Comments on: Future of Classical Music Broadcasting in Boston in Jeopardy

By: Gerry

Gerry — Mon, 02 May 2011 16:36:19 +0000

I guess the ideal of reading this site as a respite from vitriol such as the previous comment was all too much to hope for…

By: Nathan Redshield

Nathan Redshield — Mon, 02 May 2011 04:43:52 +0000

I heard about this meeting after the fact; turns out I had another meeting at the time.

I was a listener of WCRB from ca. 1964 until recently. At age 12 I discovered “Classical” and fortunately in 1964 there were a half dozen Classical outlets on Radio. One at 107.something (WBZ-FM?); 104.1 for the flagship station of the Boston Concert Network, WBCN. 102.5 for WCRB; 96.something for WXHR(?) that carried DeKoven–they became WJIB; 95.3 for WHRB; 90.9 for WBUR; 89.7 for WGBH. On AM there was even WCRB at 1330 and WXHR at 740.
Then the Rock tripe hit. The classical stations dropped like flies to be replaced by cookie-cutter sound alike Rock drivel–a pile driver & air compressor combo would be more entertaining and might do useful work instead of John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, etc.
Bloated salaries at ‘GBH might be the real problem. Plus having an agenda..are the 89.7 nightly jazz broadcasts a piece of Affirmative Action? Is Friday Symphony too many Dead White Males?

OK. The posts are useful, though there is too much left-wing drivel out there. Corporations are Evil while non-profits are good. Hogwarsh! WGBH/WCRB is an institutional problem and this dumbing-down of Classical is a direct result of the New Left Drivel of the 1960′s and ’70′s. Marx to Lenin to Stalin to Mao to Pol Pot to Obama is the progression of Academia.
Wonder what has become of Richard Knisely’s “projects”? I will look into that American Public Media outfit: one needs to know what Satan looks like!

By: Richard Knisely

Richard Knisely — Fri, 14 May 2010 23:02:43 +0000

Is anyone reading this stream anymore?

In response to Edward Wagner (above) and others I would like to announce that I am developing a website that will do the same thing I did for 25 years at WGBH, only more focused on the music community of the Boston area. A wide variety of performances by local individuals and ensembles updated regularly, covering all periods without qualms about the contemporary!) in daily hosted segments, along with features and specials introducing the various music makers, artists and composers, venues, festivals, etc.

I am currently building the site and trying to drum up some backers for it.

info or comments welcome! -richardknisely2@earthlink.net

By: Edward Wagner

Edward Wagner — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:42:29 +0000

So now it has been four months since that meeting at the beginning of 2010. What has happened since?

Truly, the longer I have thought about it the more I am convinced that certain institutions in Boston have made the musical community perhaps lazy and prone to take for granted that their art would always be made accessible and available to the public by the broadcasting power of WGBH or the prestige of the BSO or the conservatories. This community needs to take its fate into its own hands. The INSTITUTION of WGBH is DEAD. Everyone in the musical community from Joel Cohen to Gunther Schuller to younger musicians need to ask themselves what they would like to see in an ideal classical music, not station but disseminator, and only THEN think about the technology. Surely if all the money (from individuals or institutions)that is given to the ‘GBH empire for the sake of MUSIC and take for grated by them were to directed to clean new project, well, Mr. Cohen, let your imagination run wild.

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 14:54:15 +0000

Would you please also do a story on KDFC 102.1 FM (www.kdfc.com) out of San Francisco, CA, and also KQAC 89.9 FM (Allclassical.org with out the 995 in front of it) out of Portland, Oregon? Both stations are doing innovative programming and are bringing the WOW FACTOR to Classical Music. That was what I hoped would have been the result of WGBH taking over WCRB.
I used to be an intern at the old WCRB, and was deeply saddened when the decline started with Nassau Broadcasting, running the station into the ground. Let’s not forget that Greater Media bought the station to steal its 102.5 FM Frequency.
If WGBH does buy another frequency, I hope that it’s Country 102.5 FM, and WCRB is allowed to return to it’s original home on the dial.I also found out that some of the great recordings that WCRB used to have were sent to WHRB. A prime example is an RCA Victor Recording of Castel-Nuovo Tedesco’s Guitar Concerto # 1, which I had requested be played on WCRB, when owned by Nassau, and I was told that it was not a reasonable request, since they no longer had the recording. However, I requested it on WHRB, and that is how I found out that ‘ HRB may have some of ‘ CRB’s recordings, as they had the recording.

By: alannala

alannala — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 08:17:37 +0000

i live in provincetown, mass., the very end of cape cod for those of you who don’t know… and i get a clear signal on WCRB, even though technically i’m out of range of the broadcast. The fact of having cape cod bay between my radio and the tower makes propagation over salt water and unobstructed paths the key. Anyway, just wanted to say that listeners can greatly improve reception by knowing how to set up a dipole antenna, like the one that came with my radio. try different locations in your house, too. Small adjustments can be significant.
As for public radio: it sucks. It has become so commercialized and ratings oriented that i can’t listen anymore. there are programs that are good of course, but the incessant whining for money and the incessant sponsor ads and the incessant “listeners like you” bullshit is so torturing that i have gone to the internet, for good. bye bye broadcasting. the internet is the only place that will spawn the mission values that once made public broadcasting a treasure.

By: PODCAST: William Bulger, Chris Lydon, WGBH, WCRB, and the Future of Classical Music on the Radio - Phlog

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:29:26 +0000

[...] South Church on January 5 was eerily familiar — an older audience, larger than you'd expect (the organizers put it at 400-plus), venting its collective spleen at hapless [...]

By: Fred Bouchard

Fred Bouchard — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:40:51 +0000

As regards WHRB, aside from the herculean student energies that send forth their orgies, even the daily classical programming is relatively diverse, inclusive (and more consistently provocative than the jazz). And its signal serves me better in Belmont than the eWCRB’s.

By: Vance Koven

Vance Koven — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:19:04 +0000

To Robert Meyers: My understanding is that WHRB does not keep archives of its Orgy® programs; they just play ‘em, they don’t rerecord the recordings.

By: Robert Meyers

Robert Meyers — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:48:23 +0000

The large gathering last week was heartening for the size of its turnout, as well as for some trenchant remarks by Chris Lydon and Joel Cohen. It remaibns to be seen whether our disappointment with the policies of GBH can be shaped into enough pressure to elicit significant change.

I would like to suggest that the “Orgy” archives at WHRB might be made available somehow — they were and continue to be truly splendid examples of classical music broadcasting. Thanks Dave Elliot.

Thanks to Lee Eisman for his dedicated work.