Around the World
Other broadcasters from outside the UK do particularly well at presenting 'classical' music. Here are some examples:
Musical health and manners in Boston (February 23rd)
In my time in Boston, it seemed that Classical music was everywhere. Most shops I visited had it playing, my hotel reception area was playing it constantly (and one afternoon they played Liszt's First piano concerto which, for me, was a bonus) even my company's office has it playing in the reception area.
I later found out that in both these cases, it was via satellite radio which doesn't yet seem to have taken off in the UK yet. There was one problem with that – no announcements of what the pieces were.There were also two local Classical stations – WCRB which broadcasts solid music 7/24! However, the announcements were minimal and the output was lacking in anything really powerful, unusual or choral. The earliest pieces I heard were by Vivaldi and the latest were early 20th century (Debussy and Ravel were about as adventurous as it got!).
This station, while being very pleasant to listen to (if a little monotonous at times), played no weird poppy stuff, no jazz and no world pop (Radio 3 take note!). I also heard pieces by two composers I have yet to encounter on Radio3 – Arriaga and Pinto. On the downside, during my stay, they only broadcast one live concert (the Boston Symphony Orchestra, not unsurprisingly) and, like CFM in Britain, it suffered from too many adverts! The station also had CFM's habit of playing single movements, except at weekends when it played whole works. One of my colleagues, also a music fan, said the station had deteriorated since he had been listening over the last few years. Regarding the other Classical station, WGBH, it was impossible to pick that up on the radio in my hotel room except very late at night!
As Classical music seems to be all over the place, people seemed to tolerate it far more than in England. For example, if I was to put Radio3 (or even CFM) on when I was at work, my colleagues would complain bitterly (as they seem to do when I put my CDs on). However, when I arrived in my American counterpart's office, they even asked me what sort of music I liked listening to and the radio was tuned to WCRB for the whole 5 days I was working there, at a low level, as background. On the last day, I treated them to some Liszt, (the Transcendental Studies), just to show them there was powerful classical music out there. Even the youngest person in the lab, (aged 24 and a self confessed "party animal"), didn't object to the music during the week. How different from being at home.
I went looking for a decent record shop near Harvard University. I did find one, a branch of Tower records which stocked a huge quantity of unusual CDs – not just the American labels but all of the European labels too! I actually found a CD that I had never seen in England – Henselt Chamber Works, on MDG. With the exchange rate being somewhat favourable to us Europeans, I was able to buy the disc for about $15 as opposed to – £15 at home (and more in Virgin or HMV).
The very first bookshop I visited, (despite playing pop music), also had a good selection of musical scores. Most were Dover editions but they also had one or two Schirmers and some miniature scores. I also visited the Co-op shop which had an enormous Classical music books section and a huge selection of scores. Added to this, it was playing some excellent music over the PA system – unfamiliar to me – but it sounded Russian. Not far from there, stood an empty building and, instead of standing idle, it had a sound system and it was playing Dvorak (and later on Smetana) as I walked past.
To sum up, despite the death of Classical music being widely reported in the media, in that little corner of New England, it seems to be in very rude health, despite the lack of a Radio3 or similar…
Jonathan Welsh
This station, while being very pleasant to listen to (if a little monotonous at times), played no weird poppy stuff, no jazz and no world pop (Radio 3 take note!). I also heard pieces by two composers I have yet to encounter on Radio3 – Arriaga and Pinto. On the downside, during my stay, they only broadcast one live concert (the Boston Symphony Orchestra, not unsurprisingly) and, like CFM in Britain, it suffered from too many adverts! The station also had CFM's habit of playing single movements, except at weekends when it played whole works. One of my colleagues, also a music fan, said the station had deteriorated since he had been listening over the last few years. Regarding the other Classical station, WGBH, it was impossible to pick that up on the radio in my hotel room except very late at night!
As Classical music seems to be all over the place, people seemed to tolerate it far more than in England. For example, if I was to put Radio3 (or even CFM) on when I was at work, my colleagues would complain bitterly (as they seem to do when I put my CDs on). However, when I arrived in my American counterpart's office, they even asked me what sort of music I liked listening to and the radio was tuned to WCRB for the whole 5 days I was working there, at a low level, as background. On the last day, I treated them to some Liszt, (the Transcendental Studies), just to show them there was powerful classical music out there. Even the youngest person in the lab, (aged 24 and a self confessed "party animal"), didn't object to the music during the week. How different from being at home.
I went looking for a decent record shop near Harvard University. I did find one, a branch of Tower records which stocked a huge quantity of unusual CDs – not just the American labels but all of the European labels too! I actually found a CD that I had never seen in England – Henselt Chamber Works, on MDG. With the exchange rate being somewhat favourable to us Europeans, I was able to buy the disc for about $15 as opposed to – £15 at home (and more in Virgin or HMV).
The very first bookshop I visited, (despite playing pop music), also had a good selection of musical scores. Most were Dover editions but they also had one or two Schirmers and some miniature scores. I also visited the Co-op shop which had an enormous Classical music books section and a huge selection of scores. Added to this, it was playing some excellent music over the PA system – unfamiliar to me – but it sounded Russian. Not far from there, stood an empty building and, instead of standing idle, it had a sound system and it was playing Dvorak (and later on Smetana) as I walked past.
To sum up, despite the death of Classical music being widely reported in the media, in that little corner of New England, it seems to be in very rude health, despite the lack of a Radio3 or similar…
Jonathan Welsh
Israel's Voice of Music (September 4th)
Israel has a classical music programme which is uncompromising in its presentation. Any time of day until late into the evening you can hear serious music, mostly classical, some good jazz or a programme about music with a minimum of "chat" and not at all "matey".
Some time ago, for genuine financial reasons, the cabinet minister in charge of broadcasting and the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) wanted to merge Voice of Music with another station, thereby reducing the the time given to classical music broadcasting. There was such an outcry (mainly via letters to the press and articles in newspapers) that after about a week, the minister and the IBA withdrew this proposal and Voice of Music has continued largely unchanged.
But as usual, that is not the end of the story; the IBA has been cutting down on the broadcasts of live concerts and performances to save money. There also seems to be no authority to buy new CDs. Nevertheless in spite of the cutbacks, Voice of Music has NOT compromised its classical music output. The station now broadcasts more CDs and fewer live performances, but there is no attempt to dilute, erode or dumb down output to increase the number of listeners. Most important, there is a merciful absence of managementspeak and mission statements.
