This week on “Sweetness and Light,” on the eve of Father’s Day, it’s a good time for Dad to share his love of radio.
Humor the old man by enjoying a program of works by composers from classical music dynasties, music performed by composers’ offspring, performer-families making music together, music dedicated by father to son and vice versa, and the odd piece written specifically about fathers and family.
There will be plenty of time to rap that necktie later. Put a smile on your face. Dad’s got some listening to do, to “Sweetness and Light,” this Saturday morning at 11:00 EDT/8:00 PDT, exclusively on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!
This week on “Picture Perfect” we disclose John Williams’ latest.
“Disclosure Day” will be at the heart of the program, which will feature music from all four of Steven Spielberg’s cinematic musings on intelligent life from other worlds. Has there been another director so fixated on extraterrestrials? Regardless of what one may think of the latest film – for a movie pushing unity, reactions have been unusually polarized – new music by John Williams is always cause for celebration.
We’ll hear 18 minutes from this, his 30th score for Spielberg (composed at the age of 93 & 94!), alongside musical selections from the director’s other otherworldly films, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “War of the Worlds,” and “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.”
“Disclosure Day” proves you can’t go home – unless, of course, you’re E.T. – but the music can still be out of this world on “Picture Perfect,” 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
THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT
If you’re in DC or NYC, you’re in prime position to catch “By George: It All Comes Down,” a new film by H. Paul Moon for America’s Semiquincentennial.
On July 9, 1776, following the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, New Yorkers toppled a statue of King George III that stood in Bowling Green. Among other things, the statue was melted down into musket balls to defend the American cause.
You can learn more about this one-hour documentary and the context of its New York premiere (on July 9, 2026, 250 years to the day later), a special outdoor screening just about a stone’s throw from the former location of the actual statue, by following the link. If you’re interested, you’ll also be able to reserve a free ticket.
nyc.july9th.com
In the meantime, the film is showing in a special four-screen immersive version at Dupont Underground (beneath Dupont Circle), in Washington, DC. Hourly showings take place every hour on the hour, weekends through July 5.
You can learn more about that here:
dc.july9th.com
I know Paul has worked long and hard on this project. I’ve already reserved my spot at the Battery. I hope you will join me in supporting it!
Yet more information, with stills from the film, here:
The new norm is to have steel-cage death matches on the South Lawn, but in 1962 an American president might invite Igor Stravinsky to the White House. On Stravinsky’s birthday, here’s an amusing account of the composer’s visit with the Kennedys:
“Despite such criticism – which was entirely typical of Stravinsky’s unfiltered personality – he clearly remembered the visit with fondness and gratitude. In January, 1964 he commemorated John F. Kennedy – who had been assassinated on November 22, 1963 – by composing ‘Elegy for J.F.K.,’ a vocal piece with words by W.H. Auden. ‘I felt that the events of November were being too quickly forgotten,’ the composer told The New York Times, ‘and I wished to protest.’”
Leonard Bernstein was also in attendance at the dinner. Bernstein’s “Fanfare for JFK” was heard for the first time on the eve of Kennedy’s inauguration, also on this date, though one year earlier. It’s only 40 seconds long, so if you blink, you’ll miss it.
In 1978, Bernstein gave the opening speech at the first Kennedy Center Honors, at which the honorees included Marian Anderson, Richard Rodgers, George Balanchine, Fred Astaire, and Arthur Rubinstein.
I’ll spare you the entirety of Bernstein’s “Mass,” commissioned by Jacqueline Kennedy for the opening of the Kennedy Center in 1971, but here’s the piece’s hit tune, “A Simple Song.”
The questions, where are our Bernsteins and Stravinskys – or for that matter, our Marian Andersons, Richard Rodgerses, George Balanchines, Fred Astaires, and Arthur Rubinsteins – and why are they not honored at the White House, seem moot.
Stravinsky’s concern about the events of November 1963 being forgotten were echoed by many Americans in December 2025. Some presidents try to set an example by leading in a spirit of hope and aspiration. Others attempt to validate themselves by affixing their names to the Kennedy Center.
I guess Tybalt wasn’t the only rat-catcher in this production of “Romeo and Juliet.”
A stray cat brought unexpected levity to Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet” during a performance by the Imperial Russian Ballet in Izmir, Turkey. Far from being upset by the four-legged interloper, the dancers evidently took to the feline balletomane, as he or she was brought out a few minutes later to share in the final bow. Later, it was shown that the ginger started turning up at rehearsals.
Scroll down to watch all three videos at the link.
