The Well-Tempered Ear
This Sunday at 4 p.m., the Salon Piano Series debuts an online recital by pianist Kangwoo Jin. He plays music by Scarlatti, Beethoven, Liszt and Schumann. It is up until May 9
Leave a Comment
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
This Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. CDT, the Salon Piano Series, hosted by Farley’s House of Pianos, will debut an online concert by pianist Kangwoo Jin (below, in a photo by Andy Manis).
The concert, which was recorded at Luther Memorial Church, costs $10 and will be available online through May 9.
The program is:
Scarlatti – Sonatas in D minor and D Major, K. 213 and 214 (ca. 1756-1757)
Beethoven – Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2, “Moonlight” (1801)
Liszt – Transcriptions for solo piano of the songs “Widmung” (Dedication) by Robert Schumann and “Litanei” (Litany) by Franz Schubert
Schumann – Symphonic Etudes, Op.13 (1830)
Bishop – Home, Sweet Home
Tickets are only available online at eventbrite.com. Service fees apply. Complete program and concert information is at salonpianoseries.org
PROGRAM NOTES
Jin has written the following program notes for The Ear:
“As a musician, I am always eager to share music with the public. I am very excited to be able to reach out to the audience with this unprecedented Salon Piano Series Virtual Concert.
“I believe music soothes our mental health in difficult times regardless of age, gender or race. I very much hope my performance will contribute to this collective healing we feel through music.
“I wanted to include three different styles, as I usually do for recitals. This time I have Baroque, Classical and Romantic music.
“I chose one of the most famous Beethoven sonatas in order to celebrate his 250th birth year (2020), which I did not have a chance to mark last year.
“This piece is popular with the title of “Moonlight,” which Beethoven (below) never intended. Five years after his death, the German critic Ludwig Rellstab used the word “Moonlight” in order to describe the first movement. But it was really inspired by the funeral march in Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni.” I try to bring out the tragic color of the first movement. (You can hear Jin play the exciting final movement of the sonata in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
“I also wanted to play the virtuosic masterpiece “Symphonic Etudes,” Op. 13, by Robert Schumann (below), including the beautiful posthumous variations 4 and 5.
I find this piece special in the sense that Schumann intended to make this piece “symphonic.” He created multiple layers of voices in various ways through each etude and created orchestral sounds. This polyphonic writing with multiple layers and a thick texture is what makes this piece difficult to play.
“I also specifically wanted to include one of the piano transcriptions by Franz Liszt (below) of Schubert’s Litanei auf das Fest Aller Seelen (Litany for the Feast of All Souls), D. 343.
“Schubert (below) used the poem “Litany” by Johann Jacobi (1740-1814). It is written for comforting the deceased. Robert Capell, the author of the book “Schubert’s Songs” (1929), said about this lied: There was never a truer or more touching expression of simple devotion and consoled grief … “The music rises from a pure well of affection and humility.”
“I would like to dedicate this piece to all the people who suffered from Covid 19.”
BACKGROUND
Here is a link to Kangwoo Jin’s impressive website where you can see many photos, learn about his extensive career as a teacher and hear many samples of his playing: https://www.pianistkangwoojin.com
Praised for his “refined tone quality with powerful energy” (Chosun Daily Newspaper), Jin (below, in a photo by Steve Apps for the Wisconsin State Journal) concertizes nationally and internationally, including performances in Germany, Italy, China, Indonesia and South Korea.
He gave his debut concert at the Sejong Arts Center in Seoul, South Korea, sponsored by the Chosun Daily Newspaper. He has given live performances on Wisconsin Public Radio and WORT 89.9 FM.
Jin appears frequently as a guest artist at music festivals, universities and various concert series. Recent invitations include UW-River Falls, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and Tongji University in Shanghai. Kawai Pianos USA has also invited him as a guest artist at the annual Piano Technicians Guild Convention and Technical Institute in Florida.
Jin completed the Bachelor of Music degree at Hanyang University in South Korea, then earned his Performer Diploma and Master’s of Music at Indiana University, where he worked as an associate instructor.
He is the recipient of the J. Battista Scholarship for performance excellence at Indiana University and received the Collins Distinguished Fellowship for his doctoral studies, completed last year, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied piano with Christopher Taylor and piano pedagogy with Jessica Johnson.
Tags: #AmericanPlayersTheatre, #ArtsCenter, #ArtSong, #BachelorofMusic, #BaroqueEra, #BaroqueMusic, #BeethovenYear, #BeijingChina, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChosunDailyNewspaper, #ChristianChurch, #ChristopherTaylor, #Classicalera, #ClassicalMusician, #CoronavirusPandemic, #CorpusChristi, #COVID-19, #DifficultTime, #DoctoralStudies, #DomenicoScarlatti, #DonGiovanni, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Farley'sHouseofPianos, #FeastofAllSouls, #FranzLiszt, #FranzSchubert, #FuneralMarch, #GuestArtist, #HanyangUniversity, #HomeWebsite, #IndianaUniversity, #JacobStockinger, #JohannJacobi, #KangwooJin, #KawaiPianos, #LivePerformance, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MajorKey, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MentalHealth, #MinorKey, #MoonlightSonata, #MusicCritic, #Musicfaculty, #MusicProfessor, #OnlineConcert, #OperaMusic, #PerformerDiploma, #PianoTechnician, #PolyphonicMusic, #ProgramNotes, #RobertSchumann, #RomanticEra, #RomanticMusic, #SalonPIanoSeries, #SchubertLieder, #SeoulSouthKorea, #ServiceFee, #ShanghaiChina, #SouthKorea, #SouthKorean, #SteveApps, #Sundayafternoon, #SymphonicEtudes, #TexasA&M, #TheEar, #TheUW, #Tongjiniversity, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UW-RiverFalls, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WisconsinStateJournal, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, affection, afternoon, age, April, art song, Arts, arts center, audience, auhtor, available, Bachelor of Music, Baroque, Baroque music, beautiful, Beethoven, Beethoven Year, birth, Bishop, blog, Blog post, blog posting, Book, China, Chosun Daily Newspaper, Christian, Christian church, Christopher Taylor, church, Classical, Classical era, Classical music, classicalmusic, collective, Collins, color, comfort, complete, composer, Concert, concertize, console, contribute, convention, coronavirus, coronavirus pandemic, Corpus Christi, cost, create, dead, death, deceased, dedicate, dedication, degree, different, difficult, difficult time, diploma, doctoral studies, doctorate, Domenico Scarlatti, Don Giovanni, Early music, energy, era, etude, excited, exciting, expression, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, Farley's House of Pianos, feast, Feast of All Souls, fee, festival, final, Florida, forward, Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, funeral march, gender, German, Germany, grief, guest artist, guild, Hanyang University, healing, hear, Home, home website, hope, host, humiity, imformation, impressive, Indiana University, Indonesia, instructor, intend, internationally, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Jacobi, Johann Sebastian Bach, Kangwoo Jin, Kawai, Kawai PIanos, Korea, layer, layers, lied, like, link, link'share, Liszt, litany, live performance, Ludwig van Beethoven, Luther, Luther Memorial Church, Madison, major key, masterpiece, May, Mead Witter School of Music, Mental health, minor key, Moonlight Sonata, movement, Mozart, multipile, multiple, Music, music critic, music faculty, music professor, Musician, nationally, Newspaper, online, opera, Orchestra, orchestral, pandemic, People, Performer Diploma, photo, photos, Pianist, Piano, piano technician, piece, play, playing, poem, Poetry, polyphonic, polyphony, popular, post, posthumous, posting, powerful, professor, program, program notes, Protestant, public, race, Radio, reach, recital, Robert Schumann, Romantic, Romantic music, Salon Piano Series, sample, Scarlatti, scholarship, Schubert, sense, Seoul, service, service fee, Shanghai, share, simple, Singing, Sonata, song, soothe, soul, Sound, South Korea, special, sponsor, Steve Apps, study, style, suffer, Sunday, Sweet Home, SweetHome, Symphonic Etudes, symphony, tag, Teacher, teaching, Texas A&M, texture, The Ear, theme and variations, thick, ticket, times, tone, Tongji University, touching, tragedy, Tragic, transcription, true, United States, universities, university, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, unprecedented, USA, UW, UW-Madison, UW-River Falls, variation, virtual, virtuosic, vocal music, voice, Website, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin State Journal, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, WORT, WORT-FM 89.9, WPR, write, YouTube
Classical music: A reader urges others to donate ticket refunds to support the arts. What do you think?
