Classic Ross Amico

Category: Daily Dispatch

  • Czech Center NY Celebrates Martinů

    Czech Center NY Celebrates Martinů

    Among its multifarious attractions, Czech Center New York always seems to have something interesting musical going on.

    I remember traveling in to have a look at the original manuscript of Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony, brought back to the U.S. for the first time since the composer returned home with it to Bohemia in 1895. The Czech Center reception followed a performance of the piece by the Czech Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, the venue at which the symphony received its world premiere, by the New York Philharmonic, in 1893. At the time, Dvořák was serving as director of the National Conservatory of Music of America, then located at 47-49 West 25th Street.

    It certainly was a memorable evening, as afterward I got to meet Jiri Bělohlávek, the orchestra’s chief conductor, and Véronique Firkušný, daughter of the late pianist Rudolf Firkušný. Furthermore, I actually shook hands with the composer’s grandson, who spoke no English but was his spitting image.

    This year, the Czech Center has shifted its focus to composer Bohuslav Martinů and the 80th anniversary of his arrival in New York. Martinů – still the sleeping giant of Czech music, when compared to Dvořák, Smetana, or even Janáček – arrived here from France, which he fled just ahead of the Nazi occupation. Rudolf Firkušný was one of the musicians who came to Martinů’s aid in the U.S. No doubt in gratitude, Martinů dedicated this Third and Fourth Piano Concertos to him.

    The commemoration is being marked by concerts, commentary, masterclasses, and online exhibitions. Here’s what’s been posted so far.

    The Year of Bohuslav Martinů in New York:

    https://new-york.czechcentres.cz/en/program/rok-bohuslava-martinu-v-new-yorku-opening

    Things to come:

    https://new-york.czechcentres.cz/en/blog/2021/02/80-let-od-cesty-martinu-z-evropy-do-ameriky

    Véronique Firkusny and conductor Jakub Hrůša:

    https://new-york.czechcentres.cz/en/program/bohuslav-martinu-v-new-yorku-80-vyroci-prijezdu?fbclid=IwAR0q5lRLbqyvG9zUn4wh28w4MqtyJ_AMCjPtwcon0PSisfA_V8m_YthAhas

    Works of Bohuslav Martinů / The Czech Way:

    https://new-york.czechcentres.cz/en/program/dila-bohuslava-martinu-v-podani-ceskych-interpretu

    Works of Bohuslav Martinů / The American Way:

    https://new-york.czechcentres.cz/en/program/dila-bohuslava-martinu-v-podani-americkych-interpretu

    I’ve been a Martinů nut since I first heard his “Rhapsody-Concerto” for Viola and Orchestra played by Joseph de Pasquale and the Philadelphia Orchestra back in the 1980s. It’s a puzzle to me why he is not more frequently performed here in the U.S. For anyone who loves Dvořák, there is much to enjoy in Martinů’s music. He’s Dvořák for a mechanized age. I think Dvořák himself, being so fond of trains, would have admired it.

    If nothing else, check out this stylish video – complete with double-breasted suits, booze, and cigarettes – an invigorating performance of Martinů’s “Bergerettes,” courtesy of Czech Center New York.

    FUN FACT: Martinů taught at Princeton University, commuting from New York, from 1948 to 1951.

    More about Czech Center New York here:

    https://new-york.czechcentres.cz/en/about-us

    Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony returns to New York:

    https://www.bohemianbenevolent.org/news/making-history-new-world-symphony-manuscript-in-bnh

    Martinů’s “Rhapsody-Concerto”

    And a work for theremin!

  • Unexpectedly Beastly Radio WWFM

    Unexpectedly Beastly Radio WWFM

    If you tuned in to “The Lost Chord” tonight expecting the Bulgarian program, unfortunately there’s been a mix-up, so instead we’re hearing “A Feast of Beast,” a fairy tale program I had earmarked for Mother’s Day. Enjoy selections from Georges Auric’s film score for Jean Cocteau’s “La Belle et la Bête” and a suite from Robert Moran’s opera “Desert of Roses,” airing now, from 10 to 11 pm EDT on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

  • Bulgarian Music This Sunday Vladigerov & Bermel

    Bulgarian Music This Sunday Vladigerov & Bermel

    This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we’re off to Bulgaria.

    Pancho Vladigerov – despite his Mexican-sounding first name and Swiss birth – was a seminal figure in Bulgarian music. He was the country’s first major composer to harness Bulgarian folk traditions to classical forms.

    Fairly well known in Central Europe during the 1920s, when he was an associate of the theatrical impresario Max Reinhardt, Vladigerov had many of his works published by Universal Edition and recorded by Deutsche Grammophon. He was a composer of opera, ballet, symphonic music, five piano concertos, two violin concertos, chamber music, songs, choral works, and piano pieces.

    Tonight, we’ll hear a generous selection from Vladigerov’s “Bulgarian Dances” of 1931.

    Also on the program will be American composer Derek Bermel’s affectionate souvenir of his studies in the region, “Thracian Echoes” of 2002. Bermel served as artist-in-residence at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study from 2009 to 2013. His “Thracian Echoes” was performed locally by the Princeton Symphony Orchestra in 2011.

