Scala Radio

[hmvman]

Yes, I like Rhapsody in Blue and would endorse Bryn's views about the composer's own recordings of it. However, I would also agree with Master Jacques that it's overplayed on R3 - along with one or two other pieces.

With regard to R3's reaction to the coming of Scala, driving home yesterday afternoon I caught the tail end of 'The Listening Service' and it finished with some pop music by Donna Summer. The continuity announcer then said, "Good to hear Donna Summer on Radio 3." I wondered to myself if that was a policy statement...

[french frank]

Yes, I like Rhapsody in Blue and would endorse Bryn's views about the composer's own recordings of it. However, I would also agree with Master Jacques that it's overplayed on R3 - along with one or two other pieces.

Before I finally gave up listening, I developed a hatred of Walking the Dog. Of course, some of this morning's listeners may never have heard it before

With regard to R3's reaction to the coming of Scala, driving home yesterday afternoon I caught the tail end of 'The Listening Service' and it finished with some pop music by Donna Summer. The continuity announcer then said, "Good to hear Donna Summer on Radio 3." I wondered to myself if that was a policy statement...

I honestly don't know who Donna Summer is: but I reckon I have at least heard of most of the composers I might be interested in …

[Bryn]

I honestly don't know who Donna Summer is: but I reckon I have at least heard of most of the composers I might be interested in …

Banned by the BBC, in its day:

[french frank]

Banned by the BBC, in its day:

Nope, doesn't look interesting to me I'm sure Ms Sommer will survive on (oh, just noticed she died several years ago ). Anyway, 13 plays on BBC, 12 on stations other than Radio 3, between 25 January and 28 January 2019.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/b60527cc-54f3-4bbe-a01b-dcf34c95ae14

[Bryn]

Nope, doesn't look interesting to me I'm sure Ms Sommer will survive on (oh, just noticed she died several years ago ). Anyway, 13 plays on BBC, 12 on stations other than Radio 3, between 25 January and 28 January 2019.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/...b-dcf34c95ae14

We're talking radio here. It's not what it looks like that matters, it's what is sounds like.

[french frank]

We're talking radio here. It's not what it looks like that matters, it's what is sounds like.

Hehe … Don't ignore the other part of my post - the late Donna Summer has been played on BBC radio quite frequently on a number of stations - why on Radio 3 as well? If there were something interesting enough about her music to deserve a whole, detailed programme focusing on it, I wouldn't object to that.

[And the word 'look', like 'appear', doesn't refer exclusively to visual perception ]

[Bryn]

Before I finally gave up listening, I developed a hatred of Walking the Dog. Of course, some of this morning's listeners may never have heard it before . . .

Gershwin's Walking the Dog? A fine trifle, if not quite up there with:

[Bryn]

Hehe … Don't ignore the other part of my post - the late Donna Summer has been played on BBC radio quite frequently on a number of stations - why on Radio 3 as well? If there were something interesting enough about her music to deserve a whole, detailed programme focusing on it, I wouldn't object to that.

[And the word 'look', like 'appear', doesn't refer exclusively to visual perception ]

The ban, back in the 1970s, was down to what was perceived to be allusions to sexual activity in the, um. sound effects. Ah, those were the days.

[zola]

Just to provide a bit of context, this is where the snippet of Donna Summer occurred, not close to an entire song. This program often uses very brief extracts from various genres.

"Tom Service investigates the ostinato, a repeated phrase in music that can nag or hypnotise the listener (the word derives from the Italian for "stubborn "). From Ravel's Boléro to Donna Summer's "I Feel Love", the ostinato is everywhere in music - driving the crescendo of Rossini's William Tell overture, underpinning the primitive ritual dances of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring - but is it an accompaniment or a riff? A rhythm or a tune? Tom finds it can be all those things and more...."

OK, a crass comment afterwards from the continuity announcer.

[french frank]

Just to provide a bit of context [ … ] OK, a crass comment afterwards from the continuity announcer.

It was hmvman's comment about whether it was a 'policy statement' that amused.

[edashtav]

RADIO SCALA
Things to Come.
Tom Smith has written an interesting piece in The Journal of Music ( an Irish publication). He heads it, "How Not to Market Classical Music" ; his article deals with issues that worry this Forum. He reveals that the future (Radio Scala?) is with us across in another English-speaking part of the EU:

[…] perhaps the highlight of the season is this concert of American-themed music with works by Copland, Williams and Puccini scheduled for February:

[from an RTÉ Press Release]

"Yee haw! Stetsons, spurs and six-shooters at the ready as we thunder into the Wild West for an evening of bronco-busting buckaroo bravado, and love and desire during the Gold Rush. Heck, we’ll even throw in a tour of the Grand Canyon! American Sarah Hicks […] takes the reins of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra for a rip-roaring, hold-on-to-your-saddles celebration of cowboys and cowgals."

[MrGongGong]

New radio station

Someone just sent me this

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/jan/27/young-turn-to-classical-music-to-escape-scala-radio-station?fbclid=IwAR06WCcIohKudds_VuyWU8UgahzL5OgO1UIElaGfRfmRfzaC4UerBEpzm3c

[LMcD]

If Scala Radio is the same as Radio Scala, it already has its own thread.....

[Stanfordian]

Someone just sent me this

https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...zaC4UerBEpzm3c

I reckon Classic FM has made people think that Classical Music is all about relaxation and calm, and have this type of programme at its core. The station doesn't focus as much other feelings and emotions such as: joy, excitement, pleasure, inspiration, drama, agony, pain, anxiety, fear, surprise etc.

[kernelbogey]

I reckon Classic FM has made people think that Classical Music is all about relaxation and calm, and have this type of programme at its core. The station doesn't focus as much other feelings and emotions such as: joy, excitement, pleasure, inspiration, drama, agony, pain, anxiety, fear, surprise etc.

Well observed, Stan.

The BBC is here complicit, unhelpfully linking 'mindful' with relaxation (e.g. in relation to announcement-free continuous music). Mindfulness is about a great deal more than relaxation and calm.