Classic Ross Amico

Tag: The Lost Chord

Classical Radio: KWAX Beckons After WWFM

WWFM may have dropped my weekly shows. But by heading west to KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon, I am that much closer to Japan.

This week, “The Lost Chord” continues, as we sample selections from Naxos’ “Japanese Classics Series.” We’ll hear Kiyoshige Koyama’s variations on a woodcutter’s song, “Kobiki-Uta” (1957), Qunihico Hashimoto’s symphonic suite “Heavenly Maiden and Fisherman” (1933), and Komei Abe’s neoclassical Symphony No. 1 (1957). Armchair travelers, your passage is paid!

I’ve got my hands full here at the moment, as I am in the process of arranging to take over production and distribution of “The Lost Chord” and “Picture Perfect.” Ideally, this means the shows will be heard more widely, but what is more exciting from a listener standpoint is that I will again be able to create new material. Part-time staff has not been allowed back in to the WWFM studios for over three years. You can thank the pandemic, the budget, and good old-fashioned, poor human relations skills.

The continuing decline of WWFM, once one of the finest classical music stations in the country, has been depressing for anyone who cares about music, with most of its passionate, dedicated staff driven off and replaced by an average of 20 hours a day of evaporated milk pumped in from Minnesota. One local host pops in for maybe four hours twice a week. You know something’s askew when during those hours you long for more Minnesota. The team of knowledgeable and enthusiastic record collectors that made the station so quirky and compellingly listenable is no more.

The pill would be less bitter, perhaps, if the canned version at least allowed the music to breathe, as opposed to chopping it up into the greatest moments of the greatest hits, and if the hosts weren’t so in love with their own chatter.

That said, despair not, friends! Quality classical radio still exists, and thankfully, it’s a small world after all. KWAX presents the music complete, the way the composers intended, and in a manner that won’t frustrate or annoy those who care about it. The general manager is Peter Van De Graaff, who once also had a substantial presence on WWFM, both in the early afternoons and overnights. If you remember Peter, you know the quality has got to be high.

In the evenings and on weekends, you’ll recognize other WWFM voices that have made their way west, including David Dubal on “The Piano Matters,” Mike Harrah on “The Lyric Stage,” Carl Hemmingsen on “Half Past,” and rotating hosts on “Sounds Choral,” alongside other syndicated programs that include “Classical Guitar Alive” with Tony Morris, “Pipe Dreams” with Michael Barone, and “Exploring Music” with Bill McGlaughlin. In addition, I must say, it’s good to be able to hear “Collector’s Corner” with Henry Fogel again.

In the days of the internet, it’s not only the maiden’s heavenly fisherman who realizes there are plenty of fish in the sea. If you’re tired of the blather-and-evaporated-milk approach to classical music programming, give KWAX a shot. I think you’ll be glad you did.

Whether we’re on different continents or on opposite coasts, the music brings us closer. Expand your horizons, with “Nippon Notes from Naxos,” on “The Lost Chord,” this SATURDAY at 4:00 PACIFIC TIME (that’s 7:00 PM BACK EAST) on KWAX.

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

Here’s the schedule at a glance. Clip it and save!

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)

Streaming here:

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

IMAGE: The road to wisdom is paved with broken radio

May 13, 2023
WWFM Quits & My Shows Find New Home on KWAX

The official line is that, as of the end of April, my weekly shows, “Picture Perfect” and “The Lost Chord” have “sunsetted” on WWFM. I’ve got documentation to the effect and announcements were made over the air. So going forward, whatever the station decides to do in terms of maintaining the illusion of my continued employment there, up to and including rebroadcasts of any of my recorded material, don’t you believe it. Barring extraordinary measures on the part of management – beginning with a little basic human kindness and ending with actually paying me again, for a change – after 28 years, WWFM and I are quits.

That said, the shows are syndicated, and I am in the process of taking over distribution from home, with the production of all-new programs. Which is great, because my hands have been tied since the pandemic broke across New Jersey in March 2020 and all part-time employees were barred from entering the WWFM studios. For over three years.

