Classic Ross Amico

Tag: The Lost Chord

Classical Music for Dad A Sports-Themed Father’s Day

I may have been told to clean out my locker at a certain classical music station in the Trenton-Princeton area, but happily there’s still room for me on the bench at KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon. So buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack. I don’t care if I never go back!

This week on “The Lost Chord,” it’s the mother of all Father’s Day shows, as we pay tribute to Dad with an hour of music about sports.

I realize it’s possible that not all dads necessarily like sports. However, it’s been my experience that Sunday afternoons and Monday nights have always been off-limits, as far as the family television is concerned. For me personally, that meant that after Abbott and Costello or the Bowery Boys, it was football, golf, or “Wide World of Sports,” and that I never saw “MAS*H” during its first run.

Be that as it may, it’s All-Dads Eve, so we’re going to give him what he wants – an hour of rough-and-tumble, the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.

We’ll hear “Rugby” by Arthur Honegger, “Half-Time” by Bohuslav Martinu, “The Yale-Princeton Football Game” by Charles Ives, and highlights from the baseball opera “The Mighty Casey” by William Schuman.

Combine with a La-Z-Boy and a cold beer, and it’s a recipe for dad contentment. I hope you’ll join me for “Good Sports,” now in syndication on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!

See below for streaming information.

Keep in mind, KWAX is on the West Coast, so there’s a three-hour difference for the Trenton-Princeton area. Here are the respective air-times of my recorded shows (with East Coast conversions in parentheses):

PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday on KWAX at 5:00 PACIFIC TIME (8:00 PM EDT)

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

Stream them here!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

PHOTO: Philadelphia Baseball Club, 1887 (Dad center)

June 17, 2023
Mount St Helens Blows Up The Lost Chord This Week

I suppose I should apologize on behalf of my former employer for all the smoke this week. You can’t burn a bridge that’s stood for 28 years without kicking up a little pollution.

That said, my unnatural dismissal from a certain local classical music station puts me in mind of some more natural disasters. With my broadcast base shifting for the time being to the Pacific Northwest and KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon, my thoughts drift back to 1980 and the fearsome eruption of Mount St. Helens. When Helens blew, she killed 57 people, reduced hundreds of square miles to wasteland, and caused over a billion dollars in damage. The most active volcano in the contiguous United States, Helens is situated only a three-hour drive north of Eugene (home of KWAX).

This week on “The Lost Chord” we’ll be dancing around the mouth of the volcano, as it were. Composer Alan Hovhaness was always acutely attuned to nature. For decades, he lived outside Seattle, where he enjoyed a fruitful relationship with the Seattle Symphony. Mountains, in particular, inspired a number of his more reverential works. Commenting on his best-known music, the Symphony No. 2, “Mysterious Mountain,” composed in 1955, he wrote, “Mountains are symbols, like pyramids, of man’s attempt to know God. Mountains are symbolic meeting places between the mundane and spiritual worlds.”

The friction of the natural and the transcendent certainly informs the progression of his Symphony No. 50, the “Mount St. Helens” Symphony, composed in 1983: from a sense of grandeur in the first movement, a prelude and fugue in praise of Helens; the placidity of Paradise Lake, the beauty of which disappeared forever; and the volcano itself, recalled in the third and final movement, most percussively rendered. The violence subsides, and the dawn hymn of the opening returns in triumph.

Hovhaness’ volcano symphony is like a walk in the park alongside the mad inspirations of Icelandic genius Jon Leifs. Leifs’ “Hekla,” from 1961, is probably the closest you’ll ever want to get to a volcanic eruption. Requiring 19 percussionists banging away on anvils, stones, sirens, plate bells, chains, shotguns, cannons, and a large wooden stump, it has been called the loudest piece of classical music ever written. For their own well-being, the performers were instructed to wear earplugs.

As a bonus, with what’s left of our hearing, we’ll also enjoy “Volcanic Eruption and Atonement” from Leifs’ ballet, “Baldr.”

In this graduation season, if there was a degree awarded for distinguished achievement in volcanology, these composers undoubtedly would have graduated “Magma Come Loudly.”

Prepare to be blown away, this Saturday on “The Lost Chord,” now in syndication on KWAX!

See below for streaming information.

