Radio Two to undergo overhaul of weekday programming in September
Listeners to CBC Radio Two will hear a different sound starting Labour Day. Three new shows will take over the airwaves during the day, with considerably less classical music in the morning and none in the “drive time” afternoon.
The new weekday shows are:
- Mornings (6-10): Less classical, more light contemporary like Diana Krall and Joni Mitchell. About half of the music will be Canadian. No decision yet on who the host will be.
- Mid-day (10-3): Entirely classical, both recorded and live music. About 40% Canadian content.
- Drive time (3-6): No classical — instead, a wide variety of genres from world music to blues to contemporary. The show will spend more time on emerging artists and recently released songs.
In addition to the all-classical time block from 10am to 3pm, CBC will launch three new Internet-only radio stations — classical, jazz, and singer-songwriter.
CBC’s head of radio, Jennifer McGuire, reports that ratings haven’t dropped as much as was forecasted with the previous schedule change, indicating that while some people (perhaps skewing older) leave the station, new listeners join in.
So what do you think? Are we making the right decision here with these three shows?
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It sounds like Radio 2 will continue to decline instead of correcting the mistakes made in the last major schedule change. The goal of the people making these changes seems to be to have Radio 2 replace Muzak as adult contemporary replaces lively classical and the cutting edge Radio 3. Their measure of success will be how many office use Radio 2 as telephone on hold music.
I am deeply disappointed with the CBC. You can hear pop on every station -CBC was the only radio station for the classics, and now these are disappearing as well. It is all very disheartening. Tom Allen and Music for Awhile used to be my favourite programs. Gone soon, along with people like Lister Sinclair. Remember him? This dumbing down of radio and TV will produce a nation of morons.
For many years as a Canadian singer I worked with many American artists who would tell me how lucky we were to have a national broadcasting station like the CBC and that we should beware of letting anyone spoil it. Well it is rapidly getting spoiled. Pleeeeese don’t continue with this dumbing down.
a lot of this sounds scarily like what’s going on in the overnight slot: mindless pap that the commercial stations are already playing.
I too am deeply disappointed with CBC Radio 2. It used to be a class act. They have managed to dumb it down to a very mediocre broadcast and now it sound like it will be even worse. I want quality. I used to be able to listen to Radio 2 most of the day. Now I am turning it off all the time. Music and Company is one of the few remaining good radio programs. If that goes, they have lost me as a listener. I hear that Studio Sparks is soon to be history too, and while I don’t like it sometimes it often is a good show. I am not in the over 65 age bracket. I’m not near it.
Offering more online is not much help. I rarely get a steady signal online, it constantly drops. I have a high speed version of cable, not a lite version at all, and it is very inconsistent.
I hate the constant promotions that interrupt every program now, have no interest in popular or folk music. I want quality ‘classical’ music which for me includes Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, 20th century and 21st century music. I want it presented by knowledgeable people who have interesting things to say. The popular Romantic period can be left out thanks.
Where am I going to go to find what I want?
I’m afraid the changes to Radio 2 are a mistake. I find myself listening more since the most recent change, but NOT particularly to the new programs. Indeed, it is the classical music programs I seek out throughout the day and night, and it is getting increasingly difficult to find them. The CBC is creating a huge opening for commercial broadcasters to fill the void; a space that was created, sustained and celebrated at one time by the public broadcaster. Yes, let’s do some web based radio, but allow Radio 2 to be a thoughtful, intelligent and classical based alternative.
Tossing out Jurgen Gothe’s DiscDrive is a major, major blunder. I cannot imagine a suitable justification for such a bungle, apart from the misguided notions of a dilettante who craves his/her own mark upon the Radio 2 network at the expense of good sense. Shame on the CBC for allowing this nonsense.
No – I do not believe this is the right decision.
I have been a regular listener to CBC2 for years – and over the last year I find I am tuning out more and more and I can see that come September I will most probably tune out entirely – If its CBC’s purpose to dump long time listeners – they are being very successful.
I am deeply saddened. I have listened to CBC from many countries as I have moved extensively and was greatly looking forward to getting it on the radio now that I am home. My two favourite shows in the morning and afternoon have been cancelled, my favourite genre has been downplayed and I am going to have to – gasp – consider turning to satellite radio or commercial. What a way to trash a wonderful Canadian resource.
Oh course you realize this means war…
Why fix it if it ain’t broke? Where will I get my Vultures report?
I NEED classical music, commercial free, to sustain me. It feeds my brain and soul.
This is madness.
I noticed in the Globe and Mail national classified some group had formed to protest the new Radio 2 decisions. I will have to add my voice to their petition.
Why chase a demographic that is well served by commercial interests?
Someone stop these people.
Whoa, people, hold on – I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: disagree with the changes if you want, but please don’t call it "dumbing down." That’s an insult to people who make and enjoy music other than classical. Pop and singer/songwriter music is not inherently "dumb."
I would also like to point out that the musical choices are not going to be the same as the "mindless pap" played on commercial radio. The emphasis is going to be on pop, singer-songwriter, world, jazz, etc that does NOT get play on commercial stations – Canadian, independent, quality music.
Again, it’s understandable if people are upset with the changes, but at least get your facts correct – the music to be played on R2 will be music you really can’t here anywhere else, and the anything that’s not classical does NOT automatically mean it’s dumb or lesser in quality. Just different.
I too have been a faithful and loyal listner of CBC radio2 for many years… I have an office job and this station with rich classical based formats sustains my soul. My appreciation and understanding of classical music is attributed to all the years of great programing you have provided. Commentaries on the lives of composers and their composition has truly been an education. I know that if it wasn’t for this media.. many would be deprived of the rich blessing it has provided many Canadians. If I choose to listen to main stream pop.. there are countless stations dedicated to this mind dumbing garbage. Going mainstream for sustainability is a huge mistake for Radio2. I echo the sentiments of many of the comments submitted. ..saddened, disappointed and betrayed. CBC radio2 is a priveledged unique experience found nowhere else on the airways. Please reconsider the proposed format change.. I too will consider the satelite radio alternative.
Are the changes mandate-driven? If they are, I assume there is some form of public consultation process. There is definitively a need for a 24-hour (or 12 hour) classical music station not on the net but across Canada’s airwaves. You want to add new Canadian music at night? Fair enough, but not at the expense of programs such as "Music and Company"…
As a U.S. citizen in Detroit…All I can say is I am disappointed.
kate, you clearly haven’t been listening to the overnight slot where I’ve heard, among other things, the Barenaked Ladies. I’m not buying the line that somehow we’re going to play "pop and singer-songwriter" stuff that’s somehow been overlooked by pop stations.
Please no Joni Mitchell. There is enough of her on other stations and in grocery stores.
I could live with a change 3 to 6 pm but please find a host and producers/researchers that can get a groove going like they do on Espace Musique. Jurgen and crew are excellent at that. Also please limit the idle chat. Do not take a key Of Charles approach.
Also – I don’t know how BC residents give feedback to the public broadcaster anymore with the Vancouver telephone system no longer offering a local way to get opinions recorded in a daily log. Calling CBC BC is all voice mail prompts and pressing zero which is never mentioned, takes you to a busy Toronto switchboard. At least it is not India like the web editing. But I think we have to watch out for that. I bet the newsrooms are getting a lot more calls.
ahem.
So what do you think? Are we making the right decision here with these three shows?
are ‘we’ really making ANY decisions here!!??
I listen to the CBC practically all the time I have my radio on. Changes to your programming [which I enjoy immensly] or your hosts [you have the very best] could have me considering looking elsewhere. Right now you are distinctive. The more you become like others, the more indisinct you become.
I listen to the morning show more because of Tom Allen than because of the music, although I enjoy most of what he plays, and really enjoy his insights into the music. I also enjoy his enthusiasm for everything – a great way to start the day.
If you take away Tom, you will probably take away me. Glad you are leaving 10:00 to 3:00 full of classical music. I find the 3:00 to 6:00 time frame just great as it is, and hope you don’t change it too drastically. You have the best hosts on radio, so please don’t mess it up by losing them, due to programming changes! I think you have a very good mix of music right now, and reducing the classical content makes you become more like other stations, and there are many of those to choose from.
Let’s see 11 comments. 10 against the current changes at radio2, and 1 (cbc staff?) defending. I would like to see the program director replaced, perhaps the more replacements are needed higher up. Return radio2 to where it once was. You can get Pop music elsewhere, you cannot get classical music elsewhere.
No.
I think that the phrase “dumbing down” refers to more than the type or quality of music played on Radio Two. There are many elements to a quality radio program as has been exemplified by the CBC. The first and most important of these is the quality, knowledge and intelligence of the presenter. Second is the selection and flow of the music presented. I began listening to the CBC in the seventies when Peter Gzowski ruled daytime radio for me and As It Happens and Ideas was required evening listening. Each of those shows helped to shape my character, develop a personal philosophy, inform me about Canada and entertained me. As I grew older, I began to listen to the music provided by CBC Stereo until the CBC was on my radio from early morning until late at night. It remained that way until as recently as the lockout.The “dumbing down” of the programming begins with presenters who have little music training or background. Their offhand, casual comments do little to add to the experience of the music and in some cases this is reflected in the mispronunciation of artists, composers or titles. I greatly miss intelligent presenters like Danielle Charbonneau, Larry Lake and Andrea Ratuski. Then, programs focused on a particular genre of music have been replaced by a catch-all of classical, world, pop, jazz, etc. With items that are three to four minutes in length. Even contemporary works that are fifteen minutes long are played in chunks to fit that format. I remember the outrage generated when Gavin Bryars’ “Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet” was played for the first time on the CBC. It challenged the audience but needed the full hour to achieve the full impact. I fear that those challenges will no longer be a part of the CBC.Now I use the internet to listen to the BBC or Public Radio from the US. And I pick and choose regional radio programs of the CBC (when I want to listen to an hour of Newfoundland music for example). I have even switched to Radio Canada for classical programming or when Radio Two fails to pick up a fantastic production from the Metropolitan Opera as they did last Sunday. Perhaps that is what the programmers have in mind, that their audience should become used to pick and choose. But more and more the choice will not be Stereo Two.
Go ahead CBC. Go ahead and delete your last redemptive elements. I advise you to give your future competition a handsome severance package.
I thoroughly disagree with the changes. Tom Allen’s show is one of our favourites, as is Eric Friesen’s and Jurgen Goth’s. Like many of the other people who have responded, we will not be tuning in. You are rapidly making CBC redundant with no distinction from commercial radio stations. As such, it will be hard to justify public funds to continue operations. unrecognizable is also a go is
It was the CBC affiliate in Windsor, Ontario, back in the 1950′s, when I was in my very early teens that awakened me to my first love: classical music. It has been a lifetime love and CBC has been a lifetime companion. Now I am dumped in the quest for relevance and new listeners. Gee, I pay taxes too. Am I not an important statistic?
Please don’t get any further away from your original mandate. We have been tuned exclusively to CBC Radio2 for many years and bemoan the decline. Every time there is a change, something good is lost. "Music for Awhile" was a treasure. I’m only sorry that 94.5 WNED doesn’t come through very well in Toronto and most evenings I listen to it on my computer. Please don’t take away all our listening pleasure.
I like listening to classical music. I don’t like listening to the radio during midday. Where does that leave me? Classical-music-less, I believe. I like coming home and lying on the couch and listening to something orchestral, while eating dark chocolate. Now I have to hear Tonic‘s easy-listening-jazz, which simply irritates me.
DiscDrive provides the perfect mix of classical and folk. Please don’t throw it away! This entire idea of dictating what time of day is allowed to have what kind of music is simply backward-thinking.
I thoroughly disagree with the changes. Tom Allen’s show is one of our favourites, as is Eric Friesen’s and Jurgen Goth’s. Like many of the other people who have responded, we will not be tuning in. You are rapidly making CBC redundant with no distinction from commercial radio stations. As such, it will be hard to justify public funds to continue operations.
This plan will render radio 2 to be as unsavoury as you have made radio 1. You are trying to please people who do not, and will not be listening to radio 2. In the mean time you will be losing may of your existing radio 2 listeners, myself included. The music you plan to introduce is presently available on radio 1. I think Joni Mitchell is great, but radio 1 is where this should be. Also 4o% Canadian content on classical music is sure to send a lot of cacophony to the air waves, as you have done with radio 1.
Kate is, as usual, correct. The sky is not falling. If the CBC were properly funded we might have three or four radio channels, as they do in Australia for example – and one of them could be devoted to classical music, another to local, another to pop culture. Perhaps the real question needs to be "Why do CTVgm and Corus, each get to have four radio outlets in this city, while the CBC, the public broadcaster, has only two (in each official language)?" When did we abandon the notion of a public airwaves to the private, commercial sector, and why did we allow it to happen?
I take solace and refuge in classical music, and in the intelligence and knowledge of Radio 2 hosts.
Although I agree with Kate, (I was a big fan of Brave New Waves and Radio Sonic) programming commercial free classical music is, in my mind, a public broadcaster’s duty. Call me elitist. Please.
Colin (March 7th) said – "I am deeply saddened" by the cancellation of his favourite CBC radio programs.
Even though the CBC spends $1Billion a year of taxpayers money, nothing that they do can deeply sadden me. Nothing the CBC does can deeply anger or please me. It’s a public media outlet for God’s sake. There are hundreds (nay thousands) of media alternatives to the CBC for ones’ soul: CDs, iPod, NPR, CNN, Fox, live performance, internet, Youtube, etc.
No wonder CBC zealots are dismissed. They are the people who are in love with the idea of being in love. It’s not the love itself that they need.
I have listened to CBC since I moved to the West Coast in ’76. I am a classical musician and member of one of the country’s best choirs. I work from home and CBC Radio 2 gets turned on as soon as we wake up & rarely gets turned off until after dinner.