8 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: The Wisconsin Chamber Choir has canceled its upcoming concert, “Music She Wrote,” on April 18.
By Jacob Stockinger
A reader — who prefers to remain anonymous but who has been deeply involved in the Madison arts scene for a long time — recently wrote:
“I’d like to suggest an angle for your column: Encourage subscribers to the various arts organizations and single ticket holders who can afford it NOT to ask for a refund on their upcoming cancelled concerts, if or when they are offered that option.
“I subscribe — on my own or as part of others’ subscriptions — to the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below, in photo by Peter Rodgers), the Madison Opera, the Broadway musicals at the Overture Center, Forward Theater, and the Wisconsin Union Theater’s Concert series. (I also buy a lot of single tickets to chamber music concerts by the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society and to American Players Theatre in Spring Green.)
“As all those arts organizations cancel their concerts and plays, they still have costs. Forward Theater, for instance, is paying the full contract of all the people who were involved with the production of “The Amateurs.” And I’m glad they are.
“Personally, I will not be asking for a refund on any of the tickets I long ago purchased. I want the arts to stay healthy in Madison, and not asking for a refund is a small gesture in trying to make sure they are able to move forward.” (At bottom is the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, which just announced its summer schedule from June 7 to June 28 and has not cancelled anything. Go to: https://bachdancing.org)
“You reach a lot of people and you could plant a lot of powerful seeds by making this the topic of a column.”
If you are a member of a performing arts group, what do you think?
If you are a ticket holder, what do you think?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AmericanPlayersTheatre, #BachDancingandDynamiteSociety, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BroadwayMusical, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #ForwardTheater, #JacobStockinger, #JohannSebastianBach, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicSheWrote, #OperaMusic, #OrchestralMusic, #OvertureCenter, #PerformingArts, #SingleTickets, #SpringGreen, #TheAmateurs, #TheaterandDrama, #TheatreandDrama, #TheEar, #WisconsinChamberChoir, acting, afford, amateur, American Players Theatre, angle, announce, anonymous, Arts, ask, audience, Bach, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Baroque, blog, Broadway, Broadway musical, cancel, cancellation, Chamber music, Choir, choral music, Classical music, column, Concert, contract, cost, donate, donor, drama, encourage, event, Facebook, forward, Forward Theater, gesture, group, healthy, hear, help, involve, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, like, link, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mead Witter School of Music, member, move, Music, Music She Wrote, musicals, offer, opera, option, Orchestra, orchestral, organizations single, other, Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts, pay, People, performer, Performing arts, plant, play, post, posting, powerful, prefer, production, purchase, reach, reader, refund, scene, schedule, seeds, share, single, single tickets, Spring Green, subscriber, suggest, summer, symphony, tag, tcket, The Amateurs, The Ear, theater, theatre, think, ticket, topic, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, upcoming, urge, UW-Madison, vocal music, what, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Choir, you
Classical music: The Madison Symphony Orchestra announces its 2020-21 season to mark The Beethoven Year. Plus, this Sunday afternoon, the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra also celebrates The Beethoven Year
1 Comment
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: The Madison Symphony Orchestra has just announced its 2020-21 season, which is heavy on works from Beethoven’s mid-career “Heroic” period to mark the Beethoven Year celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of the composer (below).
Other composers to be featured include Haydn, Mozart, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Sibelius, Honegger, Grofé, Kabalevsky and the African-American composer George Walker.
Familiar soloists include pianists Olga Kern and Garrick Ohlsson; violinists James Ehnes and Gil Shaham. Also soloing are retired UW-Madison professor and MSO principal oboe Marc Fink and MSO concertmaster Naha Greenholtz.
The traditional Christmas Concert is in early December.
The “Beyond the Score” program in late January, with actors from American Players Theater in Spring Green, focuses on Stravinsky’s revolutionary “The Rite of Spring.” And the MSO Chorus will perform in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 “Choral” and “Missa Solemnis.”
All concerts will be conducted by John DeMain.
Here is a link to details about the season and how to subscribe: https://madisonsymphony.org/concerts-events/2020-2021-symphony-season-concerts/
Let The Ear know what you think of the new MSO season in the Comment section.
By Jacob Stockinger
This Sunday afternoon, Feb. 23, the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra of Edgewood College presents a special winter concert.
The performance is at 2:30 p.m. in McKinley Performing Arts Center of Edgewood High School, 2219 Monroe Street, on Madison’s near west side.
The conductor is Blake Walter (below, in a photo by John Maniaci) and the guest soloist is violinist David Huntsman.
The concert celebrates the 250th anniversary of the birth of the Ludwig van Beethoven.
The Chamber Orchestra will perform the Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36, by Beethoven, who seems influenced in this work by Mozart and especially his teacher Haydn but who moved beyond them in this symphony. (You can hear the innovative Scherzo movement, which replaced the traditional minuet, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Also on the program are Handel’s Overture to the opera “Semele” and the virtuosic Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso by Camille Saint-Saens, which features soloist David Huntsman (below).
Tickets are $5 for general admission, and admission is free with an Edgewood High School or Edgewood College ID.
