The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: Does Madison have enough listeners for the city’s many classical music concerts?

By Jacob Stockinger

Is the problem that Madison has too many concerts by too many musicians?

Or is the problem maybe instead that Madison, a mid-size city, has too few listeners for so many musicians?

Here is what got The Ear wondering about that question.

This coming Sunday afternoon is another “train wreck,” as The Wise Critic likes to describe worthwhile events that conflict.

What’s a listener to do?

At 1:30 p.m., the Oakwood Chamber Players (below) perform an intriguing program of unusual music at Oakwood Village West, on Madison’s far west side.

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2016/01/12/classical-music-the-oakwood-chambers-players-will-perform-playful-works-by-elisenda-fabregas-malcolm-arnold-and-robert-schumann-this-saturday-night-and-sunday-afternoon/

At 3:30 p.m., Opera Props stages a benefit for the University Opera at the First Unitarian Society of Madison that features talented singers (including soprano Tyana O’Connor, below top) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music joined by UW-Madison alumnus, “Barihunk” baritone and rising Broadway star Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek (below bottom). Lots of famous arias and duets will be sung to piano accompaniment, with a reception following.

Here is a link to details:

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2016/01/14/classical-music-broadway-star-and-uw-madison-alumnus-joins-students-for-the-university-opera-benefit-this-sunday-afternoon/

At 4 p.m., there is a terrific duo-piano recital at Farley’s House of Pianos, on Madison’s far west side, by the husband-and-wife team of Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung (below) featuring the music of Franz Schubert and Francis Poulenc.

Here is more about that concert:

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=43117&action=edit

The Ear has mentioned such conflicts before and knows that there is little point to complaining. Others will chime in and point out how lucky we are to live in a city with so many choices.

Nonetheless, it got The Ear to wondering.

Maybe the problem is not that Madison has so many musicians and music-makers.

Maybe the problem is that Madison doesn’t have enough listeners to go around and reward them all.

The Ear finds it hard to believe that each of the three events being held on Sunday afternoon won’t affect attendance for the other two.

And it will happen again and again later this winter and spring. Even in the summer too, if last summer is any guide.

Take Friday night, Feb. 5 when the St. Lawrence String Quartet plays two quartets by Franz Joseph Haydn and the new String Quartet No. 2 by John Adams at the Wisconsin Union Theater and the Madison Opera also opens its production of Mark Adamo’s opera “Little Women” at the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center.

Take Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, when the Madison Symphony Orchestra will perform music by Maurice Ravel, Peter Tchaikovsky and the famous Violin Concerto by Ludwig van Beethoven, with Russian-born soloist Alina Ibragimova, that afternoon at 2:30 p.m. and then that same night the winners of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music concerto competition will perform works by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Prokofiev, Richard Strauss and more, including a student work, at 7:30 p.m.

And if you look over the semester, you will find other conflicts.

Are there enough listeners to go around?

So many Madison classical musicians, both individuals and groups, are top quality and deserve big, enthusiastic audiences — and the kind of financial support that comes with good attendance.

But scheduling conflicts, along with a limited number of listeners, might be preventing that. And that doesn’t even include competition from the wealth of non-classical music events in the area!

So: Does Madison just have too many music-makers for the number of listeners?

Please say what you think about the problem of competition and scheduling conflicts in the COMMENT section.

The Ear wants to hear.