The Eternal Breakfast Debate in a New Place

[BBMmk2]

Has the BBC become a self cenosred insular authority?

[Panjandrum]

Amusing to see some of the comments appearing on Facebook. I wonder if some of these will get read out tomorrow?

[pilamenon]

Sadly, there was a definite lurch downhill this morning in the same stretch of the programme that I heard yesterday. More trails - including two in 25 minutes for Rob Cowan's "essential" choice of Symphonie Fantastique on the "essential" classics programme, cue Roman Carnival. Seems nothing has value unless it is linked to something they want you to listen to another time. Then, the specialist classical chart countdown that Anna has referred to, although I was delighted to hear the sinfonia to Farnace ("straight in at number ????) followed by an aria from Xerxes ("down two"). Good to know that you're buying these baroque treasures.

Worst of all, people apparently with nothing better to do than text in the names of conductors and musicians over 70 in response to requests. No discussion of the said artists, merely their ages. What a totally pointless and banal exercise. Must send a complaint in - I'd set my sights fairly low, but now that I drive to work it's not too much to ask for a classical music programme that doesn't insult most people's intelligence, is it?

[Suffolkcoastal]

I think the advert for tomorrow's Breakfast on Facebook just about sums what a dull and predictable programme it has become


'Tomorrow morning on Breakfast you can hear one of Dvorak's Slavonic Dances just after 7:00am and Mendelssohn's Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream at about 8:15am'

I wonder how many times we've had these works this year?????

I expect RW will come out of this with a knighthood, for outstanding service in the destruction of a once great radio station and broadcast classical music in the UK.

[Anna]

I've just had a look at the R3 Facebook page. Is it possible to join and just restrict yourself to the R3pages and not bother will all that friending nonsense that goes on and keep profiles private?

[Frances_iom]

I've just had a look at the R3 Facebook page. Is it possible to join and just restrict yourself to the R3pages and not bother will all that friending nonsense that goes on and keep profiles private?

it is almost impossible to join facebook and keep any privacy - why do you think the company exists other than to sell you onto advertisers (+ remember that the USA has no privacy laws - they could not do most of their datamining etc if they were based in Europe)

[LeMartinPecheur]

I do believe that amid all the new 'excitements' this morning I heard Petroc refer to one of Walton's marches as a coronation anthem!

The sad thing is that I'm not sure this was a mistake in times when seemingly just about any half-popular piece of music will get squeezed onto a CD entitled 'Great Anthems'

[Carmen]

How naive I was to think, only yesterday, that writing to the Beeb was going to be worthwhile. The suits have had it in for us for a long time now, and they've finally killed the bull that was its intelligent, knowledgeable, erudite, discriminating audience (insert grumpy emoticom here, quick, before you think I'm getting too serious!). My only satisfaction is the solid conviction that R3 will never ever ever tempt CFM listeners to switch. The great Patricia Hughes started me off listening to "Morning Concert" back in the old 70s and now Petroc Trelawney and Sarah Mohr-Pietsch, with their unmusical voices and self-regarding, inane, abrasive chatter, have together helped me finally break the habit (I don't include poor old Rob Cowan here, as I had a soft spot for him - he managed to convey a real, old-fashioned enthusiasm for music with genuine warmth, something the others signally lack, which is presumably why he was not included in the new-style spanking new Breakfast but has been shunted off to the barren scrublands of "Essential Choice"). All I can say is, watch out Michael Berkeley, you're next for it, dearie!

[EdgeleyRob]

A word in praise of this mornings breakfast programme.Whilst I was driving to work they played the scherzo from Schubert's D845 sonata.
One of my favourite moments in piano music is the trio of this piece.It was a surreal couple of minutes,a mini oasis of calm during the madness that is the Manchester morning rush hour.I know its no big deal but it was magic and the tune has stuck with me all day.

[kernelbogey]

Just listening to Breakfast now. 'Links' devised around trailing programmes later in the day (twice in 20 minutes), announcements tricked out with irrelevant background (Spitfire Prelude) and comments on pictures in today's paper. A disc jockey for Radio 2.5. What a disappointment.

[Persephone]

Re: Petroc...it's simple...I don't like the sound of his voice or his vocal infelction...he was trying to get in on 'In Tune' and was beaten back...as for tweets...oh please...! NO NO NO.

[Nick Armstrong]

Just listening to Breakfast now. 'Links' devised around trailing programmes later in the day (twice in 20 minutes), announcements tricked out with irrelevant background (Spitfire Prelude) and comments on pictures in today's paper. A disc jockey for Radio 2.5. What a disappointment.

Yes, I caught more of today's than I have earlier in the week. It's a terribly misguided dog's breakfast.

I switched to my recording of Tuesday night's Through the Night - marvellous selection of music, better and lesser known Schumann piano music, Mendelssohn trio, an early LvB quartet I don't know, Handel, Bach.... all sorts of interesting stuff, deftly and self-effacingly announced by John Shea

The phrase "last bastion" springs to mind...

[kernelbogey]

....I switched to my recording of Tuesday night's Through the Night....The phrase "last bastion" springs to mind...

Nah, they'll shift Petroc into it soon and he'll be asking the all-night lorry drivers to text in their memories of when they first heard 'Bolero'.

[barber olly]

(I don't include poor old Rob Cowan here, as I had a soft spot for him - he managed to convey a real, old-fashioned enthusiasm for music with genuine warmth, something the others signally lack, which is presumably why he was not included in the new-style spanking new Breakfast but has been shunted off to the barren scrublands of "Essential Choice").

Rob has combined the best parts of CDM with the legacy of Breakfast. It mostly works, playing mostly full works (The Ring excerpts carefully chosen I enjoyed). Two things would improvethe programme 1 A full listing up front - I can then slot in other morning activities around 'seential' listening. 2 an additional slightly longer full work, say up to 30 mins, which would allow a Mogens Woldike Haydn Sym, a Haskil Mozart PC, Tragedie de Salome, an interesting version of La Mer or Rosenkavalier Suite, maybe from one of the famous sixties labels now extinct. I think this programme is a better vehicle for Rob the Record Collector's knowledge and enthusiasm. With any luck they'll run out of guests and concentrate on content.

[mercia]

they'll run out of guests

never - they haven't started on the celebrity cooks yet. Good grief, I'm turning into Victor Meldrew 20 years too early.