The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Here is the music that Wisconsin Public Radio hosts find calming and inspiring during the pandemic. What music would you list?
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.
By Jacob Stockinger
One of the major sources of music during the COVID-19 public health crisis and the coronavirus pandemic is Wisconsin Public Radio.
The Ear finds WPR a reliable source of beauty and companionship during this difficult time of self-isolation and self-quarantining required by the state’s stay-at-home and self-distancing orders.
Each host plans and broadcasts hours of classical music each day. So they hear a lot of classical music.
They also contribute to a blog that offers insights to: new and old recordings; background information about the composers, music and performers; and personal observations about classical music.
Recently, the radio hosts – including Stephanie Elkins (below), Norman Gilliland, Lori Skelton, Ruthanne Bessman, Anders Yocom (at bottom, in a photo by James Gill) and Peter Bryant — listed the music that they find particularly calming and inspiring during a difficult and anxiety-ridden time.
The names of composers include Bach, Scarlatti, Mendelssohn, Mahler, Ysaye, Vaughan-Williams and film score master John Williams.
The list includes audio-visual performances of the pieces.
Take a look and listen.
Then tell us what you think of the various suggestions and which ones you prefer?
Also leave the composers, pieces and performers that you would add to such a list, with a YouTube link if possible.
Here is a link:
https://www.wpr.org/wpr-music-hosts-share-music-calms-and-inspires
Tags: #AndersYocom, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CelloMusic, #COVID-19, #DomenicoScarlatti, #EugeneYsaye, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FelixMendelssohn, #FilmMusic, #FilmScore, #GlennGould, #GustavMahler, #HarpMusic, #HarryPotter, #JacobStockinger, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnWilliams, #LeonardBernstein, #LoriSkelton, #MovieMusic, #MovieScore, #NormanGilliland, #PeterBryant, #PianoMusic, #PublicBroadcastingSystem, #PublicHealth, #RalphVaughanWilliams, #RuthanneBessman, #Self-Isolation, #Self-Quarantine, #StephanieElkins, #TheEar, #ViolinMusic, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WisocnsinPublicRadio, #YouTubevideo, Anders Yocom, anxiety, Bach, background, beauty, blog, Broadcast, calm, calming, Cello, cello music, Classical music, companion, companionship, composer, coronavirus, difficukt, Domenico Scarlatti, Eugene Ysaye, Facebook, Felix Mendelssohn, film, forward, Glenn Gould, Gustav Mahler, harp, Harry Potter, Health, host, hours, inspiration, inspire, inspiring, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Williams, Leonard Bernstein, like, link, Lori Skelton, major, Mendelssohn, movie, Music, new, Norman Gilliland, NPR, observation, old, online, Orchestra, pandemic, performer, personal, Peter Bryant, Piano, piano music, plan, post, posting, public, Public health, Radio, Ralph Vaughan Williams, recording, Recordings, reliable, require, Ruthanne Bessman, Scarlatti, Self-Quarantining, share, solo, Sonata, source, state, stay at home, Stephanie Elkins, Suite, symphony, tag, The Ear, time, vaughan williams, Violin, violin music, Website, Williams, wisconsin public radio, WPR, YouTube
Classical music: This weekend, prize-winning pianist Joyce Yang solos in Prokofiev’s most popular piano concerto with the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Works by Schumann and Aaron Jay Kernis round out the program
1 Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE 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 weekend, prize-winning pianist Joyce Yang (below) will return to Madison to join the Madison Symphony Orchestra in her local concerto debut and perform Prokofiev’s brilliant, bravura and tuneful Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26.
The concert opens with Kernis’ Newly Drawn Sky and concludes with Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 in C Major, Op. 61.
Performances will be held in Overture Hall, 201 State Street, on Friday night, Nov. 8, at 7:30 p.m.; on Saturday night, Nov. 9, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday afternoon, Nov. 10, at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets are $19-$95 with discounts available. See below for details.
