The station displays text on the screen encouraging viewers “… to go out and feast from the buffet of arts available in your community.”.
CAS was founded in 1994, is completely and totally funded by the Lloyd E. Rigler - Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation, and does not solicit any outside funding. Lloyd Rigler died on 7 December 2003, but left at least twenty years of funding to the channel. They offer free programming to any cable system that requests a feed. -Wikipedia
Thank you Mr. Lloyd Rigler– a true humanitarian!
and thank you Classic Arts Showcase — a constant companion for all of us who are night-owls/kultur vultures!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
hibiscus 05.03.07 at 8:08 pm
In spite of a reasonably good education in classical music, opera has always flown under my radar. If it were not for CAS, I would never have discovered Turandot with Franco Corelli–and that right recently. Seeing his “Nessun dorma” from ‘58 on this channel, at midnight, made me come to a skiddinghalt in front of the tube. I nearly dropped what I was carrying. I nearly dropped my teeth! Who on earth was this guy, and what had I been missing?
So, yes: Thank you, Mr. Rigler!
the fat lady 05.06.07 at 5:18 am
Bravo, opera fanatic!! Those of us who are Classic Arts Showcase fanatics welcome you to our number! This magnificent and inspired show on the ARTS network has done more to make good music accessible to young and old, rich and poor, than all the boondoggles and publicly funded programs. In the past 13 years, it has changed the way classical music is presented on cable by setting high standards . It has changed lives.
Programmer Jamie Rigler combines exquisite taste with an astounding knowlege of the arts and an intelligence missing in most classical music broadcasting.
You can demonstrate your appreciation for CAS by turning on more people, especially kids, to the show, and encouraging parents to take their youngsters to live events. Summer is upon us, and outdoor venues (parks, festivals etc) are a perfect place for toddlers and pre-schoolers to begin to make music part of their lives. And, of course, you can e-mail the people over at CAS and tell them how much you like the program.
You’re right; Lloyd Rigler was a good guy. That’s why, at the flimsyist excuse, we raise our glasses, whether crystal or plastic, brimming with champagne or 7=up, real or virtual, in a rousing toast “We salute you, Lloyd Rigler, wherever you are!”
CK 05.29.07 at 3:39 pm
Just a random question from another CAS fanatic. On the CAS information page in between videos, they play a string quartet (slightly modern sounding) in the background. Does anyone know what it is? I’ve been trying to figure it out for some time with no luck. I’d appreciate any help I can get. Thanks.
Katie 06.10.07 at 12:16 am
I have also been on the search for that elusive and enigmatic piece of music. I think it’s Bartok’s Third String Quartet. Some piece of me hesitates to find out so I can go to a concert one day and weep like a baby from the surprise of finally hearing it live. It’s sort of like waiting for my favorite clip to show up on CAS.
Michael Leddy 06.27.08 at 4:02 pm
Someone came to my blog yesterday searching for the name of the Bartok piece. It’s the Divertimento for Strings. More here: Classic Arts Showcase background music.