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107-460: Since 2003, BBC Radio 3 has been the media partners of the awards and all the winners are celebrated in a full-length "Performance on 3" broadcast. The Royal Philharmonic Society , founded in 1813, is a registered UK Charity dedicated to creating a future for music. It is one of the world's oldest music societies with a membership including both professional musicians and music lovers. Nominations for its awards are invited annually from members of

214-498: A commitment to public service. Audiences had little choice apart from the upscale programming of the BBC, a government agency which had a monopoly on broadcasting. Reith, an intensely moralistic executive, was in full charge. His goal was to broadcast, "All that is best in every department of human knowledge, endeavour and achievement.... The preservation of a high moral tone is obviously of paramount importance." Reith succeeded in building

321-458: A different aspect of their work being chosen for study each time. However, the programme also covers more 'difficult' or less-widely known composers, with weeks devoted to Rubbra , Medtner , Havergal Brian , Kapralova , and the Minimalists among others. On 2 August 2013, in honour of the station's 70th year, listeners were asked to nominate a composer who had never before been featured for

428-426: A high wall against an American-style free-for-all in radio in which the goal was to attract the largest audiences and thereby secure the greatest advertising revenue. There was no paid advertising on the BBC; all the revenue came from a tax on receiving sets. Highbrow audiences greatly enjoyed it. At a time when American, Australian and Canadian stations were drawing huge audiences cheering for their local teams with

535-509: A later date. The mix in these proms of classical music to combine with music of a classical nature from the programmes was hoped to introduce a much younger audience to the genres catered for by Radio 3. As of 2014 Radio 3 was having to undergo further changes as a result of recent findings from the BBC Trust . In the station's latest service review, carried out in 2010, the Trust recommended

642-615: A listening share of 1.6% as of March 2024. Radio 3 is the successor station to the Third Programme which began broadcasting on 29 September 1946. The name Radio 3 was adopted on 30 September 1967 when the BBC launched its first pop music station, Radio 1 and rebranded its national radio channels as Radio 1, Radio 2 (formerly the Light Programme ), Radio 3, and Radio 4 (formerly the Home Service ). Radio 3

749-468: A live Internet stream transmitted at a rate of 320 kbit /s, instead of Radio 3's usual 192 kbit/s, using its AAC-LC 'Coyopa' coding technology. This technology was later developed further, and Radio 3 became the first BBC Radio station to broadcast permanently in this High Definition Sound (as it has been termed) format. BBC Radio 3's Breakfast programme originally launched in 1992 as On Air and took on its current name in 2007. It airs every day and

856-610: A member of parliament (MP) for Southampton . When Chamberlain fell, Churchill became Prime Minister and moved Reith to the Ministry of Transport . Reith was subsequently moved to become First Commissioner of Works which he held for the next two years, through two restructurings of the job, and was also transferred to the House of Lords by being created Baron Reith . During that period, the city centres of Coventry , Plymouth and Portsmouth were destroyed by German bombing. Reith urged

963-521: A national broadcast about the strike from Reith's house and was coached by Reith. When Ramsay MacDonald , the leader of the Labour Party , asked to make a broadcast in reply, Reith supported the request. However, Baldwin was "quite against MacDonald broadcasting" and Reith unhappily refused the request. MacDonald complained that the BBC was "biased" and was "misleading the public" while other Labour Party figures were just as critical. Philip Snowden ,

1070-632: A post box after re-thinking his approach, guessing that his Aberdonian background would carry more favour with Sir William Noble, the Chairman of the Broadcasting Committee. In his new role, he was, in his own words, "confronted with problems of which I had no experience: Copyright and performing rights ; Marconi patents; associations of concert artists, authors, playwrights, composers, music publishers, theatre managers, wireless manufacturers." In 1926, Reith came into conflict with

1177-413: A quarter, resulting in a letter of protest to The Times signed by Harold Pinter , Tom Stoppard and Fay Weldon among others; new weekday programmes for breakfast time and drive time, entitled On Air and In Tune respectfully, were launched, as was a new three-hour programme of popular classics on Sunday mornings fronted by Brian Kay . These moves were defended by Kenyon who argued that

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1284-527: A recorded repeat on Sunday afternoons at approximately the same time. Choral Evensong forms part of Radio 3's remit on religious programming though non-religious listeners have campaigned for its retention. Composer of the Week was launched in the BBC Home Service on 2 August 1943 under its original title of This Week's Composer . From 15 December 1964 the programme became a regular feature in

1391-471: A reputation for prudishness in sexual matters. There is an old BBC legend that he once caught an announcer kissing a secretary and decreed that in future the announcer must not read the late-night religious programme The Epilogue . In fact, this may have been inspired by his catching the Chief Engineer, Peter Eckersley , not just kissing but being in flagrante with an actress on a studio table. He