Speaking about the program, music director and maestro John DeMain (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson) says: “November brings us another Madison Symphony debut, that of the amazing pianist Joyce Yang. She will perform the Prokofiev’s dazzling Piano Concerto No. 3, one of the great and most popular concertos, and certainly a favorite of mine.”
Adds DeMain: “I can’t wait for audiences to experience the hauntingly beautiful Newly Drawn Sky by Aaron Jay Kernis. And of the four symphonies by Robert Schumann, many regard his second as the greatest of them all.”
According to Aaron Jay Kernis (below), who has won the Pulitzer Prize and a Grammy Award and who teaches at the Yale School of Music, “Newly Drawn Sky” is “a lyrical, reflective piece for orchestra, a reminiscence of the first summer night by the ocean spent with my young twins, and of the summer sky at dusk.”
The chromatically shifting three-note chords that begin in the strings and transfer to the winds are a central element in the creation of this work. The works last approximately 17 minutes and was premiered at the Ravinia Festival in 2005 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
To read more about Kernis and his successful career, go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Jay_Kernis
Sergei Prokofiev (below) himself played the solo part at the world premiere of his Piano Concerto No. 3 on Dec. 16, 1921 in Chicago with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Although he started work on the composition as early as 1913, the majority of it was completed in 1921 and the piece didn’t gain popularity until 1922 when it was confirmed in the 20th-century canon. (You can hear Prokofiev play the first movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.) The Ear thinks that the work has much Russian Romanticism in it and if you like Rachmaninoff, you will probably like this Prokofiev.
Originally a composer for keyboard, Robert Schumann (below with wife Clara) began writing symphonies around the time of his marriage to his virtuoso pianist and composer wife Clara Wieck, who encouraged his compositional expansions.
The uplifting Symphony in C major was created while the composer was troubled with depression and hearing loss; a Beethovenian triumph over pessimism and despair, the creation of this symphony served as a healing process for Schumann.
ABOUT JOYCE YANG
Blessed with “poetic and sensitive pianism” (The Washington Post) and a “wondrous sense of color” (San Francisco Classical Voice), Grammy-nominated pianist Joyce Yang, who years ago played a recital at the Wisconsin Union Theater, captivates audiences with her virtuosity, lyricism and interpretive sensitivity.
Yang first came to international attention in 2005 when she won the silver medal at the 12th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The youngest contestant at 19 years old, she took home two additional awards: Best Performance of Chamber Music (with the Takacs Quartet), and Best Performance of a New Work.
In 2006 Yang (below) made her celebrated New York Philharmonic debut alongside conductor Lorin Maazel at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center along with the orchestra’s tour of Asia, making a triumphant return to her hometown of Seoul, South Korea.
CONCERT, TICKET AND EVENT DETAILS
The lobby opens 90 minutes prior to each concert.
One hour before each performance, Wisconsin Public Radio host Anders Yocom (below, in a photo by James Gill )will lead a 30-minute Prelude Discussion in Overture Hall to enhance concertgoers’ understanding and listening experience. It is free to ticket holders.
The MSO recommends concert attendees arrive early for each performance to make sure they have time to pass through Overture Center’s security stations, and so they can experience the Prelude Discussion.
Program notes for the concerts are available online: http://bit.ly/msonov19programnotes.
- Single Tickets are $19-$95 each and are on sale now at: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/joyce-yang-plays-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.
- 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 $15 or $20 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.
- Flex-ticket booklets of 8-10 vouchers for 2019-20 symphony subscription concerts are available. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/flex
- Subscriptions for the 2019–2020 season are available now. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/19-20
Discounted seats are subject to availability, and discounts may not be combined.
