Another Big Faux Pas at KUSC-FM

[Modernistfan]

As many of you know, today is Holocaust Memorial Day (Yom HaShoah). Please see the following e-mail I just sent to Ms. Brenda Barnes of KUSC-FM in Los Angeles:

Dear Ms. Barnes:

Your station has committed what I believe to be an insensitive and insulting faux pas. As you may know, or at least should know, today is Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day), observed by Jews and others in Israel and elsewhere (it actually began Sunday night at sundown).

Not only has your station failed to musically commemorate the Holocaust on this occasion, as has normally been done at this time, there has been no mention whatsoever of this occasion. This morning, at 6:00 a.m., Dennis Bartel, who usually plays something nonclassical from some country or other to commemorate some local holiday, didn't bother to mention or musically mark Yom HaShoah; rather, he played something to mark some insignificant local holiday in the former Soviet republic of Moldova. Of course, Moldova, a province of Romania at the beginning of World War II, was an area where many thousands of Jews and others were killed by the Nazis or else deported to death camps (ironically, my own family on my mother's side traces to Moldova, and if I had any remaining relatives there, it is all but a certainty that they died in the Holocaust). Not a mention of this by Mr. Bartel.

If that were not bad enough, at 8:15, he announced a special broadcast of historical recordings by none other than that unreconstructed Nazi sympathizer Alfred Cortot. Cortot was a member of the Conseil National ("National Council") of the collaborationist Vichy regime in occupied France, served as the High Commissioner of the Fine Arts in the Vichy government, and played in many Nazi-sponsored concerts in Germany during the war. Additionally, Cortot is believed to have denounced his own student, the Lithuanian-Jewish pianist Vlado Perlemuter, to the Gestapo; Perlemuter somehow managed to escape with his life and was able to flee to Switzerland and survive the war. After the liberation of France, Cortot's conduct was deemed so outrageous and egregious that he was banned from playing in public for a year despite his reputation and despite the general desire of France to excuse the behavior of collaborators. Not a word about any of this from Mr. Bartel.

If Mr. Bartel would cease his juvenile, snarky, snide, pseudo-hip babblings and bother to learn something about music history, the behavior of important musicians, the social and political context of classical music, why this music means so much to so many people, and the diversity of the classical music community, this would not have happened.

Your audience, and not just its Jewish members, deserves far better. At the very least, Mr. Bartel should issue a public apology and abandon the Cortot broadcasts. This is highly offensive and unforgivable on Yom HaShoah.

Sincerely yours,
[Modernistfan]

This is unforgivable and highly offensive. Of all the days to play that overrated note-dropper Cortot, why today? Of course, there is a ton of music that commemorates the Holocaust and associated Nazi atrocities, such as Martinu's "Memorial to Lidice," Shostakovich's Second Piano Trio, Benjamin Frankel's Violin Concerto, Schoenberg's "A Survivor from Warsaw," and dozens of other works. Given the blinkered attitude of KUSC-FM, such works will only be played when pigs not only fly, but are declared kosher.

[MarkC]

Well said -- but, for what it's worth, speaking as a child of survivors (and whose family lost many members) and one who has been much involved with Holocaust issues, I wouldn't expect radio stations or anything else besides Jewish organizations to give any special recognition to the day. It's great if they do, but no issue if they don't. All IMO of course.

[Modernistfan]

Mark C, in general, of course, you are right. However, KUSC-FM had always commemorated Yom HaShoah; a few years ago, they even had a five-night series that week, one hour per week, playing a number of major works, including works by the Czech composers such as Haas, Krasa, Klein, Ullmann, and Schulhoff, who perished in the Holocaust, works such as Martinu's "Memorial to Lidice," and many others. This has gradually been whittled down. Moreover, the area served by KUSC-FM is Los Angeles, which has the second largest Jewish community in the United States and many survivors and children of survivors. In addition, refugees who otherwise would have been caught up in the Holocaust (i.e., Schoenberg, Klemperer, and Korngold, just to name a few), have played a huge role in the musical life of Los Angeles. If this were Boise, Idaho or Jackson, Mississippi, I wouldn't expect any better, but not for Los Angeles.

[MarkC]

It's great that you're measured and open-minded about it. (Like, you didn't go nuts on me or anything.)

