The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: The Mosaic Chamber Players close out their season with great performances of great piano trios by Beethoven and Brahms
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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. 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 hosts an early music show once a month on Sunday morning on WORT FM 89.9 FM. For years, he served on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison. Barker also took the performance photos.
By John W. Barker
On Saturday evening at the Meeting House of the First Unitarian Society of Madison, the Mosaic Chamber Players closed their season with a superlative program offering two of the greatest trios for piano and strings.
The players this time (below) were violinist Wes Luke and cellist Kyle Price, together with the group’s guiding spirit, pianist Jess Salek.
The first of the two works was the grand Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 97, known as the “Archduke,” by Ludwig van Beethoven. This is an expansive work, full of bold ideas and adventurous spirit, while demanding much of its players.
Of its four movements, the flanking ones are full of exuberance. The scherzo has double trios or mid-sections, and is full of tricks. The third movement is a noble set of variations on a broad, hymn-like theme. (You can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The second work, following an intermission, was the Trio No. 1 in B Major, Op. 8, by Johannes Brahms. Though composed and published very early in his output, it was revised by the composer into a distinctly new version some 35 years later. It thus offers the passion of youthfulness as tempered and given better focus by age and experience.
Also cast in four movements, it is infused with full-blooded melody, especially in the first one, but the whole piece is worked out in a richness of texture typical of the composer.
Each of the two works was given a performance of unrestricted commitment and power, in the process demonstrating the contrasts in their styles. Each was introduced by violinist Luke (below), whose comments spoke to the works and their history but also to his own feelings about them.
This in fact pointed up the degree of personal involvement these performances conveyed. It was as if the three musicians were playing as much for their own delight as for the audience’s.
That quality illustrated why this Mosaic series of programs has been so very satisfying. This is chamber music playing of the highest quality and character, some of the very best to be had in Madison.
The more reason for these Mosaic concerts to be publicized widely and broadly supported by our musical public. Few cities in our country could offer better.
Tags: #AmericanRecordGuide, #ArchdukeTrio, #FirstUnitarianSocietyofMadison, #IsthmusNewspaper, #JessSalek, #JohannesBrahms, #KylePrice, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MelodicMusic, #MosaicChamberPlayers, #MusicCritic, #PianoMusic, #PianoTrio, #StringMusic, #ThemeAndVariations, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #WesLuke, #WORT-FM89.9, adventure, adventurous, age, Arts, Beethoven, bold, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, character, cities, city, Classical music, commitment, composer, country, delight, experience, Focus, high, highest, History, hymn, idea, involvement, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Medieval, melody, movement, Music, noble, Passion, personal, photo, photograph, Pianist, Piano, piece, program, public, publicity, publicized, quality, richness, spirit, style, texture, theme and variations, trick, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, violinist, whole, Wisconsin, Youth, youthful, youthfulness, YouTube
Classical music: Kyle Knox is the new music director of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras
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By Jacob Stockinger
Kyle Knox has been named the new music director of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO).
Knox (below), who was a clarinetist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras and then studied conducting as a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, will assume his duties on July 1.
Knox, will also conduct the Youth Orchestra (below), the most senior performing group in WYSO.
The move is likely to please many disappointed fans of Knox, who has won praise for conducting the UW Symphony Orchestra, the Madison Opera, the University Opera and the Middleton Community Orchestra but who was passed over as the successor to UW Professor James Smith (below) when Smith retired.
Smith was also the acclaimed longtime music director of WYSO. For the past year Randal Swiggum (below), the music director of the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, has been the interim music director of WYSO and conductor of the Youth Orchestra.
In the latest WYSO newsletter, Knox, a longtime Madison resident who is married to Madison Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Naha Greenholtz, writes:
“I am so looking forward to my first year as Music Director at WYSO, beginning July 1, 1918. Even in the short time I’ve spent at Saturday rehearsals, it is clear this is a first-rate youth orchestra program. Top to bottom, each ensemble offers a special opportunity for music-making and artistic growth. I am lucky to be joining such a vibrant artistic and administrative team.
“Our 2018-2019 season will feature great orchestral and chamber works from all eras. In addition to our stellar roster of sectional and chamber music coaches, the students may have the opportunity to work with world-class guest artists and soloists. It should be an exciting season of music-making.
“As a teenager, music had a transformational effect on my life. I owe much of my personal and professional development to my time playing in youth orchestra and the many wonderful teachers I met as a result.
“Even now, almost 20 years later, the relationships I formed during those years continue to be among the most meaningful in my life. Something about sharing a stage with other people, working toward a collective goal, leaves a special imprint on my mind. (Below is Kyle Knox conducting the UW Symphony Orchestra.)
“For the students, I hope that your time at WYSO is enriching and helps add meaning to your lives, both as artists and people. It is an honor for me to be a small part of that journey.
“I look forward to getting to know everyone in the WYSO family over the coming months.”
