# It's a bach miracle!!!



## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Here in Albuquerque, New Mexico, we have a dedicated classical music radio station. It has a number of disadvantages including regular regimen of guitar music, crossover nonsense, broadway tunes, Vivaldi much of the time, no modernist works and a habit of playing only a movement of a complete work. I've been listening to this station for over 30 years and frustration has set in many times.

With the above in mind, the miracle is that today this station really played a Bach organ work, BWV 610. True, it isn't a long piece, but I don't think the station has ever played Bach on organ. So this was the first time in quite a few years that I was happy with the local station. So I called the station to let them know that if they kept improving with their programming and substantially cured the ills I identified, I might consider making a healthy donation. The response I got was to argue with me about the quality of their programming. 

Bach is a miracle; the local station is crap.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Just curious: what are its call letters? I was in Albuquerque 40 years ago and wonder if it's the same one.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Bulldog said:


> Here in Albuquerque, New Mexico, we have a dedicated classical music radio station. It has a number of disadvantages including regular regimen of guitar music, Vivaldi much of the time,


You seem to be suggesting playing classical guitar music and Vivaldi is a bad thing - I disagree.

While I sympathize with what you are saying to an extent, it sounds as though you feel that if a station isn't tailored specifically to your needs as a listener, it is crap.

Maybe the best solution is to not listen to the radio.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Maybe the solution is to move to Santa Fe! 

All kidding aside. This is the unfortunate state of classical radio in many places throughout the US. 

LA, Chicago and Boston have sophisticated stations. But out in the "wilderness" it is pretty much "All Vivaldi all the time".


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

hpowders said:


> LA, Chicago and Boston have sophisticated stations. But out in the "wilderness" it is pretty much "All Vivaldi all the time".


Where there's classical music at all. Can't have commercials every two minutes, and the demographic is dicey. We used to have a private classical station in LA, KMZT. All the advertisements were for funeral homes and cancer treatments.

Even today, on KUSC which is supposed to be the most widely-heard CM station in the US, many of the sponsors' "spots" are for Forest Lawn and the City of Hope hospital...


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Bach's music as we know it would not exist without Vivaldi.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

I'm very glad my local classical station plays a very wide selection of music. The one major drawback is that, like every other station I've ever heard, they play very few modern/contemporary works. The do play some, but it always surprises me. It's also run completely by donations so, except for thanking some corporate sponsors once an hour, there are no breaks.

I've been many other places where the music is Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Romantic and some others. At least those places have a classical station. I guess it's just a very tough sell. 

I am surprised that the person you spoke with at the station argued with you when you suggested donating. I would think they simply would thank you for your input and hope you carried through.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Classical music stations often play standard pieces by the greats so to hear a rare BWV piece is quite something.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I stopped giving to our local classical station when I tuned in one weekend and heard CM wafting out of my speakers. No, not classical music -- _country music!_ Sure it was only a weekly program about the history of country music, but I didn't care. I wasn't going to help support broadcasting nasal nastiness like "I'm an illiterate ******* loser and I'm proud. Gonna play that whiny gitarrrr way uuup loud."

Besides, I too was disappointed even before that with the same old favorites played over and over. Admittedly it was more than just Pachelbel's Canon and Bolero, but there's only so much Lark Ascending you can take too. The station was much better when it was associated with the public library.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I lived in Boston in the 70s and the classical music on radio was staggering: three stations dedicated largely to it, one commercial, a second commercial-free from Boston University, and the third a part of the NPR network. There was great music round the clock and programming to suit practically any taste, it was routine to play hour-long Bruckner and Mahler symphonies, and I could listen to three complete operas a week, including new releases and music festivals from around the world, including Bayreuth. The announcers, especially from BU, were extraordinarily knowledgeable. I owe Boston a good portion of my musical education.

I'm told that paradise has gradually been lost, although relative to most of the country Boston is still a great music town. I'm now rather fortunate to live in southern Oregon where we have a fine public radio network, covering parts of Oregon and northern California, which has exceptionally good classical programming, particularly considering that the region lacks a large city. The network does well raising money from private donations; I think public funding is pretty small now and has seen cuts. I find one of the announcers irritating - she always sounds as if she's reading bedtime stories to children and has a weird way of emphasizing words by lowering her voice, so if you aren't close to the radio you may miss the name of the composer - but that's a fairly small price to pay for the resource.

My impression is that this area is pretty unusual in the US. Denver, CO, wasn't this good, and I once contemplated moving to New Mexico, but the OP makes me glad I didn't.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

tdc said:


> You seem to be suggesting playing classical guitar music and Vivaldi is a bad thing - I disagree.


Guitar and Vivaldi in the morning, afternoon and evening. Yes, I think that's a bad thing. Since you seem to think otherwise, there are many lovely homes and apartments here in Albuquerque. I'd be glad to give you some help.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

tdc said:


> Bach's music as we know it would not exist without Vivaldi.


Ah, a Vivaldi apologist. Now I understand where you're coming from.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

MarkW said:


> Just curious: what are its call letters? I was in Albuquerque 40 years ago and wonder if it's the same one.


It's KHFM. As far as I know, those have always been the call letters.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Bulldog said:


> Guitar and Vivaldi in the morning, afternoon and evening. Yes, I think that's a bad thing. Since you seem to think otherwise, there are many lovely homes and apartments here in Albuquerque. I'd be glad to give you some help.


Well, that does sound excessive, and I'm guessing also probably an exaggeration. If its true I would be all for more variety at your local radio station as well. But you could replace any instrument and any composers name for guitar and Vivaldi, and it would still be a bad thing. Your post makes it sound as if guitar music and Vivaldi are simply inferior things.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Bulldog said:


> Ah, a Vivaldi apologist. Now I understand where you're coming from.


