I was quite saddened to learn of the recent death of George Jellinek, a former music director of the New York classical music radio station WQXR. His vocal delivery was the antithesis of the pop music radio announcers and broadcasters with his understated tone, immense knowledge and distinguished accent.
My grandparents and I spent many hours listening to him introduce large-scale musical works and discuss the art and state of singers and singing. Our love of opera was cultivated by him since we were regular listeners of his weekly show The Vocal Scene. His lectures that demonstrated the similarities and differences in interpretations by various artists singing the same operatic role were quite noteworthy. Youtube has picked up this approach by presenting videos of contemporary and older singers performing the same aria like "Largo al factotum" from Gioacchino Rossini's Barber of Seville or "Se vuol ballare" from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Marriage of Figaro. It was always a treat to hear him as a panelist on the Texaco Opera Quiz during the Saturday afternoon Metropolitan Opera performances.
I hope that the radio station will replay his shows for future generations of operatic lovers.
