Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Philadelphia

Krampus is Coming Controversial Christmas

Here comes Krampus – and along with him, my most controversial post of the year. I always lose one or two followers over Krampusnacht. Apparently it’s hard for some folks to reconcile Christmas with an Alpine devil. But when it comes to the holidays, the Central European psyche holds nothing in reserve.

In the grand tradition of spare the rod, spoil the child (Proverbs 13:24), in Krampus the Old World really pulls out all the stops. On December 5, the eve of Saint Nicholas’ Day, it is the custom for an egregiously-horned, whiplash-tongued demon to emerge from his mountain lair, festooned in chains and cow bells, to accompany the Patron Saint of Children on his rounds. Saint Nick bestows small gifts to all the good boys and girls; the bad are handed over to Krampus.

Garden-variety naughtiness may earn the sting of a switch; but the especially ill-behaved are clapped in chains, taken for a short ride in a wicker basket, and then drowned in a stream or immolated by hellfire. With mounting anxiety a thousand times worse than the anticipation of a bad report card, a wee sinner pulls the sweat-soaked blankets over his head and begins to pray vociferously for a stocking full of coal.

It is with mixed emotions that I watch Saint Nick’s dark helper creep ever closer to the mainstream. It used to be that there were one or two books of vintage postcards, and they were out of print and difficult to get a hold of. Now Krampus has become something of a shadow industry. He’s even been the subject of a major motion picture, for crying out loud. I never thought I would see it, but The Man is trying to appropriate Krampus, just like he did rock ‘n’ roll. But you can’t keep a good demon down. As long as there are people fed up with Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving, there will always be plenty of fuel for a reactionary Black Christmas. And no amount of tinsel is going to change that.

If there is any classical music written for Krampus, I have yet to hear it. Therefore, as a kind of place holder on this Krampusnacht, I will offer a suite by Finnish composer Einar Englund for a film inspired by another bizarre legend, that of “The White Reindeer.” Don’t go into it expecting any Rankin-Bass Rudolph. This is Lapland, after all, the land of shape-shifting, vampiric livestock. This Rudolph sports teeth like The Abominable.

It’s also the birthday today of pianist Krystian Zimerman. He’ll be the soloist in Franz Liszt’s “Totentanz” (“Dance of Death”). Then, if time allows, we’ll have a diabolical sleigh-ride courtesy of Bernard Herrmann.

Oh yes! We’ll also mark the birthdays of Francesco Geminiani, Vítězslav Novák, Osvaldo Golijov, and José Carreras, with a little more Hanukkah music tossed into the mix, from 4 to 6 p.m. EST. Then stick around for “Music from Marlboro.” We’ll embrace the saints at 6 – more about that in an upcoming post – on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

This year’s Parade of Spirits, Liberty Lands, formerly known as Krampuslauf, spills into the streets of Philadelphia’s Northern Liberties neighborhood on December 9. The event will benefit Delaware Valley homeless shelters.

Go ahead and unfollow me, if you must. You can stop your ears, but you can’t stop Krampus.

December 5, 2018
Eugene List: Philly Roots, Pianist of Presidents

Illustrating the adage (coined by me, I believe) that no one can ever get away from Philadelphia forever, the pianist Eugene List – who was born there 100 years ago today – returned from a childhood spent in Los Angeles to study piano with Olga Samaroff. Samaroff herself, of course, was born in Austin, TX, as Lucy Hickenlooper and later married Leopold Stokowski.

The prodigious List had already made his orchestral debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He rode the bus back to Philly to enter into a competition to study with Samaroff, who would train a remarkable stable of pianists, including Richard Farrell, Natalie Hinderas, William Kapell, Raymond Lewenthal, Rosalyn Tureck, and Alexis Weissenberg. In his second year with Samaroff, he won another competition which allowed him to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra. At the behest of Stokowski, he ditched his plans to play the Schumann concerto and instead played the American premiere of Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1.

While never entirely eschewing the standard Romantic literature, List was renowned for his devotion to neglected repertoire, including underserved works of Edward MacDowell and especially Louis Moreau Gottschalk, a revival of whose music he spearheaded. In particular, he drew attention for recreating some of Gottschalk’s “monster concerts,” which involved enormous numbers of pianists. He gave the American premiere of Carlos Chavez’s Piano Concerto (with the New York Philharmonic). He also edited the complete works of Stephen Foster.

