Hawks and WWUH

Prove Championship Pair

               To start out a new year, I'd like to introduce you to a new band, a quartet called Runa. They will appear in the University of Hartford's Wilde Auditorium at 7:30pm on 1/28/2011. The band itself isn't new, having burst onto the music scene in 2008. Before coming together in this new amalgamation, the members of Runa have played with Solas, Clannad, Fiddlers Bid, The Moya Brennan Band and Eileen Ivers among others.

                The core and founding members of the band are Shannon-Lambert Ryan and her husband Fionan de Barra. (Fionan's brother Eamon, a member of the band Slide, was here for a concert with that ensemble on 12/10/2010!) They are joined by Cheryl Prashker and Tomoko Omura. With members form America, Ireland, Canada and Japan, and with their diverse musical backgrounds, Runa brings a fresh feeling to traditional and contemporary Celtic music.

                Shannon Lambert-Ryan from Philadelphia fronts Runa with vibrant vocals and gentle keyboard playing. For three years she was the lead vocalist for the Boston-based Guy Mendilow Band. In 2008, she and husband Fionan produced her solo album Across the Pond and in 2009 Runa's debut CD Jealousy. In addition to her musical endeavors, she works as an actress in theater and film productions.

                Fionan de Barra comes from a very musical family! Most of his 6 siblings are musicians as well. He took up the guitar at a young age , and by 2001 was the lead guitarist with the Riverdance troop. Since then he has worked extensively with Moya Brennan and her band. In addition to his time with Runa, he also performs regularly with Fiddlers Bid and Clannad. He's also working with dancer Colin Dunne on a new show to be called "Out of Time."

                Cheryl Prashker was born and raised in Montreal where she attended McGill University, graduating with a  degree in classical percussion. She toured Canada, the U.S., Europe and Russia with classical ensembles before ending up in New York City. Here her musical style took a 180 degree turn as she immersed herself in Rock & Roll, Klezmer , Middle Eastern and Celtic music. In addition to lending her unique percussion style to Runa, she can be seen touring with Jonathan Edwards, Tracy Grammar  and Full Frontal Folk.

                Tomoku Omura was born in Japan and by the age of 4, was playing classical violin. As a teen, she developed an interest in rock and roll and jazz, which she incorporated into her musical endeavors. She came to America in 2004 to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston where she was an award winning student. She relocated to New York City and in  2009, "Strings" magazine named her one of the 15 top "Emerging Solo Artists" in America.

                Runa's set list includes music from Ireland, Scotland, the Shetland Islands, Canada and America. Their repertoire is performed in and energetic yet graceful manner.

                Gene Shay, co-founder of the renowned Philadelphia Folk Festival, says "For contemporary Celtic music at it's very best, do yourself a favor and check out Runa. Their vibrant sound is brilliant."

                Start 2011 off right by making plans to attend the Runa concert 1/28/2011 at 7:30 pm in the Wilde Auditorium. Purchase your tickets today by calling 1-800-274-8587 or 1-860-768-4228. To purchase on line, go to www.harford.edu/hartt.

                Upcoming concerts include: Lunasa 3/19/2011, The Press Gang 4/22/2011, Old Blind Dogs 5/14/2011 and Girsa 6/17/2011. Tickets for each show go on sale 2 months before the performance date and are ONLY available from the University of Hartford box office, open 10:00-6:00 Monday through Friday

                Tune into Celtic Airs every Tuesday , 6:00-9:00 AM, for a great mixture of new releases and old favorites as well as the latest updates for the concert series and the music of our featured guests. Thanks for your continued support and attendance at the concerts.

 Steve Dieterich

                                                                                                Producer/Host of Celtic Airs and

The WWUH/ Celtic Airs Concert Series

Featured Artist

January 3                               Elmore James

January 10                             Mike Dugan

January 17                             Kim Wilson                                                          

January 24                             Gary Moore

January 31                             Mannish Boys     

February 7                             Hubert Sumlin      

February 14                           Billy Branch

February 21                           Shuggie Otis

February 28                           Francine Reed

Back to the Roots

January 3                               West Coast Blues

January 10                             Classic Women Blues Singers

January 17                             British Blues

January 24                             St. Louis Blues

January 31                             Memphis Blues

February 7                             Rhythm & Blues                  

February 14                           Boogie Woogie   

February 21                           Texas Blues

February 28                           Jump Blues

Toasting Songs & Stories on a Saturnian Highway

My Favorite Jazz Recordings of 2010

by Chuck Obuchowski

It's hard to believe that the music we've come to know as jazz was still in its gestation phase a century ago. There are no known recordings of this music's antecedents from 1910. Now, 100 years later, more new jazz recordings are being made available than ever before in history. And yet sales of hard copies continue to plummet as the music industry scrambles to figure out new ways to market an art form that has defied convention far more often than not.

The good news is that the music itself is developing and spreading across the globe, mingling with all sorts of other sounds along the way. Although it was born in this country, jazz now belongs to the world, as evidenced by the increasingly diverse range of artists who put their own geographical and sociopolitical spins on it. Hailing from places as far-flung as Australia (bassist Linda Oh), Israel (clarinetist Anat Cohen) and Benin (guitarist Lionel Loueke), many young improvisers still migrate to the U.S. to seek their fortunes.