By compressing the classical music into hours that guarantee many people won’t be able to listen CBC is effectively sounding the death knell of its classical coverage. I predict within 5 years there will be nothing ‘pop’ style variants, all chasing a demographic that doesn’t look to CBC Radio 2 for their music in the first place.
It’s a very very sad day for classical music in Canada.
Way back in the 1970′s, I learned about classical music from CBC FM (as Radio 2 was called at the time). I was in my early 30′s then. Over the years, Radio 2 provided me with a great deal of pleasurable listening and education. Last year’s changes were bad enough, but this!!! How very sad for young people who want to learn more about classical music. How very sad for shut-ins like my 91 year old mother who loves classical music, but who can just barely turn the knob on her radio (kept set permanently to Radio 2).
It is interesting that you wish to put the full classical music menu on the internet! This should make it really easy for people to access (NOT)!!! Remember, some of us older folk are internet-savvy – many are not. Why not put the pop stuff on your internet channel and bring us back a Radio 2 that those of us who listen to you now will keep listening to (and the young, as they come to need classical music in their lives, will still have around.
Listening to Tom Allen in the morning cheers my heart and soul. I always learn something and it makes me so proud to have him on the CBC. What are you thinking of?? One can listen to other music on any other station but there is no where else to listen to classical music. THINK AGAIN before you change the few good things you have left on radio 2.
I am increasingly disappointed with both CBC 1 and 2. It used to be that I could listen to either and find interesting music/ideas.
Now, I am constantly changing to a commercial station because I can not endure the music on CBC 1 and 2. Why do they both have jazz music on Saturday nights at the same time? Why is there not more organ music as on the French national radio?
I’m disappointed with the changes I hear are about to happen. I used to enjoy the classics on CBC during the day. I as well may have to move to satelite radio to find what I want, please don’t force me to make this move. If its CBC’s purpose to dump long time listeners, they will be very successful if this insanity prevails.
It was bad enough when they did away with "Music for a While," with the incomparable Danielle Charbonneau. "Tonic" is unlistenable, and so I no longer turn on CBC 2 when I’m making dinner. (I do like "The Signal.") But eviscerating the classical programming is a huge mistake. Do we really need more pop music on the radio, even alt-pop? I work at home and keep CBC on until Disc Drive (which reached it’s "best by" date a while ago). I’ll have to find something else to listen to, I guess. I don’t think the internet option is really viable, but we’ll see.
Ruth (above) says it all.
I am an oldster and I’ve listened to CBC all my life. Come the fall I probably won’t any more. Perhaps we need a Radio 3, devoted to, well, the things we listened to 3 or 4 years ago. CBC doesn’t seem to realise it but it has two franchise players: Tom and Jurgen. And you’re going to wreck them, or dump them? Yikes!
Why the obvious anit-classical bias? What is the explanation for retiring the most knowledgeable, articulate, best-in-class hosts and replacing them with less-credentialed hosts? Is it because an in-bred senior management is filtering out the best to line up more of their own kind? And please, can the announcers please pronounce "concerto" correctly — they sound like they’re saying it for the first time in their lives.
I have not yet recovered from the cancellation of After Hours. Tonic is acceptable, but certainly not in the same league as After Hours, and the time slot is impractical for me. I prefer the later evening quiet time, and The Signal just doesn’t do it for me.
And now to hear that I will also lose Studio Sparks and Disc Drive – seems to be the ultimate slap in the face. I sympathize with the classical music fans as well. Music and Company is a little early in the morning for me (I love my Radio One local morning show!), but when I do tune in, I enjoy it considerably.
It has been a source of frustration for me that, for years, CBC has not been able to offer late night/middle-of-the-night easy listening music when we might have need of it! "Alternative" genres are just NOT relaxing!!
Please, please – reconsider all of this shifting of genres away from our classics, light classics and jazz! I’m afraid my Radio Two listening time is going to be drastically diminished, if not ended, when the new programming is instituted.
What seems to be missing is some kind of rationale for these changes? Are they taken with the listener in mind –first and foremost?
With the demographics indicating that in a few years most Canadians will be over 50-55 years old, I wonder why this rush to make everything "young", "cool", "edgy".
Alienating the CBC’s core audience does not seem like a wise way to initiate change.
The "dumbing down" isn’t a comment on music styles – it’s a reflection of the inane choices being made by the CBC brass in their vain attempts to spice up CBC 2 and make it more "edgy" and "street-wise". Absolutely pathetic. I suspect, come the fall, the inevitable drop in listeners will prompt a lot of confused head-scratching. Even after they’ve managed to completely shutter the place and render CBC2 officially dead these yahoos still won’t get what went wrong. It’s sad to watch – and listen to.
No, those decisions are not right for me. I have been listening to the classical music and voice programs and Disc Drive on CBC for years and learned a lot about composers, singers, and genres from the knowledgeable hosts.
I already listen to CBC 1 and 2 via the web and as talk programs are not my favourite radio, I have been switching more often lately to WGBH (Boston) which is an all classical station (minus the interviews and analysis I enjoy so much on CBC 2). I also have XM satellite radio and listen to their classical stations, as well as the folk one which plays quite a few Canadian artists.
So, for me, the differentiators that currently make CBC radio a first listening choice will diminish and I’ll listen less. But I assume the market research analysts at CBC (you do have those, right?) have determined that I’m part of an increasingly unimportant demographic, and needs must.
Sucks to be me.
It’s good to hear the changes – love "The Signal" and "Tonic", still miss Radio Three, and after twenty-three years it will seem strange without "Disc Drive". You should make a point of shaking up the schedule at least every other decade.
Yes it is ‘dumbing down’. Classical music is, by definition, music that appeals primarily to the intellect, composer-centric, academic and is or was leading edge. Anything that fits within that gamut is considered ‘classical music’. Anything that does not is ‘dumbing down’. It may still be quality, but at a visceral level, not an intellectual one.
I miss "Pearls of Wisdom" with host David Wisdom. I only started listening just over a year before they dropped it in March of last year. What a shame. A great variety of retro music that you never heard anywhere. And he was great as the host. It was such a big loss. I don’t mind the present programming. It’s a shame we will loose Disc Drive (I remember Jurgen’s first episode way back in fall of 1985!) and the others. I won’t say these new changes are the death nell of CBC Radio 2, as I’m ready to listen and keep an open mind, but unless they convert Espace Music into a bilingual station, lots of classical fans will suffer. I also feel we need good, intelligent, knowledgeable hosts who at least sound professional (no gushing at guests, good diction, no talking at the same time as others, and SLOW DOWN! So many hosts talk like excited teenagers. CBC Information Radio from Winnipeg comes to mind). I miss the early 1980′s (I was just a kid) when we had Gzowski, Bill Guest and many others with those great voices and characters. Today it’s all like, um…you know, like, um, young excited teenagers.
change is hard when it is imposed upon us by someone else. but change is good.I’m not willing to vilify the network that has brought us so much smart programming we love simply because they’re going to try something new. not yet, anyway…. let’s not assume the sky is falling until the chunks land on our heads. changes to Radio 1 have brought us some great new shows… far from being dumbed down, the new shows are fresh and seem to be smarter and better produced than the ones they replaced. Yes, I’ll miss Jurgen and Eric and especially Tom, but even the pros need a change to keep them at their best. I wouldn’t be surprised if we heard more from all of them…
I still miss "Two New Hours" immensely… the occasional bones thrown to contemporary "serious" music during "The Signal" does not make up for its loss, and the loss to Canadian composers. I increasingly find both Radio 1 and 2 irrelevant and off-putting, from the smarminess of the journo-comedy bits in "The Current" to the deer-in-the-headlights interview style of Jian Ghomeshi on "Q" (please, please give back more arts reporting time to Eleanor Wachtel!). My Radio 1 "must-listen" time has been reduced to "Ideas" and "The Age of Persuasion", and as for Radio 2, it is to my ears becoming MOR soup, far removed from the distinctive programming choices found only a few years ago. And in case there’s any brass wondering where I fall in the demographics…I’m in my mid-30s. I enjoy classical and jazz. And sorry, you’re losing me.
Looks like the "nays" have it.I too will be tuning out.
Very disappointed with the continuing changes to Radio Two! Don’t understand how alienating your audience is an improvement and how not losing as many listeners as you thought can be considered a success. Seems like an example of too many managers with too much time on their hands who are unwilling to admit they have made a mistake and are hell bent on carrying on regardless. Change can be a good thing if the existing programming isn’t working but definitely not the case with Radio Two! Too many of my favourite shows will have disappeared after this latest round of "improvements" and really have no other outlet for the kind of programming I enjoyed. It’s a shame that such good quality programming will disappear. For the record I hate the promos (especially the awful Tonic spots). I have tried to get to know the new shows but sorry nothing there that appeals. And like Bee from Regina I am in my mid-30′s, enjoy classical and jazz and yes you will be losing me too!
All I can say is that I hope CBC Radio programmers are reading their mail. Mercy!
Nobody likes change. Especially changes to their favourite radio station: the sleepless companion.
It will be up to the new producers to select high quality music from all genres, including classical, to set the new contemporary sound, reflective of the mosaic of Canada and the world.
I hope the new programs reflect the thoughtfulness required to do its best for long-time listeners.
While some people have left ( skewed older), others have joined in, says Jennifer McGuire. Those older people are people for whom CBC was a lifeline. They were deeply loyal AND vocal. The CBC can’t easily or quickly re-create this kind of audience, especially in this multi-platform world.
I still miss Two New Hours too! I stopped listening to CBC2 after that show went off the air.
I lamented the loss of classical music on the CBC back then. And now they’re getting rid of even more classical music. And I heard that the midday classical slot will be mostly "popular and accessible" classical music — this would tire me very quickly.
And by the way, I’m 23 years old — so not all the listeners that have been lost are older people. CBC may be trying to attract younger listeners, but it repels me now.
Every time you make major changes, I find myself listening less and less. And now it will get worse, I fear. Like many others, I am at work during the middle of the day. I will now hear virtually no regular classical music from CBC. The Signal is genuinely interesting but the hosting is weak. As for the rest, it is very similar to commercial smooth jazz and easy listening formats. I sometimes have it on for a while but do not seek it out or care about. You are abandoning a loyal audience which has supported CBC for decades and which has also encouraged governments to fund it. Remember "I Vote CBC?" Joni Mitchell in the mornings, sigh. Whatever can you be thinking about.
Over the years I have invited people like: Clyde Gilmour, Bob Kerr, Leon Cole, Richard Ouzounian, David Wisdom, Jurgen Goethe, Max Ferguson, Howard Dyck, the fellow who hosted that Sunday afternoon show "Here Come the Bands", and many many others in to my home, car, workspace and headspace. These individuals always behaved with intelligence and courtesy when I let them in and I always looked forward to hearing from them again. I wish that could be said of their masters in CBC management. I find my listening tastes are no longer welcome on CBC Two and am at a loss as to what I have done to offend. This pining for what once was leave me very melancholy.
I’m gone, too, if these changes take place.
Incidentally, a quick scan of the membership of the Facebook group "Save Classical Music at the CBC’ reveals a very large number of young people: high school, and college students, as well as recent grads. So WHOM is the CBC trying to attract??
Bye-bye!
It’s not that change is inherently bad, but the kind of change CBC is planning leaves a void for those of us who love classical music presented by knowledgeable, articulate hosts. Worse than that is how you can contemplate taking away such a wonderful morning man as Tom Allen — so many of us rely on him to educate us, humour us, cheer us and just be with us every morning in his own inimitable style. And losing the treasure that is our national classical request show — a way of linking strangers all across the country with our stories, our life events and our music loves, so that we became neighbours — it’s irreplaceable. CBC — you’re way off base in trying to become what every other station is rather than staying unique.
It used to be that Radio 2 was on in our home almost constantly. With last year’s changes, it is no longer on after 6 p.m. And I suspect that in September it will rarely be on. The things we like to listen to will have been replaced with things that are not of interest. I’m not an oldie, but I’ve listened to CBC for the better part of 25 years. I find myself listening to BBC3 through my computer (on dial up!) more than Radio 2 these days. And, believe it or not, the BBC comes through better on dial up than CBC does!
Wouldn’t it be simpler just to replace Jennifer McGuire?
I used to have my radio glued to CBC radio 2 for many years until the last round of changes. The upcoming proposed dumbing down is unbelievable. as it is CBC is useless after 6pm. PLEASE let,s get back to the basics of what the CBC is for. Bring back the Arts Report. It was an excellent way to keep informed on the Arts news across the country. Let’s return to intelligent information on the music etc, rather than the idle chatter that seems to be popular now. So often the remarks about the music are just plain wrong! Where are the people who check the details?
Also, one should not have to change the dial to keep informed on world events. Please bring back the news and the World at 6. I miss the CBC very much, but every time I turn it on, I find myself diving for the OFF button within minutes. So much for another loyal listener. All that is left is Choral Concert and the Opera.
I just heard that Rick Phillips has jumped ship. No more Sound Advice starting in April. I think that’s a HUGE loss!
I wasn’t impressed with the changes made to Radio 2 last year, and am even more unimpressed with what’s going to happen later this year. While I love listening to Internet radio stations, I disagree with the idea of having an all-classical station on the Net exclusively, since you can tune into any commercial station to hear pop music. (If it’s independent music the CBC is thinking of playing, isn’t that what Radio 3 is for?) As far as I’m concerned, the classical format should remain on Radio 2, and the other genres, with the exception of good Jazz music, should be moved to the Internet. And while you’re at it, get rid of Tonic! I listened to the show’s debut broadcast last year, and that was enough for me. I miss Music for Awhile with Danielle Charbeneau and After Hours. Now there was some good music!
