Comments on: Latest Ratings Show WGBH Audience Flat and WCRB Down 14% http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/ a virtual journal and blog of the classical music scene in Boston Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:58:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Gideon http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-3436 Gideon Wed, 27 Oct 2010 08:17:17 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-3436 This thread doesn't seem active anymore, but I'll add on in case another latecomer drops by. I'm a graduating senior at Brandeis University, where, in addition to running our WBRS 100.1 for a year, I've also hosted two hours of classical programming every week for three years. (No longer this semester, thanks to my own scheduling problems, but lots of my material is available online - search my name and school and "Fortissimo", the name of my show.) I'm interested in entering the classical broadcast industry and I'm hunting around for what's going on in that world. We're right down the street from the old CRB, and for several years the sign still said classical 102.5. I think (but am not sure) that 99.5 had already happened by the time I entered school here, though I know that the GBH takeover was just last year. In short, classical radio in Boston is a question I've been attuned to for three years. Since 99.5 switched to Siberia, I've mostly tuned to HRB during the afternoons when I'm out of class. Besides generally having an affinity for college radio ('my' WBRS and UChicago's WHPK, among the many other ones mentioned above), I really appreciate their diversity of programming and the semester-ending orgies. What creativity! On the recommendation from the VP of WFMT in Chicago, I went to speak with Jon Solins last week and only slightly got the sense that there was a discrepancy between the older CRB ratings and the ratings since the takeover, but I came on here and found plenty of disgruntlement. Now what city should I look for? So: Hey you! If you're in charge of hiring for classical radio and you're looking for enthusiastic, intelligent young blood with over 200 hours logged behind a mic, contact me! This thread doesn’t seem active anymore, but I’ll add on in case another latecomer drops by. I’m a graduating senior at Brandeis University, where, in addition to running our WBRS 100.1 for a year, I’ve also hosted two hours of classical programming every week for three years. (No longer this semester, thanks to my own scheduling problems, but lots of my material is available online – search my name and school and “Fortissimo”, the name of my show.) I’m interested in entering the classical broadcast industry and I’m hunting around for what’s going on in that world.

We’re right down the street from the old CRB, and for several years the sign still said classical 102.5. I think (but am not sure) that 99.5 had already happened by the time I entered school here, though I know that the GBH takeover was just last year. In short, classical radio in Boston is a question I’ve been attuned to for three years. Since 99.5 switched to Siberia, I’ve mostly tuned to HRB during the afternoons when I’m out of class. Besides generally having an affinity for college radio (‘my’ WBRS and UChicago’s WHPK, among the many other ones mentioned above), I really appreciate their diversity of programming and the semester-ending orgies. What creativity!

On the recommendation from the VP of WFMT in Chicago, I went to speak with Jon Solins last week and only slightly got the sense that there was a discrepancy between the older CRB ratings and the ratings since the takeover, but I came on here and found plenty of disgruntlement. Now what city should I look for?

So: Hey you! If you’re in charge of hiring for classical radio and you’re looking for enthusiastic, intelligent young blood with over 200 hours logged behind a mic, contact me!

]]> By: Pat Baker http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-2407 Pat Baker Mon, 24 May 2010 01:27:39 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-2407 I found this discussion of several months ago by googling "don't like the new WGBH". I was afraid I was alone in this, as the only two friends I've talked with about the new format didn't like classical music and were happy to see it go. I, however, miss it terribly. I'm one of those who live on the South Shore, where WCRB is not even an option. I'm not a music professional, but work at home and loved the mix of talk/news/music that used to be WGBH. And the announcement of the switch was a surprise to me. I recall no listener poll, or other opportunity to solicit input as to how, if they wanted to buy a second station, programming should be altered to improve choice rather than limit. Further, it seemed obvious that WGBH had decided to compete directly with WBUR. Why? This I found shocking, and unworthy of an educational public media source. I'm no Ralph Lowell Society member, but for the first time in over twenty years, I did not renew our family membership. So there! If they HAD asked how to handle the addition, I would have suggested they keep the same WGBH programming on WGBH as ever, but mirror the classical broadcasts as-is to WCRB. In the time that 'GBH did not have classical programming, WCRB could have filled in with the sort of interesting, scholarly music programs and pieces that Joel Cohen and others suggested above. That way, no one would have lost a thing, extra cost would have been minimal and WCRB would have been able to build something really intellectually and artistically compelling. I'm going to try France Musique. Oh - speaking of streaming, that's another problem: I've had a really difficult time over the years trying to get 'GBH's to work easily (and yes, I've always had state-of-the-art high speed connections and fast computers). They should copy whatever method WUMB uses. Snappy and clear. I found this discussion of several months ago by googling “don’t like the new WGBH”. I was afraid I was alone in this, as the only two friends I’ve talked with about the new format didn’t like classical music and were happy to see it go. I, however, miss it terribly. I’m one of those who live on the South Shore, where WCRB is not even an option. I’m not a music professional, but work at home and loved the mix of talk/news/music that used to be WGBH. And the announcement of the switch was a surprise to me. I recall no listener poll, or other opportunity to solicit input as to how, if they wanted to buy a second station, programming should be altered to improve choice rather than limit. Further, it seemed obvious that WGBH had decided to compete directly with WBUR. Why? This I found shocking, and unworthy of an educational public media source. I’m no Ralph Lowell Society member, but for the first time in over twenty years, I did not renew our family membership. So there! If they HAD asked how to handle the addition, I would have suggested they keep the same WGBH programming on WGBH as ever, but mirror the classical broadcasts as-is to WCRB. In the time that ‘GBH did not have classical programming, WCRB could have filled in with the sort of interesting, scholarly music programs and pieces that Joel Cohen and others suggested above. That way, no one would have lost a thing, extra cost would have been minimal and WCRB would have been able to build something really intellectually and artistically compelling. I’m going to try France Musique. Oh – speaking of streaming, that’s another problem: I’ve had a really difficult time over the years trying to get ‘GBH’s to work easily (and yes, I’ve always had state-of-the-art high speed connections and fast computers). They should copy whatever method WUMB uses. Snappy and clear.

]]> By: Vance R. Koven http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1659 Vance R. Koven Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:14:52 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1659 Richard, not only can you take your business elsewhere, you can get into business for yourself. The barriers to entry for a streaming station are low, almost as low as having a website. So why haven't all of us know-it-alls just done it? I'd say that's the American spirit, not the lead-us-by-the-nose-Auntie mentality, whose continuation is dependent on having all the costs hidden in opaque government budgets. Maybe, just maybe, you actually *do* need those 100MW towers (to say nothing of those enormous record libraries) to gain adequate street cred? So, while we're waiting for WRB to come online, I still think it's worth going mano a mano with WGBH, on terms that even a suit can understand, so that they'll do what they are indeed capable of doing, presenting intelligent classical programming for an intelligent classical music public. Richard, not only can you take your business elsewhere, you can get into business for yourself. The barriers to entry for a streaming station are low, almost as low as having a website. So why haven’t all of us know-it-alls just done it? I’d say that’s the American spirit, not the lead-us-by-the-nose-Auntie mentality, whose continuation is dependent on having all the costs hidden in opaque government budgets. Maybe, just maybe, you actually *do* need those 100MW towers (to say nothing of those enormous record libraries) to gain adequate street cred? So, while we’re waiting for WRB to come online, I still think it’s worth going mano a mano with WGBH, on terms that even a suit can understand, so that they’ll do what they are indeed capable of doing, presenting intelligent classical programming for an intelligent classical music public.

]]> By: Richard Buell http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1653 Richard Buell Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:48:33 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1653 No, it hadn't escaped my notice that France Musique, the BBC, BR-Klassik, ORF, and the rest are all of them -- gosh! -- broadcasters. Here's where I'm coming from. Internet streaming allows me to hear how well public-service broadcasting is done over there. Market forces seem hardly to count at all. Another thing -- national pride, together with an un-American regard for the life of the mind, play a part in keeping it going as well. I think of the "Hands Off Auntie" campaigns that always spring up whenever the BBC comes under fire. Several years back Andrew Porter made a crack in the New Yorker about the vulgarity of our "cultural" radio. (His quotes.) He had a point. By European standards, classical music radio in the U.S. has been ... well, supply your own pejoratives. Even if all the vexations with funding and transmitters and so on were to vanish overnight, that wouldn't necessarily bring any improvement. To begin with, there's no tradition here to call upon. Could it actually be that Americans just don't know any better? You have to ask? With Internet streaming I can take my business elsewhere. That's the gist of it. No, it hadn’t escaped my notice that France Musique, the BBC, BR-Klassik, ORF, and the rest are all of them — gosh! — broadcasters.

