Classic Ross Amico

  • Rach 3 & Ma SiCong at Rutgers Saturday

    Rach 3 & Ma SiCong at Rutgers Saturday

    by 

    Ross Amico
    in
    7 responses

    A few weeks back, in connection with Chinese New Year, I posted a link to an article I had written about violinist and composer Ma SiCong. Ma, you may recall, was a political exile who wound up living out the rest of his life in Philadelphia.

    His music was revived a few seasons ago by the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra. The West Windsor based ensemble will be performing Ma’s “Mongolian Dance” on a concert at Rutgers University’s Nicholas Music Center in New Brunswick Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

    Also on the program will be Ravel’s “Bolero” and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, with soloist Eric Lu. Lu was a first prize winner at the U.S. National Chopin Competition. Music director Chiu-Tze Lin will conduct.

    Hear Lu play Chopin (at 15!) by following the link.

    That was four years ago. If you can make it on Saturday, it might be worth hearing what he can make of the Rach 3.

  • Sharon Isbin Guitar at McCarter Princeton

    Sharon Isbin Guitar at McCarter Princeton

    by 

    Ross Amico
    in
    7 responses

    With 25 recordings, four Grammy Awards, and a mastery of repertoire ranging from the baroque to the 21st century, it seems there is nothing guitarist Sharon Isbin can’t do well.

    Isbin will appear at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton on Saturday at 8 p.m. “The theme of the program, for the most part, is folk-inspired music,” she says. “That would include Spain, Latin America – including South America and Cuba – as well as our own country.

    “There will be another couple of works that have been written for me, one of which is by Leo Brouwer, which is based on African love stories.” Also on the program will be music by Andrew York, formerly of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and Bruce MacCombie.

    Isbin is the kind of performer composers love to write for. In the case of Brouwer, arguably Cuba’s most celebrated living composer, he sent her, unsolicited, the manuscript of “The Black Decameron.” The piece became an instant classic.

    She has also had guitar concertos written for her by a number of other respected composers, including John Corigliano, Tan Dun, Lukas Foss, Christopher Rouse, and Joseph Schwantner.

    A 2015 documentary, “Sharon Isbin: Troubadour,” continues to air on PBS stations across the country. The film was a recipient of an ASCAP Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Television Broadcast Award. Videos, including an excerpt from the documentary, news and touring information are posted at her website, http://www.sharonisbin.com.

    Isbin will be the first of an impressive triumvirate of performers to appear at McCarter over the course of three days. Iranian-American harpsichord phenomenon Mahan Esfahani will present a stimulating program of works both old and new on Sunday at 3 p.m., and violinist Hilary Hahn will perform Bach, Mozart and Schubert, alongside music by Anton Garcia Abril and Hans Peter Turk, on Monday at 7:30 p.m.

    Learn more in my article in today’s Trenton Times.

    http://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/index.ssf/2017/03/classical_music_sharon_isbin_m.html

  • Lyndon-Gee on WPRB Today! Elgar & Nielsen

    Lyndon-Gee on WPRB Today! Elgar & Nielsen

    by 

    Ross Amico
    in
    8 responses

    Join me at 10:00 this morning on WPRB to hear composer and conductor Christopher Lyndon-Gee. Lyndon-Gee will lead the Princeton Symphony Orchestra at Richardson Auditorium this Sunday at 4 p.m. Philippe Graffin will be the soloist in Sir Edward Elgar’s Violin Concerto. The second half of the program will be devoted to Carl Nielsen’s volcanic Symphony No. 4, “The Inextinguishable.”

    Lyndon-Gee will offer insights into the concert and then share some surprises from his extensive catalog of recorded music. Until then, we’ve got wall-to-wall works on Irish themes, as we look ahead to St. Patrick’s Day, on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com.

  • Irish Music & Elgar with Ross Amico on WPRB

    Irish Music & Elgar with Ross Amico on WPRB

    by 

    Ross Amico
    in
    7 responses

    Music on Irish themes will be as numerous as the shamrocks of the field, with nary a snake to be found, thanks be to St. Patrick. This morning on WPRB, we’ll have works by Irish composers, composers of Irish descent, and plenty of Irish-for-a-day. I hope you’ll join me for an abundance of reels, whimsy, and sentiment for the Emerald Isle.

    At 10:00, I’ll be joined by Christopher Lyndon-Gee. Lyndon-Gee will guest conduct the Princeton Symphony Orchestra at Richardson Auditorium this Sunday at 4 p.m., in a program featuring music by Sir Edward Elgar and Carl Nielsen. Lyndon-Gee, a prolific recording artist who has garnered five Grammy nominations, will share a few insights into this weekend’s program, and then surprise us with a selection of his recorded performances. Refreshingly, his musical interests lay well off the beaten path.

    Don’t let the Italian surname fool you. My mother’s people came from Ireland. That said, I’ll be needin’ to kiss the blarney stone to get through five hours of music and conversation, from 6 to 11 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com. I’ve got dark circles around my half-Irish eyes, on Classic Ross Amico.

  • Ides of March Classical Music & Caesar on WWFM

    Ides of March Classical Music & Caesar on WWFM

    by 

    Ross Amico
    in
    3 responses

    Beware the Ides of March!

    Join me today on The Classical Network, as we listen to music inspired by Julius Caesar, with works by Sir Arthur Bliss, George Frideric Handel, Robert Schumann, Rudolf Tobias, and/or Miklós Rózsa. We’ll also do our best to touch on the birthdays of Nicholas Flagello, Johan Halvorsen, Ben Johnston, Colin McPhee, and Eduard Strauss.

    March 15th lives in infamy as the anniversary of Caesar’s murder in 44 B.C. Shortly after declaring himself Dictator Perpetuus (Dictator for Life), Caesar was set upon by members of the Roman Senate and stabbed 23 times. His alleged last words, as he was struck the final blow by his friend and confidant Marcus Brutus, were “Et tu, Brute?” (“You too, Brutus?”). The phrase, “Beware the Ides of March,” was coined by William Shakespeare for his historical play.

    By the way, the Ides don’t necessarily fall on the 15th of every month, so you can’t just drop an “Ides of January” or an “Ides of June” on any old whim. It had to do with the date of the full moon, which in Ancient Rome was believed to fall on the fifteenth day of March, May, July, and October, the months with 31 days. In the other months, the Ides fell on the 13th – which sounds even more unlucky!

    We’re lucky to be able enjoy such a variety of music, today from 4 to 7 p.m. EDT – or anytime for that matter – on WWFM – The Classical Network. Please support us at wwfm.org.

    NOTE: As a special bonus, Ryan James Brandau, artistic director of Princeton Pro Musica, will drop by around 5:00 to talk a little bit about the choir’s next concert, which will take place on Saturday at 8 p.m. at Princeton University Chapel. Among the featured works will be Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms.” You can also learn more at princetonpromusica.org.

Tag Cloud

Aaron Copland (93) Beethoven (95) Composer (114) Film Music (144) Film Score (143) Film Scores (255) Halloween (94) John Williams (195) KWAX (229) Leonard Bernstein (104) Marlboro Music Festival (125) Movie Music (159) Mozart (91) Opera (213) Philadelphia Orchestra (89) Picture Perfect (174) Princeton Symphony Orchestra (109) Radio (88) Ross Amico (244) Roy's Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner (290) The Classical Network (101) The Lost Chord (269) Vaughan Williams (105) WPRB (397) WWFM (881)

DON’T MISS A BEAT

Receive a weekly digest every Sunday at noon by signing up here

RECENT POSTS