Major funding for this concert is provided by Madison Magazine, Stephen D. Morton, National Guardian Life Insurance Company, Scott and Janet Cabot, and Peggy and Tom Pyle. Additional funding provided by Foley & Lardner LLP, Howard Kidd and Margaret Murphy, and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts
Tags: #20thCentury, #AaronJayKernis, #AcademicFestivalOverture, #AndersYocom, #AsianComposer, #AveryFisher, #BestPerformance, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #ChamberMusic, #ChicagoIllinois, #ChicagoSymphonyOrchestra, #ClaraSchumann, #ClaraWieck, #ContemporaryComposer, #ContemporaryMusic, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FoleyandLardner, #Fridaynight, #GrammyAward, #GrammyNominations, #HearingLoss, #husband-and-wife, #JohnDeMain, #JoyceYang, #KeyboardMusic, #LifeInsurance, #LincolnCenter, #LivingComposer, #LorinMaazel, #MadisonMagazine, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MelodicMusic, #MusicalInterpretation, #MusicDirector, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #NationalGuardianLifeInsurance, #NewMusic, #NewWork, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #OrchestralMusic, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #PianoCompetition, #PianoConcerto, #Pre-concertLecture, #PreludeDiscussion, #Prize-Winning, #ProgramNotes, #PulitzerPrize, #RadioHost, #RaviniaFestival, #RobertSchumann, #RomanticMusic, #RussianRomanticism, #SaturdayNight, #SeniorCitizen, #SeoulSouthKorea, #SergeiProkofiev, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #SilverMedal, #SouthKorea, #SouthKorean, #Sovietcomposer, #SovietUnion, #StateOfWisconsin, #StephenD.Morton, #StringQuartet, #StringSection, #StudentRush, #SubscriptionTicket, #SummerNight, #Sundayafternoon, #TakacsQuartet, #TheEar, #TheWashingtonPost, #TomPyle, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #Wikipediabiography, #Wikipediaentry, #WindSection, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WorldPremiere, #YaleSchoolofMusic, #YaleUniversity, #YouTubevideo, 20th-century, Aaron Jay Kernis, afternoon, Anders Yocom, Arts, Asia, audience, Avery Fisher, Avery Fisher Hall, award, beautiful, Beethoven, Beethovenian, best performance, biography, blog, box office, bravura, brilliant, Canon, career, central, Chamber music, Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, children, chord, chords, chromatic, Clara Schumann, Clara Wieck, Classical music, classicalmusic, color, composer, Composition, Concert, concerto, conclude, conductor, contemporary, contestant, Creation, debut, depressing, depression, despair, discount, discussion, donor, drawn, dusk, early, element, experience, Facebook, favorite, favorite composers, Foley and Lardner, forward, Friday, funding, funds, Grammy Award, group, haunting, healing, hearing, hearing loss, hometown, husband, interpretation, interpretive, Jacob Stockinger, John DeMain, Joyce Yang, Keyboard, kids, Korean, lecture, life insurance, like, Lincoln, LIncoln Center, link, listening, living, Living composer, lobby, local, Lorin Maazel, loss, Love, Ludwig van Beethoven, lyrical, lyricism, Madison, Madison Magazine, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maestro, majority, Marriage, Mead Witter School of Music, melodic, modern, MSO, Music, Music director, musical, National Endowment for the Arts, National Guardian Life Insurance, NEA, New Music, new work, New York City, New York Philharmonic, newly, night, note, ocean, Orchestra, orchestral music, Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts, Overture Hall, perform, performance, performer, pessimism, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, piece, poetic, popular, post, posting, pre-concert, premiere, prize, process, program notes, Prokofiev, Pulitzer Prize, Rachmainoff, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Radio, radio host, Ravinia, Ravinia Festival, read, recital, reflective, reminiscence, Robert Schumann, Romantic, Romanticism, rush, Russia, Russian, San Francisco, Saturday night, Schumann, seats, security, senior, sense, sensitive, Seoul, Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, share, silver medal, sky, Soviet Union, speak, State of Wisconsin, Stephen D. Morton, string music, String quartet, strings, Student, subscription, summer, summer night, Sunday, support, symphonies, symphony, tag, Takacs Quartet, The Ear, The Washington Post, tickets, Tom Pyle, tour, transfer, triumph, trouble, tune, tuneful, twin, understanding, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, uplifting, USSR, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, video, virtuosity, virtuoso, voice, weekend, wife, Wikipedia, wind section, winds, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Union Theater, work, world premiere, WPR, Yale, Yale School of Music, Yale University, Yang, young, YouTube, YouTube video
Classical music: This weekend, the Madison Symphony Orchestra and other individuals and groups join forces to celebrate John DeMain’s 25th season with Mahler’s monumental “Symphony of a Thousand”
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.
