The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: YOU MUST HEAR THIS: The “Air in F Major” from the Trumpet Suite by Baroque composer Domenico Zipoli.
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By Jacob Stockinger
I had never heard this work or even heard of the composer, the Baroque Italian composer Domenico Zipoli (1688-1726, below) who traveled to Paraguay to part in what amounts to genocide of the indigenous natives and ended up bringing European music to South Americans. (See a reader comment for more information.)
But there it was, playing on Wisconsin Public Radio during the noontime Midday program.
Some movements featured the glorious playing of the late virtuoso and prolific French trumpeter Maurice Andre.
But the section that really caught my attention for its beauty –- its melodic lines, harmonies and rich string sound — is the Air.
It could be a great piece for the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra to perform. Or maybe the Edgewood College Chamber Orchestra. Or maybe the all-string orchestra that The Ear hears will be formed at the UW-Madison School of Music in the fall.
Anyway, at the bottom, in a YouTube video, it is performed by the famed Jean-Francois Paillard Chamber Orchestra, which first brought us the Canon in D Major by Johann Pachelbel.
The Ear hopes you enjoy it too:
Tags: air, Arts, Baroque, Canon in D, Chamber music, chamber orchestra, Classical music, Early music, Edgewood Chamber Orchestra, Edgewood College, genocide, Jacob Stockinger, Jean-Francois Paillard, Johann Pachelbel, Maurice Andre, Music, Orchestra, Paraguay, Reductions of Paraguay, South America, Trumpet, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wisconsin public radio, YouTube
Classical music education: The Green Lake Festival of Music opens the 17th year of its Chamber Music Camp, with FREE public concerts, this week.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear’s friends at the Green Lake Festival of Music write to tell us about a program important to music education – which means a program important to the future of classical music:
Here is the press release:
On Sunday, July 5, at the Thrasher Opera House (below bottom) in Green Lake, The Green Lake Chamber Players open the 17th annual Green Lake Music Festival Chamber Music Camp, as string and piano students (below top) from nine states, ages 11 to 20, convene at Ripon College for two weeks of stimulating music-making along with just plain fun.
Part of the fun includes a trip to Larry Miller’s farm and a shopping scavenger hunt at K-Mart.
The daily schedule includes coaching sessions by Thomas Rosenberg (Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition Director, cellist and the Camp’s Artistic Director); Samantha George, Associate Professor of Violin at Lawrence Conservatory of Music; Karen Kim, Grammy Award winning violinist; David Perry, Professor of Violin at the UW-Madison and first violin of the Pro Arte String Quartet; Renee Skerik, Instructor of Viola at Interlochen Arts Academy; Andrew Armstrong from the Amelia Piano Trio; James Howsmon, Professor of Instrumental Accompanying at Oberlin College Conservatory; and guest artists, including Shen Lu, 2014 Hilton Head International Piano Competition Winner, the Jupiter Quartet (below top), and the Bergonzi String Quartet (below bottom).
Jupiter Quartet at Studio Theatre, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. From left: Liz Freivogel, Nelson Lee, Daniel McDonough, and Meg Freivogel
Join us for the first of several Green Lake Chamber Players concerts on Sunday, July 5, at 3 p.m. This concert is a “BUY ONE, GET ONE” ticket concert. The Green Lake Chamber Players includes the Green Lake Festival Chamber Music Camp faculty and guest artists who will perform music by Alexander Scriabin, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms. This is also the first concert in a series of matinees that offer a special package for bus pick up and ticket from Appleton, Oshkosh, and Beaver Dam. Call the Festival office for more details on this package.
The 2014 Hilton Head International Piano Competition Winner, Shen Lu (below) will perform Thursday, July 9, at 7:30 p.m. at the Thrasher Opera House, along with teaching a piano master class on Friday, July 10, at 10 a.m. John O’Conor, the Jury Chair from the 2014 Hilton Head International Piano Competition, says, “Shen Lu is a young Chinese pianist with an exciting future. His interpretations have great depth, his technique seems effortless and he communicates wonderfully with his audience.”
Students will attend master classes and five Festival concerts, and perform a variety of community service engagements in such facilities as nursing homes, service clubs, and libraries.
The program includes three public concerts – a Chamber Camp Student Recital on Saturday, July 11, and the popular “Circle of Sound” string orchestra concert at the Boston Barn on Tuesday, July 14, as part of the Boston Barn Concert package that includes appetizers and music by the Bergonzi String Quartet, and the final Chamber Music Celebration at Rodman Center for the Arts, Ripon College, on Saturday, July 18.