Here’s where I’m coming from. Internet streaming allows me to hear how well public-service broadcasting is done over there. Market forces seem hardly to count at all. Another thing — national pride, together with an un-American regard for the life of the mind, play a part in keeping it going as well. I think of the “Hands Off Auntie” campaigns that always spring up whenever the BBC comes under fire.

Several years back Andrew Porter made a crack in the New Yorker about the vulgarity of our “cultural” radio. (His quotes.) He had a point. By European standards, classical music radio in the U.S. has been … well, supply your own pejoratives.

Even if all the vexations with funding and transmitters and so on were to vanish overnight, that wouldn’t necessarily bring any improvement. To begin with, there’s no tradition here to call upon. Could it actually be that Americans just don’t know any better? You have to ask?

With Internet streaming I can take my business elsewhere. That’s the gist of it.

]]> By: Vance R. Koven http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1649 Vance R. Koven Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:51:38 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1649 Wlhile Richard Buell is right to point to streaming radio as an anodyne for those of us despairing of ever hearing intelligent classical music programming, he makes an important error: all those wonderful stations he listens to on the Internet, to which I also listen (and thanks to Richard for aggregating so many of their URLs on his own site), are all *broadcast* stations. They create all that programming for people like us, with real radios with wire antennas that pluck the sounds out of the ether (when we can get the signal). The Internet streaming is a lagniappe for the rest of the world, for which I am eternally grateful, but without illusion that they would continue to exist without the necessity of having regular broadcast facilities. There are indeed streaming-only stations. Have you listened to them? With some honorable exceptions, for the most part they are execrable imitations of the old WCRB (you read that right), in the Great Square Inches of Music tradition. No, thanks. We need to keep this old technology viable, and demand that programming fit for educated adults be part of it, which means holding WGBH's feet to the fire till the smoke comes out of John Voci's and his directors' ears. Wlhile Richard Buell is right to point to streaming radio as an anodyne for those of us despairing of ever hearing intelligent classical music programming, he makes an important error: all those wonderful stations he listens to on the Internet, to which I also listen (and thanks to Richard for aggregating so many of their URLs on his own site), are all *broadcast* stations. They create all that programming for people like us, with real radios with wire antennas that pluck the sounds out of the ether (when we can get the signal). The Internet streaming is a lagniappe for the rest of the world, for which I am eternally grateful, but without illusion that they would continue to exist without the necessity of having regular broadcast facilities.

There are indeed streaming-only stations. Have you listened to them? With some honorable exceptions, for the most part they are execrable imitations of the old WCRB (you read that right), in the Great Square Inches of Music tradition. No, thanks. We need to keep this old technology viable, and demand that programming fit for educated adults be part of it, which means holding WGBH’s feet to the fire till the smoke comes out of John Voci’s and his directors’ ears.

]]> By: Joel Cohen http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1645 Joel Cohen Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:03:49 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1645 Programming notes from Paris. We've just gotten a TV feed added to our already existing Internet and Voip service. Cost of all this, about $45 per month, a fraction of the same services in our U.S. area. As a teaser, the cable company is giving us a free 30 days preview of the premium channels. One of these is channel 80, called "Mezzo." They broadcast recent video films of classical music performances. I just caught the last 20 minutes of Haydn's "Orlando Palladino," from the little Unter den Linden opera house in Berlin, directed by René Jacobs. What excellent music, and totally unknown to me prior to this. Now there's a Haydn quartet on, and in 35 minutes it's Mahler #8, in toto, with Eschenbach. Now most of what's on French TV is garbage, just like in red, white and blue America. Ack, those game shows... But there ARE these other choices on the tube, just as on the radio there is, besides the usual bad and ugly, ALSO programming aimed at people who love good music. Genuine art is part of the mix, part of what is going on. I read in the paper that our American bridges are rusting and falling down. I am even more concerned that the American mind is also rusting and falling down, gradually being emptied out of any content other than that which our corporate overlords wish us to consume. Programming notes from Paris. We’ve just gotten a TV feed added to our already existing Internet and Voip service. Cost of all this, about $45 per month, a fraction of the same services in our U.S. area.

As a teaser, the cable company is giving us a free 30 days preview of the premium channels.

One of these is channel 80, called “Mezzo.” They broadcast recent video films of classical music performances. I just caught the last 20 minutes of Haydn’s “Orlando Palladino,” from the little Unter den Linden opera house in Berlin, directed by René Jacobs. What excellent music, and totally unknown to me prior to this. Now there’s a Haydn quartet on, and in 35 minutes it’s Mahler #8, in toto, with Eschenbach.

Now most of what’s on French TV is garbage, just like in red, white and blue America. Ack, those game shows… But there ARE these other choices on the tube, just as on the radio there is, besides the usual bad and ugly, ALSO programming aimed at people who love good music. Genuine art is part of the mix, part of what is going on.

I read in the paper that our American bridges are rusting and falling down. I am even more concerned that the American mind is also rusting and falling down, gradually being emptied out of any content other than that which our corporate overlords wish us to consume.

]]> By: Joel Cohen http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1643 Joel Cohen Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:23:34 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1643 "After all, this is not Podunk. Or is it?" In terms of music on the radio, Boston, alas, is Podunk, with (the saving grace) a little non-Podunky suburb called Cambridge that houses WHRB. And D.C. is Podunk, too, unless there is an onair alternative there to the depressing WETA playlist posted here a few days back. Since the demise of WGBH, we listen, when at home in Amesbury, MA, to the France Musique stream over the internet. There are many ways to find good programming online, Lee, not all of them requiring a PhD in computer science. Let Buell's prophetic cry be heard, yea unto the gates of the antedeluvian station management in Brighton: "Glub glub." “After all, this is not Podunk. Or is it?”

In terms of music on the radio, Boston, alas, is Podunk, with (the saving grace) a little non-Podunky suburb called Cambridge that houses WHRB.

And D.C. is Podunk, too, unless there is an onair alternative there to the depressing WETA playlist posted here a few days back.

Since the demise of WGBH, we listen, when at home in Amesbury, MA, to the France Musique stream over the internet. There are many ways to find good programming online, Lee, not all of them requiring a PhD in computer science. Let Buell’s prophetic cry be heard, yea unto the gates of the antedeluvian station management in Brighton: “Glub glub.”

]]> By: Lee Eiseman http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1641 Lee Eiseman Tue, 16 Feb 2010 02:27:19 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1641 Does anyone have any experience with table top internet radios which use a local WiFi connection? I'm interested in this solution for the tech averse. Does anyone have any experience with table top internet radios which use a local WiFi connection? I’m interested in this solution for the tech averse.

]]> By: Richard Buell http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1640 Richard Buell Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:14:14 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1640 Have you ever wondered what can classical music radio be like far, far away from dear provincial little Boston? If you'll give me your attention ... Across the Channel from France Musique -- which Joel Cohen rightly praises -- you hear such offerings as BBC Radio 3's CD Review, whose regular Building a Library feature amounts to a vivid critical discography in sound. Whose recording, say, of Schumann's Kerner Lieder is THE one to have? One Saturday morning a few months back that wonderful writer Hilary Finch (of Gramophone and the Times) was on hand (and for an hour!) to go through the whole lot of available recordings. There is nothing remotely like this on U.S. radio stations, and to the best of my knowledge there never has been. I'm streaming the latest program as I write, and at the top of the screen I see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00qn1lr. This week it's David Nice and Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet." Stop press -- Kitaenko has been caught out using a corrupt Soviet text! My point is that WGBH, WCRB, and the rest are all wedded to a dying technology -- blub blub down they go -- and that we shouldn't be sad about this. Thanks to audio streaming, we're no longer reduced to having to be grateful for small favors. VERY small favors if you ask me. Don't get me going on the "presentation" by local "personalities" -- the quotation marks are essential -- who can't hear themselves, are often unprepared, and have an infuriating way of getting in the way of the music. I make exceptions for Cathy Fuller and Doug Briscoe. (What ever happened to him?) As to the rest, the ducking stool would be too good for them. When the old WGBH was busy documenting Boston's busy concert life -- the very events you read about in the Boston Musical Intelligencer -- they had me on their side, faults and all. Ditto for the live BSO broadcasts on WCRB, which I gather have been taking place over their corporate dead body but so what. WHRB is a story in itself and quite apart from the WGBH/WCRB market forces kerfuffle. For this, endless praise is due David Elliott, their resident eminence grise, but for whom I wouldn't always be coming across something I haven't heard before, or don't know as well as I should, and otherwise filling up gaps in my education. The station is -- can I say this? -- fun. And that's about it. At the Old South meeting it was pointed out -- from the floor I think -- that it's only a matter of time before -- patience everyone -- the future arrives and streaming at last becomes a portable thing. As to what's out there right now -- see http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgibin/statsearch.pl?format=classical&lang=, http://www.operacast.com/opstations.htm, http://theairthisweek.blogspot.com/ (I'm hoping these work.) As the Globe and BMI have observed, Collage New Music's concert last Monday was no end enlivening, especially the Steven Mackey. Now why couldn't we be hearing THAT on the radio? After all, this is not Podunk. Or is it? Have you ever wondered what can classical music radio be like far, far away from dear provincial little Boston? If you’ll give me your attention …