For more background and information about WYSO, which is more than 50 years old and has reached thousands of students from more than a hundred communities in south-central Wisconsin, and about the upcoming spring concerts in May, go to:
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Classical music: UW choral groups and a jazz quintet join forces Saturday night for a FREE concert of world premieres to honor the bicycle
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By Jacob Stockinger
Here is an announcement from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music:
A FREE concert — called ”Free Wheeling: A Tribute to the Bicycle” – takes place this Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Mills Hall.
The UW Madrigal Singers (below) and Chorale, under the direction of Bruce Gladstone, will join forces with a jazz group.
The concert opens with five world premieres, written specifically for this concert.
“I was surprised, given the bicycle’s popularity, that there weren’t many choral works about bikes,” noted Gladstone (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot). “It seems to be more the domain of the solo popular ballad or rock bands. There are loads of poems about bikes though, so I just commissioned new works from composers I know.”
There are two works from John Stevens (below), veteran composer and UW-Madison emeritus professor. “Toasting Song” is a rollicking number about the pleasures of both cycling and wine. “A Bicycler’s Song” takes a poem in praise of bicycles and cycling and sets it in a vocal jazz idiom reminiscent of the Manhattan Transfer.
UW-Madison alumus and former Madrigal Singer Scott Gendel (below) also provided two new works for this event. “She Waits for Me” is a lush ballad that celebrates the joys of love and loyalty, while “Little Things” offers us a cautionary tale of a cyclist’s visit to church one Sunday morning.
Carl Buttke, a current graduate student, composed the fifth new work for this concert, a picturesque tale of a memorable day spent in the Austrian Alps, “Cycling the Rosental.”
The program will also include a fast and fun work for women’s voices, “The Bike Let Loose,” by composer Edie Hill.
This concert occurs at the end of the School of Music’s Jazz Week by design, since the major work in the concert is scored for massed choirs and jazz quintet.
The singers are joined by the UW’s Blue Note Ensemble (below top), directed by UW professor Johannes Wallmann (below middle), for a performance of “Song Cycle” by Alexander L’Estrange (below bottom and in the YouTube video at the bottom).
The work was written in 2014 for the grand start of the Tour de France in York, England. Comprised of 10 movements, the work looks at the invention of the bicycle, the social changes that it wrought, and the joys that cycling offers to all.
It’s a charming and witty trip that is fun for the whole family, even giving the audience an opportunity to sing along.
The concert is free and all are encouraged to wear their favorite biking togs and join in the fun!
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Classical music: Choral Arts Society Chorale sings about immigration and longing for a home this Friday night. On Saturday night, the Mosaic Chamber Players offer piano trios by Beethoven and Brahms
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ALERT: The acclaimed Mosaic Chamber Players close out their current season on this Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in the Landmark Auditorium of the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive.
The program offers two of the most famous piano trios ever composed: the “Archduke” Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 97, by Ludwig van Beethoven; and the Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major, Op. 8, by Johannes Brahms. Tickets are at the door, cash or check only, and cost $15, $10 for seniors and $5 for students.
For more information, go to: http://www.mosaicchamberplayers.com
By Jacob Stockinger
The theme of immigration only seems to grow as a timely and politically charged topic not only here in the U.S. but also around the world, especially in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
In another indication that the performing arts are returning to a socially activist role in the current political climate, immigration is the unifying theme of a concert by The Choral Arts Society Chorale of Madison (below), a local community chorus.
The group performs this Friday night, April 27, at 7 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1904 Winnebago Street, on Madison’s near east side, under the direction of the group’s artistic director Mikko Rankin Utevsky (below), who also founded and directs the Madison Area Youth Chamber Orchestra (MAYCO).
The program, titled “Would You Harbor Me?,” features music about and by immigrants, and about longing for a home.
The centerpiece is the 1998 cantata “The Golden Door” for chorus and chamber ensemble by Ronald Perera (below). You can hear the “Names” section of the work in the YouTube video at the bottom.
The work is based on texts from the archives of Ellis Island (below).
Also on the program – drawn from different time periods and different cultures — are pieces by various composers. They include Leonard Bernstein; Palestrina; Heinrich Isaac; Sydney Guillaume; Sweet Honey in the Rock‘s Ysaye Barnwell on themes of leaving home and welcoming the stranger; and Irving Berlin‘s setting of the poem from the Statue of Liberty (below).
Tickets are $15; $10 for students $10, and re available at the door, or online at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/choral-arts-society-chorale-spring-concert-tickets-44453227801.
