City Sidewalks, Busy Sidewalks

Here's one of those nifty spiral concrete planters on Euclid Avenue, steps from WCLV's "Radioquarium," outfitted for December. Holly and evergreens make everything look festive, even the glum pedestrians on Euclid, who are being pelted with some unknown precipitation this chilly Tuesday afternoon in Cleveland.

The schoolbus is one of many seen parked along the street on weekdays, when children attend performances at one of Playhouse Square's five historic theaters -- the State, Palace, Ohio, Allen -- the construction for which which has recently been completed subdividing the space into three theaters for the Cleveland Play House plus Cleveland State's drama department -- and the Hanna, home to Great Lakes Theater.

WCLV's Thanksgiving Day Cleveland Orchestra Marathon

Tomorrow from 6 a.m. to midnight, on 104.9 & wclv.com, WCLV will broadcast eight Cleveland Orchestra concerts back-to-back. While you're munching on olives, watching the football games with the volume turned down, or presiding at a formal dinner, you can hear the orchestra the world is talking about all day tomorrow on WCLV.

Have fun. I'm off tomorrow, but I'll be back Friday with a surprise in the 9 a.m. hour.

What DJs Will Do for Material

Yesterday's Pet News at 7:25 on WCLV 104.9 FM & wclv.com was about a New Zealand sheep named Sonny Wool, who, like the late octopus Paul, developed a talent for predicting winners.

The story, which I posted on my Facebook page (facebook.com/WCLV's Queen of the Morn), concerned Sonny Wool's prediction that New Zealand would win the Rugby World Cup game against France. Sonny's prediction came true. New Zealand won, 8 to 7.

Today, I received the message "Sonny Wool is following you on Twitter." I went to my twitter page (twitter.com/queenofthemorn). After checking "follow" on Sonny's Twitter page, I sent him a message, in which I asked if he could possibly predict the outcome of the World Series.

"Baaa-tastic," he replied. "Check out my pictures on Facebook."

Mein Gott im Himmel, I am communicating with a sheep.

Thank You for Not Sharing

Of all media, radio is said to be the most personal. People listen while dozing off in bed, making supper in the kitchen and changing oil in the garage. The fact that others may be listening out there in the world isn't necessarily something you think about because YOU are listening where YOU are.

This came to mind on Saturday, when a listener called to ask when we were going to air Oberlin faculty member Peter Takacs's recording of the Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 27. We've been playing Peter's recordings of all 32 sonatas in order during October on WCLV.

When talking to a listener, I usually ask "What city do you live in?" I've taken to phrasing the question that way. In my experience, not including the word "city" means there's a 50-50 chance the caller won't mention the city.

After giving this listener the date and time of the Beethoven sonata, I decided to part with custom. I simply asked where she was calling from.

"Home," she said.

Thank goodness she stopped there. She might have been chatting me up from the Necessary Room.

Elegant Dining at Severance Hall

From the Cleveland Orchestra gala on Saturday night, here's the menu, prepared by executive chef Zack Bruell: A sushi selection, followed by New York strip steak with truffled cauliflower puree, roasted Spanish onion salad, pickled shiitake mushrooms, corn pudding and South American pepper sauce. For dessert, each person's plate including a dried cherry cannoli, a brownie with creme anglaise, and a grilled peach half and pound cake with Greek yogurt and honey.

Each was paired with a wine: With the sushi, a Lucien Albrecht Pinot Gris "Cuvee Romanus," Alsace, 2010; with the steak, Steltnzer Vineyards claret, Napa Valley, 2008, and with dessert, "Montaribaldi, "Righeij," Moscato D'Asti, 2010.

The elegant table settings were luminous, with four glasses at each table setting, and in the center of each table, tall "trees" topped with orchid sprays and surrounded by votive candles.

Sartorial Cleveland on Opening Night

What a collection of well-dressed Clevelanders showed up for last night's opening gala of the Cleveland Orchestra's new season. Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres in the downstairs Smith Lobby were followed by a 90-minute concert, concluding with Ravel's "Bolero."

Before the concert, Mayor Frank Jackson made admiring remarks about the reputation of the Cleveland Orchestra and its importance to the city. As the gala was also to celebrate Franz Welser-Most's 10th anniversary with the orchestra, Mr. Jackson also presented Mr. Franz Welser-Most with a key to the city.

After the concert, the crowd moved to tables set up outside the Dress Circle and in the main lobby for a meal prepared by Chef Zack Bruell. Sushi was the first course, followed by a delicate presentation of New York strip steak, thinly sliced, sauced, and fanned out, served with carmelized onions. The tripartite dessert included a rich chocolate brownie with nuts and raspberry sauce, a baked peach, and a tiny cannoli. A different wine accompanied each course. Tiny plates of chocolate truffles concluded the meal.

