The Well-Tempered Ear
Vivaldi turns 345 today. His irresistable music deserves more live performances
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By Jacob Stockinger
Today The Ear wishes Happy Birthday to composer Antonio Vivaldi (below), who was born on this day — March 4 — in 1678 in Venice. (He became famous but died in poverty at age 63 on July 28, 1741, also in Venice.)
The Ear likes Vivaldi and his music deserves many more live performances. Even local early music and modern music groups seems reluctant to program much Vivaldi besides “The Four Seasons,” despite the popularity of his other works. Vivaldi not only composed a lot but he did so for many instruments — strings, brass, winds — and in other genres than concertos including sonatas, choral works and operas.
Listen to Vivaldi in the morning. Who can resist him? The Italian style with its energetic rhythm, songful lyricism and major-key cheerfulness are caffeine for the ears.
There are so many fine groups and soloists who perform Vivaldi. Yet so much of his prolific output remains relatively unknown or unheard.
That’s too bad. Johann Sebastian Bach recognized a good thing when he heard it, so he “borrowed” and transcribed many of Vivaldi’s works. One imagines the Italian taste for transparency and tunes appealed to Bach and helped him leaven the often dense, even pedantic Germanic counterpoint and smothering religiosity. Vivaldi provided a model influence for Bach’s eclectic fusion of styles.
Here is a link to an extended Wikipedia biography of the “Red Priest” (below) — Vivaldi’s nickname, used during his teaching at an all-girls school in Venice and derived from his bright red hair. It holds some surprises including the political controversy that surrounded Vivaldi in his day:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Vivaldi
A lot of modern musicians and music historians seem to hold Vivaldi’s popularity and listener-friendly music against him. Opinions seem divided over who made the snide remark — Igor Stravinsky, Luigi Dallapiccola or both — that Vivaldi rewrote the same concerto 500 times.
Here is an informative takedown of that putdown:
https://notanothermusichistorycliche.blogspot.com/2018/10/did-stravinsky-say-vivaldi-wrote-same.html
In the YouTube video at the bottom is a favorite Vivaldi movement of mine. It helped give me a lifelong unforgettable moment as an accompaniment to viewing NASA’s recently taken moon footage at 37,000 feet in a plane on my way to Hawaii. It is the slow movement of the lute concerto played on the guitar by Julian Bream — and it was perfect for expressing weightlessness and space flight.
That was long ago.
These days for period-instrument performances, I tend to favor The English Concert under Trevor Pinnock , The Academy of Ancient Music under Christopher Hogwood, and the Academy of Ancient Music Berlin — although there are others terrific ensembles including the modern instrument groups I Musici and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.
For period string soloists — try the double concertos — look to Simon Standage, Monica Huggett, Andrew Manze and Rachel Podger. For modern instrumentalists, check out Victoria Mullova and especially the Israeli violinist Shlomo Mintz, who uses his own ordering and groupings of concertos. I also like the period cellist Christophe Coin and the modern cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras.
Do you have an opinion about Vivaldi — a like or dislike of his music?
Do you have a favorite Vivaldi work?
Do you have favorite performers of Vivaldi?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Pianist Jeremy Denk combines first-rate playing with innovative programs. He performs a virtual online recital this Friday night for the Wisconsin Union Theater
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By Jacob Stockinger
Jeremy Denk (below) is not only one of the top pianists on the concert stage today. He is also one of the most interesting and thoughtful pianists when it comes to original, innovative and eclectic programming.
Denk will display his talents again when he performs his third solo recital in Madison this Friday night, Dec. 11, for the Wisconsin Union Theater.
The concert of music by Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms and Missy Mazzoli is at 7:30 p.m. and will be preceded by a public Q&A at 7 p.m. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, both the discussion and the concert will be virtual and online.
Access to the online posting is $20 for the general public, $17 for Wisconsin Union members, and $10 for students.
Denk’s performance, which is part of the Theater’s 101st Annual Concert Series, will include “Papillons” (Butterflies), Op. 2, by Robert Schumann; Three Romances, Op. 21, by Clara Schumann; “Bolts of Loving Thunder” by the contemporary American composer Missy Mazzoli (below); and Four Pieces for Piano, Op. 119, by Johannes Brahms. (You can hear Denk play the lyrically introspective first intermezzo of Brahms’ late Op. 119 in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
To purchase tickets to Denk’s performance, visit https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/jeremy-denk/
Ticket buyers will receive an email from the box office approximately 2 hours before the event begins that will contain their link to view the performance. Anyone who purchases a ticket within 2 hours of the event’s start time will receive their email within 15 minutes of purchase.
To The Ear, Denk’s well-planned and fascinating program seems like a probing contrast-and-compare, narrative exploration of the musical styles and close personal relationships – a kind of love triangle — between Robert and Clara Schumann (below top); between Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms, whom Robert Schumann championed; and between Brahms and Clara Schumann, who also championed Brahms (below bottom) but rejected him as a lover and suitor after the premature death of her husband Robert.
