Classical Live is changing its tune

[LMcD]

I occasionally catch the first few minutes of Classical Live, especially after Monday's Lunchtime Concert, and noticed that today's preview referred to 'performances that you won't necessarily hear anywhere else', which is a watering-down of the programme's original claim. Refences to Europe also seem to have been dropped, and today's playlist included performances recorded in (presumably South) Korea. There have also been recordings of Proms performances going back to 2011 and possibly earlier.

[smittims]

I wonder what they mean by 'necessarily' in this context. It seems odd. Maybe they meant 'you might possibly have heard them on another radio channel'.

But I wonder why they make such a thing about this. After all,the BBC have been broadcasting 'performances you won't hear anywhere else' since 1922! I suppose they mean 'we don't just play CDs'. I have , though, sometimes heard on Radio 3 recordings from other countries' radio services which have been issued on CDs, e.g. some of Glenn Gould's early CBC tapes.

[french frank]

I wonder what they mean by 'necessarily' in this context. It seems odd.

Unless they mean something I hadn't thought of, they mean "including performances you won't hear anywhere else". As you say, until now that wouldn't have seemed unusual or worth remarking on.

[Retune]

Some of the Classical Live pieces listed on the website even have references to the records they have been released on (see, for example, the last couple of tracks here). South Korea is an associate member of the European Broadcasting Union (they should have them in Eurovision like Australia - they'd probably smash it), so I'd guess the BBC are getting these performances under the same arrangement as the stuff from the big EU public service broadcasters. All much cheaper than recording concerts live in the UK, of course.

[Nick Armstrong]

I occasionally catch the first few minutes of Classical Live, especially after Monday's Lunchtime Concert, and noticed that today's preview referred to 'performances that you won't necessarily hear anywhere else', which is a watering-down of the programme's original claim. Refences to Europe also seem to have been dropped, and today's playlist included performances recorded in (presumably South) Korea. There have also been recordings of Proms performances going back to 2011 and possibly earlier.

What was its original claim? (Yes, I haven’t been paying attention )

I was about to comment on a related point so your new thread is handy: I just noticed that the programme blurb promises “specially recorded music”… and was wondering what on earth that meant. Specially… as opposed to accidentally recorded?

Perhaps it means recorded just for R3 - i.e. broadcast nowhere else? I hardly think that’s always true these days.

All sounds like mildly irritating & meaningless promotional flim-flam to me

[Ein Heldenleben]

What was its original claim? (Yes, I haven’t been paying attention )

I was about to comment on a related point so your new thread is handy: I just noticed that the programme blurb promises “specially recorded music”… and was wondering what on earth that meant. Specially… as opposed to accidentally recorded?

Perhaps it means recorded just for R3 - i.e. broadcast nowhere else? I hardly think that’s always true these days.

All sounds like mildly irritating & meaningless promotional flim-flam to me

They might be “specially recorded” but some are slightly ropey e,g, the Also Sprach Zarathustra on now which started with distant out of tune timps and not quite unison strings. Probably wouldn’t have through quality control in days gone by - though things are improving now in the syrupy string section after 2001….

[oddoneout]

This was the promo blurb/mission statement from the Media Centre

• Strengthening its commitment to live and specially-recorded music, Radio 3 introduces a three-hour weekday afternoon programme from Salford, Classical Live, showcasing the best performances from the UK and beyond, recorded by the BBC and our partners in the European Broadcasting Union

which I think has been carefully worded to allow plenty of wiggle room and interpretation options - starting with "commitment to live....music." where live means various things, depending on context. I suppose it does mean that they can avoid the tiresomeness of having to insert "recorded live" each time something billed as live isn't...

[french frank]

I just noticed that the programme blurb promises “specially recorded music”… and was wondering what on earth that meant.

I theeenk it might mean it's a studio recording made specially to be played somewhere on R3, rather than a recorded concert.

[oddoneout]

I theeenk it might mean it's a studio recording made specially to be played somewhere on R3, rather than a recorded concert.

That's my take on it too.

[Nick Armstrong]

I theeenk it might mean it's a studio recording made specially to be played somewhere on R3, rather than a recorded concert.

