You may have seen french frank’s recent Announcements thread ‘Of mods and rockers’ (https://www.for3.org/forums/forum/ra...ds-and-rockers), in which she said that, at least for a short while, I’ll be taking over launching new BaL threads while Alpie takes a well-deserved break.
Coincidentally, I had been on the verge of writing to him to suggest that we might reconsider how we present the material, which can take a lot of time and effort to produce. So, I’m making some suggestions here for wider consideration.
It seems that the programme has lost much of its former appeal, for two main reasons: the two-handed approach and the limited number of recordings considered (not announced in advance). Much of the post-broadcast comment is now of the form:
Well, that was obvious from the start.
No surprise: reviewer X always favours conductor Y.
Why was no HIPP version considered?
Not another download-only choice!
That said, the discussion beforehand is often very interesting, with lots of light shed on different versions, and contributors have said that they have been encouraged to reinvestigate their own collections and sample new recordings with great enthusiasm. We have much more of an ‘Interpretations on record’-type discussion, a programme many of us wish would return.
Who knows what the plans are for BaL in its new time slot: what will happen during the Proms (we can always launch our own new “Summer BaL” threads) and once it returns after if indeed there is the traditional break?
If there’s general approval, I’ll continue in the short term by launching a new thread as the R3 schedule announces the piece being considered, and I’ll copy over their blurb (so we know who’s doing the comparison). Then I’ll give a link to the work on the Presto site, which is what I’d use to get more detailed information. If the number of recordings is manageable, and the information doesn’t have to be that detailed (typically like the Handel Op 6 and War Requiem threads just launched rather than the Madam Butterfly one), I’ll have a stab at compiling a list to post. For works with many more available versions, an option would be to use the filters on the Presto site to provide separate links for CD and download options (there would be overlaps), which might make browsing more attractive for some.
Please let us have your thoughts.
And once more, huge thanks to Alpie for all he’s done for us in the past.
Coincidentally, I had been on the verge of writing to him to suggest that we might reconsider how we present the material, which can take a lot of time and effort to produce. So, I’m making some suggestions here for wider consideration.
It seems that the programme has lost much of its former appeal, for two main reasons: the two-handed approach and the limited number of recordings considered (not announced in advance). Much of the post-broadcast comment is now of the form:
Well, that was obvious from the start.
No surprise: reviewer X always favours conductor Y.
Why was no HIPP version considered?
Not another download-only choice!
That said, the discussion beforehand is often very interesting, with lots of light shed on different versions, and contributors have said that they have been encouraged to reinvestigate their own collections and sample new recordings with great enthusiasm. We have much more of an ‘Interpretations on record’-type discussion, a programme many of us wish would return.
Who knows what the plans are for BaL in its new time slot: what will happen during the Proms (we can always launch our own new “Summer BaL” threads) and once it returns after if indeed there is the traditional break?
If there’s general approval, I’ll continue in the short term by launching a new thread as the R3 schedule announces the piece being considered, and I’ll copy over their blurb (so we know who’s doing the comparison). Then I’ll give a link to the work on the Presto site, which is what I’d use to get more detailed information. If the number of recordings is manageable, and the information doesn’t have to be that detailed (typically like the Handel Op 6 and War Requiem threads just launched rather than the Madam Butterfly one), I’ll have a stab at compiling a list to post. For works with many more available versions, an option would be to use the filters on the Presto site to provide separate links for CD and download options (there would be overlaps), which might make browsing more attractive for some.
Please let us have your thoughts.
And once more, huge thanks to Alpie for all he’s done for us in the past.
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