The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music education: The 50th anniversary gala concert by the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) will air on Wisconsin Public Television Monday night, May 23, at 8 and Sunday, May 29, at 3 p.m.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The SOLD-OUT gala concert (below), given last February in Overture Hall by the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) to mark the organization’s 50th anniversary, will be featured in a special one-hour statewide broadcast on Wisconsin Public Television.
The program, which airs on Monday night, May 23, at 8 p.m., will feature highlights from the concert as well as interviews from current members (below), staff and alumni, and features background about music education and WYSO’s 50-year history.
For more about the concert’s details and the five world premieres of WYSO commissions that were featured, visit this post:
Here are some photos from the event, including WYSO music director James Smith (below top) and conductor Michelle Kaebisch (below bottom):
The broadcast will be repeated on Sunday, May 29, at 3 p.m. and then archived on the Wisconsin Public Television website: www.wpt.org
PLEASE NOTE: This is also a great weekend to hear WYSO members in LIVE concerts. Today (Saturday) and tomorrow (Sunday), various WYSO groups will give the annual series of spring concerts, including performances by winners of the WYSO concerto competition.
Here is a link with full details about the WYSO concerts this weekend:
Here is a sampler to whet your appetite for both the recorded television show and the live concerts. In the YouTube video below, WYSO students play the “Great Gate at Kiev” from “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Modest Mussorgsky:
Tags: Arts, Beethoven, brass, Classical music, Concert, concerto, gala, harp, Jacob Stockinger, Madison, Music, Music director, Orchestra, Overture Center, percussion, Piano concerto, premiere, strings, symphony, Television, TV, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, Violin concerto, winds, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Public Television, Wisconsin Youth Symhony Orchestras, woodwinds, world premiere, world premieres, WPT
Classical music: On June 13, the Rural Musicians Forum will kick off its summer season series of FREE concerts at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin compound in Spring Green.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear is passing along the following announcement in time for you to mark your datebook and make plans:
For the 2016 summer season, the Rural Musicians Forum welcomes audiences to Taliesin, the historic estate of Frank Lloyd Wright, near Spring Green, and to the Wright-designed Wyoming Valley Cultural Arts Center.
In commenting on the venues for the series, RMF’s artistic director Kent Mayfield (below) said: “RMF is honored to work in close collaboration with Taliesin Preservation Inc. to host much of this year’s series at the Taliesin’s Hillside School Theater.
The Hillside Theater (below) provides a dramatic but intimate setting for performances totally consistent with Frank Lloyd Wright’s vision: imaginative, bold and beautiful. And, for its part, the Wyoming Valley Cultural Arts Center underscores the sustained vitality of that vision.”
Madison’s acclaimed harpsichordist, fortepianist, pianist and founder of the Madison Bach Musicians, Trevor Stephenson (below top) opens the 2016 season on June 13 with mezzo-soprano Margaret Fox (below bottom).
Violinist Alexander Ayers (below) follows on June 27. Ayers, earlier a player in the Madison Symphony and now a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, has been widely praised for his shimmering virtuosity and technical precision. (You can hear him perform the virtuosic Caprice No. 11 for solo violin by Niccolo Paganini in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
July 11 brings on the memorable trio of Dan Barker (piano), Rob Shepherd (saxophone) and Cleo Ware (vocals) for an evening of glorious, nostalgic music by George Gershwin (below).
Clocks in Motion (below) brings its adventurous and absolutely contemporary percussion repertoire to Taliesin on July 25.
That will be followed on Aug. 8, by a showcase of captivating new music by the Madison-based wind quintet, Black Marigold (below).
The season closes with RMF’s annual “Music in the Fields,” on Sunday, Aug. 21. The Stellanovas’ evening of café jazz promises equal parts Hawaiian luau, Parisian wedding and mellow summer pleasure on the lawn at the Wyoming Valley Cultural Arts Center. The center is located at 6306 State Highway 23. (This event is ticketed.)
