Composer of the Week - any thoughts on the format?

[Barbirollians]

Frankly, the last thing we need is Radio 3 "refreshing " one of its best programmes .

I can hear it now - Rob Cowan does Dvorak and talks to his special guest( insert tedious minor celeb ) who tells him why he/she loves Dvorak

[JFLL]

Frankly, the last thing we need is Radio 3 "refreshing " one of its best programmes .

I can hear it now - Rob Cowan does Dvorak and talks to his special guest( insert tedious minor celeb ) who tells him why he/she loves Dvorak

I would hope that Rob Cowan would revert to his true persona as an expert on historical recordings!

I suspect that the rather lukewarm response to my query was partly because CoW is, warts and all, something like what Radio 3 used to be like on a routine basis, so should be prserved because the alternative is likely to be worse. That's probably true, alas.

I was very interested in FF's details of the programme from 1997. What stands out, as well as the much greater variety than now, is that complete works were played, for example, Dvorak's 7th Symphony (40 mins) and d'Indy's Symphonie sur un chant montagnard (30 mins). That brings me to another gripe about today's CoW. My heart sinks when I see all the pieces labelled '2nd movt.', '4th movt.' etc. If I want that I can go to Classic FM. Most symphonies are no longer than 30-40 mins, so it's not as though there isn't time to play them in full.

There must still be a number of presenters on R3 who could front the programme from time to time, e.g. Rob Cowan, Stephen Johnson, James Jolly, Ian Burnside, Sarah Walker, Susan Sharpe, Jonathan Swain, Christopher Cook, Catherine Bott, Lucy Skeaping, Penny Gore, Verity Sharp (and for aught I know Petroc Trelawney has a secret passion for Stockhausen).

[Barbirollians]

I would happily send Trelawney and Cowan straight back to Classic FM and they can take Sara Mohr Pietsch, katie Derham and Sean Rafferty with them

[Don Petter]

I was very interested in FF's details of the programme from 1997. What stands out, as well as the much greater variety than now, is that complete works were played, for example, Dvorak's 7th Symphony (40 mins) and d'Indy's Symphonie sur un chant montagnard (30 mins). That brings me to another gripe about today's CoW. My heart sinks when I see all the pieces labelled '2nd movt.', '4th movt.' etc. If I want that I can go to Classic FM. Most symphonies are no longer than 30-40 mins, so it's not as though there isn't time to play them in full.

That thought has crossed my mind as a minor annoyance with the current CotW. I seem to remember a few weeks ago we heard just the first two movements of a three movement work. The missing movement was of less than ten minutes duration. Surely in a week's programmes, totalling five hours, some rearrangement could have avoided such an anomaly?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

My heart sinks when I see all the pieces labelled '2nd movt.', '4th movt.' etc. If I want that I can go to Classic FM. Most symphonies are no longer than 30-40 mins, so it's not as though there isn't time to play them in full.

... I don't entirely share your reservations about DM: he's one of the very best presenters on R3. But I do share S_A's annoyance that so much biographical chat is presented on the programme. There are ways of giving technical information (about Harmony, Structure, the composer's working methods etc etc) to a non-specialist listener in an informative, non-threatening manner that are being ignored in the present format. So perhaps a greater variety of presenters might be the way to achieve this? Certainly many of the names you suggest might be able to do so - I would add Robert Warby and Sara Mohr-Pietsch. No, not the infuriating person with that name who presents the Breakfast Club programmes, but the highly intelligent young woman who co-presents Hear & Now and who did such an excellent job with the Discovering Music double on the Brandenburg Concertos.

[Panjandrum]

I agree with the poster who said that there was too much biography in COTW, as a general point. The other day, DM uttered his disappointment that little was known about Schubert's (lack of) love life. Personally, I couldn't care less for this sort of trivia. While we're at it, a plea for more period instrument performances (where appropriate) and complete works.

[Panjandrum]

Sara Mohr-Pietsch. No, not the infuriating person with that name who presents the Breakfast Club programmes, but the highly intelligent young woman who co-presents Hear & Now and who did such an excellent job with the Discovering Music double on the Brandenburg Concertos.

Not the Sara Mohr-Pietsch who hosted the abysmal "Play Schubert for Me" either, FHG?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Not the Sara Mohr-Pietsch who hosted the abysmal "Play Schubert for Me" either, FHG?

No, emphatically not! They can get rid of her as soon as they like.

[rank_and_file]

JFLL

I could not disagree more - we have had enough good programmes wrecked on Radio 3 and the “presentation “ is at an all time low.

So far as I am concerned, Donald Macleod has a pretty perfect speaking voice for radio, for drawing the listener in, and presenting the life and works of a composer over the normal five programme span.

