Classic Ross Amico

Category: Daily Dispatch

Radio Show Ending After 36 Years

Holy smokes! I just did the math, and I’ve been broadcasting music on the radio for 36-some years!

To all of you who have been private messaging me and posting your comments here on Facebook, thank you for your support. It means a lot that you will miss “Picture Perfect” and/or “The Lost Chord” (both of which aired their last on WWFM this past weekend). Some of you are curious to know more. I have tried to include all the relevant information below, without pointing fingers and with emotional restraint.

I will say the decision to end the programs was not mine. I was emailed by WWFM’s program director the afternoon of Wednesday, April 19, and notified that the shows would be “sunsetting,” with “Picture Perfect” concluding its weekly run on April 29 (ten days later) and “The Lost Chord” ending on April 30.

The reason I was given is that those who make these decisions would like to refresh the program schedule. You can’t really argue with that. However, it would have been nice had I been given the option to help freshen it up by creating some new shows!

Needless to say, I put a lot into these broadcasts, and I have done so for quite a long while (“Picture Perfect” for 13 years; “The Lost Chord” for 20).

A combination of COVID-19 safety restrictions and budgetary considerations have kept me out of the WWFM studios for the past three years. During that time, a skeleton crew of managers have had to lean heavily on syndicated programming, automation, and remote control to maintain a 24-hour schedule. Which is why suddenly a lot of unfamiliar voices started to pop up and why you’re not getting a lot of weather forecasts, time checks, or community representation.

Unfortunately, you’re also not hearing very many complete pieces of music, as the trend with the principal service being relied upon is toward sound bites and pretty melodies without a lot of depth or space for reflection.

The reasons for this are complex, and I am not placing blame. The station is affiliated with a college, the first priority of which must necessarily be admissions. There’s no reason to start paying more people to improve the radio broadcasts of a station that, to an undiscerning ear, seems to be functioning just fine without them. It’s not the college’s primary mission and therefore non-essential. I can live with that.

However, my not being able to use the production studios during all that time means that I have not been able to produce new content.

As the months and years passed, I continued to select archived episodes of “Picture Perfect” and “The Lost Chord” for rebroadcast, touching them up at home to remove any time-sensitive material or to tailor them to important anniversaries. I do not have a home studio (which I will be remedying very soon), so any extensive new recording would have to be done at the station.

If there was a concern about the reruns becoming stale, I was never told, and I would have been happy to produce new episodes with authorized access to the station equipment.

I should add, at the time of the Picture Perfect “sunset” notification, I was given the option to start producing new shows on a once-a-month basis – for “Picture Perfect” only. Whether or not that means I would now be able to resume recording at the WWFM studios was not made clear. What was made clear was that I would receive no monetary compensation for my work and that the program would air in rotation with three other WWFM specialty programs on Friday evenings at 6:00.

This I declined to do, for several reasons. To put all that work into producing a polished program that would only air on a first-Friday schedule would be foolhardy. Listeners would never remember to tune in, it’s no way to build an audience, and for hardcore film music fans, it would be death by starvation. Having to wait a month to hear your favorite music doesn’t exactly convey a sense that the station cares very much about it.

To make it worthwhile, the show would have to be produced weekly or not at all. “Picture Perfect” is not a “pops” show. You will never hear kitschy arrangements of movie themes, lazily strung together, as if these are in some way representative of the actual scores. It’s a serious film music show that honors the integrity of the music and the composers.

As for pay, I’m a professional, but I have not received monetary compensation for “Picture Perfect” or “The Lost Chord” for years. Granted, for most of their run, I was paid for the production of recorded shows, but at a point, when we were looking for ways to tighten up the budget, it was agreed by everyone that those of us who produced specialty shows would attempt to get underwriters to support them. Which means we would only be paid for them if there was an underwriter.

Unfortunately, the way it was handled, it turned out to be a cumbersome system that didn’t really give me the authority to work out a deal. Instead, I was a basically a go-between, and I’ve had at least one prospective coalition collapse because of it.

At this point, I am basically resigned to the shows being taken off the air. However, if there are any “angels” reading this who are interested in underwriting (meaning a serious commitment, not just a week or two), it’s possible the station could be persuaded to reinstate them, with me providing fresh content. Should that be the case, please contact the station. I am not in a position from which I can simply walk into a room and discuss it with anyone. If you would like to split the cost with other contributors, tell the station so, by phone or email, and maybe they’ll be able to put together a deal for you.

