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If you want to hear ‘The Entertainer’ by Scott Joplin, followed by the theme from Jaws and incorrectly pronounced Italian arias, that’s what Classic FM is for. The new kid on the block, Scala Radio, also indulges in easy-listening, digestible ‘classics’. The BBC should resist the urge to serve us the same smorgasbord of schmaltz.
I’m afraid it’s got to the point where I just can’t listen to Radio 3 any more. I feel guilty, like I’m abandoning an old friend. For years I’ve been awoken by Petroc Trelawny’s warm, assuring voice (not in person, I hasten to add). And I’ve been a guest on In Tune many times, sitting opposite the twinkly Sean Rafferty.
Instead, I’ve started turning to Radio France, a station which does not sert la soupe, a wonderful expression meaning ‘dish out crowd pleasers’. Programmes such as La Preuve par Z, presented by Jean-François Zygel, play a broad spectrum of classical music, much of which I never hear on Radio 3. What’s more, Zygel is a lively personality with a great sense of humour. He’s often on French national television where, as stated on his website, he ‘defends classical music in all its forms with humour and passion’. I can’t remember the last time I saw a composer on primetime British TV.
Am I being a snob? Probably, but I don’t care. I simply don’t believe that persisting in lazy ‘easy’ programming is the way to get more young listeners into classical music. The truth is that, increasingly, young people just aren’t listening to radio of any kind. Some 88 per cent of over-55s listen to the radio each week; only 50 per cent of under-25s do. And even if more young people tuned in, that doesn’t mean that classical music needs to be dumbed down for them to enjoy it. According to research by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the British Phonographic Industry, there was a spike in Zoomers enjoying Bach and Mozart during the pandemic – using streaming services such as Deezer and Spotify, not the radio.
I keep thinking of the words of Immanuel Kant, who wrote that classical music allows listeners to ‘experience a glimpse of the infinite and the divine through the structure and harmony, and this experience is essential for the cultivation of the human spirit’. So why, when I turn on Radio 3, do I get the sense that the BBC is so embarrassed, so ashamed to be ‘intellectual’? Shouldn’t our nation’s broadcaster do better?
I recently saw the film Tár, starring Cate Blanchett, about a fearsome contemporary conductor. Some controversial subject matter aside, I was impressed. The script was full of authentic musical terminology and didn’t dumb down a thing. The result was utterly gripping. The critical success of the film proves you don’t need to simplify everything.
Sam Jackson, the former executive vice-president of ‘global classics and jazz’ for Universal Music Group, is taking over at Radio 3 in April. So please, Mr Jackson, stop serving the soup to us. You won’t bring in new young audiences by being patronising. If you’re not careful, you’ll not only lose your identity, but many more once-loyal listeners may switch over to Radio France.
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