One Man’s Trash…

After having designed and built a few instruments of my own over the years (electric guitars and basses), I found this story fun and interesting and thought I’d share it with you. Recently in a New York dumpster (great way to start eh?) a woman came across an old, dirty, broken down harp with rusty strings and a tattered finish. The woman opted to bring it home and clean it up a bit. After using some wood floor soap and some elbow grease, the story goes on to say...
“ she discovered not only clusters of hand-painted gold shamrocks climbing the column and soundboard, but a brass plaque bearing the name of the instrument’s maker, John Egan, and an address on Dawson Road in Dublin.

Egan, who is thought to have made instruments from the late 1700s until about 1840, is seen by many as the father of the modern Irish harp. In the 19th century his instruments were used by nationalist balladeers, like the poet Thomas Moore, who wrote “The Harp that Once Through Tara’s Halls.” Today universities and museums collect them”.

It turns out that the instrument was previously owned by none other than Rose Augustine, the former president of the old Augustine guitar string factory in New York. She died in 2003. She, along with her husband, developed the first nylon classical guitar strings (there had to be a classical connection somewhere), anyway…these same strings where popularized in the 1940s by the great Spanish guitarist Andrés Segovia and soon became the standard for classical guitar player’s world wide. This lucky lady finally sold the harp which is believed to be from around 1820, for around $300 (not bad for a dumpster find) and was able to find a buyer who fell in love with the instrument and would have it restored by an expert. So… as the saying goes,
“One persons trash is truly another’s treasure”!!


Till next time, thanks for listening:

Mark Calder

Life for the Arts

A few day’s ago I came across an article in the Boston Globe that (in case you missed); I thought I’d highlight in this blog. It was a story about Stanley Drucker (now former) principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic (as of last month). I found it amazing that he’s been playing music for almost all of his 80 years, 60 of them with the N.Y. Philharmonic…48 as principal clarinet. During that time he played over 10 thousand concerts, as well, as almost 200 solo appearances and was fortunate to work under some of the worlds great conductors like the legendary Bruno Walter, a protégé of Gustav Mahler, who hired him in 1948, other’s included Leonard Bernstein, George Szell, Zubin Mehta and Kurt Masur. I’ve often wondered (being a musician myself)… if, when you “get on in your years”, would the desire still be there for music making as it is now? I suppose it’s a question only I can answer but a quote Mr. Drucker gave in the article was inspiring…he said ”See… if you can play, you never stop playing, it’s like a painter, they never stop painting if they can hold the brush”. Another quote he gave, went on to say “I have a full memory bank. It’s been my entire life since I was a teenager. It’s amazing-one never plans to spend 60 years in this kind of post, but it just happened, actually it feels like it happened very quickly. I remember vividly my 50th anniversary with the orchestra, and those last 10 years really flew”. Yes, the years really do seem to fly by don’t they, but for everyone who is, (or plans) to devote their life, to their art… “Hats Off”.


Till next time, thanks for listening:

Mark Calder

The Color of Music

Maybe you’ve encountered this yourself (maybe not), but it seems that every time I turn on the television news or read the paper or log onto news sites on the computer these days, there’s some rift between one person or another, some organization or another, often times involving accusations of racism or some other form of seemingly unsolvable intolerance.
Thankfully, music is a lot simpler; a collection of notes for anyone to assemble and for ALL to enjoy. It’s always been there in the back of my mind, but recently, I’ve been thinking a lot more about the vast variety of composers and musicians, from so many different backgrounds that we play for you here on WCRB. There’s nothing like getting lost in a soothing symphony, piano concerto, sonata or whatever, with little concern as to who may have composed the piece, where they’re from, what race they are or what they believe in, and simply enjoy the music from a gifted composer, performed by a talented orchestra, made up of individuals, from all walks of life, dedicated to one common goal…to play together with laser accuracy, the most beautiful music possible. Classical music, (all music for that matter’s) “true colors” are really found in the diversity of the people that create it, and once there in the air, a kaleidoscope of tones and textures, melody, rhythm and dynamics, blended and balanced into one brilliant harmonious hue.


Till next time, thanks for listening:

Mark Calder

Nothing Constant but Change

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

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

Pop’s Goes the 4th 2009

Hello again friends:

Well…this year we’re looking forward to another fun and exciting, live broadcast from the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade in Boston, Saturday, July 4th . Keith Lockheart and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra always put on a fantastic show, and the fireworks…...The Best!!

I believe this makes it about 12 years for me now that I’ve been doing these broadcasts with WCRB. I remember my first one (way back when), Keith was relatively new to Boston, having started his tenure in February, 1995. At that time, we were using a hand held wireless microphone for the broadcast, so we could mingle with the crowd. I remember getting some pretty good interviews that day with some of the revelers on the lawn, but… there’s a funny thing about those mic’s…..as you may know, they come complete with an on-off switch, (for me… a bad idea). I had a habit of turning it off when I wasn’t using it (you know save the batteries and all). Well… in theory it was a noble idea but much more important than turning the thing off, was remembering to turn it on again. Which I seemed to have neglected to do, for at least one…”yes, there may have been more”…of those incredibly insightful yet whimsical chit-chats. Needless to say, I was reminded by the Boss, (in no uncertain terms)… to “Leave It On”!!
It was a hard and somewhat embarrassing lesson to learn but thankfully this year, I’ll be seated, behind the mic with my colleagues, with no switches in sight.

This Saturday will surely be another fantastic July 4th show, (provided the weather holds out)…Oooops, did I say that… I hope I didn’t curse it! If you can’t be there, do the next best thing and join us (in stereo) for the concert at 99.5 on the dial. We’ll have lot’s of great American music for you beginning at 12-noon with Listo Fischer. I’ll follow him at 4pm, then, Laura Carlo will accompany Mark Edwards at 8 for the show.

I do hope you’ll make WCRB part of your families July 4th festivities this year!


Mark Calder

Another specialty weekend just for you.

In this week’s blog, I’d just like to take the opportunity, to extend a personal invitation to you, to join us for our “Composer Marathon Weekend” here on WCRB, all weekend long. One, Two and Three hour blocks of music from all the great composers. As you may know, I begin the evenings here on WCRB, weeknights with Dinner Classics at 7pm, then onto our All Time Classic around 9, followed by Night Light Classics till midnight.
This weekend beginning at 4pm, Friday, it will be a great chance to hear several works, all by the same composer…back to back to back. Friday’s Dinner Classics begins with music by Bach…I’ll feature one of his Brandenburg Concerto’s, a Violin concerto, Orchestral Suite and more. After that… a three hour block of compositions by Tchaikovsky including his Serenade for Strings, Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, his only Violin concerto and several other selections. Saturday night, I’ll have a three hour block of music by Dvorak including his “New World” Symphony, American String Quartet, Symphony #8 and others. There will also be blocks by Vaughan Williams, Saint-Saens and more. I hope you can join me/us for this exciting weekend of terrific music.

Till next time, stay listening:

Mark Calder