This is not an attempt to incite a bunch of angry villagers to storm the castle with their torches, but if there’s anything else you’d care to express on the matter, you can contact the station manager/program director, Alice Weiss, at alice@wwfm.org. There’s also a phone number on the WWFM website. PLEASE NOTE: If you write to the info@wwfm.org address, in all likelihood it will only get lost.

Of course, your opinions will carry more weight if you happen to be a financial supporter of the station. But volume also speaks. If a lot of you like the show(s), and you let them know, they may be inclined to keep one of them. But frankly, if it isn’t the case, I’m ready to pack up my wagon and roll on to the next opportunity.

Again, I am happy that my work has meant enough to you that you’ve read this far. And I am grateful to WWFM for providing a platform from which I’ve been able to share music for the past 28 years (if you count my live air shifts). Some times were sweeter than others, but I never felt anything but contentment while I was spinning the records – the sweet spot where it was just me and the audience.

It was an unspoken compact that kept me there for decades, despite a lot of physical, psychological, and emotion wear-and-tear. No benefits, limited time off, hindered social life, strain on relationships, work on weekends and holidays, and for many years getting up at 3 or 4 in the morning and driving in all weather.

But what have I done for them lately?

At the moment, I’ve got a couple of other irons in the fire, including a very kind offer that arrived in my private messages the other day. But I had hoped to continue to have my local shows distributed from my local classical music station. Do what you will in terms of emailing, but I think it’s realistic to expect that they’ll pretty much do what they have always done, which is whatever it is they want to do.

For the time being, past shows are still archived as webcasts at the station website – although it looks as if the audio files for the last month or so have yet to be posted; but they’re there through March, with the more recent installments perhaps still on the way. The only other thing I ask is that you please excuse the horrendous profile pic!

https://www.wwfm.org/people/ross-amico

May 2, 2023
Lost Chord’s Persian Sunset WWFM

You might say I’m on a Seemorgh diet. I see ‘Morgh, and I play it!

This Sunday night that all comes to an end, as last week I received notice that, after 20 years, “The Lost Chord” will be “sunsetting” on WWFM.

I hope you’ll join me for a final go ‘round, with an hour of Persian polyphonic music – that is to say, music by Persian (or Iranian) composers, based on native folk and classical melodies, but tailored specifically to western instruments.

We’ll hear two works by Behzad Ranjbaran, recorded in 1994 for the Delos label. I had heard Ranjbaran’s lyrical Piano Concerto at a concert of the Philadelphia Orchestra some years ago, but it did not prepare me for the beauty and opulence of his “Persian Trilogy.”

Ranjbaran, born in Tehran in 1955, is currently on the faculty of the Juilliard School. Many of his works are influenced by Persian culture and literature. The “Persian Trilogy” was inspired by the “Shahnameh,” the national epic of 11th century poet Ferdowsi.

We’ll hear two of the three pieces, including “Seven Passages,” about the hero Rostam, who undergoes seven trials along the path to rescue the Persian king Kavus; and “Seemorgh,” about the mythical bird (“seemorgh” is Persian for “phoenix”) that raises the abandoned hero Zaal, who is able to summon her in times of crisis.

Ranjbaran proves himself a master orchestrator. If you enjoy the music of Rimsky-Korsakov, Debussy, Paul Dukas, or Ottorino Respighi, I think you’ll really enjoy his “Persian Trilogy.”

We’ll also hear music by Reza Vali, born in Ghazvin in 1952. Vali, currently on the faculty of Carnegie Mellon University, has been called “the Iranian Béla Bartók” for his ability to successfully meld native folk elements with established western classical forms. His “Folk Song (Set No. 9)” is composed for the combination of flute and cello. The flutist switches between various instruments of the flute family, and the cellist plays tuned crystal glass and tom-toms. As you’ll hear, the musicians are also required at various points to sing and whistle.

It may be sunset, but we’ll keep looking to the sunrise for new possibilities. For now, it’s the last flight of the phoenix for “The Lost Chord.” I hope you’ll join me for “Roses of Persia,” a bouquet of Persian polyphonic music, this Sunday night at 10:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

April 30, 2023
Conan & Barbarian Film Scores: A Final WWFM Tribute

“Crom… I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if we were good men or bad. Why we fought, or why we died. Valor pleases you, Crom, so grant me one request: grant me an hour of barbarian music!”