By Jacob Stockinger
By any standard, it is epic music.
The stage in Overture Hall will have more than 500 participants on it this coming weekend when the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below, in a photo by Peter Rodgers) partners with the Madison Symphony Chorus, the Madison Youth Choirs, the UW–Madison Choral Union and eight critically acclaimed vocal soloists to bring a performance of Gustav Mahler’s massive Symphony No. 8 — or “Symphony of a Thousand.”
For the first time since 2005, MSO music director and conductor John DeMain will conduct one of the largest undertakings in the classical music repertoire as the final concert marking his Silver Anniversary Season.
Performances will be held in Overture Hall of the Overture Center, 201 State St., on Friday night, May 3, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday night, May 4, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday afternoon, May 5, at 2:30 p.m.
Information about tickets ($18-$93) is below.
Says DeMain (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson): “I have spent 25 years with this orchestra and chorus. In that time, our collaboration on Gustav Mahler’s monumental Symphony No. 8 in 2005 stands out as perhaps the most memorable. I feel a magnetic affinity with Mahler, and began my career 25 years ago with his first symphony. I am honored and moved to conduct this work and feel it is the perfect conclusion to my 25th season.”
Composed in December 1906, Symphony No. 8 is the last work by Mahler (below) to be premiered in his lifetime. It is one of the largest-scale choral works in the classical concert repertoire, and because it requires huge instrumental and vocal forces, it is frequently called the “Symphony of a Thousand.” (Below is a photo of the final rehearsal for the world premiere performance in Munich in 1910.)
The structure of the work is unconventional; instead of the normal framework of several movements, the piece is in two parts.
Part I is based on the Latin text of a 9th-century Christian hymn for Pentecost, and Part II is a setting of the words from the closing scene of Goethe’s Faust.
The two parts are unified by a common idea: redemption through the power of love, a unity conveyed through shared musical themes.
Symphony No. 8 is revered as one of the greatest achievements of classical concert repertoire and expresses the composer’s confidence in the eternal human spirit. (You can hear Sir Simon Rattle conduct the Berlin Philharmonic in the famous finale of the Symphony No. 8 in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
ABOUT THE PERFORMERS
The distinguished solo singers are: soprano Alexandra LoBianco; soprano Emily Birsan (below), who just last weekend sang the title role in the Madison Opera’s production of Antonin Dvorak’s “Rusalka”; soprano Emily Pogorelc; mezzo-soprano Milena Kitic; mezzo-soprano Julie Miller; tenor Clay Hilley; baritone Michael Redding; and bass-baritone Morris Robinson.
For photos and impressive biographical information about the soloists, go to:
https://madisonsymphony.org/event/symphony-of-a-thousand/
The Madison Symphony Chorus (below top, in a photo by Greg Anderson) gave its first public performance on Feb. 23, 1928 and has performed regularly with the Madison Symphony Orchestra ever since.
The chorus is comprised of more than 150 volunteer musicians who come from all walks of life and enjoy combining their artistic talent under the direction of Beverly Taylor (below bottom), who is the director of Choral Activities at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music.
Inclusive of members of all skill levels, the Madison Youth Choirs (below), Michael Ross director, incorporate singers from ages 7-18 into their orchestration.
The choirs aim to introduce youths interested in musical performance to collaborative forms of self-confidence and responsibility in the atmosphere of musical training. Randal Swiggum is conducting rehearsals preparing members of the choir for the MSO’s May Symphony of a Thousand concerts.
With 150 members, the UW-Madison Choral Union (below) fuses university and non-university members. Under the direction of Beverly Taylor, former associate conductor of the MSO who also teaches at the UW-Madison, the Choral Union is another testament to the musical outreach in the Madison arts.
