The Well-Tempered Ear
The New York Times names the top 25 classical recordings of 2020 and includes sample tracks
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FOWARD A LINK TO IT or SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
What did the holidays bring you?
Did Hanukkah, Christmas or Kwanzaa bring you a gift card?
A subscription to a streaming service?
Maybe some cash?
Or maybe you just want to hear some new music or new musicians or new interpretations of old classics?
Every year, the music critics of The New York Times list their top 25 recordings of the past year. Plus at the end of the story, the newspaper offers a sample track from each recording to give you even more guidance.
This year is no exception (below).
In fact, the listing might be even more welcome this year, given the coronavirus pandemic with the lack of live concerts and the isolation and self-quarantine that have ensued.
The Ear hasn’t heard all of the picks or even the majority of them. But the ones he has heard are indeed outstanding. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear a sample of the outstanding Rameau-Debussy recital by the acclaimed Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olafssen, who scored major successes with recent albums of Philip Glass and Johann Sebastian Bach.)
Here is a link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/17/arts/music/best-classical-music.html
Of course not all critics agree.
The Ear has already listed the nominations for the Grammy Awards (a link is below), and more critics’ picks will be featured in coming days.
You should also notice that a recording of Ethel Smyth’s “The Prison” — featuring soprano Sarah Brailey (below), a graduate student at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music and a co-founder of Just Bach — is on the Times’ list as well as on the list of Grammy nominations.
What new recordings – or even old recordings — would you recommend?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AlexanderScriabin, #AmazonMusic, #AmericanJazz, #AnnaThorvaldsdottir, #AnthonyTommasini, #AntoineForqueray, #ArchivMusic, #AshFure, #AvieRecords, #BangonaCan, #BarnesandNoble, #BaroqueDance, #BaroqueMusic, #BaroqueOpera, #BavarianRadioSymphoyOrchestra, #BenjaminGrosvenor, #BlackAmericans, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CarolinWidmann, #CelloSuites, #ChamberMusic, #ChandosRecords, #ChoralMusic, #ChristmasHoliday, #ClaudeDebussy, #CorinnadaFonseca-Wollheim, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #DanillTrifonov, #DavidGreilsammer, #DavidHertzberg, #DeccaRecords, #DeutscheGrammophon, #DriftMultiply, #DukeEllington, #ElimChan, #EriksEsenvalds, #EthelSmyth, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FairyTale, #FergusonMissouri, #FranzSchubert, #FredericChopin, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GeorgeLewis, #GiftCard, #GraduateStudent, #GrammyAward, #GrammyAwards, #HermannScherchen, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #HolidayGift, #HolidayGiftGuide, #IgorStravinsky, #InternationalContemporaryEnsemble, #JacobStockinger, #JanLadislavDussek, #Jean-EfflamBavouzet, #Jean-FéryRebel, #Jean-PhilippeRameau, #JohannNepomukHummel, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnnyGandelsman, #JosephC.PhillipsJr., #JosephWölfl, #JoshuaBarone, #JoyceDiDonato, #JustBach, #KarimSulayman, #KirillGerstein, #LiliBoulanger, #LincolnCenter, #LiveConcert, #LivingComposers, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MariinskyOrchestra, #MariinskyTheaterOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MeredithMonk, #Mezzo-sopranoSinger, #MirareRecords, #MusicalInterpretation, #MusicCritics, #Muzio, #NadiaBoulanger, #NaiveRecords, #NathalieJoachim, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkTimes, #NicholasPhan, #OldClassics, #OlivierMessiaen, #PeriodInstruments, #PhilipGlass, #PianoConcerto, #PianoSonata, #PierreHantai, #RebeccaSaunders, #RichardWagner, #RoyalScottishNationalOrchestra, #SampleTrack, #SarahBrailey, #Self-Isolation, #Self-Quarantine, #SergeiProkofiev, #ShiverLung, #SilverAge, #SoloPiano, #SopranoSinger, #SoundSample, #StreamingService, #TenorSinger, #TheBeethovenConnection, #TheEar, #TheExterminatingAngel, #ThePrison, #TheUK, #TheUW, #ThomasAdès, #TopRecordings, #TristanPerich, #UnitedKingdom, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ValeryGergiev, #ViennaStateOperaOrchestra, #VikingurOlafsson, #VocalMusic, #WyntonMarsalis, #Yi-hengYang, #YouTubevideo, #ZacharyWoolfe, 2020, acclaimed, African American, Agrippina, Alexander Scriabin, Amazon, Amazon Music, amazon.com, America, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Anthony Tomassini, Antoine Forqueray, Archiv Music, Arts, Ash Fure, audience, Avie Records, award, Bach, Bang on a Can, Barnes and Noble, Baroque, Baroque music, Baroque opera, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven, Benjamin Grosvenor, Berceuse, black, blog, brilliant, BrowandBeige, Brown and Beige, Carolin Widmann, cash, Cello, Cello Suite, centuries, Chamber music, Chandos Records, chaos, China, Chinese, Chopin, choral music, Christmas, Classical music, classics, Claude Debussy, Clementi, coming, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, connection, conversation, Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, coronavirus, dance, Daniil Trifonov, David Greilsammer, David Hertzberg, days, Debussy, Decca, Decca Records, Deutsche Grammophon, DG, drift, Drift Multiply, Duke Ellington, Dussek, Early music, Earth, Elim Chan, end, Eriks Esenvalds, Ethel Smyth, exception, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, fairy tale, Ferguson, fortepiano, Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin, George Frederic Handel, George Lewis, gift, gift card, gigue, Glass, graduate student, Grammy, guidance, Handel, Hanukkah, harpsichord, hear, Hermann Scherchen, historically informed performance practices, Holiday, Hummel, Iceland, Icelandic, Igor Stravinsky, International Contemporary Ensemble, interpretation, isolation, Jacob Stockinger, Jan Ladislav Dussek, Jazz, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Jean-Féry