Drama to be eradicated from Radio 3

[oddoneout]

Over thirty years, the introduction of Through the Night alone surely increases by a significant amount the sheer quantity of classical music played.

And before that , I well recall Radio 3 began at 8 am on Saturdays and 9 am. on Sundays, while Saturday afternoons were given over to sport and 'Test Match Special' took up several days every year. So I'd question Dr. Heaton's claim about the amount of classical music .

Where there is cause for complaint, of course, as we have frequently discussed here, is in the quality of the broadcasts, with the chance to hear a complete classical work of any length restricted to only a short part of each day ( usually 1 to 2 pm, 3 pm and 7.30 -10 pm. apart from TTN.) . This makes a mockery of Sam Jacksons denial of 'dumbing-down'. It's the creeping growth of snippets, trailers and chat taking over more of the day which proves this. In the 1970s R3 was all complete works, as has been illustrated .

I would rather have fewer hours of output if it was of the quality of what I consider the R3 output should be. I am reminded of that old (1980s ?) RT page that AuntD posted a while back which was one day's R3 programmes. In that one day there was more music, as they were complete works, than I would find now to listen to in a whole week's schedules.
I can't help feeling that the existence of TTN is, now, the reason that it is considered OK to reduce the daytime output to chat'n'bits. Those tiresome folk who want long(aka boring, too difficult - the aural equivalent of TLDR) pieces of music, without the cuddly presenter input can get them on TTN - and stuff access to quality on linear radio.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Over thirty years, the introduction of Through the Night alone surely increases by a significant amount the sheer quantity of classical music played.

And before that , I well recall Radio 3 began at 8 am on Saturdays and 9 am. on Sundays, while Saturday afternoons were given over to sport and 'Test Match Special' took up several days every year. So I'd question Dr. Heaton's claim about the amount of classical music .

Where there is cause for complaint, of course, as we have frequently discussed here, is in the quality of the broadcasts, with the chance to hear a complete classical work of any length restricted to only a short part of each day ( usually 1 to 2 pm, 3 pm and 7.30 -10 pm. apart from TTN.) . This makes a mockery of Sam Jacksons denial of 'dumbing-down'. It's the creeping growth of snippets, trailers and chat taking over more of the day which proves this. In the 1970s R3 was all complete works, as has been illustrated .

Fair summary Smittims. There probably more classical music than ever before but fewer whole works and those tend to be transmitted to at peripheral times - evening and indeed overnight.

”Laughing stock “ is far too strong a phrase. It undermines otherwise valid arguments . Like LMcD I enjoyed the BBC NOW In concert on Tuesday which included the Martinu. Monday had an excellent Rattle LSO concert as well as a Wigmore lunchtime with the Julliard doing Beethoven Op. 130 . Last weeks highlights include the Cunning Little Vixen , a Dudamel Mahler 3 and a Mahler Symphony from Rattle. And that was a pretty average week. Oh and a Bruckner 9 on Monday I’ve yet to catch up with.

The “problem” is that so many people who like a bit of classical music don’t want to sit through extended works any more . Even on this forum there are plenty who don’t much like Bruckner or even Mahler. So scheduling any of these works is high risk.

and as for Janacek - CLV being Rattles favourite work - well there are dozen of unsold seats for Jenufa at Covent Garden - the cheapest in the stalls being a mere £90 - half the price of some West End Musicals. It is sensationally well sung. I honestly think they couldn’t give tickets away for a 20th century masterpiece.

[french frank]

Today's Times letter: I'm not sure that the author is correct though in blaming the decrease in the amount of classical music played on drama, jazz, global music, and essays!

You can say that again! It's as if someone only tuned in at 3pm on a Wednesday and complained that there's too much religious broadcasting on R3. Incidentally, 30 years ago, 1995, would coincide with the controllership of Nicholas Kenyon which is when the "dumbing down" complaints started. Pity that letters like this get published when they are factually inaccurate since most people won't realise the letter-writer is talking nonsense.

If he'd complained that the full-length classical works had been drastically reduced and short works were punctuated, every 6 minutes or so by presenter chat, he'd have a point. But then he might love Essential Classics ...

[smittims]

Over thirty years, the introduction of Through the Night alone surely increases by a significant amount the sheer quantity of classical music played.

And before that , I well recall Radio 3 began at 8 am on Saturdays and 9 am. on Sundays, while Saturday afternoons were given over to sport and 'Test Match Special' took up several days every year. So I'd question Dr. Heaton's claim about the amount of classical music .

Where there is cause for complaint, of course, as we have frequently discussed here, is in the quality of the broadcasts, with the chance to hear a complete classical work of any length restricted to only a short part of each day ( usually 1 to 2 pm, 3 pm and 7.30 -10 pm. apart from TTN.) . This makes a mockery of Sam Jacksons denial of 'dumbing-down'. It's the creeping growth of snippets, trailers and chat taking over more of the day which proves this. In the 1970s R3 was all complete works, as has been illustrated .