Tags: #African-AmericanComposer, #AmericanPlayersTheatre, #AntoninDvorak, #ArthurHonegger, #BaroqueComposer, #BaroqueOpera, #BeethovenYear, #BeyondTheScore, #BlakeWalter, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CamilleSaint-Saens, #ChoralMusic, #ChoralSymphony, #DavidHuntsman, #DmitryKabalevsky, #EdgewoodChamberOrchestra, #EdgewoodCollege, #EdgewoodHighSchool, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FerdeGrofe, #FranzJosephHaydn, #GarrickOhlsson, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GeorgeWalker, #GilShaham, #HandelOpera, #IgorStravinsky, #IntroductionandRondoCapriccioso, #JacobStockinger, #JamesEhnes, #JeanSibelius, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyChorus, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarcFink, #MauriceRavel, #McKinleyPerformingArtsCenter, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MissaSolemnis, #NahaGreenholtz, #NinthSymphony, #OboeConcerto, #OdetoJoy, #OlgaKern, #OperaMusic, #OperaOverture, #OrchestralMusic, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #SpringGreen, #TheEar, #TheRiteofSpring, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VocalMusic, #WestSide, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, actors, admission, African American, American Players Theatre, anniversary, Antonín Dvořák, Arthur Honegger, Arts, audience, Baroque, Beethoven, Beethoven Year, Beyond the Score, birth, Blake Walter, blog, Camille Saint-Saëns, Cello, choral music, Choral Symphony, Christmas, Classical music, comment, composer, Concert, concertmaster, concerto, conductor, David Huntsman, Dmirty Kabalevsky, Dmitri Kabalevsky, Dvorak, Early music, Edgewood Chamber Orchestra, Edgewood College, Edgewood College Chamber Orchestra, Edgewood High School, Facebook, Ferde Grofe, forward, Franz Joseph Haydn, free, Garrick Ohlsson, George Frideric Handel, George Walker, Gil Shaham, Grofe, Gruff, Handel, Handel opera, Haydn, heavy, heroic, Honegger, ID, Igor Stravinsky, innovation, innovative, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Jacob Stockinger, Jean Sibelius, Kabalevsky, like, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Chorus, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marc Fink, mark, Maurice Ravel, McKinley Performing Arts Center, Mead Witter School of Music, mid-career, minuet, Missa Solemnis, movement, Mozart, MSO, Music, Naha Greenholtz, new season, Ninth Symphony, Oboe, Ode to Joy, Olga Kern, opera, Orchestra, orchestral music, Overture, Overture Center, Overture Hall, performer, period, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, pincipal, post, posting, public, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Ravel, replace, revolution, revolutionary, rondo, Saint-Saens, Scherzo, Season, section, Semele, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, share, Sibelius, soloist, special, Spring Green, Stravinsky, symphony, tag, Tchaikovsky, The Ear, The Rite of Spring, tickets, traditional, United States, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, Violin concerto, violinist, virtuosic, virtuoso, vocal music, west side, winter, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, works, YouTube
Classical music: This Sunday afternoon, the Madison Symphony Orchestra takes listeners “Behind the Score” of the Symphony No. 5 by Prokofiev
4 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
This Sunday afternoon, Jan. 19, at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall, the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below, in a photo by Peter Rodgers) and MSO music director John DeMain will present the story behind Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 with “Beyond the Score®: Sergei Prokofiev Symphony No. 5: Pure Propaganda?”
The one performance-only concert is a multimedia examination of the Russian composer’s musical celebration of the end of World War II. (You can hear the second movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The presentation stars American Players Theatre actors James Ridge (below top), Colleen Madden (below second), Marcus Truschinski (below third) and Sarah Day (below bottom).
Along with MSO pianist Dan Lyons (below), the concert experience features visual projections, photos and musical excerpts.
Then in the second half comes a full and uninterrupted performance of the Symphony No. 5 by the orchestra conducted by John DeMain (below, in a photo by Prasad).
“This is one of the great offerings of Beyond the Score,” says DeMain. “Three generations of great Russian composers influenced Sergei Prokofiev (below) from childhood into his adult years, helping him create the most popular of his big symphonies, his fifth.
Adds DeMain: “I have so much fun working with the great actors from the American Players Theatre as they interweave the backstory with the orchestra. The visuals for this production are spectacular. After intermission, we play this wonderful symphony in its entirety.”
Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 was published in 1944. Taking inspiration from his experiences in America and his return to the Soviet homeland after the war, Prokofiev expresses the heroic, beautiful and strong nature of the music.
This Beyond the Score production joins Prokofiev at the end of World War II and discovers his inspiration for Symphony No. 5.
Incorporating war video footage and propaganda photos, the program presents the historical context behind the classical piece turned masterpiece.
CONCERT, TICKET AND EVENT DETAILS
The lobby opens 90 minutes prior to each concert. The symphony recommends concert attendees arrive early for each performance to make sure they have time to pass through Overture Center’s security stations.
Program notes are available online for viewing in advance of the concerts: http://bit.ly/msojan20programnotes
- Single Tickets are $16-$70 each and are on sale now at: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/beyond-the-score-2020-prokofiev/through the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street, or by calling the Box Office at (608) 258-4141. Fees apply to online/phone sales.
- Groups of 10 or more can save 25% by calling the MSO office at (608) 257-3734. For more information, visit, https://www.madisonsymphony.org/groups.
- Seniors age 62 and up receive 20% savings on advance and day-of-concert ticket purchases in select areas of the hall.
Discounted seats are subject to availability, and discounts may not be combined.
ABOUT BEYOND THE SCORE®
For newcomers to classical music and longtime aficionados alike, each Beyond the Score® presentation is a dramatic exploration of a composer’s music.
Through live actors, stunning visual projections and virtuosic fragments of live music performed by members of the orchestra, the compelling story of the composer’s life and art unfolds, illuminating the world that shaped the music’s creation. Beyond the Score presentations weave together theater, music and design to draw audiences into the concert hall and into a work’s spirit.
The popular program seeks to open the door to the symphonic repertoire for first-time concertgoers as well as to encourage an active, more fulfilling way of listening for seasoned audiences.
At its core is the live format of musical extracts, spoken clarification, theatrical narrative, and hand-paced projections on large central surfaces, performed in close synchrony.
After each program, audiences return from intermission to experience the resulting work performed in a regular concert setting, equipped with a new understanding of its style and genesis.
Beyond the Score® is a production of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Gerard McBurney, Creative Director for Beyond the Score®
Exclusive funding for this concert is provided by the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.