1498-628: A result of the Broadcasting in the Seventies report. The second controller, Stephen Hearst who assumed the role in 1972, was different. As Hearst had previously been head of television arts features his appointment was seen with scepticism among the staff who viewed him as a populariser. According to Hearst when interviewed for Humphrey Carpenter 's book, the main rival candidate for controller Martin Esslin , head of Radio Drama, had said to

1605-475: A service on 11 October 2006. When Choral Evensong was moved from Radio 4 to Radio 3 with effect from 8 April 1970 and reduced to just one broadcast per month, the BBC received 2,500 letters of complaint, and weekly transmissions were resumed on 1 July. In 2007 the live broadcast was switched to Sundays, which again caused protests. The live transmission was returned to Wednesdays in September 2008, with

1712-399: A special broadcast at Christmas. The composer listeners chose was Louise Farrenc . The programme is written and presented by either Donald Macleod or Kate Molleson. Two programs formerly showcased live or recorded performances from venues across the country. Lunchtime was from 1   to 2   pm and Afternoon continued until 5 pm, with presenters being rotated weekly for

1819-483: A stretcher after the shot, he is reported to have muttered "I'm very angry and I've spoilt a new tunic." During Reith's convalescence , E W Moir referred him to a post at Pearson's project constructing the cordite factory HM Factory Gretna , comprising the fixing of contracts, estimating of costs, taking out quantities, and inspection of materials. In February 1916, he went to work at Remington Arms , Eddystone , Delaware County , Pennsylvania who were manufacturing

1926-690: A thing, I leave it," he said. In his later years, he also held directorships at the Phoenix Assurance Company , Tube Investments Ltd , the State Building Society (1960–1964) and was the vice-chairman of the British Oxygen Company (1964–1966). He took a personal interest in the preservation of the early 19th-century frigate HMS Unicorn in 1962. Reith was appointed Lord Rector of Glasgow University from 1965 to 1968. In 1967, he accepted

2033-422: A way of educating the masses marked for a long time the BBC and similar organisations around the world. An engineer by profession, and standing at 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) tall, he was a larger-than-life figure who was a pioneer in his field. The BBC's Reith Lectures were instituted in his honour. Born at Stonehaven , Kincardineshire , Reith was the fifth son and the youngest, by ten years, of

2140-590: A week to six" and "segregating programmes into classes". Mention of the campaign even reached debate in the House of Commons. From the launch until 1987, the controllers of Radio 3 showed preferences towards speech and arts programming as opposed to focus on classical music and the Proms. The first controller, Newby, made little contribution to the station, focusing on the transition from the Third programme to Radio 3 and as

2247-613: A younger audience. Innovations of this type began in 2008 with the introduction of a concert celebrating the music from the television programme Doctor Who as composed by Murray Gold and was later followed by a further Doctor Who prom in 2010, a free family prom in 2009, another free Horrible Histories prom in 2011 and a Wallace and Gromit prom in 2012. These particular concerts were introduced by Wright, who became Proms Director in addition to his duties at Radio 3 in October 2007, and many were also televised for broadcast at

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2354-412: Is "Radio 3's flagship early evening music programme". It was first broadcast on 13 July 1992 and was launched in response to the forthcoming launch of the competitor radio station Classic FM . Since 1997 the programme has been presented by Sean Rafferty and (since 2017) Katie Derham , and features a mix of live and recorded classical and jazz music, interviews with musicians, and arts news. The show

2461-604: Is a weeknight programme, broadcast between 7:30 and 10   pm, with recorded concerts from various venues around the country and Europe. Regular presenters include Nicola Heywood-Thomas , Martin Handley and Petroc Trelawny . The last broadcast with the Live in Concert name was on 15 July 2015. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith John Charles Walsham Reith, 1st Baron Reith , ( / ˈ r iː θ / ; 20 July 1889 – 16 June 1971)

2568-677: Is broadcast on the FM band between 90.2 and 92.6 MHz , on DAB Digital Radio , the digital television services Freeview , Freesat , Sky , Virgin Media , TalkTalk TV and Virgin Media Ireland and on BBC Sounds both online and on the app, where Radio 3 programmes can be listened back to. On its FM frequencies, the station uses less dynamic range compression of the volume of music than rival station Classic FM . On DAB it uses dynamic range control (DRC) which allows compression to be defined by

2675-509: Is no record of such a thing in Reith's own memoir. He left Broadcasting House with no ceremony (at his request) but in tears. That evening, he attended a dinner party before driving out to Droitwich to close down a transmitter personally. He signed the visitor's book "J.C.W. Reith, late BBC." John Gunther wrote that Reith's "modernist citadel on Portland Place was more important in the life of Britain than most government offices [and] rules

2782-591: Is no restriction on the nationality of recipients. The awards are presented each May at a dinner in London . Each year the presentation is made by an eminent musician and a distinguished cultural figure is invited to address the guests. Recent speakers have included Dame Liz Forgan , Richard Holloway , Nicholas Hytner , Jude Kelly , Alan Rusbridger , Armando Iannucci , Neil MacGregor , Grayson Perry , Mark Ravenhill and Gareth Malone . Source: Source: Source: Source: Source: Source: From 2005,