Ten days ago, I received notice that, after a 13-year run, “Picture Perfect” will be “sunsetting” on WWFM. Not much notice, and tonight’s show was already scheduled. But I must say, if the series has to end, it may as well go out in a blaze of glory.

There are those, I’m sure, who would deny themselves the guilty pleasures of viewing these silly, cheesy, violent films, all of which were inspired by the writings of pulp master Robert E. Howard. Howard created the warrior Conan in 1932. The character became the center of a series of lucrative stories first published in “Weird Tales” magazine.

It would be a half century before Conan made the leap to the big screen, under the direction of John Milius. “Conan the Barbarian” (1982) propelled Arnold Schwarzenegger, already a legend in the field of bodybuilding, to international superstardom. While “Conan” isn’t exactly “Citizen Kane,” it does have its pleasures. The intensity of the violence can be a little disturbing, but the ponderous tone is a blast. “Conan” is a film that takes itself just seriously enough to make it occasionally hilarious.

Another thing “Conan” has going for it is the fact that it was made on a blockbuster budget. The first-rate production values extend to the music by Basil Poledouris, who employs a full symphony orchestra to impressive ends. In fact, the “Conan” score was one of the strongest of the decade. It’s amazing that anyone would find so much inspiration in such a mediocre film, but Poledouris’ music intersperses Borodin-style Central Asia lyricism with brawny, thrilling action music.

Sadly, the sequel, “Conan the Destroyer,” betrays signs of penny-pinching, so that it often winds up feeling like a direct-to-video effort. Poledouris was forced to make do with a smaller orchestra, which sounds a bit too much like a television ensemble. Still, he gave it his all, and there’s something to be said for the fact that it is an original score, rather than a mere retread of the original.

Another one of Howard’s creations, Kull of Atlantis, was given the big screen treatment as “Kull the Conqueror” (1997). Kevin Sorbo, TV’s Hercules, plays the title role. The composer, Joel Goldsmith (son of Jerry Goldsmith), was asked to incorporate heavy metal riffs into his orchestral underscore. I haven’t actually seen this one, but for some reason I don’t feel like I’m missing anything.

The astoundingly prolific Ennio Morricone – with more than 500 motion picture and television scores to his name – had an uncanny knack for spinning garbage into gold. His music for “Red Sonja” (1985) lends the film an aura of ‘80s cheese ball fun, perhaps more so than it deserves. This is the film that introduced Brigitte Nielsen as the chain-mailed barbarian beauty. Schwarzenegger appears in the supporting role of Lord Kalidor.

“Make the music loud, Crom! Drive my enemies before me and drown the lamentations of their women.”

“Picture Perfect” gallops off into the sunset with movies inspired by the writings of Robert E. Howard, this Saturday evening at 6:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

PHOTO: Classic Ross Amico, after 28 minutes of music from “Conan the Barbarian”

April 29, 2023
Princeton Porchfest 2023 Music Fest Tomorrow

A cup of coffee, a windbreaker, and thou…

Princeton Porchfest 2023 will take place tomorrow, from 12 to 6 p.m.

Dozens of performers, bands, and singer-songwriters will present classical, jazz, blues, hip-hop, bluegrass, Americana, alternative, and rock.

According to the Arts Council of Princeton, the event is a “walkable music festival where neighbors offer up their front porches as DIY concert venues. Talented local performers play rotating sets throughout the neighborhood during this day-long celebration of music, art and our wonderful community. Stroll from porch to porch to enjoy live, local talent.”

Among that talent will be mezzo-soprano Kelly Guerra, who sang the role of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Derrick Wang’s opera “Scalia/Ginsburg” at last year’s The Princeton Festival. Guerra will return in June to sing Rosina in Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.” (The Princeton Festival will be held at Morven Museum & Garden, June 9-25.) Hear her tomorrow, from the porch of 71 Wiggins Street, at 2 p.m.

There’s occasional rain in the forecast, with temperatures in the lower 50s, so bring an umbrella and a sweater and fortify yourself with cheering edibles. The music will go on, rain or shine!

For more information about Princeton Porchfest, and a complete schedule and interactive map, follow the link.

Porchfest Map

April 28, 2023
José Iturbi Hollywood’s Forgotten Maestro

In my Leopold Stokowski post on April 18, I wondered (not for the first time) what the hell happened to my country. This was while reflecting on how classical music, while perhaps never entirely mainstream, was once heard and recognized by the populace, and the most celebrated musicians were household names. Toscanini, Paderewski, Caruso, Paganini. Some of these were already in the grave, but thanks to radio and cinema, in the 1940s, they were names everyone knew. The sextet from “Lucia” was familiar enough that it could be parodied. A lot. Then came television, which continued to keep everyone culturally literate, or at least aware. For a few decades, anyway.