The past year had its share of jazz excitement. On September 10, Sonny Rollins, celebrating his 80^th birthday, jammed onstage for the first time ever with fellow sax legend Ornette Coleman - as the eternally youthful Roy Haynes (now 85) pushed and prodded the two from behind his kit. Pianist/composer/educator Muhal Richard Abrams - who also became an octogenarian in 2010 - received an NEA Jazz Master award in January and was inducted into Downbeat magazine's Hall of Fame six months later. That a renowned champion of the avant garde could receive such mainstream accolades just goes to show that if you live long enough, people might eventually get around to appreciating your innovations.

We lost some beloved jazz musicians last year too, including pianist Hank Jones, vocalist Abbey Lincoln and saxophonist James Moody. WWUH jazz announcers did their best to honor the accomplishments of these and other recently departed improvising artists. And we'll never forget our dear colleague Dean Hildebrandt, who passed away on March 15 at age 76. Dean hosted his last Monday Morning Jazz program on WWUH a week before his death.

Kudos to the Hartford Jazz Society, which celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 2010. The jazz advocacy group used this occasion as an opportunity to create the HJS New Directions Ensemble, a working band that will give Connecticut musicians a chance to hone their craft together. The Ensemble will also conduct educational workshops in schools and will spotlight area improvisers in concerts for the general public.

The following ten recordings were among my favorite releases during the past year. Several of them feature interactions between jazz and orchestral ensembles. The Hartford Symphony Orchestra deserves credit for expanding its Jazz and Strings series in 2010. Former WWUH Program Director Sue Terry, an outstanding saxophonist and clarinetist, guested at a concert in November that included 16 members of the Hartford Symphony.

These recordings are listed in alphabetical order, not in order of my preference for each one.

The Claudia Quintet With Gary Versace - Royal Toast (Cuneiform)

This band has created one of the most distinctive sounds of any ensemble in jazz today. Their unusual instrumentation and eclectic musical influences are bolstered by first-rate writing and improvising abilities.

For "Royal Toast," their fifth recording, the quintet is joined by Connecticut native Gary Versace, adding yet more range to an already expansive sonic palette. One moment, you might be reminded of Frank Zappa, maybe Phillip Glass a little bit later. Or any number of difficult-to-pigeonhole artists, for that matter ... but primary Claudia composer John Hollenbeck has surrounded himself with like-minded explorers who love to ignore stylistic boundaries while making vibrant sounds.

Listen to the beautiful blend of clarinet, vibraphone and accordion on "Zurn" or the gradually building tenor sax and percussion dialogue that informs "Paterna Terra." "Royal Toast" provides an ever-changing soundscape that reveals new nuances each time one returns to this disc.

Alan Ferber: Music for Nonet & Strings - Chamber Songs (Sunnyside)

Trombonist Alan Ferber reveals outstanding compositional and arranging skills here, his string charts seamlessly integrated with a tight improvising jazz nonet.

Two impressionistic string and horn vignettes open the album, which then shifts gears into the driving "Paradox," a spotlight for the improvisatory prowess of Ferber's colleagues. This tune may be the most arresting piece of music I heard all year: juxtaposing bold solos and intricate ensemble passages, with delightful discoveries at every turn.

From the brooding "Ice Caves" to the cheerful sway of "Fables," Ferber and friends have fashioned a memorable musical journey. Don't be put off by thoughts of mediocre jazz and strings projects of bygone days; there isn't a single moment of schmaltz on this release.

Frank Glover - ABACUS (Owl Studios)

Collaborations between jazz artists and orchestras are nothing new, but rarely are the results so fruitful. Reed player Frank Glover offers what is referred to in the liner notes as "a three movement symphony-concerto," which pairs his jazz quartet Kilho with a 25-piece orchestra.

Some of the material is decidedly classical in form, but there are ample segments of inspired jazz improvisation as well. On "Domino," for instance, Glover's soprano sax soars over a swinging bed of vibraphone and electric piano. Drummer/percussionist Dave Scalia and bassist Jack Helsley deploy striking rhythms during "Robot," as orchestral brass swirls and surges.

The only disappointment here is that the Indianapolis-based Glover doesn't play more clarinet. He's developed a unique voice on that instrument, one heard all too rarely in modern jazz settings.

Mary Halvorson Quintet - Saturn Sings (Firehouse 12)

"Saturn Sings" provides reassurance that there are still highly-talented young artists in our midst who are willing to take risks in order to move this music forward. Guitarist Mary Halvorson, a Wesleyan University grad, really shines on her second release for the New Haven based Firehouse 12 record label.

Here, she augments her trio with two outstanding horn players: trumpeter Jonathan Findlayson and alto saxophonist Jon Irabagon. The band tackles 10 of Halvorson's unusual compositions, each player delivering daring improvisations along the way.

The 30-year-old guitarist takes advantage of all the sounds at her disposal, occasionally delving into sonic storms more closely aligned to Thurston Moore's artistry than Wes Montgomery's. But, make no mistake, she's got impeccable chops, and this quintet swings more authentically than a whole school full of Charlie Parker wannabes.

Hot Club of Detroit - "It's About That Time" (Mack Avenue)

This record exudes joie de vivre right from the start, as accordion and tenor sax storm out of the gate together on the madly swinging "On the Steps."

