This Week At The Classical Station
by Rob Kennedy
Sunday, April 2, 2023
Day 10 of Spring Membership Drive
What does The Classical Station mean to you? Your fellow listeners offered these words…“I adore classical music. It’s one of the few things on the radio that I can bear…” And…“It’s my daily companion… my daily bread” The Classical Station means a lot to you too… find your reason… and give by clicking a gift to us on our app or website, or, better yet, call 800-556-51-78 anytime.
Thank you for your support of The Classical Station.
On April 2 we observe the birthdays of Italian composer Giacomo Ferrari (1763-1842), German composer Franz Lachner (1803-1890), and Italian composer Teodulo Mabellini (1817-1897).
A noted opera composer in his day, Signor Ferrari spent most of his professional career in England and France. A friend of Franz Schubert, Herr Lachner’s wrote several hundred works in a variety of genres. A colleague of the great Giuseppe Verdi, Signor Mabellini himself wrote nine operas.
Photos: Giacomo Ferrari, Unknown Author, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons; Franz Lachner, Unknown Author, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons; Teodulo Mabellini, Unknown Author, Public Domain, Wikimedia Common
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Saturday, April 1
Day 9 of Spring Membership Drive
A huge thank you to everybody who helped us meet the Friends from Greensboro’s Angel Match of $25,000 yesterday. If you’ve been listening to our great classical music and have not contributed because you thought that $5 or $10 per month was too little, too insignificant, we want you to know that we have always gladly accepted listener contributions of ANY amount. Some people are able to give substantially. Many of our listeners are on fixed incomes. That’s why we have always said “You decide what to give.” But, please give, and help us reach our Spring Membership Drive 2023 goal on these last two days of the Drive.
Thank you for your support!
The 2022-23 season of Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcasts continues with Verdi’s exuberant Shakespearean comedy Falstaff. Baritone Michael Volle stars in the prodigious title role as the lovable rogue, Sir John Falstaff. Sopranos Ailyn Pérez and Jennifer Johnson Cano, and contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux join forces as the merry wives of Windsor who gleefully torment Sir John. The cast also features baritone Christopher Maltman as the jealous husband Ford, and soprano Hera Hyesang Park and tenor Bogdan Volkov as the smitten young couple Nannetta and Fenton. Daniele Rustioni conducts this sparkling score – Verdi’s final operatic masterpiece.
The curtain goes up at 12:30 Eastern.
On April 1 we observe the birthdays of Italian composer Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1824) and Russian-born American composer Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
A virtuoso concert pianist and teacher in his day, Signor Busoni is mostly remembered in our time for his transcriptions of various Bach works. Can you imagine Vladimir Horowitz playing Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Piano Concerto? Well, it happened!
Photos: Photograph of Ferruccio Busoni, Unknown Author, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons; Sergei Rachmaninoff, Unknown Author, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
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Friday, March 31, 2023
Day 8 of Spring Membership Drive
Today we have a very special Angel Match in effect. The Friends from Greensboro are challenging us to raise $25,000 by the end of today. Once we hit that number, they will match the full amount. Put another way, if we only raise $15,000 today, it won’t work. It’s got to be the entire amount. So, spread the word! We really need your help.
If you already are a Sustaining Member, please consider increasing your monthly gift, as those increases will count too. If you are in a position where you can give $1200, that will be super plus you will also receive a weekly patron announcement. Gifts of any amount will help get us to $25,000.
Remember: we receive no tax dollars, no national association grants, and we have no endowment. It’s you and me keeping the Great Classical Music we love playing 24/7 just like we’ve done since 1978.
Thanks for your support. When you make your gift via our app or on the website, please put “Angel Match” in the Comments box. Or better yet, call 800-556-51-78
The number of composers represented on our playlists every day is quite remarkable. We program over 100 pieces of music every day. Some are short pieces, especially during Rise and Shine and Allegro. Others are long works, such as you hear during Classical Cafe, As You Like It, and Concert Hall. But notice that we don’t play only Beethoven or Brahms or Bach. Neither do we play only Baroque music or Romantic music. They say that variety is the spice of life. And so it is with our programming.
Thank you for supporting us during our Spring Fund Drive. If you haven’t sent in your donation, please do so here online or call us anytime. 800-556-51-78.
On March 31 we observe the birthday of Austrian composer Franz Josef Haydn (1732-1809). ClassicFM states it succinctly: “Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. Haydn wrote 107 symphonies in total, as well as 83 string quartets, 45 piano trios, 62 piano sonatas, 14 masses, and 26 operas, amongst countless other scores.”
Photo: Portrait by Ludwig Guttenbrunn, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons; Postage stamp issued by Hungary in 1959, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the death of Franz Joseph Haydn
Thursday, March 30, 2023
Day 7 of Spring Membership Drive 2023
Perhaps you’re new to the area and have just discovered WCPE. Welcome! We are a public radio station and we rely on listener contributions for most of our funding. If you like what you hear, then please become a sustaining member. A contribution of 10 dollars per month combined with contributions from other members will go a long way to paying for many hours of Great Classical Music.
While you’re listening to the beautiful music, click the Donate link on our app or website, or, better yet, call us at 800-556-51-78.