One of America’s foremost pianists, Denk is a winner of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, and the Avery Fisher Prize, and was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In the United States, Denk has performed with the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra and frequently performs at Carnegie Hall. Internationally, he has toured with the world-famous Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and performed at Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms.
Denk’s talents include writing about music. Some of his stories about music have been featured on the front page of The New York Times Book Review as well as in The New Yorker, The New Republic and The Guardian. Many of those writings form the basis for a forthcoming book.
His passion for composing both music and writing compositions is evident in his music-based blog “Think Denk” — “to think” in German is “denizen” — which dates back to 2005.
“Jeremy Denk is one of the greatest pianists of our generation,” says WUT director Elizabeth Snodgrass. “While many pianists specialize in a particular period or composer, Jeremy is a musical omnivore whose wide-ranging interests span centuries and styles, and he is exceptional at playing all of them. As The New York Times said, he is ‘a pianist you want to hear no matter what he performs.’”
Proof of that can be found in the program “c. 1300-c. 2000” he toured with and recorded last year for Nonesuch, which features a sampling tour of 700 years of keyboard compositions.
Said a critic for the Boston Globe: “Denk has “an unerring sense of the music’s dramatic structure and a great actor’s intuition for timing.”
This performance was made possible by the David and Kato Perlman Chamber Music Endowment Fund.
Learn more about Jeremy Denk at: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Website
For more information and a video clip of Denk playing different Brahms, go to: https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/jeremy-denk/
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Classical music: Here are classical music winners — and nominees — of the 61st annual Grammy nominations for 2019.
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By Jacob Stockinger
This should have come out sooner since the Grammy Awards (below) were given out a week ago. But it has been such a busy week for Iive music in Madison – as will next week be – that this was the first occasion to post them.
In any case, for all their insider shortcomings they are a matter of interest to many, and can be helpful in understanding the contemporary classical scene and new music as you build your own playlists and recording library.
There are some points of interest including the fact that two Grammys were won by Canadian violinist James Ehnes for his performance of the Violin Concerto by the contemporary composer Aaron Jay Kernis.
Ehnes (below) is in town this weekend to play the Violin Concerto by Johannes Brahms with the Madison Symphony Orchestra (the last performance is this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall. The Ear hopes he might return to perform the Kernis concerto with MSO.
Also, Apollo’s Fire, which won in the Best Solo Vocal category, will perform Baroque music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi and Marco Uccellini at the Wisconsin Union Theater on Saturday, March 30.
Finally and unfortunately, some Madison nominees — including retired UW-Madison flute professor Stephanie Jutt and her co-director of the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society pianist Jeffrey Sykes — got edged out in the Producer category, as did retired UW professor James P. Leary for his liner notes to “Alpine Dreaming.”
In the orchestra category is John Harbison — who is in town marking his 80th birthday with many events, including the world premiere tonight at the W-Madison of his Sonata for Viola and Piano. In the Chamber Music category, Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin will solo in concertos by Maurice Ravel and Richard Strauss with the Madison Symphony Orchestra on April 12-14.
Look at the winners carefully. Clearly, the recording industry is, by and large, skipping over the usual classical masters such as Bach, Beethoven and Brahms to focus instead on living composers and contemporary music or stories relevant to our times, such as the opera by Mason Bates about the late Apple wizard Steve Jobs.
One major exception is the third Grammy in a row for the cycle of symphonies by the famed Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich being done by the Latvian-born conductor Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Here are the nominees and winners – the latter marked with an asterisk, a photo and the word WINNER — for the 61st Grammy Awards. Leave a comment with wa you think of the nominees and winners.
- Best Engineered Album, Classical
An Engineer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
BATES: THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS. Mark Donahue & Dirk Sobotka, engineers; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Michael Christie, Garrett Sorenson, Wei Wu, Sasha Cooke, Edwards Parks, Jessica E. Jones & Santa Fe Opera Orchestra)
BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY NO. 3; STRAUSS: HORN CONCERTO NO. 1
Mark Donahue, engineer; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
JOHN WILLIAMS AT THE MOVIES. Keith O. Johnson & Sean Royce Martin, engineers; Keith O. Johnson, mastering engineer (Jerry Junkin & Dallas Winds).
