John Holmstrom 1927-2013

[Guest]

I note his obituary in today's Times.

Many will remember him fondly as a popular R3 announcer (sic).

[As the subtitle rightly says '... in the heyday of BBC Radio Three ...']

[Nick Armstrong]

I note his obituary in today's Times.

Many will remember him fondly as a popular R3 announcer (sic).

[As the subtitle rightly says '... in the heyday of BBC Radio Three ...']

in respect of each line of that, Don...

[french frank]

I've managed to grab this extract:

"John Holmstrom was one of the best known and most recognisable voices on BBC radio. He had a spell as an announcer on the Third Programme in the early 1950s. Then, 20 years later, he returned to join its successor, Radio Three, during what would prove to be a golden age in presentation standards in the BBC’s classical music programming."



[Posted on the R3 Facebook page, as no one over there seems to have...]

[amateur51]

A great Radio 3 voice

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

A great Radio 3 voice

[Petrushka]

A great Radio 3 voice

Wasn't it John Holmstrom who provided that unforgettable commentary when the piano refused to be lifted into position at the Proms? I think he eventually kept listeners entertained with the horse racing and cricket results while they waited.

[EdgeleyRob]

A great Radio 3 voice

Indeed.
From an era when Radio 3 was absolutely essential listening,all of the time.
Anyone remember Tom Crowe ?

[jayne lee wilson]

Wasn't it John Holmstrom who provided that unforgettable commentary when the piano refused to be lifted into position at the Proms? I think he eventually kept listeners entertained with the horse racing and cricket results while they waited.

Yes! I wonder which concert that was? I was listening live and never forgot it, but the music? A great Radio 3 moment.

[jayne lee wilson]

Indeed.
From an era when Radio 3 was absolutely essential listening,all of the time.
Anyone remember Tom Crowe ?

Yes again!

"Good morning, this is Tom Crowe on Radio 3. It's seven o'clock, I'm afraid".

[amateur51]

Yes again!

"Good morning, this is Tom Crowe on Radio 3. It's seven o'clock, I'm afraid".

Delightful memory

[Richard Tarleton]

And from me. A great radio voice. Nice obit too.

The 70s and early 80s the era when Cormac Rigby was presentation editor for R3. A piece about him on the Forum for Former BBC Staff reminds us:

As presentation editor, he was also chief announcer, in charge of a team of about a dozen announcers, a term he preferred to "presenter": he disliked the cult of personality, which he regarded as an intrusion on the listener, and insisted that the programmes themselves - and not the people who introduced them - were paramount.

This - in part - goes to the heart of what so many of us dislike about today's R3, no? Edit - I'm thinking chiefly of the way concerts are presented here.

[EdgeleyRob]

Yes again!

"Good morning, this is Tom Crowe on Radio 3. It's seven o'clock, I'm afraid".

A classic.
Was it Tom Crowe who said to listeners hat he hoped Mozart’s music hadn’t spoilt their “enjoyment of the pips”,when a piece overran into the time signal ?

Or "you have been listening to Beethoven while I have been eating scrambled eggs".

[Petrushka]

Yes! I wonder which concert that was? I was listening live and never forgot it, but the music? A great Radio 3 moment.

I know it was the Bartok Piano Concerto No 2 but can't remember the year. The Proms Archive may help.

EDIT: Probably August 27 1985.