If you ever get a chance to attend a performance of "Bolero," watch how each instrument is folded into the composition. It's a "Where's Waldo?" of music, as your eyes dart around to find the player. The violins and violas strum their instruments much of the time, like one would play a guitar.

I decided to go with a 1920's theme...columnar tea-length dress, silk velvet jacket, long jet beads tied in a knot, and feathers in the hair. Fortunately, the evening ended before I started molting.

So, You Think You Want to be in Radio?

Who doesn't? You're riding the air. Spinnin' stacks of wax. Mastering modern technology in service to timeless music.

While we're telling you what you just heard on WCLV 104.9 FM or wclv.com, each of you is in your own world, whether that's at work, home, school, or your car. Inside the control room, however, is OUR world -- planet radio.

You may laugh, but lots of people in radio ARE from a different planet and others should be sent there without delay.

At a different radio station long ago, I worked with a program host whose fetid aroma was so ripe that if your shift followed his, you'd take a deep breath in the hallway, rush through your first break, then while your first piece of music was playing, prop open the door and air out the control room.

In contrast, my WCLV colleagues are clean and well-groomed. We have one staff member who is SO clean that he washes his spare tire. Not his tummy -- the spare tire in the car trunk. We've suggested he get professional help.

Shaken, Not Stirred

WCLV's offices at the Idea Center at Playhouse Square started shaking around 2 p.m. Eastern time. I was at my music library work station when the chair shook. I felt momentarily dizzy, then realized when it happened again it wasn't me.

Stepping out into the hall I noticed the suspended light fixtures and "exit" signs were swaying. The shaking diminished to something analagous to a simmer, then stopped about 5 minutes later.

By this time, most of the staff came out of their studios and offices and asked if anyone else felt it. I stayed in a doorway, watching the light fixtures for clues. Once they stopped moving, it was safe to go back to work.

We checked our news sources, which stated that the quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8, was centered about 87 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., and felt in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New York as well as Cleveland.

One member of management walked into the office shortly after the shaking stopped and, listening to the employee chatter, asked, "Was there an earthquake?" When we said yes, he said, "Get OUT!! I was at Otto Moser's (a nearby restaurant) and didn't feel a thing."

Euclid Avenue Flora

Cleveland's Euclid Avenue between E. 6th and E. 12th is closed through August 24th for filming of the comic-book picture "The Avengers." WCLV's Radioquarium is situated east of there, so my coming and going won't disturb the "quiet on the set." These nifty blossom-spilling planters filled with petunias, cannas, and other summer bloomers improve the normal Euclid soundstage.

One of our colleagues at WCLV is an extra in "The Avengers." Everyone wants his autograph.

For Once, I Got it Right

The 2011 Cleveland International Piano Competition, which WCLV broadcast wall-to-wall from July 27th to last Sunday, challenges not only the participants, but the radio and concert hall audiences. Pick the winner? You'd have more luck freeze-drying a snowflake.

But this year, the Gods of Music Competition smiled upon your announcer, as Alexander Schimpf of Germany, shown here in the WCLV Radioquarium Monday talking to WCLV's John Simna, placed first. As he completed the Beethoven 4th concerto Saturday night with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Severance Hall crowd roared its approval. I hoped he would win.

The man producing the photographic flash reflected in the studio glass is WCLV's President and co-founder, Robert Conrad, the voice of Cleveland Orchestra broadcasts, which are syndicated by WCLV.

Piano Competition Backstory

Since last Wednesday's start of the Cleveland International Piano Competition, which WCLV broadcasts "wall to wall," the on-air staff has been seeing itself coming and going.

WCLV's Bill O'Connell has been hosting the afternoon sessions, with Mark Satola hosting evenings. Back at the "Radioquarium," Nancy Sinning, whom you hear Sundays, has been your host for the first two hours of WCLV Midday from 10 to noon. Mark hosts from noon to 4, including board-opping the afternoon sessions. Rob Grier board ops the evening sessions. Your morning announcer hosted morning and afternoon drive through yesterday.

Now that the first cut has been made, from 26 pianists to 8 semi-finalists, things will settle down. In the semi-finals, only two pianists perform each session. Bill will have time to drive from the Cleveland Play House to the Radioquarium in time to begin Drive Time at 4. Mark will again host tonight beginning at 7.

The semi-finals take place today and tomorrow. The performers have Thursday off. The finals, with the Cleveland Orchestra, are Friday and Saturday nights, with the winners' recital Sunday. Hear it all on WCLV 104.9 & wclv.com.

La Tour Eiffel au Poisson

You have to hand it to the Radioquarium Synchronized Swimming Team for pulling off this tableau of the Eiffel Tower. The runner-up, which was voted down, was a guillotine.