There's been a proliferation of "gypsy swing" bands vying for attention in recent years, inspired by the drummerless string-based music created by jazz guitar pioneer Django Reinhardt during the 1930s. In 2010 - the centennial of Reinhardt's birth - they were everywhere. While the HCOD acknowledges a debt to Django, they've also found ways to expand the gypsy swing concept, adding accordion, electric guitar and various reed instruments into the mix, as well as more modern musical concepts.

The title track, a renowned Miles Davis proto-fusion piece, demonstrates the group's ability to defy convention while having "big fun." Heard in an unlikely medley with Django's "Heavy Artillerie," "It's About That Time" combines the dark funk undertones of the original with the jangly acoustic guitars and plucked bass common to most gypsy jazz aggregations.

 Chris Lightcap's Bigmouth - Deluxe (Clean Feed)

Does anyone remember the greatest hits collection by The Who called "Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy?" That would be a great title for this disc, which - although it's mostly performed by a quintet - packs the wollop of a big band. Listen to "Fuzz," and you'll get the picture.

To begin with, Chris Lightcap's bass playing has a swagger and muscularity that reminds me of Mingus. The dueling tenors of Tony Malaby and Chris Cheek add punch to the proceedings, and Gerald Cleaver's drumming offers a perfect balance between precision and looseness. Craig Taborn, often heard on the Wurlitzer electric piano, gives the sessions a little funkiness and light.

"Deluxe" proves that creative improvisation needn't take itself too seriously; this is enjoyable and tuneful music, but it's also completely devoid of cliché.

Brad Mehldau - Highway Rider (Nonesuch)

I confess that "Highway Rider" didn't capture my interest initially. But there's a lot going on within the subtle gestures of these compositions, a lot that one might miss with just a cursory listen. Gentle orchestrations and romantic melodies abound on this two disc set, yet they all work splendidly within the context of the music.

Even the unpolished vocal chant that concludes "The Falcon Will Fly Again" has its charms, particularly in tandem with the solemn string segment which follows. Onetime West Hartford resident Mehldau has created a mesmerizing work here, in collaboration with trio mates Larry Grenadier and Jeff Ballard - and, significantly, producer Jon Brion. Saxophonist Joshua Redman also makes a few important contributions.

Mike Reed's People, Places & Things - Stories and Negotiations (482 Music)

You want scorching, straightahead jazz? Here ya go. How about a window into Chicago's thriving avant garde musical scene, past and present? There's some of that, too. And what about a good ol' cutting contest between grizzled vets and rising upstarts? Yup, "Stories and Negotiations" fits that bill as well.

Credit drummer/composer Mike Reed with pulling off this rare meeting of musical minds in the Windy City's Millenium Park on August 25, 2008. Joining his PP&T band are three Chicago jazz masters: trumpeter Art Hoyle, trombonist Julian Priester and saxophonist Ira Sullivan. The tunes are a mix of originals and pieces penned during the 1950s and 60s by such Chi-town heroes as Sun Ra and Clifford Jordan.

Some may miss having a piano in the ensemble, but for this listener, that lack serves to positively accentuate the horn interplay.

SFJAZZ Collective - Live 2010: 7^th Annual Concert Tour (SFJAZZ Records)

This sprawling collection encompasses nearly three hours' worth of music recorded during the Collective's U.S. and European tour last February and March. Every year, the ensemble, which features a rotating cast of highly regarded musicians, pays tribute to a different jazz composer. In 2010, the group honored Connecticut native Horace Silver, and some of his best loved tunes are included: "Señor Blues" and "Song for My Father," among them.

The SFJAZZ Collective emphasizes the evolution of this art form, however. Therefore, familiar compositions are reworked by arrangers in the current band, producing fresh perspectives. Each member also has the opportunity to contribute his or her own compositions, and these add to the expansive nature of this material. The 2010 lineup included saxmen Miguel Zenon and Mark Turner, trumpeter Avishai Cohen, trombonist Robin Eubanks, vibraphonist Stefon Harris, pianist Edward Simon, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Eric Harland. 

Dan Willis and Velvet Gentlemen - The Satie Project (Daywood Drive)

French composer Erik Satie wrote his first piece in 1884 and remained active until shortly before his death in 1925. Reed player Dan Willis has fashioned a fascinating salute to Satie's music, arranged for a wide variety of instruments and groupings. These versions usually bear little resemblance to Satie's originals, but given the composer's iconoclastic status during his day, the re-imaginings seem perfectly appropriate.

On "III Meditation," for instance, Pete McCann's skronky guitar jousts with Willis' tenor sax while accordion swirls and drums pound away - more electrifying than meditative. "First Gnossienne," on the other hand, takes on a sultry Arabic slow-groove, driven by frame drum rhythms, topped with muted trumpet and soprano sax. A raucous, celebratory "Olga Polka" concludes this exceptional project. 

Willis also presents more faithful interpretations of some of Satie's Nocturnes, here arranged for woodwinds and flutes, all of which he's overdubbed himself.

