Classic Ross Amico

Tag: WPRB

Marvin Rosen Classical Music Passion

When there’s music to be shared, Marvin Rosen is not one to be hindered by a lack of sleep. The indefatigable Rosen, who shares his passion with listeners every week on his radio show, Classical Discoveries, sets his alarm for 4 a.m., but his innate enthusiasm often has him up earlier, even on the shortest and coldest of days.

Officially, “Classical Discoveries” can be heard on Wednesdays, from 5:30 to 11 a.m., on WPRB 103.3 FM in Princeton. But it’s not unusual for Rosen to start his broadcast at a time when even roosters might consider hitting the snooze. Recordings heard on “Classical Discoveries” are harvested in large part from his own, massive, personal collection and from private recordings sent to him by composers living all over the world.

Occasionally, his exuberance will spill over into day-long marathons. The next such event, his annual Viva 21st Century-24 Hour Plus-WPRB Broadcast with Marvin Rosen, will begin on Dec. 27 at 1 p.m. Rosen will take to the airwaves for 25 uninterrupted hours, to present music by approximately 100 living composers.

On June 8 at 3 p.m., Rosen will present a live piano recital made up of miniatures by 25 living women composers. The concert will take place at Bristol Chapel on the campus of Westminster Choir College. Response to his request for submissions was so favorable that he plans to present a follow-up recital in April at 1867 Sanctuary at Ewing.

For all his evident enthusiasm for the new and unusual, Rosen has never lost his affection for the standard repertoire. He simply understands that the music of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven can be heard anywhere that classical music is played.

His love of Bach earned him an invitation from Choral Arts Philadelphia to host its New Year’s Eve presentation of the “Christmas Oratorio.” The four-hour concert, including all six cantatas, with a break for intermission and refreshments, will take place on Dec. 31, from 4 to 8 p.m., at Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral.

Indeed, Rosen, who is on the piano faculty of Westminster Conservatory of Music, is a busy, busy man. It was a challenge to fit everything into my article in today’s Trenton Times:

http://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/index.ssf/2016/12/classical_music_marvin_rosen_p.html

December 23, 2016
Franz Liszt’s Merry Liszt-mas on WPRB

Merry Liszt-mas!

When you tune in to WPRB this morning, don’t be surprised to find the bulk of the programming devoted to the music of Franz Liszt. Liszt, who had a diabolical reputation both as a pianist and as a ladies’ man, was also quite devout. In fact, he eventually took minor orders and lived in a monastic cell in Rome, where he was known as the Abbé Liszt.

We’ll be listening to his three-hour oratorio/symphonic poem, “Christus,” celebrating the life and legacy of Christ. However, Liszt being Liszt, there are times when he wholly dispenses with the frankincense and myrrh and piles on the tragic heroism. The “March of the Three Holy Kings” which concludes Part I sounds like it could have been lifted by Richard Wagner (and it may have been) for use in his “Ring” cycle. The music was written contemporaneously with Wagner’s “Das Rheingold.”

As time allows, we’ll also enjoy Liszt’s “Christmas Tree Suite.” Liszt dedicated the work to his granddaughter, Daniela von Bülow, the daughter of Cosima Liszt and conductor Hans von Bülow. Some of the early movements are reflections on familiar carols, but as the suite progresses, the movements become dreamier and more introspective. The work was first performed on Christmas Day in 1881, the day Daniela’s birthday was always observed, though she was actually born on Christmas Eve.

“Christus” begins at 7:00 EST. With luck, the “Christmas Tree Suite” will begin at 10:25. Join me at 6:00 for a bit of musical tailgating and some more selections for Christmas.

Liszt-en all morning, in fact, from 6 to 11:00 on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com. They call me the Abbé Normal, on Classic Ross Amico.

December 22, 2016
Beyond the 20 Carols Christmas Music Rediscovered

A thousand years of Christmas music, and every year it’s just about reduced to the same old 20 carols.

If, like me, you are frustrated by the countless regurgitations of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” for every conceivable vocal and instrumental combination, plugged in perfunctorily to a well-worn playlist, between Mozart and Dvořák, join me tomorrow morning on WPRB, when we’ll go completely anti-commercial, anti-ADD, and completely balls-out Christmas.

Our featured work will be Franz Liszt’s “Christus,” three hours of hardcore Jesus music, of which only the first 70 minutes or so deal with the Christmas story. In fact, Part III contains a 40-minute setting of the “Stabat Mater dolorosa.” You won’t hear that at the shopping mall.

Okay, so maybe it’s not for everyone, but the music does have its rewards. Forget “Jingle Bell Rock.” Brew yourself something strong, send your regrets to the office “holiday party,” if you can, and seclude your wittily antlered self in a quiet place with no distractions to marvel at this massive oratorio-cum-symphonic poem.

Due to the length of this extraordinary work (almost exactly three hours, played uninterrupted), it will begin in the 7:00 hour. That will insure that the piece will have run its course by the time Will Constantine Jr. rolls in at 11:00 for “Blues, Bop and Beyond.”

If you want jolly, call up Rankin-Bass. For the rest of you, join me tomorrow morning from 6 to 11 EST, on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com. Santa’s not the only one who’s got a little Liszt, on Classic Ross Amico.

December 22, 2016
Gifts for Music Lovers: WPRB Radio’s 2016 Picks

Still looking for the perfect gift for the music-lover that has everything? We’ll do our best to give you a few ideas tomorrow morning on WPRB, as we sample from a number of compact discs that were released over the course of 2016.

Hopefully, we’ll have a little something for everyone, from the Renaissance to the present day, with perhaps a selection or two from the silver screen. We’ll fill in around the edges with some brief selections for Christmas, lest we happen to forget what season this is. (Yeah, right!)

That’s a full morning of potential stocking stuffers, from 6 to 11 EST, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. We’re always full of suggestions, on Classic Ross Amico.

December 15, 2016
Last-Minute Music Gifts & 2016 Releases on WPRB

Only ten days left until Christmas. Still, plenty of time in which to order that perfect gift for the music-lover in your life, or to treat yourself for being such a good Secret Santa.

This morning on WPRB, the focus will be on new releases issued over the course of 2016. There will be little snippets of Christmas music along the way, of course, but they will act as mere segues between the featured attractions. Playlists and record information will be posted online at the station website.

We’ll open the floodgates on Christmas next week. In the meantime, it’s a full morning of potential stocking stuffers, from 6 to 11 EST, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. Don’t forget to leave out a cookie and some cocoa for Classic Ross Amico.

PHOTO: No kittens were harmed in the assembling of this program

December 15, 2016

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