French composer Pierre Boulez famously said: “I am not a fascist. I hate Tchaikovsky. But if the audience wants him, it can have him.” He may just have presaged the musical radio shift underway in the Bay Area.
KDFC, the nation’s last fully commercial radio station devoted exclusively to classical music, has been sold to the University of Southern California. While the station plans to keep the music alive, in its new format the station will become a non-profit, akin to NPR, supported by listener contributions.
Fans of KDFC will have to readjust their dials from 102.1 FM to 89.9 and 90.3. If they go to the old spot, they may find themselves listening to Bachman Turner Overdrive instead of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. Entercom, which formerly owned the station, is moving San Jose’s classic rock station, KUFX, to that spot on the dial. The music will continue playing, only to a different beat.
