# Are you contributing to your local classical station?



## kv466

Well, that is of course if you have a decent one around...I just had the pleasure of renewing my membership and it is sooo worth it...such great programming and stories and ah, well...I'm just curious to know that if you do have a great classical radio station where you live, if you're contributing to it so that this wonderful medium of entertainment, education and for most of us spiritual lifting...also, I'm curious to know what your local station is called and what you think of it...ah, what a beautiful day in sunny south florida...hope ya'll are having such a nice morning as I am...with you a great day, my fellow TC members!


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## mmsbls

I have a very good classical station in my area. They play classical music 24 hours/ day Monday through Friday and most of the weekend. They play a very wide range of composers and often somewhat obscure pieces. My only complaint would be that they play almost no modern music. They'll play some Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, etc. but nothing in the past 60-70 years and no Schoenberg, Berg, Webern. I assume they play what they believe their audience wants to hear.

I have been a member for several years now and consider it important to support the station.


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## Weston

I used to contribute automatically to our local station, but once it stopped being associated with the public library it became "dumbed down" for me, for instance playing just movements instead of the entire piece, avoiding work later than 1900 or so, etc. One weekend I tuned in and found there was a regular show on the history of country music. That was pretty much the end of my relationship with that station.


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## emiellucifuge

We have the national Radio 4 which I love. A good mix of new and old. Plus they have their own excellent orchestra much like the BBC.


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## Huilunsoittaja

I really really want to support the classical station nearest my home, but I don't have the money right now. But I vow to help them one day, even if I move away.

Over a year ago, there was an advertisement for a concert I was performing in as a soloist, and they actually announced my name! Mispronounced, but my name nonetheless, in context with the Griffes Poem for Flute and Orchestra. It was since then I vowed to support them one day if I could.

This same station also plays Glazunov's music _all_ the time, which is wonderful. It was how I discovered his music in the first place!


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## Meaghan

I have a good classical station in my area, and I have donated to them, because they rely heavily on listener support and I would be sad if they went under. Like mmsbls, my only complaint is that they play almost nothing from mid-20c on, and also a little more baroque than I would prefer. (Telemann flute concertos are boring.) I think it's because they don't want to alienate their older, more musically conservative, listener base, which I think is a large part of their audience.


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## Tapkaara

I have contributed to KUSC in Los Angeles. And I do not even live in LA, I live in San Diego County. I listen to this station online.

Our "local" station, XLNC1, is a joke. I put local in quotes because it is not even based in San Diego; its station and transmitter are in Tijuana, Mexico. Though they often have pledge drives, I will NEVER contribute money to them, at least if they stay in their present state.

They only play isolated movements of works for the most part. And sometimes they will not even play the whole movement! Just the other day I tuned in (a rare thing for me to do) and the played an "excerpt" of the first movement of the Grieg piano concerto. After about 5 minutes or so, they just faded out and moved on to the next excerpt.

Plus they pretty much play "the hits." The only thing I have ever heard them play by Sibelius, for example, is Finlandia. They'lll play the closing moments of the 1812 Overture, or the first movement of Beethoven's 5th. Obviously, this is not a station intended for connoisseur-types like ourselves. It is, as I mentioned, a joke.

Even our local PBS station is not doing it's Classical Music Through the Night anymore. It was recently replaced by news broadcasts. Not that I would ever contribute to NPR even if they continued to play classical music...their political agendas are quite offensive to me. Obama already has enough of my money.

It's really, really sad that San Diego, the second largest city in California, the 8th largest city in the US, does not have a viable classical station. At least I have the internet and, of course, my little collection of CDs to keep me happy.


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## Ukko

Vermont Public Radio has an 'all-classical' division (they air BBC News on the hour), and I used to donate. Too much opera though ('some' = 'too much'), and church music Sunday mornings. _What's *wrong* with those people?_


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## Lunasong

I am a proud supporter of my locally-operated 24-hour classical station. They have a nice mix of locally-produced and nationally syndicated programs (like Performance Today and symphony broadcasts). It's a real treasure, especially because our city is not an especially large market. They do play the entire piece and not just excerpts. The hosts are very knowledgeable and announce the piece, composer, conductor, soloist, orchestra, etc before and after each broadcast performance along with a little bit of background or history. You can also look online to see the playlist with a link to Arkiv if you want to buy the CD. This radio station also has an online listening link.


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## regressivetransphobe

Not really. Like a lot of y'all, my local classical station is pretty conservative/plain. Beggars can't be choosers, though. I still have the car radio left on it for when I don't bring a CD.

It's WBach, by the way. Can't argue with the name.


