Karl Haas RIP

Did anyone else grow up listening to Karl Haas? My mom was a classical music nut! and consequently all of the radios in our house and car were tuned to the local classical music stations which is how I grew up listening to Mr. Haas’ program. It seemed to me through the years that his voice was timeless and so I was surprised to learn that at his death Mr. Haas had achieved the ripe old age of 91!



Here is an excerpt from his obituary:

Robert Conrad, the President of WCLV, which has produced and distributed Adventures in Good Music since 1970, said, “Throughout his broadcasting career, Karl Haas had the knack of informing and delighting his listeners with his vast knowledge of music. And who can forget his penchant for punning the titles of his programs – The Joy of Sax, Baroque and in Debt, May the Source be with You, and No Stern Untoned. Karl leaves a valuable legacy of music appreciation that is unparalleled. And because his programs are timeless, WCLV will continue to make these priceless musical treasures available to the WCLV audience and to other radio stations.

In1950, Haas began his broadcasting career hosting a weekly preview of Detroit Symphony Orchestra concerts on WWJ, Detroit. In 1959, Adventures in Good Music was born when WJR, Detroit, offered him the prime-time morning hour of 10:00 to create a one-hour program of classical music and commentary. For two decades it was Detroit’s number one program in its time period. In 1970, WCLV and Haas teamed up to produce and distribute his programs to radio stations, world wide.

Haas received many awards including two George Foster Peabody Awards and the National Endowment for the Humanities Charles Frankel Award. In 1997, he was the first classical personality to be inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. Most recently, in 2002, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Fine Arts Radio International Awards presented by Missouri Southern State University.

His book Inside Music was published by Doubleday in 1984. It is currently in its 10th reprinting. From 1993 to 1995, Haas and WCLV produced and released three best-selling compact discs – The Romantic Piano, Story of the Bells, and Song and Dance.

Via Bonnie at Off the Top.

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