WWUH Classical Programming - January/February 2011

Sunday Afternoon at the Opera... Sundays 1:00 - 4:30 pm

Evening Classics... Weekdays 4:00 to 7:00/ 8:00 pm

Thursday Evening Classics

Composer Birthdays

January and February 2011

Presented by Steve Petke

January 6

1695 Giuseppe Sammartini

1832 Rudolf Bibl

1838 Max Bruch

1850 Franz Xaver Scharwenka

1856 Giuseppe Martucci

1868 Vittorio Monti

1872 Alexander Scriabin

1902 Mark Brunswick

1920 Earl Kim

Max Bruch

Birth: January 6, 1838 in Köln, Germany

Death: October 2, 1920 in Friedenau, Berlin, Germany

Bruch's father was a police official and his mother was a singer.  She gave Max his first music lessons.  He began composing at age 9 and went on to study as a teenager with Ferdinand Hiller and Carl Reinecke.  In the early 1860s, Bruch settled in Mannheim.  There he wrote two works which attracted attention, the opera Die Loreley and the male-voice cantata Frithjof.  From 1865 to 1867 Bruch was music director to the court at Koblenz, and it was there that he wrote his first violin concerto in g, the work with which his name has always been associated.  Between 1867 - 1870 he held a similar court post at Sondershausen and, after a career as a composer, held conducting posts in Berlin, Liverpool, and Breslau. From 1890 until his death, he directed a master class in composition at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin.  Although overshadowed by his Violin Concerto #1, Bruch wrote eight more concerted works for violin and orchestra. He also composed three symphonies, three operas, chamber music, many songs, four concerted works for cello (among them Kol Nidrei), and several choral works including large-scale oratorios on the subject of Greek myths.  Bruch loved folksong as a melodic source, and many of his works were derived from such countries as Scotland, Sweden, and Russia.  His music is melodic and largely conservative. He was an exact contemporary of Brahms and lived in the shadow of his greater colleague.

Alexander Scriabin

Birth: January 6, 1872 in Moscow, Russia

Death: April 27, 1915 in Moscow, Russia

Scriabin was the son of a lawyer and his wife who was an exceptional pianist. Scriabin took piano lessons as a child and before his teens enrolled in Nikolay Zverov's class at the Moscow Cadet School, where Rachmaninoff was a fellow student. Alexander went on to study piano and composition at the Moscow Conservatory with Safonov, Taneyev, and Arensky. Scriabin started composing during his student years. Mostly inspired by Chopin, his early works include nocturnes, mazurkas, preludes, and etudes for piano. Toward the end of the century, Scriabin started writing orchestral music. He accepted a professorship at the Moscow Conservatory in 1898. In 1903, however, Scriabin abandoned his job, his wife and their four children and embarked on a European tour with a young admirer, Tatyana Schloezer. During his travels in Western Europe, Scriabin started developing an original, highly personal musical style, experimenting with new harmonic structures and searching for new sonorities. In 1905, Scriabin discovered the theosophical teachings of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, which became the intellectual foundation of his musical and philosophical works. Scriabin adopted theosophy as an intellectual framework for his profound feelings about humankind's quest for God. His orchestral works, Poem of Ecstasy, and Prometheus reflect Scriabin's concept of music as a bridge to mystical ecstasy. While Scriabin never quite crossed the threshold to atonality, his music nevertheless breached the traditional concept of tonality by an intricate system of chords, some of which (e.g., the "mystic chord": C-F sharp-B flat-E-A-D) had an enigmatic meaning. In addition, the composer, who strongly believed in the aesthetic interrelationship among of the arts, experimented with sounds and colors, indicating, for example, lighting specification for the performance of particular works. In 1915, Scriabin died in of septicemia caused by a carbuncle on his lip. Among his unfinished project was Mysterium, a grandiose religious synthesis of all arts which would herald the birth of a new world.

January 13

1683 Johann Christoph Graupner

1690 Gottfried Heinrich Stolzel

1734 Luka Sorkocevic

1866 Vasily Kalinnikov

1904 Richard Addinsell

1936 Ami Maayani

1943 William Duckworth

Johann Christoph Graupner

Birth: January 13, 1683 in Kirchberg, Germany

Death: May 10, 1760 in Darmstadt, Germany

Graupner was born into a family of tailors and cloth makers, but when he was 8 the local Kantor, Michael Mylius, noticed Christoph's exceptional abilities to sing at sight. The Kantor and the organist, Nikolaus Kuster, provided Graupner with his early musical training. Graupner was admitted to the Thomasschule in Leipzig, where he studied from 1696 to 1704 (well before J.S. Bach's time there). Later he studied law at the University of Leipzig, along the way befriending Telemann, but a Swedish military invasion sent him fleeing to Hamburg in 1706. At Hamburg Graupner succeeded Johann Schiefferdecker as harpsichordist of the Gänsemarktoper. Between 1707 and 1709 Graupner composed five operas for this theatre. In 1709, he was invited by Ernst Ludwig, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, to accept the position of vice-Kapellmeister. Under Graupner's direction the Darmstadt Hofkapelle expanded its roster to 40 musicians, many of whom, were skilled in several different instruments. By 1723 Graupner had been accepted to replace Telemann at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, but when the Landgrave raised his pay and gave him other incentives to remain in Darmstadt, the Leipzig job fell to the second choice, J.S. Bach. Until his failing eyesight and eventual blindness restricted his activities, Graupner was extraordinarily prolific, producing nearly 1500 church cantatas, 24 secular cantatas, over 100 symphonies, about 50 concertos, 86 overture-suites, 36 sonatas for instrumental combinations and a substantial body of keyboard music. In addition he made numerous copies of works in the current repertory by composers of the Mannheim school such as Stamitz and, Richter. His thorough, accurate, and elegant copies of the scores were widely praised.