Across the Channel from France Musique — which Joel Cohen rightly praises — you hear such offerings as BBC Radio 3′s CD Review, whose regular Building a Library feature amounts to a vivid critical discography in sound. Whose recording, say, of Schumann’s Kerner Lieder is THE one to have? One Saturday morning a few months back that wonderful writer Hilary Finch (of Gramophone and the Times) was on hand (and for an hour!) to go through the whole lot of available recordings.

There is nothing remotely like this on U.S. radio stations, and to the best of my knowledge there never has been. I’m streaming the latest program as I write, and at the top of the screen I see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00qn1lr. This week it’s David Nice and Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet.” Stop press — Kitaenko has been caught out using a corrupt Soviet text!

My point is that WGBH, WCRB, and the rest are all wedded to a dying technology — blub blub down they go — and that we shouldn’t be sad about this. Thanks to audio streaming, we’re no longer reduced to having to be grateful for small favors.

VERY small favors if you ask me. Don’t get me going on the “presentation” by local “personalities” — the quotation marks are essential — who can’t hear themselves, are often unprepared, and have an infuriating way of getting in the way of the music. I make exceptions for Cathy Fuller and Doug Briscoe. (What ever happened to him?) As to the rest, the ducking stool would be too good for them.

When the old WGBH was busy documenting Boston’s busy concert life — the very events you read about in the Boston Musical Intelligencer — they had me on their side, faults and all. Ditto for the live BSO broadcasts on WCRB, which I gather have been taking place over their corporate dead body but so what. WHRB is a story in itself and quite apart from the WGBH/WCRB market forces kerfuffle. For this, endless praise is due David Elliott, their resident eminence grise, but for whom I wouldn’t always be coming across something I haven’t heard before, or don’t know as well as I should, and otherwise filling up gaps in my education. The station is — can I say this? — fun. And that’s about it.

At the Old South meeting it was pointed out — from the floor I think — that it’s only a matter of time before — patience everyone — the future arrives and streaming at last becomes a portable thing.

As to what’s out there right now — see http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgibin/statsearch.pl?format=classical&lang=, http://www.operacast.com/opstations.htm, http://theairthisweek.blogspot.com/ (I’m hoping these work.)

As the Globe and BMI have observed, Collage New Music’s concert last Monday was no end enlivening, especially the Steven Mackey. Now why couldn’t we be hearing THAT on the radio? After all, this is not Podunk. Or is it?

]]> By: Joe Whipple http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1639 Joe Whipple Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:46:53 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1639 Joel, thanks for the info about those programs. They both sound like things that I, and many others, could enjoy. Evidently, lots of people like the Tribune. I wonder if overall there might be more talk and less music than I'd like. There are two important things about the ratings, I think. One has to do with serving the public. If station A broadcasts classical music and reaches 230,000 people (about 5% of the population its signal can reach) and station H broadcasts classical music and reaches 39,000 people (under 1% of the people its signal reaches), I think a valid argument can be made that A is providing more of a service to the general public. You can't educate and inform people who aren't listening. There is a trade-off, and it is a judgment call, perhaps. But I think it is important to retain and gradually bring along the listener who is coming to classical music for the first time, and I am alarmed by the drop in audience for WCRB since the purchase (= since the programming improved slightly?). The second point is that somebody has to pay the costs. It remains to be seen how well the public will fund WCRB. The smaller the audience, the less the funding — even though the connoisseurs are likely to give more than the newbies. A station that gets 39,000 listeners won't be able to raise as much as one that gets 123,000; and one that gets 123,000 won't be able to raise as much as one that gets 230,000. I want WCRB to get that 14% of its audience back. I see that as part of the 'GBH mission. And if, as ought to happen, the classical programming goes back to WGBH, I'd hope to see an increase from the 123,000 proportionate to the expanded coverage. Realistically, of course that won't happen unless they go WETA, and I really don't want to see that happen. But I think drive time and daytime programming has to be mostly "Classical Music 101," and the "Classical Music 311" has to be mostly in the evenings if the station is to fulfill its mission to the general public. And I think it is counterproductive in the long run if contributors walk away because WCRB doesn't give 24 hours of the best of what WGBH gave during 7 hours. I hope people realize that what we have now is better than WETA and better than what WCRB used to be. It could be better still, especially between 7:00 p.m. and midnight, but let's not drive away the newbies in the process of improving. Joel, thanks for the info about those programs. They both sound like things that I, and many others, could enjoy. Evidently, lots of people like the Tribune. I wonder if overall there might be more talk and less music than I’d like.

There are two important things about the ratings, I think.

One has to do with serving the public. If station A broadcasts classical music and reaches 230,000 people (about 5% of the population its signal can reach) and station H broadcasts classical music and reaches 39,000 people (under 1% of the people its signal reaches), I think a valid argument can be made that A is providing more of a service to the general public. You can’t educate and inform people who aren’t listening. There is a trade-off, and it is a judgment call, perhaps. But I think it is important to retain and gradually bring along the listener who is coming to classical music for the first time, and I am alarmed by the drop in audience for WCRB since the purchase (= since the programming improved slightly?).

The second point is that somebody has to pay the costs. It remains to be seen how well the public will fund WCRB. The smaller the audience, the less the funding — even though the connoisseurs are likely to give more than the newbies. A station that gets 39,000 listeners won’t be able to raise as much as one that gets 123,000; and one that gets 123,000 won’t be able to raise as much as one that gets 230,000.

I want WCRB to get that 14% of its audience back. I see that as part of the ‘GBH mission. And if, as ought to happen, the classical programming goes back to WGBH, I’d hope to see an increase from the 123,000 proportionate to the expanded coverage. Realistically, of course that won’t happen unless they go WETA, and I really don’t want to see that happen. But I think drive time and daytime programming has to be mostly “Classical Music 101,” and the “Classical Music 311″ has to be mostly in the evenings if the station is to fulfill its mission to the general public.

And I think it is counterproductive in the long run if contributors walk away because WCRB doesn’t give 24 hours of the best of what WGBH gave during 7 hours. I hope people realize that what we have now is better than WETA and better than what WCRB used to be. It could be better still, especially between 7:00 p.m. and midnight, but let’s not drive away the newbies in the process of improving.

]]> By: Joel Cohen http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1636 Joel Cohen Mon, 15 Feb 2010 09:04:22 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1636 The France Musique grid: Yesterday I caught a bit of the Song of Songs segment. Sunday after Sunday, they are going through the Bible text, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, and playing recorded performances by Western composers. The music I heard by Palestrina was first rate, the interpretations less so in my view. But a great topic. The 2 hours around Mozart compared and discussed different recorded versions. I believe this "Tribune" is the most popular single feature on the station, it has been running on Sundays, with various tweaks to the format, and varying levels of perspicacity, at least since the 1970's. The coverage area of France Musique, a national, public station, is virtually all of France, plus bits of Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and Italy. I believe indeed that there are ratings for the various French radio stations, including France Musique, but do not know at this point how to find them. My personal position is that ratings, while interesting to track and consider, are only part of the picture. They should not be the determining programming factor for a public service broadcaster. The underlying mission is the main concern. The France Musique grid:

Yesterday I caught a bit of the Song of Songs segment. Sunday after Sunday, they are going through the Bible text, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, and playing recorded performances by Western composers. The music I heard by Palestrina was first rate, the interpretations less so in my view. But a great topic.

