Classic Ross Amico

Tag: WPRB

Easter Sunday Classical Music on WPRB

Tomorrow being the day of chocolate bunnies and Peeps, my colleague Bob Pollack has generously agreed to fill in for me on WPRB. Bob, host of “Morning Classical” (now heard on Monday mornings from 6 to 9), will introduce Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony, Bach’s Cantata No. 4 “Christ lag in Totesbanden,” Rachmaninoff’s “Vespers,” and some broader tributes to spring. Remember, it is Vinyl Week on WPRB, so it really depends on what’s on the shelves (Beethoven’s “Spring” Sonata, anyone?).

Wake up and smell the daffodils, tomorrow morning, Easter Sunday, from 7 to 10 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. Thanks, Bob, for your music of hope and renewal!

March 31, 2018
Dan Zhu Violinist on WPRB

With my guest, violinist Dan Zhu, this morning on WPRB 103.3 FM. Yesterday, Dan performed the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra at Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium. Among his other achievements, he was the first violinist to perform in Antarctica! He returns to play for the penguins in December. Check out his recent recordings of music by Bright Sheng (on Naxos) and Boris Papandopulo (on cpo.de – classic production osnabrück).

Bright Sheng’s “Hot Pepper” (selection):

Boris Papandopulo’s Violin Concerto (Movement III):

Thanks, Dan, for dropping by!

March 25, 2018
March Madness on the Radio My Foreign Legion Shift

Why did I join the Foreign Legion? I’ve already forgotten.

Foreign Legion, of course, is a metaphor for “Sunday morning radio shift.”

I’ll be knocking the cobwebs out of my circadian-addled consciousness with my second annual salute to March Madness. That’s right – it will be an all-march morning. Marches for band. Symphonic marches. Marches for piano. Marches for guitar. Light music marches. Military marches. Funeral marches. Coronation marches. Circus marches. I’ll do my best to get your feet moving, even if you can’t find the on-switch to the coffee maker.

To keep it varied, we’ll also hear a couple of larger works (such as Joachim Raff’s Piano Concerto, with its march-like finale), to break free of obsessive 4/4 time. But no Mahler symphonies!

At 9:00, we’ll take a break so that you have a chance to rest your feet and have a sip from your canteen, as I’m joined by violinist Dan Zhu. Zhu appeared as soloist in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto last night with the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra at Richardson Auditorium on the campus of Princeton University. We’ll chat with Zhu about his career, his love of music, and his passion for environmental advocacy. Zhu was the first violinist to perform in Antarctica, in 2013.

Then it’s back to the punishing sands. March or die, this Sunday morning from 7 to 10 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. Surely I Geste, on Classic Ross Amico.

March 25, 2018
March Madness Music on WPRB

It may be a week before Easter, but this Sunday morning on WPRB we’ll be going as mad as a March hare. It’s our second annual salute to March Madness!

That’s right – it will be an all-march morning. Marches for band. Symphonic marches. Marches for piano. Light music marches. Military marches. Funeral marches. Coronation marches. Circus marches. We’ll even have a symphony written for West Point that incorporates a marching machine.

How could we possibly sustain this over a span of three hours? Well, if we could do it last year for five hours, we can do it this year for three. We’ll be propelled by a variety of moods and timbres, with a couple of larger works (such as Joachim Raff’s Piano Concerto, with its march-like finale), to break free of obsessive 4/4 time.

We’ll have a chance to rest our legs at 9:00, when I’m joined by violinist Dan Zhu. Zhu will appear with the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Richardson Auditorium on the campus of Princeton University. He’ll be the soloist in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and then a traditional Chinese piece, “Morning at Miao Ling Mountain.” The program will conclude with music director Chiu-Tze Lin conducting Brahms’ Symphony No. 1. You can find out more at bravuraphil.org. We’ll ask Zhu to talk about his career, his love of music, and his passion for environmental advocacy. Zhu was the first violinist to perform in Antarctica, in 2013.

The rest of the morning will consist of mad marches. It’s the ultimate Face-Palm Sunday, from 7 to 10 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. We’ve been given our marching orders, on Classic Ross Amico.

March 24, 2018
WPRB: Time Travel Through Music & Early Music Fest

Get ready for a morning of musical time travel on WPRB, as composers of the “present” look to the past to create works of lasting beauty.

Among our featured selections will be a suite for recorders by Ralph Vaughan Williams, a “distant saraband” by Joaquin Rodrigo, three Gesualdo madrigals recollected by Igor Stravinsky, an update of the Baroque dance suite by Paul Lansky, some Renaissance Scottish dances by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, an orchestral juxtaposition of popular dances of the eras of both Elizabeths by William Alwyn, some variations on two cantigas of Alfonso the Wise by Vittorio Rieti, an organ processional in the French Baroque style by Robert Moran, and a Vespers setting for choir and Renaissance band by Kile Smith.

If the playlist is to your liking, perhaps you’d like to sustain the mood by attending the Guild for Early Music Festival this afternoon at Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ. This year’s festival will take place on the two stages of the Seward Johnson Center for the Arts, from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Enjoy mini-concerts for cornetti, dulcians, recorders, and violas da gamba, then take a break to stroll the grounds and grab a cup of coffee – just keep an eye out for those peacocks! You’ll find more information at guildforearlymusic.org and groundsforsculpture.org.

The music takes pride of place, this Sunday morning from 7 to 10 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. I’ll be operating under my nom de plumage on Classic Ross Amico.

March 18, 2018

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