My Personal Bernstein Memory

Yesterday, August 25, marked the 96th anniversary of the birth of Leonard Bernstein. I confess, I did not realize this fact until fairly late in the day...and I did not even have a chance to post anything about it on my Facebook page. But I have been thinking a lot about him since I heard it was his birthday. I wish he was still here conducting, composing, teaching, and preaching about classical music. I recently read a great book called Dinner with Lenny by Jonathan Cott....a transcription of the last interview Bernstein gave before he died in 1990. This book shows that even at the end of his life, he was so alive and passionate about music.
He truly was one of the giants of our time. He was larger than life in so many ways. One of my favorite movies EVER is Silver Linings Playbook. The greatest scene in the movie is the dance sequence with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, and the finale of their dance uses the Dave Brubeck Quartet rendition of Maria from West Side Story...such a great song. And of course Candide, On the Town, 3 Symphonies and on and on...so many incredible works. And as a conductor, he led the great New York Philharmonic for many years. And from that podium he opened the doors to classical music to millions of children through the TV show Young Person's Concerts on CBS. And he re-introduced the music of Gustav Mahler to this country in the 1960's. I am fortunate to have my own personal Bernstein memory. September 20, 1987. Chicago, IL. Bernstein conducted the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at Orchestra Hall. And I was lucky enough to be there with my Mom and Dad to see it. Bernstein looked good...he moved well....he was in the moment for sure. The program was awesome...Mozart, Bernstein, and Sibelius. The Sibelius 5th Symphony is a powerful, majestic work. It will will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up for sure. Mine did on that great night in 1987. I knew I was seeing something fantastic. The three of us had tears in our eyes when the concert ended...tears of joy. I feel lucky to have been able to see him before he passed away. It will always be one of my greatest classical music experiences. Here is the program from that night.

And here is a link to a great concert Bernstein conducted with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1989, the year before he died. This is the Sibelius 5th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dACRUFfmMeo

Bravo Panera Bread !!!

You won't see it on the menu, but one of the tastiest treats served up at your local Panera (or St. Louis Bread Co. as it is still known in the St. Louis area) is the classical music that floats throughout the store, mingling deliciously with the smell of bread, coffee and all of the other tasty treats. I meet my mom every Friday morning for coffee at our local Panera, and along with our coffee, food and conversation, we enjoy the music playing in the background. On my visits to other Panera cafes around the country, I also hear classical music playing. It seems clear that this is not happening by chance....it is a thoughtful decision on Panera's part.
So I reached out to Panera and connected with their corporate Director of Public Relations, Jonathan Yohannan. He confirmed that the decision to use classical music is made at the corporate level; they have a concept creative team that works with a vendor to establish the appropriate music curation for their cafes. Each cafe is required to play either classical or smooth jazz. This music is provided by a company called DMX, and is sent to the stores digitally.
I also spoke with cafe managers in Lee's Summit, Kansas City and Tulsa about this. I was curious if they received much feedback from any of their customers...positive or negative...about the use of classical music. The reaction from customers is very positive. Store managers have been told the classical music creates a great atmosphere for conversations, studying or just relaxing. It is not obtrusive, yet it has substance. One manager told me he gets much of the positive feedback from younger, "hipster" types, which takes me back to a conversation I had with Patrcik Neas who unabashedly says classical music is hip.
So next time you visit a Panera cafe, enjoy some Mozart, Telemann, or Bernstien...all of which I have heard playing there....with your coffee and bagel....or bear claw.... or bread bowl....or whatever you are having.

Artist's Profile: Jazz Pianist Joe Cartwright

I am fascinated by lines....musical lines. And more interestingly, how these lines can be crossed, fused and blurred. The boundaries between jazz and classical music have been probed and tested continuously by everyone from Ravel to Shostakovich to Gershwin. Which brings me to Joe Cartwright. Joe is a jazz pianist who has been helping shape and define the jazz music scene in Kansas City for over 30 years. I met Joe when he was a guest soloist with the Independence Symphony several years ago. He played Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. As I have explained in a previous entry (I Heard Violins) the fusion of jazz with strings really turns me on. Rhapsody in Blue is an iconic work, and as I learned during this concert, it is a very demanding work for any pianist. I was immediately impressed by Joe's technique and musicality. He seemed to be very comfortable in both the jazz and classical world. We sat down to talk recently at Twisted Sisters Coffee in Mission, KS. I wanted to learn more about his artistry and his personal relationship with jazz and classical music.

TH: I know you have played in the classical realm because I was there when you played Rhapsody in Blue with the Independence Symphony…that work in itself is what I call a “boundary spanner”. Gershwin in general is that way.

