Originally posted by Osborn
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Essential Classics - The Continuing Debate
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Norfolk Born
Originally posted by Barbirollians View PostIt would be no surprise as the target audience is probably the sort of people who have a panic attack if Countdown or Deal or No Deal is moved by five minutes on Channel 4
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Very odd. The auto-generated playlist for R3 seems unable to distinguish correctly between Eric Whitacre and Chris "Dow Jones" Whitacre, routinely crediting the latter with the former's compositions. But when you click on the link to Mr Whitacre (C "DJ" of that name) you're informed that there's no Wikipedia biography for him. Which there isn't. There is, on the other hand, a very substantial article on Eric Whitacre ... So how does the system get it wrong?It isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.
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Originally posted by french frank View PostVery odd. The auto-generated playlist for R3 seems unable to distinguish correctly between Eric Whitacre and Chris "Dow Jones" Whitacre, routinely crediting the latter with the former's compositions. But when you click on the link to Mr Whitacre (C "DJ" of that name) you're informed that there's no Wikipedia biography for him. Which there isn't. There is, on the other hand, a very substantial article on Eric Whitacre ... So how does the system get it wrong?
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Originally posted by cloughie View PostOn a slightly different tack R3 programmers really communicate don't they. Today Essential Classics c10.00am Mozart Sym 39 DSO C Davis, Ao3 c2.50pm Mozart Sym 39 COE Nézet-Séguin. Lovely symphony, one of my favourites but broadcast so close together?"...the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."
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Originally posted by Caliban View PostThe announcer did point it out though, and suggested they were two very different performances... which is probably true (I could only listen to a bit of the second one).
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Don Petter
Originally posted by cloughie View PostOn a slightly different tack R3 programmers really communicate don't they. Today Essential Classics c10.00am Mozart Sym 39 DSO C Davis, Ao3 c2.50pm Mozart Sym 39 COE Nézet-Séguin. Lovely symphony, one of my favourites but broadcast so close together?
About 20 per cent of the output is speech, and the remainder music. About two-thirds of that is live, much of it performed by one of the BBC's five orchestras. The network mounts a public or studio concert every day and, on average, two operas a week.
About 14,000 pieces of music are played on Radio 3 every year, but over 99 per cent go out only once or twice ... and no piece ever seems to receive more than fourteen performances over the course of a year.
My boldface, and cue Suffolkcoastal for a present day analysis? At that time the speech element referred to would mean actual speech programmes, not the current 20 per cent speech in most 'music' programmes.
The article continues with a 'Top Thirty' (actually twenty five given) analysis for 1990, as follows:
First (14 performances)
Beethoven: Symphony 7
Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
Brahms: Symphony 4
Debussy: La Mer
R Strauss: Don Juan
Second (13)
Beethoven: Prometheus Overture
Dukas: Sorcerer's Apprentice
Glinka: Russlan & Ludmilla Overture
Schumann: Piano Concerto
Schumann: Fantasiestucke, Op.73
Third (12)
Chopin: Ballade 3
Chopin: Ballade 4
Debussy: Cello Sonata
Elgar: Introduction & Allegro
Mozart: Marriage of Figaro Overture
Ravel: Mother Goose
Schubert: Symphony 8
R Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel
Fourth (11)
Debussy: Iberia
Mozart: Symphony 29
Sibelius: Symphony 2
R Strauss: Four Last Songs
Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings
Vaughan Williams: Lark Ascending
Wagner: Siegfried Idyll
The interesting thing here, I find, apart from the actual selection, is the length of most of these popular works - not a predominance of shorties, albeit the lark scrapes in at the end.
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Originally posted by Don Petter View PostThe interesting thing here, I find, apart from the actual selection, is the length of most of these popular works - not a predominance of shorties, albeit the lark scrapes in at the end.
26 Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
20 Wagner: Liebestod (from Tristan und Isolde)
19 Ravel: La valse
18 Mussorgsky: (St John's) Night on the bare mountain
18 Schubert: Symphony no.8
17 Beethoven: Coriolan overture
16 Mendelssohn: Scottish symphony
16 Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro overture
16 Mussorgsky: Pictures from an exhibition
16 Ravel: Ma mère l'oye (Mother Goose) suite/ballet
15 Beethoven: Symphony no.7
15 Bernstein: Candide overture
15 Brahms: Academic festival overture
15 Debussy: L'isle joyeuse
15 Saint-Saëns: Danse macabre
15 Strauss: Don Juan
14 Barber: Adagio for strings
14 Chabrier: España
14 Debussy: La mer
14 Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte
14 Rossini: La gazza ladra (Thieving magpie) overture
14 Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet fantasy overture
14 Wagner: Tannhäuser overture
A total of 83 were played at least 11 times (as against the 23 in 1990) and a further 38 pieces were played 10 times. Additional snippets from these works not included in the total.It isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.
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I find it too difficult to monitor how many times every single work is played on R3, it would just take too much of my time. So I select a group of works that have seemed popular and monitor those, though my totals will include extracts (including extracts played in Words and Music). I do try and count every extract/complete work by every 'classical' composer though so I can as near as possible the total amount of complete works/extracts for each composer in a given year. I have also monitored the number of complete performances of symphonies by each composer this year. I can reveal that it looks like a majority of the warhorses I been monitoring this year have increased from last year, the the case of the Four Seasons the total has increased 2 and a half times! Danse Macabre is almost double the 2004 figure, La Mer even more than that. One of the few warhorses to have fallen this year is La Valse which has halved and been replaced by Alborado del Gracioso. The Eroica is Beethoven's most broadcast symphony by a fair margin this year.
I should have the survey ready early in January, it always takes longer at this time of year as I have the unpleasant task of having to listen (via i player) to all of Breakfast & Essential Classics as the playlists are rarely updated accurately. The EC playlists haven't been updated all week!
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Originally posted by Barbirollians View PostI was driving around the country a lot this week and on the two occasions I heard essential classics there were full performances of works ! Is this a special Christmas treat - the standout was Mozart's Piano Quintet one day with Horsley and the Dennis Brain Wind Ensemble.
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Originally posted by cloughie View PostNo, many FWs are played, the BCs are usually in the guess spot, the guest spot and other annoying exceptions. Apart from these it is usually a good programme.It isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.
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Originally posted by french frank View PostI think that's a fair comment, in that you can catch very good individual pieces. But I don't find the concept of the programme appealing, and don't care to navigate around all the unwanted 'features'.
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