Radio 3 - Ideas for improvement and the future, a discussion thread.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

But Radio 3 does have some good brains. Suzy Klein and Rob Cowan really know their stuff, but are wasted in these all-morning CFM-style slots.

[Petrushka]

Suffolkcoastal: Agree with most of your well expressed points but especially agree with number 3. There was a time when R3 frequently had live or 'as live' concerts from radio stations abroad.

Another point: the mess that is Sunday on R3 needs a radical overhaul. The one day in the week when I can listen to music and R3 doesn't have any! Apart from the Proms the last time I listened to R3 on a Sunday was a live relay from Dresden of Elgar's Gerontius under Sir Colin Davis.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

There was a time when R3 frequently had live or 'as live' concerts from radio stations abroad.

But while we look to the past, I can remember when things were much less good than they are now. I remember scoouring the Radio Times in the early 60s, looking for classical music, and often there was little on other than crackly European stations like Hilversum

[Eudaimonia]

Well, this is clearly not us. Do we need any more proofs that Roger Wright has got completely wrong ideas about Radio3, or more precisely, that he is steering the station away from what it should be?

You're right, it's not us. But what makes you so certain catering to the tastes of people like you and me is in the overall best interest of the station?

Neither of us are in the "target market", but I don't see how it's in the much-ballyhooed "public interest" to ignore new listeners and fail to take positive measures to develop new audiences-- and yes, markets-- just because a handful of crusty old specialists who already know everything prefer the station as it was in 1970.

One of the pitfalls of hanging around the message boards is that repeatedly hearing the opinions of like-minded people misleads us into feeling like our tastes and preferences are perfectly normal and mainstream--when in reality, we're a tiny minority even among R3 listeners. It's a bit of an echo chamber. If everyone who ever registered for this board quit listening to R3 forever, it wouldn't even make a decimal-point blip in the RAJAR. Seriously, nobody would notice. That said, why aren't the Friends of Radio 3 thinking of what you can do to prove that your vision of what the station should be is the correct one? Simple assertions just aren't going to cut it.

I can assure you I'm rolling my eyes at the charts just as hard as you are. But realistically speaking, one has to remember these albums are popular for a reason--i.e. many, many members of the general public enjoy them and are buying them. What sense does it make for R3 to leave these listeners to CFM?

Perhaps even more importantly than fostering new audiences, how can Radio 3 justify public funding if they're perceived as ignoring new audiences and are therefore irrelevant? And as much as I personally dislike the creeping commercialism, you have to admit the classical record companies are struggling and in serious need of help. If they fail, then where will we all be?

Oh well, no easy answers. And to answer your earlier criticism, I've been listening to Radio 3 via the internet since 2005. How many years do I need to rack up before you think I have the right to say anything? Just curious.

Nothing fires the imagination more than the BBC's flagship - the Proms. I try to listen to every one of these.

Absolutely! I attended all 76 Proms concerts this summer, from the front row more often than not--magnificent!

You know, I was reading the message board archives from the time RW took over as director of the Proms...a lot of the usual suspects around here predicted in the rudest possible manner that everything was about go to hell in a handbasket. Yet somehow, this season was widely acclaimed a a dazzling success-- indeed, the most successful season ever! Would anyone care to explain this? And do any of you feel an apology is in order?

...No? Why am I not surprised.

[Suffolkcoastal]

People who listen to CFM do so for a reason in that they like to listen to classical music but are not 'into it' in a big way in that the majority of the time they prefer to listen to shorter extracts but find regular full works and concerts more taxing my brother and mum are examples of this. Whys shouldn't they be catered for by a station like CFM? CFM should be more like a feeder station for R3 in that if listeners to CFM become more interested in classical music they can come across to R3. To have R3 copying what CFM is doing is just plain ridiculous. As for the Proms, it virtually runs itself, often for many people it is a social occasion and as long as you have plenty of well known works programmed and engage the occaional international ensemble and star soloist/conductor then you can vitually ensutre its success. Putting bums on seats is what matters at present with the Proms, from a commercial point of view this years proms was a great success from a musical one, well if you like the more popular flavour then it was fine, if you were looking like myself for soemthing a little more unusual then it was of absolutely no interest whatsoever ( I never listened to a whole prom just the odd work).
I think the Proms actually sums up what R3 has become, which is 'safe' ie largely keeping to safe repetory and composers.

