Karl Haas, 91, Classical Radio Host

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The New York Sun

Karl Haas, who brought classical music to millions of listeners through his syndicated radio program, “Adventures in Good Music,” died Sunday in Royal Oak, Mich. He was 91.


“Adventures in Good Music,” an hour-long program in which Haas blended music and talk aimed at casual listeners, was syndicated to hundreds of stations in America, Australia, Mexico, and Panama, and was broadcast by Armed Forces Radio. It had not been heard on a New York City station since the early 1990s.


Haas delighted listeners with his vast musical knowledge and his penchant for punny program titles, such as “The Joy of Sax” and “Baroque and in Debt.”


When he gave a lecture or concert, Haas often paused after walking out on stage and said, “Well, I’ve often won dered what you look like, too.”


Haas stopped doing new shows two years ago, but the program still airs in reruns on about 100 stations in the United States and Australia.


A pianist, conductor, and musicologist, Haas settled in Detroit after fleeing Nazi Germany in 1936. He taught piano and founded the Chamber Music Society of Detroit in 1944.


Haas began doing radio commentary in the 1950s, and “Adventures in Good Music” debuted in 1959 on WJR-AM. In 1970, WCLV began producing it and distributing it more widely.


Haas also served as president of the Interlochen Academy of Arts in Interlochen, Mich., from 1967 to 1971.


In 1997, Haas was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in Chicago.


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