The Eternal Breakfast Debate in a New Place

[AuntDaisy]

That wasn't an opinion: it was a statement of fact. I do not listen to Radio 3 at all except possibly one special programme, probably flagged up here. Can't remember when this last happened. My Breakfast this morning was special for Sunday: saucisson sec, Comté cheese, baby gherkins, cherry tomatoes, and warm baguette. Then more warm baguette with orange marmalade. And two cups of black coffee. All washed down with the Quatuor Ébène - Beethoven's op 131. Breakfast took a bit longer to eat than the quartet lasted, so about 40 mins.

The building problems continue (still no heating in kitchen, an exploding convector heater yesterday which blew the entire power system throughout the house including the boiler upstairs so no central heating, a neighbour's amateur panto in the evening (with all the loud boos, hisses, cheers, Look Behind Yous, Oh, No I Didn'ts, Oh Yes You Dids) and this morning the signs of a large leak in the kitchen plumbing - now boxed-in and plastered over, so delaying the decorating until after Christmas.

The good news was that when I got back from the panto I was able to check that the power switch had tripped and the power was swiftly restored. Also, op 131 has now taken over from 132 as my favourite of the late quartets. After the slower reflective sections it's mainly sunny, controlled exuberance. Food and music like this is what Breakfast should be about. Not an opinion about anything , merely the expression of a personal preference. Other preferences widely available on all good - and bad - radio stations.

Quatuor Ébène are new to me (Lindsays & Alban Berg here). I see they've got a performance on YouTube which I listened to earlier & enjoyed (esp. ~32:20 in).

Sorry to hear about yet more Kitchen problems - the exploding heater sounds nasty. Fingers crossed.

Can't compete with your haute cuisine, but I've just finished a Ginger & Lemon cake (sans creamy filling) & a veg. curry for later (while listening to Donald M & The Chapel Royal.)

[LMcD]

[QUOTE=AuntDaisy;n1323945]
Quatuor Ébène are new to me

When our local library sold off its CDs, I bought (for the princely sum of £1) their excellent recording for Warner Classics of the Debussy, Fauré and Ravel quartets.

[muzzer]

Clearly the form of address is designed to denote the medical authority required to curate a programme of such lofty, therapeutic ambition!

I think you’ll find she retrained after leaving newsreading (and possibly forced out by bbc age discrim) but that is entirely off the top of my head. Bravo for her, if not for the style required of her by this show. Another case in point is that SMP when on Night Tracks sounds like she’s delivering your own personal seance, in contrast to the cheery good morning of Breakfast. I have no real issue with this strand. There is space for an intelligently programmed stream. But I don’t need it to sound like a therapy app.

There’s no pleasing everyone is there?

[Nick Armstrong]

Quatuor Ébène are new to me

You shouldn’t hesitate to acquire their recording of the Fauré, Ravel & Debussy quartets

[kernelbogey]

You shouldn’t hesitate to acquire their recording of the Fauré, Ravel & Debussy quartets

[AuntDaisy]

You shouldn’t hesitate to acquire their recording of the Fauré, Ravel & Debussy quartets

You, LMcD & kernelbogey are terrible influences... To quote MRJ, "I must be firm"

[LMcD]

You, LMcD & kernelbogey are terrible influences... To quote MRJ, "I must be firm"

'Very good' quality copy/copies available on Amazon for £3.65. (Just saying .... )

[french frank]

You, LMcD & kernelbogey are terrible influences... To quote MRJ, "I must be firm"

Thank you, archdeacon. That was fun!

[kernelbogey]

I've more or less given up on Radio 3 - other than TTN during wakeful night hours - but out of curiosity I listened to just one hour of Breakfast this morning circa 0715-0815. I heard no pre-recorded trails, but Petroc's script was (IIRC) entirely composed of 'talkings up' * of forthcoming R3 fare. That is, the music had almost all been selected to serve that purpose. A musical ouroboros, no less.

* term quoted by Martin Handley, late of this programme

(Note to self to lay in some Comté cheese and gherkins)

[LMcD]

Petroc's script was (IIRC) entirely composed of 'talkings up' of forthcoming R3 fare. That is, the music had almost all been selected to serve that purpose.

That, together with the marked increase in the frequency of single movements wrenched from their natural surroundings, led me abandon Breakfast once and for all. The few Radio 3 programmes that I now listen to regularly have mercifully not been infected - so far .....

[antongould]

Weekday Breakfast is my most listened to R3 programme - well put together, well presented by Petroc (& others). I miss Martin Handley on Sundays.
What increasingly spoils the programme, and many others, is the increased number and length of TRAILERS throughout the programme. I often reach for the off switch and may not turn back on.
Maybe the trailers represent a net loss of listeners rather than any gain.

Those who have followed this thread for many, many years will probably acknowledge this is not a new annoyance along with others such as
too many often repeated short pieces
too much chat etc.etc.

I was the other day decommissioning an old PC …… and came across a file where I analysed a days Breakfast output - 22 June 2015 - breaking it down by each piece of music, each trailer, news headline, weather forecast, general chat etc. etc . ….. as a result I found that the % of music in the, then, 150 minutes was 78.44%.
This put me in an I wonder mode and so looking, with the help of Andrew’s database, at Breakfast for 29/10/2024, which I had just been listening to, I find that of the 180 minutes 82.92% was music. As a boring nerd I report these figures without comment or analysis …..

[french frank]

This put me in an I wonder mode and so looking, with the help of Andrew’s database, at Breakfast for 29/10/2024, which I had just been listening to, I find that of the 180 minutes 82.92% was music. As a boring nerd I report these figures without comment or analysis …..

Which sounds like 'improvement' but if one doesn't like the format (chat + snippets) or the interlacing of different types of music it's still a casual-style easy listening experience which greatly pleases some and is a non-listening experience for many others.

(Note to self to lay in some Comté cheese and gherkins)

Gruyère AOP this week, like Comté not a jelly (or olives) cheese. I'm looking forward to my new (to me) Affiné au Chablis, definitely a jelly cheese.

[kernelbogey]

"I miss Martin Handley on Sundays."
A genuflection here.

[antongould]

……..if one doesn't like the format (chat + snippets) or the interlacing of different types of music it's still a casual-style easy listening experience which greatly pleases some and is a non-listening experience for many others.
…..

Good point well made

[Ein Heldenleben]

Those who have followed this thread for many, many years will probably acknowledge this is not a new annoyance along with others such as
too many often repeated short pieces
too much chat etc.etc.

I was the other day decommissioning an old PC …… and came across a file where I analysed a days Breakfast output - 22 June 2015 - breaking it down by each piece of music, each trailer, news headline, weather forecast, general chat etc. etc . ….. as a result I found that the % of music in the, then, 150 minutes was 78.44%.
This put me in an I wonder mode and so looking, with the help of Andrew’s database, at Breakfast for 29/10/2024, which I had just been listening to, I find that of the 180 minutes 82.92% was music. As a boring nerd I report these figures without comment or analysis …..

Which is about 7 mins extra Music - enough for a movement of a classical symphony or more likely two renditions of Walking The Dog.