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Tag: Carl Hemmingsen

Classical Music on The Classical Network Today

For many, January 2 means back to work. But not for Carl Hemmingsen.

Join me this afternoon on The Classical Network, as I fill in for my hard-working, though still-vacationing, radio colleague.

First, I’ll be your host for today’s Noontime Concert, from Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center in New York City, a recital featuring violinist Chloé Kiffer and pianist Alexandre Moutouzkine. On the program will be “Fratres” by Arvo Pärt, the “Suite Italienne” by Igor Stravinsky (after “Pulcinella”), and violin sonatas by Richard Strauss and Maurice Ravel.

Then, immediately following the concert broadcast, which should conclude before 1:30, I’ll have a musical remembrance of violinist Jaap Schröder, who died on Tuesday at the age of 94.

As we approach 2:00, you’ll be the indirect beneficiary of the largesse of my friends and family, as I share some of the bounty of this year’s Christmas haul. I’ll be reaching into my stocking for newly-acquired music by George Antheil, Ruth Gipps, Wilfred Josephs, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Karl Weigl.

New Year’s is over, but there’s still plenty of peppermint and wassail in our tanks, from 12 to 4 p.m. EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

January 2, 2020
Classical Commute Tag Team Blowout Thursday

Carl Hemmingsen and I have been training hard in order to form a successful tag team for your afternoon commute.

Carl will hold you as if in a half nelson of continuous musical pleasure until 5 p.m. Then I’ll be over the ropes to execute a classical camel clutch, in celebration of the birthdays today of conductor Rudolf Kempe, composer Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, and tenor John McCormack.

In the 6:00 hour, watch out for a slingshot suplex in the form of the “Yellow River Concerto,” an artifact of China’s Cultural Revolution – this to mark the birthday of pianist Lang Lang. We’ll break the birthday lock with “Broken Ink,” a colorfully orchestrated work that strives for almost cinematic grandeur, by Chinese-American composer Zhou Tian.

I hope you’ll join Carl and me for a tag team championship smackdown, this Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org

June 14, 2018
WWFM’s Classical New Year’s Eve Celebration

Whether you are on the road this evening or plan to host an intimate gathering at home, if you’re looking for uplifting musical accompaniment to underscore your New Year’s Eve festivities, look no further than The Classical Network. WWFM hosts will prime you for a happy passage into 2018 with a lighthearted playlist engineered to put a smile on your face and a boost to your spirits.

The fun will commence at 8 p.m. with Carl Hemmingsen, who will get things underway with a sparkling overture by Gioachino Rossini. David Osenberg will follow at 9 with assorted dances and festive favorites, including the drinking song from “La traviata.”

My moment to shine will come at 10:00, the usual time slot for “The Lost Chord.” While not officially part of that series, unofficially I will be serving up some unusual musical hors d’oeuvres, with uproarious selections from the Hoffnung Music Festival concerts, some delectable duets from English operetta that I imagine survives only on the periphery of those with very long memories, and a dizzyingly inventive fantasia on “Auld Lang Syne” by British Light Music master Ernest Tomlinson. It is Tomlinson’s tongue-in-cheek assertion that “Auld Lang Syne” is at the root of most of the world’s enduring masterpieces – and he goes on to support his thesis with no less than 152 examples, in just under 20 minutes!

Alice Weiss will cap the evening, starting at 11, with a beloved American rhapsody, a selection of waltzes and marches, some fireworks music, and even a sip of champagne. Then I know you’ll want to stick around for the WWFM midnight countdown.

Raise a glass with The Classical Network. Thanks to all of you who have supported us for our 35th year! If you haven’t yet had a chance to make your gift, consider a year-end contribution in honor of the music that has so enhanced the quality of your life all throughout 2017. If you HAVE supported us, we will still gratefully accept any additional, end-of-the-year, tax-deductible contributions. Either way, do it soon, because at midnight 2017 will turn into a pumpkin! Visit wwfm.org and click on “Donate.”

Again, thank you for being there for WWFM – The Classical Network. We extend all best wishes for a happy and fruitful 2018!

December 31, 2017

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