Scheduling:
"From Friday noon to Saturday night we squeeze as many of our studio-produced programs (most re-broadcast during week days) as well as top concert programs as we can, for the benefit of music-lovers who cannot join us during the week."
Music:
Overwhelmingly mainstream classical music, including a weekly opera, though with a strong focus on Israeli composers and new music. "National Radio, like ours, should help, promote and advance local talent. Israel is rich with first-rate composers, many of whom are world-known. Our aim is to be wherever an Israeli piece is performed (especially – premiered), thus giving lasting life to the works."
There is a commitment to live music as well as CDs. All Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra – IBA concerts are broadcast, as well as regular chamber recitals, especially featuring young artists and European Broadcasting Union (EBU) output.
Two jazz programmes a week (3 hours?), Monday late-night and Wednesday afternoon.
Two programmes of traditional folk ("folklore") music, Saturday, noon, and Monday, 10pm. An hour each.
Shlomo Israeli presents three (slightly differing) weekly programmes which seem close to the Late Junction concept: Sunday 9pm-11pm, "built on the basis of the similarities and differences between (new music, world, jazz and classical) music", Monday, 9am-noon, "music without boundaries", Thursday, 6pm – 8pm. "Debussy and his music is the program's starting point for exchanging ideas", "mind-stretching music of the past 100 years".
Presentation:
expert, "minimal continuity", mainly music except in the About Music programmes (of the Composer of the Week type)
Programmes:
(reconstructed from website information):
Sunday – Friday
6am – 9 am, Morning on 3-type selection of shorter classical pieces
9am – noon, Morning Concert (Monday is Shlomo Israeli)
noon – 1 pm, Sun – Thur "Classics in Light"; Fri Live broadcast
1 pm – 2 pm, Sun – Thur "Spotlight"; Fri Live broadcast
Afternoon programmes vary daily:
2 pm, New music, About Music, studio recordings, jazz, studio recordings, About Music
3 pm, New music, Great Performances, Early Music (Sat repeat), jazz, studio recordings, About Music
4pm, Music for Sunday, Early Music (new discs), Personal Choice (classical), Requests, Ensemble, Requests
5pm, Music for Sunday, Live recitals/concerts, Personal Choice (classical), Requests, Ensemble, Requests
6 pm, Music Magazine, Live recitals/concerts, New discs, Evening Concert, Shlomo Israeli, Great Performances
7 pm, New discs, Vocal music, New discs, Evening concert, Shlomo Israeli, Early Music
8pm, New discs, About Music, EBU (live recordings), Evening Concert, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Discs
9pm, Shlomo Israeli, About Music, EBU (live recordings), Evening Concert, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Discs
10 pm, Shlomo Israeli, Folklore, New music, Evening Concert, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Discs
11 pm, End of the Day, jazz, New music, About Music, World/new, Art of Song
Saturday
6 am, Morning Clock (selection)
7 am, Morning Concert
10 am New discs
12 noon, Folklore
1 pm, EBU (live recordings)
3 pm, Early Music
4 pm, About Music
5 pm Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra
7 pm Israeli artists
9 pm Opera (complete)
Kol Hamusica is now available on the internet and there are further details here. Our thanks to abdelwahad for pointing this out.
Carol Kohll
But as usual, that is not the end of the story; the IBA has been cutting down on the broadcasts of live concerts and performances to save money. There also seems to be no authority to buy new CDs. Nevertheless in spite of the cutbacks, Voice of Music has NOT compromised its classical music output. The station now broadcasts more CDs and fewer live performances, but there is no attempt to dilute, erode or dumb down output to increase the number of listeners. Most important, there is a merciful absence of managementspeak and mission statements.
Scheduling:
"From Friday noon to Saturday night we squeeze as many of our studio-produced programs (most re-broadcast during week days) as well as top concert programs as we can, for the benefit of music-lovers who cannot join us during the week."
Music:
Overwhelmingly mainstream classical music, including a weekly opera, though with a strong focus on Israeli composers and new music. "National Radio, like ours, should help, promote and advance local talent. Israel is rich with first-rate composers, many of whom are world-known. Our aim is to be wherever an Israeli piece is performed (especially – premiered), thus giving lasting life to the works."
There is a commitment to live music as well as CDs. All Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra – IBA concerts are broadcast, as well as regular chamber recitals, especially featuring young artists and European Broadcasting Union (EBU) output.
Two jazz programmes a week (3 hours?), Monday late-night and Wednesday afternoon.
Two programmes of traditional folk ("folklore") music, Saturday, noon, and Monday, 10pm. An hour each.
Shlomo Israeli presents three (slightly differing) weekly programmes which seem close to the Late Junction concept: Sunday 9pm-11pm, "built on the basis of the similarities and differences between (new music, world, jazz and classical) music", Monday, 9am-noon, "music without boundaries", Thursday, 6pm – 8pm. "Debussy and his music is the program's starting point for exchanging ideas", "mind-stretching music of the past 100 years".
Presentation:
expert, "minimal continuity", mainly music except in the About Music programmes (of the Composer of the Week type)
Programmes:
(reconstructed from website information):
Sunday – Friday
6am – 9 am, Morning on 3-type selection of shorter classical pieces
9am – noon, Morning Concert (Monday is Shlomo Israeli)
noon – 1 pm, Sun – Thur "Classics in Light"; Fri Live broadcast
1 pm – 2 pm, Sun – Thur "Spotlight"; Fri Live broadcast
Afternoon programmes vary daily:
2 pm, New music, About Music, studio recordings, jazz, studio recordings, About Music
3 pm, New music, Great Performances, Early Music (Sat repeat), jazz, studio recordings, About Music
4pm, Music for Sunday, Early Music (new discs), Personal Choice (classical), Requests, Ensemble, Requests
5pm, Music for Sunday, Live recitals/concerts, Personal Choice (classical), Requests, Ensemble, Requests
6 pm, Music Magazine, Live recitals/concerts, New discs, Evening Concert, Shlomo Israeli, Great Performances
7 pm, New discs, Vocal music, New discs, Evening concert, Shlomo Israeli, Early Music
8pm, New discs, About Music, EBU (live recordings), Evening Concert, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Discs
9pm, Shlomo Israeli, About Music, EBU (live recordings), Evening Concert, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Discs
10 pm, Shlomo Israeli, Folklore, New music, Evening Concert, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Discs
11 pm, End of the Day, jazz, New music, About Music, World/new, Art of Song
Saturday
6 am, Morning Clock (selection)
7 am, Morning Concert
10 am New discs
12 noon, Folklore
1 pm, EBU (live recordings)
3 pm, Early Music
4 pm, About Music
5 pm Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra
7 pm Israeli artists
9 pm Opera (complete)
Kol Hamusica is now available on the internet and there are further details here. Our thanks to abdelwahad for pointing this out.
