Radio 3 has it right

I am a big fan of BBC Radio 3 - their serious music station*. Of late I've seen a few people complaining about it dumbing down because more of their programming has parts of longer compositions, rather than playing, say, a whole symphony or concerto. However, I think that those who moan have got it wrong.

The accusation of dumbing down is partly because this is what the lighter commercial rival, Classic FM, does, and partly on the assumption that serious music lovers should stick with a whole piece as the composer intended not just listen to an edited highlight. The comparison with Classic FM, which almost always plays 'classical favourites' doesn't make much sense - Radio 3 continues to play a much wider range of music, from tudorbethan through to contemporary composers. But, for me at least, the sampler approach of often not playing a whole piece makes a lot of sense.

Like many music lovers I subscribe to an all-you-can-eat music streaming service. For me, Radio 3 does a real service by giving me a chance to hear a part of a long composition so I can then decide whether nor not to add it to a playlist on Apple Music to hear the whole thing. This isn't about dumbing down, it's about fitting in better with the way we listen to music while upholding the range that Radio 3 has always had - and surely that's a good thing.

* I say 'serious music' rather than 'classical music' as strictly 'classical' refers only to a period approximately from 1750 to 1820 - and I personally prefer music that's either earlier or later than this period.

Image by Manuel Nageli from Unsplash

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