The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: The Oakwood Chamber Players perform an all-Czech program of music by Smetana, Janaceck and Adolf Schreiner this Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

By Jacob Stockinger

Our friends at the Oakwood Chamber Players write:

This weekend, the Oakwood Chamber Players (below) continue to celebrate its 30th anniversary season with an all-Czech program called “Recapitulate!”

The two performances of the program are on this coming Saturday, January 17, at 7 p.m. and Sunday afternoon, January 18, at 1:30 p.m.

Both concerts will be held at the Oakwood Center for Arts and Education, 6209 Mineral Point Road. It is a comfortable and wheelchair-accessible space with good acoustics and sight-lines.

Tickets are available at the door – $20 general admission, $15 seniors and $5 students. Visit www.oakwoodchamberplayers.com for more information.

The program features three favorites from past OCP seasons:

Bedrich Smetana (below) — Trio for violin, cello and piano, Op. 15 in G minor (originally performed May, 2004)

Leos Janacek (below) — Mladi (Youth) for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn and bass clarinet (originally performed July, 1989 and again May 2004)

Adolf Schreiner – “Immer Kleiner” (Always Smaller) for clarinet and piano (originally performed May, 2006). You can hear it at the bottom in a YouTube video.

The Smetana work is an exciting and beautiful whirl of piano trio fun

The ensemble has performed the Janacek piece more than once and is happy to have Greg Smith, Jennifer Morgan and Dawn Lawler reunite for this performance.

The seemingly short and sweet “Immer Kleiner” is a comedic homage to the clarinet (below) that includes disassembling the instrument.

This is the third of five concerts in their celebratory 30th anniversary season series titled “Reprise! Looking Back Over 30 Years.”

Remaining concerts include:

• Replay! – March 14 and March 15
• Reissue! – May 23 and May 24

For more details, including programs as well as critical reviews, player biographies and recordings, visit:

www.oakwoodchamberplayers.com

The Oakwood Chamber Players is a group of Madison-area professional musicians who have rehearsed and performed at Oakwood Village for 30 years. Many of them play in other professional groups including the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.

The Oakwood Chamber Players are a professional music ensemble proudly supported by Oakwood Lutheran Senior Ministries and the Oakwood Foundation.