Please visit www.greenlakefestival.org for information about these and other artists performing throughout July at the Festival or to purchase tickets. Tickets are also available by calling the office at 920-748-9398. You can also stop by one of the following ticket outlets: Green Lake Bank (Green Lake) and Ripon Drug (Ripon).
The Green Lake Festival of Music is supported in part by the Arts Midwest Touring Arts Fund, a program of Arts Midwest, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional funding from the Wisconsin Arts Board, the Crane Group, and General Mills Foundation. Additional support comes from the Horicon Bank, Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, Agnesian Healthcare, Wisconsin Department of Tourism, Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, and private and corporate donations.
Chamber Workshop FREE Public Events
Get the inside story on the rehearsal process as you watch these artists work with talented students. All master classes will be held at the Rodman Center for the Arts at Ripon College.
- Piano Master Class with Shen Lu. Friday, July 10, 10 a.m.
- Cello Master Class with The Jupiter Quartet. Monday, July 13, 10 a.m.
- Violin Master Class with The Bergonzi String Quartet. Thursday, July 16, 10 a.m.
Chamber Workshop Concerts
- Chamber Camp Recital. Join us for this FREE community concert at the Rodman Center for the Arts, Ripon, Wisconsin on Saturday, July 11, at 2 p.m. No tickets are need for this event; seating is first come, first served.
- “A Circle of Sound” Tuesday, July 14, 6:30 p.m. at the Boston Farm, Green Lake, Wisconsin. Be in the center of the music as The Bergonzi String Quartet, faculty and students encircle the audience in a historic Wisconsin barn. This concert is preceded with cocktails and appetizers with an Italian flair. This concert is offered only as a package.
- Chamber Music Celebration Showcase Performance. Saturday, July 18, 3 p.m., Rodman Center for the Arts (below), Ripon, Wisconsin. Hear the stars of tomorrow as the talented students perform in trios, quartets and quintets, concluding with their trademark Circle of Sound strings. A student-led preconcert conversation begins at 2:30 p.m.
Tags: Amelia Piano Trio, Arts, Arts Midwest, barn, Beethoven, Bergonzi String Quartet, Boston, Brooklyn Academy of Music, camp, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, Education, Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Green Lake, Green Lake Festival of Music, Hilton Head International Piano Competition, Horicon, Interlochen Arts Academy, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, John O'Conor, Jupiter String Quartet, Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, Ludwig van Beethoven, master class, Music, Music education, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, New York City, Oberlin College, Oberlin College Conservatory, Oshkosh, Pennsylvania State University, Piano, Pro Arte Quartet, Ripon, Ripon College, Rodman Center for the Arts, Scriabin, Shen Lu, tourism, United States, University of Wisconsin Arboretum, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: Can you think of performers and performances that help explain the music?
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By Jacob Stockinger
French writer Andre Gide (below, 1869-1951) won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
He was also an avid amateur pianist.
He collected and published his “Notes on Chopin,” which The Ear was reading the other day.
The Ear came across this sentence: “Any good performance should be an explanation of the work.”
Makes a lot of sense as a way to explain memorable performances.
The comment brought to mind conductor (and educator as well as composer) Leonard Bernstein (below) and the Vienna Philharmonic performing the Symphony No. 4 by Johannes Brahms (at the bottom in a YouTube video) and the Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” by Ludwig van Beethoven as well as conductor Bruno Walter’s performance of the Symphony No. 1 by Gustav Mahler.
It also brought to mind pianist Arthur Rubinstein performing so much Chopin, but especially the Ballades.
It brought to mind the Belgian violinist Arthur Grumiaux performing the solo sonatas and suite for violin by Johann Sebastian Bach, and the Hungarian cellist Janos Starker performing the solo cello suites of Bach. Glenn Gould’s keyboard Bach probably also qualifies.
The Ear thinks maybe Gide is right.
What do you think?
And can you name performances and performers that explain the works they play?
Leave a message in the COMMENT section along with a link to a YouTube video, if possible.
Tags: amateur, Andre Gide, Arthur Grumiaux, Arts, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Brahms, Bruno Walter, Cello, Chamber music, Chopin, Classical music, French literature, French music, Glenn Gould, Jacob Stockinger, Janos Starker, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Keyboard, List of compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mahler, Music, Piano, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, YouTube
Classical music: The Ear celebrates marriage equality or same-sex marriage with a piece by Francis Poulenc and a list of LGBT composers. What music would you play to celebrate the occasion? And how many composers can you name?