Keep in mind, KWAX is on the West Coast, so there’s a three-hour difference for the Trenton-Princeton area. Here are the respective air-times of my shows (with East Coast conversions in parentheses):

PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday on KWAX at 5:00 PACIFIC TIME (8:00 PM EDT)

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

Stream them here!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

June 10, 2023
WWFM Cancels Shows Webcasts Remain Briefly

I am reluctant to direct anyone to the WWFM website at this point, after having been treated so shabbily. However, I wanted to let you know, if you are a fan of “Picture Perfect” or “The Lost Chord,” that webcasts of my recorded shows have been brought up to date and will remain accessible there for an undetermined amount of time.

This is not the same as indefinitely. As soon as upper management gets around to it, they will be removed. So it could be a week, or they could last the summer, or it could take six months. Certainly, as the shows begin to gain traction elsewhere, I will want them taken down myself. In the meantime, you can listen to them here:

PICTURE PERFECT

https://www.wwfm.org/show/picture-perfect-with-ross-amico

THE LOST CHORD

https://www.wwfm.org/show/the-lost-chord-with-ross-amico

If you haven’t heard the news, both have been dropped from the WWFM on-air line-up, as part of a bewildering and characteristically slow-moving shake-up. Their inherent qualities aside, both have amassed large followings on the strength of their longevity alone, with “Picture Perfect,” the movie music show, a presence on the station for 13 years, and “The Lost Chord,” devoted to unusual and neglected music, running for 20.

With only ten days’ notice, I was contacted by the station manager via email and told that the shows would be “sunsetting” at the end of April. (Then, for some reason, “Picture Perfect” ran for another two weeks beyond the stated time.) I was given a Hobson’s choice to continue “Picture Perfect” on a once-a-month basis, to be aired in rotation with three other shows on Friday evenings at 6:00. All episodes would be newly-recorded. Should I be amenable to this, I would have the privilege of producing them without pay. I was given a week to get back to them with my decision. (Did this mean I would be permitted, finally, after three years, to come in and use the station facilities?)

Obviously, for a professional broadcaster whose show had run weekly for 13 years, the terms were unacceptable. Matters of exploitation aside (nothing new at the station, unfortunately), the show would be lost in a rotating line-up. How do you build and hold onto an audience when you’re only on the air for an hour the first Friday of every month?

I hasten to add, despite my disappointment, I sent a temperately-worded response, hoping to keep the channels open for the possibility of future collaboration, but in turn I received, after two weeks, what was essentially a Dear John letter.

All the same, webcast audio for the the recent shows, especially, has been brought up to date. I also now have copies of every sound file in my possession, so I will begin promoting and distributing to other markets, with the possibility of getting the shows on another local terrestrial radio station.

To further ensure their rehabilitation, I have ordered recording equipment so that I can begin supplementing archival material with newly-produced programs, which I have been chafing to do, especially as my collection and contacts have continued to grow for three otherwise stagnant years, as I was led to believe I would be welcomed back into the WWFM studios. And certainly I have no shortage of ideas.

Thankfully, in the meantime, the shows ARE syndicated. For now, I have a foothold at KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon. You can listen to them there at the following times, with East Coast conversions in parentheses:

PICTURE PERFECT – Fridays on KWAX at 5:00 PACIFIC TIME (8:00 PM EDT)

THE LOST CHORD – Saturdays on KWAX at 4:00 PACIFIC TIME (7:00 PM EDT)

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

KWAX is an excellent station that demonstrates evident respect for everything it broadcasts, presenting the music complete, and with minimal chatter. Do make it a point to check out their programming, especially during the week. After three years of classical radio swamp gas in central New Jersey, it’s like a breath of fresh air. The station manager? Fellow WWFM exile Peter Van de Graaff.

Whatever my future success, having been associated with the station for 28 years, it’s hardly surprising that I view the handling of the entire situation by upper management as a betrayal, of both me and the shows’ listeners and supporters. And it would be one thing (two things?) if it were only MY shows, but the entire station is seemingly in free-fall.

Remember, if you’re not happy with the changes the station has undergone in the past few years, it’s not too late for you to voice your dissatisfaction.

WWFM announced the cancellation of “Picture Perfect” and “The Lost Chord” (along with Carl Hemmingsen’s “Half Past”) on its Facebook page, WWFM The Classical Network, on May 13. You can scroll down to the relevant post after following the link.

https://www.facebook.com/wwfmtheclassicalnetwork

But if you really want to reach the top, consider emailing the station manager at alice@wwfm.org.