LIQUID MELANCHOLY – CLARINET MUSIC OF JAMES M. STEPHENSON
Bill Maylone & Mary Mazurek, engineers; Bill Maylone, mastering engineer (John Bruce Yeh)
*WINNER — SHOSTAKOVICH: SYMPHONIES NOS. 4 & 11. Shawn Murphy & Nick Squire, engineers; Tim Martyn, mastering engineer (Andris Nelsons & Boston Symphony Orchestra)
VISIONS AND VARIATIONS. Tom Caulfield, engineer; Jesse Lewis, mastering engineer (A Far Cry)
- Producer Of The Year, Classical
A Producer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
* WINNER — BLANTON ALSPAUGH (below)
- Arnesen: Infinity – Choral Works (Joel Rinsema & Kantorei)
- Aspects Of America (Carlos Kalmar & Oregon Symphony)
- Chesnokov: Teach Me Thy Statutes (Vladimir Gorbik & PaTRAM Institute Male Choir)
- Gordon, R.: The House Without A Christmas Tree (Bradley Moore, Elisabeth Leone, Maximillian Macias, Megan Mikailovna Samarin, Patricia Schuman, Lauren Snouffer, Heidi Stober, Daniel Belcher, Houston Grand Opera Juvenile Chorus & Houston Grand Opera Orchestra
- Haydn: The Creation (Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Betsy Cook Weber, Houston Symphony & Houston Symphony Chorus)
- Heggie: Great Scott (Patrick Summers, Manuel Palazzo, Mark Hancock, Michael Mayes, Rodell Rosel, Kevin Burdette, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Nathan Gunn, Frederica von Stade, Ailyn Pérez, Joyce DiDonato, Dallas Opera Chorus & Orchestra)
- Music Of Fauré, Buide & Zemlinsky (Trio Séléné)
- Paterson: Three Way – A Trio Of One-Act Operas (Dean Williamson, Daniele Pastin, Courtney Ruckman, Eliza Bonet, Melisa Bonetti, Jordan Rutter, Samuel Levine, Wes Mason, Matthew Treviño & Nashville Opera Orchestra)
- Vaughan Williams: Piano Concerto; Oboe Concerto; Serenade To Music; Flos Campi (Peter Oundjian & Toronto Symphony Orchestra)
DAVID FROST
- Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Volume 7 (Jonathan Biss)
• Mirror In Mirror (Anne Akiko Meyers, Kristjan Järvi & Philharmonia Orchestra)
• Mozart: Idomeneo (James Levine, Alan Opie, Matthew Polenzani, Alice Coote, Nadine Sierra, Elza van den Heever, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)
• Presentiment (Orion Weiss)
• Strauss, R.: Der Rosenkavalier (Sebastian Weigle, Renée Fleming, Elīna Garanča, Erin Morley, Günther Groissböck, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)
ELIZABETH OSTROW
- Bates: The (R)evolution Of Steve Jobs (Michael Christie, Garrett Sorenson, Wei Wu, Sasha Cooke, Edwards Parks, Jessica E. Jones & Santa Fe Opera Orchestra)
• The Road Home (Joshua Habermann & Santa Fe Desert Chorale)
JUDITH SHERMAN
- Beethoven Unbound (Llŷr Williams)
• Black Manhattan Volume 3 (Rick Benjamin & Paragon Ragtime Orchestra)
• Bolcom: Piano Music (Various Artists)
• Del Tredici: March To Tonality (Mark Peskanov & Various Artists)
• Love Comes In At The Eye (Timothy Jones, Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio, Jeffrey Sykes, Anthony Ross, Carol Cook, Beth Rapier & Stephanie Jutt)
• Meltzer: Variations On A Summer Day & Piano Quartet (Abigail Fischer, Jayce Ogren & Sequitur)
• Mendelssohn: Complete Works For Cello And Piano (Marcy Rosen & Lydia Artymiw)
• New Music For Violin And Piano (Julie Rosenfeld & Peter Miyamoto)
• Reich: Pulse/Quartet (Colin Currie Group & International Contemporary Ensemble)
DIRK SOBOTKA
- Beethoven: Symphony No. 3; Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1 (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
• Lippencott: Frontier Symphony (Jeff Lippencott & Ligonier Festival Orchestra)
• Mahler: Symphony No. 8 (Thierry Fischer, Mormon Tabernacle Choir & Utah Symphony)
• Music Of The Americas (Andrés Orozco-Estrada & Houston Symphony) 
- Best Orchestral Performance Award to the Conductor and to the Orchestra
- BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY NO. 3; STRAUSS: HORN CONCERTO NO. 1. Manfred Honeck, conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
- NIELSEN: SYMPHONY NO. 3 & SYMPHONY NO. 4. Thomas Dausgaard, conductor (Seattle Symphony)
- RUGGLES, STUCKY & HARBISON: ORCHESTRAL WORKS. David Alan Miller, conductor (National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic)
- SCHUMANN: SYMPHONIES NOS. 1-4. Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)
- * WINNER — SHOSTAKOVICH: SYMPHONIES NOS. 4 & 11 Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra)
