The Well-Tempered Ear
Here is a collaborative obituary for music critic, radio host, performer and gay pioneer Jess Anderson, who died in January at 85
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By Jacob Stockinger
In late January of this year, Jess Anderson (below) — a longtime friend, devoted musician and respected music critic – died at 85.
The Ear promised then that when more was known or written, it would be posted on this blog.
That time has come.
Jess was a polymath, a Renaissance Man, as the comments below attest to time and again.
For the past several years, he suffered from advancing dementia and moved from his home of 56 years to an assisted living facility. He had contracted COVID-19, but died from a severe fall from which he never regained consciousness.
Jess did not write his own obituary and he had no family member to do it. So a close friend – Ed Wegert (below) – invited several of the people who knew Jess and worked with him, to co-author a collaborative obituary. We are all grateful to Ed for the effort the obituary took and for his caring for Jess in his final years.
In addition, the obituary has some wonderful, not-to-be-overlooked photos of Jess young and old, at home, with friends, sitting at the piano and at his custom-built harpsichord.
It appears in the March issue of Our Lives, a free statewide LGBTQ magazine that is distributed through grocery stores and other retail outlets as well as free subscriptions. Here is a link to the magazine’s home webpage for details about it: https://ourliveswisconsin.com.
That Jess was an exceptional and multi-talented person is obvious even from the distinguished names of the accomplished people who contributed to the obituary:
They include:
Chester Biscardi (below), who is an acclaimed prize-winning composer, UW-Madison graduate, composer and teacher of composition at Sarah Lawrence College.
John Harbison (below), the MacArthur “genius grant” recipient and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer who teaches at MIT and co-directs the nearby Token Creek Chamber Music Festival in the summer.
Rose Mary Harbison (below), who attended the UW-Madison with Jess and became a professional performing and teaching violinist who co-directs the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival.
Steve Miller (below), a close friend who became a bookmaker and is now a professor at the University of Alabama.
The Ear, who knew Jess over many decades, was also invited to contribute.
Here is a link to the joint obituary in Our Lives magazine, a free LGBTQ periodical that you can find in local grocery store and other retail outlets: https://ourliveswisconsin.com/article/remembering-jess-anderson/?fbclid=IwAR027dzv2YqRUNlYF1cF6JyXnEcQxAwcprPYbtBQCs3rYt0Nu847W_xbjpk
Feel free to leave your own thoughts about and memories of Jess in the comment section.
It also seems a fitting tribute to play the final chorus from The St. John Passion of Johann Sebastian Bach. You can hear it in the YouTube video below. It is, if memory serves me well, the same piece of sublime music that Jess played when he signed off from hosting his Sunday morning early music show for many years on WORT-FM 89.9.
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Here are the Top 10 online concerts to stream in March, according to critics for the New York Times
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ALERT: The online live-streamed concert by the UW-Madison’s Pro Arte Quartet — scheduled for this Friday night, March 5 — in the all-Beethoven cycle of string quartets has been canceled and postponed until next year. The Friday, April 9 installment of the Beethoven cycle will be held as Installment 7 instead of 8.
By Jacob Stockinger
Classical music critics of The New York Times have once again picked their Top 10 online concerts for the month of March.
The Ear has found such lists helpful for watching and hearing, but also informative to read, if you don’t actually “attend” the concert.
If you have read these lists before, you will see that this one is typical.
It offers lots of links with background about the works and performers; concert times (Eastern); and how long the online version is accessible.
Many of the performers will not be familiar to you but others – such as pianist Mitsuko Uchida (below, in a photo by Hiroyuki Ito for the Times), who will perform an all-Schubert recital, will be very familiar.
But the critics once again emphasize new music and even several world premieres – including one by Richard Danielpour — and a path-breaking but only recently recorded live performance of the 1920 opera “Die Tote Stadt” (The Dead City) by long-neglected composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold (below), who is best known for his Hollywood movie scores but who also wrote compelling classical concert hall music. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear soprano Renée Fleming sing “Marietta’s Song.’)
But some works that are more familiar by more standard composers – including Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Ravel and Copland – are also included.
