Classic Ross Amico

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Earth Day Classical Music on WPRB 103.3 FM

People of Earth!

We convene this Sunday morning on WPRB for much marvelous music inspired by our wondrous world, a collection of captivating classical creations calculated to corral our consciousness, pieces to prod our promise as protectors and preservationists as precursor to properly ‘ppreciating our precious planet.

Surf’s up for Earth Day, this Sunday morning from 7 to 10 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. Attend the astral airwaves with Classic Ross Amico.

Alluding to the alliterative artistry of Stan “The Man” Lee, illuminatingly illustrated by the illustrious Jack “King” Kirby. Excelsior!

April 22, 2018
Tax Time Tunes on WPRB

April 15th. Tax Time! Or just about.

Since the traditional deadline for filing income tax in the United States falls on a Sunday this year, it’s possible to live in denial for another 48 hours. Monday is Emancipation Day in Washington, DC, so nothing is due until Tuesday. Why let it ruin your weekend?

This Sunday morning on WPRB, we’ll have three hours of music related to filing your taxes. We’ll break the bank with works about wealth and penury, found and lost money, precious metals, careless spending, treasures sought, currency and coins, and good old fashioned tax protest.

If you’ve already completed your taxes, kick back and dream of what you’ll do with your newly acquired wealth, in the form of a fat tax return; or, in the unfortunate event that you’ll be paying through the nose, contemplate what great height you’ll likely be leaping from. If you haven’t paid your taxes, this morning would be as good a time as any to plug in the adding machine and think about meeting your friends for coffee and a movie.

Brother, can you spare a dime, this Sunday morning from 7 to 10 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com? You don’t have to worry about having money in the bank when the music is priceless, on Classic Ross Amico.

April 15, 2018
Tax Day Delay Wealth & Penury on WPRB

April 15th falls on a Sunday this year – which means we can procrastinate on filing income tax for an additional 48 hours! (Monday is Emancipation Day in Washington, DC, so nothing is due until Tuesday.)

Even so, we’ll try to get a leg up, this Sunday morning on WPRB, as we’ll be scrolling paper into the adding machine and dreaming of a fat return to the accompaniment of music about wealth and penury, found and lost money, precious metals, careless spending, treasures sought, currency and coins, and good old fashioned tax protest.

Lady Godiva rode naked through the streets of Coventry in protest of exorbitant taxation. On the other side of the coin, when told that the people had no bread, Marie-Antoinette is alleged to have uttered, “Let them eat cake!” Both will be represented musically, with works by Vítězslav Novák and Franz Joseph Haydn.

We’ll seek treasure with Franz Schreker. We’ll look with sardonic befuddlement upon “The Age of Gold” with Dmitri Shostakovich. Antonio Salieri will show us what it is like to be rich for a day. Beethoven will rage over a lost penny. Franz Lehár will shower us with gold and silver. We’ll gaze with envy upon Kurt Atterberg’s “Dollar” Symphony.

Of course, there will be music from “The Threepenny Opera,” by Kurt Weill. We’ll also hear Weill sing his own song, “Very, Very, Very,” from “One Touch of Venus,” which begins, “One way to be very wealthy is to be very, very, very rich…” Sound advice, and very, very, very true.

We’ll be dumping tea into the harbor and preparing the tar and feathers, this Sunday morning from 7 to 10 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. There will be no tax on your patience, when listening to Classic Ross Amico.

April 14, 2018
Cherry Blossom Music on WPRB This Sunday

The cherry blossoms are in bloom in Washington, D.C. This Sunday morning on WPRB, to coincide with the peak of this year’s National Cherry Blossom Festival, we’ll hear music inspired by Japan, alongside original works by Japanese composers.

The “highlight” of the morning will be Sidney Jones’ seminal musical comedy, “The Geisha,” which opened in London’s West End in 1896. While this might seem a peculiar choice – some of the attitudes and vocabulary definitely come across as a mite insensitive in our more enlightened age (though none of it is mean-spirited, I wouldn’t expect a staged revival anytime soon) – Jones’ entertainment is a fascinating historical document not without merit. Over a century later, we might wonder what all the fuss was about, but “The Geisha” was a huge international hit. It ran for over seven months on Broadway. It stands as a missing link between the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan (the influence of “The Mikado” looms large) and the emergence of modern musical theater. Interestingly, from our perspective in the 21st century, the work seems much closer to the classical music tradition, employing a standard orchestra in the pit and no hint of the popular influences to come.

Still, if it all sounds a bit much for the faint of heart, consider tuning in early to find some balance with works by Japanese composers Komei Abe, Kiyoshige Koyama, Yoquijiro Yocoh, and Akira Ifukube (of “Godzilla” fame). We’ll also hear Gustav Holst’s “Japanese Suite” and, unavoidably, a selection or two from “The Mikado.” Be forewarned, if you switch off before the end, you will miss the inimitable Claudia Novikova’s infectious recording of “The Laughing Song,” an insert aria composed for “The Geisha,” which I guarantee will make your day.

It’s music in honor of “the flowers that bloom in spring, tra la” – Japanese cherry blossoms, to be specific – this Sunday morning from 7 to 10 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. Spring is in the air, or on the air, with Classic Ross Amico.

April 7, 2018
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

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