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Welcome to the Blog of Rich Samuels, Host of “Anything Goes”

Wednesday, 17 October 2012 | Rich Samuels

On the left is a photo of me (snapped by April 14, 2009, by Chicago Sun-Times photographer Brian Jackson)  seemingly yelling at  Rod Blagojevich.  The former Illinois governor had just exited Chicago’s Dirksen Federal Building where he had entered a “not guilty” plea to a wide variety of corruption charges, including the allegation that he had attempted to market, for personal gain, the seat in the U.S. Senate left vacant when Barack Obama was elected President.

I was part of the media scrum (a correspondent for the “Chicago Tonight” show which airs on WTTW, one of Chicago’s public television stations) that pursued Blago that day: and, to be quite frank, I only appear to be yelling at the disgraced former governor: in reality, I was trying to locate my camera operator who had disappeared into the crowd, nowhere to be seen.

A month short of three years after that picture was taken (it’s recently been recycled as the cover art for Natasha Korecki’s book “Only in Chicago”), Rod Blagojevich began serving a 14 year sentence at the Federal Correctional Center Englewood near Denver. I wasn’t around to witness the denouement of his prosecution: I retired from television journalism at the end of 2009 and, as Garrison Keillor once put it, “moved up to radio”.

Since November of 2010 I’ve been hosting WORT’s “Anything Goes” show, bringing my listeners classical music every Thursday morning between the hours of 5 and 8.

To the greatest extent possible, I try to feature the work of local artists and composers, especially those who are younger. When necessary, I have the capability of recording interviews and performances in the field.

I hope you’ll be able to join me each week. I also hope you can continue to provide WORT with the financial support that makes this kind of programming (which is obviously not for everyone) possible.

When I’m not on the air you can follow me via this blog, via Twitter, Facebook or my personal website.

The WORT 89.9 FM Madison Area Classical Music Calendar for the Week Beginning March 14, 2013 Compiled by Rich Samuels, Host of “Anything Goes”.

03/13/13 9:19 AM | Rich Samuels

Thursday, March 14, 2:30-5:30 pm (and Friday 9 am-5:45 pm) UW-Madison Education Building, room 159 1000 Bascom Mall Symposium: World Records: The Mayrent Collection of Yiddish 78s & the Future of Historic Sound Recordings. World Records” celebrates the acquisition of the Mayrent Collection of Yiddish 78s by the UW-Madison Mills Music Library. This conference and concert will focus on the important role this and other sound archives play in cultural and community continuity, as well as historical study, and will also include discussions of critical issues related to preservation, dissemination, technology, ownership and copyright. The Mayrent Collection contains over 9,000 inventoried and digitally remastered Yiddish recordings made between 1901 and 1956, providing an invaluable soundtrack with which to study and understand the Jewish world: Yiddish theater, popular and traditional music, cantorial songs, poetry, drama, and event ballads. Placing the Mayrent Collection in historic context will be presentations on American vernacular musics (Scandihoovian, Polish, hillbilly, tamburitza, blues, and more), along with a full day of presentations related to collection management and access, digital folklore, and the legal standing of historical recordings and their use. An opening night live concert will feature traditional musical genres found in the Mills Library sound collections. With such a broad range of perspectives, this symposium should be of interest to scholars in diverse fields including historical musicology and ethnomusicology, media studies, cultural studies, American studies, folklore, digital studies, linguistics, anthropology and ethnography, ethnic studies, library and information sciences, and copyright law, among others. All events are free and open to the public. Event Details Presentations: Thursday, March 14, 2:00-5:30pm Friday, March 15, 9:00am-5:45pm UW-Madison Education Building, room 159 1000 Bascom Mall Concert: Thursday, March 14, 7:00pm UW-Madison Mosse Humanities Building, Morphy Hall 455 N. Park St. Presenters Jeanette Casey, Mills Music Library Tom Caw, Mills Music Library Ken Frazier, Emeritus Director of the UW-Madison Libraries Janet Gilmore, Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures Shubha Ghosh, Law School Nancy Groce, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress Rob Howard, Communication Arts Jim Leary, Department of Comparative Literature & Folklore Studies Bill Malone, Emeritus, Tulane University Richard March, Folk Arts Specialist, Wisconsin Arts Board (retired) Sherry Mayrent, Boston MA, independent scholar and collector Anna Rue, Scandinavian Studies Henry Sapoznik, Mayrent Institute for Yiddish Culture Musicians Goose Island Ramblers: Bruce Bollerud Klezmer: Sherry Mayrent, Henry Sapoznik New MadCity Ramblers: Bill Malone, Tim Meehan, Henry Sapoznik Tamburitza: Richard March Thursday March 14, 5 pm at Barnes & Noble-East Towne Mall , Madison . Dane County Students Celebrate Music in ….

