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Broadcasting as a Community Service  

91.3FM
 


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WWUH 91.3 FM
Program Guide
November/December, 2015
In This Issue
WWUH Hoodie
WWUH Scholarship Fund
Basketball on UH-FM
Ramsey Inducted
40 Years Ago
How To Listen
WWUH Archive Now Online
Gothic Blimp Works
Celtic Airs Update
Program Idea?
Classical Music on WWUH
Composer Birthdays
Sunday Afternoon at the Opera
Join Our List
 

FALL FUND DRIVE
STARTS SUNDAY!

We Need Your Support
We are very proud of the fact that we have been able to keep our on-air fund drives to only two events a year so you can be sure that when you hear a fund raiser on the air it's because we really need your help.

The Fall Drive, the last of the year year, started at 6pm on Sunday, 11/1 and runs through 6pm on Sunday, 11/8.  Our goal is $45,000 and the money will be used to help keep the station on the air for another year.  Nearly 85% of our funding comes from our listeners so this on-air appeal is extremely important.

There are three ways you can pledge:
1. By calling 800-444-9984 anytime. It only takes a couple of minutes.
2. Go going to our secure site, wwuhpledge.org
3. Mailing a check made out to "WWUH" to
WWUH
200 Bloomfield Ave
W. Hartford, CT  06117

Why should you pledge?
We need the money.
WWUH is a unique community resource.
We are here for you 24/7.
We offer a wide variety of one-of-a-kind programs.

 Introducing the Brand New
WWUH Hoodie
Available Now!

     It's high quality and very warm.  Zips up the front. And has the classic WWUH sine wave logo embroidered on the front left.  It's in stock and available now in return for a fulfilled pledge of $60 or more.  This is a one of a kind item and when they're gone, they're gone.  Call now, 1-800-444-9984 and pledge $60 or more and get a WWUH Hoodie.  Or pledge securely on line at wwuhpledge.org 
WWUH Scholarship Fund
In 2003, the WWUH Scholarship Fund was created to provide 
an annual grant to a UH student who is either on the station's volunteer Executive Committee or who is in a similar 
leadership position at the station.   

The future of radio is in your hands!

   WWUH Music Library was recently dedicated to Michael Ditkoff, class of '73. Michael was traffic director and business manager at WWUH back in the early seventies and he was one of several people who got the station started on the path of creating a comprehensive music library which is why we now have over 140,000 LPs and CDs.  Thanks to Michael's generosity the WWUH scholarship fund started by Steve Shore, Charlie Horwitz and Steve Berian is now fully endowed.
To make a tax deductible donation,
 either send a check to:

WWUH Scholarship Fund
c/o John Ramsey
Univ. of Hartford
200 Bloomfield Ave.
W. Hartford, CT 06117

Or call John at 860-768-4703 to arrange for a one-time or on-going donation via charge card.
  If you would like more information please contact us at [email protected].

Hartford Hawks Return to WWUH
 
 
It's that time of year again, Sports Fans!
 
Live coverage of the Hartford Hawks women's basketball games returns to the airwaves on WWUH this fall, beginning with the Hawks' home game at Cornell on Saturday, November 15th at 7pm.

For full listings of the Hawks' upcoming season, check out http://www.hartfordhawks.com/.


GO Hawks!

Photo Credit: Larry Bilanski

 WWUH General Manager Inducted into the 
Hall of Fame
 
WWUH general manager John Ramsey, was among a group of 12 state broadcasters inducted into The Connecticut Broadcasters' Hall of Fame at the CBA's annual convention in October. Along with John Ramsey, are Brad Davis, Gerry Brooks, Joe DiMaggio, Denise D'acsenzo, Al Terzi, Bill Glynn, Pablo de Jesus Colon, Jr. and Richard Ferguson. Posthumously, Arnold Dean, Boyd Arnold, Ed Henry (represented by family members)..
  
 WWUH 40 Years Ago
WWUH's Evica Hosts Inquiry 
  
On November 4, 5 and 6, 1975, WWUH sponsored "The Citizens Committee of Inquiry" into the JFK assassination. The event took place on campus, and it was broadcast over 91.3. WWUH's George Michael Evica headed the event which featured key note speaker Mark Lane (a noted expert on the JFK assassination) and guest speaker Jim Garrison, the New Orleans's District Attorney who, many years later, would feature prominently in Oliver Stone's controversial movie, "JFK"! .
  
How To Listen To WWUH
Come as You Are... Tune in However Works Best for You
  
In Central CT and Western MA, WWUH can be heard at 91.3 on the FM dial.  Our programs are also carried at various times through out the day on these stations:
WAPJ, 89.9 & 105.1, Torrington, CT
WDJW, 89.7, Somers, CT
WWEB, 89.9, Wallingford, CT 
You can also listen on line using your PC, tablet or smart device.  Our MP3 stream is here.

We also recommend that you download the free app "tunein" 
here to your mobile device.  


