70 years of the Third and R3

[french frank]

The details of special programmes on Radio 3 were announced during the summer and will cover the 'birthday', 29th September. Stuff will begin next week, I think from the 23rd.

These were the press details

I'd guess most of it will look a bit like … Radio 3, but with special features throughout. And nothing wrong with a bit of self-promotion. Just as long as such things as have been moving forward don't slip back again

First full week has Music Matters with a discussion of Milton Babbitt's rather well-known quotation; and the strong literary emphasis starts with Joan Plowright on Private Passions. As usual, I have not heard of the guest on Essential Classics (sorry, it's John Finnemore who wrote Cabin Pressure for R4); Oliver Knussen is CotW.

Lots of little things during the first week: a new biography of Clement Attlee Citizen Clem is discussed, possibly no connection whatsoever but the Introit on Choral Evensong is Tippett's Plebs Angelica … A Thursday Drama on 3 (6pm ) about the 1940s, The Present Experiment, 'Celebrating seventy years to the hour that the Third Programme was launched, Robin Brooks' deliciously lyrical comedy romps through the first hours of the pioneering station's life, in fact and fantasy.

1946. A new government and the NHS (meanwhile at the BBC discussions are taking place about Programme C, the new radio station). A Sunday Feature: Philip French and the Critical Ear.

On Sunday 2 Oct, the 'real' Drama on 3 at 9pm An evening of radio plays by Samuel Beckett with Stephen Rea and Sir Ian McKellan.

So plenty of nostalgia and variety. 24-30 Sept highlights here.

[Nick Armstrong]

The anniversary has also been marked tonight by Gramophone, at their Awards - as communicated just now by the Controller:

[Stanley Stewart]

Indeed, time to have a shufti of The Envy of the World and many stimulating memories of finding a gift for life at 15 in 1946. Coincidentally, having almost completed my gardening chores and thinking of distractions for seasonal affective disorder, I stumbled on a recording from many years ago. a R3 broadcast of Auden and Britten's, The Ascent of F6, and decided to take a further look at BB's input circa 1937, culminating with a revisit to February House and the era leading to Paul Bunyan in their American years. Hey-ho, A life 'crowded with incident'!

Further enlightenment likely in R4's documentary, Archive on 4: Don't be Rude on the on the Road,20.00-21.00hrs, Sat, 17 Sept. Alan Dein revisits memorable Public Information Films. In my post-thesp career, I spent 20 years at the COI, (Central Office of Information), often turbulent in creative disputes but always fruitful as a learning curve never ends in the moving image. Eventually, I headed a Unit marketing our 'fillers' to UK TV outlets and always enjoyed visiting our TV contacts, throughout the early summer, seeking maximum 'spots' for our wares - and craftily timed to coincide with, say, a Royal Scottish Opera season in Glasgow!

[Tevot]

Many thanks for the heads up here and for the illuminating and amusing contributions thus far...

Best Wishes,

Tevot

[Quarky]

The details of special programmes on Radio 3 were announced during the summer and will cover the 'birthday', 29th September. Stuff will begin next week, I think from the 23rd.

These were the press details

I'd guess most of it will look a bit like … Radio 3, but with special features throughout. And nothing wrong with a bit of self-promotion. Just as long as such things as have been moving forward don't slip back again

First full week has Music Matters with a discussion of Milton Babbitt's rather well-known quotation;

].

Thanks for heads-up, FF. I'm hopeful that the H&N brains trust will get stuck into Babbitt's article in due course: http://palestrant.com/babbitt.html
Has it stood the test of time?

[kernelbogey]

The Controller Alan Davey writes in tomorrow's Guardian - and on the website - about the anniversary.

[Serial_Apologist]

Further enlightenment likely in R4's documentary, Archive on 4: Don't be Rude on the on the Road,20.00-21.00hrs, Sat, 17 Sept. Alan Dein revisits memorable Public Information Films. In my post-thesp career, I spent 20 years at the COI, (Central Office of Information), often turbulent in creative disputes but always fruitful as a learning curve never ends in the moving image.

Did you have a hand in this one, Stanley?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS37SNYjg8w

[french frank]

The Controller Alan Davey writes in tomorrow's Guardian - and on the website - about the anniversary.

Interesting that, unusually, there isn't a moan - as yet (except perhaps about what Breakfast used to be like). Man's got the right idea(s)…

[teamsaint]

Not sure what goes on which thread, ( is there more than one ? It feels like there is....), but anyhow,there is a pop up whatsit at the Southbank centre while the festivities are happening.

Nice.



Incidentally, media self congraulation is just great, isn't it ?

Show me the way to the Turkey retailer of the year awards.*



* this really exists, asda usually win, IIRC.

[french frank]

Not sure what goes on which thread, ( is there more than one ? It feels like there is....), but anyhow,there is a pop up whatsit at the Southbank centre while the festivities are happening.

Yes, the details are in the link in the OP

[teamsaint]

Yes, the details are in the link in the OP

Good to have links of course, but the evidence of one's own eyes counts for much, I always think.

Must remember to pop in to the pop up to get a vox pop.

[Stanley Stewart]

Did you have a hand in this one, Stanley?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS37SNYjg8w

Thanks, S-A,...I wasn't connected to any of those but, time permitting, often filled any gap in the daily rushes to view and learn from earlier work. I literally started at the bottom of the pile and did a course in the grammar of film with an outstanding ex-BBC film director, a bit of a martinet, too, at nearby Morley College, in the mid -70s and eventually got a COI job as production manager - the 'gofer'- in their Films Division. Took time, experience and determination to educate client departments in the virtue of changing times so that the 'fillers' became less stentorian and hectoring in their tone and even scored a 'first' by commissioning fillers outside the Home counties at Granada TV, Manchester,
in the 80s I even retained my Equity membership so that I could deputise on the other side of the cameras in an emergency. First rate directors and editors, Peter Greenaway and Fred Goodland etc, all working for peanuts. Heady times!