For now, I enthusiastically endorse listening to the shows on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon. They’ve got a friendly and knowledgeable crew out there, overseen by the benevolent Peter Van de Graaff, whose Beethoven Satellite Network was also dropped from WWFM some time ago, in favor of the blathering hosts and bleeding chunks of music (up to ten fragments an hour) from Classical 24, an inferior service out of Minnesota, now ladled out by WWFM for 20 hours or more of its broadcast day.

KWAX is classical radio the way it used to be, with complete symphonies and concertos, chamber and instrumental music, and choral and vocal works, presented in a respectful, intelligent, and entertaining context. What’s more, Peter is on the air much of the time, as weekday morning host (in addition, his Beethoven Satellite Network runs overnight), and since the station is on the West Coast, everything is three hours behind Trenton-Princeton, so he doesn’t go off until 3:00 in the afternoon EDT! I’m in paradise. I think you will be too.

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

To emphasize my sense of liberation, this week on “Picture Perfect,” I’ll be shaking the dust off my boots with an hour of music about prison breaks.

Indomitable Steve McQueen does hard time on Devil’s Island in “Papillon” (Jerry Goldsmith); Paul Newman sticks it to The Man in “Cool Hand Luke” (Lalo Schifrin); Tim Robbins makes good use of a Rita Hayworth poster in “The Shawshank Redemption” (Thomas Newman); and an all-star cast, led by a barbed-wire hopping McQueen, flee their Nazi captors in “The Great Escape” (Elmer Bernstein).

Let’s face it, nobody looks good in orange. Grab a shank and a file, and get yourself free. We’re bustin’ out of the joint, THIS FRIDAY AT 5:00 P.M. PACIFIC TIME (which translates to 8:00 PM EDT, a good time for listening on the East Coast) on KWAX.

Here’s the schedule at a glance. Clip it and keep it in your wallet!

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)

Stream them here:

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

PHOTO: Gazing deeply into my backside, as I tunnel out of a bad situation

May 12, 2023
“Lost Chord” & “Picture Perfect” Find New Home on KWAX

A friendly reminder that, even though WWFM has dropped both “Picture Perfect” and “The Lost Chord,” the shows can still be heard in syndication.

For example, last week’s edition of “The Lost Chord,” which concluded my WWFM run – on very short notice, I might add – will be broadcast today on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon. KWAX carries both “Picture Perfect” and “The Lost Chord.”

Until now, in syndication, the individual programs have aired one week after being broadcast on WWFM, so they’ve always been out-of-sync with my Facebook promos. Well, now we no longer have to concern ourselves about that, do we?

If you missed last week’s broadcast of “The Lost Chord” – “Roses of Persia,” an hour of Persian polyphonic music – you can catch it today on KWAX at 4:00 PACIFIC TIME. In the East, that translates to 7:00 EDT. A good time during which to catch the show. Actually better than its former time slot.

Tune in to KWAX and be sure to take a look around at the rest of its programming. There’s a lot of syndicated fare on weekends, but also, especially during the week, a lot of Peter Van de Graaff. You remember Peter? Why, he used to do the early afternoons and overnights on WWFM!

I think you’ll find that, in general, KWAX’s broadcasts are intelligent, professional, and personable. They don’t chop up the music like so many links of sausages, unlike some services we know. Symphonies and concertos, chamber and instrumental music are all presented complete. Furthermore, the announcers aren’t compelled to pollute the air waves with a lot of mindless blather.

You’ll note that many of your favorite WWFM shows are also carried by KWAX. Follow the link and explore. I think you’ll be glad you did.

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

You can refresh your memory as to the content of today’s episode of “The Lost Chord” by reviewing this post I wrote last week for its WWFM broadcast. Again, please note that the time and station of origin have changed. “The Lost Chord” may now be enjoyed on KWAX, Saturdays at 4:00 PACIFIC TIME (7:00 PM EDT).

