Tag: Marlboro

  • Aladdin’s Cave Classical Delights Today

    Aladdin’s Cave Classical Delights Today

    Open sesame!

    It’s an Aladdin’s cave of delights this afternoon on The Classical Network.

    At 4:00, we’ll have two works inspired by the famous fairy story from the Arabian Nights, both of them by Scandinavian composers. They’ll highlight an hour of music for the young and the young at heart, including Benjamin Britten’s “Simple Symphony,” in a recording conducted by Princeton alumnus Gilbert Levine, on his birthday. We’ll also hear birthday celebrant Myung-Whun Chung conduct Carl Nielsen’s “Aladdin Suite.”

    The 5:00 hour will bring a Romantic symphony by Charles Tournemire. In addition, we’ll mark the anniversaries of the births of French composers Claude Balbastre and Henri Dutilleux.

    Then we’re off to Tuscany on “Music from Marlboro” at 6:00, with a guitar quintet by Luigi Boccherini and the string sextet “Souvenir de Florence” by Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky.

    The musical riches are piled high, from 4 to 6 p.m. EST. Your wish is our command, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

  • Thanksgiving Classical Music WWFM

    Thanksgiving Classical Music WWFM

    It is my hope that you’re just about off the roads by the time I’m on the air this afternoon. But in the event that you are stuck in traffic, there’s no reason you should endure it in silence. Drown out your invective, or that of your loved ones, with three hours of musical reminders of why we should all give thanks.

    If you’re lucky enough already to be home, perhaps you’re trying to get a leg up on tomorrow’s meal – or a drumstick, as the case may be. I’ve got plenty of music for you, too, to set the mood, while you’re in the process of setting the table. If the music makes your preparations that much more pleasurable, you can always send me a piece of pie.

    Either way, I am thankful to have you in the audience. There is no radio without somebody there to appreciate it. If you’ve supported The Classical Network recently with a financial contribution, thank you. If something I’ve played has touched you or caught your interest, thank you for that, as well. It’s important to me that these composers and these recordings endure.

    At 6:00, it’s another “Music from Marlboro.” I’ll supply a little cranberry sauce, with Antonin Dvořák’s “American” String Quintet (not to be confused with his more famous “American” QUARtet), along with some potatoes-and-gravy Vincent Persichetti and Elliot Carter.

    I hope you’ll join me for a late afternoon/early evening full of harvest, hymns and pilgrims, from 4 to 7 p.m. EST. It’s my way of wishing you a happy Thanksgiving, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

  • Hindemith Hot Weather and Hating the Octet

    Hindemith Hot Weather and Hating the Octet

    There are certain pieces by Paul Hindemith that I really, really like. And let’s face it, the gent was extremely influential. But when I came to put together yesterday’s “Music from Marlboro,” it was so miserable hot that I just couldn’t bring myself to subject my listeners to his Octet for Winds and Strings.

    The piece is ugly, grey, cranky, and noodly – gebrauchsmusik at its worst. I’m sure there’s a time and a place for this kind of music (I have programmed it before), but at 27 minutes, let’s face it, it’s just too grating for too damn long. I’ll save it for a bleak – and at least cool – winter’s day.

    There are times when Hindemith can be glorious, thrilling, or transcendent, even. And then there are those when he just leaves your mouth tasting like gun metal on a too-long car trip.

    Here’s a humorous piece written a few years ago that just about nails it. Be forewarned, however, that the language can be a little rough, with the boldest of words in a bold headline. NSFW, then.

    Man Discovers Another Fucking Hindemith Sonata

    The next time you’re stuck in traffic on a hundred degree day, turn off the air conditioning, roll down the windows, and think of this:

    Movement I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6oWa8lB_sY

    Movement II https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBxgSkwksU8

    Movement III https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcZAnNM5_cU

    Movement IV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFnV8iBV08o

    Movement V https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaNx4faNUh4

    Music history would have been a lot different if only Hindemith had been hired as a replacement Stooge ahead of Curly Joe DeRita.

Tag Cloud

Aaron Copland (93) Beethoven (95) Composer (114) Film Music (127) Film Score (143) Film Scores (255) Halloween (94) John Williams (190) KWAX (229) Leonard Bernstein (102) Marlboro Music Festival (125) Movie Music (142) Mozart (87) Opera (205) Philadelphia Orchestra (89) Picture Perfect (174) Princeton Symphony Orchestra (107) Radio (88) Ross Amico (244) Roy's Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner (290) The Classical Network (101) The Lost Chord (268) Vaughan Williams (103) WPRB (396) WWFM (881)

DON’T MISS A BEAT

Receive a weekly digest every Sunday at noon by signing up here


RECENT POSTS