The Times critics have also successfully tried to shine a spotlight on Black composers and Black performers, such as the clarinetist and music educator Anthony McGill (below top), who will perform a clarinet quintet by composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (below) and music in the setting of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
No purists, the critics also suggest famous oboe and clarinet works in transcriptions for the saxophone by composer-saxophonist Steven Banks (below).
Also featured is a mixed media performance of words and music coordinated by the award-winning Nigerian-American novelist, essayist and photographer Teju Cole (below), whose writings and photos are irresistible to The Ear.
Here is a link to the story in the Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/25/arts/music/classical-music-streaming-concerts.html
Are there other online concerts in March – local, regional, national or international – that you recommend in addition to the events listed in the Times?
The Ear wants to hear.
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The third LunART Festival celebrates Black women in the arts with FREE streaming concerts and events this Saturday night, Oct. 10, and next Saturday night, Oct. 17
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post:
The LunART Festival is back for its third season, continuing its mission to support, inspire, promote and celebrate women in the arts, with a special presentation, “Human Family,” available via two FREE video livestreams on LunART’s website and Facebook page on Saturday, Oct. 10, and Saturday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. CDT.
The events will be co-hosted by LunART founder and flutist Iva Ugrcic (below top), and by vocalist and art administrator Deja Mason (below bottom).
In response to the most recent and ongoing racial inequality and in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, LunART will present the “Human Family” virtual festival featuring art created by Black women.
These FREE streamed events will feature a palette of emerging and established artists drawn from Madison’s rich arts scene, while also celebrating those who have paved the way for generations to come.
Radical inclusivity has been part of LunART’s mission from its conception. While women have historically been underrepresented in the arts, we cannot deny that there are segments of women that have been doubly marginalized, including women of color, women in the LGBTQIA+ community, older women and women with disabilities.
Part of creating a more just, inclusive world means recognizing that even within the space of underrepresentation, there remain disparities.
Works from the past include Florence Price’s “Five Folksongs of Counterpoint” for string quartet (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom), which is deeply rooted in the African-American spiritual tradition; Margaret Bonds’ Spiritual Suite for solo piano, written in a neo-Romantic classical style infused by jazz harmonies and rhythms; Afro-American Suite for flute, cello and piano by Undine Smith Moore, based on authentic spiritual songs used to express and record everyday life of slaves in America.
Florence Price (below), Margaret Bonds and Undine Smith Moore all fought against both racial and gender discrimination throughout their lives. To be a woman composing classical music in the mid-20th century was unusual; to be a Black woman composer was even more so. And yet, these women forged ahead, making history and paving the way for the women who would follow them.
Along with these pioneers of the past, LunART will also celebrate contemporary Black women who are making a big impact in the world of arts, culture, advocacy and activism, following the footsteps of their predecessors.
“Voodoo Dolls” for string quartet by Jessie Montgomery (below in a photo by Jiyang Chen) is influenced by West African drumming patterns that are interwoven with lyrical motifs in the improvisatory style.
“Fanmi Imen,” a work for flute and piano by Valerie Coleman (below) — LunART’s 2019 Composer-in-Residence) — is based on a powerful poem by Maya Angelou, “Human Family.” Angelou calls for peace and unity, while acknowledging differences due to ethnic and cultural background in her famous refrain: “we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.”
The chamber music will be performed by Madison’s finest musicians: Isabella Lippi, Karl Lavine, Peter Miliczky, Magdalena Sas, Marie Pauls, Satoko Hayami, Yana Avedyan and Iva Ugrcic.
Celebrating women’s creativity across many art forms has been a core component of LunART’s artistic mission from its inception, and this year is no exception. While music will create a sound painting, “Human Family” will also feature women who use words and movement to tell their story.
Enter a world of phenomenal talent with emerging singer-songwriters Danielle Crim and Akornefa Akyea performing their most recent original songs; magically moving poems and spoken-word pieces by Jamie Dawson and Shasparay Lighteard; and join dancer and choreographer Kimi Evelyn in self-exploration of what happens when the body and the soul are left in complete solitude through her powerful piece “Body, Sweet Home.”
To commemorate the Festival events, LunART has commissioned digital artwork (below) by local artist and activist Amira Caire, which is inspired by the “Human Family” concept. This stunning piece of art will be available for purchase in printed form on LunART’s website.
