Classic Ross Amico

Category: Daily Dispatch

Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 4 Debut

It was on this date 90 years ago that the Sergei Rachmaninoff gave the debut of his Piano Concerto No. 4, from the keyboard, with Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra. It had been 18 years since his previous concerto (which he had unveiled in New York). In the meantime, he had weathered the Russian Revolution and the personal, perpetual obligation of earning a living as a concert pianist.

The original version of the Fourth Concerto was much longer than the one heard at the 1927 premiere. Even so, the work failed to engage either critics or audience. The composer, ever sensitive to criticism (the failure of his Symphony No. 1 plunged him into a depression so profound that it could only be alleviated through hypnotherapy, from which he emerged to write his Piano Concerto No. 2, ecstatically received), prepared a final, authoritative version of the Concerto No. 4 for performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra, this time under Eugene Ormandy, in 1941. The work has never caught the imagination of concert-goers to anywhere near the same extent as the Concertos Nos. 2 & 3.

The original version was released by the Rachmaninoff Estate only in the year 2000. It has since been recorded in this form several times. It’s a very interesting piece. One wonders if the work would have fared better had Rachmaninoff simply stuck to his guns?

The original version of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 4:

PLEASE NOTE: Eric Lu will perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, with the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Chiu-Tze Lin, at Rutgers University’s Nicholas Music Center in New Brunswick, tonight at 7:30 p.m.

PHOTO: Rachmaninoff and Ormandy in 1938

March 18, 2017
Sharon Isbin Guitar at McCarter Princeton

With 25 recordings, four Grammy Awards, and a mastery of repertoire ranging from the baroque to the 21st century, it seems there is nothing guitarist Sharon Isbin can’t do well.

Isbin will appear at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton on Saturday at 8 p.m. “The theme of the program, for the most part, is folk-inspired music,” she says. “That would include Spain, Latin America – including South America and Cuba – as well as our own country.

“There will be another couple of works that have been written for me, one of which is by Leo Brouwer, which is based on African love stories.” Also on the program will be music by Andrew York, formerly of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and Bruce MacCombie.

Isbin is the kind of performer composers love to write for. In the case of Brouwer, arguably Cuba’s most celebrated living composer, he sent her, unsolicited, the manuscript of “The Black Decameron.” The piece became an instant classic.

She has also had guitar concertos written for her by a number of other respected composers, including John Corigliano, Tan Dun, Lukas Foss, Christopher Rouse, and Joseph Schwantner.

A 2015 documentary, “Sharon Isbin: Troubadour,” continues to air on PBS stations across the country. The film was a recipient of an ASCAP Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Television Broadcast Award. Videos, including an excerpt from the documentary, news and touring information are posted at her website, http://www.sharonisbin.com.

Isbin will be the first of an impressive triumvirate of performers to appear at McCarter over the course of three days. Iranian-American harpsichord phenomenon Mahan Esfahani will present a stimulating program of works both old and new on Sunday at 3 p.m., and violinist Hilary Hahn will perform Bach, Mozart and Schubert, alongside music by Anton Garcia Abril and Hans Peter Turk, on Monday at 7:30 p.m.

Learn more in my article in today’s Trenton Times.

http://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/index.ssf/2017/03/classical_music_sharon_isbin_m.html

March 17, 2017
Rach 3 & Ma SiCong at Rutgers Saturday

A few weeks back, in connection with Chinese New Year, I posted a link to an article I had written about violinist and composer Ma SiCong. Ma, you may recall, was a political exile who wound up living out the rest of his life in Philadelphia.

His music was revived a few seasons ago by the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra. The West Windsor based ensemble will be performing Ma’s “Mongolian Dance” on a concert at Rutgers University’s Nicholas Music Center in New Brunswick Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Also on the program will be Ravel’s “Bolero” and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, with soloist Eric Lu. Lu was a first prize winner at the U.S. National Chopin Competition. Music director Chiu-Tze Lin will conduct.

Hear Lu play Chopin (at 15!) by following the link.

That was four years ago. If you can make it on Saturday, it might be worth hearing what he can make of the Rach 3.

March 17, 2017
Irish Film Music Quiet Man Angela’s Ashes

“He’s a nice, quiet, peace-loving man come home to Ireland to forget his troubles.”

John Wayne gives Victor McLaglen a lathering in the epic climax of John Ford’s “The Quiet Man,” and composer Victor Young’s palette is all green. Join me for this alternately romantic and boisterous, folk-inflected score, alongside music for Ford’s “The Informer,” a very different film, a black-and-white study of guilt and paranoia, that earned Ford, McLaglen, and composer Max Steiner Academy Awards. (Ford was honored with his fourth Academy Award for “The Quiet Man.”)

We’ll also feature two films with music by John Williams: an adaptation of Frank McCourt’s autobiographical book, “Angela’s Ashes,” and Ron Howard’s big screen historical fiction, inspired by his ancestors’ journey to America, “Far and Away.” The latter soundtrack features the talents of The Chieftains.

We land a few for St. Patrick’s Day this week on “Picture Perfect,” this Friday evening at 6:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and at wwfm.org.

March 17, 2017
Irish Music & Elgar with Ross Amico on WPRB

Music on Irish themes will be as numerous as the shamrocks of the field, with nary a snake to be found, thanks be to St. Patrick. This morning on WPRB, we’ll have works by Irish composers, composers of Irish descent, and plenty of Irish-for-a-day. I hope you’ll join me for an abundance of reels, whimsy, and sentiment for the Emerald Isle.

At 10:00, I’ll be joined by Christopher Lyndon-Gee. Lyndon-Gee will guest conduct the Princeton Symphony Orchestra at Richardson Auditorium this Sunday at 4 p.m., in a program featuring music by Sir Edward Elgar and Carl Nielsen. Lyndon-Gee, a prolific recording artist who has garnered five Grammy nominations, will share a few insights into this weekend’s program, and then surprise us with a selection of his recorded performances. Refreshingly, his musical interests lay well off the beaten path.

Don’t let the Italian surname fool you. My mother’s people came from Ireland. That said, I’ll be needin’ to kiss the blarney stone to get through five hours of music and conversation, from 6 to 11 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com. I’ve got dark circles around my half-Irish eyes, on Classic Ross Amico.

March 16, 2017

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