Classic Ross Amico

Category: Daily Dispatch

Toy Movie Music Picture Perfect

Eesh. Two posts already today, and I forgot to mention “Picture Perfect!” What day is it, anyway? Holidays…

With everyone still reeling from Christmas, I thought I would present an hour of music from movies about toys, including selections from “Citizen Kane” (shhh, don’t give it away), with music by Bernard Herrmann; “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure” (it’s in the basement of the Alamo!), with music by Danny Elfman; “Toccata for Toy Trains” (Charles and Ray Eames love vintage toys), with music by Elmer Bernstein; and “Toy Story” (not much of a stretch there), with music by Randy Newman.

That’s toys everywhere this week, on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies. I hope you’ll join me tonight at 6 ET, or for the repeat, tomorrow morning at 6; or that you’ll catch it later as a webcast at http://www.wwfm.org.

December 26, 2014
Nephew’s New Laptop First Impressions

I’m typing this on my nephew’s new laptop.

December 25, 2014
Hansel & Gretel Premieres: Day 24 Opera Advent

ADVENT CALENDAR – DAY 24

The opera “Hansel and Gretel” was given its first performance on this date in 1893, with Richard Strauss conducting at the Hoftheater in Weimar. Engelbert Humperdinck’s magnum opus – which features a sandman, a dew fairy, a witch, and the imminent threat of cannibalism – has been associated with the Christmas season ever since.

The Brothers Grimm inspiration is the best known of a wave of Märchenopern (fairy tale operas) that swept Germany in the 19th century. Less fortunate was Hans Pfitzner’s “Das Christ-Elflein” (“The Christmas Elf”), with its charming mix of Christian and pagan symbols, including the title character, an old tree spirit, Saint Nicholas’ sidekick, Knecht Ruprecht, and even the Christ Child!

Here’s Hans Pfitzner conducting a recording of the overture, in 1927:

And Elisabeth Schwarzkopf with Irmgard Seefried in an excerpt from “Hansel and Gretel,” with Josef Krips conducting, in 1947:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQah7onXhc4

PHOTO: You know what they say, if you can’t stand the heat…

December 24, 2014
Advent Calendar Day 25 Happy Christmas To All

ADVENT CALENDAR – DAY 25

I’d like to write more, but I’m afraid I’ve been sucked into the maelstrom.

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

December 24, 2014
Advent Calendar Day 23 Christmas Chaos & Swedish Music

ADVENT CALENDAR – DAY 23

All right, I may have bitten off more than I can chew with this Advent calendar!

All I want to do is write about La Befana, the Christmas witch, and those maddening Icelandic Yule Lads, but now I’ve basically got a little over 24 hours to write my scripts, do my production work and complete my Christmas shopping, which I haven’t even begun (the joy of getting paid by invoice).

I’m actually writing this while I’m on hold, trying to order a gift after somebody’s website failed to process my order. That’s what I get for trying to buy directly from the company, as opposed to Amazon. Now I’m tied in, since I’m not sure if my card went through. No good deed goes unpunished, even at Christmastime.

At least my cat is entertained by “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” as it blares tinnily over my speaker phone. I think I need to cool down with a good, Swedish snowball fight.

Here’s Wilhelm Stenhammar’s “Midvinter”:

And juicy Jussi Bjöerling singing “O Holy Night”:

December 22, 2014

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