Saturday Morning

[Master Jacques]

I should love to ask Tom Service what his feelings are, on being forced to present the ubiquitous final movement of Korngold's Violin Concerto to listeners this morning, probably for about the 93rd time this year. It must be depressing for intelligent, questing presenters such as Dr Service, to have to keep peddling the same small selection of - frankly rather paltry - granny's favourites.

I know what my feelings were: they involved the off switch.

[LMcD]

I should love to ask Tom Service what his feelings are, on being forced to present the ubiquitous final movement of Korngold's Violin Concerto to listeners this morning, probably for about the 93rd time this year. It must be depressing for intelligent, questing presenters such as Dr Service, to have to keep peddling the same small selection of - frankly rather paltry - granny's favourites.

I know what my feelings were: they involved the off switch.

I know what my feelings would be if I were forced to listen to Tom Service, but Saturday mornings on Radio 3 became a no-go area for me some time ago so I think I'm pretty safe!.

[AuntDaisy]

I know what my feelings would be if I were forced to listen to Tom Service, but Saturday mornings on Radio 3 became a no-go area for me some time ago so I think I'm pretty safe!.

Sadly, for me as well.

A variant on "You know when you've been Tango'd" springs to mind... but with more hair!

[Ein Heldenleben]

I should love to ask Tom Service what his feelings are, on being forced to present the ubiquitous final movement of Korngold's Violin Concerto to listeners this morning, probably for about the 93rd time this year. It must be depressing for intelligent, questing presenters such as Dr Service, to have to keep peddling the same small selection of - frankly rather paltry - granny's favourites.

I know what my feelings were: they involved the off switch.

Sometimes you just keep your gob shut (if that makes sense in the case of Tom) and think of the pay cheque.

[Master Jacques]

Sometimes you just keep your gob shut (if that makes sense in the case of Tom) and think of the pay cheque.

Quite so. It must be depressing though, to know that every Saturday morning you're continually skirting the thin line between professionalism and loss of integrity, in order to collect said pay cheque. Listening to him while toasting my chollah, I had the distinct impression that he's ... well, not in love with what he's having to do.

[LMcD]

Quite so. It must be depressing though, to know that every Saturday morning you're continually skirting the thin line between professionalism and loss of integrity, in order to collect said pay cheque. Listening to him while toasting my chollah, I had the distinct impression that he's ... well, not in love with what he's having to do.

That suggests he's not professional enough to keep his feelings to himself while on air.

[Ein Heldenleben]

That suggests he's not professional enough to keep his feelings to himself while on air.

Oh I think he’s very professional . We can never know what going on , either personally or in the tight knit confines of a studio , what’s really happening simply through listening at home, If people knew what’s going on behind the scenes they’d be often be taken aback. It’s often way more interesting than 90 percent of the content.
Think of Act Two of Noises Off ….

If we all made our feelings clear all the time nothing but nothing would ever get on air ..
A production meeting is a thousand loudly expressed opinions in search of a common resolution ….

[smittims]

I'm inclined to agree with message 4 as regards snippets and presenters known to be musically-intelligent.

I've heard Linton Stephens go on about how 'criminally under-heard' the horn is as a solo instrument, and go on to play just one movement of a horn concerto. Sarah Walker expounds on her love of a Mozart work and then plays just the finale. It's all rather double-speak.

Maybe they reflect that it would be useless to complain, in the present climate. Maybe they feel they are preventing something worse .

[Ein Heldenleben]

What you have remember is that being paid (in some cases ) a six figure salary for listening to classical music all day is pretty much a dream job. Every one can be relatively easily replaced - unlike say a consultant heart surgeon -so any one sensible is going to toe the line. Some media jobs are underpaid stressful hard graft - network radio music presenting isn’t one of them .

[Master Jacques]

What you have remember is that being paid (in some cases ) a six figure salary for listening to classical music all day is pretty much a dream job. Every one can be relatively easily replaced - unlike say a consultant heart surgeon -so any one sensible is going to toe the line. Some media jobs are underpaid stressful hard graft - network radio music presenting isn’t one of them .

