Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Sweetness and Light

Classic Movie Scores & Film Composers on KWAX

Time was when a good film score was expected to be both melodic and memorable. This morning on “Sweetness and Light,” with the Academy Awards coming up, we’ll take a nostalgic look back to some indelible themes from classic movies of years past.

I don’t want to lay it all out in my Facebook teaser – in fact, during the course of the show, I won’t even identify the pieces until after each one is played, so that you can guess along at home – but trust that you’ll likely recognize most of them, all Best Original Score winners or nominees from highly-decorated films.

Be there at the start for a 90-second montage of introductory fanfares from the great studios of Hollywood’s Golden Age. The fun begins this morning at 11:00 EST/8:00 PST!

Then later today, on “The Lost Chord,” it’s another in a periodic series of shows built around concert works by composers better known for their work in film.

This time, we’ll have a concerto for violin, cello and orchestra by James Horner (“Field of Dreams,” “Braveheart,” “Titanic”) and a concerto for flute and strings by Jerome Moross (“The Big Country,” “The Cardinal,” “The Valley of Gwangi”). I hope you’ll join me for “Typcast V” – the fifth in the series – on an all-new “The Lost Chord.”

Both shows are now in syndication on KWAX, the radio station of the university of Oregon!

Stream them, wherever you are, at the link:

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – Saturday on KWAX at 8:00 AM PACIFIC TIME (11:00 AM EASTERN)

THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday on KWAX at 4:00 PM PACIFIC TIME (7:00 PM EASTERN)

PHOTO: Oscar-winner John Williams (right), with presenters Henry Mancini and Olivia Newton-John, in 1978

March 9, 2024
Valentine’s Day Music KWAX Sweetness and Light

This morning on KWAX, it’s flowers and chocolate for breakfast. I’ll do my best to indulge your sweet tooth and lend a serotonin boost with a special Valentine’s Day sampler.

Luxuriate with an assortment of decadent Fritz Kreisler violin bonbons, a suite from Lord Berners’ ballet “Cupid and Psyche,” Victor Herbert’s orchestration of Franz Liszt’s “Liebestraum,” Henry Mancini’s arrangement of Nino Rota’s “Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet,” and some romantic reveries by Gilbert & Sillivan, Charles Ancliffe, and Leonard Bernstein.

Better limber up those lips. It will be an hour of musical confections for Valentine’s Day on “Sweetness and Light,” this Saturday morning at 11:00 EST/8:00 PST. Hear it exclusively on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

You can stream it, wherever you are, at the link:

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

February 10, 2024
Happy Birthday Mozart Celebrate on KWAX

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOZART!

This morning, we’ll honor the master over his preferred breakfast of hot chocolate and white rolls with an ebullient playlist including his “A Musical Joke,” the composer’s catalogue of compositional crimes.

Also on the program will be musical salutes by Victor Borge, Benny Goodman, Red Ingle, Florence Foster Jenkins, Raymond Scott, and others.

I hope you’ll join me for an hour of “Eine kleine Leichtmusik” on a special birthday edition of “Sweetness and Light,” this Saturday morning at 11:00 EST/8:00 PST, exclusively on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

Stream it, wherever you are, here:

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

January 27, 2024
Remembering Peter Schickele PDQ Bach’s Genius

In the guise of a nutty, unkempt musicologist from the University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople, Professor Peter Schickele brought delight to audiences around the world by deflating the stereotypes of “serious music.” He achieved this through a shrewdly-calibrated balancing act of sly wit, broad slapstick, and genuine musical know-how.

A master of freewheeling free-association, Schickele churned out musical dad jokes with titles such as “Fanfare for the Common Cold,” “The Short-Tempered Clavier,” and “Hansel and Gretel and Ted and Alice – An Opera in One Unnatural Act.” He introduced us to arcane instruments like the lasso d’amore, the dill piccolo, the pastaphone, and the tromboon. He made his entrance by bursting through the fire doors at a trot in his evening wear (tuxedo and work boots), or swinging to the stage on a rope from a balcony, or escorted by orderlies in a straightjacket.

Schickele’s manic tenure as the kapellmeister of classical music mayhem ended this past Tuesday with his death at the age of 88.

This morning on “Sweetness and Light,” I’ll do my best to honor his legacy with an assortment of his classic P.D.Q. Bach comedy bits, interspersed with selections from his more “serious” concert works. While there are no musical pratfalls in the latter, they’re still guaranteed to give you a lift with their ebullient and energetic abandon. Hopefully what you hear will encourage you to seek out more. His was a distinctive compositional voice, full of imagination and invention.

I invite you to join me for a Schickele mix on “Sweetness and Light,” music calculated to charm and to cheer, this Saturday morning at 11:00 EST/8:00 PST, exclusively on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

Stream it, wherever you are, at the link.

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

January 20, 2024
Sweetness and Light Breakfast Radio Show KWAX

In the world of “Sweetness and Light,” we never lock our doors, so it’s hardly surprising that someone would help herself to our porridge while we’re out for a walk, waiting for it to cool down. But she will do so most adorably, to music by British Light Music master Eric Coates.

At least there will still be plenty of caffeine, as we’ll also enjoy tea (for two) with Shostakovich and coffee (with whipped cream) with Richard Strauss. Comedian, filmmaker, and composer Charlie Chaplin will set aside his bowler and bamboo cane to offer us a second cup, with cake. There will be a light music flapjack, served fresh off the griddle by Peter Yorke, and some domestic breakfast bustle courtesy of Len Stevens. Lending a touch of sophistication, Jean Françaix will evoke some wry French café scenes, and Henry Mancini will moon over a display window at Tiffany’s with a bagged croissant and a coffee-to-go.

I hope you’ll join me for a light breakfast today on an all-new “Sweetness and Light,” produced right here, in my home studio, for exclusive broadcast on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon, this Saturday morning at 8:00 Pacific Time (11:00 on the East Coast).

Stream it wherever you are at the link!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

January 13, 2024

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