2889-628: Is noted for its relaxed, convivial style of presentation. Jazz Record Requests was the first weekly jazz programme on the Third Programme. First presented by the jazz musician Humphrey Lyttelton , the 30-minute programme was launched on 12 December 1964 and is still running. Now an hour long, it was broadcast on Saturdays, usually in the late afternoon, until October 2019 when it moved to Sunday afternoon. Presenters of it on Radio 3 have included Ken Sykora , Steve Race , Peter Clayton , Charles Fox and Geoffrey Smith . Alyn Shipton became

2996-464: Is on air on weekdays from 6:30am until 9:30am, with a 9:00 am finish at the weekend. Short news bulletins are broadcast on the hour. The programme is presented by Petroc Trelawny , Hannah French and Kate Molleson during the week and by Tom McKinney and Elizabeth Alker at the weekend. The Anglican service of sung evening prayer is broadcast on Wednesday afternoons. It is broadcast live from cathedrals, university college chapels and churches throughout

3103-418: Is these that are here and now at stake. In 1960, Reith returned to the BBC for an interview with John Freeman in the television series Face to Face . When he visited the BBC to record the programme, work was being undertaken, and Reith noticed with dismay the "girlie" pin-ups of the workmen. However, one picture was of a Henry Moore sculpture. "A Third Programme carpenter, forsooth," he growled. In

3210-673: The BBC Proms concerts, live and in full, each summer in addition to performances by the BBC Orchestras and Singers . There are regular productions of both classic plays and newly commissioned drama. Radio 3 won the Sony Radio Academy UK Station of the Year Gold Award for 2009 and was nominated again in 2011. According to RAJAR , the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 1.9 million with

3317-867: The Large Ensemble Award was renamed the Ensemble Award and opened to any group of three players or more. BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC . It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera , with jazz , world music , drama , culture and the arts also featuring. The station has described itself as "the world's most significant commissioner of new music". Through its New Generation Artists scheme promotes young musicians of all nationalities. The station broadcasts

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3424-500: The National Film Finance Corporation , an office he held until 1951. The BBC's Reith Lectures were instituted in 1948 in his honour. These annual radio talks, with the aim of advancing "public understanding and debate about significant issues of contemporary interest" have been held every year since, with the exception of 1992. The Independent Television Authority was created on 30 July 1954 ending

3531-868: The Pattern 1914 Enfield Mk 1 rifle for the British government. He spent the next two years in the United States , supervising armament contracts, and became attracted to the country. He was promoted to captain in 1917, before being transferred to the Royal Marine Engineers in 1918 as a major. He returned to the Royal Engineers as a captain in 1919. Reith resigned his Territorial Army commission in 1921. He returned to Glasgow as general manager of an engineering firm. In 1922, he returned to London, where he started working as secretary to

3638-770: The Queen's Hall , conducted by Sir Henry Wood . The BBC's involvement with the Proms led to the creation of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Wireless Orchestra to perform music. Television transmission began in 1947 and today, selected concerts are also simulcast on BBC Four . Promenade concerts are centred on the Royal Albert Hall with broadcasts from other venues around the UK. Radio 3 in Concert (originally Live in Concert )

3745-618: The Royal Albert Dock . Reith, who was 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) tall, joined up with the 5th Scottish Rifles early in the First World War and was quickly transferred to the Royal Engineers as a lieutenant. In October 1915, while fighting in France, he was severely wounded by a sniper 's bullet through his left cheek, which nearly cost him his life and left him with a noticeable scar. While lying wounded on

3852-737: The University of Strathclyde ) followed by an apprenticeship as an engineer at the North British Locomotive Company . During this time, he joined the Territorials and in February 1911 was commissioned as an officer in the Scottish Rifles’ 5th Territorial Battalion. In 1913, he moved to London after obtaining a post at S. Pearson and Son through Ernest William Moir , and worked on their construction of

3959-639: The 1930s wing of Broadcasting House in central London . However, in addition to these studios, certain programmes and performances are broadcast from other BBC bases including from BBC Cymru Wales ' Cardiff headquarters and BBC North 's headquarters at MediaCityUK , Salford. The BBC also has recording facilities at the Royal Albert Hall , the Royal Festival Hall and the Queen Elizabeth Hall which can be used to record and broadcast performances at these London venues. Radio 3

4066-508: The 2003/4 Charter renewal application and the Annual report for the year which reported that Radio 3 had "achieved a record [audience] reach in the first quarter of 2004", and by the government: the Secretary of State's foreword to the government's Green Paper in 2005 made special mention of "the sort of commitment to new talent that has made Radio 3 the largest commissioner of new music in

4173-547: The Archbishop to turn him down and explain that he feared if the talk went ahead, the government might take the company over. Although Churchill wanted to commandeer the BBC to use it "to the best possible advantage", Reith wrote that Baldwin's government wanted to be able to say "that they did not commandeer [the BBC], but they know that they can trust us not to be really impartial". Reith admitted to his staff that he regretted

