Schubert on 3

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Poor Schubert another great composer ruined by R3s idiotic dictator and his politburo.

Nonsense! Schubert is tough enough to withstand anything that anything that any mere human can do to him. The only thing "ruined" by such cheap events is the reputation of the BBC.

Bbm:
I have no problem with the idea of a survey of the complete works of Schubert (or Mozart or Beethoven or Bach or Stravinsky ... ): as you say, these offer insights we might not otherwise appreciate. It's the "back-to-back" piling up of nothing but Schubert (/Mozart/Beethoven/Bach/Stravinsky/ ... ) that is so cheap, reducing a good idea to a gimmick. Spread the works over a year (for example), with one or two works a day to be savoured and fully appreciated. The "wall-to-wall" approach is more like a goose being prepared for foie gras!

Best Wishes.

[Chris Newman]

Nonsense! Schubert is tough enough to withstand anything that anything that any mere human can do to him. The only thing "ruined" by such cheap events is the reputation of the BBC.

I agree, ferney. What really puzzles me is what is the significance that RW finds so extra special that make him blazen the fact on the BBC News that he is celebrating Schubert's 215th Anniversary.

[Suffolkcoastal]

I meant to add 'potentially' ruined. The reason for my concern is that Schubert could indeed be ruined for some people. If you admire some of his works but not all and are presented with nothing but Schubert or whichever composer is the subject of RWs latest 'fest', it could be possible to be put off that composer by non-stop broadcasting especially if you keep catching works you're not to keen on. For those who like me admire Schubert deeply then of course he can withstand anything, but otherwise non-stop broadcasting of a composer could indeed turn you off a composer for a period of time or even permanently. These stupid 'fests' do nothing for a composer/R3 or the BBC. Also isn't the current strategy to try and entice new listeners to classical music? If some new listener is turning in for the 1st time during one of these stupid 'fests' and finds they don't respond to the composer and tries several other times during the next few days and is continually presented with the same composer, they could easily be put of R3 for good. R3 has actually put me off a few works by continual playing which is why I now avoid the CBeebies style programmes so I can hopefully learn to love these works again. I caught La Valse 12 times within a few weeks back in 2009 and it annoyed me so much I've been unable to listen to the work again and still can't bear to hear it, I used to really enjoy this work too.

[Don Petter]

Well put, Sc.

[gurnemanz]

Re Schubert 10 mentioned above, I read a very positive review in yesterday's Indie of a new Chandos CD of Berio "realisations". It looks rather tempting. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...internalSearch

http://www.chandos.net/Details06.asp?CNumber=CHSA%205101

[Roehre]

Re Schubert 10 mentioned above, I read a very positive review in yesterday's Indie of a new Chandos CD of Berio "realisations". It looks rather tempting. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...internalSearch

http://www.chandos.net/Details06.asp...er=CHSA%205101

Gurnemanz: Rendering is not a realisation/completion à la Newbould or Gülke. For Berio it is a framework for his own goals, leaving the structure of the work intact as Schubert left it, but fills in the holes of the work with his own putty, like Greek or Roman vases or so are restored just by sticking and putting the bits together and filling the missing bits with some stuff. Nevertheless, IMO an enjoyable work (I attended the premiere as it was one of the commissions to celebrate the Concertgebouw's Centenary in 1988, conducted by: Harnoncourt).

The Brahms and the Mahler to the contrary are very adequate and typical orchestrations, keeping very near to the originals (apart from an introduction Berio added to the Brahms "clarinet concerto).

[gurnemanz]

Thanks, Roehre, for replying with clarifying info on rendering/realisation which Chandos themselves seem to use as interchangeable.

[subcontrabass]

Question:

Will the programme planners take the opportunity to schedule programmes based around the music or will they shoe-horn the music into the existing programme structure with programmes focussed around the presenters?

[John Skelton]

Rendering is a fantastic work, IMO. Here it is on YouTube, to give some idea http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQB5bFTwHfI

I'm afraid I agree with the negative thoughts expressed here about playing 'all' of Schubert in one great undifferentiated glob, and I love Schubert's music dearly. There is the potential for some wonderful and serious broadcasting: to look at Schubert's songs, for instance, in the context of the literary circle he inhabited, the poets he was close to, the literary culture of Vienna at the time. Or to examine the great sonatas and 'late' chamber music in the context of Viennese musical activity in those genres other than Beethoven. To place Schubert in context (which would I suspect highlight just what an innovative and advanced composer he was. But it might also suggest surprising affiliations and draw attention to some little know music that would be well worth the hearing).

[Old Grumpy]

Radio 3 website now features a blog.

[Don Petter]

All that link does is get us back to here again?

[Chris Newman]

Hopefully the link to the blog is here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/radio3/2012/02/radio-3-controller-roger-wrigh.shtml

You will have to register to reply, though I suspect that old BBCR3 board members can do so (if they can remember their passwords)

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Hopefully the link to the blog is here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/radio3/2012/02/radio-3-controller-roger-wrigh.shtml

You will have to register to reply, though I suspect that old BBCR3 board members can do so (if they can remember their passwords)

Duly done! (I couldn't remember my password, fortunately, my computer could!)

[Old Grumpy]

Hopefully the link to the blog is here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/radio3/2012/02/radio-3-controller-roger-wrigh.shtml

You will have to register to reply, though I suspect that old BBCR3 board members can do so (if they can remember their passwords)

Many apologies - not sure what happened there (too many tabs open I suspect)!

OG

[JFLL]

I see that Amazon is offering all Schubert's songs suitable for baritone, with Fischer-Dieskau and Moore, for £33.99 - 21 CDs. Might be a decent alternative if the promised/threatened R3 Schubert marathon turns out to be hijacked by the witterers ..... A pity, though, that the texts are not included, but have to be retrieved from the web:

All sung texts and translations in German, English and French are available through a web-link, details of which are found within the accompanying printed 36-page booklet. The booklet includes full track lists and an alphabetical index of titles

36 pages and no song-texts? What on earth have they filled it with? (Oh yes, I forgot, probably translations of a 2-page introduction into all the languages of the EU.)