James Ehnes, of Brandon, -- at 32 years old with most of his career still ahead of him -- is now a widely acclaimed violinist both nationally and internationally, one measure of which has been his receipt of many honours, including a Grammy and five Juno awards. A reviewer of his complete Mozart Violin Concertos, in Fanfare, a leading American music magazine, described them as "chocolate to the ear." Gramophone, perhaps the most highly respected music magazine in the English-speaking world, said of the same recordings, "Playing of brilliance and rapt eloquence puts this Mozart set among the finest and Ehnes here reinforces his credentials as one of the most brilliant and discerning players of his generation, with a sweet, gleaming tone and a purity of intonation that are second to none."
Each of his new recordings win accolades and, as great as is the credit he brings to himself, his family and teachers, he also brings credit to the country and culture which encouraged him and in which he flourished.
If we stand back, of course, we realize that Ehnes is not a unique phenomenon. In a posting on a website where the CBC Radio2 cuts are being discussed, someone has posted a list -- now, apparently, in wide circulation -- of Canadians who have achieved national and international recognition as performing artists, conductors, composers and in a variety of orchestral and chamber ensembles. Reproducing that list would take up about a quarter of this column, but it includes Glenn Gould, Jon Vickers, Maureen Forrester, Lois Marshall, Ben Heppner, Marc-Andre Hamelin -- soon to appear with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra -- Michael Schade, Measha Brueggergosman, Russell Braun, John Kimura Parker, Angela Cheng, Janina Fialkowska, Healey Willan, Suzy Leblanc, Isabelle Bayrakdarian, Angela Hewitt, James Ehnes, Mario Bernardi, Tracy Dahl, Daniel Taylor, Anton Kuerti, Tafelmusik, the Winnipeg New Music Festival and many others. Looking at this list of musicians -- reflecting an earlier generation and now, overwhelmingly, the current one -- one would be hard pressed to identify any whose professional careers, success and acclaim were not assisted by the fact they were heard, and heard of, on CBC Radio.
However, as Ehnes himself attests, Canadians' success in the arts is not just about the exposure they received from CBC but reflects the fact that the CBC exposed them to music in their early lives and careers.
Of the decision to reduce sharply the amount of classical music on Radio2, Ehnes said last week, "I think sometimes these decisions are made in big cities, where people have more options. We don't have an orchestra in Brandon. When I was growing up, there was classical music on radio before and after school. If most of the classical programming is going to be on from 10 to 3, that music will be gone for many students who are at school. People in rural areas will have almost zero access. I'm afraid it's going to cut off an entire generation of young people, and for what? So they can play music that can be heard on lots of commercial stations?"
Ehnes is surely right on all counts. The impending cuts, after all, are not the first. More than a year ago, classical music effectively disappeared from Radio2 programming after 6 p.m. Having eliminated it in the evening it will now cease in mid-afternoon and disappear from early morning broadcasting.
As Ehnes points out, this will immediately affect people who work, both rural and urban, but its long-term impact will bear heavily on those in schools and colleges. There is a strong case to be made that the classical music genre -- whether Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic or modern -- encompasses some of the greatest and most enduring music ever written and is part of the birthright of those Canadians who wish to claim it -- and not just those who can listen to the public broadcaster during the middle of the day.
There's lots of evidence that Canadians -- and others all around the world -- are claiming it. The Metropolitan Opera Company, for example, is filling movie houses across Canada with re-broadcasts of its performances and Canadian orchestras are experiencing substantial growth in audiences, significantly above the growth of programming.
Given the continuing controversy over these changes -- both those in place and those pending -- it is heartening to learn that the debate has now caught the attention of our politicians.
Last week the Canadian Heritage Committee of the House of Commons voted unanimously to examine the CBC's decision to disband the CBC Radio Orchestra, its commitment to classical music and the changes to CBC Radio2: this will provide Canadians who want it, an opportunity to voice their concerns.
Make no mistake, it ought not to be Parliament's role to decide which programs will be broadcast and which not: that way both madness and danger lie. Yet, it is certainly legitimate for MPs with a different view of a public broadcaster's responsibilities to call CBC management to account for decisions that are not only arbitrary but, apparently, infallible.
wnwfp@mts.net
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