The complete program is: Ysaye Barnwell: “Would You Harbor Me”; Palestrina: “Super flumina Babylonis” (By the Waters of Babylon); Traditional Irish, arr. Peter Knight: “O Danny Boy”; Carlos Guastavino: “Pueblito, mi pueblo” (Little village, my village); Heinrich Isaac: “Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen” (Innsbruck, I must leave you); Sydney Guillaume: Onè – Respè; Leonard Bernstein: “Somewhere” from “West Side Story”; Intermission; Ronald Perera: “The Golden Door”; Irving Berlin: “Give me your tired, your poor”
For more information about the group, go to: http://choralartsmadison.org
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Classical music: UW Choral Union and soloists succeed impressively in Bach’s massive “St. Matthew Passion.” Plus, a FREE concert of Leonard Bernstein songs is at noon on Friday
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ALERT: This Friday’s FREE Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features two husband-and-wife teams. Singers bass-baritone Paul Rowe and soprano Cheryl Bensman-Rowe and pianists Bill Lutes and Martha Fischer will perform an all-Leonard Bernstein program in honor of his centennial. The program includes selections from “Arias and Barcarolles,” “Mass,” “Peter Pan,” “On the Town,” “Wonderful Town” and “Songfest.” The concert runs from 12:15 to 1 p.m.
By Jacob Stockinger
Here is a special posting, a review written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker. 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 hosts an early music show once a month on Sunday morning on WORT FM 89.9 FM. For years, he served on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison. He also took the performance photographs.
By John W. Barker
It comes a bit late for this year’s Holy Week, but the UW Choral Union’s impressive mounting of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. Matthew Passion last Sunday was still a major contribution to our music this spring.
Running at almost three hours, this is Bach’s longest single work, and is regarded by now as one of the musical monuments of Western Civilization. But its length and its demands make it something performed only on special occasions.
No antiquarian, conductor Beverly Taylor, who directs choral activities at the UW-Madison, tried to follow carefully Bach’s elaborate specifications, which call for both a double chorus and a double orchestra, along with soloists.
A traditionally ample agency, the Choral Union this time fielded a total of 100 singers, plus a 12-member children’s choir, as against a pair of student orchestras numbering 14 and 12 respectively, all playing modern instruments.
This was hardly a balanced combination and Bach himself could never have assembled, much less managed, so huge a chorus as this. It certainly overwhelmed the orchestras, and quite drowned out the children’s group in their appearance at the beginning and ending of Part I.
Still, there is no denying the magnificence of such a large choral force. It was just a bit challenged by the turbae or crowd passages. Nevertheless, to hear such a powerful choir sing so many of the intermittent chorales in Bach’s harmonizations is to feel the glory of the entire Lutheran legacy in religious expression.
A total of 16 soloists were employed, in functions of varying consequence.
At the head of the list stand two. Tenor Wesley Dunnagan (below left) has a voice of more Italian than German character, to my taste. But he not only carried off the heavy duties of the narrating Evangelist, he also sang the tenor arias as well, with unfailing eloquence. And faculty baritone Paul Rowe (below right) was truly authoritative as Jesus in the parts reserved for the Savior.
The arias were otherwise addressed by a double cast of singers, two each on the other voice parts. Of the two sopranos, Sara Guttenberg (if I have the identity correctly from the confusing program) was strong and splendidly artistic.
Talia Engstrom was more a mezzo-soprano than a true contralto, and not an equally powerful singer, but I did like her very engaging singing. (You can hear the lovely contralto and violin aria “Erbarme dich, mein Gott” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The sharing of the alto arias with a countertenor was, however, not a good idea. Of the two bass-baritones, Matthew Chastain (if I have his identity aright) sang with strong and rich tone. The other singers, mostly singing the character parts in the Gospel text, were generally students, ranging widely in maturity and appeal.
Taken as a whole, though, this performance was an admirable achievement for Beverly Taylor (below). Her tempos were on the moderate side, accommodating especially the large chorus. Above all, her enterprise was obvious in tackling this massive work, while the choral singers obviously found a special thrill in participating in it.
Compliments should be given the program, which contained the full German text interlarded with the English translation. With full house lighting, this wisely allowed the audience to follow along closely.
But the performance was divided into two sittings, one for Part I at 4 p.m., the second for Part II at 7:30 p.m., with a break in between of over two hours — really too long, I found.
Tags: #AaronCopland, #Americancomposers, #AmericanMusic, #AmericanRecordGuide, #AriasandBarcarolles, #BeverlyTaylor, #Children'sChoir, #ChoralUnion, #EmilyDickinson, #EnglishTranslation, #Erbarmedich, #FirstUnitarianSocietyofMadison, #FridayNoonMusicale, #HolyWeek, #husband-and-wife, #IsthmusNewspaper, #JesusChrist, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnW.Barker, #LeonardBernstein, #LutheranReligion, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MartinLuther, #MedievalHistory, #PaulRowe, #PianoMusic, #St.Matthew, #St.MatthewPassion, #TheEvangelist, #TheGospels, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWChoralUnion, #UWProfessor, #VocalMusic, #WesternCivilization, American Record Guide, aria, Arts, Bach, barcarolle, baritone, Baroque, bass, bass-baritone, Bernstein, Cello, Chamber music, children, China, choral music, Chorale, Christ, Classical music, composer, conductor, contralto, Copland, countertenor, crowd, Early music, Emily Dickinson, English, Erbarme dich, evangelist, First Unitarian Society of Madison, German, Germany, History, husband, instrument, Isthmus, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Jesus, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lutheranism, Madison, Madison Early Musical Festival, Medieval, Mezzo-soprano, modern, Orchestra, Pianist, Piano, professor, Season, singer, song, soprano, Spring, Sunday, symphony, tenor, text, translation, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, wife, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: Madison Opera travels to the jungle for the local premiere of the Spanish opera “Florencia en el Amazonas” this Friday night and Sunday afternoon
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By Jacob Stockinger
This weekend, the Madison Opera travels to the jungle to present the Madison premiere of Florencia en el Amazonas (with sets from the production by the Arizona Opera, below) by Daniel Catán on Friday night, April 27, at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoon, April 29, at 2:30 p.m. in the Overture Hall at the Overture Center for the Arts, 201 State Street.
