|
COMMENTS AND REFLECTIONS FROM LISTENERS ON THE CONCLUSION OF ADVENTURES IN GOOD MUSIC WITH KARL HAAS
You are invited to send us your thoughts on how Karl Haas affected your life at aigm@wclv.com .
 It was with great sadness that I heard of Karl Haas' passing in 2005 as his knowing and compassionate voice comforted me (and many others) for many years. I first heard him in California when I was a student.
His was an expert voice without pretention or condescension illuminating expressive subjects for which words are almost completely superfluous. This unfortunately is a truly rare confluence. Upon moving to Northern Ohio my pleasure at finding such a beacon of civilization as is WCLV only to greet again Dr. Haas after a temporary hiatus from his show for a few years, was inspiring. His approach was at once engaging, knowing and innocent in the way that reveals true delight in and sense of discovery - a true LOVE of
music and the communicative and expressive power it holds. I will dearly miss his utterly civilizing tone and compassionate knowledge in a time when both are so necessary.
Jeffrey Mumford, composer
Dear Sir or Madam:
I recently begun listening to and enjoying the above program. Though I have read the press release on your website, I don't see any explanation as to why the decision has been made to stop broadcasting and
distributing this program. I would certainly be interested to find out the reason for this.
Jim Angiello
Port Saint Lucie, Florida
The number of stations carrying "Adventures" has dropped so low that it is no longer financially possible to distribute the program. As of June 29th, WCLV will not have the rights to broadcast or distribute the show.
RDC
I just learned from my local station WQCS that AIGM will end this month. I have been listening to AIGM, when it was broadcast where I happened to be, for 35 years. I greatly enjoy my daily visit with Karl Haas, even though there have been no new episodes in several years. So I am sorry to see it end, but thank you for 35 years of listening pleasure.
Harold
 Growing up in the '60s & '70s, I remember my Dad listening to two things on the radio: Sports, of course, high school & college football and baseball - but also Karl Haas on WJR. I believe I got my love of classical music from my mother, but the fact that my father really enjoyed listening to Adventures in Good Music meant to me that this kind of music wasn't for snobs or rich people, it was for anyone who wanted to enjoy it. Mr. Haas was a learned and erudite man, to be sure, but he had a way of connecting with all of us who could not put into words what it was in this music that touched us so deeply. Here's to WCLV for letting us hear that wonderful voice again!
Ben Small
Cleveland
As a teenager in the 70’s, I was one of the very few young people who did not like rock music. I didn’t own  a stereo or a pile of LP’s or even 45’s. I didn’t go to rock concerts or have posters of rock icons on my bedroom walls. In fact I didn’t even know their names, when every one else would be talking about them in school. I guess I was kind of a freak. At home, Hungarian or German music was my parents’ choice. I really didn’t find my own musical identity until one day at the age of 17, I was flipping thru stations on my car radio and just happened to stop at Adventures in Good Music with Karl Haas, I was hooked from that moment. Karl helped make classical music accessible and fun. It has been a great joy in my life ever since.
Sheila Elo
I have listened to Karl from Detroit to Cleveland, and especially when I attended CIM. I learned most of my music history after receiving my masters in music, just by listening to his different take on history. Much better than a dry lecture in school.
I have continued to listen to his program at 8, but not as regularly. Most indicated programs are usually selling concerts or cd's. Karl was just selling the fun and stories behind our music and musicians.
Marcine Petrea
We listen to deceased composers and conductors on the radio. why not continue to listen to one of the most learned lecturers of music - Karl Haas. I like WCLV.
Richard Gibbons
Audiences are used to deceased performers on radio, recordings and television. but the fact that Karl died is not the reason for the conclusion of the program. When Karl died in early 2005, WCLV met with the Haas family and agreed that the market would tell us when it was time to stop program distribution. Once the carriage dropped from hundreds of stations to fewer than 20, it was decided that the market had, in fact, spoken and that it was time to discontinue Adventures in Good Music. RDC
 I am well educated in some areas(PhD in Physics), but have never taken a class in music appreciation.
Since discovering "Adventures in Good Music" about two decades ago, Karl Haas has filled that personal void in a systematic and wonderfully sensitive way. His depth of classical music knowledge and interesting presentation style have made me an "addict" to his program and to classical music. If I could borrow one of Karl Haas' program titles to describe his programming, I would say it was "Rare and Well Done!" I am saddened about the end of his program on the internet, which has been the only way I could get his program since his death. However, I take with me a much better understanding and appreciation of classical music.
