#34 Music and Television Dr. Peter Herman Adler

This is Bernard Gabriel. It can hardly be news for me to say that

much of life today is being gleaned not from reality but from the TV

screen so many eyes and of course particularly those of children

are glued to the tube for hours on end each day. Certainly

the public world of music has begun a transfer of habitat from

the great expanses of the Opera House and concert hall to the Omni present

intimacy. You might say of the TV screen. What day Reese that

sense of responsibility goes on high in the television world must or should

feel for the great power they possess to guide direct stimulate

and lighten and entertain. I've long wanted to have

a close look at the way music is fairing now in the nation's TV sets

and I guess this broadcast is a distinguished man in music and in television and

surely he has his finger on the pulse. He's Dr. Peter Herman at

music and artistic director of National Educational Television. And for

11 years music and artistic director of NBC television Opera Theater

among other endeavors. He was conductor and musical director of the Baltimore

Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Adler we all know there is a

lot of music on television these days. But just how much serious

music would you say ever gets to the nation's TV screens.

Very little serious music commercial television is

obviously not very interested. It's not a majority of the

tourist areas so outside of an occasional

impressive spectacular light always big isn't it when it when it does tell you have to

do only they can do they do one spectacular maybe a year. That's all

they can or seem to think they can afford. And certainly

it is not. Commercial

programs serious music is not a commercial property which soap sponsor

would be very interested in. So we have very little serious music on

commercial television and educational television or public television as the snow

color is just beginning for this new policy.

Yes I was going to ask you in radio there is of course a kind of

polarization between the big commercial stations and the FM stations and a

subdivision of FM stations into commercial and educational. With the

latter being responsible for a good deal at least of the serious music on the air and you had

already intimated that there's a similar situation in television a polarization you might say

between commercial TV and educational.

Well there is but systematic musically

program like the great radio stations in the old times cultivated in

America and still cultivating and most of the

civilized world is non-existing in America as you know better than

FM stations play recordings. There's nothing wrong with playing

recordings but we all believe that a combination of presenting recordings

and life music is a very important psychological and

even economical factor in as I see rest of the civilized world.

I do not know warn civilized country which has not

a life radio program regularly still going

strong. Only America has abandoned its own orchestra

live music already even television came up. In only now

public broadcasting corporation is trying to establish

an effective public broadcasting a radio network which

certainly will cultivate music

better than as you could do with it or not.

Have you any idea as to about how many educational television

stations there are in the country right now. About a hundred and ninety. There are nervous about

hundred and ninety cents kind of coast to coast.

And would you say that the trend seems to be that more and more of them are coming up or

yes they are still building in as more satisfactory and suspected problems

money you know you talk about is money part of

the Broadcasting Act of public broadcasting activity

1968 which President Johnson signed.

Basing his conclusions on the results of the Carnegie Commission for

Public Broadcasting are encouraging but still like all visitors a fight

an uphill fight to get from Congress normally assigned to public

television public brokers thing and particularly assigned to it so we have

that saw that no political influence is

exerted because that would be self-defeating. But people try what what

is mostly on educational television in the country I mean musically

speaking what kinds of things generally would you say will

give us for instance now spot that over the summer of 13 weeks

in a row every Sunday an hour of Boston Symphony pop

concerts which are things a good fare for the summer was good soloists.

There was one big series of symphony broadcast some years

ago. But a symphony orchestra on TV

is a dullard for a kind of form of which not

everybody likes to do is interesting and it was or wasn't popular then and the

difference is that produced called masterclasses by signal via and

Heifetz Haifa's because Aus were and concerts which were very

interesting made and great educational value. But it was years ago and

what I miss and what I would like to see you know established is a kind of a

blueprint not in a helter skelter programming ones of

in fact too many minute 24 hour masterclasses of Cazares I think what they did in

one role is too much.

THIS IS NOT be it and it does appear to get what we need is a

systematic comprehensive musical program and we are hoping no

that. It will establish and will be used as a

blueprint. It's expensive and it especially

for my job has to be created in television.

Now the educational TV station in New York in The New York City area is

Channel 13 and you're connected with that.

Considerably particularly only since and since not recent weeks it is a

move between and Indian channels 13 more I didn't realize yet it was not a band

just to achieve which is probably a very good idea.

