Classic Ross Amico

Tag: WWFM

Bach Month Donation Drive at The Classical Network

March is Bach Month at The Classical Network. Every March we reach out to you, our listeners, asking you to come forward and donate in whatever amount is comfortable for you. Once we reach 500 donations, we stop the solicitations and celebrate with just Bach’s music, in honor of Bach’s birthday on March 21. Of course, this year, Old Man Winter threw a wrench in the works by blanketing the East Coast with snow in the fourth nor’easter in three weeks. Thanks, Old Man!

Because of the setback, we lost momentum on the special day, and we are still racing to catch up. As of this writing, the membership thermometer stands at 341 – only 159 contributions to go! Can you help us wrap up this campaign by the weekend? There’s $15,000 on the line, courtesy of the Bach Pot, challenge money put up by some of our most dedicated listeners. You can do your part by heading over to wwfm.org and clicking on the “donate now” button beneath the thermometer at the right side of the page. Or by calling us at 1-888-232-1212.

Your contribution is like nitrous oxide to the engine of Johann Sebastian’s Heavy Chevy. Help propel us to a successful finish, so that we can fill the air waves once again with uninterrupted, glorious music and kick back in unalloyed enjoyment. As always, thank you for your ongoing support of WWFM – The Classical Network. We couldn’t do it without you!

March 23, 2018
Bach Birthday Bash & 500 Supporter Challenge

All right, the college had a delayed opening this morning on account of yesterday’s snowfall, but today is the day! Join us for a belated birthday bash for Johann Sebastian Bach.

It will be all-Bach for the remainder of the day, with occasional pauses for us to remind you that we are trying to wrap up our Bach 500 challenge. We’re looking for 500 of you to step up and make a contribution in any amount. Once we reach 500 contributions, we cease our fundraising, and we can all just kick back and enjoy Bach’s music. We’re just about halfway there. Keep The Classical Network strong with your contribution!

Head over to the website, wwfm.org, and click on the “donate now” tab over to the right of the screen, beneath the membership thermometer. The thermometer is also a handy way for you to track our progress. Make that mercury rise by contributing online, or call us at 1-888-232-1212.

Thank you for your support of WWFM – The Classical Network. It’s because of the generosity of listeners just like you that we’ll be able to continue to bring Bach to the future.

March 22, 2018
Classical Music Defies Winter’s Return on WWFM

As we brace ourselves for a double nor’easter, I cast a skeptical eye at the calendar on this, the First Day of Spring. Then I gaze wistfully into my bag full of spring-related CDs. Surely there is some music here suitable for driving away Old Man Winter, a guest who has overstayed his welcome, drunk too much, and broken more than a few valuables.

Following today’s Noontime Concert on The Classical Network, and in defiance of the weather, we’ll offer blood sacrifices to the pagan gods, with Frank Bridge’s “Enter Spring,” Lodewijk Mortelmans’ “The Myth of Spring,” Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring,” and Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky’s “The Snow Maiden,” all in the interest of appeasing mercurial Nature.

First, we’ll be laying down the Lawes – William Lawes, that is – on today’s Noontime Concert. Join me for a program of Lawes’ consort music, as presented by Parthenia Viols. The performances were recorded at New York’s Church of Saint Luke in the Fields last May. Parthenia will present a concert of “Tomb Sonnets,” featuring works by Josquin des Prez, Carlo Gesualdo, and Giovanni Gabrieli, among others, on March 25 at The Secret Theatre in Long Island City. To find out more, look online at parthenia.org.

We’ll take viol music over vile weather, from 12 to 4 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

IMAGE: Princeton’s own Patrick McDonnell tells it like it is

March 20, 2018
Bach 500 Support Classical Music & Skip the Fundraiser

Perhaps you’re a little tired of hearing about Bach by now.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, The Classical Network is heading into the homestretch on its annual “Bach 500.” In case you haven’t caught any of the pitches over the past weeks, if we can persuade 500 listeners to donate to the station IN ANY AMOUNT, we will cancel the on-air fundraiser we’ve got planned for March 21st – Bach’s birthday – and instead kick back and enjoy a celebratory day of just Bach’s music.

Have you become one of the 500 yet? It doesn’t take much. Kick in ten or twenty bucks, and you’ll be counted toward the total. Of course, if you can go higher, that’s even better! Do it now, at our website, wwfm.org (look under the membership thermometer at the right of the page), or call during regular business hours at 1-888-232-1212.

To get you in the spirit, among the featured recordings I’ve selected for today’s afternoon commute, from 4 to 7 p.m. EDT, will be some Bach-related music by Max Reger and a characteristically superb performance of some Bach keyboard music by the great Romanian pianist Dinu Lipatti.

By all means, enjoy these musical offerings, but trust me when I say they will be that much more enjoyable once you’ve made the commitment to become one of the 500. Thank you for your support of WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org!

March 19, 2018
Beware the Ides of March: Caesar & Classical Music

Beware the Ides of March!

March 15th lives in infamy as the anniversary of the murder of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. Shortly after declaring himself Dictator Perpetuus (Dictator for Life), Caesar was set upon by members of the Roman Senate and stabbed 23 times. His alleged last words, as the final blow was struck by his friend and confidant Marcus Brutus, were “Et tu, Brute?” (“You too, Brutus?”). The phrase “Beware the Ides of March” was coined by William Shakespeare for his historical play.

Join me today on The Classical Network for music inspired by Caesar and Ancient Rome, including works by Sir Arthur Bliss, George Frideric Handel, Robert Schumann, Rudolf Tobias, and/or Miklós Rózsa. If time allows, we’ll also do our best to touch on the birthdays of Nicholas Flagello, Johan Halvorsen, Ben Johnston, Colin McPhee, and Eduard Strauss.

By the way, the Ides don’t necessarily fall on the 15th of every month, so you can’t just drop an “Ides of January” or an “Ides of June” on any old whim. It had to do with the date of the full moon, which in Ancient Rome was believed to fall on the fifteenth day of March, May, July, and October, the months with 31 days. In the other months, the Ides fell on the 13th – which sounds even more unlucky!

We’re lucky to be able enjoy such a variety of music, today from 4 to 7 p.m. EDT – or anytime for that matter – on WWFM – The Classical Network. Please support us at wwfm.org.

NOTE: As an added bonus, and in no way related to our “Ides” observation (in spite of his fortuitous surname), I will be joined at 4:00 by cellist Joshua Roman and conductor Teddy Abrams, music director of The Louisville Orchestra. Both will appear this Sunday afternoon with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra for a program of music by Joan Tower, Beethoven, and Roman himself. To learn more, tune in today at 4:00 or look online at princetonsymphony.org.

March 15, 2018

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