The 2020 Survey of Classical Music on Radio 3

[Ein Heldenleben]

Funnily enough, I, as a superannuated medieval French teacher, was under the erroneous impression that the 'cheminée' here was a noun formed from the verb cheminer, (rather like allée and chaussée), meaning something like K. René's Pathway - where he liked to ride, I fondly imagined . I'm still not sure whether it simply refers to the hearth or chimney in his castle or whether it's connected with 'se chauffer à la cheminée du roi René' which sort of means sunbathing, I think - warming oneself in the sunshine.

Never too late to learn if anyone knows better!

This is the wiki ref I read -
The title of the piece can be found in a nineteenth-century short story on "le bon roi René" and courtly love, "Le premier bouquet de fleurs d'oranger," written by Louis Lurine for the literary journal L'Écho des feuilletons, published in 1853; the journal is a collection of anecdotes and legends, of which the provençal saying "se chauffer à la cheminée du roi René" is one.[3]

[french frank]

This is the wiki ref I read -
The title of the piece can be found in a nineteenth-century short story on "le bon roi René" and courtly love, "Le premier bouquet de fleurs d'oranger," written by Louis Lurine for the literary journal L'Écho des feuilletons, published in 1853; the journal is a collection of anecdotes and legends, of which the provençal saying "se chauffer à la cheminée du roi René" is one.[3]

https://www.expressions-francaises.fr/47-regionales/3309-se-chauffer-a-la-cheminee-du-roi-rene.html

= Se chauffer au soleil

https://www.france-pittoresque.com/spip.php?article7853

se chauffer aux rayons du soleil

That seems to be the modern meaning, and I can't say that the music conjures up a medieval castle interior to me.

Just thought - I was mixing up cheminée with chevauchée, which does mean a ride. Been a long time …

[Belgrove]

... Never too late to learn if anyone knows better!

According to the notes accompanying the Athena Ensemble recording:

‘In the fifteenth century the most famous of the Troubadour Courts - the so called Courts of Love - was that of René d’Anjou, Comte de Provence. Much admired and respected, he was popularly known as Le roi René. The court was situated at Aix-en-Provence and a short distance away was a favourite spot of King René’s. This was a natural shelter and sun-trap; here King René and his courtiers could relax in the windless open air. It has existed to this day, and is now a popular picnic spot. The local name for the place is still ‘La Cheminée du roi René’.

Despite a few visits to the area, I’ve never bothered to seek out the site.

[french frank]

Despite a few visits to the area, I’ve never bothered to seek out the site.

That's a pity. You'd probably have found a little kiosk selling King René souvenirs. Sounds a bit like the story of the grave of Dickens's Little Nell in Tong churchyard, Shropshire, a great tourist attraction and a nice little earner for one of the vergers in the early 20th-c.

Thinking about the music, it suggests to me the simple pastoral life which René was traditionally said to enjoy, and the warm sunshine of late spring - rather than winter huddled close to the fireplace.

[Edgy 2]

Below are the figures for complete broadcasts of symphonies/sinfoniettas/sinfonias for 2020. The total number is the lowest since I started recording these figures in 2011.

The most broadcast symphonies were
Beethoven No 7 with 22 complete broadcasts
Beethoven No 3 with 18 complete broadcasts
Mozart No 40 & Prokofiev No 1 both with 13 complete broadcasts
Beethoven No 1, Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique, Dvorak No 7, all with 12 complete broadcasts.
Beethoven No 5, Mahler No 4 & Shostakovich No 5, all with 11 complete broadcasts
Beethoven Nos 2 & 6, Bruckner No 6, Mozart No 41, all with 10 complete broadcasts

and yet

Myaskovsky 1
Weinberg 1
Rubbra 1
Ivanovs 0
Simpson 0
Hoddinott 0
Daniel Jones 0
David Matthews 0

etc

[Leinster Lass]

and yet

Myaskovsky 1
Weinberg 1
Rubbra 1
Ivanovs 0
Simpson 0
Hoddinott 0
Daniel Jones 0
David Matthews 0

etc

Any chance of us ignoramuses (ignorami?) finding out the name of the Milhaud piece that's played 300 - or is it 350? - times a year?

