Classic Ross Amico

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Remembering Musicians We Lost in 2018 on WPRB

Well, it’s that time of year again. Time for some of us to examine all the ways we’ve screwed up our lives (hopefully not irreparably) and to resolve to do better in 2018.

More objectively, it’s also a time to remember all of those who have shuffled off this mortal coil.

Fortunately for you, if you join me this Thursday morning on WPRB, the emphasis will be on the latter, as we listen to recordings by some of the musicians who have enriched our world through their artistry.

Like last year, this one may turn out to be a two-parter. While it’s sad to reflect that so many talented individuals have moved on to the Great Concert Hall in the Sky, I am delighted to be able to share some of their wonderful, representative performances with you.

Join me in celebrating the artists we lost in 2018, this Thursday morning from 6 to 11 EST, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. It’s one of the few things left to celebrate this time of year, on Classic Ross Amico.

December 27, 2017
Yule Solstice Music Bonfires on WPRB

On this shortest day, as the warg Sköll, descendent of unruly Fenrir, chases down the sun, we’ll boldly feast, game, share stories, and quaff mead. Most of all, there will bonfires – lots of bonfires. This Thursday morning on WPRB, we’ll anticipate the arrival of winter (at 11:28 EST) by cutting mistletoe, decking the halls, and filling the air waves with festive and reflective music for the solstice.

Heathen impulses will be tempered by a couple of large-scale, more-or-less Christian choral works. In the 7:00 hour, we’ll hear “The Star of Bethlehem,” by everyone’s favorite composer from Lichtenstein, Josef Rheinberger, in a performance featuring Rita Streich and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Then at 9:00, we’ll enjoy “Bethlehem,” by English composer Rutland Boughton, a work inspired by the 14th century Coventry Mystery Play. How else to incorporate Merlin into the Christmas story?

There will also be plenty of Swedish folk high jinks, a shape-shifting, vampiric reindeer from Lapland, a serenade or two to the Boar’s Head from Great Britain, and abundant selections from “The Christmas Revels.”

Get ready to sacrifice five hours to the Yule gods, even as we celebrate the arrival of the Baby Jesus, this Thursday morning from 6 to 11 EST, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. I think Yule love it, on Classic Ross Amico.

December 21, 2017
Unusual Holiday Music on WPRB This Week

In this season of miracles, the gift of music burns long. We’ll light some candles and follow some stars, this Thursday morning on WPRB, with unusual music for the midwinter holidays.

Highlights will include Conrad Susa’s “Carols & Lullabies: Christmas in the Southwest,” a suite from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “Christmas Eve” (which naturally features the devil – love them Slavs), Latvian composer Juris Karlsons’ “Christmas Cantata,” Argentinean composer Ariel Ramirez’s “Navidad Nuestra,” Philadelphia composer William Henry Fry’s “Santa Claus Symphony,” Samuel Adler’s Hanukkah medley “To Celebrate a Miracle,” Christopher Rouse’s postmodern invention “Karolju,” and John Adams’ Nativity oratorio “El Niño.”

There will be plenty of surprises along the way. Leave out some milk and cookies. I’ll be playing multi-cultural Santa, this Thursday morning from 6 to 11 EST, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. That’s no fat suit on Classic Ross Amico.

December 14, 2017
Unearthing Unique Holiday Music on WPRB

Tired of the same old, same old?

Join me this Thursday morning on WPRB, as we tread the overgrown path of forgotten, overlooked, or neglected Christmas music (at least on the radio).

We’ll be all over the globe, touching on many traditions. Among the highlights will be a complete performance of John Adams’ Nativity oratorio “El Niño.” The texts are taken or adapted from poems by Rosario Castellanos, Gabriela Mistral, Hildegard von Bingen, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Rubén Darío, and Vicente Huidobro, as well as anonymous verses and passages from the Bible, the New Testament Apocrypha, and the Wakefield Mystery Plays.

In my opinion, this is one of Adams’ most consistently inspired works. And what a cast! We’ll hear soprano Dawn Upshaw, mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, and baritone Willard White. Listen to it for the first ten minutes, and you’ll be hooked.

I may even drop in a couple of pieces for Hanukkah, if I have anything worthwhile to contribute.

However you celebrate, enjoy this season of light. The music will be our beacon, this Thursday morning from 6 to 11 EST, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. We’ll have plenty of batteries, bulbs, and candles on hand, on Classic Ross Amico.

The striking artwork of Yreina Cervantez that graces the cover of the Nonesuch recording of Adams’ “El Niño”

December 14, 2017
New Classical Music 2017 on WPRB

Ah, the crinkle of shrink wrap. That’s what was heard in my home yesterday, as I began piling up CDs released over the past months that I haven’t been able to work into any of my shows. Thematic programming can be a challenge – admittedly therein lies a lot of the fun – but there is much music of worth that can fall through the cracks.

This Thursday morning on WPRB, we’ll have a chance to enjoy some fairly recent recordings issued by Albion Records (the label of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society), Azica Records, Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), Bridge Records, Inc., Centaur Records, Inc., Chandos Records, innova Recordings, Naxos, New World Records, Other Minds Records, and the Sono Luminus label, among others. If something catches your ear, record information will be made available at wprb.com.

Perhaps you’ll get some ideas for inspired stocking stuffers or hear something worthwhile on which to blow your Hanukkah gelt. Join me for a full playlist of interesting 2017 releases, this Thursday morning from 6 to 11 EST, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. We’ll find release in the new, on Classic Ross Amico.

December 7, 2017

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