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1086510718934657&set=a.883855802533484

FYI – “Picture Perfect” can also be heard on KWAX, Fridays at 5:00 PACIFIC TIME (8:00 PM EDT).

IMAGE: Seemorgh the phoenix rises on KWAX!

May 6, 2023
Radio Show Ending After 36 Years

Holy smokes! I just did the math, and I’ve been broadcasting music on the radio for 36-some years!

To all of you who have been private messaging me and posting your comments here on Facebook, thank you for your support. It means a lot that you will miss “Picture Perfect” and/or “The Lost Chord” (both of which aired their last on WWFM this past weekend). Some of you are curious to know more. I have tried to include all the relevant information below, without pointing fingers and with emotional restraint.

I will say the decision to end the programs was not mine. I was emailed by WWFM’s program director the afternoon of Wednesday, April 19, and notified that the shows would be “sunsetting,” with “Picture Perfect” concluding its weekly run on April 29 (ten days later) and “The Lost Chord” ending on April 30.

The reason I was given is that those who make these decisions would like to refresh the program schedule. You can’t really argue with that. However, it would have been nice had I been given the option to help freshen it up by creating some new shows!

Needless to say, I put a lot into these broadcasts, and I have done so for quite a long while (“Picture Perfect” for 13 years; “The Lost Chord” for 20).

A combination of COVID-19 safety restrictions and budgetary considerations have kept me out of the WWFM studios for the past three years. During that time, a skeleton crew of managers have had to lean heavily on syndicated programming, automation, and remote control to maintain a 24-hour schedule. Which is why suddenly a lot of unfamiliar voices started to pop up and why you’re not getting a lot of weather forecasts, time checks, or community representation.

Unfortunately, you’re also not hearing very many complete pieces of music, as the trend with the principal service being relied upon is toward sound bites and pretty melodies without a lot of depth or space for reflection.

The reasons for this are complex, and I am not placing blame. The station is affiliated with a college, the first priority of which must necessarily be admissions. There’s no reason to start paying more people to improve the radio broadcasts of a station that, to an undiscerning ear, seems to be functioning just fine without them. It’s not the college’s primary mission and therefore non-essential. I can live with that.

However, my not being able to use the production studios during all that time means that I have not been able to produce new content.

As the months and years passed, I continued to select archived episodes of “Picture Perfect” and “The Lost Chord” for rebroadcast, touching them up at home to remove any time-sensitive material or to tailor them to important anniversaries. I do not have a home studio (which I will be remedying very soon), so any extensive new recording would have to be done at the station.

If there was a concern about the reruns becoming stale, I was never told, and I would have been happy to produce new episodes with authorized access to the station equipment.

I should add, at the time of the Picture Perfect “sunset” notification, I was given the option to start producing new shows on a once-a-month basis – for “Picture Perfect” only. Whether or not that means I would now be able to resume recording at the WWFM studios was not made clear. What was made clear was that I would receive no monetary compensation for my work and that the program would air in rotation with three other WWFM specialty programs on Friday evenings at 6:00.

This I declined to do, for several reasons. To put all that work into producing a polished program that would only air on a first-Friday schedule would be foolhardy. Listeners would never remember to tune in, it’s no way to build an audience, and for hardcore film music fans, it would be death by starvation. Having to wait a month to hear your favorite music doesn’t exactly convey a sense that the station cares very much about it.

To make it worthwhile, the show would have to be produced weekly or not at all. “Picture Perfect” is not a “pops” show. You will never hear kitschy arrangements of movie themes, lazily strung together, as if these are in some way representative of the actual scores. It’s a serious film music show that honors the integrity of the music and the composers.

As for pay, I’m a professional, but I have not received monetary compensation for “Picture Perfect” or “The Lost Chord” for years. Granted, for most of their run, I was paid for the production of recorded shows, but at a point, when we were looking for ways to tighten up the budget, it was agreed by everyone that those of us who produced specialty shows would attempt to get underwriters to support them. Which means we would only be paid for them if there was an underwriter.