  
Hi tech or low tech, near or far, we've got you covered!
Never Miss Your Favorite WWUH Programs Again!
WWUH Round Logo Introducing... the WWUH Archive!

We are very excited to announce
that all WWUH programs are now available on-demand 
using 
the "Program Archive" link 
on our home page,  
 
  This means that if you missed one of your favorite shows, or if you want to listen to parts of it again, you can do so easily using the Archive link.  Programs are available for listening for 
two weeks after their air date.
 
 Enjoy the music, even when you can't listen "live"!
 Does The Gothic Blimp Work?

It sure does.  The Gothics Blimp Works is the oldest continuously running rock/alternative program in CT and you can hear it every night from midnight to 3 am.
C
Celtic Airs Update

    
Steve Dieterich became the producer/host of Celtic Airs in August 1993. His show focuses on traditional music from Ireland and Scotland with additional selections from Wales, Brittany, Cornwall, Galicia and the Canadian Maritimes as well.
     In an effort to raise funds for WWUH, and to present live Celtic music in the greater Hartford area, Steve initiated the Celtic Airs Concert Series in August 1994. More than eighty concerts have been offered thus far featuring well known artists such as Dervish, Patrick Street, Battlefield Band, Tannahill Weavers, Solas, Danu, and many others. Steve has helped to introduce new talent as well: Teada, Ealu, Bohola, Flook, and Julee Glaub. Several foreign bands have made their USA debut performing for the Celtic Airs Concert Series.            
       If you're not already a dedicated Celtic Airs listener, I urge you to tune in to 91.3 FM  any Tuesday  between 6:00 and 9:00 AM. I think you'll like what you hear; a blend of old favorites, new releases and a good introduction to the music of our upcoming concert performers.
       Steve Dieterich
       Producer/Host of Celtic Airs
Got An Idea for a Radio Program?
 

 We might have some late night (midnight and 3am) shows opening up this winter. If you have a unique idea for a radio program and/or have an interest in possibly filling in on 91.3 as a late night volunteer email us with a description of the type of show you propose and a playlist of the type of music you might play. Send it to WWUH


If we like your show idea and something opens up we'll let you know. We can provide on-air training so even if you've never done radio before if you are interested/available for some late night volunteer work and have a neat show idea feel free to email us.

 

WWUH Classical Programming - Nov/Dec, 2015

  
    

