BBC director general Tim Davie has reinforced the organisation’s commitment to arts and culture with a raft of new programming and commissions.
In a strongly-worded speech at the Royal Academy of Arts, Davie ‘pushed back’ on the idea that the BBC’s ‘commitment to arts and culture has diminished’ or that ‘we don’t care as much as we used to’.
25 new works from 25 composers
Among a wealth of programming announced across BBC Radio and TV channels, Radio 3 has commissioned 25 new works from 25 composers – one work for each of the first 25 years of the 21st century.
The 25 new commissions – recorded by BBC orchestras and choirs, and New Generation Artists – will premiere on Tom Service’s Saturday Morning programme from 25 January 2025, and will be broadcast on the network throughout the week.
Among the new works:
- Anna Clyne is inspired by the expectations for a new era in 2000
- Stephen Hough musically evokes the tragedy of 9/11
- Errollyn Wallen remembers the London 2012 Olympics
- Thea Musgrave marks two years since the death of Queen Elizabeth II
Other composers include Karl Jenkins, Rakhi Singh, Gavin Higgins and Nkeiru Okoye.
Further BBC programming
Radio 3 also presents a new 40-part series, The Modernists, from January 2025, examining the life and work of some of the 20th century’s greatest composers – from Takemitsu to Berio, Ruth Crawford Seeger and Stockhausen.
On 27 January, the station hosts a day of reflection to coincide with BBC Arts’ film The Last Musician of Auschwitz, marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Plus, there are centenary celebrations for Pierre Boulez on 30 March 2025 and for the BBC Singers throughout the week of 30 September 2024.
And there are broadcasts of BBC Young Musician and the Leeds International Piano Competition across TV, Radio, iPlayer and Sounds.
Announcing the season of programming, Davie said:
‘The wealth of arts and culture content available every day on the BBC, across radio, TV, and online, is unrivalled. As is the BBC’s role as the UK’s cultural partner, and most ambitious creator of original arts programming.
- 29 million – That’s how many people our TV arts content reached in the last year – or 45% of TV viewers
- 28,000 hours – That’s the amount of arts, classical music, and culture content the BBC produces each year… No one else comes close. And we make more TV arts content than all of the other PSBs and streamers combined
- 300 – That’s the number of live performances by the BBC’s orchestras and choirs so far this year – in over 75 different venues across the UK
- 210 – That’s the number of organisations we partnered with last year, working on arts projects and content
‘Sometimes we don’t tell this story strongly enough. I want to push back, frankly, on any sense that the BBC’s commitment to arts and culture has diminished. Or the idea we sometimes hear that we don’t care as much as we used to. The arts remain utterly central to the BBC’s mission. We want to send out a strong signal, that arts and culture matter, they matter for everyone, and they matter even more when times are tough.’
Tough decisions from the BBC
Davie’s most recent announcement follows a significant outcry from the UK public and music industry, after the BBC revealed that it would be closing the BBC Singers as part of its BBC Classical Review in March 2023. This was due to difficulties with funding for the BBC’s orchestras and choirs.
The BBC decided to suspend its decision to close its in-house chamber choir following widespread criticism, exploring alternative funding models. It has since announced that its has a sustainable plan for the BBC Singers’ future, having gained support from a third party, The VOCES8 Foundation.
The corporation has also promised to look at alternatives to reducing its full-time orchestral posts by 20%.