The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: Classical Revolution Madison announces three local performances for April starting this coming Sunday and Monday. Plus, the winners of Wisconsin Public Radio’s Neale-Silva Young Artists Competition perform this weekend on “Sunday Afternoon Live From the Chazen.”

ALERT: This year’s winners of Wisconsin Public Radio‘s annual Neale-Silva Young Artists’ Competition are: cellist Alison Rowe playing Benjamin Britten’s Solo Suite No. 2; tuba player Trevor Litsey in Rolf Wilhelm’s Concertino for Tuba and Concert Band; pianist Garrick Olsen in Earl Wild’s Etude No. 4 based on George Gershwin’s song “Embraceable You” and the second and third movement of Bela Bartok’s Piano Sonata; flutist Samuel Golter in Thea Musgrave’s “Narcissus”; saxophonist Joseph Connor and marimba player Gregory Riss in the duos “Tesseract” by David Werfelmann and “Strange Dreams” by Nathan Daughtrey. The Winners’ Recital is FREE and open to the public, and will be broadcast live this Sunday, April 7, at 12:30-2 p.m. from Brittingham Gallery 3 of the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison on WPR’s News & Classical Network stations (WERN 88.7 FM in the Madison area).

By Jacob Stockinger

Some of the most vigorous and vital music-making in the Madison area is taking place through such grass-roots or populist organizations as Classical Revolution Madison and  NEW MUSE (New Music Everywhere).

And there are others, some of them housed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the Wisconsin Union Theater and the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) among others, including programs to bring classical music to retirement centers, nursing homes, hospitals, prisons and schools.

Most of the organizations specialize in taking classical music to non-traditional venues and non-traditional audiences, including bars and coffeehouses.

Two of the appearances by members of Classical Revolution Madison are coming up on this coming Sunday morning and this Monday night.

Mid-month brings another.

Here is a schedule with some appealing photos by cellist Tori Rogers. Unfortunately, I have no details yet about specific performers or specific pieces to be played. But if past programs are any clue, some wonderful listening awaits anyone who goes.

Sunday, April 7 — 11:30 a.m.- 1 p.m.

Fair Trade CoffeeHouse

418  State St, Madison 53703

Monday, April 8 — 7:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.

The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery Town Center

330 N. Orchard St, Madison 53715

Join CRM for a program of both solo and collaborative piano works on The Wisconsin Union Theater’s piano at the Wisconsin Institutes of Discovery (below).  If you’re interested in playing, please contact us. (For sense of the beautiful architecture and interiors as well as the performance space and its resonant acoustics, listens to the YouTube video at bottom.)

UPDATE: The program includes two movements from the Piano Trio, Op. 70, No. 1 (“Ghost”) by Ludwig van Beethoven withLydia Balge, violin; Emma Downing, cello; and Allison Jerza, piano. Also on the program is the Piano Sonata No. 2, Op; 14, by Sergei Prokofiev with pianist Evan Englestad .

Saturday, April 18 — 8 p.m.- 10 p.m. (NOT 7-9 p.m., as stated previously)

Brocach Irish Pub

7 West Main St, Madison 53703

UPDATE: Program to be announced.

Here, also from Tori Rogers, are some videos:

YouTube video from Fair Trade:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WspVGUPV6d8

YouTube videos from Brocach:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6QCFbDKwAA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H92w4C1fwow

If you have heard Classical Revolution Madison in the past or in these performances let the rest of us know what you think.

Everyone’s a critic.

Plus The Ear wants to hear.