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BBC director general Tim Davie has reinforced the organisation’s commitment to arts and culture with a raft of new programming and commissions. <\/p>
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’.<\/p>
Among a wealth of programming announced across BBC Radio and TV channels, Radio 3<\/a><\/strong> has commissioned 25 new works from 25 composers – one work for each of the first 25 years of the 21st century. <\/p> The 25 new commissions \u2013 recorded by BBC orchestras and choirs, and New Generation Artists \u2013 will premiere on Tom Service<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s Saturday Morning<\/em> programme from 25 January 2025, and will be broadcast on the network throughout the week. <\/p> Among the new works: <\/p> Other composers include Karl Jenkins<\/a><\/strong>, Rakhi Singh, Gavin Higgins and Nkeiru Okoye.<\/p> Radio 3 also presents a new 40-part series, The Modernists<\/em>, from January 2025,<\/strong> examining the life and work of some of the 20th century\u2019s greatest composers \u2013 from Takemitsu to Berio, Ruth Crawford Seeger and Stockhausen<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p> On 27 January, the station hosts a day of reflection to coincide with BBC Arts\u2019 film The Last Musician of Auschwitz<\/em>, marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.<\/strong> <\/p> Plus, there are centenary celebrations for Pierre Boulez<\/a><\/strong> on 30 March 2025 and for the BBC Singers<\/a><\/strong> throughout the week of 30 September 2024. <\/p> And there are broadcasts of BBC Young Musician<\/a><\/strong> and the Leeds International Piano Competition<\/a><\/strong> across TV, Radio, iPlayer and Sounds.<\/p> ‘The wealth of arts and culture content available every day on the BBC, across radio, TV, and online, is unrivalled. As is the BBC\u2019s role as the UK\u2019s cultural partner, and most ambitious creator of original arts programming.<\/p> ‘Sometimes we don\u2019t tell this story strongly enough. I want to push back, frankly, on any sense that the BBC\u2019s commitment to arts and culture has diminished. Or the idea we sometimes hear that we don\u2019t care as much as we used to. The arts remain utterly central to the BBC\u2019s 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.’<\/p> Davie’s most recent announcement follows a significant outcry from the UK public and music industry, after the BBC revealed that it would be\u00a0closing the BBC Singers as part of its BBC Classical Review<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0in March 2023. This was due to difficulties with funding for the BBC’s orchestras and choirs. <\/p> The\u00a0BBC decided to suspend its decision to close its in-house chamber choir\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>following widespread criticism, exploring alternative funding models. It has since announced that its has a sustainable plan<\/a><\/strong> for the BBC Singers’ future, having gained support from a third party, The VOCES8 Foundation.<\/p>Further BBC programming<\/h2>
Announcing the season of programming, Davie said:<\/h2>
Tough decisions from the BBC<\/h2>