Just found out about this from Russell Smith’s column in the Globe and Mail today. We can hear Joni Mitchell and Diana Krall anywhere – where else are we going to get the other thousand years of the world’s musical culture? This will shame Canada in the eyes of lovers of real music around the world. I agree with Gary above – keep classical music on Radio 2 and get rid of Jennifer McGuire.
For what it’s worth, I am deeply disappointed at the changes proposed for Radio2. I "discovered" the old CBC FM some twenty years ago and have derived untold hours of pleasure from the various classically-oriented shows ever since, not to mention a wealth of information that I would never have gained from commercial radio. Now at 46, I am appalled that the Corporation is continuing to dumb-down programming, causing me to turn to the French language service or CFMX (which is not really an alternative). Please consider that your listeners tend to mature into Radio2; changing the format so drastically gives younger listeners nothing to grow into except more of the same.
I am in shock. Is Jennifer McGuire completely nuts? I don’t want to have to subscribe to satellite radio to get intelligent music that makes my brain think and my heart sing. If the CBC brass wnat aneasylitening station, create Radio 4. Don’t decimate Radio 2.
There is no elected official in Canada who has as much power over my quality of life (and the quality of life of the thousands of Canadians who love and engage with Radio Two and its hosts and, through them, each other) as CBC’s Head of Radio. Please grant me the power to vote her out of office. Now, please.
Looks like the consensus here that these are not the right decisions for the Radio 2. There is no one who can do what Tom Allen does every morning. I am quite saddened to hear that he and other classical music show hosts will have a lesser profile on national radio; what they are given is already so little!
Well, that’s that, I guess – so much for me even bothering with Radio 2. I was willing to give the last set of changes a fair shake, and at least they left Tom Allen on the air, even though they took away his witty foil. Tom cracks me up, perks me up, informs me, and makes me keep CBC 2 on my dial instead of some other station. I like classical music and can hear it on 96.3 in the mornings if I have to (my second choice would be a jock-rock station, just FYI), but it was Tom Allen that made my mornings. Without him, I’ll just take my listening business elsewhere. I hope he leaves a forwarding address – I’m goin’ where he’s goin’, babies.
Isn’t there enough "dumbing down" going on in this world? I invite CBC to bravely return to the traditional mandate for Radio Two…continue to offer a mix of inspiring, stimulating, challenging and (why not?) even, beautiful classical music to its listeners? Also, a reminder to CBC to recognize the very important and irreplaceable role they have in helping many talented Canadian classical musicians to build their reputations and their careers…
I listen to CBC at work and like the light, classical music. And even the heavy classical music. Why "fix" this? Joni Mitchell? Yuck. No thanks.If anything, increase the variety of classical music that gets played, instead of abandoning it.
I began listening to CBC radio 2 as a teenager, and now twenty years later, I have gone from passionate interest and constant listening to bitterness, hatred, and rushing across the kitchen to turn off the offending tripe and and inane blather. I disagree with the above comments only in that I think CBC 2 is already half pitiable… I used to love greeting the evenings with "Music for a While".. such a classy and interesting show. CBC is already dead to me.
I am extremely disappointed at the imminent cancellation of Tom Allen’s Music & Company. As a young student at McGill’s Faculty of Law, I can attest to the fact that Mr. Allen’s program attracts more than just an aging demographic. Indeed, I am disheartened to see the complete absence of targeted advertising aimed at younger professionals – the very types who would most appreciate Mr. Allen’s engaging references to music history, cognitive science and his college music school hijinks.
Music & Company is a wonderful blend of refreshing humour – such as its "cage matches" and "swag exchange" – and serious musical themes. As a lover of Russian culture, I particularly appreciate Mr. Allen’s apparent fascination with Eastern European orchestral music.
The announced midday replacement of a classical music program emphasizing "the most popular and accessible " classical music will hardly distinguish CBC Radio 2 from Radio Classique Montreal and Classical 96 in Toronto, two prominent radio stations in major anglophone markets. Indeed, why does CBC Radio 2 seek to make itself less distinguishable from its ostensible rivals?
CBC Radio 2 should both keep alive and better promote Tom Allen’s splendid morning program. Should they insist on killing his show, at least select Mr. Allen as the host for the new classical program. His energetic, witty, delightful personality contrasts markedly with other longtime, yet relatively colourless radio personalities such as Jurgen Gothe and Catherine Belyea.
Most people I talk with have completely given up listening to the evening schedule, " I don’t even try anymore…" seems to be the usual response. With the daytime change I take it that the goal is no listeners at all.
I’d like to know since when is the mandate of a PUBLIC Broadcaster to only play music for a very select few? I would think that a true PUBLIC broadcaster should reflect the PUBLIC that pays for it and the PUBLIC that would like to listen in but don’t find anything that reflects them.I thought we were all Canadians with real Canadian values. Come on, share the airwaves. Stop hogging everything for one style of music and judging everyone, who doesn’t like it or would like to listen to something else too, as common or inferior. I would hope this all or nothing attitude is beneath us as Canadians. What happened to the spirit of inclusiveness and our pride in being a multi cultural mecca? How can we say that we’re a welcoming country when we try, through our narrow mindedness, to impose our limited music values on this nation of immigrants who work hard, pay taxes and have every right to hear their music, from time to time, on the PUBLIC broadcaster?
If the CBC is betraying Canada’s classical music community to this degree by cutting down the classical music content on Radio 2 and dumbing down what’s left, the world will not end but we’ll go elsewhere for our classical radio content. But when the next round of cuts happens at Radio 2, don’t look for our support if you’ve already abandoned your support for us.
Chris Foley
The Collaborative Piano Blog
Decimating CBC2 to reach an audience that does not exist, using promotional announcers with that ironic, hip, ‘inflection down’ style of ending a sentence. CBC’s international radio was killed off, now its CBC2′s turn I guess. Apparently, the managers of CBC2 never listen to radio, which is how commercial radio management operates. With all of you on this board, I also mourn the demise of CBC2 as it races to the bottom. I just don’t understand CBC Radio management—they must be very inexperienced and intellectually barren people.
I’m deeply disappointed by these changes. I absolutely rely on the classical music programming on CBC, especially during the commute to work and home again when it is classical music on Radio Two which I always rely on to get me through the traffic — the very times when you’re cutting the classical music. ACK. I have listened to nothing but Radio Two for years and now you will lose another devoted listener (who’s never written before to say how much she appreciates your programming — wish I had — it WAS superb). Tonight I turned off the station during the commute home. What god-awful noise was that even? My children tell me just to play my CDs, but the reason I bought so many lovely CDs was by discovering new pieces and performers on Radio Two. I’m really surprisingly bereft about what you’re doing. You are doing a disservice to a great many people like me who have no interest in another "contemporary" station. We are a minority, to be sure, but unlike potential new listeners who can listen to what you’re now feeding them in a lot of other places, we would have been a loyal minority. In London, there is no other classical music station. Perhaps more sadly even than our plight is your disservice to the incredibly talented and under-acknowledged classical musicians in our crass commercial world. Perhaps we should re-paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel while we’re at it. It’s old and not very hip.
world music and blues are great, but "light contemporary"? isn’t there enough of that on the radio already?
Just what the world needs…more play for Diana Krall and Joni Mitchell. I like Joni Mitchell, don’t get me wrong, but there are plenty of places on the airwaves to hear Big Yellow Taxi. Yes, Jennifer McGuire, head of CBC radio, the ratings may remain stable, and even actually increase, but don’t interpret this as success. I’m 37 (hopefully not too old for my opinions to be taken seriously), grew up on CBC Stereo, as well as Radio-Canada (which was even better, actually), but both now, sadly, are shadows of their former selves. I only listen to CDs and Radio One in my car now. Greater variety I accept readily, but easy on the easy listening, dammit.
Radio Two, this is not the right decision. I listen to the station because of the music I can hear, not because it is CBC. My loyalty is to the music, not to your station. If you make a change as drastic as this to your programming, I will make a drastic change to the station I listen to. I will regret not being able to listen to great music in a Canadian context, but make no mistake, the great music will stay, and the CBC Radio Two Canadian context will go. This is not a good decision. It’s not good for Canadian composers, performers, artists, or the music making community as a whole; it’s not good for Canadian music lovers; it will not be good for the CBC because you will lose this listener, and many, many others like me. I would strongly urge you to reconsider the changes you have indicated you intend to make.
I have been very disappointed with the CBC Radio 2 programming changes from the past year. Music for a While and In Performance were great shows; now I rarely have the radio on in evening. If you get rid of Tom Allen and classical music in the morning, then I won’t have my radio on then either. Which leaves the middle of the day… when I’m at work. I agree with all the other commenters who say that Canadians have enough pop music radio to listen to. We have a dearth of classical music stations, and CBC2 used to be the best. My Facebook profile says "if it’s on CBC radio 2, chances are I’m listening to it" but not for much longer!
This is really sad. Is there a place I can file a formal petition or protest? Can someone tell us the link to the globe and mail ad page regarding the protest?
Given that CBC is public radio, maybe we should all call our MP to voice our opposition to the planned change.
I have always loved the option of avoiding all the pop music and turn on Radio 2, where I used to be guanranteed beautiful classical music. It sounds like it will become just another station I skip over. If CBC is concerned about Canadian artists getting air-time, they shouldn’t be disregarding all those musicians who have been involved in classical recordings as members of talented orchestras and ensembles across the country. I loved being introduced to pieces I had never heard. I am in my 20s, and love classical music (as well as other genres) this change will just force me turn off the radio and listen to my own CDs. CBC really needs to keep some intellectual integrity, and not dismiss their current listeners.
I grew up listing to CBC radio two in the mornings during the drive to school, on long trips to the cottage and while doing homework. The exposure to quality classical music played a significant role in my subsequent decision to pursue post-secondary studies in classical music . If this dumbing-down of the radio broadcast goes ahead, I will have lost a source of of unending pleasure and inspiration, and i will no longer have any reason to tune in. There are plenty of stations were one can get characterless, dull, mindless music, please don’t make CBC Radio Two another one.
To all of you who have decided to do away with art on Radio 2:I implore you to please save music in this country! CBC in general and Radio 2 specifically has a wonderful history of providing musical art in this great nation and it is deplorable to learn of the intention of the CBC to turn Radio 2 into one of the many pathetic elevator music stations that fill our airwaves come September. What is the point of a Government subsidized station that oozes out music that you can hear on almost every other radio station on the dial? It is remarkable that CBC has decided that the value of intelligent and complex music is no longer valuable to our public being. It is only a statement of the CBC’s intention to become unimportant and irrelevant. Why do this? You only contribute to watering down our culture and social sophistication and education. I beg of you to reconsider your decision to destroy a fine radio station. If you continue with your plans you will loose your audience and the best of what is on radio in Canada.Respectfully yours,Lawrence Wiliford
You can add me to the list of those who think this is a wrong-headed move. I am stunned that the CBC fails to understand the how important it is to have classical music available throughout the day. When every orchestra in the country is trying to build its audience base, Radio Two’s wide range of classical programming presented by knowledgeable hosts is vital. Why would you mess with the one station that meets this very real need? There is no easy equivalent available in Canada. Stations such as CFMX don’t cut it because they seldom play longer works in their entirety without interruption, and because of the commercial breaks which I find completely irritating.
The classical programming on Radio Two is what sets it apart from any other station on the Canadian airwaves. It is a source of education, inspiration and joy. By trying to be more "popular" Radio Two will just lose its identity, and eventually its audience, at which point it might just disappear entirely. Or is that the whole idea?
I just want to say how strongly I agree with the majority of the comments expressed to date and how deeply I feel about the loss of wonderful, intelligent, soothing, stimulating (I could go on) programming on CBC 2. I can’t understand how loosing such great shows such Disc Drive, Music and Company, Studio Sparks, Sound Advice etc and their amazing hosts is supposed to "improve" CBC 2.It was upsetting enough when Danielle Charbonneau’s wonderful Music for a While went and then After Hours, now the wheels seem to be coming off altogether. I thought CBC was funded by the people of Canada (through taxes), I don’t recall being asked an opinion, it all seems to be a done deal.Programming is a wasteland after 6:00 pm, we just switch to WNED where they are still providing excellent (though not as good as CBC 2 used to be) shows. An earlier writer has said it would be easier just to replace Jennifer McGuire with someone who understands what CBC 2 really means to Canadians, I totally agree!
I just want to say how strongly I agree with the majority of the comments expressed to date and how deeply I feel about the loss of wonderful, intelligent, soothing, stimulating (I could go on) programming on CBC 2. I can’t understand how loosing such great shows such Disc Drive, Music and Company, Studio Sparks, Sound Advice etc and their amazing hosts is supposed to "improve" CBC 2.It was upsetting enough when Danielle Charbonneau’s wonderful Music for a While went and then After Hours, now the wheels seem to be coming off altogether. I thought CBC was funded by the people of Canada (through taxes), I don’t recall being asked an opinion, it all seems to be a done deal.Programming is a wasteland after 6:00 pm, we just switch to WNED where they are still providing excellent (though not as good as CBC 2 used to be) shows. An earlier writer has said it would be easier just to replace Jennifer McGuire with someone who understands what CBC 2 really means to Canadians, I totally agree!
I grew up listing to CBC Radio Two. Every morning during my ride to school, on long trips to the cottage, while doing my homework, Radio Two accompanied me. The variety of stimulating and insightful shows and hosts exposed me to forms of art and ideas that few other children my age did. Radio Two has impacted my social, intellectual and artistic developed, and certainly must have contributed to my decision to peruse classical music at the post-secondary level. I urge the CBC to not take away this source of inspiration and artistic education. The CBC has always played a significant role in the development of Canadian classical musicians, by offering the kind of exposure that is so hard to find. If these current plans are carried out, I will have lost a source of deep pleasure and will have no more reason to listen to CBC radio.