Rebel, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johnny Gandelsman, Joseph C. Phillips Jr., Joseph Wölfl, Joshua Barone, Joyce DiDonato, Just Bach, Karim Sulayman, Kirill Gerstein, Kwanzaa, Labyrinth, lack, like, Lili Boulanger, LIncoln Center, link, listing, live concert, living composers, Love, Ludwig van Beethoven, lullaby, Mariinsky Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, me, Mead Witter School of Music, Meredith Monk, Messiaen, Mezzo-soprano, Mirare Records, Missouri, multiply, Music, music critics, Musician, Muzio Clementi, Nadia Boulanger, Naive Records, Nathalie Joachim, new, New Music, New York City, New York Times, Newspaper, Nicholas Phan, nominations, old, old classics, Olivier Messiaen, opera, Orchestra, Overture, pandemic, past, period instruments, Philip Glass, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, Piano Concerto No. 1, Piano sonata, Pierre Hantai, post, posting, Prokofiev, quiet, Rameau, Ravel, reader, Rebecca Saunders, Rebel, recital, Recordings, reverential, Richard Wagner, Romance, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, sample, sample track, Sarah Brailey, Schubert, Scotland, Scottish, Scriabin, Sergei Prokofiev, share, Shiver Lung, Silver Age, Solo Cello Suites, solo piano, Sonata, song, songs, soprano, Spotify, story, Stravinsky, streaming service, subscriber, subscription, Suite, symphony, tag, teach, tender, tenor, The Beethoven Connection, The Ear, The Exterminating Angel, The Prison, Thomas Ades, top, top recordings, track, transcription, Tristan Perich, UK, United Kingdom, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, Valery Gergiev, Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Vikingur Olafsson, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, vocal music, Wagber, Wynton Marsalis, Yang, year, Yi-heng Yang, you, YouTube, Zachary Woolfe
Classical music: With live concerts cancelled, what will you do for music? The Ear has some suggestions but wants to hear your ideas
6 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
ALERT 1: It’s official. The Madison Symphony Orchestra has cancelled its performances of Dvorak’s Requiem on April 3, 4 and 5. Sometime this week, according to the MSO website, the administration will inform ticket holders about what they can do.
ALERT 2: The Mosaic Chamber Players have cancelled their performance of Beethoven Piano Trios on March 21 at the First Unitarian Society of Madison.
By Jacob Stockinger
Now that live concerts and performances have been cancelled for the near future – thanks to the threat of the pandemic of the coronavirus and COVID-19 — music-lovers are faced with a problem:
What will we – especially those of us who are isolated at home for long periods of time — do to continue to listen to music?
Perhaps you have a large CD collection you can turn to. Or perhaps you subscribe to a streaming service such as Apple Music, SoundCloud, Amazon Music or another one.
Don’t forget local sources such as Wisconsin Public Radio and WORT-FM 89.9, both of which generously broadcast classical music, from the Renaissance to contemporary music, and often feature local performers.
Here is a link to Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR): https://www.wpr.org
Here is a link to WORT 88.9 FM: https://www.wortfm.org
There are also many other choices.
Happily, there is YouTube with its mammoth collection of free musical performances and videos. You can surf YouTube for new music and classic music, contemporary performers and historic performers, excerpts and complete works.
Here is a link: https://www.youtube.com
Those who are students or amateurs might use the time to sing – like those marvelous, uplifting Italians making music from their balconies during the crisis – or practice and play an instrument at home.
But other organizations – solo performers, chamber music ensembles, symphony orchestras, opera houses – are also trying to meet the challenge by providing FREE public access to their archives.
And it’s a good time for that.
Music can bring us together in this crisis.
Music can help us relax, and fight against the current panic and anxiety.
It’s also a good time to have a music project. Maybe you want to explore all the many symphonies or string quartets of Haydn, or perhaps the 550 keyboard sonatas by Scarlatti, or perhaps the many, many songs of Franz Schubert.
Here are some suggestions offered as possible guidance:
Here is what critics for The New York Times, including senior critic Anthony Tommasini (below) who likes Van Cliburn playing a Rachmaninoff concerto, will do: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/arts/music/coronavirus-classical-music.html
If you are an opera lover, you might want to know that, starting today, the Metropolitan Opera (below) in New York City will be streaming for FREE a different opera every day or night.
The productions are video recordings of operas that have been broadcast over past years in the “Live in HD” program. The titles are listed by the week and here is a link:
https://operawire.com/metropolitan-opera-to-offer-up-nightly-met-opera-streams/
If you like orchestral music, it is hard to beat the Berlin Philharmonic – considered by many critics to be the best symphony orchestra in the world — which is also opening up its archives for FREE.
Here is a background story with a link: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/coronavirus-concerts-the-music-world-contends-with-the-pandemic
Here is another link, from Norman Lebrecht’s blog “Slipped Disc,” to the Berlin Philharmonic along with some other suggestions, including the Vienna State Opera: https://slippedisc.com/2020/03/your-guide-to-the-new-world-of-free-streaming/
And if you like chamber music, you can’t beat the FREE performances being offered by the acclaimed Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, some of whom recently performed in Madison at the Wisconsin Union Theater and with the UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra: https://www.chambermusicsociety.org/watch-and-listen/
But what about you?
What will you listen to?
Where will you go to find classical music to listen to?