The 2 hours around Mozart compared and discussed different recorded versions. I believe this “Tribune” is the most popular single feature on the station, it has been running on Sundays, with various tweaks to the format, and varying levels of perspicacity, at least since the 1970′s.

The coverage area of France Musique, a national, public station, is virtually all of France, plus bits of Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and Italy. I believe indeed that there are ratings for the various French radio stations, including France Musique, but do not know at this point how to find them.

My personal position is that ratings, while interesting to track and consider, are only part of the picture. They should not be the determining programming factor for a public service broadcaster. The underlying mission is the main concern.

]]> By: Joe Whipple http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1634 Joe Whipple Mon, 15 Feb 2010 03:10:02 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1634 Well, the France Musique programming certainly looks different from WETA, WCRB, WHRB or the old WGBH. A couple of questions for Joel Cohen: Based on your familiarity with the programming, even if you weren't listening here in the pre-dawn hours, can you hazard an educated guess as to what an hour and 50 minutes on the Song of Songs consisted of and what happened during the two hours devoted to Mozart's 23rd piano concert (comparative performances analyzed?)? More importantly in my opinion, are there any reliable statistics comparable to Arbitron which will tell us how many people live within the coverage area of France Musique's signal and how many people listen? Well, the France Musique programming certainly looks different from WETA, WCRB, WHRB or the old WGBH. A couple of questions for Joel Cohen:

Based on your familiarity with the programming, even if you weren’t listening here in the pre-dawn hours, can you hazard an educated guess as to what an hour and 50 minutes on the Song of Songs consisted of and what happened during the two hours devoted to Mozart’s 23rd piano concert (comparative performances analyzed?)?

More importantly in my opinion, are there any reliable statistics comparable to Arbitron which will tell us how many people live within the coverage area of France Musique’s signal and how many people listen?

]]> By: Joel Cohen http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1626 Joel Cohen Sun, 14 Feb 2010 21:50:49 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1626 And, for comparison, here's the France Musique program grid for today, 7 AM to midnight (past midnight, and til 7 AM, France Musique turns into a classical sausage factory, WCRB or WETA style). Please note that this is a real radio station, with real programs and different producers assigned to different topics. Not everything on this station is great, but there is enormous variety and a vast horizon of subjects, some of them beautifully treated. Also, lots of live or delayed-live music. There is NOTHING comparable to this in Boston or N.Y. -- I can't vouch for other parts of the USA.... # 07:00 Journal # 07:06 Leur premier CD par Gaëlle Le Gallic " Leur 1er CD " : Yumeto Suenaga (piano) " De Bach à Ravel " (en passant par Mozart, Debussy, Schumann) Réf : YS 0901 Attachée de production : Maud Noury et réalisation : Agnès Cathou # 08:00 Journal # 08:10 Le jardin des dieux par François-Xavier Szymczak Le Cantiques des cantiques, chapitre III (4) Attachée de production : Maud Noury et réalisation : Patricia Prigent # 10:00 La tribune des critiques de disques par François Hudry Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Concerto no 23, en la Majeur, K. 488 avec : Jean-Charles Hoffelé avec : , par Philippe Venturini avec : , Bertrand Dermoncourt Réalisation : Céline Parfenoff # 12:00 42ème rue par Laurent Valière A little Night Story de Stephen Sondheim avec la troupe du Châtelet (sous réserve : Lambert Wilson, Leslie Caron), enregistrement en février au studio 106. Réalisation : Philippe Petit # 13:00 Journal # 13:05 Les invités d'Arièle par Arièle Butaux avec : Raphaël Imbert, saxophone avec : , Simon Tailleu, contrebasse avec : , Cedric Beck, batterie avec : , Trio Jourdan Attachée de production : Marie-Christine Ferdinand et réalisation : Claire Lagarde # 14:30 Matinée Opéra par Renaud Machart Réalisation : Philippe Petit 14:30 : Concert Musset à l'opéra (2) Daniel-Lesur (1908-2002) Andrea del Sarto Par Irène Jarsky, Annik Simon, Raymond Steffner, Paul Finel, Jacques Mars, Claude Méloni, Bernard Cottret, Gérard Dunan, Choeurs de l'ORTF, Orchestre Radio-lyrique de l'ORTF, Manuel Rosenthal (direction) Enregistrement radiophonique du 13 mars 1970 diffusé le 15 avril 1970 # 17:30 Note contre note par Martine Kaufmann Le centenaire des ballets russes de Serge de Diaghilev, Avec la participation de : Martine Kahane pour Opéras russes à l¿aube des ballets russes (1901-1013) - costumes et documents, Moulins, Centre National du costume de scène, les éditions du Mécène, Pierre Vidal et Matthias Auclair pour Les Ballets russes, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Editions Gourcuff Gradenico, et Colin Lemoine, pour Isadora Duncan, Une sculpture vivante, Paris, Paris-Musée. Réalisation : Françoise Cordey # 19:00 Journal # 19:05 Musique en chambre par Stéphane Goldet Géraldine Prutner # 21:00 Le Jazz dans la peau par Antoine Guillot « Lover Man" (Oh, Where Can You Be?) de James Edward Davis, Ram Ramirez et Jimmy Sherman Attachée de production : Nelly Portal et réalisation : Catherine Prin le Gall # 22:00 Subjectif 21 par Michka Assayas Attaché de production : Annick Haumier et réalisation : Bruno Riou-Maillard # 23:00 Easy tempo par Laurent Valéro et Thierry Jousse Au-delà de la limite, c'est encore du jazz (2) And, for comparison, here’s the France Musique program grid for today, 7 AM to midnight (past midnight, and til 7 AM, France Musique turns into a classical sausage factory, WCRB or WETA style).

Please note that this is a real radio station, with real programs and different producers assigned to different topics. Not everything on this station is great, but there is enormous variety and a vast horizon of subjects, some of them beautifully treated. Also, lots of live or delayed-live music. There is NOTHING comparable to this in Boston or N.Y. — I can’t vouch for other parts of the USA….

#
07:00
Journal
#
07:06
Leur premier CD
par Gaëlle Le Gallic

” Leur 1er CD ” : Yumeto Suenaga (piano)
” De Bach à Ravel ” (en passant par Mozart, Debussy, Schumann)
Réf : YS 0901

Attachée de production : Maud Noury et réalisation : Agnès Cathou
#
08:00
Journal
#
08:10
Le jardin des dieux
par François-Xavier Szymczak

Le Cantiques des cantiques, chapitre III (4)

Attachée de production : Maud Noury et réalisation : Patricia Prigent
#
10:00
La tribune des critiques de disques
par François Hudry

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Concerto no 23, en la Majeur, K. 488

avec : Jean-Charles Hoffelé avec : , par Philippe Venturini avec : , Bertrand Dermoncourt

Réalisation : Céline Parfenoff
#
12:00
42ème rue
par Laurent Valière

A little Night Story de Stephen Sondheim avec la troupe du Châtelet (sous réserve : Lambert Wilson, Leslie Caron), enregistrement en février au studio 106.

Réalisation : Philippe Petit
#
13:00
Journal
#
13:05
Les invités d’Arièle
par Arièle Butaux

avec : Raphaël Imbert, saxophone avec : , Simon Tailleu, contrebasse avec : , Cedric Beck, batterie avec : , Trio Jourdan

Attachée de production : Marie-Christine Ferdinand et réalisation : Claire Lagarde
#
14:30
Matinée Opéra
par Renaud Machart

Réalisation : Philippe Petit

14:30 : Concert

Musset à l’opéra (2)

Daniel-Lesur (1908-2002)
Andrea del Sarto
Par Irène Jarsky, Annik Simon, Raymond Steffner, Paul Finel, Jacques Mars, Claude Méloni, Bernard Cottret, Gérard Dunan, Choeurs de l’ORTF, Orchestre Radio-lyrique de l’ORTF, Manuel Rosenthal (direction)
Enregistrement radiophonique du 13 mars 1970 diffusé le 15 avril 1970
#
17:30
Note contre note
par Martine Kaufmann

Le centenaire des ballets russes de Serge de Diaghilev, Avec la participation de :
Martine Kahane pour Opéras russes à l¿aube des ballets russes (1901-1013) – costumes et documents, Moulins, Centre National du costume de scène, les éditions du Mécène,
Pierre Vidal et Matthias Auclair pour Les Ballets russes, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Editions Gourcuff Gradenico,
et Colin Lemoine, pour Isadora Duncan, Une sculpture vivante, Paris, Paris-Musée.