Motivated by the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, he promptly enlisted in the US Army at the age of 26. Initially, he was given an office job as a typist at the New York Port of Embarkation, but soon he was transferred to the Army Special Services Division. At the postwar Potsdam Conference, he was asked to play for Harry S. Truman, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin. For Chopin’s Waltz in A-flat, Op. 42, a work he had not memorized, Truman acted as his page-turner. This earned List a reputation as “Pianist of the Presidents.” He played at the White House many times; the last was for Jimmy Carter in 1980.

List’s later life was marred by tragedy. In 1983, after 42 years of marriage, his wife, the violinist Carroll Glenn, slipped into a coma only days after being diagnosed with a brain tumor. Two years later, while planning a recital to mark the 50th anniversary of his Carnegie Hall debut, List fell down the steps of his New York brownstone and broke his neck. He was 66 years-old.

List was a familiar presence on radio and television, and he even appeared in a movie, “The Bachelor’s Daughters,” in 1946.

We’ll hear List perform music by Gottschalk and Howard Hanson, alongside observances of the birthdays today of composers Hanns Eisler, Elisabeth Lutyens, and Wenzel Thomas Matiegka, and pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy – all to come between 4 and 6 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

Then stick around for music from cinematic adaptations of the books of Jane Austen on “Picture Perfect” at 6!

PHOTO: Eugene List and Carroll Glenn

July 6, 2018
Eleanor Sokoloff Turns 104

In very loose connection with an article I am writing about organist Gordon Turk, I happened to google yesterday Eleanor Sokoloff. Turk had studied piano with Sokoloff’s husband, Vladimir, at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Eleanor too is a pianist and pedagogue at Curtis. She began teaching there in 1936. Among her countless pupils were Lambert Orkis, Susan Starr, Hugh Sung, Leon McCawley, and Keith Jarrett. Eleanor has nothing at all to do with the article. I was just curious to see if she is still around and what she is up to. Oh, she is still around, all right. Today, Eleanor turns 104.

I recollect attending concerts at Curtis’ Field Hall, back in the 1980s, and the Sokoloffs were seemingly always in attendance. Vladimir had also served as a pianist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He died in 1997.

In 1995, I became Eleanor’s neighbor, when I opened a bookshop on 17th Street, below Latimer. My morning dog walks would take me past the Sokoloff residence, situated between the old Rittenhouse Medical Bookstore (since demolished) and I believe a former residence of Leopold Stokowski, which had been turned into an art gallery. Eleanor would frequently be standing at her front door, and she would always smile and give a friendly wave. When she wasn’t at the door, it meant she had a pupil, and music would flood the streets.

According to what I can find out about her on the internet, she continues to teach to this very day. Of course, in music there is really no involuntary “retirement,” and Curtis has a history of venerable pedagogues. The pianist Mieczyslaw Horszowski taught there until a few weeks before his death in 1993. But Sokoloff has Horszowski beat. He hadn’t even reached 101.

Happy birthday, Eleanor. Long may ye reign.

Here’s a mesmerizing two-part interview with Sokoloff, conducted by Hugh Sung, when she was 100:

June 16, 2018
Philly Composers Gin & Dim Restaurant Lights

Restaurant lighting flatters no one, but here I am at the wrong end of a gin-fueled evening with two estimable Philadelphia composers, Robert Moran and Kile Smith. Only one broken glass, and we may have over-tipped, but I think I can say with confidence that a good time was had by all.

May 11, 2018
Musicopia Inspires Young Musicians in Philly

Thanks very much to Denise Kinney for making the drive up from Philadelphia this afternoon to talk with us at WWFM – The Classical Network about Musicopia, an organization that creates opportunities for young people to experience, learn, perform, and appreciate music. Kinney is the organization’s executive director.

As an added bonus, it was great to be able to enjoy a rare visit from, and conversation with, Maestro Mark Laycock, back in Princeton to help promote Musicopia and to tell us about his new composition written specifically for its young performers.

Laycock’s “Musicopia! Suite for String Orchestra” will be given its world premiere as part of a free concert, which will take place this Saturday at 5 p.m. at The Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square, 1904 Walnut Street, in Philadelphia.

Best wishes to Denise, Mark, and Musicopia!

May 9, 2018

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