Classic Ross Amico

  • Greek Myths Music for Mother’s Day

    Greek Myths Music for Mother’s Day

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    Ross Amico
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    Happy Mother’s Day!

    This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll be listening to music inspired by familiar tales from the Greek myths, as viewed from a distinctly female perspective.

    Our featured work will be a recent recording, on Cedille Records, of the “Mythology Symphony” by Stacy Garrop. Garrop earned her degrees in music composition at University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, University of Chicago, and Indiana University Bloomington. She is an associate professor in composition at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. The symphony includes musical evocations of Medusa, The Sirens, The Fates, and Pandora.

    Then we’ll have time for a few selections from the post-genre song cycle “Penelope” by Princeton composer Sarah Kirkland Snider. “Penelope” will be performed in its entirety by musicians of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra at Princeton High School Performing Arts Center, on Tuesday, May 17, at 7:30 p.m. Snider’s latest orchestral work, “Hiraeth,” a Princeton Symphony co-commission, will be performed by the orchestra at Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium, on Sunday, May 15, at 4 p.m. For more information, visit princetonsymphony.org.

    I hope you’ll join me for “Myth Conceptions” – fresh perspectives on familiar tales from Greek mythology – this Sunday night at 10 ET, with a repeat Wednesday evening at 6; or that you’ll listen to it later as a webcast at wwfm.org.

  • Tchaikovsky & Brahms: Best Frenemies Forever

    Tchaikovsky & Brahms: Best Frenemies Forever

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    Ross Amico
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    They were totally B.F.F. — Best Frenemies Forever.

    Prior to their unexpected meeting, Tchaikovsky had confided in his diary, “I have played over the music of that scoundrel Brahms. What a giftless bastard!” Brahms reciprocated by falling asleep during Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, in the presence of the composer.

    Here’s a first-hand account of the introduction of the fastidious Tchaikovsky to the acerbic Brahms, with a special appearance by Edvard Grieg and his wife, Nina – making this almost as incident-packed as the new Captain America movie.

    Tchaikovsky and Brahms: it is fun to learn what happens when two fine composers of different temperaments meet for the first time

    Surprise! They actually delighted in one another’s company. In fact, they liked one another so well, they decided to do it again. However, the two never could reconcile themselves to one another’s music. When asked what he thought of the piano trio Brahms had been rehearsing, Tchaikovsky intimated, “Don’t be angry with me, my dear friend, but I did not like it.”

    Happy birthday, boys.

    Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

    Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

  • Western Film Scores Music for the Big Screen

    Western Film Scores Music for the Big Screen

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    Ross Amico
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    Perhaps the weather in the Philadelphia-Princeton area has been more conducive to film noir, but this week on “Picture Perfect,” I’ll be giving you the chance to dream about the great outdoors. Sundrenched plains and horses, that is.

    We’ll combat the effects of light deprivation with an hour of music from some big movie westerns – including “The Big Country” (1958, with music by Jerome Moross), “The Big Sky” (1952, by Dimitri Tiomkin), “Big Jake” (1971, by Elmer Bernstein) and “Silverado” (1985, by Bruce Broughton).

    It’s all BIG this week, under the bright, open skies of the American west, on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies, this Friday evening at 6 EDT, with a repeat Saturday morning 6; or you can listen to it later as a webcast at wwfm.org.

  • Golden Age Film Scores Return to Trenton

    Golden Age Film Scores Return to Trenton

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    Ross Amico
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    There’s a moment in the Billy Wilder classic “Sunset Boulevard” when Gloria Swanson, as a faded silent movie actress, remarks, “I am big. It’s the pictures that got small.”

    Much the same could be said, setting aside the delusions of grandeur, of the great composers who worked during Hollywood’s golden age. It’s ironic that in the current era of vertiginous CGI that so many of our movies seem to lack dimension. There was a time when music with a strong profile was regarded as an essential element of the moviemaking process. It was a way of creating 3-D without the necessity of special glasses.

    On May 14, the New Jersey Capital Philharmonic Orchestra will remind us of what’s been missing, to great extent, from the movie-going experience in recent years. The program “Cinematic Classics” will be presented at Patriots Theater in the Trenton War Memorial. Works by composers Miklós Rózsa, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Bernard Herrmann and William Walton prove what can be achieved by a skilled musician with a gift for melody, an innate sense of drama, and good old-fashioned musical know-how.

    For those of you who believe that they don’t make ‘em like they used to, this concert is highly recommendable. You can read more about it in my article in today’s Trenton Times:

    http://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/index.ssf/2016/05/classical_music_njcp_performin_1.html

  • Cinco de Mayo Music & Princeton Arts Preview

    Cinco de Mayo Music & Princeton Arts Preview

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    Ross Amico
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    ¡Buenos dias, amigos! I hope you’re enjoying the Mexican music this morning, as we celebrate Cinco de Mayo. There’s certainly plenty more to come.

    We can also expect visits from two special guests:

    Composer Sarah Kirkland Snider will drop by in the 9:00 hour to talk a little but about her new work, “Hiraeth,” which will be heard on a concert of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra at Richardson Auditorium on May 15 at 4 p.m. In addition, the PSO will host a performance of Snider’s song cycle, “Penelope,” at Princeton High School Performing Arts Center on May 17 at 7:30 p.m.

    Then around 10:00., Lyn Ransom, artistic director of VOICES Chorale, will join us to talk about the choir’s season finale, which will include a performance of Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem. Dr. Ransom is an advocate of performing the work in the French style. We’ll find out exactly what that means during the course of our conversation. The performance will take place at St. Paul Roman Catholic Church in Princeton on Friday at 8 p.m.

    Otherwise, we’re south of the border, with music by Mexican composers and composers of the United States influenced by Mexico, including José Pablo Moncayo, Mario Lavista, Robert Xavier Rodriguez, Conlon Nancarrow and Silvestre Revueltas, among others.

    The Mexican army defeated the French forces at the Battle of Puebla against overwhelming odds on this date in 1862. Celebrate with us until 11 EDT on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com

    More about the origins of the holiday here:

    http://www.banderasnews.com/1405/nr-why-mexico-celebrates-cinco-de-mayo.htm

    #CincoDeMayo

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