Psychadelic

If you're going to the Blossom Festival Band concert Monday night, July 4th, you might encounter the new WCLV 3-D specs. Great for fireworks. Tastefully decorated with patriotic colors and the WCLV logo. The fireworks will look like they're right out of "Fantasia." Get your specs while they last.

International Standard Music Number?

A visitor to the "Radioquarium" asked why musical compositions couldn't be identified by a specific number, akin to the International Standard Book Number, the DNA identifier for books. I explained the opus numbers assigned within each composer's output identifies compositions, but only within that composer's oeuvre.

Is the ISMN a practical idea? Insane? At the very least, it would be time consuming. But a lot of people have time on their hands.

A Tourist From NYC

One of the best ways to learn about your city is to quiz a tourist. During a conversation this morning with A NYC tourist at a local eatery, the visitor had two observations about Cleveland: (1) "Where are all the people?" and (2) "It's so clean!"

Lonely Gull

Sparrows, chickadees and starlings occupy the high-rise bird condo within view of WCLV's music library. On Wednesday morning, they were joined by this fine gull. I couldn't hear it through the window, but it was clearly calling to or about something. After 10 minutes, it hopped off the roof and glided west to 13th Street.

Judy Collins Wrote About Them

Who knew clouds could be so entertaining? Aside from the history, culture and parks, Cleveland has the most intriguing clouds. This was the view outside a colleague's window this morning. That blue sky followed intense storms which steamrolled down from Lake Erie around morning rush hour, producing severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings. Heavy rain meant you couldn't see across the parking lot. Downed trees are still blocking some routes.

Golden Arches? We Got no Stinkin' Golden Arches

WCLV listener Al Runo called the station this morning to report a rainbow over Shaker Square. He was nice enough to get out of the car and snap this shot.

Do You Have "Hatzpuh?"

The "Radioquarium" isn't exactly the chapeau department at Henri Bendel on Fifth Avenue, but this spiffy head-topper will gentrify Euclid Avenue later today when I venture out wearing my Kentucky Derby hat. I trimmed this basic mauve straw from Laura Ashley with odds and ends from my feather box, added a few vintage hat flowers, and voila! Art for your head!

Of course, nobody can tell what you look like underneath, but who cares? If your hat looks fabulous, so do you.

"Tank" You Very Much

This view from the "talk studio" at WCLV into master control reveals our new neighbors in the "Radioquarium," which has been made into a real aquatic environment by the addition of pebbles and air bubbles. Thanks to Ana Papakhian of the Cleveland Orchestra for these neat fish. No feeding until lunchtime, please.

Radio's Golden Age on WCLV

This beast is the 1928 Wurlitzer theater organ used in WCLV's "The Mighty Wurlitzer Radio Hour," in its 19th year on 104.9. Larry Kass acquired this from the Plaza Theater in Kansas City. During the MWRH, Larry puts the script and the score on the music stand. His two assistants stand on either side. One turns music pages; the other points out where we are in the script. Larry can also play his grand piano from this keyboard.

You'll hear the "Theater of the Air Chorus" singing "The Best of Broadway" on the next "Mighty Wurlitzer Radio Hour," Friday, April 29th at 9 on WCLV.

Wear Black, Please

Thanks to the folks at the Cleveland International Film Festival for their hospitality on March 26, when I introduced a screening of a Chinese film entitlted "Piano in a Factory."

The plot revolves around an estranged couple. The young daughter says she'll live with whoever provides her with a piano. The father and his co-workers make a piano out of discarded parts from closed factory that's soon to be demolished. It's a buddy picture. The relationships among the man and his work colleagues account for a number of digressions, but the movie always returns to the piano and the daughter.

This is my 4th CIFF, always held at Tower City Cinemas in downtown Cleveland. It's always mobbed with film fans. You'll find more people wearing black per capita at CIFF than anywhere else in Cleveland.

Sunshine Ahead

If grey is Your Color, Cleveland is Your City. Especially while rain is moving along the Lake Erie shore. It should end this afternoon, replaced by sunshine. The forecast for tomorrow's St. Patrick's Day Parade: Sunny and 60.

PS: The high-rise housing I mentioned yesterday is a mixed-use development: Sparrows and grackles.

Housing Boom in Downtown Cleveland

Our downtown digs at the Idea Center afford a private view of a new condo development under construction. The location, location, location is way above ground. A sparrow stands sentry at the top of the high-rise. Other sparrows fly in and out of several vertical gaps in the corrugated metal annex of the building next door.

If birds had real-estate listings, this one would read: "Urban high-rise near Lake Erie. Build your own or take over previously-occupied unit needing twigs and TLC."