On March 30 we observe the birthdays of Austrian cantor and composer Salomon Sulzer (1804-1890) and Russian composer Sergei Vasilenko (1872-1956).
Salomon Sulzer is perhaps best known for arranging traditional Hebrew chants with modern harmonies. A Professor at the Moscow Conservatory, Sergei Nikiforovich Vasilenko taught Aram Katchaturian among others.
Photos: Salomon Sulzer, Unknown Author, Public Domain U.S., Wikimedia Commons; Sergei Vasilenko, Author Unknown, Toccata Classics
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Day 6 of Spring Membership Drive
When you become a new member of The Classical Station you’re working with others towards a common goal…and that is to keep classical music on the radio AND around the world online at TheClassicalStation.org. A gift of $10 a month will not only bring you hours of enjoyment but will also ensure that classical music remains on the radio and is available to everyone. All for just $10 a month. Click a gift to us on our app, on our website, or call 800-556-51-78 anytime. Thank you for your support.
As you can see from the numbers on the left, we’re short $60,000 at the end of Day 5 of our Spring Membership Drive. Our target was $250,00 by the close of business yesterday. Please spread the word about this unique classical music service that you enjoy so much. Your recommendation is very powerful!
On March 29 we observe the birthdays of English composer Sir William Walton (1902-1983) and English organist E. Power Biggs (1906-1977).
Sir William Walton was one of the most important 20th-century British composers. English-born E. Power Biggs was a prominent concert organist who was very active in the middle of the 20th-century.
Photos: Sir William Walton, Unknown Author, The Walton Trust; E. Power Biggs, GiovanniScuola, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Day 5 of Spring Membership Drive
Today on Day 5 of our Spring Membership Drive, we’re appealing to all those listeners who listen to our great classical music but have never supported us. While our studios and transmitters are located in Central North Carolina, we stream classical music worldwide. Perhaps you’re listening in a country where you have to pay a license fee to listen to the radio. We don’t have that here. Maybe you live in a country that supports the arts with state funds. That’s not the case with The Classical Station. We receive no federal, state or local funding. Since 1978 we have been listener-supported. That’s why we are asking you to become a Sustaining Member at whatever level suits you.
Please don’t be an anonymous listener! Ask us to play some music for you on All Request Friday or on the Saturday Evening Request Program. Call us anytime to chat with an announcer. And, please, click a gift to us here or on our app, or, better yet, call 800-556-51-78 where one of our volunteers will answer the phone and welcome you into our family of classical music lovers. Thank you for your support!
On March 28 we observe the birthday of Dutch conductor Willem Mengelberg (1871-1951), English composer and organist Sir William Harris (1873-1973), Bohemian-born pianist Rudolf Serkin (1903-1991), and American bass Samuel Ramey (1942-).
While Maestro Mengelberg was primarily associated with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, he found time to conduct the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 1921 to 1930. Sir William Harris was Organist of Saint George’s Chapel, Windsor from 1933-1951. Besides being a famous pianist of his generation, Mr. Serkin was associated with two major American institutions, the Marlboro Festival, and the Curtis Institute. Acclaimed for his roles as Faust in the Gounod and Boito operas, Samuel Ramey is currently Distinguished Professor of Opera at Wichita State University’s School of Music.
Photos: Willem Mengelberg, Unknown Author, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons; Sir William Henry Harris, Unknown Author, Fair Use (The photo is only being used for informational purposes), Wikimedia Commons; Rudolf Serkin, Bilsen, Joop van/Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, Wikimedia Commons; Samuel Ramey, Christian Steiner
Monday, March 27, 2023
Day 4 of Spring Membership Drive
On this fourth day of our Spring Fund Drive 2023, we really need your help. If you are already a Sustaining Member of The Classical Station, please consider increasing your monthly contribution. An extra $5 or $10 per month adds up very quickly when combined with hundreds of Sustainers doing the same thing. If you are at a point in your life where you can make a significant financial contribution of $5,000 or $10,000, please do so. You can do that as a Sustainer and spread your gift over twelve monthly payments.
If you have never visited our studios and transmitter in Wake Forest, North Carolina, then you probably don’t realize that our facilities are utilitarian, to put it mildly. We have never spent money on fancy furniture, travel, and so on. We spend your contribution on utilities to keep the transmitter operating, royalties to keep the music playing, and state-of-the-art software to catalog and schedule our 15,000 CD music library. Furthermore, we do not spend anything on outside fundraising consultants. As you can tell, everything we do is homegrown. It’s been that way since 1978.
We are ever so proud to be listener-supported and volunteer-powered. Give us a call, please. 800-556-5178 or click a gift to us. Thank you for your support.
On March 27 we observe the birthdays of French composer Vincent D’Indy (1851-1931), American composer Ferde Grofé (1892-1972), and Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich (1927-2007).
A student of Cesar Franck, Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d’Indy taught Darius Milhaud, Cole Porter, Albert Roussel, and Erik Satie among others. Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofé came from a very musical family. He was well-known in the 20s and 30s as the arranger for the Paul Whiteman Band. One of the 20th-century’s greatest cellists, Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich was also highly regarded as a conductor.
Photos: Vincent D’Indy, Unknown Author, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons; Ferde Grofe, Bain News Service, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons; Mstislav Rostropovich, Vladimir Vyatkin, RIA Novosti, CC-BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