Tags: #AmericanPlayersTheatre, #Beautifulmusic, #BeyondTheScore, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChicagoSymphonyOrchestra, #ColleenMadden, #ConcertHall, #DanLyons, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GerardMcBurney, #HistoricalContext, #JacobStockinger, #JamesRidge, #JohnDeMain, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarcusTruschinski, #MusicalStyle, #MusicDirector, #OpeningStatement, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #PleasantT.Rowland, #ProgramNotes, #RussianComposer, #SarahDay, #SeniorCitizen, #SergeiProkofiev, #SovietUnion, #SpingGreen, #Sundayafternoon, #TheEar, #TheU.S., #UnitedStates, #WarFootage, #WorldWarII, #YouTubevideo, Actor, adult, aficionado, Aftermath of World War II, America, American Players Theatre, Art, Arts, audience, backstory, beautiful, Beyond the Score, blog, celebration, Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, childhood, classic music, classicalmusic, Colleen Madden, composer, Concert, concert hall, context, Creation, DAN LYONS, discount, discover, door, drama, dramatic, end, equip, excerpts, experience, exploration, express, Facebook, film, format, forward, foundation, fun, generation, Genesis, Gerard McBurney, great, group, heroic, historical, History, homeland, illuminate, incorporate, influence, insight, inspiration, intermission, Jacob Stockinger, James Ridge, John DeMain, life, like, link, listen, lobby, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maestro, Marcus Truschinski, masterpiece, movement, movie, multimedia, Music, Music director, musical, narrative, nature, new, newcomer, offering, online, open, Orchestra, Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts, Overture Hall, perfomer, photos, Pianist, Piano, Pleasant T. Rowland, popular, post, posting, presentation, program notes, projection, Prokofiev, propaganda, pure, repertoire, repertory, Russia, Russian, Sarah Day, savings, seasoned, security, senior, senior citizen, Sergei Prokofiev, shape, share, Soviet, Soviet Union, spectacular, spoken, sponsor, Spring Green, Spring Green Wisconsin, star, story, strong, style, Sunday afernoon, symphony, tag, The Ear, theater, tickets, U.S., understanding, United States, visual, war, Wisconsin, world, World War II, years, YouTube
Classical music: Madison Opera’s “A Little Night Music” proved totally satisfying as both music and theater
2 Comments
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
Larry Wells – The Opera Guy for The Well-Tempered Ear – went to both performances in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center last weekend by the Madison Opera of Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music” and filed the following review. Photos are by James Gill.
By Larry Wells
Although I was familiar with the recording, my first experience seeing “A Little Night Music” by Stephen Sondheim (below) was in London 25 years ago. I remember it as a theatrical experience – it featured Judi Dench and was performed at the National Theatre – more than as a musical event.
Two years ago, I saw it performed by Des Moines Metro Opera, and although it was “operatic” it was also sabotaged by a confusing, even chaotic, production designed by Isaac Mizrahi.
I finally experienced the complete package with the recent performances by the Madison Opera. It was a totally satisfying combination of acting, music and theatrical design.
Inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s film “Smiles of a Summer Night,” which in turn was inspired by Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “A Little Night Music” concerns itself with mismatched lovers who are eventually properly paired or else reconciled.
Without going into detail, suffice it to say that the carryings-on are amusing, the dialogue is witty, and the lyrics are sophisticated.
One of the earliest numbers in the show — the trio of songs “Later,” “Now” and “Soon” — set the tone for the evening musically. Each was performed individually by three fine singers – Quinn Bernegger, Jeni Houser (below left) and Daniel Belcher (below right).
In a musical tour-de-force, the three songs ultimately combined into one. Houser’s clear tone, Benegger’s intense passion, and Belcher’s suave lyricism promised an outstanding musical experience to come. Special praise must go to Bernegger (below) who sang while comically, but skillfully, miming playing a cello.
One show-stopper was Sarah Day’s “Liaisons” which was really perfect in its world-weariness. Day (below) — from American Players Theatre in Spring Green — half-declaimed and half-sang such memorable lines of regret as, “What once was a sumptuous feast is now figs. No, not even figs. Raisins.” Or amusing internal rhymes like “…indiscriminate women it…”. (I am completely taken by Sondheim’s clever use of language.)
Likewise, the singing of “Miller’s Son” by Emily Glick (below) was a good old Broadway rendition – no operatic pretense – and the audience, and I, loved it.
Charles Eaton (below left) as a puffed-up dragoon and Katherine Pracht (below right) as his long-suffering wife were both outstanding vocally and deftly comic.
The center of most of the activity was the character Desirée Armfeldt portrayed by Emily Pulley (below). At first I thought she was overacting, but then I realized that, of course, she was portraying a veteran stage actress – a matinee idol type – who had internalized theatrical gestures into her own character. Her “Send in the Clowns” stopped the show, and the lyrics finally made sense to me. (You can hear the familiar Judy Collins interpretation in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
But I would have to say that the star of the show was the chorus, a quintet of excellent voices – Stephen Hobe, Kirsten Larson, Benjamin Liupaogo, Emily Secor and Cassandra Vasta. They waltzed through the action while sliding the panels and frames that comprised the set, moving props, and commenting on the action.
Never obtrusive but always necessary, I thought they were a delight. The three women got to sing a brief round “Perpetual Anticipation” that is another wonder of Sondheim’s musical imagination.
As mentioned, sliding panels, along with dropping frames and panels, comprised the set. The continuous changing of the panels, the blocking and the movements of the quintet were the creative product of stage director Doug Schulz-Carlson (below). There was often a whirlwind of activity, but I was never distracted.
The costumes by Karen Brown-Larimore seemed straight out of Edward Gorey – which is a good thing. And altogether I felt it was the best production of the musical I’ve seen.
The orchestra was situated on stage behind the set, which made additional seats available close to the stage. People seated in those rows had to bend their necks to read the supertitles, but the diction was so consistently excellent that I rarely needed to even glance at the supertitles.
Praise is due for members of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and particularly conductor John DeMain (below, in a photo by Prasad). I heard subtleties in the music that had heretofore eluded me, and that is always a reward for attending a live performance and is a tribute to the maestro.
I was happy to see a younger audience, particularly Friday night. Let us hope that they were enchanted enough to attend the upcoming production on April 26 and 28 of Antonin Dvorak’s “Rusalka.”
This is an opera I have never seen; and until recently, I was familiar only with one of its arias, the so-called “Song to the Moon.”
But now that I have a recording, I realize that it is a musical treasure that should not be missed. I suppose the reasons it is not so frequently performed are that it is in Czech and its plot involves water sprites. But don’t let that stop you. The music is wonderful.