Music Featured on the March 14, 2013 Edition of “Anything Goes” Hosted by Rich Samuels on WORT 89.9 FM Madison, Wisconsin

03/11/13 2:09 PM | Rich Samuels

5:09 am: Franz Liszt’s Reminiscenses from the Opera “Norma” (V. Bellini) performed byRichard and John Contiguglia, piano duo. 5:21 am: Sonara No. 6 in C Minorfor two oboes, bassoon and continuo by Jan Dismas Zelenka performed by principlayers fromthe Houstonand Dallas symphony orchestras and harpsichordist Layton James. 5:38 am: The Pro Arte Quartet with Samuel Rhodes, viola perform “Quintet” (1958) by Roger Sessions. 6:08 am: The BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Grant Lewellyn performs Lowell Liebermann’s “Concerto for ORchestra:. 6:48 am: Mark Hetzler (trombone), Mike Orta (piamo) and Dennis Marks (bass) perform “Capra Ibex” by David Jones. 7:08 am The New York Music Ensemble performs Stephen Dembski’s “Alba” (1980-1981). 7:29 am: The London Symphony Orchestra conducted by JoAnn Falletta peforms “The Last Judgement” by Jerome Moross. 7:53 am: Organist Cameron Carpenter plays J.S. Bach’s Fugue in E Minor BWV 548 (“The Wedge”).    

The WORT 89.9 fm Classical Musical Calendar for the Week Beginning March 7 compiled by Rich Samuls, Host of “Anything Goes”

03/6/13 6:20 PM | Rich Samuels

Thursday March 7, 7 pm at Morphy Hall, 455 N. Park St., Madison Ensemble: Périphérie . Artistic director Joseph Dangerfield presents the group’s Carnegie Hall Tour, featuring works by Dubkova, Karchin, Dahn and Dangerfield. The mission of the newly established Ensemble: Périphérie (based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa)is to promote contemporary music by presenting stimulating and inspiring concerts of new chamber works, by commissioning new works from both emerging and established composers, and by inviting audiences to join us in recognizing great art of our time. Established in 2010 by composers Joseph Dangerfield and Luke Dahn, EP consists of a core group of performing artists in the midwestern region. One of the primary goals of EP is to bring greater exposure to composers and works that are underperformed and neglected—that is, music that lies on the periphery. Friday March 8, 12:15 pm at the First Unitarian Society, 900 University Bay Drive, Madison. The Noon Musicale presents viola duos by Alexis Carreon and Marie Pauls Viola Snapshots: A Series of Duos Alexis Carreon and Marie Pauls play music of Bach, Bartok and Stamitz. Friday, March 8 at 7:30 pm (repeated Saturday 3/9 at 8 pm and Sunday 3/10 at 2:30 pm) Overture Center-Overture Hall, 201 State Street, Madison. The Madison Symphony Orchestra with violinist Henning Kraggerud. Music of Mozart and Shostakovich. Kraggerud will perform Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4, the most elegant of the composer’s five violin concertos. The MSO will open the concert with the lively overture to Mozart’s The Impresario and conclude with Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10. Full concert details, music samples and links to buy tickets can be found on the MSO website at madisonsymphony.org/kraggerud. Saturday March 10, 12:20 pm at Chazen Museum of Art-Brittingham Gallery III 750 University Ave. , Madison Sunday Afternoon Live presents th Lawrence Chamber Players The Lawrence Chamber Players is a Lawrence Conservatory of Music faculty string ensemble. The ensemble for this Sunday will consist of violins, viola, cello, bass, piano and classical guitar. The Lawrence Chamber Players will be performing Tadic, Piazzolla and Brahms for this conce Sunday March 10, 2 pm ay Mills Hall, 455 North Park, Madison. University Bands with conductors Justin Stolarik and Matthew Mireles Sunday March 10, 2 pm at the Rhapsody Arts Center, Rhapsody Arts Center, Verona 271 S. Main St. , Verona Faculty Recital with a Saint Patrick’s Day theme. Tuesday, March 12 at 7:30 pm at the First Congregational United Church of Christ. 1609 University Ave. , Madison College of Wooster Chorus. Under the direction of ….

