- Series
- Bernard Gabriel
- Air Date
- Duration
- 00:30:00
- Episode Description
- Series Description
- Subject(s)
- Creator(s)
- Contributors
- Genre(s)
- Geographic Region(s)
- regions
- Time Period
- 1971-1980
[00:05 - 00:10]
This is Bernard Gabriel. It can hardly be news for me to say that
[00:10 - 00:14]
much of life today is being gleaned not from reality but from the TV
[00:14 - 00:19]
screen so many eyes and of course particularly those of children
[00:19 - 00:24]
are glued to the tube for hours on end each day. Certainly
[00:24 - 00:29]
the public world of music has begun a transfer of habitat from
[00:29 - 00:34]
the great expanses of the Opera House and concert hall to the Omni present
[00:34 - 00:39]
intimacy. You might say of the TV screen. What day Reese that
[00:39 - 00:44]
sense of responsibility goes on high in the television world must or should
[00:44 - 00:48]
feel for the great power they possess to guide direct stimulate
[00:48 - 00:53]
and lighten and entertain. I've long wanted to have
[00:53 - 00:58]
a close look at the way music is fairing now in the nation's TV sets
[00:58 - 01:03]
and I guess this broadcast is a distinguished man in music and in television and
[01:03 - 01:08]
surely he has his finger on the pulse. He's Dr. Peter Herman at
[01:08 - 01:13]
music and artistic director of National Educational Television. And for
[01:13 - 01:18]
11 years music and artistic director of NBC television Opera Theater
[01:18 - 01:23]
among other endeavors. He was conductor and musical director of the Baltimore
[01:23 - 01:28]
Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Adler we all know there is a
[01:28 - 01:33]
lot of music on television these days. But just how much serious
[01:33 - 01:38]
music would you say ever gets to the nation's TV screens.
[01:38 - 01:43]
Very little serious music commercial television is
[01:43 - 01:47]
obviously not very interested. It's not a majority of the
[01:47 - 01:53]
tourist areas so outside of an occasional
[01:53 - 01:58]
impressive spectacular light always big isn't it when it when it does tell you have to
[01:58 - 02:03]
do only they can do they do one spectacular maybe a year. That's all
[02:03 - 02:08]
they can or seem to think they can afford. And certainly
[02:08 - 02:11]
it is not. Commercial
[02:11 - 02:17]
programs serious music is not a commercial property which soap sponsor
[02:17 - 02:22]
would be very interested in. So we have very little serious music on
[02:22 - 02:27]
commercial television and educational television or public television as the snow
[02:27 - 02:30]
color is just beginning for this new policy.
[02:30 - 02:34]
Yes I was going to ask you in radio there is of course a kind of
[02:34 - 02:39]
polarization between the big commercial stations and the FM stations and a
[02:39 - 02:44]
subdivision of FM stations into commercial and educational. With the
[02:44 - 02:49]
latter being responsible for a good deal at least of the serious music on the air and you had
[02:49 - 02:54]
already intimated that there's a similar situation in television a polarization you might say
[02:54 - 02:59]
between commercial TV and educational.
[02:59 - 03:03]
Well there is but systematic musically
[03:03 - 03:08]
program like the great radio stations in the old times cultivated in
[03:08 - 03:13]
America and still cultivating and most of the
[03:13 - 03:16]
civilized world is non-existing in America as you know better than
[03:16 - 03:23]
FM stations play recordings. There's nothing wrong with playing
[03:23 - 03:27]
recordings but we all believe that a combination of presenting recordings
[03:27 - 03:32]
and life music is a very important psychological and
[03:32 - 03:37]
even economical factor in as I see rest of the civilized world.
[03:37 - 03:43]
I do not know warn civilized country which has not
[03:43 - 03:47]
a life radio program regularly still going
[03:47 - 03:51]
strong. Only America has abandoned its own orchestra
[03:51 - 03:57]
live music already even television came up. In only now
[03:57 - 04:02]
public broadcasting corporation is trying to establish
[04:02 - 04:07]
an effective public broadcasting a radio network which
[04:07 - 04:11]
certainly will cultivate music
[04:11 - 04:16]
better than as you could do with it or not.
[04:16 - 04:20]
Have you any idea as to about how many educational television
[04:20 - 04:25]
stations there are in the country right now. About a hundred and ninety. There are nervous about
[04:25 - 04:29]
hundred and ninety cents kind of coast to coast.
[04:29 - 04:34]
And would you say that the trend seems to be that more and more of them are coming up or
[04:34 - 04:39]
yes they are still building in as more satisfactory and suspected problems
[04:39 - 04:43]
money you know you talk about is money part of
[04:43 - 04:48]
the Broadcasting Act of public broadcasting activity
[04:48 - 04:51]
1968 which President Johnson signed.
[04:51 - 04:57]
Basing his conclusions on the results of the Carnegie Commission for
[04:57 - 05:02]
Public Broadcasting are encouraging but still like all visitors a fight
[05:02 - 05:06]
an uphill fight to get from Congress normally assigned to public
[05:06 - 05:11]
television public brokers thing and particularly assigned to it so we have
[05:11 - 05:16]
that saw that no political influence is
[05:16 - 05:21]
exerted because that would be self-defeating. But people try what what
[05:21 - 05:25]
is mostly on educational television in the country I mean musically
[05:25 - 05:30]
speaking what kinds of things generally would you say will
[05:30 - 05:35]
give us for instance now spot that over the summer of 13 weeks
[05:35 - 05:40]
in a row every Sunday an hour of Boston Symphony pop
[05:40 - 05:45]
concerts which are things a good fare for the summer was good soloists.
[05:45 - 05:50]
There was one big series of symphony broadcast some years
[05:50 - 05:55]
ago. But a symphony orchestra on TV
[05:55 - 05:59]
is a dullard for a kind of form of which not
[05:59 - 06:04]
everybody likes to do is interesting and it was or wasn't popular then and the
[06:04 - 06:09]
difference is that produced called masterclasses by signal via and
[06:09 - 06:14]
Heifetz Haifa's because Aus were and concerts which were very
[06:14 - 06:19]
interesting made and great educational value. But it was years ago and
[06:19 - 06:23]
what I miss and what I would like to see you know established is a kind of a
[06:23 - 06:27]
blueprint not in a helter skelter programming ones of
[06:27 - 06:33]
in fact too many minute 24 hour masterclasses of Cazares I think what they did in
[06:33 - 06:35]
one role is too much.
[06:35 - 06:40]
THIS IS NOT be it and it does appear to get what we need is a
[06:40 - 06:45]
systematic comprehensive musical program and we are hoping no
[06:45 - 06:50]
that. It will establish and will be used as a
[06:50 - 06:54]
blueprint. It's expensive and it especially
[06:54 - 06:58]
for my job has to be created in television.
[06:58 - 07:03]
Now the educational TV station in New York in The New York City area is
[07:03 - 07:09]
Channel 13 and you're connected with that.
[07:09 - 07:14]
Considerably particularly only since and since not recent weeks it is a
[07:14 - 07:19]
move between and Indian channels 13 more I didn't realize yet it was not a band
[07:19 - 07:23]
just to achieve which is probably a very good idea.
[07:23 - 07:28]
Now I believe that you feel that opera or that the intimate kind of
[07:28 - 07:33]
opera is almost a natural for television and that's
[07:33 - 07:38]
that's your big interest isn't it of course that you had all this experience with NBC television opera.
[07:38 - 07:43]
But that's what you're mostly concerned with and most passionate about if I can say that Dr Adler.
[07:43 - 07:49]
Yes this is real of course believes that not every
[07:49 - 07:54]
opener but it cannot ever be a grand opera is good or even possible on television I
[07:54 - 07:59]
gotta ask you why you didn't think it's big because we've got not only the spectacle really would
[07:59 - 08:04]
be good but our present loudspeakers on television sets are not
[08:04 - 08:09]
equipped to take a really big symphonic sound. Chamber music
[08:09 - 08:14]
and lighting the camera you mean little crowd all those are we are not equipped but we
[08:14 - 08:19]
will be equipped Of course there is no reason why a television manufacturer should have
[08:19 - 08:24]
inserted expensive TVs because in the if there are no
[08:24 - 08:29]
programmes or nobody wants it. So first we have to have programs
[08:29 - 08:35]
and then people will demand better speakers. And since technically it's no
[08:35 - 08:40]
problem of course whatsoever it's just a matter of money to get more
[08:40 - 08:45]
money invested in better speakers for what will certainly come now
[08:45 - 08:49]
was a cassette on the horizon so that you will have a set of
[08:49 - 08:54]
still fully XP cuz plugged in and you are set.
[08:54 - 08:59]
Technically it is no problem it is a money problem but you
[08:59 - 09:03]
feel that opera at least on the intimate side is almost
[09:03 - 09:05]
geared for television.
[09:05 - 09:10]
Well a certain size it is elevenses certain dimensions of part of
[09:10 - 09:12]
the intimate side the meds that watch it.
[09:12 - 09:20]
Timid love do it of course is an intimate thing which on a big stage never again come over
[09:20 - 09:21]
really.
[09:21 - 09:26]
Yeah on the other hand how about all these close ups of singers that don't look too photogenic
[09:26 - 09:29]
where they're When you get right at them as a movie camera my.
[09:29 - 09:33]
Well first of all television will need singers who look or write
[09:33 - 09:37]
bad ahead of what might be sacrificed.
[09:37 - 09:42]
No the world shouldn't be sacrificed but grand open as open as was ground.
[09:42 - 09:47]
Big voices which I've also usually £200 This is
[09:47 - 09:51]
doubly or say I don't write for Tristan because interest and
[09:51 - 09:56]
again the great poet W.H. are all things that all Tetrazzini were alive she
[09:56 - 10:01]
just didn't have a chance that a witchy were in the room telling her she wasn't that good looking not not she
[10:01 - 10:04]
wasn't fat but when she was in that beauty.
[10:04 - 10:09]
When I know you have not done as you listen to.
[10:09 - 10:13]
But I'm just thinking that that's one detriment almost isn't it of a TV camera and if you get
[10:13 - 10:18]
close ups of singers singing it doesn't always look too good. You know it's nice when you're
[10:18 - 10:22]
way back it up in the air you know an opera house.
[10:22 - 10:27]
You don't see anything but the big out exactly but there are seeing those of course and
[10:27 - 10:32]
their openness which for instance do not apply these big high notes which
[10:32 - 10:36]
are the touchy ones of a singer said never to go away either.
[10:36 - 10:45]
Now I ask you Dr. Adler what is happening at the moment in
[10:45 - 10:50]
your work with National Educational Television where we are presenting and
[10:50 - 10:54]
he is presenting next season on the network.
[10:54 - 10:59]
One Oprah among us next season begins when in October.
[10:59 - 11:04]
At the time going to be Sunday with 10 o'clock in the evening some people
[11:04 - 11:09]
consider good for this kind of thing some people do nothings. I mean this would be on all the
[11:09 - 11:14]
stations all the stations all 190 all said tema Yes including in New
[11:14 - 11:19]
York City each absolutely sure it was the network people who
[11:19 - 11:24]
do not want this kind of program can have not to dig it but
[11:24 - 11:28]
most people are aware of and represent every month an opera of which
[11:28 - 11:33]
some produce newly produced some Markku
[11:33 - 11:38]
produced with foreign organizations like BBC and England
[11:38 - 11:43]
and CBC in Canada. Also we present a very interesting little opera from
[11:43 - 11:48]
Tokyo. Do you know what is Germany's called it of an opera
[11:48 - 11:53]
called or feels in Hiroshima. It's an NHK the
[11:53 - 11:57]
Japanese commissioned opera very experimental very
[11:57 - 12:02]
interesting and beautiful to look at which we will present in short it will be a series
[12:02 - 12:07]
seven operas many. Three of them with us. First you first want
[12:07 - 12:11]
to be Mozart's abduction from the seraglio.
[12:11 - 12:16]
I hope you've got a good singer for that. Modern art and everybody mentions that model
[12:16 - 12:21]
now that I'm rich then we have the lame
[12:21 - 12:26]
recording of that yeah as everybody mentions happened in a very interesting thing as far
[12:26 - 12:28]
as the opera are concerned.
[12:28 - 12:33]
The the sync speed is not the most important piece
[12:33 - 12:38]
of the show piece and you know of course that Mozart wrote about it about the
[12:38 - 12:43]
aria about this particular piece to his father I have sacrificed.
[12:43 - 12:47]
I would quote almost verbatim I have sacrificed a big audio of the
[12:47 - 12:52]
Constanza to the German get annoyed. Good
[12:52 - 12:57]
again which is a very funny expression. The well-oiled vocal chords of
[12:57 - 13:02]
Madame Coverly Arry also at that time composers had to make concessions
[13:02 - 13:04]
to the bananas.
[13:04 - 13:09]
Mozart didn't do it. Later on when he wrote was a masterful Liberty
[13:09 - 13:13]
just like the pontiff of the libretto of the fellow Audley but I don't
[13:13 - 13:19]
for the abduction is really a deliberate. Where do you get your singers. We
[13:19 - 13:23]
auditioned and we mostly have for sure that we have our office in
[13:23 - 13:28]
our studios for in the end I mean anybody who would like to audition for you
[13:28 - 13:33]
could get an order. We really really have of course to check before because otherwise we
[13:33 - 13:37]
wouldn't have the apparatus and the time or people who want to be checked very carefully
[13:37 - 13:43]
and use mostly young talent. Train them keeps
[13:43 - 13:47]
them in the studio coach will work for them. Television is a very
[13:47 - 13:53]
dangerous medium and not every singer was comfortable unless he is carefully
[13:53 - 13:58]
trained. As you said even with mouth yanking him which
[13:58 - 14:00]
very often is not necessary.
🔍