Réalisation : Françoise Cordey
#
19:00
Journal
#
19:05
Musique en chambre
par Stéphane Goldet

Géraldine Prutner
#
21:00
Le Jazz dans la peau
par Antoine Guillot

« Lover Man” (Oh, Where Can You Be?) de James Edward Davis, Ram Ramirez et Jimmy Sherman

Attachée de production : Nelly Portal et réalisation : Catherine Prin le Gall
#
22:00
Subjectif 21
par Michka Assayas

Attaché de production : Annick Haumier et réalisation : Bruno Riou-Maillard
#
23:00
Easy tempo
par Laurent Valéro et Thierry Jousse

Au-delà de la limite, c’est encore du jazz (2)

]]> By: Joe Whipple http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1625 Joe Whipple Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:48:33 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1625 Correction: in my second line in the previous comment, I meant to say that WETA is not up to the current level of WCRB. Correction: in my second line in the previous comment, I meant to say that WETA is not up to the current level of WCRB.

]]> By: Joe Whipple http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1624 Joe Whipple Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:46:57 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1624 It seems to me that WETA is successful as a station in the mold of WCRB. To me it looks slightly better that WCRB before the purchase by WGBH, but still not up to the current level of WGBH. It appears that every piece they played was a commercial recording — although they apparently do play material from the National Symphony Orchestra on occasion, and they seem to have programs in which there is some discussion of the music. My take on the scene before the changes is — to use a different analogy from Dave MacNeill's — is that WCRB was Classical Music 101: Introduction to Classical Music. WGBH and WHRB were Classical Music 311: Classical Music for the Connoisseur. (One could argue that 'GBH was actually closer to Classical Music 205: Intermediate Classical Music.) What I would suggest is that the audience numbers from here and DC suggest that there is a wide audience for Classical Music 101, but not for 311. And I think that it is important to have a station that will hook on classical music the person who comes on it by chance or is deliberately exploring the field. I think for the future of classical music that it is even more important than having a station that serves the connoisseur. You can have a station such as Joel Cohen envisions. You can have a station as successful as WETA. I have seen no evidence that one station can be both. What I hope is that all-classical will be brought to WGBH 99.7 and that it will have enough of Classical Music 101 to have an audience proportional to WETA's and enough Classical Music 205 and 311 to bring the listeners to be able to enjoy music beyond what is available on a typical day on WETA. First we need to get all-classical back on WGBH. Then we need to encourage the station to tweak the programming. Maybe 101 during the day and 205/311 in the evening — not a rigid separation, but a general approach. It seems to me that WETA is successful as a station in the mold of WCRB. To me it looks slightly better that WCRB before the purchase by WGBH, but still not up to the current level of WGBH. It appears that every piece they played was a commercial recording — although they apparently do play material from the National Symphony Orchestra on occasion, and they seem to have programs in which there is some discussion of the music.

My take on the scene before the changes is — to use a different analogy from Dave MacNeill’s — is that WCRB was Classical Music 101: Introduction to Classical Music. WGBH and WHRB were Classical Music 311: Classical Music for the Connoisseur. (One could argue that ‘GBH was actually closer to Classical Music 205: Intermediate Classical Music.)

What I would suggest is that the audience numbers from here and DC suggest that there is a wide audience for Classical Music 101, but not for 311. And I think that it is important to have a station that will hook on classical music the person who comes on it by chance or is deliberately exploring the field. I think for the future of classical music that it is even more important than having a station that serves the connoisseur.

You can have a station such as Joel Cohen envisions. You can have a station as successful as WETA. I have seen no evidence that one station can be both. What I hope is that all-classical will be brought to WGBH 99.7 and that it will have enough of Classical Music 101 to have an audience proportional to WETA’s and enough Classical Music 205 and 311 to bring the listeners to be able to enjoy music beyond what is available on a typical day on WETA. First we need to get all-classical back on WGBH. Then we need to encourage the station to tweak the programming. Maybe 101 during the day and 205/311 in the evening — not a rigid separation, but a general approach.

]]> By: Joe Whipple http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1623 Joe Whipple Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:22:05 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1623 Here's WETA's playlist from last January 21 — a date I chose because it's my birthday 12:07 am Heinrich Marschner Hans Heiling: Overture 12:16 am Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto #9 12:49 am Ludwig van Beethoven Violin Sonata #3 in E-flat Major, Op. 12 #3 1:08 am Nicola Porpora Cello Concerto G Major 1:27 am Johann Sebastian Bach Musical Offering, BWV 1079: Sonata for Flute, Violin and Continuo 1:46 am Grieg, Edvard Norwegian Dances, Op. 35 2:03 am Joseph Haydn String Quartet, Op. 54 #1 2:22 am Ludwig Spohr Violin Concerto #8 2:42 am Filippo Gragnani Quartet, Op. 8 for 2 guitars, clarinet and viola 3:02 am Robert Schumann Cello Concerto 3:25 am Georg Philipp Telemann Banquet Music, Part 3: Concerto 3:40 am Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Concert Fantasy for piano and orchestra, Op. 56 4:09 am Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony #8 4:35 am Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade 5:20 am Jan Zach Oboe Concerto B-flat Major 5:36 am Franz von Suppé Poet and Peasant Overture 5:47 am Antonio Salieri Concerto for Flute and Oboe in C Major: I. Allegro spiritoso 5:54 am Johann Sebastian Bach English Suite #1 in A Major, BWV 806: III & IV. Courantes I & II 6:06 am Robert Schumann Symphony #2: IV 6:16 am Antonio Vivaldi Concerto, RV 463 6:26 am Felix Mendelssohn Song Without Words, Op. 19 #3 in A Major "Hunting Song" 6:36 am Richard Strauss Der Rosenkavalier: Waltz Sequence #2 6:45 am Georg Philipp Telemann Concerto for 2 Horns D Major 6:54 am Emmanuel Chabrier Scherzo-valse 7:06 am Bernhard Henrik Crusell Clarinet Concerto #1 E-flat Major: I 7:18 am Tylman Susato Four Dances (Tk. 8-11) 7:26 am Richard Wagner Lohengrin: Prelude to Act III 7:36 am Ludwig van Beethoven Fidelio: Overture 7:43 am Franz Clement Violin Concerto in D Major: III. Rondo. Allegro 7:56 am John Playford Dancing Master: Prince Rupert March, Masco 8:06 am Tomaso Albinoni Oboe Concerto (C Major) 8:15 am Johan Halvorsen Mascarade Suite: 4 Dances 8:25 am Jean-Féry Rebel Country Dances 8:36 am Johannes Brahms Symphony #3: IV 8:46 am Domenico Scarlatti Keyboard Sonata (K. 475) 8:51 am Alexander Glazunov Triumphal March 9:05 am Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman" K. 265 9:20 am Ludwig Spohr Clarinet Concerto #3 9:49 am Antonio Vivaldi Concerto, RV 103 10:05 am Carl Stamitz Partita E-flat Major 10:16 am Antonin Dvorák Violin Concerto 10:53 am Alexander Borodin In the Steppes of Central Asia 11:02 am Joseph Haydn String Quartet, Op. 71 #2 "Apponyi" 11:21 am Johann Nepomuk Hummel Bassoon Concerto F Major 11:45 am Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Violin Sonata #17 in C Major, K. 296 12:07 pm Jean Sibelius Finlandia 12:16 pm Franz Schubert Symphony #8 "Unfinished" 12:45 pm Johannes Brahms Variations on a Theme by Haydn 1:08 pm Domenico Scarlatti The Good-Humored Ladies 1:23 pm Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Sonata #6 in D Major, K. 284 1:53 pm George Frideric Handel Concerto Grosso, Op. 3 #6 in D Major 2:05 pm Sir Arthur Sullivan Gondoliers: Overture 2:13 pm Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony #6 "Pastoral" 2:59 pm Frédéric Chopin Barcarolle 3:09 pm Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Violin Concerto #4 in D Major, K. 218 3:32 pm Robert Schumann Carnival in Vienna 3:54 pm Richard Wagner Album Leaf 4:06 pm Vasily Sergeyevich Kalinnikov Symphony #1: IV 4:16 pm Joseph Haydn Symphony #43 in E-flat Major "Mercury": I. Allegro 4:24 pm Antonin Dvorák Slavonic Dance, Op. 46 #6 4:34 pm François Adrien Boieldieu The Caliph of Baghdad: Overture 4:43 pm Edvard Grieg Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16: III. Allegro moderato molto e marcato 4:54 pm Johan Helmich Roman Oboe d'amore Concerto in D Major: III. Allegro assai 5:06 pm Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Concerto, H 445 in G Major for Flute and Strings: I. Allegro di molto 5:18 pm Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Swan Lake: Spanish & Neapolitan Dances 5:23 pm Silvius Leopold Weiss Concerto grosso in B-flat Major, SC 57: I. Allegro 5:34 pm Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 5: I. Allegro espressivo 5:46 pm Georg Philipp Telemann Oboe Concerto in F Minor 5:54 pm Camille Saint-Saëns French Military March 6:06 pm Felix Mendelssohn Symphony #1 in C Minor, Op. 11: IV. Allegro con fuoco 6:16 pm Henryk Wieniawski Polonaise Brillante #1 6:21 pm Franz Schubert Piano Sonata, D. 960 in B-flat Major: IV. Allegro ma non troppo 6:34 pm Ludwig van Beethoven King Stephen: Overture 6:42 pm Antonio Vivaldi Concerto, RV 522 6:55 pm Frédéric Chopin Etude, Op. 25 #1 A-flat Major "Aeolian Harp" 7:00 pm News PBS NewsHour 7:58 pm Joseph Haydn Symphony #3 8:14 pm Benjamin Godard Concerto Romantique for Violin & Orchestra 8:39 pm Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Concerto, H 468 in E-flat Major for Oboe and Strings 9:03 pm Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphony #21 in A Major, K. 134 9:25 pm Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Swan Lake Suite 9:57 pm George Frideric Handel Concerto, HWV 287 in G Minor for Oboe and Strings 10:07 pm Sergei Prokofiev Toccata, Op. 11 10:13 pm Johannes Brahms String Sextet #1 in B-flat Major, Op. 18 10:49 pm Michael Haydn Symphony #10 11:08 pm Antonio Vivaldi Concerto, RV 242 11:18 pm Johann Nepomuk Hummel Piano Concerto #2 11:50 pm Aram Khachaturian Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia Note a couple of things: it's three pieces per hour except during drive time, when it is six; and during drive time there are single movements of larger works, as indicated by Roman numerals following the titles. I'll have some further comments. Here’s WETA’s playlist from last January 21 — a date I chose because it’s my birthday