The opera will be sung in Spanish with English supertitles. Running time is 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission.
Tickets are $18-$130 with discounts available for students and groups. For more information about tickets and the production, go to www.madisonopera.org
Mexican composer Daniel Catan’s lush and accessible orchestral soundscape brings the Amazon River to life in this magical and mystical journey.
Set in South America at the turn of the 20th century, the story begins when Florencia Grimaldi, a famous opera singer, embarks anonymously on a voyage down the Amazon River to sing a concert in Manaus, Brazil.
She is traveling to the concert incognito; her real hope for the journey is to be reunited with the lover she left behind, a butterfly hunter.
On the boat with her are a young journalist, Rosalba, who is writing a biography of Grimaldi; a couple feeling the strain of their long marriage, Paula and Alvaro; the boat’s captain; the captain’s restless nephew, Arcadio, who falls in love with Rosalba; and a man who is a rather mystical presence, Riolobo.
Over the course of the journey, the passengers encounter a storm, piranha, and ultimately cholera.
“Florencia en el Amazons is simply gorgeous,” says Kathryn Smith (below, in a photo by James Gill), Madison Opera’s General Director. “I heard only wonderful things about it following its 1996 premiere, and when I saw the opera 10 years ago, I realized why audiences love it so much.
“The music is ravishing, the setting is physically beautiful, and the characters are fascinating. I am delighted to be presenting it in Madison, as part of our vision of sharing operas from all time periods and in all languages.”
Florencia was the third opera composed by Daniel Catán (below, in a photo by Gina Ferazzi for the Los Angeles Times) and the first Spanish-language opera to be commissioned by a major U.S. opera company. Houston Grand Opera premiered the work in 1996; it has since been performed across North America and Europe, with companies like Houston, Los Angeles, and Seattle producing it multiple times due to audience demand.
The opera’s libretto, while an original story, was inspired by the writings of the Nobel Prize-winning Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez (below) author of 100 Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera. Librettist Marcela Fuentes-Berain was a protégé of Márquez; according to Catán, he and Fuentes-Berain would show García Márquez parts of the libretto as they were finished. Elements of the author’s trademark magic realism pervade many parts of the opera.
Catán’s music was acclaimed for its lush writing. The New York Times said, “Mr. Catán’s writing for the voice is luxuriously lyrical; and he orchestrates with skill.” (You can hear the opera’s opening scene in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Catán wrote two more operas before dying at age 62 of a heart attack. At his sudden death in 2011, Plácido Domingo called him “one of the great opera composers of our time, beloved by audiences and especially by the musicians who had the privilege of performing his incredible work.”
“I am so happy to have the opportunity to perform this absolutely gorgeous opera,” says John DeMain (below, in a photo by Prasad), Madison Opera’s Artistic Director. “I had the pleasure of knowing Daniel Catán, and commissioned an orchestral suite from this opera for the Madison Symphony Orchestra, which we performed in 2003.
“We all were struck by the power and sweep of the music. This story of the power of love and music in all of our lives will be sung by a great cast of singers, and the orchestral fabric will lift audiences out of their seats and transport them to the magical world of the Amazon. This is an opera written in our time, with a musical score that will leave audiences wanting to hear it again and again.”
Madison Opera’s cast features a number of returning favorites. For revealing 10-question interviews with cast members, go to the MadOpera blog at: http://madisonopera.blogspot.com
Elizabeth Caballero (below) sings Florencia Grimaldi, a role she has sung for New York City Opera and Nashville Opera. The Cuban-American soprano debuted with Madison Opera at Opera in the Park in 2007 and returned in Carmen, La Traviata,and Don Giovanni. Last month, she sang Mimì in La Bohème at the Metropolitan Opera.
Rachel Sterrenberg sings the journalist Rosalba; she debuted in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird here last season.
Adriana Zabala (below), who sang in The Tales of Hoffmann and at last summer’s Opera in the Park, sings Paula, a role she has also sung at San Diego Opera and Arizona Opera.