Music Featured on the March 7, 2013 Edition of “Anything Goes” Hosted by Rich Samuels on WORT 89.9 FM in Madison, Wisconsin

03/4/13 9:00 AM | Rich Samuels

5:09 am: Jennifer Highdon’s “Trumpet Songs” performed by Scott Meredith (trumpet) and Rubia Santos (piano). 5:19 am: The London Symphony Orchestra conducted by JoAnn Falletta performs Symphony No. 1 by Jerome Moross. 5:40 am: The piano duo of John and Richard Contiguglia perform Franz Liszt’s “Reminiscences of Don Juan” (inspired by Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”. 5:57 am: Soprano Amy Haworth and Trevor Stephenson (fortepiano) perform Franz Schubert’s “Frulingsglaube”. 6:08 am: Scott Tarpen (alto saxophone) and Theresa Bogard perform Jennifer Higdon’a “Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano”. 6:26 am: The piano duo of John and Richard Contiguglia perform Percy Graigner’s setting of “Molly on the Shore”. 6:38 am: Alexander Scriabin’s “Poem of Ecstasy” performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti. 7:08 am: Jennifer Higdon’s “Dash” performed by the Verismo Trio. 7:14 am: An interview with Jessica Johnson and Anthony Di Sanza about their “SOle Nero” duo, featuring a performance of Joel Naumann’s “Crunch”/ 7:38 am: The Wisconsin Brass Quintet performs “Collage” by John Stevens. 7:55 am: Two versions of the Fields-McHugh song “Doing the New Low Down”. The first (from 1928) features Irving Mills’ Hotsy-Totsy Gang; the the second (from 1932) features Don Redman’s Orchestra. Bill Robinson sings and tap dances on both.  

The WORT 89.9 fm Classical Music Calendar for the Week Beginning February 28 compiled by Rich Samuels