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## Meaghan

Mine also streams online, which is nice. I like listening to radio, because it often introduces me to pieces I might not have discovered on my own, and I like having no idea what I will hear next. The streaming means I can listen even when I'm away at school, in a tiny town with no classical radio. This is them:
http://www.allclassical.org/


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## Chi_townPhilly

Tapkaara said:


> Our "local" station, XLNC1, is a joke....[J]ust the other day I tuned in (a rare thing for me to do) and the played an "excerpt" of the first movement of the Grieg piano concerto. After about 5 minutes or so, they just faded out and moved on to the next excerpt.


Sounds like even 'ClassicFM' fans could look down their noses at THAT one!

Prior to my departure from the Chicago area, they actually had TWO full-time Classical stations. One of them was (among many other things) the airwave-flagship for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra- and I made some modest contributions to _that_ one. That other station... it's been gone for more than 10 years.


Tapkaara said:


> It's really, really sad that San Diego, the second largest city in California, the 8th largest city in the US, does not have a viable classical station.


If you added some repeater-stations and cobbled together the split formats from a couple of stations, you could about synthesize ONE decent all-classical station from those that operate in or near the Philadelphia area.

The most famous one is attached to Temple University- it broadcasts Classical during the day, jazz at night. Like most of the non-retired universe, I _work_ during the day. Thanks. Another station, in Princeton NJ, also has plenty of daytime Classical, but then switches over to efforts to be self-consciously hip- all calculated to appeal to the indigenous "psychosocial moratorium" crowd. Self-evidently, *I*'m better off listening to the jazz. The best option is a Classical station attached to a community college located in the next county north of us. However, the signal labors and usually fails to clearly reach us, as we're more than 50km south of the transmission tower. Yeah- I know, I know... online listening- but I'm old-fashioned enough to feel that on-line listening's a compromise.
Until there's a REAL Classical music broadcast option for me (like there was back near Chicago), I'm afraid my limited Classical charity dollars are going to go to the "live performance" end of Classical Music.


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## Ukko

Chi_townPhilly said:


> [...]
> The best option is a Classical station attached to a community college located in the next county north of us. However, the signal labors and usually fails to clearly reach us, as we're more than 50km south of the transmission tower.
> [...]


Have you tried a better antenna? (than a simple dipole that is). 50km is not too far for a clean signal, other factors being OK. I have a homemade 'quad-cube' antenna hanging on the wall of an upstairs room. It pulls in the signal of a VPR classical station ~35 miles away. the intervening terrain is _not_ ideal (I'm in Vermont). The antenna is not particularly decorative, so if you are spouse-dominated you should ignore this suggestion.

:cheers:


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## Jobe

I'm not entirely sure if local classical channels exist in Birmingham...

I do know that BBC 3 is always a treat and Classic FM is swamped with adverts - I think any listener would be detered if in between Mahler's 2nd Symphony, 2nd - 3rd movement, Biddu's 'Kung Fu Fighting' was played during an Auto-glass advert.

They really don't need my money. They're swamped with adverts as it is.


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## Meaghan

Jobe said:


> I think any listener would be detered if in between Mahler's 2nd Symphony, 2nd - 3rd movement, Biddu's 'Kung Fu Fighting' was played during an Auto-glass advert.


Oh no!


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## Air

I'm really blessed to have a great classical radio station in the Bay, KDFC 89.9 and 90.3, that's so serious about good music and regularly broadcasts full-length works and the sort. I wish the DJ's would present a little more variety though, however, you can't have everything. They seem to have an extreme leaning towards Baroque and Early Classical music which I've only begun to appreciate, yet like most classical radio stations they seems to skip out on post-1950 music altogether. In addition, they seem to capitalize only on certain works by certain composers when it comes to post-Classical era music and this sometimes can be very irritating. For example for Mahler, they love the 1st and 5th symphonies and little else. Full operas only come on once a week, but this is made up for by the good number of symphony broadcasts. I believe the station has made great strides since it transitioned to Public Radio - for what reason, I still do not know. At least they no longer play that nostalgic film crap stuff.

When KDFC first transitioned to Public Radio this year, I finally began to appreciate how much the contributions of listeners was to the well-being of the station itself. There are people who literally pay for the station simply because they care about it so much, yet personally I have never really given thought to donating any of my own money personally. To 'mooch' off of others, many who are probably retired senior citizens that will eventually go off the map in a decade or so, seems a bit unjustified to me after putting everything in perspective, so much so that I feel like I would be doing a huge disservice to society if I just took something special like this 'for granted'. Probably my biggest fear is that such a radio station will not last this transition to Public Radio, especially since the previous 89.9 dial station went under right before KDFC replaced it. I think I just got to have some hope for San Francisco as a culturally aware city, because it certainly is compared to many US cities with populations much greater than it. And for this I'm grateful.