4280-445: The B.B.C. with a hand of granite". He "made the B.B.C. an expression of his nonconformist conscience, and also what is probably the finest broadcasting organization in the world"; Gunther predicted that he "is almost certain to have a big political job some day". The term "Reithianism" describes certain principles of broadcasting associated with Lord Reith. These include an equal consideration of all viewpoints, probity, universality and

4387-537: The BBC trialled its first music downloads over the internet by offering free music downloads of all nine symphonies as played by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under Gianandrea Noseda . The stated aim was "to gauge audiences' appetite for music downloads and their preferred content, and will inform the development of the BBC strategy for audio downloads and on demand content". The experiment was wildly successful, attracting 1.4 million downloads but

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4494-544: The BBC's broadcasting monopoly. Lord Reith did not approve of its creation. Speaking at the Opposition despatch box in the House of Lords, he stated: Somebody introduced Christianity into England and somebody introduced smallpox , bubonic plague and the Black Death . Somebody is minded now to introduce sponsored broadcasting ... Need we be ashamed of moral values, or of intellectual and ethical objectives? It

4601-683: The Exchequer in the Churchill coalition. Complaints to the latter from fellow ministers and MPs would appear to be the more likely cause of his fall. This came at a crucial stage in Reith's career. After the outbreak of war, several major figures had told Reith that he would soon join the War Cabinet itself, not least Beaverbrook , one of the Prime Minister's closest associates. Reith's animosity towards Churchill continued. When offered

4708-482: The Government, the BBC became a corporation in 1927. Reith was knighted the same year. Reith's autocratic approach became the stuff of BBC legend. His preferred approach was one of benevolent dictator, but with built-in checks to his power. Throughout his life, Reith remained convinced that that approach was the best way to run an organisation. Later Director-General Greg Dyke , profiling Reith in 2007, noted that

4815-610: The London Conservative group of MPs in the 1922 general election . That election's results were the first to be broadcast on the radio. Reith had no broadcasting experience when he replied to an advertisement in The Morning Post for a general manager for an as-yet unformed British Broadcasting Company in 1922. He later admitted that he felt he possessed the credentials necessary to "manage any company". He managed to retrieve his original application from

4922-682: The Nazis will clean things up and put Germany on the way to being a real power in Europe again. They are being ruthless and most determined." Following the July 1934 Night of the Long Knives , in which the Nazis ruthlessly exterminated their internal dissidents, Reith wrote: "I really admire the way Hitler has cleaned up what looked like an incipient revolt. I really admire the drastic actions taken, which were obviously badly needed." After Czechoslovakia

5029-504: The Night to begin promptly. In 1998, Roger Wright took over as controller of the station. Soon after his appointment some changes were made to showcase a wider variety of music; a new, relaxed, late-night music programme Late Junction featured a wide variety of genres; programmes focusing on jazz and world music were given a higher profile as were programmes presented by Brian Kay , focusing on light music, and Andy Kershaw , whose show

5136-493: The Seventies report also proposed a large cutback in the number and size of the BBC's orchestras. In September 1969, a distinguished campaign group entitled the Campaign for Better Broadcasting was formed to protest, with the backing of Sir Adrian Boult , Jonathan Miller , Henry Moore and George Melly . The campaign objected to "the dismantling of the Third Programme by cutting down its spoken word content from fourteen hours

5243-414: The Seventies . On 10 July 1969 the BBC published its plans for radio and television in a policy document entitled Broadcasting in the Seventies . Later described in 2002 by Jenny Abramsky , Head of Radio and Music, as "the most controversial document ever produced by radio", the document outlined each station's target audience and what content should be broadcast on each channel. This concept went against

5350-422: The UK. On occasion, it broadcasts Choral Vespers from Catholic cathedrals, (such as Westminster Cathedral ), Orthodox Vespers, or a recorded service from choral foundations abroad. Choral Evensong is the BBC's longest-running outside broadcast programme, the first edition having been relayed from Westminster Abbey on 7 October 1926. Its 80th anniversary was celebrated, also live from Westminster Abbey, with

5457-556: The Wind Will Listen by Andrew Boyle (1972), and a volume of his diaries edited by the Oxford academic Charles Stuart (1975). It was not until The Expense of Glory (1993) by Ian McIntyre that Reith's unexpurgated diaries and letters were published. In 1975, excerpts from Reith's diary were published which showed he had, during the 1930s, harboured pro-fascist views. On 9 March 1933, he wrote: "I am pretty certain ... that

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5564-641: The absence of direct contact between the two men during Reith's period in several ministerial positions, this is unlikely to be the true reason. More plausible, is the explanation given above, and the cleavage between Reithian management methods: energetic, thorough and highly organised, and the established style of the British civil service at that time: at best, calm and deliberative; at worst, ponderously slow. Reith also frequently references in his autobiography departmental jealousies resulting from his ministerial activities, reported to him by colleagues such as Sir John Anderson , wartime Home Secretary and Chancellor of

