Saturday Classics/Inside Music

[mercia]

Dame Kiri making a right pig's ear of reading her script this afternoon. Not as easy as the professionals make it sound, I guess.

[Stillhomewardbound]

Dame Kiri making a right pig's ear of reading her script this afternoon. Not as easy as the professionals make it sound, I guess.

I'm afraid it turned into an awful car crash. I mean, at first I was aware of the odd stumble - entirely forgiveable, but thereafter I could only think that she had dropped the script and retrieved the pages in the wrong order.

[Nick Armstrong]

I'm afraid it turned into an awful car crash.

Some Saturday classic comments on social media about it all, including the same motorway pile-up metaphor:

"Kiri Te Kanawa stumbles over Stephen Hough's name, in a show devoted to her "favourite" pieces. Hilarious, carcrash radio."

...

"Kiri darling, I'm not sure you're really cut out to be a presenter. You did correct yourself, after many more minor blips, but you really should know that Stephen Hough is pronounced is pronounced huff not hew."

I'm afraid Saturday afternoon on R3 has long been a no-go area, as much as if not more than weekday Breakfast. Worse than ever now, it seems. I caught 2 minutes last weekend, of that Agent Turquoise* person or whatever her name is - simply unlistenable-to

.

*Angel Blue [Ed.]

[french frank]

Some Saturday classic comments on social media about it all, including the same motorway pile-up metaphor:

"Kiri Te Kanawa stumbles over Stephen Hough's name, in a show devoted to her "favourite" pieces. Hilarious, carcrash radio."

I note the Breakfast spiel:

Each day, during the 20 days of the Classical Voice season, Dame Kiri, drawing on her own experience, selects a singer and illustrates in music - explaining in an entertaining and simple way - why she's selected this voice as one of her favourites.

Particularly glad to hear that it's being made simple for us … Classical Voice for Dummies?

[Nick Armstrong]

Particularly glad to hear that it's being made simple for us … Classical Voice for Dummies?

Simple is as simple does...

[french frank]

Simple is as simple does...

Thinking about it, the whole idea of having musicians presenting their favourite music doesn't really stand up to scrutiny.

Having just heard Dame Kiri introducing one piece, it sounded like a semi-literate person handed a note and being asked to 'sight-read' it. As presentation, it's amateurish; as a singer's personal choice of music which ranges widely from guitar, violin, cello, musicals, film music &c, it's become the standard Radio 3 mix but the 'hook' is just that it's a Famous Person: and that shouldn't be the appeal of a Radio 3 programme - in my view.

[Stillhomewardbound]

... oh, and Kiri, when you next find yourself in a hole, here's a top tip ... stop digging!!!

[Wallace]

Saturday Classics must go.
In its place, every week and forever from 2 to 4pm Radio 3 will broadcast a programme titled “British Composers”. Presenters will include Simon Heffer, Ian Skelly and Iain Burnside. Format will be as Simon Heffer’s earlier broadcasts with the music being chosen from works which are not generally well known. There will be no Larks.

[Roehre]

Saturday Classics must go.
In its place, every week and forever from 2 to 4pm Radio 3 will broadcast a programme titled “British Composers”. Presenters will include Simon Heffer, Ian Skelly and Iain Burnside. Format will be as Simon Heffer’s earlier broadcasts with the music being chosen from works which are not generally well known. There will be no Larks.

Though I'd like to listen to the original violin/piano-version

[EdgeleyRob]

Though I'd like to listen to the original violin/piano-version

Hi Roehre,there are a couple of performances on you tube,although they are not top notch IMVHO.
There is a better Lydia Mordkovich version on an old Carlton Classics cd,which is hard to find these days.

[Roehre]

Hi Roehre,there are a couple of performances on you tube,although they are not top notch IMVHO.
There is a better Lydia Mordkovich version on an old Carlton Classics cd,which is hard to find these days....

Thanks ER, I know those performances of that vn/pf-version, but I doubt whether many R3 listeners, let alone CRM-ones would.

[Bax-of-Delights]

I dropped in on Saturday Classics yesterday whilst in the car for 15 minutes. I think I just missed "Concerto de Aranjuez" and got the first bars of the Elgar Cello Concerto (both R3 and CFM old favourites wheeled out far too often) but couldn't work out who the presenter was. I could hear shuffliing of papers and she seemed to be broadcasting from an echoiing warehouse. I assumed that she might have been one of those celebrities that gets wheeled in by R3 on occasion purely because they are "celebs" and not particularly knowledgeable about music but then she mentioned having met Du Pre and Barenboim so I had to revise my first impression. I hadn't realised that it was Kiri Te Kanawa but since she is now on Martin Handley's programme this morning serving up a fair dollop of Barbara Streisand for our delectation I'm hardly surprised.
I like Streisand (in small doses) and I like Bax (in rather larger doses) - but not in the same programme!
Dreadful. And one of the many reasons why I rarely now tune to R3.

Edited: Ah. I now know why Te Kanawa is "la personne du jour" on R3. She is chairwoman of the Cardiff Singer of the Year which the BBC are broadcasting.
And just who is "Angel Blue", compering with Petroc Trelawny? Whenever she interviews the singers after the event she appears to grab them, pull them to her and pose, as if some out of view photographer is taking a snap (just as you'd take a snap of your kid standing next to Father Christmas).

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

And just who is "Angel Blue", compering with Petroc Trelawny? Whenever she interviews the singers after the event she appears to grab them, pull them to her and pose, as if some out of view photographer is taking a snap (just as you'd take a snap of your kid standing next to Father Christmas).

http://www.angeljoyblue.com/about.html

I agree. It's dreadful… and just as there had seemed to be a glimmer of hope of things getting better.

[Honoured Guest]

Edited: Ah. I now know why Te Kanawa is "la personne du jour" on R3. She is chairwoman of the Cardiff Singer of the Year which the BBC are broadcasting.

Not quite, BoD. In fact, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is the Patron of BBC Cardiff Singer of the World.

David Pountney is the Chairman of the jury for both the Main Prize and the Song Prize.

[Nick Armstrong]

And just who is "Angel Blue", compering with Petroc Trelawny?

Quite: http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...493#post492493

She's now known in this house as Agent Orange.