The New Schedule

[vinteuil]

I worked in the music business too long.

cavatina - do remind us: how long? - doing what??

[Anna]

cavatina - do remind us: how long? - doing what??

Oh, I expect it involved a fish-tank and a Phd.

To keep on topic, I hope if the volume of mail is enough they will realise how many people are concerned about the changes and (hopefully) press RW for answers rather than wriggling out of concrete replies.

[Serial_Apologist]

Oh, I expect it involved a fish-tank and a Phd.

In the States you are welcomed and embraced for parading your achievements, whereas here it is regarded with suspicion and even as bragging. This cuts across classes, ethnic groups and incomes, excepting the very rich and powerful. This maybe is something cavatina has not taken on board. She will need to if she is to be taken seriously about intending to move to this country.

However, as I am probably on her filter, she won't see be seeing this, and it will be up to one of her proms associates to point it out with a tact I am unable to muster. From the one contact evident from these boards whom I shall not name, I would think the opposite more likely.

[Anna]

This is probably on the wrong thread but I've just switched on Sean Rafferty and he's plugging the Specialist Classical Chart (and trailing it to hear more on Petroc tomorrow) Do the BBC get some sort of payback via cds sold? If they don't, then what's the point of it?

[barber olly]

Probably - but now three hours long.

They originally said Rob would be alternating with James Jolly, but I have heard that Rob will get the lion's share.

Good - I don't find Jolly Jim very inspiring!

[pilamenon]

I've just emailed Feedback about Breakfast and Jazz Library.

But I did mention the welcome reinstatement of the live evening concert to show I'm not just a R3 whinger.

[kernelbogey]

This morning I heard another development as the final item of TTN (Fucik's Entry of the Gladiators) was announced by John Shea, who is presenting TTN this week, as a bridge into Breakfast - where it was back-announced by Petroc. I felt a slight erosion of the precious TTN chat-free region by another attempt to create a seamless transition.

It occurs to me that such operational changes are made by a level of management below Wright - and perhaps on these boards we focus on him too much. There are managers running R3, operating to a populist brief presumably from Wright, who instigate these innovations. They are anonymous, and don't put their heads above the parapet. I want them to know that I think such changes as this, and the trailing of fragments of music, are utterly crass. Idle chat between the presenter and the newsreader, a la Radio Two, threaten but a minim away.

[french frank]

This morning I heard another development as the final item of TTN (Fucik's Entry of the Gladiators) was announced by John Shea, who is presenting TTN this week, as a bridge into Breakfast - where it was back-announced by Petroc. I felt a slight erosion of the precious TTN chat-free region by another attempt to create a seamless transition.

It looks like a very noticeable seam and I doubt those who tune in to TTN especially for the different culture that pervades it will be fooled into listening to Breakfast!

You're right, though, about the attempt at a 'seamless transition' - one of the tricks to 'get listeners listening for longer'. And here you see exemplified. the sad decline of Radio 3's ambition.

[kernelbogey]

Exactly, ff: as someone else posted recently, TTN remains a programme where music comes first and the presenter is there just to give information about it. Would it were thus elsewhere on the station.

[Suffolkcoastal]

I think I mentioned several weeks back that I noticed that the last hour of TTN was often containing more 'popular' items as if to lead in to Breakfast. iIt doesn't happen every day but it has certainly become a more frequent occurence.

[barber olly]

The more I listen to EC I find the content mostly OK. Still I think it could be improved. Ditch the guest, give us a 10.30 30 min work and give us a complete with timing pre Schedule. Sarah and rob OK!

[barber olly]

The billing of EC is barmy! The Essential Choice turns out to be 15 or so minutes of 1812 Ov Fine. Then totally unheralded in the Schedule is 40 or so minutes of Vaughan Williams 5th! Now how long is it going to be before we get the dreaded Bolero as the Essential Choice followed by unheralded eg Schumann 2nd. Get the act together and let's know what's to be on beforehand.

[Roslynmuse]

The billing of EC is barmy! The Essential Choice turns out to be 15 or so minutes of 1812 Ov Fine. Then totally unheralded in the Schedule is 40 or so minutes of Vaughan Williams 5th! Now how long is it going to be before we get the dreaded Bolero as the Essential Choice followed by unheralded eg Schumann 2nd. Get the act together and let's know what's to be on beforehand.

I do agree with this, and wonder from where this lack of information originates. It's impossible to plan meaningful listening from Radio Times now; is it the same on the R3 website? Misinformation is also rife on the iPlayer, as almost any Afternoon on 3 reveals. Timings are works of fiction.

What particularly bothers me is that an unusual work, or a broadcast of a piece by a living composer, may be completely omitted from any listings, whether online or hard-copy. There istherefore no evidence that the piece was ever broadcast! Anyone doing serious research is coming up against a major obstacle. OK, this doesn't particularly apply to EC but it does to much of the rest of the R3 output, particularly Aon3 and what happens between the evening concert and Nightwaves.

Another depressing erosion of serious quality broadcasting.

[Panjandrum]

The billing of EC is barmy! The Essential Choice turns out to be 15 or so minutes of 1812 Ov Fine. Then totally unheralded in the Schedule is 40 or so minutes of Vaughan Williams 5th! Now how long is it going to be before we get the dreaded Bolero as the Essential Choice followed by unheralded eg Schumann 2nd. Get the act together and let's know what's to be on beforehand.

Isn't it obvious that they think the hook to the programme's potential listeners is going to be the 1812. Don't want to put off any potential listeners by mentioning a nasty, old, obscure symphony do we? If they tune into 1812, they might just leave the radio on for VW5 and, surprise surprise, some might actually find they quite like it. You never know, they may even be tempted to listen to another symphony and then, look, haven't we made classical music accessible then to people who thought they wouldn't like it?

[Suffolkcoastal]

What particularly bothers me is that an unusual work, or a broadcast of a piece by a living composer, may be completely omitted from any listings, whether online or hard-copy. There istherefore no evidence that the piece was ever broadcast! Anyone doing serious research is coming up against a major obstacle. OK, this doesn't particularly apply to EC but it does to much of the rest of the R3 output, particularly Aon3 and what happens between the evening concert and Nightwaves.

Another depressing erosion of serious quality broadcasting.

Don't I know it! It's currently a real pain when inputting the information for my survey. I fortunately do it a couple of days behind so the playlists are often already up, but I have to make more and more use of the Iplayer, for example with the extracts from the Handel Festival after the evening concert. The website continues to be a shoddy mess. For example COTW on Monday had Colin Davis conducting the London S O ensemble in Nielsen's 5th symphony then the London S O Ensemble appears to have played it again without a conductor!