‘We want to help audiences develop a lifelong love of classical music’

Published: 31 January 2020

Speaking at the Association of British Orchestras Conference in Manchester today, James Purnell, BBC Director of Radio & Education, has announced ambitious plans for BBC Radio 3 over the coming months including a unique collaboration with Sport Relief - taking Beethoven out of the concert hall - and onto the running track for Beat Beethoven, and a showcase of female creativity as part of International Women’s Day, inviting today’s brightest composing talent to tackle the issues they face as a women through cross-genre, cutting-edge new commissions. He also announced that there would be a move to bolster classical music in BBC Sounds over the coming months.

In a keynote speech held at Victoria Wood Hall, Hallé St Peter’s, to delegates from all areas of the classical music sector, James outlined his vision for the future of BBC radio and education and his ambitions for the creation, commissioning and broadcasting of classical music in a content rich world.

Speaking at the conference, he said: “The critical shift for everyone in BBC radio has been to stop thinking of ourselves as a series of isolated stations and instead as part of a wider portfolio: A place where a listener can find audio that suits their tastes, regardless of the moment, whether it’s live or on demand, something on air or something only on Sounds.”

He also talked about bolstering the offer on BBC Sounds: “We’re also looking at ways we can provide more specialist radio options on BBC Sounds for classical music, whether adding classical streams or further complementing Radio 3 and the Proms on the app. These plans are all being developed, but I can say that we are looking at how we can bring the best of classical music to all our audiences, however and whenever they like to listen. We want to help new audiences develop a lifelong love of classical music.”

He said of BBC Radio 3: “I love what Alan Davey and the team are doing – raising the ambition of the station even higher, and redefining what Radio 3 can mean in a world with so much music, so much art, so much culture fighting for our attention. That means working even harder to get audiences to choose Radio 3, by creating a place away from the frenzy of everyday life, to revel in classical and cultural content.”

As part of the speech, he also unveiled the latest content in a year-long Beethoven Season across the BBC, marking 250 years since the composer’s birth. Broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and filmed by BBC Sport for broadcast for BBC One that evening, Beat Beethoven will invite hundreds of people - from complete beginners to seasoned sprinters - to don their trainers and run five kilometres in the time it takes to listen to the composer’s famous Fifth Symphony, letting the music fuel their feet as they race around Salford’s MediaCityUK to a live performance by the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Principal Chief Conductor, Ben Gernon, on Friday 13 March. Katie Derham will present the concert and BBC news presenter Sophie Raworth will take part in the race.

The initiative is in addition to a comprehensive Beethoven season across the BBC including 125 hours of in depth programming in Composer of the Week, presented by Donald Macleod alongside documentaries, discussions and concerts elsewhere on BBC Radio 3 and a new three-part series on BBC Four.

Participants can run, jog, walk, dance, wheel or hopscotch their way to 5K - the aim is to encourage audiences to discover classical music and running whilst raising money for good causes. Those who can’t be there on the day will still be able to take on the challenge and orchestrate their own running workouts by downloading free audio of the symphony on BBC Sounds and signing up to fundraise in their own time.

During his speech at the Association of British Orchestras conference, James also announced a new commission to mark International Women’s Day 2020. BBC Radio 3 will continue to build on the pioneering work it has done over recent years to fly the flag for female composers - both historic and present. In a celebration of extraordinary female creativity, Radio 3 invites seven living composers from different corners of the classical world to each write a movement of an a-cappella choral work entitled Seven Ages Of Woman, bringing their perspectives to a choice of text that represents their own decades from 1944-2002, from the beloved poetry of Christina Rossetti/Charlotte Brontë to a poem written by commissioned composer Deirdre Gribbin’s son, who has Down’s syndrome. The commissions will be performed as part of a free concert on Thursday 27 February with the BBC Singers, conducted by Grace Rossiter at St Peter’s Eaton Square, London. The recording will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on International Women’s Day, Sunday 8 March, and will also feature each composer delving deep into the thought process behind their choices.

BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sport are challenging members of the public to attempt to run 5K and “beat” the music of Beethoven’s epic Fifth Symphony, performed live by the BBC Philharmonic - raising money for Sport Relief along the way.

Hundreds of people - from complete beginners to seasoned sprinters - will be invited to don their trainers and run five kilometres in the time it takes to listen to the famous symphony, letting the music fuel their feet as they race around Salford’s MediaCityUK to a live performance by the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Ben Gernon on Friday 13 March. BBC Newsreader Sophie Raworth, English National Opera’s CEO Stuart Murphy and Radio 3’s very own Tom McKinney have also announced they will take part in the race. Radio 3 presenter Katie Derham will host the day in MediaCity.

With the energetic, pulse-quickening music as their soundtrack, runners (and non-runners) of all ages and abilities will be invited to take on the challenge and play their part in Sport Relief, helping to raise life-changing amounts of money to support vulnerable people across the UK and around the world, to live happier, healthier and safer lives.

Starting on the downbeat of some of the most famous opening bars in classical music, Beat Beethoven will be under starters orders at 4pm on Friday 13 March 2020, broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 with highlights filmed by BBC Sport for broadcast on BBC One that evening.

Those who can’t be there on the day can take on the challenge and orchestrate their own running workouts wherever and whenever they like by downloading free audio of the symphony on BBC Sounds and signing up to fundraise in their own time. Links to training resources are available from bbc.co.uk/sportrelief

Alan Davey, Controller of BBC Radio 3, says: “Beethoven Unleashed is a year-long, comprehensive season that aims to ensure that everyone, from the novice to the expert, can get more from the music of this great composer. I’m delighted to work with Sport Relief and BBC Sport to add this new element which will hopefully introduce the composer to new audiences as well as encourage those who love his work to get fit and also to listen in a new way to a piece of classical that is both complex and motivating in its use of rhythm and it’s unique sonic world.”