We are calling our community to eat local, drink local and support local. By supporting LunART, you are also supporting local nonprofits and small businesses.
This project would not be possible without the generosity of Madison’s creative media agency Microtone Media, The Piano Gal Shop from Sun Prairie, Dane Arts and a grant from the Madison Arts Commission at https://www.cityofmadison.com/dpced/planning/madison-arts-commission/1580/, with the additional funds from the Wisconsin Arts Board.
Events are free and available for anyone to watch online, and donations are welcomed. For more details about the artists, events, programs and links, and donation methods, please visit https://www.lunartfestival.org
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New York Times music critics pick 10 MUST-HEAR online virtual classical concerts to stream for October
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ALERT: Tonight’s concert by the choral group Roomful of Teeth for the Wisconsin Union Theater at the UW-Madison’s Hamel Music Center has been canceled and postponed indefinitely.
By Jacob Stockinger
Increasingly the coronavirus pandemic seems surging out of control. So it comes as no surprise that also more and more concerts of classical music are taking place virtually and online.
There are many ways to choose among local, regional, national and international concerts.
But one good guide was published this last week and featured the choice of must-hear classical concerts by critics for The New York Times.
It is an interesting and varied selection, and includes times, links and brief descriptions.
It features concerts that emphasize Black composers such as Florence Price (below top) and women composers. It covers many genres from a solo piano recital by Jeremy Denk (below bottom) – who is supposed to perform here on Dec. 11 at the Wisconsin Union Theater – to chamber music, vocal music, orchestral concerts and operas.
Curiously, there is quite bit of new music but little early music, either Renaissance or Baroque. Perhaps more will appear around the holiday times, when that music is part of the traditional holiday celebrations.
You will find contemporary composers but also lots of certified, tried-and-true classics and masterworks.
Some are one-day only events but many run from a week through a month.
Here is a link to the story. PLEASE NOTE THAT TIMES ARE ALL EASTERN: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/arts/music/classical-music-stream.html
Please let The Ear know if you like this kind of listing and find it useful.
And please feel free to leave in the comment section other guides or events that the public should know about.
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Classical music: FREE percussion, brass and wind concerts are featured this week at the UW-Madison
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By Jacob Stockinger
In the week before Spring Break, the Mead Witter School of music at the UW-Madison will feature FREE concerts of percussion, brass and wind music.
TUESDAY, MARCH 10
At 7:30 p.m. in the Collins Recital Hall of the new Hamel Music Center, 740 University Ave., the percussion department will give a FREE recital. No program is listed.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11
At 7:30 p.m. in Collins Recital Hall, guest percussionist-composer Mark Stone (below) will give a FREE solo recital of original compositions for mbira and gyil.
The program will include music for the newly invented array mbira, an American-made 120 key lamellaphone. Stone will also share music composed for the Dagara gyil, a xylophone from Ghana as well as mbira traditions of South Africa and Uganda.
Also on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, the acclaimed Wisconsin Brass Quintet will give a FREE faculty recital.
The program is:
Johann Sebastian Bach – Contrapunctus IV from “Die Kunst Der Fuge” (The Art of Fugue). You can hear Canadian Brass perform it in the YouTube video at the bottom.
Andre Lafosse – “Suite Impromptu”
Werner Pirchner – “L’Homme au marteau dans la poche” (Man With a Hammer in His Pocket)
Rich Shemaria – “Pandora’s Magic Castle”
Per Nørgård – “Vision”
The 2019-2020 Wisconsin Brass Quintet (below) is: Jean Laurenz and Gilson Silva, trumpets; Daniel Grabois, horn; Mark Hetzler, trombone; and Tom Curry, tuba.
Please note: In spring 2020, Mark Hetzler will be on sabbatical. His replacement will be Will Porter (below), instructor of trombone at Eastern Illinois University . Read about Porter here
THURSDAY MARCH 12
At 7:30 p.m. in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, the UW Wind Ensemble will give a FREE concert.
The ensemble will perform under the batons of director Scott Teeple (below) and guest conductor Ross Wolf.