76. Best Opera Recording Award to the Conductor, Album Producer(s) and Principal Soloists.
- ADAMS: DOCTOR ATOMIC. John Adams, conductor; Aubrey Allicock, Julia Bullock, Gerald Finley & Brindley Sherratt; Friedemann Engelbrecht, producer (BBC Symphony Orchestra; BBC Singers)
- * WINNER –BATES: THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS. Michael Christie, conductor; Sasha Cooke, Jessica E. Jones, Edwards Parks, Garrett Sorenson & Wei Wu; Elizabeth Ostrow, producer (The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra)
- LULLY: ALCESTE. Christophe Rousset, conductor; Edwin Crossley-Mercer, Emiliano Gonzalez Toro & Judith Van Wanroij; Maximilien Ciup, producer (Les Talens Lyriques; Choeur De Chambre De Namur)
- STRAUSS, R.: DER ROSENKAVALIER. Sebastian Weigle, conductor; Renée Fleming, Elīna Garanča, Günther Groissböck & Erin Morley; David Frost, producer (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
- VERDI: RIGOLETTO. Constantine Orbelian, conductor; Francesco Demuro, Dmitri Hvorostovsky & Nadine Sierra; Vilius Keras & Aleksandra Keriene, producers (Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra; Men Of The Kaunas State Choir)
- Best Choral Performance. Award to the Conductor, and to the Choral Director and/or Chorus Master where applicable and to the Choral Organization/Ensemble.
- CHESNOKOV: TEACH ME THY STATUTES. Vladimir Gorbik, conductor (Mikhail Davydov & Vladimir Krasov; PaTRAM Institute Male Choir)
- KASTALSKY: MEMORY ETERNAL. Steven Fox, conductor (The Clarion Choir)
- * WINNER — MCLOSKEY: ZEALOT CANTICLES. Donald Nally, conductor (Doris Hall-Gulati, Rebecca Harris, Arlen Hlusko, Lorenzo Raval & Mandy Wolman; The Crossing)
- RACHMANINOV: THE BELLS. Mariss Jansons, conductor; Peter Dijkstra, chorus master (Oleg Dolgov, Alexey Markov & Tatiana Pavlovskaya; Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks; Chor Des Bayerischen Rundfunks)
- SEVEN WORDS FROM THE CROSS. Matthew Guard, conductor (Skylark)
- Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance. For new recordings of works with chamber or small ensemble (24 or fewer members, not including the conductor). One Award to the ensemble and one Award to the conductor, if applicable.
- * WINNER — ANDERSON, LAURIE: LANDFALL. Laurie Anderson & Kronos Quartet
- BEETHOVEN, SHOSTAKOVICH & BACH. The Danish String Quartet
- BLUEPRINTING. Aizuri Quartet
- STRAVINSKY: THE RITE OF SPRING CONCERTO FOR TWO PIANOS. Leif Ove Andsnes & Marc-André Hamelin
- VISIONS AND VARIATIONS. A Far Cry
- Best Classical Instrumental Solo. Award to the Instrumental Soloist(s) and to the Conductor when applicable.
- BARTÓK: PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2. Yuja Wang; Simon Rattle, conductor (Berliner Philharmoniker)
- BIBER: THE MYSTERY SONATAS. Christina Day Martinson; Martin Pearlman, conductor (Boston Baroque)
- BRUCH: SCOTTISH FANTASY, OP. 46; VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 1 IN G MINOR, OP. 26. Joshua Bell (The Academy Of St. Martin In The Fields)
- GLASS: THREE PIECES IN THE SHAPE OF A SQUARE. Craig Morris
- * WINNER — KERNIS: VIOLIN CONCERTO. James Ehnes; Ludovic Morlot, conductor (Seattle Symphony)
- Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. Award to: Vocalist(s), Collaborative Artist(s) (Ex: pianists, conductors, chamber groups) Producer(s), Recording Engineers/Mixers with 51% or more playing time of new material.
- ARC. Anthony Roth Costanzo; Jonathan Cohen, conductor (Les Violons Du Roy)
- THE HANDEL ALBUM. Philippe Jaroussky; Artaserse, ensemble
- MIRAGES. Sabine Devieilhe; François-Xavier Roth, conductor (Alexandre Tharaud; Marianne Crebassa & Jodie Devos; Les Siècles)
- SCHUBERT: WINTERREISE. Randall Scarlata; Gilbert Kalish, accompanist
- * WINNER — SONGS OF ORPHEUS – MONTEVERDI, CACCINI, D’INDIA & LANDI. Karim Sulayman; Jeannette Sorrell, conductor; Apollo’s Fire, ensembles
- Best Classical Compendium. Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s) and Engineer(s) of over 51% playing time of the album, if other than the artist.
- * WINNER — FUCHS: PIANO CONCERTO ‘SPIRITUALIST’; POEMS OF LIFE; GLACIER; RUSH. JoAnn Falletta, conductor; Tim Handley, producer
- GOLD. The King’s Singers; Nigel Short, producer
- THE JOHN ADAMS EDITION. Simon Rattle, conductor; Christoph Franke, producer
- JOHN WILLIAMS AT THE MOVIES. Jerry Junkin, conductor; Donald J. McKinney, producer
- VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: PIANO CONCERTO; OBOE CONCERTO; SERENADE TO MUSIC; FLOS CAMPI. Peter Oundjian, conductor; Blanton Alspaugh, producer
- Best Contemporary Classical Composition. A Composer’s Award. (For a contemporary classical composition composed within the last 25 years, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year.) Award to the librettist, if applicable.