[Pulcinella]

Today's Times letter: I'm not sure that the author is correct though in blaming the decrease in the amount of classical music played on drama, jazz, global music, and essays!

Demise of Radio 3

Sir, Unlike James Rorison (letter, Jan 20) I would be delighted for drama, jazz, global music and essays to disappear from Radio 3. I have been listening to the station for more than 30 years and have witnessed a relentless reduction in the amount of classical music being played.
Dr Paul Heaton
Sherborne, Dorset

[Pulcinella]

I don't think it's an exaggeration to call it a laughing stock. Between the popular element (judging from Radio 4 comedy shows) who still mock it as a ridiculous pseuds' corner; the mandarin element, who mock its ambitions to outdo Classic FM for playlist inanity; and its formerly loyal listeners, who deplore its narrowed range, now drama, discussion and high-end arts features have all disappeared; that doesn't leave many to confidently support this failing channel.

Should you have to wait until Night Tracks (22:00-23.30, so only 1.5 hours at bedtime) to hear a Martinu Cello Concerto, and a Brahms Piano Trio? Neither of them are mentioned on tonight's playlist, as far as I can see, so you couldn't even plan for it. That, in itself, is laughable for any channel, let alone one which we're told is a "jewel in the BBC crown".

You've slightly misunderstood, I think. The Martinu was in the evening concert, so was part of what Mac's listening included as well as Night Tracks. Not sure when the Brahms was played.

[Master Jacques]

'A national laughing stock' - really?
Thanks to the BBC, my musical menu today has included Night Tracks, to which I'm currently relaxing - yes I know - a cello concerto by Martinu and the Brahms piano trio that was a highlight of this year's Proms. I may not listen to Radio 3 as often as I did, but I wouldn't say I was apathetic.

I don't think it's an exaggeration to call it a laughing stock. Between the popular element (judging from Radio 4 comedy shows) who still mock it as a ridiculous pseuds' corner; the mandarin element, who mock its ambitions to outdo Classic FM for playlist inanity; and its formerly loyal listeners, who deplore its narrowed range, now drama, discussion and high-end arts features have all disappeared; that doesn't leave many to confidently support this failing channel.

Should you have to wait until Night Tracks (22:00-23.30, so only 1.5 hours at bedtime) to hear a Martinu Cello Concerto, and a Brahms Piano Trio? Neither of them are mentioned on tonight's playlist, as far as I can see, so you couldn't even plan for it. That, in itself, is laughable for any channel, let alone one which we're told is a "jewel in the BBC crown".

[LMcD]

That's precisely what The Suits rely on: the smokescreen of other national priorities allows them to play ducks and drakes with Radio 3 (and Radio 4) without causing too much outside indignation, except for a few people they can ridicule as "elitists", "luvvies" and old-school intellectuals. There's a lot wrong with our society, but this is one area where we really must do our best to hold the line. If we don't, who will?

When Radio 3, "the home of classical", has become a national laughing stock (as it has) we really have to keep pressing home this uncomfortable truth, at least on behalf of the poor saps who are still trying to make the wretched thing work, from the inside. They're the ones I feel most sorry for.

'A national laughing stock' - really?
Thanks to the BBC, my musical menu today has included Night Tracks, to which I'm currently relaxing - yes I know - a cello concerto by Martinu and the Brahms piano trio that was a highlight of this year's Proms. I may not listen to Radio 3 as often as I did, but I wouldn't say I was apathetic.

[french frank]

That's precisely what The Suits rely on: the smokescreen of other national priorities allows them to play ducks and drakes with Radio 3 (and Radio 4) without causing too much outside indignation, except for a few people they can ridicule as "elitists", "luvvies" and old-school intellectuals

This is one issue where we're on the same page. The defining characteristic of the arts is ... the art. Ars gratia artis. Not music to help you unwind or get to sleep or to fill the oppressive silence of silence. But above all, the arts must not demand anything of you, otherwise you might as well go swimming, Walk the Dog or do the daily shopping. If those in charge of Radio 3 believe a whole symphony, string quartet or full length play is too much to ask of a human being, in my view they don't have the intellectual capacity to be in the job. Once again:

"‘The Third Programme offered classical music, serious drama, literature and discussion": thus spake the BBC. I have no problem with Radio 3 seeking out minor women or Black composers. But if the bulk of the music is to be by dead white males, please, let it not be The Lark Ascending, L'Isle joyeuse, Dvořák's Slavonic Dances or the Overture from Candide (played 24 times in the last year) again.

[Master Jacques]

[/B]

That's exactly the way I feel, word for word. Regrettable through the (insert word of your choice) of Radio 3 is, there are other matters which increasingly require, and receive, my attention,

That's precisely what The Suits rely on: the smokescreen of other national priorities allows them to play ducks and drakes with Radio 3 (and Radio 4) without causing too much outside indignation, except for a few people they can ridicule as "elitists", "luvvies" and old-school intellectuals. There's a lot wrong with our society, but this is one area where we really must do our best to hold the line. If we don't, who will?