Carol Kohll
Music Radio in the US (September 3rd)
The serious music radio scene in the USA lacks much and seems to be declining further.
Costs increase quarterly and there is no concept of public funding, as there is in the UK. Here you become a 'member' of a non-commercial radio station by agreeing to pledge upward of $25 a year during three or four 'pledge drives' lasting a week or 10 days each. For the duration of these necessarily evil interruptions to the music, normal programming is thrown over in favour of fast-talking, rabble-rousing, disc jockey-led fundraising razzmatazz so that the regular disc jockeying can continue for another three months.
These drives (and, if they're lucky, a scanty endowment or two) are all that keeps the several dozen music stations across the country solvent. These stations are, to be sure, very poor relations in the eyes of the mass-market driven media and their somewhat monolithic consumer millions. Everyone in the UK concerned with Public Service broadcasting would do well to watch, develop an abhorrence for such funding models and avoid at all costs their slithering into British cultural life. Further damage and destruction to the artistic probity of R3 would seem very likely to follow if such mercenary-only, greed-driven practices made it to the UK.
Of course there is no equivalent of the BBC in the USA. National Public Radio (or NPR), whose daily syndicated two-hour Performance Today is taken by most serious music stations, attempts in vain to fill the gap and has some imaginative programming. But NPR cannot hope to raise the revenue (even with some large sponsorships) necessary to do what the BBC does.
Nor – thus – can the NPR network hope to compete for resourcing (funding, salaries, hardware, publicity and profile etc) with the 24 x 7 rage (much bankrolled by some of the largest and most powerful multinationals in the world) of pap and pop flooding every centimetre of every dial of every North American radio receiver and cable box. Indeed, many cable operators do pipe independently produced, and presumably copyright-free 'classical music' of little more variety and imagination than the 'classical' selection available on some transatlantic flights in recent years… a snippet from Swan Lake, a bit of Sousa, In the Hall of the Mountain King and, if you're lucky, a Chopin Waltz with a single movement from a Mozart piano concerto at the end.
So the best you can hope for in order to escape the noise and the sameness, the homogenized and the predigested pop, easy-listening and 'specialist music' stations is to live in a city where, for quite unpredictable and random reasons, a serious music station gets enough money from its members to aspire to the level of Classic FM without the commercial interruptions. Such stations include WCNY in New York, WFMT in Chicago, Minnesota Public Radio, WCRB in Boston and KUSC in Southern California; none of these – it bears repeating – can hold a candle to BBC Radio 3.
None supports orchestras, sponsors competitions, makes major additions to the local community, stages festival seasons like the Proms, is called upon for its wealth of musicological expertise, has record libraries of comparable breadth to the BBC's and its activities as serious music patron. Many clearly wish they could and have obviously looked enviously to what Radio 3 has been as a model. Many also stream via the internet and publish creditable websites, hold events, member gatherings and have fiercely proud follower communities. Most carry concert series of one sort or another and nearly all also relay the Metropolitan Opera season from New York in the winter. NPR publishes a respected guide to serious music recordings.
But programmes tend almost invariably to be of fixed length (30, 60 or 120 minutes) and follow a predictable and somewhat unadventurous formula and are usually treated as canned products to be repeated on franchise in yearly cycles such that if you wait long enough, the same selection of music in an identical presentation will reappear.
What, then, does a typical day on a better-than-average 'classical music' station, KUSC, sound like?
Well, the station has changed: during the mid 1990s almost exactly the same tactics as are apparently being tried on R3 were employed in the interests of 'inclusivity' and misguided 'with-itness'. World pop and new age were given prominence, jazz mixed with 'classical' and programmes of the Late Junction type took up large chunks of the daytime schedules. The listeners objected, the Station Director 'moved on to pursue interests elsewhere' and the scheduling returned to something like normal.
KUSC's schedule – pledge drives aside – invariably consists in a series of five-, four- or three-hour stints presented by lone 'hosts' playing discs during the week (with the odd extended interview in the evenings if musicians and performers of note are in town) and some recorded concerts at the weekends. These are not 'programmes' in the sense that they ever really represent any kind of theme or consistently-conceived musical integrity. What's more, it is an (I'm told erroneous) assumption that Federal Communications Commission regulations insist on station identification once an hour. So very rarely does there exist the opportunity for lengthy pieces to be played. In any case, most of the very well-informed, knowledgeable and personable presenters (Jim Svejda being a good example) do announce, "You are listening to KUSC on …" [all four of the local FM frequencies] "and I'm …" etc between every second CD or track. You could – given enough time and money to build one – do it all yourself with a CD collection!
A typical day (across the six time slots) has:
Telemann, Paris Quartet #7: Premier Suite
Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Barber, Heaven-Haven (A Nun Takes the Veil)
Ravel, La Valse
Mozart, Cosi fan tutte: Overture
Bernstein, Serenade (after Plato's "Symposium")
Vorisek, Impromptu #2 in G Op 7/2
Johann Strauss Jr., Perpetuum mobile
Vivaldi, Violin Concerto in a Op 4/4 RV 357
Debussy, Images: Iberia
Schumann, Toccata in C Op 7
Mozart, Symphony in F K19a
Bernstein, Candide: Overture
Brahms, Hungarian Dance #20 in e
Dvorak, String Quartet #12
Franck, Le Chasseur Maudit
Torelli, Sinfonia a quattro in C
etc etc etc. Nothing objectionable; nothing too 'unsafe'; very little outside the period from 1750 to 1950; little vocal music and nothing extended – not even a 'Composer of the Week'-type amalgamation of ideas.
Not up to R3 standards? Well, no. But at least it's all artistically sound, originally conceived music.
Mark Sealey
These drives (and, if they're lucky, a scanty endowment or two) are all that keeps the several dozen music stations across the country solvent. These stations are, to be sure, very poor relations in the eyes of the mass-market driven media and their somewhat monolithic consumer millions. Everyone in the UK concerned with Public Service broadcasting would do well to watch, develop an abhorrence for such funding models and avoid at all costs their slithering into British cultural life. Further damage and destruction to the artistic probity of R3 would seem very likely to follow if such mercenary-only, greed-driven practices made it to the UK.
Of course there is no equivalent of the BBC in the USA. National Public Radio (or NPR), whose daily syndicated two-hour Performance Today is taken by most serious music stations, attempts in vain to fill the gap and has some imaginative programming. But NPR cannot hope to raise the revenue (even with some large sponsorships) necessary to do what the BBC does.