Vasily Kalinnikov

Birth: January 13, 1866 in Voina, Russia

Death: January 11, 1901 in Yalta, Russia

Kalinnikov was the son of a cleric who was also the local police chief. His father, who played the guitar and sang in a local choir, encouraged Vasily's musical interests. Vasily took violin lessons at Voina, and became director of the seminary choir at the age of 14. In 1884 he enrolled at the Moscow Conservatory, but he was unable to pay the fees and had to withdraw after only a few months. He then won a scholarship as a bassoon player at the Moscow Philharmonic Society Music School. During these years he lived in abject poverty, playing the violin, the bassoon and occasionally the timpani in theatre orchestras and finding work as a music copyist to earn a meager income. After graduation, Kalinnikov held various teaching posts and was assistant conductor at an opera company. However, the effects of the strain of holding multiple positions during his student years undermined his health and he contracted tuberculosis. In spite of his illness he composed regularly. Kalinnikov gained attention with his Symphony in g, which was premiered in 1897 at a Russian Musical Society concert in Kiev. It was a great success, and the second and third movements received an encore. Performances in Moscow, Vienna, Berlin and Paris followed, and it remains in the Russian repertory. The influence of Borodin is evident in the shape of the themes, several unexpected modulations and unusual key relationships. Kalinnikov also wrote a Second Symphony in A Flat, this despite his ongoing health problems. In 1898 he completed the symphonic poem The Cedar and the Palm and received a commission to provide incidental music for a production of Tolstoy's Tsar Boris, for which he completed a substantial amount of music. He also composed some chamber works, piano pieces, and songs.

January 20

1586 Johann Hermann Schein

1681 Francesco Bartolomeo Conti

1703 Joseph-Hector Fiocco

1809 Spanish Sebastian de Iradier

1844 Johan Peter Selmer

1855 Ernest Chausson

1870 Guillaume Lekeu

1894 Walter Piston

Ernest Chausson

Birth: January 20, 1855 in Paris, France

Death: June 10, 1899 in Limay, France

Chausson came from an affluent family and showed an early interest in the arts. But, in deference to family pressure he pursued studies in law. In 1877, he was appointed as a lawyer in Paris and in the same year, he wrote his first work, the unpublished song, Les Lilas. Chausson entered the Paris Conservatory in the following year and began formal studies with Jules Massenet, supplemented by attendance at Cesar Franck's classes. The impulse to devote himself to composition was ignited in 1879, when he attended a performance of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde in Munich. He journeyed periodically to hear Wagner's works and even spent his honeymoon with Jeanne Escudier in 1883 at Bayreuth in order to hear Parsifal. As secretary of the Société Nationale de Musique from 1886, Chausson became a prominent member of the Parisian musical community. Chausson's early compositions manifest an evolution from the elegance of Massenet's music to the bolder, harmonic language of Wagner and the chromaticism of Franck.  By the late 1880s, Chausson was exploring more substantial dramatic works, including the Poème d'amour et de la mer. Later, with the encouragement of Debussy, he tried to shed the influences of others composers.  A prolific composer of songs, Chausson also composed works for voice and orchestra, choral music, and several operas. He is best known, however, for his chamber music - including the Concerto for piano, violin, and string quartet and the Piano Quartet - and for inventive orchestral works like the Symphony in B Flat and the Poème for violin and orchestra. He died in a bicycling accident.

Walter Piston

Birth: January 20, 1894 in Rockland, ME

Death: November 12, 1976 in Belmont, MA

Piston's heritage was Italian. the family name had been Pistone but his grandparents had Anglicized it by dropping the "e." His parents moved to Boston in 1904, where Piston, after concentrating on engineering in high school, enrolled at the Massachusetts Normal Art School. It was there that he met his future wife, the painter Kathryn Nason. Largely self-taught as a musician, he earned money playing the piano and violin in dance bands. When the USA entered World War I, he quickly learned to play the saxophone so that he could join the Navy Band. In between rehearsals and performances, he familiarized himself with most of the other instruments in the band, learning to produce at least a few tunes on each one. This was an invaluable experience for one whose name would become linked to orchestral composition. After the war, Piston entered Harvard to study music, graduating summa cum laude in 1924. From there he went to Paris on a Paine Fellowship to study with Paul Dukas and Nadia Boulanger. This was a heady time, for many of who would become America's most noted composers were under the wing of the latter: Copland, Harris, Thompson, and Barber, to name a few. Piston returned to the U.S. in 1926 and joined the faculty of Harvard, retiring in 1960. He did most of his composing during the summer months, which he spent on a dairy farm in Woodstock, VT. He found an early advocate in Serge Koussevitzky and, Piston's first works for orchestra were commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Piston eventually wrote 11 works for that ensemble, as well as fulfilling commissions from the major orchestras of New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Dallas, Louisville, Minneapolis and Cincinnati, among others. Intimately familiar with instruments and possessing a phenomenal ear, he worked primarily at a desk, scoring his music as he composed it, rather than beginning with a piano reduction. A relatively slow worker, Piston produced about one work a year, the eight symphonies and five string quartets representing the heart of his achievement. During his last two decades he produced a series of concerted works for the viola, two pianos, the violin, the harp, the cello, the clarinet, the flute and string quartet. Although he experimented with 12-tone techniques, Piston remained an enlightened conservative. Taking the neo-Classic mode of expression and infusing it into larger Romantic forms with flawless craftsmanship, he was one of the great bearers of the symphonic tradition in the 20^th century. Piston's achievements were recognized by Pulitzer prizes for the Symphonies #3 and #7, a Naumburg Award for the Symphony #4 and New York Music Critics' Circle awards for the Symphony #2, the Viola Concerto and the Fifth String Quartet. As a teacher, Piston was the acclaimed author of a series of texts: Principles of Harmonic Analysis (1933), Harmony (1941), Counterpoint (1947) and Orchestration (1955).