I still have some trouble seeing it how you said. The fact that they observed it a certain way for some time doesn't mean they always have to, and I don't think the presence of a large Jewish population changes that. Obviously this is subjective, and all I can say is that even being someone heavily steeped in the Holocaust myself, it doesn't hit my radar screen if there's no recognition from a music radio station. I hope you'll continue not to be outraged that I don't share your outrage.

I'll be interested to see what others think.

BTW: Schonberg's piece (particularly the text) is especially important and moving to me, as my family was in Warsaw and that kind of thing was all around them.

[Modernistfan]

MarkC: Of course, you are right. However, what really set me off was the playing of recordings by Cortot. That really seemed like a slap on the face on Yom HaShoah. If they had not played the Cortot, I would definitely not have sent that e-mail. If they wanted to play historical recordings, couldn't they have played recordings by Perlemuter (just to name one pianist whose name came up because of his connection with Cortot) or any number of other historical pianists who did not collaborate?

[Lance]

Since KUSC is an NPR station, I hope the Jewish population remembers this when the station comes looking for $$$ at fundraising time. Something should have been aired to commemorate Yom HaShoah especially in view of the fact that in previous years broadcasts commemorated the event.

Mark C, in general, of course, you are right. However, KUSC-FM had always commemorated Yom HaShoah; a few years ago, they even had a five-night series that week, one hour per week, playing a number of major works, including works by the Czech composers such as Haas, Krasa, Klein, Ullmann, and Schulhoff, who perished in the Holocaust, works such as Martinu's "Memorial to Lidice," and many others. This has gradually been whittled down. Moreover, the area served by KUSC-FM is Los Angeles, which has the second largest Jewish community in the United States and many survivors and children of survivors. In addition, refugees who otherwise would have been caught up in the Holocaust (i.e., Schoenberg, Klemperer, and Korngold, just to name a few), have played a huge role in the musical life of Los Angeles. If this were Boise, Idaho or Jackson, Mississippi, I wouldn't expect any better, but not for Los Angeles.

[MarkC]

......what really set me off was the playing of recordings by Cortot.....

For odd personal reasons, I have a different view of Cortot.
I'm conflicted.

I never knew about those aspects of him until very, very recently. In fact, I think I learned of them from this site, which I only joined a few months ago. I had long been an admirer, and this was bolstered when (it so happened) I became a friend and occasional student of a prominent student of his. So, it's hard to change the positive thoughts and feelings I have of Cortot, even with this other stuff staring me in the face, and I suppose I can be sort of defensive on his behalf, even if I'm not intending to be, which I'm certainly not.

Off the subject, but let me ask: If you were in my place, and you were a bit close with a Cortot student (as I am), and then you first learned of this 'other thing' about Cortot.......

[Lance]

I need to know more about the Cortot/Perlemuter case. I have read (somewhere) that Cortot had taken Perlemuter under his wing, introduced him to Ravel, and spent considerable time with Perlemuter as a teacher and friend. Perlemuter always held Cortot in the highest esteem and that the feeling was mutual. Of course, WWII saw many people "change" their views. It wasn't until a few years ago that I learned of Cortot's Nazi involvement and was very surprised by this. Is there anything around (published) that elaborates on the Cortot/Perlemuter issue? I wonder if author Michael H. Kater ever wrote anything about it. Naturally, one experiences huge disappointment in great artists who were proven collaborators. I have always held Cortot's pianist art in high esteem but it has been tainted by learning of these things. I don't believe cellist Pablo Casals ever forgave Cortot for his World War II activities, among the reasons their collaborative concert efforts came to a halt. Vlado Perlemuter would have been the perfect person to have written an autobiography. I don't believe one ever came forth.

MarkC: Of course, you are right. However, what really set me off was the playing of recordings by Cortot. That really seemed like a slap on the face on Yom HaShoah. If they had not played the Cortot, I would definitely not have sent that e-mail. If they wanted to play historical recordings, couldn't they have played recordings by Perlemuter (just to name one pianist whose name came up because of his connection with Cortot) or any number of other historical pianists who did not collaborate?

[Lance]

......what really set me off was the playing of recordings by Cortot.....

For odd personal reasons, I have a different view of Cortot.
I'm conflicted.

I never knew about those aspects of him until very, very recently. In fact, I think I learned of them from this site, which I only joined a few months ago. I had long been an admirer, and this was bolstered when (it so happened) I became a friend and occasional student of a prominent student of his. So, it's hard to change the positive thoughts and feelings I have of Cortot, even with this other stuff staring me in the face, and I suppose I can be sort of defensive on his behalf, even if I'm not intending to be, which I'm certainly not.

