Classic Ross Amico

Tag: WWFM

Couperin & Neo-Classical Music Today

Everything old is new again this afternoon on The Classical Network.

Join me for today’s Noontime Concert and a recital given in honor of the 350th anniversary of the birth of François Couperin. “François Couperin at 350” will be presented by Rebecca Pechefsky. Pechefsky performed selections from two of Couperin’s keyboard suites, in advance of her participation in all-Couperin marathon, which was held in Cambridge, UK, in November of last year.

This broadcast concert was recorded at the chapel of Saint Bartholomew’s Church, 325 Park Avenue, in New York City, in September. Free Midtown Concerts are held at St. Bart’s every Thursday at 1:15 p.m. during the regular season, thanks in part to Gotham Early Music Scene, or GEMS.

Immediately following today’s concert broadcast (circa 12:45), stick around for “Variations on a Theme by Couperin” by the Dutch composer Hendrik Andriessen. It will lead off an afternoon of music inspired by composers and characteristics of the Baroque and Classical eras. Some of it may be in the form of tributes or sets of variations; others will emulate the clean lines and leaner textures of the 18 century; others still could be pastiches or straightforward arrangements of works by earlier masters.

Neo-baroque. Neoclassical. Everything’s Neo, from 12 to 4 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

July 16, 2019
Julian Bream Turns 86 WWFM Celebrates

Holy smokes! Julian Bream is also 85 today!

So we’ll celebrate him AND Sir Hairy Birtwistle, also 85, among our featured artists, between now and 7:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

ERRATUM: Actually, Bream is 86. Wikipedia has got it wrong. Pardon my slipshod scholarship.

July 15, 2019
Birtwistle at 85 An Appreciation?

Has Sir Harrison Birtwistle ever cracked a smile? One that isn’t at the expense of his audience, I mean?

Today is Sir Harry’s 85th birthday. Despite sharing his fascination with Gawain, Punch, the Minotaur, Anubis, Orpheus, King Kong, and any number of other subjects that form the bases for his operas and concert works, I find he’s a composer whose music I have only ever moderately warmed up to.

I vastly prefer the output of his contemporary and fellow former enfant terrible of the so-called Manchester School, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. Late in life, Max may have been appointed Master of the Queen’s Music – you can’t get more establishment than that – but he never lost his impish glint. To some extent, it is that sense of mischief that makes even his earlier, more scandalous works somehow approachable.

I don’t really need music to be “easy” or even tonal. There are times when I can put on a Birtwistle record and totally go with it. But I don’t know that anything he has written engenders much affection in me. This is not an objective assessment, of course, and perhaps you will react differently.

Birtwistle has a local connection, by the way. He attended Princeton University on a Harkness Fellowship, beginning in 1965. There, he completed his opera “Punch and Judy,” which begins with Punch tossing his baby into the fire. This commences a murder spree that includes the stabbing of Judy, his wife. All this is presented in human form, making it much more disturbing than when enacted by puppets.

Perhaps you will find something to latch on to in one of these pieces recommended by The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/tomserviceblog/2014/jul/15/harrison-birtwistle-80th-birthday-five-introductory-pieces

If I had to recommend one with which to start, it would be “Earth Dances” from 1986. I confess, listening to it now, it is not as impenetrable as I remember it being. In fact, it actually kind of makes sense.

There is something primordial in Birtwistle’s work, but it is not someplace I choose to live. At least the music has integrity, which I can’t always claim for some contemporary works of an easier-going disposition.

See what you think. Here is Birtwistle’s “Earth Dances.”

His music may not be the most conducive for wrapping up a work day, getting one through the afternoon commute, or enhancing the enjoyment of a cocktail hour, but we’ll see how I feel. One of his could be among the featured selections on my air shift today from 4 to 7 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

If so, hang in there – it’s also the birthday of British Light Music master, Ronald Binge!

July 15, 2019
Viola Power on The Classical Network Today!

“Vioooooooooooola!”

Once heard, the plaintive cries of Sergiu Celibidache are not easily forgotten.

No doubt Celi would find solace, if only he could tune in for today’s Noontime Concert on The Classical Network, as Kristina Giles will perform selections from the 41 Caprices, Op. 22, by “the Paganini of the Viola,” Bartolomeo Campagnoli (1751-1827).

The program is another presented by Gotham Early Music Scene, or GEMS. GEMS is a non-profit organization that supports and promotes artists and organizations in New York City generally devoted to Early Music.

Giles’ recital was recorded at St. Bartholomew’s Church, 325 Park Avenue. Free concerts are held at St. Bart’s during the regular season on Thursdays at 1:15 p.m. For more information and a complete schedule of GEMS events, look online at gemsny.org.

It’s long been my ambition to do a viola show, so stick around following today’s concert broadcast for an afternoon of works written for this much-derided instrument that, as stated in Giles’ program notes, is “usually lost in the middle harmonies of orchestral and chamber music.”

We’ll hear concertos, chamber music, and more by Margaret Brouwer, Paul Hindemith, Joseph Joachim, Peter Lieberson, Bohuslav Martinu, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Georg Philipp Telemann, and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Of course, in my ideal world, between selections I would love to share your viola jokes. But even if I don’t (and I probably won’t), please feel free to leave them in the comments section below.

You’ll find abundant prototypes at Viola Central:

https://violacentral.com/best-viola-jokes/

BONUS! Bill McGlaughlin will share selections from “Harold in Italy” – composed at the request of Niccolò Paganini, who wanted to show off his new viola – as part of his week-long survey of the works of Hector Berlioz on “Exploring Music,” tonight at 7.

In the meantime, we’ll give the viola some love, from 12 to 4 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

July 9, 2019
Vintage Gershwin on the Radio This Sunday

This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll cap the long Fourth of July weekend with an hour of vintage recordings of the music of George Gerswhin.

Gershwin occupied a unique place in American music, rising from Tin Pan Alley scrapper to Broadway royalty. From there, he conquered the concert hall and even the opera house, with his blend of popular song, jazz, blues, spirituals and European classical forms.

Like Franz Schubert a hundred years before, Gershwin managed to churn out an astonishing amount of music over a comparatively brief span. His songs, in particular, have been of enduring interest. His gift of lyricism and invention defied early critics as he bestrode the worlds of popular and classical music like an American colossus.

Sadly, at the peak of his success, he died of a brain tumor at the age of 38.

We’ll sample Gershwin’s artistry in recordings of the era, including several songs performed by Al Jolson, Fred Astaire and Ella Logan. (So many excellent recordings to choose from!)

We’ll also hear the world premiere recording of “An American in Paris” – performed by the Victor Symphony Orchestra (really members of the Philadelphia Orchestra), with the composer himself on the celesta – and the Concerto in F, performed as part of a memorial concert at the Hollywood Bowl, with the composer’s friend, Oscar Levant, as soloist.

Three of these recordings date from 1937, the year of the composer’s death. All are from his era.

I hope you’ll join me for “Vintage Gershwin,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

GERSHWIN BONUS! TUNE IN EARLY TO ENJOY MORE SONGS BY GERSHWIN ON “THE DRESS CIRCLE” AT 7 P.M!

The Dress Circle – Public Radio Dedicated to the Performing Arts

Fred Astaire singing “A Foggy Day (In London Town),” from “A Damsel in Distress”:

July 7, 2019

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