In Our Time...not much music, Melvyn

[ardcarp]

I usually enjoy In Our Time. It is a bit variable, depending on the subject and the guests. Some of the best, IMO, are the science ones (e.g. Genetics, with Jones and Dawkins) where Melvyn is so clearly out of his depth that he just lets them get on with it. Searching the archive, however (and it's great there is an archive) it strikes me that MUSIC hardly figures. In the Culture archive I could only find two music-related programmes. One was Mathematics and Music and the other Wagner (about whom there are many non-musical things to discuss).

Given that Music is a huge part of Western civilisation, and Eastern for that matter, why is it so un-represented in IOT? Is it a blind spot for Melvyn, or are the production team to blame?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I think Music from the Western Classical Traditions is a bit of a deaf spot for his otherwise quite interesting Lordship: it was conspicuous by its absence from The South Bank Shows - recent Pop/Rock bands and Italian singers were about all that featured. I remember particularly during the Philharmonia's season of concerts featuring the Music of Ligeti at the RFH (on the South Bank, indeed) - during the Festival, the SBS had one Music-based programme. On Cecilia Bartoli.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Mind you - there was never much Jazz or World Musics covered, either.

[gurnemanz]

As a young man Melv worked with Ken Russell on his famous Monitor composer films. He wrote the the screenplay for Ken's somewhat OTT Tchaik extravaganza "The Music Lovers".

[Petrushka]

There was a film about Karajan on the South Bank Show in 1978 and weren't the Christopher Nupen films shown on there as well?

By the way, I've seen at Melv at the Proms once or twice.

[mercia]

I wonder if the Sturm und Drang or The Baroque Movement episodes of IOT touch on music at all
if IOT is going to cover every aspect of human history and endeavour since the beginning of man, it will have to run to thousands of episodes

[ardcarp]

if IOT is going to cover every aspect of human history and endeavour since the beginning of man, it will have to run to thousands of episodes

....I think it's getting there! But I still maintain that music is wildly under-represented as a proportion of its subject matter.

[teamsaint]

....I think it's getting there! But I still maintain that music is wildly under-represented as a proportion of its subject matter.

well the question is "Why"?

some people somewhere would like thinking about music confined to "safe areas" like University departments. Its very dangerous stuff.

That done, the Soma effect can be used as a powerful tool. Check out your local high street for visual confirmation. ipods are great way to stop folks talking to each other.

[ardcarp]

some people somewhere would like thinking about music confined to "safe areas" like University departments.

Agreed. Given that IOT's audience is likely to be a thinking one, I see no reason at all why three 'experts' could not wax interestingly upon one of the great musical trends, epochs or icons for 40 minutes. Are producers worried that listeners might need to hear musical extracts to make sense of it? Surely not; no more than they would need to experience Oceanography, The French Revolution or any other of Melvyn's topics.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

As a young man Melv worked with Ken Russell on his famous Monitor composer films. He wrote the the screenplay for Ken's somewhat OTT Tchaik extravaganza "The Music Lovers".

Yes - and there were Russell films on Bruckner and Martinu shown as SBSs, too. These later films were always more about Russell's (considerable) talents than about the Music of the composers. I don't think that a poet or novellist would ever have been treated like this.

Pet's right about the Karajan film from the very first series, and the Nupen films, too. I think Lord Bragg likes Music, but I don't think he knows how to discuss it.

[ardcarp]

I think Lord Bragg likes Music, but I don't think he knows how to discuss it.

He doesn't need to. His role is to keep a discussion on track, which on the whole he does rather well. In fact, as I suggested earlier, things tend to go swimmingly when he does not interject too much.

[teamsaint]

He doesn't need to. His role is to keep a discussion on track, which on the whole he does rather well. In fact, as I suggested earlier, things tend to go swimmingly when he does not interject too much.

Sounds like a good model for other areas of broadcasting.......and life.

[eighthobstruction]

I recommend the Spinoza episode from 2007....how ironic that he was a lens grinder by trade....

[amateur51]

Perhaps he feels that discussion of music should be confined to Radio 3? Or might he feel that Radio 3 does it so well etc?

Only if he hasn't listened recently, mind you.

I don't mind music's relatively low presence on IOT, however.

[ardcarp]

Perhaps he feels that discussion of music should be confined to Radio 3? Or might he feel that Radio 3 does it so well