D. Stephen Heersink writes:

>Lloyd Sitkoff <[log in to unmask]> writes:
>
>>Well it has finally happened.  KNTU 88.1 FM in Denton is now Webcasting.
>>Check us out at kntu.unt.edu.  Click on the 'antique" radio icon and enjoy.
>>My show is on Sunday from 3-6 PM CST.  It is called "..  and seldom is
>>heard." & attempts to present the full range of Classical Music.  We offer
>>Classical music from 6 AM to 8PM on Sundays.
>
>Mr. Sitkoff's magnanimous post, outlining the programs of this online
>station, are to be commended, but listening to this "online" experience
>is anything but satisfactory.  RealPlayer has frequent gaps in the music's
>flow, and the student announcers cannot even pronounce simple English, much
>less tackle foreign names like Scriabin.  I suppose if one doesn't have
>access to a classical radio station, and if one doesn't own a substantial
>number of classical works, this online thing might be of value.  But these
>are two very big IFS, and two that, in my happy instance, don't apply.

Mr. Heersink apparently needs a better Internet connection and/or
more modern gear at home. I have been listening to the KNTU service for
almost three hours now (in the background via RealPlayer Plus V6.0.8)
and have not heard one buffering lapse/gap. In fact, this particular
radio-station-via-internet is one of the better ones -- much better on the
whole that WFMT and WQXR. This one has really excellent channel separation
and some meaningful information below 120 Hz -- way below, in fact. This is
an excellent uplink.

>As regards the sophistication and urbanity of the Sunday volunteer
>announcers -- well Mr. Heersink may have a point here but I'll overlook
>the mispronunciations and enjoy the fact that Texas college students are
>interested in even *attempting* to pronounce, say, the name Scriabin. They
>have time to learn (in fact that's one reason for attending college, isn't
>it) and I'm happy they care to broadcast classical at all. As a college
>teacher myselk, I find disturbingly few students interested in classical
>misic at all ...

Incidentally, www.WWFM.org (in south New Jersey) is another excellent, high
technical quality classical music uplink and provides me with Karl Haas
every weekday afternoon at 4 pm, California time -- something for which I
am most grateful -- AND these guys can pronounce Scriabin!!

I would also like to commend to you my local San Francisco classical FM
uplink, @ www.KDFC.com HOWEVER, while the technical quality is fine, they
seem to be one of a growing number of classical stations playing from a
"Top 100 classical" play list and when they reach the end, they go back to
the top.  Bland and eventually boring.  Besides, I don't want to hear the
2nd movement of Dvorak's "New World" symphony more than once, maybe twice,
a quarter.  Twice a month is a bit much.  AND I'd also like to hear the
other three movements as well -- played in order, please.

Someone else's turn...

David Pitzer