Well…as you’ve probably heard by now, Boston has lost another musical institution. No… I’m not talking about the BSO or the NEC but a fellow radio station that’s has been broadcasting “almost” as long as we have here at WCRB. I’m referring to WBCN, (which began broadcasting around 1958, we started on AM in 1948 and FM in 1954).
You have to wonder what it means when a local radio station changes a familiar format or worse, leaves the air all together? I guess some “blame” can be given to the vast music available now on the internet, (all… right there, for the listener to enjoy with a simple click of a button) or could it simply be a change of tastes or maybe “the economy”. What ever the reason, you can’t help but feel the loss, of a local music source that was always there, one you could count on day after day, year after year, complete with a menagerie of “talented” personalities just waiting to offend the latest trends. For those of us old enough to remember the early days (even if that means the 70’s and 80’s), there’s that undeniable feeling that we truly are getting older and with every inevitable change, an acceptance, that the futile attempt to hold on to what was, is just that…futile!
As I write this Blog, I’m eerily reminded of another I composed several weeks ago reflecting on the (now gone but not forgotten) North Shore Music Theater, another victim of these transforming times.
With that in mind (and after going through some changes of our own here at WCRB)
one never really knows… but, with the continued support from our wonderful advertisers, as well as one of New England’s most loyal and passionate audiences, the classical music you (and I) enjoy here on WCRB every day, will hopefully be here for many more years to come.
Till next time, thanks for listening:
Mark Calder
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The Power of Music
The recent death of “Pop-Super Star” Michael Jackson, got me thinking about all those, who where affected by his music, how much it meant to them and how deeply the music (as well as the performer) touched their hearts. From what I’ve read over the years, the deaths of some of the great classical composers had many similarities to what we’re hearing in the news now.
The outpouring of grief along with the necessity to “be there” when they where laid to rest.
Take for instance, Beethoven, his funeral in Vienna drew several thousand people that lined the streets for the procession, some reporting, as many as 30,000 attendees. The theaters were closed, and many notable artists of the day participated in the funeral procession too, as pallbearers or torch bearers, including fellow composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel (who they say was at Beethoven’s side during the last moments), Beethoven’s close friend and student Carl Czerny, and even fellow composer Franz Schubert. Beethoven himself was certainly a celebrity in his day and it’s been reported that in the days following the funeral, one of the grave-diggers was actually offered a lot of money to remove his head… “eeeek”!!
Thankfully that didn’t happen.
Music... with the ability to evoke so many emotions, pleasure and appreciation, that can last a lifetime. It affects everyone in one way or another and it doesn’t matter the style or if it was 200 years ago or yesterday, what's most important is that we take the opportunity to listen and discover as much of it as we can.
Thanks for joining me (when you can)…
and stay listening:
Mark Calder
The outpouring of grief along with the necessity to “be there” when they where laid to rest.
Take for instance, Beethoven, his funeral in Vienna drew several thousand people that lined the streets for the procession, some reporting, as many as 30,000 attendees. The theaters were closed, and many notable artists of the day participated in the funeral procession too, as pallbearers or torch bearers, including fellow composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel (who they say was at Beethoven’s side during the last moments), Beethoven’s close friend and student Carl Czerny, and even fellow composer Franz Schubert. Beethoven himself was certainly a celebrity in his day and it’s been reported that in the days following the funeral, one of the grave-diggers was actually offered a lot of money to remove his head… “eeeek”!!
Thankfully that didn’t happen.
Music... with the ability to evoke so many emotions, pleasure and appreciation, that can last a lifetime. It affects everyone in one way or another and it doesn’t matter the style or if it was 200 years ago or yesterday, what's most important is that we take the opportunity to listen and discover as much of it as we can.
Thanks for joining me (when you can)…
and stay listening:
Mark Calder
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