As for the earlier comment about R3 having good and knowledgeable presentes. I agree, I think the problem is thatthere talents and knowledge are not necessarily utilised in the best manner at present which I think is part of the problem.

[doversoul1]

Another point: the mess that is Sunday on R3 needs a radical overhaul. The one day in the week when I can listen to music and R3 doesn't have any!

I suspect the thinking behind the programming on Sunday is precisely that. More people can listen to the radio in the daytime: an opportunity not to be missed to catch the mass. The Early Music Show is the only programme that interests me on Sunday but I listen to it on iPlayer later, as I cannot be bother to leave the radio on before and after.

I would like to see on Sunday morning: shorter Breakfast and something like a companion programme to Composer of the Week or Discovering Music (as for DM repeat of the previous week will be fine with me) or something that is focused and purposeful/meaningful. I don’t know why Discovering Music is on the time it is now. Not many people are driving home on Sunday but it’s not exactly the time when most people are settled for the evening. I’d have thought it’s more suitable for something light.

Ah well…

[french frank]

I don’t know why Discovering Music is on the time it is now. Not many people are driving home on Sunday but it’s not exactly the time when most people are settled for the evening. I’d have thought it’s more suitable for something light.

RadioCentre (the commercial radio body) queried this general point: Radio 3, like the mass audience pop stations, puts the 'worthy' stuff on when fewer people are around to listen, and the light popular at peak times to pull in the biggest audiences.

Some would say this was obvious good sense, others might reply, 'But it's not the ethos of public service broadcasting'.

[David Underdown]

Eudaimonia - I think I can guess who you are now. Anyway, the Proms has a similar problem to Radio 3 in some ways, how to attract the first time listener, and how to also keep things interesting for the regular listener/prommer. I started promming in 1997, and in my first two seasons attended virtually every concert, it was new and exciting, even many of the standard works I hadn't heard live before, plus I was a student and didn't have much to do over the summer anyway. Over time, I'm less likely to go to a permformance by a more "run of the mill" band of a well known symphony, it's not so new to me, and I have slightly different priorities now anyway. There were some major highlights this season, but overall I went to fewer concerts compared to the previous few years.

[Bert Coules]

One small and easily accomplished thing which would considerably enhance my enjoyment of R3 would be a policy of always giving the English meaning of the titles of works. My German's reasonable but my French and Italian are less so, and it would be very pleasant to be told, for example, "And now we're going to hear Poulenc's Je n'ai envie que de t'aimer - I long only to love you" rather than being left in semi-ignorance. How much time and effort would it take, after all?

[doversoul1]

Bert
I agree with you entirely. It makes a massive difference when you know what the music is about (when it is about something, that is). However, I can think of a couple of problems.

1. There are bound to be people who think or say (or post!), ‘we don’t need to be told what every French, German, Italian or Latin title means. We are not school children’ or some such.

2. Apart from the works that already have established translations, things can get a bit awkward if the producer/presenter need to pick one translation out of several or even worse, has to make up. This again, could get quite a lot of listeners muttering and fuming. Not long ago, after playing Janacek’s On an Overgrown Path, the presenter said that there were more than one translations of the title (in fact my Naxos version is Along the…), ‘One translation says Weeds on an neglected pavement, I wonder how this has gone down (or something to that effect)’.

On the whole, I think we hear quite a lot of titles translated on Radio3, which is a good thing.

[Nick Armstrong]

Here's a novel idea... from Noel Edmonds:

http://radiotoday.co.uk/2015/08/noel-edmonds-close-irrelevant-bbc-radio-3/

[french frank]

Here's a novel idea... from Noel Edmonds:

http://radiotoday.co.uk/2015/08/noel-edmonds-close-irrelevant-bbc-radio-3/

Demn you, Caliban - I was keeping quiet about that

He would probably be surprised (and disappointed) to know that he is irrelevant to me.

[teamsaint]

He never got over Tiswas being better and a million times cooler than swapshop.

No doubt Cals will confirm?

[Nick Armstrong]

He never got over Tiswas being better and a million times cooler than seapshop.

No doubt Cals will confirm?

Never saw Tiswas or "seapshop" mate!

(I woz too quick for ya! )

Demn you, Caliban - I was keeping quiet about that

[MrGongGong]

Here's a novel idea... from Noel Edmonds:

http://radiotoday.co.uk/2015/08/noel-edmonds-close-irrelevant-bbc-radio-3/

If you ask me, Noel Edmonds is talking out of his arse and sounds like a blithering idiot.

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