JC: Absolutely one of the better examples of crossing genres.

TH: There was a great article in the NY Times about the Hollywood String Quartet who was founded by Felix Slatkin (whose son Leonard later became Music Director of the St. Louis Symphony) and how they became famous as the backing for Frank Sinatra in his legendary Capital years. I love the fusion of strings and jazz.

JC: The Charlie Parker with Strings recording is a great example of fusing jazz with strings. One of my favorite jazz recordings with string arrangements is Shirley Horne’s Here’s to Life. Another really great string arranger is Dave Grusin. I really admire his work.

TH: How do you classify yourself?

JC: It says Kansas City jazz pianist on my website…that’s what I am putting out there. My business card just says pianist on it. So…pianist works.

TH: Have you studied classical music?

JC: Yes, I have a Bachelor’s degree in piano performance from UMKC.

TH: That serves you well in any kind of music you play I would think?

JC: I guess (smiling…modestly).

TH: So do you enjoy playing classical music? Do you ever sit down and play a Chopin prelude or something like that?

JC: I do! I don’t really keep a repertoire up. But for example, I had a job last weekend where I was asked to play a program of all Scott Joplin music…which isn’t really classical or jazz…it’s kind of in the middle. So I found that my sight reading chops are still good, and I read through half a dozen pieces and played them for a memorial service. The thing with Joplin….a lot of pianists try to play it too fast…. It’s really more stately.

TH: And Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue is a big staple of the classical repertoire.

JC: I performed the solo version as well as with the ISO…and I am going to be creating an arrangement of it with the music director of the KC Jazz Orchestra, Clint Ashlock. We are going to collaborate on an arrangement that will be some sort of adaptation of the Ferde Groffe arrangement with maybe some extra sections. You may not know that on the original recording of Rhapsody in Blue that Gershwin made, a lot of the sections were improvised…then later transcribed. He just didn’t have it all fleshed out when he got the commission. That’s really a credit to his skill as a pianist.

TH: Jazz musicians live in that world of improvisation whereas classical musicians play what is written on the page…they are not often trained in improvisation.

JC: That’s a shame. In the world of piano, especially in the 19^th century, improvisation was expected as part of the concert. The pianist would ask the audience for a melody and then improvise on it. It seems that pianists today are intimidated or afraid of that. For me, with my classical background…it’s about applying all the rules of theory to come up with an alternate melody. That’s basically what improvisation is…coming up with an alternate melody based on the chord changes…. and then you employ whatever devices you have access to…scales, modes, arpeggios etc. And baroque devices like sequencing, inversion, retrograde inversion…all that stuff. Those are technical terms for a way to play a group of notes. In the baroque era these rules were very strict.  I use a sort of a looser interpretation of those rules. Plus, applying elements that are not necessarily musical elements to draw creative inspiration from, like numbers for example. If I look into the audience and I see a group of 4 people, then I think of the number 4, then I decide what does that number mean to me in relation to where I am in the song? It might allow me to think out of the box. I might think of the IV chord for example, or a group of 4 notes. Or maybe I see two people wearing hats in the audience…so that’s kind of the process, besides just musical devices.

TH: Is it a struggle for you to play a classical or “legit gig” with an orchestra accompaniment, where each note is required to come together in a precise way , and you aren't free to add notes and improvise at will?

JC: No, I don’t think about that...I mean whatever the parameters of the gig are, that’s what I adhere to.

TH: Do you have a favorite type of setting or ensemble to work with?

JC: I do…piano, bass, and drums….the classic piano trio.

TH: What is it about the trio you like so much?

JC: It’s intimate, and I think it allows for a lot of interplay, especially with musicians that you’re comfortable with and that I have performed with for a number of years. It takes a while to build up the interaction and the trust...the rapport. I look to them for inspiration too. The more comfortable you are with each other, the more extended the boundaries become of what you can do and where the music can go.

TH: Who are your top 5 jazz pianists?

JC: There are probably 20! But Oscar Peterson, Cedar Walton, …(I like the way his trio works)….Herbie Hancock, Michel Camilo….and Jay McShann.

TH: What style of jazz would you say you enjoy the most?

JC: My style of jazz playing is more bebop oriented…with a strong right hand. I’d like to develop my left hand more.

TH: What other things interest you? Do you listen to a lot of music?

JC: I am a huge tennis fan…I try to play 3 times a week…and I subscribe to the tennis channel. So that’s a passion. But to address your question, I am required to do some listening on a weekly basis. I am the Music Director at Unity Village Chapel in Unity Village, MO where I arrange several new pieces of music a week. I also write charts for artists that want to get their music published but don’t know how to put their music into a format that any musician can read. Then I have music I listen to for the radio show on NPR, 12^th Street Jump, which is heard on 120 stations…syndicated nationally. We get played on stations from Alaska to Florida. Our local affiliate is KCUR 90.3 FM. I have a backlog of CD’s from artists I have never heard but I want to listen to because I want to keep up with new music that’s coming out. I like to listen to music actively…not passively.

