La Tribune: Un BaL Français

[Quarky]

A personal view. BaL is of value for the specific comments of the reviewers and the reasons why they prefer one recording to another. I'm sure that Tribune offers even more vauable comments, but my work-a-day french is not up to understanding the discussion, which is conducted at a very high level.

I do listen to a lot of French Radio, but Tribune is perhaps the most difficult of all the programmes. Unless France Musique or Google comes up with some sort of sub-title arrangement, I will stick to Musique Matin and Etonnez-Moi Benôit!

Having said that, I do find Jeremy's report page interesting

[gurnemanz]

A personal view. BaL is of value for the specific comments of the reviewers and the reasons why they prefer one recording to another. I'm sure that Tribune offers even more vauable comments, but my work-a-day french is not up to understanding the discussion, which is conducted at a very high level.

I do listen to a lot of French Radio, but Tribune is perhaps the most difficult of all the programmes. Unless France Musique or Google comes up with some sort of sub-title arrangement, I will stick to Musique Matin and Etonnez-Moi Benôit!

Having said that, I do find Jeremy's report page interesting

My French is reasonable but not up to making the Tribune a useful listening experience. My German is much better and another Radio 3 (rbb Berlin) does a similar thing called Blindverkostung (blind tasting). which I have occasionally listened to. All editions are available online, in case anyone is interested.

[Roger Webb]

My French is reasonable but not up to making the Tribune a useful listening experience. My German is much better and another Radio 3 (rbb Berlin) does a similar thing called Blindverkostung (blind tasting). which I have occasionally listened to. All editions are available online, in case anyone is interested.

I'll give the Blindverkostung a go, thanks for that - despite living in Berlin for a year, my German is worse than my French, but I manage La Tribune with the help of my wife whose degree was in French....she also has fairly good German which might help.

[MickyD]

We are wondering if there is sufficient interest in weekly programme threads to continue with them, as they require a fair bit of work from whoever starts and updates them, and in general there has not been much response.

Please let us have your thoughts.

Yes, I must confess I was rather disappointed that the Vivaldi La Stravaganza programme didn't attract much response when I reported back on it. But reading the comments on here, I do of course totally understand that with the programme being in another language unspoken by many does make it all rather limiting. And I agree with Roger that the programme is on Sunday afternoon when many people are doing other things.

[Roger Webb]

.........I must confess I was rather disappointed that the Vivaldi La Stravaganza programme didn't attract much response..........

More interest though than that for Madame Butterfly............perhaps 'Enigma' on Sunday week might do the trick Micky.

[MickyD]

More interest though than that for Madame Butterfly............perhaps 'Enigma' on Sunday week might do the trick Micky.

I hope so - I'm fascinated to hear what the French reviewers have to say about 'Enigma', I never hear it on French radio and very little other Elgar works either. Thanks for flagging it up, Rog!

[Roger Webb]

I hope so - I'm fascinated to hear what the French reviewers have to say about 'Enigma', I never hear it on French radio and very little other Elgar works either. Thanks for flagging it up, Rog!

The French do seem impervious to 'British' music in general - did you know Delius's 'Paris: the song of a great city' has, as far as I know, never been given an airing in its eponymous capital!

I spent a lot of time in various record shops in Paris over the years - my wife commuted to Mantes la Jolie and I used to nip in quite often, and stayed in the 14th for longer periods. Apart from the obvious FNACs and Virgin I discovered some excellent little Lp and later on CD shops dotted about, and rarely did they have much in the way of British stuff...mind you I had my own shop back in Bristol, so I was looking for rare French repertoire not available in the UK. My favourite a s/h one in a little street off Rue St Jacques behind the Pantheon.

Curiously, you still see s/h copies of the green Lyrita lp SRCS 34 of Holst cond Imo Holst....I found out Quad's Peter Walker had used it at the Paris HiFi show in the early seventies to demonstrate his electrostatic loudspeakers, and subsequently it caught on a bit! I still play it on my Quads to this day!

[oliver sudden]

Your wife doesn’t make clarinets by any chance? Mantes-la-Jolie is where the Buffet-Crampon factory is…

Alas although I used to be an inveterate listener to TdCdD I simply haven’t had time to do so since our twins arrived. Even when I did listen to it, it was generally as a podcast rather than ‘live’, except on one occasion when I attended the recording of an episode. (Britten violin concerto, back in the Hudry days.) So the tricky thing for me with the whole idea of a Tribune thread is that if I do drop in on it close to the broadcast time there will be quite severe spoilers, which for me is a much more serious business given the nature of the programme than it would be for BaL.