Nor – thus – can the NPR network hope to compete for resourcing (funding, salaries, hardware, publicity and profile etc) with the 24 x 7 rage (much bankrolled by some of the largest and most powerful multinationals in the world) of pap and pop flooding every centimetre of every dial of every North American radio receiver and cable box. Indeed, many cable operators do pipe independently produced, and presumably copyright-free 'classical music' of little more variety and imagination than the 'classical' selection available on some transatlantic flights in recent years… a snippet from Swan Lake, a bit of Sousa, In the Hall of the Mountain King and, if you're lucky, a Chopin Waltz with a single movement from a Mozart piano concerto at the end.
So the best you can hope for in order to escape the noise and the sameness, the homogenized and the predigested pop, easy-listening and 'specialist music' stations is to live in a city where, for quite unpredictable and random reasons, a serious music station gets enough money from its members to aspire to the level of Classic FM without the commercial interruptions. Such stations include WCNY in New York, WFMT in Chicago, Minnesota Public Radio, WCRB in Boston and KUSC in Southern California; none of these – it bears repeating – can hold a candle to BBC Radio 3.
None supports orchestras, sponsors competitions, makes major additions to the local community, stages festival seasons like the Proms, is called upon for its wealth of musicological expertise, has record libraries of comparable breadth to the BBC's and its activities as serious music patron. Many clearly wish they could and have obviously looked enviously to what Radio 3 has been as a model. Many also stream via the internet and publish creditable websites, hold events, member gatherings and have fiercely proud follower communities. Most carry concert series of one sort or another and nearly all also relay the Metropolitan Opera season from New York in the winter. NPR publishes a respected guide to serious music recordings.
But programmes tend almost invariably to be of fixed length (30, 60 or 120 minutes) and follow a predictable and somewhat unadventurous formula and are usually treated as canned products to be repeated on franchise in yearly cycles such that if you wait long enough, the same selection of music in an identical presentation will reappear.
What, then, does a typical day on a better-than-average 'classical music' station, KUSC, sound like?
Well, the station has changed: during the mid 1990s almost exactly the same tactics as are apparently being tried on R3 were employed in the interests of 'inclusivity' and misguided 'with-itness'. World pop and new age were given prominence, jazz mixed with 'classical' and programmes of the Late Junction type took up large chunks of the daytime schedules. The listeners objected, the Station Director 'moved on to pursue interests elsewhere' and the scheduling returned to something like normal.
KUSC's schedule – pledge drives aside – invariably consists in a series of five-, four- or three-hour stints presented by lone 'hosts' playing discs during the week (with the odd extended interview in the evenings if musicians and performers of note are in town) and some recorded concerts at the weekends. These are not 'programmes' in the sense that they ever really represent any kind of theme or consistently-conceived musical integrity. What's more, it is an (I'm told erroneous) assumption that Federal Communications Commission regulations insist on station identification once an hour. So very rarely does there exist the opportunity for lengthy pieces to be played. In any case, most of the very well-informed, knowledgeable and personable presenters (Jim Svejda being a good example) do announce, "You are listening to KUSC on …" [all four of the local FM frequencies] "and I'm …" etc between every second CD or track. You could – given enough time and money to build one – do it all yourself with a CD collection!
A typical day (across the six time slots) has:
Telemann, Paris Quartet #7: Premier Suite
Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Barber, Heaven-Haven (A Nun Takes the Veil)
Ravel, La Valse
Mozart, Cosi fan tutte: Overture
Bernstein, Serenade (after Plato's "Symposium")
Vorisek, Impromptu #2 in G Op 7/2
Johann Strauss Jr., Perpetuum mobile
Vivaldi, Violin Concerto in a Op 4/4 RV 357
Debussy, Images: Iberia
Schumann, Toccata in C Op 7
Mozart, Symphony in F K19a
Bernstein, Candide: Overture
Brahms, Hungarian Dance #20 in e
Dvorak, String Quartet #12
Franck, Le Chasseur Maudit
Torelli, Sinfonia a quattro in C
etc etc etc. Nothing objectionable; nothing too 'unsafe'; very little outside the period from 1750 to 1950; little vocal music and nothing extended – not even a 'Composer of the Week'-type amalgamation of ideas.
Not up to R3 standards? Well, no. But at least it's all artistically sound, originally conceived music.
Mark Sealey
Classic Broadcasting in Australia (August 18th)
Wilf flew out of Vienna a few days ago, en route for Down Under and clutching former R3 Controller John Drummond's autobiography 'Tainted by Experience' (click here to buy from Amazon). And he's finding listening to classical music on Australian radio an unexpected pleasure. Sydney is proving a vibrant place offering wonderful concerts and opera — and the classical music and arts radio network mirrors this.
Australian classical music is mostly heard on the national network run by the public service broadcaster ABC. Sydney and Melbourne also have separate subscription FM radio channels (2MBS-FM in Sydney and 3MBS-FM in Melbourne) which broadcast, on a voluntary basis, 24-hour classical music.
The ABC Classical Music and Arts network has had several name changes and regenerations during a career which started on FM in the mid 1970s. Before that it was called Radio 2 and broadcast on Medium Wave throughout Australia as a mixture of classical music, popular music, speech and news. When it moved to the FM frequency throughout Australia it became ABC FM–Stereo. Later it changed its name to ABC Fine Music. Its most recent rebirth was as, wait for it, ABC Classic FM.
The name means little — it certainly doesn't sound remotely like the UK Classic FM station. It has a very small audience, but is largely left alone to get on with it. The presenters are all highly expert classical musicians but also have an excellent communicative style for this kind of radio. It says of itself: 'Classic FM is a performance space, a library, an encyclopaedia, a friend, and a journey of discovery. You'll hear our presenters celebrating music as no others can.'
One of the station's major aims is to promote and broadcast Australian music and there is a large Australian music content throughout the day. It broadcasts 24 hours a day, with short three-minute bulletins on the hour from 0600-0900, a five-minute bulletin at 1300 and short bulletins again during Drive. Some of its weekly programmes are given below. The full details can be found here.
World and non classical music is very sparse on this network. About ten years ago, well before such things were being broadcast in any quantity on R3, this network was experimenting in a weekly Wednesday night programme, 'Music Deli', with non classical of what was then called 'ethnic music of an international kind'. It was complained of by so many that a change of staffing followed and this programme disappeared.