The program is:
Frank Ticheli: “Apollo Unleashed” from Symphony No. 2
Ching–chu Hu: In Memory Of…*
With special guest The Hunt Quartet
*World Premiere Performance/UW Band Commissioning Member
Morten Larudisen/Reynolds: “Contre Qui, Rose”
Beverly Taylor, guest conductor.
Jodie Blackshaw: Symphony, “Leunig’s Prayer Book”*
*Wisconsin Premiere
Tags: #AfricanMusic, #American-made, #AndreLafosse, #ArtofFugue, #BaroqueMusic, #BeverlyTaylor, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrassMusic, #BrassQuintet, #CanadianBrass, #ChamberMusic, #Ching-chuHu, #ChoralMusic, #CollinsRecitalHall, #CommissionedMusic, #ConcertProgram, #CriticalAcclaim, #DanielGrabois, #EasternIllinoisUniversity, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyConcert, #FacultyMember, #FrankTicheli, #FrenchHorn, #GilsonSilva, #GuestArtist, #GyilMusic, #HamelMusicCenter, #HornMusic, #HuntQuartet, #InMemoryof, #JacobStockinger, #JeanLaurenz, #JodieBlackshaw, #JohannSebastianBach, #MarkHetzler, #MarkStone, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MortenLauridsen, #PercussionMusic, #PerNørgård, #PrayerBook, #RichShemaria, #RossWolf, #ScottTeeple, #SouthAfrica, #SpringBreak, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #TomCurry, #TromboneMusic, #TrumpetMusic, #TubaMusic, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWBand, #UWWindEnsemble, #VocalMusic, #WernerPirchner, #WillPorter, #WindMusic, #WisconsinBrassQuintet, #WisconsinPremiere, #WorldPremiere, #YouTubevideo, acclaim, Africa, African, American, and, Andre Lafosse, Apollo, array, Art of Fugue, artist, Arts, audience, Bach, band, Baroque, baton, Beverly Taylor, blog, Book, brass, Brass quintet, Canadian Brass, castle, Chamber music, Ching-chu Hu, choral music, Classical music, classicalmusic, Collins Recital Hall, commission, commissioned music, composer, Concert, conductor, Contrapunctus, counterpoint, Dagara, Daniel Grabois, department, director, Early music, Eastern Illinois University, ensemble, Facebook, faculty, Frank Ticheli, free, French horn, fugue, Ghana, Gilson Silva, Grabois, guest, guest artist, gyil, Hamel Music Center, hammer, Horn, Hunt Quartet, impromptu, In memory of, invented, Jacob Stockinger, Jean Laurenz, Jodie Blackshaw, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lafosse, lamellaphone, Madison, magic, man, Mark Hetzler, Mark Stone, mbira, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, memory, Morten Lauridsen, Music, new, note, Orchestra, Pandora, Per Norgard, percussion, percussionist, perform, performer, Pirchner, pocket, post, posting, prayer, prayer book, professor, program, public, Quartet, quintet, recital, replacement, Rich Shemaria, rose, Ross Wolf, sabbatical, Scott Teeple, Shemaria, solo, South Africa, Spring Break, String quartet, Student, Suite, symphony, Taylor, The Ear, Ticheli, Tom Curry, tradition, Trombone, trombonist, Trumpet, Tuba, Uganda, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, unleashed, UW, UW Band, UW Wind Ensemble, UW-Madison, Viola, Violin, vision, vocal music, Werner Pirchner, Will Porter, Wind, wind music, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Brass Quintet, Wisconsin Premiere, world premiere, xylophone, YouTube
Classical music: A ticket to the concert here by the Imani Winds is an ideal gift to mark the African-American holiday Kwanzaa
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By Jacob Stockinger
The African-American and Pan-African harvest and heritage holiday of Kwanzaa started Wednesday and runs through Jan. 1.
Many people know the name of the events that mark the African Diaspora.
But do you know more about the holiday itself?
Do you know the seven principles of Kwanzaa?
Do you know the history and person behind the celebration, which started the United States in 1966?
Here is a link to a comprehensive view of Kwanzaa in Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa
If you are looking for a suitable gift to give during Kwanzaa, it would be hard to beat tickets to the concert by the Imani Winds (below) on Friday, Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Shannon Hall at the Wisconsin Union Theater.
