# Classic FM/BBC Radio 3 - any listeners?



## DanielFullard (Dec 6, 2006)

Im not sure how many folk on ehre have acess to these stations put its worth a pop asking. Does anyone listen to them at all?

I accept that Classic Fm is a toned down station for the masses but I still enjoy it. The Evening Concert, in which full pieces are played unlike the majority of the rest of the day, is always worth a listen and although throughout the day it tends to be a bit limited in terms of focusing on Romantic era work, I have been introduced to so much music I now love through the station.

But BBc Radio 3 takes the biscuit. This for me has been a vital tool in my growing love of classical music and Opera and again, has introduced me to so much darn great music. The performances and live Operas are a goldmine to me and the composer of the Week series is always a joy. A much wider range than classic fm, full works all the time and such a joy to listen to and a help to me who is realtively new to classical music (2 years)


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## BassFromOboe (Oct 1, 2006)

I listen to both stations from time-to-time, but I find much of Classic FM's content a bit downmarket. Much of its daytime content is not what I would count as classical music. Radio 3 perhaps has a tendency to go the other way, but it does at least carry some more modern music. You are unlikely to hear anything as modern as Bartok on Classic FM! I think that they are both available online to people outside the UK. As a youngster in the 1960s it was Radio 3 (Third Programme) that was my main source of classical music. I still hold it in high regard.


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## Lynx (Nov 2, 2006)

Classic fm does, indeed, have a limited library but it's done wonders in bringing the public's awareness to the great composers. It's a perfect starting point and I know many people who've gone on to stock their CD libraries with full works after hearing excerpts on this station.

Radio 3 can be a bit heavy for the beginner, but one progresses. 

Lynne


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## 3rdplanetsounds (Nov 23, 2006)

*Radio3 or classic fm?*

My first choice is always Radio 3,as to the simple fact you don't get those all so bloody awful adverts every 15 minutes!The best classical station I've heard is the one in spain I listened to earlier this year while on a working holiday,also called classic fm.......but far better then the one here in England.


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## Topaz (Oct 25, 2006)

*Radio 3* is the typical old-fashioned BBC. There's nothing wrong with that in itself. I generally like the station because there's no commercial advertising at all, and it's wonderful to hear English spoken correctly, not this dreadful Estuary English where everything sounds like a question. My main problem is that the music chosen is a bit heavy most of the time, and it can be very heavy indeed at times, with some some really obscure works. I also find they spend too long chatting about the music, and they often have boring interviews with obscure artists. It can be disappointing if you just switch on random. On the other hand it's extremely good at "Proms" time. Their presenters are first class. They have recently dropped the DAB signal from 192 kbs to 160 kbs, which I moaned about but got nowhere with.

*Classic FM*. I have a love-hate relationship here. I listen to it a good deal. I agree that CFM is mostly Romantic era music. That's why I like it. Even the off-peak material is pretty mainstream. I don't think I've ever heard Debussy's La Mer (just out of interest!).

The bad news about CFM is that it's partly spoiled during the day-time by too many boring, irritating adverts some of which just wanna make you scream. The "DFS" (furniture) adverts a while ago especially had me in fits of rage. Plus, they have these annoying quizes, phone-ins, and a presenter who give horse-racing tips!

The good news is that the adverts reduce after 6.30 pm, and there are no more silly phone-ins etc. The evening concert at 9 pm is normally excellent. I very much enjoy all of David Mellor's programmes, and those of Natalie Wheen and Katie Derham. I've even been recommending them to someone overseas.  These three presenters are most charming and well-informed. I think David Mellor is especially good; I could listen to him all day, as he really knows how to put together a good, informative programme.

On the whole, Classic FM has done wonders for classical music in the UK. But, like most things, there's room for improvement. I send in my comments every now and then, basically moaning about the stupid quizzes. On one occasion I got a reply from a well-known morning presenter, saying "yes I agree but what can I do?" In fact the daft quiz stopped for a few months, but now it's back again I see. Time for another e-mail I think. The moral is send them your comments if you don't like anything. It might help.