Off the subject, but let me ask: If you were in my place, and you were a bit close with a Cortot student (as I am), and then you first learned of this 'other thing' about Cortot.......

[MarkC]

......It wasn't until a few years ago that I learned of Cortot's Nazi involvement and was very surprised by this.......I have always held Cortot's pianist art in high esteem but it has been tainted by learning of these things.....

So......you too.
I wonder how many people (or how few) do know of it.

About the radio station: While I personally wouldn't be upset about what they're doing and not doing, I must say I'm glad that there are people like you and Modernistfan who are.

P.S. I JUST CHANGED MY MIND -- a bit.
Thinking more about his and your posts, I agree that at least they shouldn't be playing Cortot.

[Lance]

MarkC, in reference to your point about playing Cortot's recordings, it seems very odd to me that of all the pianists who have recordings out there that Cortot's would be selected for Yom HaShoah unless someone on the staff regularly plays Cortot's recordings and makes no connection with the Holocaust. (Someone on the staff would certainly know, especially at a classical music station.) It would occur to me that if someone DID know about the Cortot Nazi affiliation that playing those recordings would just fuel the fire more. Shame on KUSC if such a thing was the case. It will be most interesting to see what kind of response Modernistfan receives from the radio station.

......It wasn't until a few years ago that I learned of Cortot's Nazi involvement and was very surprised by this.......I have always held Cortot's pianist art in high esteem but it has been tainted by learning of these things.....

So......you too.
I wonder how many people (or how few) do know of it.

About the radio station: While I personally wouldn't be upset about what they're doing and not doing, I must say I'm glad that there are people like you and Modernistfan who are.

P.S. I JUST CHANGED MY MIND -- a bit.
Thinking more about his and your posts, I agree that at least they shouldn't be playing Cortot.

[MarkC]

......it seems very odd to me that of all the pianists who have recordings out there that Cortot's would be selected for Yom HaShoah unless someone on the staff regularly plays Cortot's recordings and makes no connection with the Holocaust. (Someone on the staff would certainly know.....

I don't think we can assume that someone on the staff knows. I mean look: You didn't know till a few years ago.......I didn't know till a few weeks ago, despite being steeped in both the Holocaust and anything about pianists, and despite knowing that student of Cortot. I think it's quite possible that nobody there "knows."

[Lance]

It is quite possible that nobody "knows" at the station (but I personally doubt it). If that's the case, then KUSC might be forgiven, but not in subsequent years, i.e., years to come, especially after receiving Modernistfan's communication. I am also sure that others around the LA area who have any knowledge of Cortot, Holocaust, and Yom HaShoah have communicated their feelings to KUSC.

......it seems very odd to me that of all the pianists who have recordings out there that Cortot's would be selected for Yom HaShoah unless someone on the staff regularly plays Cortot's recordings and makes no connection with the Holocaust. (Someone on the staff would certainly know.....

I don't think we can assume that someone on the staff knows. I mean look: You didn't know till a few years ago.......I didn't know till a few weeks ago, despite being steeped in both the Holocaust and anything about pianists, and despite knowing that student of Cortot. I think it's quite possible that nobody there "knows."

[MarkC]

......and not just what they do in 'subsequent years'.......it'll be interesting to see if they give some response meanwhile, either on-air or in writing.

[david johnson]

'If this were Boise, Idaho or Jackson, Mississippi, I wouldn't expect any better,'

...tacky and uncalled for.

dj

[RebLem]

I have been Googling various facets of this issue. You will be gratified to know that when one Googles KUSC-FM Yom HaShoah this thread @ CMG is the top item listed. Also, I went to www.kusc.org and found that the Cortot broadcast is part of a continuing survey of Cortot's work on the station's Morning Show. Today, the website says this:

The Morning Show
Weekdays, 5 - 9 AM

Hosted by Dennis Bartel

Tuesday morning at 8:15, we continue our weeklong series of historic recordings by the great Franco-Swiss pianist Alfred Cortot, with his legendary 1928 recording of Schumann's Carnaval. "He never made an impression merely as a technician, and he left flamboyance to the big virtuosos. Cortot was much more the re-creative musician with severe elegance and logic to his playing." (Harold Schonberg)

[Modernistfan]

The Cortot broadcasts indeed continued at 8:15 this morning. Mr. Bartels did not mention any of the controversy over the playing of Cortot's recordings on Yom HaShoah or allude to Cortot's activities during World War II. He did, however, make reference to his deficiencies as a technician. At the close of the selection broadcast (a selection from Cortot's 1928 recording of Schumann's "Carnaval"), he also failed to address the issue of Cortot's collaboration and merely said that Wednesday's broadcast would be Cortot's recording of Liszt.