January 27

1756 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

1806 Juan Crisostomo de Arriaga

1823 Edouard Lalo

1885 Jerome Kern

1906 Radames Gnattali

1928 Jean Michel Damase

1939 Tigran Mansuryan

1952 Peter Garland

1956 Art Jarvinen

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Birth: January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria

Death: December 5, 1791 in Vienna, Austria

Along with Beethoven, Mozart is probably the most recognizable name as a composer of Classical music. Unlike Beethoven, Mozart did not revolutionize music, but rather synthesized many musical forms, producing masterpieces in all of the form he wrote in.  His father, Leopold was an accomplished composer who abandoned his own career to promote his son as a musical prodigy.  In addition to becoming an exceptional composer, Wolfgang was an exceptional keyboard player, violinist, violist, and conductor. Mozart was exceptionally precocious, playing the klavier at 3 and composing at 5. In the years 1763 - 1766, Mozart, along with his father and sister Nannerl, also a musically talented child, toured London, Paris, and other parts of Europe, giving many successful concerts and performing before royalty. After visits to Holland and Switzerland, the Mozart family returned to Salzburg, where Wolfgang was appointed Konzertmeister at the Salzburg Court by the Archbishop. Later that year, Leopold took Mozart to Italy. In Rome he heard Allegri's Miserere, which had never been performed outside of Rome, and wrote it out from memory after just one hearing. He spent most of the next few years composing, including all his violin concertos, as well as Masses, symphonies, and chamber works. In 1777 Mozart left on a tour with his mother. They visited Munich, Augsburg, and Mannheim and arrived in Paris in 1778. Mozart's mother died there in July of that year. Unable to obtain a court post, Mozart returned to Salzburg where he spent the next 2 years amid growing hostility to the archbishop. Eventually, Mozart resigned his position and went to Vienna, where he married Constanze Weber in 1782, shortly after the premier of his opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail. The last years of his life were characterized by financial hardship against an astonishing torrent of masterpieces in almost every genre. For Haydn, Mozart dedicated 6 glorious string quartets. With Lorenzo da Ponte, he collaborated on 3 of the greatest operas in the repertoire, Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte. During his visit to Prague, Mozart's Symphony #38 received its first performance to great acclaim. The 2 string quintets and Eine kleine Nachtmusik were composed shortly thereafter. In 1788, Mozart began to compose the last of his 3 symphonies, completing them in less than 2 months. For King Friedrich Wilhelm II, he composed his last 3 string quartets. In 1791 he began work on the fairy tale opera Die Zauberflöte.  It was nearly complete by July, the month in which Mozart received a commission to compose a Requiem for an anonymous patron, Count Franz von Walsegg, who wished to pass it off as his own. Mozart set aside the Requiem to compose La clemenza di Tito for Leopold II's coronation as King of Bohemia in Prague.  After writing the Clarinet Concerto and directing the first performance of Die Zauberflöte Mozart resumed work on the Requiem. But his health, which had been deteriorating for some time, now became critical and he died on December 5, leaving the Requiem to be completed by his pupil Franz Süssmayr.

Edouard Lalo

Birth: January 27, 1823 in Lille, France

Death: April 22, 1892 in Paris, France

Although born in France, Lalo's heritage was Spanish. He left home at age 16 when his father opposed his intended career in music. Edouard studied both the violin and the cello at the Lille Conservatoire. Later he attended violin classes at the Paris Conservatoire and studied composition privately with Julius Schulhoff and J.-E. Crèvecoeur. His earliest works from the 1840s include pieces for the violin. By the mid-1850s, he had composed two piano trios, which show a considerable mastery of that form. In 1855, Lalo helped found the Armingaud Quartet, an ensemble created to promote the music of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, and Mendelssohn. In 1865, Lalo married Julie Bernier de Maligny, a contralto who eventually became a leading performer of his songs. Although his first opera was rejected by the Paris Opera, he continued to compose. During the 1870s, Lalo composed several impressive works, including a Violin Concerto in F, the famous Symphonie espagnole, the Cello Concerto, the Concerto russe and the Fantaisie norvegienne for violin and orchestra. Despite this highly productive period Lalo was bent on success in the theatre and in 1875 he began work on a libretto by Edouard Blau based on a Breton legend, Le roi d'Ys. By 1881 it was substantially completed and extracts had been heard in concerts. No theatre accepted it, but the Paris Opéra, asked Lalo instead for a ballet. Namouna was composed in 1881-2 and produced at the Opéra the following year. More orchestral works followed, notably the Symphony in G and the Piano Concerto, but Lalo's main attention was given to the production of Le roi d'Ys, finally mounted at the Opéra-Comique in 1888. The reception was extremely favorable. Following this belated triumph, Lalo embarked on several new projects, including Neron, a pantomime, which was performed in 1891. Another opera, La jacquerie, remained unfinished at his death.

