Mozart Fest

[vinteuil]

As soon as the Mozart fest has finished I see Breakfast reverts straight back to its good old cliched self, with a Hungarian Dance, Debussy & Ravel, a few bits of Bach and the Barber of Seville overture, and there I was just hoping that R3 might turn over a new leaf in 2011 ..... some hope!

suffolkcoast - it was even more of a cliché than you describe - Brahms Hungarian Dance - Saint-Saëns Bacchanale - Paganini Caprice - Elgar Chanson de Nuit - Sibelius Swan of Tuonela - Rossini Barber of Seville - and (not on playlist, but I'm sure it was on (I was in the garden at the time)) - Khatchaturian's bl***y Sword Dance...

[Flosshilde]

To be positive I really enjoyed Classical Collection this morning, with its 'inspired by Mozart' theme... The three piano arrangements played by Cyprien Katsaris (esp the Lacrimosa arr. Thalberg) and then a delightful Hummel rarity, were a perfect accompaniment to a 40 minute journey.

10.58
Today's Group of 3 is a collection of Mozart paraphrases

Gelinek
'Air des mysteres d'Isis'

Thalberg
'Lacrimosa'

Franz Liszt
'Ave verum corpus'
Cyprien Katsaris (piano)
Sony SK 52 551

11.09
Hummel
Rondo Brillant on a Russian Folk Theme, Op.98
Howard Shelley (piano and conductor)
London Mozart Players
Chandos CHAN 10216

That's as may be, but wouldn't it have been better to have them on as part of the Mozart fest? I would hope that after 12 days of solid mozart we might have been spared more for at least a month (preferably longer).

[Bryn]

Now spinning here, Mozart KV 617 from Vol. 4, CD 6 of the Brilliant Classics Mozart edition. Dennis James might not be up to the Hoffmann standard, but it's good enough for such a trifle, and I don't intend paying around £2 to download mp3s of the Hoffmann from amazon.co.uk.

[Mr Pee]

suffolkcoast - it was even more of a cliché than you describe - Brahms Hungarian Dance - Saint-Saëns Bacchanale - Paganini Caprice - Elgar Chanson de Nuit - Sibelius Swan of Tuonela - Rossini Barber of Seville - and (not on playlist, but I'm sure it was on (I was in the garden at the time)) - Khatchaturian's bl***y Sword Dance...

Oh for goodness sake.

We all know that Breakfast is a collection of shortish and generally not too demanding pieces. That is the nature of the programme. It suits some, and not others. Personally, I think it's an ideal musical start to the day. I don't want to listen to Shostakovitch 8 while I'm having my toast and Marmite. If you don't like it, don't listen. I'm sure that there's plenty on later in the day that will be more to your taste.

[Suffolkcoastal]

Mr Pee

You are a very lucky person to have a Radio station that suits your requirements. I don't listen to Breakfast any more but monitor the programming (and occasionally have to grin and bare it whilst doing my survey via the I player), AND FOR THE UMPTEENTH TIME, I'm not concerned about the fact it plays shorter works and extracts, it's the variety of works it plays, often largely confined to the same composers and the same works, it has become totally predictable, what I and many others criticise is this predictablity in fact Breakfast has become a cliche of itself. The Mozart fest was very poor, with endless silly trailers, a mock CFM programme in the late evenings, repeats of the same work on the same day, lots of short extracts, there are a little over 600 Mozart works I believe, but well over 900 pieces/extacts were played, so is shows you, just how much repetition there was. This could have been much better planned by having a long weekend or two, focusing on select works with well planned factual programmes and contrasting his music with some of his contemporaries, that's what I look, or used to look for in Radio 3.

When putting togther my surveys over the last two years I have been struck at how much narrower the variety of works played on R3 has become, the increase in extracts and short bits in programmes that used to contain full works, the decrease in factual and educational programmes etc. R3 used to be so much better than this, I am generally concerned about the station and its future and will continue to voice this as is my right as it is yours to say you like what it has become.

[Flosshilde]

I thought the Mozart bore was supposed to be over? Yet today we've got more of the stuff. The variations on that irritating little ditty ' 'Se vuol ballare' from The Marriage of Figaro seemed to go on for ever, & I was surprised to see that it was only 13 minutes.

[Mr Pee]

I thought the Mozart bore was supposed to be over? Yet today we've got more of the stuff. The variations on that irritating little ditty ' 'Se vuol ballare' from The Marriage of Figaro seemed to go on for ever, & I was surprised to see that it was only 13 minutes.

And as I pointed out in an earlier post, Sunday's "Discovering Music" slot sees Andrew Manze exploring Mozart's Symphony no 36 in C.

Which is fine by me, as unlike, it seems, many here, the Mozart fest- NOT bore - has served to re-kindle my love of Mozart, which had become a little dormant.

I think it's been a lovely way to ease into 2011.

[Nick Armstrong]

I thought the Mozart bore was supposed to be over? Yet today we've got more of the stuff. The variations on that irritating little ditty ' 'Se vuol ballare' from The Marriage of Figaro seemed to go on for ever, & I was surprised to see that it was only 13 minutes.

I know! And 9:03 - Mr Cowan introduces a "reminder" of listeners' favourite Mozart: AVE BLOODY VERUM!



I've been reasonably pro the whole Mozart thing but that is lazy programming...

[Nick Armstrong]

... unlike, it seems, many here, the Mozart fest- NOT bore - has served to re-kindle my love of Mozart, which had become a little dormant.

I think it's been a lovely way to ease into 2011.

Same here, Mr Pee, by and large... It's sent me back to the piano concertos, and broadened my horizons about performance styles for those inexhaustible pieces. It's also confirmed my view that a lot of the vocal and choral music is, for me at least, eminently forgettable.

The Fest also provided evening schedules which were FAR preferable to the cultural chit chat and world music that I'm afraid keep the radio firmly 'off' of an evening normally.

[Peter Katin]

I thought the Mozart bore was supposed to be over? Yet today we've got more of the stuff.

I felt that enough was definitely enough, but this morning James Jolly is throwing sets of variations at us, none of which are particularly good. The fact that Chopin wrote variations on operatic arias doesn't excuse it, as they were display pieces and frankly a bore. But there we are, associations with Mozart will continue, BBC-style, until the subject has been well and truly drained - and no doubt beyond.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

yes it was all the bad boring things etc that have been said, but my partner and i suspect many others loved it ... for twelve days r3 became their station of choice! guaranteed a Melodic Mozart ...

and it is a gimmicky 'signature' [as the yanks call it] by RW


but there is not much wrong with the idea of a fest or festival, i think i would much prefer a fest of music from one country or a city if it must be over several days ... more variety and more opportunity for editorial content too ... some of which in the Moz i was rather grateful to hear ....

and btw three cheers for Leslie Howard and his complete Lizst, delightful on In Tune last evening ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_CwPrN-oEU

[sigolene euphemia]

Mozart became the bore of the party chez nous.

[Mr Pee]

Mozart became the bore of the party chez nous.

How did you get him to your party? Was it a séance? Or have you been time travelling with Dr.Who?

Who have you got lined up for your next bash? Wagner?

[sigolene euphemia]

How did you get him to your party? Was it a séance? Or have you been time travelling with Dr.Who?

Who have you got lined up for your next bash? Wagner?

My daughter would love Wagner, certainly. Me, I would run away !

s.

~ ~

[Flosshilde]

Who have you got lined up for your next bash? Wagner?

As long as he leaves Cosima at home.