New Classical programming

[greg_m]

I've been listening to the new Symphony Hall (xm78) for several hours, and I like it!

Here are some details, quoted from an EMail sent last night by Robert Aubrey Davis, creator and host of VOX (xm112) which is now, lamentably, missing from the channel lineup.

--- RAD quote follows ---

And, in the new classical channel, called Symphony Hall (currently channel 80 on Sirius, and after tonight channel 78 on XM), I will still be with you.

Indeed, Martin Goldsmith will be there in the mornings (6 am to noon eastern), a New York-based composer Preston Trombly from noon to 6 pm, Elena See now in the evenings from 6 to midnight, and I will be on the night side, from midnight to 6 am.

And yes, in the wee hours there will be choral music—tonight we have some Hummel masses for his birthday this week, for example.

So as not to lose the great audience and goodwill you have so graciously given us over the years, there will be two programs that are special that I will host:

--Sunday Choral, from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. eastern;
--followed by a variation of our Sunday Baroque, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. eastern.

The Baroque program repeats Thursday night at midnight (9 p.m. Pacific) for those who miss it—and we will keep plenty of great vocal music alive on that segment as well.

--- END OF QUOTE ---

So far, I have enjoyed the music mix. (I know, I know... it's all a matter of personal taste. But so far, I have no gripes ) At least it's not a jukebox playing Beethoven's 5th and William Tell all day long... far from it.

The announcers have been making topical references to today's date in the voice tracks, which I see as a good thing. Hopefully, that means they won't be repeating long blocks of programming (5 to 7 hours long) multiple times over the months, as they previously did on XM Classics. Let's hope they will continue to give some useful and interesting comments about the music, as they (especially Martin and Robert) did in the past.

I will certainly miss VOX, and Robert's "Millennium of Music," and also Black and White Blockbusters. Perhaps in time, IF enough of us write in with polite requests, some of those special programming areas can be put back into the new channel. I'm not sure who to write to, but will post a name & address if I find out.

[ender17012000]

I must admit, that makes me happy, I can still get my fix of Choral Music, albeit on a less frequent basis.

It's not perfect, but at least I see some attempts to compromise by Sirius, rather than just a blanket takeover of XM channels

[greg_m]

Agreed! In fact, I liked XM Classics less on the last day than I did when I first heard it (over 5 years ago). I think the format gradually shifted. And I was tired of the many, frequent repeated blocks. Perhaps the new format will actually be better in some ways.

But nothing can possibly replace VOX. And I've already written to Robert Aubrey Davis, asking if Millennium of Music will be aired, somewhere, sometime, on the new lineup... I hope the answer will be yes.

[meb369]

I'll definitely check out this Preston Trombly at noon - a composer hosting classical radio may provide unique insights into the music.

[leviramsey]

[meb369]

Trombly sounds like Charles Osgood.

Hopefully, he plays some of his own compositions on the channel.

[Woland]

Millennium of Music is one of the first things I looked for, and it's there.

It's on Channel 78 Saturdays from 11pm to midnight, and Sundays from 6am to 7am.

Exploring Music will also still be on the air.

But I can't find Reflections from the Keyboard. I absolutely loved that show and I really hope they can continue to carry it. If anyone gets any news on that one, please post the info here.

I'm so glad that the core of the XM Classics team is still in place. Thank you to whoever made that decision!

[JPSilver]

The new lineup states:

XM 78 - Classical favorites from Beethoven, Mozart, Handel, and more.

Barbara Striesand (sp?) ain't classical music.

This needs to be in the Easy Listening section under the old Sirius #24 which is what is used to be.

I have heard no "Beethoven, Mozart, Handel, and more".
all day. Many times the title does not match what is playing...

We need our 110 back! It rocked!!!!!!

[meb369]

Turns out that Elena See was program director for Symphony Hall before moving from Sirius to XM a few years ago - so she's rejoining her old channel in its new configuration.

[golly]

Hi - just registered needing somewhere to talk about channel changes. Replacing the diversity of Vox! with a channel of nothing but opera, and only opera from the Met, has not made me happy - even with the crumbs we have been thrown.

I think half of my favorites are gone, or "translated" to an inferior Sirius equivalent. (Heck, what am I saying? That is gone!)

[greg_m]

[arcturus]

I registered to see what everyone was saying. I have mixed feelings at this point. It's nice that the XM crew is still around, but I'll miss Martin, who's on at a time I never listen. I don't know to what extent the DJ's will be responsible for programming their own slots, but I always liked Martin's selections.

I enjoy choral music and listened to Vox occasionally, but I don't care as much for it in the middle of the night for some reason. If I'm sleeping with radio on, perhaps I don't like being "talked" to. So I've got some concern with RAD being on the night shift ... nothing at all against him, of course, I just like to opt for his type of music on my own schedule.

I'll give it a try, but classical is the only reason I subscribe to XM so I'm "at risk" in that regard.

[greg_m]

Well, there ya go with that "personal taste" again, which people always accuse me of. I guess mine's a bit different from yours.

In the last few years, especially, I've felt that Martin was playing a lot of heavy, gloomy works... typically later Russian, some English, etc. Great stuff if you like it, huge epic works, good for a live symphonic program (or stay at home if you don't like it). But when I'm working in the office, that stuff is just too moody and, especially, gloomy for my personal taste... maybe it's just too "deep" and therefore emotionally distracting. I would prefer some high baroque, or earlier classical stuff... music that was written to please the audience, not to impress and overwhelm them.

(I didn't hear much of that stuff yesterday, but he was "back to Martin" again today. Maybe he's just depressed.)

I agree with you: it seems hard to "sneak in" choral music, or especially operatic music, in the middle of an instrumental program. Maybe it would be better if there were some discrete programming blocks. Choral from X:00 to Y:00 every day. Or Baroque from A:00 to B:00. Then if you like choral (or whatever), you'd know when to tune in; if you dislike it, you'd know when to go for a stroll.

If you listen mostly where there's internet, check out http://www.naxosradio.com A "near CD quality" subscription is $20/year. They have about 85 narrowly formatted channels, so you can pick exactly what you want to hear. For example there are eleven orchestral channels: Classical, Romantic/Modern, 20th Century, Contemporary, American, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Chinese. Four Early/Baroque channels, three Chamber Music, etc. With NaxosRadio, you don't have to worry about someone else's musical preferences.

Yes, I too am still at risk. Classical is at least 90% of my listening, so it will be a judgement call, whether it's gotten better or worse. I'd like to hear more of Robert's instrumental side, but I'm asleep for most of those hours. Preston Trombly has been pretty good (for the first two days). And audio quality will always be very important!

I wish they'd publish a playlist a day in advance, like a lot of FM classical stations do!

[CTGuy]

[greg_m]