Thank you to WCLV for its role in bringing this musical genius' insights to the public.
Dr. Kenneth A. Potocki
I moved to Cleveland area about 6 years ago from Calif. and I started listening to WCLV a couple years ago and found adventures in good music. I LOVE the show!! Karl Haas is the best. He was like that one professor in college that you couldn't wait to go to class and loved listening to and didn't want class to end, because he always kept your attention and had something interesting to say. Those people are rare. I am soooo sad you are ending the show, but I understand. I used to look forward to it every morning, then when the time changed, every night. All good things must come to an end, I only wish I had come across the show sooner. I will miss the show and hearing Karls voice.
BG
Just heard KHFM's Kip Allen announce the end of AIGM in New Mexico. We in this area are proud that our classical station was one of the score of hold-outs for Karl's beacon of musical excellence. The sadness at his passing two years ago is renewed with what may be even stronger impact. Now, he is really gone, and the fond memories fade into silence for the last time.
Your explanation for the sound business reasons that brought this about are all quite reasonable, and I certainly don't join in the shallow chiding of Seaway for cutting the cord. However, I have one question, albeit a complex one, which I hope you can answer on the website for the benefit of all.
You note the decline in the number of stations carrying the program following Karl's passing -- even though he had not actually produced new broadcasts for several years before his death, so that all the programs were, in effect, posthumous in a sense. Do you have any information from the many who canceled, about why they chose to drop AIGM? Not that it would help revive the program (alas!), but it might be useful to know what the market forces are here. Did they consider AIGM an old fuddy-duddy of a program? Were they upset at the obvious repetition that would ensue, even though it had been going on for some time already? Did sponsors have some of these same concerns? Did the stations have actual listener surveys to back up any of this, or were they management revelations? I suggest, incidentally, that the repetition is not a problem: you can listen to classical music over and over and still hear new things -- we all know that.
As I write this, a second query surfaces: you mentioned that the Haas family has decided not to renew Seaway's option to AIGM's rights. Does this mean that the family may turn to someone else and transfer those rights to another broadcaster, a non-broadcast syndicate (XM? Sirius?) or some such thing? The program remains artistically valid -- as one of your correspondents points out, young people continue to discover the wonderful world of good music every day, and Karl Haas has been instumental (not to mention vocal, even beyond the grave) in this process.
Karl was my friend, as he was yours, and a friend to so many listeners as well. Now, we really miss him, and it hurts.
Best wishes from Santa Fe,
Bill Dunning
The answer to most of your questions above is "yes." Som younger program people felt Karl was "old school." Stations were also concerned about the repetition and that there would be no new material. The Haas family has not indicated what their plans are for the future. RDC
I just heard this minute that the Karl Haas era is to end. How sad! Next to The Cleveland Orchestra concerts, this  is my favorite program to listen to. I will sorely miss it. I am saddened that it hat to end.
Ethel Muzilla, Amherst, OH
I heard your announcement last night regarding Karl Haas. I am so saddened. I no idea that he had passed away....My life has been so enriched because of Karl Haas. Not only the good music, but the man himself.
He was devoted, and hard working and spiritual. And tender-hearted. I used to say to myself, "What will I ever do if anything happens to Karl Haas." And so, this is it. Thank you for bringing him to us...
Margy Brewer, Lakewood, OH
This letter is send to add my comments to the many I know you've received regarding the cancellation of the Karl Haas program. Except for the period that I lived overseas, I have been a listener and admirer since he first broadcast the show in 1959 from WJR, Detroit....He genius for educating us about all aspects of music can never be replicated. We all loved him for his humor, his wonderful delivery and the many interesting topics he presented. I felt like I had lost a member of my family when he died in 2005, bu I was delighted that WCLV decided to keep the program going. It could have stayed on the air forever, entertaining and teaching future generations of listeners. Although I have been informed of the rationale for ending the broadcasts, I am saddened and deeply disapointed that this decision was made...
I will always treasure a letter he wrote in response to a question that I sent to him. My family and I feel priviledged that we had the opportunity to enjoy his programs these many years, and we hold out the hope that this marvelous voice will once again he heard.
On another topic, please keep Robert Conrad's programs going even though he has retired. I look forward to hearing them through my computer. He also has a unique and enjoyable program.
Miserable in Michigan.
