Why?

[MrGongGong]

I think that's unfair. When my father retired in 1965, knowing how much interest I was gaining in 20th century music, he would mark up Radio Times for all the works he could find due for broadcast that week and have reel-to-reel tapes to hand to record them. The mag would be plastered with items circled in red biro, not infrequently with half a dozen such works due for playing per day, including special programmes aimed at children (Eric Robinson introducing and conducting, I know, I know, but...), either on records or in live recitals and concerts. It was not unusual to find long song cycles by relatively obscure figures such as Sangstrom or Schoeck played in their entirety. It was a fantastic period for investigating right across the stylistic spectrum.

I'm not suggesting this isn't true.
But i'm very suspicious of the whole "golden age" narrative

[cloughie]

I'm not suggesting this isn't true.
But i'm very suspicious of the whole "golden age" narrative

Please be specific,gg, not just throw us soundbites!

[MrGongGong]

Please be specific,gg, not just throw us soundbites!

I'm not sure what you mean?
I read here (and other places) lot's of things about how it ALL was better in the past

In the "golden age" of Radio 3 there weren't any other internet or broadcast sources to play a wide range of diverse musics
when these things came along many things changed for the better
So, I would think of R3 as ONE of the places I might go to hear things

What LMcD says is spot on
The young people I meet and work with are often immune to the idea of "Stations" anyway in the same way that they don't take much notice of "Channels" on TV.
In spite of all broadcasters efforts to have a "brand identity" many people simply roam freely across the whole spectrum

[Stanfordian]

R3 trying to attract a younger audience...............what?
How? Where? What am I missing?

Hello DracoM,

Well what are the BBC R3 trying to do?

[teamsaint]

I'm not sure what you mean?
I read here (and other places) lot's of things about how it ALL was better in the past

In the "golden age" of Radio 3 there weren't any other internet or broadcast sources to play a wide range of diverse musics
when these things came along many things changed for the better
So, I would think of R3 as ONE of the places I might go to hear things

What LMcD says is spot on
The young people I meet and work with are often immune to the idea of "Stations" anyway in the same way that they don't take much notice of "Channels" on TV.
In spite of all broadcasters efforts to have a "brand identity" many people simply roam freely across the whole spectrum

For all that, national radio is still very powerful. Radio 1 still has very substantial listener numbers ( breakfast show over 5m, )so somebody is listening to these stations.

And this still matters, because information then disseminates from these key outlets, ( and that applies for instance if you are trying to market and sell a new book for example) into the other online channels.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Well what are the BBC R3 trying to do?

Nick the "elderly" audience that "knows what it likes", whose tastes would in previous decades have been served by R2 and who now would otherwise tune into ClassicFM, it seems to me.

[vinteuil]

For all that, national radio is still very powerful. Radio 1 still has very substantial listener numbers ( breakfast show over 5m, )so somebody is listening to these stations.

.

"Ofcom figures published in April showed that only 47 per cent of adults listened to a radio last year, down from 51 per cent in 2016, and the drift away from the medium is particularly acute among millennials.
Only 28 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds and 32 per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds now say they use a radio, whether digital or analogue, compared with 61 per cent of 65 to 74-year-olds and 66 per cent of those over 75."

.

[teamsaint]

.

"Ofcom figures published in April showed that only 47 per cent of adults listened to a radio last year, down from 51 per cent in 2016, and the drift away from the medium is particularly acute among millennials.
Only 28 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds and 32 per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds now say they use a radio, whether digital or analogue, compared with 61 per cent of 65 to 74-year-olds and 66 per cent of those over 75."

.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-42981336

Worth noting the stat about Youtube views, which relates to the point I was making.

( Which is presumably listening to radio, and not " using" a radio as per the Ofcom report.)

[gurnemanz]

I can sympathise to some extent with Draco's initial point, at least as far as the morning schedule is concerned. But for me things are not as bad as the Daily Mail-style headline suggests. Today's afternoon and evening schedule on R3 looks reasonably interesting (even "inventive") to me:

Lunchtime: Poulenc: La Voix humaine, Christine Rice (mezzo-soprano) Julius Drake (piano). I'd be going along to Wigmore if I lived in London

Into the Forest" theme:
Clyne: This midnight hour (new to me)
Britten: Violin Concerto Op.15 (Vilde Frang)
Beethoven: Symphony no. 6 in F major Op.68 (Pastoral)
3.30: A selection of music evoking the different moods of the forest, including works by Messiaen, Smetana and Glazunov.4

Mixtape blurb looks a bit like Pseuds' Corner and I certainly don't approve of "curated" and some of the other wording but they are trying something a bit different and it might be a good listen. Blurb says: Mixtape evokes the spirit of the forest with 30 minutes of specially curated music interspersed with natural sounds of the forest. Music from the Rainforest people of Northern Congo begins and ends the sequence, with a call to the creatures of the forest, and the complex polyphonic singing of the Spirit Ceremony. Also, Rameau evokes forest birds on the harpsichord, Bold Sir Rylas goes hunting for wild boar, we hear marimbas fashioned from the Colombian Rainforest, Canadian composer Jonas Bonnetta goes walking in the forest, Finnish singers Varttina do some tree-hugging, and Saint-Saens goes cuckoo.

Not standard fare this evening:
Aldeburgh Festival Ensemble and Oliver Knussen give a concert with two UK premieres and a world premiere, live from Snape Maltings. Presented by Ian Skelly.