Throughout the year, we also have these extremely unbalanced 'top 100 works' and 'top 40 composers' battles, kind of like we do on TC in fact, the latter being currently voted on and ending June 21. Unfortunately, my votes are quite negligible due to the fact that many senior citizens have nothing to do during the day but to vote and re-vote on the KDFC website for the same, sometimes mediocre composers. So it's very likely we'll see John Williams somewhere in the top 30 this year... but for the sake of all I believe in I tell you I will not let that happen!


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## Tapkaara

Air...John Williams is mediocre? OK, so he's not Beethoven, but come on!


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## Air

Tapkaara said:


> Air...John Williams is mediocre? OK, so he's not Beethoven, but come on!


I invite you to vote for him if you wish. In the meantime, throw one in for Strauss II, will you...

http://www.kdfc.com/pages/9884546.php

Come on man. I dare you! 

(For all you hold dear on this good earth...)

But you know what I meant.


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## Meaghan

Air said:


> Throughout the year, we also have these extremely unbalanced 'top 100 works' and 'top 40 composers' battles, kind of like we do on TC in fact, the latter being currently voted on and ending June 21. Unfortunately, my votes are quite negligible due to the fact that many senior citizens have nothing to do during the day but to vote and re-vote on the KDFC website for the same, sometimes mediocre composers. So it's very likely we'll see John Williams somewhere in the top 30 this year... but for the sake of all I believe in I tell you I will not let that happen!


A friend of mine who is interning at Seattle's classical station this summer found this last week and brought it to the attention of a bunch of us. About half the music majors at my school have now teamed up to back a certain write-in candidate.  (not John Williams)


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## Tapkaara

Air said:


> I invite you to vote for him if you wish. In the meantime, throw one in for Strauss II, will you...
> 
> http://www.kdfc.com/pages/9884546.php
> 
> Come on man. I dare you!
> 
> (For all you hold dear on this good earth...)
> 
> But you know what I meant.


You are lumping Johann Strauss with Williams? Now that is a low blow if I have ever seen one.

But then again, if Strauss II is good enough for Andre Rieu...


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## Air

Tapkaara said:


> You are lumping Johann Strauss with Williams? Now that is a low blow if I have ever seen one.
> 
> But then again, if Strauss II is good enough for Andre Rieu...


I just thought about it. Maybe Williams isn't mediocre to you since you've been listening to too much Ifukube. 

Now that's a low blow if you've ever seen one...


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## Tapkaara

Air said:


> I just thought about it. Maybe Williams isn't mediocre to you since you've been listening to too much Ifukube.
> 
> Now that's a low blow if you've ever seen one...


You cannot POSSIBLY be serious.


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## Air

Tapkaara said:


> You cannot POSSIBLY be serious.


(checks to see if tongue is implanted in cheek)

You underestimate me, my friend.


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## Tapkaara

Air said:


> (checks to see if tongue is implanted in cheek)
> 
> You underestimate me, my friend.


You scared me there for a minute. I was about to send Godzilla, a Star Destroyer AND Andre Rieu to your house.


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## Air

Tapkaara said:


> You scared me there for a minute. I was about to send Godzilla, a Star Destroyer AND Andre Rieu to your house.


And I was about to send Lang Lang to yours. :tiphat:

You remind me, I have to get that Ifukube CD you recommended. The one with Sinfonia Tapkaara is good for starters right?


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## Tapkaara

Air said:


> And I was about to send Lang Lang to yours. :tiphat:
> 
> You remind me, I have to get that Ifukube CD you recommended. The one with Sinfonia Tapkaara is good for starters right?


Remember, it's pronounced "Long Long!"

Yes, that Naxos disc is good for a start. I do not endorse the performance of Ritmica Ostinata for Piano and Orchestra on that, recording, however. Also, if you want info on how to get the discs I collaborated on, let me know.


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## Sofronitsky

In Georgia we have an awful classical music station. I guess it wouldn't be so awful if it didn't share the station with NPR News, Smooth Jazz, and Cultural Music. They play Bjork sometimes, then other times they play very bad local jazz, mostly it's news though. Then when it IS Classical, they play Puccini and Wagner 24/7 (Maybe sounds like heaven to some of you, not to me.) and on occasion, a symphony. In fact, this is how I came to love Robert Schumann, hearing his 4th Symphony on their station when I was about ready to give up listening to it. I remember loving it on first listen (in the car) and kept trying to explain to my mother, who does not like classical music, how great each moment was :lol:

On second thought it isn't so bad  I just wish they wouldn't have this stupid Hybrid channel. Pick one!


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## kv466

My local station, after months of listening, is actually pretty darned okay. You see, this one just started out about four years ago. While throughout the first three I listened, it was only in the car; not much of a home radio listener. But after my classical rebirth I hear it all the time and while I'm faced with some of the same 'problems' as Air, they do mix it up quite a bit.

