Essential Classics - The Continuing Debate

[french frank]

Should we be worried when a proportion of this week's Breakfast requests seem to start " Hey Clem .... " ..... ???

Clem, like others, is a presenter with a 'personal following'. Whether followers know or care anything at all about classical music, whether they listen when 'Clem' is on but not otherwise, seems, on the face of it, to be of no interest whatever to the BBC. The aim is to get people tuning in to Radio 3, for whatever reason.

Alternatively, 'Clem' is a lady with a great aptitude for self promotion … and there I leave it

[Ein Heldenleben]

I can't prove this but I suspect an analysis of pieces played on EC would reveal a gradual shrinking to a core of , you guessed it, Essential Classics - the doom for classical music foretold in socio-musicological works like Horowitz's Understanding Toscanini. A selection of the classical music's greatest hits strung together in a way without structure or meaning .What is an essential classic and what is an inessential classic exactly ? Now on is Young Person's guide - a work I've heard hundreds of times . Perhaps there should be a quota of rarely performed works which are nevertheless classics ?

[french frank]

What is an essential classic … ?

Apparently, James McCartney, Codebreaker; Enough & I shall meet him again …

[Ein Heldenleben]

Apparently, James McCartney, Codebreaker; Enough & I shall meet him again …

Such is my shaky grasp on pop music I had to look that up and found this .

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZM-7JT5fg8

A so- called 'car-crash ' interview on BBC Breakfast Not exactly a barrel of laughs is he ? Ironically since my plea for under performed works Rob has supplied exactly that....

[LMcD]

In recent days, the chosen 'follow-on' piece has been the one most frequently mentioned in listeners' responses - which suggests that this is more of a request spot than an opportunity for musical exploration.

[underthecountertenor]

In recent days, the chosen 'follow-on' piece has been the one most frequently mentioned in listeners' responses - which suggests that this is more of a request spot than an opportunity for musical exploration.

As soon as The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra was announced as the starter, I put a mental bet on Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra being the chosen 'follow-on', and sure enough it was.

But in the meantime we were treated to a lot of mutual ingratiation between contributors and Rob Cowan. One person in particular chose the Ceremony for Carols, for no stated reason other than that it was by Britten and that it was the first piece of music for which she had ever seen the score when she was at school. Her bland remarks about how amazing it was that a person could write down such a complicated thing followed, heartily endorsed by Rob who used the opportunity to remind us (not for the first time) that he once learned to score-read and that it was a marvellous thing.

The whole thing was teeth-grindingly awful, and I have now resolved, very belatedly, to avoid the programme completely.

[Stanfordian]

As soon as The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra was announced as the starter, I put a mental bet on Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra being the chosen 'follow-on', and sure enough it was.

But in the meantime we were treated to a lot of mutual ingratiation between contributors and Rob Cowan. One person in particular chose the Ceremony for Carols, for no stated reason other than that it was by Britten and that it was the first piece of music for which she had ever seen the score when she was at school. Her bland remarks about how amazing it was that a person could write down such a complicated thing followed, heartily endorsed by Rob who used the opportunity to remind us (not for the first time) that he once learned to score-read and that it was a marvellous thing.

The whole thing was teeth-grindingly awful, and I have now resolved, very belatedly, to avoid the programme completely.

All very chummy. Wanting to be your mate! I thoroughly dislike the approach that is all too typical in these days of dumming down. But I think we are stuck with it. And what with all those tweets, texts and emails of mainly inanities and frequent use of celebrities choosing pieces of music, it turned me off R3 months ago. It won't be long before we are getting contributions like:

A tweet from Mike in Lancaster who is in the kitchen making coffee and eating biscuits and has said how the Grieg piano concertos reminded him of being at college in the 70s.

A text from Ann in Croydon who says that the Largo from Dvorak's Ninth Symphony 'New World Symphony' is helping her through a hard day at work.

What is all that about: guessing a piece of music played backwards or two works played simultaneously. It feels like Play School or Blue Peter for adults!

[underthecountertenor]

All very chummy. Wanting to be your mate! I thoroughly dislike the approach. But I think we are stuck with it. And what with all those tweets, texts and emails of mainly inanities it turned me off R3 months ago. It won't be long before we are getting contributions like:

A tweet from Mike in Lancaster who is in the kitchen making coffee and eating biscuits and has said how the Grieg piano concertos reminded him of being at college in the 70s.

A text from Ann in Croydon who says that the Largo from Dvorak's Ninth Symphony 'New World Symphony' is helping her through a hard day at work.

Steve in Portsmouth heard 'Morning' from Peer Gynt and is now having a lovely cup of Nescafé, whilst the New World Symphony has prompted Deirdre in Carlisle to make a ham sandwich with brown bread.

[underthecountertenor]

(Which reminds me that Rob can't play Dag Wirén's Serenade for Strings - and he does play it often - without telling us that the March was the theme to the TV programme Monitor. Occasionally someone sends him a message to that effect, so that he can then say "Richard from Buckingham has texted to say 'wasn't the March the theme tune to the TV programme Monitor?' Yes indeed it was, Richard, as I well remember myself.")

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

... the New World Symphony has prompted Deirdre in Carlisle to make a ham sandwich with brown bread.

Curiously, the very programme makes me want to get on a bicycle and pedal up a steep hill in order to get as far away from the the radio as possible.

(Which reminds me that Rob can't play Dag Wirén's Serenade for Strings - and he does play it often - without telling us that the March was the theme to the TV programme Monitor. Occasionally someone sends him a message to that effect, so that he can then say "Richard from Buckingham has texted to say 'wasn't the March the theme tune to the TV programme Monitor?' Yes indeed it was, Richard, as I well remember myself.")

Reference to a TV programme that ended 55 years ago - how can this fail to attract younger audiences?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Clem, like others, is a presenter with a 'personal following'. Whether followers know or care anything at all about classical music, whether they listen when 'Clem' is on but not otherwise, seems, on the face of it, to be of no interest whatever to the BBC. The aim is to get people tuning in to Radio 3, for whatever reason.

Alternatively, 'Clem' is a lady with a great aptitude for self promotion … and there I leave it

"Hey Clem" sounds a bit like "Hey Siri".

Enough said!

[french frank]

Such is my shaky grasp on pop music I had to look that up and found this .

Thank you. So James McCartney, the son of Paul McCartney has penned an 'Essential Classic'. I don't go in for knee-jerk reactions, so I'm thinking about this one. Quite seriously.

[french frank]

Thank you. So James McCartney, the son of Paul McCartney has penned an 'Essential Classic'. I don't go in for knee-jerk reactions, so I'm thinking about this one. Quite seriously.

Update: James McCartney has been amended to James McCarthy. I copied and pasted the original, so don't blame me!

Plus: Just managed to grab this from Google:

[oddoneout]

"Hey Clem" sounds a bit like "Hey Siri". Enough said!

At least that alternative might produce something halfway useful....

[Serial_Apologist]

Should we be worried when a proportion of this week's Breakfast requests seem to start " Hey Clem .... " ..... ???

Hey diddle diddle would be more apt.