Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Ernest Bloch

Ernest Bloch’s American Rhapsody on KWAX

Just in time for Independence Day, Princeton’s wretched refuse washes up on the teeming shores of KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon. And in common with this week’s subject on “The Lost Chord,” I love and revere my adopted country as only an outsider can.

We’ll have music by immigrant-turned-naturalized-American-citizen, Ernest Bloch – who died in Portland, less than two hours north of Eugene, home of KWAX, in 1959. Bloch, born in Switzerland, is probably best remembered for his music on Jewish themes, including the rhapsody for cello and orchestra, “Schelomo,” the suite for violin and piano “Baal Shem,” and the humanitarian oratorio, “Sacred Service.”

With a rise in anti-Semitism in Europe, Bloch decided to make the United States his permanent home. His epic rhapsody, “America,” was written, according to the composer, “in love for this country, in reverence to its past, in faith in its future.” He dedicated the work to Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman.

Bloch first conceived the idea for the piece in 1916, as his steamer entered New York Harbor. The conflict of the First World War gave further impetus to the composition of what he envisioned as an American anthem, but it wasn’t until 1925 that the work began to take concrete form.

For modern listeners, it’s possible that this symphony in all but name crosses the line at times into the Realm of Hokey, with its quotations of “Pop Goes the Weasel” and “Yankee Doodle” – it is certainly a time capsule – however, Bloch’s heartfelt conviction and his love for his adopted country remain palpable.

Hear Bloch himself, full of patriotic fervor, introduce this homage to his adopted land. Leopold Stokowski conducts the Symphony of the Air. I hope you’ll join me for “Rhapsody in Red, White and Blue,” now in syndication on KWAX!

See below for streaming information.

Keep in mind, KWAX is on the West Coast, so there’s a three-hour difference for the Trenton-Princeton area. Here are the respective air-times of my recorded shows (with East Coast conversions in parentheses):

PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday on KWAX at 5:00 PACIFIC TIME (8:00 PM EDT)

THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday on KWAX at 4:00 PACIFIC TIME (7:00 PM EDT)

Stream them here!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

Bloch was also interested in the visual arts, especially photography, and developed a close friendship with Alfred Stieglitz:

Ernest Bloch and Alfred Stieglitz: Photography, Music and the Soul

July 1, 2023
Shana Tova High Holy Days Music on “The Lost Chord”

Shana Tova! Best wishes for a happy, healthy, and sweet new year. Because of last week’s 9/11 memorial, I’m only finally getting around to acknowledging the Jewish High Holy Days. This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we mark the observance with two complementary works.

Jacob Weinberg’s String Quartet, Op. 55, of 1950, falls into three movements: “Rosh Hashana,” “Yom Kippur” and “Sukkot.” “Yom Kippur” is based on the cantorial chant “Kol Nidre.” (You know, the same melody employed by Max Bruch in his famous cello piece.)

Ernest Bloch’s “Israel Symphony,” composed between 1912 and 1917, is more like an orchestral rhapsody in three sections – “Prayer in the Desert,” “Yom Kippur” and “Succoth” – played continuously and culminating in parts for four vocal soloists.

Sukkot, which follows Yom Kippur by only five days, is the harvest festival, during which temporary dwellings (or sukkot) are erected to commemorate the Jews’ 40 years wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. In modern times, these are decorated with fruits and vines. In contrast to the austerity and fasting of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Sukkot is a celebration of life and abundance. But in ancient Israel, it was a solemn affair, with sacrifices offered at the temple.

The High Holidays are a period of reflection, ten days of awe and repentance. Welcome the year 5782, on “Totally Awesome” – one hour later than usual, due to the length of today’s opera (Wagner’s “Parsifal”?????) – this Sunday night at 11:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

September 12, 2021
Forgotten Swiss Composers on WWFM

Alphorns, cuckoo clocks, chocolates, and “Heidi.” You won’t encounter any of these this Sunday night on “The Lost Chord.” What you will hear are two neglected works by Swiss composers.

Ernest Bloch, who is best known for his music on Jewish themes (such as his Hebraic rhapsody “Schelomo” or last week’s “Israel Symphony”), actually spent most of his life in the United States. He died in Portland, Oregon, in 1959, at the age of 78.

50 years earlier, while still in Switzerland, he composed his song cycle “Poèmes d’automne.” At the time, he was at work on his opera, “Macbeth,” but was sidelined when he made the acquaintance of a young poet by the name of Beatrix Rodès. He fell instantly in love with her, and set four of her poems within two months. Rodès would eventually become his mistress, though in the end Bloch chose to remain with his wife. It’s said that the texts, even in the original French, are of dubious literary quality.

The composer arranged them to form a kind of progression, in which a woman passes from sadness and desolation, to peace and love, to lamentation for the passing of her beauty, to an air of serenity as she becomes a priestess (!).

Okay, so it’s not his strongest work, but it is seasonal and interesting to listen to.

Hans Huber, who lived from 1852 to 1921, was the composer of nine symphonies (of which he acknowledged eight), five operas, and a number of concertos for various instruments. His four concertos for piano and orchestra are somewhat unusual in that, like Brahms’ experiments in the form, they are made up of four movements – he added a scherzo – as opposed to the customary three.

The Piano Concerto No. 3 was given its debut in Basel in February of 1899. The work is also unique in the way it teases the principal theme of its finale in the first movement, as the underpinnings of a passacaglia. A deft piece of craftsmanship, to be sure, and one that demonstrates that the composer wasn’t just cranking out Romantic concertos as if they were cervelats.

As Groucho Marx once quipped, “The Lord Alps those who Alp themselves.” Alp yourself to forgotten Swiss music, on “Swiss Missed,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

October 6, 2019
Rosh Hashanah ’80s Vibe on The Lost Chord

Shana Tova! Are you ready for the ‘80s?

This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” to coincide with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, we welcome 5780, and greet the High Holidays with two complementary works.

Jacob Weinberg’s String Quartet, Op. 55, of 1950, falls into three movements: “Rosh Hashana,” “Yom Kippur” and “Sukkot.” “Yom Kippur” is based on the cantorial chant “Kol Nidre.” (You know, the same one famously employed by Max Bruch.)

Ernest Bloch’s “Israel Symphony,” composed between 1912 and 1917, is more like an orchestral rhapsody, with its three sections – “Prayer in the Desert,” “Yom Kippur” and “Succoth” – played continuously and capped by parts for four vocal soloists.

Sukkot, which follows Yom Kippur by only five days, is the harvest festival, during which temporary dwellings (or sukkot) are erected to commemorate the Jews’ 40 years wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. In modern times, these are decorated with fruits and vines. In contrast to the austerity and fasting of Yom Kippur, Sukkot is a celebration of life and abundance. But in ancient Israel, it was a solemn affair, with sacrifices offered at the temple.

The High Holidays are a period of reflection, ten days of awe and repentance, culminating in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

I hope you’ll join me in welcoming 5780, on “Totally Awesome,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

September 29, 2019
Yom Kippur Music on WWFM

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, begins at sundown. To mark the occasion, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, I’ll present Jacob Weinberg’s String Quartet, Op. 55, which incorporates melodies for the High Holy Days; Enest Bloch’s moving “Israel Symphony;” Joseph Joachim’s “Hebrew Melodies;” David Stock’s “Yizkor;” and Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek’s “Symphonic Variations on ‘Kol Nidre.’” It all begins at 2 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org. G’mar Hativa Tova.

September 18, 2018

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