Welcome!

[Guest]

May I become a friend of Radio 3?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Delighted to meet you, Chelsea: you are very welcome, indeed!

[Chelsea]

Thank you very much, ferneyhoughgeliebte. Do you have any personal connection with Brian Ferneyhough, or do you just like his music?

[EdgeleyRob]

Yep, welcome Chelsea,who's your team?

[Chelsea]

Chelsea for the Cup, EdgeleyRob!

Telegraph - Chelsea v Manchester City: why Londoners are Cup kings

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Thank you very much, ferneyhoughgeliebte. Do you have any personal connection with Brian Ferneyhough, or do you just like his music?

No personal connection, just a huge love and admiration for his Music.

[Chelsea]

You have good taste, ferneyhoughgeliebte.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

You have good taste, ferneyhoughgeliebte.

Like I said: "very welcome, indeed"!

[EdgeleyRob]

Chelsea for the Cup, EdgeleyRob!

Telegraph - Chelsea v Manchester City: why Londoners are Cup kings

Tel yer somethin I'd love it,love it (we don't care much for man citeh or manyoo here).
Please do visit our round ball game thread Chelsea,it's one of the friendliest on the forum.

[Nick Armstrong]

Yep, welcome Chelsea,who's your team?

Hello Chelsea...

Get stuck in! Look forward to reading about things you're into around the site apart from CFC

[Bryn]

Hello Chelsea...

Get stuck in! Look forward to reading about things you're into around the site apart from CFC

Indeed. I thought CFCs had been banned.

[french frank]

May I become a friend of Radio 3?

As the chief propagandist for the Friends, of course you may. But perhaps I should clarify that we run this forum for anyone with an interest in Radio 3. To become a supporter of FoR3 officially is to agree, more or less, with the package of opinions that we propose and our efforts at promoting them.

You can join or comment here, but unlike this forum, we do need real names to be assured that supporters are genuine individuals and not ficititious names.

[Chelsea]

Well, Chelsea lost today, so Chelsea is no longer for the Cup! Before I sign up to the package of opinions that the Friends of Radio 3 propose and their efforts at promoting them, I should find out what they are, and whether I agree with all of them. Would it be possible to read some kind of summary, as the Radio 3 Forum is quite confusing for new members? What, in short, is the package, and does everyone agree with it?

[french frank]

I suppose the 'package' is a bit like a political party's policies: supporters like the general thrust but there may be some things they're less keen on, and maybe the odd policy that might give them real trouble.

The Controller of Radio 3 recently described FoR3 as following the 'heritage' of the old Third Programme. I took that to mean the broad range of content,. Mainly classical music but featuring jazz, world music and speech/spoken arts/general arts discussion. That's a problem for those who think R3 should be just classical music. What they mean is that they'd like it to be, but there's no justification for dropping other programming which then wouldn't be available on BBC radio at all. A total non-starter. The range we have now is about right.

The big argument is whether Radio 3 should move right away from the original aim of the Third Programme - to provide high level programmes which cater for people who have a special interest in music and the arts - and target general listeners who find this off-putting because they feel they don't know enough, about classical music in particular. The so-called 'popularisation'of Radio 3 has been the BBC strategy for more than ten years and we oppose it, pointing out that it hasn't delivered any more listeners - indeed, in certain quarters of the year there has been a near disastrous fall-off, since the 'aficionados' (for want of a better term) no longer feel the programmes are interesting enough for them.

Many here (ourselves included) argue that Radio 3 has at certain times of day become indistinguishable from Classic FM. With the last schedule changes a majority of peak time listening (mornings and drivetime) has the goal of attracting the new listener rather than catering for the long-standing listener which is why we are dissatisfied. The battle rages most fiercely on The Eternal Breakfast Debate thread .

So, if you're a new listener to Radio 3 and are finding it much more to your taste than you thought it would be, or indeed and old listener who thinks it has greatly improved - welcome to the forum, but you probably wouldn't support FoR3. If you've been listening to classical music for a while, perhaps have quite a collection of CDs or go to concerts, have been listening to Radio 3 already and finding it getting more and more bland, repetitious and undemanding, support us to battle for something better.

Either way, there's mix here of Know Alls and Know Nothings. We can all learn from each other when it comes to music. I've just mooted on another thread the desirability of a sub-forum where we can ask any questions and probably expect a knowledgeable reply.

END OF PROSPECTUS

[french frank]

I should add to the above that there are some here who appear to disagree strongly with FoR3, indeed can even seem hostile. But I don't know exactly why!