 
Sunday Afternoon at the Opera
Sundays 1:00 - 4:30 pm
 
Evening Classics
Weekdays 4:00 to 7:00/ 8:00 pm
 
Drake's Village Brass Band
Mondays 7:00-8:00 pm

 
November
Sun
1
Handel: The Triumph of Time and Truth
Mon
2
Fall Fundraiser - Ravel: Bolero; Dukas The Sorcerer's Apprentice; Herrmann: Welles Raises Kane Suite
Drake's Village Brass Band - Central Band of the Royal Air Force - British Band Classics Vol. 1
Tue
3
A selection of shorter works, including a sampling of recent CD acquisitions.
Wed
4
Stravinsky: Symphony in E Flat; Rodrigo De Ceballos: Missa Tertii Toni; Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 9; Vaclav Tomasek: Piano Concerto No. 1; Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel: Piano Sonata in G Minor; Henrico Albicastro: Concerti for Traverso, Violin and Strings
Thu
5
New Releases. A Sampling of New Acquisitions from the WWUH Library.
Fri
6
Celebrating the 6th with some "Sixths"
Sun
8
Dvorak: Alfred
Mon
9
R. Strauss: An Alpine Symphony; McCabe: Studies for Piano; Ives: String Quartet #1; Bennett: Noctuary
Drake's Village Brass Band - Central Band of the Royal Air Force - British Band Classics Vol. 2
Tue
10
Weinberg: Concerto in c for Cello & Orchestra, Op. 43; Sibelius: Kuolema - Complete Incidental Music; Thuille: Sonata in d for Cello & Piano, Op. 22; Vaughan Williams: Mass in g
Wed
11
Walter Piston: Symphony No. 8; Philippe Rogier: Missa Phillippus II; Schubert: String Quartet, D. 353; Carl Orff: Eight Pieces for Two Violins; Borodin: Petite Suite; Eugene Ysaye: Violin Sonata in G Minor
Thu
12
Borodin: In the Steppes of Central Asia; String Quartet #2 in D; Symphony #3; Prince Igor Overture; Zappa: Symphony in C; Brahms: Hungarian Dances #15-21 (for Orchestra and for piano 4-hands); Handel: Il Pastor Fido - Suite; Merkel: Sonata in d.
Fri
13
Host's choice
Sun
15
Beowolf read by Seamus Heaney (unless preempted by women's basketball)
Mon
16
Scriabin: Symphony #3, Op. 43 "The Divine Poem"; Piano Works; Clarke: Piano Trio; Ives: String Quartet #2
Drake's Village Brass Band - Dallas Wind Symphony: Crown Imperial
Tue
17
Czerny: Piano Concerto in a, Op. 214; Krommer: String Quartet in C, Op. 7, #1; Fibich: Symphony #2 in Eb, Op. 38; Mealor: Stabat mater
Wed
18
Host's choice
Thu
19
Bach: Concerto in c for Oboe and Violin BWV 1060; Haydn: Keyboard Sonata in f; Zingarelli: Symphony #3 in F; Ippolitov-Ivanov: Symphony #1; Chabrier: Orchestral Works; Dvorak: Piano Quintet #1 in A Op. 5; Beethoven: Piano Concerto #3.
Fri
20
Trios, quartets & quintets - we must be stuck in a chamber
Sun
22
Preempted
Mon
23
Keith Jarrett at 70... Jarrett: The Celestial Hawk, In the Cave - In the Light; Barber: Piano Concerto; Harrison: Piano Concerto; P�rt: Frates
Drake's Village Brass Band - Jarrett: Brass Quintet; Carter: Brass Quintet
Tue
24
Host's choice
Wed
25
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9, "From the New World"; Pergolesi: Missa Romana; Max Bruch: String Quartet in E Major; Debussy: Nocturnes; Francesco Canova da Milano: Lute Music
Thu
26
New Releases. A Sampling of New Acquisitions from the WWUH Library.
Fri
27
Classical Conversations - a quarterly feature
Sun
29
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin
Mon
30
Mercury Records - American Music Miscellany... Carter: The Minotaur; Trigg: The Bright Land; Rogers: Leaves from the Tales of Pinocchio; McPee: Tabuh-Tabuhan; Sessions: The Black Maskers
Drake's Village Brass Band - Eastman Wind Ensemble - Hanson: Young Composer's Guide to the Six Tone Scale; schwantner:
...and the mountains rising nowhere; Copland: Emblems 
December
Tue
1
J. C. Bach: Sinfonia V for wind sextet; Mieczyslaw Weinberg Opus 67: Concerto for violin and orchestra in G minor; Domenico Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonatas; David Diamond: Symphony No. 5; Irving Fine: Notturno for Strings and Harp; Robert Simpson: String Quartet No. 1
Wed
2
William Boyce: Symphony in C; Antoine Brumel: Missa Et Ecce Terrae Motus; Beethoven: String Quartet No. 9; Rossini: Wind Quartet No. 4; Saint-Saens: Oboe Sonata, Op. 166; Ernest Bloch: Suite No. 2
Thu
3
Soler: Keyboard Sonatas #24-25; Stevens: Sonata for Trumpet and Piano; Damar�: Le Merle Blanc; Irving Fine: Serious Song; Serebrier: Fantasia for Strings; Sterkel: Piano Concerto #2 in D, Op. 26 #1; Jenner: Trio for Clarinet, Horn & Piano; Fillmore: Americans We, Circus Bee; Webern: Langsamer Satz; Rota: Piano Concerto in e "Piccolo mondo antico".
Fri
4
Frank Zappa was a classical composer?
Sun
6
Steffani: Niobe
Mon
7
Britten: Plymouth Town; G. Williams: Ballads for Orchestra; Sibelius - 50th Birthday Concert - Symphony #5 Original Version;
Drake's Village Brass Band - London Brass Intrada
Tue
8
Chadwick: Symphonic Sketches; Tartini: Concerto for Trumpet & Orchestra; Bruckner: Symphony #5 in B;Rautavaara: Vigilia - Vespers
Wed
9
Jan Dismas Zelenka:Simphonie a 8 Concertanti in G; Joseph Canteloube: Songs;William Schuman: String Quartet No. 3; Louis-Antoine Dornel: Suittes en Trio; Alfonso Ferrabosco II: Fantasias; Adalbert Gyrowetz: Piano Trio in E Flat
Thu
10
Reincken: Partita #6 in A; Franck: Les Eolides, Pi�ce h�ro�que in b, Prelude Chorale and Fugue, Symphony in d; Kummer: Quintetto for 2 flutes, viola, cello & guitar Op. 75; Theodor Kirchner: Romance Op. 73 #6; Messiaen: Diptyque, Oiseaux Exotiques; Gould: Boogie Woogie Etude, Fall River Suite; Sapp: The Women of Trachis Overture.
Fri
11
Another miracle! We start this trip of The 20th Century Limited on the 5th day of Chanukah and end it on the 6th day
Sun
13
Puccini: La Boheme
Mon
14
Persichetti: Symphony for Strings (#5); Diamond: Symphony #8
Drake's Village Brass Band - Empire Brass - A Bach Festival for Brass and Organ
Tue
15
Lalo: Symphony in g; Wolf: String Quartet in B, Op. 3, #1; Saint-Sa�ns: Cello Concerto #1 in a, Op. 33; Rautavaara: Vigilia - Matins
Wed
16
Pavel Vranicky: Symphony in D Major; Giacomo Carissimi: Historia di Ionas; Karl Goldmark: String Quartet No. 8; Aram Khachaturian: Violin Concerto; Mauro Giuliani: Rossiniana No. 3
Thu
17
Valentini: Concerti grosso Op. 7 # 11 in a; Cimarosa: Concerto for 2 Flutes in G, Oboe Concerto in C, Il Matrimonio Segreto Overture; Horneman: Gurre-Suite; Wordsworth: Nocturne and Scherzo; Gliere: Harp Concerto; Vivaldi: Concerto for Viola d'Amore and Lute in d, RV 540.
Fri
18
Music of Edward McDowell to celebrate his 155th birth anniversary
Sun
20
Hindemith: The Long Christmas; DiGiacomo: A Journey to Bethlehem
Mon
21
Host's choice
Tue
22
Piern�: Paysages Franciscains, Op. 43; Leclair: Violin Concerto in g, Op.10, #6; Schubert: String Quartet in G, D. 887; Rimsky-Korsakov: Christmas Eve: Overture and Suite
Wed
23
George Enescu: Symphony No. 1; Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Messe de Minuit; Franck: String Quartet in D Major; Handel: Sinfonia in B Flat Major; Philipp Erlebach: Sonata No. 2 in E Minor
Thu
24
J. E. Hartmann: Symphony #1 in D; Cornelius: The 3 Kings; Waxman: Carmen Fantasie; Wolfl: String Quartet in C Op 4 #1, Piano Sonata in E Op. 33 #3; Cadman: Piano Trio in D Op. 56; Kagel: Pan; Libby Larsen: Holy Roller.
Fri
25
Happy Birthday Ronald Perera
Sun
27
Handel: Messiah
Mon
28
Host's choice
Tue
29
A special holiday program
Wed
30
George Enescu: Symphony No. 1; Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Messe de Minuit; Franck: String Quartet in D Major; Handel; Sinfonia in B Flat Major; Philipp Erlebach: Sonata No. 2 in E Minor
Thu
31
Handel: Concerto Grosso in B, Op. 6 #7; Revueltas: Sensemaya; Sullivan: Overtures Moeran: Sinfonietta; Geminiani: Concerto Grosso in D Op 3 #1; Milstein: Paganiniana; Higdon: Violin Concerto.
 