February 3

1525 Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

1736 Johann Albrechtsberger

1748 Joseph Fiala

1809 Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

1910 Blas Galindo-Dimas

1904 Luigi Dallapiccola

1911 Jehan Alain

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Birth: February 3, 1525 in Palestrina near Rome, Italy

Death: February 2, 1594 in Rome, Italy

Palestrina was the eldest of four children in a prosperous family, and went at an early age to Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome as a choirboy. He studied in Rome and then became the organist and choirmaster in Palestrina. In 1551 Pope Julius III summoned Palestrina to Rome to be choirmaster of the Vatican's Cappella Giulia. The following year Palestrina published his first book of Masses. In 1555 a new Pope, Paul IV, dismissed Palestrina and two others from the Sistine Choir because they were married. Palestrina was appointed choirmaster of Saint John Lateran in 1555 in succession to Orlandus Lassus. He resigned in 1560 over dissatisfaction with the way the choirboys were fed, becoming choirmaster of Santa Maria Maggiore in 1561. In 1567 he left to enter service of Cardinal Ippolito d'Este. In 1571 Palestrina became director of the Cappella Giulia, a post he held until his death in 1594. Over the next years he lost both his sons and his wife through epidemics. He remarried, his new wife being the rich widow of a fur merchant. Palestrina formed a partnership with one of the men in the business and made a fortune, which enabled him to publish several collections of his music. In addition, many more of his roughly 700 works survive in manuscripts. He is best known for his 104 masses, though he composed in every liturgical genre of his day, as well as nearly 100 madrigals. Palestrina's music is marked by flowing, smooth lines and a rich beauty of sound in the way voices are blended.

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

Birth: February 3, 1809 in Hamburg, Germany

Death: November 4, 1847 in Leipzig, Germany

Judged by some to be as great a musical prodigy as Mozart, Felix Mendelssohn was the second of 4 children to Abraham Mendelssohn, a wealthy banker. The eldest, Fanny was nearly as good a pianist as her brother. His first piano lessons were from his mother and made his public début at 9. His comic opera, Die Hochzeit des Camacho was completed 1825 and produced 1827. In Berlin he was taught harmony by Karl Zelter, who took him to Weimar to visit Goethe. A warm friendship developed between the 72-year old poet and the 12-year old boy, who was already a prolific composer. Even in his youth, Mendelssohn moved with natural grace among the circles of influence in society, politics, literature, and art. Although he did spend some time at the University of Berlin, most of his education was received through friendships and travel. Mendelssohn's advocacy of Bach's vocal music led to a revival of Bach's music, most famously realized in the 1829 performance of the St. Matthew Passion at the Berlin Singakadamie. In the same year, he visited the British Isles, giving one of first performances there of Beethoven's Emperor Concerto. In Scotland he was inspired by scenery to write his famous Hebrides Overture. He did some touring as a pianist with Ignaz Moscheles, then took the position as music director in Düsseldorf from 1833 to 1836. In 1835, Mendelssohn became municipal music director in Leipzig, where he also would conduct the Gewandhaus Orchestra. He would raise the level of the ensemble to a new standard of excellence. In 1838, he married Cécile Jeanrenaud, enjoying an idyllic marriage and family life. He was in demand as a conductor, spent some time as royal composer and music director in Berlin, but remained committed to musical life in Leipzig. He was even able to establish a new conservatory in the city, which is still a well-respected institution. Among his most enduring works must be counted the incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Songs Without Words (1830-1845); the Symphonies #3 and #4 and the Violin Concerto in e. His religious compositions, particularly the great oratorios Paulus and Elijah also illustrate Mendelssohn's phenomenal talent. He was a good painter, had wide literary knowledge, and wrote brilliantly. He was a superb pianist, a good violist, an exceptional organist, and an inspiring conductor. He had an amazing musical memory. Despite a harmonious life, severe overwork, combined with the shock of his sister Fanny's sudden death in May 1847, led to his own death in November of that year.

February 10

1696 German Johann Melchior Molter

1908 Jean Coulthard

1929 Jerry Goldsmith

1935 Theodore Antoniou

1939 Barbara Kolb

February 17

1653 Arcangelo Corelli

1796 Giovanni Pacini

1820 Henri Vieuxtemps

1862 Edward German (Jones)

1887 Leevi Madetoja

1920 Paul Fetler

1926 Lee Hoiby

1926 Friedrich Cerha

1944 Karl Jenkins

1949 Fred Frith

Arcangelo Corelli

Birth: February 17, 1653 in Fusignano, Italy

Death: January 8, 1713 in Rome, Italy

Corelli came from a family of humble background and pursued violin studies in Bologna around 1670. He received training in counterpoint under Matteo Simonelli. By 1675 he was in Rome where he composed for voice, wind and brass instruments. His abilities on the violin were incomparable and he began to concentrate almost exclusively on works for that instrument. About 1679 he became musico da camera to ex-Queen Christina of Sweden. However, by 1684 he had entered the service of Cardinal Benedetto Pamphili, with whom he remained until 1690. He was then adopted by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, in whose household he spent the rest of his life. Few musicians have ever enjoyed a more secure or lucrative relationship with a patron. In this position, Corelli achieved wide fame and extreme wealth. For the next two decades he led an immensely active career as a performer and impresario presiding at the lavish Roman festivities and in opera, massive oratorios, and secular cantatas. During his lifetime he published five sets of violin sonatas, a small portion of his total output. His Op. 6 concerti grossi were published in 1714 shortly after his death and enjoyed huge popularity in northern Europe for almost 100 years, becoming a fixture of concert societies then flourishing particularly in Britain. Corelli was the first master of the modern violin and his music had an immense influence on later composers of the baroque era such as Tartini, Couperin, and Telemann.