Now in its 35th season, RMF continues to provide all members of the community an opportunity to enjoy live music featuring a wide range of styles and combinations of music with performers of extraordinary ability.
Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. There is no ticket charge for concerts at Hillside Theater, but a freewill offering to support the series is taken. Given the unique appeal of the Taliesin location, early arrival for the concerts is recommended.
NOTE: Sorry, but The Ear has received no word about specific programs an works to be performed. He also doesn’t see them listed on the website for the Rural Musicians Forum.
Full information on specific concerts is available at www.ruralmusiciansforum.org or at ruralmusiciansforuum@yahoo.com.
Tags: Alexander Ayers, Arts, Black Marigold, cafe, Caprice, Chamber music, Classical music, Clocks in Motion, Early music, fortepiano, Frank Lloyd Wright, George Gershwin, Hawaii, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, luau, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Margaret Fox, Mezzo-soprano, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra, Paganini, Paris, percussion, Piano, quintet, rural, sax, Saxophone, solo, Sonata, song, symphony, Taliesin, Trevor Stephenson, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, vocal, winds, YouTube
Classical music education: The Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras perform their spring concerts this Saturday and Sunday.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) will wind up their 50th anniversary season when they present the final concert series of the season — the Eugenie Mayer Bolz Family Spring Concerts — on this Saturday, May 21, and Sunday, May 22.
The concert series will be held in Mills Concert Hall in the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus in the George Mosse Humanities Building, 455 North Park Street, in Madison.
WYSO concerts generally run about an hour and a half in length, providing a great orchestral concert opportunity for families.
Tickets are available at the door, $10 for adults and $5 for young people 18 and under.
Almost 400 young musicians will display their talents to the community during four concerts.
The concert series will drop its downbeat at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 21, when Sinfonietta (below), under the baton of Mark Leiser, takes the stage. The group will perform the Poet and Peasant Overture by Franz von Suppe; the Suite for String Orchestra on Old English Songs by Ritter George; the Adagio from Symphony No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff; As Summer Was Just Beginning (Song for James Dean) by Daehn; and Final Quest composed by Chisam.
Following Sinfonietta, Christine Mata-Eckel will lead the Concert Orchestra (below) on stage to perform Kallalanta by William Harbinson, Peter Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet and finally Jacob’s Fantasia on the Alleluia Hymn.
The Harp Ensemble (below), under the direction of Karen Beth Atz, will also perform at this concert. It will be performing Courante CLXXXIII by Michael Praetorius and Toward the Sun by Izmaylov.
For the 4 p.m. concert on Saturday, May 21, Vicki Jenks will direct the Percussion Ensemble (below) as it gets the concert started. It will perform Dark Flight by Campbell and their annual performance of Londonderry Air (“Danny Boy”) in honor of graduating seniors.
Following Percussion Ensemble, the Philharmonia Orchestra (bel0w), under the direction of Michelle Kaebisch, will take the stage. It will perform the final movement of Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 and Espana by Emmanuel Chabrier.
The orchestra will also perform two concertos featuring the Philharmonia Orchestra Concerto Competition Winners. Pianist Antonio Wu (below top) will perform Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto and violinist Monona Suzuki (below bottom) will perform the Carmen Fantasy for Solo Violin by Pablo de Sarasate.
On Sunday, May 22, at 2 p.m. WYSO’s Brass Choirs (below) under the direction of Brett Keating will start the show performing works by George Frideric Handel, Olson, Heinrich Schutz and more.
Following Brass Choirs, Youth Orchestra (below) with WYSO music director James Smith will perform four concertos along with Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2.
Violinist Thea Valmadrid (below top) will perform Tzigane for Solo Violin by Maurice Ravel; violinist Aurora Greane (below second) will play the first movement of the Violin Concerto by Tchaikovsky; pianist Audrianna Wu (below third) will perform the final movement of the Piano Concerto by Edvard Greig; and cellist Tatiana Tandias (below bottom) will perform the first movement of the Cello Concerto by Sir Edward Elgar.