Thursday Evening Classics - 
Thursday Evening Classics


  Library

 Composer Birthdays for November and December, 2015

Thursday Evening Classics: Composer Birthdays for November and December 2015
 
November 5
1494 Hans Sachs, Mastersinger of Nuremberg
1654 Christian Liebe
1666 Attilio Ariosti
1841 Alexander Sergeyevich Famintsin
1882 Carl Ellis Eppert
1894 Eugene Zador
1917 Claus Adam
1924 Ivan Rezak
1935 Jerry Amper Dadap
1935 John Nicholas Maw
1953 Franklin Stover
1964 Brian Sager
1971 Jonny Greenwood
1976 Eric J. Schwartz
 
November 12
1676 (bapt) Giovanni Antonio Pollarolo
1817 Carlo Pedrotti
1817 Martin Gustav Nottebohm
1827 Gustav Adolf Merkel
1833 Alexander Borodin
1844 Fouque Pierre Octave
1858 Alexis Contant
1897 Karl Marx
1901 Ernst Pepping
1905 Evgeny Grigor'yevich Brusilovsky
1905 Solon Michaelides
1916 Jean Papineau-Couture
1921 Robert Fleming
1936 Alfred 'Corky' Fabrizio
1941 Jennifer Helen McLeod
1948 Anthony Walter Adams
1982 Yusuf Sms Albasri
 
November 19
1709 Pierre Leclair
1753 Stanislas Champein
1761 Joseph Supries
1796 Johann Wilhelm Mangold
1859 Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov
1870 Vicente Lleo
1874 Karl Adrian Wohlfahrt
1906 Henri Temianka
1906 Jacques Leguerney
1907 Christian J. H. English
1908 Mikhail Ivanovich Chulaki
1908 Jean Yves Daniel Lesur
1926 Enrique Esp�n Y�pez
1936 Emin Aristakesian
1936 Michel Decoust
1950 James R. Adler
1971 Bernhard Gal
 
November 26
1823 Thomas Dyke Acland Tellefsen
1865 Earl Ross Drake
1915 Earl Wild
1920 Istvan Sarkozy
1930 Michael Graubart
1932 Alan Stout
1937 Richard Englefield
1958 Martin Zalba Ib��ez
1971 Marcel Chyrzynski
1974 Stefano Lentini
 
