Jim Svejda (born 1947) is an American music commentator and critic, born and raised in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, on the

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FM radio station

KUSC KUSC (91.5 FM) is a listener-supported classical music radio station broadcasting from downtown Los Angeles, California, United States. KUSC is owned and operated by the University of Southern California, which also operates student-run Internet s ...

. He hosted the station's local week-nightly classical series ''The Evening Program'', until retiring on February 18, 2022. From 1983 he hosted the Sunday night syndicated classical music program ''The Record Shelf'',. He also hosted the now-cancelled series ''The Opera Box''. He opened ''The Evening Program'' with the third movement from Piano Quartet No. 1 by Bohuslav Martinů.''The Record Shelf'' featured items such as interviews with classical music notables, surveys of different recordings of a classical music piece, monthly critical surveys of recently released recordings, and noted, often rare historical recordings of great performers of the past. Svejda was praised for his articulate commentaries on these programs. Svejda is considered by many to be refreshingly frank and subjective in his opinions. In his published ''Record Shelf Guide'', Svejda himself describes the book as "an irreverent, selective and highly opinionated recordings guide of the best classical CDs and audiocassettes." He often has viewpoints that might be considered divergent from those of many other music critics.Jim Svejda. ''The Record Shelf Guide to the Classical Repertoire'', 2nd Edition (Paperback) (1990) While admitting that they sometimes have turned out excellent recordings, Svejda has been critical of such illustrious musicians as

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and Arturo Toscanini, as well as

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

(whom he has excoriated for his

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past) and especially Nikolaus Harnoncourt, whom Svejda has called an "incompetent bozo." He tends to favor conductors and musicians who ''do not'' follow a printed musical score literally, and his guidebook, ''The Record Shelf Guide to the Classical Repertoire'', often will recommend a controversial recording of a piece (such as

Sir Thomas Beecham Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, CH (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with th ...

's 1959 recording of Handel's ''

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''), alongside a more traditional one. Svejda is also an occasional film critic, with his reviews syndicated on the

CBS Radio Network CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. ...

. After 43 years at KUSC, Svejda announced his retirement. His last show was Friday, February 18th, 2022. Svejda's replacement, KUSC Resident Artist Lara Downes was announced as his successor on March 18, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Svejda, Jim American music critics Classical music radio presenters American radio personalities 1947 births Living people