Do you have certain projects, perhaps even one to recommend?
How will you cope with the absence of live concerts?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AmazonMusic, #AnthonyTommasini, #AntoninDvorak, #AppleMusic, #BaroqueMusic, #BerlinGermany, #BerlinPhilharmonic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberMusicSocietyofLIncolnCenter, #ChoralMusic, #ClassicMusic, #CompactDisc, #ContemporaryMusic, #COVID-19, #DomenicoScarlatti, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FirstUnitarianSocietyofMadison, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FranzSchubert, #HistoricRecording, #HomeWebsite, #JacobStockinger, #KeyboardSonata, #LincolnCenter, #LiveConcert, #LiveinHD, #LiveMusic, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MadisonWisconsin, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MetropolitanOpera, #MosaicChamberPlayers, #MusicCritic, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #NormanLebrecht, #OperaAria, #OperaHouse, #OperaLover, #OperaWire, #OrchestralMusic, #PianoTrio, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #SlippedDisc, #StreamingService, #StringQuartet, #SymphonyOrchestra, #TheEar, #TheMet, #TheNewYorker, #TheNewYorkTImes, #TicketHolder, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #VanCliburn, #ViennaAustria, #ViennaStateOpera, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WORT-FM89.9, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, absence, access, administration, amateur, Amazon Music, amazon.com, Anthony Tommasini, Antonín Dvořák, anxiety, Apple, Apple Music, archive, Arts, audience, balcony, Baroque, Baroque music, Beethoven, Berlin, Berlin Philharmonic, blog, Broadcast, cancel, CD, cellist, Cello, challenge, Chamber music, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, choral music, classic, Classical, Classical music, classicalmusic, Cliburn, collection, comment, Compact Disc, complete, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, contemporary, cope, coronavirus, crisis, critic, day, Domenico Scarlatti, Dvorak, Early music, ensemble, excerpt, Facebook, fear, First Unitarian Society of Madison, Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, free, future, generous, Haydn, HD, hear, historic, Home, home website, idea, instruments, isolation, Italians, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Keyboard, keyboard sonata, like, LIncoln Center, link, listen, live concert, Live in HD, live music, long, lover, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Baroque Musicians, Madison Symphony Orchestra, marvelous, Mead Witter School of Music, Metropolitan Opera, Mosaic Chamber Players, Mozart, MSO, Music, music critic, music lover, New Music, New York City, night, Norman Lebrecht, official, opera, Opera house, Orchestra, orchestral music, Overture Center, pandemic, panic, perform, performer, period, Pianist, Piano, Piano Trio, play, post, posting, practice, problem, production, project, provide, public, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Radio, recommend, recording, Recordings, relx, Renaissance, Requiem, Scarlatti, Schubert, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, share, sing, Singing, Slipped Disc, solo, Sonata, song, SoundCloud, state, streaming, Streaming media, String quartet, Student, subscribers, surf, symphony, symphony orchestra, tag, The Ear, the Met, The New York Times, The New Yorker, threat, ticket holder, time, title, today, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, uplifting, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, Van Cliburn, video, Vienna, Vienna State Opera, Violin, violinist, vocal music, Website, week, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Union Theater, works, world, worry, WORT-FM 89.9, year, you, your, YouTube
Classical music: What music is good to listen to every day for a year? And why? Clemency Burton-Hill discusses her book “Year of Wonder” on PBS’ “Newshour”
1 Comment
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
By Jacob Stockinger
What different pieces of classical music would be good to listen to every day of the year?
And what should you know about it?
Those are the simple but ambitious questions that the British writer Clemency Burton-Hill — who now works for the famed classical radio station WQXR in New York City — tackles in her book “Year of Wonder: Classical Music to Enjoy Day by Day” (below).
You can get a sample by going to the book section of Amazon.com and looking inside the book. Just click on the Introduction for an overview and then click on some specifics dates to see how it works.
But recently Burton-Hill (below) also appeared on “The NewsHour” on PBS to talk about the book, where she explained her purpose and method, especially her intent to help expand the audience for classical music.
Her remarks impressed The Ear who has ordered a copy of her book and hopes to learn from it and maybe even pass along some lessons from it.
All the genres, all the great composers (dead and living) and most of the great works are covered, as are many other neglected composers and unknown works. So the book can be considered a terrific resource for music education for both beginners and those who are experienced.
Her commentaries are also a model of brevity and engaging interest.
All in all, “Year of Wonder” seems a supremely practical, unpretentious and informative guide to daily listening, especially given how many of these works – often they are shorter sections of larger works — can be found for free on YouTube. (In fact, a playlist of music featured in the book is available on YouTube. Go to YouTube and type in “Year of Wonder Playlist” into the search engine, then look to the upper right for a list. A sample is at the bottom. Or use this direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wNTNEZYoHg&list=PLKPwLlyrD2y-1x-uKmUBzSOiAh83GhU7A
But you don’t have to take my word for it. Here is a link to the television interview:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/embracing-classical-music-and-its-potential-for-sonic-salvation
The Ear hopes you find the interview both informative and useful.
Happy listening!
