Classical Live is changing its tune

[LMcD]

Mm, yes. Same pursuit of values as Arts Council England. It seriously crossed my mind to encourage my offspring - with some skills in relevant languages- to emigrate after university to the EU.
I suppose Germany, France, Netherlands certainly - where there does seem to be a continuing regard for culture and quality, and investment in civilised surroundings and public services.

I didn't, and now regret that - after Brexit, and the outlook for our country after 14 benighted years........

Our son has lived in Japan for many years now and I can't imagine why he (and our lovely Japanese daughter-in-law) should even consider coming to live in the Benighted Kingdom. The only advantage that I can think of is that we don't need air conditioning to enjoy our summers.

[MickyD]

... o, that resonates! - I missed a chance or two to settle permanently in France in the 1990s : things have moved on; too late now, and I'm happy where I am - but lordy! I still have regrets... (and of course, without Brexit, wd still have the possibility of living both here and there . )

.

Where would you have settled, Vints? It's now about 33 years since I've been in France and still very happy. Got my citizenship in 2018. I was watching various British people talking on a Channel 4 'lifestyle' programme the other day and was rather alarmed to see that I sometimes had difficulty in understanding what Brits were saying - not so much pronunciation but the meaning behind certain expressions. That's when I realise I have been away a long time, I guess. I've now spent more time of my life in France than in the UK, which is an odd thought. I sometimes think I now feel more French than British.

Sorry to have diverted from the thread!

[LMcD]

Where would you have settled, Vints? It's now about 33 years since I've been in France and still very happy. Got my citizenship in 2018. I was watching various British people talking on a Channel 4 'lifestyle' programme the other day and was rather alarmed to see that I sometimes had difficulty in understanding what Brits were saying - not so much pronunciation but the meaning behind certain expressions. That's when I realise I have been away a long time, I guess. I've now spent more time of my life in France than in the UK, which is an odd thought. I sometimes think I now feel more French than British.

Sorry to have diverted from the thread!

France would have suited me fine, but I was once told that I would make a very good German. I still haven't decided whether or not that was a compliment.

[vinteuil]

Where would you have settled?

... o, many fantasies / thought experiments over the years : including - Avallon, Moulins, Bourg-en-Bresse, Cavaillon, Cabris, Nantes, Poitiers, Villefranche-de-Rouergue, Toulouse, Aubenas... And there's always Paris

Sorry to have diverted from the thread!

sorry again...

[LMcD]

... o, many fantasies / thought experiments over the years : including - Avallon, Moulins, Bourg-en-Bresse, Cavaillon, Cabris, Nantes, Poitiers, Villefranche-de-Rouergue, Toulouse, Aubenas... And there's always Paris






sorry again...

Given the way things have gone, and are still going, in this country of late, I don't think anybody will mind a brief touch of the 'if onlys' . I've always had a bit of a thing about Sarlat.
I was once told that I had a 'ridiculously romantic' view of Paris by somebody who'd just returned to the UK after working there for a while.

Getting back to 'Classical Live', I've noticed a steady increase in the use of performances from the BBC archives that were first broadcast anything up to25 years ago, so they're clearly not going to have any trouble filling the 3 hours for the foreseeable future.

[vinteuil]

I was once told that I had a 'ridiculously romantic' view of Paris by somebody who'd just returned to the UK after working there for a while.
.

... I loved my three-and-a-bit years in Paris. It's a very liveable city, and I wd be happy to be there again.
.

[Pulcinella]

Given the way things have gone, and are still going, in this country of late, I don't think anybody will mind a brief touch of the 'if onlys' . I've always had a bit of a thing about Sarlat.
I was once told that I had a 'ridiculously romantic' view of Paris by somebody who'd just returned to the UK after working there for a while.

Getting back to 'Classical Live', I've noticed a steady increase in the use of performances from the BBC archives that were first broadcast anything up to25 years ago, so they're clearly not going to have any trouble filling the 3 hours for the foreseeable future.

I wonder how many of the original performers are still alive!

[oddoneout]

Given the way things have gone, and are still going, in this country of late, I don't think anybody will mind a brief touch of the 'if onlys' . I've always had a bit of a thing about Sarlat.
I was once told that I had a 'ridiculously romantic' view of Paris by somebody who'd just returned to the UK after working there for a while.