These concerts are generously supported by the Eugenie Mayer Bolz Family, along with funds from Dane County, the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times, W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation and Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation. This project is also supported in part by additional funds from the Wisconsin Arts Board, the State of Wisconsin, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Tags: Arts, Baroque, brass, Campus, Carmen, Chabrier, Classical music, concerto, Dane County, Early music, Elgar, Eve Foundation, Fantasia, Franz von Suppe, George Frideric Handel, Grieg, harp, Jacob Stockinger, Jerry Frautschi, Madison, Mendelssohn, Michael Praetorius, Music, Music education, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, opera, Orchestra, percussion, Piano, Piano concerto, Pleasant T. Rowland, Poet and Peasant Overture, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Ravel, Romeo and Juliet, Sibelius, strings, symphony, Tchaikovsky, The Capital Times, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, Violin concerto, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, Wisconsin Youth Symhony Orchestras, WYSO, YouTube
Classical music: The Ancora String Quartet closes its 15th anniversary season with music by Mozart, Schubert, Arthur Sullivan and a mystery composer this Saturday night.
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By Jacob Stockinger
This Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in the Landmark Auditorium of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, the Ancora String Quartet (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis) closes out its 15th anniversary season with a selection of gorgeous favorites.
Here is the MUST-HEAR program of masterpieces by an ensemble that performs beautifully but too often flies under the radar, given how many chamber music ensembles have burst onto the local classical music scene:
The famed “Dissonance” string quartet, K. 465, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart journeys from its hauntingly modernistic and brooding opening to the most perfectly cheerful closing. (You can hear the opening in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
There will be a Mystery Piece that is billed as “a little gem of energy and drama.”
The late “Rosamunde” String Quartet in A Minor, D. 804, by Franz Schubert wafts an air of gentle melancholy.
And the program closes with a brief magical tale of long ago and far away from a man who knew how to set a scene, Sir Arthur Sullivan (below) of Gilbert and Sullivan fame.
Tickets at the door are $15 for general admission; $12 seniors and students; $6 children under 12.
A free reception follows the performance.
Members of the Ancora String Quartet are: Leanne Kelso League and Robin Ryan, violins; Marika Fischer Hoyt, viola; and Benjamin Whitcomb, cello.
Members of the quartet also play with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and both violinist Leanne Kelso League and cellist Benjamin Whitcomb teach at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Tags: Ancora String Quartet, Arthur Sullivan, Arts, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, dissonance, Dissonant Quartet, Frank Lloyd Wright, Franz Schubert, Gilbert & Sullivan, Jacob Stockinger, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mozart, Music, Orchestra, Rosamunde, String quartet, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Whitewater, Viola, Violin, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: David Ronis is the new opera director at UW-Madison. Con Vivo concludes its 14th season this Saturday night with septets and quintets by Beethoven, Dvorak, Max Reger and Carl Nielsen.
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NEWS ALERT: David Ronis (below, in a photo by Luke Delalio) — who has been an interim director for two years — is the new director of University Opera. He was chosen from a nationwide search, and has posted the following news on his Facebook page:
“For some reason, I’ve been resisting posting my big news, now a couple of months old. But perhaps it’s time. I’ve been appointed the inaugural Karen K. Bishop Director of Opera at University of Wisconsin-Madison! It’s truly humbling to be going into an endowed chair established in memory of such a dear, wonderful, talented, and dedicated soul. This endowment will enable us to continue to develop the exemplary opera program at UW-Madison in all kinds of directions. Stay tuned!”
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following note to pass along:
Con Vivo!…music with life (below) presents a chamber music concert entitled “Five by Seven” on this Saturday, May 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Ave., across from Camp Randall.
Tickets can be purchased at the door for $18 for adults and $15 for seniors and students.
Con Vivo!’s spring concert “Five by Seven” features septets and quintets for winds, strings and organ.
