Sale of Nassau Properties...

[Laurence Glavin]

>----- Original Message -----
>From: Dan.Strassberg
>Sent: 05/25/12 08:58 AM
>To: Paul Hopfgarten, Garrett Wollman
>Subject: Re: Sale of Nassau Properties...

 >I guess the new ownership figures (along with a lot of other people) >that call signs no longer matter, but with three other classical >formatted stations with similar call signs in Maine, it would appear >that there is a good possibility of confusion. I kind of like the >positioner "Bach Country." It's definitely different(!) And I bet you >could find banjo players who would be willing to record a lot of J. S. >Bach music. Such cuts could be of interest to both country and >classical audiences. It wasn't country (it was jazz, I believe), but >there must be others on this list who remember the Swingle Singers >from back in the '60s. Wasn't one of their albuns entitled >"Switched-On Bach?" >----- >Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) >eFax 1-707-215-6367 

 Ah, there IS in fact a prominent banjo player who has introduced classical repertoire into his career:
 Bela Fleck, who has appeared several time on "Prairie Home Companion", heard on numerous public
 radio stations in New England as we all know, as well as many, many such stations nationwide
 and possibly elsewhere. And I shall now provide a Youtube link if that's ok, in which he plays a
 movement by the aforementioned J. S. Bach (1685-1750). I give his dates because he was an
 early-music figure, who wrote somewhat before modern orchestras and modern instruments became
 the norm. Some of his compositions are described as being for "keyboard" instruments because they could
 be performed on harpsichords, clavichord and either portable or fixed pipe-organs. Sonatas as we now
 know them came a little after his day, and later audiences preferred sonatas for string instruments with
 keyboard accompaniment. J. S. Bach wrote several works for string instrument unaccompanied such as
 violin and 'cello that are still performed as written but also in transcriptions for other solo instruments
 (thus Mr. Fleck's recording). You may note that in his intro, he mentions that he also plays transcriptions
 of other composers, but not Beethoven, because he knows that I wouldn't approve. I take my LvB
 straight-up, like my Manhattans. Anyhoo, here's the video...

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sYgllgF7lc