Topaz


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## IAmKing (Dec 3, 2006)

Can't beat BBC Radio 3. Although I can only access it vire internet.


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## riverbank (Nov 19, 2006)

DanielFullard said:


> Im not sure how many folk on ehre have acess to these stations put its worth a pop asking. Does anyone listen to them at all?
> 
> I accept that Classic Fm is a toned down station for the masses but I still enjoy it. The Evening Concert, in which full pieces are played unlike the majority of the rest of the day, is always worth a listen and although throughout the day it tends to be a bit limited in terms of focusing on Romantic era work, I have been introduced to so much music I now love through the station.
> 
> But BBc Radio 3 takes the biscuit. This for me has been a vital tool in my growing love of classical music and Opera and again, has introduced me to so much darn great music. The performances and live Operas are a goldmine to me and the composer of the Week series is always a joy. A much wider range than classic fm, full works all the time and such a joy to listen to and a help to me who is realtively new to classical music (2 years)


don't listen to them often, although i have discovered some good composers through listening to stuff on classic fm (Rodrigo, Janacek, Hindemith, Grofe).
I love listening to some of the presenters on Radio 3 on Saturday mornings. Their posh use of the english language is funny.


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## Edward Elgar (Mar 22, 2006)

To be honest, the only radio station I listen to is Classic FM! What does that make me?!


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## Topaz (Oct 25, 2006)

Edward Elgar said:


> To be honest, the only radio station I listen to is Classic FM! What does that make me?!


Since you asked, I guess it makes you someone who doesn't like Radio 3.

I must admit I've gone off CFM of late. They have too many rotten adverts, phone-ins, quizes, competitions. It does your head in after a couple of hours, listening to all this rubbish.

I've just tried Radio 3 again. It's great. Completely advert-free. I used to have FM but I got rid of that earlier this year. I bought a Denon DAB tuner, which is really very good indeed. Radio 3 have recently stepped up the digital signal to 192 kbps, which is superb. I had a moan about this earlier this, when they dropped it to 160 kbps, to allow for Radio 5 (sports). The CFM signal is 160 kbps.

BTW: Internet users of Radio 3 get a signal of about 48 kbps which is listenable. Imagine 4 times that bit rate: it's much clearer. In fact, earlier today Radio 3 had a live broadcast of some Mozart piano sonatas and a Schumann Violin sonata, from the Wigmore Hall, London. It was fantastic: absolutely hiss-free, and you could hear a pin drop. As clear as any CD.

Topaz


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## Lark Ascending (Dec 16, 2006)

When I first became interested in classical music I started off listening to Classic FM. I know the ads are annoying, and pretty much the same pieces are rotated over and over, but it's a good starting point for people who are completely new to classical music and to whom even the "old warhorses" are unfamilliar. I graduated to Radio 3, and now listen to both stations about equally.


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## R-F (Feb 12, 2008)

I'm starting to hate Classic FM. 

On the first level, it's the music they play that annoys me. The world of Classical Music is such a huge area, and somehow they manage to play the same pieces again and again. Where Radio 3 will push out the boat, performing works not well known, often with interesting analysis of them, Classic FM plays the same 'good tune' pieces all the time. Fair enough, the Full Works isn't as bad, but you still get better on Radio 3. 
However, the peak of my irritation comes with the Hall of Fame... This nice idea has become nothing but a Eurovision Song Contest for Classical Music, with people voting for the country they like, not the music. This results in pieces like the Lark Ascending becoming number 1 in it. While, personally, I'm not a fan of this piece, the thing that really annoys me is the fact that it's obviously got there because Vaughn Williams was a British Composer. This idea was reflected in Classic FM's (cringy) advertisement of this year's hall of fame, where they were basicly saying they hope it's Elgar or Vaughn Williams up there at Number 1.