[Roger Webb]

Your wife doesn’t make clarinets by any chancee? Mantes-la-Jolie is where the Buffet-Crampon factory is…

Alas although I used to be an inveterate listener to TdCdD I simply haven’t had time to do so since our twins arrived. Even when I did listen to it, it was generally as a podcast rather than ‘live’, except on one occasion when I attended the recording of an episode. (Britten violin concerto, back in the Hudry days.) So the tricky thing for me with the whole idea of a Tribune thread is that if I do drop in on it close to the broadcast time there will be quite severe spoilers, which for me is a much more serious business given the nature of the programme than it would be for BaL.

Nothing as exciting as making clarinets (my chosen instrument of torture for a number of years!), she oversaw the implementation of a new computer system in a flexible packaging (biscuit wrappers!) factory. I either went in to Paris or tramped the lanes over the Seine around Limay where Ernest Chausson had his summer residence - I've loved his music ever since.

I would love to go to one of the 'live' recordings of La Tribune as part of the audience, I seem to remember there's one coming up soon - I think Covid stopped those for a while.

I don't actually mind knowing the six contenders as the programme unfolds...especially if one of the panel votes off one of their preferred recordings.....quite hard sometimes, blind - although vocal works are generally a bit easier to spot. When in France I listened on FM without the aid of the website, which, yes, is a different experience.

Some of my customers in my CD shop may remember my opening up early on a Saturday to get the coffee on before BaL started, and the discussion afterwards....and the lucky customer who guessed correctly and nabbed the winner....the rest had to order, and chance whether it was out of stock.

[MickyD]

The one British composer they do revere is Purcell, he is often played. I think it was Philippe Herreweghe (mind you, he's Belgian!) that said he would rather have a few bars of Purcell rather than a whole opera by Lully.

Your record shop sounds as it was great fun, Roger, wished I'd been there at the time!

Is there still an audience in residence for La Tribune ? I don't recall hearing it in the Vivaldi broadcast.

[Roger Webb]

The one British composer they do revere is Purcell, he is often played. I think it was Philippe Herreweghe (mind you, he's Belgian!) that said he would rather have a few bars of Purcell rather than a whole opera by Lully.

Your record shop sounds as it was great fun, Roger, wished I'd been there at the time!

Is there still an audience in residence for La Tribune ? I don't recall hearing it in the Vivaldi broadcast.

Considering it was my place of work, yes, the record (and CD!) shop was the lesser of a lot of evils!! Although there were a few 'awkward' customers!
No, no audience, the ones done in front of a live audience are a rarity now. But I think there's one coming up soon.

Any thoughts on the Schubert

https://www.radiofrance.fr/francemusique/podcasts/la-tribune-des-critiques-de-disques/trio-n01-de-franz-schubert-2879380

[Pulcinella]

The one British composer they do revere is Purcell, he is often played. I think it was Philippe Herreweghe (mind you, he's Belgian!) that said he would rather have a few bars of Purcell rather than a whole opera by Lully.

Your record shop sounds as it was great fun, Roger, wished I'd been there at the time!

Is there still an audience in residence for La Tribune ? I don't recall hearing it in the Vivaldi broadcast.

It was: he treated his customers and occasional helpers such as me and my partner very well.
We quite often would choose something fairly obscure to play and hope to engender some interest and questions (and potentially a sale!) about what it was from people who were just browsing: it often worked!

[Roger Webb]

It was: he treated his customers and occasional helpers such as me and my partner very well.
We quite often would choose something fairly obscure to play and hope to engender some interest and questions (and potentially a sale!) about what it was from people who were just browsing: it often worked!

It's called good salesmanship Pulcinella! I always said you were wasted in the publishing business! Although the pay was better no doubt!

MickyD would have been one of those we looked forward to seeing, don't you think?....... especially when he got his wallet out!

[MickyD]

It's called good salesmanship Pulcinella! I always said you were wasted in the publishing business! Although the pay was better no doubt!

MickyD would have been one of those we looked forward to seeing, don't you think?....... especially when he got his wallet out!

Oh, fear not, I would certainly have been spending my money there had I not been in London at the time!

Will have a think about the forthcoming Schubert...

[vinteuil]

Any thoughts on the Schubert

https://www.radiofrance.fr/francemus...hubert-2879380

I wd hope they might consider them in separate categories -

eg

'Historic' : Thibaud/Casals/Cortot &c
'Modern' : Pennetier/Pasquier/Pidoux &c
'HIPP' : Staier/Sepec/Dieltiens ; Immerseel/Beths/Bylsma ; Vermeulen/Despiegelaere/Steylaerts ; la Gaia Scienzia, &c

.