The program includes the Septet, Op. 20, by Ludwig van Beethoven, and the folk-like Bagatelles, Op. 47, for strings and organ by Antonin Dvorak. (You can sample Dvorak’s tuneful Bagatelles in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Additional pieces include the story of a lover’s unrequited love in the quintet “Serenata in vano” by Danish composer Carl Nielsen below top) and the miniature “Lyrical Andante” by the German composer Max Reger (below bottom), whose centennial was just marked.
Audience members are invited to join Con Vivo! musicians after the concert for a free reception to discuss the music.
Artistic Director Robert Taylor said: “With Con Vivo!’s spring concert, we conclude our 14th season with exceptional music that combines the wonderful sounds of winds, strings and organ. Our Madison audience will be able to hear our musicians up close and personal playing music of extreme delight and depth.”
Con Vivo! is a professional chamber music ensemble comprised of Madison area musicians assembled from the ranks of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and various other performing groups familiar to Madison audiences.
Tags: Andante, Arts, bagatelle, Beethoven, Carl Nielsen, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, composer, Con Vivo, Danish, David Ronis, Denmark, Dvorak, Facebook, German, Germany, Jacob Stockinger, Ludwig van Beethoven, lyrical, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Max Reger, Music, opera, organ, Piano, quintet, septet, Serenade, tune, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, Viola, Violin, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, YouTube
Classical music: The Madison Choral Project and the Madison Chamber Choir will give a joint concert of music by Frank Martin, Ralph Vaughan Williams and more this Friday night and Sunday afternoon.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following notice, which is noteworthy on several counts artistic, educational and social:
On Friday, May 20, at 7:30 p.m. and again on Sunday, May 22, at 2:30 p.m., two Madison choirs join forces on a unique pair of fantastic concerts.
The two performances will take place at the First Congregational Church of Madison, 1609 University Ave., near Camp Randall.
Tickets are available in advance at www.themcp.org as well as at the door. Admission is $25 at the door, $20 in advance; students are$10 student with student I.D)
The conductor will be of Albert Pinsonneault (below), who used to teach at Edgewood College and now teaches at Northwestern University.
The Madison Choral Project (below top) and the Madison Chamber Choir (below bottom) will team up for the first time to present the transcendentally beautiful “Mass for Double Choir” by Frank Martin.
The Mass for Double Choir (1926) by Swiss composer Frank Martin (1890-1974, below) is one of the masterpieces of 20th-century choral music. Lush and gorgeous, with sweeping melodies, it is brilliant vocal writing on a grand scale. The 25-minute Martin Mass is truly a symphony for voices. (You can hear the “Agnus Dei” movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The two choirs will also present “The Gallant Weaver” for three soprano soloists and a cappella (unaccompanied) choir by Scottish composer James MacMillan (below) and Jonathan Quick‘s arrangement of the Scottish folk tune “Loch Lomond.”
The choirs will additionally perform separately, with the Madison Chamber Choir singing Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Serenade to Music,” and the Madison Choral Project performing David Baker’s “Images, Shadows, Dreams: Five Vignettes.”
Jazz icon David Baker (1931-2016, below) set text of poet Mari Evans (b. 1923) in “Images, Shadows, Dreams: Five Vignettes.” The poetry describes five tableaux or scenes from the perspective of the underprivileged in America.
The music is jazz-derived, with voices joined by a full rhythm section of string bass, drums, and piano as well as flute and guitar.
During the performance of the Baker piece, students from UW-Odyssey Project (below) will recite original works, giving a local voice to complement the poems of Mari Evans. The UW-Odyssey Project serves adults near the poverty level.
Odyssey students have gone from homelessness to become college graduates, and from incarceration to doing meaningful work in the community. We are especially excited to share their voices in our concert.