02/27/13 2:17 PM | Rich Samuels

Thursday February 28, 7:30 pm at the Overture Center-Overture Hall, 201 State Street Madison The Branford Marsalis Quartet. Call: 258-4141 Web: www.overturecenter.com Friday March 1, 12:15 pm at the First Unitarian Society, 900 University Bay Drive, Madison The Piano Duet “Troika”: Vladislava Henderson and Ludmila Syabrenko  perform music of Lutosławski, Piazzolla, Brahms and more. Friday March 1, 8 pm at Mills Concert Hall. 455 North Park St., Madison The UW Faculty Concert Series presents Parry Karp, cello and pianist Eli Kalman. Works by Giacomo Orefice, Rebecca Clarke, and Cesar Franck. Fri, Mar 1 2013 Saturday, March 2, noon at Grace Episcopal Church,116 W. Washington Ave. , Madison. Rachel Eve Holmes, Kathy Otterson, Jesse Hoffmeister, John Bohman, Kirstin Ihde & Michael Roemer. An Art Song Recital and the Brahms Liebeslieder Saturday, March 2, 1 pm at Mills Concert Hall, 455 North Park Street, Madison. The Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra’s annual Percussion Extravaganza concert with guest Jeff Queen. Saturday, March 2 8 pm Overture Center-Overture Hall 201 State St. , Madison The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. “Live & Let Die: A Symphonic Tribute to the Music of Paul McCartney Saturday March 2, 8 pm at Morphy Hall, 455 North Park Street. The WIngra Woodwind Quintet. The group will perform Quintet No. 2 in E flat Major by Peter Müller; Le Tombeau de Couperin by Maurice Ravel, joined by pianist Martha Fischer; Suite, op. 57 by Charles Lefebvre; and Dixtuor, op. 14 by Georges Enesco. Wingra will be joined by a student woodwind quintet including flutist Erin Murphy, English hornist Allison Maher, clarinetist Paul Yu, bassoonist Brian Ellingboe, and hornist Sarah Gillespie. Sunday March 3, 12:30 pm at Chazen Museum of Art-Brittingham Gallery III 750 University Ave. , Madison. Sunday Afternoon Live presents Parry Karp, cello and Eli Kalman, piano Sunday March 3, 2 pm at Mills Hall, 455 North PArt Street, Madison The Thimmig-Johnson Duo: Les Thimmig, clarinet and Saxophone and Jessica Johnson, piano. Sunday, March 3, 7:30 pm at Mills Hall, 455 North Park Street, Madison The Contemporary Chamber Ensemble presents student ensembles. The program, titled “Heartstrings,” will feature works by Michelle McQuade Dewhirst, Ross Bauer, George Perle and Robert Dick. Performers include Dan Jacobs, Yosuke Komura, George Rochberg, Roxana Pavel, Erin Murphy, Sergio Acosta and Maxfield Wollam-Fisher. Wednesday March 6, noon at Luther Memorial Church, 1021 University Ave. , Madison Organ concert featuring organist Bruce Bengston. Wednesday, March 6, 7:30 pm at Mills Hall, 455 North Park, Madison. UW Faculty Concert Series presents Gretzler. Gretzler is the duo of Daniel Grabois, ….

Music Featured on the February 28, 2013 Edition of “Anything Goes” Hosted by Rich Samuels on WORT 89.9 fm Madison, Wisconsin

02/23/13 9:56 AM | Rich Samuels

5:10 am: Sonata No. 5 in F Major for two oboes, bassoon and continuo by Jan Dismas Zelenka, performed by principal players from the Houston and Dallas Orchestras. 5:39 am: The Kat Trio (Victoria Gorbich, violin, Vladislav Gorbich, clarinet and Vasil Galiukin, piano) performs Darius Milhaud’s Suite for Violin, Clarinet and Piano). 5:57 am: The Kat Trio performs “Tournament Gallop” by Louis Moreau Gottshalk. 6:10 am: Duo-pianists Stansislava Varshavsky and Diana Shapira perform Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos in E-Flat Major K. 365 with the Jerusalem Symphomny Orchestra conducted by Yaniv Dinur. 6:54 am: Bruce Bengston, organist at Madison’s Luther Memorial Church, performs the Prelude and Fugue in C major BWV 531. Recorded by WORT on February 6, 2013. 7:10 am: Franz Schubert’s “Die Forelle” (“The Trout”) performed by Trevor Stephenson (fortepiano) and Amy Haworth, soprano). 7:15 am: The Wisconsin Brass Quintet with bass-baritone Paul Rowe perform “Footprints” by John Stevens. The text is by Ann Arnston. 7:52 am: Viktor Gorodinsky from the Balilaika and Domra Association of America perform the traditional Russian song “Shining Moon” 7:56 am: The Capitol City Band directed by James Latimer performs J.P. Sousa’s “Wisconsin Forward Forever”. This 1917 march was dedicated by the composer to the faculty, students and alumni of the University of Wisconsin. Recorded in concert  

The WORT 89.9 fm Madison Wisconsin Area Classical Music Calendar for the Week Beginning February 21 Compiled by Rich Samuels