12:07 am Heinrich Marschner Hans Heiling: Overture

12:16 am Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto #9

12:49 am Ludwig van Beethoven Violin Sonata #3 in E-flat Major, Op. 12 #3

1:08 am Nicola Porpora Cello Concerto G Major

1:27 am Johann Sebastian Bach Musical Offering, BWV 1079: Sonata for Flute, Violin and Continuo

1:46 am Grieg, Edvard Norwegian Dances, Op. 35

2:03 am Joseph Haydn String Quartet, Op. 54 #1

2:22 am Ludwig Spohr Violin Concerto #8

2:42 am Filippo Gragnani Quartet, Op. 8 for 2 guitars, clarinet and viola

3:02 am Robert Schumann Cello Concerto

3:25 am Georg Philipp Telemann Banquet Music, Part 3: Concerto

3:40 am Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Concert Fantasy for piano and orchestra, Op. 56

4:09 am Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony #8

4:35 am Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade

5:20 am Jan Zach Oboe Concerto B-flat Major

5:36 am Franz von Suppé Poet and Peasant Overture

5:47 am Antonio Salieri Concerto for Flute and Oboe in C Major: I. Allegro spiritoso

5:54 am Johann Sebastian Bach English Suite #1 in A Major, BWV 806: III & IV. Courantes I & II

6:06 am Robert Schumann Symphony #2: IV

6:16 am Antonio Vivaldi Concerto, RV 463

6:26 am Felix Mendelssohn Song Without Words, Op. 19 #3 in A Major “Hunting Song”

6:36 am Richard Strauss Der Rosenkavalier: Waltz Sequence #2

6:45 am Georg Philipp Telemann Concerto for 2 Horns D Major

6:54 am Emmanuel Chabrier Scherzo-valse

7:06 am Bernhard Henrik Crusell Clarinet Concerto #1 E-flat Major: I

7:18 am Tylman Susato Four Dances (Tk. 8-11)

7:26 am Richard Wagner Lohengrin: Prelude to Act III

7:36 am Ludwig van Beethoven Fidelio: Overture

7:43 am Franz Clement Violin Concerto in D Major: III. Rondo. Allegro

7:56 am John Playford Dancing Master: Prince Rupert March, Masco

8:06 am Tomaso Albinoni Oboe Concerto (C Major)

8:15 am Johan Halvorsen Mascarade Suite: 4 Dances

8:25 am Jean-Féry Rebel Country Dances

8:36 am Johannes Brahms Symphony #3: IV

8:46 am Domenico Scarlatti Keyboard Sonata (K. 475)

8:51 am Alexander Glazunov Triumphal March

9:05 am Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Variations on “Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman” K. 265

9:20 am Ludwig Spohr Clarinet Concerto #3

9:49 am Antonio Vivaldi Concerto, RV 103

10:05 am Carl Stamitz Partita E-flat Major

10:16 am Antonin Dvorák Violin Concerto

10:53 am Alexander Borodin In the Steppes of Central Asia

11:02 am Joseph Haydn String Quartet, Op. 71 #2 “Apponyi”

11:21 am Johann Nepomuk Hummel Bassoon Concerto F Major

11:45 am Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Violin Sonata #17 in C Major, K. 296

12:07 pm Jean Sibelius Finlandia

12:16 pm Franz Schubert Symphony #8 “Unfinished”

12:45 pm Johannes Brahms Variations on a Theme by Haydn

1:08 pm Domenico Scarlatti The Good-Humored Ladies

1:23 pm Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Sonata #6 in D Major, K. 284

1:53 pm George Frideric Handel Concerto Grosso, Op. 3 #6 in D Major

2:05 pm Sir Arthur Sullivan Gondoliers: Overture

2:13 pm Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony #6 “Pastoral”

2:59 pm Frédéric Chopin Barcarolle

3:09 pm Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Violin Concerto #4 in D Major, K. 218

3:32 pm Robert Schumann Carnival in Vienna

3:54 pm Richard Wagner Album Leaf

4:06 pm Vasily Sergeyevich Kalinnikov Symphony #1: IV

4:16 pm Joseph Haydn Symphony #43 in E-flat Major “Mercury”: I. Allegro

4:24 pm Antonin Dvorák Slavonic Dance, Op. 46 #6

4:34 pm François Adrien Boieldieu The Caliph of Baghdad: Overture

4:43 pm Edvard Grieg Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16: III. Allegro moderato molto e marcato

4:54 pm Johan Helmich Roman Oboe d’amore Concerto in D Major: III. Allegro assai

5:06 pm Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Concerto, H 445 in G Major for Flute and Strings: I. Allegro di molto

5:18 pm Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Swan Lake: Spanish & Neapolitan Dances

5:23 pm Silvius Leopold Weiss Concerto grosso in B-flat Major, SC 57: I. Allegro

5:34 pm Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 5: I. Allegro espressivo

5:46 pm Georg Philipp Telemann Oboe Concerto in F Minor

5:54 pm Camille Saint-Saëns French Military March

6:06 pm Felix Mendelssohn Symphony #1 in C Minor, Op. 11: IV. Allegro con fuoco

6:16 pm Henryk Wieniawski Polonaise Brillante #1

6:21 pm Franz Schubert Piano Sonata, D. 960 in B-flat Major: IV. Allegro ma non troppo

6:34 pm Ludwig van Beethoven King Stephen: Overture

6:42 pm Antonio Vivaldi Concerto, RV 522

6:55 pm Frédéric Chopin Etude, Op. 25 #1 A-flat Major “Aeolian Harp”

7:00 pm News PBS NewsHour

7:58 pm Joseph Haydn Symphony #3

8:14 pm Benjamin Godard Concerto Romantique for Violin & Orchestra

8:39 pm Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Concerto, H 468 in E-flat Major for Oboe and Strings

9:03 pm Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphony #21 in A Major, K. 134

9:25 pm Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Swan Lake Suite

9:57 pm George Frideric Handel Concerto, HWV 287 in G Minor for Oboe and Strings

10:07 pm Sergei Prokofiev Toccata, Op. 11

10:13 pm Johannes Brahms String Sextet #1 in B-flat Major, Op. 18

10:49 pm Michael Haydn Symphony #10

11:08 pm Antonio Vivaldi Concerto, RV 242

11:18 pm Johann Nepomuk Hummel Piano Concerto #2

11:50 pm Aram Khachaturian Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia

Note a couple of things: it’s three pieces per hour except during drive time, when it is six; and during drive time there are single movements of larger works, as indicated by Roman numerals following the titles. I’ll have some further comments.