Ah that makes sense, yes

[LMcD]

What was its original claim? (Yes, I haven’t been paying attention )

I was about to comment on a related point so your new thread is handy: I just noticed that the programme blurb promises “specially recorded music”… and was wondering what on earth that meant. Specially… as opposed to accidentally recorded?

Perhaps it means recorded just for R3 - i.e. broadcast nowhere else? I hardly think that’s always true these days.

All sounds like mildly irritating & meaningless promotional flim-flam to me

The original claim was 'performances you won't hear anywhere else'.
There was applause at the end of today's Frankfurt Radio Brass Rondo, but I guess that could have been part of a studio concert, if there is such a thing.
Recordings of performances from past Proms won't have been heard 'anywhere else' if that means somewhere other than on Radio 3 (as against somewhere other than Classics Live)..

[LMcD]

Haydn and Dvorak with the Takacs Quartet, live from Wigmore Hall just after 1.00 p.m. today.

UPDATE: A truly wonderful concert. Martin Handley reported that Alfred Brendel and the Duke of Kent (?) were among the audience.
Angela Hewitt next Monday!

[edashtav]

Today's Classical Live ended its lunchtime hour with a lovely performance of:
Gerald Finzi
5 Bagatelles, Op. 23
Mark Simpson (clarinet)
Richard Uttley (piano)
I admire Finzi for his wonderful melodies and his intense evocation of nostalgia. (Meanwhile in some lesser performances I'm driven to distraction by his overuse of certain harmonic thumbprints.) Mark Simpson is a fine clarinettist as well as an interesting composer and his interpretations display a searching intelligence combined with a love for a finely spun line. With Simpson one tends to forget the quality of the composition as one is so involved by his yarn
.
Do other listeners agree that this was as good a performance of this piece as they have ever heard?

[LMcD]

Today's Classical Live ended its lunchtime hour with a lovely performance of:
Gerald Finzi
5 Bagatelles, Op. 23
Mark Simpson (clarinet)
Richard Uttley (piano)
I admire Finzi for his wonderful melodies and his intense evocation of nostalgia. (Meanwhile in some lesser performances I'm driven to distraction by his overuse of certain harmonic thumbprints.) Mark Simpson is a fine clarinettist as well as an interesting composer and his interpretations display a searching intelligence combined with a love for a finely spun line. With Simpson one tends to forget the quality of the composition as one is so involved by his yarn
.
Do other listeners agree that this was as good a performance of thus piece as they have ever heard?

Perhaps I should search for it on Sounds - for me, it's a favourite work by a favourite composer.

[oddoneout]

Today's Classical Live ended its lunchtime hour with a lovely performance of:
Gerald Finzi
5 Bagatelles, Op. 23
Mark Simpson (clarinet)
Richard Uttley (piano)
I admire Finzi for his wonderful melodies and his intense evocation of nostalgia. (Meanwhile in some lesser performances I'm driven to distraction by his overuse of certain harmonic thumbprints.) Mark Simpson is a fine clarinettist as well as an interesting composer and his interpretations display a searching intelligence combined with a love for a finely spun line. With Simpson one tends to forget the quality of the composition as one is so involved by his yarn
.
Do other listeners agree that this was as good a performance of thus piece as they have ever heard?

But this highlights the issue with the refreshed version of what had already become a tiresome affair. Afternoon Concert often contained(complete!) pieces I might have wanted to listen to, but without an accurate schedule(complete playlist plus times), trying to locate them wasn't easy. The guesswork could be reduced a little sometimes by reference to the 3pm slot, but even that has gone now. Even if I had catch-up I doubt I would want to spend time trying to find a particular item, especially with the distraction of undisclosed items suddenly appearing in the playlist.
I haven't listened to a whole afternoon's broadcast since the start of the new regime; occasionally I listen to some of what comes after the Wigmore recital, but not the whole lot,and a couple of times I have turned on "on spec", but turned off after a while. Not knowing what is being played(unless I go across the room and fiddle with the controls on the black box to find the "playing now" function - which doesn't always work anyway) or how long it might last means that if I really can't stick with something I just turn it off rather than waste effort playing guessing games about how long to stay muted.
At least this wasn't a sudden change, in the way the loss of the lunchtime concert has been, as I had been listening less and less to the afternoon output anyway.