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A Musical Legend
LEONARD POGER
Copy Editor
C
lassical and Jewish music filled
the home of Karl Haas for
nearly all of his 91 years. And
because of Mr. Haas, classical music
also filled the homes of thousands of
his WJR-AM listeners of his
Adventures in Good Music program,
which became the longest-running
and most popular daily classical radio
program in national
and international
history.
Mr. Haas, a
Birmingham resi-
dent and longtime
music director at
Temple Israel, died
Feb. 6, 2005, of
natural causes.
Mr. Haas began
his love affair with
music and the piano
at the young age of
6 when his mother
gave him lessons
while growing up in
Speyer-on-the-
Rhine, Germany. At
12, he formed a
piano trio with friends. Later, he stud-
ied at a conservatory and the
University of Heidelberg. In 1936, at
the age of 23, he fled the country
because of the growing anti-Semitic
environment in Nazi Germany and
came to the United States. Within the
next three years, he managed to bring
his parents and his future wife to the
United States.
The radio legend began in 1950
when he started a weekly preview of
Detroit Symphony Orchestra concerts
for Detroit radio station WW-J.
That program caught the attention
of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.,
which asked him to conduct a cham-
ber orchestra and play piano recitals
for its weekly national program. He
began to discuss music in both English
and French.
In 1959, radio station WJR contact-
ed him to do a daily one-hour pro-
gram in which Mr. Haas expanded his
music commentary. That was the birth
of Adventures in Good Music, which is
still syndicated in reruns throughout
the world.
He was particularly proud of win-
ning two coveted George Peabody
Award for excellence in broadcasting,
as well as two French government
awards and one from the German gov-
ernment. In 1991, he was presented
with the National Endowment for the
Humanities' prestigious Charles
Frankel Award at a White House cere-
mony. Over the years, he was awarded
eight honorary doc-
torates and other
academic awards.
Mr. Haas didn't let
age slow him down
in delivering his love
of music to an ever-
expanding radio
audience as well as
recital and lecture
audiences. He main-
tained an active
schedule traveling
throughout the
country and over-
seas.
In 1997, he was
the first classical
music personality to
be inducted into the
Radio Hall of Fame.
Just two years ago, he won the
Lifetime Achievement Award from the
Fine Arts Radio International Awards,
presented by Missouri Southern State
University.
As an example of his continuous
love affair with music and his desire to
transmit that love to audiences, he
devoted more than 17 years to an
illustrated biannual lecture series at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
York City. His popular book Inside
Music has been through 10 printings.
A Musical Legacy
Mr. Haas also left a musical legacy in
his three children, two of whom are
professional musicians
Daughter Alyce Haas recalled several
memories of growing up in a home
where music enveloped the family
environment.
"My father had a studio attached to
the house and students came there,"
she said. "Chamber group musicians
also came to the house for rehearsals."
Many times, she would go to the
WJR radio studio where he would
broadcast his programs.
"He never used a script for his live
radio programs or lectures," she said.
"I would be on pins and needles [dur-
ing those programs], but everything
was organized in his mind."
As music director and organist at
Temple Israel from 1941 to 1962,
"there was always a Jewish presence in
our lives," Alyce said.
Her father was a great storyteller
and he loved telling jokes.
That sense of humor was reflected
in the tides of some of his programs,
such as "The Joy of Sax," "May the
Source Be with You," and "No Stern
Untoned."
Alyce recalled, "There were wonder-
ful family car trips up north as well as
to musical festivals like Tanglewood
and Marlboro [in New England]. On
the car trips, he loved reading the
[humorous] roadside Burma Shave
signs."
Mr. Haas' sons are professional musi-
cians; Jeffrey plays piano and Andrew
plays the saxophone. Grandson Jesse
plays bass guitar while granddaughter
Sophia "loves to dance," Alyce Haas
said. An attorney, she plays piano for
her own enjoyment.
Karl Haas is survived by his daugh-
ter, Alyce Miriam Haas of
Birmingham; sons and daughters-in-
law, Jeffrey Mayer Haas and Kate
Pearson of Traverse City, Andrew Haas
and Laura Biscotto of New York City;
grandchildren, Jesse David Knox and
Sophia Elizabeth Haas.
Mr. Haas was the beloved husband
of the late Trudi Haas; the devoted
brother of the late Bertha
Freudenberg, the late Alice Haas and
the late Willi Haas; and the loving son
of the late Johann and the late
Mathilde Haas.
Interment was at Beth El Memorial
Park. Contributions may be directed to
Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy
Nenvork, 6555 W. Maple Road, West
Bloomfield, MI 48322 or Kollel
Institute of Greater Detroit, 15230 West
Lincoln, Oak Park, MI 48237.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel. ❑
CECRLE ASH, 86, of Detroit, died
Jan. 31, 2005. She was a member of
the National Council of Jewish
Women.
Mrs. Ash is survived by her hus-
band, Leo Ash of Detroit; daughter
and son-in-law,
Valerie Ash and
John Krieger of
Detroit; son and
daughter-in-law,
Dr. Kenneth Ash
and Dr. Patricia
Heu of Honolulu.
She was the
beloved daughter
Ash
of the late Harry
and the late Hattie
Cohen; devoted sister of the late
Ralph Cohen.
Interment at Beth El Memorial
Park. Contributions may be made to
Hospice of Michigan, 400 Mack,
Detroit, MI 48201. Arrangements by
Ira Kaufman Chapel.
SALLY BENNETT, 92, of Orchard
Lake, died Feb. 2, 2005.
She is survived by her sons and
daughter-in-law, Dr. Ronald and
Shirley Bennett of Arizona, Larry
Bennett of Royal Oak; daughter and
son-in-law, Shelly and Ralph
Krochmal of Orchard Lake; grand-
children, Denice Bennett, Sharon
Schaffer, Ruth Bennett, Marc
Krochmal, Jennifer Krochmal; great-
grandchildren, Daniel, Nina,
Samantha.
Mrs. Bennett was the beloved wife
of the late Nathan Bennett; dear sis-
ter of the late Ann Menken and the
late Lillian Robins; loving grand-
mother of the late Miriam Bennett.
Contributions may be made to
Bortz Health on Green Lake, 6470
Alden Drive, Orchard Lake, MI
48324 or a charity of one's choice.
Interment at Machelah Cemetery.
Arrangements by Hebrew Memorial
Chapel.
SAM BERK, 95, of Lincoln, Neb.,
formerly of Grand Rapids, died Jan.
7, 2005. He was a World War II vet-
eran, a synagogue member, active in
B'nai B'rith and an avid jogger —
running for more than 16,000 miles
in his life.
Mr. Berk is survived by his wife,
Ilona; son, Jim of West Bloomfield;
brother and sister-in-law, Joe and
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