    There will be no balking in the Balkans. Skim the cream of Bulgarian music, on “Bulgar Wheat,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

  • Local Music Events to Brighten a Rainy Day

    Local Music Events to Brighten a Rainy Day

    Looking for a little musical cheer on a rainy Sunday? Here are four musical events with local connections to enjoy.

    The Bucks County-based ensemble La Fiocco – directed by Dr. Lewis Baratz, host of WWFM’s “Well-Tempered Baroque” – will host Early Music keyboard virtuoso Corina Marti. Marti will perform on a reconstruction of a hand-pumped portative organ, the clavisimbalum, and an early 16th century-type harpsichord. The program will include works by Francesco Landini, istampittas from anonymous English, Italian, and French sources, intabulations from the 15th century Faenza Codex, and pieces from the 16th century Amerbach Codex. The concert will be streamed from the neo-Romanesque St. Marienkirche in Basel, Switzerland. LINKS TO THE CONCERT AND ZOOM RECEPTION WILL BE SENT PRIOR TO THE PERFORMANCE, so if you’re interested, register ASAP! The concert will debut this afternoon at 3:00 EDT, and will be available on-demand through 4/17. For more information, visit lafiocco.org.

    During an ordinary, Covid-free season, La Fiocco would be performing at 1867 Sanctuary Arts and Culture Center, in Ewing, NJ, or at Trinity Episcopal Church, Solebury, PA (near New Hope). Another ensemble that makes Solebury its home is Concordia Chamber Players. The ensemble’s artistic director, cellist Michelle Djokic, will be joined by violinist Siwoo Kim and violist Milena Pajaro-vande Stadt, in a concert filmed at ArtYard in Frenchtown, NJ. On the program will be works by Carlos Simon, Milad Yousufi, Igor Stravinsky, Johann Sebastian Bach, Zoltan Kodaly, Erno Dohnanyi, and Georges Enescu. The video will premiere at 5:00 EDT, and remain posted for your viewing and listening pleasure, at concordiaplayers.org.

    On Friday, Princeton composer Julian Grant’s latest, a vocal chamber music work/pocket opera on the subject of a Russian folk tale, received its world premiere, courtesy of Harvard Musical Association. Grant’s “Salt” forms the centerpiece of a concert by Emmanuel Music that also includes plenty of Beethoven: selections from his Scottish and Irish folksongs, the song cycle “An die ferne Geliebte” (“To the Distant Beloved”), and the Presto movement from the Piano Trio, Op. 1, No. 1. The video is now posted. Grant’s piece begins about 48 minutes in, but, by all means, start at the beginning of the concert and enjoy the entire program! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCTXlzq_6Zk

    Finally, if you’re in need of a lift, Princeton Symphony Orchestra brass provide a surge of hope and nobility via Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man.” The performance was recorded in Princeton’s Palmer Square. Watch it now, and turn that frown upside down, at princetonsymphony.org.

  • Restoration Cinema Beauty Patches and Film Scores

    Restoration Cinema Beauty Patches and Film Scores

    Beauty patches are back!

    This week on “Picture Perfect,” it’s an hour of lace and licentiousness, with music from movies set during the reign of Charles II.

    “Restoration” (1995) features quite the cast, with a pre-“Iron Man” Robert Downey, Jr. as a young doctor torn between duty and debauchery. He succumbs to the latter at the court of Charles, played by Sam Neill, before finding redemption as he battles the Great Plague and braves the Fire of London. The film also stars David Thewlis, Polly Walker, Meg Ryan, Ian McKellen, and Hugh Grant.

    The main title of James Newtown Howard’s score takes its impetus from Henry Purcell’s “The Fairy Queen.” And indeed there are baroque inflections throughout.

    George Sanders plays Charles in “The King’s Thief” (1955). Edmund Purdom is a highwayman who pilfers an incriminating book from David Niven. An aristocratic schemer, Niven will stop at nothing to get it back. The swashbuckling score is by Miklós Rózsa.

    I don’t recall Charles making an appearance in “The Draughtsman’s Contract” (1982), Peter Greenaway’s saucy, though strangely aloof, Restoration opus. However, there is plenty of licentiousness and an abundance of outlandish wigs. And, it being a Greenaway film, it is certainly strange in more ways than one. Michael Nyman’s score puts a minimalist spin on baroque sources.

    Finally, “Forever Amber” (1947) is based on a then-scandalous novel by Kathleen Winsor, about an ambitious young woman’s rise through the bedchambers of the Royal Court. The film was directed by Otto Preminger. Linda Darnell is Amber. Once again, George Sanders plays Charles, eight years before reprising the role for “The King’s Thief.” Cornel Wilde, Richard Greene, and Jessica Tandy are also in the cast. Philadelphia-born composer David Raksin, he of “Laura” fame, plays fast and loose with music of the era.

    Bwoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! It’s so naughty! Everyone, giggle into your handkerchiefs and wear ribbons on your shoes. We’ll be powdering our faces and going heavy on the rouge, on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies, this Saturday evening at 6:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

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