BaL 6.07.19 - Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring

[Wolfram]

I don't recall RO ever being regular presenter of Record Review itself - was he?..... though in common with other Gramophonians he often did the BaL survey until Kenyon's 1990s populist clearout, and was sometimes on those end-of-year panel things later..........I guess RR was, latterly at least, only usually an adjunct to Gramophone for me, so I wasn't constantly exposed to tics and manners.... but I tend to be less easily annoyed by such things anyway....
(I'm more annoyed by the all-too-common invited-critic's way of showing off how professionally-critical they are, with colourful or clever-clever dismissals or pejoratives).

Perhaps there's a list of previous presenters somewhere......John Lade, Paul Vaughn......that would be interesting.

RO shared the presenting honours for a number of years with Anthony Burton and Jonathan Swain, each doing a third of the season. Ah! those were the days.......

[jayne lee wilson]

RO shared the presenting honours for a number of years with Anthony Burton and Jonathan Swain, each doing a third of the season. Ah! those were the days.......

Really? Gosh... can you recall which years, Wolf...?
I may have lost track of the program a little during & after the 1990s (the awful Kenyon effect etc), not being a morning person, until you could access it off of iplayer....

[Petrushka]

Really? Gosh... can you recall which years, Wolf...?
I may have lost track of the program a little during & after the 1990s (the awful Kenyon effect etc), not being a morning person, until you could access it off of iplayer....

RO even presented a 1988 Prom on BBC2 (Concertgebouw/Chailly) but I can't recall him doing any other TV work before or since. Excellent on Record Review, though.

[Wolfram]

Really? Gosh... can you recall which years, Wolf...?
I may have lost track of the program a little during & after the 1990s (the awful Kenyon effect etc), not being a morning person, until you could access it off of iplayer....

AMG took over from these three as the single presenter in the 1998-99 season. Osborne, Burton and Swain presented before that during the 1990s prior to the Age of AMG. I think AMG has only missed one programme in all that time; earlier this year when Radio 3 sent him to Leeds and Tom Mckinney stood in.

[Wolfram]

RO even presented a 1988 Prom on BBC2 (Concertgebouw/Chailly) but I can't recall him doing any other TV work before or since. Excellent on Record Review, though.

RO was excellent on Record Review, as was JS. The first thing that happened when AMG assumed the mantle of presenter was to cut BaL down to half an hour. Thankfully that didn't last long.

[pastoralguy]

RO was excellent on Record Review, as was JS. The first thing that happened when AMG assumed the mantle of presenter was to cut BaL down to half an hour. Thankfully that didn't last long.

I'm 99.9% certain that wouldn't have been Andrew's decision to cut BaL any more than it would have been his choice to have BaLs as 'twofers'. I think we forget that Andrew is 'only' the shows presenter and he's at the mercy of instruction from on high as any one else.

[Master Jacques]

I'm 99.9% certain that wouldn't have been Andrew's decision to cut BaL any more than it would have been his choice to have BaLs as 'twofers'. I think we forget that Andrew is 'only' the shows presenter and he's at the mercy of instruction from on high as any one else.

Wise words: I've no doubt he's no keener on the 'twofer' debacle than anyone here. He's a professional presenter, doing what he's told, to the best of his very considerable ability.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Wise words: I've no doubt he's no keener on the 'twofer' debacle than anyone here. He's a professional presenter, doing what he's told, to the best of his very considerable ability.

But is there any evidence for this lack of doubt, MJ? (Any than there would be if someone stated that they had "no doubt" that AMcG has photographs of the Director General in a compromising position, and was using these to ensure that Saturday Mornings become The Andy McGregor Show?)

It doesn't matter if the Head Waiter is spitting in the soup because the Restaurant Owner has told him to, or if he's doing it of his own volition - the soup has been spat in, and I won't swallow it.

[doversoul1]

But is there any evidence for this lack of doubt, MJ? (Any than there would be if someone stated that they had "no doubt" that AMcG has photographs of the Director General in a compromising position, and was using these to ensure that Saturday Mornings become The Andy McGregor Show?)

It doesn't matter if the Head Waiter is spitting in the soup because the Restaurant Owner has told him to, or if he's doing it of his own volition - the soup has been spat in, and I won't swallow it.

...but then, blaming the waiter who brought the soup to you won’t make the situation any better, will it? S/he wouldn’t go back to the head waiter and say ‘the customer said you spat in the soup’.

I agree with Master J. Andrew MacG is one of the best presenters on R3 and must know how the programme really should be. We live in the world where even the leaders of political parties are expected to chat spontaneously online. A reviewer presenting a well prepared argument is not the thing to keep if you want your programme to be popular. A sad world we live in.

[pastoralguy]

...but then, blaming the waiter who brought the soup to you won’t make the situation any better, will it? S/he wouldn’t go back to the head waiter and say ‘the customer said you spat in the soup’.

I agree with Master J. Andrew MacG is one of the best presenters on R3 and must know how the programme really should be. We live in the world where even the leaders of political parties are expected to chat spontaneously online. A reviewer presenting a well prepared argument is not the thing to keep if you want your programme to be popular. A sad world we live in.

Or indeed if you simply just 'want to keep your programme!' I'm sure there are many other presenters who would love to get their hand on Record Review. (Katie Derham, perhaps...)

[Bryn]

Or indeed if you simply just 'want to keep your programme!' I'm sure there are many other presenters who would love to get their hand on Record Review. (Katie Derham, perhaps...)

Now there's a thought. Which work would we pick for her to deliver a BaL on as part of her audition process for the Record Review job?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

...but then, blaming the waiter who brought the soup to you won’t make the situation any better, will it? S/he wouldn’t go back to the head waiter and say ‘the customer said you spat in the soup’.

Oh, I've left written complaints to the Restaurant owners, and to the local Food Standards Agency. But none of that is getting me back in the restaurant - nor does it matter to me that it's the only restaurant in town, and that, if I don't go there it might have to shut down - nor that the other restaurants available are even worse. The situation isn't getting any better by my cooking for myself at home - but that's my infinitely greater preference these days.

I agree with Master J. Andrew MacG is one of the best presenters on R3 and must know how the programme really should be. We live in the world where even the leaders of political parties are expected to chat spontaneously online. A reviewer presenting a well prepared argument is not the thing to keep if you want your programme to be popular. A sad world we live in.

I wouldn't disagree that AMcG is one of the better presenters of the current lot - but I think that back in the '70s & '80s he'd be just another of the very good presenters (which is no criticism, by the way). I don't personally sense any of the "very considerable ability" that MJ referred to: that would be reserved for the likes of Michael Oliver, of whom there is no equivalent today (Tom Service is the closest match, which just goes to show.) But it really doesn't matter if AMcG loathes what he has to do or if he's enthusiastically behind all the alterations - the results are the same.