Kusc

KFAC's demise is difficult for classical music lovers to endure; the continuing tragedy of KUSC is even more difficult for us. KUSC seems to have decided to enlarge its format by appealing to a broader audience. It now features a program of Viennese waltzes, expansion of the news service to be highly redundant, artsy programs of little merit, and professional lecturers who would love to educate the listeners to the highlights of the third movement of whatever symphony. Music lovers implore KUSC's board of directors to return to a largely mature classical format, omitting such programs.

“Slipped Disc: A Study of the Upright Walk,” by prominent German playwright Ingrid Lausund, is the debut of Green Card Theatre, a new company dedicated to bringing playwrights from around the world to the attention of Los Angeles audiences. The play, a guest production at Son of Semele, is the first of Lausund's 30-odd plays to be produced locally.  And although the aim of Green Card is definitely an admirable one, the present production disappoints. Perhaps something was lost in Henning Bochert's somewhat prolix translation, but despite a crisp staging by director Christopher Basile, the play is so philosophically dense that meaning gets stranded on the shoals of artistic pretention.

I work for Wallace A. Smith of KUSC-FM. But I don't think that disqualifies me from being truly outraged at the letters attacking Smith and his wife, KUSC air personality Bonnie Grice ("Is Love a Threat to Classical-Music Lovers?," Nov. 28). Because there is a lawsuit, they are restrained from commenting--but I am not. To suggest that Grice's presence on the air is related to her marriage to station president Smith is both malicious and incorrect. She was hired by KUSC's former program director, Tom Deacon, who is now bringing the lawsuit.

Music is the most mathematical art form, but for classical music station KUSC-FM (91.5), the radio world's arithmetic has turned hostile, spelling nothing but trouble for its ratings. Arbitron, the company that surveys radio listeners to calculate how many tune in to each station, says KUSC has lost more than half its core audience over the last 20 months. Ratings declined moderately during 2010 and the first half of 2011, then went into a tailspin. According to Aribtron's reports, KUSC's average core audience has sunk from nearly 26,000 listeners in 2009 to 9,500 in its latest report - a 63% fall.

KUSC-FM (91.5), the most widely listened-to public radio station in Los Angeles, has dropped "All Things Considered"--the last vestige of National Public Radio news programming on its schedule. Station manager Wallace Smith said that replacing the afternoon program with classical music was both a programming and budgetary decision.

So as to offer some balance to the tenor of the letters of Sept. 14 critical of Wally Smith and Bonnie Grice at KUSC, I would say that the experimentation in format during the last couple of years has been in the best spirit of an attempt to democratize public interest in serious music and the accomplishment of musical excellence on a broader level. As for Matthew Tepper's complaint that [Grice's] "announcing style seems driven by 'political correctness' and a casual attitude to music history," I would offer that Grice's desire to champion serious music composed by women and members of other unrepresented group is long overdue.

There's a double dose of Los Angeles Opera in store for listeners of classical music station KUSC-FM (91.5) this weekend, including a live broadcast of “La Boheme” from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in downtown L.A. The production, which opened last Saturday and continues through June 2, features soprano Ailyn Perez and tenor Stephen Costello as the sympathetic lovers, and soprano Janai Brugger and baritone Artur Rucinski as the secondary pair...

"M ore Talk, Less Bach," last Sunday's story on KUSC-FM by Patrick Mott, has prompted an outpouring from readers . Those critical of the station's revamped format outnumbered supporters by more than 2 to 1. A sampling of their views: Oh, c'mon, all ye faithful, get with the program. Forty minutes of morning commute becomes 91.5% better with Grice easing the way. I've gained knowledge and appreciation of the classical genre via the eclectic programming of KUSC. Thanks for introducing this neophyte to the three Bs. I have bought dozens of classical records first heard on KUSC.

I was pleased to see the progress USC has made in recognizing the cultural diversity in which it finds itself ("Walls and Bridges," March 21.) I was disappointed that no mention of the school radio station, KUSC-FM 91.5, was made in adjusting to this diversity. KUSC-FM has expanded its programming beyond the European classics to include African, Latin, Asian and Indian classics. This is a great educational leap for most Americans to make. The station and its management should be praised for this outreach effort.

Brian Lauritzen remembers the first night he visited the Hollywood Bowl as a green twentysomething who'd just moved out from Tennessee. He and his then girlfriend were fresh from the beach in their shorts. Despite sitting near the Bowl's last row, they were enthralled by the setting, with the golden light hitting a hillside covered in eucalyptus, but by intermission, these transplants accustomed to the heat-trapping effects of humidity were freezing. They drifted into the gift shop, staring longingly at blankets and sweat shirts they couldn't afford.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic will launch its first international radio broadcast partnership with England's largest classical music station. The agreement with Classic FM announced Friday includes a 14-part concert series of recorded concerts under the name "Live with the L.A. Phil," broadcast Fridays starting June 1. The series, which also will include interviews with featured soloists, will be online at Classicfm.com for U.K. listeners only....

There's a double dose of Los Angeles Opera in store for listeners of classical music station KUSC-FM (91.5) this weekend, including a live broadcast of “La Boheme” from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in downtown L.A. The production, which opened last Saturday and continues through June 2, features soprano Ailyn Perez and tenor Stephen Costello as the sympathetic lovers, and soprano Janai Brugger and baritone Artur Rucinski as the secondary pair...

BOOKS Alice Hoffman The novelist visits the Writers Bloc series to discuss her new book, "The Red Garden," which follows linked stories over 300 years in a mysterious New England town. Gail Eichenthal of KUSC will moderate. Writers Guild Theater, 135 S. Doheny Drive, Beverly Hills. 7:30 p.m. $20. http://www.writersblocpresents.com MOVIES Machine Project's First Film The nonprofit Echo Park collective presents the premiere of its first feature film, shot over one 12-hour session and featuring a dozen performances, lectures, workshops and activities including an experimental women's choir, a drum solo and Paleolithic fire technology.

Tom Dixon, who was a familiar voice to classical-music lovers for more than 50 years as a Los Angeles radio host, has died. He was 94. Dixon died March 13 of age-related causes at a rehabilitation facility in Burbank, said his wife, Catherine. When it comes to classical music radio in Los Angeles, "you think of Tom Dixon," said Don Barrett, publisher of LARadio.com. "He is the hood ornament, the face of classical radio," Barrett said. "In this day and age of consolidation and radio stations making changes so quickly, to have that longevity is just unheard of."

In Los Angeles, Alan Chapman is well known as a font of information about classical music. Since 1992, he has been one of the marquee voices of KUSC-FM (91.5), the all-classical-all-the-time public radio station, now hosting a morning show each weekday as well as two weekend shows he also produces, "Modern Times" and "Thornton Center Stage." And he has been a pre-concert lecture maven for even longer. A Yale-educated music theory scholar who teaches at the Colburn Conservatory, Chapman belies the cliché that those who can't do teach.

L.A. classical music outlet KUSC-FM (91.5) had the largest audience of any public radio station in the country last spring. The USC-operated station this week released Arbitron ratings figures compiled by the Radio Research Consortium showing that an average of 737,000 people tuned in for at least five minutes each week between April 2 and June 24, tops among all public radio outlets. Runner-up WNYC-FM in New York averaged 721,500 and San Francisco's KQED-FM had 704,300. Pasadena-based KPCC-FM (89.3)