Alan Davey, new controller, R3

[Honoured Guest]

There is nothing in my post or in the interview that suggests cheapness in doing this: the paucity of live concerts (presumably in the UK, which is why the 'feed' from the EBU would be taken) is given as the reason.

PS: The interview actually says......
He's thinking of Monday nights as a stage for European orchestras.

Monday night broadcasts of European orchestras would mostly be of recordings by other EBU broadcasters.

The cost to Radio 3 would be less than the present cost of the weekly live concert produced by the BBC which would be cut.

I agree that many listeners would welcome this mid-evening opportunity to listen to European orchestras, in addition to their present outlets in the middle of the night and the daytime.

I still think it's worth pointing out that this will also cut costs for Radio 3 and diminish the distinctiveness on one day every week.

[Pulcinella]

Monday night broadcasts of European orchestras would mostly be of recordings by other EBU broadcasters.

The cost to Radio 3 would be less than the present cost of the weekly live concert produced by the BBC which would be cut.

I agree that many listeners would welcome this mid-evening opportunity to listen to European orchestras, in addition to their present outlets in the middle of the night and the daytime.

I still think it's worth pointing out that this will also cut costs for Radio 3 and diminish the distinctiveness on one day every week.

I do not see how any distinctiveness is diminished, unless you consider part of R3’s remit is to be parochial in its evening offerings and only broadcast UK concerts. There could be a point made for broadcasting all concerts (obviously not necessarily all repeats, even if slightly different programmes in different venues on tour) that the various BBC orchestras play, though; I'm not sure that we get them at present.

But surely it is pretty cheap to use contracted groups at present, such as the BBC Singers (not that I am in any way suggesting that I'd rather have more of them on a Monday evening!).

I'm afraid that I don't follow your argument.

[Honoured Guest]

I'm afraid that I don't follow your argument.

To clarify my argument to you, Radio 3 is distinctive in the quality and quantity of live and specially recorded music that it broadcasts. The proposed change would reduce this by one full evening concert per week.

(To clarify the detail, it is the Saturday Live in Concert which would be cut because Opera would move from Monday to Saturday).

[DracoM]

......Sat evening, erm..... where, at least until quite recently, it's been for years ? I think a number of posters will remember that.

[doversoul1]

Re: EBU
If Saturday Lunchtime Concert is anything to go by, introducing EBU recorded concerts will be a very good thing indeed. Surely, live concert is not the sole factor to make R3 distinctive?

I assume Radio 3 is meant to be distinct from other radio stations in the UK, and not from those of European stations.

[Pulcinella]

To clarify my argument to you, Radio 3 is distinctive in the quality and quantity of live and specially recorded music that it broadcasts. The proposed change would reduce this by one full evening concert per week.

(To clarify the detail, it is the Saturday Live in Concert which would be cut because Opera would move from Monday to Saturday).

I'm clearly missing something here.
Yes, the (fairly new and by no means every week) Saturday Live in Concert would be cut if replaced by an opera (guess what: the opera might be live from Covent Garden!) but we might get a live or specially recorded concert on Monday (or are you simply dismissing such a concert if it comes from Europe?) instead of the opera there.
I don't see the reasoning you are trying to put forward as showing R3 losing any distinctiveness or number of evening concert/opera broadcasts.
But I'm sure that you will enlighten me.

[Don Petter]

I don't mind where the concerts come from, but I wish they would stop carving them up into separate pieces and reassembling them into a smaller random quilt.

(I get the impression this has become less prevalent of late. Is it another subtle change for the better?)

[french frank]

(I get the impression this has become less prevalent of late. Is it another subtle change for the better?)

Well ... it was another thing that was mentioned in our survey

HG - you're on to a loser here.

A good concert (even if recorded) from a good 'foreign' orchestra (and not just EBU members' recordings) is better, in my view, than taking a live UK concert, every night. What other station would take such a concert, on a regular basis?

A BBC Performing Group, live every night of every week, would make Radio 3 'distinctive': but it wouldn't make for the most interesting music broadcasts. Four live concerts a week still keeps Radio 3 distinctive.

[mercia]

yes I hope we only get 4 live concerts a week during the proms season (and getting rid of the lunchtime concerts would hopefully save some money too)

[doversoul1]

yes I hope we only get 4 live concerts a week during the proms season (and getting rid of the lunchtime concerts would hopefully save some money too)

What!!?? Lunchtime Concert is one of the few programmes that kept Radio3 distinct during the darkest days. Now that it seems to have recovered its original form of one concert per programme, surely it doesn’t deserved to be got rid of?

[Honoured Guest]

Comrades, one day you will understand.

[french frank]

What!!?? Lunchtime Concert is one of the few programmes that kept Radio3 distinct during the darkest days. Now that it seems to have recovered its original form of one concert per programme, surely it doesn’t deserved to be got rid of?

What would it be replaced with anyway?

Just trying to work out where the new 'Talking About Music' and 'Pied Piper' would best fit … I'm not sure we have the best presenters for either actual working at Radio 3 on a regular basis. For TaM, we have Stephen Johnson, David Owen Norris - and here in Bristol we have a character called Jonathan James who does Discovering Music-type talks before local concerts. A new 'David Munrow' is the real problem: a 'Peter Pan' type character, mature and very knowledgeable, but youthfully energetic.

Late afternoon for Pied Piper, and perhaps the same time for Talking About Music? How do you update them so that they are being recreated rather than revived? Or do modern presenters automatically give a contemporary feel, especially when you combine musical illustration with online material.

[Honoured Guest]

A new 'David Munrow' is the real problem: a 'Peter Pan' type character, mature and very knowledgeable, but youthfully energetic.

Tom "Uncle Mac" Service

[Honoured Guest]

A BBC Performing Group, live every night of every week, would make Radio 3 'distinctive': but it wouldn't make for the most interesting music broadcasts. Four live concerts a week still keeps Radio 3 distinctive.

"Live" is a bit of a red herring. It's a way of giving a sense of occasion to the specially recorded music. It would be much easier to contextualise this music if wasn't broadcast live because worthwhile talk about the music could then be delivered, at any appropriate length and in any suitable form, around the music.

Cutting the number of specially BBC-recorded concerts (by replacing one weekly full-length concert with EBU music) reduces Radio 3's scope to reflect and support the UK's music scene. The BBC Performing Groups' broadcast output wouldn't be cut (unless their performing activity were itself cut) so it would be BBC coverage of non-BBC performing groups which would be reduced.

[MrGongGong]

A new 'David Munrow' is the real problem: a 'Peter Pan' type character, mature and very knowledgeable, but youthfully energetic.
.

I could easily name 10 people who would be able to do this kind of thing (and already do for the BBC Ensembles and other performing groups)

The real issue is more that if you want to encourage young people to listen to music it needs to be presented in a way that they really WILL engage.
Very few people sit down in front of the 'wireless' and listen, most people live in noisy environments (I don't but i'm odd in that way).