Tags: #ALittleNightMusic, #AmericanPlayersTheatre, #AMIdsummerNight'sDream, #AntoninDvorak, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BroadwayMusical, #CapitolTheater, #CzechLanguage, #DesMoines, #DesMoinesMetroOpera, #DougSchulz-Carlson, #EdwardGorey, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GoodThing, #GreatBritain, #husband-and-wife, #IngmarBergman, #IsaacMizrahi, #JamesGill, #JohnDeMain, #JudiDench, #JudyCollins, #KarenBrown-Larimore, #LarryWells, #LivePerformance, #LondonEngland, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MatineeIdol, #Miller'sSon, #MusicReview, #OperaReview, #OvertureCenter, #SarahDay, #SendintheClowns, #Show-stopper, #SmilesofaSummerNight, #SongtotheMoon, #SpringGreen, #StageActress, #StageDirector, #StephenSondheim, #TheWell-TemperedEar, #WaterSprite, #WilliamShakespeare, #World-Weariness, A Little Night Music, A Midsummer Night's Dream, acting, action, activity, actress, American Players Theatre, amusing, Antonín Dvořák, Arts, audience, blog, Broadway, Capitol, Capitol Theater, Cello, chaotic, character, choral music, chorus, Classical music, clear, clever, comic, Compact Disc, complete, composer, conductor, confusing, costumes, Czech, declaim, delight, Des Moines Metro Opera, design, details, dialogue, diction, distraction, Doug Schulz-Carlson, Edward Gorey, enchant, event, experience, Facebook, film, forward, frame, gesture, good, Great Britain, husband, idol, imagination, Ingmar Bergman, intense, internal, Iowa, Isaac Mizrahi, Jacob Stockinger, James Gill, John DeMain, Judi Dench, Judy Collins, Karen Brown-Larimore, language, Larry Wells, liaison, like, lines, link, live, London, Love, lover, lyricism, lyrics, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, matinee, memorable, Miller's Son, movie, Music, music review, musical, National Theatre, opera, operatic, Orchestra, outstanding, Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts, package, pair, panel, Passion, performance, performer, photo, post, posting, praise, pretense, props, reconcile, recording, regret, review, rhyme, Rusalka, Sarah Day, seats, Send in the Clowns, set, Shakespeare, share, sing, Singing, skillful, Smiles of a Summer Night, song, Song to the Moon, sophisticated, Spring Green, stage, stage director, star, Stephen Sondheim, suave, suffering, supertitles, symphony, tag, The Well-Tempered Ear, theater, theatre, theatrical, thing, tone, trio, type, UK, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, use, Veteran, vocal music, vocally, Waltz, water sprite, weariness, weary, whirlwind, wife, Wisconsin, wit, witty, wonderful, world, young, YouTube
Classical music: Starting this Thursday, Madison Opera offers FREE preview events leading up to its staging of Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music” on Feb. 8 and 10
Leave a 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.
ALERT: This Friday’s FREE Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features harpsichordist Trevor Stephenson, artistic director of the Madison Bach Musicians, will play selections by Johann Sebastian Bach for solo harpsichord. He will be joined by baroque flutist Kristen Davies for Bach’s Sonata in C major for Flute and Harpsichord. The concert runs from 12:15 to 1 p.m.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post:
The Madison Opera will present Stephen Sondheim’s classic A Little Night Music on Friday, Feb. 8, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 10, at 2:30 p.m. in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center for the Arts, 201 State Street.
One of the most popular stage pieces of the 20th century, this modern operetta waltzes through a story of the complications of love across generations, spiced with sparkling wit and rueful self-awareness.
Set in Sweden in the early 1900s, A Little Night Music tells of multiple couples with mixed ideas of love. During a weekend in the country, marriages are made and unmade and the summer nights smile on the young and old alike. Through delicious humor and a ravishing score, human folly eventually gives way to happily-ever-after.
“A Little Night Music is an absolutely delicious piece,” says Kathryn Smith (below, in a photo by James Gill), Madison Opera’s general director. “I think of it as a grown-up operetta, with some of the best dialogue and lyrics ever written, all to Sondheim’s brilliant score. It’s a delightful way to spend a winter evening, and I’m so thrilled with our cast and production team, who are creating a new production for the Capitol Theater.”
“A Little Night Music” opened on Broadway in 1973 to rave reviews. The New York Times wrote: “At last, a new operetta! A Little Night Music is heady, civilized, sophisticated, and enchanting.”
It has since been performed by both theater and opera companies all over the world and was revived on Broadway in 2009. Sondheim composed the score entirely in variations of waltz time, and it includes several now-classic songs, such as “Send in the Clowns,” “A Weekend in the Country,” and “The Miller’s Son.” (You can hear Dame Judi Dench singing a restrained but deeply moving rendition of “Send in the Clowns” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
“Can you imagine? An entire musical composed in some form of waltz time,” says John DeMain (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson), Madison Opera’s artistic director. “I love this score, which feels like Johann Strauss meets the harmonies of Ravel. It’s an incredible verbal and musical achievement that gets better every time I hear it. Madison Opera’s cast should prove to be sensational as we bring this Sondheim masterpiece to life. I so look forward to conducting it.”
Madison Opera’s cast features both returning artists and debuts.
Emily Pulley (below top) returns to Madison Opera as Desirée Armfeldt, a famous actress searching for “a coherent existence after so many years of muddle.” Daniel Belcher returns as Fredrik, Desirée’s ex-lover, who is currently married to the 18-year-old Anne, played by Wisconsin native Jeni Houser (below bottom), who recently made her debut at the Vienna State Opera.
Sarah Day (below), a member of the core acting company of American Players Theatre in Spring Green, makes her debut as Madame Armfeldt, the elegant ex-courtesan who is Desirée’s mother. Charles Eaton returns as Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm, Desirée’s current lover; his wife Charlotte is played by Katherine Pracht in her Madison Opera debut.
Rounding out the cast are Quinn Bernegger as Henrik, son of Fredrik; Emily Glick as the maid Petra; and Maddie Uphoff as Fredrika, Desirée’s 13-year-old daughter.
The Liebeslieders, who function as a waltz-prone Greek chorus throughout the show, are portrayed by Emily Secor, Cassandra Vasta, Kirsten Larson, Benjamin Liupaogo, and Stephen Hobe.
Doug Schulz-Carlson (below) returns to direct. The artistic director of the Great River Shakespeare Festival, his most recent Madison Opera production was Romeo and Juliet in 2016.
The original set is designed by R. Eric Stone (below top) and is being built in the Madison Opera Scene Shop. The costumes are designed by Karen Brown-Larimore (below bottom), who most recently designed costumes for Madison Opera’s production of Florencia en el Amazonas.
Members of the Madison Symphony Orchestra accompany Sondheim’s gorgeous score.
PREVIEW EVENTS
Events leading up to the performances can help the community learn more about A Little Night Music.
A FREE community preview will be held this Thursday, Jan. 17, from 7 to 8 p.m. at Capitol Lakes Retirement Community, 333 West Main Street.
Opera Novice, also FREE, takes place this Friday, Jan. 18, from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Madison Opera Center (below), 335 West Mifflin Street, and offers a free, entertaining look at the works of Stephen Sondheim including A Little Night Music.
Opera Up Close — which is free to season subscribers and costs $20 for others — provides an in-depth discussion of the production, including a cast roundtable, and takes place on Feb. 3 from 1-3 p.m. at the Madison Opera Center, 335 West Mifflin Street.
Pre-Opera Talks will take place at the Overture Center one hour prior to each performance.
For more information, including interviews with cast members and the production team, and to get tickets ($25-$115), go to: https://www.madisonopera.org/2018-2019-season/a-little-night-music/
Madison Opera’s production of “A Little Night Music” is sponsored by Thompson Investment Management, Inc., Fran Klos, David Flanders and Susan Ecroyd, and Charles Snowdon and Ann Lindsey.