Nmon Ford (below, in a photo by Guy Madmoni), who sang Scarpia in Tosca with Madison Opera in 2013, sings the mysterious Riolobo.
Mackenzie Whitney, who debuted as Rodolfo in La Bohème with Madison Opera in 2015, returns as Arcadio, the Captain’s nephew. Levi Hernandez, who debuted in The Magic Flute here in 2005, returns as Alvaro. Bass Ashraf Sewailam (below) makes his Madison Opera debut as the Captain of the El Dorado.
Kristine McIntyre (below) returns to direct this Madison Opera premiere. She has directed many successful productions for Madison Opera, including Dead Man Walking and The Tales of Hoffmann. Recent work includes productions at Pittsburgh Opera, Utah Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Kentucky Opera.
The production prominently features members of Kanopy Dance Company, playing spirits of the river. Lisa A. Thurrell, co-artistic director of Kanopy, has created choreography for her dancers and this production.
The set (below) comes from Arizona Opera, with costumes designed by Madison Opera’s Karen Brown-Larimore, who designed the costumes for The Abduction from the Seraglio in February.
As always, the opera features the Madison Opera Chorus and the Madison Symphony Orchestra.
Madison Opera’s production of “Florencia en el Amazons” is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, Thompson Investment Management, Inc., Carla and Fernando Alvarado, Thomas Terry, the Ann Stanke Fund, Kennedy Gilchrist and Heidi Wilde, and Charles Snowdon and Ann Lindsey.
Tags: #AbductionFromtheSeraglio, #AmazonRiver, #ArizonaOpera, #ChadHutchinson, #CharlieParker'sYardbird, #ChoralMusic, #ClaudeDebussy, #Cuban-American, #DanielCatan, #DonGiovanni, #EnglishLanguage, #FlorenciaenelAmazonas, #GabrielGarciaMarquez, #GeorgesBizet, #GiacomoPuccini, #GiuseppeVerdi, #HoustonGrandOpera, #JacquesOffenbach, #JohannesBrahms, #JohnDeMain, #KanopyDanceCompany, #KathrynSmith, #KristineMcIntyre, #LaBoheme, #LaTraviata, #LosAngeles, #LoveintheTimeofCholera, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonOperaChorus, #MadisonSymphonyChorus, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #magicrealism, #MarcellaFuentes-Berain, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MetropolitanOpera, #MexicanMusic, #MexicanOpera, #NashvilleOpera, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #NewYorkCityOpera, #NobelPrize, #NorthAmerica, #OneHundredYearsofSolitude, #OperaInThePark, #PlacidoDomingo, #SanDiegoOpera, #SpanishLanguage, #StephenShewan, #TheMagicFlute, #TheMet, #TheNewYorkTImes, #TheTalesofHoffmann, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, Abduction From the Seraglio, accessible, Arizona Opera, Arts, Bach, Baroque, beautiful, Beethoven, biography, blog, boat, Brahms, Brazil, butterfly, captain, Carmen, cholera, choral music, Classical music, composer, Concert, costume, Cuban, dance, dancer, Daniel Catan, Debussy, Don Giovanni, Europe, Franz Schubert, free, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Houston, investment, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John DeMain, journalism, journalist, journey, jungle, Kristine McIntyre, La bohème, La Traviata, language, libretto, lives, Los Angeles, Love, lover, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marriage, Mexico, Mozart, Music, mystical, Nashville Opera, New York City Opera, New York Times, opera, Opera in the Park, Orchestra, Overture Center, Piano, piranha, Plácido Domingo, power, Seattle, set, Sonata, Stephen Shewan, storm, strain, supertitle, surtitle, symphony, The Magic Flute, The Tales of Hoffmann, tickets, time, Tosca, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, voyage, weekend, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: Today is Earth Day 2018. Listen to a new one-hour symphony commissioned by National Geographic to mark the event in sound and pictures
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By Jacob Stockinger
Today is April 22, 2018 – Earth Day.
A lot of classical music is appropriate to the occasion, from the sound paintings in oratorios by Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Franz Joseph Haydn and Felix Mendelssohn to the chamber music and songs of Franz Schubert; from the symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Antonin Dvorak and Gustav Mahler to the contemporary award-winning environmental music by John Luther Adams, much of whose work can be found on YouTube.
But of special interest this year is the one-hour “Symphony for Our World.” It is a five-movement symphony that was commissioned from two different composers – Austin Fray (below top) and Andrew Christie (below bottom) — by National Geographic to celebrate the planet.
The presentation premieres TONIGHT at 6 p.m. on the TV channel National Geographic WILD. (In the Madison area, the Spectrum/Charter cable channel is 147, 707 for HD.) Here is a link to a search engine that finds the channel where you live. Just plug in your ZIP code and your television provider:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel_finder/wild/
The performance tonight also marks the beginning of a national orchestra tour with the music. (You can see and hear the first two minutes in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Here is a link to a story with more information, including a trailer, the dates and places of the world tour, and quotes from the composers about the composition and which instruments evoke which natural phenomena:
What composer or piece of classical music do you think best celebrates Earth Day?