5671-464: The aim of the BBC, which is to provide a comprehensive radio service". Curran had earlier dismissed any suggestion that Radio 3's small audience was a consideration: "What is decisive is whether there is a worthwhile audience, and I mean by worthwhile an audience which will get an enormous satisfaction out of it." As a result of Broadcasting in the Seventies , factual content, including documentaries and current affairs, were moved to BBC Radio 4 and

5778-483: The audio transmissions. In October 2007, Radio 3 collaborated with the English National Opera in presenting a live video stream of a performance of Carmen , "the first time a UK opera house has offered a complete production online" and in September 2008, Radio 3 launched a filmed series of concerts that was available to watch live and on demand for seven days "in high quality vision". This strategy

5885-524: The broadcast of baseball , rugby and hockey , the BBC emphasised service for a national, rather than a regional audience. Boat races were well covered along with tennis and horse racing , but the BBC was reluctant to spend its severely limited air time on long football or cricket matches, regardless of their popularity. In 1940, Reith was appointed Minister of Information in Chamberlain's government. So as to perform his full duties, he became

5992-510: The broadcast, but would prefer it not to happen. Reith later wrote: "A nice position for me to be in between Premier and Primate, bound mightily to vex one or other." Reith asked for the government view and was advised not to allow the broadcast because, it was suspected, that would give the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Winston Churchill , an excuse to commandeer the BBC. Churchill had already lobbied Baldwin to that effect. Reith contacted

6099-430: The changes were not "some ghastly descent into populism" but were instead to create "access points" for new listeners. However, there was still "widespread disbelief" when it was announced in the summer that a new morning programme would take the 9   am spot from the revered Composer of the Week and would be presented by a signing from Classic FM – the disc jockey Paul Gambaccini . The criticism, especially once

6206-402: The children's programme Making Tracks , experimental music programme Mixing It , theatre and film programme Stage and Screen and Brian Kay's Light Programme all being dropped, a reduction in the number of concerts and format changes to several other programmes. In spite of the changes, figures still continued to fall. The mid- to late 2000s did, however, offer new projects undertaken on

6313-405: The content of the channel more accessible to a wider audience, but his efforts, which included the evening drivetime programme Homeward Bound and Sunday phone-in request programme Your Concert Choice (the former an uninterrupted sequence of musical items identified only at the end of the programme; the latter a resurrection from the old Home Service ), were criticised. However, during this time

6420-531: The day and would use the frequencies of either Radio 1 or 2 as the two stations would merge content. However "Day-time serious music would be the casualty" of these proposals and caused some controversy. A further rumour was expressed that Radio 3 could be closed altogether as a strong statistical case existed against the station according to The Guardian . However, the Director-General, Charles Curran , publicly denied this as "quite contradictory to

6527-402: The earlier methods laid out by the BBC's first Director General John Reith and caused controversy at the time, despite laying out the radio structure that is recognisable today. At the time of the review, Radio 3 faced several problems. An early option to cut costs, required under the proposals, was to reduce the number of networks from four to three, so that Radio 3 would not broadcast during

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6634-453: The feeling that they thought it mattered what Radio 3 did." Drummond's successor was Nicholas Kenyon , previously chief music critic of The Observer , who took over in February 1992 and was immediately faced with the looming launch date for commercial competitor Classic FM who were, and still remain, Radio 3's biggest rivals. Kenyon, similar to Singer a decade earlier, believed that Radio 3 had to make changes to its presentation before

6741-436: The first time a whole weekend had been transmitted "live from another continent". However, Drummond complained about the former that "not one single senior person in the BBC had listened to any part of it", reflecting his general feeling that the BBC senior management paid little attention stating: "I can't remember ever having a serious conversation with anyone above me in the BBC about Radio 3 ... I would much rather have had

6848-563: The former Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer , was one of those who wrote to the Radio Times to complain. Reith's reply also appeared in the Radio Times , admitting the BBC had not had complete liberty to do as it wanted. He recognised that at a time of emergency the government was never going to give the company complete independence, and he appealed to Snowden to understand the constraints he had been under. The Labour leadership

6955-538: The government during the 1926 general strike . The BBC bulletins reported, without comment, all sides in the dispute, including the Trades Union Congress 's and of union leaders. Reith attempted to arrange a broadcast by the opposition Labour Party but it was vetoed by the government, and he had to refuse a request to allow a representative Labour or Trade Union leader to put the case for the miners and other workers. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin made

7062-555: The interview, he expressed his disappointment at not being "fully stretched" in his life, especially after leaving the BBC. He claimed that he could have done more than Churchill gave him to do during the war. He also disclosed an abiding dissatisfaction with his life in general. He admitted not realising soon enough that "life is for living," and suggested he perhaps still did not acknowledge that fact. He also stated that since his departure as Director-General, he had watched almost no television and listened to virtually no radio. "When I leave

