Starkey

[Panjandrum]

Somehow typical and so right that as his own coffin is borne towards the flames, DS wants the music for Brunnhilde's immolation

What, you mean they're both for old queens?

[johnb]

Starkey being on Essential Classics strikes me as intensely ironic.

In my imagination I can hear him excoriating the Radio 3 for using celebrities like himself and for the producers and presenters being so utterly crass as to rely on a checklist of questions that every guest is asked.

[Nick Armstrong]

Starkey being on Essential Classics strikes me as intensely ironic.

In my imagination I can hear him coruscating the Radio 3 for using celebrities like himself and for the producers and presenters being so utterly crass as to rely on a checklist of questions that every guest is asked.

The thought had occurred to me too. Still, more bracing than Dr Sarah Walker...

[vinteuil]

'coruscate' or 'excoriate' ??

[johnb]

Whooops!

Quite right - I've corrected the post.

[Norfolk Born]

'coruscate' or 'excoriate' ??

Ena Sharples
Elsie Tanner
Albert Tatlock
David Hillman
Des Brennan
Andy MacDonald
Ivy Brennan
Minnie Caldwell....
Ex-Corrie Eight

[John Skelton]

Starkey being on Essential Classics strikes me as intensely ironic.

In my imagination I can hear him excoriating the Radio 3 for using celebrities like himself and for the producers and presenters being so utterly crass as to rely on a checklist of questions that every guest is asked.

Why does the BBC spend so much time & money promoting you as a "character", & why is it so fascinated by your opinions on subjects you know nothing particular about, would be a start.

[Vile Consort]

Starkey being on Essential Classics strikes me as intensely ironic.

In my imagination I can hear him excoriating the Radio 3 for using celebrities like himself and for the producers and presenters being so utterly crass as to rely on a checklist of questions that every guest is asked.

My thoughts exactly. It would certainly be interesting to know what he thinks of the direction Radio 3 is taking, and what he would do were he to become Controller.

I always wonder whether he has conducted supervisions at Cambridge. Just imagine being 19 and having to turn up and have your work criticised by him once a fortnight! On the other hand, his private persona may be rather different from his public one. Sir Edward Bairstow (organist of York Minster) was noted for being very critical and not afraid of expressing his opinions in the most forthright manner; but I met a chap (not Francis Jackson!) who had organ lessons with him in the 30's what he was like, and the answer was "kindness itself".

[John Skelton]

So how much was David Starkey paid for his stint?

Article from the excellent Morning Star online

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/content/view/full/110931

[amateur51]

Ena Sharples
Elsie Tanner
Albert Tatlock
David Hillman
Des Brennan
Andy MacDonald
Ivy Brennan
Minnie Caldwell....
Ex-Corrie Eight

[french frank]

So how much was David Starkey paid for his stint?

Article from the excellent Morning Star online

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/n...ew/full/110931

Doubt he'll get pro rata £75,000 per hour as the guideline price per programme, excluding presenters' wad, was £1,400. But free seats at the Proms, including seat in the R3 box with the high-ups would be a possibility.

I bet they don't still get free wine and smoked salmon as they did in 2009 unless they bring their own ...

The other possible perk is a little series, perhaps on The Essay.

[John Skelton]

Doubt he'll get pro rata £75,000 per hour as the guideline price per programme, excluding presenters' wad, was £1,400. But free seats at the Proms, including seat in the R3 box with the high-ups would be a possibility.

The other possible perk is a little series, perhaps on The Essay.

Ah, thanks. Perhaps it's phase 1 of the rehabilitate Starkey plan, after his recent ... controversial ... intervention. Start off somewhere obscure like Radio 3 in the morning. Or perhaps they think most Radio 3 listeners would agree with him anyway .

I bet they don't still get free wine and smoked salmon as they did in 2009 unless they bring their own ...

Wow.

[Domeyhead]

You don't have to agree with somebody's opinions to enjoy the way they can articulate their thinking, or describe their reasoning. THat is how we broaden our own minds. There is nothing more tiresome than listening to someone whose views always overlay your own. I find Starkey extremely entertaining and far more challenging than someone like Rick Stein but that doesn't make me think like him. If his views challenge my own then I have to evaluate and test my own beliefs. I find Billy Bragg equally entertaining and eloquent but I don't necessarily subscribe to his views either.
Having said all that what do I want to listen to Starkey's or Stein's musical choices? One is a historian, the other a cook. I can understand listening to the selections of (eg) a professional concert musician becuase they can iluminate their choices with musical insight. How is Rick Stein supposed to further my enjoyment of a piece just because it happens to remind him of something he did when he was younger?

[french frank]

How is Rick Stein supposed to further my enjoyment of a piece just because it happens to remind him of something he did when he was younger?

RW has explained the thinking behind this: Rick Stein is not a knowledgeable expert on classical music; therefore he demonstrates that ordinary people can enjoy classical music and it isn't just for an elite group who appreciate the music at some rarified level which they cannot possibly attain. My own words, but the explanation is, I think, an accurate one.

[Norfolk Born]

More often than not, I disagree with the David Starkey's views, but he's, like, dead articulate, a lovely listen and his own man, innit? I would certainly give 'Breakfast' a go were he to introduce it - alternating, possibly, with Simon Heffer. (I don't always share his views either, but really enjoyed his straightforward, undemonstrative but recognizably enthusiastic championing of English music on Saturday Classics a few weeks ago).