Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey

Men and Mountains Radio: Classical Music Journey

Mountains can be the bearers of mystical revelations or shattering catastrophe. They are the wellsprings of folk song, beacons for recreation, escapes from the world of men, and safe harbor for exiles, brigands and monsters.

This Thursday morning on WPRB, the focus will be on “Men and Mountains.” I borrow the name from a work by the original cranky Yankee, Carl Ruggles, who was a good friend of Charles Ives. We’ll hear Ruggles’ rugged masterwork, alongside music by Hugo Alfvén, Frederick Delius, Vincent d’Indy, Jon Leifs, E.J. Moeran, Vítězslav Novák, and Karol Szymanowski, among others.

At 10:00, I’ll be joined by Daniel Spalding, music director of the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey, which will be presenting Alan Hovhaness’ “Mysterious Mountain” at the center of a program which will also include music by Hector Berlioz and Camille Saint-Saëns (the mighty “Organ” Symphony, with Joseph Jackson at the console). Spalding will be on hand to tell us more about this exciting event, which will take place this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton.

I’ll meet you at base camp, this Thursday morning, from 6 to 11 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. Get ready to scale dizzying heights with Classic Ross Amico.

October 18, 2017
Big Band Meets Classical This Weekend

I hope you’re “in the mood” for big band.

This afternoon on The Classical Network, I’ll be joined by two special guests: Daniel Spalding, music director of the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey, and Bud Forrest, music director of the String of Pearls Big Band Orchestra. String of Pearls will appear with singers and dancers of the big band revue, “In The Mood,” as they combine with the Capital Philharmonic for a unique concert experience at the Trenton War Memorial, this Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. We’ll talk about it this afternoon around 4:00. Then be sure to stick around for a clarinet concerto by big band legend Artie Shaw.

We’ll also celebrate the birthdays today of Germaine Tailleferre, the only female member of that Parisian collective known as Les Six, and Murray Perahia, one of the outstanding classical pianists of our time.

We’re full of big ideas today, from 4 to 7 p.m. EDT, so swing on by to WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

April 19, 2017
NJ Orchestras Spring for Strings with Gavilán & Graffin

As we prepare to turn the clocks ahead this weekend, two local orchestras are ready to spring for strings.

Cuban violinist Ilmar Gavilán will join members of the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey for a concert to be held in the intimate setting of the Trenton War Memorial ballroom on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and French violinist Philippe Graffin will be a guest of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra at Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium on Mar. 19 at 4 p.m.

Gavilán, a founding member of the Harlem Quartet, will perform audience favorites by Fritz Kreisler (“Praeludium and Allegro in the Style of Pugnani”) and Pablo de Sarasate (“Zigeunerweisen,” or “Gypsy Airs”). Also on the CPNJ program will be Mozart’s Divertimento in D major, K. 136, and Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade for Strings.”

Graffin will be the soloist in Sir Edward Elgar’s Violin Concerto. Also on the PSO program will be Carl Nielsen’s distinctive and dynamic Symphony No. 4, known as the “Inextinguishable.” The tempestuous work, written against the backdrop of World War I, celebrates the indomitable life force. Most notably, the symphony features a thrilling duel between timpanists positioned on either side of the orchestra. Christopher Lyndon-Gee will act as guest conductor for one of the most powerful works by Denmark’s greatest composer.

The allure of Elgar was so strong for Graffin that he left Paris to live in London for two decades, where he worked with Yehudi Menuhin and studied the work’s original manuscript.

Read more about both violinists in my article in today’s Trenton Times.

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

PLEASE NOTE: The Harlem Quartet will join pianist Igal Kesselman and host Rob Kapilow for the next “What Makes It Great?” Kapilow and the musicians will deconstruct Antonín Dvořák’s Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major, followed by a complete performance of the work. Hear it tonight at 8:00 EST, with a repeat tomorrow afternoon at 1:00, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

PHOTOS: Gavilán (left) and Graffin

March 10, 2017
Leon Bates Inspires New Year’s Resolutions

If you’re looking for the inspiration to stick to your New Year’s resolution, you need look no further than pianist Leon Bates. Bates, whose life has been enriched by both music and sports, is as disciplined as they come. The results are evident in a career that has been marked by unflagging energy and an unusual focus on physical fitness.

Bates will join the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey for its annual New Year’s Eve concert this Saturday night at the Trenton War Memorial. The orchestra’s music director, Daniel Spalding will conduct a program of buoyant classics, including works by Franz von Suppé, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Leonard Bernstein, and Johann Strauss II. Bates will be the soloist in George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

Read more about this engaging pianist, too large a personality to be captured adequately in a newspaper article, in today’s Trenton Times.

http://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/index.ssf/2016/12/classical_music_new_addition_t.html

Please note: I do not write my own headlines.

December 30, 2016
Dream of America Concert in Trenton

Sometimes when reality gets ugly it’s good to be reminded of the dream. With political tensions running high in advance of the election, the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey will present “The Dream of America.” The concert will take place at Patriots Theater at the Trenton War Memorial this Saturday.

“This seemed like the best time to do it,” says music director Daniel Spalding, with a laugh. “We really need a little lift during this election season.”

Spalding has elected to celebrate the American dream with Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man,” Antonin Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World,” and Peter Boyer’s inspiring ode to the immigrant experience, “Ellis Island: The Dream of America.”

From 1892 to 1954, more than 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island in search of a better life. More than 40 percent of the U.S. population – over 100 million Americans – can trace its roots to someone who came to this country along that route. Boyer assembled his texts from testimonials archived as part of the Ellis Island Oral History Project. They are real words of real people telling their own stories. The work is performed by actors, rather than speakers or narrators, who deliver their monologues in the first person.

Actors from Passage Theatre at the Mill Hill Playhouse will assume the roles and deliver the narratives of émigrés from Poland, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Ireland and Russia. A powerful epilogue will include the recitation of Emma Lazarus’ poem, “The New Colossus.”

I get a little choked up just thinking about it. You can find out more in my article in today’s Trenton Times:

http://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/index.ssf/2016/10/classical_music_njcp_performin_2.html

October 21, 2016

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