Unfortunately, the way it was handled, it turned out to be a cumbersome system that didn’t really give me the authority to work out a deal. Instead, I was a basically a go-between, and I’ve had at least one prospective coalition collapse because of it.

At this point, I am basically resigned to the shows being taken off the air. However, if there are any “angels” reading this who are interested in underwriting (meaning a serious commitment, not just a week or two), it’s possible the station could be persuaded to reinstate them, with me providing fresh content. Should that be the case, please contact the station. I am not in a position from which I can simply walk into a room and discuss it with anyone. If you would like to split the cost with other contributors, tell the station so, by phone or email, and maybe they’ll be able to put together a deal for you.

This is not an attempt to incite a bunch of angry villagers to storm the castle with their torches, but if there’s anything else you’d care to express on the matter, you can contact the station manager/program director, Alice Weiss, at alice@wwfm.org. There’s also a phone number on the WWFM website. PLEASE NOTE: If you write to the info@wwfm.org address, in all likelihood it will only get lost.

Of course, your opinions will carry more weight if you happen to be a financial supporter of the station. But volume also speaks. If a lot of you like the show(s), and you let them know, they may be inclined to keep one of them. But frankly, if it isn’t the case, I’m ready to pack up my wagon and roll on to the next opportunity.

Again, I am happy that my work has meant enough to you that you’ve read this far. And I am grateful to WWFM for providing a platform from which I’ve been able to share music for the past 28 years (if you count my live air shifts). Some times were sweeter than others, but I never felt anything but contentment while I was spinning the records – the sweet spot where it was just me and the audience.

It was an unspoken compact that kept me there for decades, despite a lot of physical, psychological, and emotion wear-and-tear. No benefits, limited time off, hindered social life, strain on relationships, work on weekends and holidays, and for many years getting up at 3 or 4 in the morning and driving in all weather.

But what have I done for them lately?

At the moment, I’ve got a couple of other irons in the fire, including a very kind offer that arrived in my private messages the other day. But I had hoped to continue to have my local shows distributed from my local classical music station. Do what you will in terms of emailing, but I think it’s realistic to expect that they’ll pretty much do what they have always done, which is whatever it is they want to do.

For the time being, past shows are still archived as webcasts at the station website – although it looks as if the audio files for the last month or so have yet to be posted; but they’re there through March, with the more recent installments perhaps still on the way. The only other thing I ask is that you please excuse the horrendous profile pic!

https://www.wwfm.org/people/ross-amico

May 2, 2023
Rachmaninoff at 150 Anniversary Celebration

Sergei Rachmaninoff may have been born on April 1, but he was nobody’s fool. Frequently derided by critics, he knew just what the public wanted – good tunes and heart-on-the-sleeve emotion! His Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3, the “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,” the Symphony No. 2, the “Vocalise,” and more solo piano works than I care to list, including the Prelude in C-sharp minor – so ubiquitous the composer himself came to hate it – have never been out of the active repertoire.

Rachmaninoff has been my focus on “The Lost Chord” several times over the years – I devoted a show to his friendship with Nikolai Medtner and another to his achievements as a recitalist – but the program most easily referenced is the one that aired this past Sunday on WWFM – The Classical Network.

For Rachmaninoff’s 150th birthday, enjoy an hour of vintage recordings of his music, including one of the composer playing his own “Symphonic Dances,” on the piano of Eugene Ormandy, in 1940. Also, Ormandy introduces – and conducts – the Philadelphia Orchestra in a memorial performance of “Isle of the Dead,” given only days after Rachmaninoff’s death in 1943. The hour concludes with a literal party piece, as Rachmaninoff tosses off the folk song “Bublichki,” or “Bagels,” in 1942.

The recordings are taken from a 3-CD boxed set on the Marston Records label. Get a piece of the Rach! Enjoy the webcast by following the link and clicking on “listen.”

https://www.wwfm.org/show/the-lost-chord-with-ross-amico/2023-03-24/the-lost-chord-march-26-rach-of-ages

Happy 150, Sergei Rachmaninoff!

April 1, 2023

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