I have received no response from Ms. Barnes of KUSC-FM as of yet. If I do, I shall post it on this forum.

Regarding my mention of Boise, Idaho and Jackson, Mississippi, I did not intend to offend listeners or residents of those cities. They were chosen more or less at random as cities with very small Jewish populations, in contrast to Los Angeles (the Los Angeles area has something like 600,000 Jews, second only to New York). I certainly did not intend to imply that residents of those cities did not know or care about the Holocaust or were inclined to be antisemitic. The intention was merely to point out that a radio station in Los Angeles, with its large Jewish population, should be more aware of those issues.

This is not an easy issue to address and I appreciate the comments on this forum very much.

[MarkC]

'If this were Boise, Idaho or Jackson, Mississippi, I wouldn't expect any better,'

...tacky and uncalled forj

Absolutely.
Somehow I didn't catch the "any better."

Sorry to have to say this, but it makes this whole thing look less compelling.
Sorry.

Appearances matter, and the messenger matters.

If he comes back and says it was just a bad little moment, that would help.

[MarkC]

......I did not intend to offend listeners or residents of those cities. They were chosen more or less at random as cities with very small Jewish populations......

I figured the latter, but.......if you think about it, I think you'll see that what you just said doesn't cover the problem part.

I'll leave it at that.

[Donald Isler]

My first teacher and her husband, Sina and Herman Berlinski (he later became an organist, and a composer of Jewish liturgical music) were German Jews, and pianists who studied with Cortot in the 30's. They never forgot either what a great artist Cortot was, or that he never did anything to help them leave France. Herman served in the French Army (but, as a foreigner, was not allowed to work in France afterwards!) and they were, fortunately, able to come to America in 1941.

[Modernistfan]

No response from the station. I now admit I was wrong to mention Boise or Jackson, Mississippi, but, if you check carefully, I did not make that reference in what I sent to the station. Shame on KUSC.

[MarkC]

I've been through Boise.......and I rather liked it.

And y'know, there are some pretty SMART people there.

Like, there was this play...... (the first one on here -- although the rest ain't too bad either, and the final play, at 1:18, is probably even more famous)

[Chalkperson]

I've been through Boise.......and I rather liked it.

Mayor's Message

Our Vision: To Make Boise the Most Livable City in the Country.

Welcome to the City of Trees. Whether you're a resident, a business owner, a visitor or thinking of making Boise your home, we are here to provide you with outstanding municipal services - a vital part of any great community's quality of life.

Boise possesses an independence and creative spirit not found in many other places. With our stunning scenery, abundant natural resources and year-round outdoor activities, it's no surprise Boise consistently lands on national "best places" lists for families, businesses and recreation year after year.

We place the highest priority on integrity in government, economic development and delivering services at the neighborhood level. It's all part of our vision of making Boise the most livable city in the country. Please let us know how we're doing.

David H. Bieter
Mayor

Boise, the capital and largest city of the State of Idaho, is the hub of commerce, banking and government for the state. It is a blend of both traditional and non-traditional sights and attractions.

Located along the Boise River and nestled against foothills of the Rocky Mountains, our city offers many outdoor activities to local residents, from skiing at Bogus Basin Ski Resort to biking on the Boise River Greenbelt to boating at nearby reservoirs. The Boise area has it all - desert, rivers, mountains and lakes for hiking, camping, kayaking, river rafting, hunting and fishing.

The City of Trees boasts one-of-a-kind museums and urban parks. Among the many unique sites to visit are the Basque Museum and Cultural Center, Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial, Idaho Black History Museum and the World Center for Birds of Prey.

Boise is home to Boise State University, the state's largest university with an enrollment of over 19,500 students, as well as 34 grade schools, 9 junior high schools, and 5 high schools.

[MarkC]

HOW I'D PUT IT......

Boise will be Boise.

