The End of an Adventure

"Hello, everyone."

One of my favorite discoveries in college was the simple joy of public radio, and one of my favorite programs quickly became Karl Haas' legendary Adventures in Good Music. Almost every day I looked forward to the opening notes of the second movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor ("Pathétique"), followed by those two simple words of welcome that started an hour-long exploration of discovery -- and profoundly enriched my appreciation and knowledge of classical music.

Karl Haas passed away Sunday at the age of 91. He hosted Adventures in Good Music almost every weekday since 1959, and after it went national in 1970 it soon became radio's most listened to classical music program. Haas was rewarded with two Peabody Awards and the National Endowment of the Humanities Charles Frankel Award, and became the first (and still only) classical broadcaster to be inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. Over the decades and across hundreds of radio stations (180 in the U.S. alone), he brought classical music to literally millions of people worldwide, becoming the single most important broadcaster of the genre in the medium ever. (You can listen to three sample programs online here.)

Adventures in Good Music continues to be broadcast worldwide, as his broadcasts remain timeless. (Three CDs are also available -- Romantic Piano, The Story of the Bells, and Song and Dance.)