Anthony Burgess (1917 - 93)

**french frank** · 26-02-17, 10:57

Not unexpected, given the current controller's literary credentials, that Radio 3 should mark the centenary so fully.

ferney - I'm writing a final 'submission' for the BBC, on behalf of FoR3: this would fit well with comments made about the BBC and classical music. What did you mean by 'muted commemoration' elsewhere? Anything special on the rest of the BBC (archives don't count!)? What an indictment - revealing the uphill struggle Radio 3 has to fly the flag for arts and culture - if there is nothing of any great significance.

**french frank** · 26-02-17, 11:13

Additionally: I found this online piece by Brian Morton, but it only flags up Radio 3's The Essay

Originally posted by french frank View Post

Not unexpected, given the current controller's literary credentials, that Radio 3 should mark the centenary so fully.

ferney - I'm writing a final 'submission' for the BBC, on behalf of FoR3: this would fit well with comments made about the BBC and classical music. What did you mean by 'muted commemoration' elsewhere? Anything special on the rest of the BBC (archives don't count!)? What an indictment - revealing the uphill struggle Radio 3 has to fly the flag for arts and culture - if there is nothing of any great significance.

**Bryn** · 26-02-17, 11:25

Given the recent claims emanating from Trumpton regarding the Islamization of London, I must give 1985 another read.

**ferneyhoughgeliebte** · 26-02-17, 11:40

Originally posted by french frank View Post

Not unexpected, given the current controller's literary credentials, that Radio 3 should mark the centenary so fully.

ferney - I'm writing a final 'submission' for the BBC, on behalf of FoR3: this would fit well with comments made about the BBC and classical music. What did you mean by 'muted commemoration' elsewhere? Anything special on the rest of the BBC (archives don't count!)? What an indictment - revealing the uphill struggle Radio 3 has to fly the flag for arts and culture - if there is nothing of any great significance.

Quite simply that I could find nothing else on BBC (radio or television) or ITV to mark the centenary in any way this week. BBC4 had a "Country Queens at the BBC" last night and a documentary on David Hockney tonight - Imagine (the BBC TV Arts series) this coming Wednesday is a feature on Dame Shirley Bassey.

Given Burgess' regular appearances on telly during the 1970s & '80s (including chat shows), and his television screenplays, and his film screenplays - well, I'd've thought that something could have been done to celebrate his work. Couldn't Hockney and/or Bassey have been postponed for a week? And couldn't R4 have rebroadcast the Morley documentary - saving the First Russian Revolution documentary for another week, so that that could coincide with the actual centenary?

I didn't listen to R4's Saturday Review, so I don't know whether anything pertinent was mentioned there.

**french frank** · 26-02-17, 12:27

Originally posted by ferneyhoughgeliebte View Post

I didn't listen to R4's Saturday Review, so I don't know whether anything pertinent was mentioned there.

I'll check that, thanks. I presume a 10-minute slot at most?

I found this on Classical Source but no corresponding BBC Press release about the announcement. The only release for 14 November was about the pan-BBC #LovetoRead programming last November. For Radio 3:

"Petroc Trelawny will be encouraging listeners of BBC Radio 3 Breakfast to share their favourite books in the lead up to the #LovetoRead weekend and there will be special editions of The Essay and Free Thinking devoted to reading and books."

**french frank** · 26-02-17, 13:47

Originally posted by french frank View Post

I'll check that, thanks. I presume a 10-minute slot at most?

I don't think I'm interested enough to listen, but the full programme (too firmly based in the new to be bothered about someone who died 24 years ago? - that's not to say they didn't mention in passing what Radio 3 was doing) seems to be:

Tamsin Greig has been gender-blind cast as Malvolia in The National Theatre's production of Twelfth Night. Does it work or is it an interesting novelty
Quebecois film director Xavier Dolan's latest film It's Only The End Of The World was booed when it won The Grand Prix at last year's Cannes Festival and some reviewers have described it as "disappointing" "excruciating" and "deeply unsatisfying". What will our panel make of it?
America After The Fall is an exhibition at London's Royal Academy which looks at painting in the USA in the 1930s, responding to social change and economic anxiety. HBO's Big Little Lies is a new TV series with an all star cast and a grubby tale of the dirt that lies beneath modern glamour
Ross Raisin's new novel A Natural is about a young footballer whose dreams of reaching the upper leagues are rapidly fading and whose identity is conflicted.

Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Russell Kane, Abigail Morris and Susan Jeffreys. The producer is Oliver Jones.

**ferneyhoughgeliebte** · 26-02-17, 14:45

I suppose as Saturday Review is a "talk about the latest films/exhibitions/TV/books" etc - like Record Review, but without a BaL equivalent - it's the programme's remit to concentrate on "the new". The problem in this context is that, as there don't seem to be any TV programmes/cinema screenings/events around to celebrate Burgess' Centenary, there's nothing, other than R3's Oedipus, that they can talk about.

**french frank** · 26-02-17, 16:36

Originally posted by ferneyhoughgeliebte View Post

I suppose as Saturday Review is a "talk about the latest films/exhibitions/TV/books" etc - like Record Review, but without a BaL equivalent - it's the programme's remit to concentrate on "the new". The problem in this context is that, as there don't seem to be any TV programmes/cinema screenings/events around to celebrate Burgess' Centenary, there's nothing, other than R3's Oedipus, that they can talk about.

Exactly. Everything deemed to be of 'minority interest' pushed over to Radio 3 - and then expect Radio 3 to 'reach out to a broader audience', expand its listenership, by becoming more accessible. What kind of dunderhead thinking is that?

**french frank** · 27-02-17, 20:02

How some ever, any views on Œdipus? I thought the Burgess adaptation worked well, and served the narrative well. Thank goodness ( :-) ) it retained an ancient Greek atmosphere (how else would the story work?). Interesting performance of the Silverman music too. I wasn't entirely comfortable with the Eccleston performance, but I found the whole thing sufficiently gripping to be worth a second listen.

It's strange how the contrived nature of the tragedy doesn't stop it having a very powerful effect (on me, at least).

**ferneyhoughgeliebte** · 27-02-17, 21:06

Originally posted by french frank View Post

How some ever, any views on Œdipus? I thought the Burgess adaptation worked well, and served the narrative well. Thank goodness ( :-) ) it retained an ancient Greek atmosphere (how else would the story work?). Interesting performance of the Silverman music too. I wasn't entirely comfortable with the Eccleston performance, but I found the whole thing sufficiently gripping to be worth a second listen.

I agree. I, too, had reservations about Eccleston (normally an excellent actor) and Adjoa Andoh's Jocasta, too - at times it seemed as if they'd been told "it's radio - don't have any empty air". Don Warrington was excellent, though. Burgess was a superb translator - I find even more convincing than his work as a novelist.

It's strange how the contrived nature of the tragedy doesn't stop it having a very powerful effect (on me, at least).

Absolutely - and how, even with a story that I know as well as I do this one, gnarled up I find myself getting.

**doversoul1** · 27-02-17, 21:11

Originally posted by french frank View Post

How some ever, any views on Œdipus? I thought the Burgess adaptation worked well, and served the narrative well. Thank goodness ( :-) ) it retained an ancient Greek atmosphere (how else would the story work?). Interesting performance of the Silverman music too. I wasn't entirely comfortable with the Ecclestone performance, but I found the whole thing sufficiently gripping to be worth a second listen.

It's strange how the contrived nature of the tragedy doesn't stop it having a very powerful effect (on me, at least).

Yes, I was (more than) sufficiently gripped, and the music was interesting but I felt it was somewhat detached from the drama.

As for the contrived nature, it may be that that is the very nature of stories.

**Conchis** · 28-02-17, 11:14

ECCLESTON!

Christopher E. has NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO with the diminutive Formula 1 personage.

**ferneyhoughgeliebte** · 28-02-17, 11:32

Originally posted by Conchis View Post

ECCLESTON!
Christopher E. has NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO with the diminutive Formula 1 personage.

Indeed - but some of us made the point a little less loudly.

**french frank** · 28-02-17, 11:32

Originally posted by Conchis View Post

ECCLESTON!

Christopher E. has NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO with the diminutive Formula 1 personage.

Corrected. I know someone else called Christopher E. with an E at both ends. Not acquainted with personages involved with Formula 1 - though admittedly I do read the papers.

What did you think of the play, or other AB programmes?

Anthony Burgess (1917 - 93)

Anthony Burgess (1917 - 93)

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