Leave your answer with a YouTube link, if possible, in the COMMENT section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AndrewChristie, #AntoninDvorak, #AustinFray, #CableTelevision, #ChamberMusic, #CharterSpectrum, #EarthDay, #FelixMendelssohn, #FranzJosephHaydn, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GustavMahler, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnLutherAdams, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #NationalGeographic, #NaturalWorld, #PlanetEarth, #SearchEngine, #SpectrumCharter, #SymphonicMusic, #WorldTour, Andrew Christie, Arts, Austin Fray, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, Classical music, commission, Compact Disc, composer, date, Dvorak, engine, Franz Schubert, George Frideric Handel, Haydn, instrument, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Mahler, Mendelssohn, Music, Orchestra, place, premiere, search, search engine, song, songs, symphony, Television, tour, TV, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, video, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, world, YouTube
Classical music: UW Choral Director Beverly Taylor talks about her life with Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion,” which she will conduct this Sunday afternoon and night
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By Jacob Stockinger
Johann Sebastian Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” always ranks high on the short list of the greatest choral works ever composed.
And for good reason.
It represents a peak of Bach’s sacred music and his choral compositions.
This Sunday afternoon and night in Mills Hall, Beverly Taylor, director of choral activities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music and the assistant music director of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, will conduct the UW Choral Union (below) — comprised of university and community singers — plus soloists and an orchestra, in a performance of the complete work.
At 4 p.m. they will do Part 1 and then at 7:30 p.m., Part 2.
Tickets (one ticket is good for both parts) are $15, $8 for students and seniors. To purchase tickets, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/about-us/tickets/
Tickets will also be available at the door.
The Ear is always curious to learn more about the relationship between a professional musician and a towering masterpiece.
He found out more when Taylor (below) recently answered an email Q&A about her past and current experiences with the “St. Matthew Passion”:
When did you first hear the “St. Matthew Passion” and what was your reaction?
I never heard it until my late 20s, would you believe? I’d been through grad school and all its training, and learned German, knew a lot of Bach; and when Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony did it on Good Friday, I sat spellbound for over three hours.
I was shaken to the core by its beauty, and even though it was hardly an early music performance, it was well handled, and one of my favorite British singers, Robert Tear, was the Evangelist. I’ve never forgotten it!
Where do you place the “St. Matthew Passion” among Bach’s works and especially among his many choral works?
As with all masterpieces, it’s hard to choose. It’s the longest work, and its size and scope alone make it a frequent choice of many for favorite work.
It’s more dramatic than the breath-taking B Minor Mass and more meditative than the St. John Passion, but I also love the unbelievable variety of cantatas that Bach (below) produced.
Don’t make me choose!
What role has the “St. Matthew Passion” played in your personal and professional life?
I’d say it’s a pinnacle work. This is only my second time performing it, and I’m unlikely to have the chance again, although one hopes. So I’m invested in its beauty and in its core message of hope in the face of tragedy.
Are there things you would like audiences to know about your upcoming performance?
There are several things.
We have a wonderful cast of soloists, and the orchestra is not the usual student orchestra, since the UW Symphony Orchestra is committed to another program in the near future, but is instead a mixture of students, semi-pros and pros.
The work is set for the two choruses and two orchestras that play with them. Many of the choral movements are set for both orchestras, but Bach varies the texture of each movement by varying who plays in what.
If a listener hasn’t been to a Passion performance before, then you might want to know that:
The character of the Evangelist (sung superbly in this case by Wesley Dunnagan, below) is the narrator of the drama. He is accompanied by the continuo part—which is made up of a keyboard (usually organ with sacred works) and a low melody instrument, usually cello.
The chorus members sing sometimes in the character of Greek chorus commentary, sometimes as characters in the roles of Mob, Roman soldiers, Pharisees, and disciples. Most of this text comes from the book of St. Matthew. However, German theologians wrote commentary that is used for the beautiful Chorales-which basically are hymn-style settings of well-known Lutheran tunes. These chorales turn personal—for instance when Judas betrays Jesus, the chorus, after being a mob, turns around and says in repentance—It is I, I’m the one that killed you. (You can hear the final chorus in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The text is so important, and Bach uses myriad details to bring it out. It is typical that when the text is about death, or evil, or sin, the writing is chromatic, or full of augmented fourth intervals (once nicknamed the devil’s interval). When Jesus has died and been buried, the chorus sings what feels like a lullaby, with the rocking cradle motion. When an earthquake follows Jesus’ death and the curtain of the temple is torn, the continuo cello breaks out of accompaniment mode and tears down the scale like lightning
Although this work presents Bach’s Christian view in the heart of the church year, the scope and issues of faithfulness and disloyalty, trust and fear, should resonate with listeners of all faiths.