[Carnivorous Sheep]

This is absurd. How in the world can you feel insulted or offended by this? A radio station has to commemorate everything? Words cannot express how shocked I am at this...expectation? Belief? This is a classical example of political correctness or whatever you want to say this is gone too far. Just because some denomination feels some particular date to have some great importance doesn't mean that everyone should pander to your whim. You are free to commemorate this date appropriately which obviously has great importance to you, but to feel offended when not everyone feels the same way? Get over it...

[Modernistfan]

Sheep, I respectfully beg to differ. For one thing, the Holocaust, and events associated with it, is extremely signficant in musical terms. For one thing, a number of important composers, especially the Czechs Viktor Ullmann, Ervin Schulhoff, Hans Krasa, Pavel Haas, and Gideon Klein, died in the Holocaust. For another thing, a huge number of Holocaust-related musical works have been composed in the last half-century or so, the vast majority of them by non-Jews. The Holocaust-inspired German poetry of the survivor Paul Celan, originally from the town of Czernowitz, has become one of the most important sources of texts for songs, perhaps as important as the poetry of Heinrich Heine in the age of Robert Schumann.

Additionally, other composers, such as Bohuslav Martinu and Bela Bartok, were uprooted from their homelands because of Nazi tyranny, and this changed the course of 20th-century music in many ways.

All of this is worth commemorating in musical terms. It is not simply a matter of political correctness.

Would you suggest that a classical radio station not play Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" on Good Friday? After all, that is a day of no religious significance to those listeners who happen to be atheists or belong to a religion other than Christianity. Even as a non-Christian, I can readily recognize the musical importance of that work, even if the theology has no particular importance to me, and I have at least one recording of it (I will probably buy the Deutsche Grammophon 22-CD box of John Eliot Gardiner's Bach). By your standard, Good Friday should be merely "some particular date" that has "some great importance" to "some denomination," and thus should be ignored.

(KUSC-FM still has not responded to me, and has continued the Cortot broadcasts, with no mention or explanation of his activities during the Second World War.)

[Carnivorous Sheep]

I can recognize and fully support a decision to play related music to commemorate an occasion, but I am bewildered as to why the radio station cannot have the freedom to -not- play the music if it so chooses. The station doesn't exist to commemorate occasions, it exists to play whatever music it wants to.

[Modernistfan]

I finally got a reply from KUSC-FM, not from Brenda Barnes, but from Program Director Gail Eichenthal:

I’m very sorry to hear of your disappointment in KUSC with regard to Yom HaShoah. I can understand that from your perspective some of the Morning Show sounded grating and even offensive. But it’s actually not the station’s policy to honor religious holidays in a systematic or comprehensive manner. If we endeavored to honor all the major holidays of the world’s religions, it would fill up much of our listening day. And where would we draw the line?

Having said that, I don’t have to tell you that so much of Western Music stems from the Latin Mass, or from various other church services, so that it’s impossible to ignore, say, all of J.S. Bach’s several hundred cantatas, or the Mozart Requiem, or Stravinsky’s Symphonies of Psalms, or Bloch’s Sacred Service. Similarly, toward the end of the calendar year, we tend to celebrate some of the immense amount of music written for Christmas and Chanukah. In addition, Jim Svejda devoted an entire evening to Passover late last month, and he presents a yearly Chanukah special, as well. A few years ago for Yom HaShoah, we presented a highly produced special on composers banned or neglected by the Nazi regime. But as I say, it’s not a policy to honor every important holiday ever year. So we try to do what we can, but absolutely not in a systematic way.

As far as Cortot is concerned, here again, we don’t ban the works of composers with heinous beliefs, such as Wagner, nor performers with sketchy if not sinister pasts, like Karajan and Cortot. If having a sterling set of personal values were a requirement for getting on the air, we might have very long pauses on KUSC on a regular basis! I believe one must separate the man (or woman) from the music, discussing the truth of their past, as we’re doing with Ring Festival L.A. all over Los Angeles this spring.

I hope that helps clear up your concerns. We truly welcome your feedback; it is inestimably helpful as we plan our future broadcasts.

I do not consider this acceptable. For one thing, Yom HaShoah is not really a religious holiday, except perhaps to some in Israel. It is not considered a religious holiday in the United States. Even if it were, they somehow managed to play the complete Bach "St. Matthew Passion" on Good Friday. Morever, there has been no "discussing the truth of [the] past of [Cortot]," as implied by her response. Cortot's despicable conduct during the Second World War was not mentioned by Mr. Bartel (in fairness, I was unable to hear today's broadcast, as I was on a conference call with an Examiner from the Patent Office and two inventors during that segment).

