| Pieces in Series | 123 |
| Licensor | Fred Flaxman |
| Producer(s) | Fred Flaxman |
| Formats | Weekly Program |
| Topics | Education, Entertainment, Music |
| Produced | 2006 |
| Added to PRX | December 26, 2005 |
One-hour unusual, audience-appealing, theme-driven classical music programs.
http://www.compactdiscoveries.com
English
Compact Discoveries (R) is a series of one-hour, classical music radio programs, which, true to its title, introduces listeners to some of the most exciting and unusual compositions to be found on compact discs.
The approach is relaxed, informal and light. The presenter -- award-winning writer/producer Fred Flaxman -- shares his love of music and sense of discovery like one friend talking to another.
Fred sometimes uses humor, sound effects, personal essays, clips from old-time radio programs, and non-classical music to make his theme-based hours interesting and fun. The music is always carefully selected to appeal to the widest possible audience for classical music and to attract new listeners to the genre.
Fred's amusing themes range from "Brazilian Beats" and "Discs for Dishwashing" to "Musical Gardens" and "Best Music for Back Rubs." The programs often feature little-known composers who have written pieces that people will like on first hearing, such as Ernesto Nazareth, Kurt Atterberg, Rene Touzet, Clara Schumann, Cecile Chaminade, Tyzen Hsiao and Joaquin Nin.
Maximum scheduling flexibility is achieved by considering these programs as one-hour building blocks. They can be scheduled one or more times a week; they can be scheduled back to back to create two or three-hour blocks. Fred doesn't say "this program" when he's talking; he says "this hour," making stacking easy. Also, the program/hours are evergreens, except for those created for specific holidays and seasons of the year.
The series began as a local program on WXEL-FM, West Palm Beach, Florida. It was quickly picked up by the WFMT Radio Network out of Chicago for national distribution by satellite. The series switched to PRX on Jan. 1, 2006.
Broadcast by stations from Alicante, Spain, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Eugene, Oregon, the response of listeners has been 100 percent positive. For more information, including short descriptions and complete scripts for each program, go to www.compactdiscoveries.com.
