Spring 2007

What does America sound like? How has Freud influenced the ballet? What can great orchestras learn from James Brown?

Michael Tilson Thomas, the Music Director for the San Francisco Symphony, delves into these issues in The MTT Files, a new series of radio broadcasts designed to bring classical music into the everyday lives of more Americans. Part of the Symphony’s multiyear Keeping Score initiative, The MTT Files include eight one-hour episodes featuring Thomas in conversation with a number of special guests, including soul singer James Brown (recorded shortly before his death), ballerina Natalia Makarova, and others. Thomas, a past winner of the Koret Prize, uses musical selections drawn from live recordings of the San Francisco Symphony throughout the episodes to illustrate points and explore the influence of this music on our culture.

“These … broadcasts offer an eclectic and often engrossing trip through the accumulated musings of a restless, probing musical mind,” wrote San Francisco Chronicle music critic Joshua Kosman. Coproduced by theSan Francisco Symphony and American Public Media, The MTT Files began national syndication in April 2007.

The $1 million Koret grant will also underwrite the Symphony’s nationally syndicated radio shows for three seasons beginning in 2007–08, during which the Symphony’s 2006–07 season concerts will be aired around the country. Each broadcast reaches millions of listeners nationwide through syndication to over 300 radio stations—the largest radio distribution of any American orchestra. In addition, the Koret grant will support San Francisco Symphony local radio broadcasts for three seasons on KDFC beginning in January 2007.

"The San Francisco Symphony is known internationally not only for its artistic excellence but also for its innovations in the area of electronic media,” said Koret President Tad Taube. “Koret is pleased to support these broadcast initiatives that will help bring San Francisco Symphony performances and programs to millions of people locally and around the country."

These local and national broadcasts maintain a long tradition. The San Francisco Symphony has been heard on the radio since 1926, when its broadcasts were the first radio programs in North America to feature symphonic music.

“We are so pleased that the Koret Foundation shares the San Francisco Symphony’s commitment to making classical music available to as many people as possible,” said San Francisco Symphony President John Goldman. “Koret’s investment in our radio initiatives will help ensure that music lovers around the Bay Area and across the country will have the opportunity to hear the artistry of the San Francisco Symphony for years to come.”