Karl Haas was a distinguished classical music performer and exegetist—a presenter, interpreter, and explainer—who for decades originated a widely-syndicated and highly successful radio program on the subject of classical music.
Dr. Haas began his broadcasting career in 1950 by hosting a weekly preview of Detroit Symphony Orchestra concerts on radio station WWJ in Detroit. He first attracted attention as a performing musician when the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation asked him to play piano and conduct a chamber orchestra for a radio program. For them he performed a weekly piano recital with commentary in French on Quebec radio. The CBC encouraged him to talk about the music he was playing during the broadcast and gradually he complied.