Tags: #20thCentury, #ALittleNightMusic, #AmericanPlayersTheatre, #ArtisticDirector, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogInterview, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BroadwayMusical, #CapitolLakes, #CapitolTheater, #ChamberMusic, #DougSchulz-Carlson, #DramaReview, #EmilyPulley, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FirstUnitarianSocietyofMadison, #FlorenciaenelAmazonas, #FluteMusic, #FluteSonata, #GreatRiverShakespeareFestival, #GreekChorus, #HarpsichordMusic, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #JeniHouser, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohannStrauss, #JudiDench, #MadisonBach Musicians, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonOperaCenter, #MauriceRavel, #MusicReview, #NewYorkCity, #NoonMusicale, #OvertureCenter, #PeriodInstrument, #PeriodInstruments, #PopularMusic, #RevivalProduction, #RomeoandJuliet, #SarahDay, #SeasonSubscriber, #SendintheClowns, #SpringGreen, #StephenSondheim, #TheEar, #TheNewYorkTImes, #ThompsonInvestmentManagement, #TrevorStephenson, #ViennaStateOpera, #WilliamShakespeare, #YouTubevideo, 20th-century, A Little Night Music, achievement, American Players Theatre, annoucement, artist, Arts, audience, Bach, Baroque, blog, Broadway, Capitol Lakes, Capitol Theater, cast, Chamber music, choral music, chorus, Classical music, coherent, community, composer, conductor, costume, country, couple, courtesan, daughter, debut, delicious, design, dialogue, direct, director, discussion, Doug Schulz-Carlson, drama, Early music, elegant, Emily Pulley, event, existence, Facebook, First Unitarian Society of Madison, Florencia en el Amazonas, flute, forward, Frday, free, funding, generation, gorgeous, Great River Shakespeare Festival, Greek, Greek chorus, harmonies, harmony, harpsichord, historically informed performance practices, human, Humor, interview, investment, Jacob Stockinger, Jeni Houser, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Strauss, Judi Dench, learn, life, like, link, Love, lover, lyrics, Madison, Madison Baroque Musicians, Madison Opera, Madison Opera Center, maid, Marriage, masterpiece, modern, Mother, Mozart, Music, music review, musical, musicale, native, New York City, New York Times, noon, old, opera, Operetta, Orchestra, Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts, performer, period instruments, piece, popular music, post, posting, preview, rave, Ravel, Retirement, review, Romeo and Juliet, roundtable, Sarah Day, score, self-awareness, Send in the Clowns, sets, Shakespeare, share, shop, show, singer, solo, son, Sonata, song, sponsor, Spring Green, Spring Green Wisconsin, stage, Stephen Sondheim, subscriber, summer, Sunday, Sweden, symphony, tag, The Ear, The New York Times, Thompson Investment Management, time, Trevor Stephenson, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, variation, verbal, Vienna State Opera, vocal music, Waltz, weekend, winter, Wisconsin, wit, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, word, young, YouTube
Classical music: With actors and multimedia, the Madison Symphony Orchestra explores Felix Mendelssohn in Italy this coming Sunday afternoon
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
This coming Sunday afternoon, Jan. 20, at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall, the Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO) and its music director John DeMain will present the story behind Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 “Italian” with Beyond the Score®: Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4: Why Italy? (Ticket information is further down.)
The concert is a multimedia examination of German composer Felix Mendelssohn’s travels through Italy.
Starring American Players Theatre actors Sarah Day (below top), Jonathan Smoots (below middle) and Nate Burger (below bottom), the concert experience features visual projections, photos, musical excerpts and a full performance of the Symphony No. 4 by the MSO, with John DeMain conducting, in the second half.
In 1830, a young 21-year-old Mendelssohn (below) visited the Italian countryside and the historic cities of Venice, Naples and Rome.
Three years later, he set his journey to music and composed his fourth Symphony — later to be known as his “Italian” Symphony. Though it eventually became one of the composer’s most popular works, the piece was performed only twice during his lifetime and published four years after his death in 1851. (You can hear the rousing final movement of the “Italian Symphony” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Designed for classical music lovers and newcomers looking for a deeper look into the world of classic music and the motivations of significant compositions, “Beyond the Score®: Why Italy?” joins Mendelssohn on his travels in Italy and discovers his inspiration for this symphonic work.
Incorporating the composer’s own letters and writings, the program presents the historical context behind the classical piece turned masterpiece.
Program notes by J. Michael Allsen are available at: http://www.allsenmusic.com/NOTES/1819/4AJan19.html
Single Tickets are $16 to $70 each, available at https://madisonsymphony.org/event/beyond-the-score-mendelssohn/, through the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street, or by calling the box office at (608) 258-4141.
Groups of 10 or more can save 25% by calling the MSO office at (608) 257-3734. For more information, visit https://madisonsymphony.org/concerts-events/buy-tickets/group-discounts/.
Student rush tickets can be purchased in person on the day of the concert at the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street. Students must show a valid student ID and can receive up to two $10 or $20 tickets. More information is at: https://madisonsymphony.org/concerts-events/buy-tickets/offers-discounts/. Students can receive 20% savings on seats in select areas of the hall on advance ticket purchases.
Seniors age 62 and up receive 20% savings on advance and day-of-concert ticket purchases in select areas of the hall.
Discounted seats are subject to availability, and discounts may not be combined.
Exclusive funding for this concert is provided by the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation. Beyond the Score® is a production of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Gerard McBurney is the Creative Director for Beyond the Score®
Tags: #AmericanPlayersTheatre, #BeyondTheScore, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #ChicagoSymphonyOrchestra, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FelixMendelssohn, #GerardMcBurney, #GermanComposer, #ItalianSymphony, #JohnDeMain, #JonathanSmoots, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicalExcerpt, #NaplesItaly, #NateBurger, #OvertureHall, #PleasantT.Rowland, #RomeItaly, #SarahDay, #SeniorCitizen, #SpringGreen, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VeniceItaly, #YouTubevideo, Actor, American Players Theatre, APT, Arts, audience, Beyond the Score, blog, box office, Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, cities, city, Classical music, composer, Composition, Concert, countryside, creative, death, director, discount, discover, Europe, examination, excerpt, experience, Facebook, Felix Mendelssohn, forward, foundation, funding, Gerard McBurney, German, group, hall, historic, ID, inspiration, Italian Symphony, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, John DeMain, Jonathan Smoots, lifetime, like, link, lover, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mead Witter School of Music, media, motivation, MSO, multimedia, Music, musical, musical excerpt, Naples, Nate Burger, newcomer, Orchestra, Overture Center, Overture Hall, performer, photo, Pleasant T. Rowland, popular, production, projection, publish, Rome, Sarah Day, seat, senior, senior citizen, share, Sunday, symphonic, symphony, tag, ticket, travel, United States, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Venice, visual, Wisconsin, work, world, YouTube
Classical music: Can the annual Handel Aria Competition be improved? Here are two modest proposals from a fan. What do you think?
9 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
Here is a guest posting by George Savage, a blog follower who is a self-described musical amateur. In his youth he sang in choirs and had a bit solo part of Morales in his college production of Bizet’s Carmen. Then, a long musical hiatus until his 60th birthday celebration, when he sang Leonard Cohen’s song “Hallelujah,” black hat in hand, knees on floor.
Most of his adult life was spent teaching literature and composition at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, specializing in the American Renaissance. To the extent he has stayed connected to the world of music, it is through his daughter Kelly Savage, who has a D.M.A in harpsichord from Stony Brook University and now teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
By George Savage
As my bio indicates, I am a musical amateur, meaning simply that I am a lover (French amateur) of music. For the past three years, I have had this love rekindled through the annual Handel Aria Competition in Madison, Wisconsin.
