Classic Ross Amico

Category: Daily Dispatch

Margaret Garwood Composer Death Inquirer Report

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that composer Margaret Garwood has died at 88 (though it misspells the name of her former husband, Romeo Cascarino).

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20150506_Composer_Margaret_Garwood_dies_at_88.html

I hate to say it, but if she had been a man and writing 30, 40 or 50 years earlier, she would have been much better known. I attended the 2010 premiere of her opera, “The Scarlet Letter,” and there was much cattiness and eyeball-rolling, especially among composers of a more modernist bent, but the work would have been in the strike zone, if it had been composed in 1950 and her name had been Carlisle Floyd, Robert Ward or Gian Carlo Menotti.

Here are a couple of excerpts I found posted on YouTube:

May 6, 2015
Orson Welles 100 The Third Man Restored

Holy cow (and no pun intended) – today is Orson Welles’ 100th birthday!

Listen to this acceptance speech and realize just how far we as a civilization have fallen. Can you imagine any filmmaker or actor of today possessing this kind of oratorical skill? Does anyone even know who Samuel Johnson is?

I also just learned that Rialto Pictures is releasing a 4k restoration of Carol Reed’s “The Third Man,” in which Orson totally steals the show. It will open on June 26 at New York’s Film Forum, before fanning out to several other major U.S. markets, including Philadelphia.

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/orson-welles-restored-the-third-man-set-for-u-s-release-1201488365/

Obviously, this is not the restored version (it looks like a screen shot off of somebody’s television set), but a great clip nonetheless:

I salute you, Orson! You fell hard, but you accomplished much.

PHOTO: Sometimes a cigar is just a – oh forget about it.

May 6, 2015
Cinco de Mayo with Revueltas The Perfect Fiesta Soundtrack

Cinco de Mayo! Here’s some music of Silvestre Revueltas, always better than mescaline:

May 5, 2015
May the 4th Star Wars Day History & Celebration

May the Fourth be with you! That’s right, it’s May 4th – International Star Wars Day. It sneaks up on me every year, until I see some 40 year-old walking around in a Jedi cloak. Believe it or not, it’s Margaret Thatcher – the Iron Lady herself – you can thank for it.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/2015/05/04/may-with-you-rallying-cry-for-star-wars-fans/YWVsHTnzq45hVKoKU8c5NO/story.html

John Williams will begin scoring the new film, “SW: The Force Awakens,” next month. Whatever the result (I’m still smarting from the prequel trilogy), I am looking forward to the soundtrack. Williams never disappoints when it comes to this brand of fantasy. He is last in the line. The best composers of Hollywood’s Golden Age live on through him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqOBU34aVrc

PHOTO: Nice to see at least Chewie hasn’t aged a bit

May 4, 2015
Schulz’s Favorite Composer Revealed

Who was Charles M. Schulz’s favorite composer? Hint: It wasn’t Beethoven.

You can find out the correct answer tonight on “The Lost Chord,” as my guest this evening will be pianist Orli Shaham, who heard it directly from Schulz’s mouth.

In advance of Brahms’ birthday (on May 7), Shaham will discuss her new album, “Brahms Inspired,” scheduled for release on the Canary Classics label on June 9. The two-CD set features music by some of the composers who influenced Brahms (Bach, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann) and some that Brahms, in turn, inspired (Schoenberg). We’ll be listening to three brand new works, two of them commissioned by Shaham, by Bruce Adolphe, Avner Dorman and Brett Dean, interspersed with late keyboard music by the master himself.

Shaham will appear in recital at Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, Pa., right on the outskirts of Philadelphia, on May 16 at 7:45 p.m. For tickets and information, look online at http://www.kenesethisrael.org/

For more about Orli, visit her website, http://www.orlishaham.com.

Who was Schulz’s favorite composer? Well, actually, I suppose you can surmise the answer from the theme of the show, but do tune in anyway, if you can. At least you’ll learn why Schroeder is fixated on Beethoven instead.

That’s “Aimez-vous Brahms?” on “The Lost Chord,” tonight at 10 ET, with a repeat Wednesday evening at 6; or listen to it later as a webcast at http://www.wwfm.org.

May 3, 2015

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