Essential Classics - The Continuing Debate

[Bax-of-Delights]

Well, I took time to listen to Essential Classics this morning just to see how things were progressing - or not. I haven't been a listener for many, many weeks preferring to dip into the CD collection.
I now know that I shall never feel the need to turn to R3 before 12 noon at the earliest as the offerings are the blandest they have ever been. Combined with the immensely irritating fore-staging of the presenter "Sarah's Essential Choice", "on my show today", "I'm Sarah Walker and this is Essential Classics" etc etc it has now morphed into a Classic FM programme par excellence.
Virtually the whole programme today consists of firm 100 Best Tunes:
Faure: Pavane
Faure: Agnus Dei from Requiem
Debussy: L'Apres midi
Saint-Saens: Bacchanale from Sansom and Delilah
Ravel: Tzigane
Prokofiev: Battle on the Ice
Ravel: String Quartet
a Chopin waltz, a Telemann flute quartet and that's about it.

Oh, forgot about the "quiz of the day". Dear god in heaven, is it just the salary that gets Sarah Walker out of bed in the morning or is she really sincere and happy to serve up this plate of marshmallows day after day?

[Nick Armstrong]

Faure: Agnus Dei from Requiem

When I was listening I heard the whole Requiem...

But yes - bland fare (though I am always happy to hear the Ravel quartet).

And the thing that has me shouting is the whole concept (inc the misuse of language) of the "Mystery Voice" - IT'S NOT A MYSTERY VOICE, IT'S STEPHEN JOHNSON ONE OF THE MOST FAMILIAR VOICES ON THE CHANNEL!!

[Bryn]

When I was listening I heard the whole Requiem...

And contrary to what the schedule claimed prior to the broadcast, Battle on the Ice was not the cantata version as conducted by Reiner, but the original film score version as conducted by Temirkanov. That's certainly not often heard.

That said, it is a programme I would normally only raid and select from after the broadcast, via the iPlayer.

[Bax-of-Delights]

When I was listening I heard the whole Requiem...

But yes - bland fare (though I am always happy to hear the Ravel quartet).

And the thing that has me shouting is the whole concept (inc the misuse of language) of the "Mystery Voice" - IT'S NOT A MYSTERY VOICE, IT'S STEPHEN JOHNSON ONE OF THE MOST FAMILIAR VOICES ON THE CHANNEL!!

Ah, I took out 20 minutes and just caught the Agnus Dei section of the Requiem...

Sad to see Stehen Johnson lending himself to this "mystery voice" farrago.

[Nick Armstrong]

I enjoyed hearing Kalinnikov's First Symphony this morning, never heard it before. Good stuff ... Borodin with balls.

And the USSR SSO under Yevgeny Svetlanov...

[cloughie]

Well, I took time to listen to Essential Classics this morning just to see how things were progressing - or not. I haven't been a listener for many, many weeks preferring to dip into the CD collection.
I now know that I shall never feel the need to turn to R3 before 12 noon at the earliest as the offerings are the blandest they have ever been. Combined with the immensely irritating fore-staging of the presenter "Sarah's Essential Choice", "on my show today", "I'm Sarah Walker and this is Essential Classics" etc etc it has now morphed into a Classic FM programme par excellence.
Virtually the whole programme today consists of firm 100 Best Tunes:
Faure: Pavane
Faure: Agnus Dei from Requiem
Debussy: L'Apres midi
Saint-Saens: Bacchanale from Sansom and Delilah
Ravel: Tzigane
Prokofiev: Battle on the Ice
Ravel: String Quartet
a Chopin waltz, a Telemann flute quartet and that's about it.

Oh, forgot about the "quiz of the day". Dear god in heaven, is it just the salary that gets Sarah Walker out of bed in the morning or is she really sincere and happy to serve up this plate of marshmallows day after day?

Time to get real - it ain't going to change just yet, boycott it if that's your choice - or pick 'n mix from what's there - I doubt Sarah and Rob are thoroughly thrilled with the guess and guest spots but most of us have had jobs with bits we don't like - at least we're getting some really good full works on EC. Ravel's SQ and Faure's Requiem are hardly bland!

