Essential Classics - The Continuing Debate

[Roehre]

On Wednesday morning we got Brahms's Schickalslied, Mozart's Prague and Schubert's String Quartet D 887. Yesterday it was Nielsen's 2nd and Beethoven's Op.111 with Arrau,and this morning we heard Weber's Konzertstucke, Berwald's 1st Symphony, and a newly revised version of Bruckner's 9th.
I'm beginning to suspect that some of our stated misgivings about the relentless trivia may have been heard, at least by some of the suits.
Of course. it doesn't do to be too optimistic.

But for me an important reason NOT to turn on the programme, is its lack of information what is to be broadcast. Seeing the lists AFTER the prgramme has been broadcast is complete nonsense - and might be frustrating too if something which you'd like to have listened to would be listed.

[vinteuil]

... its lack of information what is to be broadcast. Seeing the lists AFTER the prgramme has been broadcast is complete nonsense - and might be frustrating too if something which you'd like to have listened to would be listed.

... exactly my thoughts. There DO seem to be some good things being broadcast - but no indication of them in the Radio Times or on the website playlists. I am not prepared to listen to reams of oily Rob Cowan responding to naff tweets on the off chance that I might get some real goodies - the other day I caught the Wesendoncklieder by pure accident - if it had been flagged up I wd've made a point of listening...

[DracoM]

Perhaps secretly they don't want you to listen? Maybe we are all the wrong kind of listeners?

[Serial_Apologist]

Perhaps secretly they don't want you to listen? Maybe we are all the wrong kind of listeners?

I think you've hit the nail on the head there, Draco

[Anna]

I don't often have the opportunity to listen to morning radio however circumstances this morning meant that I could have Essential Classics on at home. To me it seems like something you have on in the kitchen whilst washing up, tidying, going through the post, doing a bit of light dusting () and not really stopping to listen with more than half an ear. However, in its favour it does conclude with a complete piece. To be honest, I'd rather have R4 on.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

But for me an important reason NOT to turn on the programme, is its lack of information what is to be broadcast. Seeing the lists AFTER the prgramme has been broadcast is complete nonsense - and might be frustrating too if something which you'd like to have listened to would be listed.

Quite so. I generally listen to a programme when I have some idea of what I shall be hearing. Lucky dips are of little interest and involve a great deal of time wasting.

[antongould]

On Wednesday morning we got Brahms's Schickalslied, Mozart's Prague and Schubert's String Quartet D 887. Yesterday it was Nielsen's 2nd and Beethoven's Op.111 with Arrau,and this morning we heard Weber's Konzertstucke, Berwald's 1st Symphony, and a newly revised version of Bruckner's 9th.
I'm beginning to suspect that some of our stated misgivings about the relentless trivia may have been heard, at least by some of the suits.
Of course. it doesn't do to be too optimistic.

Probably not the place to be optimistic - but I find I enjoy the programme more and more especially when RC is hosting as this week. Totally agree with several posters that the lack of full pre programme playlist is stupid.
Rob is IMHO getting better in his Michael Berkley role and this week's guest has been very good with what seemed to a novice a deep love add understanding of classical music. Being me I don't find the 'mails an texts a problem - the main focus is the quiz that has had a real battering hereabouts - but if Rob is to be believed it generates a "massive response".
Today he played 3 violin pieces and it was find the Heifetz or more exactly it was eventually revealed don't be fooled by Oistrakh and Kagan! I'm sure this would be easy peasy to everyone here but there was a lot of deep analysis - the deepest and longest from a scholar who got it totally wrong.
One mailer who got it right was the daughter of someone I'd forgotten, Max Jaffa, remember him? The great Jascha had been a God to the Jaffas it seems.
In conclusion I find the programme a vast improvement on a final hour of Breakfast and 2 hours of Classical Collection but of course by definition I am wrong.

[Nick Armstrong]

Probably not the place to be optimistic - but I find I enjoy the programme more and more especially when RC is hosting as this week. Totally agree with several posters that the lack of full pre programme playlist is stupid.
Rob is IMHO getting better in his Michael Berkley role and this week's guest has been very good with what seemed to a novice a deep love add understanding of classical music. Being me I don't find the 'mails an texts a problem - the main focus is the quiz that has had a real battering hereabouts - but if Rob is to be believed it generates a "massive response".
Today he played 3 violin pieces and it was find the Heifetz or more exactly it was eventually revealed don't be fooled by Oistrakh and Kagan! I'm sure this would be easy peasy to everyone here but there was a lot of deep analysis - the deepest and longest from a scholar who got it totally wrong.
One mailer who got it right was the daughter of someone I'd forgotten, Max Jaffa, remember him? The great Jascha had been a God to the Jaffas it seems.
In conclusion I find the programme a vast improvement on a final hour of Breakfast and 2 hours of Classical Collection but of course by definition I am wrong.