- BATES: THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS. Mason Bates, composer; Mark Campbell, librettist (Michael Christie, Garrett Sorenson, Wei Wu, Sasha Cooke, Edwards Parks, Jessica E. Jones & Santa Fe Opera Orchestra)
- DU YUN: AIR GLOW. Du Yun, composer (International Contemporary Ensemble)
- HEGGIE: GREAT SCOTT. Jake Heggie, composer; Terrence McNally, librettist (Patrick Summers, Manuel Palazzo, Mark Hancock, Michael Mayes, Rodell Rosel, Kevin Burdette, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Nathan Gunn, Frederica von Stade, Ailyn Pérez, Joyce DiDonato, Dallas Opera Chorus & Orchestra)
- * WINNER — KERNIS: VIOLIN CONCERTO. Aaron Jay Kernis (below top), composer (James Ehnes, Ludovic Morlot & Seattle Symphony). You can hear the first movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.
- MAZZOLI: VESPERS FOR VIOLIN. Missy Mazzoli, composer (Olivia De Prato)
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Classical music: The Oakwood Chamber Players perform an unusual holiday program with a Wisconsin premiere twice this coming Sunday afternoon
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Oakwood Chamber Players (below) will perform a concert titled Looking Back and Forward on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016 at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
The performances will both be held at the Oakwood Village University Woods Center for Arts and Education, 6209 Mineral Point Road, on the far west side of Madison near West Towne Mall.
An innovative recipe for A Christmas Carol is a perfect addition to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Outstanding musical theater actor/singer baritone Bobby Goderich (below, seen on the right in Madison Opera‘s production of Stephen Sondheim‘s “Sweeney Todd”) will give a tour-de-force characterization of the entire cast of personalities for a rendition of Dickens’s tale in The Passion of Scrooge. A dozen musicians will give Goderich’s flair an abundant platform to show off his singing, humor, and dramatic effects.
The Passion of Scrooge by New York composer Jon Deak (below) is performed annually for holiday concerts at the Smithsonian, and the Oakwood Chamber Players are delighted to present the Wisconsin premiere of this memorable work.
Deak is known for weaving a variety of tales into “concert dramas,” turning words into music and giving instrumentalists the power to evoke speech through their sounds.
The Passion of Scrooge is laid out in two acts as the character struggles to come to grips with the past, present and future, to transform a life of avarice to one of human warmth.
Additionally, the Oakwood Chamber Players will perform music mentioned in the text of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.
When the Ghost of Christmas Past shows Scrooge a celebration hosted by his employer, Mr. Fezziwig, the fiddler plays the tune Sir Roger de Coverley. (You can hear a chamber orchestra version of the work, played by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields under Sir Neville Marriner, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
This traditional English country dance, set for string quartet by British composer Frank Bridge (below) in 1922, will provide an energetic introduction to The Passion of Scrooge. The musical pairing illustrates how creative expression can transform historic works to give fresh perspectives.
The Oakwood Chamber Players welcome guests Wes Luke, violin; Katrin Talbot, viola; Brad Townsend, bass; Mike Koszewski, percussion; Mary Ann Harr, harp; Bobby Goderich, baritone; and Kyle Knox, conductor (below).
This is the second of five concerts in the Oakwood Chamber Players 2016-2017 season series entitled Perspective. Remaining concerts will take place on Jan. 21 and 22, March 18 and 19, and May 13 and 14.
The Oakwood Chamber Players are a group of Madison-area professional musicians who have rehearsed and performed at Oakwood Village for over 30 years.
The program lasts about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Tickets can be purchased with cash or personal checks at the door: $20 for general admission, $15 for seniors and $5 for students.
Also, conductor Kyle Knox will discuss the music on Norman Gilliland’s show, The Midday, on Wisconsin Public Radio, 88.7 FM WERN, on this Friday, Nov. 25, from noon to 1 p.m.
Visit www.oakwoodchamberplayers.com for more information.
The Oakwood Chamber Players are a professional music ensemble proudly supported by Oakwood Lutheran Senior Ministries and the Oakwood Foundation.
Tags: A Christmas Carol, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Arts, baritone, bass, Broadway theatre, Cello, Chamber music, chamber orchestra, Charles Dickens, Christmas and holiday season, clarinet, Classical music, conductor, country dance, dance, Egnlish, fiddle, Frank Bridge, Ghost of Christmas Past, harp, Holiday, Horn, Jacob Stockinger, Jon Deak, Kyle Knox, Lutheran, Madison, Madison Opera, Music, Neville Marriner, New York, Norman Gilliland, Oakwood Chamber Players, Oakwood Village, Orchestra, Passion, percussion, premiere, recipe, Scrooge, singer, Smithsonian, Stephen Sondheim, String quartet, Sweeney Todd, Thanksgiving, The Midday, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, wisconsin public radio, YouTube
Classical music: Remembering The Modest Maestro. English conductor Sir Neville Marriner died this past week at 92
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By Jacob Stockinger
He played in a string quartet and a symphony orchestra before founding and directing a chamber orchestra that rose to the top ranks of the music world. Then he became a world-famous conductor of larger ensembles, including the Minnesota Orchestra.