When 'Music Deli' was deemed unsuitable for the classical/arts network and moved to the speech/arts network ABC Radio National it fitted very well as part of their general arts stream. It still runs today very successfully on a Tuesday evening. 'Music Deli' presents folk, traditional and acoustic music, and what is commonly known as world music. There's a strong emphasis on Australian performance of these musical styles — at festivals, in concerts and special recordings made for the programme in ABC studios around the country. The 'Music Deli' team attends and produces recordings of the important music festivals in Australia such as Womadelaide and the Port Fairy Folk Festival and also broadcasts live from music events.
'Mornings' with Margaret Throsby, weekdays from 9.00am to 12 noon. Offering wonderfully diverse music, and between 10 and 11, in conversation with a special guest, playing their favourite music and telling their own stories. At 11.00am there is the best in new CD releases.
'Afternoons' with Charles Southwood, weekdays from 12.05pm to 4.00pm. A special focus each weekday afternoon, including Mining the Archive (treasures of recorded sound), Australian Made (the best of Australian performers and composers), and International Concert (the best orchestras from around the world).
'Drive' with Julia Lester, weekdays from 4.05 to 7.00pm. A sophisticated mix of classical music, and many other music styles from around the world; new releases, concert information and a daily Spotlight on musical themes such as instruments, terms and styles. [See Drive, below, for some details of the content]
'The Listening Room' with Andrew McLennan, Mondays from 9.00pm. A space for the exploration of radio forms and ideas in imaginative program making — new auditory experiences for the listener, along pathways into memory and exotic places real and imagined.
'Just Out' with Bob Maynard, Tuesdays from 10.00pm. Three hours of first-release CDs.
'New Music Australia' with Julian Day, Wednesdays from 8.00pm. What's happening in the exciting world of new music! Aussie sounds, interviews and ideas. Whether it's a new Australian symphony, a gritty laptop improvisation or a pop song for amplified string quartet, NMA explores the music of our very own composers, performers and sound artists.
'Keys to Music' with Graham Abbott, Saturdays at 9.05am. Breaks down the barriers to enjoying classical music for non-musicians and explores basic concepts, discusses composers and explores pieces of music inside-out.
'Jazztrack' with Jim McLeod, Saturday and Sunday from 5.00 to 7.00pm. The whole world of jazz is presented, including both the latest and historical recordings and Jazztrack's own recordings in studios and at festivals.
'Young Australia' with Simon Healy, Saturdays at 7.05pm. Showcase for Australia's musical future. Young musicians from all over the country can be heard in concert and studio recordings of solo, chamber, orchestral and vocal music. They're also heard in interview with the program's presenter, Simon Healy. Young Australia originally went to air on ABC Radio in the late 1930s and continued for a number of decades. Many of today's best known professional musicians and singers gave their first broadcast on the program.
'Perspectives' with Julie Howard, Saturday nights from 11.00pm. Julie Howard presents music selected by Ivan Lloyd — a blend of the classics with contemporary chamber and orchestral music, world music, jazz and other styles suitable for late night listening. [A sample programme below: Australia's 'Late Junction'].
'For The God Who Sings' with Kay McLennan, Sundays from 6.05 to 8.00am. A weekly two-hour showcase of fine sacred music, from all around the world and spanning the music-writing of a millennium. It celebrates major religious festivals, seasons, and Saints' days. It honours those composers who have contributed to the huge corpus of sacred music... well over half all music, and rejoices in the latest Australian composition and performance
'Listener Requests' with Marian Arnold, Sundays from 8.00am to 12noon
'Sunday Feature', Sundays at 2.00pm. A weekly one hour documentary featuring programs that cover a wide range of musical interests
'Sunday Live', Sundays at 3.00pm.
ABC Classic FM's primary means of profiling Australian musicians in live performance, providing an important public and broadcast platform for local talent. 'Sunday Live' goes to air from a different capital city or regional centre each month. The concert broadcasts are presented in collaboration with local venues and communities. Believe me, it's a good listen! Unpretentious, honest, lively and totally committeed to the best in fine music and arts. You can check it out on the web. 'Drive':
You will have perhaps one piece an hour (in other words about three pieces during the whole programme) that may not be conventional western classical music. For example in recent programmes there was:
Anchieta: Con amores (Bayado!) – Terra Nova Consort; Dorian Dor-90298, 2'
Rodgers: Blue Room (Hits of the Thirties) – Yehudi Menuhin and Stephane Grappelli; EMI CD-CFP 4576, 2'
Johnson: Harlem Symphony: Subway Journey – Concordia Orchestra/Marin Alsop Musicmasters; 01612-67140-2, 4'
Trad (Spiritual): Fix Me Jesus (Jubilant) – Jubilant Sykes, vocal; Sony ASK 63294, 5'
McLachlan: Africa Celebrates for Harpsichord and African percussion: Movement I – Elizabeth Chojnacka, hc and ensemble Opus 111; OPS 30-293, 4'
Raman: Kamakshi (Salt Rain) – Susheeda Raman, voc; Narada World 72438-50955-2, 5'
The rest are very mainstream classical, with an emphasis on Australian classical music. Australia's 'Late Junction':'Perspectives'
'Perspectives', on Saturday nights, at 11pm, is a fascinating new programme. A typical playlist is:
Orff/David Chesworth Badlands Suite: Part 2 (Excerpt) – David Chesworth Ensemble W.Minc; CD008, 1'
Cardoso: Milonga (Guitar Meditations) – Craig Ogden, guitar; Chandos CHAN 9743, 5'
Souza/Ribeiro: Alfama Alleys (Fado Curvo) – Mariza, vocal; Virgin 7243 5 84237, 4'
Koechlin: Etudes for Alto Saxophone and Piano, op.188: Etudes No 9, 10 and 13 – Claude Delangle, al/sax; Odile Delangle, piano; Bis CD-1130, 7'
Debussy: 3 Nocturnes – Members of the Berlin Radio Choir; Berlin Philharmonic/Claudio Abbado; DG 471 332–2, 22'
He Xuntian/Cheng Yi: Melodious Goddess (Voices from the Sky) – Dadawa, vocal; WB 0630 18768 2, 6'
Corea: Crystal Silence (Rendezvous in New York) – Chick Corea, piano; Gary Burton, vibes; Stretch Records 038 023-2, 10'
McCartney: Spiral (Working Classical) – London Symphony Orchestra/Lawrence Foster; EMI 5 56897 2, 10'
Ross Edwards: Yanada and Ulpirra (Blue for DD) – Diana Doherty, oboe; ABC 465 782-2, 5'
Glinka: Trio Pathetique in D minor for Piano, Clarinet and Bassoon – Southern Cross Soloists; 4MBS6, 15'
Tavener: Eternal Memory for Solo Cello and Strings – Steven Isserlis, cello, Moscow Virtuoso/Vladimir Spivakov; RCA 09026 6687612, 11'
Rachmaninov: Morceaux de salon, op.10: No.3 `Barcarolle' – Duncan Gifford, piano; ABC 438 827-2, 5'
Andrade/Machado: Portrait Alfama Alleys (Fado Curvo) – Mariza, vocal; Virgin 7243 5 84237 2, 4'
Robert Burke: Wide Eyed (Wide Eyed) – Robert Burke Quartet JazzHead; HEAD033, 5'
Orff/David Chesworth Badlands Suite: Part 2 (Excerpt) – David Chesworth Ensemble W.Minc; CD008, 1'
This is much better than Late Junction, and it fits beautifully at this time of night.