]]> By: Lee Eiseman http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1618 Lee Eiseman Sun, 14 Feb 2010 04:20:38 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1618 Here's an answer to Joe Whipple's question. WETA in Washington, DC is the only classical station in a 4 million+ market. Furthermore they have a 75,000 watt transmitter with an ideal location. Have a look and listen http://www.weta.org/fm Here’s an answer to Joe Whipple’s question. WETA in Washington, DC is the only classical station in a 4 million+ market. Furthermore they have a 75,000 watt transmitter with an ideal location. Have a look and listen http://www.weta.org/fm

]]> By: Joe Whipple http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1612 Joe Whipple Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:46:46 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1612 What I find very troubling is the statistic that WCRB lost listeners after the switch in ownership, when it should have been picking up some from WGBH. Unless this is something that happens every December (people who don't like "music of the season"?), it seems that the slightly improved WCRB was not to the taste of some of its former listeners. Or does someone have a less alarming explanation. Mr. Cohen's suggestions for programming improvements are very thoughtful, and I think I'd enjoy hearing such programming. It would be interesting to have some idea of how the costs of producing it would compare with the current budget for WGBH. Would they save money, break even, or need more? But in light of the loss of listeners from WCRB, I think that management also needs, if they are serving the public, to find a way to recoup the audience and expand it. As we heard at the forum, there are always new listeners who discover classical music on the radio. What they hear has to make them want to come back as well as widen their appreciation of the range of music called "classical." If all-classical is put back on WGBH, given the expanded area covered, the audience should be well over 200,000. If it stays on WCRB, it should at least get to 130,000, shouldn't it? What does WETA provide its audience? What I find very troubling is the statistic that WCRB lost listeners after the switch in ownership, when it should have been picking up some from WGBH. Unless this is something that happens every December (people who don’t like “music of the season”?), it seems that the slightly improved WCRB was not to the taste of some of its former listeners. Or does someone have a less alarming explanation.

Mr. Cohen’s suggestions for programming improvements are very thoughtful, and I think I’d enjoy hearing such programming. It would be interesting to have some idea of how the costs of producing it would compare with the current budget for WGBH. Would they save money, break even, or need more?

But in light of the loss of listeners from WCRB, I think that management also needs, if they are serving the public, to find a way to recoup the audience and expand it. As we heard at the forum, there are always new listeners who discover classical music on the radio. What they hear has to make them want to come back as well as widen their appreciation of the range of music called “classical.” If all-classical is put back on WGBH, given the expanded area covered, the audience should be well over 200,000. If it stays on WCRB, it should at least get to 130,000, shouldn’t it? What does WETA provide its audience?

]]> By: Joel Cohen http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1602 Joel Cohen Sat, 13 Feb 2010 11:29:26 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1602 I agree with Lee's evaluation of the "new" WCRB. It is smarter than the old version, but dumber than the music programming we used to get on WGBH. Meh. What I'd like to point out is that these comparisons, while interesting, beg the main question. A really well-conceived music-and-arts FM station would not run like ANY of these models. It would, instead, contain a rich, carefully balanced mix of live and delayed-live concerts and studio performances, carefully produced, informative segments on specific subjects by enthusiastic and well-qualified mavens (an example of this, recently overheard on France Musique, was about Vincent d'Indy's relation to Wagner, with excellent musical examples. Another was about Carl Orff's Carmina Burana vs. the "medieval" versions. Etc etc), current news of the performing arts in the Boston area, and, yes, a moderate dose of "canned" music here and there (I suggest 2 AM to 7 AM). The lack of serious thought about what a great public-service music station could be in our area is distressing to me. Sure, the old WGBH was better than the new WCRB, but remember, the old WGBH was not really fulfilling its potential, either. Rather than argue about how to make terrible programming simply mediocre-to-average, let's go back to the drawing boards and imagine the best we can for our wonderful town. And in the process, let's set an example for the rest of our countrymen and women. http://classical-scene.com/2010/01/14/classical-music-wgbh-on-the-airwaves-the-private-ear-has-a-vision/ for some further thoughts on how to make our local radio better. I agree with Lee’s evaluation of the “new” WCRB. It is smarter than the old version, but dumber than the music programming we used to get on WGBH.

Meh.

What I’d like to point out is that these comparisons, while interesting, beg the main question. A really well-conceived music-and-arts FM station would not run like ANY of these models. It would, instead, contain a rich, carefully balanced mix of live and delayed-live concerts and studio performances, carefully produced, informative segments on specific subjects by enthusiastic and well-qualified mavens (an example of this, recently overheard on France Musique, was about Vincent d’Indy’s relation to Wagner, with excellent musical examples. Another was about Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana vs. the “medieval” versions. Etc etc), current news of the performing arts in the Boston area, and, yes, a moderate dose of “canned” music here and there (I suggest 2 AM to 7 AM).

The lack of serious thought about what a great public-service music station could be in our area is distressing to me. Sure, the old WGBH was better than the new WCRB, but remember, the old WGBH was not really fulfilling its potential, either. Rather than argue about how to make terrible programming simply mediocre-to-average, let’s go back to the drawing boards and imagine the best we can for our wonderful town. And in the process, let’s set an example for the rest of our countrymen and women.

http://classical-scene.com/2010/01/14/classical-music-wgbh-on-the-airwaves-the-private-ear-has-a-vision/

for some further thoughts on how to make our local radio better.

]]> By: Lee Eiseman http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1598 Lee Eiseman Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:35:40 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1598 I have verified my figures multiple times-In October WCRB had 123,000 average daily listeners and WGBH had 38,000. For WCRB to have had 340,000 average daily listeners they would have had to have been Boston's top rated station. That was actually WXKS in October. Clearly either your notes or Mr. Voci's pronouncements are in error. I have also learned that the average Friday BSO broadcast attracted 11,600 listeners while WCRB on Saturday night had 17,100. One can conclude from that data that for WGBH listeners, the BSO Friday broadcasts were statistically more popular than other time slots whereas the WCRB broadcasts of BSO were of less comparative interest to their regular listeners. And BTW I never mean to suggest that WGBH had "dumbed-down" WCRB- WCRB has better programming now than it has had in years, especially when Cathy Fuller is on. What people mean is that classical music overall is simpler fare at the new WCRB than it was at the old WGBH. I have verified my figures multiple times-In October WCRB had 123,000 average daily listeners and WGBH had 38,000. For WCRB to have had 340,000 average daily listeners they would have had to have been Boston’s top rated station. That was actually WXKS in October.

Clearly either your notes or Mr. Voci’s pronouncements are in error.

I have also learned that the average Friday BSO broadcast attracted 11,600 listeners while WCRB on Saturday night had 17,100. One can conclude from that data that for WGBH listeners, the BSO Friday broadcasts were statistically more popular than other time slots whereas the WCRB broadcasts of BSO were of less comparative interest to their regular listeners.

And BTW I never mean to suggest that WGBH had “dumbed-down” WCRB- WCRB has better programming now than it has had in years, especially when Cathy Fuller is on. What people mean is that classical music overall is simpler fare at the new WCRB than it was at the old WGBH.