Anything is good for I grew up on a station called WTMI 93.1 down here and on New Year's Eve 2000 I go and listen because they'd always go all out on new years,...and there's dance music on!! Oh, the horror! My station was dead. For at least seven years. 

So, just a friendly reminder that even if you never listen to classical radio...if it's out there, they probably need your help even if just to keep the music alive...unless one doesn't mind yet another rock/country/pop station.

Thanks, Clear Channel, for not including classical in your endless circle.


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## starthrower

I suppose I should be contributing, but at the present time I'm not. I'm a little bit skeptical about giving money to radio stations licensed to wealthy universities. From my experience working at a university station, they like to exaggerate their operating costs. The station I worked at received all of their recordings free of cost from the record companies/artists, and most of the stuff was never aired. It ended up in the private collections of the managers and their friends. Plus, all of the on air announcers were either volunteers or very low paid employees. 

This university doesn't seem to have a problem coming up with a million dollars a year in salary and benefits for the football/basketball coaches, so they should be able to pay their own operating costs for the radio station. Of course it's a different story at smaller schools, or stations not licensed to big universities.


I'm also tired of the ultra conservative approach to music at most classical/jazz stations in my area. I don't need to hear Dvorak's 9th, and Tchaikovsky's 5th every month.


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## misterjones

starthrower said:


> I suppose I should be contributing, but at the present time I'm not. I'm a little bit skeptical about giving money to radio stations licensed to wealthy universities.


You ain't kidding. WKCR in New York City is a (mostly) jazz and classical music station, and Columbia University - which for all intents and purposes owns the station - makes WKCR go to its listeners on bended knee to raise a measley $200,000 to keep the station going. They have some nerve. Columbia University owns half of the City's Upper West Side, and they can't at least kick in matching funds? Our hard-earned dollars should go to the station while Columbia's pot of gold overflows into the Hudon River? I don't think so. They're conveniently liberal with everything except their own money. Someone should occupy THEM.


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## Kopachris

I don't have a local classical music station. The closest one to me is 200+ miles away in Boise, ID.


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## kv466

Kopachris said:


> I don't have a local classical music station. The closest one to me is 200+ miles away in Boise, ID.


Then you are kindly excluded, good sir...mine was just hitting us up for some money again recently.


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## mmsbls

My local station just had a fundraising drive, and they finished it 2 days early because they already met their goal! I don't live near a large city (Sacramento has about 400,000 people), but they seem to do well with fundraising. Good for us!


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## misterjones

misterjones said:


> You ain't kidding. WKCR in New York City is a (mostly) jazz and classical music station, and Columbia University - which for all intents and purposes owns the station - makes WKCR go to its listeners on bended knee to raise a measley $200,000 to keep the station going. They have some nerve. Columbia University owns half of the City's Upper West Side, and they can't at least kick in matching funds? Our hard-earned dollars should go to the station while Columbia's pot of gold overflows into the Hudon River? I don't think so. They're conveniently liberal with everything except their own money. Someone should occupy THEM.


Some information I was not able to obtain yesterday -

How WKCR describes itself at its website: "WKCR-FM, Columbia University's non-commercial student-run radio station . . ." (I have noticed that when WKCR is doing a pledge drive, they take all references to Columbia University off their website.)

Columbia University's net worth as of June 30, 2011: $10,662,306,000 (yes, that's in excess of $10 billion dollars)

The last shortfall WKCR had was $200,000, as I recall. If the listeners had not contributed that amount, the station would have closed. It's an ongoing problem for the station, as well as ongoing greed by a hypocritical organization. Just a few hours interest earned on their colosssal wealth would have covered the shortfall. Oh . . . and they charge students $55,000 a year to attend Left Wing U.

When I wrote a letter to the station's marquee DJ - jazz historian Phil Schaap - expressing my outrage, he essentially agreed that Columbia was stingy, noting that he works at WKCR for free and Columbia University won't even given him any stationery (he wrote to me using Jazz at Lincoln Center letterhead)!


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## Marios

Auto-glass is not that rich though..


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## Taneyev

Some years ago, I had an audition on Radio Nacional, an official station belonging to the goverment in Argentina. I supply CDs with some short comments, and they transmited the works. Once a week, and it was called "rarezas" (rarities). The material was: works by unknown or very little know composers, unknow or forgotten works by well known and famous composers, and/or very famous and familiar works but on rare or unknown historical recordings.


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## vasysm

This is the Romanian public radio national classical music station: Radio Romania Muzical

Very good and balanced programming and a stunning "on-demand" section, especially in the Opera department.

You will work your way easily through the website, I hope. They enjoy feedback and I write to them sometimes


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