Henri Vieuxtemps

Birth: February 17, 1820 in Verviers, Belgium

Death: June 6, 1881 in Mustapha, Algeria

A child prodigy, Vieuxtemps had his first violin lessons at age 4 from his father, an amateur violinist, who by trade was a weaver. He later studied with Lecloux-Dejonc and, incredibly, performed a violin concerto by Pierre Rode at age 6. He came to the attention of Charles de Bériot, who subsequently took him on as a student. In 1829, Vieuxtemps debuted as a soloist in Paris to great acclaim. He embarked on a concert tour of Germany and Austria, performing Beethoven's violin concerto in Vienna, where he settled temporarily. At his London debut in 1834, he met Paganini, and the two were mutually impressed. Vieuxtemps then went on to study composition in Paris with Antonin Reicha. Further concert tours ensued, including two to Russia, in 1837 and 1840, respectively. By 1836, Vieuxtemps had composed his first violin concerto. During his last tour of Russia, Vieuxtemps wrote his second violin concerto, which received much praise, especially in Paris. Vieuxtemps made his first of three concert tours of the United States in 1843-1844. In the latter year, he married Viennese pianist Josephine Eder. Having had much success in Russia, he accepted a post in St. Petersburg as Court violinist in 1846. During this period he composed his popular fourth violin concerto. He left Russia in 1851 and resumed his career as a virtuoso performer, which included a second American tour in 1857-1858. His equally popular fifth violin concerto was written in 1861. The composer and his family moved to Paris five years later, to escape the unstable political situation in Frankfurt, where they had been living since 1855. His wife died suddenly in 1868, after which he resumed foreign concert tours for a time. He took a teaching post at the Brussels Conservatory in 1871, where his students included Eugène Ysaÿe, and two years later suffered a stroke that paralyzed his right arm. This incident effectively ended his career as a soloist, though he eventually regained enough ability to perform chamber music in private concerts. He was also able to compose in his last decade. In 1879, he moved to Algeria where his daughter lived. His inability to play with proficiency in his final years was a source of great frustration. Almost all his music involves the violin, whether in orchestral, chamber, or solo genres.

February 24

1766 Samuel Wesley

1771 Johann Baptist Cramer

1842 Arrigo Boito

1846 Luigi Denza

1865 William Wolstenholme

1932 Michel Legrand

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WWUH is a non-commercial radio station operated as a community service of the University of Hartford since 1968.  WWUH broadcasts on 91.3 MHz FM with an effective radiated power of 1.000 watts.  Transmitting facilities are located high atop Avon Mountain with studios and offices located in the Harry Jack Gray Center on the University of Hartford campus in West Hartford.  All donations are tax deductible.

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Accent on Jazz - "The sounds of surprise," from the great African-American tradition of improvised music. Tuesday-Friday 9:00pm-midnight.

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Carosello Musicale Italiano - Italian music and news.  Saturday 5:00pm-7:00pm.

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Counterspin - Learn how to talk back to your radio and TV! Critical views of mainstream media, produced by Fairness and Accuracy in Media (F.A.I.R.). Tuesday 12:30pm-1:00pm.

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Geetanjali -. Geetanjali plays a variety of music from the subcontinent -classical, contemporary, devotional and Bollywood music. The show'shosts provide narrative both in English and Hindi. Friday from 7:30pm - 9:00pm

Gothic Blimp Works - Alternative rock music including pop, progressive, experimental, reggae, punk, urban, blues...and more.  Every night midnight-3:00am.

Greatest Show From Earth - Esoteric space rock from psychedelic to progressive, with a side of electronics.  Need we

say more?  Broadcast via the T.E.L./T.A.N. V27X Transfleet Repeater Probe, the last analog frontier. Sunday 9:00pm-midnight.

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New World Notes - New perspectives on American Government, foreigh policy, media and culture in a variety of genres, produced by Ken Dowst.  Tuesday 12noon.

911 Wake Up Call - Exploring the issues surrounding the 911 attacks.  Thursday 12:30pm

Rock 'N Roll Memory Machine - The Hartford Courant calls it the best oldies show in the area.  Memories, music and trivia from the golden days of rock 'n roll.  Sunday 6:00pm-8:00pm.

Saturday Morning Polka Madness - Polkas! Saturday 6:00am-9:00am, requests welcome

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Street Corner Serenade - Music from the '50's "do-wop" era, and more. Saturday 1:00pm-3:00pm.

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West Indian Rhythms - Reggae, soca and more from Jamaica, T & T and beyond. Saturday 9:00pm-12midnight.