Thank you, but I'm not retired, just spending some time in Florida during the winter. RDC
I just want to say that Karl Haas was indeed a big influence on my life and musical education. I hope that somehow it will come about that the programs will be released on CD so that I may be able to hear some of them again, and share them with my grandchildren too. With state of musical education around the country being what it is today, this could be all the more important a project to pursue.
Robert Broemel
Principal bassoonist Indianapolis Symphony 1970-1998
In the summer of 1959, I was a young wife and expectant mother-to-be. A native of the Detroit area, I’d been brought up with classical music on the radio, compliments of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and other musical performing groups. I studied music in some form or other for my entire educational lifetime: piano, organ, voice, French horn. In fact, while I was attending Wayne State College (now University) in 1954-55, I attended concerts of the Chamber Music Society of Detroit. That season Karl Haas was
president of the Society.
At any rate, I spent most of that summer of 1959 flat on my back in my bed, as I somehow managed to contract a kidney infection that proved stronger than any medicines known at the time and it just would not go away! So I lay on my bed, gazing at the back yard through my bedroom window and listening to WJR,  my radio station of choice. A new program appeared that spring, by a man well known in musical circles in Detroit, and soon to be even better known to the international musical world. It was, of course, Adventures in Good Music with Karl Haas. It was the start of a long and happy adventure, to be sure. Who could have known, that summer of 1959, that 43 years later, I would become a music writer and reviewer, due in part to the wonderful musical education I acquired through listening to Mr. Haas. In fact, I’ve even been one of the ‘Considered Opinions’ reviewers on my favorite radio station, WCLV in Cleveland.
Karl Haas and I parted ways for a few years in the early 60s as my family and I went west to California and then to Washington state before returning home to Michigan. Here I was delighted to find Mr. Haas still present on WJR. Next we moved to Ohio in 1963 with our young son named Karl (with a K) for one of my uncles. It was just another link in the chain that seemed to connect us somehow. I discovered WCLV shortly after it first appeared on Cleveland’s radio waves, and it has been my station of choice since then. Well, there was one small hiatus during my second marriage, but neither of them lasted very long, and I’ve never been that fickle again! In the meantime, syndication of Adventures in Good Music provided even better availability for listeners around the world.
In 1978 I began a new career as a traveling salesperson, with a territory that encompassed Ohio and all the contiguous states, plus Ontario and part of Quebec. To my great surprise and even greater pleasure, I discovered that if I planned carefully enough, some days I could hear Karl on four different stations! With four different programs! And then I’d come back home, and hear them again. These were some of my best years, and I absorbed the knowledge he imparted so generously, as though I was a sponge. I had to be careful not to sound like a recorder, spouting off my new-found musical facts!
I find it amazing to consider how much I learned from my years of listening to Adventures in Good Music. But my connection was still there. The daughter I carried so patiently and lovingly died suddenly in October 2004, just twelve days before her 45th birthday, and about four months before Karl left us, as well. It’s been a comfort and a joy to hear his voice even now, but I can understand his family’s wish to keep him for themselves. I think of him with great fondness, and certainly wish them all well. We are the better for having known him—atrocious puns and all! He was a lifelong learning experience of the very best kind.
Kelly Ferjutz - music reviewer for CoolCleveland.com
I listened to Mr. Hass' broadcasts as often as I could. Sometimes I loved them, sometimes they bored me, sometimes they annoyed me, but I learned about classical music and about composers. I believe I live a richer life now, just from what Mr. Hass taught me. I miss his broacasts.
P.S. I'll wager he would have smiled learning of "The Sousalarm".
John R Talmage, CPA
Adventures in Great Music will be missed in the Cleveland area. I remember as a young mother at home listening to Karl Haas add his personal touch to each and every program. He certainly had a great way of choosing the title for his show. I loved the introductory piece that was played as the show began.
I will miss Karl Haas. He provided me with such comfort at time when I felt the lonely. Thank you for all of those years.
Betty
I was sorry to learn just recently from WCLV that Karl Haas had passed away. Adventures in good music was one of my favorite radio programs. A few years ago I wrote Dr. Haas a letter asking for his opinion about the similarity between a 19th century French composition called "Elegy" and a 17th century canon from Nagyszombat, Hungary. Dr. Haas was so gracious as to have prompltly replied on my inquiry, which I appreciated very much. Karl Haas' interesting and entertaining lectures will be missed. I, for one, appreciate the fact that WCLV continued to broadcast the program after Karl Haas' passing.