7169-420: The interviewing panel that audience figures should play no part in the decision making process over programming. Hearst said he responded to the same question about this issue by commenting that as the station was financed by public money it needed to consider the size of its audience – there was a minimum viable figure but this could be increased with "a lively style of broadcasting". Hearst attempted to make

7276-502: The introduction of Through the Night , consisting of radio recordings from members of the European Broadcasting Union and distributed to some of these other stations under the title Euroclassic Notturno since 1998. The introduction of 24-hour broadcasting resulted in the introduction of a fixed programming point at 22:00 so that if live programme overran, later programming could be cancelled to allow Through

7383-425: The lack of TUC and Labour voices on the airwaves. Many commentators have seen Reith's stance during that period as pivotal in establishing the state broadcaster's enduring reputation for impartiality. After the strike ended, the BBC's Programme Correspondence Department analysed the reaction to the coverage, and reported that 3,696 people complimented the BBC and 176 were critical. The British Broadcasting Company

7490-433: The latter program. The live Monday edition of Lunchtime was repeated on Sunday at the same time. From 2024, these were merged as Classical Live . The Early Music Show presents European music dating up to the time of Bach, broadcast at 2   pm each Sunday. Episodes cover the music, the performers, and occasional discussions of musical style. Regular presenters include Lucie Skeaping and Hannah French. In Tune

7597-468: The local authorities to begin planning postwar reconstruction. He was dismissed from his government post at a very difficult time for Churchill in 1942, following the loss of Singapore . Pressured by Tory backbenchers who wanted a Conservative in the Information role, Reith was replaced by Duff Cooper . It has been claimed that the sacking was due to Reith being difficult to work with. However, given

7704-414: The long running arts discussion programme Critics' Forum was launched as well as themed evenings and programmes of miscellaneous music including Sounds Interesting . In 1978, Ian McIntyre took over as controller of Radio 3 but quickly faced uncomfortable relationships between departments. At approximately the same time Aubrey Singer became managing director of Radio and began to make programming on

7811-877: The much-cherished post of Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. His final television appearance was in a three-part documentary series entitled Lord Reith Looks Back in 1967, filmed at Glasgow University . He died in Stockbridge Edinburgh , Midlothian after a fall, at the age of 81. In accordance with his wishes, his ashes were buried at the ancient, ruined chapel of Rothiemurchus in Aviemore , Inverness-shire . Reith wrote two volumes of autobiography : Into The Wind in 1956 and Wearing Spurs in 1966. Two biographical volumes appeared shortly after his death: Only

7918-421: The music critic Edward Greenfield to fear that "people would lose the mix of cultural experiences which expanded intellectual horizons". However, Radio 3 controller Howard Newby reassured these concerns by replying that only the coverage of political and economic affairs would be passed to Radio 4, and Radio 3 would keep drama, poetry, and talks by scientists, philosophers and historians. The Broadcasting in

8025-486: The music programmes' presentation was too stiff and formal and he therefore encouraged announcers to be more natural and enthusiastic. Repeats of classic drama performances by the likes of John Gielgud and Paul Scofield were also included because, in his view, newer drama was "gloomy and pretentious". He also introduced features and celebrations of the anniversaries of famous figures including William Glock , Michael Tippett and Isaiah Berlin . Drummond also introduced

8132-435: The nature of Reith's relationship; in the view of both his biographer, and his daughter, it was homosexual . Reith all but severed it, burning the correspondence from Bowser, after he married his wife Muriel in 1921. They remained married until his death in 1971; and Reith recorded Bowser's birthday in his diary for the rest of his life. He and Muriel had two children, Christopher (1926–2017) and Marista (1932–2019). Reith

8239-535: The new station began broadcasting rather than react later. As a result, three senior producers were sent to study classical music stations in the United States and the station hired advertising agents Saatchi & Saatchi to help improve public perception. Kenyon's tenure was to meet with much controversy: in attempts to update the station's presentation, popular announcers Malcolm Ruthven, Peter Barker and Tony Scotland were axed as well as drama being cut by

8346-531: The number of specially recorded evening concerts. The Trust did recognise, however, that "Radio 3 plays a vital role in the cultural and creative life of the UK" and as a result, the report did agree to reinvest in the Proms, to retain the long dramas found on the station and to continue to broadcast a new concert live each evening. The current controller of Radio 3 is Sam Jackson, who replaced Alan Davey in April 2023. BBC Radio 3 broadcasts from studios inside

8453-504: The organisational structure of the BBC, which he had created, had left him with insufficient work to do. He was invited by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to become chairman of Imperial Airways , the country's most important airline and one which had fallen into public disfavour because of its inefficiency. Some commentators have suggested a conspiracy amongst the Board of Governors to remove Reith, but that has never been proved, and there

8560-580: The post of Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (a position he had long coveted), he could not bring himself to accept it, noting in his diary: "Invitation from that bloody shit Churchill to be Lord High Commissioner." He took a naval commission as a lieutenant of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) on the staff of the Rear-Admiral Coastal Services. In 1943, he