02/19/13 8:15 PM | Rich Samuels

Friday February 22, 12:15 pm at the First Unitarian Society, 900 University Bay Drive, Madison. The Noon Musicale: Four Seasons Theatre presents The Great american Songbook-George Gershwin Friday February 22, 7:30 pm at the First Unitarian Society, 900 University Bay Drive, Madison. The Mosaic Chamber Players. Mosaic Chamber Players is a Madison-area group of musicians who love to perform chamber music together and who strongly believe in bringing this wonderful art form to the Madison community. Our programs, instrumentation, and venues change with each new concert. This time out the violinist Laura Burns and pianist Jess Salek are performing the complete works for Violin and Piano by Johannes Brahms, a German Romantic composer, who wrote some of the most beautiful and treasured Violin Sonatas in all the literature. The program consists of three complete Sonatas as well as a separately composed Scherzo movement. The recital is Friday February 22 at 7:30pm at First Unitarian Society located at 900 University Bay Drive. Salek will be playing on a rebuilt Steinway from the 1890′s that only has 85 keys! Our tickets prices are $15 adults and $10 for Seniors and children. Check or cash only please. There will be a reception afterward with food, drink, and a chance to mingle. Friday February 22, 8 pm at the Overture center Capitol Theater, 201 State Street. The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra with Tasmin Little, violin. Tasmin Little’s reputation for English music and contemporary works prompted Maestro Andrew Sewell to suggest the two solo works on this program. A rare treat in the repertory, Finzi’s Introit, Op.6 was originally composed as a slow movement for a violin concerto, and remains as a stand alone work. Pastoral in nature, and similar to Vaughan Williams in style, it makes a complement to Prokofiev’s robust Violin Concerto No.2. Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 with the famous Air on the G String prepares a nice segue into Finzi’s world of Baroque harmonies. We conclude with Gounod’s Symphony No.2, a time of decision in the composer’s life between the church and the stage, when he broke away from his operatic work to write two symphonies “just for fun.” Steeped in the classical tradition at a time when it was considered passé, his gift for writing beautiful melodies is evident throughout this work. Repertoire BACH Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068 FINZI Introit for Solo Violin and Small Orchestra, Op. 6 PROKOFIEV Concerto No. 2 for Violin in G minor, Op. 63 GOUNOD Symphony No. 2 in E-flat major In ….

Music Featured on the February 21, 2013 edition of “Anything Goes” Hosted by Rich Samuels on WORT 89.9 fm, Madison, Wisconsin.

02/19/13 7:48 AM | Rich Samuels

Note: WORT enters a two week pledge period with this show, so there will be a bit less music and a bit more chatter. You can provide your financial support for WORT by calling (608)-256-2001, toll-free at (866)-899-WORT (9678), or you can pledge on line at http://wortfm.org 5:10 am: The Roman Carnival Overture by Hector Berlioz, performed by the Madison Symphony Orchestra conducted by John DeMain. 5:21 am: Robert Schumann’s “Carnaval” performed by Myra Hess (recorded in 1937) 6:10 am: Frédéric Chopin;s “Souvenir de Paganini” performed by pianist Daniel Barenboi, 6:18 am: Darius Milhaud’s “Carnaval d’Aix” performed by the Orchestra of Radio Luxembourg conducted by the composer 7:10 am: Trumpeter Allen Vizzutti performs his own composition “The Carnival of Venus”.Laura Vincen Vizzutti provides the piano accompaniment. 7:22 am: The final movement (“Movimento due” of Joseph Koykkar’s “Musica per Due” performed by Sole Nero (Jessica Johnson, piano; Anthony di Sanza, percussion). 7:30 am: The Wisconsin Brass Quintet performs “Suite Americana” No. 1 by Enrique Crespo. 7:57 am: Paul Whiteman’s Orchestra performs Harry Warren’s “So This is Venice”. Recorded in 1924.

The WORT Madison Area Classical Music Calendar for the Week Beginning February 14 Prepared by Rich Samuels