Gusztav Veres
Fairview Park
My name is Frank Z. Revy. I am 36 years old and a lifelong resident of Cleveland.
(Karl Haas's) voice was one of a kind. His passion was unbridled. And my love and respect for this man who I never saw, only heard - is immeasurable. I can't even remember first hearing Karl Haas and his show because it always seemed to be there. I suppose my first memories are my father listening to his show, and waxing eloquent about the great and knowledgeable Karl Haas. Then he would try and imitate his voice, which of course was hilarious. Imagine a man with a thick Hungarian accent trying to mimic the slow, sonorous, cadence of Mr. Haas.
I suppose I always took for granted he would always be around. It's nearly unbelievable that he will be cancelled. Listening to WCLV in the mornings - Haas was the highlight. His show opened my ears to classical music, and he opened my mind. Karl Haas is a big reason why I love all kinds of music. He related to me because of his passion for music.
Frank Z. Revy
My wife and I share a feeling of immense blessing and gratitude, to have had the opportunity to enjoy the genius that was Karl Haas!
Liesel and Hans Hetzel
As a long-time WCLV listener, I am sad to hear that broadcast of Adventures in Good Music is coming to an end. One of favorites is the RINGING OF THE BELSS which always airs during the holiday season. For me, the holiday time isn't complete without listening to this program! Perhaps for the sake of tradition, WCLV will be able to air this episode.
Thanks so much.
Beth Byrd
Good News. The Story of the Bells, which Karl always played on Christmas Eve, is one program we do have the rights to. And WCLV will broadcast on December 24th. RDC
I am very disappointed to learn of the end of Karl Haas' Adventures in Good Music on WCLV. This is an outstanding series. If possible, could it be aired even on only the weekends? Also, I have found the Cue Sheets to be very useful. The Cue Sheets for the last week of Adventures in Good Music have not been updated on the WCLV web site. If possible, could these be updated and also include the special 10:00 AM airings?
Dave Mayhew
The cue sheets are posted. Go to the AIGM Ends article and scroll down. RDC
To whom it may concern:
I sincerely hope that your management will reconsider its decision to discontinue distribution of "Adventures in Good Music" with Dr. Karl Haas.
I first discovered Dr. Haas' program in the late 1950s on station WJR while I was a graduate student at Michigan State University, East Lansing. Icontinued to listen whenever possible, but after graduation moved to places where his program was not carried.
About a year ago I moved to Buffalo, NY, where Dr. Haas' program is carried on WNED. I have listened virtually every day!
While it is true that there are other classical music review programs available on various stations in various cities, Karl Haas remains distinct and unique. I sincerely urge you to reconsider your decision to discontinue distribution of this unique series!
William M. DeRoo, Ph.D.
Larry Vehorn
South Carolina
I listened to Carl Haas on WJR-Detroit in the sixties. Since then I have heard hislectures on NPR and WCLV. I went to see him in Florida, and he was just as charming in person! He really made classical music so understandable--and thus so enjoyable. He touched so many lives.
Betty Dalton
I was saddened to hear of Karl Haas' passing, and am equally sad to hear that his recordings will no longer be heard on public radio. I began listening to his programs when I was in high school; my mother would play the classical station in our kitchen, and we would listen as she prepared dinner. His soothing voice would come on the radio, and we would all pay attention. I studied music in college, so listening to his programs was like an extra dose of my music education. His programs were always informative, fresh and original, and I always learned something new from them. I especially loved the Mystery Composer episodes, we would try to guess the composer before the end of the show.
I am sad that a new generation of young people will not get to experience his programs, and learn from his vast knowledge of the classical music world. It is truly their loss. Thanks, Karl!!!
Beth Stewart
Cleveland
With broadcasts of Adventures In Good Music concluding this week, an era will be coming to an end. My interest in classical music started when I was a child in the 1960's, and AIGM contributed to my musical development. I eventually graduated from Baldwin-Wallace College with a degree in music education, and classical music is still a very important part of my life.
Karl Haas was a like a warm, friendly European Uncle and his programs were creative and informative. I can't help but be sad to see AIGM leave the airwaves, but I'm also grateful for the thousands of programs that were broadcast. Please do whatever you can to make these programs available in some format - the future of classical music in America needs all the help it can get!
Best wishes for the continuing success of WCLV.
