Classic Ross Amico

Tag: GEMS

Monteverdi Opera on The Classical Network

Claudio Monteverdi was not the first composer to write opera, but his are the earliest in the standard repertoire.

On today’s Noontime Concert on The Classical Network, the ensemble Vivi Cantando will present “Ohimè!” The title is an allusion to one of Monteverdi’s madrigals, but also featured will be selections from the operas “L’Orfeo,” “Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria,” and “L’incoronazione di Poppea.”

The program is another in the Midtown Concerts series, presented in part by Gotham Early Music Scene, or GEMS. These free lunchtime concerts are held on Thursdays at 1:15 p.m. at the Chapel of St. Bartholomew’s Church, 325 Park Avenue, in New York City.

GEMS is a non-profit corporation that supports and promotes Manhattan artists and organizations devoted to Early Music – music of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, and Early Classical Periods. For more information about concerts at St. Bart’s and other GEMS events, look online at gemsny.org.

Following today’s concert broadcast, for the balance of our time together, we’ll continue with selections celebrating classical music’s most ambitious synthesis of the arts, and three hours of music drawn from the world of opera. There will be an assortment of arias and ensembles, choruses, overtures, ballet music, orchestral excerpts, and transcriptions.

What’s opera, Doc? We’ll get a pretty good idea. Brace yourself for examples from Monteverdi to Robert Moran.

I got a fever, and the only prescription is more opera, from 12 to 4 p.m. EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

February 4, 2020
Concertanti & Women Composers on WWFM

This afternoon on The Classical Network, I’ll make a concerted effort to hold your concentration with an afternoon of compelling concertanti.

We’ll hear works featuring one or more solo parts, reminiscent of practices of the 17th and 18th centuries. These could take the form of sinfonie concertanti – typically two or more soloists with orchestra – or the Baroque concerto grosso, with musical material passed back and forth between a smaller group of instruments and larger ensemble.

Along the way, I’ll continue to highlight the contributions of women composers during this month in which we celebrate the Clara Schumann bicentennial, with Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s “Concerto Grosso 1985” and Dame Ethel Smyth’s quixotic Concerto for Violin, Horn and Orchestra.

First – and perhaps of related interest – on today’s Noontime Concert we’ll hear a recital of works by Baroque anomaly Barbara Strozzi.

Strozzi proved to be a phenomenon in an art form that, until the 20th century, wasn’t exactly the most nurturing to women. She was not only a singer, but also a composer. More astonishingly, she appears to have been recognized for it.

DuoSeraphim – soprano Sarah Hawkey and gambist Niccolo Seligmann – will celebrate Strozzi with “In Defiance of Time and Fate.” The program was recorded on December 20th at St. Bartholomew’s Church, 325 Park Avenue, in New York City. Free Midtown Concerts are held at St. Bart’s every Thursday at 1:15 p.m.

Today’s broadcast is another made possible in part by Gotham Early Music Scene, or GEMS. GEMS is a non-profit corporation that supports and promotes artists and organizations in New York City devoted to Early Music. For more information and the complete events calendar, visit gemsny.org.

I think you’ll find there’s always plenty to think about. Your concentration will be amply rewarded, from 12 to 4 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

September 24, 2019
Fat Tuesday André Previn & GEMS Concerts

Fat Tuesday! Or Fasnacht Day, as my grandmother used to call it.

Fry yourself a big plate of doughnuts and belly up to the radio this afternoon for an amazing playlist of knock-out performances by the late André Previn. We’ll celebrate the absurdly talented Previn as conductor, pianist, AND composer. The salute will commence as the clock strikes 1.

First, on today’s Noontime Concert, soprano Amaranta Viera will join the Ensemble Leonarda for a program of readings and music, which will include works by Nicolas Bernier and Jean-Baptiste Lully. The concert – “He’s Just Not That Into You!” – is an examination of classic love stories gone wrong.

