Organising the Radio 3 Schedule

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Some of us have been critical of the way Radio 3 has been moving during recent years.
But just suppose you had the chance to run the station for the BBC. What would your schedule look like?

I very much hope hope that positive ideas can be found, rather that venting our anger about individuals.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.

0630 Morning concert: 3-5 shortish works.
0730 Breakfast - similar to now, without the text messgages.
0900 Composer of the month.
1030 The Choir
1130 Chamber Music
1215 Midday concert with a BBC orchestra
1300 News
1315 Midday Concert (part 2)
1400 Contemporary Music
1500 An opera or an oratorio
1730 Jazz
1900 Talking About Music
1930 Evening concert (live) alternating with Drama on 3
2200 Critical forum
2230 Poetry reading and discussion
2300 Night serenade (lighter classics)
0000 Closedown

[EdgeleyRob]

here is my two penneth for what it's worth

Midnight to 0600 Through the night as now
0600 Breakfast show as now but [B]FULL[ (if necessarily short) works and definitely no texts
0900 Composer of the week/month.
1030 The British music programme
1200 News programme (including arts news)
1230 lunchtime concert (Recital/chamber)
1400 New music/early music alternating
1500 Choral music/opera/song alternating
1730 A programme devoted to music other than classical (Rock/pop/Jazz/World/musicals on a rota) BTW does anyone remember the name of a programme on Radio 3 in the 70's devoted to rock music possibly late on Sunday nights ?
1900 Poetry or a serialised book reading
1930 Evening concert (live) alternating with Drama on 3 as above
2200 Maybe a phone in type discussion forum ? or experts discussing music or a discovering music type programme on alternating evenings
2300 Late night music (instrumental or light music )

[Petrushka]

Alpen: I like your schedule which bears, probably not by accident, some similarity to that of R3 in the 1970's/1980's.

However, I'm not sure that too many composers could face scrutiny for a month and while I agree with the closedown at midnight I fear that 24 hour radio is here to stay. Needless to say, I agree that a live concert should be on at 1930. The loss of this has been a disastrous error of judgement. It is the one thing that R3 can do that no others can. If I want a live concert these days a search of radio stations around Europe can help.

[greenilex]

I know I've said this before (in a discussion about France Musique) but I'd really like more straightforwardly didactic programmes on genre and period. Why should the wretched students have all the fun?

[Mark Sealey]

In a way the key may actually be not to have a rigid schedule.

Let the substance dictate what is broadcast when.

That was the true defining characteristic of the Third in the 1960s and 70s. There were fixed points (opera on Thursday afternoons, drama on Sunday evenings, 'This week's Composer' at 9 in the morning, a lunchtime concert (usually, but no invariably if what preceded it needed to expand, and the 6/6:30 - 7/7:30 education slot).

[french frank]

I'm curious to know why you think the (very cheap) TTN should be scrapped. What it does need, though, is a live buffer programme just before which could be ended at 0000 on the dot. I'm thinking an informal quiet classical collection of poetry, song, piano, provided by, for example, the pianist John Shea, the singer Catherine Bott, the poet Ian Skelly, the actor (and musician) Martin Handley ... and any others of the talented R3 team who happen to be around

However, I would scrap the idea of strict 'stripping' - having the same programme at the same time throughout the week, which limits the number and variety of programmes.

Edit: Apologies for brief closure of thread - unintentional error.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

In principle, I've nothing against TTN. Ironically, there are listings for most of the works performed printed in advance, which is increasingly absent in the daytime schedules. But however cheap it is, most people are asleep throughout its entire existence. If I suffer, occasionally, from insomnia, Frau Alpensinfonie would take a dim view of being disturbed by any music, however well presented. How many night workers have the opportunity to hear Radio 3?

However, I would scrap the idea of strict 'stripping' - having the same programme at the same time throughout the week, which limits the number and variety of programmes.

I agree, but what I suggested is merely a general way of thinking of how a typical day might run.

[Vile Consort]

Can't possibly scrap TTN - it's the best programme on the network!

The key is to get rid of most of the stripping. Some of it is OK - the evening concert at 7.30 (or even 8) would be a good fixed point. One issue with stripping is that there is no space on the network for organ music: clearly an hour a day is too much, and even an hour a week may be pushing it. What is needed is a weekly slot in which organ music can alternate with something else (what?) in say six- or thirteen-week tranches. But there is then the issue of what goes into that slot in the other days of the week. World music and jazz perhaps?

[french frank]

But however cheap it is, most people are asleep throughout its entire existence. If I suffer, occasionally, from insomnia, Frau Alpensinfonie would take a dim view of being disturbed by any music, however well presented. How many night workers have the opportunity to hear Radio 3?

Quite a few are listening between 6am-7am (your schedule would scupper that though!). But in any case Listen Again does away with the anti social hour objection. Also, being pedantic - since this is all a bit pie in the sky anyway - scrapping TTN would mean that all the other European countries that take it would be deprived, or have to take over production themselves.

Stripping, though, is something that has reached R3 because it's reached every other radio station and we're told it's what listeners want. They would certainly have to be re-educated back into checking what was going to be on when. I'm pretty sure it's been introduced to cut costs (fewer, longer programmes). But still, let's plod on: we can dream, can't we?