TH: That’s almost a lost art these days.

JC: It requires concentration to listen actively.

TH: Do you have any composer in the classical world you enjoy the most?

JC: Absolutely. I like composers that write for piano, like Chopin for example. Debussy. Ravel. I’m a big fan of the Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera….very interesting and rhythmic, Latin influenced. I really like Bach…love to play Bach.

TH: How did you get your start?

JC: I used to sit on the piano bench and watch my grandmother.

TH: Are you from KC?

JC: I grew up in Leavenworth, Kansas. One set of grandparents lived in Kansas City, and the other set of grandparents lived in St. Joseph, MO. And so we split times on weekends between one place and the other. My maternal grandmother…actually both of my grandmothers played piano. And my mom and dad played piano. We had a piano in the house all the time. I started taking piano lessons when I was 8. Once I started showing some promise my parents bought a baby grand piano, but they couldn't afford to keep it. So they traded pianos with some neighbors up the street so we wound up with this upright, converted player piano….the mechanical parts had been removed, but these pianos were made with heavy duty frames, so it added a huge amount of weight to these pianos, and they were really hard to move. My parents moved from Iowa to Florida and were going to sell it, so I told them I would come get it. I rented a U-Haul and went up to Iowa and brought the piano back to the carriage house I was renting at the time. I ended up selling it to a student who lived on the second floor of a house in Hyde Park. It cost more to move it up there than the piano was worth! That piano is still up there…and this was 30 years ago. I know the guy that owns the house. He still says, “oh yeah, your piano is still up there. Come over and play it sometime”.

TH: What pianos do you play at home?

JC: I have 2 Yamahas...a 5’7” Yamaha and a 6’8” Yamaha. I purchased a Yamaha G5 grand from a former student of mine. It became available right after my wife and I had decided to downsize and bought a condo in Mission, KS with a finished basement, so I converted that into my studio. When this piano became available, I had to figure out how to get it into the basement. And that required knocking out a wall, for which I had to petition the home owners association!

TH: How is the jazz scene in Kansas City these days?

JC: Kansas City has a great reputation. Jazz just goes with Kansas City. I’d have to say that compared to just about any other major city except perhaps New York and New Orleans, Kansas City has a vibrant jazz scene.

TH: So one can be a working musician, playing jazz here?

JC: Yes…there are of course a lot of factors. You gotta be good, you gotta be a business person….and just because you are talented doesn't mean you are going to get a gig. I've done my share of studio work and recordings here as well.

TH: Do you tour?

JC: Yeah. I used to tour a lot. I did two tours as a jazz ambassador for the State Department and that’s taken me all around the world. It was really a lifetime experience. I played in 7 countries in Africa, the Middle East…..we were, I believe, the first US jazz band to do a joint concert with a Palestinian band in the West Bank. We also played in Thailand, Malaysia, and India.

TH: How were you received in these places?

JC: Most places we were really well received. The experience in the West Bank was pretty amazing because people have no hope there, and their music reflects that. A lot of it is sad. But we did several joint concerts with a Palestinian band…in Ramallah and Bethlehem. We went to a recording studio in Jerusalem and had a jam session and worked out what we were going to play together. I remember the concert we played in Ramallah. They played a program, then we played, then we did two songs together. When we started playing together, the audience went crazy. It was explained to me later…when they saw an American band with a Palestinian band, it transcended all of the politics…what they saw was two different cultures coming together. And if they can do this musically, we can do this politically. That’s the way they were thinking. So it gave them hope.

TH: That s incredible!

JC: Until I performed in some third world countries around the world, I didn't think about that. But once I did, it gave me a whole new perspective on how music can really bring people together.

TH: How do you keep fresh and stay interested gigging week after week?

JC: I treat every job as a professional. I play what‘s required of me to the best of my ability and try to find something that’s aesthetically pleasing and rewarding about every gig. When I’m the leader that means I have flexibility, and I hire musicians that inspire me. I try to find some form of inspiration to propel the music to a new place. That’s what keeps it fresh for me….to always be searching for that new place. Sometimes it happens as a result of interaction within the band. Sometimes it happens as part of the symbiosis between the audience and the band. In addition to playing, my two main jobs are putting together two new radio shows every month. I am also the Music Director at Unity Village Chapel every Sunday, so that keeps me busy too.

