Classic Ross Amico

Tag: March Madness

March Madness on Sweetness and Light KWAX

One could argue there’s enough madness in the world already. All the same, this week on “Sweetness and Light,” it’s our annual embrace of “march” madness.

Well hear 12 marches by nine composers – including a coronation march, an “Italian grand march” (by a Czech composer), marches for wind band, a march for brass, marches for piano, a march for chorus, a march from the movies, a march for women, and a march for… satyrs? Well, it is after all, Satyrday.

In a mad world, only the mad are sane!

Anyway, a little exercise will do you good. Embrace “March Madness” on “Sweetness and Light,” this Saturday morning at 11:00 EDT/8:00 EDT, exclusively on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

Stream it, wherever you are, at the link:

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

March 22, 2025
March Madness Marches on KWAX Radio

Yesterday was so busy, I didn’t get around to submitting my annual “March Madness” show until this morning. The program includes 12 marches by nine composers. (And yes, John Williams is one of them.) Enjoy it on “Sweetness and Light,” this Saturday morning at 11:00 EDT/8:00 PDT, exclusively on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon. Stream it wherever you are at the link.

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

March 21, 2025
March Madness on the Radio My Foreign Legion Shift

Why did I join the Foreign Legion? I’ve already forgotten.

Foreign Legion, of course, is a metaphor for “Sunday morning radio shift.”

I’ll be knocking the cobwebs out of my circadian-addled consciousness with my second annual salute to March Madness. That’s right – it will be an all-march morning. Marches for band. Symphonic marches. Marches for piano. Marches for guitar. Light music marches. Military marches. Funeral marches. Coronation marches. Circus marches. I’ll do my best to get your feet moving, even if you can’t find the on-switch to the coffee maker.

To keep it varied, we’ll also hear a couple of larger works (such as Joachim Raff’s Piano Concerto, with its march-like finale), to break free of obsessive 4/4 time. But no Mahler symphonies!

At 9:00, we’ll take a break so that you have a chance to rest your feet and have a sip from your canteen, as I’m joined by violinist Dan Zhu. Zhu appeared as soloist in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto last night with the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra at Richardson Auditorium on the campus of Princeton University. We’ll chat with Zhu about his career, his love of music, and his passion for environmental advocacy. Zhu was the first violinist to perform in Antarctica, in 2013.

Then it’s back to the punishing sands. March or die, this Sunday morning from 7 to 10 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. Surely I Geste, on Classic Ross Amico.

March 25, 2018
March Madness Music on WPRB

It may be a week before Easter, but this Sunday morning on WPRB we’ll be going as mad as a March hare. It’s our second annual salute to March Madness!

That’s right – it will be an all-march morning. Marches for band. Symphonic marches. Marches for piano. Light music marches. Military marches. Funeral marches. Coronation marches. Circus marches. We’ll even have a symphony written for West Point that incorporates a marching machine.

How could we possibly sustain this over a span of three hours? Well, if we could do it last year for five hours, we can do it this year for three. We’ll be propelled by a variety of moods and timbres, with a couple of larger works (such as Joachim Raff’s Piano Concerto, with its march-like finale), to break free of obsessive 4/4 time.

We’ll have a chance to rest our legs at 9:00, when I’m joined by violinist Dan Zhu. Zhu will appear with the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Richardson Auditorium on the campus of Princeton University. He’ll be the soloist in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and then a traditional Chinese piece, “Morning at Miao Ling Mountain.” The program will conclude with music director Chiu-Tze Lin conducting Brahms’ Symphony No. 1. You can find out more at bravuraphil.org. We’ll ask Zhu to talk about his career, his love of music, and his passion for environmental advocacy. Zhu was the first violinist to perform in Antarctica, in 2013.

The rest of the morning will consist of mad marches. It’s the ultimate Face-Palm Sunday, from 7 to 10 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. We’ve been given our marching orders, on Classic Ross Amico.

March 24, 2018
March Music Madness on WPRB This Morning

An all-march morning? That’s the fact, Jack!

Marches for band. Symphonic marches. Light music marches. Marches for piano. Marches for string quartet. Funeral marches. Coronation marches. Circus marches.

I hope you’ll join me this morning on WPRB, as we are seized by March Madness. That’s right, five blessed hours of marches. Fear not, it won’t be all march-or-die, an incessant barrage of three-minute quick marches in 4/4 time. Some of the marches will be embedded in larger works. Some of the works will merely suggest marches.

It’s a beautiful morning for a brisk March. I’ll be banging a ladle against the trash can lid at 6:00. Join me for a good stretch of the legs, from 6 to 11 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com. We’ll be sounding off – left, left, left, right, left – on Classic Ross Amico.

March 23, 2017

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