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By Jacob Stockinger
Less than 50 years ago, you could go to prison or jail for being gay.
But now, given Friday’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that same-sex marriage is legal across the country — IS indeed The Law of the Land under the U.S. Constitution — the same people can now be heading to the chapel (or city hall) where they’re gonna get married!
And have it recognized in all 50 states.
So how can one celebrate this long-awaited occasion, which so many gay composers would have wished for and benefitted from?
One way is to feature a piece by a gay composer.
The Ear chose the lovely slow movement from the Concerto for Two Pianos by Francis Poulenc (below), that tuneful and forthright 20th century French composer who said, “If I were not homosexual, I could not compose my music.”
You can hear the music, performed by the composer at one of the keyboards, at the bottom in a YouTube video.
What piece would you choose to mark the occasion? Leave your answer and, if possible, a YouTube link to a performance of the work in the COMMENT section. The Ear wants to hear!!
Now, how many LGBT composers and songwriters can you name?
Here is one pretty impressive list with a lot of names that even The Ear didn’t know.
https://musescore.com/groups/lgbt-composers-and-songwriters/discuss/83075
Tags: Arts, bisexual, Classical music, composers, concerto, Equal Protection Clause, France, French music, gay, Homosexuality, Jacob Stockinger, lesbian, LGBT, LGBT rights in the United States, Madison, Marriage, Music, Orchestra, Piano, Piano concerto, Poulenc, queer, rainbow flag, Same-sex marriage, songwriters, Supreme Court of the United States, transgender, United States, United States Constitution, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: Get reacquainted with the harpsichord as a modern instrument through a story on National Public Radio (NPR).
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By Jacob Stockinger
Harpsichord (below) or piano?
Historical or modern music?
Well, you don’t really have to choose.
Certainly one young performer sees the benefits in both. (Below is a photo of Trevor Stephenson of the Madison Bach Musicians working at his modern replica of a two-manual harpsichord that Johann Sebastian Bach used.)
But he also favors the harpsichord for various reasons, including a curious one: Annoying somebody special!
Read the interview on National Public Radio (NPR) for yourself.
Here is a link:
And at the bottom, in a YouTube video, listen to a trailer he did about the modernity of the harpsichord and his new recording that uses both old and new works, both Baroque and Minimalist music.
Tags: Arts, Bach, Baroque, Baroque music, Chamber music, Classical music, Early music, harpsichord, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Madison, minimalist music, Music, National Public Radio, NPR, Piano, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: The Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society will wind up its current summer season of masterful music-making with two MUST-HEAR programs this weekend.
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By Jacob Stockinger
If you needed more proof about why you should take in one or both of the final two programs – “Crooked Business” and “Highway Robbery” — by the Madison-based Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, you should have been at one or both of the BDDS concerts last weekend.
For this coming weekend of the 24th season: “Crooked Business” features the Sonata for Flute and Keyboard in B Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach; the chamber music reduction of the Piano Concerto in C minor, K. 491, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; and a chamber music arrangement version of the Serenade in D Major, Op. 11, by Johannes Brahms.
“Highway Robbery” offers the First Rhapsody for Clarinet by Claude Debussy; “Seven Seascapes” by the American composer Kevin Puts, who won the Pulitzer Prize; and the great Octet by Franz Schubert.
For more information about programs and performers, venues and tickets, visit: http://www.bachdancinganddynamite.org
The Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society continues to be incapable of being boring, ordinary or mediocre. It’s just not in their genes or DNA.
Last Saturday night, The Ear took in the “Breaking and Entering” concert in The Playhouse of the Overture Center. The theme was meant to explore how composers broke new ground and violated boundaries.
The theme might seem a bit of a stretch — they often do — and when one of the two fake security guards frisked an audience member for a gun or weapon, it might have struck some audience members as uncomfortable or in questionable taste rather than amusing or funny, given the recent shootings in Charleston, South Carolina.
But humor and silliness aside, there is no question that the music received the superb performances it deserved.
The San Francisco Trio, veteran BDDS guest artists, delivered two masterful readings of two Romantic masterpieces. The trio opened the concert perfectly with the lovely and short “Notturno” (1827) by Franz Schubert. Then it closed the concert with the revised version of the substantial and even epic Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major (1854, revised in 1889), Op. 8, by Johannes Brahms. The trio is made up of pianist Jeffrey Sykes (a co-founder and co-artistic director of BDDS), violinist Axel Strauss and cellist Jean-Michel Fonteneau.
