When the most famous conductor of his generation took the baton at Symphony Hall in October 2004, it signaled a major event in the world of classical music and a highwater mark in the cultural life of Boston. As James Levine, the fourteenth music director in the Boston Symphony Orchestra's vaunted 124-year history, led the orchestra through a celebratory performance of Mahler's dramatic Symphony No. 8, WGBH transported the artistic bounty of Boston to a vast national and international audience. The special broadcast was aired live, via satellite, to NPR stations across the country and the CBC in Canada, and streamed live on the Internet around the world.

Partnering with a major Boston cultural organization to connect the best of New England with the nation and the world is something WGBH Radio has been doing since we first signed on the air with a live BSO broadcast in 1951. Today, the Web is proving to be a remarkable platform for extending the reach of our radio services. WGBH radio content is accessed via streaming an average of 112,000 times a month (a 26 percent increase over last year). One grateful Queensland, Australia listener spoke for many when he thanked WGBH for being "a first-rate online station stream with amazing music."