I think that the real issue here is that music written to commemorate the Holocaust, whether more or less atonal, such as Arnold Schoenberg's "A Survivor from Warsaw," or more or less tonal, such as the Shostakovich Second Piano Trio, Martinu's "Memorial to Lidice," and, more recently, the Norwegian composer Stale Kleiberg's "Cissi Klein In Memoriam," is written in an idiom that is very difficult for KUSC-FM to work into their programming, which for the most part, approaches anything written in an idiom more advanced than late Romanticism with great trepidation (and, increasingly, much late Romanticism is also unacceptable for them). Clearly, such music cannot have been written earlier than the mid-1940's; it will not sound like Schubert or Vivaldi. Given that their basic goal is "classical music lite," both the musical idiom and the extra-musical associations are unacceptable to them. The jarring conjunction of the playing of recordings by Cortot on that day and the failure to use their 6:00 a.m. segment to mention Yom HaShoah and play a few minutes of appropriate music instead of mentioning some insignificant local holiday in Moldova (itself one of the areas where many people were Holocaust victims) are really secondary in this context.

Interestingly, most works dealing with the Holocaust have been written by non-Jewish composers, especially if you include works making use of the Holocaust-related poetry of Paul Celan. (Of the composers of the four works I mentioned above, only Schoenberg was Jewish, and I think that the actual ratio of Jewish composers to non-Jewish composers is substantially less than that.) This is not a Jewish issue alone.

[MarkC]

I think it was a good reply.

[Lance]

Well, at least we know more about KUSC's thinking patterns and what to expect. I guess it's best to expect NOTHING and when something good happens, by our way of thinking, it is joyous! At least you got a response!

[Carnivorous Sheep]

Given that their basic goal is "classical music lite," both the musical idiom and the extra-musical associations are unacceptable to them.

Their radio station, they play whatever they want. Why is this such a concept to understand?

[Chalkperson]

I do not consider this acceptable. For one thing, Yom HaShoah is not really a religious holiday, except perhaps to some in Israel. It is not considered a religious holiday in the United States. Even if it were, they somehow managed to play the complete Bach "St. Matthew Passion" on Good Friday.

I don't think any reply would have been acceptable to you, the Program Director took the time and trouble to explain their viewpoint to you, you should be grateful, instead you go on acting as if the whole world should do everything based on your personal Religious beliefs, especially considering the Religious demographics in Southern California...I own and play a lot of the Composers that you have named, but, I would have been surprised to hear much of those works played on a Radio Station, it's pretty depressing stuff, I agree completely with your objections to Cortot (the same applies to Elly Ney), now you have informed them then next year they know not to play his recordings on such an important day in the Jewish calendar...I feel her response was sincere, you should be grateful for that, honestly, you should...

[Ted Quanrud]

I find KUSC program director Gail Eichental's response to be somewhat disengenuous. A quick review of the station's playlists for the past month or so finds Good Friday music on Good Friday, Easter music on Easter and on a purely secular note, spring music on the first day of spring (Vivaldi's inevitable you-know-what among other things). So much for not paying attention to holidays.

As a classical music programmer on a public radio station --admittedly not on the exalted level of KUSC, but on the forlorn prairies of North Dakota (cue in the howling coyotes) -- I look to the calendar for programming ideas. The Shoah provides such an opportunity. It doesn't have to be some tortuous, modern piece, ala Schoenberg's Survivor from Warsaw; it can be a simple song from Anne Sophie von Otter's marvelous Therisienstadt album or a recording of the lament for the dead, "El Malei Rechamin" or for that matter it can be an excerpt from Brahms' A German Requiem.

On another note, KUSC is not "their" radio station; it is ours. It's a public radio station, and that more than implies a sense of responsibility to the public, beyond the demands of popular culture or commercial concerns. I don't think the original poster's request for some recognition of the Shoah is out of line. On the other hand, I don't think the KUSC programmer deliberately programmed recordings of a Nazi sympathizer to spite certain listeners on the Shoah.

Enough of this rant. It's late. Good night.

[Modernistfan]

Ted, well said. I never for a minute thought that KUSC-FM played music recorded by Cortot to spite people observing Yom HaShoah. Either they were not aware of Yom HaShoah, they were not aware of Cortot's Nazi connections, or both. Yes, this should have been a programming opportunity, and the non-denominational Brahms "Deutsche Requiem" would have been perfectly suitable.