Now I believe that you feel that opera or that the intimate kind of

opera is almost a natural for television and that's

that's your big interest isn't it of course that you had all this experience with NBC television opera.

But that's what you're mostly concerned with and most passionate about if I can say that Dr Adler.

Yes this is real of course believes that not every

opener but it cannot ever be a grand opera is good or even possible on television I

gotta ask you why you didn't think it's big because we've got not only the spectacle really would

be good but our present loudspeakers on television sets are not

equipped to take a really big symphonic sound. Chamber music

and lighting the camera you mean little crowd all those are we are not equipped but we

will be equipped Of course there is no reason why a television manufacturer should have

inserted expensive TVs because in the if there are no

programmes or nobody wants it. So first we have to have programs

and then people will demand better speakers. And since technically it's no

problem of course whatsoever it's just a matter of money to get more

money invested in better speakers for what will certainly come now

was a cassette on the horizon so that you will have a set of

still fully XP cuz plugged in and you are set.

Technically it is no problem it is a money problem but you

feel that opera at least on the intimate side is almost

geared for television.

Well a certain size it is elevenses certain dimensions of part of

the intimate side the meds that watch it.

Timid love do it of course is an intimate thing which on a big stage never again come over

really.

Yeah on the other hand how about all these close ups of singers that don't look too photogenic

where they're When you get right at them as a movie camera my.

Well first of all television will need singers who look or write

bad ahead of what might be sacrificed.

No the world shouldn't be sacrificed but grand open as open as was ground.

Big voices which I've also usually £200 This is

doubly or say I don't write for Tristan because interest and

again the great poet W.H. are all things that all Tetrazzini were alive she

just didn't have a chance that a witchy were in the room telling her she wasn't that good looking not not she

wasn't fat but when she was in that beauty.

When I know you have not done as you listen to.

But I'm just thinking that that's one detriment almost isn't it of a TV camera and if you get

close ups of singers singing it doesn't always look too good. You know it's nice when you're

way back it up in the air you know an opera house.

You don't see anything but the big out exactly but there are seeing those of course and

their openness which for instance do not apply these big high notes which

are the touchy ones of a singer said never to go away either.

Now I ask you Dr. Adler what is happening at the moment in

your work with National Educational Television where we are presenting and

he is presenting next season on the network.

One Oprah among us next season begins when in October.

At the time going to be Sunday with 10 o'clock in the evening some people

consider good for this kind of thing some people do nothings. I mean this would be on all the

stations all the stations all 190 all said tema Yes including in New

York City each absolutely sure it was the network people who

do not want this kind of program can have not to dig it but

most people are aware of and represent every month an opera of which

some produce newly produced some Markku

produced with foreign organizations like BBC and England

and CBC in Canada. Also we present a very interesting little opera from

Tokyo. Do you know what is Germany's called it of an opera

called or feels in Hiroshima. It's an NHK the

Japanese commissioned opera very experimental very

interesting and beautiful to look at which we will present in short it will be a series

seven operas many. Three of them with us. First you first want

to be Mozart's abduction from the seraglio.

I hope you've got a good singer for that. Modern art and everybody mentions that model

now that I'm rich then we have the lame

recording of that yeah as everybody mentions happened in a very interesting thing as far

as the opera are concerned.

The the sync speed is not the most important piece

of the show piece and you know of course that Mozart wrote about it about the

aria about this particular piece to his father I have sacrificed.

I would quote almost verbatim I have sacrificed a big audio of the

Constanza to the German get annoyed. Good

again which is a very funny expression. The well-oiled vocal chords of

Madame Coverly Arry also at that time composers had to make concessions

to the bananas.

Mozart didn't do it. Later on when he wrote was a masterful Liberty

just like the pontiff of the libretto of the fellow Audley but I don't

for the abduction is really a deliberate. Where do you get your singers. We

auditioned and we mostly have for sure that we have our office in

our studios for in the end I mean anybody who would like to audition for you

could get an order. We really really have of course to check before because otherwise we

wouldn't have the apparatus and the time or people who want to be checked very carefully

and use mostly young talent. Train them keeps

them in the studio coach will work for them. Television is a very

dangerous medium and not every singer was comfortable unless he is carefully

trained. As you said even with mouth yanking him which

very often is not necessary.