Classic Ross Amico

Tag: WPRB

Escape the Heat Arctic & Antarctic Music

It’s been quite a week, weather-wise, so we’re not about to leave anything to chance. Tomorrow morning on WPRB, we’ll be conjuring plenty of cool thoughts with musical journeys to the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

We’ll hear Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Sinfonia Antarctica,” of course, his Symphony No. 7, which grew out of his film score for “Scott of the Antarctic.” I will be interpolating readings from Scott’s journals by Sir John Gielgud, from another recording.

We’ll also hear Nigel Westlake’s “Antarctica Suite,” written for guitarist John Williams. Then we’ll travel north to experience the struggle through darkness to light in George Lloyd’s “Arctic Symphony,” his Symphony No. 4.

We’ll set foot in Lapland with “The White Reindeer” by Einar Englund. In addition, we’ll hear musical (and aseasonal) evocations of the aurora borealis, or northern lights, by Uuno Klami, Geirr Tveitt and Paul Moravec.

Get ready to travel north and south, anywhere to beat the heat, tomorrow morning from 6 to 11 EDT on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com. I’ll be handing out the Eskimo pies, on Classic Ross Amico.

August 17, 2016
Meeting Rautavaara A Musical Memory

I had the rare opportunity to actually meet Einojuhani Rautavaara once, back in the year 2000. He was in Philadelphia for the first performance of his Symphony No. 8, “The Journey.” By purest chance, I had struck up a friendship with Anssi Blomstedt, a documentary filmmaker then living in Philadelphia, who is the youngest grandchild of Jean Sibelius. He had simply wandered into my bookstore one day, as I was playing a CD of Robert Kajanus conducting his grandfather’s Symphony No. 3. Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world…

Anyway, I got Anssi into a rehearsal of Simon Rattle conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra in Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5. The ebullient Rattle was overjoyed to meet him. The encounter happened to coincide with an interview Rattle was doing backstage with somebody from Vanity Fair, I think, and somewhere there is a photograph of the future Sir Simon planting a kiss on Anssi’s forehead.

One good turn deserves another, and when Rautavaara came to town, Anssi took me backstage at the Academy of Music to introduce me to him. The venerable composer was friendly and obviously amenable to a photograph. He also was kind enough to sign my Naxos CD of his Symphony No. 3, Piano Concerto No. 1, and Concerto for Birds and Orchestra, “Cantus Arcticus.” I wonder what he thought of this peculiar, 33 year-old “fan.”

Rautavaara died on July 27 at the age of 87. Join me this morning as we celebrate the late Finnish master with FIVE HOURS of his music, from 6 to 11 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com. One needs plenty of time in order even to say “Einojuhani Rautavaara.” Mostly we’ll let the music do the talking, on Classic Ross Amico.

August 11, 2016
Remembering Rautavaara’s Symphony No. 8 on WPRB

Right now on WPRB, we’re listening to the final symphony of the great Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara – the Symphony No. 8, subtitled “The Journey” – commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra. It was given its first performance at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music, under the direction of Wolfgang Sawallisch, in the year 2000.

Though Rautavaara would live another 16 years, he would compose no more symphonies. He suffered an aortic dissection in 2004, which put him in intensive care for half a year. He spent most of his final decade in frail health, though he continued to compose prolifically.

We are honoring Rautavaara, who died on July 27 at the age of 87, with FIVE HOURS of his music. Coming up in the 9:00 hour, we’ll hear his large-scale liturgical work, “Vigilia,” a mystical creation that grew out of childhood memories of a visit to an island monastery. Tune in if only to catch that basso-profondo!

It’s all Rautavaara until 11:00 EDT on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com.

August 11, 2016
Rautavaara Challenge 5 Hours of Finnish Music

Get ready for the Rautavaara Challenge!

The great Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara died on July 27 at the age of 87. It’s been a hectic couple of weeks, but tomorrow morning on WPRB, I’ll finally give the master his due, with FIVE BLESSED HOURS devoted to his music.

Rautavaara, widely regarded as one of the world’s great composers, the grand old man of Finnish music, and the spiritual heir of Jean Sibelius, composed eight symphonies, nine operas, 14 concertos, and dozens of other orchestral and vocal compositions.

How much Rautavaara is too much Rautavaara? We’re soon to find out. Scoff at the excessive heat warning with five hours of music from Finland (including Rautavaara’s “Cantus Arcticus”), tomorrow morning from 6 to 11 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com. We’re cool to the Finnish, on Classic Ross Amico.

August 10, 2016
Olympic Music Fever on WPRB

This morning on WPRB, we are consumed by OLYMPIC FEEEEEEEEEEEE-VAH! Or maybe it’s just the Zika virus. It’s hard to tell, as we celebrate the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

We’ll hear Olympic fanfares and occasional music composed by Leo Arnaud, Angelo Badalamenti, Robin Frost, Philip Glass, Basil Poledouris, Richard Strauss (his notorious “Olympic Hymn” for the 1936 Berlin games), Mikis Theodorakis, and John Williams.

We’ll also hear works by Brazilian composers Antônio Carlos Gomes , Camargo Guarnieri and Heitor Villa-Lobos, alongside music inspired by Brazil by smitten tourists Darius Milhaud, Ottorino Respighi, Martin Butler and David Gunn.

Also featured will be Michael Torke’s “Javelin,” co- commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games; John Harbison’s “Olympic Dances;” and bona fide medal-winning works by Olympic composers Josef Suk and Rudolph Simonsen.

We’ll be testing positive for caffeine, from 6 to 11 EDT on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com. Our motto has always been “Citius, Altius, Fortius,” on “Classic Ross Amico.”

August 4, 2016

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