[Bryn]

Any chance of us ignoramuses (ignorami?) finding out the name of the Milhaud piece that's played 300 - or is it 350? - times a year?

See #56 et seq.

[Leinster Lass]

See #56 et seq.

The programme in question being ....? It's obviously not the music that introduces 'Through The Night', as that's played every 2 hours, which adds up to ... well, lots more than 300 or 350 a year.

[Suffolkcoastal]

Fortunately, or unfortunately for poor Milhaud. programme I don't include programme 'signature tunes' in the figures

Edgy's symphony comments have remined me that I've been surveying the symphonies/sinfonias/sinfoniettas played on R3 (not including chunks in this case) for 10 years. So below are the figures for the last 10 years! Strange how Haydn's total has worked out!

F J HAYDN 1000
MOZART W A 890
BEETHOVEN 885
SIBELIUS 495
MAHLER 420
SCHUBERT 410
MENDELSSOHN 402
TCHAIKOVSKY 384
DVORAK 353
BRAHMS 340
SHOSTAKOVICH 302
PROKOFIEV 279
SCHUMANN 265
BACH CPE 257
BRUCKNER 243
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS 187
NIELSEN 174
BERLIOZ 143
ABEL 141
RACHMANINOV 116
STRAVINSKY 108
ELGAR 99
BOYCE 90
BRITTEN 82
MARTINU 66
SAINT-SAENS 66
BACH J C 63
STRAUSS R 57
KRAUS 53
SALIERI 51
M HAYDN 50
WALTON 50
SVENDSEN 48
BIZET 45
BORODIN 45
JANACEK 45
JIRANEK 43
SCRIABIN 43
WEBER 34
SAMMARTINI 33
LUTOSLAWSKI 29
TIPPETT 29
FRANCK 28
GILSON 28
ROMAN 28
BACH W F 26
BANTOCK 26
HERSCHEL 26
GOSSEC 25
HACZEWSKI 25
SCHOENBERG 25
VANHAL 25
ARNOLD 24
MALDERE 24
COPLAND 22
SAINT-GEORGES 22
SZYMANOWSKI 22
WANSKI 22
CHAUSSON 21
DITTERSDORF 21
FODOR 21
HINDEMITH 21
IVES 21
SOLNITZ 21
SORKOCEVIC 21
BACH JCF 20
BOCCHERINI 20
MANTZAROS 20
MESSIAEN 20
LISZT 19
MOYZES 19
MEHUL 18
ZEMLINSKY 18
BRUCH 16
DAVIES P MAXWELL 16
GOUNOD 16
KLAMI 16
KORNGOLD 16
KUNZEN 16
MALISZEWSKI 16
TARTINI 16
BERWALD 15
CANNABICH 15
HARRIS ROY 15
MANFREDINI 15
MOZART L 15
MYSLIVECEK 15
NAUMANN 15
REICHA 15
STAMITZ J 15
TANAYEV 15
ANTHEIL 14
BERNSTEIN 14
KNUSSEN 14
SCIGALSKI 14
SULLIVAN 14
TOUCHEMOULIN 14
HALVORSEN 13
MATTHEWS D 13
POULENC 13
ROSETTI 13
ADAMS 12
BERIO 12
GLUCK 12
GORECKI 12
MARQUES Y GARCIA 12
MEDER J G 12
PARRY 12
ROUSSEL 12
ARRIAGA 11
EYBLER 11
LANGGAARD 11
PANUFNIK 11
ALBINONI 10
BACEWICZ 10
ELSNER 10
ENGEL 10
GLAZUNOV 10
GLINKA 10
NORGARD 10
PART 10
BAX 9
JONES D 9
MACMILLAN 9
MIASKOVSKY 9
PENDERECKI 9
SCHMIDT 9
STENHAMMAR 9
SUMERA 9
WEYSE 9
WIENIAWSKI J 9
BRIAN 8
DOBRZYNSKI 8
DUTTILEUX 8
FARRENC 8
GLASS P 8
GRIEG 8
HARTMANN K A 8
LAJTHA 8
MOERAN 8
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV 8
RONTGEN 8
STILL W G 8
ALWYN 7
ARNE 7
BENNETT R ROD 7
BENTZON 7
CHAVEZ 7
CLEMENTI 7
NOSKOWSKI 7
SUK 7
TORELLI 7
VIVALDI 7
WAGENSEIL 7
WEILL 7
WESLEY S 7
ANDRICU 6
DONIZETTI 6
