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A Conversation with Los Angeles Impresario Ernest Fleischmann

Ernest Fleischmann

Note: this interview was broadcast on WGBH, Boston’s NPR station for news and culture, and was part of Classical KUSC’s A Tribute to Ernest, broadcast live from Walt Disney Concert Hall on 3/29/11.

Ernest FleischmannErnest Fleischmann, the former General Manager of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, can be credited with turning this once provincial institution into a world famous orchestra. He was also instrumental in hiring Esa-Pekka Salonen, the famous Finnish music director and composer, and more recently the flamboyant Venezuelan Gustavo Dudamel, who, baton in hand, has taken the classical music world by storm.
Now in his 80’s, Ernest looks back at his career in a conversation with ThoughtCast, at his home in the Hollywood Hills. This brief interview only skims the surface of his career and accomplishments, but it’s a pleasure to listen to that voice, and to tap into his reservoir of musical knowledge – and instinct.
Click here to listen (8:26 minutes.)

Sadly, Ernest Fleischmann died in June, 2010 after a long illness. He will be missed!

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Roosevelt Island’s Octagon Tower: A Proud Ruin

Octagon Tower

The Octagon Tower on Roosevelt Island in Manhattan was the city’s first municipal insane asylum. Today it’s a proud ruin, having survived partial demolition, fire and abandonment. And in a novel approach, the tower has been preserved in its dilapidated state. A reminder of its haunted history.

Note: I reported on this story for WNYC TV in the late 1990s.

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Spring Fever

This time of year, when the relieved earth shrugs off stale dirt and dead leaves, it pauses, recalling. Then, as it lets out a long, low breath, it slowly releases moisture, a glut of color. Everything is growing.

But only for a spell, for soon enough the earth will turn, and then the relentless heat will shrivel these green thirsty things, and the ground will grow hard, and withdraw again.

Click here: to listen (2:40 minutes).

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Garibaldi and Meucci: two friends, two very different lives


A small house on Staten Island tells the tale of the friendship between Guiseppe Garibaldi, the famed Italian revolutionary, and Antonio Meucci, a candle maker who just might have invented the telephone. Take a tour of the Garibaldi Meucci Museum with WNYC’s Jenny Attiyeh, on ThoughtCast!
Click here to listen!

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Blacksmith House Poetry Series: Henri Cole and William Logan


The Blacksmith House Poetry Series at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education has been bringing established and emerging poets to Harvard Square since its founding by Gail Mazur in 1973. The series is named after the Blacksmith House at 56 Brattle Street, site of the village smithy and the spreading chestnut tree of Longfellow’s 1839 poem “The Village Blacksmith.”
On the evening of December 8, 2025, series director Andrea Cohen introduced Henri Cole, whose new book of poetry is called The Other Love, as well as William Logan, whose most recent collection is Rift of Light.
This is the last poetry reading of the fall 2025 season.
Click here: to listen.

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The Legendary Steinway Hall in Midtown Manhattan


This archival WNYC TV “Cultural Minute” takes a tour of the Steinway Store in Midtown Manhattan — which, unlike so many traditional city landmarks, is still in business. Watch to see how these famous pianos are actually built!