He was Sir Neville Marriner (below, in old age), and he died at 92 on Oct. 2.
Perhaps because Marriner, who pioneered period practices on modern instruments when playing music of the Baroque and Classical eras, was famous for recording the soundtrack to the Academy Award-winning film “Amadeus,” his death was announced the same day on radio news programs – something that doesn’t happen often and speaks to his popularity and influence.
By all accounts, in the world of many egotistical maestros, Marriner remained modest. For this friendly titan, music mattered most and he was busy conducting right up until the end. Apparently, Marriner was a wonderful man to know and to work with.
Chances are good that by now you have already heard about Marriner’s death. So The Ear is offering some homages that repeat the details of his career and his passing. (Below is a photo of the young Neville Marriner.)
First are two moving testimonies from Marriner’s friend, the British critic Norman Lebrecht, published on Lebrecht’s blog Slipped Disc:
http://slippedisc.com/2016/10/sad-news-neville-marriner-is-gone-at-92/
http://slippedisc.com/2016/10/the-unforgettable-neville-marriner/
Here is the announcement of his death from the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields (heard playing the Adagio by Tomaso Albinoni in the YouTube video at the bottom), which Marriner founded and led for many years:
http://www.asmf.org/sir-neville-marriner/
Here is an exhaustive obituary from The New York Times:
And here is another obituary from The Washington Post:
Here is a good overview with some audio-visual samples, from the Deceptive Cadence blog on NPR or National Public Radio:
And here is a good summary from famed radio station WQXR-FM in New York City:
Sir Neville Marriner was a prolific recording artist, with more than 500 recordings to his credit. The Ear fondly remembers an LP that had the Serenades for Strings by the Czech composer Antonin Dvorak and the “Holberg” Suite by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, which has been reissued as a “Legends” CD by Decca. The playing was warmly heart-felt and superb.
The Ear also loved his complete set of piano concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, done with pianist Alfred Brendel.
What are your favorite Marriner recordings?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: "Amadeus", Academy Award, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Albinoni, Alfred Brendel, Arts, Baroque, Beethoven, CD, Chamber music, chamber orchestra, Classical era, Classical music, concerto, conductor, death, Decca, Dvorak, Grieg, Historically informed performance, homage, instruments, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Madison, Maestro, Minnesota Orchestra, Mozart, Music, New York City, New York Times, news, Norman Lebrecht, Norway, NPR, Orchestra, Piano, Radio, recording, Sir Neville Marriner, Slipped Disc, String quartet, symphony, symphony orchestra, The Washington Post, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, WQXR-FM, YouTube
Classical music: Autumn arrives today. Here is some Vivaldi to help mark the event
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By Jacob Stockinger
Today is the autumnal equinox.
Fall arrives at 9:21 a.m. in the Midwest.
Here is a something musical to mark it: “Autumn” from the popular Baroque work “The Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi, who described the seasons sonically, with accompanying sonnets, in a series of four violin concertos.
It features violinist Julia Fischer with members of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields chamber orchestra.
And it also features beautiful fall photographs from the National Botanical Garden of Wales.
Sure, some people will complain about another warhorse. But The Ear likes Vivaldi.
And so did Johann Sebastian Bach.
So enjoy!
Are there other pieces of classical music that embody Autumn for you?
Leave the information and a YouTube link, if possible, in the COMMENT section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Happy Fall!
Tags: Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Arts, autumn equinox, Bach, Baroque, botanical garden, Cello, Chamber music, chamber orchestra, Classical music, concerto, equinox, fall, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Julia Fischer, Music, Orchestra, photograph, sonnet, The Four Seasons, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, Violin concerto, Vivaldi, Wales, YouTube
Classical music education: Superstar violinist Joshua Bell talks about the importance of music education and reaching people in unusual places — like subways. Plus, his terrific new all-Bach CD merits your attention.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The perennially boyish Joshua Bell, now a veteran of the concert stage and recording studio for more than 25 years, is in his third season as the artistic director of the famed British chamber orchestra Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.
Sony Classical has just released his new recording – which has a program that is all by Johann Sebastian Bach (below). It features two violin concertos plus three arrangements, including the famous Chaconne from the Solo Partita No. 2, for violin and orchestra. (His previous release as conductor and concertmaster of the ASMF players was a fine reading of Symphonies Nos. 4 and 7 by Ludwig van Beethoven.)
And despite his Pretty Boy status, Bell — who has performed recitals here at the Wisconsin Union Theater and concertos with the Madison Symphony Orchestra — once again shows himself to be a gifted and serious musician. The Ear finds that he makes sense of notes that often get passed over by other violinists. Bells finds patterns in scales of climbing notes that help give the music momentum and melodic appeal. When he wants, Bell can be absolutely revelatory.
