The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: Let us now praise retired chemists and classical music patrons Irving Shain and Kato Perlman whose generosity has funded the Perlman Piano Trio concert this Saturday afternoon and the Beethoven Sonata Competition this Sunday afternoon.

ALERT: English Baroque composer Henry Purcell’s opera “Dido and Aeneas” will be performed in a partially staged version this Sunday afternoon, April 21 at 2:30 p.m., at Edgewood College in the St. Joseph Chapel, 1000 Edgewood College Drive. Edgewood College faculty member Kathleen Otterson (below) will play the sorceress. She will be joined by a cast of Madison-area performers including leads Jennifer D’Agostino (Dido) and Michael Roemer (Aeneas). Edgewood College professor Albert Pinsonneault will conduct the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra. Admission is $7, with tickets available at the door. Proceeds benefit music scholarships at Edgewood College.

By Jacob Stockinger

Before we get to the events I want to talk about, let us get to the people who made them possible.

Specifically, I want to give well-deserved shout-outs to two retired research chemists who love classical music.

And who put their money where their mouths are – or, more specifically, where their ears and hearts are.

I am talking about Dr. Kato Perlman (below), an emeritus professor of chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

And I am talking about Dr. Irving Shain (below), a retired chemist at the UW and a former Chancellor at the UW-Madison who was also a talented amateur flutist.

Each person has funded wonderful programs at the UW School of Music, and both events annual events will take place this weekend on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, putting these two figures and friends-colleagues side by side – which is so appropriate and natural.

HERE ARE THE EVENTS:

On Saturday, April 20, 3:30 p.m. in Morphy Hall, the Perlman Piano Trio will perform a FREE and PUBLIC concert.

Members this year (below in a photo by Kathy Esposito for the UW School of Music) are pianist Jeongmin Lee (first row), violinist Alice Bartsch (second row on the right), and cellist Taylor Skiff (second row on the left). They will perform an all-masterpiece program: the Piano Trio in G Major (“Gypsy Rondo”) by Franz Josef Haydn and the Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 66 by Felix Mendelssohn.

Then group will be joined by violinist Madlen Breckbill (top row right) and violist Daniel Jacobs (top row left) in a performance of Johannes Brahms’ dramatic and lyrical Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34.  (Below is a photo of all five members.)

(The Perlman Piano Trio Fund provides annual awards for a violinist, cellist and pianist and stipulates that they will present “an annual concert of the great masterpieces of the piano trio (or on occasion, quartet or quintet) literature.”  The selection of students is made under the guidance of faculty from the piano and string areas.  Their concert is the culmination of a year in which they are coached, as an ensemble, by faculty members.)

Then on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. — also in Morphy Hall — is a FREE and PUBLIC recital by the winners of the annual Beethoven Sonata Competition (it also allows Beethoven’s Variations and Bagatelles).

The event is now in its 28th year, and each year’s winners seem to get more impressive.

This year’s winners (below in a photo by Kathy Esposito for the UW School of Music) are: Sara Giusti (left), who will play Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3; Hazim Suhado (middle), who will play Sonata in F Major, Op. 54; and Evan Englestad (right), who will play Sonata in F-Sharp Major, Op. 78 (at bottom played by Daniel Barenboim in a YouTube video).

It is a great event for Beethoven fans and especially – parents and families, Take Note! — for young aspiring piano students who might be looking for inspiration which they are sure to find at the winners; recital. A reception for and with the Beethoven Sonata Competition winners follows the concert.

Want more information? Here are capsule bios of the winners, which impresses one with the high quality of the students at the UW School of Music:

An Indonesian pianist, Hazim Suhadi was born in Bandung, Indonesia. He began piano lessons at the age of seven at Yayasan Musik Jakarta (YMJ) with Yola Mathilde, and later advancing his studies with the late Soetarno Soetikno. He received his B.A in French and Francophone Studies and B.M in piano performance where he studied with Catherine Kautsky at Lawrence University. He also previously studied with Luba Poliak, Dmitri Novgorodsky, and Vadim Serebryany. His other interests include chamber music and collaborating, where he has received coaching with Wendy Warner, Gilbert Kalish and Dale Duesing. He has also served as the opera accompanist and was involved in several productions, including Bernstein’s “Candide,” Chabrier’s “L’étoile” and opera scenes. His recent accomplishments include his winning performance at the LSO Concerto Competition in 2010 with Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos. He also received the Theodore L. Rehl Prize, which recognizes excellence in the performance of chamber music. He is currently finishing his Master’s at UW-Madison with Christopher Taylor.

Evan Engelstad grew up in Eugene, Oregon and graduated in 2010 from Willamette University in Salem with a double major in Music and Physics. Currently a second-year Master’s student in Piano Performance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Evan enjoys teaching piano lessons and accompanying soloists and ensembles. A student of Professor Todd Welbourne, Evan plans to continue his studies at UW-Madison next year in pursuit of a DMA in Piano Performance and Pedagogy. In addition to his studies, Evan works as the musician at Christ The Solid Rock Baptist Church in Madison. Outside of music, Evan’s interests include nutrition, cooking, and watching college football.

Sara Giusti was born in Italy in 1983. She studied piano for eight years under the guidance of Benedetto Lupo at the Conservatorio “Nino Rota” of Monopoli. She also studied with Lazar Berman, Andrea Lucchesini, Nelso Delle Vinge-Fabbri, Riccardo Risaliti, Paolo Bordoni and Pierluigi Camicia. Sara attended Robert Levin’s course at Gargano International Festival, focusing on Beethoven’s piano works. A prize-winner of several Italian national competitions, Sara was awarded first prize, 100/100, at the 2003 Igor Stravinsky National Music Competition in Bari. She has also been particularly active in chamber music, playing concerts in duo, trio and quintet ensembles, including performances at the Conservatorio of Lugano in Switzerland. In 2013, she was a winner of the Irving Shain Woodwind-Piano Duo Competition at UW-Madison. Sara is currently a first year Master’s student in Piano Performance at the UW-Madison where she studies with Professor Christopher Taylor.