Classic Ross Amico

Tag: WPRB

Labor Day Classical Music Showcase

Sure, we’re looking ahead to Labor Day this morning, but not all of the music will be “labor intensive.” I hope you’ll join me for music by a bunch of neglected dead white guys from the Greatest Generation of American Composers, and maybe a few women (also dead, alas). In addition, we’ll have contributions from those still toiling, composers like Paul Lansky and John Corigliano.

Poor David Diamond got short shrift on the 100th anniversary of his birth, since everyone else seemingly played everything in advance of his July 9 birthday. Enough time has passed that I can now in some small way make amends. We’ll have his best known piece, the early “Rounds for String Orchestra,” and one of his later works, the adagio from the Symphony No. 11 – the only part of the symphony so far to be recorded.

Certainly a highlight will be one of the symphonies of Lukas Foss, drawn from a new recording of the complete set of four, performed by Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP).

Labor-oriented pieces will include “John Henry” by Aaron Copland, “Skyscrapers” by John Alden Carpenter, and “Flivver Ten Million” – about automobile manufacturing – by Frederick Shepherd Converse. In addition, Princeton’s own Paul Robeson will sing the labor anthem “Joe Hill.”

Pull up a girder and get out your Stanley thermos. I’ll be doing the heavy-lifting on Class Ross Amico, today from 6 to 11 ET, on WPRB 103.3 FM or at wprb.com.

September 3, 2015
David Amram at Philadelphia Folk Fest

As mentioned on Classic Ross Amico (where we are currently enjoying David Amram’s “Theme and Variations on ‘Red River Valley’”), here is a clip of the ceaselessly energetic Amram performing at the Philadelphia Folk Festival in 2011 at the age of 80.

Hear more American music, in anticipation of Labor Day though 11 a.m. ET, at WPRB 103.3 FM or at wprb.com.

September 3, 2015
Labor Day American Classics on WPRB

I am toiling at programming right now so that I might get you in the mood for Labor Day tomorrow morning on WPRB. Unsurprisingly, I will be playing all American music, though not all of it will be labor-oriented.

Composers you may hear will include David Amram, Romeo Cascarino, John Corigliano, David Diamond, Howard Hanson, Paul Lansky, Jerome Moross, Stephen Paulus, Walter Piston and Elie Siegmeister.

I can pretty much guarantee that you will hear a symphony by Lukas Foss from a new recording of the complete set of four by Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP).

Labor-oriented pieces will include “John Henry” by Aaron Copland, “Skyscrapers” by John Alden Carpenter, and “Flivver Ten Million” – complete with foundry noises – by Frederick Shepherd Converse. In addition, Princeton’s own Paul Robeson will sing the labor anthem “Joe Hill.”

Get ready to punch the clock tomorrow morning at 6 ET. I’ll be with you until 11, on WPRB 103.3 FM or online at wprb.com, busting my hump on Classic Ross Amico.

September 2, 2015
Goethe’s Birthday: Schumann’s Faust & More

You want something you won’t generally hear on the radio? How about Robert Schumann’s “Scenes from Goethe’s ‘Faust’” – all blessed two hours of it, complete with vocal soloists and chorus. I’ve got a fine performance of it, all ready to go, with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Faust, Elisabeth Harwood as Gretchen, and John Shirley-Quirk as Mephistopheles. The conductor? Benjamin Britten.

It may very well be the highlight of this morning’s show, which will be devoted to works inspired by Germany’s literary giant, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), on his birthday anniversary.

Here’s the thing: in order to play what I want to play, I’ll have to start Schumann’s “Faust” at 7 a.m. So brew yourself some strong coffee and leave a message for the boss that you’ve got an emergency dental appointment and you’ll be in a little late.

There will also be symphonic poems by Liszt (“Tasso, Lament and Triumph”) and Paul Dukas (“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” in a vintage recording with Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra), plenty of music based on melodies from Gounod’s “Faust,” Beethoven’s “Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage,” some opera arias, and lieder, lieder, lieder, from Franz Schubert to Hugo Wolf.

All you have to do is sign this parchment with your blood.

I hope you’ll join me this morning, from 6 to 11 ET, as we celebrate Goethe, on WPRB 103.3 FM or at wprb.com. Get your fill of the quill, on Classic Ross Amico.*

*Apparently Goethe actually preferred the pencil:

http://takingnotenow.blogspot.com/2013/08/goethe-and-quill-and-pencil.html

August 27, 2015
Schumann’s Faust on WPRB Now

Have you tuned in since 7:00 and thought, “What the hell is he playing?” It’s Robert Schumann’s rarely heard quasi-oratorio “Scenes from Goethe’s ‘Faust.’” We’re celebrating Goethe until 11 ET, on WPRB 103.3 FM or at wprb.com.

I hope you’ll stick around. Coming up in the 9:00 hour, it’s “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” by Paul Dukas, with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski. Don’t sue me, Disney!

August 27, 2015

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