The vocal quality has consistently been high — especially this year! — and it is fun to vote for the Audience Favorite, even when the judges disagree with your assessment.
(Editor’s note: This year the Audience Favorite was mezzo-soprano Lindsay Metzger, below top, while the three judges awarded First Prize to soprano Suzanne Karpov, below bottom. Here is a link to story about all the winners: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2018/06/11/classical-music-here-are-the-winners-of-friday-nights-sixth-annual-handel-aria-competition/).
My heartfelt congratulations go to Dean and Carol “Orange” Schroeder (below) for establishing this annual competition in 2013 and for the many supporters who have made this competition a success.
I have two modest proposals, though, for improvement, one minor and one major.
A minor proposal: Unless you have an encyclopedic knowledge of opera — and I know that some people reading this have that knowledge — you will not know the context of the arias.
I propose that the program notes contain a brief context for each of the arias. Alternatively, the singers – below are the seven finalists this year — could introduce their songs with a similar brief context.
A major proposal: As I listened this year to Handel piece after Handel piece after Handel piece, I wondered: “Could there be some variation?”
I started to think of other festivals that started with a single-artist focus but then gradually expanded, such as the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, or, closer to home, the American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin.
Both summer theater venues began with a single focus – Shaw and Shakespeare — but then evolved while at the same time staying true to their precipitating muse.
There is still lots of Shaw at the Shaw festival and lots of Shakespeare at APT. The same is true of the Carmel Bach Festival, which started with Bach but now has expanded to include many other forms of classical music. The same holds true for the famous Mostly Mozart Festival in New York City, which continues to expand its repertoire beyond Mozart.
In that spirit, I wonder if the singers at the Handel Competition, back up by the period-instrument Madison Bach Musicians, could in future events sing two selections — the first an aria by Handel and the second a non-Handel Baroque aria of the singer’s choice.
I think many singers would welcome the expanded repertoire and the audience would appreciate the added variety. The judging would be murkier, but it would be a good kind of murky.
I hope these proposals will engender a discussion: Should the competition be tweaked, or should it stay the same?
Your thoughts on these two proposals would be appreciated as well as other suggestions of your own.
Tags: #AmericanLiterature, #AmericanPlayersTheatre, #AmericanRenaissance, #BaroqueMusic, #BaroqueOpera, #BaroqueSingingStyle, #BlogPost, #CarmelBachFestival, #ChoralMusic, #GeorgeBernardShaw, #GeorgesBizet, #HandelAriaCompetition, #LeonardCohen, #MadisonBachMusicians, #MostlyMozart, #MostlyMozartFestival, #NewYorkCity, #Niagara-on-the-Lake, #PeriodInstruments, #SanFrancisco, #SanFranciscoConservatory, #ShawFestival, #SpringGreen, #StonyBrookUniversity, #UnitedState, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityofWisconsin-Whitewater, #WilliamShakepseare, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, amateur, American, Arts, Baroque, birthday, Bizet, blog, Canada, celebration, Chamber music, Choir, choral music, Classical music, Competition, composer, Composition, congratulations, Early music, earlymusic, finalists, floor, French, George Bernard Shaw, Hallelujah, hand, harpsichord, hat, judge, judges, literature, Love, Madison, major, Mezzo-soprano, minor, Mostly Mozart Festival, Mozart, muse, Music, New York City, opera, professional, proposal, repertoire, Shakespeare, singer, Singing, song, soprano, success, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, world
Classical music: On Sunday, the Madison Symphony Orchestra will crack the code of Elgar’s “Enigma” Variations
1 Comment
By Jacob Stockinger
So what is the mystery or puzzle behind the famous “Enigma” Variations by the British composer Sir Edward Elgar?
On this Sunday afternoon, the Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO, below) and music director John DeMain will explore Sir Edward Elgar’s famous and frequently performed Enigma Variations.
The concert is at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall of the Overture Center, 201 State Street. Ticket information is below.
Created by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, “Beyond the Score® Elgar: Enigma Variations” is a musical experience that involves a multimedia examination of the music. This is the third “Beyond the Score” production done by the MSO.
The first half is accompanied by photos and image projections, musical excerpts and narration by Wisconsin Public Radio’s Norman Gilliland (below top) along with actors James Ridge (below second), Kelsey Brennan (below third), and Brian Mani (below bottom) from American Players Theatre in Spring Green.
The second half features a full performance of Enigma Variations in its entirety, with audience members listening with a deeper understanding of the composer and the music.
There are really two enigmas within the piece, the most famous work by Edward Elgar (below) after his “Pomp and Circumstance” March No. 1 in D Major used at graduations.
The first enigma is about whom each piece was written, bringing about much speculation as each piece is named with only initials. (You can hear the famous “Nimrod” variation in the YouTube video below.)
The second enigma is a musical enigma about the theme being a counterpoint of a popular tune, an enigma that remains unsolved.
To prepare with more information, variation by variation, here is a link to the Program Notes written by UW-Whitewater professor and MSO bass trombonist Michael Allsen:
http://www.allsenmusic.com/NOTES/1718/6A.bts18.html
This Beyond the Score® performance delves into those special personalities that are the basis for this famous musical masterpiece.
The MSO recommends that concert attendees arrive early for each performance to make sure they have time to pass through Overture Center’s security stations.
Single Tickets are $15-$65 each and are on sale now at https://www.madisonsymphony.org/singletickets, through the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street, or by calling the Box Office at (608) 258-4141. Balcony tickets are $15 and $35, and are still available.
Groups of 15 or more can save 25% by calling the MSO office at (608) 257-3734. For more information, visit: https://www.madisonsymphony.org/groups.
Student rush tickets can be purchased in person on the day of the concert at the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street. Students must show a valid student ID and can receive up to two $12 or $18 tickets. More information is at: https://www.madisonsymphony.org/studentrush
Seniors age 62 and up receive 20% savings on advance and day-of-concert ticket purchases in select areas of the hall.
Discounted seats are subject to availability, and discounts may not be combined.
Beyond the Score® is a production of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Gerard McBurney is the Creative Director for Beyond the Score®
Tags: #AmericanPlayersTheatre, #BeyondTheScore, #BritishComposers, #BritishMusic, #ChicagoSymphonyOrchestra, #EdwardElgar, #EnigmaVariations, #JohnDeMain, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #OvertureCenter, #PompAndCircumstance, #ThemeAndVariations, #WisconsinPublicRadio, Actor, afternoon, Arts, British, Cello, Chicago, Classical music, code, composer, crack, creative, discount, enigma, examination, excerpts, experience, explore, Gerard McBurney, graduation, group, image, initials, Jacob Stockinger, John DeMain, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, masterpiece, multimedia, Music, musical, mystery, narration, Nimrod, notes, Orchestra, Overture Center, performance, personalities, personality, photo, photyo, piece, Pomp and Circumstance, popular, production, professor, program, program notes, projection, puzzle, security, senior, solve, speculation, Spring Green, Spring Green Wisconsin, star, Sunday, theme and variations, ticket, Trombone, tune, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, unsolved, UW-Whitewater, Viola, Violin, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, YouTube
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 
Classical music: What will the fall concert season will look like? And what will the post-pandemic concert world be like?
