The Eternal Breakfast Debate in a New Place

[doversoul1]

It’s the thought of having to hear so much about other people’s private lives and personal (often completely un-unique) opinions that keeps me away from the Radio 3 in the morning. This was definitely not the case in 2001.

[french frank]

I'm not entirely convinced that people check the playlist for Breakfast before deciding not to listen to it, but fair enough, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt

But one decides in a generic way that the programme holds no interest. Once you've made up your mind on that you stop listening. As far as the deciding characteristics are concerned, Breakfast is exactly the same every day. Just as, for me, Essential Classics is the same every day: I won't make a point of listening because I've spotted in the schedule that Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall or the Archbishop of Canterbury is to be the week's guest.

Breakfast's playlist is the lesser of the two evils as far as I'm concerned. For others it may be more important than the surrounding chatter.

[mercia]

I'm confused. Roger Wright was apparently good in 2001 but apparently bad in 2011. What apparently happened?

[french frank]

I'm confused. Roger Wright was good in 2001 but bad in 2011. What happened?

I plan to ask him next time I see him!

(I have some thoughts on it)

[Suffolkcoastal]

I'm just putting the 2011 survey results together which should be ready for tomorrow. I've had to listen through over a weeks worth of ECs & Breakfasts with iplayer as most of the playlists haven't been updated since the 22nd December, it hasn't been a particularly enjoyable listening experience, 'your call' is particularly cringeworthy. Perhaps I should try and call and ask for Roger Sessions' 8th Symphony (it's only just over 15 minutes long) or something by Wallingford Riegger (it was his 50th death anniversary last year R3 broadcast nothing by him), somehow though I don't think my request would be granted. One tiny piece of leaked information for you, the number of composers represented has dropped on both the 2009 & 2010 figures. This may be the result of the Mozartfest. The survey will in many cases not be taking into account most of the Mozartfest so basically it is over 353 and a half days, inspite of this several composers have shown signficant increases of the previous two years, any guesses on who these may be?

[cloughie]

But one decides in a generic way that the programme holds no interest. Once you've made up your mind on that you stop listening. As far as the deciding characteristics are concerned, Breakfast is exactly the same every day. Just as, for me, Essential Classics is the same every day: I won't make a point of listening because I've spotted in the schedule that Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall or the Archbishop of Canterbury is to be the week's guest.

Breakfast's playlist is the lesser of the two evils as far as I'm concerned. For others it may be more important than the surrounding chatter.

For me Essential Classics can be sublime or awful, but I'm not really that interested in the guest, just the music. The guest spot is a BC wasted half hour. (We have had a movement of RK Scheherazade recently, that after we've had it twice (Reiner, Kondrashin - both great performances) as the EC Choice. What really disappoints is when the essential choice is Bolero - which I avoid - or Shostakovich 7 and we don't get the whole thing - Ditch the guest and the gimmicks fw not BC and bingo you've got a good programme. Are you listening Roger, when you listen do you hear?

[antongould]

............several composers have shown signficant increases of the previous two years, any guesses on who these may be?

Do you want a Liszt?

[cloughie]

I'm just putting the 2011 survey results together which should be ready for tomorrow. I've had to listen through over a weeks worth of ECs & Breakfasts with iplayer as most of the playlists haven't been updated since the 22nd December, it hasn't been a particularly enjoyable listening experience, 'your call' is particularly cringeworthy. Perhaps I should try and call and ask for Roger Sessions' 8th Symphony (it's only just over 15 minutes long) or something by Wallingford Riegger (it was his 50th death anniversary last year R3 broadcast nothing by him), somehow though I don't think my request would be granted. One tiny piece of leaked information for you, the number of composers represented has dropped on both the 2009 & 2010 figures. This may be the result of the Mozartfest. The survey will in many cases not be taking into account most of the Mozartfest so basically it is over 353 and a half days, inspite of this several composers have shown signficant increases of the previous two years, any guesses on who these may be?

What a task, I guess your decision on the Mozartfest was largely conditioned by the fact that the scheduling was so badly advertised that you, like me, haven't a clue on what happened when. I was running round in Koechel's trying to find the missing ones!

[Suffolkcoastal]

Liszt is an obvious winner this year of course, but there were several non-significant anniversary composers who had bumper years! I tried to note as many of the Mozart works played during the fest as possible using the playlist and iplayer route when lists showed gaps or weren't published and the figure was approaching 950 works/extracts. Basically the 11.5 days of the fest accounted for 3.15% of the year, so any composer whose overall figure was -3.15% or better on 2010 actually did better in 2011.

[Serial_Apologist]

Do you want a Liszt?

A Chopin Liszt?

[salymap]

The first or second item in Breakfast recently was the Rondo[last movement] of the Mozart K452 Quintet for piano and winds.
I've decided that 'bleeding chunks' are bad anyway, they are actually upsetting when they do that to a work that has quite recently been discovered by me. It shouldn't be allowed by the BBC

[amateur51]

I was running round in Koechel's trying to find the missing ones!

Excellent cloughie!

[kernelbogey]

I just came across this in Elisabeth Mahoney's Radio Review in the Grauniad:

Terry Wogan reminded us how well he understands radio. "You have to create this little club," he told her. "We're not talking to an audience. You're talking to one person and they're only half-listening. It's a mistake to think that everybody's clinging to your every word."

I have long thought that this skill is absent from the current weekday Breakfast team: of the weekend presenters, only Martin Handley has it.

The supreme exponent of this skill of talking to me, as though he hadn't a thought for anyone else, is Jonathan Swain, and he and his co-presenters on TTN are the perfect team for night-time broadcasting.

[Wallace]

I have long thought that this skill is absent from the current weekday Breakfast team: of the weekend presenters, only Martin Handley has it.
The supreme exponent of this skill of talking to me, as though he hadn't a thought for anyone else, is Jonathan Swain, and he and his co-presenters on TTN are the perfect team for night-time broadcasting.

I remember our vicar many many years ago giving a sermon on the topic of communication during which he put forward Terry Wogan as a modern master of being able to connect with people. I had, until then, felt that Wogan was a bit of an upstart but I always subsequently saw and heard him differently and this was long before Wogan became le grand homme de la radio

John Shea has the skill too. He extols what should be the values of Radio 3 and certainly, at least for the time being, are the values of TTN. He is a consummate broadcaster. Johnnie Walker on R2 has it. On R3 Donald Macleod comes to mind along with Andrew McGregor. The Late Junction presenters are good too. All of the above give an impression that broadcasting is effortless but this belies the amount of work which is required to be this good . Some of the other R3 presenters unfortunately make one feel that they are trying hard to impress the bosses, trying too hard I feel, at the expense of communicating and connecting with the listener. But I do feel that if they were left to their own devices instead of having to uphold the bosses' values and play the hand which they have been dealt it might be rather different.

[antongould]

Well I think Sarah MP has it and improves with age.......