I suggest an obituary should appear in all the newspapers across Canada. "We regret to announce the death of classical music on CBC Radio 2 in 2008. The death, although preventable was, due to neglect, and possible ignorance by unknown programmers and managers. No flowers, just regrets may be sent to President, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Toronto. Handwritten and typed letters only" Why? Because the only way to contact the President of the CBC directly is via snail mail. All electronic contacts get filtered by that wonderful oxymoron called "Audience Relations"
I did send a snail mail letter to the President weeks ago and the silence has been deafening.
The CBC management has forgotten that listeners are CBC customers as well as being their source of funding. In the commercial world companies behaving in such a way would soon be out of business. I will be very surprised to see my comment see the light of day on the website!
I am another disappointed Canadian who will be listening to less CBC Radio 2 this coming fall. In smaller markets such as mine, it will be hard to find a replacement for classical music.
This is absolutely ridiculous. The previous changes were bad enough. If anything, CBC Radio 2 needs to go deeper into modern erudite composition and support our living composers.
These changes will spell the end of me listening to Radio 2 – not out of a grudge, but simply because it won’t be worth listening to any more.
The changes CBC has recently seen were a little upsetting but I still kept listening for the morning programming and DiskDrive. Now it’s going to be more Tonic, at best.
I think I – along with everyone else I know – might just stop listening to radio altogether.
And yes, just to comment on the demographic skew – I’m under 25, and uninvolved in Classical music otherwise.
Absolutely not – the only thing this will do is alienate all the current listeners. Plus, it will discontinue any hope that Canadian orchestras, choirs, or composers will be heard on live Canadian airwaves. Bravo CBC – you’ve ruined what ever culture we might have had. Also, if you are worried about the demographic – I’m a mid 30′s male – exactly the kind of listener you are trying to attract. People – write your MP TODAY about this devastating decision.
Where are the classical musicians of our future going to come from? We’ve already lost so much music education in schools and you’re now jumping on the 2-chord, guitar-strumming bandwagon. I was fortunate enough to be brought up in a country which treated classical music with the respect it deserved and was surrounded by inspirational live performers & classical radio programmes from an early age. I am totally embarrased to live in this country and now listen illegally to good classical music radio stations from abroad on the internet. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Another disheartened listener chiming in. To remove these programs would be a terrible mistake. For every one who speaks up thousands don’t but feel the same way.
Stripping Radio Two of it’s unique and exemplary classical programming is a death stroke for the station as a cultural entity. There are lots of alternative programs out there. Universities and city stations so a reasonable job, but NO ONE delivers advertising-free, diverse, multicultural classical music like CBC, puntuated by intelligent, entertaining, educational commentary that has solid research behind it. Oh don’t ditch the only station that I can bear to listen to – and where I learn new things about great music constantly! I won’t listen to a new pop, bread and circuses station. Keep it classical. It’s a signature part of my country.
I should add that I echo Nicholas Bentley Richards’ comments above about Tom Allen and Music and Company. It is without a doubt the BEST show out there and should be the one show to be kept at all costs. There is so much variety of classical music played that it would be outrageous to say that it does not reflect the diverse cultural origins of Canada’s multicultural citizens!
There has always been ‘popular’ music, and there always will be. ‘Classical’ music, is simply the music that is of sufficient quality, relevance and craftsmanship that it becomes ‘classic’ – or ‘timeless’. Whether it is the B minor Mass of Bach from 1749 or The Houses Stand Not Far Apart, by Canadian composer John Estacio which premieres this week, this music is an elite art form… an art form that delves deep into the timeless mysteries of the human condition and seeks to shine some light of understanding on it. To compare the import of this material to a standard 3 minute ‘pop’ song by even the finest of all ‘popular’ composers is just plain silly. Because of its elite nature, ‘classical’ music has never had a broad ‘popular’ appeal, and has always needed support from patrons – in earlier times, barons, princes and kings, and in more modern times by enlightened democratic societies – the same way that the elite in the visual arts has needed support. To somehow decide that the B minor Mass is irrelevant to modern society is the moral equivalent of dumping the Mona Lisa because it is old and expensive to look after.
Furthermore, to spend taxpayer’s money to support music that is already popular is akin to the founding of a House of Commons committee to encourage more middle-aged wealthy white guys to run for a seat in the house.
Let me add my voice to Russell Smith’s; If the Radio 2 management brain trust wants to take away Radio 2′s only justifiable reasons for being: the preservation and celebration of the serious art music of the last 1500 years and the support and nurture of Canadian artists and composers of serious art music, then truly – what’s left? Without the fulfillment of that purpose, Radio 2 is a colossal waste of taxpayers’ money, and stands completely indefensible. As much as I have loved Radio 2 in the past, I also pay taxes, and Radio 2 as envisioned by this management doesn’t deserve a penny of them. By making the decisions to cut the heart out of the programming that has such a longstanding tradition of supporting the art music literature and its creation…. programs like Two New Hours, Studio Sparks, Disc Drive, Music for a While, and Music & Company… there is no real reason for Radio 2. Instead of this ‘death of a thousand cuts’, please – just kill Radio 2 now outright and get it over with.
This is a big mistake. As a music education student, CBC radio 2 has been an important part of my exposure to classical music, and now you are taking it away. The classical music on CBC radio 2 is something I grew up with and is near and dear to my heart. If you–the management–had your heads screwed on correctly, then maybe you’d pay attention to the growing number of voices of young people–yes, young people–who want the old programming to stay. GET A GRIP!!!!!
My first reactions upon hearing news of the planned changes to CBC radio 2 were shock and disbelief. Since I am a high school student who listens to Tom Allen’s "Music and Company" every day on my way to school, I rushed to my first period class in order to announce to those assembled that the CBC has lost it’s mind. (The reactions of my class, by the way, were also shock and disbelief. My teacher suggested throwing bricks.) Classical music is so invaluable to my everyday life that I find myself struggling to find words strong enough to capture my sincerity. Eliminating "Music and Company" would effectively remove any access I have to the classical genre. Classical CDs are expensive, far more so than the latest Diana Krall album, and I regularly encounter interesting new pieces and composers on Tom Allen’s show that I would never have had the opportunity to hear otherwise. What good is a mid-day show for those of us who are students? Or work full time jobs? I am 18 years old. I have a profound love of good music, of all genres. And I am a member of the demographic I can only imagine the CBC is attempting to reach through these mutilations to the program schedule. Please, please believe me when I tell you that this is a futile effort that will result in nothing more than degraded content and disappointed listeners. Young adults who have not grown up listening to CBC, or who have not been attracted to it of their own volition because of its sophisticated content, WILL NOT move from the pop stations for "light contemporary". They are perfectly happy to listen to commercialized content. I am not. Inevitably, my question is this: what would persuade you that the proposed shift in programming is a phenomenally bad idea? Should I beg? Flood your offices with irate letters? Skip school, hop a greyhound to Toronto and stand outside the CBC headquarters with a billboard, shouting at the top of my lungs? I hope I have communicated how deeply upset I am clearly enough to make a difference. If nothing else, I can promise that if the morning slot is stripped of it’s classical content and brilliant host, the CBC will have lost a listener for life.
I can’t believe someone would think cancelling Tom Allen in the morning would be a good idea. Who are these people??? Tom Allen, Eric Freisen and Jurgen Goethe are articulate, interesting, charming hosts who, along with their production teams, come up with wonderful programming for the CBC. Why anyone in their right mind would choose to cancel or reformat any of these shows is beyond me. I’m very disappointed with these changes and I WILL NOT be listening to CBC as often as I do now. This is a bad, bad move.
Gail H.
How come playing the music of the last thousand years is considered "all one style", but playing the music of the last fifteen minutes is inclusive and multicultural?
It would seem to me that the comments here are a good slice of the opinions of loyal CBC listeners. Be warned that if you continue on your present path that loyalty WILL be lost. The message is clear. STOP what you are doing now and give us back the radio2 we used to enjoy. I first became enraged by your current direction when I learned of the loss of Two New Hours and Jazz Beat. Now to my disbelief it is getting even worse. If you’d told me it could get worse during the round of changes that saw those two programs axed I wouldn’t have believed you. You are not attracting a bigger audience you are alienating and loosing the audience you have. If its the youth audience you’re after then you must be oblivous to the fact that among the chorus pleading with you to restore radio2 to its former glory are many in that most coveted demographic. I am 25 and grew to love what was then a terrific and stimulating radio station in my late teens. If you are not already aware there is a 4000 strong and fast growing facebook group of young people who share the opinions of many of those who commented here. It is about time to stop this catastrophic wave of programming changes.
first of all, i’m 19 and a university music student, so no, cbc radio is NOT just for the older generation. many of my friends also listen to cbc radio…for the classical music. not cause we want to hear joni mitchell/alanis morisette/diana krall nor do we (never ever ever NEVER) ever…avril lavigne.
If I wanted to listen to jazz/pop/soft rock/adult contemporary, there are @ least 4 other radio stations in Vancouver where I would not have a problem doing so. i ain’t gonna listen to the cbc for that. heck, i can just download some of that off of limewire for free! How does CBC expect to compete with this? Part of why interest is declining in classical music among my generation, is because stations like the CBC decide they’re not going to play classical music anymore.
well. how is my generation supposed to enjoy and learn about classical music, when we have no easily accessible exposure to it????? in other words, RADIO. it’s free. as long as you have a radio, electricity and airwaves, and BAM! you get classical music!
what’s next? playing 50 cent on cbc? let’s just get rid of jennifer mcguire.
Since you seem most concerned with appealing to my ‘demographic,’ I hope you will listen to me.
I am a young hip intellectual 20-something, and your attempts to appeal to me actually do the opposite. They turn me off, so I turn the radio off. Myself and my friends like CBC because it’s CBC.
I think you are abdicating your responsibilities as a national broadcaster in some misguided attempt to appeal to new audiences. You will alienate your current listening core (not just old fogeys, I assure you) but you will NOT replace it with one so large or so loyal.
The CBC continues to amaze me with their stupidity. Bad enough with the last batch of changes which saw shows like Andy Sheppard’s "After Hours," Danielle Charbonneau’s "Music for a While" and "In Peformance" go by the wayside - to be replaced with what, "Tonic???"
PUHLEEZE!!!!!!
I vehemently wrote my displease to the CBC with this cancellations, but now to get rid of "Studio Sparks" and "Disc Drive???" And I miss Howard Dyck on Sundays, too! These people were folks I welcomed into my home every day, like old friends, ready to renew acquaintance at a second’s notice.
Contrary to what you might think, I’m not of average Facebook age, in fact, I’m 47. Right now, I’m listening to Espace music. Why? Because it’s better music (read ‘classical’) than the slock I’d hear on Radio 2 at the moment.
An earlier poster commented how it was the radio station she was loyal to, it was the music. She couldn’t have voiced my sentiments better. Change the music (again), and I’m changing stations. Permanently.
Who’s with me for cancelling Jennifer McGuire?
NOTE: A quick Google to Concordia University’s magazine website reveals Jennifer McGuire’s first story was on why a building’s heating systems malfunctioned. Interesting juxaposition with Radio 2′s decision to revamp its programming, n’est pas?
"Jennifer McGuire opted for Concordia’s one-year journalism diploma program after completing a science degree. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do career-wise,” she says. “I thought about making children’s films and figured the research and writing skills I would learn would be helpful.” Her first story, on why a building’s heating system malfunctioned, gave her the journalist’s bug. “I found it really exciting to be able to ask questions about why something wasn’t the way it was supposed to be.” A successful internship at CBC Radio in Ottawa meant McGuire had a reporter’s job waiting for her upon graduation. She has since climbed the ladder to become executive director for programming at CBC Radio in Toronto. “Concordia’s Journalism school opened the gateway to my career,” she acknowledges. “It’s not always an easy life, being a journalist, but it’s a vocation that lures people who are curious about the world.”
This move is /not/ a good move. I’ve stopped listening to CBC Radio 2 in the evenings already. I’m in the demographic that you’re allegedly trying to target. You’re missing. I actually schedule parts of my day around your programming as it currently stands. I’m not going to be doing the same in the future if this purge of everything that’s good on CBC continues.
I live in a Rural area. I can get country Music, and can get ‘Pop’ and even ‘indie’ music. I can’t get classical music. Anywhere. You’re waayyy off the mark here.
NO, you’re not making the right decision.
"So what do you think? Are we making the right decision here with these three shows?"
No, you are not! I am already tuning out from Radio 2 in the evenings because of the growing ascendancy of mediocre programming. Tom Allen’s show truly brightens my weekday mornings, and I would like more, not less, programming like his. I can’t believe that Studio Sparks and Disc Drive are considered dispensable, either. Please consider your listeners!
As a music student I’d like to say that CBC Radio 2 is the only station I can stomach listening to. If I wanted to hear poor adult contemporary music I would tune into that laughing stock Delilah in the evening. What I would like to hear is classical music, for there are no other stations in my city that offer this. For a station that usually prides themselves in providing such a high standard of broadcast, this choice to axe classical music from the programming is poor and unfounded. It’s not as if no one listens to classical anymore- there are Universities full of students who enjoy classical music. It’s not as if it’s a dying art form.
And if the CBC is that worried about Canadian content..perhaps they could play wind band pieces played by Canadian groups, or play Canadian compositions from the various festivals such as Winnipeg New Music, etc. There are options other than burying a piece of our history.
