Classic Ross Amico

Charles Ives Slugs a Vampire

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Ross Amico

October 20, 2026

in Daily Dispatch

2 responses

Charles Ives… vampire hunter?

For Charles Ives’ birthday, here are two Halloween-specific pieces. You can listen to them both in just over three minutes.

First, my favorite recording of “Hallowe’en” (1907), in its original version for string quartet and piano, since it actually includes the bass drum. Ives later orchestrated the work, but it just ain’t the same. The composer wrote, “It’s a take-off of a Halloween party and bonfire – the elfishness of the little boys throwing wood on the fire, etc., etc… it is a joke even Herbert Hoover could get.”

And then this wisp of a song, “Slugging a Vampire” (1902). Ives had originally set Rudyard Kipling’s poem “Tarrant Moss,” but then when he couldn’t secure the rights, he went ahead and supplied his own whimsical text. The words are included in the video at the link.

Take that, you bloodsuckers! Happy Halloween, from Charles Ives!
Weak “Witches of Eastwick” Yields Entertaining Tennis Music

by

Ross Amico

October 19, 2026

in Daily Dispatch, Film Reviews

20 responses

I just rewatched “The Witches of Eastwick” the other week, I think for the first time since it was theaters in 1987 – nearly 40 years ago! It’s a pretty bad movie, which I recognized even at the time. The metaphors landed better in John Updike’s novel, which I read when it first came to paperback, but to be honest, I wasn’t all that crazy about the book either.

First of all, so much money was thrown at the movie. And who’s idea was it to make it into such a broad comedy? The tone is all wrong, and none of the leads have any chemistry with one another, not with Jack Nicholson, not with anyone else. It’s a pretty depressing, resoundingly hollow movie, with Jack giving yet another one of his mad, oh so tiresome post-“Shining,” scenery-chewing performances. Moreover, the whole thing just devolves into a special effects extravaganza. Updike must have been vomiting harder than Veronica Cartwright.

On the plus side, this was the first time I noticed Richard Jenkins was in it. He’s gone on to much better things. But Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer, George Miller (director of “The Road Warrior” and “Babe”), and John Williams! What was the price tag for this thing? I guess it was a modest success, making three times its budget – peanuts by today’s standards. And yes, the movie comes to life for maybe a minute or two during a diabolical rehearsal of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, but as a whole the film is Halloween entertainment for very undiscerning viewers. I’d rather rewatch “Phantasm.”

That said, Williams does what he can with it, and I have to admit the theme is an instant earworm. I found this clip in which he has fun with the music he composed for a telekinetic tennis match between the film’s four principals. In spirit, there’s a little Prokofiev in there, maybe a little Ravel, but all in all, it makes you lament that Williams wasn’t a concert composer in the early decades of the 20th century.

It’s also a rare opportunity to see what an accomplished pianist Williams is. In his youth, he entertained ambitions to be a concert pianist, but he also adored jazz. His talents as an improviser, arranger, and crackerjack sight-reader made him a perfect fit for the movies.

As an encore, Seiji Ozawa conducts “E.T.”

Williams squanders an indelible tune
Leftover Cider and Cookies for a Rebroadcast of Autumn Celebration on “Sweetness and Light”

by

Ross Amico

October 18, 2026

in Daily Dispatch, Sweetness and Light

If you missed my musical celebration of autumn yesterday morning, I saved some cookies and cider for you. Grab a throw blanket and put your feet up for a fall sampler of music by Leo Sowerby, Cécile Chaminade, Archibald Joyce, Billy Mayerl, Virgil Thomson, Vernon Duke, Scott Joplin, Gheorghe Zamfir, and Alexander Glazunov. My radio show “Sweetness and Light” repeats, this Sunday evening at 9:00 EDT/6:00 PDT, exclusively on KWAX Classical Oregon! Stream it, wherever you are, at kwax.com!
‘Tis the Season for a Trek to VAMPA, Bucks County’s Museum of the Paranormal

by

Ross Amico

October 18, 2026

in Daily Dispatch

4 responses

Here I am, posing with a bust of Nosferatu (I’m the one on the right) at VAMPA, Doylestown, PA’s museum of paranormal antiquities, which I visited with my newspaper editor, Dan Aubrey (now retired), in March – on a Friday the 13th, no less. The place is a trip, in more ways than one, and of course perfect for the Halloween season.

