Essential Classics - The Continuing Debate

[teamsaint]

The problem with Rob Cowan is that he has a job for life and even his terrible pronunciations(did I hear Veeber for Weber the other day?)will continue without correction. Is his knowledge really that great, as there are many neglected and valuable recordings of unusual repertoire not yet touched upon. Unfortunately, the emails, tweets and texts will prevent me from listening to his programmes all the way through. Too much talk and too little music

RC has a job for life?

I bet that is news to him.

EC is produced externally,and I doubt if he is a BBC employee.
IMO its not the quantity of talk that is the problem, it is the content, likely determined by the programmes remit.

[Penn Igor]

The problem with Rob Cowan is that he has a job for life and even his terrible pronunciations(did I hear Veeber for Weber the other day?)will continue without correction. Is his knowledge really that great, as there are many neglected and valuable recordings of unusual repertoire not yet touched upon. Unfortunately, the emails, tweets and texts will prevent me from listening to his programmes all the way through. Too much talk and too little music

If you think RC is bad, try listening to "Clemmy" sometime, on Breakfast. She has now made "Prinz Eyegore" almost the received pronunciation of the piece, under her watch, given how many times it is played. It could almost be described as the programme call sign now!

[Nick Armstrong]

try listening to "Clemmy" sometime, on Breakfast

Sorry, no

Never again...

[teamsaint]

Sorry, no

Never again...

Not even is EdgeleyRob gets on with his Best of British Choice, and it is clem's shift?

[Don Petter]

Sorry, no

Never again...

C B Hill is a ridge too far?

[french frank]

Now, come, come, children ... Presenters these days aren't 'BBC employees' in the old sense, though they are employed by the BBC. They're mostly freelances on contract - like senior managers, I believe. If Mr Appleyard is to be believed (but what does he know?), our new man isn't keen on texts and tweets. Watch this space (and the early shift) to find out.

[Ferretfancy]

When Rob Cowan was presenting CD Masters he was able to broadcast his own enthusiasms, choose interesting performances and speak with natural authority. You might not always agree with him, but you would be unlikely to doubt his knowledge of recorded music.

Since the ending of CDM, he and his co-presenters seem to have no say in what is broadcast, but are expected to praise everything while dealing with inane tweets and quizzes, and sometimes the frustration can be sensed. Watch RC conducting interviews at pre-Prom talks, or hear him do Building a Library and a very different picture emerges.
I can only hope that Appleyard's assessment of the value of Radio Three will be shared by the new Controller, but I suspect that the battle is lost in the Toytown world we live in.

[Classical Fan]

Well, thank goodness i'm not the only one who is fed up of RC talking all the time and not allowing us to just savour the work in question....I do not need to be told HOW to listen to a piece and what I should be listening out for.
And while we are at it, does anyone really appreciate Stephen Johnson's ridiculously plummy tones..........David Nice is like that too. Sometimes, the banter between presenters sounds like two old ladies having tea........"talking
bollocks" I think the saying goes.

[teamsaint]

I don't mind knowledgeable presenters pointing out areas of interest in a performance at all. It just needs to be done with the context taken into account.


I enjoy SJ's contributions very much, when he is allowed to make them. I can live with listening to a plummy voice if what is being spoken is worthwhile.

DJ style banter, of the sort that the trailers for In Tune indulge in, is not something I enjoy though. Neither is the breathless, uncritical acclaim given all too often post performance by the presenters.

[antongould]

Not even is EdgeleyRob gets on with his Best of British Choice, and it is clem's shift?

....and if she turns out to be a Stockport County season ticket holder surely all will be forgiven?????

[french frank]

....and if she turns out to be a Stockport County season ticket holder surely all will be forgiven?????

Arsenal fan. Allegedly.

[vinteuil]

And while we are at it, does anyone really appreciate Stephen Johnson's ridiculously plummy tones..........David Nice is like that too..

.... some of us find this inverse snobbery just as tedious as traditional snobbery.

[Don Petter]

And while we are at it, does anyone really appreciate Stephen Johnson's ridiculously plummy tones...

I'm absolutely fine with SJ, and his contributions.

Rather him than the simpering tones and strangled vowels of the younger generation of R3 'presenters', all ee's instead of oo's.

(Come back Penny 'Hesitation' Gore!)

[JFLL]

... does anyone really appreciate Stephen Johnson's ridiculously plummy tones.....?.

Not me, but I dislike even more his emphasising almost every other word, so that in the end nothing is emphasised.

[doversoul1]

And while we are at it, does anyone really appreciate Stephen Johnson's ridiculously plummy tones...........

To me, Stephen Johnson is one of the very best presenters Radio 3 has. The content of his presentation far overweighs his slight mannerism.