The Eternal Breakfast Debate in a New Place

[Suffolkcoastal]

As frenchie pointed out earlier, the softening of Breakfast's worst excesses may be just a temporary fixture whilst it is the centre of attention of various eyes and ears after the recent articles and criticism. The test will be if it remains the same in say 6 months or has reverted back to the embarrassment it had become. Meanwhile the excesses seem to have been shifted on to the already appalling Inessential Classics (Late Breakfast Show).

[Radio64]

No wonder Clemency couldn't be bothered anymore. All this moaning and whining...

[clive heath]

Have you noticed how something like today's Zadok only gets back announced!!? It's not the first time a warhorse has crept in.

[teamsaint]

No wonder Clemency couldn't be bothered anymore. All this moaning and whining...

no more than anybody else gets in a regular job, without huge pay, one week on one week off, playing records, (its not that difficult, check out some student radio), kudos, free tickets, taxi to work at their expense etc etc.

Mumble Grumble, bah Humbug, and other things !!

Anyway, shouldn't you be supporting your local specialist Classical Chart based station, Rads?

[Radio64]

no more than anybody else gets in a regular job, without huge pay, one week on one week off, playing records, (its not that difficult, check out some student radio), kudos, free tickets, taxi to work at their expense etc etc.

Mumble Grumble, bah Humbug, and other things !!

Anyway, shouldn't you be supporting your local specialist Classical Chart based station, Rads?

I'll have you know that I have the weekly CC podcast shipped over specially from Blighty every week, with a bottle of Pims and a packet of custard creams! Tally-ho!

Come back Clemmy..they won't hurt you!

[french frank]

Have you noticed how something like today's Zadok only gets back announced!!? It's not the first time a warhorse has crept in.

Same reason why they don't publish the playlist in advance, I suppose. A day like today, where 26 pieces last an average of under 5 minutes each (assuming the usual 30 mins for chat), starting with a Robert Docker light piece, ending with a Walton film march, with Les Patineurs, Zadok and Girl Crazy in between, would be an invitation for some not to bother. [However much more bearable the presentation was this morning].

In expectation of such a selection, many wouldn't switch on anyway.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The lack of any kind of list what is going to be played is indicative of an intention to provide nothing more than background music - all morning and nearly every day.

[Domeyhead]

Same reason why they don't publish the playlist in advance, I suppose. A day like today, where 26 pieces last an average of under 5 minutes each (assuming the usual 30 mins for chat), starting with a Robert Docker light piece, ending with a Walton film march, with Les Patineurs, Zadok and Girl Crazy in between, would be an invitation for some not to bother. [However much more bearable the presentation was this morning].

In expectation of such a selection, many wouldn't switch on anyway.

I quite enjoy the short duration of many of the pieces selected for breakfast Sarah - I am quite partial to the lighter interludes of (say) Grainger, Poulenc or a march by Holst to name just a few breakfast examples. I can understand why the Breakfast presenters and editors would resist the call the switch to a format that had an average duration of more than 10 minutes. My only objections to the programme content occur when it flogs "famous bits" to death, or drifts into areas such as "film music" which is not even a musical genre at all let alone one deservng of the eulogising claptrap heaped on it by the presenters. My main objections continue to be based around the breathlessly jolly style, the reading of tweets (why would anyone else be interested?) the selection of non music-related newpaper stories, and the actual "news" itself, which is pointless, and of course the phone in.
Having said all that it does feel that we have climbed slightly away from the nadir recently though.

[antongould]

As one of the few regular listeners hereabouts, to be honest, I haven't noticed any great change - PT this morning was much as he has been for ages - the IS/LF week was different but mainly I feel for the way they presented the "required" format. I do agree when the hurly burly hereabouts settles down I feel we should be better served by
Essential Classics - Suffolkcoastal seems to see RC as quite a master of the war horse.

[Old Grumpy]

Regular listeners to Breakfast may be interested in the March issue of BBCMM which features both CB-H and RC (amongst others):

A day in the life of Radio 3
Jeremy Pound spends a day at BBC Broadcasting House with Rob Cowan, Clemency Burton-Hill et al

I do not anticipate that all contributors to this forum will be interested.

[french frank]

I quite enjoy the short duration of many of the pieces selected for breakfast Sarah - I am quite partial to the lighter interludes of (say) Grainger, Poulenc or a march by Holst to name just a few breakfast examples.

I think that's how they get away with playing the short single movements, Gershwin's Walking the Dog (again), the Dambusters march &c &c because most people just want a bit of varied background music. But there are pieces that last for 10-12 minutes (sometimes). How do people manage to cope then? Perhaps they switch off after six minutes with a cry of: 'Will it never end?'

[Radio64]

Regular listeners to Breakfast may be interested in the March issue of BBCMM which features both CB-H and RC (amongst others):

A day in the life of Radio 3
Jeremy Pound spends a day at BBC Broadcasting House with Rob Cowan, Clemency Burton-Hill et al

I do not anticipate that all contributors to this forum will be interested.

Ta for the tip OG Getting mine on ye olde i-pad

[french frank]

Regular listeners to Breakfast may be interested in the March issue of BBCMM which features both CB-H and RC (amongst others):

A day in the life of Radio 3
Jeremy Pound spends a day at BBC Broadcasting House with Rob Cowan, Clemency Burton-Hill et al

I do not anticipate that all contributors to this forum will be interested.

More marketing ...

The choice of presenters is interesting!

[Radio64]

More marketing ...

The choice of presenters is interesting!

true. But who's this al chap? Is he after my Clemmy?

[Pulcinella]

Unusally for me, I listened to a few minutes of Sunday's 'show', and was appalled that we were given only two movements of Respighi's The Birds, and one of Copland's Three Latin American Sketches. Even with the predilection for short pieces, for those with short attention spans, or a busy life, surely these could have been programmed as complete works, given their structure.

I have looked at the playlist, and unless I am mistaken it gives the impression that the complete works were played. I might have missed the track details, I now realise, but even if they are given you'd have to be on the ball to realise that the whole piece was not played. The listing strikes me more as deliberate misinformation on R3's part. No surprise there!