Classic Ross Amico

Tag: WWFM

Columbus Day Classical Music & Montserrat Caballé

Before Columbus Circle, Columbus OH, and the Knights of Columbus came… He Who Must Not Be Named.

He’s a controversial figure today, but he inspired a lot of music, and this afternoon on The Classical Network, we’ll sample some of it, including works by Richard Wagner (for a stage play), Sir William Walton (for a radio play), Victor Herbert (for the concert hall, by way of the Chicago World’s Fair), and Kurt Weill & Ira Gershwin (for film).

In addition, we’ll honor one of Spain’s greatest singers, Montserrat Caballé, who died on Saturday at the age of 85, and remember composers Louis Vierne and Toru Takemitsu, on the anniversaries of their births.

In 1492, he sailed the ocean blue. No one will be harmed in the discovery of stimulating music on Columbus Day, from 4 to 7 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

Montserrat Caballé sings Queen Isabella alongside José Carrera’s Columbus, in the world premiere of Leonarda Balada’s “Cristóbal Cólon” (1989)

October 8, 2018
23 Years on WWFM Classical Radio Memories

23 years ago tomorrow, I made my first appearance on WWFM – The Classical Network. Somehow, despite all the challenges – and there have been many: societal, interpersonal, economic, technological, and office-political – I’m still standing.

My first time on microphone was in the 9:00 hour of Bliss Michelson’s morning air shift, on Thursday, September 28, 1995. I took over Saturday and Sunday mornings immediately following and continued to cover weekends for the next 18 ½ years.

Since then, of course, I’ve been on weekday afternoons. Oh yeah. There was that hiatus of a year or so when I had no live air shifts but was kept on invoice as an independent contractor. But we won’t talk about that, other than to say if it hadn’t happened, I probably wouldn’t be here on Facebook. So lucky you!

Here’s the music I selected for my first ever hour on WWFM:

HOWARD HANSON – Merry Mount: Suite

SIR PETER MAXWELL DAVIES – Farewell to Stromness

MUZIO CLEMENTI – Symphony No. 1

ARNOLD SCHOENBERG – Aria from “The Mirror of Arcadia”

Though I had already had nine years’ experience in community radio, cutting my teeth on a couple of college stations in and around Allentown, PA, I remember I was shaking like a leaf. Sensing my apprehension about going before such an imposing listenership – WWFM covered much of central and southern New Jersey and portions of eastern Pennsylvania – Bliss’ words of advice were sage: “Remember, it’s just you and the microphone.”

It’s been a crazy ride. Looking back, there are times I think maybe I should have worked in rodeo instead of radio.

Check out this old WWFM staff photo!

Pictured in 2003, in the old broadcast booth (we have since moved next door to a room with a better window, and this was turned into a production studio), from left to right:

(front) Darlene Berson, Sandy Steiglitz, and Nancy Fish;

(middle) Walt Gradzki, Marjorie Herman, Diane D’Ascoli, Jeffery Sekerka, and Phil Joiner

(back) Bliss Michelson, Alice Weiss, Andrew Rudin, Glenn Smith, and Yours Truly.

Of those pictured, only Alice and I remain, with Walt and Glenn returning on a contractor basis. Radio is not for the financially needy or the weak of heart!

September 27, 2018
Shostakovich Birthday Broadcast on WWFM

At last! The day is upon us!

We’ll light 112 candles for Dmitri Shostakovich for his birthday. I thought I’d announce the plan right up front, since, understandably, Shostakovich didn’t care much for surprises.

We’ll hear the Symphony No. 10 in one of the most acclaimed Shostakovich recordings of recent years, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andris Nelsons. That’s the one with the harrowing Stalin scherzo. Shostakovich is said to have written the symphony following the wise leader and teacher’s death. It was Shostakovich’s first symphony to be composed since his second denunciation in 1948. He had been accused, alongside Prokofiev and Khachaturian, under the Zhdanov decree of promoting “formalism” – decadent Western tendencies – in his music, a serious business. People had disappeared for less.

According to the book “Testimony,” alleged to have been taken down from Shostakovich’s own observations by the musicologist Solomon Volkov, the Symphony No. 10 is “about Stalin and the Stalin years. The second part, the scherzo, is a musical portrait of Stalin, roughly speaking. Of course, there are other things in it, but that’s the basis.”

Also encoded, in the symphony’s third movement, is the composer’s famous signature, DSCH, which appears alongside one meant to suggest his student, Elmira Nazirova (E La Mi Re A), with whom Shostakovich was in love. The themes alternate and draw gradually closer.

The authenticity of “Testimony” as an official memoir has been much disputed. Though some of the details may have been fabricated, it does seem to add up to a larger truth. We’ll hear Shostakovich’s symphony at 2:00.

First, it’s another Noontime Concert from Gotham Early Music Scene, or GEMS, and it’s an unusual one. Douglas Lundeen, principal horn of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra and an associate professor at Rutgers University, will push the outer limits of GEMS’ traditional area of focus (i.e. Early Music) to present works from the 19th and 20th centuries performed on a French piston horn. Composers will include Robert Planel, Henri Tomasi, Eugene Bozza, Charles Gounod, and Paul Dukas. The concert took place at St. Bartholomew’s Church, 50th Street and Park Avenue, in New York City. GEMS’ free lunchtime concerts series is offered on Thursdays at 1:15 p.m. To learn more, visit gemsny.org.

Lundeen’s program reflects that of his new release, “Le cor francais authentique (The Truly French Horn),” issued on the Affetto Records label. Affetto is the Princeton-based company founded by engineer John C. Baker. Baker handles the audio for many of the broadcast concerts heard on WWFM. Lundeen’s album was recorded at All Saints’ Church, Princeton.

The 1:00 hour will be devoted to further releases on Affetto. We’ll decompress from the intensity of the Shostakovich at 3:00 with ballet music by a composer who helped him greatly, Alexander Glazunov.

Happy birthday, Shostakovich! We’ll help ourselves to a stimulating variety of great music, from 12 to 4 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

The many moods of Shostakovich

September 25, 2018
Panufnik Wonder Woman’s Lost Anthem?

This guy thinks Andrzej Panufnik’s “Sinfonia Rustica” should have been used in “Wonder Woman.”

Hear the complete symphony on this, Panufnik’s birthday, coming up in the 5:00 hour EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

September 24, 2018
Schubert Octet Marlboro Music Festival WWFM

Just as the octopus can extend its mastery to eight instruments, so can “Music from Marlboro” expand to an hour and ten minutes.

Join me this afternoon at a special time to enjoy a complete performance of Franz Schubert’s Octet in F major, D. 803. Not to denigrate the musical abilities of a mollusk, but a cephalopod would have to go an awfully long way to match the prowess of Joseph Genualdi and Felix Galimir, violins; Steven Tenenbom, viola; Peter Wiley, cello; Peter Lloyd, double bass; Shannon Scott, clarinet; Alexander Heller, bassoon; and David Jolley, horn. Musicians from the Marlboro Music Festival took the piece on tour, with Mozart’s “Eine kleine Nachtmusik,” in 1987.

Tune in ten minutes earlier than usual for Schubert’s expansive masterwork, the Octet in F major – in its entirety – on the next “Music from Marlboro,” this Wednesday evening at 5:50 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

Marlboro School of Music and Festival: Official Page

September 19, 2018

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