Classic Ross Amico

Tag: WWFM

Mendelssohn and More on WWFM

I wonder how much genius dust got spilled into the celestial mixer that classical music was blessed with three of its greatest geniuses in one week: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (born Jan. 27, 1756), Franz Schubert (Jan. 31, 1797), and now Felix Mendelssohn (Feb. 3, 1809). Was it purely by chance, or the workings of design?

Be it what it may, I will celebrate Mendelssohn in the brief time allotted to me on WWFM this afternoon, from 4 to 6 p.m. Mendelssohn, of course, was one of music’s great prodigies. His earliest masterpieces, the Octet for Strings in E-flat Major and the Overture to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” were written at the ages of 16 and 17, respectively. In fact, there are those who say it was all downhill from there.

We’ll hear, among our featured works, Mendelssohn’s early Concerto for Violin and Strings – not to be confused with the later Violin Concerto in E minor (one of the most popular concertos in the repertoire, completed at the age of 35, thank you very much). The soloist will be Gidon Kremer, who will appear with his chamber orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton tonight at 8.

I’ll also pay tribute to Renaissance master Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina on the anniversary of his birth (in 1525). Palestrina, Catholic superstar of the Counter-Reformation, is often credited with having persuaded the Council of Trent not to ban polyphonic music. Recent scholarship has revealed that the story may have been somewhat romanticized, but, as with “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” when the legend becomes fact, print the legend.

Finally, I’ll lend a touch of whimsy in the form of a concerto for jew’s harp, by Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (born on this date in 1736). A jew’s harp has nothing at all to do with Jews or Judaism. Rather, the term is probably a corruption of “jaw harp.” The folk instrument actually had its origin in Asia. The Chinese were playing it at least as far back as the 4th century B.C. (Snoopy picked it up in 1969.) Albrechtsberger, believe it or not, was one of Beethoven’s teachers.

At 6:00, I’ll be your host for “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies. I’ll post more about that as the time draws nigh. For now, I hope you’ll join me for Mendelssohn, Palestrina, Albrechtsberger and more, beginning at 4 p.m. EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and at wwfm.org.

February 3, 2017
May Music Birthdays on WWFM

Truly there must be something in the air in May for so many musicians to have been born on this date. Join me this afternoon, as we celebrate the arrivals of Johan Joachim Agrell, Julius Conus, Thomas Dunhill, Mozart Camargo Guarnieri, Victor Herbert, Ursula Mamlok, Alessandro Marcello, Renata Tebaldi, Francesco Maria Veracini, and New Brunswick’s own James P. Johnson.

The merry month of May, indeed! There will be no dearth of births to celebrate, between 4 and 7:00 p.m. EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and at wwfm.org.

February 1, 2017
Classical Music Broadcast Schubert Glass Gliere WWFM

This Tuesday morning at 10:00, Alice Weiss will host “The Classical Network in Concert,” featuring winners of the 2016 Astral Artists National Auditions, in a program that was recorded at the Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.

That means there will be no noontime concert today, leaving me with a blank canvas on which to paint for the next four hours. During that time, we will not only mark the 220th anniversary of the birth of Franz Schubert, we will also celebrate the 80th birthday of Philip Glass. Glass will be represented by his Violin Concerto, with Gidon Kremer the soloist. Kremer will appear with his chamber orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton on Friday.

Because there is always so much room to play with on Tuesday afternoons, I usually try to accommodate a larger work, on a scale not generally encountered on radio in the middle of the day. This afternoon will be no exception, as we take a 72-minute break from Schubert to enjoy Reinhold Gliere’s Symphony No. 3, subtitled “Ilya Muromets,” in a stunning performance by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by JoAnn Falletta. Gliere’s programmatic symphony evokes the heroic exploits of the legendary bogatyr, who employs his superhuman strength against a series of formidable opponents.

The Buffalo performance has been described by David Hurwitz of classicstoday.com as “the finest version yet recorded,” and by Peter J. Rabinowitz of Fanfare Magazine as “beyond excellent.”

There will be plenty of blood and thunder to counterbalance the delicacy of Schubert and the minimalism of Glass, from 12 to 4:00 p.m. EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and at wwfm.org.

January 31, 2017
Rediscovering Loeffler’s Pagan Poem on WWFM

This afternoon on The Classical Network, you’ll have a chance to affirm your lofty love for Loeffler.

What’s that? At best, you dimly recollect his music?

Charles Martin Loeffler was born on this date in 1861; he died in 1935. Though he long claimed to be of Alsation birth, in actuality he was born outside Berlin. The composer turned against Germany after his father died in prison, where he had been sent for his subversive writings, when Loeffler was only 12 years-old.

Loeffler was a fastidious artist, who cut his teeth in Berlin and Paris, and indeed he is frequently identified as French-American. He settled in Boston in 1881, where he shared the first desk with the concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and became an important figure in the city’s musical life. A man of wide culture and refined taste, he founded the Boston Opera Company. In 1887, he left the Symphony to devote himself wholly to composition.

I hope you’ll join me for Loeffler’s symphonic poem of 1906, titled “A Pagan Poem.” The work is inspired by the eighth Eclogue of Virgil, in which a maiden of Thessaly, abandoned by her lover, revives his ardor through the use of sorcery.

The work was first performed by the Boston Symphony, under Karl Muck. It was later championed by Leopold Stokowski, who recorded it for EMI. The piano plays such a prominent role, the piece sounds at times as if it may be a piano concerto. We’ll hear pianist Robert Hunter, and also English hornist William Kosinski.

You can enjoy it today, between 4 & 7:00 EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network or at wwfm.org.

PHOTO: Loeffler (left) and Stokowski – who’s the true pagan here?

January 30, 2017
Mozart Birthday Bash on WWFM!

Well, the day is finally upon us. Get ready for wall-to-wall Mozart, as Alice Weiss (9 to noon), Ross Amico (noon to 3), and David Osenberg (3 to 6) select from their own favorites to celebrate the master’s 261st birthday. I’ve already pulled aside a couple of concertos, a wind serenade, and some rarely-heard incidental music. I’m also flirting with the idea of playing one of the larger choral works. It will all hinge on what Alice comes up with this morning. Also, David has invited me to sit in to talk with him for a little bit about why we love “The Marriage of Figaro,” and to play excerpts from some of the recordings. So my 3:00 quitting time may be a little fluid.

I’ll be back at 6:00, of course, for “Picture Perfect.” The Mozart celebration is underway right now, on WWFM – The Classical Network, and at wwfm.org.

Rock me, Amadeus!

January 27, 2017

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