TH: What are some places you play around town?

JC: The Gaslight Grille at 135^th and Roe. I play there with a clarinetist named Lynn Zimmer several nights a month. I play at the Blue Room, the Green Lady Lounge in the Crossroads District, Chaz on the Plaza in the Raphael Hotel. I also do some corporate gigs and recording sessions.

TH: Do you have an agent?

JC: I am not exclusive with an agency, but there are 3-4 agencies that have me on their call list who I work with. I've been involved with an organization that’s just getting started called Kansas City Jazz Alive. What we are trying to do is “float all ships” that are involved with jazz in KC. We are a support group.  Its musicians assisting musicians…. dealing with things like how to find work and how to get health insurance. I am trying to help them develop a database of jazz musicians.

TH: I understand you had a chance to perform at the opening of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts?

JC: I had to turn down the opportunity to play at the grand opening about 3 years ago. Since I am the Music director of 12^th Street Jump radio show, and we had a show that night and they can’t really do the show without me.  So I had to turn down the opportunity to play at the Kauffman. But I have been hoping to get a chance to do something there ever since, so now I will with the KC Jazz Orchestra next season.

TH: I am also curious about the physical toll being a musician takes on the body….and the mind. How are you feeling these days?

JC: My energy is as high as always. Physically, the main area I have to deal with is my back. …posture and back support is critical. Every piano is different, so I take my own chair to gigs. 

TH: Joe, thank you for taking time to speak with me. I really enjoyed it.

JC: Me too. Thank you too!

A link to Joe's website is here: http://www.josephlcartwright.com/index.html/. Do yourself a favor and go see him perform!

Classics at the ballpark

I am currently visiting Atlanta with my oldest son whose team is here playing in a baseball tournament. We had a free evening and went to an Atlanta Braves game at Turner Field. To be precise, it was on the 4th of July. It was a beautiful evening....unusually cool for this time of year. We have a wonderful ballpark in Kansas City and I have seen many games there since 1975. This was my first visit to Turner Field. Two things stood out from my visit. Number 1: the ballpark organ! Like I said, I love the "K" in Kansas City, but they don't use an organ anymore...instead it's all recorded music and its played at a very high decibel level. Atlanta installed an organ and hired a FT organist in 2009 and it is wonderful...just like music is meant to be enjoyed at a baseball game. I will admit, as progressive as I like to think I am, I do cling to certain traditions...and this is one of them. The organ is pleasant on the ears...not too loud....and it creates an atmosphere that captures the feel of the game. Stadiums that blast loud rock/country/rap music seem to miss the point in my opinion.Their approach clashes with the vibe of the baseball. It is so loud and obtrusive. The organ is just right.
I did some research and learned that the first ballpark to install an organ was Wrigley Field in Chicago in 1941. By the 1980's, video screens and pre-recorded music began to chip away at the organ's "playing time". Today, only a few remain. I say bring them back! Here is an interview with Turner Field organist, Matt Kaminski:
http://wabe.org/post/turner-field-organist-matt-kaminski

And number 2: The magnificent rendition of "God Bless America" sung by Timothy Miller, a tenor with the Atlanta opera. He sings with such power and command....check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SaTxwdHU2I

Classical Profile: Dirk Sobotka, Grammy Award Winning Sound Engineer

I am fascinated by sound. In particular, music of course.....and the process through which it is captured for listening. My Dad had a great ear for this sort of thing. He had more pairs of headphones than anyone I have known, and he was very sensitive to the way recordings sounded. He has a number of very old recordings in his collection, dating back to the 1940's and beyond. Even though those recordings are not lush, stereophonic productions, he could listen through the cracks and noise to hear the music being made. He ultimately cared about the musical interpretation the most. But, being a historian himself, he also loved the historical context of the recording. When records went from mono to stereo, he continued to listen to the mono recordings as well. And when CD's came along in the early 1980's, he was among the first to proclaim that the sound of the vinyl recordings was better than the newly created digital CDs.(he was right too....).
I have rehearsal with the Heritage Philharmonic on Thursday evenings during our concert season. On the drive home, I listen to the Kansas City Symphony hour on KCUR public radio-89.3 FM. This is a broadcast of a live performance of the KC Symphony. On one particular evening, I caught the end of the Fountains of Rome by Ottorino Respighi, one of the compositions that causes the hair on the back of your neck to stand up when you hear it (see one of my earlier blog posts for a link to this piece). It had been recorded early in the Fall by the KC Symphony. It was an incredible performance, and the sound quality was stunning. It got me thinking about how such a recording is made. "That sounds like a possible topic for my blog" I said to myself. So went to the KC Symphony website and found some contact info, sent an e-mail to an administrative assistant, and asked who makes the recordings. The answer I got was a guy named Dirk Sobotka, a sound engineer with Soundmirror, a recording company in Boston. So I sent Dirk and e-mail asking him if he would be willing to talk to me about how the symphony is recorded. He graciously agreed, inviting me to meet him at the Kauffman Center on one of his upcoming trips to talk and tour Helzberg Hall. I had tickets for the Verdi Requiem at the end of May, so I met Dirk a couple of hours before Saturday's performance. Here is his bio from the Soundmirror website:

Dirk Sobotka

Dirk Sobotka received his Diplom-Tonmeister degree from the Hochschule fuer Musik, Detmold in 1996. From 1997 until 2004 Dirk worked as a recording and mastering engineer at SoundByte Productions in New York City. In 2004 he joined Soundmirror in Boston, and was immediately made a part of the team remastering the legendary RCA Living Stereo series for SACD. Since 2006 he has been producing the broadcast and archival recordings for the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra, moving with them to their new home in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in 2011. As part of this relationship Dirk was the musical producer for the TV Special, “Homecoming: Kansas City Symphony presents Joyce DiDonato”, featured in the PBS Arts Summer Festival of 2012. In addition, Dirk remains very busy in working on commercial releases with an emphasis on opera and symphony orchestras. This work has resulted in multiple Grammy nominations culminating in the 2010 Grammy for Best Engineered Classical Album.

 A Grammy! Wow....this guy is BIG TIME. And he could not have been more polite and helpful to me, as I bombarded him with hundreds of questions about everything from what kinds of microphones he uses to who his favorite composers are.
He told me that there are multiple back-ups to assure that each concert is recorded properly...something I learned the hard way during my conversation with him. He allowed me to use my phone to record our conversation as we spoke. I had over 70 minutes recorded, and immediately after we met, I promptly deleted it, accidentally of course! NO!!! and no back-up (frown face). I emailed Dirk and fessed up to my goof, and he acknowledged this is the perfect example of why he makes back-ups!
So I am doing my best to re-create our conversation from memory and the few notes that I did take.
Gone are the days of tape. Everything is recorded on to a computer hard drive. We took a walk down to the stage. This was so cool...standing on stage at Helzberg Hall. It is so gorgeous. If you have been, you may have noticed all of the microphones hanging down from the ceiling. This is where it all starts...miking the stage. I learned from Dirk that the technique of miking an orchestra has changed very little since the early days of sound recording. There are 3 main microphones that hang above the front of the stage. They capture sound at the left, center and right of the stage. I looked this configuration up; its called a Decca Tree. Engineers at Decca Records developed this method for recording orchestras in the 1950's. It's still the standard today, and Dirk explained that 85% of the sound

we hear comes from these 3 omnidirectional mics. There are other mics hanging over other areas of the stage, as well as other spots in the hall. These mics provide additional sounds that can be incorporated into the final sound recording. Anywhere from 19-24 microphones can be used. Dirk has a 24-channel sound board in his control room, along with plenty of other equipment that I really can't explain what they do. But after the sound enters the microphones, it travels to a rack of equipment off stage where it is processed and then sent to his control room. This has something to do with boosting the signal so it can travel such a great distance without degrading. This equipment also has something to do with converting the sound to a digital signal. 

Unlike studio recording, symphonies are recorded "live". It all happens at once. In the pop music world, each element is usually recorded piece by piece and then assembled in the mixing room. Bass, drums, keyboards, guitars, vocals, etc.....are recorded individually and pieced together. That is not the case here. Dirk records the KC Symphony as they perform. He records each performance of a concert program, typically Friday and Saturday nights, and Sunday afternoon. He then makes a CD copy of each performance for Michael Stern, the orchestra's conductor and music director. From there, they can evaluate each performance and choose which parts of each will be assembled into the "final performance". The technology allows Dirk to take a section from one performance and edit it with a section from one of the other performances to create a final "whole". Its truly amazing....this digital-age stuff is powerful! What makes Dirk a true artist is he is a musician first. He's not just a sound engineer....he knows the music. He follows a score as the piece is performed, and he has the talent and the ear to identify and appreciate the obvious challenges of a wrong note or missed entrance, but also the subtleties of musical phrasing, tonality, and shape. He is using this talent to create a final recording that will serve the musicians and the listeners well.
The acoustics of Helzberg Hall are wonderful. Dirk told me the Helzberg Hall is one of the best in the world. The natural sound of the orchestra in the Hall needs little if any modifying or applying of post-production sound enhancements such as reverb or compression. The warmth and life of the Hall itself, combined with the world class musicianship of the KC Symphony yields a sound that is "music to the ears" (I couldn't resist that one). I encourage you to listen to the KC Symphony Hour to experience the brilliance of our "hometown" symphony orchestra, brought to life via the talent of Dirk Sobotka. Here is a link:
http://kcur.org/programs/kansas-city-symphony-hour

Well done Dirk Sobotka!

