This week marks Bach’s birthday and the ASCAP Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award winning program Between the Keys’ tenth anniversary on the air.
“In early 2015 I had reconnected with David Osenberg after many years,” recalls The Classical Network’s Artist-in-Residence Jed Distler, who is Between the Keys’ creator, producer and host.
“David had been The Classical Network’s music director for some time, and I mentioned my recent work for WNYC’s classical online program Hammered!, hinting at my lifelong dreams about possibly hosting my own piano-based radio show.
“Looking back, I must have been rather brash. Still, David extended an invitation for me to be interviewed on his own ASCAP award winning program Cadenza, and he invited to me to visit the station. A few weeks later I came down to WWFM.org’s Hamilton, New Jersey studio, expecting David to interview me for Cadenza.
“Instead, he and the station’s general manager Peter Fretwell ushered me into a room. Their first question was, ‘What kind of a radio show would you like to have?’ “
“Needless to say, I was stunned. Thinking fast, I proposed a program devoted to the broadest possible range of piano music, pianists and piano topics, presenting recordings as well as guests. Not only did David and Peter accept my pitch, they also decided that I should be The Classical Music’s first Artist-in-Residence. As such, I could also use the program to showcase my own work as a composer and pianist, along with my other professional activities as music writer and commentator.”
“We agreed to start airing episodes at the end of March 2015, with my first show featuring music of Bach, to tie in with his birthday. David suggested we’d call the program “Between the Keys,” which sounded just fine, since I couldn’t think of any other name. And the rest is history!”
Since 2015 Between the Keys has played host to such luminaries as Emanuel Ax, Garrick Ohlsson, Angela Hewitt, Ursula Oppens, Frederic Rzewski, Dick Hyman, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Norma Fisher, Martino Tirimo, Marc-André Hamelin, Stewart Goodyear, Ann Schein, Benjamin Grosvenor, Conrad Tao, Anthon de Mare, Kathleen Supové, Sarah Cahill, Jerome Kuderna, Clipper Ericson and Tim Page. In 2017 the program won the coveted ASCAP Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson award for broadcasting excellence.
Now after ten years and 508 episodes, Jed Distler returns to the music of Bach, serving up rare keyboard recordings from his vast collection. Performers on this tenth anniversary episode include Agi Jambor, Jörg Demus, Virginia McClean, Isolde Ahlgrimm, Ewa Poblocka, Gunnar Johansen and Sara Davis Buechner.
Tune in to Between the Keys’ tenth anniversary/Bach birthday episode this Friday at 3:00 PM, with the rebroadcast Saturday at 6:00 PM, exclusively on The Classical Network and WWFM.org.