Then came the somewhat eccentric Sonatina for Trio (1934) by the rarely performed French composer and eccentric music critic Florent Schmitt.
The players were an unusual combination of flutist Stephanie Jutt (the UW-Madison professor is a co-founder and co-artistic director of BDDS as well as principal flute of the Madison Symphony Orchestra); local pianist Thomas Kasdorf, who is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music; and the incredible clarinetist Alan Key from New York City who teaches at the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School, and who plays with the respected Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
Violinist Axel Strauss, who teaches at McGill University in Montreal, sure showed some impressive fiddling skills in two crossover pieces – “Pining for Betsy” and “Who Let the Cat Out Last Night?” — by Paul Schoenfield (b. 1947). It brought audible WOWs and cheers from the audience. (Listen for yourself to the virtuosic “Cat” piece in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
An unusual and rarely heard piece by the Venezuelan composer Paul Desenne (b. 1959) imagines Franz Joseph “Papa” Haydn and a South American composer discussing music at the Esterhazy estate where Haydn worked. The work was delivered with great panache by flutist Stephanie Jutt, clarinetist Alan Kay and cellist Jean-Michel Fonteneau.
Both the variety of the repertoire and the players and the quality of the performances recommend the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society to any serious classical music fan as well as to beginners. The Ear says: Go have some classical fun!
Tags: A German Requiem (Brahms), Alan Key, arrangement, Arts, Bach, Baroque, Brahms, Cello, Chamber music, Charleston, clarinet, Classical music, DNA, Esterhazy, Florent Schmitt, flute, France, Franz Schubert, French music, genes, Haydn, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Juilliard School, Kevin Puts, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Manhattan School of Music, Mozart, Music, New York City, Octet, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Overture Center, Paul Desenne, Paul Schoenfield, Piano, Piano concerto, Romantic music, Romanticism, San Francisco, San Francisco Trio, Schubert, shooting, Sonata, sonatina, South Carolina, transcription, trio, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Venezuela, Violin, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: The Madison Area Youth Chamber Orchestra (MAYCO) gives an impressive display of how it continues to grow and develop.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Here is a special posting, a review written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker, who also took performance photos. Barker (below) is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who writes for Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who for 12 years hosted an early music show every other Sunday morning on WORT FM 89.9 FM. He serves on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison.
By John W. Barker
On Saturday night, in Mills Hall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, Mikko Rankin Utevsky led his Madison Area Youth Chamber Orchestra (MAYCO) in the first of this year’s two summer concerts. More than ever, it showed Utevsky in new degrees of bravery and enterprise.
The program was organized around the idea of the Baroque concerto grosso, in various later transformations.
To begin, there was one of the “Morning, Noon, and Night” trilogy of Haydn’s symphonies, No. 6 in D, Le Matin. Haydn used the first of his symphonies composed for his new Esterhazy employer to show off the solo skills of his players.
The young MAYCO counterparts did themselves proud in both ensemble and solo playing, with particular flair displayed by first violinist Valerie Clare Sanders (below) in her virtuosic solos. And Utevsky’s care in have his string players totally avoid vibrato gave a good demonstration of 18th-century instrumental sound.
The second work, by recent UW-Madison School of Music graduate in composition, Jonathan Posthuma (below), more explicitly recreated the old configuration in his Concerto Grosso No. 1 in E minor.
It presents indeed the proper concertino of two violins and cello, against a ripieno string orchestra. In place of the traditional continuo, however, Posthuma brought in four percussionists and a pianist. The percussionists are members of the local ensemble Clocks in Motion (below), currently making a name for itself as an avant-garde group.
The idea was fascinating, but in two of the three movements the results were confusing. In the first, the string orchestra was overwhelmed by floods of color worthy of a Busby Berkeley Hollywood spectacular, while the second movement was a long procession of pops and moans. All color and hardly any real musical ideas.
The third movement, on the other hand, was a lusty fugue, given forth at first by only the strings, with the percussionists then integrated into a quite well-balanced texture. This is stated as the first in what will be a full set of 12 concertos, to make up a typical Baroque dozen.
It will be interesting to see how such a project unfolds. But one must credit Utevsky (below) for giving this first venture its world premiere performance.