December 3
1576 (bapt) Marsilio Casentini
1668 Casimir Schweizelsperg
1685 Henri-Guillaume Hamal
1704 Balthasar Abraham Petri
1729 (bapt) Padre Antonio Francisco Javier Jose Soler
1750 Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel
1752 Georg-Friederich Fuchs
1758 Josef Gelinek (Jelinek)
1840 Eugene Damar�
1843 Franz [Frantisek] Xaver Viktor Neruda
1865 Gustav Uwe Jenner
1881 James Henry Fillmore, Jr
1883 Anton Webern
1896 Boleslaw Szabelski
1898 Lev Konstantinovich Knipper
1902 Willem Arnold de Vries Robbe
1908 Halsey Stevens
1909 Dana Suesse
1911 Nino Rota
1914 Irving Fine
1926 Hans Gunther Franz Otte
1929 Paul Harris Turok
1938 Jose Serebrier
1945 Laura Dean
1949 Chan Ka Nin
1979 Gianluca Cangemi
 
December 10
1643 (bapt) Johann Adam Reincken
1764 Louis-Sebastien Lebrun
1795 Kaspar Johann Kummer
1813 Errico Petrella
1822 Cesar Auguste Jean Guillaume Hubert Franck
1823 Wilhelm Kuhe
1823 Theodor Kirchner
1868 Louis Victor Saar
1872 Johann Baptist Thaller
1887 Mildred Cooper (Couper)
1885 Janos Hammerschlag
1885 Mario Varvoglis
1893 Walter Rein
1899 Lili Wieruszowski
1903 Luis Humberto Salgado Torres
1908 Olivier Messiaen
1913 Morton Gould
1919 Sven-Eric Emanuel Johanson
1922 Allen Dwight Sapp
1923 Abelardo Quinteros
1926 Dag Schjelderup-Ebbe
1937 Don Sebesky
1959 Zlata Razdolina
 
December 17
1749 Domenico Cimarosa
1750 Elizabeth Anspach
1770 Johann Friedrich Schubert
1838 Berthold Tours
1840 Christian Frederik Emil Horneman
1860 Hans F�hrmann
1861 Fritz Volbach
1864 John Felix August Korling
1869 Nikolay Ivanovich Kazanli
1906 Fernando Lopes Gra�a
1908 Eurico Tom�s de Lima
1908 William Brocklesby Wordsworth
1917 Louis Salvador Palange
1930 Makoto Moroi
1943 William Brooks
1966 Alla Zahaikevych
 
December 24
1625 Johann Rudolf Ahle
1726 Johann Ernst Hartmann
1772 Joseph Wolfl
1805 Sebastian (S�bastien) Lee
1812 Henry Russell
1813 Henry Wellington Greatorex
1821 Johannes Worp
1824 Peter Cornelius
1859 Roman Statkowski
1881 Charles Wakefield Cadman
1906 Franz Waxman [Wachsmann]
1908 Sir Vivian Dunn
1913 Karl Michael Komma
1931 Mauricio Kagel
1945 Luca Lombardi
1950 Libby Larsen
1953 Hans-Jurgen von Bose
1954 Cynthia Folio
1969 Jani K��ri�
1976 Philip Rothman
1986 Edward Southall
 
December 31
1826 Henry Hiles
1837 John R. Sweney
1846 Richard Kleinmichel
1849 Francisco Hargreaves
1894 Ernest John 'Jack' Moeran
1899 Silvestre Revueltas
1904 Nathan Milstein
1925 Jaap Schr�der
1938 Calvin Hampton
1938 Christopher (Charles) Steel
1962 Jennifer Higdon

 Sunday Afternoon at the Opera

 

SUNDAY AFTERNOON AT THE OPERA
your "lyric theater" program
with Keith Brown
programming selections for the months of November and December, 2015

 
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 1ST Handel, The Triumph of Time and Truth (1757) This is both Handel's very first and very last work in the genre of oratorio. With his eyesight failing, Handel decided it was easier to rework an Italian language oratorio he had composed long ago at the start of  his career in 1707 at the behest of his onetime patron, the Roman churchman Cardinal Pamfili. Handel had revived it at Covent Garden in 1737, with certain revisions. Handel's longtime collaborator the Anglican cleric Thomas Morell translated the libretto of the 1737 version into English. The master borrowed a few additional numbers from his store of previous vocal works to compliment the lyric allegory, which is a kind of moral debate between the figures of Beauty, Deceit, Counsel or Truth, Pleasure and Time. In the end Truth wins out over Beauty. On Sunday, November 18, 2001 I presented the Opus 111/Na�ve CD release of Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno, using Cardinal Pamfili's original book. Twice before I have broadcast the 1982 Hyperion recording of The Triumph of Time and Truth. The first time was my very first broadcast employing compact discs, on Sunday, November 1, 1987. I drew upon those same two Hyperion CD's again on Sunday, March 25, 2007. A new recording of this oratorio came out in 2014 through a different UK label, Delphian, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Richard Neville directs Scotland's period instrument ensemble Ludus Baroque and the Ludus Baroque choristers,with five vocal soloists.
 