[MarkC]

.....the non-denominational Brahms "Deutsche Requiem".....

I don't disagree that the piece would be fine for anything, but......I'm surprised you consider it non-denominational.

That gets into exactly what the term means.
And I don't exactly know.

[RichardMitnick]

I am not going to defend KUSC's behavior. But, even sitting here in New Jersey, I was a member of KUSC for several years after WNYC dumped out of day time music on FM. I know Brenda Barnes personally. I think that she is a solid leader of the station.

On the other hand, cellist Lynn Harrell put up this post, at There's always Room for Cello http://www.lynnharrell.com/2010/04/yom-hashoah/, complete with a video of a concert at the Vatican where the Max Bruch "Kol Nidre" was played. Check it out.

[Carnivorous Sheep]

.....the non-denominational Brahms "Deutsche Requiem".....

I don't disagree that the piece would be fine for anything, but......I'm surprised you consider it non-denominational.

That gets into exactly what the term means.
And I don't exactly know.

Perhaps non-liturgical would be the better adjective here.

[MarkC]

.....the non-denominational Brahms "Deutsche Requiem".....

I don't disagree that the piece would be fine for anything, but......I'm surprised you consider it non-denominational.

That gets into exactly what the term means.
And I don't exactly know.

Perhaps non-liturgical would be the better adjective here.

Is it non-liturgical?

I guess it is, but it's sort of semi-quasi-liturgical in its spirit, isn't it?

Anyway......I don't think that's what he meant, because it doesn't seem like it would help what he was trying to say.....

[Chalkperson]

.....the non-denominational Brahms "Deutsche Requiem".....

I don't disagree that the piece would be fine for anything, but......I'm surprised you consider it non-denominational.

That gets into exactly what the term means.
And I don't exactly know.

Perhaps non-liturgical would be the better adjective here.

Is it non-liturgical?

I guess it is, but it's sort of semi-quasi-liturgical in its spirit, isn't it?

Anyway......I don't think that's what he meant, because it doesn't seem like it would help what he was trying to say.....

Sure it would, it's not a Religious Holiday, so they can play a non Religious Work each year to commemorate World Holocaust Day, Modernistfan should write and tell them that...I can think of almost a decade's worth of excellent recordings at one per year...

[MarkC]

Sure it would, it's not a Religious Holiday, so they can play a non Religious Work....

I think you're missing the "parsing" there.

The piece is NOT "non-religious."

It may or may not be non-liturgical, or non-denominational, depending on what we mean by those things, but it ain't non-religious. It's Christian, and (I think) basically Protestant.

Don't get me wrong.......remember, I said that as far as I'm concerned that piece would be fine. I'm just talking about his saying it was "non-denominational," and then we got into whether that is or isn't true, and we started parsing it.

[Chalkperson]

Sure it would, it's not a Religious Holiday, so they can play a non Religious Work....

I think you're missing the "parsing" there.

The piece is NOT "non-religious."

It may or may not be non-liturgical, or non-denominational, depending on what we mean by those things, but it ain't non-religious. It's Christian, and (I think) basically Protestant.

Don't get me wrong.......remember, I said that as far as I'm concerned that piece would be fine. I'm just talking about his saying it was "non-denominational," and then we got into whether that is or isn't true, and we started parsing it.

Ah, parsing, one of those words I (unfortunately) don't understand, there are many such words...I essentially meant that it was not specifically for people of the Jewish Faith, and thus a good and fair choice to commemorate such at tragic time in History...it is also one of my favourite pieces of music, on a par with the Best of Bach in my book...

[MarkC]

.......it is also one of my favourite pieces of music, on a par with the Best of Bach in my book...

One of mine too.
I was lucky to be the accompanist of the chorus in college when they did the piece.

That was how I learned and came to love a lot of the choral repertoire.
Others: Bach St. John Passion, Beethoven Choral Fantasy......and Orff's Carmina Burana (sort of). [smiley suppressed]

[Chalkperson]

.......it is also one of my favourite pieces of music, on a par with the Best of Bach in my book...

One of mine too.
I was lucky to be the accompanist of the chorus in college when they did the piece.

That was how I learned and came to love a lot of the choral repertoire.
Others: Bach St. John Passion, Beethoven Choral Fantasy......and Orff's Carmina Burana (sort of). [smiley suppressed]

There is nothing wrong in liking Orff, his Operas are good too...

