“And Now For Something Completely Different …? “

[Ein Heldenleben]

Did any one else make it through this exceptionally varied evening on Radio 3?

The Babbitt programme was very well produced I thought. Good to hear some Lutyens for once and what an articulate advocate for serialism Babbitt was.
But the Finnish Bird song / music was one of the weirdest things I’ve heard in a long time. It was almost a parody of a Radio 3 Arts doc,
.


BACK TO TOP EVENING

1. 18:00
   
   
   
   Words and MusicBlow winds, blow
   
   
   Tempestuous to tremulous, winds blow through Shakespeare, Joan Didion and Joseph Conrad. (R)
2. 19:15
   
   
   
   Between the EarsOhcejohka - Saxophone, Joik and Birds
   
   
   Artists improvise amid nature in the northernmost part of Finland.
3. 19:45
   
   
   
   Sunday FeatureSir Henry Unton's Music
   
   
   Christina Faraday looks at possibly the first image of amateur music playing in England.
4. 20:00
   
   
   
   Record ReviewRachmaninov Etudes-tableaux
   
   
   An extended selection of piano works from yesterday's Building a Library recommendation.
5. 21:00
   
   
   
   20th Century RadicalsMilton Babbitt: Strictly systematic structuring of sounds
   
   
   Kate Molleson and Gillian Moore shine new light on the 'modern' music of the 20th century.

[oddoneout]

I heard the Sunday feature. As expected it was far too short,and done at breakneck speed, but could usefully be worked up into a good EMS with music rather more than 3 bar snippets... I wish I could have got up on screen a decent version of the painting in order to be able to look at what was being talked about. One thing that has stuck is the reference to the English Channel being depicted as something more akin to a river because it wasn't seen as a major obstacle to travel so didn't need to appear large. I accept the first point(and it's a reminder that assumptions about life long ago can sometimes be wrong) but I would have thought it was the practicalities of trying to get so much on the canvas that dictated the size of its depiction.

[Serial_Apologist]

As a self-confessed apologist for serial music I really should have listened to this, and will do so at the earliest opportunity; so thanks to Ein Heldenleben for this prompt.

[smittims]

In my view, Babbitt is another composer of historic significance who has been shamefully neglected in Radio 3 , so it's good to hear they've actually done something about this at last.

[Ein Heldenleben]

In my view, Babbitt is another composer of historic significance who has been shamefully neglected in Radio 3 , so it's good to hear they've actually done something about this at last.

I think you’ll find this programme very interesting…

[Quarky]

I think you’ll find this programme very interesting…

I'm enjoying this 20th Century Radicals series. The actual music played oscillates between various composers - tonight Lutyens, Schoenberg, Boulez, etc.
Not being a great fan of Babbitt, I think an hour dedicated to his music would not be helpful for me. That said, I liked Philomel, revealing a more human side - not the rigorously serial mathematician.

[Ein Heldenleben]

I'm enjoying this 20th Century Radicals series. The actual music played oscillates between various composers - tonight Lutyens, Schoenberg, Boulez, etc.
Not being a great fan of Babbitt, I think an hour dedicated to his music would not be helpful for me. That said, I liked Philomel, revealing a more human side - not the rigorously serial mathematician.

I thought the Lutyens piece was exceptionally fine - and inexplicably hardly ever heard. Sadly all this “twelve tone Lizzie “ and green fingernail stuff is just a way for of marginalising her.