Why is CBC radio 2 destroying it’s good classical programming that so many of love?If they cancel Choral Concert,I doubt there’ll be any listeners left in BC as we are the biggest choral enthusiasts in Canada.If Choral Concert is taken from us,just kill the station altogether as it’ll be rendered culturally useless..
It is horrible that you continue to dismantle Radio 2, which, up to now, in my opinion, has been the best and most interesting station on the air. I can hear pop music on any other station. What could be more boring than yet more "light" programming? I expect much more from the national broadcaster.
I hope the CBC pays attention to all of the people here, on Facebook, and on other sites, and to the petitions that have been created to protest the changes to Radio 2. Perhaps they should be listening to their current listeners (some of whom, like me, are in that all-important "young" demographic) rather than a set of hypothetical listeners that they hope to get playing the same soft rock/adult contemporary that one could find all over the radio in the mornings. Please save classical music at the CBC!
Our family listens to CBC radio 2 all day long. We used to listen from the time we got up to the time we went to bed, but you replaced Danielle Charbonneau’s Music for a While — a very classy program — with schlock, and the evening concert with stuff you can see on tv. Now we turn off the radio as soon as Jurgen’s show is finished. If you go through with these changes you will lose us completely, including our teenage children who love radio 2. You want to replace Tom Allen, Katherine Bellay, Eric Friesen and Jurgen with ‘elevator music’ and the kinds of stuff heard in stores? What’s happened to Canada? We used to have a culture and it was nurtured by the CBC. All I can say is that you’ve let the country down, significantly.
What’s on the chopping block next – "Choral Concert"? And please get rid of that tiresome"Everywhere music takes you". It’s not taking me anywhere I want to go.
I am outraged at the upcoming cuts to quality classical music programming on CBC Radio Two. I am in my forties and have been an avid listener to Music and Company, Studio Sparks, Disc Drive and before that many of the other wonderful shows that have since been axed, for years and years. Since my twenties in fact! I am afraid that the idiot suits who make such decisions have hugely underestimated their loyal audience base and will now pay the price. I for one -and I know there will be thousands of others- will be looking elsewhere in the cyber-universe for my classical music fix and for intelligent, informed and amusing hosts who I hope will guide, entertain and educate me as superbly as have Tom Allen, Eric Friesen and Jurgen Gothe. How do the powers-that-be justify alienating a solid fan-base to try and attract a "younger" or hipper listener–already inundated with a plethora of choices? I think this is yet another nail in the CBC coffin. Au revoir, CBC. Je me souviens .
Cutting the classical programming is a mistake. These are not good changes. We can hear Diana Krall, Joni, and other easy-listening and "accessible" music on other stations. I want my CBC to appeal to smart people who want to be talked to by smart people. Someone said: "I’d like to know since when is the mandate of a PUBLIC Broadcaster to only play music for a very select few?" Perhaps for the same reason that not everyone can be mayor, and not everyone should be mayor. Other stations can play dance music and provide easy listening for the masses. I want CBC to cater to the intelligent listener, even if that is a minority of Canadians. To be sure, I think it’s a thoughful and influential minority, and I like the company we keep. I want intelligent music presented by intelligent, well-spoken hosts. The more CBC becomes like other stations, where the success rate is numbers of people not quality of people, the more it has to dumb itself down. I don’t want a dumb CBC. I won’t listen to it. My CBC included Clyde Gilmour, Bob Kerr, Jurgen Goethe, Max Ferguson, Allan McFee, and Howard Dyck.
That’s my CBC. "I find my listening tastes are no longer welcome on CBC Two and am at a loss as to what I have done to offend. This pining for what once was leave me very melancholy." "It’s not that change is inherently bad, but the kind of change CBC is planning leaves a void for those of us who love classical music presented by knowledgeable, articulate hosts." "It sounds like it will become just another station I skip over."
I only very recently heard about the proposed changes to CBC Radio 2 and am dismayed. In the midst of a very hectic medical career, I marvel in how a smile always crosses my face while listening to Tom Allen every morning. The mix of interesting tidbits and phenomenal moments of classical music has enhanced my life. Similarly other programs have brought ‘classical’ music to everyday life. Periodically I have the opportunity to listen to Studio Sparks and love this show. I have discovered so many ‘classical’ pieces that I would not have heard otherwise. It is beyond me why CBC is trying to ruin this and replace it for the purpose of a bigger, and not necessarily better, audience. Please reconsider your position before alienating a dedicated audience. CBC should not become the same as all the local stations.
I am disappointed with the proposed changes – I listen to CBC radio 2 mostly during my commute. (I keep it on during the day, but in a middle school classroom, it’s hard to hear) It’s great to escape the inane chatter and dumb pranks that the rock radios stations feature, and the music has always been an interesting blend of soothing and invigorating. I love the familiar voices of my favourite radio personalities – it’s like having a good friend in the car, even if the conversation is rather one-sided.I’ve discovered new music during the drive home – music that has become my new favourites. I’ve dashed home to find an artist’s website in order to purchase their CD! I love the smooth jazz I often hear on the way home – erasing the day’s tensions, but keeping me awake enough to get home after a long, stressful day.I love things the way they are, and you have not persuaded me that this will be a change for the better – just a loss of good music and good radio-friends.
Hi, I have very much valued Radio Two in the past, but I also doubt that I will continue listening during the weekdays if these changes are carried through. Classical music is an integral part of your 6am-6pm schedule. If CBC no longer considers the intelligence and sophistication of its programming to be an important asset, then I will have no reason to turn on the FM radio.
So that you know what kind of listener you’re losing, I’m an 18-year-old student at the University of British Columbia, and I’m certainly not sticking around for Joni Mitchell and Diana Krall.
First, Music for a While, Two New Hours, Onstage, In Performance, Singer and the Song, Symphony Hall, Northern Lights and Brave New Waves. Now, Studio Sparks, Disc Drive, Music & Company, and Sound Advice. It makes me want to cry. What the hell is wrong with you people? Don’t you understand that Canada has a unique voice on this continent? As quoted on whatisstephenharperreading.com, we are become post-historical, post-cultural and pre-robotic!!! Does the CBC hate babies????? It seems so, if you want to lead us into an era where we forget where we came from!!!
btw, unless you think i’m old and you don’t take my opinions seriously – i’ll be turning 22 this august – don’t believe? check out the other some 5000 20-somethings who’ve joined the facebook group, save classical music on cbc radio 2!!
Coming from a smaller market with limited radio options, Radio 2 is the only place I can find classical music. I am saddened by this move. I’ve started my mornings and unwound at the end of a busy workday with Radio 2 for years. I probably would have had no introduction to classical music had it not been for the CBC. Unfortunately, I can’t see myself tuning in to the new programming, as there are plenty of options for pop and contemporary music which I already opt against. Instead I imagine I’ll just listen to CDs exclusively. If the CBC is trying to alienate it’s listeners, this is certainly one way to do it.
I am devasted about the decision to cut classical music from Radio 2. We have many radio stations delivering all types of music: western, rock, metal, etc. etc. But we only have one station, Radio 2, that faithfully caters to classical music buffs. On Radio 2 we have people dedicating classical pieces to their parents and vice versa parents calling in dedicating classical pieces to their children. People who have been introduced to classical music through listening to programs delivered by hosts who have an immense knowledge of classical music. Knowledge so valuable that it just can’t be compared to monies. Why don’t you check your archives, and you will see how important, valuable and unforgettable these programs are? My own children received their love of classical music through listening to programs delivered by Eric Friesen, Juergen Goch (and his book, and CD). As a matter of fact, we used to pretend being at " Symphonie Matinee" with Radio Sparks. My daughter, after finishing her own music education, continued to use programs, notes, comments and recommendations produced by Eric Friesen, Juergen Goch, to name only a few, in her teaching very successfully, I might add. We just do not need more POP culture, we need to continue to nurture classical music and provide this enjoyment for an audience familiar with it but also continue to educate our up and coming classical music buffs. Educate the wise guys who are making this incredibly lousy decision.
Nooooo!!! Why is CBC always(these days) aspiring to be Fox Lite? Why do you continue to pander to a less cultivated audience? Do you believe that the mass media is so successful at dumbing down its audiences that you feel obliged to tag along? NO DIANA KRALL PLEASE!!! NO "EMERGING ARTISTS" GROOMED FOR MASS APPEAL!!! INTEGRITY!!! CONVICTION!!! CHALLENGE YOUR AUDIENCE!!!
This is so wrong ! The classical music programming is excellent, and I listen to it for that very reason. Other stations play the light stuff, and for you to run out Tom Allen and all the other wonderful "hosts" is criminal. Why do you discourage people being able to listen ? No longer will I even bother to turn on the radio – when all you do is to dilute content!
I am appalled and disheartened to learn that CBC will be axing three more classical music radio programs. CBC Radio Two is my radio station of choice for 3 reasons: 1) Music & Company – I cannot imagine what my day would be like without it! 2) Road Rage – on my long commute home, I enjoy listening to CBC Radio Two Disc Drive, Urgen Goth, Studio Sparks – depending on the day…it greatly relieves any stress related to traffic/driving/work to have such great programming on the air in the afternoons/early-evenings. 3) Tonic – what an enjoyable show! I love that I can always turn to CBC Radio Two to hear a blend of classical & jazz favourites among some new works/bands/sounds.
My heart also goes out to the people living in rural Canada. I, myself, grew up in a rural area and there is no other Canadian source of classical music. To take this kind of programming off the air is to steal this small joy from thousands of rural Canadians – most of whom don’t have the luxury of having a town symphony orchestra as we do here in the city. Most children in rural Canada grow up with very little access to classical music as it is. To axe these programs is to destroy the very purpose of the CBC – to enrich Canadian culture by reaching to even the smallest community to share great music, entertaining, witty & intelligent commentary.
CBC was at the heart of Canadian culture. It was the one thing we had that bound us together from coast to coast. I never imagined that I would one day have that proverbial rug pulled out from under me. Please, if there is any sense at all left in the offices at CBC, please let me live in peace with Music & Company and the few other classical programs we have left in this country.
I am truly disappointed in the CBC and their lack of commitment to classical music. The publicity and promotion of orchestral music in this day and age is more important than ever. I’m one of fewer and fewer young people (under 20) that really understand and have an appreciation for orchestral music. Listening to Radio 2 as a kid played a huge part in my decision to pursue music professionally, and I can’t imagine where I might be without that influence. CBC, you’re letting me down once again, and also letting down kids by taking away their chance to learn to understand and enjoy classical music like I do.
it’s quite ridiculous that cbc2 is doing this…. i am 18 and i cannot live without classical music. i am extremely disappointed and i will find it pointless to listen to cbc2 anymore. for the people who would want to stand up for this, there is a facebook page for the protest. please do visit the sitehttp://hs.facebook.com/event.php?eid=11714294433if you do not have facebook, the site says:"All right. We’ve got over 4000 people in the "Save Classical Music at the CBC" Facebook group. Let’s all see if we can’t coordinate some group action. Can we all agree that by the end of this weekend and for sure by the end of the workday on Monday (for all you CBCers who do nothing but surf the internet at work), we will all have visited the CBC’s insider blog at http://www.insidethecbc.com and posted a comment stating your opinion about the recent cuts to quality music programming and knowledgeable music staff at Radio Two. As you all know, at the end of this season Studio Sparks, Disc Drive, Music & Company, and Sound Advice will all be axed, adding to the recent spate of losses over the past year of Music for a While, Two New Hours, Onstage, In Performance, Singer and the Song, Symphony Hall, Northern Lights and Brave New Waves. Let’s all try to put into words how we feel about these changes in a forum outside of Facebook that the CBC brass might pay attention to. if you need inspiration, read some of the posts on the group site or some of the links to other blog posts and especially Russell Smith’s latest column in the Globe and Mail.Do it by the end of the work day on Monday, the 17th – St Patrick’s Day = before you tip you mug full of green beer!"
the link i posted was wrong. it is actuallyhttp://hs.facebook.com/event.php?eid=11714294433
"Are we making the right decision here with these three shows?" Come on! If they’re committed to the belief that they are making the right decision, they shouldn’t have to ask us – even though we know it’s a huge mistake. More dumbing down because they think that is what the masses want. So can anyone tell me what the difference will be between Radio 1 and 2 at, for instance, 3pm weekdays here in Calgary. Sounds like they will be the same show. Or is that the idea in future cut-backs?
As a relatively new "avid" listener to CBC2, but a long time "partial" listener, I’ve noticed the decline in quality programming in both CBC1, and CBC2, and have been consistantly bewildered by it. I have come to love coming into work in the morning and putting Radio2 on the stereo, and listening to Sound Advice, or DiskDrive, and all other programming out there, but apparently no more. I heard today Rick Phillips talking about his leaving at the end of the month, and was saddened. Another of the new voices I had come to know and respect from both the CBCs is about to leave. Whether CBC thinks this is for the best is irrelevant. As a business, it should be listening to the desires of the people presently listening to it, instead of alienating them in an attempt to attract new listeners. I am 20 years old, and have listened to CBC for all of my life. CBC has done a damn good job of making me tune out Radio1, I beg of it to not to do the same to Radio 2.
I’d like to thank the CBC for all the great memories CBC Radio 2 has given us over the years. Sadly, the radio station we’ve all been listening to and supporting for decades will no longer be the same with such a reckless massacre of the shows we’ve come to love. Arts and culture in Canada is deteriorating again – what a surprise.
I’d like to thank the CBC for all the great memories CBC Radio 2 has given us over the years. Sadly, the radio station we’ve all been listening to and supporting for decades will no longer be the same with such a reckless massacre of the shows we’ve come to love. Arts and culture in Canada is deteriorating again – what a surprise.
There is enough mind numbing pop music on the radio these days. Please CBC, keep classical music, don’t cut it! Put music on the air that’s worth listening to!
