Born and raised in Washington, D.C., I couldn't help but develop a keen interest in politics, but music, theater and visual art also proved great attractions. Music became my main focus after high school. I thought about being a cocktail pianist, but I hated taking requests, so I studied music history instead, earning a B.A. in that field from Eisenhower College (Seneca Falls, N.Y.) and an M.A. from Occidental College (Los Angeles). I then landed in journalism. After freelancing for the Washington Post and others, I was classical music critic for the Sun-Sentinel in South Florida, where I also contributed to NPR. I've written for the New York Times, BBC Music Magazine and other publications, and I'm a longtime contributor to Opera News. My book, The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to Classical Music (Perigee, 2002), can be found on the most discerning remainder racks.
I joined the Baltimore Sun as classical music critic in 2000 and, in 2009, also became theater critic, giving me the opportunity to annoy a whole new audience. In 2010, my original Clef Notes blog expanded to encompass a theatrical component -- how could I resist calling it Drama Queens? I hope you'll find both sides of this blog coin worth exploring and reacting to; your own comments are always welcome and valued (well, most of them, at least).
Think of this as your open-all-hours, cyber green room, where there's always a performer or performance to discuss, some news to digest, or maybe just a little good gossip to share.
Note: Tim Smith now writes about the fine arts at
baltimoresun.com/artsmash. This blog will be kept in place as an archive for an indefinite period. Please visit the new location to get the latest Mid-Atlantic arts coverage.
View the Artsmash blog
Comments
HD Radio is a farce!
http://hdradiofarce.blogspot.com
Posted by: Greg | September 26, 2011 7:08 PM
This is encouraging news for those of us who enjoy so-called classical music. However, please do not refer to this transmission as “high definition” radio. The HD doesn’t really stand for that (it’s just a trademark owned by iBiquity) nor can the low data rates assigned to these subsidiary channels be classified as “high definition” for anyone who appreciates truly high-quality sound. This is NOT analogous to HDTV.
The folks at iBiquity have done an incredible job in squeezing the most quality out of a very tiny number of bits, but let’s not fall into the “High Definition” trap.
Depending on the data rates used for the companion online streaming, that audio source may actually be much, much better than “HD” sub-channel sound.
Posted by: Charles Lawson | September 26, 2011 8:03 PM
Do you happen to know what time they are s officially starting the new Classical broadcast on WYPR HD-2? I could not find any info on the WYPR site.
I am not sure why the station seems to be hiding the info. Maybe they're trying the soft launch approach. I found the station stream-able this morning at: http://www.wypr.org/listen-live. TIM
Posted by: Team MLAJA | October 2, 2011 8:06 PM