GIPPS 6
HONEGGER 6
PRICE F 6
SCARLATTI D 6
SCHRECKER 6
SUCHON 6
VAINBERG/WEINBERG 6
VERMEULEN 6
VILLA LOBOS 6
BARBER 5
BEACH 5
BRAUNFELS 5
CHADWICK 5
DEBUSSY 5
EBERL 5
FILS 5
HOOF 5
HOVHANESS 5
D'INDY 5
KASKI 5
LIE 5
MIELCK 5
ODAK 5
PEJACEVIC 5
SCHUMAN 5
SUOLAHTI 5
TUBIN 5
USTVOLSKAYA 5
WEBERN 5
ARENSKY 4
BEN HAIM P 4
BLISS 4
BOWEN 4
BOYLE I 4
DOPPER C 4
ENESCU 4
HANSON 4
HENZE 4
HOLST 4
MARSH J 4
MARTINES M 4
MATHIAS 4
RAYCHEV 4
RUBBRA 4
STAMITZ K 4
STANFORD 4
TELEMANN 4
WAGNER 4
YIU R 4
ANDERSON J 3
BAJAMONTI 3
BALAKIREV 3
BECK F I 3
BLODEK 3
CASELLA 3
CHERUBINI 3
COATES G 3
COWELL 3
DOHNANYI 3
DUKAS 3
GADE 3
GUILMANT 3
HOLMBOE 3
KAJANUS 3
KALLINIKOV 3
KARLOWICZ 3
KOZELUCH 3
MILFORD 3
PAPANDOPOLU 3
PEIRERA 3
PETTERSSON A 3
RICHTER F 3
SIXTA 3
SMITH A M 3
VORISEK 3
WILLAN H 3
WIREN 3
ZIMMERMANN B A 3
ALFVEN 2
ATTERBERG 2
AUERBACH 2
BAINTON 2
BEAMISH 2
BRESCIANELLO 2
BRUN F 2
BRUNT K 2
CHAGRIN 2
DAMASE 2
DENISOV 2
EDWARDS R 2
EISLER 2
FASCH 2
GAL 2
GLIERE 2
GOEHR A 2
GOTTSCHALK 2
GRAUN 2
GUARNIERI 2
GYROWETZ 2
HEROLD 2
HODDINOTT 2
IVANCIC 2
JACKSON G 2
JADASSOHN 2
KEAL M 2
KOECHLIN 2
LARCHER 2
LILBURN 2
MACONCHY 2
MCCABE 2
MAGNARD 2
MAZZOLI M 2
MELARTIN 2
MONN 2
NORMAN L 2
OSTRCIL 2
PARAC 2
PFITZNER 2
PICKARD 2
PISTON 2
PORTA 2
RAFF 2
RAUTAVAARA 2
RUFINATSCHA 2
SCHMITT F 2
SCHNITTKE 2
STOJOWSKI 2
SUSSMAYR 2
WATKINS H 2
WILLIAMS G 2
WILLIAMSON 2
ALMEIDA 1
ASPELMAYR 1
BACH J CHRISTOPH 1
BEDFORD D 1
BLOCH 1
BRIXI 1
BRUSA E 1
BURGESS A 1
CARTER E 1
COOKE A 1
COWEN F 1
CRANE L 1
CROSSE 1
DALL'OGLIO 1
DELLO JOIO 1
DEMACHY 1
DIEREN B VAN 1
DUMONT 1
DUN T 1
DUSSEK 1
ELCOCK S 1
ELIASSON 1
FIBICH 1
FLETCHER P 1
FOERSTER J F 1
FOSS 1
FREDERICK THE GREAT 1
FUX 1
GERHARD 1
GOLDMARK 1
GOTHE N 1
GOULD M 1
GREGSON 1
GUDMUNDSEN-HOLMGREEN 1
GUNNING 1
HAMILTON I 1
HARRISON L 1
HARTY 1
HASSE 1
HILL A 1
HOFFMANN E T A 1
HOFFMEISTER 1
HOLMES A 1
HYDE T 1
IVANOVS 1
JACKSON M 1
JOLIVET 1
JOMMELLI 1
JOUBERT 1
JUON 1
KASHPEROVA 1
KELEMEN 1
KETTING 1
KHACHATURIAN 1
KREK 1
KURPINSKI 1
LAMOND 1
LANDOWSKI 1
LEIGHTON 1
LINEK 1
LIPINSKI 1
LLOYD G 1
LYAPUNOV 1
MACRAE 1
MADETOJA 1
MCEWEN 1
MEALOR P 1
METCALF J 1
MONTSALVATGE 1
MONZA 1
NENOV 1
NORDGREN 1
PHILLIPS M 1
PICHL 1
PIJPER 1
PLEYEL 1
PONS J 1
POPOV 1
PORSILE 1
POTTER A J 1
POTTER C 1
RANGSTROM 1
RAWSTHORNE 1
RIES 1
ROSSINI 1
ROTT 1
ROUSE 1
SAWYERS P 1
SCARLETTI S 1
SCHEIBE 1
SCHULLER G 1
SCHULTZE 1
SCOTT C 1
SIERRA A 1
SILVESTROV 1
SIMPSON R 1
SORENSEN B 1
STEVENS B G 1
STOKOWSKI 1
SWERTS 1
TAYLOR M 1
TCHAIKOVSKY B 1
THOMPSON R 1
TOCH 1
TURINA 1
TVEITT 1
VEALE 1
VEICHTNER 1
VINE C 1
VOGEL 1
VOGLER 1
VOLANS 1
WALFORD-DAVIES 1
WALKER G 1
WALLACE W 1
WALPURGIS 1
WESLEY S S 1
WETZ 1
WIDOR 1
WOESTIJNE 1
WOLPE K 1
ZELJENKA 1
ZWILICH 1

