''Counterpoint'' is a

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

quiz. Described in the show's introduction as "The general knowledge music quiz", the questions are about music, from classical,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

, and all other forms of music. It was originally hosted by

Ned Sherrin Edward George Sherrin (18 February 1931 – 1 October 2007) was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. He qualified as a barrister and then worked in independent television before joining the BBC. He appeared in a variety of r ...

(1986–2006). In the chair for the 2007 series was

Edward Seckerson Edward Seckerson is a British music journalist and radio presenter specialising in musical theatre. Formerly Chief Classical Music Critic of the Independent, Edward Seckerson is a writer, broadcaster and podcaster. He wrote and presented the lon ...

with

Paul Gambaccini Paul Matthew Gambaccini (born April 2, 1949) is an American-British radio and television presenter and author in the United Kingdom. He has dual United States and British nationality, having become a British citizen in 2005. Known as "The Grea ...

taking over in 2008, following the death of

in 2007.

Russell Davies Robert Russell Davies (born 5 April 1946) is a British journalist and broadcaster. Davies was born in Barmouth, North Wales. He attended Manchester Grammar School, according to his own statement on a November 2010 ''Brain of Britain'' programme ...

took over temporarily in 2013 following allegations made against Gambaccini, who returned to the show in November 2014 after being cleared of the allegations.

Format

The quiz is played by three contestants over three rounds, or "movements" as they are known in the show.

First round

In the first round, each contestant is asked four (or occasionally three if there is a shortage of time) questions, two of which are illustrated by short musical pieces. Two points are awarded for a correct answer, or one point for a partially correct response. If the given answer is incorrect, or partially incorrect, the other two contestants may buzz in for one point. If there is a tie at the end of the first round, a further buzzer question is asked to determine the contestants' order for the next round.

Second round

The middle round is a solo round, similar to the 'specialist subject' format of ''

Mastermind Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to: Fictional characters * Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a title also held by his daughters: ** Martinique Jason, the first daughter and successor of th ...

'', with the difference that the contestants have neither chosen nor been given warning of the subject. Five categories of questions are offered, some of which are very specific e.g. "Beethoven's Piano Sonatas", while others are more general, for instance "sunshine and rain". The contestant with the most points after round one chooses from the five categories, the runner-up chooses from the four remaining, and the contestant in last place chooses from the three that are left. Each round consists of seven (occasionally six) questions, including three musical cues. Again two points are given for a correct answer, but, in this round, questions answered incorrectly are not offered to the other contestants.

Third round

The final round consists of a variable number of questions, usually no more than two. Any contestant can answer these questions, provided they buzz in first. A correct answer will add one point to a contestant's score. If an incorrect answer is not given, a contestant is deducted one point. For the 2020-2021 season and for some episodes in the 2021-2022 season this was changed to a Algorithm time round for each contestant. The contestant with the highest score at the end of each regular show wins the right to appear again, later in the series, to compete against other winners from the current series. The series is completed in 1 hour, the last show being the final, at the end of which the series' winner is decided.

Broadcast history

The show has been broadcast in

's Monday afternoon quiz slot since 1998 with a repeat on the following Saturday evening. Three main question-setters have been used by the programme:

Ian Gillies Ian Malcolm Gillies (7 December 1927 – 13 April 2002), known to many simply as Mycroft from BBC Radio 4's ''Brain of Britain'', was an accomplished quiz player and question setter in the United Kingdom. His character name was taken from Arthur ...

, often referred to as Mycroft by Robert Robinson in ''

Brain of Britain ''Brain of Britain'' is a BBC radio general knowledge quiz, broadcast on BBC Radio 4. History It began as a slot in ''What Do You Know?'' in 1953. The main part of the show was the "Brain of Britain" quiz itself, originally called "Ask Me An ...

'' (1986–2000); David Kenrick, the 1993 champion (1993 – )referred to as ' Clever Mr Kochel ' by Ned Sherrin ; and Stephen Follows a semi-finalist 1996 ( 2002 - ). 'Counterpoint' has been produced since 2001 by Paul Bajoria.

hosted the programme between November 2013 and October 2014 after Gambaccini was arrested on suspicion of historic sexual offences. Gambaccini returned in November 2014 after no charges were brought against him.

Champions

The following is an incomplete list of ''Counterpoint'' champions since 1988. BBC recordings

Theme music

The current ''Counterpoint'' theme is Bach's " Partita in E major", arranged and performed by Jacques Loussier. The original theme tune for the programme, when it began in 1986, was the

Arrival of the Queen of Sheba ''Solomon'', Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis, HWV 67, is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. The anonymous libretto – currently thought to have been penned by the English Jewish poet/playwright Moses Mendes (d.1758) – is based on the biblical s ...

by Georg Friedrich Handel. In the late 1990s it was opened by a specially commissioned piece entitled "Counterpoint", by musician

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing voc ...

References

External links

* {{BBC Radio 4 Musical game shows BBC Radio 4 programmes British classical music radio programmes British radio game shows 1980s British game shows 1990s British game shows 2000s British game shows 2010s British game shows