Klarinet Archive - Posting 000117.txt from 2007/12

From: "Lelia Loban" <lelialoban@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Re: The library of congress website
Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2007 07:52:50 -0500

Tony Pay wrote, re. the truncated Podcast of the OAE Soloists' "Gran
Partitta,"
> [W]hen I contacted the LoC they both left me a phone message and sent
> me a gracious email, explaining that the difficulty was nothing to do with
> artistic considerations, but was driven entirely by contractual reasons.

The Loc told him,
> "I am happy to say [that the OAE performance] is now being aired in the
> Washington area, and will soon be carried by many stations nationwide.
> Beginning in January, our 13-part radio series will be distributed to
> public
> stations across the country, and we expect a national carriage of about
> 225
> stations within the coming year. Each broadcast will include the entire
> 50-minute work. We also will be approaching some international networks
> about
> carrying our series, as the rights are for worldwide broadcast (limited to
> two airings per station.)"

Thanks for the update. I don't know whether this was clear to people
outside the Washington, D. C. listening area, but the WETA (PBS) radio
broadcast was not the same as the online Podcast. The Podcast's verbal
introduction was the one from the radio broadcast, but the WETA (PBS) FM
radio show on December 10, "Concerts from the Library of Congress," hosted
by Bill McGlaughlin, aired the entire "Gran Partitta," not just a 3-minute
excerpt. Something new replaced the OAE concert presentation on the front
page of the Library of Congress's "Radio Concerts" site this week, but for
people who missed last week's feature, the visual material and some of the
audio is still online at
http://loc.gov/radioconcerts
As of yesterday, the remaining audio Podcast only seems to be Dan Leeson's
pre-concert lecture, with none of the music.

Bill McGlaughlin's radio program has only aired since November and I think
the format needs some work. McGlaughlin is a conductor and an experienced
classical DJ, long-time host of a daily public broadcasting program
("Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin")--but he gave that December 10
"Concerts from the Library of Congress" broadcast an incoherent
introduction. Along with his co-host (an oboist), McGlaughlin, who seemed
to be speaking at times from a prepared script but with a great deal of
ad-libbing, probably judged his audience about right: familiar with
classical music in general, familiar with Mozart, but probably not familiar
with the arcana of the "Gran Partitta." However, the pair of them used the
"alternate lead" (i.e. chitchat) opening to draw listeners in--hence all
that extraneous stuff about the movie "Amadeus" (in which a bit of the "Gran
Partitta" can be heard on the soundtrack) and so forth. I think the
alternate lead is a pernicious fad, a style that works no better on radio
than it does in print. I much prefer the old-fashioned "five w" (who, what,
when, where, why) aproach. In this case, neither host seemed able to come
to the point and the meandering babble made me wish they'd both just shut up
and play the music.

Re. Tony's earlier remark,
>>I find it to be a triumph of hype and presentation over content, like so
>>much
>>of American culture.

--Um, yes, and now that my cable TV provider carries BBC-America, I suppose
I should improve my inferior colonial mind with the higher forms of culture
offered on British TV. Maybe I should begin with "Footballers' Wives." ;-)

Lelia Loban
Obama for President

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