Classic Ross Amico

Category: Daily Dispatch

Bach 500 Donations Needed Support Classical Music

Johann Sebastian Bach’s two wives may have borne him twenty children; but their pains were as nothing next to the protracted labor of this year’s Bach 500. We are still pushing – in part because of last week’s snowstorm, which delayed fundraising – toward our ultimate goal of 500 donations.

If 500 listeners to The Classical Network step up and contribute in any amount, we will stop with the solicitations and return to uninterrupted music. We are now to the point that we need just a little over 60 donations to wrap up this campaign. For you, it will mean less talk and more music; for us, it will mean $15,000 in challenge money for the station.

Have you become one of the 500? Your contribution doesn’t have to break the bank. $10 or $20 counts as much as $100 or $200 toward the quota. Of course, we always hope you can be as generous as you can. Do it today at our website, wwfm.org – click on “donate now,” beneath the membership thermometer – or call 1-888-232-1212.

I’d be especially appreciative if we could reach the 500 BEFORE I have to go on the air today. Wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy just music, from 4 to 7 p.m. EDT? I think so. You can help make it happen. Thank you for your support of WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

March 26, 2018
Liszt the Saint Composer’s Sacred Side

While the adjective “diabolical” could be applied to Franz Liszt, both in terms of his prowess as a pianist and as a ladies’ man, its application might be justified, really, by only two aspects of his outsized personality.

Liszt was an especially complex individual, marked by much nobility of character. He was a generous human being, a humanitarian, and an all-around nice guy. He was also quite devout. It was his intention to marry his long-time companion, the Princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, on his 50th birthday, but his hopes were dashed, after the Church refused to grant her an annulment (she had been estranged from her husband long before she met the handsome touring virtuoso). He reacted by taking minor orders and living in a monastic cell in Rome, where he became known as the Abbé Liszt. (He had also recently lost two of his three children born to him by Marie d’Agoult.)

Liszt’s religiosity was not something he wore lightly. From an early age, he felt certain he would be a musician or a priest. In the end, he became both.

This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll sample from two of at least seven of Liszt’s works inspired by his fascination with the saints – “The Legend of St. Elisabeth” and “St. Stanislaus.” St. Elisabeth was the Hungarian princess much concerned with the welfare of the poor, and St. Stanislaus is the patron saint of Poland. These are the subjects of Liszt’s first and last oratorios.

I hope you’ll join me for “Liszt of Saints,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

March 25, 2018
March Madness on the Radio My Foreign Legion Shift

Why did I join the Foreign Legion? I’ve already forgotten.

Foreign Legion, of course, is a metaphor for “Sunday morning radio shift.”

I’ll be knocking the cobwebs out of my circadian-addled consciousness with my second annual salute to March Madness. That’s right – it will be an all-march morning. Marches for band. Symphonic marches. Marches for piano. Marches for guitar. Light music marches. Military marches. Funeral marches. Coronation marches. Circus marches. I’ll do my best to get your feet moving, even if you can’t find the on-switch to the coffee maker.

To keep it varied, we’ll also hear a couple of larger works (such as Joachim Raff’s Piano Concerto, with its march-like finale), to break free of obsessive 4/4 time. But no Mahler symphonies!

At 9:00, we’ll take a break so that you have a chance to rest your feet and have a sip from your canteen, as I’m joined by violinist Dan Zhu. Zhu appeared as soloist in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto last night with the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra at Richardson Auditorium on the campus of Princeton University. We’ll chat with Zhu about his career, his love of music, and his passion for environmental advocacy. Zhu was the first violinist to perform in Antarctica, in 2013.

Then it’s back to the punishing sands. March or die, this Sunday morning from 7 to 10 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. Surely I Geste, on Classic Ross Amico.

March 25, 2018
Dan Zhu Violinist on WPRB

With my guest, violinist Dan Zhu, this morning on WPRB 103.3 FM. Yesterday, Dan performed the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra at Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium. Among his other achievements, he was the first violinist to perform in Antarctica! He returns to play for the penguins in December. Check out his recent recordings of music by Bright Sheng (on Naxos) and Boris Papandopulo (on cpo.de – classic production osnabrück).

Bright Sheng’s “Hot Pepper” (selection):

Boris Papandopulo’s Violin Concerto (Movement III):

Thanks, Dan, for dropping by!

March 25, 2018
March Madness Music on WPRB

It may be a week before Easter, but this Sunday morning on WPRB we’ll be going as mad as a March hare. It’s our second annual salute to March Madness!

That’s right – it will be an all-march morning. Marches for band. Symphonic marches. Marches for piano. Light music marches. Military marches. Funeral marches. Coronation marches. Circus marches. We’ll even have a symphony written for West Point that incorporates a marching machine.

How could we possibly sustain this over a span of three hours? Well, if we could do it last year for five hours, we can do it this year for three. We’ll be propelled by a variety of moods and timbres, with a couple of larger works (such as Joachim Raff’s Piano Concerto, with its march-like finale), to break free of obsessive 4/4 time.

We’ll have a chance to rest our legs at 9:00, when I’m joined by violinist Dan Zhu. Zhu will appear with the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Richardson Auditorium on the campus of Princeton University. He’ll be the soloist in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and then a traditional Chinese piece, “Morning at Miao Ling Mountain.” The program will conclude with music director Chiu-Tze Lin conducting Brahms’ Symphony No. 1. You can find out more at bravuraphil.org. We’ll ask Zhu to talk about his career, his love of music, and his passion for environmental advocacy. Zhu was the first violinist to perform in Antarctica, in 2013.

The rest of the morning will consist of mad marches. It’s the ultimate Face-Palm Sunday, from 7 to 10 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. We’ve been given our marching orders, on Classic Ross Amico.

March 24, 2018

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