We’ve chosen, as some other presenters have, to have a dinner/snack break between the two parts of the three-hour work. One ticket will get you into either or both halves. We do this to give singers and players a little rest, and a little movement to our listeners. Part I runs from 4 p.m. to about 5:15 p.m., and Part II runs from 7:30 p.m. to about 9:15 p.m.
Tags: #BaroqueMusic, #BeverlyTaylor, #BMinorMass, #BostonSymphony, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ChristianReligion, #GermanLanguage, #GoodFriday, #GreatBritain, #GreekChorus, #JesusChrist, #JohannSebastianBach, #KeyboardMusic, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #OrchestralMusic, #PersonalLife, #ProfessionalLife, #RobertTear, #RomanSoldiers, #SacredMusic, #SeijiOzawa, #Sin, #St.JohnPassion, #St.Matthew, #St.MatthewPassion, #UnitedKingdom, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWChoralUnion, Arts, Bach, Baroque, beauty, Boston Symphony, British, Cantata, Cello, choral music, Chorale, chorus, church, Classical music, community, composer, death, disloyalty, drama, dramatic, Early music, earthquake, Easter, email, English, evangelist, evil, faith, fear, German, Good Friday, Great Britain, hymn, Jacob Stockinger, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Johann Sebastian Bach, Keyboard, life, lightning, lullaby, Lutheran, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, masterpiece, meditative, melody, mob, Music, narrator, Orchestra, organ, personal, personal life, professional, Q&A, sacred, Seiji Ozawa, singer, singers, soloist, symphony, temple, text, theologian, tragedy, trust, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: The Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble teams up with the new Madison Youth Viol Consort for a concert on Saturday night. Plus a FREE organ recital is Friday night
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ALERT: On this Friday night at 7 p.m. in Grace Episcopal Church, 116 West Washington Avenue, on the Capitol Square, Grace Presents is offering a FREE organ recital by Jackson Borges of Delaware. Sorry, no word on composers or pieces.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post:
The Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble (below) invites you to a concert of baroque chamber music, featuring the Madison Youth Viol Consort.
The concert is this Saturday night, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. in Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church (below), 1833 Regent Street, Madison
Tickets at the door only are $20 ($10 for students). For more information, go to www.wisconsinbaroque.org
A reception will be held after the concert at 2422 Kendall Ave., second floor.
Regular members of the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble are Mimmi Fulmer, soprano; Brett Lipshutz, traverse flute; Eric Miller, viola da gamba; Sigrun Paust, recorder; Charlie Rasmussen, baroque cello; Consuelo Sañudo, mezzo-soprano; Monica Steger, traverse flute, harpsichord and recorder; Anton TenWolde, baroque cello; and Max Yount, harpsichord.
The Madison Youth Viol Consort (MYVC) is the brain child of Eric Miller (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot) and is a part of the Viola da Gamba Society of America’s nationwide Consort Loan Program.
The mission of the MYVC is two-fold: 1. To introduce the viola da gamba, its repertoire and historically informed playing techniques to young musicians in Madison, grades 8-12 through an artistic chamber music experience; and 2. To increase community awareness in Madison of the Viola da Gamba and its repertoire.
The MYVC currently has five instruments on loan: two bass viols, a tenor viol, and two treble viols. Current members are all accomplished student musicians in grades 8-12 from the Madison area: Charles Deck, Mateo Guaio, Nathaniel Johnson, Anika Olson, and Miriam Syvertsen.
The MYVC will be performing two pieces from the English consort song tradition along with WBE’s vocalists, Consuelo Sanudo and Mimmi Fulmer. “Come to me, grief, for ever” by William Byrd, and “The Silver Swan” by Orlando Gibbons.
As for the WBE, they say: “Playing on period instruments from original notation, the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble brings the sound and character of the 17th and 18th centuries to life, often shedding light upon lesser known compositions and composers.”
