Opera on 95.7 WFLN/Philadelphia
wf...@aol.com
Sharon -- I'm the VP/Operations for the new owners of Classical
95.7 WFLN, Secret Communications. Yes, we have dropped
non-Met opera programming on Saturday afternoons. We found
strong listener support for great Classics, not opera, all
weekend . . . including Saturday afternoon. While we realize
that some listeners, including you, find this move disturbing;
please believe me that we're not trying to drive you away.
We're attempting to play music with the broadest possible
appeal. Live broadcasts from the Met don't begin again until
late this Fall. Right now, we're negotiating with them for the
coming season. As of now, the Met has NOT been cancelled on
95.7 WFLN. Thanks for your interest.
Chuck Finney
Eric Dew
Wow, now THAT's immediate response. I am impressed.
Perhaps, Mr. Finney, you might try doing some programming similar to what
KKHI used to do in San Francisco (it unfortunately changed format to
talk/news radio -- a terrible shame). During the Sunday afternoons,
around 5 or 6 pm, they would play Pledger Plays the Opera (or some title
like that). There, Doug Pledger would play snippets from various operas,
and some of them were just the most beautiful pieces (and I mean pieces,
since one gets to listen to only an aria or a duet from a complete work) of
music. That's where I learned to love Nessum Dorma, and realized where
the triumphal march from Aida came from, or the anvil chorus, or ``O Silber
Mond'' or many of the other very well known and not-so-well-known but
famous arias and duets.
Why did I buy Bizet's The Peal Fishers? Because I heard the lovely
duet on this program. I'm sure Tower Records down on South Street can
benefit from a program like that on WFLN.
I used to not enjoy voice music (i.e., sung, as opposed to played on
intruments). But now, having been inundated with all the favorites
from opera, I find the human voice the most sublime and touching instrument
ever.
Maybe Tower Records could sponsor an hour each Sunday afternoon for Opera
Highlights. I can guarantee you that anyone listening to ``Che gelida manina''
once will hunger for more.
BTW, Bill O'Connell, who used to be, I guess, a DJ on WFLN when I was living
in Philadelphia has recently moved to the Bay Area and is VP of something for
KDFC, the remaining classical station. He brought over Diapason, the organ
music program from WFLN. I think he also brought over the Unbowed Strings
program. The latter is guitar music, primarily, although it included lutes
and other plucked instruments. BORING!!!!! Nothing gets me sleepy faster
than some Lon Chaneyesque organ music late at night. Unfortunately, sleep
is not an option while driving.
So, throw in some stirring opera music and you should get a nice
following. Please don't mention my above comments to Bill, I'm sure he means
well.
EDEW
Kurt Reiss
That's not what the Met broadcast office told me today when I called them
to check on the story.. They stated that they had been told that WFLN
would NOT be picking up their broadcast this fall and that they had not
found any replacements yet. It is also NOT what I was told by WFLN when I
called the program dept. who inforemd me thatt ALL saturday opera had
been dropped , including the MET. LETS HAVE THE TRUE ANSWER TO THIS
QUESTION- _ HAS WFLN RENEWED THE MET OR NOT??????? K.W. Reiss cncw44a
@ prodigy.com
Kurt Reiss
dtri...@bway.net
wf...@aol.com wrote:
>
> Sharon -- I'm the VP/Operations for the new owners of Classical
> 95.7 WFLN, Secret Communications. Yes, we have dropped
> non-Met opera programming on Saturday afternoons. We found
> strong listener support for great Classics, not opera, all
> weekend . . . including Saturday afternoon. While we realize
> that some listeners, including you, find this move disturbing;
> please believe me that we're not trying to drive you away.
> We're attempting to play music with the broadest possible
> appeal. Live broadcasts from the Met don't begin again until
> late this Fall. Right now, we're negotiating with them for the
> coming season. As of now, the Met has NOT been cancelled on
> 95.7 WFLN. Thanks for your interest.
> Chuck Finney
Mr. Finney is on public display as part of the dumbing-down process so
currently pervasive, I take it. Another act responsive to alleged
market research is the hiring of announcers unable [or willfully
refusing] to pronounce any foreign words or names correctly, lest they
be accused of elitism. That was the camel's nose in the tent which was
the signal to the impending, now accomplished death of New York's other
classical commercial station [not to mention to the peddling of WQXR's
AM arm a few seasons back].
Unlike the late Dr. I.I. Rabi's espied target, these guys ARE visibly
dumb ... and revel in it ... clothed in the comforting warmth of market
research which imparts the news that nobody will notice or care if they
go careening toward the audience so beloved of the late pHineas T.
Barnum.
I am cheered by the fact that I don't live in Philadelphia, captive
victim of WFLN's new masters. Isn't this guy just the teensiest ashamed
to put his brand of special pleading before this audience.
dft
Ann Adair (MUSIC)
This message from WFLN points out one of the biggest problems in classical
music programming - they all want to play music with the broadest possible
appeal. Here in Tampa, our public radio station, WUSF, carries
wonderful things like NPR's All Things Considered, and Morning Edition,
the Met, the Chicago Lyric, many major orchestral broadcasts, BUT, on the
regular programming, they play tons of baroque and flute music. It is not
unusual to have a week of mornings that include a baroque flute concerto.
It's really sickening. Keep commenting on programming preferences!
Bassoonist and contemporary music fanatic,
Ann Adair
aad...@arts.usf.edu