At a point, José Iturbi entered the conversation, in a comment beneath my post, with a lament that today he is nearly forgotten. Which is probably true, except for classic movie buffs. But wouldn’t you know it, just a few months ago, Sony Classical reissued Iturbi’s recordings made for the RCA label.

Here’s a post I wrote in 2015 on Iturbi and how classical music was once an expected – and accepted – part of our culture. I’ve included a link to the new Iturbi set at the very end.

Once again, you’ve got to love the Golden Age of Hollywood. In terms of music, movies from that era just seemed so… inclusive.

On the one hand, you could have crooner Rudy Vallée acting in Preston Sturges comedies (and not singing a note); on the other, you could have Leopold Stokowski shaking hands with Mickey Mouse. There seemed to be a wider acceptance of musicians of all stripes as equally valid entertainers, and an assumption that the general public would understand (or at least not be put off by) a line of dialogue about Delius or Sibelius. When the Three Stooges weren’t flipping fruit into opera singers’ mouths, that is.

This is especially fascinating when viewed from the perspective of the present, when seemingly the bar is set lower and lower all the time, with everyone racing to the lowest common denominator so as not to seem too pointy-headed. Wouldn’t it make sense that people of any era would want to aspire to be more? That they would want to be led, represented and entertained by the most talented, most intelligent people? It’s a very strange world we live in.

José Iturbi (1895-1980) was one of the seemingly unlikely cinematic superstars of the 1940s. Like Oscar Levant, Iturbi was a serious pianist. In the ‘20s, he had made a name for himself as a barnstorming virtuoso who toured Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. He made his North American debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Stokowski.

Eventually, he made the transition to conducting, which had long been his dream. He led the great symphony orchestras of Philadelphia and New York, the London Symphony, the orchestra of La Scala Milan, and the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. He would serve as music director of the Rochester Philharmonic.

Iturbi generally played himself in Hollywood musicals, including “Thousands Cheer” (1943), “Anchors Away” (1945) and especially “Three Daring Daughters” (1948), in which he was actually the lead.

For all his talent and charisma, however, Iturbi was always churning up controversy, making provocative remarks and losing his temper. Ironically, for a musician who owed so much of his fame to his absorption into popular culture, he made a big hullabaloo about appearing on concert programs that included both classical and popular music. It wasn’t popular music he objected to, particularly; it was the mixing of the two. This is especially puzzling from a pianist who studied at the Valencia and Paris Conservatories, yet played jazz and boogie-woogie in innumerable film shorts.

His private life was equally turbulent, perhaps even more so, with tragic results. His wife died of accidental poisoning. He sued his daughter, claiming she was an unfit mother to his grandchildren. The daughter later committed suicide.

Iturbi could be a brilliant pianist, though he sometimes drew criticism that he was diluting his talents through his involvement with Hollywood, and a number of his concerto recordings, which he conducted himself from the keyboard, don’t really seem to take flight. Even so, there are gems among his recorded repertoire, and the part he played in keeping classical music in the mainstream is to be lauded.

It’s a vine that is now severely withered. I wonder if Luciano Pavarotti’s “Yes, Giorgio” (1982) was the last in the line of dubious movies featuring great classical musicians.

Iturbi in “Holiday in Mexico” (1946)

Insane take on Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2” from “Anchors Aweigh” (1945)

Iturbi plays Mozart with his sister, while conducting the Rochester Philharmonic, in 1946

Iturbi plays Albeniz, Granados and Navarro, from 1933

Oscar Levant in “The Barkleys of Broadway” (1949)

Lauritz Melchior with Esther Williams and Van Johnson in “Thrill of a Romance” (1945)

“Unfaithfully Yours” (1948): “No one handles Handel like you handle Handel!”

The Three Stooges, “Voices of Spring,” and “Lucia di Lammermoor” in “Micro-Phonies” (1945)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6HSu6I8hBg

The pie fight from “Yes, Giorgio” (1982)

Website of the José Iturbi Foundation

https://www.joseiturbifoundation.org/index.php

Recent Iturbi box set

The Rediscovered RCA Victor Recordings / José Iturbi

PHOTO: Iturbi accompanying the MGM lion

April 27, 2023

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