The Imani Winds have been nominated for a Grammy Award, and have established a reputation for world music and commissioning new works.
For more information about the group, the performers, ticket prices and how to buy tickets, go to: https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/imani-winds/
The group’s name comes from a principle of Kwanzaa — namely, faith. And one member, Valerie Coleman, composed a signature piece based on the first principle of Kwanzaa – Umoji, or Unity. You can hear that work in the YouTube video at the bottom.
Then in June, from June 6 to June 9, Valerie Coleman (below) returns to Madison as the Composer-in-Residence for the second annual LunArt Festival — a cultural and all-women festival devoted to performers, composers, writers and artists.
Tags: #African-AmericanMusic, #AfricanDiaspora, #AfricanHeritage, #AfricanHoliday, #All-Female, #BassoonMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ClarinetMusic, #CommissionedMusic, #Composer-in-Residence, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FluteMusic, #GrammyAward, #HolidayGift, #HolidaySeason, #HolidayShopping, #HornMusic, #ImaniWinds, #LunARTFestival, #NewMusic, #OboeMusic, #Pan-Africa, #ShannonHall, #UnitedStates, #ValerieColeman, #Wikipediaentry, #WindEnsemble, #WindMusic, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WorldMusic, Africa, African American, African diaspora, all-women, Arts, audience, Bassoon, blog, celebration, Chamber music, Classical music, commission, Compact Disc, composer, diaspora, ensemble, events, Facebook, faith, festival, flute, gift, Grammy Award, Grammy nomination, harvest, heritage, Holiday, Horn, ideal, Imani Winds, Jacob Stockinger, January, Kwanzaa, like, link, LunART Festival, Madison, Music, name, New Music, NPR, Oboe, person, post, posting, principle, Shannon Hall, share, Shopping, tag, United States, unity, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, VALERIE COLEMAN, Wednesday, Wikipedia, wind music, winds, Wisconsin Union Theater, women, World music, YouTube
Classical music: Is Royal Wedding cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason the next Yo-Yo Ma?
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By Jacob Stockinger
If you watched the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and American Meghan Markle – who are now known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – you were probably impressed by many things.
Not the least of them was the performance by the young Afro-British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, who performed three pieces: “After a Dream” by Gabriel Faure; “Ave Maria” by Franz Schubert; and “Sicilienne” (an ancient dance step) by Maria Theresia von Paradis.
The young player acquitted himself just fine, despite the pressure of the event, with its avid public interest in the United Kingdom and a worldwide TV viewership of 2 billion.
But that is to be expected. He is no ordinary teenage cellist. Now 19, he was named BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2016 — the first black musician of African background to be awarded the honor since it started in 1938. A native of Nottingham, even as he pursues a busy concert and recording schedule, he continues his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
So it was with great anticipation that The Ear listened to “Inspiration,” Kanneh-Mason’s new recording from Decca Records, which is already a bestseller on Amazon.com and elsewhere, and has topped the U.S. pop charts. (There are also many performances by him on YouTube.)
Unfortunately, The Ear was disappointed by the mixed results.
The cellist’s playing is certainly impressive for its technique and tone. But in every piece, he is joined by the City of Birmingham Orchestra or its cello section. The collaboration works exceptionally well with the Cello Concerto No. 1 by Dmitri Shostakovich.
However, so many of the other works seem too orchestrated and overly arranged. So much of the music becomes thick and muddy, just too stringy. The Ear wanted to hear more of the young cellist and less of the backup band.
One also has to wonder if the recording benefits from being a mixed album with a program so full of crossovers, perhaps for commercial reasons and perhaps to reach a young audience. There is a klezmer piece, “Evening of the Roses” as well as a reggae piece, “No Woman, No Cry” by Bob Marley and the famous song “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen.
In addition, there are the familiar “The Swan” from “The Carnival of the Animals” by Camille Saint-Saens and two pieces by the inspiring cellist referred to in the title of the recording, Pablo (or Pau in Catalan) Casals (below).
A great humanist and champion of democracy who spent most of his career in exile from dictator Franco’s Spain, Casals used the solo “The Birds” as a signature encore. Played solo, it is a poignant piece — just as Yo-Yo Ma played it as an encore at the BBC Proms, which is also on YouTube). But here it simply loses its simplicity and seems overwhelmed.