Also, with no disrespect to the presenters, a lot of the time they come across like they just don't know much about the music. Then again, if you only play pieces that have 'good tunes', then I suppose it doesn't leave much room for analysis.


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## Lang (Sep 30, 2008)

Topaz said:


> *Radio 3* is the typical old-fashioned BBC. There's nothing wrong with that in itself. I generally like the station because there's no commercial advertising at all, and it's wonderful to hear English spoken correctly, not this dreadful Estuary English where everything sounds like a question. My main problem is that the music chosen is a bit heavy most of the time, and it can be very heavy indeed at times, with some some really obscure works. I also find they spend too long chatting about the music, and they often have boring interviews with obscure artists. It can be disappointing if you just switch on random. On the other hand it's extremely good at "Proms" time. Their presenters are first class. They have recently dropped the DAB signal from 192 kbs to 160 kbs, which I moaned about but got nowhere with.


Heavy? Not sure what that means in relation to classical music. I have listened to Radio 3 and the Third Programme (as it was) for over half a century. And with this perspective I can see how much it has been dumbed down in recent decades. There used to be a mix of interesting music and intellectual content. Now it seems to be musicals and jazz.

As an indication of how things used to be, let me say this: there were three radio programmes run by the BBC, the Light Programme, the Home Service and the Third Programme. The Light Programme was for popular entertainment, the Home Service was for middle England, and the Third Programme was the 'intellectual' channel.

I first heard Schoenberg's Five Orchestral Pieces round about 1958. Not on the Third Programme, but on the Home Service.


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## Herzeleide (Feb 25, 2008)

To sum up:

Radio 3 - excellent.

Classic FM - rubbish.

Here's an apposite article that exudes veracity (it's also very funny):

"This is a horribly subversive radio station. There is a notion that they make classical music accessible to all, however they don't; they promulgate a nasty dangerous idea that classical music is a bit of Bruch, one movement of the Jupiter symphony, one movement from a Haydn symphony (somewhere round the 100 mark), the one bit of John Stanley that we all know, ditto Clarke, the arrival of the Q of S, and one bit of one Brandenburg. Many, even most composers are ignored. Completely. And then their chosen two dozen pieces are relentlessly repackaged - soothing classics at a certain time, and the bloody school run. 4x4 drivers and Sainsbury shoppers the lot of them, little girls called India, China and Posy, little boys called Toby, Jake and Oliver. They've currently got a fantastic advert running for a CD called 'Classics for Mum' or somesuch, where the usual snippets of hackneyed evergreen are shilled with an idea of mothering from the 1950s - no mention of going to work, only washing, ironing, cooking and going to Sainsbury's in the 4x4 (I made that bit up).
I have a crazy quixotic idea that radio stations have a responsibility to their listeners, and that of a radio station that purports to play classical music, whilst broad in remit, shouldn't involve leading unsuspecting folks to the belief that there's nothing more to classical music than the well-worn bits we recognise from adverts on the telly, coupled with an insane rehashing of said pieces with no notion of context other than 'soothing at seven' and a vulgar whoring of the endless recombinations - Music for Mums, Tunes for Tuesday (Relax between Monday and Wednesday - it's Classic FM).
And what's the alternative? A classical station that doesn't have to sell anything to stay on the air, that employs people who might know something about music, a station where they play Balakierev at 8.40AM. Radio 3 might not be quite so easy - you might find yourself not relaxing at seven - but you might hear something that speaks to your soul and not to your Visa card."


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## Fsharpmajor (Dec 14, 2008)

Notwithstanding all that, to which there is some truth, I do like Simon Bates's weekday morning show. Once in a while he plays something a bit different.

I hate the afternoon request show. I hate the people who request 'something lively to keep me going,' because you just *know* you are going to hear either Mozart or Vivaldi, and it saps your will to live.


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## R-F (Feb 12, 2008)

Fsharpmajor said:


> I hate the afternoon request show. I hate the people who request 'something lively to keep me going,' because you just *know* you are going to hear either Mozart or Vivaldi, and it saps your will to live.


