Renaissance Research Conservatory Project Pop Quiz: The NSO & Classical WETA-FM Say That Modest Musorgsky Composed Only One Opera -- True or False?
Last night at 9 PM, on National Symphony Orchestra Showcase, on Classical WETA-FM, in the Nation's Capital, announcer and commentator John Chester told hundreds of thousands of listeners that Russian nationalist composer Modest Musorgsky composed only one opera. True or False?
It was also broadcast that, unlike Tchaikovsky, Musorgsky was dirty, uncouth, and lived like a Russian peasant. True or False?
posted by Garth Trinkl at 6:02 AM
4 Comments:
No-brainer. The real question is how did that guy get his job? Isn't expertise thought to be a reuirement of the job description?
John, you would think so, but you also have to remember that the Classical WETA-FM music hosts are also reading from scripts.
Some of these scripts might have been outsourced to the Classical WETA-FM part-time workers, at least one of whom apparently now works for Classical WETA-FM from his home in Munich, Germany. (Although I would guess that this staffer probably would not have made this mistake.)
Also, the NSO probably had a hand in the preparation of the script, and the NSO is clearly between conductors and new artistic direction, as is well known.
Furthermore, before John Chester joined WETA (through a bizarre 'merger' two years ago), he apparently worked for a total of about 23 years at Washington's commercial classical station WGMS; which went off the air two years ago, but which, by promising to give its conservative, virtually totally non-American classical CD collection to Classical WETA, apparently was able to place most, if not all, of its commerical classical hosts at the new, reactionary WETA/WGMS.
Marc Fisher, of the Washington Post, has written, I recall, that he believes that WETA is trying to operate Classical WETA-FM as cheaply as possible, and to make it a new non-profit money center for the overall station. That is why, he surmises, Classical WETA doesn't want to contract for delayed broadcasts of American orchestras outside of it local Foundation-subsidied monthly deal with the National Symphony.
See:
http://www.weta.org/fm/channels/hosts/John+Chester
I knew none of this. Highly illuminating, thank you. Looks like this horse has left the barn.
Thank you, too, John! Obviously we have hard work ahead!
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