Classic Ross Amico

Category: Daily Dispatch

  • Florence Foster Jenkins Mania Three Films!

    Florence Foster Jenkins Mania Three Films!

    They say that bad news comes in threes. But who would expect THREE films inspired by Florence Foster Jenkins?

    Florence Foster Jenkins, if you don’t know, was the Philadelphia matron and patron of the arts who began mounting vocal recitals in 1912, when in her early 40s. Despite her dubious sense of pitch and rhythm and seeming indifference to the nuances of breath control and the proper pronunciation of foreign languages, Jenkins shot to fame on the unintentional hilarity of her performances.

    Her swan song was her “finest” – a recital at Carnegie Hall on October 25, 1944, that achieved a kind of transcendence through the sheer scope of its awfulness. Jenkins was 76 years-old.

    Some find her recordings funny – and to an extent, they undeniably are – but it is difficult to not feel a little embarrassment for her and a touch of pity. If not for the fact that she was so blissfully oblivious, that is. This could have been the role of a lifetime for Margaret Dumont (who actually trained as an opera singer).

    The most high-profile of the three films is one starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant and directed by Stephen Frears (“Dangerous Liaisons,” “The Queen” and “Philomena”).

    A 2015 French film, “Marguerite,” is now making the rounds in the U.S. on limited release.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnr78V0se3s

    And in January, Joyce DiDonato announced that she will appear in reenactments as part of a new documentary.

    Joyce DiDonato to star in documentary feature film as Florence Foster Jenkins

    Jenkins’ legendary recordings can be heard on the cult album, “The Glory(????) of the Human Voice.”

  • Georgian Opera on WPRB Sunday

    Georgian Opera on WPRB Sunday

    Sandy Steiglitz is under the weather, and I’ve got Georgia on my mind.

    Join me tomorrow as I fill in as a last-minute substitute for this week’s “Sunday Morning Opera.” I am looking forward to sharing a rarely-heard work by Zakharia Paliashvili (1871-1933), who is regarded as the “Father of Georgian Music.”

    “Abesalom and Eteri,” composed between 1909 and 1918, is based on the medieval Georgian folk poem, “Eteriani.” In the best Romantic tradition, the story is one of star-crossed love in an historical setting. The musical language is an appealing fusion of folk song and pageantry. In 2004, excerpts from the work were adapted into the National Anthem of Georgia.

    The recording we’ll hear was issued on the Deutsche Grammophon label back in the 1979, but to my knowledge it has been unavailable in the West for decades.

    Join me this Sunday morning from 7 to 10:00 EDT (remember tonight is the clock change, as we spring forward into Daylight Saving Time) for this rare opportunity to enjoy Paliashvili’s “Abesalom and Eteri,” on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com.

    Best wishes to Sandy, and get well soon!

  • Abesalom and Eteri Georgian Opera Rediscovered

    Abesalom and Eteri Georgian Opera Rediscovered

    With Sandy Steiglitz feeling under the weather, we emerge from under the thumb of Mother Russia with a recording of the Georgian national opera, “Abesalom and Eteri,” by Zakharia Paliashvili.

    Paliashvili (1871-1933) studied composition at the Moscow Conservatory under Sergei Taneyev (a pupil of Tchaikovsky). He then returned to Georgia to collect folk songs, co-found the Georgian Philharmonic Society and head the Tblisi Conservatory.

    Though virtually unknown in the West, “Abesalom” is a landmark in Georgian art music. Based on a medieval Georgian folk poem, the opera tells the tale of a star-crossed love between a prince and a shepherdess, the machinations of a treacherous chamberlain, and the gift of a poisoned necklace.

    To underscore the work’s continued patriotic appeal, the Tblisi Opera House and Ballet Theatre – a structure which has been through its share of political turmoil and even been burnt to the ground twice – marked its most recent grand reopening in January with a run of performances of what is described as “the traditional season opener.”

    http://www.georgianjournal.ge/arts-a-culture/32141-tbilisi-to-reopen-opera-house-that-has-survived-tsars-soviets-and-civil-war-the-guardian.html?slcont=0

    You don’t have to be Georgian to be caught up in the haunting melodies of this beautiful, neglected opera. Join me this morning from 7 to 10 a.m. EDT (remember to take into account the change of clocks for Daylight Saving Time), as I sit in for this week’s “Sunday Morning Opera,” on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com.

    Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Sandy!

    PHOTO: The 165 year-old Tblisi Opera House and Ballet Theatre has survived burning (twice), civil war, and financial hardship to preserve and promote Georgian culture – including annual performances of “Abesalom and Eteri”

  • Irish Music This Sunday on The Lost Chord

    Irish Music This Sunday on The Lost Chord

    This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” it’s a mulligan stew of music by Irish composers and/or on Irish themes, with works by native composers Philip Hammond, John Larchet and A.J. Potter, and Irishmen-for-a-day Arnold Bax, John Foulds, and Percy Grainger, including a roistering set of variations on “The Wild Colonial Boy.”

    It’s probably a lot to expect you to join me for these “Presentiments of St. Patrick,” tonight at 10 EDT – everyone is going to be a bit hagged out from the weekend, between the pre-St. Patrick’s parties, Pi Day, and a short night springing forward into Daylight Saving Time – but do remember that the show will be repeated Wednesday evening at 6 (St. Patrick’s Eve), then archived as a webcast at wwfm.org.

    Sláinte!

  • Princeton Symphony Silver Screen Salute Tonight

    Princeton Symphony Silver Screen Salute Tonight

    All right, you’ve enjoyed the Irish-themed music on “Picture Perfect.” Now you have exactly one hour to hit the concession stand before the start of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra “Silver Screen Salute” at 8:00 ET. Hurry back to hear selections from “Ben-Hur,” “Jaws,” “Psycho,” “Superman,” “Star Wars,” and more, at 89.1 FM and wwfm.org.

    PLEASE NOTE: There will not be a webcast for this program. It airs only once, then disappears into the ether.

Tag Cloud

Aaron Copland (94) Beethoven (95) Composer (114) Film Music (153) Film Score (143) Film Scores (255) Halloween (107) John Williams (198) KWAX (233) Leonard Bernstein (105) Marlboro Music Festival (125) Movie Music (168) Mozart (92) Opera (222) Philadelphia Orchestra (91) Picture Perfect (174) Princeton Symphony Orchestra (110) Radio (90) Ross Amico (244) Roy's Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner (290) The Classical Network (101) The Lost Chord (269) Vaughan Williams (107) WPRB (397) WWFM (881)

DON’T MISS A BEAT

Receive a weekly digest every Sunday at noon by signing up here

RECENT POSTS