Since 1970, Cleveland classical radio station WCLV has supervised syndication of Adventures through its subsidiary, Seaway Productions. Each new syndicated program-recorded by producer and host Karl Haas in his New York studio-is transmitted via Seaway Productions to a domestic satellite that beams the program to stations across the United States. Elsewhere, stations receive the program on magnetic tape reels that are duplicated at WCLV and mailed in advance of program dates.

     Karl Haas began his lifetime involvement with classical music at the age of six in his hometown, Speyer-on-the-Rhine, Germany, where he studied piano under the guidance of his mother. At the age of r 2, he was performing in a piano trio with friends. As a young man, Haas studied music at Ger­many's University of Heidelberg. At the onset of Nazi tyranny in the 1930s, Haas fled to Detroit, Michigan, where he studied at the famed Netzorg School of Music and commuted from Detroit to New York to study with the legendary pianist Artur Schnabel.

     Haas' radio career began in 1950 at Detroit station WWJ, where he was under contract to host a weekly preview of concerts performed by the Detroit Symphony. His program caught the attention of the CBC, which offered him the position of conducting a chamber orchestra and performing piano recitals for a weekly program. Based on the phenomenal popularity of his Canadian show, CBC requested that Haas incorporate a commentary about his music into the program. Following audiences' favorable response to his lively narratives, in 19 59 Detroit radio station WJR hired Haas to develop his own daily one-hour music-plus-commentary program-and Adventures in Good Music was born.

     The format of Adventures has remained nearly the same since its debut. Each program is fashioned around a central theme, punctuated and illustrated with musical selections and enhanced by knowledgeable and often witty commentary originated by Haas. One program may highlight the best of Bach, and yet another may challenge listeners to "Name the Composer" in a musical mystery teaser. Still other programs may seek to understand and explain the impact of humor in music or how music is relevant to current events.

     In creating his Adventures calendar, Haas explores both the traditional and the unconventional. A sequence from a typical month commenced with a program honoring the anniversary of Chopin's birthday. By midweek, "In Every Sense of the Word" offered an exploration of the five senses and their musical equivalents. Haas scheduled a traditional St. Patrick's Day salute on March 17. Then, he finished off the month's menu with an unconventional study of "When in Rome ... " featuring works by non-Italian composers based on Italian culture.

     As an active performer on the recital concert tour circuit, Haas has held a series of biannual "live" Adventures in Good Music programs at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art since 1977. Adventures has twice been awarded the coveted George Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting. Haas has received numerous awards in recognition of his outstanding contributions to radio and for furthering the appreciation of classical music. The French Government presented him with the Officer d'académie and Chevalier de l'ordre des arts et lettres awards. In Germany he received the prestigious First Class Order of Merit. In 1991 Haas was awarded the National Endowment for the Humanities' Charles Frankel Award. Additionally, Haas was honored with the National Telemedia Award and has received eight honorary doctorates. In March 199 5 Haas was the first classical broadcaster to be nominated for induction into the Radio Hall of Fame in Chicago.

     Continuing his broadcast effort to educate and entertain listeners to the joys of classical music, Haas authored the reference book Inside Music. Also, in 1993 and 1994 he released three compact discs, The Romantic Piano, Story of the Bells, and Song and Dance, which marked a new venue for Adventures in Good Music.