Whether you’re starting the morning all bright-eyed and
bushy-tailed or nursing a Hogmanay hangover there’s no finer way to usher in the
New Year than a with a Strauss waltz. This morning’s New Year concert from
Vienna, now in its eighth decade, offers its usual menu of marches, polkas and
waltzes from the opulent Musikverein in Vienna’s first district. It’s been a
staple of New Year’s Day broadcasts in the UK for 64 years.
The early wartime concerts – the first was on New Year’s Eve
1939 – were tainted by their Nazi associations. Post-war the concerts were
re-invented under concertmaster Willi Boskovsky who conducted on 25 occasions
between 1955 and 1979.
Broadcasts of the concert are hosted by Austria’s ORF and
relayed worldwide via the EBU to over 90 countries. The BBC has been broadcasting the concert
since it was first televised in 1959. The programme was always a recorded
version shown later on the 1st until 1987 when it started to be shown live,
though there was a one year hiatus in 1982.From 2003 BBC Four broadcast an
evening highlights version; this moved to BBC Two in 2019, but it’s back on
Four this year.
BBC Radio was a little slower to pick up the concert but has
been broadcasting it live every year since 1972. (It had first been broadcast
by Austrian radio in 1953).It’s always, I’d you’d expect, on Radio 3 though with
one exception; in 1995 it appeared on Radio 2 instead. There had been a couple
of earlier radio broadcasts. In 1966, on 2nd January, the Light
Programme carried highlights of the New Year’s Eve concert and a few days later
more excerpts were heard on the Home Service. In 1969 there was live coverage
on Radio 4 and then highlights over on Radio 2 during Sam Costa’s lunchtime
show.
Remarkably only five people have introduced the concert for
BBC tv and radio over the last six decades. First was Lionel Salter a former
conductor turned BBC administrator and at the time was Head of Music
Productions, Television. In 1964 for one year only, it was the turn of Antony
Hopkins, musician and Talking About Music
presenter. The microphone then passed to Richard Baker who introduced the
concert for an incredible 30 years. Richard’s last Vienna duty was on that 1995
Radio 2 broadcast. Here’s Richard Baker saying Grüß Gott to listeners in 1992.
In 1996 former King’s Singer turned broadcaster Brian Kay
took up the gig. Since 2011 Petroc Trelawny has been doing the honours throwing
himself into the part by tracking down a second-hand Loden coat and black
fedora “so I’d look suitably Third Man-ish”.
This year Petroc is back in Vienna after
two years of providing the commentary from London (at the Olympic Park studios)
due to Covid restrictions.
To get you in a suitably Viennese mood from a year ago comes
this programme in which Moira Stuart celebrates the music of Vienna and of the
Strauss family. Moira Stuart’s Viennese
Concert was broadcast on Classic FM on 1 January 2022.
A Christmas treat from Classic FM from this day last year
with a retelling of the Raymond Briggs story narrated by Aled Jones with music
written by Howard Blake.
Radio 3 enjoyed a classical music monopoly for the first
quarter of a century of its existence until the arrival of Classic FM in 1992.
You could, of course, hear drama and talks over on Radio 4.
Radio 3 even covered current affairs on programmes such as Six Continents (1979-87). There was a smattering of classical music
elsewhere on the dial on Radio 2 and Radio 4 on These You Have Loved, Baker's
Dozen and Melodies for You. Even
some of the new ILR stations got in on the act - Capital sponsored the Wren
Orchestra of London - but it amounted to no more than an hour or so a week. So
when Classic FM came along Radio 3 had to up is game.
Ahead of Classic FM's September 1992 launch, in June the BBC announced 'BBC Radio 3 FM's New Look'
with controller Nicholas Kenyon explaining he wanted to create "access points"
for new listeners, whatever that meant. They appointed Saatchi and Saatchi as
advertising agents and in the Autumn launched the glossy BBC Music Magazine.
The morning sequence of records linked by a staff announcer,
Morning Concert, was dropped in
favour of On Air, while the teatime Mainly for Pleasure would become In Tune. The BBC described the new
programmes as "two weekday programmes with named presenters, of mostly
popular classical music with new headlines, weather, traffic information,
previews, news of the music world". The main loss for listeners was a
reduction in drama on the station. "Music Plus" was the strapline,
but one critic described this as a euphemism for "Drama Less".