[Modernistfan]

Well, today is again Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day). KUSC now plays requests at noon each weekday, and I submitted a request for Martinu's "Memorial to Lidice" in commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day. I chose this piece because it is relatively short, orchestral rather than vocal, and is a work written in a substantially tonal idiom (as contrasted with Schoenberg's "A Survivor from Warsaw," also short, but atonal). Well, they have just finished the request section, and the request was not played. No other request in commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day was played, and no other selection (thus far) that might be taken to have the slightest relevance to that commemoration has been played.

I cannot say that I would have expected better, but I am still somewhat disappointed, especially in view of what they used to do. (I did win a 25-cent bet from my wife; I bet her that Memorial to Lidice would not be played.)

[jbuck919]

Thank goodness none of our members (to my knowledge) has to monitor an entire month of programming as concerned African-Americans must.

[josé echenique]

At least they didn´t play Götterdämmerung, Clemens Krauss conducting.

[Modernistfan]

Well, I stand corrected (slightly). After I posted, they did play two selections purportedly to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day. The selections were "Overture on Hebrew Themes" by Prokofiev and the "Prayer" movement from the suite "From Jewish Life" by Ernest Bloch. Although these works do employ Jewish themes, they were written well before the Holocaust and do not reflect the horrors of that period. The Overture on Hebrew Themes was written by Prokofiev in 1919 when he was in the United States and encountered several Jewish former students from the St. Petersburg Conservatory whom he had known in Russia; they requested him to write a work based on Jewish folk music for their ensemble (piano, clarinet, two violins, viola, and cello). Although Prokofiev rarely used folk music, he did so on this occasion. The Bloch was composed around the same time (about 1925, when Bloch was also in the United States).

The problem is not that KUSC did not want to commemorate the occasion. The problem is that KUSC is extraordinarily reluctant to play any music that has upsetting or disturbing extramusical associations, and is also extraordinarily reluctant to play music written in a modern idiom, whether formally tonal (the Martinu I previously mentioned or Shostakovich's Second Piano Trio) or atonal (Schoenberg's "A Survivor from Warsaw."). That pretty much rules out anything written by Holocaust survivors or written to commemorate the Holocaust or other Nazi atrocities.

[bigshot]

I love how in today's world whenever someone chooses to do something good, there's always some joker trying to make it into an obligation.

[John F]

Well, if that's their programming policy, so be it. If the station mentioned Holocaust Remembrance Day and played two pieces on Jewish themes, one by a Jew and the other not, that would be fine with me - celebrating Jewish culture and non-antisemitism that the Nazis tried but failed to wipe out.

[lennygoran]

Either they were not aware of Yom HaShoah, they were not aware of Cortot's Nazi connections, or both.

I'm glad I finally starting reading this thread--learned a few new things:

Yom HaShoah

Gotta admit I never heard of this holiday before--Wiki says "Most Jewish communities hold a solemn ceremony on this day, but there is no institutionalized ritual accepted by all Jews. Lighting memorial candles and reciting the Kaddish—the prayer for the departed—are common. The Masorti (Conservative Judaism) movement in Israel has created Megillat HaShoah, a scroll and liturgical reading for Yom HaShoah, a joint project of Jewish leaders in Israel, the United States and Canada."


And on Cortot I knew nothing:

"Controversially, he supported the German occupation of France during the Second World War and the Vichy regime that ruled part of the country during that period. He was even a member of the Conseil national ("National Council"), a non-elective consultative body of the Vichy government, which included a number of former members of the French parliament and non-political celebrities.[1] Cortot played in Nazi-sponsored concerts in Germany itself,[1] and served as Vichy's High Commissioner of the Fine Arts.[2] His Vichy connections led to him being declared persona non grata after the Liberation.

The motives for his wartime activities have been disputed: they may have arisen from nothing more than his lifelong championship of Teutonic musical culture. Moreover his wife, Clothilde Breal, daughter of the linguist Michel Breal, was of Jewish origin and Clothilde Breal's cousin, Lise Bloch, was married to Léon Blum, the first Jew to become President du Conseil or Prime Minister in France. Cortot and the Blums maintained a close friendship. At any rate, he was banned from performing publicly for a year[2] and his public image in France suffered greatly (though he continued to be well received as a recitalist in other countries, notably Italy and England)."

Regards, Len