]]> By: Michael Vine http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1597 Michael Vine Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:09:35 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1597 Lee- The figures I quoted were those Mr. Voci presented at the forum, from my notes. I can't vouch for them beyond that. However, if you are reading the current Arbitron, which slices and dices the numbers in various ways, make sure it is the CUME you are quoting. That is the total number of individuals who listen, on average, every week during the quarter surveyed. If you did all that, then someone (ahem) must be skewing the facts deliberately. Lee-
The figures I quoted were those Mr. Voci presented at the forum, from my notes. I can’t vouch for them beyond that. However, if you are reading the current Arbitron, which slices and dices the numbers in various ways, make sure it is the CUME you are quoting. That is the total number of individuals who listen, on average, every week during the quarter surveyed. If you did all that, then someone (ahem) must be skewing the facts deliberately.

]]> By: Joe Whipple http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1596 Joe Whipple Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:13:03 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1596 Here's an example of what I mean when I say WCRB is less "dumbed down" than it used to be. I tuned in a few minutes ago and heard the last couple of seconds of a piece. After a brief silence, Cathy Fuller identified it as being from "the sound world of Charles Ives: his 'The Unanswered Question.'" I don't think we'd have heard "The Unanswered Question" on WCRB last November. Here’s an example of what I mean when I say WCRB is less “dumbed down” than it used to be. I tuned in a few minutes ago and heard the last couple of seconds of a piece. After a brief silence, Cathy Fuller identified it as being from “the sound world of Charles Ives: his ‘The Unanswered Question.’”

I don’t think we’d have heard “The Unanswered Question” on WCRB last November.

]]> By: Joe Whipple http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1595 Joe Whipple Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:42:10 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1595 First, let me commend Lee Eisemann for taking the initiative to make his presentation to the 'GBH Board of Directors. I'm not sure they have to sell WCRB: they could make it the news and chatter station, or they could make it light classics with the MPR product (KCME in Colorado Springs does an pretty good job, mixing locally produced and syndicated programming, on a shoestring budget). Second, to answer Ms. Norton's question: I used to listen to both, but the Friday broadcast was the serious one because my brother in Japan calls every Saturday evening at 9:00 for our weekly chat, and dinnertime is just before that. So I can only listen to the first hour of the Saturday concert, and that with distractions. I subscribe to 3 of the 4 Thursday BSO series, and I liked being able to give concerts a second hearing, especially when the music was new or unfamiliar. Of course it was also good to be able to listen to concerts that were not part of my subscriptions. Unfortunately, with the trend to Friday evening concerts, the opportunity is not always there, even if all Friday matinees are broadcast. I wonder if rebroadcasts are the answer. They could give us the Thursday concert on Friday afternoon. They could give us the Thursday or Friday (or Tuesday) concert on a Sunday afternoon. There's nothing inherently wrong with BSO on Record or the Pittsburgh Symphony, but our locals in concert should have pride of place. But I've been thinking a bit about WCRB and listening to it sporadically. And I may be lapsing into heresy. I began listening to WCRB in the early 1950's and I enjoyed what they played. I don't have the playlists from the period, of course, but I don't think there was much Prokofieff, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Mahler, Bruckner, or Shostakovich. I think it was pretty much 1750-1900, with a pretty good percentage of "light classics" of the sort that used to get played at the BSO as well as Pops but now seem to be beneath the BSO. What I have heard on WCRB in the past month or so has struck me as being less "dumbed down" that what they gave before the purchase by WGBH. I don't think it would serve the audience to have it be "all Schoenberg, Shostakovich, and Szymanowski all the time." We should get Mendelssohn's "War March of the Priests" and Weber's Overture to "Der Freischütz" once in a while. In other words, I think at this point coverage is a much greater problem than content. So the real solution is exactly what Mr. Eisemann told the directors: put all-classical on 89.7. There will always be room for improvements to the programming — more broadcasts of local performances, more in-studio performances, better balance in the recorded playlist. But the main thing is to make classical music available again to the entire WGBH listening area. Thanks again, Lee, for taking the cause to the people who need to hear it. First, let me commend Lee Eisemann for taking the initiative to make his presentation to the ‘GBH Board of Directors. I’m not sure they have to sell WCRB: they could make it the news and chatter station, or they could make it light classics with the MPR product (KCME in Colorado Springs does an pretty good job, mixing locally produced and syndicated programming, on a shoestring budget).

Second, to answer Ms. Norton’s question: I used to listen to both, but the Friday broadcast was the serious one because my brother in Japan calls every Saturday evening at 9:00 for our weekly chat, and dinnertime is just before that. So I can only listen to the first hour of the Saturday concert, and that with distractions. I subscribe to 3 of the 4 Thursday BSO series, and I liked being able to give concerts a second hearing, especially when the music was new or unfamiliar. Of course it was also good to be able to listen to concerts that were not part of my subscriptions.

Unfortunately, with the trend to Friday evening concerts, the opportunity is not always there, even if all Friday matinees are broadcast. I wonder if rebroadcasts are the answer. They could give us the Thursday concert on Friday afternoon. They could give us the Thursday or Friday (or Tuesday) concert on a Sunday afternoon. There’s nothing inherently wrong with BSO on Record or the Pittsburgh Symphony, but our locals in concert should have pride of place.

But I’ve been thinking a bit about WCRB and listening to it sporadically. And I may be lapsing into heresy. I began listening to WCRB in the early 1950′s and I enjoyed what they played. I don’t have the playlists from the period, of course, but I don’t think there was much Prokofieff, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Mahler, Bruckner, or Shostakovich. I think it was pretty much 1750-1900, with a pretty good percentage of “light classics” of the sort that used to get played at the BSO as well as Pops but now seem to be beneath the BSO.

What I have heard on WCRB in the past month or so has struck me as being less “dumbed down” that what they gave before the purchase by WGBH. I don’t think it would serve the audience to have it be “all Schoenberg, Shostakovich, and Szymanowski all the time.” We should get Mendelssohn’s “War March of the Priests” and Weber’s Overture to “Der Freischütz” once in a while. In other words, I think at this point coverage is a much greater problem than content.

So the real solution is exactly what Mr. Eisemann told the directors: put all-classical on 89.7. There will always be room for improvements to the programming — more broadcasts of local performances, more in-studio performances, better balance in the recorded playlist. But the main thing is to make classical music available again to the entire WGBH listening area.

Thanks again, Lee, for taking the cause to the people who need to hear it.

]]> By: Barbara hewitt http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1591 Barbara hewitt Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:12:02 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1591 We are rethinking our bequest in our Will. Our Florida station goes over backwards to please their audience. Maybe WEDU will use my funds better. We are rethinking our bequest in our Will. Our Florida station goes over backwards to please their audience. Maybe WEDU will use my funds better.

]]> By: Michael Vine http://classical-scene.com/2010/02/03/latest-ratings-show-wgbh-audience-flat-and-wcrb-down-14/comment-page-1/#comment-1578 Michael Vine Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:12:19 +0000 http://classical-scene.com/?p=2618#comment-1578 P.S. I believe the "disappearing" of Richard Kniseley is a potent symbol for the precipitous decline in the quality of the classical music on the "new" WCRB. I mean relative to what WBGH was presenting. Their handling of that situation was entirely offensive. One day he was gone and there was not a word from the station about why, nor any recognition of his years of contributions. Subsequently, when many angry people inquired about why he was simply "disappeared" the form reply they sent indicated that "he wanted it" that way. That, I know, as do many others, was a bald-faced lie. His friendly and casually informative style is now a thing of the past, at least as far as the management of the "new" WCRB is concerned (which, from what I can tell, is not different than the managment of WGBH iteelf.) It seems that a campaign of lies about this whole dirty business is the policy of the WGBH brass. Another indication of the corporate-style take over there. And this at not one, but TWO, so called "public" stations! P.S.
I believe the “disappearing” of Richard Kniseley is a potent symbol for the precipitous decline in the quality of the classical music on the “new” WCRB. I mean relative to what WBGH was presenting. Their handling of that situation was entirely offensive. One day he was gone and there was not a word from the station about why, nor any recognition of his years of contributions. Subsequently, when many angry people inquired about why he was simply “disappeared” the form reply they sent indicated that “he wanted it” that way. That, I know, as do many others, was a bald-faced lie. His friendly and casually informative style is now a thing of the past, at least as far as the management of the “new” WCRB is concerned (which, from what I can tell, is not different than the managment of WGBH iteelf.) It seems that a campaign of lies about this whole dirty business is the policy of the WGBH brass. Another indication of the corporate-style take over there. And this at not one, but TWO, so called “public” stations!

]]>