Classical Profile: Patrick Neas: From KXTR to Radio Bach online.

Are you aware that beginning in the 1950's, Kansas City was home to one of the best classical music radio stations in the nation? On 96.5 FM? For me, the voice of classical radio is, and always will be, Patrick Neas, who joined KXTR as an overnight announcer in 1984. He soon worked his way up to program director and then morning show host. I remember driving to KC many times as a child to visit my grandparents, and as soon as we got close to KC, we would turn to 96.5 and try and pick up KXTR's signal. It was such a treat to be able to listen to classical music on the radio, and not just for a few hours a day....but around the clock. It seemed like a miracle that a city the size of KC would have such a treasure on its airwaves. Later down the road, I studied Radio-TV-Film in college, and hosted a classical music program on air, and later became assistant station manager of WISU at Indiana State University. I learned a lot listening to Patrick Neas and tried to apply it to my own style. He was a huge influence on me.
Fast forward to the digital age. KXTR is no longer on the air. Radio, and the music industry as a whole, has been revolutionized by digital down-loading, file-sharing, satellite radio, and most of all, the internet. But Patrick is still here in KC, very much a player in the arts community. He writes a weekly column for the KC Star, and most recently is part of a new start-up doing what he loves the most....programming classical music, now for Radio Bach www.radiobach.com 
I reached out to Patrick (I follow him on Facebook) and asked him if he would be interested in getting together sometime to talk about our shared passion: classical music. He graciously accepted my offer and we had a great visit recently at a local coffee shop where we connected instantly. For me, it was like meeting a celebrity.

TH: How did you get your start in classical music radio?

PN: I was going to Rockhurst and I always loved classical music and I was a big fan of KXTR in high school. So in 1984, I was in college, and I called up the program director of KXTR and asked for a job and sure enough they had an overnight shift. And they asked me to do a pronunciation test and I passed it. And so from that once a week overnight shift I just stuck with it and eventually became a full-time announcer, then became program director and then became morning show host.

TH: 1984 to when? When did KXTR go off the air?

PN: 2012.

TH: When did the signal leave 96.5 FM and move to AM?

PN: They took us off of FM in 2000. They thought they could make more money off alternative rock. We were running KXTR in a shoestring budget. They had to add a whole staff of people when they switched. Plus, we had really good ratings when they took us off FM. We had a 4 share, which put us in the top 5 rated classical stations in the country.

TH: I remember my dad always loved classical radio. As a youngster in Chicago, I remember him listening to WFMT quite often…which is still on the air. And then we had KMFA in Austin. And of course, whenever we came to KC, we always had the radio on KXTR.

PN: I worshiped WFMT for their programming. Their ratings were not as good as ours, but they had more competition in their market. For a long time, Chicago had 2 classical music stations. And universities too that also played some classical music. When I started working at KXTR in 1984 we had a program director who showed me the schedule that WFMT published in a local magazine, and it didn’t pander at all….they didn’t play Pachelbel’s Cannon over and over…and I respected that so much and it has guided me too. I’ve never tried to pander in what I program. I do try to be reasonable……I’m not going to program Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire during morning drive…but you know on the other hand, I am going to play an aria. But we had consultants in the 90’s that did not want any vocal music on the station. And they had audience testing….so they would play the William Tell Overture…which doesn’t really get going for about 10 minutes….the beginning is very unfamiliar for a lot of people (who only know the “Lone Ranger” theme from it). So they would play it for a minute and the testing audience would give it a thumbs down…and they’d pull the William Tell Overture from the playlist! They just didn’t understand the classical format at all.

TH: Unlike other formats….classical music does not fit into a little box.

PN: I do have to say that when I was a little kid, my family had these 2 albums where they would cut right to the “Lone Ranger” theme. And as a kid that grabbed me, but I think for the average radio listener, that you have to give it a little time to breathe.

TH: Speaking of children’s records…..since we are both from the same generation too, do you remember a record called Sparky and the Magic Piano?

PN: I do, yes!

TH: I don’t know anyone else who does! That’s so great that you do!

TH: Do you listen to other types of music?

PN: I do listen to other things, but I would say at least 90% of it is classical.

TH: So how did you get introduced to classical music?

