On the air right now: some well-seasoned music by Franz Joseph Haydn. Until 4 p.m. EST, it’s a complete performance of his oratorio “The Seasons.” If you hurry, you might be able to catch a hit of spring! Haydn is a man for all seasons, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
Category: Daily Dispatch
-
Nancy Deussen Gershwin’s Secret?
Composer Nancy Bloomer Deussen has died at the age of 88, and for the second time in two years, there are murmurs about an illegitimate child of George Gershwin. Deussen’s mother, Julia Van Norman, was exceptionally close with Gershwin, perhaps closer than the Gershwin estate would have liked.
For her part, Deussen never wished to exploit her possible kinship to promote her own music, so perhaps it’s a disservice to her memory to even mention it. I only do so, because still fresh in the memory is the death last year of Alan Gershwin, who always insisted he was George’s son.
Alan was 91. I must say, the resemblance is uncanny.
Georgie be good!
Deussen’s “Night Forest” for Native American flute:
PHOTOS: Nancy Bloomer Deussen and, top to bottom, George Gershwin, Alan Gershwin, and juicy Gershwin scandal rag
-
Fundraising Goal Achieved Thanks to You!
Well, we made our goal and wrapped up fundraising around 1:00 this afternoon. Thank you again for being there for us for the past 37 years. It’s because of loyal contributors just like you that we are able to keep doing what we do best – that is to say, share the world’s great music – with the kind of passion and commitment you’ve come to expect from The Classical Network.
I hope you’ll join me this afternoon to reap the rewards of your generosity. We’ll celebrate the birthdays today of Johann Friedrich Fasch, Eugene Ormandy, Ignace Paderewski and Carl Maria von Weber, among others, from 4 to 7 p.m. EST.
All in all, a very nice mix, if I do say so myself, for an overcast November afternoon. Pat yourself on the back and cozy in for the kind of music you’ve made possible. Thank you again for keeping us strong at WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
Hats off to our listener-members!
-
Bach $1750 Finale Fundraiser Today
Johann Sebastian Bach died in 1750. By coincidence, we have exactly $1750 left in challenge money.
I hope you’ll join us this morning on The Classical Network for a special Bach finale to our “Gathering of Gratitude” fundraiser. That will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST, and then we will be THROUGH with this autumn campaign! Your dollars will be doubled up to the amount of $1750, and then we are DONE. I hope you will support us TODAY at 1-888-232-1212 or by donating online at wwfm.org. Then stick around and enjoy our weekly broadcast of “Bach at 1.”
Today is also your LAST CHANCE to get in on our celebratory “Gratitude Gala,” which we are all very much looking forward to. The gala will take place at the Mercer County Community College Conference Center, on MCCC’s West Windsor campus, this Friday (Saint Cecilia’s Day), from 6 to 9 p.m. There will be food, there will be drink, there will be conversation with our hosts and celebrity guests, and there will be music, courtesy of Manhattan Chamber Players.
A contribution in the amount of $200 will generate a golden ticket for you and a guest to attend. But we need to hear from you TODAY, in order to get an accurate headcount, so that we’ll be able to pick up enough booze! Again, that number is 1-888-232-1212, or join us online at wwfm.org, and click on donate.
Once we’ve taken care of business, we can put our financial concerns to bed, and I’ll be on at 4:00 with a late afternoon/early evening of music made possible by YOU – including warm acknowledgements of the birthdays today of Johann Friedrich Fasch, Carl Maria von Weber, Ignaz Paderewski and Eugene Ormandy. Of course, there’s plenty more where that came from.
Bach may have died in 1750, but his music is alive and kicking, thanks to the generous support of our listener-members. Thanks so much for 37 years of WWFM – The Classical Network!
-
Ormandy’s Lost American Legacy Rediscovered
Eugene Ormandy was born Jenő Blau in Budapest in 1899. In 1927, he became a naturalized American citizen and wound up directing the Philadelphia Orchestra for 44 years.
In that capacity, he championed much contemporary music and works by his adopted countrymen – a fact eclipsed by his reputation as a superb interpreter of the 19th century classics.
In fact, much of his American legacy has dropped out of print. In the late 1990s, Albany Records attempted to rectify the situation by reissuing some of Ormandy’s recordings of lesser-heard American music. The series only made it to three volumes, but each one of them is a treasure.
This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll hear two selections from these invaluable anthologies. Both are by Pulitzer Prize winners whose music has sadly fallen out of fashion.
William Schuman was the very first recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music, in 1943, for his “Cantata No. 2, A Free Song.” At the height of his fame, he was also President of Lincoln Center. He was considered such an important figure in American culture, he was even brought on to “What’s My Line?” (Those were the days.)
We’ll hear Schuman’s “Credendum – Article of Faith,” composed in 1955. The work was written in response to the first ever commission by the U.S. government for a symphonic work.
Two years later, the Pulitzer was awarded to Norman Dello Joio, for his “Meditations on Ecclesiastes.” His symphonic suite “Air Power” was adapted from 22 individual scores composed for the CBS television series about the history of aviation. The series ran from November 1956 through the spring of 1957. (Dello Joio would collect his prize in April.) The individual sections were used to underscore segments on the early days of flight, with their barnstormers and daredevils, air battles and war scenes.
I hope you’ll join me for these rarely-heard recordings of American music. Ormandy flies American, on “All-American Ormandy,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
William Schuman on “What’s My Line?” (1962):
“Air Power,” narrated by Walter Cronkite (1956):
Tag Cloud
Aaron Copland (93) Beethoven (95) Composer (114) Film Music (137) Film Score (143) Film Scores (255) Halloween (94) John Williams (195) KWAX (229) Leonard Bernstein (103) Marlboro Music Festival (125) Movie Music (152) Mozart (88) Opera (208) Philadelphia Orchestra (89) Picture Perfect (174) Princeton Symphony Orchestra (108) Radio (88) Ross Amico (244) Roy's Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner (290) The Classical Network (101) The Lost Chord (268) Vaughan Williams (103) WPRB (396) WWFM (881)