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 8TH Dvorak,Alfred We normally think of Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) as a Czech nationalist composer of symphonies. Over the years I have broadcast recordings of one or another of Dvorak's ten operas. These are lyric theaterworks normally sung in the Czech language. Dvorak's first opera Alfred (1870) has a German language libretto and expresses the young composer's fascination with Wagner. He was also struggling to come to terms with the dominant German opera composer of the Romantic era. The result in Alfred was what some might dismiss as "Wagner lite," even though the music is delightfully melodious and dramatically self-assured. At a later time Dvorak seems to have been embarrassed by his own work, and neglected to promote it. Alfred seems never to have been produced anywhere in the composer's lifetime. After his death only the overture was ever performed in his concert adaptation. The entire opera had to wait until 1938 for a radio broadcast performance in Prague, on which occasion it was sung in Czech translation. The subject matter of Alfred is quite Teutonic. The story is set in ninth century England, where the Anglo-Saxon king Alfred the Great was struggling against invasion and occupation by Danish Vikings. At long last the world premiere recording of Alfred was made in live concert performance at the Dvorak Hall in Prague. The opera was a component of the 2014 Prague Dvorak Festival. Heiko Mathias Forster directs the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno, with seven solo singers. Sung in the original German. A 2014 release on two CD's through the Czech ArcoDiva label. This is the Sunday when "Sunday Afternoon at the Opera" participates in WWUH's Fall Fundraiser week, so while the broadcast is underway, phone in your pledges of financial support for lyric theater programming.
 
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 15TH Beowulf (?) As of time of writing I don't know for sure whether or not this Sunday's show willbe preempted by broadcast of a women's basketball game. If it is not preempted I have something special planed that lovers of opera singing may not like at all. My broad spectrum definition of "lyric theater" includes spoken word presentations like the plays of Shakespeare. This Sunday's presentation will be a storytelling session: Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon epic poem read in its entirety in an idiomatic modern English translation by Seamus Heaney. Heaney translated the ancient text himself and reads it aloud in a compellingly dramatic yet conversational manner. He is an Irish poet and literary scholar who won the Nobel Prize in literature for 1995. In 2000 he delivered Beowulf in BBC broadcast. The bards of old declaimed their epics accompanying themselves on the harp. You could think of their style of delivery as an ancient form of operatic recitative. Seamus Heaney's voice is totally unaccompanied in the aircheck of the radio broadcast that was released on compact disc in the US through the Highbridge Company. To provide some musical relief and suggest recitative, I will intersperse my broadcast with passages of recorded music of the old traditional Celtic harp, both as formal interludes or subtle soundbed.
 
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 22ND PREEMPTED by broadcast of a University of Hartford women's basketball game.
 
SUNDAY  NOVEMBER 29TH Tchaikovsky, Eugene Onegin As an opera composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky is known for two outstanding operas, The Queen of Spades (1890) and Eugene Onegin (1879), although he wrote at least seven other lyric stageworks. Tchaikovsky sought to avoid Wagnerian pomposity in composing music for a libretto he prepared himself from the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin about the Byronic Russian aristocrat Onegin. Tchaikovsky even refused to grace his creation with the official title of "opera," fearing his "lyrical scenes" might be interpreted as a grand opera, which would ruin the delicacy of his musical treatment of a psychologically complex love story. The wisdom of his artistic approach has helped to win for Eugene Onegin a place on the periphery of the international operatic repertoire. There is a rather considerable Onegin discography. Way back on Sunday, June 9, 1991 I broadcast the Sony Classical CD issue of a recorded production of Onegin by the Sofia National Opera of Bulgaria. Today you get to hear a German production that Deutsche Grammophon picked up. It was recorded in Dresden in 1987 with the Staatskapelle Dresden orchestra under the baton of that seasoned American opera conductor James Levine. British baritone Thomas Allen portrays Onegin. Opposite him as Tatiana is the Italian soprano Mirella Freni. Heard as Olga is the Swedish mezzo Anne Sofia von Otter. The chorus of Radio Leipzig takes part in the proceedings. The two DGG compact discs were released in 1988. Sung in the original Russian. 
    
SUNDAY DECEMBER 6TH Steffani, Niobe Yet another important but neglected opera composer of the Italian baroque is finally getting his due in recordings. Not one, but two new recordings have appeared in the catalog of Agostino Steffani's Niobe, Regina di Tebe (1688). Born in Italy in 1654, Steffani lived a fairly long life, dying in 1728, but by the dawn of the eighteenth century he had given up writing music entirely to pursue a career in diplomatic service in Central Europe. Niobe was composed for the opera theater of the royal Bavarian court at Munich. (Steffani's Italian operas were particularly popular in Germany; they influenced the development of German baroque opera.) The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden staged Niobe in 2010. The 2015 Opus Arte release lays claim to being the world premiere recording of Niobe. Following hard on its heels is the Erato release of Niobe with Paul Odette leading the singers and players of the Boston Early Music Festival. The Covent Garden production has Thomas Hengelbrock conducting the Baltasar-Neumann-Ensemble of period instrumentalists. Starring in the singing cast in the title role as the Queen of Thebes is the much esteemed French soprano Veronique Gens. It's her voice you will hear today in the Covent Garden/Opus Arte recording on three compact discs.
 
