I started working at All Classical Portland in 1983, just a few months after graduation from Benson Polytechnic, and the same year that 89.9 FM began broadcasting. Much has changed since that first summer that Portland gained a new classical music station! In fact, we didn’t call it “All Classical Portland”. 89.9 FM was owned by the school district, and the call letters were KBPS (“BPS” for its location: Benson Polytechnic High School). Moving up from weekends to weekdays, part-time to full-time, and from a music librarian to Music Director (2006), I’ve been witness to tremendous growth in the organization, and seen the facilities move twice: In 1992, from a classroom to a stand-alone building at Benson, and 2014 to our beautiful, current location on the Willamette.
As music director, I work with the programming team and our producers to carefully craft each hour of music almost every day. It’s a job I love doing. When I’m not programming, I’m interviewing musicians from around the world to add to All Classical Portland’s online offering of reviews, spotlights and insights. As of January 2018, I’m back on weekends, hosting throughout the afternoon, and evenings with The Concert Hall, a series that draws from that library of 25,000 CDs of fantastic recordings. It’s my pleasure, and privilege, to share this great music with you.
Latest blog entries from John Pitman:
John Pitman Review: John Malkovich in ‘The Music Critic’
John Pitman, All Classical’s Program Director, recently caught up with Hollywood actor and classical musician John Malkovich. Hear their hilarious chat about Malkovich’s The Music Critic, released last year from a recording made in 2020. Malkovich shares what went into this funny and fascinating recording, based on the live show, where the actor reads actual… More
John Pitman Review: Christopher O’Riley’s ‘The Well-Tempered Clavier’
In May 2024, pianist Christopher O’Riley was in Portland for a concert with his good friend, cellist Matt Haimovitz. All Classical Radio’s Program Director, John Pitman, invited Christopher for an interview in the Roger O. Doyle Performance Studio, the day before their concert. Christopher shared his knowledge, talent, and insight about Bach and the upcoming… More
John Pitman Review: Danish String Quartet’s ‘Keel Road’
In April, the Danish String Quartet performed the world premiere of a new work written for them by English composer Thomas Adès at Carnegie Hall. For this edition of John Pitman’s Reviews, John has invited All Classical Radio host Warren Black to speak with the Quartet about the premiere and get a preview of their… More
John Pitman Review: Neave Trio’s ‘A Room of Her Own’
All Classical Radio’s Program Director, John Pitman, shares his recent conversation with two members of the Neave Trio. They speak about their latest recording titled “A Room of Her Own.” This is the second of their recordings amplifying the voices of women composers in classical music. Their first, “Her Voice,” was released in 2019. Violinist… More
John Pitman Review: Miloš’s ‘Baroque’
Miloš, the superstar guitarist who has recorded the standard guitar repertoire, explored the Beatles, as well as the experience of isolation, returns with a carefully-curated collection of music of the 18th century. Baroque is the guitarist’s rediscovery of music that he was taught when a student, to which he now brings his own interpretation and… More
John Pitman Review: James Newton Howard’s ‘Night After Night’
For this edition of John Pitman’s Reviews, John has invited All Classical Radio’s Edmund Stone, host of our syndicated film music program, The Score, to review a beautiful new recording reimagining original film scores. Night After Night celebrates one of the richest collaborations between a contemporary film director and a composer – an all-new recording… More
John Pitman Review: Randall Goosby ‘Violin Concertos’
All Classical Radio’s program director, John Pitman, chats with American violinist Randall Goosby about his second album with Decca Classics. The dynamic young soloist brings freshness to a concerto he first encountered as a teenager: Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1, and shimmering performances of Florence Price’s two Violin Concertos, with the Philadelphia Orchestra and… More
John Pitman Review: Plínio Fernandes’s ‘Bacheando’
Plínio Fernandes is a London-based Brazilian guitarist who has just released his second album. Bacheando explores the long-established influence of Bach’s music on Brazilian composers. Chief among them is Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959), whose series titled Bachianas Brazileiras fuse the Baroque-age forms of Bach with the rhythm and styles of Brazilian music. He recently spoke to All… More
John Pitman Review: Carlos Simon’s ‘Together’
Composer Carlos Simon has received numerous awards and nominations for works such as 2021’s Requiem for the Enslaved. He recently spoke to All Classical Radio host John Pitman about his latest album Together, a 10-track project that came about from the desire to simply make music with friends and colleagues, after the long period of… More
John Pitman Review: Andrew Brownell’s ‘Shades of Night’
Andrew Brownell is a pianist and former Portlander who, in the mid-1990s would occasionally stop by the All Classical studios for an interview with John Pitman. Often, Andrew would play something on the piano, or accompany violinist Nicholas Crosa (now part of Pink Martini), for an upcoming recital. Brownell recently stopped by for a chat… More