Wilf
The ABC Classical Music and Arts network has had several name changes and regenerations during a career which started on FM in the mid 1970s. Before that it was called Radio 2 and broadcast on Medium Wave throughout Australia as a mixture of classical music, popular music, speech and news. When it moved to the FM frequency throughout Australia it became ABC FM–Stereo. Later it changed its name to ABC Fine Music. Its most recent rebirth was as, wait for it, ABC Classic FM.
The name means little — it certainly doesn't sound remotely like the UK Classic FM station. It has a very small audience, but is largely left alone to get on with it. The presenters are all highly expert classical musicians but also have an excellent communicative style for this kind of radio. It says of itself: 'Classic FM is a performance space, a library, an encyclopaedia, a friend, and a journey of discovery. You'll hear our presenters celebrating music as no others can.'
One of the station's major aims is to promote and broadcast Australian music and there is a large Australian music content throughout the day. It broadcasts 24 hours a day, with short three-minute bulletins on the hour from 0600-0900, a five-minute bulletin at 1300 and short bulletins again during Drive. Some of its weekly programmes are given below. The full details can be found here.
World and non classical music is very sparse on this network. About ten years ago, well before such things were being broadcast in any quantity on R3, this network was experimenting in a weekly Wednesday night programme, 'Music Deli', with non classical of what was then called 'ethnic music of an international kind'. It was complained of by so many that a change of staffing followed and this programme disappeared.
When 'Music Deli' was deemed unsuitable for the classical/arts network and moved to the speech/arts network ABC Radio National it fitted very well as part of their general arts stream. It still runs today very successfully on a Tuesday evening. 'Music Deli' presents folk, traditional and acoustic music, and what is commonly known as world music. There's a strong emphasis on Australian performance of these musical styles — at festivals, in concerts and special recordings made for the programme in ABC studios around the country. The 'Music Deli' team attends and produces recordings of the important music festivals in Australia such as Womadelaide and the Port Fairy Folk Festival and also broadcasts live from music events.
Programmes
'Classic FM Breakfast' with Clive Robertson, weekdays from 6.05am to 9.00am. An eclectic mix of music, news and weather on the hour and tantalising tastes of the latest CDs.'Mornings' with Margaret Throsby, weekdays from 9.00am to 12 noon. Offering wonderfully diverse music, and between 10 and 11, in conversation with a special guest, playing their favourite music and telling their own stories. At 11.00am there is the best in new CD releases.
'Afternoons' with Charles Southwood, weekdays from 12.05pm to 4.00pm. A special focus each weekday afternoon, including Mining the Archive (treasures of recorded sound), Australian Made (the best of Australian performers and composers), and International Concert (the best orchestras from around the world).
'Drive' with Julia Lester, weekdays from 4.05 to 7.00pm. A sophisticated mix of classical music, and many other music styles from around the world; new releases, concert information and a daily Spotlight on musical themes such as instruments, terms and styles. [See Drive, below, for some details of the content]
'The Listening Room' with Andrew McLennan, Mondays from 9.00pm. A space for the exploration of radio forms and ideas in imaginative program making — new auditory experiences for the listener, along pathways into memory and exotic places real and imagined.
'Just Out' with Bob Maynard, Tuesdays from 10.00pm. Three hours of first-release CDs.
'New Music Australia' with Julian Day, Wednesdays from 8.00pm. What's happening in the exciting world of new music! Aussie sounds, interviews and ideas. Whether it's a new Australian symphony, a gritty laptop improvisation or a pop song for amplified string quartet, NMA explores the music of our very own composers, performers and sound artists.
'Keys to Music' with Graham Abbott, Saturdays at 9.05am. Breaks down the barriers to enjoying classical music for non-musicians and explores basic concepts, discusses composers and explores pieces of music inside-out.
'Jazztrack' with Jim McLeod, Saturday and Sunday from 5.00 to 7.00pm. The whole world of jazz is presented, including both the latest and historical recordings and Jazztrack's own recordings in studios and at festivals.
'Young Australia' with Simon Healy, Saturdays at 7.05pm. Showcase for Australia's musical future. Young musicians from all over the country can be heard in concert and studio recordings of solo, chamber, orchestral and vocal music. They're also heard in interview with the program's presenter, Simon Healy. Young Australia originally went to air on ABC Radio in the late 1930s and continued for a number of decades. Many of today's best known professional musicians and singers gave their first broadcast on the program.
'Perspectives' with Julie Howard, Saturday nights from 11.00pm. Julie Howard presents music selected by Ivan Lloyd — a blend of the classics with contemporary chamber and orchestral music, world music, jazz and other styles suitable for late night listening. [A sample programme below: Australia's 'Late Junction'].
'For The God Who Sings' with Kay McLennan, Sundays from 6.05 to 8.00am. A weekly two-hour showcase of fine sacred music, from all around the world and spanning the music-writing of a millennium. It celebrates major religious festivals, seasons, and Saints' days. It honours those composers who have contributed to the huge corpus of sacred music... well over half all music, and rejoices in the latest Australian composition and performance
'Listener Requests' with Marian Arnold, Sundays from 8.00am to 12noon
'Sunday Feature', Sundays at 2.00pm. A weekly one hour documentary featuring programs that cover a wide range of musical interests
'Sunday Live', Sundays at 3.00pm.