Michael Parry
I was saddened when I heard he died, but ecstatic when they said the show would continue. We are so disappointed that we will no longer hear the program whether here in Central Florida at 9 p.m. or at noon driving up to my daughter's in Atlanta, or whenever it was on wherever I was. I hope the family will consider creating several CD collections to be sold. I would buy them all!!
As a young child, I listened to my father play what was to become the introduction to AIGM. My father died 23 years ago, but every time I listened to AIGM, I would smile and remember those wonderful times listening to my dad playing the piano.
Thank you, Karl, for doing what you did for so many of us. To the Haas family, thank you for sharing him with us for so many years!
Susan Jennings
Sarasota, FL
We will miss "Adventures in Music" with Karl Hass terribly. With the five special programs that you plan to air, would you please think about making a CD of those 5 programs. We enjoyed Karl Haas so very much. Thank you for all the great music.
Dotti and Frank Schubert
I am sorry to hear that Adventures in Great Music will no longer be on the air. As an amateur musician, I enjoyed every program I heard. What a wealth of knowledge he brought to all of us, with such insight to the intricacies of classical music. I have always loved classical music, but he showed me why.
Listener
Just as I was sad at the loss of favorite classical radio stations through the years, I'm sorry to never again hear Karl's programs. Karl Haas was a wonderful instructor. His style was so personal that I felt as though he was my private tutor. I will miss him greatly. I don't know what else to say. It just won't be the same world without him.
Susan Judd
Placentia, CA
Are you also going to stop playing Mozart and Brahms? Following your logic towards Karl...they have died
too. So after you flush the best show you've got, what's the replacement...more of ole' chip-on-his-shoulder
Jerome Crossley's "why I hate music" diatribes? Well...If you don't like my comments and want to do
something about it, I guess we can meet in the parking with dueling pistol's or sabres and settle this like
gentlemen. Or, you can re-instate AIGM. Let your conscience be your guide.
Eric in Bay
M
ay I comment on a great aspect of Karl Haas' broadcasts, namely the cultural depth of his presentation. He was a scholar in the best European tradition, multilingual (with correct pronunciation in all-a rarity today) and steeped in rigorous and scrupulous training (such as with Schnabel)..Yet he added a charming American touch which drew the listener into enjoying and better understanding the music. Many others can announce music and provide textbook background, but few, maybe none, can provide Karl's connection to the culture. I will miss this especially.Here in the Connecticut area there is a sizeable and devoted audience and I hope some way can be found to make the re-broadcasts available again.
Adolph E. Ehbrecht
Ending the Karl Haas programs is a great loss to all who love classical music. Because his programs and comments will be just as timely 200 years from today, I fail to understand the logic of ending the broadcasts. It's very much like removing all of an author's works from library shelves simply
because he died.
Why did so many stations drop the program when Karl died? When original production costs ended, couldn't the distribution fees be lowered? I would pay a fee to listen to the program archive via streaming audio. Likely, I missed more than half of Karl's programs. Many times at the end of one of
his programs, I wished I could hear it again. Thank you for broadcasting the wonderful program Adventures in Good Music with Karl Haas for so many years. It is with great sadness that I learn that this exceptional series will no longer be available after June 2007.Karl Haas has been an important part of my life since I was a teenager. I discovered him in Chicago in the late 60s (hate to think how long ago that was) and since then I always listened to his wonderful Adventures whenever I could. Sometimes I would even get up at 5:00am to listen because that was when the local station broadcast it. Now my own children as well have continued to delight in his great knowledge, his wit, and his humanity.
His listeners gained a first-rate musical education from him. It defies comprehension that so many stations would decide to drop this exceptional program from their schedule. I have even called or written my local stations to request it, but without success. In these times of wavering interest in classical music, it is a real shame to lose such a valuable resource. Unfortunately, market forces do not always make the best decisions. The market is a creature without a heart and often without a brain. It is indeed a shame.
I was fortunate to see Karl Haas in concert nearly 20 years ago. When he came out on the stage, he delighted the audience with his familiar "Hello, Everyone." Then he continued with "Before I begin, I have a confession to make: I didn't know what you look like, either." It brought down the house.
I will greatly miss Adventures in Good Music and Karl Haas' wonderful voice It is almost unbearable to imagine a world without it. Please convey my deepest gratitude to the Haas family, along with my best wishes that they will again find a suitable means to make the program available in the future. I do hope that some way will be found.
Susan Grimm
Omaha, Nebraska |
