Doris Howe ([log in to unmask]) wrote:

>I agree about Classic FM I find myself frequently turning to it these days,
>from Radio Three.  The occasional irritating ad.  or slightly "twee" voice
>apart, (no one quite like Michael Oliver or Cormac Rigby)this station is
>excellent.  A friend of mine caught it by chance in her car a couple of
>months ago and now she, her husband and young son are all becoming
>Classical Music devotees.  I find "If you liked that,you'll like this" a
>very useful programme.  It is suprising that however old-sorry, mature, one
>may be, there is always something that has eluded one over the years.  Nice
>to know there is more to come......

While doubtless all of the above is true, I still find, whever I am in the
UK, that I can take about 15 minutes of Classic FM begore having to switch
off.  And, even given this sporadic way of listening, last time I was over
I still managed to catch the finale (only) of Saint-Saens' Carnaval of the
Animals three times in less than two weeks.

I really object to their "top 40" playlist format.

I also object to the abject ignorance of some of their hosts:  the clown
who said "that was the third movement, Resurrection; of Gustav Mahler's
Symphony No.2" for example, or the idiot who decided that the appropriate
response to a listener requesting Beethoven 7, which she still recalled
having heard Furwtwaenlger conduct in Birmingham Town Hall, was a
performance by Karajan!

And the annual hit parade is an embarrassment.  As is their employment
of ex-Tory cabinet ministers whose taste seems decidely off.

For me BBC Radio 3 still rules the airwaves and I only resorted to CFm
when a) the R3 signal was unbreable in the car or b) R3 started playing
16th century French vocal music (I have my limits).

deryk barker
([log in to unmask], http://www.camosun.bc.ca/~dbarker)