Posted on 12/18/2006 9:45:23 AM PST by sitetest
Disagree. I have no problem with things being interrupted--back in the day, they would often play only partial movements at performances or do encores of a movement right after it was played. Plus radio exposes folks to new works they might not otherwise hear. I had a classical show in college that was weird, with many skits in between pieces. It became a cult hit.
The problem with classical music nowadays is that too many listeners treat it as a museum piece or as something so serious it cannot be enjoyed, only appreciated. The best classical has elements of frivolity mixed in with the soul-stirring grandeur.
My parents made fun of me for listening to classical (started when in high school).
~~~~~~~~
Curious that you should specify I-495 -- where, on a drive home, I had a bizarre/sublime "WCRB moment":
Somewhere on I-495 between Taunton and Wrentham (not too far from Great Woods) I was tooling along, listening to Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in D Minor on WCRB.
As I often do, I was steering with my left hand, and "conducting" with my right.
Suddenly, I heard a Beemer zoom up on my left and smoothly brake to match my speed. When I looked over, there was a lovely young lady, playing her "air violin" -- in perfect sync with the music on CRB -- and with my 'conducting'. We "jammed" together for for several seconds, then she flashed me a beautiful smile and bowed; then her driver put his foot down and left me in the dust...
That was a moment of pure "drivetime magic" -- on I-495 -- courtesy of WCRB!
True. It's also hard to condense a classical piece into a 20 sec sound bite for promotional purposes. And the lack of scantily clad women in classical music videos don't help either. (Now if a stark naked woman were to be shown playing Chopin's Minute Waltz on the piano, many would look (and listen) more closely into classical)
Some modern day musicians have borrowed themes from works by Pachelbel and Bach, and I'm sure others. These songs enjoyed some popularity. Plus folks do enjoy music from films such as Lord of the Rings. I think all that is required for the majority of people to embrace classical is to be exposed to it and taught that it's not snobby to enjoy it.
Haydn would be a great bridge for the uninitiated. Not only is he the Man, but his is the perfect blend of drama and light-heartedness.
I think you guys are each talking about a diff. I-495,
one in MA and one in the DC area (the beltway, right?)
Same route number but they don't connect with each other
of course! :)
I lived in Arlington 1969 -1971 and listened to WGMS. I remember you could get a Beethoven poster on his birthday if you knocked on the door of their celler studios and intoned the words, "Loodvig sent me" Their style was much better than Milwaukee's snooty WFMR.
Haydn's the MAN. There would be no Mozart without a Haydn or at least the Mozart we know, and definitely no Beethoven without a Mozart or Haydn. I never tire of listening to his later symphonies ( 80s and above). They are just so charming.
WETA is 90.9; 90.1 in the Washington area is C-SPAN radio. I listen to Washington Journal on my morning drive, and arrive at the office gnashing my teeth or laughing hysterically, depending on the topic and the callers.
Agree wholeheartedly. He was the first of my pantheon and still is there. His symphonies, his string quartets, and his oratorios rule. One of my greatest, probably the greatest, concerts I have been to is a performance of Die Schöpfung while I lived in Vienna (for study abroad).
There are still so many works of his I have yet to experience (dude was prolific as all get-out, as you well know).
Add me to you pinglist please..
KBAQ in Phoenix rocks!
http://kbaq.org/music/playlists
The experience really did have a magical quality about it!
Thanks for the ping. Anything done to preserve the important western civilization achievement of classical music, is fine by me.
> Anything done to preserve the important western civilization achievement of classical music, is fine by me <
Ditto from here! And believe it or not, sometimes I sorta enjoy the commercials on WGMS!
Dear Drango,
I'd be delighted to get rid of the public broadcasting stations.
Then, the frequencies could be sold off to private enterprises.
However, until that time, I'd just as soon these stations play classical music as do anything else.
sitetest
thank you. Actually,coming from the north, I listen to WBJC in Baltimore for the most part, but I always enjoy WGMS, especially in the days of Dennis Owens.
Dear gusopol3,
During the last couple of years of Dennis Owens' regime, I found him increasingly difficult to listen to, since, as he moved closer to retirement, he permitted his blather to become increasingly infected with his left-wing brainlessness.
Unfortunately, his successor, James Bartel, is even worse.
The only silver lining in all this is to contemplate the upcoming unemployment of Mr. Bartel.
sitetest
A rock-solid AMEN! from me!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.