Mourning the Death of a Classic: CBC Radio 2 Changes Format

With all of the political hoopla going on here in the US the last couple of weeks, it's easy to neglect the subtle changes in routine in the rest of one's life. So it was for me. I didn't even realize Monday was a holiday until Sunday. My ignorance was complete until Tuesday morning, when I flipped on my favorite classical radio station, CBC Radio 2, on the way to work and realized that our good neighbors to the north (they're to the south from where I'm sitting) did indeed succeed in changing their long-standing format, effective September 2.

CBC Radio 2 is the national, commercial free radio station of Canada. I've often said that the one bright spot in living in Southeastern Michigan was the fact that we could get CBC Radio 2 in the car. The programming was filled with uniquely distinctive classical offerings, pieces that just weren't played here on public radio in the States. Even the major commercial classical stations here, like San Francisco's KDFC, couldn't hold a candle to CBC. Some years ago, when Detroit briefly lost its own classical station, an entire flock of Americans turned on CBC Radio 2 in its absence.

There were rumblings a few years ago that CBC-the-Corporation was intent on making programming changes, wanting to add popular music by Canadian artists. This was one of the items of contention when the entire place went on strike a few summers ago and listeners were left with canned classical music.

My favorite show on CBC was "Music and Company" with Tom Allen, and I've been a fan since the program's inception in 1998. Allen, a graduate of both Magill University in Montreal and Boston University, is a friendly, laid-back type of guy, frequently tapped by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as a presenter in pre-concert talks. A man, who through his eloquence, boundless knowledge of the medium, and fun, almost madcap approach, succeeded in presenting classical music in a novel way, always interesting, never dry. He is responsible for informative yet sassy outtakes on his morning show, like "In the Shadows" (a great composer compared with some no-name relative or collaborator who was always "in the shadows" of genius, usually a sad tale). Another favorite was the weekly "Cage Match." With appropriate boxing sound effects in the background, listeners were given two pieces of related music and urged to vote by email which "won" for that week.

But it wasn't just the humorous anecdotes about Allen's personal life (which included updates on his hockey team) or injections of obscure facts on even more obscure composers that endeared me to the program. I credit Tom Allen for making music so much fun, it energized my son into studying it more intensely, all the way from elementary school and into college. Many years ago, my son and I devised a game to play in the car while listening to the program on the way to school. "Guess the Composer" started out as an exercise in getting him used to different styles of classical music. In the beginning, I was better, but by the end of his middle school years, my son bested me more times than I care to acknowledge.

Of course, there was other noteworthy programming to enjoy. CBC Radio 2 played a steady stream of outstanding classical music, all day long, switching to jazz in the evenings. Sure, on the new CBC Radio 2, there are still spots here and there for classical offerings if you can stomach the rest of the line up, or you can still stream all classical selections from the internet, but I find doing so is unwieldy. The witty color commentary of Tom Allen's morning show is gone, and besides that, how do you make do in the car?

CBC has finally made good its promise (threat) to showcase popular Canadian artists, and infuse more jazz and international music into their programming. While that music has its place, unfortunately, it's not the kind of music that CBC is known for.

From Allen's blog, it appears that a good majority of his listeners aren't happy either. While a few claim to like the new format, some have declared that they are jumping ship to satellite radio, or (gasp!) turning to US stations for classical streaming. Instead of waking up to CBC, listeners vow to wake up to CDs. Reactions range from sadness, depression, dislike, disappointment, and outrage.

A Facebook page devoted to the subject has over 16,000 members. Due to the sheer number of disgruntled listeners, its administrators have had to migrate away from the social network site to their own site. The Stand Guard for CBC Coalition has been posting articles, addresses for CBC executives (since there is a claim that angry email have been conveniently directed away), and continued updates.

As a resident in the US, I'm the first to admit that I am not familiar with the intricate workings of the Canadian government. Some have inferred that the current Prime Minister is behind the change. I do know that the old CBC Radio 2 was not only a national treasure for Canadians, but also an international jewel, one that I could enjoy simply by my proximity to the border. As for me, I'm dusting off my CD collection while I add my two cents to the growing stack of mail directed at Canadian government and management at CBC.