Classical music education: Can you pass NPR’s Bach Puzzler? Also Wednesday night is the FREE concert and live broadcasts of the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Final Forte concert of high school students in the teenage concerto competition.

By Jacob Stockinger

HAPPY BELATED BACH BIRTHDAY

For The Ear, Sunday morning is always Bach Time.

True, the music of Johann Sebastian Bach (below) is good to listen to anytime of the day or night. And indeed on Friday, which as Bach’s actual birthday in 1685, the commercial station Sirius XM radio played all-Bach while Wisconsin Public Radio played generous helping of Bach.

But something about the Baroque style and about Bach’s music in particular, beyond its religious or theological aspects, seems especially suited to morning and especially to Sunday morning. (Am I alone in that feeling?)

That is when I especially love to listen to a cantata, a violin or keyboard concerto, some of the solo suites for violin, cello and piano. It just feels right for Sunday morning.

So, go ahead: Celebrate Bach’s birthday today, even if it is a bit belated. What piece of Bach do you most love to listen to? Tell The Ear in the COMMENT section.

And while you are at it, try taking the Bach Puzzler quiz that appeared on NPR. It asks 10 questions about Bach’s music and life, and teaches you things you might not know. The Ear scored 9 out of 10. He’s betting many of you can do better.

Here is a link:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2014/03/21/291393250/wig-out-with-the-big-bach-puzzler

THE FINAL FORTE

This coming Wednesday night, the Madison Symphony Orchestra will hold the 2014 edition of the annual Final Forte in Overture Hall at the Overture Center.

The FREE concert, under the baton of University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music guest conductor James Smith (below), who is filling in for John DeMain, features performances by the four finalists (two other rounds have already been completed)  for the Bolz Young Artist Competition -– in other words, a teenage concerto competition.

It will start at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast LIVE over Wisconsin Public Television and Wisconsin Public Radio.

To add to the excitement, right after the performances are over, and while the orchestra plays on its own, the judges will caucus and vote, and the winners and prize placements will then be determined and announced.

PLEASE NOTE: Those attending the performance in person must be in their seats by 6:45 p.m. And they must make reservations by calling the MSO at (608) 257-3734.

The four young artists competing are (below, from left to right, in photo by James Gill):

Violinist David Cao, 15, who attends James Madison Memorial High School in Madison and who will play the first movement of the Violin Concerto in D Minor by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.

Violinist Bethany Moss, 17, is a senior home-schooled in Appleton, Wisconsin. He will perform the third movement of the Violin Concerto in B Minor by French composer Camille Saint-Saens.

Pianist Bobby Levinger, 17 is a senior at Central High School in LaCrosse. He will play the first movement of the Piano Concerto in A Minor by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg.

Marimba player Ephraim Sutherland, 15, is a sophomore at Viroqua High School. He will perform the Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra by French composer Emmanuel Sejourne.  (You can hear the first movement in a YouTube video at the bottom)

In case you have to miss the Final Forte this Wednesday night, you can always record it. But there will also be encore broadcasts of the competition.

For more about these impressive sounding performers, including more complete biographies of them, and for broadcast dates and times, visit these two sites:

http://www.madisonsymphony.org/bolz

http://www.madisonsymphony.org/media/MSO_ScoreAprilMay_Web-1.pdf

---

Posted in Classical music
Tags: Appleton, Arts, Bach, Baroque, Camille Saint-Saëns, Classical music, Competition, concerto, conductor, Early music, Edvard Grieg, Emmanuel Sejourne, Finland, France, Grieg, Jacob Stockinger, Jean Sibelius, Johann Sebastian Bach, John DeMain, LaCrosse, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, marimba, marimba concerto, Music, Music education, Norway, NPR, Orchestra, Overture Center, percussion, Piano, Piano concerto, Sejourne, Sibelius, Sirius XM Radio, Sunday, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, Violin concerto, Viroqua, Wednesday, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Public Television, young artists, YouTube