Tags: #AlexanderScriabin, #AndrasSchiff, #AntonioVivaldi, #ArcangeloCorelli, #ArthurRubinstein, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BookReview, #ChamberMusic, #ChopinEtudes, #ChoralMusic, #ClaraSchumann, #ClemencyBurton-Hill, #DmitriShostakovich, #EdvardGrieg, #FrancisPoulenc, #FranzSchubert, #FredericChopin, #GabrielFaure, #GiacomoPuccini, #GiuseppeVerdi, #GustavMahler, #JohannSebastianBach, #LeonardBernstein, #LivingComposer, #LucianoPavarotti, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MauriceRavel, #MaxBruch, #MaxRichter, #MortenLauridsen, #MusicEducation, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #OperaMusic, #PaulHindemith, #SamuelBarber, #SergeiProkofiev, #SteveReich, #StringQuartet, #TheNewsHour, #TomasoAlbinoni, #VocalMusic, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WQXRradio, #YearofWonder, #YouTubevideo, Albinoni, amazon.com, ambitious, András Schiff, Arthur Rubinstein, Arts, audience, Bach, Barber, Baroque, Beethoven, beginners, blog, Book, book review, brevity, Chamber music, Chopin, choral music, Clara Schumann, Classical music, Clemency Burton-Hill, commentaries, commentary, composer, concerto, conductor, Corelli, daily, day, dead, different, Dmitri Shostakovich, Early music, engaging, enjoy, etude, expand, experienced, Faure, Franz Schubert, free, genre, George Frideric Handel, good, great, Grieg, guide, Hindemith, informative, intent, interest, interview, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Leonard Bernstein, lesson, like, link, listen, listening, living, Luciano Pavarotti, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Mahler, Max Bruch, Max Richter, method, Morten Lauridsen, movement, Mozart, Music, Music education, neglected, New York City, opera, Orchestra, Paul Hindemith, PBS, performer, Piano, piece, playlist, Poulenc, practical, Prokofiev, Puccini, purpose, Radio, Ravel, remark, Requiem, Scriabin, section, share, short, simple, sing, Singing, Sonata, song, Steve Reich, String quartet, symphony, tag, Television, The Newshour, TV, United States, unknown, unpretentious, useful, Verdi, Viola, Violin, Vivaldi, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, wonder, word, works, WQXR, year, Year of Wonder, YouTube
Classical music: Is Royal Wedding cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason the next Yo-Yo Ma?
5 Comments
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.
Tags: #Afro-British, #AntoninDvorak, #AntonioVivaldi, #AveMaria, #BBCProms, #BBCYoungMusicianoftheYear, #BobMarley, #CamilleSaint-Saens, #CelloConcerto, #CelloMusic, #CelloSonata, #CityofBirminghamOrchestra, #DeccaRecords, #DmitriShostakovich, #DukeandDuchessofSussex, #EdwardElgar, #FranciscoFranco, #FranzSchubert, #GabrielFaure, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #KlezmerMusic, #LeonardCohen, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MariaTheresiavonParadis, #MeghanMarkle, #PabloCasals, #PauCasals, #PopChart, #PopMusic, #PrinceHarry, #PublicInterest, #RecordingStudio, #ReggaeMusic, #RoyalAcademyofMusic, #RoyalWedding, #ShekuKanneh-Mason, #SoloSuite, #TVaudience, #TVviewership, #UnitedKingdom, #UnitedStates, #Yo-YoMa, #YoungAudience, #YoungListeners, accomplishment, Africa, African, Amazon, amazon.com, American, ancient, arranged, arrangement, Arts, Bach, Baroque, BBC, BBC Young Musician of the Year, Beethoven, bestseller, bird, birds, black, Black people, Bob Marley, British, career, celebrity, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, commercial, Compact Disc, comparison, composer, Concert, concerto, dance, Decca Records, dictator, duchess, duke, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Faure, film, gimmick, gimmicky, Hallelujah, humanism, humanist, inspiration, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, klezmer, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Meghan, Meghan Markle, Music, Nottingham, Orchestra, orchestrated, poignant, pop, Pop chart, pops, popular, Prince Harry, publicity, recording, repertory, royal, Royal Academy of Music, royal wedding, schedule, score, solo, Sonata, song, Spain, star, step, studio, stufies, Suite, Sussex, technique, Television, tone, transcription, TV, U.S., UK, United Kingdom, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, wedding, weekend, Wisconsin, worldwide, Yo-Yo Ma, YouTube
Classical music: Conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, who pioneered an originality and difference that changed our appreciation of early music, has died at 86
Leave a Comment
ALERT: The UW Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of music director UW-Madison Professor James Smith, will perform a FREE concert on this Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall. The program features “Mathis der Mahler” by Paul Hindemith and the Symphony No. 1 by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
By Jacob Stockinger
The pioneering conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt (below) died this past week.
He was 86. He had been ill, and died only three months after his last public appearance on the concert stage.
He leaves behind a huge recorded legacy, some 560 entries — including many multiple-disc boxes — according to a search at Amazon.com.
Harnoncourt started as a concert-level cellist who was especially well-known for who conducting early music. But he also worked with more modern orchestra groups and soloists in a lot of big mainstream music. (Below, in photo from Getty Images, he is seen conducting in 2012.)
True, it for his Johann Sebastian Bach, his Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his Ludwig van Beethoven — done with the group he and his wife Alice founded, the Concentus Musicus Wien — that The Ear will most remember him for. They were strong and forceful. No music box Mozart for Harnoncourt!
But Harnoncourt refused to be pigeonholed into smaller Baroque ensembles.
The Ear also likes him with much larger modern groups in mainstream Romantic fare such as the symphonies and concertos by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Anton Bruckner and Antonin Dvorak with the Royal Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic. He even conducted Johann Strauss waltzes for the New Year’s Concerto from Vienna.
Harnoncourt often found beauty in unexpected places, in music that we thought had nothing new to say after so many performances and such a long history. But he loved vibrancy and modernity. He did what Ezra Pound advised poets to do: Make it new.
And boy, did Harnoncourt — a thoughtful and passionate advocate — ever make music new, whether it was Baroque, Classical or Romantic! Although he was not a pioneer of new music per se, he always seemed to turn early music or whatever else he touched into new music.