SUNDAY DECEMBER 13THPuccini's La Boheme (1896) is the obvious choice for programming at this time of year, since the action of the opera opens on Christmas Eve and continues through Christmas Day in the first two acts. There's a historic recording of La Boheme that I have broadcast once before long ago on Christmas Eve, 1989. It was recorded live in radio broadcast over the NBC network from New York City on February 3/10, 1946, with Arturo Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra. The recording's historic importance is enhanced by the fact that it was broadcast in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the staged premiere of the opera in Turin. Toscanini knew Puccini personally and made the performance of Puccini's operas a personal cause. It was Toscanini who conducted the world premiere of Turandot after the composer's death. In 1968 RCA Victor Red seal issued the 1946 Toscanini Boheme on LP's in monaural sound. The Metropolitan Opera's resident tenor of the period, Jan Peerce, is heard as the poet Rodolfo, with soprano Licia Albanese as Mimi. The greatest Italian basso buffo of all time, Salvatore Baccaloni, was cast in the role of the landlord Benoit.
 
SUNDAY DECMBER 20TH Hindemith,The Long Christmas Dinner, DiGiacomo, A Journey to Bethlehem  Fond memories of Christmas dinner with family are part of the holiday idyll. What if it was possible to attend a Christmas feast that encompasses ninety years of a family's history? That's what the distinguished American playwright Thornton Wilder had in mind in his one act play The Long Christmas Dinner (1931). German composer Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) approached Wilder about rendering his play into a suitable opera libretto. Wilder took on the challenge and gave Hindemith exactly what he wanted for his last opera Das lange Weihnachtsmahl (1960/61). Hindemith himself translated Wilder's libretto into German and crafted his music so that the opera could be sung in either English or deutsch. On Sunday, December 19,2010 I broadcast the German language version in a 2005 Wergo recording with Marek Janowski conducting the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and vocal soloists. This holiday season you get the opera in its English language production as recorded live in performance at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City, December 14, 2014. (This is presumably the world premiere release of the English version in 2015 on a single Bridge CD.) Leon Botstein conducts the American Symphony Orchestra with a cast of eight American vocal soloists.
    Sometime during Advent I like to program lyric theater pieces in which child singers/actors take part. After all, people say Christmastime is  a special time devoted to the little ones. Frank DiGiacomo (1945-2004) wrote a charming Christmas opera in one act on commission from a high school choral director in an upstate New York school district. A Journey to Bethlehem  (1977) has a libretto by the composer, who based it upon medieval folk tales. DiGiacomo composed other operas for university level productions and for professional groups like Opera Theatre of Syracuse. This one is intended specifically for amateurs,with youngsters performing all the major roles. A Journey to Bethlehem comes to us on two  20th Century Records LP's. I last presented this unique live recording on Sunday, December 23, 1990.
 
SUNDAY DECMBER 27TH Handel,Messiah  Although, like his other oratorios, it was originally intended for performance at Lent, Handel's Messiah (1741) has a now longstanding association with Christmastime. I've broadcast many different recordings of this immortal work on the last Sunday in December or on one of the Advent Sundays, and around Eastertime, too. Most of these recorded versions of Messiah  have employed historically informed baroque performance practice both in singing and with period instruments. The "period" approach to the music has become the norm. The latest "period" Messiah to come into my hands is the 2014 Erato two-CD set. Emmanuelle Haim leads a French "period" ensemble Le Concert D'Astree orchestra. The Concert D'Astree choir and the four solo singers, however, are British. Handel was constantly tinkering with the score of Messiah, altering various numbers for each new performance. Consequently, there is no definitive version of the oratorio, unless you consider the copy Handel bequeathed to the Foundling Hospital near the end of his life to contain his final thoughts on the composition. Le Concert D'Asree has chosen the version performed at Covent Garden Theatre during Holy Week,1752, as edited for publication by musicologist John Tobin. Handel never meant Messiah to be sung in church, but then, of course, it has sometimes been given in church/chapel venues following the master's death.
   The old year rolls around to its conclusion. I think back to all those who have helped me through the course of 2015 to make this opera program possible. Again and again over the years from Rob Meehan I get on loan for broadcast the latest recordings of cutting -edge opera of today. Rob is a specialist collector of 20th and 21st century music on disc, especially in the "alternative" approaches to the audio artform. He's also a former classical deejay here at WWUH. Again and again I keep thanking him for his invaluable contributions. Curiously, this two-month period of programming is one of the very few that does not include anything of his. I did not contribute any recordings of my own.either.  Everything featured in November and December comes out of our station's ever-growing holdings of classical music on disc. Our station's director of classical programming Steve Petke donated his DGG recording of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, so he deserves a shout-out as well. As always, I am beholden to our station's operations director Kevin O'Toole for continuing to mentor me in the preparation of these notes for cyber-publication.