This is how On Air
sounded when its first edition was heard on the morning of Monday 13 July 1992.
Piers Burton-Page, a music presenter and producer and previously a continuity
announcer and newsreader on both Radio 3 and Radio 4.
Those news headlines that Piers reads every 20 minutes were an unwelcome addition with Kenyon later admitting "our presenters talked too much" Adding "I now tell them to be economical with words. I also accept that perhaps we went slightly too far and threw out too many well-known programme labels."
In 1993 the BBC produced this glossy 24-page booklet
promoting Radio 3's wares. The quote on the back cover from composer Harrison
Birtwistle hints that this was the BBC firing its big guns at Classic FM:
"Radio 3 is in danger of becoming the last refuge of the serious
music-lover. In times when concert programmes show a remarkable similarity, and
classical music through the popular media is reduced to a mere cosmetic
continuum to our lives, its excellence is increasingly more important".
Classic FM has been bringing you "the world's greatest
music" for a quarter of a century. It launched on 7 September 1992, the
first of the national radio services licensed under the long-awaited 1990
Broadcasting Act. I've been digging through my press cuttings to trace the
pre-launch timeline.
The station's journey to air was a long and sometimes
difficult one. As early as December 1987 The
Independent was reporting that "the Red Rose-Really Useful consortium
has outlined plans for a classical music station. David Maker, managing
director of Red Rose Radio, claims that Radio 3 is failing to serve its
audience".
The 1990 act had also established the new regulatory body of
the Radio Authority (RA) and top of its agenda was the new Independent National
Radio (INR) licences. In October 1990 it announced that, much to the relief of
the existing ILR stations, the sole FM licence would be a "non-pop music
service". The licence was
advertised in January 1991 and straight away the Golden Rose consortium, headed
by David Astor with David Maker as CEO, was identified as a key player. But
actual bids were not forthcoming so the RA extended the deadline. By June they
did receive three valid applications: Classic FM, First National Radio with
their general show-business themed Showtime
proposal and UKFM promising easy listening and light classical music from a
group pulling together the resources of Radio Clyde, Lord Hanson, French radio
group NRJ, Scottish Television and investment company Trevor Clark.
Heath cartoon from The Sunday Times 25 August 1991
Behind the scenes there had been some frantic negotiations
to pull the Classic FM bid together. Independently Ralph Bernard had been
putting together a bid for the licence on behalf of the GWR Group under the
name Gem FM; this had followed a successful classic music programme on Brunel
Radio devised by Michael Bukht. When it seemed that the Golden Rose group was
getting cold feet Bernard proposed that
the two groups join forces and the completed bid was delivered to the RA
"with literally minutes to spare".
Showtime bid £1.75m for the eight-year licence compared to
£670,000 by Classic FM. It would then have to pay the Radio Authority £980,000
a year and 4% of its advertising to the Treasury. UKFM had the lowest bid at
£0.30m. The RA was not particularly happy with the winning bid and its 'songs
from the shows' format but nonetheless it was provisionally awarded the licence
on 4 July subject to it securing all the funding by 16 August. When Showtime
failed to meet the deadline it was offered to Classic FM with the same proviso
about proving they had the funds to proceed.
Meanwhile the press was reporting on Classic FM's success. Maggie
Brown writing in The Independent 20
August 1991 announced that the Radio Authority "yesterday awarded the
coveted FM frequency to Classic FM, the runner-up in the original auction on 4
July. Authority members yesterday unanimously rejected a plea from Showtime
Radio for extra time to raise money. Showtime, the original franchise winner
and highest bidder, had promised to compete for Radio 2's greying listeners with
theme tunes from film scores and musicals. David Maker, chief executive of
Classic FM, said yesterday he was 'pleasantly surprised'. He promised a 'superb
light classical service with a friendlier style of presentation from Radio 3',
and added: 'We will unashamedly ride on the Pavarotti boom.' Mr Maker is aiming
for an ambitious 10 per cent weekly share of the national radio audience."
However, the scrabble to secure funds was not
straightforward and Golden Rose and GWR were split on how to proceed. Golden
Rose were proposing a 'macro' deal with Jazz FM and Buzz FM in the mix whilst
GWR managed to gain the backing of Time-Warner, DMGT and, at the eleventh hour,
Sir Peter Michael. The financial documents were delivered to the RA on 30
September again with just minutes to spare.