The Ear is not alone in his admiration for Bell at his best. Read the review by New York Times critic Steve Smith when Bell performed the glorious Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at this past summer’s “Mostly Mozart” Festival.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/22/arts/music/joshua-bell-plays-mostly-mozart.html?_r=0
But perhaps the achievement these days it that Bell has become an adamant advocate of music education.
In that capacity he recently was featured in a 30-minute HBO special program about master classes with 9 students.
The Ear recently heard and saw him defend music education as a means not just to raise musicians but to give student more self-esteem and self-confidence. Playing music also brings other benefits, he adds, from better grades and a better sense of teamwork to a lower likelihood of drug and alcohol abuse.
But it is best to let Joshua Bell speak for himself.
Here is a link to an interview his did with NPR or National Public Radio:
And here is a link to a television interview Bell did with reporter Jeffrey Brown of PBS’ The NewsHour as well as to the second, and final, subway appearance. (You may recall how his first anonymous appearance, at the bottom in a popular YouTube video with more than 5 million hits, made such a splash and even won the reporter a Pulitzer Prize.)
Here is a 10-question video interview Bell did with Time magazine, in which he also discusses his love of gambling, his $5-million violin and possible alternative career choices:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9grpRj-KvtU
And here is the original “anonymous” “Stop and Hear the Music” subway busking “concert” with more than 5 million hits:
Do you have any thoughts about Joshua Bell?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: Academy of St Martin in the Fields, arrangement, Arts, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Bell, chaconne, Chamber music, chamber orchestra, Classical music, concerto, HBO, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Joshua Bell, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mostly Mozart Festival, Mozart, Music, New York Times, NPR, Orchestra, Pulitzer Prize, Sinfonia Concertante, symphony, Viola, Violin, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: Opera director David Ronis of CUNY is named to succeed William Farlow. University Opera’s production of Hector Berlioz’ charming “Beatrice et Benedict” is a fine and fitting tribute to the longtime tenure of retiring director William Farlow. The last performance is tonight at 7:30 p.m.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Please note that some reviews of productions last weekend are being delayed to make room for previews of the many upcoming concerts and musical events this week.
NEWS: David Ronis (below) of Queen’s College and the Aaron Copland School of Music at the City University of New York (CUNY) has just been named as the interim one-year visiting director of University Opera, to succeed William Farlow. Here is a link to the official press release with his impressive resume on the blog Fanfare:
http://uwmadisonschoolofmusic.wordpress.com/2014/04/14/ronis_press_release/
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 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
The University Opera at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has a long history of including rarities in its productions, rarities that audiences are not likely to see elsewhere.
For his farewell offering as he retires at the end of this academic year, director William Farlow (below, in a photo by Katherine Esposito) has put on a particularly enterprising novelty. That “Beatrice et Benedict: — is the last and most successful of the three operas by the early French Romantic composer Hector Berlioz.
Berlioz (below) wrote the libretto as well as the music, freely adapting his stripped-down version from the play “Much Ado About Nothing by” Shakespeare — an author whose works he adored. Berlioz cast it in the form of the opéra comique, combining set-piece musical numbers with spoken dialogue. It was the same form used not only by Jacques Offenbach, but also by Georges Bizet for his “Carmen.” Nevertheless, Berlioz infused the form with his own individual wit, imagination, and personality. The score is full of absolutely beautiful music, with a dip into satire as well. (You can hear the opera’s Overture performed by Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields at Carnegie Hall in You Tube video at the bottom.)
The UW Opera presented this opera before, in 1988, in the days of Karlos Moser, in a semi-staged concert performance. This time, Farlow has given it a complete staging, employing mostly exemplars of the gifted vocal talent the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music has been drawing lately.
(The last of three performances is tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Music Hall at the foot of Bascom Hill.)
In the performance I attended Sunday night, the feuding lovers, the two title characters, Shakespeare’s Beatrice and Benedick, were sung by the agile soprano Lindsay Metzger and high tenor Daniel López-Matthews. (Below right and left, respectively, in a photo by Max Wendt). The other pair of lovers, Hero and Claudio, were portrayed by the powerfully voiced soprano Anna Whiteway and tenor Jordan Wilson. The local commander, Don Pedro, was taken by bass Erik Larson.
To these the cast added two veterans. Edgewood College teacher and mezzo-soprano Kathleen Otterson (below) is a long-standing veteran of UW Opera and Madison music-making, always welcome any time, in anything, including the role here of Ursula, Hero’s friend. And baritone Benjamin Schultz, a returned alumnus, sang the comic role that Berlioz invented, Somarone, as a caricature of the pompous rivals and academics who were the composer’s life-long opposition.
Following a frequent practice when this opera is presented outside of France, the vocal numbers were sung in the original French, while the revised dialogue was given in English. It’s a workable solution to a problem for singers who can sing in French, but really can’t speak it well. Fine as the singing was, it was clear that they were not uniformly comfortable singing French.
