Orchestra on Demand

Posted at 9:33 AM on March 15, 2006 by Brian Newhouse
Filed under: The blog

We're always wondering how to bring this music we all love to the widest possible audience. Radio? Sure. Been doing that now for nearly 40 years. But just as newspapers and record companies and loads of other media companies are having to seriously re-think their way of doing business (or go the way of the dodo), we're wondering how does this wonderful ancient art form, classical music, interact with new technology?

So, I'm extremely curious to watch what happens to our latest venture: Several days ago we posted nine fabulous concerts by the Minnesota Orchestra to our Web site. This is new for the Orchestra and the result of lots of conversation between MPR and the Orchestra about how it would be to our mutual benefit—and be really cool for classical fans worldwide.

There are star soloists, and most of the programs are led by the star conductor of the moment, Osmo Vänskä. This is by any account, great music passionately performed by world-class artists.

So, we've built it (and are now promoting it on-air and online). Will they come?