Another premiere followed the intermission. Utevsky was able to secure from the contemporary British composer Cecilia McDowall (below) the rights to the first American performance of her piece for chamber orchestra, Rain, Steam, and Speed, inspired by J.M.W. Turner’s powerful painting of the same title, with its subtitle of The Great Western Railway.
Less literally conceived than Arthur Honegger’s famous railroad evocation, Pacific 231, this piece is an effort to suggest the kaleidoscopic contents of the painting, in what might be called a British neo-Impressionist style. A challenging work for the orchestra, which they brought off very effectively.
Finally came not a concerto grosso, but a Romantic solo concerto, the one for Cello and Orchestra by Robert Schumann. Not as often heard as it should be, it is a handsome and enjoyable work.
The soloist was Parry Karp (below), of the UW-Madison School of Music faculty, of the Pro Arte Quartet, and of so much else. He approached the piece not in bravura pretentiousness but with a kind of affectionate warmth that suited it admirably, while also allowing Utevsky the chance to give his players experience in collegial ensemble interaction with a soloist.
What these gifted young players of high school and college ages are able to do is really amazing. Utevsky grows better and better in giving them — and himself — marvellous training opportunity. Watch for the second concert, with music by Ernest Bloch, George Frideric Handel and Haydn (the famed “Surprise” Symphony) with piano soloist Jason Kutz, at 7:30 pm. on Friday, August 21, location to be announced.
You can find more information here: http://www.mayco.org
Tags: "Surprise" Symphony, Arthur Honneger, Arts, avant-garde, Baroque, Beethoven piano sonatas, Bloch, British Impressionism, Busby Berkeley, Cecilia McDowall, Cello, Chamber music, chamber orchestra, Classical music, Clocks in Motion, concertmaster, Concerto Grosso, conductor, continuo, contrapuntal, counterpoint, fugue, Handel, Haydn, Hollywood, Impressionism, Isthmus, J.M.W. Turner, Jacob Stockinger, Jonathan Posthuma, La Matin, Madison, Medieval history, Music, Music education, Orchestra, painting, Parry Karp, percussion, Piano, Pro Arte Quartet, Robert Schumann, Romaniticism, Romantic, soloist, String Orchestra, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, Wisconsin, WORT-FM 89.9, Youth Orchestra, YouTube
Classical music: Here is an outline of this summer’s Token Creek Chamber Music Festival. More details will follow soon. Plus, Wednesday night is the opening classical program of the FREE Concerts on the Square.
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REMINDER: Wednesday night at 7 p.m. is the opening concert of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra‘s six FREE Concerts on the Square this summer. The program is classical and features Julian Rhee (below), the amazing 14-year-old violinist who has won several major concerto competitions, including those with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and the Madison Symphony Orchestra. The program includes music by Alexander Glazunov, Piotor Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Johannes Brahms. Members of the Madison Ballet will also be featured.
Here is a link to general information about Concerts on the Square:
http://www.wcoconcerts.org/performance-listing/category/concerts-on-the-square
And here is a link to more information about Wednesday night’s program and soloist:
http://www.wcoconcerts.org/performances/concerts-on-the-square-1/
By Jacob Stockinger
A reader recently wrote in and asked if the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival will take place this year.
The question is understandable. So far, there has been no news.
But the Token Creek Festival will indeed take place this summer.
The Ear just received information about some of the basic events that will happen. More details will follow and fill in the programs.
Here is the official press release:
“With its 2015 season somewhat uncertain after a difficult winter, the Token Creek Festival is pleased to announce this summer’s programs, running August 22-30 this year.
August 22 and 23: “Founders’ Recital — Beginnings Revisited.” The concert centers on works by Franz Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, performed by festival co-founders and co-artistic directors John and Rose Mary Harbison (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot).
August 25: “Paean to Place: Music and Nature and the Poetry of Wisconsin poet Lorine Niedecker.” The concert will feature pianist Ryan McCullough (below top) and soprano Lucy FitzGibbons. The program is done in collaboration with the Friends of Lorine Niedecker, below bottom)
August 27: The Lydian String Quartet (below top) in works of Felix Mendelssohn, Lee Hyla (below bottom) and John Harbison.
August 29 and 30: Grand Finale featuring orchestral highlights of the high Baroque, including the Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 by Johann Sebastian Bach (below). (You can hear the Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
More information about the festival will be forthcoming soon.