If you go, don’t expect any vampire signage visible from the road. It masquerades as an antiques business, and I suppose justifies the bait-and-switch by loading the property with abundant lawn ornaments and a barn full of antiques and souvenirs, not all of which are related to the supernatural. (If you’ve been looking for cast iron Popeyes, you’ll find plenty of them here.)

But once you find the museum, get ready for room after room of vampire extermination kits, exorcism chairs, fetish statues, haunted dolls, a skeleton chair that belonged to Vincent Price, a whole lot of occult material that belonged to Liza Minnelli’s ex-husband, a vampire-killing kit that briefly belonged to Michael Jackson (some Jehovah’s Witnesses convinced him to get rid of it), an autographed photo of Caroline Munro from “Dracula AD 1972,” a 16th century statue of Mesopotamian wind demon Pazuzu (of “The Exorcist” fame), even a horse-drawn hearse, and at the end, a room crammed with enough religious paintings and statuary that you can be confident you’ve shaken off all the evil. When I was there, Gregorian chant played throughout.

There’s also a dinosaur park, a reflective pool with dolphin fountain and mermaid statuary, and a Zen sculpture garden. Peacocks roam the grounds.

If you’re looking for a unique and quirky way to pass an autumn afternoon, you can’t do better than VAMPA.

Check ahead for the business hours. The museum is open Thursday through Sunday, 10-5, but sometimes there are adjustments for holidays. Children under 6 are admitted free. That’s got to be a joke, right?

https://www.vampamuseum.com/
Erben Legends on “The Lost Chord”

by

Ross Amico

October 17, 2026

in Daily Dispatch, The Lost Chord

3 responses

As Hallowe’en draws apace, watch out for those demon lovers! Also, anticipate body parts galore, as this week on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll hear music inspired by stories from Karel Jaromir Erben’s “Kytice,” or “Bouquet.”

Like the Brothers Grimm in Germany, Erben synthesized native folk tales into often gruesome fairy stories. In doing so, he became an important figure in the establishment of a Czech national identity. His stories are recited by Czech schoolchildren and recalled proudly by the Czech people. Despite its influence, “Kytice” did not appear in a complete English translation until 2013. (Yes, I have read it.)

Antonin Dvořák was particularly fond of Erben’s tales. In 1896, he composed a series of symphonic poems after Erben ballads, including “The Water Goblin,” “The Noon Witch” and “The Wood Dove.” Erben’s influence also hangs over Dvořák’s most famous opera, “Rusalka.”

We’ll salute Erben with two Dvořák works: the symphonic poem “The Golden Spinning Wheel,” and the final scene from the dramatic cantata “The Spectre’s Bride.”

“The Golden Spinning Wheel” is a Cinderella story gone very, very wrong, as a wicked stepmother and stepsister not only murder but dismember an unfortunate maiden favored by the king. Not to give too much away, but the titular appliance proves their undoing.

“The Spectre’s Bride” is another in the seemingly infinite variations on the tale of a young woman being swept off by the ghost of her lover. The climax of Dvořák’s cantata places the heroine in a cottage besieged by howling spirits, as a corpse on the table, prepared for burial, stirs to do their bidding.

Forget Dvořák’s “Slavonic Dances.” Join me for “Erben Legends,” as we celebrate Karel Jaromir Erben, on “The Lost Chord,” now in syndication on KWAX Classical Oregon!

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Clip and save the start times for all three of my recorded shows:

PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – Saturday at 11:00 AM EDT/8:00 AM PDT (***now with a repeat Sunday at 9:00 PM EDT/6:00 PM PDT***)

THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/