It’s another gem from Gotham Early Music Scene (GEMS). GEMS presents free midday concerts every Thursday at 1:15 p.m. at St. Bartholomew’s Church, 325 Park Avenue, in New York City. For more information and an overview of other GEMS’ events, including evening and weekend performances, look online at gemsny.org.

DO-NUT miss it! Pour the coffees high and tune in today from 12 to 4 p.m. EST. I’ll be dunking like Gable and flashing my legs like Colbert – or Lully, for that matter – on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

March 5, 2019
Baroque Italy Concert on The Classical Network

Get a taste of the good life on today’s Noontime Concert on The Classical Network.

“La Bella Vita: Hidden Gems of Baroque Italy” presages a renaissance of GEMS’ Midtown Concerts series. The free lunchtime programs are presented on Thursdays at 1:15 p.m., at St. Bartholomew’s Church, 50th Street and Park Avenue, in Midtown Manhattan.

This afternoon’s broadcast will feature DuoSeraphim – soprano Sarah Hawkey and gambist Niccolo Seligmann – in works by Claudio Monteverdi, Diego Ortiz, Bartolomeo Tromboncino, and Barbara Strozzi. The concert was originally presented on December 28, 2017.

The 2018-2019 season of Midtown Concerts will commence this Thursday with a program of 16th and 17th century music for voice and viol, performed by the duo Lyracle.

Today’s concert broadcast is made possible in part by Gotham Early Music Scene, or GEMS. GEMS is a non-profit corporation that supports and promotes artists and organizations in New York City devoted to early music – music of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, and early Classical periods. For more information about the St. Bart’s concerts and other GEMS’ events, look online at gemsny.org.

Then linger in the Mediterranean a while longer with guitarist John McLaughlin’s “Mediterranean Concerto” and other works. Life is good, from 12 to 4 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

September 4, 2018
Lully From Italy to France Sun King’s Creep

The most powerful musician in France was Italian. Jean-Baptiste Lully rose from humble beginnings, born into a family of millers in Florence, to become Master of the King’s Music at the court of Versailles and a cherished friend of Louis XIV. In fact, he and the “Sun King” used to dance side by side in the court ballets Lully had written. Unfortunately, he was also a bit of a creep.

Among his other quirks, Lully was very vain about his legs. It is ironic, then, that he would ultimately die as a result of an injury to his toe, sustained while pounding the floor with a heavy staff to mark time during a performance of his “Te Deum,” written to celebrate the king’s recovery from surgery. Vanity caused Lully to ignore advice to have the toe amputated, and he died of a gangrenous infection.

On today’s Noontime Concert on The Classical Network, Jean-Féry Rebel’s memorial piece, “Tombeau de Monsieur de Lully,” will be among selected highlights from two concerts of French Baroque music that appeared on last season’s Midtown Concert Series, presented at St. Bartholomew’s Church in Midtown Manhattan, by Gotham Early Music Scene, or GEMS.

The Italian Problem was more than simply one of personality. Lully’s influence sent shoots all over Europe. Equally, Arcangelo Corelli’s influence crept into France. François Couperin’s “Le Parnesse, ou L’Apothéose de Corelli” was one of his most ambitious attempts to reconcile the Italian and French styles.

“Tombeau” and “Le Parnesse” will be performed by members of Voyage Sonique.

The second half of the broadcast will feature ballet music by Jean Philippe Rameau, “La Lyre Enchantée.” The performance was taken from a separate concert presented by the BALAM Dance Theatre.

GEMS is a non-profit corporation that supports and promotes artists and organizations in New York City devoted to early music – music of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, and early Classical periods. Free lunchtime concerts are held at St. Bart’s every Thursday at 1:15 p.m. The Midtown Concerts series is on hiatus for the summer, but performances will resume in the fall. For more information and updates to GEMS’ events calendar, look online at gemsny.org.

Tune in for French music from GEMS today at 12 p.m. Then stick around for Russian music, as I share some reminiscences of my weekend at the Bard Music Festival and “Rimsky-Korsakov and His World,” until 4 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

August 14, 2018

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