Just because it's a dossy job doesn't mean that its incumbents will have lost their sense of integrity. And that will eat away at them, to the point where they can't do it any more. Tom Service doesn't strike me as a person for whom having an easy time of it would hold much appeal, in the medium term. He is, as we'd agree, a professional. And that includes an awareness of what he's compromising, not least by touting the nasty - and self-defeating - phrase "classical music" all day and every day.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Just because it's a dossy job doesn't mean that its incumbents will have lost their sense of integrity. And that will eat away at them, to the point where they can't do it any more. Tom Service doesn't strike me as a person for whom having an easy time of it would hold much appeal, in the medium term. He is, as we'd agree, a professional. And that includes an awareness of what he's compromising, not least by touting the nasty - and self-defeating - phrase "classical music" all day and every day.

I don’t think it’s a dossy job but it’s relatively much less work than editing Panorama for example. To go back to your original thought it’s perfectly possible he loves the Korngold.
The phrase “classical music “ along with masterwork, masterpiece , maestro is one of the ways in which music is made a digestible theme in mass broadcasting. Radio , and even more TV inevitably trivialises to some extent - an idea developed in the excellent book Understanding Toscanini- a book you can bet Tom Service has read.

ooh Sarah Walker has just conveniently used the phrase “essential masterpieces “ on Sunday Morning. A trivialising and meaningless phrase. What is essential about a masterpiece ? It’s marketing goobledegook

[Master Jacques]

I don’t think it’s a dossy job but it’s relatively much less work than editing Panorama for example. To go back to your original thought it’s perfectly possible he loves the Korngold.
The phrase “classical music “ along with masterwork, masterpiece , maestro is one of the ways in which music is made a digestible theme in mass broadcasting. Radio , and even more TV inevitably trivialises to some extent - an idea developed in the excellent book Understanding Toscanini- a book you can bet Tom Service has read.

ooh Sarah Walker has just conveniently used the phrase “essential masterpieces “ on Sunday Morning. A trivialising and meaningless phrase. What is essential about a masterpiece ? It’s marketing goobledegook

We live in a Reader's Digest world where ranking everything in by league tables has become the norm and instant enlightenment is a requirement ("these seventeen pieces are all you need to call yourself a classical music buff") so Sarah Walker will be encouraged to use the vapid and self-defeating phrase at every opportunity. The fact that she is diminishing the point of art music in the process may not occur to her.

As for the Korngold VC, whether or not Tom Service loves this schlock (and I suspect his omission of gush after sitting through the thing for the nth time might tell the story) he's aware that there are scores of violin concertos which would better merit an outing on his programme, but which he knows he'd never be allowed to air ("sorry, not popular enough, Tom").

[AuntDaisy]

I don’t think it’s a dossy job but it’s relatively much less work than editing Panorama for example. To go back to your original thought it’s perfectly possible he loves the Korngold.
The phrase “classical music “ along with masterwork, masterpiece , maestro is one of the ways in which music is made a digestible theme in mass broadcasting. Radio , and even more TV inevitably trivialises to some extent - an idea developed in the excellent book Understanding Toscanini- a book you can bet Tom Service has read.

ooh Sarah Walker has just conveniently used the phrase “essential masterpieces “ on Sunday Morning. A trivialising and meaningless phrase. What is essential about a masterpiece ? It’s marketing goobledegook

Thanks for your BBC insights, Ein Heldenleben - they're always fascinating to read.

Rightly or wrongly, the Korngold violin concerto always reminds me of Billy Wilder's "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes". Perhaps TS is a secret fan?

[Ein Heldenleben]

Thanks for your BBC insights, Ein Heldenleben - they're always fascinating to read.

Rightly or wrongly, the Korngold violin concerto always reminds me of Billy Wilder's "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes". Perhaps TS is a secret fan?

The final movements theme strikes me as alarmingly similar to The Simpsons theme tune !

[Ein Heldenleben]

We live in a Reader's Digest world where ranking everything in by league tables has become the norm and instant enlightenment is a requirement ("these seventeen pieces are all you need to call yourself a classical music buff") so Sarah Walker will be encouraged to use the vapid and self-defeating phrase at every opportunity. The fact that she is diminishing the point of art music in the process may not occur to her.

As for the Korngold VC, whether or not Tom Service loves this schlock (and I suspect his omission of gush after sitting through the thing for the nth time might tell the story) he's aware that there are scores of violin concertos which would better merit an outing on his programme, but which he knows he'd never be allowed to air ("sorry, not popular enough, Tom").

Moeran’s being an outstanding example …