On the air right now: some well-seasoned music by Franz Joseph Haydn. Until 4 p.m. EST, it’s a complete performance of his oratorio “The Seasons.” If you hurry, you might be able to catch a hit of spring! Haydn is a man for all seasons, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
Tag: The Seasons
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Haydn’s The Seasons on WPRB Princeton
Taking a look at the weather forecast for the Princeton area reminds us that March can be a crazy time. Spring may be here, according to the calendar, but with mostly sunny skies expected today, with highs in the lower 70s, and breezy conditions on Sunday, with highs in the mid-40s (and more snow on the way next week!), everyone’s thoughts are very much on the seasons.
What better time, then, to enjoy a performance of Franz Joseph Haydn’s oratorio on the subject? Based on texts prepared by Baron Gottfried von Swieten from the poetry of James Thomson, “The Seasons” has always been the poor stepbrother to Haydn’s smash hit, “The Creation.” It’s a critic’s darling, though, and it should be one of yours, too.
You’ll have a chance to enjoy it this morning in a classic performance, one of the best of Sir Thomas Beecham’s later years, beginning in the 8:00 hour.
We’re celebrating the music of Haydn on his birthday until 11:00 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com.
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Haydn’s Birthday on Classic Ross Amico
Tomorrow is the birthday of Franz Joseph Haydn. It may seem uncharacteristic of me, given my obvious preference for music composed after about 1890, but I’ve always been partial to Papa, and I am inclined to pay him homage.
I can’t promise that I will be playing all-Haydn on my show tomorrow morning on WPRB; but then again, I can’t promise that I won’t. If I feel the need to spice it up a bit, I may stir in a little neoclassicism, courtesy of composers like Bohuslav Martinu and Harold Shapero, and garnish it with a tribute or two by composers like Marcel Grandjany and Norman Dello Joio.
On the other hand, I could diminish my listenership considerably with back-to-back airings of Haydn’s wonderful oratorios, “The Creation” and “The Seasons.” The timings indicate that they would just about fit. Though if there’s anything to be learned from Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” it’s that just because we can doesn’t mean that we should.
This is truly the most classic insight into the making of Classic Ross Amico. Odds are that I’ll show up with a suitcase full of CDs ten minutes before air-time and start making my decisions then.
There’s no Haydn the fact that I’m ill-prepared. Tune in to share in my humiliation, tomorrow morning from 6 to 11 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com. We’ll remember Papa, on Classic Ross Amico.
PHOTO: Is that a pinky ring?
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