[Ein Heldenleben]

Thanks again for the sterling work . I see Abel has an average of 14 symphonies a year , I have never heard a symphony by him even though I listen to R3 from 9-9.30 most days ( with a few gaps) . It might be more accurate to say I have never heard a symphony by him and remembered having done so. Is his work any good? He gets more performances than Rachmaninov or Elgar (though with the advantage of more works) so some one must like him .

[antongould]

Any chance of us ignoramuses (ignorami?) finding out the name of the Milhaud piece that's played 300 - or is it 350? - times a year?

Scaramouche ...... This Classical Life

[Leinster Lass]

Scaramouche ...... This Classical Life

Thank you! (I've never listened to it, hence my higgerance).

[Suffolkcoastal]

Thanks again for the sterling work . I see Abel has an average of 14 symphonies a year , I have never heard a symphony by him even though I listen to R3 from 9-9.30 most days ( with a few gaps) . It might be more accurate to say I have never heard a symphony by him and remembered having done so. Is his work any good? He gets more performances than Rachmaninov or Elgar (though with the advantage of more works) so some one must like him .

Karl Friedrich Abel - (1723-1787). He was resident in London from the end of the 1750s and was a close friend of Johann Christian Bach, who came to London a few years later. His symphonies are quite attractive and only around 10-15 minutes in length. Many of the broadcasts of his symphonies occur on Through the Night where one of two regularly crop up every few weeks or so.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Karl Friedrich Abel - (1723-1787). He was resident in London from the end of the 1750s and was a close friend of Johann Christian Bach, who came to London a few years later. His symphonies are quite attractive and only around 10-15 minutes in length. Many of the broadcasts of his symphonies occur on Through the Night where one of two regularly crop up every few weeks or so.

Thanks - that would explain why I haven’t heard that many . A ten minute ‘symphony’ - perfect for a magazine programme but does it contravene the trade descriptions act?

[Keraulophone]

#64 - Still, W G - the highest ranked composer I’d never heard of.

Well done Mr Still: William Grant Still Jr., 11/5/1895 – 3/12/1978. 5 symphonies, 9 operas, nearly 200 works in all. A remarkable story.