The Ear recalls with relish some of the ways he put percussion and brass forward in early music, giving incredible rhythm and impulse or momentum to it. The same goes for using boy sopranos instead of women in the cantatas, oratorios and passions by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Harnoncourt always seemed less interested in authenticity as a justification than in the results he got from such changes or such different interpretations.
Often Harnoncourt had certain differences he wanted to emphasize. They were not always convincing, but they were usually convincing. And they were always interesting and illuminating, even if you disagreed with them.
In the special memorial YouTube video at the bottom is the Sinfonia from J.S. Bach’s Cantata BWV 156 in a performance by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Concentus Musicus of Vienna:
Here are some illuminating obituaries:
From The New York Times:
From the Deceptive Cadence blog on NPR (National Public Radio) by Anastasia Tsioulcas:
http://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2016/03/07/469505636/remembering-nikolaus-harnoncourt
From The Guardian in the United Kingdom:
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/mar/06/nikolaus-harnoncourt-obituary
From The Washington Post:
And finally, here is a story from MTV, which called Harnoncourt the “punk genius of classical music,” a description The Ear likes and which he suspects Harnoncourt himself would have liked:
http://www.mtv.com/news/2750555/nikolaus-harnoncourt-was-classical-musics-punk-genius/
Do you have an observation about Nikolaus Harnoncourt to share?
Is there a specific composer, work or recording of his that you hold special?
Leave word in the COMMENT section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: amazon.com, Amsterdam, Anastasia Tsioulcas, Anton Bruckner, Arts, Austria, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Berlin, Berlin Philharmonic, brass, Bruckner, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, Classical era, Classical music, concerto, Deceptive Cadence, Dvorak, Early music, Europe, Ezra Pound, Finland, Franz Schubert, Germany, Hindemith, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Strauss, Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, modern, Mozart, Music, Music director, National Public Radio, New Music, New Year, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, NPR, opera, Orchestra, percussion, punk, Romantic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Schubert, Schumann, Sibelius, symphony, The Guardian, UK, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Vienna, Vienna Philharmonic, vocal music, Waltz, Washington Post, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: Famed music critic Andrew Porter has died at 86.
Leave a Comment
By Jacob Stockinger
Music critic Andrew Porter, best known in this country for his 20-year tenure at The New Yorker magazine, died in London this week at the age of 86. (Below, he is seen working on “The Magic Flute” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in a Toronto production in 2005.)
In his music reviews for The New Yorker magazine, critic Andrew Porter always seemed a cut above most journalistic critics.
His reviews had enough depth and substance beyond the occasion of the specific performance he was reviewing that they were collected and published in several books — unfortunately many are now out of print — that still provide terrific research possibilities and vindicate his earlier judgments.
Here is a link to a page at amazon.com that lists his essays and libretto translation:
So many of us learned to appreciate classical music in more knowledgeable and sophisticated ways, thanks to Andrew Porter and his wealth of detailed knowledge as well as his superior writing style. (Below, you can see Andrew Porter in the 1970s.)
But I had no idea of his really erudite sides — including his command of several languages and his extensive involvement in the actual performances of music, especially translating opera librettos — until I read his obituaries.
Here is a sampling of the memorial essays about a critic who will go down as one of the greatest critics ever.
Here is a story from the terrific Deceptive Cadence blog of NPR )National Public Radio:
Here is a story from The New York Times:
And here is a story, with great background and details, from The Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom where Porter — seen below in 1992 in a photo by Jane Bown — lived in London since retiring from the New Yorker:
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/apr/07/andrew-porter
Tags: amazon.com, Andrew Porter, Arts, Canada, Chamber music, choral music, Classical music, Jacob Stockinger, libretto, London, Madison Opera, Mozart, Music, National Public Radio, New York City, New York Times, NPR, opera, Orchestra, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Toronto, UK, United Kingdom, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Classical music: Streaming gains even more momentum. Korean carmaker Hyundai will abandon in-dash CD players and titan CD seller Naxos will launch a high-definition streaming service.
3 Comments
No doubt about it.
Streaming seems the sound wave of the future.
That’s what the news about sales and trends points to, anyway.
Streaming through such services at Spotify or various app stores and retailers like Amazon.com looks to be the inevitable next step from CDs, just as CDs followed tapes and tapes followed LPs and vinyl (78, 45 and 33-1/3 RPM)-– even though vinyl is making something of a comeback among audiophiles because of its superior, less harsh sound quality.
But consider some new developments coming out of Asia, which seems to be setting the trend for the dissemination of Western classical music more than Western culture or Western industry is doing in Europe and the United States.
Korean carmaker Hyundai will get rid of CD payers in its next year’s models. Instead the music connections will run through Bluetooth electronics that link up solely to MP3 players and iPods. (Below is a photo of the new dashboard taken at a recent industry show.)
Here is a link to a story that has more technical details plus a defense of KEEPING in-dash CD players – below is Japanese carmaker Honda’s more traditional in-dash CD player and changer — and the virtue of listening to one entire CD:
Then consider the fact that Naxos – the Hong Kong-based budget CD label that now dominates the CD industry – is about to launch a high-definition streaming service.
http://www.classicalmusicmagazine.org/2015/01/naxos-launches-hd-streaming-service/
Here is some background about the company, based in Singapore, that will service Naxos’ streaming site:
http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/2422084
The Ear has very mixed feelings about this news. He listens to all sorts of formats in the car — radio, CDs and iPods.
What about you?
Would you buy a new car without an in-dash CD player, a car that relies only on wireless and streaming technology?
