As we celebrate 50 years of WXXI-FM 91.5, we reflect on some of the famous composers, conductors and celebrities that have visited our studios through the years. There are many, many more, but here are just a few memories from our archives.
In 1975, Adventures in Good Music host Karl Haas visited the station and sat down with Simon Pontin. For years AIGM, known for providing listeners with introductory lessons about classical music, aired every weekday at 10am. One of the most asked questions from our listeners was, "what is the theme music for Adventures in Good Music?" The theme music for Adventures in Good Music was the second movement from Beethoven's "Pathétique" Sonata No. 8, which originally was performed live by Haas for each program. Long-time listeners will remember that he started every show with his trademark greeting "Hello everyone."
In December 1975, beloved public television French Chef Julia Child visited WXXI for a special event. Here she is chatting with Simon Pontin about how she became television's first and most beloved star chef. Her mellifluous voice, natural and often humorous instructions, along with her love of wine and butter, made audiences fall in love with her. Each episode of the 10-year series generally ended with her sitting at the table with a glass of wine and the episode's culinary creation, signing off with her signature phrase, "Bon appétit."
It was October 1976 when American composer, conductor, educator and champion of American Music Howard Hanson visited WXXI. Here we see him casually chatting with then Radio Manager David Dial. Howard Hanson who served 40 years as the director of the Eastman School of Music until his retirement in 1964, then became director of a newly created Institute of American Music at the University of Rochester. The Institute was established to continue Dr. Hanson’s tradition for promoting the understanding and appreciation of American music through performance, publication, and recording.
In June 1987 American composer Philip Glass came to the WXXI studios. Here we see him in the control room with the late WXXI overnight host Alan Bunin, who had an affinity for Glass' music, and any new music. I was the radio secretary at the time and Glass' 1982 composition Koyaanisqatsi ("a Hopi Indian word meaning, life out of balance") was very new to the classical music scene. Alan played the work on his program and the phones rang off the hook with listeners wondering if our LP (we played vinyl back then) was skipping. Over the past 40 years many of our listener's "ears" have changed, and today Koyaanisqatsi receives calls from people loving the work.
Acclaimed Hollywood actor Christopher Plummer visited WXXI twice through the years. Here we see him in the early 2000s with WXXI Classical host Mordecai Lipshutz. Plummer didn’t like the film that made him a legend. He was an actor’s actor who had cut his teeth doing Shakespeare and he thought The Sound of Music was too sentimental. Then, like a personal curse, it would go on to become a universally beloved classic. Although Plummer retained some of that charming arrogance to the end, he was also a man capable of evolving. “As cynical as I always was about The Sound of Music," Plummer said in a Vanity Fair interview, “I do respect that it is a bit of relief from all the gunfire and car chases you see these days. It’s sort of wonderfully, old-fashionedly universal.”
As we close out this reflection for September, we note that it was September 1982 when City Newspaper's (as it was then called) Best of Rochester list named WXXI-FM the Best Radio Station, along with A Prairie Home Companion (that aired Saturday evenings) as the Best Folk Music Program, and the Best Locally Produced Radio Show for a tie between Simon Pontin's Super Scintillating Sunshine Show, Will Moyle's Essence of Jazz, and local news program For the Record.