I couldn't agree more about the request show! It's a vacuum for dull, mainstream music.

Ooh, and another thing I hate about Classic FM- their moto is "Your relaxation station." That just kills what Classical Music stands for, for me.


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## Herzeleide (Feb 25, 2008)

R-F said:


> Ooh, and another thing I hate about Classic FM- their moto is "Your relaxation station." That just kills what Classical Music stands for, for me.


Agreed. One of these days someone ought to break into the station and play nothing but Xenakis and Ferneyhough.


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## Bach (Jun 2, 2008)

Classic FM is cringe. Middle class housewife station.


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## R-F (Feb 12, 2008)

Ah, I'm glad people share my 'discontent' with Classic FM. 

Would anyone recommend any Classical Music radio stations in the UK apart from Radio 3?


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## Herzeleide (Feb 25, 2008)

R-F said:


> Would anyone recommend any Classical Music radio stations in the UK apart from Radio 3?


To my knowledge, there are no other national radio stations dedicated to classical music in the UK. And if they were, they'd be commercial and thus not as good as Radio 3. Radio 3 is fab anyway.


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## Gorm Less (Dec 11, 2008)

Herzeleide said:


> To my knowledge, there are no other national radio stations dedicated to classical music in the UK. And if they were, they'd be commercial and thus not as good as Radio 3. Radio 3 is fab anyway.


 Whilst R3 is infinitely better than CFM (which is so poor it's not worth mentioning, unless you are very new to classical music, like er still in your cot maybe, or a bored housewife), I don't think that R3 is by any means perfect. For example, R3 is not fully dedicated to classical music around the clock. They have programmes on "world music" and jazz (neither of which appeals to me). Occasionally, they infiltrate their avowedly classical music programmes with some dreadful pop culture music, which invariably sets off a list of complaints on R3's message boards from various "disgusted of Tunbridge Wells" types. They also have the occasional play, and various discussion programmes on sundry issues, all of which are a turn-off for me. Moreover, all the music they play at night (from 1 am to 7 am) is recorded material from live concerts around Europe, and can be somewhat variable on sound quality, although I must say that it is extremely wide in variety often featuring some obscure composers.

But this is mainly nit-picking. I do generally like R3 a great deal. Their annual "Proms" coverage is a must. Their afternoon and evening live performances can be very good indeed. I find that the best of R3 are their morning programmes from 7 am to 1 pm, when they play good quality commercially recorded music. I especially like "Classical Selection" from 10-12, and occasionally "Composer of the Week" from 12 to 1 is very good. The Saturday "CD Review" programme and Sunday's "Discovering Music" are excellent. Generally, the recommendations, quality of advice and commentary on the music provided on these R3 programmes far surpasses what one typically sees on most music boards.

I often tape quite a lot of these better R3 programmes and produce my own music files based upon them (purely for my own listening, hence there's no copyright problem). In fact I haven't bought a CD for ages. Why bother when all the best material is provided free of charge courtesy of the BBC, which has one the most comprehensive classical music libraries in the world and some of the best presenters advising on the best available material in classical music.


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## Herzeleide (Feb 25, 2008)

Personally, I'm quite pleased that they have jazz and world music programmes. Indeed it's not perfect, but it's the best we've got.


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## Malkyp (Dec 27, 2010)

I gave up on Classic FM a long time ago because of the raucous adverts that were so out of keeping with the music that they interupted. I also couldn't be doing with the way they did some music, and arias in particular, to death. i.e. the duet from the Pearl Fishers. The overcompressed sound quality was the last straw so I now just stick with Radio 3.

I'm not totally happy with Radio 3 especially the early morning programmes, which seem to be trying to follow the Classic FM format of short pieces of music and charts for this, that and the other. Last, but not least, I do get fed up with the amount of religious music that gets into Rob Cowan's and Sara Mohr Pietsch's programmes.

It was good to get that off my chest. Anybody else feel the same or is it just me being a bit bah humbug at the end of the christmas festivities?


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