Discovering Music - axed

[french frank]

I think this interval idea would be very much an overview to the work being discovered.

Well, the insider information was that it would be 'analysis' but I do note the official BBC description is 'introducing music' which could well be mainly historical and biographical context. That could be very useful and interesting, but it wouldn't be a replacement for the in-depth analysis of DM.

We'll have to wait a few weeks to see.

[johnb]

Following a hint from FF I've compiled a list of the Discovering Music programmes from 2003 to July, 2011. The list is in Word format and, as far as I can tell, people should be able to listen to the analysis part of these programmes (by clicking on the 'Clip' on the webpage) but the performances of the works are not included.

The list is sorted in composer order, then by the work title (alphabetical). It includes the year and month of the programme so it should be fairly simple to navigate to the programme via the Discovering Music archive:

Discovering Music archive

The list

It is a pity that Programmes 2002 and earlier don't seem to have any clips. Perhaps because they were originally in Real Audio format?

If anyone would like the list in a different format or if anyone finds any errors (and I'm sure there will be some) - please PM.

[Roehre]

Following a hint from FF I've compiled a list of the Discovering Music programmes from 2003 to July, 2011.
The list is sorted in composer order, then by the work title (alphabetical). It includes the year and month of the programme so it should be fairly simple to navigate to the programme via the Discovering Music archive:
Discovering Music archive
The list

[french frank]

Following a hint from FF I've compiled a list of the Discovering Music programmes from 2003 to July, 2011.

Wow! No sooner said .... that's a brilliant job, johnb.

I could copy it to a dedicated forum page, if you like, with a permanent link from the sidebar. This post will eventually disappear from sight and it would be a bit unsophisticated to keep bumping it in case there were any people who didn't catch it first time!

[amateur51]

Wow! No sooner said .... that's a brilliant job, johnb.

I could copy it to a dedicated forum page, if you like, with a permanent link from the sidebar. This post will eventually disappear from sight and it would be a bit unsophisticated to keep bumping it in case there were any people who didn't catch it first time!

Triffic job, johnb!

And marvy idea, french frank!

[johnb]

I could copy it to a dedicated forum page, if you like, with a permanent link from the sidebar. This post will eventually disappear from sight and it would be a bit unsophisticated to keep bumping it in case there were any people who didn't catch it first time!

Sounds like a good idea. (After all we don't want to appear unsophisticated, so we? )

There are a few errors I've spotted - and I'm sure there are many others. (I partially automised extracting the data, in order to avoid typing, and then tried to pick up where it didn't quite work.)

I've just updated the file with a few minor changes - so anyone who has downloaded already might want to do so again using the original links (though, as I said, the changes are only minor).

[Serial_Apologist]

Great job johnb ; and a terrific idea to have this easily available from here, French Frank

[french frank]

Okay, I'll prepare a page but it might take a day or two as I have to undergo 'developed vetting' procedures to expand the sidebar

[Bax-of-Delights]

I have just read through this thread with much dismay - but, frankly, I am not at all surprised. I have been cogitating (oh dear! does that betray my classics education?) on an incident that happened just yesterday:

I was walking through my local village/town when I heard a familiar sound. Bearing in mind that I was born in 1947 and the sound of a Merlin engine has entered my experience mostly through newsreels and films and the occasional fly-past but I knew instantly that a Spitfire was in the vicinity. Sure enough, about 1000 feet above, the familiar outline traced across the sky and headed due west. I looked about me, perhaps to share this exhilarating moment with a passer-by. No-one, not a single person, had seemingly taken any notice. Heads down, peering into shop windows, walking their dogs, children playing/fighting - no-one was standing like me, peering into the sky.
The more I thought about this afterwards the more I felt depressed about the seemingly disinterested nature of the people around me. Unenquiring. Incurious. A whole slew of history had passed over these people heads. Literally. And no-one was apparently interested.
,
And now, reading this thread, I am more aware of the very depth of this incurious trait and how it has infected the corpus of British society - a society which, apparently, is content with ready-made comestibles and throw-away goods. (The targets of this week's rioters would attest to the shallowness of people's desires. It is noticeable that no bookshops got trashed.)
And so, and so....
We now work to the lowest common denominator and the shortest attention span because anything else is not immediate enough. Instant gratification, immediate recognition (the endless replaying of 100 best tunes) and the demotion of curiosity and learning to a point where it becomes "easy" and therefore attracts the "bigger" audience.

I can't begin to say how fallacious and depressing the whole dumb exercise has become.

[salymap]

Absolutely agree BoD. They've probably never heard of a Spitfire anyway. War,what war? History, never read it.

[amateur51]

Absolutely agree BoD. They've probably never heard of a Spitfire anyway. War,what war? History, never read it.

However, I wonder if 'they' know the difference between uninterested and disinterested

[french frank]

We now work to the lowest common denominator

Part of it arises from the BBC's expressed intention to be accountable and responsive to the licence fee payer. Audiences are at the heart of what we do. We consult. Audiences tell us that ... which all leads to: We give audiences what they want.

It's clear (as I mentioned earlier) that a lot of reliance has been put on the evidence of the Audience Councils. I can't believe that the majority were Radio 3 listeners. And yet if they say R3 programmes (like Discovering Music) are above their heads, too formal &c, then changes are proposed to cater for them. But nearly everything else that the BBC does is already for them

[Flay]

I believe that Discovering Music is one of the best programmes on R3. I have learnt so much from it. I preferred the older style studio presentation as a lecture with edited clips, rather than as a live performance and questions from an audience.
It has never been pitched at too high a level, but it does assume some basic knowledge of music. There is nothing aloof about that, after all surely financial programmes on Radio 4 require quite a lot of knowledge. Shall these be cut too?

I will miss it greatly. The suggested replacement will be a feeble shadow of the original.

[salymap]

However, I wonder if 'they' know the difference between uninterested and disinterested

Why doyou do nothing but criticize an interesting post like that.

Sorry should criticise be s or z ?

[amateur51]

Why doyou do nothing but criticize an interesting post like that.

Sorry should criticise be s or z ?

Sorry salymap - you've told me before not to correct older people, even when they're embarassingly wrong