Clearly, Sheku Kanneh-Mason is a musician of great accomplishment and even greater promise who couldn’t have wished for better publicity to launch a big career than he received from the royal wedding. He handles celebrity well and seems a star in the making, possibly even the next Yo-Yo Ma, who has also done his share of film scores and pop transcriptions
But when it comes to the recording studio, a smaller scale would be better. Sometimes less is more, and this is one of those times. (Listen to his beautiful solo playing and his comments in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
To take the full measure of his musicianship, The Ear is anxious to hear Kanneh-Mason in solo suites by Johann Sebastian Bach and concertos by Antonio Vivaldi; in sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert and Johannes Brahms; in concertos by Antonin Dvorak and Edward Elgar; and in much more standard repertory that allows comparison and is less gimmicky.
Did you hear Sheku Kanneh-Mason’s live performance at the royal wedding? What did you think?
And if you have heard his latest recording, what do you think of that?
Do you think Sheku Kanne-Mason is the next Yo-Yo Ma?
The Ear wants to hear.
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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
Tags: #AfricanImmigration, #AmericanImmigration, #ArchdukeTrio, #AsianImmigration, #CarlosGuastavino, #ChoralArtsSocietyChorale, #CommunityChorus, #EllisIsland, #EuropeanImmigration, #FirstUnitarianSocietyofMadison, #HeinrichIsaac, #IrvingBerlin, #JohannesBrahms, #LeonardBernstein, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #LutheranChurch, #LutheranReligion, #MadisonAreaYouthChamberOrchestra, #MIddleEast, #MikkoRankinUtevsky, #MosaicChamberPlayers, #PianoTrio, #RonaldPerera, #StatueofLiberty, #SweetHoneyintheRock, #SydneyGuillaume, #TheGoldenDoor, #TrinityLutheranChurch, #UnitedStates, #YsayeBarnwell, Activism, Africa, Archduke Trio, archive, Arts, Asia, Babylon, Baroque, Beethoven, Brahms, Cantata, cash, Cello, Chamber music, check, Choral Arts Society Chorale, choral music, chorus, Classical music, climate, community, composer, culture, Ellis Island, Europe, famous, Home, immigration, Irving Berlin, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, Leonard Bernstein, liberty, longing, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Area Youth Chamber Orchestra, Middle East, Mosaic Chamber Players, Music, Palestrina, Piano, Piano Trio, poem, Poetry, Politics, Ronald Perera, Season, statue, Statue of Liberty, stranger, text, theme, timely, Trinity, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: Bellini’s opera “Norma” opens the new season of “Live From the Met in HD” at movie theaters this Saturday and Wednesday
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By Jacob Stockinger
At a time when so many classical music programs are striving desperately for commercial success and popularity with the public, one program stands out as phenomenally successful: The Metropolitan Opera’s “Live From the Met in HD” broadcasts.
Those broadcasts reach hundreds of cinemas around the world in North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Here is a list of the international showings:
http://www.metopera.org/season/in-cinemas/international-locations/
The new season of the live broadcasts by the Metropolitan Opera (below) opens this Saturday.
The broadcasts in Madison will take place at two Marcus Corporation cinemas: at the Point Cinemas on the far west side and the Palace Cinemas in Sun Prairie on the far east side.
The first of 10 operas in the season is a new production of Vincenzo Bellini’s Druid-based bel canto opera “Norma.”
The outstanding cast of singers and actors includes Sondra Radvanovsky, Joseph Callejo and Joyce DiDonato. Carlo Rizzi is the conductor. (You can hear a preview of this production in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The running time is 3 hours 30 minutes.
Tickets are $18.
