On the 100th anniversary of his birth, @[100063618910416:2048:WRTI] celebrates Philadelphia composer Romeo Cascarino. Tune in throughout the day, at approximately 8:25am, 11:00am, and 4:15pm, to enjoy recordings of Romeo’s music. Listen locally at 90.1 FM or anywhere online at wrti.org.
EDIT: Having just read the complete article, thank you, WRTI and Bruce Hodges, for the shout-outs. And for linking my show!
I just completed an epic Zoom interview with Eric Plutz (while we were both doing laundry). Plutz, University Organist of Princeton University, has been deeply involved in the local music scene for years, so this conversation was long overdue.
Just released is a new CD set of the complete organ symphonies of Louis Vierne, performed by Plutz, and recorded on six different organs across this great nation of ours by John C. Baker of Affetto Records.
You can look forward to an in-depth profile and learn more about Eric (and Vierne) in my article in an upcoming edition of the Princeton weekly newspaper U.S. 1.
Watch this space for further developments. And thank you for your time, Eric Plutz!
Shana tova! Rosh Hashanah began last night at sundown. To my Jewish friends, best wishes for a good and sweet 5783. Apples and honey all around.
This year’s observance happens to coincide with the birthday of George Gershwin (born Jacob Gershowitz to Jewish immigrant parents who settled on New York City’s Lower East Side).
Many sources claim that Gershwin, while culturally Jewish, was not particularly observant. Nevertheless, Kitty Carlisle recollected a zany Seder at the Gershwin home with Oscar Levant in attendance; Gershwin was an active supporter of Jewish charities; allegedly he wouldn’t marry Kay Swift, his lover of over ten years, because she wasn’t Jewish (Gershwin’s mother disapproved); and following his untimely death at the age of 38, he was remembered in bicoastal Jewish funeral services.
Furthermore, sharp-eared listens with some familiarity with Jewish tradition have identified Jewish themes and motifs in his music. It’s been remarked that you could keep Gershwin out of shul, but you couldn’t keep shul out of Gershwin. Here’s an interesting article on the subject.
Sadly, we’ll never know what an abandoned opera on Szymon Ansky’s “The Dybbuk” would have sounded like. (It was scrapped because of copyright issues.)
Early on, Gershwin expressed interest in writing for the Yiddish theater. He even made some piano rolls of Yiddish songs. Here’s one from 1917, a rendition of a 1903 Yiddish theater tune by Meyerowitz titled “Gott un Sein Mishpet Is Gerecht.”
Happy birthday, George Gershwin, and have a sweet New Year!
O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Why does no one play your music?
It is well-crafted. It has heart. It is full of beauty. All it lacks is exposure.
This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we salute Romeo Cascarino, in anticipation of the 100th anniversary of his birth on September 28, 1922.
Cascarino grew up in an unforgiving neighborhood in South Philadelphia. With a name like Romeo, he had to learn how to use his fists! While navigating the School of Hard Knocks, he taught himself privately, gleaning the mechanics of music theory from books checked out of the Free Library of Philadelphia. He was discovered by composer Paul Nordoff, who recognized his genius, and the two formed a bond that was more like a friendship than master-disciple.
For many years, Cascarino was a professor of composition at Combs College of Music. The recipient of two Guggenheim Fellowships, he labored at his magnum opus, the opera “William Penn,” for the better part of three decades. The work received its premiere at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music in 1982 to mark the 300th anniversary of the founding of the city.
Metropolitan Opera singer bass-baritone John Cheek sang the title role, Cascarino’s wife, soprano Dolores Ferraro, created the part of Gulielma, Penn’s wife, and Christofer Macatsoris conducted the Philadelphia Singers and the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia.
Ferraro and arts writer Tom Di Nardo will join me to share their reminiscences and insights into Cascarino, the man and the composer, who died in 2002. I’ve assembled some of their remarks and punctuated the conversation with rare audio from the family archives, as well as studio recordings made by JoAnn Falletta and Sol Schoenbach, former principal bassoonist of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
A seductive, twilit beauty informs much of Cascarino’s output. If only he had completed “William Penn” 30 years earlier, it would now be regarded one of the great American operas of mid-century, spoken of in the same breath as Carlisle Floyd’s “Susanna” and Robert Ward’s “The Crucible.”
I hope you’ll join us in “Remembering Romeo,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org
Well, whaddya know? Just when you thought there wasn’t an award he hasn’t already received, John Williams has been knighted.
On Queen Elizabeth II’s final awards list, Williams was granted the honorary title of KBE (Knight of the British Empire). Of course, in order to be formally addressed as “Sir,” he would have to become a British citizen.
Musically, Williams has been a lifelong anglophile. He has also been a frequent collaborator with the London Symphony Orchestra.
His scores to “Star Wars,” “The Fury, “Superman,” “Dracula,” “The Empire Strikes Back,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Monsignor,” “Return of the Jedi,” “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “The Phantom Menace,” “Attack of the Clones,” “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” and “Revenge of the Sith” were all recorded with the LSO.
Furthermore, there would be no “Star Wars” or “Williams sound,” for that matter, without the influence of Sir William Walton, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sir Edward Elgar, and Gustav Holst.
“You have chosen… wisely.”
A brief history of Williams’ special relationship with the London Symphony Orchestra
The Queen’s final list of honorary awards
PHOTO: Before a concert at the Royal Albert Hall with the LSO in February 1978
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