Au contraire, anton. It's the sort of optimism I tried to inject into my post 12 above. The quiz I don't mind too much (how could we object, as denizens of the AA thread.... ) but there is also an infantile "Who am I?" thing which has to go. The good thing about d'Ancona as a guest was that he tended to chose long pieces, minimising the amount of chat. I'd still rather do without the 'guest spot' but it's not without interest. But the choices of d'Ancona (Starkey was good too) plus full works like Neilsen 2, interesting stuff like the Bruckner 9 completion (hardly an "Essential classic" but all the better for that!) make me pretty happy.

[Simon]

For heaven's sake? What more do people want? I agree with Caliban.

Michael D'Ancona has been brilliant, clearly and logically explaining his choices with a wealth of interest. And as for the music, take Tuesday (which I heard most of). Weber's Clarinet is a fine and lively work, we had two chunks of Tristan with Margaret Price under Kleiber, no less. We had a chunk of the Goldbergs in that stupendous, never-bettered recording by Gould, we had Der Wegweiser in Webern's brilliant orchestration with Quasthoff (sp?) and there was some Schubert too. Was it some trite little piece played by an ad hoc group of fly-by-nights, as would seem to be indicated by all the complaints? NO! It was his last string quartet with Kremer and Yo-Yo Ma amongst others whom I forget now.

Rubbish? Shallow? Not worth listening to? If that's what anyone thinks about this lot, then the world's upside down.

[Chris Newman]

Sorry, I dipped into the morning slot today and found it awful. Do not expect my further comments for a long while.

[Bryn]

I did not so much "dip in" as use the iPlayer to access the Revised 2010 Carragan completion of the finale to Bruckner's 9th. Very glad I did, too. Many thanks to the Essential Classics team for spinning it. I do indeed think it works better than the Samale et al, noble as their efforts have been, and makes of the 9th a more rounded work.

[Ferretfancy]

Roehre

All the items I mentioned in my message 29 were clearly listed in the Radio Times.
I wasn't suggesting that all is well, merely that some longer items do seem to be appearing in the schedule after an endless run of snippets.

[Barbirollians]

For heaven's sake? What more do people want? I agree with Caliban.

Michael D'Ancona has been brilliant, clearly and logically explaining his choices with a wealth of interest. And as for the music, take Tuesday (which I heard most of). Weber's Clarinet is a fine and lively work, we had two chunks of Tristan with Margaret Price under Kleiber, no less. We had a chunk of the Goldbergs in that stupendous, never-bettered recording by Gould, we had Die Wegweise in Webern's brilliant orchestration with Quasthoff (sp?) and there was some Schubert too. Was it some trite little piece played by an ad hoc group of fly-by-nights, as would seem to be indicated by all the complaints? NO! It was his last string quartet with Kremer and Yo-Yo Ma amongst others whom I forget now.

Rubbish? Shallow? Not worth listening to? If that's what anyone thinks about this lot, then the world's upside down.

Ah yes thanks for reminding me of that latest Classic FM ism - RC announced that was Weber's Clarinet Concerto without saying whether it was number 1 or 2 ! Reminiscent of Classic FM where some brainless presenter recently announced she was playing one of Sibelius's violin concertos !!!

[Simon]

Ah yes thanks for reminding me of that latest Classic FM ism - RC announced that was Weber's Clarinet Concerto without saying whether it was number 1 or 2 !

He didn't actually. It was my error - it was the Concertino, of which I assume there was only one.

But if you can ignore the splendid performances all the other works that I listed simply because someone might fail to be 100% acccurate in a description, then I suggest you may be listening to classical music for the wrong reasons.

PS sorry about errors in original post.

[Barbirollians]

I tug my forelock to Mr Wright - how kind of him to sanction the playing of the odd complete work or two amongst all the dross of competitions , fatuous e-mails and Who am I segments.