Essential Classics - The Continuing Debate

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I agree with Rule 1. Rule 2 - guests should not be a feature of EC.

- being neither "essential" nor "classics"!

[french frank]

I agree with Rule 1. Rule 2 - guests should not be a feature of EC.

I was referring to Radio 3 in general, not Essential Classics. Sometimes guests on CotW make useful contributions because they don't get people like Russell Brand, Jo Brand, Mary Anne Hobbs or Richard Bacon to discuss Palestrina with DM.

[Nick Armstrong]

Singers are odd creatures aren't they? Mark Padmore's contributions to the Bach recordings on COTW last week were so exemplary in their expressiveness and accuracy; but here he is at the moment doing Finzi's 'Dies Natalis' and the vibrato is all over the place, I wouldn't know which notes were being sung if I didn't know the piece (perhaps that makes it worse), really unpleasant. Bad day at the studio? His voice getting old?

[cloughie]

Singers are odd creatures aren't they? Mark Padmore's contributions to the Bach recordings on COTW last week were so exemplary in their expressiveness and accuracy; but here he is at the moment doing Finzi's 'Dies Natalis' and the vibrato is all over the place, I wouldn't know which notes were being sung if I didn't know the piece (perhaps that makes it worse), really unpleasant. Bad day at the studio? His voice getting old?

Cali
I had just listened to Richter doing the Wanderer Fant and thinking great use of the guest spot with a substantial full work and enjoying some beautiful orchestral music when suddenly this awful tenor voice interrupted it. Almost like Pears on speed! Dreadful.

[Richard Tarleton]

I had just listened to Richter doing the Wanderer Fant

Cloughie I came in part way through that, on a poor quality (courtesy) car radio, and thought "who on earth is that banging their way through the Wanderer?" - not my favourite bit of Schubert at the best of times. Thinking of the Hoffnung pianists' hands in "Hoffnung's Acoustics", Richter's are definitely the pair of mallets wearing cuffs -

Seven pairs of hands, varying in size and shape from slender filigree, pudgy baby-fingered, tentacular, rectangular, multidigitate, to simply a pair of mallets wearing cuffs, evoke the exact sound we would expect each player to produce.

(from the official Hoffnung website. Can't find the actual image....)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

(from the official Hoffnung website. Can't find the actual image....)

It's on the front page.

http://www.musicweb-international.com/hoffnung/index.htm

[cloughie]

Cloughie I came in part way through that, on a poor quality (courtesy) car radio, and thought "who on earth is that banging their way through the Wanderer?" - not my favourite bit of Schubert at the best of times. Thinking of the Hoffnung pianists' hands in "Hoffnung's Acoustics", Richter's are definitely the pair of mallets wearing cuffs -

Seven pairs of hands, varying in size and shape from slender filigree, pudgy baby-fingered, tentacular, rectangular, multidigitate, to simply a pair of mallets wearing cuffs, evoke the exact sound we would expect each player to produce.

(from the official Hoffnung website. Can't find the actual image....)

OK Richard but what did you make of the tenor in the Finzi?

[Richard Tarleton]

OK Richard but what did you make of the tenor in the Finzi?

Sorry to say I hit the off button again cloughie - not a Mark Padmore fan. As Cali says he's fine in Bach....

[cloughie]

Sorry to say I hit the off button again cloughie - not a Mark Padmore fan. As Cali says he's fine in Bach....

Your button decision was a wise one!

[Nick Armstrong]

not a Mark Padmore fan. As Cali says he's fine in Bach....

I wish he'd try singing Finzi like Bach (if it was a conscious decision on his part to give the Finzi that blowsy treatment, and not a very off day)

[Barbirollians]

He was excellent in that Handel disc with Lucy Crowe.

Meanwhile I heard five minutes of this terrible programme on Friday by chance and was greeted by an appalling quiz item in which we were asked to guess what a piece of music was played backwards- only someone as deaf as a post would not have been able to identify the Dies Irae from the Verdi Requiem

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Meanwhile I heard five minutes of this terrible programme on Friday by chance and was greeted by an appalling quiz item in which we were asked to guess what a piece of music was played backwards- only someone as deaf as a post would not have been able to identify the Dies Irae from the Verdi Requiem

Radio 3 is very sick at present.

[Barbirollians]

Radio 3 is very sick at present.

I think it was Sarah Walker presenting and even she sounded embarrassed by the item - it was like something the ghastly Siobhan from W1A would have come up with

[Stanfordian]

He was excellent in that Handel disc with Lucy Crowe.

Meanwhile I heard five minutes of this terrible programme on Friday by chance and was greeted by an appalling quiz item in which we were asked to guess what a piece of music was played backwards- only someone as deaf as a post would not have been able to identify the Dies Irae from the Verdi Requiem

Hi Barbirollians,

Toe curlingly awful. So easy. It felt like one of thoese quizes on the tv or radio where a question is read out with a really obvious answer with the intention of getting people to ring in using premium rate calls.

[MrGongGong]

They played this today

and as I drove back from getting 4 new tyres (£££ ) I discovered it by accident
can't we just have a couple of hours of music of this elk? (sic)