And how dissatisfied are you with the sound quality of CDs versus streaming or other formats?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: AM, amazon.com, Android (operating system), Apple Inc., Apple Lossless, Arts, Asia, Audiophile, AV receiver, Bluetooth, CD player, CDs, Chamber music, Classical music, Compact Disc, Compact Disc player, Computer speaker, culture, digital, FM, Honda, Hong Kong, Hyundai, indsutry, industry, IPad, IPod, Jacob Stockinger, Japan, Korea, MP3, Music, Naxos, opera, Orchestra, Piano, Portable media player, Radio, Retail, retailers, Sngapore, Spotify, stores, streaming, tape, technology, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vinyl, Western culture, Western industry
Classical music: Let Us Now Praise – and rediscover — pianist and teacher extraordinaire Seymour Bernstein. The Ear wants his books about amateur music-making reprinted affordably and made into e-books. Plus, this morning at 11 a.m. you can hear and see, live and for FREE, UW-Madison alumna Brenda Rae Klinkert sing in a Richard Strauss opera in Munich.
4 Comments
ALERT: Some local-related news came in too late to include yesterday.
This morning, UW-Madison School of Music alumna and Appleton native Brenda Rae Klinkert (BA, 2004 and seen below in costume) is singing with the Bavarian State Opera in Munich in Richard Strauss’ opera “Die Schweigsame Frau” (The Silent Woman, 1935) and the performance is being broadcast LIVE on the Internet. You can watch the free audio-visual transmission at 11 a.m. via http://www.staatsoper.de/en/staatsopertv.html (Staatsoper.TV).
Please pass the word to any students and professors, friends and fans who might be interested in this opera and this performer. Adds local opera fan Dan Shea: “Brenda Rae currently is continuing a series of major breakthroughs in her operatic career, an amazing arc of success in Europe and the U.S. with major roles in major operas. Just take a look at her schedule at brendarae.com
“Personally, I’ve seen a lot of “Traviatas” all over the world, but hers at Santa Fe in the summer of 2013 was especially wonderful, and in a class by itself — as the reviews attested.”
By Jacob Stockinger
Yesterday I wrote about violinist Joshua Bell — a superstar who is both a renowned performer and a devoted teacher, all at the same time.
Today I want to write about someone who established a big performing career when he was young – but then walked away from it all at the same age Joshua Bell is right now, about 50, in order to devote himself to teaching, writing books and composing.
Chances are you haven’t heard about pianist Seymour Bernstein (below), or heard only a little bit if anything.
But it turns out that might all change, thanks to the movie star Ethan Hawke (below left with Bernstein on the right), who met Bernstein at a dinner party and ended up directing a documentary about Seymour Bernstein, who is now 87 years old and still active.
It happened especially after Bernstein help the screen-veteran Hawke to overcome his stage fright, which itself is a fascinating story.
It was also fascinating to read that Bernstein doesn’t think the concert world is the way for classical music to go today. He wants instead to recapture the joy of amateur music-making.
I read a great story about the movie and how it came about in The New York Times. Here is a link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/27/arts/ethan-hawke-films-seymour-an-introduction.html?_r=0
I got so intrigued that I tried to order some of his books by going to Amazon.com.
It turns out they are all out of print and some go for hundreds of dollars as rarities.
PLEASE NOTE A MISTAKE AND A CORRECTION: The Ear just got a post-posting correction to this error, for which he apologizes. If you go to a Reader Comment by Pru Palachek, you will find out that Seymour Bernstein’s books are indeed available — for a higher price — from a small music publisher, Manduca, in Portland, Maine. You can also visit Bernstein’s own website for more information. Just Google “Seymour Bernstein.”
Well, there is always the library. But being an avid amateur pianist, I would like my own copies to mark up and keep near the keyboard.
So I am hoping somebody can persuade Amazon to reissue them as both regular books and especially e-books. Maybe the success of the movie will help. Maybe Hawke’s fame will help.
And what I read isn’t hype.
It turns out The Ear knows someone who herself took some piano lessons from Seymour Bernstein and played for him. This pianist says Bernstein is all he is cracked up to be -– a cordial and kind man, an excellent teacher and an outstanding performer.
I did find some YouTube videos based on his books “With Your Own Two Hands.” At the bottom is the second of several that are all good and all whet your appetite for more:
In the meantime let us hope for two things:
1. That the movie, which might win some awards and garner a big audience, gets wide circulation.
2. That Amazon, or some other publisher, agrees to reprint the books in regular and e-book formats.
What do you know about Seymour Bernstein?
Did you ever heard him live or in recording?
Did you ever read his books or use his methods?
What did you think?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: amateur, amazon.com, Appleton, Arts, Bavarian State Opera, Bernstein, Brenda Rae, Classical music, Die Schweigsame Frau, documentary, e-books, ebooks, Ethan Hawke, film, Google, Jacob Stockinger, Joshua Bell, La Traviata, Leonard Bernstein, Maine, Manduca Music Publications, movie, Music education, New York Film Festival, New York Times, opera, Pianist, Piano, Portland, Richard Strauss, Santa Fe, Seymour Bernstein, stage fright, Verdi, YouTube
Classical music: From Palestrina to Part, the pioneering early music vocal group The Hilliard Ensemble will disband into silence in 2014. Plus, the date for the next Handel Aria Competition is set for July 17 during this summer’s Madison Early Music Festival.