3 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
This past week, The Ear listened to and read a lot of news about COVID-19 and the arts.
And it got him thinking: What will happen this fall with the new concert season? And even later, what will a post-pandemic concert world look like? (Below is the Madison Symphony Orchestra in a photo by Peter Rodgers.)
As you may have heard, the Tanglewood Festival, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has been canceled this year. So too has the Ravinia Festival, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Locally, American Players Theatre in Spring Green also just canceled its summer season.
So far, the summer season seems to be one big cancellation for the performing arts.
True, there are some exceptions.
The Token Creek Chamber Music Festival has yet to announce its plans for August.
One also has to wonder if crowds of up to 20,000 will feel safe enough to attend the Concerts on the Square (below), now postponed until late July and August, by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra?
Will people still want to attend the postponed Handel Aria Competition on Aug. 21 in Collins Recital Hall at the UW-Madison’s new Hamel Music Center, assuming the hall is open?
Fall events seem increasingly in question.
Last night on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said that sports events and concerts will be among the last mass gatherings to take place safely, probably not until next spring or summer or even later, depending on when a vaccine becomes available.
Some public health experts also offer dire predictions about how easing up lockdown restrictions too soon might lead to an even worse second wave of the coronavirus virus pandemic this autumn and winter, despite all the happy talk and blame-shifting by Team Trump.
So, what do you think will happen beyond summer?
The Ear wonders what the fallout will be from so many music groups and opera companies turning to free online performances by solo artists, symphony orchestras and chamber music ensembles.
Will season-opening concerts be canceled or postponed? What should they be? Will you go if they are held?
Will at-home listening and viewing become more popular than before?
Will the advances that were made in using streaming and online technology (below) during the lockdown be incorporated by local groups — the UW-Madison especially comes to mind — or expected by audiences?
In short, what will concert life be like post-pandemic and especially until a vaccine is widely available and a large part of the population feels safe, especially the older at-risk audiences that attend classical music events?
Will larger groups such as symphony orchestras follow the example of the downsized Berlin Philharmonic (below, in a photo from a review by The New York Times) and play to an empty hall with a much smaller group of players, and then stream it?
Will some free streaming sites move to requiring payment as they become more popular?
Live concerts will always remain special. But will subscriptions sales decline because audiences have become more used to free online performances at home?
Will most fall concerts be canceled? Both on stage and in the audience, it seems pretty hard to maintain social distancing (below is a full concert by the Madison Symphony Orchestra). Does that mean the health of both performers – especially orchestras and choral groups – and audiences will be put in jeopardy? Will the threat of illness keep audiences away?
Even when it becomes safe to attend mass gatherings, will ticket prices fall to lure back listeners?
Will programs feature more familiar and reassuring repertoire to potential audiences who have gone for months without attending live concerts?
Will expenses be kept down and budgets cut so that less money is lost in case of cancellation? Will chamber music be more popular? (Below is the UW-Madison’s Pro Arte Quartet during its suspended Beethoven cycle.)
Will fewer players be used to hold down labor costs?
Will imported and expensive guest artists be booked less frequently so that cancellations are less complicated to do?
Will many guest artists, like much of the public, refrain from flying until it is safer and more flights are available? Will they back out of concerts?
Will all these changes leave more concert programs to be canceled or at least changed?
There are so many possibilities.
Maybe you can think of more.
And maybe you have answers, preferences or at least intuitions about some the questions asked above?
What do you think will happen during the fall and after the pandemic?
What do you intend to do?
Please leave word, with any pertinent music or news link, in the comment section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Share this:
Like this:
Tags: #60Minutes, #AirTravel, #AmericanPlayersTheatre, #BeethovenStringQuartets, #BerlinPhilharmonic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BostonSymphony, #BudgetCuts, #ChamberMusic, #ChicagoSymphonyOrchestra, #ChoralMusic, #CollinsRecitalHall, #ConcertHall, #ConcertSeason, #ConcertsontheSquare, #COVID-19, #DonaldJ.Trump, #DonaldTrump, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FederalReserve, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GuestArtist, #HamelMusicCenter, #HandelAriaCompetition, #HappyTalk, #HighTechnology, #HomeWebsite, #JacobStockinger, #JeromePowell, #LaborCosts, #LastNight, #LiveMusic, #LiveStreaming, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyChorus, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MassGathering, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicReview, #NewYorkTimes, #PerformingArts, #PresidentDonaldTrump, #PresidentTrump, #ProArteQuartet, #PublicHealth, #RaviniaFestival, #SecondWave, #shelter-at-home, #SixtyMinutes, #SocialDistance, #SocialDistancing, #SpringGreen, #Stayathome, #StringQuartet, #SymphonyOrchestra, #TanglewoodFestival, #TheEar, #TokenCreekChamberMusicFestival, #TokenCreekFestival, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #YouTubevideo, 60 Minutes, air travel, American Players Theatre, answer, aria, artists, Arts, at home, at-risk, attend, audience, August, Autumn, Beethoven, Berlin Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, blame, blog, Book, Boston Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra, budget, budget cuts, cancel, cancellation, CBS, CBS-TV, chairman, Chamber music, Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, choral music, Classical music, Collins Recital Hall, comment, Competition, complicated, composer, Concert, concert hall, concert season, Concerts on the Square, coronavirus, cost, costs, do, Donald J. Trump, downsize, empty, ensemble, event, expense, expensive, Facebook, fall, fallout, familiar, Federal Reserve, flight, fly, forward, free, George Frideric Handel, guest artist, Hamel Music Center, Handel, Handel Aria Competition, happy talk, happy', Health, Home, illness, imported, intend, intuition, Jacob Stockinger, jeopardy, Jerome Powell, July, labor, labor costs, large, last night, like, link, listener, live music, lockdown, Ludwig van Beethoven, lure, Madison, Madison Symphony Chorus, Madison Symphony Orchestra, mass, mass gathering, Mead Witter School of Music, MSO, Music, music review, new, New York Times, news, older, online, opera, Orchestra, pandemic, PAQ, part, past, payment, performer, Performing arts, pertinent, photo, Piano, players, popular, population, post, posting, postpone, postponement, preference, President Trump, price, pro arte hamel, Pro Arte Quartet, Public health, question, Ravinia Festival, read, reassuring, relevant, repertoire, repertory, require, restrictions, safe, safely, Season, second wave, section, share, shift, site, Sixty Minutes, social distance, social distancing, solo, Sports, Spring Green, Spring Green Wisconsin, stage, sting quartet, stream, streaming, subscriber, subscription, summer, suspend, symphony, tag, talk, Tanglewood Festival, team, technology, Television, The Ear, think, threat, ticket, Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, Trump, TV, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, Violin, vocal music, Website, week, winter, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wonder, world, YouTube