Lord,

Yes I agree this forum is clearly more than just a Radio 3 forum; we ARE catering for the R3 listener, with topics capturing most R3 programme-types, and by popular demand, and we have our other topics for Concerts, Collectors, Community, Coffee Break.

Mention is often made of other stations like WMFU, Resonance and continental stations, but rarely is ClassicFM mentioned. I do occasionally listen to Nick Bailey's Evening Concert and also to the David Mellor programmes and I see no harm in having a thread which alerts to an interesting programme coming up.

Evening Concert tonight, St David's Day, is not a good example (to me) of what the show usually offers 

Jenkins: Palladio
Karl Jenkins conducts the London Philharmonic Strings

Traditional: Lisa Lan
Katherine Jenkins – soprano
Nicholas Dodd conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra

Jenkins: The Armed Man – A Mass for Peace
Mohammad Gad – Muezzin
Guy Johnston – cello
Tristan Hambleton – treble
Karl Jenkins conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Youth Choir of Great Britain

Hughes: Men of Harlech
Bryn Terfel – baritone
Gareth Jones conducts the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera, Black Mountain Chorus and Risca Male Choir

Matthias: Santa Fe Suite
Catrin Finch – harp

Delius: Songs of Sunset
Bryn Terfel – baritone
Richard Hickox conducts Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra & Chorus and Waynflete Singers

Saint-Saëns: Fantaisie for Violin & Harp
Catrin Finch – harp
Chloe Hanslip – violin

John W

I finally found a right thread for my quote from Nicholas Cook book Music: A Very Short Introduction.

On p. 48 he writes:
 Classical music is not dead, probably not even dying, and certainly not in Europe.
.... I have already referred to the classical music magazines that have proliferated on news-stand shelves since around the time Classic FM began broadcasting. But what has kept it alive is a dramatic transformation of its social and cultural role - a transformation epitomized by Classic FM, whose practice of excerpting single movements from classical symphonies outraged highbrow critics. The problem is that this transformation has been barely acknowledged in academic (and no so academic) writing about music, much of which still attempts to sustain an image of classical music - indeed an image of music in general - that is now beyond resuscitation.

I agree with Ian's point about the book.
For those of us who are teaching it is common to see young people listening and loving pop music. They think they want to become musicians and many of them think it is easy to sing songs. After all everybody (almost) sings. Young people (and old) want success and they would like to combine their love of music with their desire for success.
This is a fact that classical music (and classical musicians) has to survive in a different environment now than before.
We have to use what we have in young people (their interest to pop music) for our advantage. This is how I see it. I try to use pop songs like a stepping stone for them to go to something better. (it is better in my view only).

Some young people take piano (or other) lessons only because they think it will help them to become successful. I have many guitar players that know about Beatles beeing classically trained etc.
The appauling (for me only) pictures of different pop stars at the beginning of the book attract many people like my students to attempt to read. Only the smartest of them will read anyway.

In many cases while teaching I tried to attract them (and keep them at) classical music by pretending that I like their staff. I don't really (I find some songs not so bad), but I have absolutely no interest in pop culture. In fact it irritates me (and visual display too), so I alway turn it off (even if my other one is watching).

In old Soviet Union government decided what was good for people to listen to. In my "nostalgic" moments I love for it to come back and spread around the world. (Sorry, It was suppose to be a joke).
But in my more reasonable moments I know that it was not a good point. Government should not decide what is good for people to listen to.
The other question: industry promotes undesirable tastes. (undesirable for me only).
My students (and their parents) will disagree with the statement strongly. They want to have fun. They don't want to be bored. They want to be entertained and not lectured.

So what should one do?
My guitar students I mentioned at the beginning went on to investigate Birtwisle, Shoenberg etc. In short they in their inverstigation and interest went further than me.
I am catching up with them by reading and being on this board.

I am not an expert on Beatles. My students told me that Beatles had a few years of training. I am under impression that they had several grades of Associated Board.
They also told me that there is some contemporary sounding music at the ends of some songs.
We listened together and there was indeed some very experimental music, but I don't remember what song it was. May be some other people know.

My students (guitar players) told me that beatles used to go to classical concerts. I don't remember whether they lived with a piano teacher or piano teacher was a mother of one of their girl friends.

I don't know if the story is true, but I exploited this information for my advantage. I said that it is important to have a basic knowledge in theory and piano.
We also used to discuss Jazz and classical influences in Jazz. I mean the influence that classical composers made on Jazz musicians.
Also there were discussions of how Jazz musicians influenced classical composers (Debussy, Gershwin, Milhaud, etc).
They went to me for about 5 years that was about 5 years more than I expected.

One of the students is a graduate from engineering department. He went on to take some courses from Open University. We did harmony with him and we listened a lot.

He loves experimental music and he used to bring CDs to me with many composers starting from Glass, Riley, Adams and going on to very experimental music.
I am still in touch with this student. He visits me now and then. they are about 30 years old now.

Unfortunately the two students I am talking about did not make much progress on the piano. May be I am a bad teacher, I don't know. I am trying to get better.

The book by Nickolas Cooke was a book that my student bought and liked. This is why I am defending the book.

Thank you, Bryn.
These two students used to explain to me about ABBA that one of the two men wrote music that was too sweet and the other had some other minuses. It was good for them to write songs together.

To tell you the truth at the time I did not even know who ABBA was. This is to explain to you how much I know or like pop music.

Every time they say something it goes in one ear and out from another (may be it is Russian expression).
In fact I do appreciate now songs much more because it is not easy to write a good song.
I think I am a little less snobish now. (I hope I am).

This is very interesting for me to know. I did not know about it at all. I doubt my students know about producer George Martin.

Young people think they know a lot, but in fact they don't. Now after reading your post I understand.
I don't want to disappoint them.
In my view these two students thought they will take a few lessons (two, three years at best) and they will write a superb song.
They don't come to me anymore for lessons, but we are friends. One of them (less scholarly) went to take grade 4 in piano, but failed in grade 5 (Associated Board).
They have a band, play together and they tell me they compose and record. The more scholar one took some courses in  recording and went to a conference in France. They bought recording equipment.
I don't know if they will write a good song some time or not, but they are studying music and playing with their band for more than five years.

That's true, but it's fairly common knowledge that Lennon, and especially McCartney, were interested in classical music, and even some avant-garde music during the sixties. McCartney attended talks Berio gave at the Italian Institute around the time of Sgt. Pepper, for example. I think George Martin was often asked to 'come up with' sounds and textures that the Beatles had heard in a variety of different genres.