3 Comments
ALERT: Mark your calendars and datebooks. The second annual Handel Aria Competition — with an encore appearance by the winner last summer — that is sponsored by local business owners Dean and Orange Schroeder will take place on July 17, 2014 as part of the annual Madison Early Music Festival. Last summer, the “slam down” format proved to be a lot of fun, as you can see for yourself if you revisit my coverage with these links:
By Jacob Stockinger
The pioneering early music vocal group the Hilliard Ensemble (below) has sounded another sour note to open the new year in classical music.
The ensemble, founded in 1973 and celebrating its 40th anniversary this season, will disband in 2014 after one last world tour, according to a story on NPR’s excellent classical music blog “Deceptive Candence.”
One has to wonder: How many more unfortunate events like this will we see as the Baby Boomer generation — which also fed and fostered the early music revival — ages and falls ill, then decides to retire or perhaps even dies?
Already we have seen some string quartets like the Guarneri and Tokyo (below), decide to disband, although the venerable Emerson Quartet has decided to continue on after cellist David Finckel retired and was replaced by Paul Watkins, formerly of the British Nash Ensemble. The Hilliard Ensemble has only one of its original members still singing.
Unlike so many other early music groups, the Hilliard Ensemble specialized in late Medieval and Renaissance music rather than the more popular and well-known Baroque music and composers. Their specialities included works by Giovanni da Palestrina, Carlo Gesualdo, Orlando Gibbons, Thomas Tallis and Josquin Des Prez plus a host of generally unknown names (like the work by William Cornish in the YouTube video at the bottom.). But they also did perform Baroque music and especially made headlines when they revealed parallels between certain Bach works on the CD “Morimur.”
The Hilliard Ensemble was also eclectic and adventurous. In its extensive catalogue of recordings, mostly on the innovative and inventive ECM label – an ideal home for the Hilliard Ensemble — it also performed music with best-selling New Age jazz saxophonist Jan Gabarek as well as the complete Bach motets. And they also recorded several works by the living popular Estonian composer Arvo Part.
Here is a link to see their impressive and extensive discography and impressive user review at amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dclassical&field-keywords=Hilliard+Ensemble
And to top it off, the members of the Hilliard Ensemble themselves set the tone for receiving this news with their calm acceptance of the end of their era and their mission, successfully accomplished.
Here is a link to the NPR story:
Tags: amazon.com, Arvo Part, Bach, Baroque, CD, Classical music, Deceptive Cadence, Desprez, ECM Records, Emerson Quarrtet, George Frideric Handel, Gesualdo, Handel, Hilliard Ensemble, Jacob Stockinger, Jan Gabarek, Johann Sebastian Bach, Josquin, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, Medieval, Nash Ensemble, New Age, NPR, Orlando Gibbons, Palestrina, Renaissance, Tallis, user reviews, vocal music, YouTube
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 
Classical music: Leon Fleisher, the inspirational pianist and teacher who died a week ago, had ties to Madison
2 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
Famed American pianist and teacher Leon Fleisher (below, in a photo by Chris Hartlove), who also conducted, died of cancer at 92 last Sunday, Aug. 2.
Wisconsin Public Radio, like many other media outlets including National Public Radio (NPR) and most major newspapers and television stations, devoted a lot of time to tributes to and remembrances of Fleisher.
That is as it should be. If any musician deserved it, Fleisher did.
Fleisher (1928-2020) was a titan who became, over many years and despite major personal setbacks — stemming from an almost paralyzed right hand — a lot more than a keyboard virtuoso.
But despite lots of air time, less well covered has been his relationship to Madison audiences, who had the pleasure of seeing and hearing him several times in person.
In 2003 and then again in 2016 (below top) — at age 88 — Fleisher performed with the University of Wisconsin’s Pro Arte String Quartet (below bottom).
Both times he played the Brahms Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34, a masterpiece of chamber music. He and his wife, Katherine Jacobson, also performed a joint recital at the Wisconsin Union Theater in 2009.
Fleisher felt at home in Baroque, Classical, Romantic and even modern music. He was renowned as an interpreter of Brahms. Indeed, his early and widely acclaimed recordings of both Brahms piano concertos as well as of the Waltzes and Handel Variations remain landmarks.
Once he was again playing with both hands, Fleisher also recorded the piano quintet for Deutsche Grammophon with the Emerson String Quartet, another frequent and favorite performer in Madison. (You can hear the finale in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Here is a this blog’s review of his last Madison appearance: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/?s=Leon+Fleisher
Fleisher liked performing with the Pro Arte, and therein lies another historical tale.
His most influential teacher — the famed pianist Artur Schnabel, with whom the San Francisco-born Fleisher went to study in Europe when he was just 9 — also played often with the earlier members of Pro Arte Quartet. Together they recorded Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet by Franz Schubert, and that recording is still in the catalogue and available on Amazon.
Fleisher discusses studying with Schnabel in his entertaining and informative 2010 autobiography “My Nine Lives” (below).
Fleisher was a child prodigy who made his name while still young. Famed French conductor Pierre Monteux – who conducted the world premiere of Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” in Paris — called Fleisher the “musical find of the century.” Fleisher made his concerto debut at 16 with the New York Philharmonic under Monteux.
Fleisher was just 36 and preparing for a tour with the Cleveland Orchestra and George Szell – a perfect pairing and a conductor with whom he recorded all the Beethoven and Brahms concertos among may others – when he found he could not uncurl the last three fingers of his right hand.
Various diagnoses and causes were offered, and many cures were tried. In the end, it seems like that it was a case of focal dystonia that was caused by over-practicing, especially octaves. “I pounded ivory six or seven hours a day,” Fleisher later said.
After a period of depression and soul-searching, Fleisher then focused on performing music for the left hand; on conducting; and especially on teaching for more than 60 years at the Peabody Institute, located in Baltimore at Johns Hopkins University.
