To be fair, I was referring to time spent solely on assembling voice-tracks (if indeed KMZT does it) and wasn't reflecting the rather significant amount of time spent on historical research and preparation. Not to mention quality control.
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Is KRDC 1110 am los angeles shutting down on the 22nd?
- Thread starter Syfy
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Yes, I forgot to mention data on the musicians and conductors. There is a wealth of information, stats and trivia. It can be though of the same way we think of a good sports color anchor.
Just the stories about Gustavo Dudamel, conductor of the LA Philharmonic, and his escape and exile from Venezuela are fascinating. It's like a le Carré novel!
Tom Dixon did afternoon drive at that time too. And Carl Princi hosted "World of Opera" for an hour at 3pm.
Why does such information only fit the classical format?
All of the DJs on SiriusXM's Underground Garage rock channel talk about the musician's lives, producers of thier albums, what lables the albums originally came out on(!), what was going on in their lives when they made the records, etc. I always enjoy hearing the stories. Too bad it is only one station on Satellite that does this in the format.
David you've explained it well... there is so much behind the Classical format. The music can be magical, and is a true art form. Even though it tends to skew older the music itself is timeless because true art is timeless.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I grew up in the R&R era with the Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, Doors, etc. These are mine just as much as the first music I listened to...my Grandfather's 78 rpm classical records, and my Aunt's Cuban Rumba records. My music has been eclectic all these years. Someone posted that Classic rock to them was just noise or "trash". Well some music to some people is probably just noise. But I have discovered for myself at least that there are only two kinds of music good and bad, and sometimes that totally depends on your mood at the time.
Another factor in classical programming is the existence of the more popular works in dozens of versions by as many orchestras and conductors. Sometimes we have the same piece by the same orchestra, perhaps decades later with a different style and conductor.To be fair, I was referring to time spent solely on assembling voice-tracks (if indeed KMZT does it) and wasn't reflecting the rather significant amount of time spent on historical research and preparation. Not to mention quality control.
Now I am kinda' showing off... I owned a classical station and had loads of fun programming it. It made money running embassy programs during the daytime hours, but we programmed light classical (not full works... just the more well known "pieces") Noon to 2:30 during the lunch closure hours, and then from 6 PM to midnight, including full works then.
Interesting...unlike KUSC and KMZT that generally play complete works at all times, back in the day KFAC played only very short works or just movements of larger works during morning drive. It apparently was successful. Fred Crane who at the time was probably LA's longest running "morning man" (on KFAC from the late 1940's until the station ceased to exist in the late 80s.) said that approach made the advertisers very happy. Fred's favorite trivia question was: Who was the actor who played opposite "Superman" in the opening scene of "Gone with the Wind"? Himself of course, Fred Crane and the very young George Reeves both had bit parts as Scarlett O'Hara's beaus in the opening of the film.
You're also right about different recordings of the same works over the years, many are classics in their own right! A couple of examples: Leonard Bernstein's incredible 1959 recording of The Shostakovich 5th Symphony has never been duplicated both in terms of the performance itself and the sonics, just amazing! The same is probably true of Charles Munch's fabulous recording of Saint Saens' famous "Organ Symphony". All this is of course is subject to debate and is just my opinion but its just another example of the magic of classical music!
A huge amount of the "final product" of classical music is in the arrangement and the conductor. So I can enjoy the same work as if it were entirely different when played by different orchestras and conductors.
I find this particularly evident with less famous works. One of my favorites is Holst's The Planets, which has around 60 recorded versions. The original, conducted by the composer, is faster-paced than most recent versions (but it was recorded on gramophone gear about 100 years ago). The versions I have heard each have an interesting and distinguishing characteristic; it seems to be a work where conductors like to "personalize" to some extent and that can be quite exciting to hear when a new recording is discovered.
I liked "Jupiter" so much that a piece of it from about 3 minutes in was the sign-on theme for my HCTT1, "Buena Música en Quito", 95.7 FM.
I read an article in R&R in the 80s about Washington DC's Classical station (AM and FM). The PD was talking about listeners who derided it as "Top 40 classical". Same discussion we have with oldies I guess "why not play everything Beethoven wrote on a napkin"....or whatever
Nick must be busy he also is a fill in host on KKJZ and has a two hour Sunday show playing jazz vocals.
Checkout Andre Previn's London Symphony Version from the seventys, it ain't bad either!
Right now the GM of KSPN Los Angeles is leaving but there are talks about Good Karma taking over the station.
So wouldn't it still be espn radio under good karma just new ownership?
Right now the GM of KSPN Los Angeles is leaving but there are talks about Good Karma taking over the station.
That depends on Good Karma. Once they own it, they could (depending on the affiliation contract) change formats or program suppliers. They do own several other ESPN radio affiliates, so there's some reason to believe that they bought the station(s) to simply add to that roster.
It also depends on the deal. Disney still owns WMVP in Chicago. They have hired Good Karma as operators.
It's possible the same thing is about to happen in LA and NY.
Meanwhile Disney's KESN in DFW is still in limbo, running the national ESPN Radio feed after ending all local shows and losing the Dallas Mavericks to iHeart's KEGL. Wonder if Good Karma might be in play there, or if Disney is seeking to sell KESN outright?
More likely the former rather than the latter. They're big into promoting the ESPN brand.
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