music, but whose emotional, untechnical responses appealed to his audience, had already reviewed a number of Harty's opera productions for the Manchester Guardian, so he was familiar with Harty's style of programming. After the concert series for 1927–8 had been announced, Cardus weighed in with pointed criticism: