Norman M. Schwartz wrote: >Do you really believe that the NBC Symphony Orchestra was formed and >broadcast to homes all over the USA for the purpose of entertaining just >a small elite audience? If I conveyed that thought, it was not my intention. I am cannot say why the NBC SO was formed. I have read at least three books which speak, in part, to its formation. The orchestra was used for a great many purposes and was on the air almost daily. They were used to accompany popular singers and to provide easy listening in addition to the Symphony concerts. As to what the intention for prestige might have been, I do not know, however I would guess that anything Sarnoff did had something to do with making money. I believe that the NBC Symphony did a great deal of good, but there are other ways of looking at it. Toscanini was a great musician, but his repertoire was very conservative. The summer concerts of the orchestra offered more variety in terms of repertoire, especially when conducted by people like Stokowski...and even Reiner. I believe that while the NBC Symphony under Toscanini brought many of the great masterpieces of music, in some of the most magnificent performances, to the radio audience, those particular broadcasts did not, from my perspective, give an adequate representation of the literature. As to whether or not the idea was to pander to an elite, I cannot say. I do wonder if there was some intent to create a false elite...as was much of the marketing of classical music in those days. Surely, part of the goal was to sell records...and those records still sell well! Karl *********************************************** The CLASSICAL mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's HDMail High Deliverability Mailer for reliable, lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html