Just a quick ramble here… My social media feeds have been inundated with Beethoven over the past several months, which is understandable given that the Big Man’s 250th birthday is coming up this December.  I’m seeing ads for concerts, new Beethoven recordings, and of course plenty of chatter about what classical radio stations are going to be doing to celebrate this momentous anniversary. How do I feel about Beethoven@250 on the radio?  Pretty simple: play all the Beethoven you want.  Do a symphony marathon.  Round up all those string quartets and piano … Continue Reading

Wow, it’s been a while.  Life/work has been very busy, but that’s no excuse for not pumping out a blog or two….or twenty. What has been so busy?  Well, at WFIU I’ve been expanding existing programs and creating new ones.  Our classical music service, produced at hosted by me, is called ClassicalWorks and has been getting modest carriage.  I wish I had more time and resources devoted to promoting it, but we’ll get there eventually.  I’d also like to get a website for the service up and running, but that’s proving to … Continue Reading

Almost two months ago, James Levine, after years of whispering and speculation, was finally accused publicly of sexual misconduct.  I already covered it.   In more recent weeks, Charles Dutoit has also been accused by several women of offense ranging from groping to flat-out rape.  And there’s understandably been a tremendous buzz in the classical radio world on just how to handle the accusations and recordings made by the accused. Last week I was interviewed by David C. Barnett of WCPN in Cleveland about this very thing.  You can read or listen to … Continue Reading

It was inevitable that the wave of sexual harassment allegations that have swept the country in recent months would eventually wash up on the shore of classical music’s small but mighty island.  And for anyone with connections to people in the performance business, it was not surprising that the first major figure to be caught in the rip current is James Levine, a man whose artistic genius was always darkened by rumors of sexual deviance and a penchant for young boys.  If Harvey Weinstein’s horridness in Hollywood was considered a semi-open secret, … Continue Reading