Tags: Arts, Bach, Baroque, Brahms, Brandenburg Concertos, Chamber music, Classical music, concerto competition, Concerts on the Square, Early music, Glazunov, Haydn, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Harbison, Julian Rhee, Lee Hyla, Lorine Niedecker, Lucy FitzGibbons, Lydian Quartet, Lydian String Quartet, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Music, Orchestra, Piano, poems, Poetry, soprano, Tchaikovsky, Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, Violin concerto, vocal music, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: The Madison Summer Choir will perform works by late German and English Romantic composers, including Brahms, Parry and Vaughan Williams, on this coming Saturday night.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Our friends at the Madison Summer Choir write:
The Madison Summer Choir (below) is an auditioned choir of more than 70 voices performing a cappella, piano-accompanied and choral-orchestral works.
When the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music eliminated UW Summer Choir from its budget after 2008, Ben Luedcke (below) “picked up the baton” to ensure that this student and community singing opportunity and tradition were not lost.
Now in its seventh summer, Luedcke continues to conduct the group, open to college students and community members, for just 14 rehearsals over six weeks, culminating in a full concert.
Existing just for this short season, the choir is supported by the singers, friends and businesses in the community, and the audience, as well as the UW-Madison School of Music rehearsal and concert facilities.
For this summer, the concert program features “The Searching Soul: German and Late-English Romanticism.” (Below is the famous Romantic painting used on the poster for the Madison Summer Choir this year.)
The concert will be presented on this coming Saturday evening, June 27 at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Concert Hall of the Mosse Humanities Building on the UW-Madison campus at 455 North Park Street.
Tickets are $15 for the public; $10 for students. They can be purchased in advance (for delivery or will-call) from any choir member, or bought at the door.
The concert will open with two works by Johannes Brahms (below), “Nächtens” (At Night) and “Sehnsucht” (Longing).
Those are followed by three movements by Sir Hubert Parry (below) in “Songs of Farewell (1916–1918)”: “My Soul There Is a Country,” “I Know My Soul Hath Power” and “Never Weather Beaten Sail.”
The second half features two choral works with orchestra. The Madison Summer Choir is the only ensemble performing full-scale choral and orchestral works in the summer in Madison.
“Psalm 42” (1837-38) by Felix Mendelssohn is a cantata consisting of seven movements which include full choir, soprano solo, women’s choir, and a quintet of soprano solo with men’s chorus. Soprano soloist will be Chelsie Propst (below), who has performed with the choir twice before.
The concert will conclude with “Toward the Unknown Region” (1907) by Ralph Vaughan Williams (below top), a setting of the text by Walt Whitman (below bottom). You can hear a massive performance of the work at the BBC Proms in a YouTube video at the bottom.
Information on past concerts by the Madison Summer Choir and photos of the choir are on the website: www.madisonsummerchoir.org
Tags: Arts, Brahms, British Romanticism, choral music, Classical music, English music, Felix Mendelssohn, German music, German Romanticism, Hubert Parry, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, Madison, Madison Summer Choir, Music, Orchestra, Piano, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Romanticism, singer, soprano, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, Walt Whitman, YouTube
Classical music: It’s Father’s Day as well as the Summer Solstice plus the second FREE Make Music Madison festival. What music would you play for your father?
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By Jacob Stockinger
Today is a lot of things.
It is the summer solstice — the first day of summer — so a lot of people will be listening to “Summer” section (below in a popular YouTube video with more than 9 million hits) from “The Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi. Or perhaps they will celebrate the coming of summer with other music and other composers?
It is also the FREE citywide and mostly outdoor festival of Make Music Madison. Here is a link to the website, where you can find a search engine that feature genres and performers as well as locations:
But because it is Father’s Day, I would like to hear what music you would play for your father. Leave your suggestion, with a YouTube link if possible, in the COMMENTS section.
My father liked his music less heavy. Gustav Mahler, Anton Bruckner and Richard Wagner were not for him.
But something like the Barcarolle to Jacques Offenbach’s opera “The Tales of Hoffmann” was exactly to his liking.
So here it is, for you Dad.
Tags: Anton Bruckner, Antonio Vivaldi, Arts, barcarolle, Bruckner, Chamber music, choral music, Classical music, fathers day, Four Seasons, Jacob Stockinger, Madison, Mahler, Make Music Madison, Music, Offenbach, Orchestra, Richard Wagner, summer, Summer solstice, The Tales of Hoffmann, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, Wisconsin, YouTube
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The Well-Tempered Ear 