Removing some of the most loved hosts on CBC Radio 2 will do nothing but leave many listeners forced to return to commercial radio to get the music (sans any credible or educated hosts) just because CBC continues to strive toward entertaining the people that aren’t listening to CBC. I guess it seems obvious that in order to have everyone listen to you, you should sound exactly like every other radio station, but then again, i didn’t think that was what the CBC was for in the first place. Gaining a few rush hour drivers isn’t worth ditching amazing representatives of the music community and their programming content that educated and entertained many growing musicians. It isn’t that programming shouldn’t be balanced, as Radio 2 has seen some great additions to programming in the past years, but to eliminate an entire music genre seems a bit drastic. you can’t get rid of Tom Allen and Jurgen Gothe!
So what do you think? Are we making the right decision here with these three shows?
No.
The trend in music programing on radio two is "taking me" to other sources of classical music.
I was in love with classical music before I was born. My mum played a lot while I was in the womb. So I grew up addicted to CBC Radio. I would listen to the Arts Report every morning as I got ready for school. Then I went to university and spent many hours making costumes for the theatre department listening to Saturday Afternoon at the Opera, Sound Advice, Say it with Music. The time flew by. I was relaxed and content. Now, as a performer who travels a lot, I depend on the CBC to provide me with my classical fix no matter where I am in Canada. Nowhere else can you learn about classical music from such intelligent, well informed hosts. I love hearing musicians discuss their favourite movements to play, conduct, listen to – it gives you such insight into this art form. With schools around the country cutting music programs, the CBC should remain a beacon for the next generation, reminding us how far composition has come – and how far we still can explore. Please CBC! Don’t desert us! There are already enough commercial stations playing Diana Krall and Joni Mitchell. I am not debating their talent or artistry, but they have a place – and it’s not on my CBC.
I am very disappointed with the new programming. I agree with the other listeners who have noted that a person can hear pop music on any other radio station, so what sets the CBC apart anymore? I think that most of the popular and emerging artists showcased on Radio Two are boring and uninspiring, and the Radio Two broadcasters’ banter inane and annoying. I will also miss Sound Advice, since it was very educational for those of us who know next to nothing about classical music but enjoy it nonetheless. I miss the classical music a lot.
I think it’s a shame that CBC will be changing it’s format. I’ve been a faithful listener my whole adult life. No offence to Diana Krall or Joni Mitchell…but both can be heard on plenty of stations elsewhere. I have always enjoyed the music choices on Radio 2, particularly Disc Drive and Studio Sparks. My dad and I used to listen to Disc Drive on the way home from work, years ago, and now I do the same on my own. It will be tremendously missed…
Yet again, CBC is attempting to attract a larger audience by dumbing down, forgetting that its loyal listeners are becoming increasingly discontent with the programming. If I wanted to listen to more mainstream radio, I would tune in to one of the countless commercial stations on the air, with whom CBC has no chance of competing. Why can’t the CBC realize that intelligent programming is its strength, not its weakness?
As a 28 year old high school teacher, the CBC apparantly does not believe that I listen to their classical music station. They are not aware that I have been listening to Radio Two since I was seventeen years old, and was introduced to it by one of MY high school teachers. Since then, I have listened every day, in the morning, as well as on my way home from work. Every day for the past ELEVEN years. CBC Radio Two, in its present format, is a part of the fabric of Canadian Broadcasting. It is the only classical station available in MANY areas of the country, and meets a need that many Canadians have, regardless of age, race or social class. I even have some of my high school students listening to it, and they talk to me about the piece that Tom Allen has chosen for the Cage Match that week, and encourage others to vote. The quality of the hosts such as Tom Allen is first rate: They do not speak to the "music elite", but make Classical Music accessable and understandable to anyone with an interest. These drastic changes to the format are not needed. I agree that it is important to showcase Canadian composers and talent. However, aren’t these composers, and other budding composers influenced by the music that is presently being played on Radio Two? Take that away, and what is left for them, and others, to be inspired by? More of the same, offered on other stations. More Big Box style radio with a lack of identity and handfull of dull. I did not think that was what the CBC was all about. Think on it.
No. No! Emphatically no. This is not the right decision; it’s a terrible decision! No Jurgen; no Tom; no Eric? No deep breaths into the microphone at every pause? No quirky facts about recent science developments to start the day? No wealth of knowledge on classical music the whole day long? What are you thinking? I thought I would always be an avid CBC supporter and Radio 2 listener, but I will certainly not be listening any longer if the proposed changes from intelligent art to easy listening garbage go ahead. Please reconsider!
I am devastated by the continued reduction of classical music programming on Radio 2. I grew up listening to classical music on CBC FM. CBC had continued over the years not only to provide listening pleasure, but to educate me, challenge me and and greatly broaden the range of classical music I enjoy.
I have felt proud of the CBC when I visited other countries where such programming was much more limited and realised what a treasure we had.
Since the changes last fall I have found myself surfing stations, trying to find alternatives during those periods when classical programming is no longer provided and am left very dissatisfied. Now even more of the programs I love are going. I will listen more to my own collection, but how will I learn to love what I don’t already know, how will I decide what I want to add ?
I used to be impressed with how the CBC supported classical musicians and provided a showcase for the young ones, and all that is being lost.
The only positive change I have heard is the increased broadcasting of Canadian musicians who play music other than Western/European music.
The CBC is aiming for a popular common denominator and is losing what has made it excellent. I just hope it won’t be too many years before the mistake is recognised by those who make the changes.
Thank you, CBC, for selling out. Our national radio station is now like every other one out there. Dumbed down, wishy washy programming; you should be embarrassed.
I, too, and disappointed in CBC’s planned changes for RadioTwo. There are no other classical music options in my part of the country. It seems that the CBC is trying to compete with other stations, which entirely defeats the purpose of a publicly funded media outlet. Save our RadioTwo!
And further to the above, I am 25… an age which I assume is smack in the middle of the demographic that the CBC is trying to attract but in fact will repel.
No more CBC for me – all I listened to it for was for my morning classical music fix. Why would I bother when I can hear Diana Krall and Joni Mitchell on any other radio station? I’m very sad that CBC has chosen the more mainstream route where it will get lost amongst all the other uninteresting stations.
As a young musician in a rural area, the access that CBC radio has provided to high quality classical music has been invaluable. This programming overhaul is a huge blow to music appreciators who have limited access to concerts. The loss of Disc Drive is particularly disheartening. Please reconsider.
I am very disappointed in the announced programming changes. I believe that it is a huge mistake and that you are driving away many listeners. As a classical musician in my early 30s I listen to CBC 2 to get ideas on new repertoire, to learn new things about music, to relax and to get inspired. How is the classical music industry to grow with these cuts. You say that classical music is dying but tell that to all the people that are going to the Met opera broadcasts in the cinemas in places like here, Cape Breton Island, that really does not have much of a classical music scene at all?
The classical music I hear on CBC 2 is a precious resource which makes our country richer. Those of us who live far from the larger urban centres can enjoy fabulous live classical music without having to drive anywhere. The interviews on Studio Sparks are fabulous, and Tom Allen helps me start my day. I already miss ‘Music for a While’: why must the CBC continue to cut great programming? I listen to CBC 2 because of the great classical music they play, not because I’m trying to ‘support my local cbc.’
I’ll miss it, and the CBC will miss me.
If I need a ‘lite music’ fix, I can tune my radio to any of the myriad local stations in my city that aims to capture the wide demographic that is inspired by such music – easy listening is what it claims to be: easy, mellow, inoffensive. I’m concerned about losing a vital, challenging, and fulfilling part of the CBC music spectrum which has long been on CBCradio2. My local radio stations don’t offer this same appreciation.
Please do not compromise the integrity of music on CBCradio2 by thinning out its most vital offering.
I am disappointed with the CBC’s actions. Classical music is disregarded by many, whether it is by the younger generation or even by the Canadian government, and if it continues to be this way, the loss of support for classical music may eventually lead to it’s disappearance. As a music student, Radio Two allowed me to listen to the music I love, and exposed me to music I would not have discovered otherwise. I guess I will have to find another station to listen to, unfortunately.
I find what CBC is doing appaling. Sound Advice, Disc Drive, Studio Sparks, the morning show with Tom Allen, these are all of my favourite shows on CBC. The station is alienating it’s base of listeners in a vain attempt to gain a ‘wider appeal’. In addition, the, I’m sure, CRTC funded push for more Canadian classical music is also a shame as, frankly, when I want to hear classical music (which is often) its the works of the German, Austrian, Russian, French, etc, masters that I wish to here. I’m all for branching out into challenging fields of music, but not by destroying everything your station stands for. Shame. Shame.
National radio is the last refuge of classical music tradition. If people want other music they just need to turn the a little bit to the left or a little a bit to the right. It’s already with espace musique in french. Is this what Canada has come to????
Replacing even more classical music programming with non-classical does not seem a good idea to me. It’s what makes CBC Radio 2 different, and hence more appealing to listen to. Classical music does not deserve the shabby treatment it continually receives. I am in my 20s and I love classical. There are many of us out there, younger and older, who enjoy it. The vast majority of other stations play other genres; why not remain unique?
Shame on you, CBC. Radio 2 is pretty much the only place I can set my dial to that will actually play decent classical music. Unfortunately, the way things are going, I’m thinking that I’m going to lose this one little oasis in a sea of lite rock and thudding rap. So long, good taste.
I feel that the move away from classical programming on CBC Radio Two is the biggest mistake that the directors could possibly have made. My understanding is that it is to shift the core demograhic to a younger audience. I am part of that aimed-for demographic, and CBC 2 IS my radio station of choice, simply because of the programming that is offered.
Many an hour has been spent with Jurgen Gothe and Eric Friesen narrating, and providing the soundtrack, and I am encouraging the kids that I work with to make it the soundtrack of their life as well. Alas, it looks like it will be a rather lacking soundtrack from hereon in.
Currently, CBC Radio Two is the only station in my province to offer classical programming, and I often find myself turning the radio off when it offers pop and "adult contemporary" music. There are other stations that offer that, but only one station that offers classical.
I’m disappointed especially with the removal of the "drive home" classical programming. Listening to Disc Drive has gotten me sanely through many a traffic jam or stressful ride home.
I concur with "Paul" who posts that with the change in programming, CBC will lose its identity, and Canada as a whole will lose a vital part of its identity.
I’m very disappointed with the upcoming changes to CBC programming. Studio Sparks and DiscDrive were two of my favourite shows on the air once After Hours was cancelled – which was also a huge blunder. There was nothing better in the evenings than listening to jazz, broken by Andy Sheppard’s narrative between tunes.
If Jurgen Gothe and Eric Friesen’s programmes are also taken off the air and their interesting music replaced with the pop I can get on any other radio station, I will see no reason to continue listening to CBC radio.
Please reconsider these programming changes for your listeners’ sakes. "Popular" music is popular because it’s already played by everybody else – don’t jump on the bandwagon just to compete with local radio stations when so few local stations play what CBC already does.
It is very disappointing to me that the CBC wishes to cut Disc Drive. Looking over what you have slated to take its place, sounds like it might be good. Might. But, how could you possibly get rid of Disc Drive? That would most definitely be a foolish move. Change the lineup, go ahead. But please, please don’t get rid of Disc Drive.
-Tim
I’m always offended when it’s assumed that only 80 year olds listen to CBC radio 2. When I was in highschool, it was the only station my friends and I listened to, because every other station played the same 3 songs over and over again. I’m 23, now. I still only listen to CBC radio 2. I listen to pop, singer-songwriter, jazz, etc. as well, but not the kind anyone would play on the radio.
The CBC isn’t interested in keeping me, or anyone my age, as a listener; they’re interested in getting the middle aged women who listen to watered-down over-produced pop music. They want the listeners who have no musical taste and put the radio on in the background. They’re trying really hard to get the listeners who COULDN’T BE BOTHERED TO SWITCH THE DIAL TO LISTEN TO THE CBC ANYWAY. Besides, if they did switch the dial, they might get the odd classical piece at lunch time.
Why is it so hard to believe that younger people might have musical knowledge or taste?
And stop patronizing me with your freaking "Tonic". Gah.
As a taxpayer and therefore one of the owners, I am totally shocked at the recent cuts to quality music programming and knowledgeable music staff at Radio Two. I can scarcely believe what is happening to one of the few remaining radio stations in the world to offer the quality programming that CBC Radio does, or at least in the near future, used to.
I think this decision is a mistake and could result in the complete demise of CBCRadio2.
The evening slot for classical music has already been lost to jazz (I guess the presumption is that classical music lovers go to bed early!!)The trouble with further diversification at the proposed times is that private radio stations already cover the pop music market and provide timely local weather, sports and traffic conditions so there is no incentive for anyone to change their listening habits.
The decision seems to reflect certain assumptions about classical music lovers: that they are older, do not work and get up late. There also seems to be an assumption that younger people will be listening to the radio in the mornings and afternoons and want to hear pop music then. I don’t think either of these stereotypes is true.
The people I know who listen to CBC2 are older, but that is because I am over 55 and so are my friends. I know that CBC2 has been a great comfort to people at home during the day, whether working there or housebound due to illness or disability.
I also know that CBC2 is played in offices, in my physiotherapist’s and ophthamologist’s to relax their clients. Personally, I listen to CBCRadio2 in my car at precisely the times of the cutbacks in classical music. Too bad. I was just beginning to become a fan.
But what about the younger audience you hope to attract? I notice that many people leaving messages are in their 30s. Is this the audience you are trying to lose? Those people still listen to the radio. I am not sure that younger people even listen to radio anymore. Those listening to music will probably be listening to downloaded music on their IPods and sitting in buses rather than cars at the time you hope to attract them. By the way, they won’t like pop music.
