FIRST OFF . . .

Radio station KPFK-FM, in an unusual gesture, broadcast an early wake Tuesday afternoon for its neighbor on the FM dial, KFAC, the pre-eminent classical music station that is expected to change formats in September. During the first hour of the two-hour program, some 20 listeners called in to lament news of KFAC’s impending change. KPFK host William Malloch called his program “ a sort of a funeral for KFAC.” Said Malloch: “It appears KFAC will no longer broadcast classical music starting sometime in mid-September. . . . I think the situation is infuriating. I feel frustrated and I think listeners have rights. They’re taking a classical music station away from us which we have gotten used to and which has become a part of our lives and we want it back.” Malloch urged listeners who are upset about the station’s expected demise to write and call the station and Evergreen Media Corp., which bought it in January for $55 million, the highest price ever paid for a classical music station. Although station officials have not confirmed that the classical format will indeed change, station employees and industry insiders say they have been told that the station will change formats in September. The new format has not been chosen, according to KFAC’s general manager Jim de Castro, but speculation centers on rock music. KFAC aired portions of a Rolling Stones press conference last week. Said Malloch: “One minute Bach, the next moment boom, Twisted Sister.”