If, as suggested, he does his own research - and scripts (?) the programme, then bully for him, although what does the producer (and researchers?) do? Incidentally, is CotW the ONLY scripted programme left on Radio 3?

In my opinion, there is no one on Radio 3 who can paint words with the delicacy and feeling as DM does, which lends support to the anecdotal coverage of the composer.

However, that does not say we cannot have more well researched and scripted programmes like CotW. After the Schubert marathon, as an example (out of many) perhaps somebody who also speaks the Queen’s English could give us an hour of well-researched and scripted information about “Schubert and the poetry of Goethe.” Of course, this would never happen as it would upset the cast iron Schedule where Verdi’s “Requiem” now takes two and a half hours to perform according to the BBC.

[doversoul1]

rank_and_file

what does the producer (and researchers?) do? Incidentally, is CotW the ONLY scripted programme left on Radio 3?

Early Music Show. Catherine Bott has mentioned more than once ‘when I was writing the script’, and I expect Lucie Skeaping researches and writes the script. But research for programmes like CoW and the EMS is not something one person can do every week. It has to be teamwork. The producer is there to make sure that research activities can be arranged and the result can be put together to the best effect, I think.

I agree with you wholeheartedly about DM.

[hackneyvi]

... and Sara Mohr-Pietsch. No, not the infuriating person with that name who presents the Breakfast Club programmes, but the highly intelligent young woman who co-presents Hear & Now and who did such an excellent job with the Discovering Music double on the Brandenburg Concertos.

I feel she has a pleasing voice and whilst I do find some of the breakfast show silly, in general it's good and varied music to start my day to.

One of the things which struck me over the Schubert week were the texts and such from long-lived men and women with long love for and memory of Schubert who were clearly enjoying the programmes.

What the vox pop stuff wasn't was representative. I didn't hear any text, tweet, email, blog or anything else that wasn't complementary. Surely there must have been some division of opinion which was also fit to be broadcast?

[johnb]

My view of CotW and DM is, I'm afraid, rather heretical.

I find DM almost impossible to listen to (hence I rarely have the programme on). It is the sentimentalisation, the 'tears fell on his pillow as he lay down to sleep' kind of touch that makes the programme unbearable for me. IMO it is greatly improved when he has a knowledgeable guest.

Many years ago there was a Prokofiev Evening in the same week that Prokofiev was also the subject of CotW. Both took around the same number of broadcast hours (4.5 vs 5) but I found the Prokofiev Evening (presented by the excellent Gerard McBurney) infinitely more rewarding.

The main problem is that CotW consists of a series of musical snippets strung together by mini-stories, often told with a sub "Mills and Boon" type delivery.

[JFLL]

My view of CotW and DM is, I'm afraid, rather heretical.

I find DM almost impossible to listen to (hence I rarely have the programme on). It is the sentimentalisation, the 'tears fell on his pillow as he lay down to sleep' kind of touch that makes the programme unbearable for me. ......
The main problem is that CotW consists of a series of musical snippets strung together by mini-stories, often told with a sub "Mills and Boon" type delivery.

Mills & Boon ! Well, I'm relieved to find some support, johnb, though I hesitated to put it as crisply as that. I must say I do find DM a bit, well, unctuous sometimes. As for 'wrecking a good programme', etc., you could say that's what happened when DM took over CoW lock stock and barrel about ten years ago. Doesn't anybody remember it in the old days?

[jayne lee wilson]

I've always liked DM's presentation whether of features or concerts, it's always a relief (after certain others...) when he does the Proms. Don't forget the Skalkottas CotW coming up on 23/04/12. I've been collecting the BIS Skalkottas series for some years and I hope others here will catch the bug. Truly compelling music.

[Flosshilde]

I was very interested in FF's details of the programme from 1997. What stands out, as well as the much greater variety than now, is that complete works were played, for example, Dvorak's 7th Symphony (40 mins) and d'Indy's Symphonie sur un chant montagnard (30 mins). That brings me to another gripe about today's CoW. My heart sinks when I see all the pieces labelled '2nd movt.', '4th movt.' etc. If I want that I can go to Classic FM. Most symphonies are no longer than 30-40 mins, so it's not as though there isn't time to play them in full.

But the programme is an illustrated talk, not a concert.

I'd rather have the repeat at 10.00 or 10.30, which is where it was before the live concert broadcasts were resumed - I'm as likely to miss it at 6.30 as I am at 12.00 (& the 6.30-7.30 slot clashes with the Aechers )

What concerns me at the moment is that the programmes recently have been repeats - is DM no more? or is he unwell, or simply tired of all that research for a new set of programmes. Or perhaps he's run out of composers.