Getting back to 'Classical Live', I've noticed a steady increase in the use of performances from the BBC archives that were first broadcast anything up to25 years ago, so they're clearly not going to have any trouble filling the 3 hours for the foreseeable future.

That rang a few memory bells. On one of our annual family camping trips to France we ended up somewhere in that area and visited the town several times. The pictures it left served me well in several subsequent French exams during the 60s and then again as an adult learner doing GCSE and AS level(with the demise of adult education and the loss of conversation classes the only way to do any French was as an exam course) in 2001/2.
Back on topic - now if they would just provide the necessary to be able to listen to those archive recordings(ie listings and times) I would be inclined to become an afternoon listener again.

[Serial_Apologist]

... I loved my three-and-a-bit years in Paris. It's a very liveable city, and I wd be happy to be there again.
.

I worry where France is going politically these days.

[LMcD]

That rang a few memory bells. On one of our annual family camping trips to France we ended up somewhere in that area and visited the town several times. The pictures it left served me well in several subsequent French exams during the 60s and then again as an adult learner doing GCSE and AS level(with the demise of adult education and the loss of conversation classes the only way to do any French was as an exam course) in 2001/2.
Back on topic - now if they would just provide the necessary to be able to listen to those archive recordings(ie listings and times) I would be inclined to become an afternoon listener again.

Unfortunately, I think the idea is to encourage people to keep listening for as long as possible by making it difficult for them to cherry pick items of particular interest.

(By the way, it was after hearing Alun Huddinott's 'Lanterne des Morts' that we went on a guided walking tour based in Sarlat. To our delight, we discovered that we could see the inspiration for AH's composition from our hotel bedroom!)

[oddoneout]

Unfortunately, I think the idea is to encourage people to keep listening for as long as possible by making it difficult for them to cherry pick items of particular interest.

(By the way, it was after hearing Alun Huddinott's 'Lanterne des Morts' that we went on a guided walking tour based in Sarlat. To our delight, we discovered that we could see the inspiration for AH's composition from our hotel bedroom!)

I would have thought that the kind of information I want to see(that used to be provided) would serve both groups. Those who are doing the drop-in/out approach get the chance to see whether what they are listening to and perhaps not liking will finish soon, rather than just switching off straightaway, whereas others can cherry pick rather than not listening at all. In both cases that has a more positive effect on listening figures I would think. However, I suppose as everything is predicated on the Sounds option then that argument won't be considered relevant - sigh. No need to have accurate and complete online info as the Sounds approach will provide the necessary - so long as one is happy to put in the legwork searching presumably?
The question of excluding those who can't use that should be an issue, but evidently isn't, as with the wider assumption that everyone has a smart phone to carry out day to day functions.

[french frank]

Unfortunately, I think the idea is to encourage people to keep listening for as long as possible by making it difficult for them to cherry pick items of particular interest.

I've been saying this for the past 20-odd years. Get more people listening to R3 (= increase reach), get them to listen for longer (= increase hours/share). This lowers the cost per head and the cost per hour and is the responsibility of the controller to achieve. At the same time the higher BBC has reduced the amount of money R3 gets relative to the other network radio stations: it now gets the least, less than R1 which previously got the least. Not only does R3 get less money than Rs 1, 2, 4 and 5, it is also the only one of the five that has no additional spin-off stations which cream off a few additional millions.

It's on top of this that R3's music content is being 'diluted' with genres outside the traditional classical-jazz-world output. Additionally, what remains of the classical output has been made simpler-and-less-demanding-in-order-to-appeal-to-a-broader-audience.

[oddoneout]

I worry where France is going politically these days.

Not just France. But it's still the issue of whether other factors outweigh the downsides - quality of life, such as(to bring it back slightly on topic) attitude to the arts.

[LMcD]

Not just France. But it's still the issue of whether other factors outweigh the downsides - quality of life, such as(to bring it back slightly on topic) attitude to the arts.

Let's hope Germany and Italy, where I believe the arts are still respected if not cherished, don't go the same way

[oddoneout]

Let's hope Germany and Italy, where I believe the arts are still respected if not cherished, don't go the same way

Part at least of the difference, and why it will take a while to get really bad I think, is that the level of financial support has been so very much higher and the acceptance of the place of the arts in people's lives so very much greater.
Family in the music performance world in the Netherlands have had to face considerable constraints caused by reductions in state and other funding, but when it starts from so very much higher a level in the first place then it doesn't get anywhere near the state of things in this country.