PN: My family loved music, and they had music on all the time. And all different kinds too. My parents were not just classical music people. They had Eugene Ormandy’s record of Strauss waltzes next to the Beatles, and Simon and Garfunkel. So I was exposed to all of this good music. But for some reason classical music started to click with me in high school. I still remember seeing Woody Allen’s movie Love and Death..and that really triggered a love of classical music.

TH:  Prokofiev…….(the music of Prokofiev was featured throughout this film).

PN: Yes! Discovering Prokofiev…and as you probably know, one thing leads to another and then you start listening to Shostakovich…and other Russian composers.

TH: Right…the musical strands or connections that lead to new musical discoveries. I have been exploring French music lately that way. Gounod led to Chausson and then to other French composers…but always back to Debussy for me somehow.

PN: I have been into 19th century French music a lot myself. I think it’s really overlooked and doesn’t get played in the concert hall nearly enough. I love Massenet…the Le Cid ballet music. Saint-Saens, Gounod….Debussy was one of my early loves in classical music. When I was in high school I played piano, and loved to try and play Claire de Lune. And Reverie. As I have gotten older I have gotten into some of his more abstract music….Pelleas et Melisande, some of his tone poems…La Mer.

TH: Debussy is one of my favorite composers for sure.

PN: I have a real fondness for French music. There is something about French music that I think gets short shrift among classical music listeners. I don’t think it’s considered as lofty I think…

TH: I don’t get it!:) So what are some of your all-time favorite composers? I usually ask for top 5.

PN: Who is on your list?

TH: I always start with Bach, Mozart and Beethoven…..but then it gets so hard. I usually have Debussy at #4, and maybe Villa-Lobos at 5.

PN: Your top 3 are unchanging…mine are so fluid .But I have to go with 10! Picking 5 is too hard. Another French composer who I think gets short changed  and who I love is Rameau. He is way high on my list. I love Rimsky-Korsakov. And Dvorak. I don’t think he ever wrote a bad piece of music……everything is just…..you know…..

TH: I agree. I am still learning so much.

PN: Like you, I have very eclectic music tastes. There are very few composers that I just totally dismiss. I can find worth in every different composer and genre.

TH: I love it when I listen to a piece that is new to me….and I don’t get it! So I go back and try again…and again. And finally I develop an appreciation for it and it opens a new world to me. I recently wrote a blog about listening to Penderecki’s Stabat Mater for the first time…and how I did not get into it at all, but I kept with it and was finally rewarded.

PN: It’s so interesting you bring him (Penderecki) up. When I first graduated from high school in ’77, I had some really horrible grunt job downtown, so I would escape by listening to KXTR…and this was before radio consultants…so they could PLAY Penderecki at 9:00 am in the morning. It was his Partita for Harpsichord and Electric Guitar. And that combination of instruments in my teenage mind was so incredible that it made me a life-long fan of his music. I don’t think even I would play that piece on the radio. That program director from back then probably doesn’t know that he made such an impression on me.

TH: Janacek was a big early influence on me.

PN: Yes….the Sinfonietta…and I love his piano music. I have grown into composers too. There are some composers who early on I didn’t like at all…like Chopin…it just seemed like easy listening. Wimpy music.  But now, I see there is a lot of blood and guts in his music and he has climbed really high on my list. And another composer I liked OK but was not that passionate about but is now one of my favorites is Liszt. His piano music is unbelievable. He’s a very deep composer. His Piano Sonata in B-minor is really incredible.

TH: Did you see the writing on the wall when KXTR was moved from 96.5 FM to AM?

PN: Yes. The history is interesting. KXTR started back in the late 1950s by a group of classical music lovers who wanted to start an FM classical music radio station. It started in a house on Metcalf Avenue in Overland Park. Then it moved to the Country Club Plaza in the space below what is currently Starbucks.

TH: Oh yeah…it used to be that German restaurant?

PN: Right…it was below that. And then RLDS bought it and moved it out to Independence. And this is what I remember listening to back in the ‘70’s, they had a segment called Apple Tree Hill…very charming. And then Robert Ingram bought it from RLDS in 1975 and moved it out to KCK, in this little trailer with no windows. But it was in a lovely, charming little valley that had all kinds of wild life..and it was just really neat. And so they owned us until 1996 when Heritage Broadcasting bought it from the Ingram’s for $11 million dollars….who had paid $500,000 for it in 1975. Two years after that, in 1998, the Sinclair Broadcast Group bought it from Heritage for $22 million dollars!

TH: Wow, so it went from $11 to $22 million in just 2 years!

PN: In the late 1990’s, after the FCC deregulated the industry and companies could own as many stations in a market as they wanted…the price of radio stations just skyrocketed. But now they are in a financial jam because terrestrial radio has all sorts of competition. Their revenues are sinking. And these big corporations have these huge debts after spending millions of dollars acquiring these stations…and they can’t make it back. It will be interesting if one day they sell them off and they once again become mom and pop stations.

