Essential Classics - The Continuing Debate

[Don Petter]

This morning Sarah Walker introduced the Glazunov A minor Violin Concerto as being ‘in three continuous movements’.

I knew what she meant but it didn’t seem to sound quite right. Would it have been better as ‘one continuous movement’ (perhaps ‘in the usual three sections’)? Maybe pedantically ‘three contiguous movements’.

All in all, I think the natural description would have been ‘in three movements, played without a break’.

[Don Petter]

Only caught the end in the car today.

Does anyone know if Monty has chosen his Czardas yet?

[Ferretfancy]

The latest wheeze is to play two pieces at once, and ask the listeners to guess what they are. At the moment it's just a short spot, but surely there is scope for development here.

Why not play all the scheduled choices for the morning in simultaneous pairs and halve the programme time devoted to music? This would stimulate perceptive listening while allowing more time for tweets.

[Stanfordian]

Hiya Ferratfancy,

Great idea! I'm in!

[Victor Meldrew II]

RC yet again!

I'm sorry to have another rant about Mr Cowan but this morning, he introduced a selection of Chopin Preludes with an almost continuous and breathless, throat-constricting speech. Is it really necessary to talk so bloody much when playing music? For goodness sake RC, shut up and breathe!!

This morning Radio 3 was still tuned in on my radio after last night's Chailly concert.

I had the serious misfortune to catch ten minutes or so of this programme. It was like the worst sort of dumbed down schmaltz on Classic FM.

Rob Cowan whilst highly knowledgeable comes across as oily and irritating and there was an absurd " Who am I " segment - with Stephen Johnson doing his impression of the Mystery Voice from I Am sorry i have't a clue and then all manner of gooey e-mails read out about Rossini .

What is this trash doing on radio 3 ?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I'm sorry to have another rant about Mr Cowan but this morning, he introduced a selection of Chopin Preludes with an almost continuous and breathless, throat-constricting speech. Is it really necessary to talk so bloody much when playing music? For goodness sake RC, shut up and breathe!!

They all do it. I think it's an instruction for "on high" to not leave any gaps between words. I'm surprise they don't talk over the music, DJ style.

[french frank]

I do find Essential Classics difficult to contemplate listening to, but I do look online to see what is being perpetrated. I looked this morning purely because I had an email from a listener who was, um … unimpressed.

My only thought was how could they have a feature called 'Five reasons to love Dvořák's Slavonic Dances when my immediate thought was that One Reason to Hate Dvořák's Slavonic Dances might be that Radio 3's morning programmes keep playing them, over and over again, on average every 10 days.

Apart from my only thought, my additional thought was, 'Oh no, not another stand-up comedian …'

So I have no opinion on the presenters because it is so plainly not a programme for me, a fairly musically uninformed listener who would like to extend my knowledge, that I cannot face listening to it.

[pastoralguy]

They all do it. I think it's an instruction for "on high" to not leave any gaps between words. I'm surprise they don't talk over the music, DJ style.

Well, COTW went through a phase when they did just that. I remember wanting to hear Busoni's violin concerto when he was featured and being appalled when Donald Macleod spoke for about 10 seconds over the introduction!

Not surprisingly, it was a trend that soon waned.

[pastoralguy]

I do like Rob Cowan but I fear that his hands are tied by edicts from 'on high'.

Image to say that I'd love to break into Broadcasting House and pinch the cd of Bernstien's 'Candide' overture. I used to love it until Rafio3 started playing it over and over and over...

[Nick Armstrong]

So I have no opinion on the presenters because it is so plainly not a programme for me, a fairly musically uninformed listener who would like to extend my knowledge, that I cannot face listening to it.

I would continue to plead in favour of the 10.30 watershed. After that, it's much better. OK at 10.30 RC played Liszt's Tasso, about which the less said the better (but some people like that sort of thing and it's at least not a regular war-horse), but after that, I managed to coincide with Foulds's April-England, always welcome and captivating, and then Sokolov playing the Chopin Op.28 Preludes complete, which I was very interested to hear.

[muzzer]

Perhaps RC might adopt one of the Slavonic Dances as a personal jingle, thereby emulating the late great Alan Freeman........

[french frank]

Image to say that I'd love to break into Broadcasting House and pinch the cd of Bernstien's 'Candide' overture. I used to love it until Rafio3 started playing it over and over and over...

We are soon to get treated to a Radio 3 simulcast of Radio 2's Friday Night Is Music Night, complete with the Candide Overture (coincidentally, I noted this on the latest FoR3 propaganda which Mark will post later this very afternoon. It should be said that, judging from the entire programme, Candide will be one of the better pieces What they will be playing appears to be hidden in a press release (though all will presumably be revealed tomorrow (Friday) in the week's schedule.

If you want anything closer to the Radio 3 Utter Junkshop I have yet to see it. Radio 2 listeners can hear it on Radio 2 - and so could Radio 3 listeners if it appealed to them. And this - believe it or not - is the BBC's idea of 'bringing people together' with music More likely to cause outright war …

@Caliban

I would continue to plead in favour of the 10.30 watershed.

I'm afraid of a case of 'Give a prog a bad name and damn it'. Many who might find their patience repaid simply won't be listening.

[vinteuil]

We are soon to get treated to a Radio 3 simulcast of Radio 2's Friday Night Is Music Night, complete with the Candide Overture .... It should be said that, judging from the entire programme, Candide will be one of the better pieces What they will be playing appears to be hidden in a press release (though all will presumably be revealed tomorrow (Friday) in the week's schedule. .

.

John 11 : 35

[french frank]

.

John 11 : 35

Richard Dimbleby did indeed suddenly spring to mind, even as I rose to go in search of Holy Scripture.

[Frances_iom]

why do folks actually believe that R3 has any future ? - sounds just like another nail in the coffin - how appropriate that KD placed in role of chief nailer