Category: Music

Morgen ist Spendentag

Radio klassik Stephansdom‘s November Spendentag will take place tomorrow, Tuesday, November 18, and this time around the theme is “Land of Sounds — Youth Edition,” celebrating the role that young people are playing in keeping the legacy of European and American art music hale and healthy. Several guests will be live in the Vienna studio, including representatives from the Vienna Boys’ and Girls’ Choirs and the Vienna State Opera School, along with special musical presentations. So tomorrow (or today — why wait?) open up those wallets and toss a few Euros Radio klassik Stephansdom’s way. More information about tomorrow’s Spendentag can be found here, and you can donate online here.

Of course donation drives have been a feature of public radio here in the United States for years (even the defunct and privately-held Philadelphia WFLN station, with which I grew up, was for many years listener-supported; the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on its 1997 closure here). With recent federal cuts to public broadcasting, though, every week has become pledge week, so along with Vienna’s fine classical music outlet I suggest you contribute as well to Philadelphia’s WRTI, maybe the closest thing Philadelphia has to radio klassik Stephansdom. WRTI has been looking to youth as well these days; I’m hoping to listen soon to a stream of Saturday’s broadcast of Mozart’s Così fan tutte, performed by students at Philly’s Academy of Vocal Arts. WRTI’s John T.K. Scherch has more on the production, and interviews with the cast, here. You can donate here, and I’ll add a link to the Così  stream when and if it’s available.

Both stations’ web sites provide live streams of their broadcasts, but if you’re looking for something with a little more clarity and bandwidth, I recommend signing up for TuneIn and running it through your music streamer. Sounds great.

It’s Spendentag!

The cover of the current KLASSIK magazine from radio klassik Stephansdom; download it here.

radio klassik Stephansdom‘s monthly Spendentag will take place tomorrow, September 18, and this month’s theme is Land der Töne, or the “Land of Sounds,” with a day of special programming to accompany the fundraising. I once again suggest that you take out your wallets and send a few euros Vienna-bound. Here are a few details about the day (DeepL gets credit for the translation):

The focus is on the world of Austrian classical music —created by countless geniuses who worked in Austria and performed by the orchestras and soloists that we bring to your ears every day.

On the day of the fundraiser, there will be interviews in the morning with art historian Sabine Haag [former director of the Kunsthistorisches Museum] and young soprano Amelie Hois. Lawyer and former politician Irmgard Griss [former President of the Austrian Supreme Court] will be asking questions about Austria, the land of music … and in the afternoon the Carinthian Singing Community will be visiting the studio live in Vienna! There will be spoken contributions and music from Eva Stubenvoll, the director of the Musikverein Graz, Dr. Michael Nemeth, and many more.

If you listen at the right time, you might even hear a few words from yours truly.

I’ve written before about radio klassik Stephansdom, but it occurs to me that I should probably let you know a little more about what you’ll be supporting. rkS is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week over-the-air radio station in Austria at 107.3 FM in Vienna and 94.2 FM in Graz. Thankfully, it’s also streamable over a variety of methods, including via the web. Its weekly programming features a variety of daily magazines and musical programs (including three full operas every week at 8:00 pm Vienna time) and live masses from the Stephansdom itself every Sunday, along with other spiritually-nourishing programming. The fine Sunday Musica Sacra program (at 1:00 pm Eastern time) bridges the religious and musical offerings, and the daily CD des Tages features the best of recent releases. Get to know the delightfully personable and knowledgable on-air talent here. You can download both the weekly and the opera schedules here. You can also request your favorite recordings to be played on Sunday’s Wunschkonzert here.

Originally supported and funded by the Archdiocese of Vienna (hence the religious programs), the unique radio klassik Stephansdom now depends on the support of its listeners for its continued health. That means you. So brush up your German and make a contribution to radio klassik Stephansdom this Spendentag. Then tune in and enjoy the show.

Bach from Vienna

I was just finishing up work yesterday when I turned on radio klassik Stephansdom and got something I didn’t think I needed. On a special broadcast to recognize the 50th anniversary of the death of Hans Swarowsky, the Vienna radio station presented a restored recording of the conductor’s St. Matthew’s Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach. I treasure my CD of John Eliot Gardner’s recording, but Swarowsky’s 1967 performance with the Wiener Symphoniker and the Wiener Akademie Kammerchor was absolutely stunning. You can listen to it yourself here. (For those of you whose German is a little rusty, just click on “Sendung nachhören.”)

radio klassik Stephansdom’s September Spendentag is coming up in just a few days and you’ll read more about it then, but the very fact that rkS will present a recording like this without commercial or other interruption — all three hours of it — is one of the many things that make rkS special. You needn’t wait until September 18 to donate, either. I wrote more about radio klassik Stephansdom here.