ABC Classic FM's primary means of profiling Australian musicians in live performance, providing an important public and broadcast platform for local talent. 'Sunday Live' goes to air from a different capital city or regional centre each month. The concert broadcasts are presented in collaboration with local venues and communities. Believe me, it's a good listen! Unpretentious, honest, lively and totally committeed to the best in fine music and arts. You can check it out on the web. 'Drive':
You will have perhaps one piece an hour (in other words about three pieces during the whole programme) that may not be conventional western classical music. For example in recent programmes there was:
Anchieta: Con amores (Bayado!) – Terra Nova Consort; Dorian Dor-90298, 2'
Rodgers: Blue Room (Hits of the Thirties) – Yehudi Menuhin and Stephane Grappelli; EMI CD-CFP 4576, 2'
Johnson: Harlem Symphony: Subway Journey – Concordia Orchestra/Marin Alsop Musicmasters; 01612-67140-2, 4'
Trad (Spiritual): Fix Me Jesus (Jubilant) – Jubilant Sykes, vocal; Sony ASK 63294, 5'
McLachlan: Africa Celebrates for Harpsichord and African percussion: Movement I – Elizabeth Chojnacka, hc and ensemble Opus 111; OPS 30-293, 4'
Raman: Kamakshi (Salt Rain) – Susheeda Raman, voc; Narada World 72438-50955-2, 5'
The rest are very mainstream classical, with an emphasis on Australian classical music. Australia's 'Late Junction':'Perspectives'
'Perspectives', on Saturday nights, at 11pm, is a fascinating new programme. A typical playlist is:
Orff/David Chesworth Badlands Suite: Part 2 (Excerpt) – David Chesworth Ensemble W.Minc; CD008, 1'
Cardoso: Milonga (Guitar Meditations) – Craig Ogden, guitar; Chandos CHAN 9743, 5'
Souza/Ribeiro: Alfama Alleys (Fado Curvo) – Mariza, vocal; Virgin 7243 5 84237, 4'
Koechlin: Etudes for Alto Saxophone and Piano, op.188: Etudes No 9, 10 and 13 – Claude Delangle, al/sax; Odile Delangle, piano; Bis CD-1130, 7'
Debussy: 3 Nocturnes – Members of the Berlin Radio Choir; Berlin Philharmonic/Claudio Abbado; DG 471 332–2, 22'
He Xuntian/Cheng Yi: Melodious Goddess (Voices from the Sky) – Dadawa, vocal; WB 0630 18768 2, 6'
Corea: Crystal Silence (Rendezvous in New York) – Chick Corea, piano; Gary Burton, vibes; Stretch Records 038 023-2, 10'
McCartney: Spiral (Working Classical) – London Symphony Orchestra/Lawrence Foster; EMI 5 56897 2, 10'
Ross Edwards: Yanada and Ulpirra (Blue for DD) – Diana Doherty, oboe; ABC 465 782-2, 5'
Glinka: Trio Pathetique in D minor for Piano, Clarinet and Bassoon – Southern Cross Soloists; 4MBS6, 15'
Tavener: Eternal Memory for Solo Cello and Strings – Steven Isserlis, cello, Moscow Virtuoso/Vladimir Spivakov; RCA 09026 6687612, 11'
Rachmaninov: Morceaux de salon, op.10: No.3 `Barcarolle' – Duncan Gifford, piano; ABC 438 827-2, 5'
Andrade/Machado: Portrait Alfama Alleys (Fado Curvo) – Mariza, vocal; Virgin 7243 5 84237 2, 4'
Robert Burke: Wide Eyed (Wide Eyed) – Robert Burke Quartet JazzHead; HEAD033, 5'
Orff/David Chesworth Badlands Suite: Part 2 (Excerpt) – David Chesworth Ensemble W.Minc; CD008, 1'
This is much better than Late Junction, and it fits beautifully at this time of night.
Wilf
NDR Kultur – a model for its model? (August 1st)
The following is a short article on NDR
Kultur, northern Germany's equivalent to BBC Radio 3, written in the hope that it might add to the ongoing debate regarding the programming of Radio 3.
To be able to see how closely these two stations – NDR Kultur and Radio 3 – are related we have to go back almost fifty years. The political situation is well–known: after World War II Germany was divided into four zones controlled by Russia (eastern Germany), America (southern Germany and Bremen), France (Saarland), and Great Britain (north-western Germany). Each of the then allied forces not only shaped the political structure of the Federal Republic of Germany, but also had considerable influence over the development of radio in their respective zones.
For northern Germany this meant the British-controlled Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (NWDR) in Hamburg was modelled after the BBC. At the end of 1954 the NWDR broadcast a 'Third Programme' for the first time, based on the BBC's own. It was, as controller Ernst Schnabel said then, an 'experiment' — limited to ten days, and intended for people with an 'active attention' for everything that happened around them, and with a 'basic readiness to listen'... As well as the music of Stravinsky, Messiaen, Schoenberg, Fortner and Hindemith, NWDR broadcast programmes on the literature of Melville, Dos Passos and Ezra Pound. Not the easiest of listening.
Nevertheless, the experiment succeeded, with clearly positive signals from the (albeit minority) public. The experiments were repeated, and the broadcasters became bolder. On 01/12/1956 Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) 3 was founded as a continuous institution. Its target group were 'listeners who were ready to listen' (new controller Walter Hippert).
For many years the programming was mainly oriented towards the literary word, with plays and discussions of cultural events. Gradually it evolved into a more classical music-based one, although the literature readings and plays remained.
Then, on the first of January this year, the NDR presented a reformed classical format, after apparent careful scrutiny by the controller and programmers of the smallest detail of their channel based on expectations of the public which have been determined by polls or expressed in letters or calls by their listeners. Controller Professor Jobst Plog said:
"The NDR network, with its programming for majorities and minorities, now presents itself as modern, and consequently based on the interests of the listeners."
The anguished listeners who feared that NDR Kultur would become something like Klassik Radio (i.e. more 'world music', more 'classic charts' etc.) were reassured after the first few weeks: the 'more modern' face of NDR Kultur was not so very different from what they already knew and appreciated. "To improve the good things and to retain what's proven" – this is the new maxim of NDR Kultur.
Below I have given a typical day's broadcasting on NDR Kultur (titles translated). The schedules show that 'reform' does not have to go the way ('world music', pop, celebrity etc.) many fear BBC Radio 3 is heading.
6.05: "Starting the day classically" – classical music interspersed with political and cultural news, premiere reviews and a short religious contemplation
8.30: "Morning Readings" – world literature readings from Goethe to Orwell, from Stendhal to Grass
9.05: "Matinee" – core classical music (Baroque, Classic, 19th century) presented and arranged according to their literary, historical or musical background
12.00: "News" – a news magazine
12.10: "Classical music a la carte" – with a calendar of events, a listener request programme, and interviews with guests.