When Radio 3, "the home of classical", has become a national laughing stock (as it has) we really have to keep pressing home this uncomfortable truth, at least on behalf of the poor saps who are still trying to make the wretched thing work, from the inside. They're the ones I feel most sorry for.

[LMcD]

It's a lot of us - damned if we do, damned if we don't.
Today's afternoon schedule is an example of where I have given up on the last bits of daytime listening. I would like to hear the "Ornaments of the Baroque", but apart from the problem of not having even an approximate start time, past experience and disappointment suggests that it won't be broadcast as shown, so there is no point in sitting down to listen.
Apathy doesn't come into it, I now simply don't have the mental or physical resources to fight for/against every issue that I feel strongly about, I have to prioritise.

That's exactly the way I feel, word for word. Regrettable through the (insert word of your choice) of Radio 3 is, there are other matters which increasingly require, and receive, my attention,

[french frank]

The pro-forma response to my complaint, for your amusement. [...] in "sharpening the focus of Radio 3 as a classical music network" - and we know exactly what they mean by that. Playlist gobbets, fewer symphonies and more Ella Fitzgerald.

You forgot Bobby Vinton. For your equal amusement my "planned attack" on the Director-General and the Controller of Radio 3 is currently a joint letter suggesting they sit down together and hold a dialogue regarding certain indisputable facts about Radio 3, the BBC, the arts and public service. Yes, I know both of them have relatively recently come to the BBC from the commercial sector but should they, perhaps, acknowledge how inadequately that prepares them for senior management in a public service broadcaster?

Of course "sharpening the focus" means "aping Classic FM" - itself an accusation voiced by the Controller of Radio 3 when he was Managing Editor of Classic FM - by concentrating on light and familiar classical music. But can the upper echelons of the BBC even grasp intellectually what the evidence points to? They certainly understand the commercial issues.

The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny or three hours of Essential Classics?

[Master Jacques]

Thank you Master Jacques for sharing with us this "response". I can't help feeling we've seen this message before, or something very similar. One wishes Usha Peri well, in hope that "she" really exists.

I would say "my pleasure", if it were that. The thing is so full of mendacious slants that I've been forced (against my usual habit) to send it back to them: 200 hours on Radio 4 amounts to less than four per week. They've reduced drama and book readings from the 800 hours or so of two decades ago. They've sacked the Drama Repertory Company, a major source of work for actors. There are no ambitious, serious or challenging plays left on Radio 4 in its 4 hours per week - it's all demotic comedy, minority socio-drama or quasi-documentary - and as for Radio 3's "focus" ... well, enough said.

[Serial_Apologist]

Thank you Master Jacques for sharing with us this "response". I can't help feeling we've seen this message before, or something very similar. One wishes Usha Peri well, in hope that "she" really exists.

[Master Jacques]

The pro-forma response to my complaint, for your amusement. Given the near-disappearance of drama from Radio 4 (75 of those 200 hours are The Archers) this special pleading is more than usually misleading. The "wealth of audio drama" on Radio 4 these days is risibly broke.

No sign of compromise, though, in "sharpening the focus of Radio 3 as a classical music network" - and we know exactly what they mean by that. Playlist gobbets, fewer symphonies and more Ella Fitzgerald.

Reference CAS-8005703-X5J9X6

Dear xxxx,

Thanks for contacting us with your concerns regarding changes to the schedule on Radio 3.

We’ve shared these with senior managers at Radio 3.

Given the significant financial pressures, we have to make tough decisions in every area of the BBC. As a result, we are sharpening the focus of Radio 3 as a classical music network, investing its stretched budgets in music content, both speech and performance.

The BBC will continue to be the biggest original audio drama commissioner in the UK and we are committed to the genre and to working with new and exciting writers as well as bringing a huge range of drama to new and existing audiences. We are looking at ways to increase the number of longer plays to maintain the range of creative opportunities within our audio drama offer, and we have recently increased production budgets for the genre by 10%.

From April ’25 on Sunday evenings on Radio 3 there will be a new multi-part music series, The Modernists (working title), as well as music from our New Generation Artists and the EBU.

The BBC broadcasts more than 200 hours of drama on Radio 4 each year, reaching almost 5 million listeners each week. We carefully considered our overall audience offer, including the wealth of the audio drama on Radio 4, as part of our decision.

If you’d like to understand how your complaint is handled at the BBC, you might find it helpful to watch this short film https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/complaints. It explains the BBC’s process for responding to complaints, what to do if you aren’t happy with your response and how we share the feedback we receive.

Kind regards,

Usha Peri.



BBC Complaints Team
www.bbc.co.uk/complaints