How To Lose All Your Radio Listeners

[Alpha Particle]

Present endless programmes about Mozart. Doesn't anyone at R4 know anything about radio these days? Has R4 got its transmission lines crossed with R3? Isn't R4 supposed to be about the spoken word? All I can say is thank goodness for Chris Evans.

I believe that everyone at R4 has to come to work wearing donkey jackets with Mozart written on the back and R3 has retaliated with free Bach Donkey jackets.

Where on earth is Michael Ember and his associates these days? R4 is in desperate need of their services.

[rosalie]

do you know, this Christmas I actually turned off R4 so many times (very unusual for me) because of all the Mozart programming..still I got to listen to a lot more cds , but even so why did R4 do that?

[Alpha Particle]

rosalie said:

but even so why did R4 do that?

Haven’t a clue – presumably everyone at R4 has run out of ideas for interesting and stimulating radio programmes at Christmas? I think it’s the tribalism that exists amongst classical music fanatics that really got to me. When it came to consulting with John Tusa for a pronouncement on how and why Bach is better than Mozart….words fail me! They’re a million times worse than those of us interested in Pop/Rock/Blues/Jazz/Folk/Garage etc. I’ve lost count of the number of classical and opera related programmes that Huw Edwards presented on R4 over 2005. Why are there so many programmes on R4 relating to upper-class music? Totally unfair.

Thought the Christmas Eve edition of AH was good (but hasn’t one AH has been devoted to his work already?) and I particularly enjoyed the interview with AL’s daughter. Correspondents’ Look Ahead was also quite interesting, especially the observations about the Russian attitude to Africa. However the lack of comment about the huge rise in oil and commodity prices and the possible effects on the world economy was notably absent. No comment either on the strength of the dollar. I keep wondering why R4 won’t take energy issues seriously. Thought the WOM pub quiz totally naff. And what about the choice of guest for DID? Did you notice that Mr. Rutter also featured in a Classic FM prog. on Boxing Day? Surely this wasn’t a coincidence?

Even the plays were far from entertaining – RT recommended East Coast Girls Are Hip, but it was sooo predictable with that silly song about the tanker on the Humber. Even the drumming was ludicrous and nothing like any band of the 60’s. Someone placed an interesting posting on another MB recently in respect of how different the music would have been if an East Coast scene had evolved, so it couldn’t have been too difficult to compose an interesting play on this theme.

P.S. Found ‘A Doll’s Life’ interesting.

[Crusoe]

I agree heartily with you both about the Mozart season – it really didn’t seem appropriate for R4 to devote so much time to him and, although I didn’t get the opportunity to listen to much radio over the holiday, I, too, occasionally found myself switching off when I did.

Alpha said:

Thought the Christmas Eve edition of AH was good (but hasn’t one AH has been devoted to his work already?) and I particularly enjoyed the interview with AL’s daughter.

I was out when this was on but from the “Radio Times” I got the impression that this was a specifically Christmas related programme. Given the amount of coverage of Mozart (and other classical composers, at times) I don’t think that making two programmes about Alan Lomax is too excessive.

Alpha said:

Thought the WOM pub quiz totally naff.

I couldn’t agree more – a huge disappointment.

Alpha said:

And what about the choice of guest for DID? Did you notice that Mr. Rutter also featured in a Classic FM prog. on Boxing Day? Surely this wasn’t a coincidence?

I actually gave DID a miss at Christmas, because I doubted that I’d enjoy Mr Rutter’s choices. You are probably right about it not being a co-incidence – DID seems to be becoming part of the talk-show schedule that people go through when they have something to promote.

[wave]

Alpha said:

rosalie said:

but even so why did R4 do that?

P.S. Found ‘A Doll’s Life’ interesting.

very enjoyable...