TH: Maybe it will come full circle?

PN: Maybe….In 2000, when they took us off FM, they told me at the last minute that they were moving us to AM.  And the next day we were on a horrible signal (1250). Then we moved to 1660. Those were dark days. Although… we hung on for 10 years.

TH: It’s not just the music that brings the listeners. It’s also the personalities…the interviews …the opportunity to hear music for the first time. Even with an AM signal, I still tuned in to hear what YOU had to say. And AM is OK for that.

PN: In 2012, out of the blue, they just blew it up all together and put a business format on. I should have seen it coming, but still I wasn’t expecting it. Because we had no overhead. Everything we made was gravy for them. That’s the history of KXTR.

TH: What have you been up to since then?

PN:  For the past five years I’ve been writing a weekly column for the Star. It’s been really great because it’s given me another outlet. I have a degree in English. I enjoy it. It is challenging…it’s a tough gig to write a weekly column

TH: Coming up with ideas and topics to write about each week must be a challenge?

PN: Yes, and gathering the information, interviewing people and all that.

TH: Who are some local artists you have connected with?

PN: I enjoyed talking to Charles Bruffy a couple of weeks ago (Director of the KC Chorale) about the Rachmaninoff Vespers. He is very entertaining.

TH: I am looking forward to the Verdi in a couple of weeks.

PN: You know, I just talked with Michael Stern about that a couple of days ago. That’s going to be in my column next Sunday.

TH: That’s a BIG name to talk to!

PN: Yes, and what I love about Michael Stern is he is so eloquent. He “writes” my column (laughs). He is an exacting musician which is why the symphony has become so good. They are on fire! And I don’t know if you have heard any of the recordings they have been making for Reference (recording label)?

TH: No, I haven’t.

PN: They are Fabulous!

TH: So where do you think classical radio is headed?

PN: I am doing Radio Bach now, and in it’s infancy in so many ways. It’s an online, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week  broadcasting from Johnson County Community College.

TH: So where do I go to hear it?

PN: RadioBach.com. At this point its music and imaging. We are going to keep building on it, adding interviews etc. I am not doing a show yet, but I am hoping to in a year or two. Hopefully I’ll be able to do a morning show again. And now that we are streaming, I don’t feel beholden to any kind of crazy consultant ideas…

TH: You can play what you want!

PN:  I think it will distinguish us. The thing about being on the internet is…we are competing with every classical station in the world. We want to give this a strong, local angle with arts leaders etc. We’re going to get there.

TH: So you are optimistic about the future of classical music in society?

PN: I think classical music is hip, and I’m not just saying that…I really honestly do. I think that people who don’t think its hip aren’t hip!

TH: I love that! That may be the signature quote for this interview. Thank you so much for speaking with me.

PN: You are welcome!

What the......???? Tchaikovsky?

I was in the car recently, driving home from somewhere, and I turned on satellite radio, Sirius channel 76....the Symphony channel. I intentionally try not to look at the digital readout that shows what piece is playing because I enjoy trying to guess what it is. I'm not sure what my batting average is, but I'm pretty sure is fairly high. But on this evening, the piece playing was not familiar. I was able to identify it as a string quartet....this was obvious, and it was certainly not a Baroque or Classical period work. It sounded like it might have been from the early 20th century.....it was very a fascinating..and it was captivating. The more I listened, the more perplexed I was......I had no idea what it was or who it was written by. Finally, my curiosity got the best of me and I looked at the display. Tchaikovsky.....his string quartet number 3. "This isn't Tchaikovsky" I uttered......."no way". The same composer who wrote the Nutcracker...Swan Lake....1812 Overture? Nope....the music I was hearing sounded nothing like Tchaikovsky. I do confess that I am not a musical historian, scholar, nor expert. As much as I do know about the classical music repertoire, there is far more that I know little to nothing about. Prior to this evening in the car, I had no idea that Tchaikovsky had even written any string quartets.

I had tuned in just as the third movement had begun. It has such an unusual tonal quality. Melodically speaking, it is very bare and sparse......nothing to hint or suggest that a master of melody had written it. But it was so powerful. I almost had to pull the car over because I was so transfixed by what I was hearing for the first time. I arrived home as the fourth movement was beginning, but I stayed in the car to listen to it before I went in the house. I could not wait to explore this piece in its entirety the next day....and to read about Tchaikovsky's string quartets. These moments of exploration are wonderful. It turns out this amazing quartet was written in 1876. You can hear the third movement of his third string quartet here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbAk68gJpEk