Furthermore, I think that the audience for classical music is changing in Canada. I lived in Hong Kong for 3 years and there at classical music concerts, the audience was PRIMARILY young and wearing bluejeans. I notice that many promising young classical music stars are children of newcomers to Canada and I believe these individuals are injecting new life and attracting new audiences to the classical music scene in Canada.
Maybe they don’t listen to the radio either BUT these aspiring young performers and composers need exposure to people who will come to their concerts and buy their CDs. Who else will promote them other than CBCRadio2?
What a time to cut back on classical music playtime on our national radio!!
It is terribly disappointing to see CBC cutting back in the area of quality classical music programs. This was one station that I was proud to listen to, but with many of my favorite programs being axed, there is less and less to hold my attention and loyalty. Please rethink your unfortunate decision to alter your programming in favour of less refined musical tastes, tastes which are already catered to by the wide majority of radio stations.
It is terribly disappointing to see CBC cutting back in the area of quality classical music programs. This was one station that I was proud to listen to, but with many of my favorite programs being axed, there is less and less to hold my attention and loyalty. Please rethink your unfortunate decision to alter your programming in favour of less refined musical tastes, tastes which are already catered to by the wide majority of radio stations.
Five years ago, when I was 19, I had given up on listening to music. Through my teenage years I had listened to rap, hip-hop, rock, punk-rock, and pop, however non of the genres could keep me entertained so I actually did not listen to any music for awhile. One evening I was home alone and stumbled upon Radio2. After sitting and listening for a few hours I was hooked. For me, it was a first formal introduction to classical and jazz music. I have since listened to Radio2 all day long as I studied for exams. I am now deeply disappointed with CBC for continuing to change their once fine programming. It is a great loss, not only for myself, but for others who may not have the opportunity to be introduced to this enriching and enlightening genre.
This is a terrible idea! One more bad decision after another. FYI, I’m in your “target demographic” and I am tuning out. Please reconsider!
For as long as I can remember, I have spent my early mornings listening to CBC Radio 2. I grew up in Thunder Bay Ontario, and every morning I would wake up to Music and Company. I can’t count the number of times that I woke up tired and grumpy and, after hearing Tom Allen’s voice and wonderful classical music, I became much more prepared to face the day. I actually credit Music and Company with giving me a great mark in my university music history course; almost every morning during the drive to school from when I was 9 to when I was 17, my Mom and I would see who could guess the composer of the piece that was playing (I usually won). When I eventually left home for university, I was ecstatic to find that I could get Radio 2 on the radio in my dorm room – the fact that it was the same as back home was a HUGE anchor for me throughout my time away.
The thought that "contemporary" music will now be played in early mornings is appalling to me. If I wanted to wake up to contemporary music, I would not currently have my clock radio set to Radio 2. Growing up in a fairly rural community, it was so easy to find contemporary music on radio stations, and CBC was the only choice for classical. Radio 2 fills such an important niche – there’s nothing else quite like it.
I am 20 years old and I have been raised on CBC Radio 2. I have always hoped I could raise my own children on it, and am extremely disappointed in the decisions made to change its programming. If this change does occur, be certain that you can count me out as a listener.
I am so disappointed in the program changes! I have been listening to Jurgen Gothe’s DiscDrive since I moved here in 1986. I have enjoyed Disc Drive immensely. Where else can you hear reviews comparing two different recordings? It’s sad that CBC 2 is losing not only its great programs, but its listeners.
I am extremely frustrated with the direction CBC radio 2 is headed. Light contemporary pop music does not belong on a publically funded station – listeners can find that on a host of other stations in virtually every market. Where are classical music lovers to turn for insightful programming featuring music that has endured for centuries? By trying to become more popular, I’m afraid the CBC will simply overstretch its bounds and end up appealing to fewer people. Why not augment the existing classical content with new programmes featuring more live performances, especially given the wealth of talent in this country? Up and coming Canadian classical musicians need the CBC to commit to extensive classical programming – it is not only inspiring to listen to great artists, but it is also comforting to know that they, one day, will have a national radio network that supports them in their pursuit of artistic excellence.
Like many Canadians working at home, my radio has been tuned for years to the CBC all day, switching back and forth from 1 and 2 to catch my favourite programs. Over the past 2 years I’ve found myself turning it off with frustration at what appears to be a deliberate "dumbing down" of hosts, commentary and programming. Why alienate your tried and true audience in an effort to broadcast the kind of programming already offered on dozens of other stations? Funding and management are the problems! Perhaps privatization is the long-term goal?
NO! This is not the right decision at all. I have listened to CBC Radio Two (or CBC Stereo as it was) since I was a child, and now my daughter and I listen to the radio every day. In particular, we enjoy Tom Allen. Recently, while visiting with my parents, we were listening to Tom Allen, and my daughter started to dance while listening to the theme music for Music and Company — it’s her favourite show. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that classical music doesn’t appeal to younger listeners. The requests for classical music from young listeners that can be heard on Here’s To You also proves this point. People can talk about other options for classical music radio, but where I live, in rural Newfoundland, Radio Two is the only option. Please do not take it away from us!
I used to listen to CBC radio’s classical music shows in the early 2000′s. Disc Drive is good. The other shows often spend more time introducing a piece, which is dedicated to some woman’s cat in Sask, than the actual piece’s duration itself.
How annoying. It shouldn’t take a PhD in radiology to figure that one out!
As for flipping classical for adult contemporary — don’t we have enough A.C. radio already?
Why doesn’t the CBC just skip to the end of the story: convert to a Rogers Station, add ads and a Rick Dees?
This whole thing is a bad move and a dumb one too. I won’t be listening to 50% canadian adult contemp. Ever!
Buh Bye, CBC!
This is RIDICULOUS. The airwaves are already glutted with ‘easy listening’ and ‘jazz lite’. The thing that set Radio Two apart was that it provided listeners all across the country with the option to listen to something different: excellent Canadian orchestras and ensembles playing music that has stood the test of time for a reason. Radio Two has been my company at home, on long car rides, in the city, and when I lived out in the middle of nowhere in the Nova Scotia pine woods. My young kids love it, my parents love it, I love playing ‘guess that composer’ if I happen to miss the intro. Am I a classical music dork? Maybe, but here in Halifax there is a whole generation of kids who are playing in school orchestras and loving it. Why assume they wouldn’t become Radio Two listeners also, once the thrall of high school conformity has abated? And incidentally, why should classical music be relegated to symphony halls, accessible only to those who have the funds to buy tickets? Finally, one last question. Since there is no advertising on Radio Two, why exactly do the ratings matter? Those who like it, like it a lot.
Music and Company and Tom Allen are a wonderful way to wake up and I am disgusted that the CBC would cut a consistently excellent and entertaining show and replace it with something that doesn’t sound particularly unique or interesting. Other than the CanCon, how does the new morning show differ from the offering on any number of other stations?
What a let down.
This programming change will disappoint faithful listeners worldwide. At the cost of trying to appease the listener who is tuning into a commercial radio station to hear the same repetitive junk every day, CBC will be losing its distinctiveness to join among the ranks of another mediocre radio station.
I will no longer be tuning in once Tom Allen and Jurgen Gothe get the axe.
I think it is an absolute TERRIBLE decisions. CBC R2 has always been my go to for relaxing classical music when I drive home from work. I’m tired of all the loud commercials, loud (and not to mention repetitive) music that is already out there. Must you follow mainstream? What ever happened to diversity?
It will be a terrible mistake. I’m sorry to see CBC change as much as it has
What is this about losing Classical music content on our national radio program?! I treasure my daily CBC listening and especially love that I can hear all my favourite artists, Canadian compositions, orchestras, as well as discover new Canadian composers and performers. (I am one of them!)
I have always depended on CBC2 knowing that I will get quality classical music programming. When I hear the switch to more "pop-oriented" music on CBC, I immediately shut off.
I am proud of the CBC for it’s Classical content. Please do not change a good thing. I am already tuning out and going elsewhere.
Lynn Kuo, violinist
This programming change, as well as the last one, strikes me as incredibly misguided. Isn’t the whole point of the CBC to promote artists and genres that would otherwise be lost in the drive to produce commercial success? There are a host of other radio stations that play blues, contemporary, Diana Krall… why must Radio Two join that bandwagon instead of providing Canadians, and especially our youth, with exposure to our great classical history?
I had every intention of listening to more CBC starting this summer but if this is what’s going to happen in September I might as well not bother. CBC2 is the only good radio station where I live; people have other outlets to get their Diana Krall and Joni Mitchell. Let us keep Beethoven and Mozart.
This is ridiculous! As a young classical music lover, I’m extremely disappointed in CBC’s decision to limit classical music played. I have listened to CBC Radio Two ever since I can remember, and it has exposed me to a lot of good quality music, and has had a tremendous impact on my musical development. It’s really disappointing that children won’t be able to learn from CBC like I did.
You have nothing to gain from switching to mainstream music! People who want to listen to this music are already listening to other stations. However, you will lose a LOT of faithful listeners. I beg you to reconsider, and keep good quality classical music on the airwaves!
As a (classical) music student, I was extremely disappointed to hear that RadioTwo would no longer be broadcasting programs like Eric Friesen’s Studio Sparks. Many students in rural areas of Canada have little or no access to classical music listening. Hopefully CBC will realize that shows like Studio Sparks provide a means of education as well as enjoyment, and not cancel these programs.
My musical tastes are very broad, so I’m not listening to Radio 2 because of the genre. I want information, background. Tell me more than the track name and artist, and tell me in an interesting and thought provoking way. If indeed the new music will be from artists that are underplayed on other stations (I’m not sure Joni Mitchell and Diana Krall fall into that category) I’m alright with that, as long as you have intelligent hosts that will make me think.
A sad, no pathetic, "milestone" for the CBC, for succumbing to mainstream populism and failing to have the courage to retain its distinctiveness. They’ll be losing audience who will tap into internet radio stations that broadcast classical music 24/7, such as the BBC.
To replace the morning classical show (6-10 am) with something that I could find anywhere else on the airwaves (not that I would want to) is incredibly disappointing and annoying. Please re-think this programming change.
I’m yet another young listener who will mourn the loss of Radio Two’s diverse classical programming. I’ve been listening since age 14 and am now 27. Thanks to programs that focused on classical (Here’s to You, Studio Sparks, Music for a While, Music and Company), jazz (Afterhours) and new music (Brave New Waves), I learned a lot about these different genres.
The focused programming is what always drew me to Radio 2. While "mixed" programming (jazz, folk, classical, soul, etc. all in the same program) is inherently superficial, focused programming has educated me in addition to entertaining me. I believe this education happens only when the program delves deeply into a single genre. For example, on Music and Company, Tom Allen’s "Cage Matches" often give me the opportunity to hear 2 different versions of the same orchestral piece. Allen’s commentary and the two listenings teach me about classical music! This is something that a mixed program rarely does, in my experience.
Please reconsider the planned programming changes, CBC management! I do not want our national radio to blandly entertain, like any of the pre-existing commercial easy listening stations. Our national radio should educate its listeners while playing for them music that isn’t heard on any other station.
I am profoundly disappointed at the short-sighted thinking going on at the CBC. Radio Two is the only station I ever listen to, as much for the astute commentary of hosts like Tom Allen and Jurgen Gothe and Eric Friesen as for the wonderful variety of classical music you have traditionally been principled enough to play. What is the point of embracing the light pop aesthetic of every other station? Keep what is unique about the CBC; exceptional music, demanding music, interesting music, and equally challenging insights into the composition and playing of such music.
I love the interviews on Studio Sparks. The recent series on the concerto one of the best things I have ever heard in my life! Where else can you have such lively analysis of music by the people who play it? That’s what people turn to CBC for. Believe me, changing your programming will not increase your audience. It will lose you the devoted audience you already have.
I always listen to CBC radio 2 when I’m in the car because it is the only station in my area that plays classical music. If you make the proposed changes, there will be no reason to listen to radio 2 anymore.
There are a million radio stations that play anything but classical music. CBC Radio Two was the only place to find classical music. I listened to it as a child, and it continues to be my go-to music for working and concentrating. These changes are so disappointing.
I made a comment last fall about CBC’s changes to Radio 2. I still regret not getting a full newscast in the mornings (2 minutes of headlines are not adequate) and was sad that there is more jazz in the evenings and less classical. But, I thought, at least there is still my favourite, Tom Allen in the mornings. And now comes another even greater disappointment, you want to change this programme too! Why?? This show is great, a wonderful mix of classical music and really very funny and lively comments from Tom Allen. It’s a great mix for the mornings. There is little enough classical music on the airwaves, and surely there are still people in this country who, like me, actually love classical music! Is Choral Concert the next fatality?
Slowly the CBC is losing it’s wit, its charm, its intelligence, it’s quirkiness, and its appeal. Don’t let it happen. Please, please rethink this decision.
I do not listen to many radio stations, but one of the things I do tune in for is the classical music on radio 2. If CBC makes these changes then I won’t have any reason to tune in. Simple as that.
I only listen to CBC for classical music. If I wanted to listen to easy listening radio, which I don’t, I’d tune into one of the 4 stations in my area that already play that!
CBC is the only classical station I get. They are filling a niche. Don’t go trying to get into a genre that many other stations are already playing.
Distressing developments that foreshadow the eventual alienation of all existing CBC Radio listeners, while failing to attract any new ones.