Feldman: Mary Anne's Theme
Debussy arr. Boulez: Chansons de Bilitis
Harrison Birtwistle: Three Songs from The Holy Forest
1. The Literalist
2. dear dusty moth
3. The Borrower
(UK premiere of complete work)

Vassos Nicolaou: Frames for piano duet (UK premiere)
Bartók, Dukas, Goossens, Malipiero and Stravinsky works from Le Tombeau de Debussy
Birtwistle: Keyboard Engine, Construction for Two Pianos (world premiere).

Anyway, you cannot really compare R3 (whatever its brief exactly is) with a 24/7 continuous classical music station on the internet. There are about half a dozen of these I listen to regularly, these being only the ones I have discovered - there are doubtless many more

Finnish YLE is one I like with two slight drawbacks. I am a linguist but Finnish is beyond me and I can't always understand the work details and they don't show what is playing on the radio interface. You have to go online.

I have recently added two more classical stations which I like to my preset button list. Both play continously without even voice intro of each item but with details displayed on the radio interface. In addition, using a smartphone app which links to my internet radio's interface via my home network I can view these details + change channels etc very effortlessly from anywhere in the house.

1. Belgian Klara Continuo (Flemish - state supported). They do play single movements of longer works but playlist is pretty varied.

2. Cienradios Piano Classic - Argentinian solo piano only station.

I am with Mr GG in being suspicious of the "golden age" in the past argument. Classical music radio listeners today have an 'embarras de richesses'.

[MrGongGong]

For all that, national radio is still very powerful. Radio 1 still has very substantial listener numbers ( breakfast show over 5m, )so somebody is listening to these stations.

And this still matters, because information then disseminates from these key outlets, ( and that applies for instance if you are trying to market and sell a new book for example) into the other online channels.

Indeed it is and it does matter
BUT I think my point was more that we live in a much more disseminated and diverse cultural world
which, in spite of some drawbacks, is a good thing indeed

I KNOW that R3 is unlikely to play much of the music that I am most passionate about (but does feature things I am excited to discover) so go elsewhere for that.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I think that's unfair. When my father retired in 1965, knowing how much interest I was gaining in 20th century music, he would mark up Radio Times for all the works he could find due for broadcast that week and have reel-to-reel tapes to hand to record them. The mag would be plastered with items circled in red biro, not infrequently with half a dozen such works due for playing per day, including special programmes aimed at children (Eric Robinson introducing and conducting, I know, I know, but...), either on records or in live recitals and concerts. It was not unusual to find long song cycles by relatively obscure figures such as Sangstrom or Schoeck played in their entirety. It was a fantastic period for investigating right across the stylistic spectrum.

Yes. The Radio Times was very useful in telling bus exactly what was to be played, and I remember going through it every week with a pencil. There's no point in doing this now.

[LMcD]

For all that, national radio is still very powerful. Radio 1 still has very substantial listener numbers ( breakfast show over 5m, )so somebody is listening to these stations.

And this still matters, because information then disseminates from these key outlets, ( and that applies for instance if you are trying to market and sell a new book for example) into the other online channels.

I think that's over 5 million a week. Apparently Radio 1 has now been overtaken by Heart. Audiences are sharply down for most radio and TV channels. Compare the 30 million or so who watched the 'famous' episode of Eastenders that Christmas with its current ratings of 4 to 5 million. As for radio - 'Family Favourites' used to attract 15 million listeners.

[teamsaint]

I think that's over 5 million a week. Apparently Radio 1 has now been overtaken by Heart. Audiences are sharply down for most radio and TV channels. Compare the 30 million or so who watched the 'famous' episode of Eastenders that Christmas with its current ratings of 4 to 5 million. As for radio - 'Family Favourites' used to attract 15 million listeners.

Yep, 5m a week.

But things like Youtube hits for the show are really significant, and R1 is still a very powerful voice , and leader in its field.
As a comparison I would think that viewing figures for the evening news on the BBC are well down on their peak, but I'm pretty certain it is where the polticians most value getting their message, because all the other news sources will follow.

Of course new , much more diverse opportunities to access music are greatly to be welcomed,( as GG says)but the BBC still has enormous influence, ( and revenue) and it has a responsibility to use them well, and not just rely on other channels to fulfill requirements for the less mainstream.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Audiences are sharply down for most radio and TV channels. Compare the 30 million or so who watched the 'famous' episode of Eastenders that Christmas with its current ratings of 4 to 5 million. As for radio - 'Family Favourites' used to attract 15 million listeners.

Yes - but there are so many more Radio Stations and TV channels around now than there were in 1986 (and that 30million was for a Christmas Day episode, when whole families were forced to be in the same house and have to compromise on what to watch on telly - and they had to have the telly on to prevent murdering each other). And many, many more media accessing devices per household than thirty or fifty years ago. I wonder what the total audience today is, when all "TV"-type channels are totted up.


Which, of course, means that the lack of variety of choice across all these channels is all the more lamentable.

[french frank]

.

"Ofcom figures published in April showed that only 47 per cent of adults listened to a radio last year, down from 51 per cent in 2016, and the drift away from the medium is particularly acute among millennials.
Only 28 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds and 32 per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds now say they use a radio, whether digital or analogue, compared with 61 per cent of 65 to 74-year-olds and 66 per cent of those over 75."

.

Isn’t there a distinction between “listening to a radio” and “listening to radio”? Something like 90% of adults(15+) listen to radio.

I think team made this point. Can’t be doing with these titchy mini things