West Hartford Symphony Orchestra


In Collaboration with the WWUH Classical Programming we are pleased to partner with the West Hartford Symphony Orchestra to present their announcements and schedule to enhance our commitment to being part of the Greater Hartford Community

Autumn Classical Concert - Sunday, October 18, 3pm. Roberts Theater. Concert of Remembrance featuring concert pianist Karen Hakobyan performing "The Warsaw Concerto," violinist Carin Wiesner performing "Three Pieces from Schindler's List," baritone Mark McNally narrating Copland's "Lincoln Portrait" and singing "In Flanders Fields," plus the CT premiere of Hakobyan's "Symphony #2."

Annual Holiday Concert - Sunday, Secember 13, 3pm, WH Town Hall. Featuring tenor David Baker, one of our favorite soloists, as well as seasonal hol8ilday music from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride," and much more.
  
Spring Classical Concert - Sunday, April 3, 3pm Roberts Theater.
A unique collaboration between teacher and student as concertmaster Carin Weisner performs Max Bruch's "Concerto for Violin and Viola" with her student, senior Mai Vestergaard, along with Brahams' "Academic Overature."

Annual Pops Concert - Saturday, May 21, 8pm. WH Town Hall
Our yearly tribute to our veterans on Armed Forces Day featuring patriotic music and songs form the Great American Songbook, Broadway, and the movies!
  
For over ten years, the West Hartford Symphony has been providing a musical outlet for residents of West Hartford and the Greater Hartford Area. Musicians from the ages of 14 to 86 come together once a week to play a variety of pieces and perform four concerts each year. 

For tickets and information, 860-521-4362 or http://whso.org/.

The Musical Club of Hartford
 
  
The Musical Club of Hartford is a non-profit organization founded over a hundred years ago, in 1891. Membership is open to performers or to those who simply enjoy classical music, providing a network for musicians from the Greater Hartford area.
 
Concerts
New England Jazz Ensemble presents the premiere of a jazz interpretation of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf at Conard High School.
Pianist Mariangelo Vacatello and her organist husband Adriano Falcioni will give a joint concert at St. John's Church featuring a collaboration on Stravinsky's Firebird.
 
Musical Exploration
Musical Club history will be on the program, including a film from the 1980's with interviews of and performances by of some past and present members. In another program we will also examine some promising dynamic teaching methods for music students of the future.
 
Member Programs featuring autographed programs from the past
Throughout the year, Musical Club member performances will welcome some famous visitors of the past, as seen through the programs they presented. Among them: Mme Schumann-Heink, Pablo Casals, Marian Anderson, Francis Poulenc ... and others.
For more information, visit:  

 The Connecticut Valley Symphony Orchestra
The Connecticut Valley Symphony Orchestra is a non-profit Community Orchestra. They present four concerts each season in the Greater Hartford area, performing works from all periods in a wide range of musical styles. The members of Hartford's only community orchestra are serious amateurs who come from a broad spectrum of occupations.
 
The Connecticut Valley Symphony Orchestra 2015-2016 Concert Season
 
All concerts are at 3:00 PM at Trinity Episcopal Church, 120 Sigourney Street, Hartford
 
The Connecticut Valley Symphony Orchestra 2015-2016 Concert Season
 
All concerts are at 3:00 PM at Trinity Episcopal Church, 120 Sigourney Street, Hartford
 
November 8, 2015:  The Great Romantics
Beethoven: Egmont Overture
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto (Leonid Sigal, violin)
Dvorak: Symphony No. 8
 
February 14, 2016:   A la France
Debussy: Prelude to Afternoon of a Faun
Mozart: Symphony No. 31 ("Paris")
Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3 ("Organ") (Bert Landman, organ)
 
April 10, 2016: Schubert's Unfinished
Suppe: Overture to "The Beautiful Galathea"
Higdon: Blue Cathredal
David: Concertino No. 4 (Matthew Russo, trombone)
Schubert: Symphony No. 8 ("Unfinished")
 
June 12, 2016: Pops: An Afternoon at the Movies
Selected Film Music
 
For further information: http://ctvalleysymphonyorch.com/

 The Hartford Chorale
  
 
The Hartford Chorale is a volunteer-based, not-for-profit organization, and serves as the primary symphonic chorus for the greater Hartford community. The Chorale provides experienced, talented singers with the opportunity to study and perform at a professional level of musicianship. Through its concerts and collaborations with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and other organizations, the Chorale seeks to reach and inspire the widest possible audience with exceptional performances of a broad range of choral literature, including renowned choral masterpieces.
 
The Hartford Chorale 2015-2016 season

Joyful Voices
with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra
Carolyn Kuan, conductor
Thursday - Sunday, December 3-6, 2015
 
Mendelssohn's Elijah
Richard Coffey, conductor
Thursday, April 14, 2016
 
 For further information: Hartford Chorale 860-547-1982 or www.hartfordchorale.org.