Tags: a cappella, Agnus Dei, Arts, bass, British, Chamber music, Choir, choral music, Classical music, college, composer, Congregational Church, David Baker, drums, Edgewood College, Frank Martin, graduate, Great Britain, Jacob Stockinger, James MacMillan, Jazz, Jonathan Quick, Loch Lomond, Madison, Madison Chamber Choir, Madison Choral Project, mass, Music, Northwestern University, Odyssey Project, percussion, Piano, poem, Poetry, poverty, Ralph Vaughan Williams, rhythm, Scotland, Scottish, Serenade, Serenade to Music, strings, Student, Swiss, Switzerland, UK, United Kingdom, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: The Madison Symphony Orchestra receives a national grant for its HeartStrings outreach program of music therapy for the special-needs community. Plus, you can hear the MSO’s Rhapsodie Quartet perform music by Schubert and Dvorak on Monday, May 23
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following note, which he finds worth sharing because of the local distinction and because it confirms that the importance of hearing music goes far beyond the concert hall and recording studio.
The notice outlines an example of musical outreach that is both empathetic and compassionate, traits that mean the entire public should know about and support the MSO’s outreach programs:
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Jane Chu announced on May 10 that the Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO) has been awarded an NEA Art Works grant of $20,000 to support HeartStringsSM, an internationally recognized, music therapy-informed community engagement program for individuals with special needs.
The NEA has approved more than $82 million total to fund local arts projects and partnerships in this second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2016.
HeartStringsSM uses live music to address the physical, emotional, cognitive and social needs of individuals with disabilities, long-term illnesses, dementia and assisted-living needs.
Participants receive the HeartStringsSM program free-of-charge, and the MSO’s Rhapsodie Quartet (below), a professional string quartet comprised of principal MSO musicians, performs the music live at various sites.
NOTE: You can hear the Rhapsodie Quartet plus UW-Madson and Pro Arte Quartet cellist Parry Karp perform on Monday, May, 23, at 7 p.m. in the Promenade Hall of the Overture Center. The program features the “American” String Quartet by Antonin Dvorak and the late and sublime String Quintet in C Major, D. 956, by Franz Schubert. The suggested donation is $5 at the door.
The Quartet will facilitate a series of nine group music therapy-informed sessions at 10 retirement communities, healthcare facilities, and state institutions across Dane County, reaching nearly 3,200 individuals –many of whom would not otherwise have access to the restorative effects of live music.
“The arts are all around us, enhancing our lives in ways both subtle and obvious, expected and unexpected,” said Chu. “Supporting projects like the one from the Madison Symphony Orchestra offers more opportunities to engage in the arts every day.”
MSO Director of Education and Community Engagement Kathryn Schwarzmann said:
“HeartStrings is a signature program of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, which brings meaningful musical experiences directly into the lives of individuals with special needs throughout Dane County, Wisconsin. This nationally recognized community engagement program combines the beneficial effects of live music with participatory, music therapy-informed activities designed to promote the well-being of traditionally underserved populations.”
The NEA’s Art Works grants support the creation of work, and presentation of both new and existing work, lifelong learning in the arts, and public engagement with the arts through 13 arts disciplines or fields.
To join the Twitter conversation about this announcement, please use #NEASpring16.
For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, go to arts.gov
Here is a video of a television interview that features Kathryn Schwarzmann, who explains more about the background of the HeartStrings program and about how it works:
Tags: American Quartet, Arts, Beethoven, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, cognitive, Dane County, dementia, disabilities, disability, Dvorak, Franz Schubert, handicap, heart, illness, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, John DeMain, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, mental illness, Mozart, Music, music therapy, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, Orchestra, outreach, Parry Karp, Pro Arte Quartet, quintet, Retirement, Schubert, social, special needs, String quartet, strings, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music education: Suzuki Strings of Madison performs a FREE 25th anniversary spring concert this Sunday afternoon.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following note of public interest about an event that deserves widespread support:
Suzuki Strings of Madison (below) will presents its 25th anniversary spring concert at 2:30 p.m. this Sunday, May 15.
Suzuki students served as the pre-concert “warm-up band” for violinist Hilary Hahn at her recent recital at the Wisconsin Union Theater. Hahn, herself a Suzuki alumna, credited the method with her early start on her career.
The concert will take place at the Middleton Performing Arts Center (below), 2100 Bristol Street, which is attached to Middleton High School.