OK B-o-D, What would you like 9-12 Monday to Friday?
Monday


Tuesday


Wednesday


Thursday


Friday

........

[mercia]

I doubt Sarah and Rob are thoroughly thrilled with the guess and guest spots

to me they both sound perfectly happy with both these parts of the programme, particularly Rob and his guests

[Norfolk Born]

to me they both sound perfectly happy with both these parts of the programme, particularly Rob and his guests

How long would they last were they not professional enough not to appear otherwise?

[Black Swan]

to me they both sound perfectly happy with both these parts of the programme, particularly Rob and his guests

Yes, I agree, I boycott programs hosted by Rob Cowan as I don't like his style of presenting. I know he is knowledgeable but I really find him to patronizing. In particular the promo clip for the Sunday morning show where he talks about listeners pulling over to the side of the road because they are in tears. I had a similar experience with his Sunday morning when he played Yuri Cain doing Mahler. I could have cried because how could someone do that to Mahler and how could Rob present it. So I am enjoying, like many my CD collection more and more.

John

[Bax-of-Delights]

For a start I'd exclude anything that had been thrashed to death in many other programmes such as the following:
Ravel: Bolero
Chabrier: Espana
Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet
which, by chance, are all to be wheeled out once again this coming week on "Essential Classics". We are only in the third week of January and already these pieces together with VW's "Lark Ascending" have been aired at least once and, in some case, twice before. It is hard to believe that RC with his decades of musical experience behind him sits down and thinks "ooh, must have a Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet piece this week AND Bolero" unless he is actually told by the producer that he has to have these in to pander to the passing and occasional listener.
As the title of this thread argues: Essential Classics natural home is on R2 on Sunday evenings - just where 100 Best Tunes used to be.

[cloughie]

For a start I'd exclude anything that had been thrashed to death in many other programmes such as the following:
Ravel: Bolero
Chabrier: Espana
Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet
which, by chance, are all to be wheeled out once again this coming week on "Essential Classics". We are only in the third week of January and already these pieces together with VW's "Lark Ascending" have been aired at least once and, in some case, twice before. It is hard to believe that RC with his decades of musical experience behind him sits down and thinks "ooh, must have a Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet piece this week AND Bolero" unless he is actually told by the producer that he has to have these in to pander to the passing and occasional listener.
As the title of this thread argues: Essential Classics natural home is on R2 on Sunday evenings - just where 100 Best Tunes used to be.

I fear you evade the question. Please be positive. You tell us what you don't want, what do you want? For the record I want full works, not odd movements and don't want Bolero ever or Moldau, Espana and the like every week or two. I would like 9-12 to be like the old CD Masters, but Roger Wright doesn't. What would be your three hours?

[Norfolk Born]

Well, for a start...instead of Elgar's 'Introduction and Allegro', why not his 'Severn Suite?' Instead of Vaughan Williams's 'The Lark Ascending', why not one of the shorter chamber works?

[Osborn]

...instead of Elgar's 'Introduction and Allegro', why not his 'Severn Suite?' Instead of Vaughan Williams's 'The Lark Ascending', why not one of the shorter chamber works?

...and change the title to 'Nonessential Nonclassics'

[cloughie]

...and change the title to 'Nonessential Nonclassics'

Change the title to whatever you want as long as it delivers the goods!

[Bax-of-Delights]

I fear you evade the question. Please be positive. You tell us what you don't want, what do you want? For the record I want full works, not odd movements and don't want Bolero ever or Moldau, Espana and the like every week or two. I would like 9-12 to be like the old CD Masters, but Roger Wright doesn't. What would be your three hours?

Well, that's a pretty good start - reverting to the CD Masters formula. I heard nothing that would frighten the horses but it remained perenially interesting with - as far as I can remember - little or no repeats (certainly not on the level we have now).
Perhaps it should be shortened to 2 hours which would still allow for complete symphonies and for the extra hour before CoTW there could be one hour or two half hours of other more diverse programmes covering areas such as Discovering Music or Contemporary or the history of music for the ballet or well, anything that required something from the listener rather than what we have at the moment, one step up from muzak.