8667-822: The presenter in May 2012. Broadcast on Saturday nights between 6 and 9:30   pm, Opera on 3 features live performances by the Metropolitan Opera from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City . The annual BBC Proms concerts are broadcast live each summer on Radio 3. Broadcasting the Proms began in 1927, when the Third Programme transmitted the Thirty-Second Season of the Promenade Concerts live from

8774-566: The programme Sounding the Century , which ran for two years from 1997, presented a retrospective of 20th-century music. Both won awards. He also introduced a number of well received specialist programmes including children's programme The Music Machine , early music programme Spirit of the Age , jazz showcase Impressions , vocal music programme Voices and the arts programme Night Waves . BBC Radio 3 began nighttime transmissions in May 1996 with

8881-437: The programme went on air a few weeks later, was so unrelenting that Gambaccini announced the following spring that he would not be renewing his contract with Radio 3. However, Kenyon's controllership was marked by several highly distinguished programming successes. Fairest Isle was an ambitious project from 1995 which marked the 300th anniversary of the death of Henry Purcell with a year-long celebration of British music and

8988-521: The public eye. He personally introduced the ex-King (as 'Prince Edward'), before standing aside to allow Edward to take the chair. Doing so, Edward accidentally knocked the table leg with his foot, which was picked up by the microphone. Reith later noted in an interview with Malcolm Muggeridge that some headlines interpreted that as Reith "slamming the door" in disgust before Edward began broadcasting. By 1938, Reith had become discontented with his role as Director-General, asserting in his autobiography that

9095-407: The rest of the day broadcast only religious services, classical music and other non-frivolous programming. European commercial stations Radio Normandie and Radio Luxembourg competed with the BBC on "Reith Sunday" and other days of the week by broadcasting more popular music. In 1936, Reith directly oversaw the abdication broadcast of Edward VIII . By then his style had become well-established in

9202-499: The schedule of the newly established daytime "Third Network" classical music service, the Music Programme (later to be absorbed into Radio 3). The programme was renamed Composer of the Week on 18 January 1988. Each week, in five daily programmes, the work of a particular composer is studied in detail and illustrated with musical excerpts. Bach , Beethoven , Haydn , Mozart and Handel have all featured once most years,

9309-437: The separate titled strands were abolished. The document stated that Radio 3 was to have "a larger output of standard classical music" but with "some element in the evening of cultural speech programmes – poetry, plays". Equally, questions were being asked by the poet Peter Porter about whether other spoken content, for example poetry, would remain on the station. These concerns also led to the composer Peter Maxwell Davies and

9416-740: The seven children of the Rev. George Reith, a Scottish Presbyterian minister of the College Church at Glasgow and later Moderator of the United Free Church of Scotland . He was to carry strict Presbyterian religious convictions forward into his adult life. Reith was educated at the Glasgow Academy then at Gresham's School , Holt , Norfolk. He spent two years at the Royal Technical College at Glasgow (later

9523-515: The show Mixing It which targeted the music genres that fell between Radios 1 and 3, often seen as a precursor to the programme Late Junction . During Drummond's time, Radio 3 also began to experiment with outside broadcasts, including an ambitious Berlin Weekend to mark the reunification of Germany in 1990, and a much praised weekend of programming that was broadcast from London and Minneapolis-St Paul – creating broadcasting history by being

9630-482: The society, members of the music profession and UK musical organisations. Each category is decided by an independent jury who is asked to judge the nominations on the criteria of creativity, excellence and understanding. Recipients each receive a handcrafted silver lyre trophy made by the silversmith Julie Jones. Thirteen awards are given annually with categories for performers, composers, programmers, audience engagement, communication and learning and participation. There

9737-519: The start of the Proms. Senior management was also getting dissatisfied with listening figures leading to the Director-General Alasdair Milne to suggest that presentation style was "too stodgy and old-fashioned". In 1987 the positions of Controller of Music and Controller of Radio 3 were merged, and with it the operation of the Proms, under the former Music Controller John Drummond . Drummond, like Hearst, believed that

9844-522: The station become more accessible to new audiences, easier to navigate through the different genres and to review the output of the BBC's orchestras and singers. Soon after this verdict, the license fee was capped and the BBC given more services to pay for with the same level of income. As a result, the corporation had to reduce its costs. In the proposal entitled Delivering Quality First , the BBC proposed that Radio 3 contribute by broadcasting 25% fewer live or specially recorded lunchtime concerts and reducing

9951-535: The station more populist in a drive to retain listeners in face of possible competition from competitors using a "streamed format". An example of this is the replacement of Homeward Bound in 1980 with an extended, presenter-driven programme called Mainly for Pleasure . The same year an internal paper recommended the disbandment of several of the BBC's orchestras and of the Music Division, resulting in low morale and industrial action by musicians that delayed