Apologist? For what? His being popular?

I am just someone who appreciates his music pointing out a fact.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

tdc said:


> Apologist? For what? His being popular?


Let's sum this up. You were defending Vivaldi and seemed to feel that I was being critical of his music. That's what a Vivaldi apologist would do. Hey, there's nothing wrong with being an apologist, because it's a good thing to defend a loved composer.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Bulldog said:


> Let's sum this up. You were defending Vivaldi and seemed to feel that I was being critical of his music. That's what a Vivaldi apologist would do. Hey, there's nothing wrong with being an apologist, because it's a good thing to defend a loved composer.


Well, you haven't denied being critical of Vivaldi. I'm not really sure what this has to do with in regards the discussion.

Am I an apologist? Hmm... I don't know. Maybe I am but if so then a large percentage of the posters on this message board are also apologists for various composers.


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## Richannes Wrahms (Jan 6, 2014)

Better Vivaldi than Verdi.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

KenOC said:


> Where there's classical music at all. Can't have commercials every two minutes, and the demographic is dicey. We used to have a private classical station in LA, KMZT. All the advertisements were for funeral homes and cancer treatments.
> 
> Even today, on KUSC which is supposed to be the most widely-heard CM station in the US, many of the sponsors' "spots" are for Forest Lawn and the City of Hope hospital...


Where I live, the classical station is an insult to the sophisticated listener. How much 10 minute Baroque is one supposed to tolerate?

When I used to live in NYC, I had access to four classical music stations, all sophisticated. One station was on the cutting edge, Riverside Church Radio-they only played the latest, contemporary compositions. Now there are only two stations and one of those is just going through the motions.

I've given up on what I used to love so much as a teenager-listening to great music/taped concerts on the radio.

It's only going to get worse from here in the US as the cultured few die off, leaving the masses to their Lady Gaga hits.


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

and here, on BBC Radio 3, we currently have _Composer of the Week - with Judith Weir

followed by the songs of Duparc

then ....

MENDELSSOHN Hebrides Overture

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major Op.19

STENHAMMAR Symphony No. 1 in F major

J STRAUSS II Die Fledermaus: Overture

ROZYCKI Piano Concerto No 1

TCHAIKOVSKY: Sleeping Beauty: Waltz

.... looks like you'll have to wait ages for a movement from the Four Seasons!_


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## papsrus (Oct 7, 2014)

hpowders said:


> Where I live, the classical station is an insult to the sophisticated listener. How much 10 minute Baroque is one supposed to tolerate?
> 
> When I used to live in NYC, I had access to four classical music stations, all sophisticated. One station was on the cutting edge, Riverside Church Radio-they only played the latest, contemporary compositions. Now there are only two stations and one of those is just going through the motions.
> 
> ...


I assume we listen to the same classical station as we're in generally the same area: WUSF Tampa / WSMR Sarasota. Their programming includes live from the Met on Saturdays; Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concerts on Saturday nights as well as other symphony-casts (LA Philharmonic a few nights ago with an amazing performance of Haydn Cello Concerto in C); Midday Mozart; live performances from the Sarasota studio. And while the regular programming leans heavily toward standard repertoire with virtually no modern music that I'm aware of, the programming is satisfactory for me.

The good old days were better in some ways, I'm sure, but with the internet we now have access to a broad swath of classical stations -- King FM in Seattle is supposed to be quite good.

EDIT: to add link


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

We've been long used to being the brunt of jokes in Cleveland, but we have a world class art museum that remains free to the public, a thriving theater district with several theaters, the great Cleveland Orchestra, and a dedicated classical music channel that isn't half-bad. The play list today, since midnight includes:

Franz Joseph Haydn: Sinfonia Concertante in B-Flat (1792)

Frédéric Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 2 in b-Flat Op 35 "Funeral March" (1839)

Richard Strauss: An Alpine Symphony Op 64 (1915)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 16 in D K 451 (1784)

Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 2 in c (1872)

Franz Joseph Haydn: Mass No. 11 in d "Lord Nelson" (1798)

Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 1 in B-Flat Op 38 "Spring" (1841)

Manuel de Falla: El amor brujo (1915)

Gabriel Fauré: Impromptu No. 3 in A-Flat Op 34 (1883)

Francesco Durante: Concerto No. 8 for Strings in A "La Pazzia" (c.1740)

Sergei Prokofiev: Gavotte & Finale from Symphony No. 1 Op 25 "Classical" (1917)

Kate Rusby: Underneath the Stars (2003)

John Philip Sousa: March "The Free Lance" (1906)

Franz Joseph Haydn: Minuet & Finale from Symphony No. 103 (1795)

Brian Dykstra: Delphinium Rag (2002)

Sir Edward Elgar: Caractacus: Triumphal March Op 35 (1898)

Dmitri Shostakovich: The Golden Age: Polka (1930)

Johann Sebastian Bach: Cantata No. 29: Sinfonia (1731)

Igor Stravinsky: Finale from Symphony Op 1 (1907)

Hubert Bath: Love Story: Cornish Rhapsody (1944)

Franz Joseph Haydn: Piano Trio No. 45 in E-Flat (1797)

Astor Piazzolla (arr Paul Ferguson): Escualo (1990)

Patrick Hawes: Prayer to a Guardian Angel (2013)

Giacomo Puccini: Suor Angelica: Intermezzo (1918)

Franz Joseph Haydn: Piano Sonata No. 61 in D (1795)

Manuel de Falla: El amor brujo: Ritual Fire Dance (1915)

Gunnar de Frumerie: Pastoral Suite Op 13 (1933)

Franz Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 97 in C (1792)

Rodion Shchedrin: Concerto No. 1 for Orchestra "Naughty Limericks" (1963)




All the Haydn? It's his birthday today.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

That is an impressive listening list.


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