Still, many moments were truly gorgeous, notably the Hero-Ursula duet in Act I, and the ladies’ trio in Act II, as well as the offstage wedding chorus.
By and large, Farlow’s stage direction was careful: in the vocal set pieces often relatively static, though, that was certainly preferable to too much action. In the case of Somarone’s Act I scene, Schulz was made to go much too far beyond satire, into exaggerated silliness. And Beatrice’s over-acting in Act I really compromised the character’s self-assured sassiness before her “fall.”
Still, even with so much of the dueling wordplay of Shakespeare’s original removed, Metzger and López-Matthews engaged well as the couple who had to be tricked into discovering that their outward hostility covered a profound attraction.
A particular asset was the pit orchestra that conductor James Smith (below) was able to work up very successfully to Berlioz’s tricky requirements.
William Farlow departs leaving us with many debts to him, including this demonstration that Berlioz’s gem of a comic opera really deserves more regular presentation.
Tags: Aaron Copland School of Music, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, American Record Guide, Arts, Bascom Hill, Beatrice, Beatrice et Benedict, Berlioz, Carnegie Hall, City University of New York, Classical music, Early music, Edgewood College, France, Georges Bizet, Hector Berlioz, Jacob Stockinger, James Smith, Kathleen Otterson, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, Mezzo-soprano, Much Ado About Nothing, Neville Marriner, opera, Orchestra, Romantic, Romanticism, soprano, sorano, tenor, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, William Farlow, William Shakespeare, YouTube
Classical music: American violinist Joshua Bell is the new concertmaster, conductor and music director of The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields chamber orchestra. And his first release for Sony Classical features outstanding readings of two Beethoven symphonies.
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By Jacob Stockinger
It is time to play some more catch-up.
This past season was so busy with local events that I often had to overlook other important or interesting news in the world of classical music.
One of them us that the photogenic American violinist Joshua Bell (below) – himself a heart-throb superstar who always sells out the house – started his tenure as the new music director, concertmaster and conductor of the British chamber music orchestra The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.
Bell took his first chair and took up his baton last September with an initial contract of three years. He succeeds the American pianist Murray Perahia, who resides in London and led the group from 2000 to 2010.
Bell is the latest conductor to take over the ASMF group (below) from others director including Iona Brown, Kenneth Sillito and the famous founder Sir Neville Mariner, who made more than 500 recordings with the ASMF.
Marriner, by the way, is now 89 but is still the Life Director of ASMF, which gave its inaugural concert in 1959 with 12 players, all male.
Anyway, The Ear finds the first release by Bell and ASMF extremely satisfying.
Contrary to what you might expect, the new recording does NOT feature a violin concerto as a chance for Bell to show case his talents.
Instead it offers two Beethoven symphonies: the famous one is No. 7, said to be the favorite of many Beethoven-philes, including The Ear. (The famous second movement, done by Bell and the ASMF, is in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
The release couples that famous work with the Symphony No. 4, which is underappreciated and under-performed, coming in between the famous Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” and the most famous No. 5.
In both cases, Bell turns in exacting, if mainstream rather than revolutionary, performances full of balance, energy, sharp attacks and releases and precise rhythms as well as great singing lyricism – all the qualities one expects from great violin or string playing. Plus, I like the chamber scale and the emphasis on counterpoint and dialogue.
And from what my ears tell me, Bell favors brisk rhythms that keep you engaged, but they are not rushed.
All in all, I find it a very listenable album, one I have returned to again and again – and expect you will too.
Are these definitive performances? Well, The Ear long ago gave up on the idea of a definitive performance, which is and should be an impossibility in music and in art in general. Definitiveness would kill off the very qualities of originality and liveliness we most value in art.
But suffice it to say that these performance by Joshua Bell and The Academy strike me as among the most appealing you will find.
You have fine but never fussy interpretations of a well-picked program in which Beethoven (below) seems allowed to speak for himself in the both extroverted and introspective moods represented by these two contrasting symphonies And the sound engineering is terrific in providing transparency and scale.
All in all, I would not be surprised to see this recording nominated for a Grammy or other international awards.
And I also suspect The Academy made a very smart and populist choice in bringing such a high-profile but versatile and seemingly unpretentious player as Joshua Bell – who wrote his own liner notes about the music and these performances as well as his new role as the leader of ASMF. He may well attract younger audiences and inexperienced audiences — which all classical music groups are now trying to do.
Here is a link to the group’s website: http://www.asmf.org
And here is a link to an essay a by Joshua Bell on why classical music should not be stuffy. It is a fine read:
http://bigthink.com/ideas/49319
And here is an interview with Joshua Bell did NPR’s “Deceptive Cadence” blog about his new role (below):
Do you have an opinion about Joshua Bell?
Do you have a favorite Beethoven symphony and Beethoven interpreter?
And do you have a favorite recording by ASMF (I still treasure the now out-of-print recording of Dvorak’s lovely Serenade for Strings coupled with Grieg’s charming suite “In Holberg’s Time.”)
The Ear wants to hear.
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