BBC loses New Generation plot

BBC loses New Generation plot

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norman lebrecht

May 11, 2019

The BBC has rolled out its next run of New Generation artists. They are:

Pianists Eric Lu and Alexander Gadjiev
Violist Timothy Ridout
Mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska
Violinist Johan Dalene
The Consone Quartet
Jazz guitarist Rob Luft

The the NGA scheme is designed to boost undiscovered new talent on Radio 3 broadcasts.

Two of these artists are international prizewinners – Eric Lu at Leeds and Johan Dalene last month at the Carl Nielsen.

They don’t need preferential exposure on the BBC. One is American, the other a Swede. They have been signed by agents and are launched on global careers. The BBC has lost sight of the core purpose of this scheme.

 

Comments

  • Nick says:

    All BBC does is SCHEMES!

    • Someone else says:

      Aside from five orchestras, twon choruses, a fine chamber choir, a superb classical music radio station…the Proms…shall I continue?

  • Dear Norman,

    I may think you are a bit hard on BBC, when it comes to Johan Dalene. Maybe they *announced* the results of their pondering now, but the choosing is a long process, and the odds are short that Johan Dalene was a given way before he won the Carl Nielsen. We discovered him, so why not BBC? He easily fulfills all the requirements for being a New Generation Artist. If so, would it be fair to jettison him, because he in fact did win that competition?

    Anyway, and I am not ashamed to say so, anyone will be able to enjoy his Tchaikovsky and Barber concertos on an SACD that shall be released shortly by yours truly (recorded long before he became a “name”).

    Robert

  • W. T. X. Bogolyuboff says:

    The guy standing L who looks a bit like Alfred E. Neumann, where is he in the world rankings? Is there a federation of international piano competitions like there is in chess, who could construct a league table so that we know how much we should pay for tickets and how many miles we should fly to concerts?

  • DeepSouth says:

    The BBC has ‘lost the plot’ over almost everything, not least anyything to do with classical music – and it’s been happening over a considerable period of time. Dumbing down, inane-presenter-led programming, and … need I go on … At least those of you in the UK can take heart that it’s worse in the Republic of Ireland: Lyric FM has been a total embarrassment for nearly the entire two decades of its existence.

    • Will Duffay says:

      There’s constant griping about Radio 3 (classical music on tv is virtually dead, I agree) and yet standards remain high and there are plenty of musical discoveries to be made daily. Seriously, if you want inane and ‘dumbed’ down’ try Classicfm.

  • Violist says:

    Timothy has also won both the Cecil Aronowitz and the Tertis international competitions. But competition wins can only go so far! This recognition seems well deserved.

  • Steven van Staden says:

    Exactly. Why promote someone who’s already been promoted? And let us not forget that competitions often “don’t smell good” (Horowitz). Nor does this.

  • Operaspook says:

    Norman, the NGA scheme is all about capturing product for broadcast at the lowest possible cost. If artists are already on the industry radar, all the better.

  • Sue Sonata Form says:

    Who is looking at the pianist when Edward Gardner is in the room!!??

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