The concert is open to the public FREE of charge and will feature violin students from three years of age through Sonora, the teenage touring ensemble.
The music will include selections from the Suzuki repertoire as well as several classical ensemble pieces.
ALL FORMER SUZUKI STRINGS OF MADISON STUDENTS ARE INVITED TO JOIN ON STAGE TO PLAY IN THE CONCERT.
Everyone is invited to a reception after the concert.
Suzuki Strings of Madison has been providing complete, quality music education through the Suzuki Method to children in the Madison area for 25 years.
The program offers private lessons, music reading and theory training, a mixed string ensemble and two touring ensembles.
The Suzuki approach deals with much more than teaching a child how to play an instrument. It seeks to develop the whole child, to help unfold his or her natural potential to learn, and to find the joy that comes through making music. (The Suzuki Method is explained in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
For more information visit www.suzukistringsofmadison.org.
Tags: Arts, band, Baroque, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, Concert, Hilary Hahn, Johann Sebastian Bach, Madison, method, Middleton, Middleton High School, Middleton Performing Arts Center, Mozart, Music, Music education, Orchestra, recital, repertoire, strings, Suzuki, Suzuki Method, Suzuki Strings of Madison, symphony, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, Wisconsin Union Theater, YouTube
Classical music: Handbell director Brad Schultz will say good-bye to Madison with two performances of “Postcards From France” this weekend.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following notice:
Music director Brad Schultz of the Madison Area Concert Handbells (MACH) will finish his tenure with MACH by conducting “Postcards from France” in two performances this weekend.
Concerts are on Saturday, May 14, at 7:30 p.m. in Asbury Church, 6101 University Avenue; and on Sunday, May 15, at 3 p.m. in the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Avenue, near Camp Randall Stadium.
Tickets can be purchased in advance ($12 adult, $9 senior/student) at any of the advance ticket outlets (Cool Beans Coffee Café, Ward-Brodt Music, Metcalfe’s Market at Hilldale, and Orange Tree Imports) or at the door ($15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students).
After three very successful years of directing the choir, music director Brad Schultz (below) has resigned due to added responsibilities on the Luther College faculty starting next fall. Throughout his tenure, Brad has helped MACH’s ringers retain the spirit and skills which have led this auditioned choir to be recognized as one of the leading handbell groups in America. He introduces the concert as follows:
“Maybe it was the first time you tasted a delicious French roll, or saw the Eiffel Tower. Maybe it was an exposure to music, culture, or fashion. Maybe it was in your early ventures as a reader (“In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines”), or depictions of la belle vie (the French “good life”) in the movies. We have always had a fascination with all things French; from culture to custom, from cuisine to cinema.
“There’s no denying French advancements in music, either. From the cathedral to the salon, Leonin and Pérotin to composers of chanson and popular music, France has always left a musical mark on the world.
“We invite you to join us this weekend for a celebration of all things French. Revered composers Bizet, Ravel, Debussy, Chopin and Faure will be represented, alongside pieces that remind us of French culture, landscape and architecture. We’re excited to be joined again this season by flutist Barbara Paziouros Roberts.”
Here is the complete program:
Grand Valse Brillante, Op. 18, by Frédéric Chopin, Arranged by Ruth Artman
Jubilation by Fred Gramann
The Sunken Cathedral (La cathédrale engloutie) by Claude Debussy, Transcribed by Kevin McChesney
Pavane by Gabriel Fauré, Arranged by Albert Zabel
The Ball (from “Children’s Games”) by Georges Bizet, Arranged by Betty B. Garee
Suite for Flute & Piano, Op. 116, by Benjamin Godard: II. Idylle
Danse Macabre by Camille Saint–Saéns, Arranged by Michael R. Keller
Down the River by Jason W. Krug
Intermission
Fountains by Kevin McChesney
Gymnopédie No. 1 by Erik Satie, Arranged by Karen Roth
Pavane pour une Infante Defunte by Maurice Ravel, Transcribed by Kevin McChesney
Cathedrals by Margaret R. Tucker
Autumn Leaves (Les feuilles mortes) by Joseph Kosma, Arranged by Bank Wu
MACH rings over 6 octaves of handbells and 7 octaves of handchimes, the largest assemblage of these instruments in Wisconsin. This fall, while the choir searches for a new director, MACH will be led by founder and former director Susan Udell, who retired from the group in 2010.
