EXPECT NO MUSIC FROM COMPOSERS WRITING IN LAST 50 YEARS ON KBYU-FM BROADCASTING TO UTAH LISTENERS

Walter Rudolph retires as general manager at KBYU-FM this April.

KBYU calls itself "Classical 89," because it broadcasts mostly "classical" music together with an assortment of LDS Church meetings, conferences and BYU sermons.

I argue that Rudolph and KBYU have drunk the kool-aid of those radio consultants who advise a classical station to play mostly short pieces (i.e., individual movements of symphonies, overtures, and other pieces not exceeding 15 minutes). And above all, they recommend, avoid broadcasting any classical compositions from composers written in the last 50 years.

Take Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000). When a classical station plays few if any pieces from American composer Alan Hovhaness, there is something wrong with management. Have you ever heard any of Hovhaness's 67 symphonies aired on KBYU's Morning, Afternoon or Drive-time Classics? Probably not, thanks to Rudolph. Once in a while, KBYU's regular announcers broadcast And God Created Great Whales by Hovhaness, but not very often.

This is why I criticize Walter Rudolph. Because of his timid and outdated conception of classical music, KBYU offers listeners the 100 greatest pieces from the 18th and 19th Centuries (provided they can be cut into 15 minute slices), but little if any music from the period 1960 - 2010.

Rudolph certainly has an ulterior motive for this play selection. Most listeners would recoil, at least at first, from hearing a "new" piece of music. Especially tyros and novices to the genre think classical means Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, and not much else. Rudolph fears listeners, in reality potential donors to KBYU, would tune out the more contemporary stuff. This translates into less donations and pledges during KBYU's frequent drives. This in turn means less salary and perks and pension contributions for Rudolph and his staff.

Thus the listening public is deprived of modern American composers by a station that pretends to be a "public" station operating in the public interest. Restricting listeners from hearing new classical works is not, I argue, in the public interest. Especially when the decision is based on self-interest.