River of Music: 12 hrs Non-stop Music: Sunday 30 October

[Pianorak]

I think there is quite a lot to be said.

Well, nothing about me, since I didn't switch on once, background music not being my bag. Enjoy your supper!

[oddoneout]

Reference was made some way back to the mission statement that said 'Each of the pieces is connected to a particular year .....that had a musical resonance at the time.' Is there any information about that aspect of the exercise? I realise that it could be regarded as an opportunity to test one's musical and general knowledge on a grand scale, but I would quite like to take the easy route in this instance. I've tried looking at the playlist but that just trots out chunks of Wikipedia about the composer, rather than the relevant links of the particular piece of music that would explain the reason it was chosen.Various forays into the blog thing haven't helped.

[Flay]

Reference was made some way back to the mission statement that said 'Each of the pieces is connected to a particular year .....that had a musical resonance at the time.' Is there any information about that aspect of the exercise? I realise that it could be regarded as an opportunity to test one's musical and general knowledge on a grand scale, but I would quite like to take the easy route in this instance. I've tried looking at the playlist but that just trots out chunks of Wikipedia about the composer, rather than the relevant links of the particular piece of music that would explain the reason it was chosen.Various forays into the blog thing haven't helped.

I agree. I would have preferred to have had these connections explained by an announcer, rather than listening to different musical extracts and pieces piled up one after the other inexplicably. Trawling the website for this was frustrating, distracting and discouraging.

[doversoul1]

Reference was made some way back to the mission statement that said 'Each of the pieces is connected to a particular year .....that had a musical resonance at the time.' Is there any information about that aspect of the exercise? I realise that it could be regarded as an opportunity to test one's musical and general knowledge on a grand scale, but I would quite like to take the easy route in this instance. I've tried looking at the playlist but that just trots out chunks of Wikipedia about the composer, rather than the relevant links of the particular piece of music that would explain the reason it was chosen.Various forays into the blog thing haven't helped.

Is this the blog thing you saw?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2tcnYxkdS5LwHVLSF4KgMYl/listen-again-to-river-of-music

You go there from the main web page via ‘River of music Live blog’.
Scroll down to the start of the programme.

Hope this'll solve the mystery.

[kernelbogey]

...If there's one good thing that could emerge from this broadcast (given sufficient will in the right places) it's that a good look could be taken at certain kinds of R3 presentation and to think about whether improvements could be made along the lines of less verbal and other inconsequential interference with the music being presented; whether it will so emerge remains to be heard, I guess...

It seems that R3 has a market among people who engage with music by tweeting etc about it; and another among those who simply want the music, perhaps with a spot of contextual introduction. Broadly speaking the weekdays seem split along those lines before and after noon.

A 'river' type wordless programme would fit well in an afternoon IMV, and I hope the R3 management will give it a go.

On the question of criticism of programmes, I assume that those who post here about what they dislike imagine that people at R3 do read the forum, and are seeking to influence the station.

[Beef Oven!]

I can assure you, with hand on heart, Beefy, that I was not in that particular comment thinking of Gongers at all …

Ok, I retract.

Now I'm going round to my local Korean café for a spot of supper and to write out my general thoughts about the River of Music, which criticisms I thought were justified and which not, what worked and what didn't. I think there is quite a lot to be said.

Afiyet olsun!

(I don’t know any Korean, and as all my local café are Turkish, that’ll have to do!)

[kernelbogey]

Hope this'll solve the mystery.

Forgive me if I've missed something but I have not seen the historical links specified, other than in some of the posts by Sarah and Rob, with their particular and personal contextual anecdotes.

[kernelbogey]

...I think I'll be satisfied with Mr Lebrecht's comment to the effect that 'a less friendly bunch it would be hard to find this side of the Islamic State'. He was talking about aggressiveness rather than negativity, I think...

I have to assume that Mr L doesn't get out much... but anyway, what a wonderful projection.

[doversoul1]

Forgive me if I've missed something but I have not seen the historical links specified, other than in some of the posts by Sarah and Rob, with their particular and personal contextual anecdotes.

Is this the sort of post you are referring to? Well, you see, that is the information.

16:07 Sibelius: Symphony No.7
Rob says:
British music lovers with a taste for Sibelius have been well-served over the years, and Sir Thomas Beecham was responsible for flying the Sibelian flag high above the capital with his magnificent Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, formed in 1946.

Sir Thomas Beecham pictured in 1952
Sibelius concerts under Beecham’s direction were always prized events. He was especially adept in his handling of what I consider to be the 20th century’s greatest Symphony, Sibelius’s Seventh.
The two men were good friends – and you sense that rapport in Beecham’s performances.
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Thomas Beecham (conductor), 1947

[kernelbogey]

Is this the sort of post you are referring to? Well, you see, that is the information.

Yes - but IIRC they are about a small number of pieces. I understood that every piece included had some chronological signiicance in the 70 year story. I assumed that Brandenburg 3 was included not because it's been broadcast X000 times in that period but because there was a particular significance to the music, or the performers (random example chosen without having checked if there's a related post ).

[ahinton]

I have to assume that Mr L doesn't get out much... but anyway, what a wonderful projection.

Whether or not he does so or how often, his comment about "this side of the Islamic State" wilfully (I suspect) omits identification not only of the particular side of the (usually so-called) Islamic State to which he refers but also to what it might be like on the other side thereof (wherever, if indeed anywhere, that might be) - a daeshy poshishion in which to plasche himschelf, methinkshs...

[Beef Oven!]

Whether or not he does so or how often, his comment about "this side of the Islamic State" wilfully (I suspect) omits identification not only of the particular side of the (usually so-called) Islamic State to which he refers but also to what it might be like on the other side thereof (wherever, if indeed anywhere, that might be) - a daeshy poshishion in which to plasche himschelf, methinkshs...

I was rather hoping that his rather inappropriate and tasteless analogy would be overlooked. Too difficult for some, it seems.

[kernelbogey]

I was rather hoping that his rather inappropriate and tasteless analogy would be overlooked. Too difficult for some, it seems.

It's a thoroughly nasty remark to make about any group and I hoped to make the point lightheartedly.

[doversoul1]

Yes - but IIRC they are about a small number of pieces. I understood that every piece included had some chronological signiicance in the 70 year story. I assumed that Brandenburg 3 was included not because it's been broadcast X000 times in that period but because there was a particular significance to the music, or the performers (random example chosen without having checked if there's a related post ).

They are, indeed.

I listened (iPlayer) bit here and bit there, looked at the website vaguely but didn't noticed it. Well, that's a bit of a cheat, isn't it? All that trumpeting about history and stream, what we had was a series of puddles.

I wonder how many people who enjoyed the programme actually read this Blog, and did they notice that the information was in fact pretty limited? Or as kernelbogey says, are we missing something?

[ahinton]

I was rather hoping that his rather inappropriate and tasteless analogy would be overlooked. Too difficult for some, it seems.

Indeed it seems to be so, regardless of whether or not two "rather"s can make a right...

Mr L seems to have founded something of a career upon the creation of catchy soundbites and thrives on any success that he might achieve in so doing, so let us all recognise that fact for what it is and for what at the same time it isn't worth; in so saying, I cannot help incidentally questioning the extent and nature of his implicitly purported experience of such an organisation, especially given its scant involvement in and what might otherwise be its consequent considered response to the composition/improvisation, practice, performance and reception of "Western music"...