Here is the complete program:
Antonio Vivaldi – “Cento donzelle festose e belle” (A hundred maidens, cheerful and fair)
Georg Philipp Telemann – Fantasia No. 3 for viola da gamba, TWV 40:28 (1735)
Giuseppe Ferdinando Brivio – Trio Sonata for two traversi and basso continuo, Op. 2, No. 4
Unico van Wassenaer – Sonata No. 3 for recorder and basso continuo (ca. 1714)
William Byrd – “Come to me, Grief, forever”
Orlando Gibbons – “The Silver Swan”
INTERMISSION
Luigi Boccherini – Sonata No. 3 for the violoncello, G5
Giovanni Ghizzolo – “Perche piangi, Pastore?” (Why do you weep, shepherd); “Qual di nova bellezza” (As of new beauty..);
Adriano Banchiero – Magnificat (1613)
Michel Pignolet de Montéclair – Duo for traversi without bass
Georg Philipp Telemann – Quartet, TWV 43:G10 (in YouTube video below)
Tags: #17thCentury, #18Century, #AdrianoBanchiero, #AntonioVivaldi, #BaroqueMusic, #CapitolSquare, #ChristianChurch, #ChristianReligion, #ConsortLoanProgram, #EpiscopalChurch, #GeorgPhilippTelemann, #GiovanniGhizzolo, #GiuseppeFerdinandoBrivio, #GracePresents, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #JacksonBorges, #LuigiBoccherini, #MadisonYouthViolConsort, #MichelPignoletdeMonteclair, #MusicEducation, #MusicNotation, #NeglectedComposers, #NeglectedRepertoire, #OrganMusic, #OrlandoGibbons, #PeriodInstruments, #RecorderMusic, #SaturdayNight, #St.Andrew'sEpiscopalChurch, #StateofDelaware, #UnicovanWassenaer, #UnitedStates, #VioladaGamba, #VioladaGambaSociety, #WiliamByrd, #WisconsinBaroqueEnsemble, #YoungPeople, America, artistic, Arts, awareness, Baroque, bass, beauty, Capitol Square, Cello, Chamber music, church, Classical music, community, composer, Composition, Delaware, duo, Early music, English, Fantasia, flute, free, Georg Philipp Telemann, Grace Episcopal Church, Grace Present, Grace Presents, grief, harpsichord, historically informed performance practices, Jacob Stockinger, Madison, Madison Youth Viol Consort, Magnificat, Mezzo-soprano, Music, Music education, new, notation, period instruments, piece, program, Quartet, recital, recorder, repertoire, shepherd, silver, singer, Sonata, song, soprano, swan, tradition, traverso, trio sonata, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, vocalist, Wisconsin, young people, Youth, YouTube
Classical music: Prize-winning violinist Ilya Kaler returns to perform Paganini with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra this Friday night
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ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features bassoonist Juliana Mesa-Jaramillo, clarinetist Jose Garcia-Taborda and pianist Satoko Hayami in music by Mikhail Glinka, Max Bruch and Carlos Guastavino. The concert takes place from 12:15 to 1 p.m.
By Jacob Stockinger
If you were in the audience two years ago when violinist Ilya Kaler (below) made his Madison debut with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, it is unlikely that you have forgotten it.
Kaler proved himself a complete virtuoso when he performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D Major. The audience went wild and so did the critics, including The Ear.
Backed up with a first-rate accompaniment by music director and conductor Andrew Sewell and the WCO, Kaler showed a perfect mix of dramatic virtuosity, songful lyricism, lush tone and sonic clarity that you rarely hear.
This Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center Kaler returns to perform with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (below), again under the baton of music director Andrew Sewell.
The vehicle this time is the Violin Concerto No. 2 in B minor, Op. 7, by perhaps the most famous violin virtuoso of all time, Niccolo Paganini (below, playing for astonished listeners).
The concerto is famous for the “La Campanella” (The Bell) theme of the last movement that inspired the show-off etude of the same name by the great pianist Franz Liszt, who sought to emulate and transfer Paganini’s fiendish violin virtuosity on the piano. (You can hear that last movement in YouTube video at the bottom.)
Also on the program are: The Mozart-like and operatic String Sonata No. 2 by a 12-year-old Goiachino Rossini; and the Symphony No. 81 in G Major by Franz Joseph Haydn, a composer who is one of the interpretative strengths of Sewell (below).
Tickets are $15-$80. For ticket information and purchases, got to: http://www.overture.org/events/ilya-kaler
Born in Russia and trained at the famed Moscow Conservatory, Kaler now teaches at DePaul University in Chicago. He also won major gold medals in the 1980s at three major international competitions: the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow; the Paganini Competition in Genoa; and the Sibelius Competition in Helsinki.
He also records frequently for Naxos Records. To find out more about the impressive Kaler, go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilya_Kaler
Tags: #AndrewSewell, #BassoonMusic, #CapitolTheater, #CarlosGuastavino, #ChamberMusic, #ClarinetMusic, #DePaulUniversity, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FranzLiszt, #GioachinoRossini, #IlyaKaler, #JeanSibelius, #JosephHaydn, #MaxBruch, #MikhailGlinka, #MoscowConservatory, #NaxosRecords, #NiccoloPaganini, #OvertureCenter, #PaganiniCompetition, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PianoMusic, #SibeliusCompetition, #StringMusic, #StringSonata, #TchaikovskyCompetition, #ViolinConcerto, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, accompaniment, Andrew Sewell, Arts, audience, Bassoon, Carlos Guastavino, Chamber music, clarinet, clarity, Classical music, Compact Disc, composer, concerto, critic, drama, etude, fiend, inspire, interpretation, Jacob Stockinger, La Campanella, Liszt, lyricism, Madison, Max Bruch, Mikhail Glinka, movement, Mozart, Music, name, Naxos Records, opera, Orchestra, Overture Center, Piano, Rossini, Singing, Sonata, song, songful, sonic, strength, string, strings, symphony, tone, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, Violin concerto, Violin Concerto (Tchaikovsky), virtuosity, WCO, Wikipedia, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
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