What Classic FM Is About

“Nearly 15 years after our launch, the belief persists that Classic FM should become a mirror-image of BBC Radio 3. But there is already an excellent service funded by the licence fee, which aims to super-serve an audience of classical music connoisseurs. Classic FM creates programmes for everyone else – that great mass of classical music lovers who do not consider themselves to be part of the artistic elite. We have 5.8 million people tuning in each week: and 900,000 of Radio 3’s two million listeners also switch over to Classic FM at some time each week.”

Crossing Over Without The Chops

Joni Mitchell is the latest pop star to write classical music. “I guess that the trouble is – and I hope this doesn’t sound condescending, because I have huge admiration for their gifts – that Joni, Elvis, Damon and co haven’t troubled to develop a technique with which to negotiate these larger forms. They may listen enthusiastically to Bach, Wagner, Debussy and Stravinsky, but there’s something superficial and magpie-like about the way they pick up on them.”

CD Sales In Freefall

CD sales fell 13 percent last year. “Though sales of music in digital formats such as downloads and mobile ringtones more than doubled in some cases during the year, digital sales did not grow fast enough to cover the revenue gap caused by the downturn in CD sales. Consequently overall music sales were down by 6.2 percent to $11.51 billion.”

His Story Dropped By BBC, Author Cries Censorship

“The author Hanif Kureishi accused the BBC of censorship last night, after it dropped a radio broadcast of his short story describing the work of a cameraman who films the executions of western captives in Iraq. Radio 4 cancelled a reading of Weddings and Beheadings, one of five nominations for the National Short Story prize due to be broadcast this week, after concluding the timing ‘would not be right’ following unconfirmed reports that kidnapped BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston had been killed by a jihadist group.”

Irreconcilable Differences Part Munich Phil From G.M.

“The Munich Philharmonic is set to replace general manager Wouter Hoekstra after his falling-out with the orchestra and its musical director, the city’s mayor said Tuesday. Mayor Christian Ude determined the relationship between Christian Thielemann and Hoekstra was ‘shattered’ after he was called in to help seek a solution, Ude’s office said in a statement. It didn’t elaborate on the nature of the dispute.”