Thus Ralph Bernard and GWR were now the key players behind
Classic FM with David Astor as chairman of the group, John Spearman was
appointed chief executive, Michael Bukht as programme controller, performing a
similar role he'd done for Capital Radio, and broadcaster Robin Ray as music
consultant.
The battle between BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM
captured in this Chris Burke cartoon.
A year ahead of launch Paul Donovan of The Sunday Times was reporting how Classic FM's Chairman David Astor
saw the station's position in the market: "It's not correct to portray us
as a straight rival to Radio 3. We will be seeking Radio 2 and Radio 4 listeners as well. We want to
achieve that essence of Radio 4, which is that you know what you're going to
hear whatever time of day you tune in. Our target audience is 25-54, ABC1, with
a slight male bias".
Radio 3 controller John Drummond was withering about the new
station: "I don't see Classic FM as a rival to Radio 3. They won't be
playing on the same ground. They're an alternative music channel and I think
there's room for both of us. Certainly there is no question of Radio 3 going
downmarket because of the advent of a light classical station. We will not be
changing." In the event there were some changes. A year later, under
incoming controller Nicholas Kenyon, Radio 3 re-jigged its schedule and
launched a glossy classical music monthly, BBC
Music Magazine.
Michael Bukht, aka Michael Barry 'The Crafty Cook', helped shape the on-air
sound and programme schedule for Classic FM
A month before the launch Steve Clarke, writing for The Independent quoted Michael Bukht,
the station's programme controller. "We will not provide 'Mozartsak' or
wall-to-wall Vivaldi. The music will range from Palestrina to Walton. We're
going to be playing the pop music of the past 300 years. You're as likely to
hear Benjamin Britten at breakfast time as you are Mozart. There will be music
full of emotional and intellectual complexity, but only if it has points of
accessibility for people who are not specialists. Classic FM will be top
quality, but it will not pretend to be elitist or exclusive."
Over the summer of 1992, ahead of the launch, listeners
could hear test transmissions consisting of birdsong recorded in the back
garden of the station's chief engineer Quentin Howard. Amazingly it became
something of a broadcasting sensation and years later led to Radio Birdsong
occupying a vacant slot on the Digital One network. Earlier this year Quentin
spoke to Paddy O'Connell about the recording.
Classic FM's launch day was set as Monday 7 September 1992
broadcasting from studios in rented space at Academic House on Oval Road in
Camden. The previous day Paul Donovan wrote about "the new chapter in
British broadcasting" and how the new arrival was "keen to dispel
sneers that it will be wall-to-wall Vivaldi". £12 million had been
invested and 11 new transmitters imported from the US to reach 80% of the
population. The prospects for the station augured well: "Classic is
launching at a time when interest in, if not knowledge of, classical music has
reached phenomenal levels. One in every five CDs sold is now classical. Fine
music, particularly opera, has become aspirational, like fine wine or foreign
travel."
Nick Bailey's radio career started as a newsreader on Radio Caroline in 1966.
Subsequently in Australia, Hong Kong and with BFBS and BBC Radio 5
before joining Classic FM. He left the station on 1 August 2017.
At 5.58 am the birdsong faded out and in came David Arnold's
nine-note logo main theme. At 6.00 am the first voice on air is actually that
of newsreader Sarah Sheppard but the station's first breakfast show presenter,
Nick Bailey, cues in the first record, Handel's coronation anthem Zadok the Priest, some six minutes
later: "Good morning and welcome to Britain's first national commercial
radio station. This is Classic FM. I'm Nick Bailey and this is George Frederick
Handel." For the record the first advert is for Barclays Bank voiced by
Peter Barkworth and Peter Jones.
Nick Bailey was, until he left last month, the only
remaining presenter from the launch line-up. He returns this Thursday to read the news.
From later on the first day of broadcasting here's Susannah Simons.
