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Encore Awards

“Saving WQXR is the sonic equivalent of saving Carnegie Hall from the wrecking ball.”
—Emanuel Ax, pianist and co-chair, the Campaign to Save Classical Music on the Radio in New York City
 
Classical music stations have become an endangered species. For many years now, WQXR has been New York’s sole 24-hour classical outlet on the radio dial.  Since it was founded in 1936, WQXR has been a vital link – from parents to children, from teacher to student – that keeps classical music alive in this city. Millions of New Yorkers have loved this music, grown up on it, and listened to it for free on WQXR. The station has been an essential resource for New Yorkers to discover and deepen their appreciation of classical music.

For much of its history – since 1945 – WQXR thrived thanks to the stewardship of The New York Times Company. Even as the paper decided it was time to sell the station, their dedication to the music remained. Knowing WNYC would preserve the station’s unique cultural role, the Times was willing to enter into a creative deal with WNYC and Univision that made the acquisition of WQXR financially viable for WNYC.

WNYC entered the picture as a thriving public radio station with a longstanding history of supporting classical music and opera as cultural legacies and of introducing the highest quality, innovative classical and contemporary classical music to its audiences. WNYC, the country’s predominant public radio station, took a leap and invested $15 million in WQXR because it was unthinkable that New York could lose its only all-classical station. WNYC knew that WQXR was important not only to classical music lovers, but to everyone who cares about the cultural life of the city. WNYC trusted that listeners would travel up the dial from 96.3 to 105.9 FM, and President/CEO Laura Walker believed that WQXR could flourish under the public radio model, which forgoes traditional advertising and relies upon a diverse revenue stream of underwriting and foundation and private donor support, and yes, listener support. The bet is paying off.

Since the re-launch of the “new” WQXR, the station has progressed on all fronts. The programming has benefitted greatly from the non-commercial format, allowing for more music, greater variety, and fewer interruptions, while preserving a tradition of live music from the Met Opera and NY Philharmonic, among others. A link to the WNYC newsroom allows for more cultural reports on air. WNYC’s commitment to multiplatform presentation has increased the opportunity for listeners to interact with WQXR. They can tune into the station on 105.9 FM; they can enjoy two webstreams: a simulcast of 105.9 FM and “Q2,” a new stream for listeners with more adventurous tastes; or enjoy live, intimate performance in the station’s state-of-the-art broadcast studio and performance venue, The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space.

WQXR is now serving more listeners than ever. In the most recent Arbitron ratings, WQXR has become the public radio station with the highest weekly listenership in the country. The Campaign to Save Classical Music on the Radio in New York City has achieved almost $10 million of its $15 million goal in less than nine months. The station’s first full membership pledge drive in March 2010 exceeded expectations. And hundreds upon hundreds of listeners have written in with heartwarming tales of how important WQXR is in their lives, and how grateful they are that the station has been preserved for generations to come.

The early successes of WQXR as a non-commercial station speak to the strength and promise of the public radio model for preserving the classical radio format and ensuring that classical music remains not only a music-hall experience, but an enriching part of New Yorkers’ everyday lives. Moving forward, WQXR aspires to combine its deep roots in the local New York City music scene with a global reach. Simply said, WQXR is a classical love letter to and from New York.  WNYC considers it a privilege and an honor to have welcomed WQXR into the family.