Washington Sounds

Alex Ross grew up here in Washington, and he had some comments today about the new hall at Strathmore. I'm glad to hear that the sound at Strathmore is so good. However, as someone who lives in the District of Columbia, I can't foresee going all the way out to Grosvenor very often, although it will certainly be nice for people who live out there. Alex also commented on what will probably soon befall our only local public radio station devoted to classical music (see my rant from last week, when the plan was announced). Alex recalls a scene from his youth that I remember happening in a quite similar way (but in Michigan, and it was WKAR and the Metropolitan Opera broadcast): "What a thrill it was for me as a kid when WETA or the overnight show on WGMS played some big, mysterious piece I'd only heard rumors about — the Bruckner Sixth, for example, which sounded like a cryptic distress signal on my tiny transistor radio." That is exactly what is at stake. Somewhere in Washington right now there is a little Alex Ross, whose ears would be filled with political chatter instead of Bruckner. Go here, use the "Feedback on Radio" form, and try to convince the Board of Trustees to say it isn't so.