Here’s my 2021 Survey of Classical Music on Radio 3, the 13th I’ve undertaken. As with everything else, Covid continued to have impact on the live concerts, though less so than in 2020. The huge unprecedented increase in non-classical works being played in the usual classical music slots noted in 2019 & 2020 accelerated to frightening levels in 2021, increasing by a further 28% and is now 5 times what it was 10 years ago & accounts for around 10.5% of the chunks/pieces in classical programmes! The website with the published playlists, continued to remain a total shambles, with the usual multiple instances of duplications and mis-attributations. Another notable feature was the very large increase in arrangements of works, some of which could only be described as disarrangements.
Anniversary composers were very much a mixed bag. Stravinsky was generally poorly treated for one of the great composers. Heavy emphasis on The Firebird, Petrushka & Pulcinella, whilst any work composed post ‘The Rakes Progress’, was largely ignored. Saint-Saens was reasonably treated, though R3 overdosed on the Carnival of the Animals. Arnold was a tad disappointing, especially symphonically, the 5th Symphony excepted, Gipps about what was expected, though like Arnold, the amount broadcast tailed off considerably in the last couple of months of the year. Robert Simpson finally made it as COTW, but as expected apart from that was largely ignored. Josquin was reasonably represented, Piazzolla grossly over played & Fayrfax kept to a minimum. The continuing promotion of women composers, particularly certain favoured ones, is considerably overdone IMO. Many of R3’s favourite warhorses were broadcast in record numbers yet again. Particularly Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin & Mother Goose, as well as Schubert Impromptus, The Four Seasons & the Adagio for Strings.
As usual, a list of all composers with 50 or more pieces/chunks broadcast is in the thread below. If there are any composers not in this category that you would like to know the figures for, please let me know.
The *against a composer indicates the highest number of pieces/chunks by that composer since I began my survey in 2009, whilst the # indicates the lowest number since 2009.
The R3 Symphony survey will follow shortly as usual.
Anniversary composers were very much a mixed bag. Stravinsky was generally poorly treated for one of the great composers. Heavy emphasis on The Firebird, Petrushka & Pulcinella, whilst any work composed post ‘The Rakes Progress’, was largely ignored. Saint-Saens was reasonably treated, though R3 overdosed on the Carnival of the Animals. Arnold was a tad disappointing, especially symphonically, the 5th Symphony excepted, Gipps about what was expected, though like Arnold, the amount broadcast tailed off considerably in the last couple of months of the year. Robert Simpson finally made it as COTW, but as expected apart from that was largely ignored. Josquin was reasonably represented, Piazzolla grossly over played & Fayrfax kept to a minimum. The continuing promotion of women composers, particularly certain favoured ones, is considerably overdone IMO. Many of R3’s favourite warhorses were broadcast in record numbers yet again. Particularly Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin & Mother Goose, as well as Schubert Impromptus, The Four Seasons & the Adagio for Strings.
As usual, a list of all composers with 50 or more pieces/chunks broadcast is in the thread below. If there are any composers not in this category that you would like to know the figures for, please let me know.
The *against a composer indicates the highest number of pieces/chunks by that composer since I began my survey in 2009, whilst the # indicates the lowest number since 2009.
The R3 Symphony survey will follow shortly as usual.
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