June 2, 2009 — Just over two and a half years after launching The Concert, a free classical music podcast, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum recently announced that more than one-million podcast programs and online music programs have been downloaded, helping the Boston museum fulfill its mission to educate and advance the enjoyment of the public.

The Concert, which launched on September 15, 2006, features live recordings of classical masterpieces from the Gardner Museum’s weekly concert series.

“I think the success of the podcast and music library really speaks to the fact that there is a strong desire for quality classical music programming on the web – and it’s particularly exciting that we’re able to provide it for free,” says Scott Nickrenz, music director at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

The podcast and online recordings enjoy a steady audience of over 30,000 listeners per month and The Concert and the Gardner’s online recordings have reached people in 116 countries, as far away as Bangladesh, Uganda, and Kuwait.

“We are delighted to be able to share the fantastic music that is made in the Gardner’s Tapestry Room with listeners everywhere,” says Anne Hawley, Norma Jean Calderwood Director of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. “Isabella Gardner left her museum ‘for the education and enjoyment of the public forever,’ and podcasting has provided us with a new way to bring the museum’s programming to a worldwide audience.”

Fast Company magazine called The Concert “one of the most popular classical podcasts to date” and blogger Alex Ross, music critic from The New Yorker, has cited The Concert as case-in-point for the “non-death” of classical music.

Each program contains approximately 45 minutes of music, prefaced by a brief introduction to the included works. New programs are posted on the 1st and 15th of each month, and are available through iTunes and at http://gardnermuseum.org/music/podcast/theconcert.asp. All works featured in the podcast are accessible through the Gardner Museum’s online music library at http://gardnermuseum.org/music/library.asp.

All podcasts in The Concert are offered under a “Share Music” license from Creative Commons, meaning that users are free “to download, copy, file-share, trade, distribute, and publicly perform (e.g. webcast)” the podcast for any noncommercial purpose. The Gardner Museum’s choice to allow free sharing is a first for an art museum.

The museum is home to the oldest museum music program in the country, celebrating its 82nd season this year. From September through May, the museum hosts weekly Sunday concerts, showcasing a mix of world-renowned musicians and outstanding emerging artists. In addition, Thursday evening concerts as part of the museum’s popular Gardner After Hours events feature programs of jazz and new music by adventurous young performers.