Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Sweetness and Light

Father’s Day Serenity on Sweetness and Light

This week for “Sweetness and Light,” on the eve of Father’s Day, give Dad what he really wants – some time alone with the radio!

Grant him the peace to enjoy a program of works by composers from classical music dynasties, music performed by composers’ offspring, performer-families making music together, music dedicated by father to son and vice versa, and the odd piece written specifically about fathers and family.

Seriously, how many neckties and cannabis pipes can a guy own? Now make yourself scarce and don’t come back until you’ve got some coffee and pancakes. Dad’s got some listening to do, to “Sweetness and Light,” this Saturday morning at 11:00 EDT/8:00 PDT, exclusively on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

Stream it wherever you are at the link:

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

“Shhh… Classic Ross Amico is on.”

June 14, 2025
Carl Goldmark’s Rustic Wedding Symphony

I’ve always been a fan of Carl Goldmark’s “Rustic Wedding Symphony.” It’s always made me happy. Apparently, I’m in good company, as it also received the imprimatur of Johannes Brahms, Goldmark’s walking companion, who thought it the best thing the composer ever wrote.

This week on “Sweetness and Light,” the work will form the centerpiece at a June wedding.

The “Rustic Wedding Symphony” has been recorded a number of times, but you don’t really seem to hear it much anymore. We’ll enjoy a performance by the Utah Symphony conducted by Maurice Abravanel.

The work falls into five movements: “Wedding March,” “Bridal Song,” “Serenade,” “In the Garden,” and “Dance.” It’s unusual for me to devote so much of a “light music” program to a symphony, but really, it’s like serving up 40-minutes of smiles.

We’ll also have a party favor in the form of Edvard Grieg’s “Wedding Day at Troldhaugen,” from his delectable “Lyric Pieces” – Troldhaugen being the composer’s home outside Bergen, Norway. Peter Katin, who released all of Grieg’s “Lyric Pieces” over three discs, will be the pianist.

Nothing rustic about Charles-Marie Widor: for 63 years, Widor was organist at the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris. We’ll conclude with the Toccata from his Symphony No. 5, a work frequently performed at ceremonial functions, whether they be related to Christmas, graduations, or – for our purpose – weddings. It’s been especially popular at royal weddings, so it’s apt that we hear it performed by Simon Preston on the organ of Westminster Abbey.

Say “I do” to “Sweetness and Light,” a program of music calculated to charm and to cheer, this Saturday morning at 11:00 EDT/8:00 PDT, exclusively on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

Stream it, wherever you are, at the link:

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

Clip and save the start times for all three of my recorded shows:

PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT

SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – Saturday at 11:00 AM EDT/8:00 AM PDT

THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT

Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

“Hungarian Wedding Procession,” Gustav Prucha, 1930

June 7, 2025
Graduation Anthems on Sweetness and Light

No more stuffing phone booths or goldfish swallowing contests or taking the dean’s car apart and reassembling it in his living room. In the words of the poet: All good things must come to an end.

This morning on “Sweetness and Light,” for graduation season, it’s a hazy recollection of the world of higher education, as we salute another successful batch of cogs about to enter the work force.

Join me for a program of processionals and scenes from campus life – including a shocking number of works based on student drinking songs. Composers represented will include Jean Sibelius, Johannes Brahms, Franz Liszt, Johann Strauss II, Sigmund Romberg, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and of course Sir Edward “Pomp and Circumstance” Elgar.

Hide the empties from the folks and join me in cap and gown. We’ll be churning out responsible citizens as they reel to the platform to claim their parchment on the next “Sweetness and Light,” this Saturday morning at 11:00 EDT/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/

May 31, 2025
Memorial Day Picnic on Sweetness and Light

For many, Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, as people take advantage of the three-day weekend, and the hopefully mild weather, to celebrate.

Of course, Memorial Day itself is a rather solemn holiday, as we’re meant to honor the sacrifice of those who laid down their lives in defense of our country.

That said, this morning on “Sweetness and Light,” since there’s little “sweet” or “light” about war, I figured rather we’d take the hour to enjoy a little Memorial Day picnic, if you will.

I hope you’ll join me for an outdoor overture, a barbecue divertimento, a carousel waltz, some gazebo dances, a pickle-and-pepper rag, a teddy bear’s picnic, and, yes, even a musical moment of reflection for the fallen.

The first of the summer’s patriotic holidays is upon us. Wrap yourself in the flag and everything else in bacon, this morning on “Sweetness and Light.” The three-legged races and pie-eating contests commence at 11:00 EDT/8:00 EDT, exclusively on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

Stream it, wherever you are, at the link:

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

May 24, 2025
Remembering Ronald Corp British Light Music Champion

Although I was certainly familiar with the work of Eric Coates and Albert Ketèlbey, it was Ronald Corp, more than anyone, who introduced me to the wider world of British Light Music, a genre he championed on four albums released on the Hyperion Records label. After all, as an American, how else was I supposed to hear this stuff? This is music of a type that was once played on English radio, in department stores, and by palm court orchestras – by design, undemanding, uplifting, and insistently memorable.

This week on “Sweetness and Light,” we remember – and celebrate – Corp, who died on May 7 at the age of 74. We’ll hear light music classics by Robert Farnon, Clive Richardson, Edmund White, Cecil Armstrong Gibbs, Charles Williams, Ronald Binge, and Trevor Duncan. I imagine generations of Americans might be surprised to learn that one of the pieces was borrowed by children’s show host Bob Keeshan for the theme to his television program “Captain Kangaroo!”

Corp was also an enthusiast of, at best, dimly-recollected English musical comedies dating back to the time of Arthur Sullivan. We’ll hear selections from two of these, Sidney Jones’ “The Geisha” and Harold Fraser-Simson’s “The Maid of the Mountains.”

I’m only sorry I had to cut out so much from this morning’s program. I got a little carried away, between selecting music and my own spoken contributions, and I wound up having to trim a good 15 or 20 minutes off the show! (Alas, Arthur Sullivan’s pre-W.S. Gilbert opera, “The Contrabandista,” had to be jettisoned to the cutting room floor.)

Corp was also a composer himself, and an Anglican priest! He recorded much else besides, including albums devoted to European and American Light Music classics; also more substantial – some would say “more serious” – fare. Most of these were issued on Hyperion and Dutton Vocalion Records.

Personally, I feel like I owe Corp a lot, as it only occurs to me now, that he was probably the single greatest influence on my creation of this show. Now I wish there were some way I could tell him.

Music of this sort is often deceptively simple – breezy, carefree, a tad sentimental, and fun – but it takes a special talent to be able to craft miniature masterpieces that, at their best, satisfy through ingratiating melody, imaginative color, and evocative mood.

We’ll trip the light fantastic with light music recordings of Ronald Corp, on “Sweetness and Light,” this Saturday morning at 11:00 EDT/8:00 PDT, exclusively on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

Stream it wherever you are at the link:

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

May 17, 2025

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