Here is a season trailer:
The live performance is this Saturday, Oct. 7, at 11:55 a.m.:
http://www.marcustheatres.com/movies/met-norma-live
Encore presentations and rebroadcast are on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 1 pm. and 6:30 p.m.:
http://www.marcustheatres.com/movies/met-norma-encore
For this production of “Norma,” here are:
A link to a synopsis and cast list:
http://www.metopera.org/Season/In-Cinemas/SynopsisCast/norma/?performanceNumber=14827
Links to production notes and program notes:
http://www.metopera.org/Season/2017-18-Season/norma-bellini-tickets/
http://www.metopera.org/metoperafiles/season/2017-18/operas/norma/programs/100717%20Norma.pdf
Much of the upcoming season features standard tried-and-true operas by Mozart (“The Magic Flute” and “Cosi fan tutti“); Puccini (“Tosca” and “La Bohème”); Verdi (“Luisa Miller”)’ Rossini (“Semiramide”) and Donizetti (“The Elixir of Love”). But there is also a contemporary work, “The Exterminating Angel,” by Thomas Adès and a holiday production of Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel.”
What do you think of the “Live From the Met” screenings?
What do you think most makes them so successful? The quality of the productions? The affordable price? The accessibility?
And what do you think of the choice of operas in the new season?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: accessible, affordable, Africa, angel, Arts, Asia, bel canto, Bellini, Broadcast, Carlo Rizzi, cast, choral music, cinema, Classical music, commercial, conductor, contemporary, Cosi fan tutte, Donizetti, Druid, Elixir of Love, encore, Europe, Exterminating Angel, Hansel and Gretel, HD, High definition, Holiday, Humperdinck, international, Jacob Stockinger, Joseph Callejo, Joyce DiDonato, La bohème, live, Live From The Met in HD, Luisa Miller, Madison, Magic Flute, Marcus Corporation, Met, Metropolitan Opera, movie, Mozart, Music, New York City, Norma, North America, notes, opera, Orchestra, palace, Palace Cinema, Point Cinemas, popular, popularity, price, production, program, quality, rebroadcast, Rossini, Season, Sermiramide, Sondra Radvanovsky, South America, success, Sun Prairie, theater, theatre, Those Adès, Tosca, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Verdi, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, world, YouTube
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The Well-Tempered Ear 
Live music continues its comeback from the pandemic. Today is Make Music Madison with free concerts citywide of many kinds of music. Here are guides with details
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By Jacob Stockinger
Live music continues to make its comeback from the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The past week saw live outdoor concerts by Con Vivo, the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society and the Middleton Community Orchestra.
Today – Monday, June 21 –is Make Music Madison 2021.
It is part of an annual worldwide phenomenon that started in France in 1982. It has since spread globally and is now celebrated in more than 1,000 cities in 120 countries.
Yet in the U.S., Wisconsin is one of only five states that celebrate Make Music Day statewide. The other states are Connecticut, Hawaii, New Mexico and Vermont. In there U.S., more than 100 cities will take part in presenting free outdoor concerts. Globally, the audience will be in the millions.
The day is intended to be a way to celebrate the annual Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. Technically, the solstice occurred in Wisconsin last night, on Father’s Day, at 10:32 p.m. CDT.
But The Ear is a forgiving kind. This will be the first full day of summer, so the spirit of the celebration lives on despite the calendar.
You can see – the composer Igor Stravinsky advised listening with your eyes open – and hear 38 different kinds of music. The choices include blues, bluegrass, Celtic, roots music, gospel, rock, jazz, classical, folk, African music, Asian music, world music, children’s music (see the YouTube video at the bottom) and much more. It will be performed by students and teachers, amateurs and professionals, individuals and groups.
Here is a link to a press release about the overall event: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/make-music-day-2021-announces-updated-schedule-of-events-301304107.html
And here is a link to the global home website — with more background information and a live-stream video of a gong tribute to the who died of COVID — about the festival: https://www.makemusicday.org
The local events will take place from 5 a.m. to midnight. All are open to the public without admission, and safety protocols will be observed.
Here is a guide to local events that allow you to search particulars of the celebration by area of the city, genre of music, performers, venues and times. If you are a classical fan, in The Ear’s experience you might want to pay special attention to Metcalfe’s market in the Hilldale mall.
Here is a link to the home webpage of Make Music Madison: https://www.makemusicmadison.org
Here is a link to the event calendar with maps and schedules as well as alternative plans in case of rain and various menus for searching: https://www.makemusicmadison.org/listings/
Happy listening!
In the Comment section, please leave your observations and suggestions or advice about the quality and success of the festival and the specific events you attended.
The Ear wants to hear.
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