02/12/13 4:59 PM | Rich Samuels

February 14 at 5:30 pm at the University Club, 803 State Street Madison. The Pro Arte quartet presents a Valentine’s day dinner concert. Music begins at 7:30 Info: (608)-262-5023 Web: uclub.wisc.edu February 14 at 8:30 pm at Morphy Hall, 455 N. Part, Madison. The Black Music Ensemble. February February 15 at 12:15 at the First Unitarian Society,, 900 University Bay Dr. Madison Karl Lavine, cello and Karen Boe, piano perform the Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata. Friday February 15 7:30 at the Rhapsody Arts Center, Verona 271 S. Main St. , Verona Rhapsody  Faculty Recital. This time the teachers will play music chosen with a Valentine’s Day theme. Come relax and hear music that will surely make you feel warm and fuzzy! Call: 848-2045 Web: www.rhapsodyarts.org Friday February 15 8 pm at Mills Hall, 455 No. Part St. Madison The UW Symphony. The UW Symphony Orchestra presents the winners of its annual concerto and composition competition. This performance will feature the winners of the annual concerto and composition competitions. Soloists include: soprano Shannon Prickett, performing “Pace, pace mio Dio” by Guiseppe Verdi; violinist Nathan Wolkstein performing the first movement of Concerto for Violin, No. 3 by Camille Saint-Saens; pianist Yosuke Komura performing the first movement of Piano Concerto, Op. 16 by Edvard Grieg; percussionist Jacob Wolbert performing Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra by Joseph Schwantner; cellist Philip Bergman performing Cello Concerto, Op. 129 in A minor by Robert Schuman. Additionally, “Whispering Seraphim,” an original composition by Joshua Hintze, will be premiered by the orchestra under the direction of graduate conducting assistant David Grandis. Saturday February 16, 7:30 pm at First Unitarian Society Auditorium 900 University Bay Dr. Madison. Sound Ensemble Wisconsin presents “American Patchwork”, a chamber music performance honoring the art of musical sampling of American genres. SEW will perform Paul Schoenfield’s classic piano trio, Cafe Music, in which he pays tribute to ragtime and Broadway, among other styles. Also on the program are Morton Gould’s Rag-Blues-Rag for piano as well as several Gershwin songs. The stage will then be turned over to SEW’s special guest turntablist, DJ Moppy, who will be joining them from Chicago to represent the craft of sampling, using Gershwin among other samples on his turntables. DJ Moppy demonstrates turntablism in a short video which can be found on the “Events” page of SEW’s website: http://sewmusic.org/events/. Musicians include Vince Fuh, Mary Theodore, Maggie Townsend, Rachel Eve Holmes, and Chris Thomopoulos (DJ Moppy). Saturday February 16, 8 pm at Mills Concert Hall, 455 N. Park, Madison. The Pro Arte ….

Music Featured on the February 14, 2014 Edition of “Anything Goes Histed by Rich Samuels on WORT 89.9 fm Madison, Wisconsin

02/10/13 3:52 PM | Rich Samuels

  5:09 am: Richard Wagner’s “Prelude and Love Death” from Tristan und Isolde, performed by the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra conducted by AllenTimkham. Recorded in concert May 2, 2011. 5:27 am: Suite No. 2 from the Ballet “Daphnis et Chloe” (1912) by Maurice Ravel performed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andre Previn. 5:45 am: Five Hebrew Love Songs  and “A Boy and a Girl” set by Eric Whitacre to texts by Hilda Plitman and Octavio Paz. Performed by the Antioch chamber Ensemble directed by Joshua Copeland. 6:08 am  “Harmonium” by John Adams. The texts are by John Donne and Emily Dickinson. Performed by the Atlanta Symphony and Chorus conducted by Robert Shaw. 6:51 am: Emanuel Ax and Yefim Bronfman perform “A Night of Love: fom Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Suite No. 1 for Two Pianos. 6:58 am: Deborah Roberts (soprano) and George Weigand (lute) perform “Tomorrow is Saint Valentine’s Day”, the song sung by Ophelia in Act IV Scene 5 of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. 7:08 am:  The adagio movement from the Sinfonia Domestica” of Richard Strauss. Performed by the Minnesota ORchestra conducted by Edo de Waart. 7:22 am: The Romeo and Juliette Overture Fantasy by Piotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky. Performed by the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Smith. Recorded in concert in the spring of 2012. 7:46 am: Baritone John Hancock and pianists John Musti and William Hobbs perform “Real Food” from the song cycle “Appalachian Liebeslieder” by Lowell Liebermann (to a text by Laren Stover”. 7:49 am: Wayne Raney sing his “Why Don’t You Haul off and Love Me?. Kirsten Flagstad sings Edvard Grieg’s Jeg Elsker Dig”. Judy Blazer sings “My Funny Valentine” by Rodgers and Hart.