In just over a weeks time, I was able to gather a Facebook group of more than 4500 (and growing) people opposed to the continued degradation of Radio Two programming, the overwhelming majority of who belong to the demographic you claim to be chasing. The voice of the internet
generation is loud and clear, stop messing with Radio Two. If we want to listen to more pop, we’ll turn to Radio3 on the web or our own iPods. You claim to want to draw more listeners in. But you are alienating the loyal and extremely engaged audience you already have. Our numbers may not be as big as the listeners of commercial stations who play mindless formulaic playlists with generic DJs, but we, your listeners are a hundredfold more engaged with the music we listen to on Radio
Two. If we wanted more pop and background music, we’d buy a condo and ride the elevator all day. Gutting the programming schedule, and getting rid of all the presenters and producers that are some of the most knowledgeable in the world is not going to win any fans and is only going to turn off the ones you already rely on and have in your pocket. Are there really that many aging hipsters between the ages of 35-49 who are craving a source for brainless twitter, tacky vocal jazz, and pop music merely ripped off from decades past?
I listen to the morning classical music every weekday going to school. The idea of having "less classical" utterly disgusts me. The worst thing about it is that there is nothing else to go to. CBC is the only station with classical music where I am and from 10-3 (when you plan on playing it) I’m at school! So if CBC changes this way, there will only be this "less classical" bit in the morning left. Having an intelligent radio station is important. Changing your hosts and programming to what’s more popular is such a mistake. You’re just getting rid of the last of important music and replacing it with what feels good. Let’s just flush Shakespeare down the toilet and all take a gramme already. Please listen to our cries and stop changing thing for the worse!
I am very disappointed with the continued cuts to classical programming at Radio 2, especially with the demise of Music and Company in the morning and Disk Drive in the afternoon. These programs are the "bumpers" to hectic weekdays, and they play music not to be easily found elsewhere. The proposed new musical content can be found on commercial stations. What exactly is the mandate of the CBC? And what focus groups or surveys have helped the CBC management to make these decisions? If the audience losses are not nearly as severe as expected after the first cuts, management can rest assured that they make up ground in the audience-loss department with these new changes.
What a horrible mistake you’re making. This is the music of the grand masters. Where will young people be able to discover classical music? They’ll find thier pop on thier own, rest assured. Please re-think this programming change.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Joni Mitchell and Diana Krall, world music and the blues, but there are radio stations across Canada that fill those niches quite nicely. What will be lacking after enacting these changes is a national classical music broadcaster. The result of these changes will be a complete loss of identity and a loss of audience for Radio 2. I strongly encourage the CBC to reconsider these changes!
It’s too bad that the CBC has decided to go in this direction. The CBC has always been a place for people to gain a larger perspective of arts and culture. It seems that the lowering the common denominator never goes out of style. Shame on you, heartless executives…
Are you making the right decision with the programming changes? Absolutely not. I have nothing against Diana Krall or Joni Mitchell … in fact, I enjoy them on occasion …. but I can find their music anywhere on the radio. This is the only place I know of to find the classical music that I love (and of which I am a student) and to dispatch it in lieu of "light contemporary" would be a grave injustice to listeners. The works of the classical masters are being heard less and less, as the popular trends lean towards music that has been tailored to be played on the radio. CBC, please do not follow this trend. Please keep the artists works alive!
I start every morning with CBC’s "Music and Company" and I listen throughout the day at work via the internet. I will be so extremely sad to lose these parts of my day – the current line-up is both fun, stimulating, and educational. If I wanted light drivel, I can already find that on other stations. Leave my CBC alone.
This can’t be done!! Music and Company is the best to wakeup to. Say no to Diana Krall!!!
I am also a young classical music lover. I have grown up listening to classical music all my life mostly to CBC Radio 2, it was always playing when I got home from school and all weekend. I think it is horrible that in this day and age we losing something as important as classical music.
To the CBC:
You are gravely underestimating your audience. Please rethink this change in programming.
I rely on Radio 2 for classical music on my way to work - I can listen to other stations if I want ‘easy listening’ or even rock or country. Keeping classical music primarily for daytime radio shows assumes that the demographic who listen to this music don’t work outside the home… Have some sympathy for those of us who are too busy during the working day to listen to music, but who rely on CBC to provide clasical music to stay sane on the way into the craziness each morning!
No. Just no. This is ridiculous and disheartening. Is CBC really trying to just "go with the times" instead of creating the easily accessible ressources listeners need to pursue their knowledge of classical music? As a music student I am sincerely concerned. The only radio stations I listen to (mainly because of the lack of commerciality and the variety of musical excerpts) are CBC2 and Radio Canada (Espace Musique). And the only times I can listen to them are in the morning and on my way home. And now it’s going to be some easy listening, Majic100-soft rock (in Ottawa) wannabe? No. Just no. My respect for CBC is steadily decreasing. Its radio programming is what really made it unique. Now it will become bland and conformist.
I’m a student, which means that 10-3 is effectively my class time. Translation: no more classical music at the CBC for me. Further translation: I will no longer be a CBC radio listener.
There are many, many radio stations out there with "light"/"easy listening" content. CBC is (was?) the only national one with a high percentage of classical music. Listening to CBC Radio Two was the primary way I became familiar with the "greats" of serious classical music AND Canadian artists such as Glenn Gould, Angela Hewitt, and the like. If it were not such programming it is quite likely that I would not be a pianist today.
"Young people" who like pop, rap, hip-hop, and so on have many other sources for such things. The (perhaps surprisingly) large number of young people that DO like classical music in this country have NO other source. Please, don’t take away their only option!!
The whole reason I listen to CBC is for the classical music. If I want to listen to mainstream music I can listen to any number of other stations. I’ve always loved that CBC was different, and it always seemed "smarter" than other stations – don’t take that away. If you feel the need to
I love CBC R2 for the classical music. It’s the first button on my car radio and my go-to when my toddler is crying. He settles faster to that than anything else. Please rethink this move!
The whole reason I listen to CBC is for the classical music. If I want to listen to mainstream music I can listen to any number of other stations. I’ve always loved that CBC was different, and it always seemed "smarter" than other stations- don’t take that away. If you feel the need to cater to a younger audience I think that’s great – but you already are! Young people are listening to classical music – I’m 27 and have been listening to CBC since high school, and many of my friends are also self-professed "CBC-junkies". I love the music, but as importantly in my mind, I love the education – the information about composers, about the pieces, all of the extras that you can’t find anywhere else. I’m proud that Canada has a quality public radio station – don’t dilute that quality.
Being a classical singer myself, I am very disappointed that the only good classical station that I listen to is planning on overhauling and changing into a more K-Rock type of station. As much as I like the shouting vocals of Celine Dion every now and again, it’s nice to know that I can switch the station and listen to Beethoven or Mozart or SOMETHING CANADIAN composed. I feel like the CBC is doing what all the schools are doing – getting rid of the music programs. Classical music helps children to grow!!!!!! PLEASE re-consider your programming changes and keep the classical music. Otherwise, I’m sure I’ll end up doing what I do with my radio everyday – not listen.
This news is far too depressing. Let’s hope the CBC realizes what a horrible mistake they’re making before it’s too late.
Replacing the morning classical show with a "light" format will not bring the CBC more listeners. On the contrary, loyal, long-time classical music lovers like myself will just turn the CBC off. In this age of pre-packaged, pre-programmed "light" fare, the CBC was (and I hope will remain) a refuge of sense, thought, and civilization.
The CBC has an opportunity and responsibility to programme music that may otherwise not be heard. Classical music needs this venue. Public broadcasting must be more than the everyday; must be a vehicle for art.
Outrageously stupid decision. I agree with Russell Smith on this one: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080313.wrussell13/BNStory/Entertainment/Why do we need another mainstream radio station? CBC is rendering itself obsolete. A very sad day…
When I was very small, my mom used to put on the CBC while I napped, and my dreams were filled with classical music. Later, everyone was amazed at how much I loved playing piano, in the band, and singing—everyone but my mother, who knew where it all came from. Now I’m an opera singer living in the UK, but I’ll be returning to Canada this fall. If there’s still a classical music scene to return to, and the CBC hasn’t begin the process of completely phasing it out.No doubt the new formats will save money, but they’ll just become redundant, offering material widely available elsewhere. Please keep Canada’s national classical station classical.
Decreasing your classical music programming is not a good idea at all, folks. You do it so well– no one else touches your calibre. And while you do more commercial music well also, with a more intelligent spin than commercial stations, I don’t think your reach for a certain demographic is going to pay off so well.
There are certain aspects of classical music that capture the human experience and musical technique so well. It makes you think, and your programming in this realm has raised the cultural bar in this country. Instead of changing your programming so heavily toward commercial music interests, keep your prime time classical content and put more smart and sassy analysis and commentary with it to entice the under 40′s…it is relevant to their lives and interests if you just think about it in the right way.
As long-time listeners in our late 50s/early 60s, my wife and I are by definition the audience you want to jettison. We grew up on and still enjoy 50s crooners and rock-and-roll. Now, due in large part to CBC FM, as it used to be called, we appreciate a wide variety of music from around the world, provided it is authentic and not trivial, including music in the Western tradition of the last 1,000 years ("classical" music). We don’t have access to high-speed internet and we don’t sit in front of our computers all day, so your internet streaming option does us no good, and in any event the great glory of R2, until now, has been the caliber of its hosts. We came to regard your hosts as friends, whose daily or weekly on-air visits gave us great pleasure as well as a fine musical education. Each time a program is canceled, we lose a friend (oh, Danielle Charbonneau, we miss you at our dinner hour – you were a real tonic; how will we learn about recent CDs without you, Rick Phillips).
If this latest round of cuts is implemented, our quality of life will be even further diminished. We feel violated, as if we had been mugged. We despair for our own children and other young people who are just discovering that there is a musical world beyond pop-pap and easy-listening. The destruction of R2 being implemented by the current management is an utter disaster for Canada.
So, CBC brass, you asked a question and you have a clear answer from the posts on this blog. How about a public response from you?
The purpose of a publicly-funded national broadcaster is not to make money or to appeal to all tastes. It’s mission is to expose listeners to a different facet of the human experience – a mission that doesn’t require catering to the lowest common (economic) denominator. This music can’t be heard anywhere else. CBC2 is a national icon – how can anyone think of replacing it with Muzak?
Please don’t cut any of those programs.
How can you POSSIBLY do this?!?! Do we, the faithful CBC listeners not mean anything? You put up this forum for public opinion and pretend like you want to hear what we have to say. Well, now its time to grow a pair and live up to your word. Leave R2 alone!
I am absolutely FURIOUS that the CBC is turning its back on its core group of listeners with these changes. I’ve been a huge fan and supporter of CBC Radio 2 /CBC Stereo and classical music for over 20 years (no, I’m not retired, in fact I’m in the under-4o set) and I feel that these changes have been made with no consideration for the existing fan base. These programming changes are a slap in the face for loyal listeners, an insult.
I WANT continued access to classical music throughout the day, and to distinctive programming without commercial interruptions. Cancelling Disc Drive and is an enormous mistake, and CBC brass can say it was a mutual decision until they’re blue in the face… but it won’t make me believe it. Music & Company, too, is a terrible loss, particularly considering the pap that is being proposed to replace both programs.
With the proposed new programming and playlists, nothing will distinguish the CBC from mainstream commercial radio programming. I have always felt that my tax dollars allocated to the CBC have been well-spent, and that I get my money’s worth and more through listening to CBC radio. With these changes, however, I predict CBC will lose its committed listeners to satellite radio, and diminishing ratings will only make it more of a target for the federal government’s cost-cutting measures. And what of the fate of the CBC Vancouver Orchestra?
Count me as disgusted, distressed, displeased, disappointed, disenchanted, and disenfranchised. PLEASE RECONSIDER THESE PROGRAMMING CHANGES!
As a younger demographic which you seem to be targeting, I can honestly tell you I’d rather listen to classical music (which I often do) rather than listen to this "light" music you are trying to integrate, which also includes world music. I’m sorry, but if I wanted to listen to this type of music, I would just change the station. CBC is best as what it originally was, classical music
As a Canadian living in the U.S. (and a professional classical musician), I often brag about the CBC, and complain that there is no national American equivalent to Radio 2. Making these programming cuts is a mistake, and will serve nothing but to damage Canada’s national identity as a country that has always supported and appreciated the arts.
Last year, when the first major changes to Radio Two were announced, I was really disappointed. I felt that the CBC was making a bad decision in cancelling certain long-running programs, especially Brave New Waves. I was also sorry to see the newscasts reduced to five minute segments scattered here and there throughout the day. But at least, I told myself, Music & Company, Studio Sparks, and Disc Drive weren’t going anywhere.
I am in my twenties, and grew up listening to these programs. When I moved away from home at nineteen, I quickly rediscovered Radio Two and its fantastic classical programming. I listened to it more often than not, and felt that I was improving my mind and doing my soul good. Since last year’s changes, I have stopped listening to it in the evenings, but it is still my radio station of choice, and I love waking up to Tom Allen’s voice and the beautiful music on his show.
And I know that I am not alone in my demographic. My roommates and many of my friends feel similarly. When we want to listen to contemporary music, we’ll put on a CD or mp3. When we just want radio, CBC Radio 2 is usually the first choice. I hate the thought that classical music is, apparently, going the way of the dodo bird – a relic for our children to look back on with very little understanding, when it is an art form that should be fostered and cherished.
The programs that you are cancelling are, in my opinion, Canadian institutions. I frankly can’t imagine the CBC without them, and highly doubt that I’ll be tuning in after Labour Day if these changes go through. As Canadians, we have so little cultural heritage as it is. Please don’t take away what we do have.
If I wanted to hear Joni Mitchell I’d listen to a ‘light’ music station. Stay true to your classical roots: this is why you have the audience you do, and this is why you have such an overwhelming response to your decision. Studio Sparks is one of my favourite programmes. Please listen to your fans.
Love & Light