For over a century in democratic societies, public broadcasting institutions have been driven by three main objectives: to educate, inform and entertain. However, almost everywhere, between budget cuts and crises of legitimacy, they must redefine themselves, or even justify their existence. In this four-part series, The duty profiles various public media outlets in the United States and Europe. Today: American Public Media’s Classical 24/YourClassical channel.
The United States remains among the wealthiest and most powerful countries on the planet, but it is particularly stingy when it comes to funding its public media. Barely 1 percent of National Public Radio’s (NPR) budget comes from the federal government, and most public stations or content producers rely on modest support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), advertising, and philanthropy. In contrast, the billions in public funding that France Télévisions, Radio France, and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) receive means that these institutions can boast, among other things, of supporting orchestras and choirs heard around the world.
The modest means of NPR, the radio equivalent of PBS (Public Broadcasting Society), forced it to drop two of its flagship classical music programs: SymphonyCasta weekly meeting of symphony orchestra concerts recorded in the hall, and Performance Today, a daily show filled with excerpts from performances by ensembles recorded in front of live audiences, mainly in the United States. The latter reaches more than a million listeners each week.
They still exist, but are now distributed by American Public Media (APM), an organization founded in 2004 from a group of public radio stations, including Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), which was founded in 1967. The headquarters is located in Saint Paul, the state capital, and some of its radio production comes from that station, which helps to promote local musical institutions, including the Minnesota Orchestra (MO) and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. And that’s not to mention its unwavering support for other ensembles, including the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO).
It also features the national service Classical 24 and its digital counterpart, YourClassical. The programming is a unique offering in the American music landscape, which other public stations in the country are also tapping into. Julie Amacher, first hired as a host in 1997, still makes her voice heard, in addition to being responsible for programming. And contributing to the incessant race for donations and patronage.
Music, all colors united
This is not the only challenge for Julie Amacher and her team, especially in the current context. “The issue of diversity in classical music is very important,” says the podcast host. New Classical Tracks. We do everything to ensure that nearly 40% of our musical offering is signed by women or people of color. Of course, Bach, Mozart and Beethoven are always on the menu, but it is our mission to broaden the musical palette, to introduce new composers or new performers, for example through a scholarship program financially supported by the NEA.
The archetypal American listener to public radio, especially classical music, seems both curious and conservative. Julie Amacher agrees, but she doesn’t see it as inevitable. “You have to put things in perspective. Championing the works of contemporary composers from Russia, Iran or Venezuela may be problematic for some listeners, but it’s up to us to tell the story behind their artistic approach.”
Patrick Warfield, director of the University of Minnesota School of Music, admires the work of the MPR/Classical 24 team and acknowledges that it is not without its challenges, like many other public radio stations of its kind. “Our students turn to Spotify more than the radio when it comes to listening to music,” says the man who has lived in Minneapolis for just over a year. “They don’t go to concerts very often — unless one of their teachers is among the musicians on stage! That’s too bad, because the cultural and musical richness of the Twin Cities [la région qui englobe les villes de Saint Paul et de Minneapolis] is extraordinary, but it’s kind of a well-kept secret in the United States.”
It is a little less so for those who listen to shows like SymphonyCast Or Performance Today. Unlike other programs designed by other organizations offering musical content on public radio stations such as PRX (The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) or WFMT (The New York Philharmonic This Week, Exploring Musicc), they offer a broad panorama of musical activity in American concert halls, small and large.
JoAnn Falletta has been conducting the BPO for over 20 years. She was the first woman to conduct a major American orchestra. Her long and impressive career has taken her all over the United States and the world, including Quebec. She was in Montreal last winter for two concerts with the Orchestre Métropolitain. When it comes to the value of radio and its artisans for classical music, this former student of Leonard Bernstein is inexhaustible. “I admire the work of host Fred Child at the helm of Performance Todaysays the multiple Grammy winner. His erudition is profound, but he never displays it in a haughty way: all listeners feel welcome when they listen to him. This show is also important for the memory of American music, because it records a lot of live concerts that would disappear if the microphones were not there.
Over the years, this major two-hour-long event has also evolved, and has stopped systematically broadcasting the entirety of a work, whether it is a concerto or a symphony. A decision that somewhat unsettled JoAnn Falletta. “I won’t hide from you that I was perplexed. But I must admit that they made the right choice, offering a varied program with a common thread between the works, a sort of pleasant wine tasting.” The show’s popularity has never waned.
Pique curiosity, shake up habits
All this is part of the great challenge of proposing works that can both rally the greatest number, broaden perspectives, propose discoveries… without alienating listeners who not only listen, but express themselves through their wallets. “Serving our audiences well remains a constant concern,” acknowledges Julie Amacher. “How can we introduce classical music? For some, Beethoven is a big novelty. And what about Wagner?”
Patrick Warfield shares this view, questioning the real desire of amateurs to push their own limits. “In his time, the public demanded new compositions from Mozart. Today, who does the same thing with John Adams when he creates one of his operas (Doctor Atomic, Nixon in China) ? For many, The Rite of Springby Igor Stravinsky, is something new… »
On her podium as a conductor, able to grasp the public’s tastes and its limitations, JoAnn Falletta believes that part of the change could come from public radio devoted to classical music, if only it were more present in the American territory. “I was told that there would only be about 20 stations,” she says regretfully. “I visit many cities where they have disappeared, and although people say that everything is accessible on the Internet, a station not only allows you to broadcast music, but also to unite a community, to promote local artists, to fuel a sense of pride.”
These are the benefits experienced by the MO, whose concerts have been broadcast on MPR since 1971, and regularly as part of SymphonyCasthosted by Steve Seel, who also hosts an excellent contemporary music show, Extra Eclectic. Gwen Pappas, MO’s vice president of communications and public relations, calls the partnership “exceptional because it allows our orchestra to shine across the state for 50 years, and around the world through online broadcasts.” She acknowledges the limitations of American public radio compared to European models, particularly the BBC. Classical music is a major part of it, and is also the subject of a major festival, the BBC Proms, where musicians from around the world converge each summer for more than a month of concerts at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall, all broadcast for free on BBC Sounds — and without commercials!
“The power of the BBC Proms is real,” admits Gwen Pappas. “Every time the MO has participated, the impact has been remarkable and immediate; it’s clear that classical music is at the centre of cultural life there, not relegated to the margins. But for us, as for public radio stations, community support is essential, and giving strengthens that connection with citizens.”
This model also has its limits, but in the current socio-political context in the United States, politicians and many of their voters remain convinced that public media must be supported above all by the public. And not by state money.
To discover the programming of the Minnesota Public Radio station
To discover the programming of the digital music channel YourClassical