You Numbskull...Hand Me My Cue

There's a reason it was called the Palace. The most opulent of the Playhouse Square theaters had, in addition to this palatial lobby, a backstage beauty parlor, billiards room and day care, in addition to the swankiest dressing rooms on the vaudeville circuit. Moe Howard of The Three Stooges, not exactly an exponent of style and taste, did credit the Palace in Cleveland for being the most hospitable theater in the country, nyuk-nyuk-nyuk.

Live from the "Radioquarium"

Last Thursday morning, I'd had enough of the sterile atmosphere of master control. In between the last traffic report at 8:50 and the Composer's Datebook at 9:05, I put up a fair sampling of the removable peel-and-stick aquatic decor sent by two anonymous WCLV listeners.

The Ceiling Next Door

Whenever I look up at the ceiling outside the Playhouse Square box office, and see the lavender and blue, I think of the Gabor sisters. Don't ask me why.

Limeade on the Wall

That's one way of describing the color of this wall outside the music library at WCLV's new Idea Center studios.

It's 60-ish in Cleveland today. Pass the limeade, please.

New Neighbors

Since we moved from Radio Ranch in Warrensville Heights to the Idea Center at Playhouse Square, we've acquainted ourselves with some new neighbors. Some are human, some architectural. Stay tuned.

Laws and Sausages

This shot of fireworks at last summer's Shaker Heights July 4th show reminds me of champagne.

Since radio is heard and not seen, listeners don't see the announcer prep. This is as it should be. If you knew what went into a show, you'd be so exhausted you'd cease to be entertained.

That said, one thing radio announcers must be willing to do is stay overnight at the station if the weather turns ugly. That was the case Tuesday night when freezing rain and sleet made their presence felt in Cleveland. It was impossible to predict how the roads would be early Wednesday morning. When in doubt, tough it out at work.

I pushed together two upholstered benches and, with a makeshift pillow, gave slumber a try. It worked reasonably well, though the next day I was walking at a 90-degree angle. The next time I'll bring an air mattress. Oy.

The Distinguished Service Award

The Cleveland Orchestra's Distinguished Service Award given to WCLV's president, Robert Conrad, right before the January 8th Severance Hall concert, is an etched glass bowl. It's now on display in our vestibule, sitting atop a classic cabinet radio. While the bowl's beauty is evident, and its value as an expression of appreciation for Bob's career as commentator of Cleveland Orchestra broadcasts over the last 45 years is unquestioned, it does seem to be missing M&Ms.

What YOU Look Like

We found that out last night at Severance Hall, as many of you stopped by the WCLV table in the Smith Lobby downstairs prior to the concert. Lots of you entered our drawing for lunch and a tour of our new Idea Center studios. Many of you picked up your Cleveland Orchestra CDs of Mahler 1. Even if you hadn't signed up to receive the CD, we gave away hundreds of WCLV pen lights, which fit on a key chain quite nicely. I use mine it to peer into the abyss of my purse, but only when I have the stomach for it.

Onstage before the concert, WCLV's President, Robert Conrad, the Cleveland Orchestra's broadcast commentator for nearly 40 years, received the Musical Arts Association's Distinguished Service Award, while the orchestra's executive director, Gary Hanson, opened the live broadcast from the booth. Bob said a few words in gratitude, then he returned to the broadcast booth before the orchestra tuned up. We presume Gary gave up the microphone willingly.

The award is a beautiful glass bowl, which Bob held aloft so the audience could see. If he brings it to work, I'll post a photo here. Any chance he'll put candy or fruit in it? Stay tuned.

Lessons Learned on my Last Trip to the Garden

Last summer, anticipating our departure from Radio Ranch, from my garden there I dug up a small clump of chives, which is now growing on my kitchen windowsill. The photo is last summer's crop in its original habitat.

Last Friday, I took my last trip to WCLV's former office to walk through the empty studios and say farewell. With temperatures in the 50s, the melted snow made the ground squishy, just like it is in Ohio every spring. At great risk to my shoes, I squished out to the garden and pulled out the remaining zinnia and sunflower stems, while remembering last summer's glorious blooms, many photos of which I posted here.

Thoughts of spring-like weather brought to mind my frustration last fall in trying to dig up spring bulbs I had planted there over the years. I couldn't find the grape hyacinth, snowdrop and squill bulbs, which are tiny. And let's look at this from the bulb's point of view: If you were underground for a few years, you wouldn't be all that distinguishable from dirt, either.

But miraculously on Friday, the warmth brought up all the green shoots, which peeked through the sodden soil. I dug all of them up and took them home, where they'll join the windowsill chives to remind me of my beloved garden.

I guess some plants won't reveal themselves until you're ready for them.

Wonderful Snow

I realize I'm in the minority here, but when the big flakes fall, I love to watch out the window, this one in WCLV's Music Library.