10058-524: The station: The Beethoven Experience in June 2005 saw the broadcast of his works broadcast non-stop for six days. A similar project occurred six months later when A Bach Christmas was run for ten days in the lead to Christmas and in February 2007 when a week was similarly given over to the works of Tchaikovsky & Stravinsky , and Schubert in March 2012. As part of the original Beethoven Experience,

10165-507: The term Reithian has entered the dictionary to denote a style of management, particularly with relation to broadcasting. Reith summarised the BBC's purpose in three words: inform, educate, entertain ; this remains part of the organisation's mission statement to this day. It has also been adopted by broadcasters throughout the world, notably the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. Reith earned

10272-425: The user. The station also uses a BBC-designed pulse-code modulation digitisation technique similar to NICAM , which is used for outside broadcasts running through a telephone line. This runs at a sample rate of 14,000 per second per channel. A similar technique was later used for recording at the same rate. In September 2010, for the final week of the Proms broadcasts, the BBC trialled XHQ (Extra High Quality),

10379-504: The world" as a model for what the BBC should be about. By 2008, however, the station faced pressures to increase its audience by making programmes more accessible while loyal listeners began to complain about the tone of these new changes. Presentation was described as "gruesome in tone and level" and global music output was mocked as "street-smart fusions" and "global pop". At the same time RAJAR began to record lower listening figures and decisions on policy were being changed resulting in

10486-508: Was invaded by the Nazis in 1939 he wrote: "Hitler continues his magnificent efficiency." Reith also expressed admiration for Benito Mussolini . Reith's daughter, Marista Leishman , wrote that in the 1930s her father did everything possible to keep Winston Churchill and other anti- appeasement Conservatives off the airwaves. Aged 22, Reith met 15-year-old male Charlie Bowser. Reith had what has been variously described as "a deep affection" and "love" for Bowser. Opinions have varied on

10593-747: Was a Scottish broadcasting executive who established the tradition of independent public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom. In 1922, he was employed by the BBC, then the British Broadcasting Company Ltd. , as its general manager; in 1923 he became its managing director, and in 1927 he was employed as the Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation created under a royal charter . His concept of broadcasting as

10700-466: Was also introduced to some of the BBC Proms concerts. By the latter years of the 2000s, Radio 3's prospects were improving. The year 2008/9 saw the introduction of more concerts and other innovations had introduced Radio 3's largest event to a wider audience. The introduction of family orientated concerts to the BBC Proms , which are broadcast live on Radio 3, helped the station to introduce itself to

10807-482: Was met with anger from the major classical record labels who considered it unfair competition and "devaluing the perceived value of music". As a result, no further free downloads have been offered, including as part of the BBC iPlayer service, and the BBC Trust has ruled out any classical music podcasts with extracts longer than one minute. In 2007, Radio 3 also began to experiment with a visual broadcast as well as

10914-441: Was not the only high-profile body denied a chance to comment on the strike. The Archbishop of Canterbury , Randall Davidson , wanted to broadcast a "peace appeal" drawn up by church leaders which called for an immediate end to the strike, renewal of government subsidies to the coal industry and no cuts in miners' wages. Davidson telephoned Reith about his idea on 7 May, saying he had spoken to Baldwin, who had said he would not stop

11021-471: Was part-share owned by a committee of members of the wireless industry, including British Thomson-Houston , The General Electric Company , Marconi and Metropolitan-Vickers . However, Reith had been in favour of the company being taken into public ownership, as he felt that despite the boards under which he had served so far, allowing him a high degree of latitude on all matters, not all future members might do so. Although opposed by some, including members of

11128-487: Was previously dropped by Radio 1. In these changes, Wright believed that, in the case of the former, he was addressing "this feeling people had that they didn't want to put Radio 3 on unless they were going to listen carefully" and in the latter cases that he was "not dumbing down but smarting up" the programmes. By 2004, Radio 3's programming and services were being recognised by the Corporation at large, as seen in

11235-748: Was promoted to captain (RNVR), and appointed Director of the Combined Operations Material Department at the Admiralty , a post he held until early 1945. In 1946, he was appointed chairman of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Board , a post he held until 1950. He was then appointed chairman of the Colonial Development Corporation which he held until 1959. In 1948, he was also appointed the chairman of

11342-545: Was the overall label applied to the collection of services which had until then gone under the umbrella title of the Third Network, namely: All these strands, including the Third Programme, kept their separate identities within Radio 3 until 4 April 1970, when there was a further reorganisation following the introduction of the structural changes which had been outlined the previous year in the BBC document Broadcasting in

11449-610: Was to be somewhat embarrassed when one of his staff ran off with the quite new wife of the then rising young writer Evelyn Waugh . Reith also had to deal with Eckersley after the BBC Chief Engineer had a rather public affair with a married woman on the staff. Up to the Second World War any member of BBC staff involved in a divorce could lose their job. Under Reith, the BBC did not broadcast on Sunday before 12:30 PM, to give listeners time to attend church, and for

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