Don’t believe it if they blame the changes on finances. Live on-air hosts cost money, for sure, but none of us have been paid for our recorded shows for a long, long time, well-predating the pandemic. To cancel a popular show like “Picture Perfect” and to drop “The Lost Chord” from a Sunday-at-10 p.m. timeslot – not exactly prime real estate, but a great cult slot – demonstrates a baffling lack of awareness. What’s airing at those times now? More canned music from that service in Minnesota.

I’m pretty confident that it’s because of listener blowback from good people like you that the webcasts are being kept up for the moment. So thank you to those of you who have already come forward. Don’t think that your complaints don’t make a difference. Even if the shows are not restored, management should know when it’s made an unpopular decision, even as it continues to circle the drain.

The one silver lining is that it looks like the station finally removed that horrible looking photo of me from its website, thank goodness. Lord, how I hated that photo.

I thank WWFM for all the opportunities it has afforded me over the years to share great music with an incalculable number of listeners. And thank YOU for being among them. I am sorry for all of us that it is not the same quality classical music station it was 28 years ago.

On the bright side, there’s nowhere to go but up. Excelsior!

June 4, 2023
Havergal Brian’s Gothic Symphony A Colossal Masterpiece

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Havergal Brian’s Symphony No. 1, the “Gothic Symphony,” composed between 1919 and 1927, is the longest symphony ever written.

It’s certainly one of the largest, requiring multiple choirs and orchestras. The work calls for vocal soloists, two double choruses, brass bands, and a much-enlarged symphony orchestra, including 32 woodwinds, 24 brass, two timpani, assorted other percussion (requiring 17 players), celesta, two harps, organ, and a greatly expanded string section. In addition, two horns, two trumpets, two tubas, and one set of timpani combine in each of the four brass bands – a total of nearly 200 players. And that’s before factoring in the singers!

The composer had to paste multiple sheets together in the writing of the piece in order to accommodate its titanic demands. Brian dedicated the work to Richard Strauss, who declared it magnificent.

We’ll get to sample but a fraction of it this week, on “The Lost Chord.”

A contemporary of Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst, Brian dropped out of school at the age of 12 and went to work in a coal mine. He also worked for timber firms and as a carpenter’s apprentice, the whole while nursing a secret desire to write music.

Though attracting early admiration from the likes of Sir Edward Elgar, Sir Thomas Beecham, and Sir Donald Francis Tovey, Brian was destined always to be a cult figure. But there were and are enough people out there that believe strongly enough in his music, that most of his major works have been recorded.

Among them are 32 symphonies – 20 of them composed after the age of 80 and the last at the age of 93. Brian died in 1972, the result of a fall, two months shy of his 97th birthday.

The “Gothic” falls into two parts, subdivided into three movements each. Part One was inspired by Goethe’s “Faust,” and Part Two is a gargantuan setting of the “Te Deum” – combined they present a symphonic vision of the Gothic Age, a period of incalculable expansion in human knowledge. The music in Part Two is essentially modeled on Gothic architecture. It’s literally Brian’s conception of a cathedral in sound.

Clearly, this is one musical edifice that’s too big for an hour, so well cut to the chase and grapple with the last 40 minutes. As a curtain raiser, we’ll enjoy Brian’s comedy overture “The Tinker’s Wedding,” composed in 1948, at the age of 72.

Of course, there will be plenty of biographical information along the way. I hope you’ll join me for “Life of Brian,” now in syndication on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon.

Keep in mind that KWAX is on the West Coast, so there’s a three-hour time difference (conversion included in parentheses) – actually rather convenient for those of us located in the vicinity of the show’s erstwhile home at WWFM.

THE LOST CHORD – Saturdays on KWAX at 4:00 PACIFIC TIME (7:00 PM EDT)

And don’t forget my movie music show, PICTURE PERFECT, now on Fridays on KWAX at 5:00 PACIFIC TIME (8:00 PM EDT)!

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

June 3, 2023
Radio Days My Mom & Me

Mom was so proud to have me on the radio. She didn’t live to hear “Picture Perfect” or my weekday afternoon shifts, or to follow my newspaper articles, but she used to listen on weekend mornings and never missed “The Lost Chord.” Until last year, I didn’t have any photos of the two of us. Then I found a few at the old house. This one is one my favorites, as clearly we are birds of a feather.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.

May 14, 2023

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