For more information about MACH, visit the website at http://www.madisonhandbells.org.
Tags: Arts, autumn leaves, Bizet, cathedral, Chamber music, Champs-Élysées, chanson, children, Chopin, cinema, Classical music, Claude Debussy, cuisine, culture, dance, Debussy, Eiffel Tower, Faure, flute, fountains, France, French, French music, games, Gymnopedie, handbells, Jacob Stockinger, Luther College, Madison, Madison Area Concert Handbells, Maurice Ravel, Music, Paris, pavane, Piano, pop, popular music, Ravel, Saint-Saens, salon, Satie, Suite, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Waltz, YouTube
Classical music: Trevor Stephenson will unveil, play and explain a restored 1855 Bosendorfer grand piano on this Friday night.
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By Jacob Stockinger
This Friday night, Trevor Stephenson (below), the founder and director of the Madison Bach Musicians, will unveil, discuss and perform on a recently restored his historic Bösendorfer Grand Piano (also below), dating from about 1855.
The event takes place in the Landmark Auditorium of the Meeting House of the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Drive. The event includes with a lecture at 7 p.m. and a concert at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets available online at www.madisonbachmusicians.org and at the door:. They are $25 general admission; $20 for seniors; $10 for students.
Rebuilt over the last two years, the ca. 1855 Bösendorfer Grand Piano has a massive and entirely wooden frame without any of the metal insides of a modern piano–the result is an extremely complex and dark tone that suits the sensibility of most 19th-century piano music. Stephenson will discuss the restoration in detail.
Fittingly, the concert program will include works by Frederic Chopin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Claude Debussy, Arnold Schoenberg, Gabriel Fauré, Franz Schubert and Johann Strauss Jr.
Trevor Stephenson will also discuss the rebuilding process and the overall character of this remarkable historical piano.
The specific program will be:
“Berceuse” (Lullaby) from the Dolly Suite, Op. 56, by Gabriel Fauré (1845−1924) with guest pianist Timothy Mueller (You can hear the opening charming “Berceuse,” along with the Spanish Dance, in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. posthumous, and Nocturne in D-flat major, Op. 27, No. 2, by Frederic Chopin (1810−1849)
Sonata in C major, Op. 53 “Waldstein” by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770−1827)
Intermission
Two Hungarian Dances for piano four-hands, Nos. 1 in G minor and 5 in F-sharp minor, by Johannes Brahms (1833−1897) with guest pianist Timothy Mueller
Suite Bergamasque by Claude Debussy (1862−1918): Prelude, Menuet, Clair de lune, Passepied
Six Little Piano Pieces, Op. 19, by Arnold Schoenberg (1874−1951)
Moment Musical No. 6 in A-flat major by Franz Schubert (1797−1828)
The Beautiful Blue Danube Waltz, Op. 314, by Johann Strauss Jr. (1825−1899)
Tags: 12-tone, Arts, atonal, Austria, Beethoven, Berceuse, Bergamasque, Bosendorfer, Chamber music, Chopin, Clair de Lune, Classical music, dance, Danube, Debussy, France, Franz Schubert, grand piano, Hungarian, Hungarian Dance, Hungary, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, lecture, Ludwig van Beethoven, lullaby, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, menuet, minuet, Moment Musical, Music, nocturne, On the Beautiful Blue Danube, opus, passepied, Piano, piano pieces, posthumous, Prelude, Schoenberg, Sonata, Strauss, Suite, Suite bergamasque, twelve tone, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Vienna, Waldstein, Waltz, Wisconsin, YouTube
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The Well-Tempered Ear 