Alan Davey, new controller, R3

[Richard Tarleton]

Just to flag up in case you have yet to go to the newsagents that there is a 2-page interview of Alan Davey by Bryan Appleyard in the Culture section of today's Sunday Times. I've only skip-read it thus far (no coffee as yet) but I do note the following:

If you listen to R3's Breakfast from 6.30am to 9am, you may already have noticed an intrusion of Daveyian metaphysics: listeners' phone calls are not being taken and news bulletins are being curtailed. For some time purists have been objecting to the "interactive" implications of the calls........complaint is that callers and bulletins intrude on the station's primary task: the playing and introduction to great music........

[Tony Halstead]

Just to flag up in case you have yet to go to the newsagents that there is a 2-page interview of Alan Davey by Bryan Appleyard in the Culture section of today's Sunday Times. I've only skip-read it thus far (no coffee as yet) but I do note the following:

If you listen to R3's Breakfast from 6.30am to 9am, you may already have noticed an intrusion of Daveyian metaphysics: listeners' phone calls are not being taken and news bulletins are being curtailed. For some time purists have been objecting to the "interactive" implications of the calls........complaint is that callers and bulletins intrude on the station's primary task: the playing and introduction to great music........

Amen to that! ( Apart from the somewhat garbled grammar of the last seven words)

[french frank]

Very interesting. I can confirm that it was Alan Davey himself who in an email (in response to one from me) enquired whether I had 'clocked that there was no longer a phone call on Breakfast' - which is why I asked on the Breakfast thread whether anyone had noticed this.

Brian Appleyard also rang me at the time AD was to take over and I expressed my expectation that he would be a good thing as I thought he was clever. So far he is listening to what we've been saying ...

[mercia]

clearly what the world needs is more clever people......or more people thinking that other people are clever. (The ridding of one 60-second phone call in a 150-minute programme sounds quite a small change to me. )

[french frank]

clearly what the world needs is more clever people......or more people thinking that other people are clever. (The ridding of one 60-second phone call in a 150-minute programme sounds quite a small change to me. )

Oh, thou of little faith - what about the 15-minute news bulletins that people have been whingeing about? They've gone too. It's the concomitants that will be interesting: those are just the outward and audible signs of an inward and spiritual cleverness

Where's Zucchini to prick our bubble of pomposity

[antongould]

I have just got back into the Breakfast groove and can confirm the phone has been disconnected. But I am not totally convinced that the quarter to and past the hour newspaper headlines have been ditched? There is definitely still mention of "....this morning's papers..." - maybe it's less headlines and more arts related?
What is the artillery to be aimed at next? - there are still a lot of - possibly even more - listener's requests. I thought Martin Handley had become Uncle Mac this morning..........

[french frank]

At what is the artillery to be aimed at next

We've sent in the details of what a range of listeners are saying with our Survey (part I) [pdf].

I think someone who talks about commissioning Scandinavian drama, in translation for broadcast but with the original text online, isn't going to stoop to the depths RW was prepared to go. [And, sniffily, when the interviewer queried the presence of a cuddly teddy sitting one of the speakers, AD replied that he didn't know about it: "It's probably Roger's bear." (Excuse my mirth ) Oh, and the Facebook page has been largely cleared of teenage-speak and advertising waffle.

In 12 months' time the BBC Trust wants BBC managers to report on what R3 has done to smarten up its act: we shall be there to chip in helpfully. It's still early days.

[Stanfordian]

Just to flag up in case you have yet to go to the newsagents that there is a 2-page interview of Alan Davey by Bryan Appleyard in the Culture section of today's Sunday Times. I've only skip-read it thus far (no coffee as yet) but I do note the following:

If you listen to R3's Breakfast from 6.30am to 9am, you may already have noticed an intrusion of Daveyian metaphysics: listeners' phone calls are not being taken and news bulletins are being curtailed. For some time purists have been objecting to the "interactive" implications of the calls........complaint is that callers and bulletins intrude on the station's primary task: the playing and introduction to great music........

Hiya Richard,

I too have read the article Alan Davey Radio 3 Controller in the Sundat Times and it's difficult to gauge how he will fare. My main problems I have with the current format on BBC Radio 3 is the phoning in, texting and tweeting mainly to guess works played backwards or simultaneously etc and the constant inclusion of celebrities choosing their favourite music. I want more analytical yet interesting information given about composers and their works. When was the last time that a presenter got off their a**e and travelled to interview face to face giants of the classical music world Mariss Jansons, Skrowaczeski, Riccardo Chailly Andre Previn, Viktoria Mullova, Valery Gergiev, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Bernard Haitink, Martha Argerich, Tasmin Little, Donald Runnicles, Gidon Kremer, Barenboim, Manfred Honeck, Mark Elder and the up and the talented younger generation Kirill Petrenko, Kirill Karabits, Vasily Petrenko, Dudamel, Jonas Kaufman, Andris Nelsons, Christian Gerhaher, Renaud and Gautier Capucon, Bryan Hymel, Hilary Hahn, Lawrence Brownlee, Parvo Jarvi, Diana Damrau, Giannadea Noseda, Daniel Harding, Robin Ticciati et al.

Very personal to my individual taste is that I cannot listen to the vast majority of works on 'Late Junction'.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

well we do not place celebrity photos, graffiti, post-its and other trivia on the walls of the Tate do we? the Third Programme was like the walls of a great art gallery - plain unobtrusive and yet revealing ....

[antongould]

We've sent in the details of what a range of listeners are saying with our Survey (part I) [pdf].

I think someone who talks about commissioning Scandinavian drama, in translation for broadcast but with the original text online, isn't going to stoop to the depths RW was prepared to go. [And, sniffily, when the interviewer queried the presence of a cuddly teddy sitting one of the speakers, AD replied that he didn't know about it: "It's probably Roger's bear." (Excuse my mirth ) Oh, and the Facebook page has been largely cleared of teenage-speak and advertising waffle.

In 12 months' time the BBC Trust wants BBC managers to report on what R3 has done to smarten up its act: we shall be there to chip in helpfully. It's still early days.

Cheers ff - I have now read the attachment which, for some reason, I hadn't before and find it most excellent. As one of your, probably very few, reporters on Breakfast, I have to report that MH had a Guess the Composer this morning......

[french frank]

well we do not place celebrity photos, graffiti, post-its and other trivia on the walls of the Tate do we? the Third Programme was like the walls of a great art gallery - plain unobtrusive and yet revealing ....

Have you copyrighted that comment, aka?

In Appleyard's final paragraph, he has:

'He's the right man for the job. His success will depend on his ability to defend his high (and correct) view of art against the stats and ratings nerds, and the gibes of opportunistic, philistine MPs [he means you, Tom Watson] who think classical music is, by definition, "elitist".'

[french frank]

As one of your, probably very few, reporters on Breakfast, I have to report that MH had a Guess the Composer this morning......

Not a strictly necessary feature in a radio programme, but at least it's something we've probably all done on coming upon a piece of music in the middle .

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

Have you copyrighted that comment, aka?

Nope

[Stanfordian]

well we do not place celebrity photos, graffiti, post-its and other trivia on the walls of the Tate do we? the Third Programme was like the walls of a great art gallery - plain unobtrusive and yet revealing ....

HIya Calum Da Jazbo,

Good point! I very much agree.

[MrGongGong]

well we do not place celebrity photos, graffiti, post-its and other trivia on the walls of the Tate do we? the Third Programme was like the walls of a great art gallery - plain unobtrusive and yet revealing ....

I know what you mean
BUT I don't suppose you went to the Coum Transmissions exhibition at Tate Britain a few years ago ?