There he helped shaped the career of many other famous pianists, including André Watts, Yefim Bronfman and Jonathan Biss (below, in a photo by Julian Edelstein), who played when Fleisher received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007. (All three have performed with the Madison Symphony Orchestra.)
Here is an inspiring overview of Fleisher’s life and career from the Peabody Institute: https://peabody.jhu.edu/faculty/leon-fleisher/
And here is another short biography from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Fleisher
Here are three especially noteworthy obituaries:
NPR: https://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2020/08/02/702978476/leon-fleisher-the-pianist-who-reinvented-himself-dies-at-92
The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/02/arts/music/leon-fleisher-dead.html
The Washington Post, written by critic Anne Midgette who worked with Fleisher on his memoir: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/leon-fleisher-sublime-pianist-with-one-hand-or-two-dies-at-92/2020/08/02/c7c98f90-527d-11e6-b7de-dfe509430c39_story.html
The Ear has always found Fleisher’s playing remarkable for its technical fluency combined with the utmost clarity and exacting but flexible sense of rhythm. He always managed to make a piece of music sound just right, as it was intended to sound. His musicality always seemed innate and perfectly natural.
Sample it for yourself. The Ear thinks the performance of all five Beethoven concertos with George Szell still sets a high standard with its exciting, upbeat tempi, its exemplary balance between piano and orchestra, and its exceptional engineering.
The affable Fleisher will long remain an inspiration not only for his playing and teaching, but also for his determination to overcome personal obstacles and go on to serve music — not just the piano.
Did you ever hear Leon Fleisher play live or in recordings? What did you think?
Do you have a comment to leave about the legacy of Fleisher?
Share this:
Like this:
Tags: #AndréWatts, #AnneMidgette, #ArturSchnabel, #BaltimoreMaryland, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberMusician, #ChildProdigy, #CityofMadison, #Classicalera, #ClevelandOrchestra, #CriticalAcclaim, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #CriticalReview, #DeutscheGrammophon, #EmersonStringQuartet, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FocalDystonia, #FranzSchubert, #FrenchConductor, #FrenchMusician, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GeorgeSzell, #HandelVariations, #HighStandard, #IgorStravinsky, #InPerson, #JacobStockinger, #JohannesBrahms, #JohnsHopkinsUniversity, #JohnW.Barker, #JonathanBiss, #KatherineJacobson, #KennedyCenter, #LeonFleisher, #LiveMusic, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisnSymphonyOrchestra, #MadisonWisconsin, #MusicalInterpretation, #Musicfaculty, #MyLi, #MyNineLives, #NationalPublicRadio, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #ParisFrance, #PeabodyInstitute, #PianoConcerto, #PianoMusic, #PianoQuintet, #PianoVirtuoso, #PierreMonteux, #ProArteQuartet, #RiteofSpring, #RomanticMusic, #SanFrancisco, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #ThemeAndVariations, #TheNewYorkTImes, #TheU.S., #TheUW, #TheWashingtonPost, #TroutQuintet, #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #Wikipediabiography, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WorldPremiere, #YefimBronfman, #YouTubevideo, acclaim, affable, air, Amazon, amazon.com, America, American, André Watts, Anne Midgette, appearance, Arts, Artur Schnabel, audience, autobiography, available, balance, Baltimore, Baroque, Beethoven, Biss, blog, Book, born, Brahms, Bronfman, California, cancer, career, catalogue, cause, century, Chamber music, channel, child prodigy, clarity, Classical, Classical music, Cleveland Orchestra, comment, concerto, conductor, critic, critical review, day, dead, death, debut, depression, deserve, determination, Deutsche Grammophon, devite, DG, diagnoses, diagnosis, die, early, Emerson String Quartet, engineering, entertaining, Europe, exacting, exceptional, exemplary, Facebook, faculty, famed, famous, favorite, finale, find, Finger, flexible, fluency, focal dystonia, forward, France, Franz Schubert, French conductor, frequent, George Frideric Handel, George Szell, Handel, Handel Variations, hands, hear, high standard, historical, History, Home, honor, hour, husband, Igor Stravinsky, in person, informative, innate, inspirational, inspire, inspired, interpretation, interpreter, ivory, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, John W. Barker, Johns Hopkins University, joint, Jonathan Biss, Katherine Jacobson, Kennedy Center, Keyboard, landmarks, left hand, legacy, Leon Fleisher, life, like, link, live music, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, manage, masterpiece, media, member, memoir, modern, Music, musical, musicality, Musician, My Nine Lives, name, National Public Radio, natural, New York Philharmonic, New York Times, Newspaper, noteworthy, NPR, obituaries, obituary, obstacle, octave, Orchestra, outlet, overcome, overview]life, paralysis, paralyzed, Paris, Peabody Institute, perform, performer, personal, photo, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, piano music, Piano Quintet, Pierre Monteux, playing, pleasure, post, posting, pound, practice, Pro Arte Quartet, prodigy, Radio, receive, recital, recording, relationship, remarkable, remember, remembering, remembrance, review, rhythm, right hand, Rite of Spring, Romantic, San Francisco, Schubert, see, sense, serve, setback, share, soul, soul-searching, station, Stravinsky, String quartet, study, Sunday, symphony, tag, tale, Teacher, teaher, technical, technique, Television, The Ear, The Rite of Spring, The Washington Post, theme and variations, time, Titan, together, tribute, Trout Quintet, TV, U.S., uncurl, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, various, virtuoso, virtuoso pianist, Waltz, Watts, wife, Wikipedia, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Union Theater, work, world premiere, write, writing, years, Yefim Bronfman, young, YouTube