Beat Beethoven is part of a of a year-long pan-BBC season, Beethoven Unleashed, to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of one of the world’s most-loved composers.

For further information, tickets and to find out how to take part, visit bbc.co.uk/sportrelief

Part of the ticket price of each ticket will be donated to Comic Relief; the remainder will cover the costs of the event. The event will be run and ticketed by RunThrough Events.

Members of the public can set up their own Beat Beethoven JustGiving page and find tips and materials to help fundraise by visiting bbc.co.uk/sportrelief

Sport Relief returns on Friday 13 March, bringing the nation together to get active and raise life changing amounts of money through the power of sport. The money raised by Sport Relief supports people living incredibly tough lives in the UK and around the world by tackling issues such as homelessness, domestic abuse, mental health stigma and child poverty.

Comic Relief created the first ever Sport Relief in 2002, and since then, eight Sport Reliefs have raised over £378 million. For more information about Sport Relief, please visit www.sportrelief.com

Concert, Thursday 27 February
Broadcast, Sunday 8 March

To mark International Women’s Day 2020, BBC Radio 3 has announced a new commission and world premiere broadcast featuring seven composers of different generations. Each has written a movement of a collaborative unaccompanied choral work entitled Seven Ages Of Woman, with each composer choosing to set a text that they feel represents them and this decade of their lives - from the beloved writings of Charlotte Brontë to a poem by commissioned composer Deirdre Gribbin’s son, who has Down’s syndrome. During the broadcast, the composers will discuss their inspiration and the creative process for the project with presenter Fiona Talkington.

The commission will be performed as part of a free concert on 27 February with the BBC Singers, conducted by Grace Rossiter at St Peter’s Eaton Square, London. The recording will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on International Women’s Day, Sunday 8 March.

The composers involved are:

Helena Paish
Electra Perivolaris
Samantha Fernando (pictured below)
Emily Hall
Deirdre Gribbin (image above)
Cecilia McDowall
Rhian Samuel

The commission will feature Cornwall-based winner of BBC Proms Inspire composing competition and former Radio 2 Young Chorister of the Year Helena Paish; Scottish composer and BBC Proms Inspire Ambassador Electra Perivolaris (pictured below); Berkshire-born composer and RPS Composition Prize winner Samantha Fernando; Emily Hall, a composer who mixes classical precision with electronics and folk and has composed five critically acclaimed operas; Northern Irish composer and winner of the Arts Foundation Opera Award for Hey Persephone! Deirdre Gribbin; award-winning composer Cecilia McDowall, and Welsh-born composer Rhian Samuel, who co-edited the Grove Dictionary of Women Composers. Rhian Samuel spent time composing in the USA, before returning to the UK to teach at City University London. She has mentored the younger composers for this commission and has relished the chance to work with other female composers.

Edwina Wolstencroft, Radio 3 Content Editor, says: “We’re delighted to again focus on the extraordinary talent of female composers as we internationally mark the progress made and work still to do in achieving full equality for women.”

Alan Davey, Controller of BBC Radio 3, says: “I feel very proud that BBC Radio 3, with the BBC Singers, can use its platform and influence to connect audiences to this truly remarkable set of commissions by an exciting group of contemporary classical composers. Our International Women’s Day programming this year reflects our ambition to extend the established ‘canon’, giving much-deserved recognition to the brightest and best of female composing talent past and present.”

International Women’s Day 2020 schedule

Sunday 8 March

1am - Through The Night
presented by Catriona Young

Music composed by women in performances from around Europe including a premiere recording of Gabrielle Brunner’s Six Pictures for Orchestra and Ethyl Smyth’s Concerto for Violin and Horn

Producer - Ellie Mant

7am - Breakfast
presented by Martin Handley

Producer - David Fay

9am - Sunday Morning
presented by Sarah Walker

Producer - Sarah Devonald

midday - Private Passions
presented by Michael Berkeley

A compilation of guests choosing music they love including Turner-prize winning artist Helen Cammock, actor Greta Scacchi, microbiologist Sir Peter Piot, writer Audrey Niffenegger, Autism researcher Uta Frith and architect Daniel Libeskind. They bring us music by Barbara Strozzi, Maria Cosway, Leonora Duarte, Hildegarde of Bingen, Clara Schumann, Germaine Tillion and Kaija Saariaho.

Producer - Elizabeth Burke

1pm - Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert: Seven Ages Of Woman
presented by Fiona Talkington

Producer - Lizzie Ibrahim

2pm - The Early Music Show
presented by Lucie Skeaping

A profile of French baroque composer Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre.

Producer - Ruth Thomson

3pm - Choral Evensong

From the Chapel of The Queen’s College, Oxford (recorded 29 October).

Producer - Ben Collingwood

4pm - Jazz Record Requests
presented by Alyn Shipton

Producer - Felix Carey

5pm - The Listening Service
presented by Tom Service

Composer focus on Kaija Saariaho.

5.30pm - Words And Music

Producer - Caitlin Benedict

6.45pm - Sunday Feature: Queen Of Technicolour
presented by Marie-Louise Muir

Irish actress Maureen O’Hara’s struggle with Hollywood as an outspoken star.

Producer - Conor McKay

7.30pm - Drama On 3: Only Mountains

Maxine Peake’s new play about female soldiers who fought with the Kurds in Syria.

9pm - Radio 3 In Concert
presented by Penny Gore

Elisabetta Brusa: Firelights (first Radio 3 broadcast and possible UK premiere)
Germaine Tailleferre: Ballade (first Radio 3 broadcast)
Victoria Borisova-Olas: The Kingdom Of Silence (first Radio 3 broadcast and possible UK premiere)
Judith Weir: Heroic Strokes Of The Bow