14.00: "News"
14.10: "On the move classically" – a similar programme as the 6.05, but including CD reviews, lyric readings, short news at 16.00, a musical encyclopaedia, 20 minutes of classic charts and a short focus on cultural treasures of Northern Germany
18.00: "News"
18.10: "Serenade" – classical music, but not the very "demanding" pieces
19.05: "Culture Journal" – a summary of the day's events
20.05: Monday: the NDR Symphony Orchestra
Tuesday: "Great Voices" – presenting opera arias sung by young talents as well as by great artists
Wednesday: the radio play, and "Ancient Music" – recorded concerts
Thursday: opera concert
Friday: concerts and performances by the Radiophilharmonie Hannover (every other week)/"Young Artists Live" (once per month) – orchestra or chamber music, opera, musical, chanson, choir, jazz, literature and comedy performed by young artists/"World Of Music" (once per month) – composers and their works, but also special music-related topics
22.05: "Evening Readings" – more literature readings
22.35: "Into The Night Classically" – classical music
0.05: "ARD Night Concert" – the night programme, a co-production of all the radio stations which are part of the ARD radio network The weekend programme is only slightly different, most significantly in that Bach cantatas are played every Sunday morning at 8.05, and the Sunday "Concerto" – concert recordings with baroque and early classical music, and the satire magazines.
The NDR is as convinced today as it was in the beginning that Ernst Schnabel's words are still valid:
"We believe it right to assume that listeners take vivid interest in works of classical and modern art and in the thorough reflection of important phenomena of our time."
(Sources: archive documents of the NDR)
There are many ways to present classical music. There is the approach of the private radio stations like Classic FM or the German-language Klassik Radio – they present music for the masses and must satisfy their sponsors. The result is usually a mixture of a 'Classical Charts' show and advertising for the latest products of their sponsors. "The purpose [sic!] of classical music is to calm and soothe the senses," Klassik Radio claims in one of their adverts. Then there are the government controlled radio stations. They are paid for by tax payers and – at least in Germany – they are officially instructed to educate the public.
Anne Bredemeier
For northern Germany this meant the British-controlled Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (NWDR) in Hamburg was modelled after the BBC. At the end of 1954 the NWDR broadcast a 'Third Programme' for the first time, based on the BBC's own. It was, as controller Ernst Schnabel said then, an 'experiment' — limited to ten days, and intended for people with an 'active attention' for everything that happened around them, and with a 'basic readiness to listen'... As well as the music of Stravinsky, Messiaen, Schoenberg, Fortner and Hindemith, NWDR broadcast programmes on the literature of Melville, Dos Passos and Ezra Pound. Not the easiest of listening.
Nevertheless, the experiment succeeded, with clearly positive signals from the (albeit minority) public. The experiments were repeated, and the broadcasters became bolder. On 01/12/1956 Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) 3 was founded as a continuous institution. Its target group were 'listeners who were ready to listen' (new controller Walter Hippert).
For many years the programming was mainly oriented towards the literary word, with plays and discussions of cultural events. Gradually it evolved into a more classical music-based one, although the literature readings and plays remained.
Then, on the first of January this year, the NDR presented a reformed classical format, after apparent careful scrutiny by the controller and programmers of the smallest detail of their channel based on expectations of the public which have been determined by polls or expressed in letters or calls by their listeners. Controller Professor Jobst Plog said:
"The NDR network, with its programming for majorities and minorities, now presents itself as modern, and consequently based on the interests of the listeners."
The anguished listeners who feared that NDR Kultur would become something like Klassik Radio (i.e. more 'world music', more 'classic charts' etc.) were reassured after the first few weeks: the 'more modern' face of NDR Kultur was not so very different from what they already knew and appreciated. "To improve the good things and to retain what's proven" – this is the new maxim of NDR Kultur.
Below I have given a typical day's broadcasting on NDR Kultur (titles translated). The schedules show that 'reform' does not have to go the way ('world music', pop, celebrity etc.) many fear BBC Radio 3 is heading.
6.05: "Starting the day classically" – classical music interspersed with political and cultural news, premiere reviews and a short religious contemplation
8.30: "Morning Readings" – world literature readings from Goethe to Orwell, from Stendhal to Grass
9.05: "Matinee" – core classical music (Baroque, Classic, 19th century) presented and arranged according to their literary, historical or musical background
12.00: "News" – a news magazine
12.10: "Classical music a la carte" – with a calendar of events, a listener request programme, and interviews with guests.
14.00: "News"
14.10: "On the move classically" – a similar programme as the 6.05, but including CD reviews, lyric readings, short news at 16.00, a musical encyclopaedia, 20 minutes of classic charts and a short focus on cultural treasures of Northern Germany
18.00: "News"
18.10: "Serenade" – classical music, but not the very "demanding" pieces
19.05: "Culture Journal" – a summary of the day's events
20.05: Monday: the NDR Symphony Orchestra
Tuesday: "Great Voices" – presenting opera arias sung by young talents as well as by great artists
Wednesday: the radio play, and "Ancient Music" – recorded concerts
Thursday: opera concert
Friday: concerts and performances by the Radiophilharmonie Hannover (every other week)/"Young Artists Live" (once per month) – orchestra or chamber music, opera, musical, chanson, choir, jazz, literature and comedy performed by young artists/"World Of Music" (once per month) – composers and their works, but also special music-related topics
22.05: "Evening Readings" – more literature readings
22.35: "Into The Night Classically" – classical music
0.05: "ARD Night Concert" – the night programme, a co-production of all the radio stations which are part of the ARD radio network The weekend programme is only slightly different, most significantly in that Bach cantatas are played every Sunday morning at 8.05, and the Sunday "Concerto" – concert recordings with baroque and early classical music, and the satire magazines.
The NDR is as convinced today as it was in the beginning that Ernst Schnabel's words are still valid:
"We believe it right to assume that listeners take vivid interest in works of classical and modern art and in the thorough reflection of important phenomena of our time."
(Sources: archive documents of the NDR)
There are many ways to present classical music. There is the approach of the private radio stations like Classic FM or the German-language Klassik Radio – they present music for the masses and must satisfy their sponsors. The result is usually a mixture of a 'Classical Charts' show and advertising for the latest products of their sponsors. "The purpose [sic!] of classical music is to calm and soothe the senses," Klassik Radio claims in one of their adverts. Then there are the government controlled radio stations. They are paid for by tax payers and – at least in Germany – they are officially instructed to educate the public.
Anne Bredemeier