This is how
the launch schedule looked:
Weekdays
6 am Nick
Bailey
9 am Henry
Kelly
12 noon
Susannah Simons
1 pm Celebrity Choice (Friday's only)
2pm Lunchtime Concerto
3 pm Petroc
Trelawny
6 pm Classic Reports with Margaret Howard
7pm (Mon) Close Encounters of a Musical Kind
(Tues) Classic Opera Guide (Wed) Classic Bookshelf (Thurs) Classic Travel Guide (Fri) Classic Verdict
8 pm Classic FM Concert
10 pm Adrian
Love
1 am Andre
Leon (Mon-Tues) Robert Booth (Wed-Fri)
Saturdays
6 am Sarah
Lucas
9 am Classic CD Countdown with Paul
Gambaccini
12 noon
Petroc Trelawny
3 pm Adrian
Love
6 pm Classic America
7 pm Introduction to the Opera
10 pm Classic Quiz
12 midnight
Andre Leon
Sundays
6 am Sarah
Lucas
9 pm Classic Romance
12 noon CD Requests
2 pm Celebrity Choice
3 pm Robert
Booth
7 pm Love Lives of the Great Composers
8 pm Classic FM Concert
10 pm Sunday Night Out
11 pm Contemporary Classics
12 midnight
Andre Leon
Classic FM's launch was an unqualified success, despite the
odd gaffe (see below). Paul Donovan wrote how "its presentation is characterised
by the bounce and zap, and superficiality, of commercial radio stations. It is
much less considered and high-minded, and much more informal and chatty, then
Radio 3. It is a very different approach indeed, and Britain has never heard
anything like it before. In aquatic terms, Classic is like a bath, a soft, warm
wallow, while Radio 3 is more of a shower- astringent and stimulating".
There were some irritations however; "Bach's double violin concerto
followed by a snappy update on M4 contra-flows is exactly what is meant by the
words sublime to the ridiculous."
Sunday Times 31 January 1993. Former Radio 3 announcer Tony Scotland
was drafted in to Classic FM to help with those tricky bits of
classical pronunciation
The station did tend to polarise opinion; it was either a
great democratiser of classical music or it made classical music a disposable
commodity. The Independent asked some
not exactly typical listeners about what they'd heard. James Jolly editor of Gramophone liked the "strange sort
of classlessness that's relaxing, there's something very direct about it."
Pianist Peter Donohoe welcomed more exposure to classical music but added that
"it is not being faithful to that art to let people just hear the nice
bits only". Antony Hopkins, conductor and long-time BBC broadcaster
decried the "mismash of music" adding that "the general
assumption seemed to be that nobody could tolerate listening to anything for
longer than five minutes." Composer and conductor Odaline de la Martinez
thought "It's all very popular classical music; there's nothing wrong with
that, but sometime you need meat, not just sugar." Composer Judith Weir started
off with an open mind but was disappointed.
For the wider listenership Classic FM hit the ground running
and within 3 months was reporting figures of 4.5 million and a 9 to 10%
audience share - making it the fourth most popular station after Radios 1, 2
and 4. Today it pulls in about 5.8 million listeners, around a 3.9% market
share.
Radio 3's listening figures did take an initial dip but controller
Nicholas Kenyon was undismayed. "Classic FM set out to be popular and it
is not playing anything that anyone doesn't like. It has to deliver an audience
to advertisers, while we are extending choice by the breadth of our
repertory." And the money did roll in. In January 1993 Guy Lamming, media
analyst, was quoted as saying "it is vital that the first national radio
station funded by advertising does succeed. It needs £7m in advertising revenue
in its first year and it looks as though it will pass that easily and become a
significant profit-generator".
By the time its celebrated its second anniversary Classic FM
had moved into profit for the first time, had 4.7m listeners, was extending the
brand into Europe with an FM licence in the Netherlands, had a £2.2m
educational sponsorship with Nestlé and had sparked a trend for CDs offering
"essential" classics.
The story of the launch of Classic FM is told this Tuesday at 8 pm in The Pazza Factor, a music-based play
written by Sean Grundy and Cara Jennings starring Jon Culshaw, Duncan Wisbey
and Kate O'Sullivan. (Edit: the programme is no longer available on the Classic FM
website but I've uploaded it to YouTube).
It’s
Christmas Day! My final advent radio offering is Classic FM’s take on the
Medieval mystery plays. The Christmas
Mysteries imagines how they might have been performed by the craft guild in
15th century Yorkshire. The play is written by David Spicer and stars Jack
Shepherd, Mark Benton, Jasper Britton, Catherine Cusack and Simon Greenall. It
was directed by Frank Stirling for Unique Productions.
That’s all
from Random Radio Jottings for 2012. A Happy Christmas to those of you who
follow the blog. I’m back in 2013 starting with a tribute to Sports Report.