CONCERT, TICKET and EVENT DETAILS
The lobby opens 90 minutes prior to each concert. One hour before each performance, Wisconsin Public Radio host Anders Yocom (below, in a photo by James Gill) will lead a 30-minute Prelude Discussion in Overture Hall to enhance concertgoers’ understanding and listening experience. It is free to ticket-holders.
The Symphony recommends concert attendees arrive early for each performance to make sure they have time to pass through Overture Center’s security stations so they can experience the Prelude Discussion.
Program notes for the concerts are available online: http://bit.ly/msomay19programnotes
- Single Tickets are $18-$93 each and are on sale now at: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/symphony-of-a-thousandthrough 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.
- 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 $15 or $20 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.
- Flex-ticket booklets of 10 vouchers for 19-20 symphony subscription concerts are available. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/flex
- Subscriptions for the 2019-2020 season are available now. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/19-20
Discounted seats are subject to availability, and discounts may not be combined.
Major funding provided by NBC15, Larry and Jan Phelps, Diane Ballweg, Carla and Fernando Alvarado, Johnson Financial Group, and University Research Park. Additional funding provided by DeWitt LLP, Kennedy Gilchrist and Heidi Wilde, Thomas E. Terry, Fred A. Wileman, Helen L. Wineke, and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Tags: #AlexandraLoBianco, #AndersYocom, #AntoninDvorak, #BerlinGermany, #BerlinPhilharmonic, #BeverlyTaylor, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianHymn, #ClayHilley, #CommunityChorus, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #DianeBallweg, #EmilyBirsan, #EmilyPogorelc, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GustavMahler, #HumanSpiirt, #InstrumentalMusic, #JohnDeMain, #JulieMiller, #LawFirm, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonSymphonyChorus, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MadisonYouthChoirs, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Mezzo-sopranoSinger, #MichaelRedding, #MichaelRoss, #MilenaKitic, #MorrisRobinson, #MunichGermany, #MusicDirector, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #OperaMusic, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #ProgramNotes, #RadioHost, #RadioShow, #RandalSwiggum, #SeasonSubscriber, #SeniorCitizen, #SilverAnniversary, #SimonRattle, #SopranoSinger, #StateOfWisconsin, #SymphonyofaThousand, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityResearchPark, #UWChoralUnion, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #WisconsinPublic Radio, #WorldPremiere, #YouTubevideo, achievement, affinity, Alexandra LoBianco, Anders Yocom, Antonín Dvořák, Arts, audience, baritone, bass, bass-baritone, Berlin, Berlin Philharmonic, Beverly Taylor, biographical, blog, Campus, career, choral music, chorus, Christian hymn, Classical music, classicalmusic, Clay Hilley, closing, collaboration, community, composer, Concert, conclusion, conduct, conductor, confidence, Diane Ballweg, director, discount, discussion, donor, Dvorak, Emily Birsan, Emily Pogorelc, epic, Facebook, famous, Faust, finale, first, forward, framework, free, funding, Germany, Goethe, great, group, Gustav Mahler, honored, huge, human, human spirit, impressive, information, instrumental, instrumental music, Jacob Stockinger, John DeMain, Julie Miller, last work, Latin, law firm, like, link, Love, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Chorus, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Youth Choirs, magnetic, massive, Mead Witter School of Music, memorable, Mezzo-soprano, Michael Redding, Michael Ross, Milena Kitic, Morris Robinson, moved, MSO, Munich, Music, Music director, National Endowment for the Arts, NBC15, NEA, normal, online, opera, Orchestra, outreach, Overture Center, Overture Hall, Part 1, Part 2, participant, Pentecost, performance, performer, photo, power, Prelude, program notes, public, Radio, Randal Swiggum, redemption, rehearsal, repertoire, repetory, Research Park, Rusalka, scale, scene, Season, security, seniors, share, silver anniversary, Simon Rattle, solo, soloist, soprano, spirit, State of Wisconsin, structure, Student, subscriber, symphony, Symphony of a Thousand, tag, testament, text, theme, ticket, unconventional, United States, unity, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Research Park, UW Choral Union, vocal soloists, weekend, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, wisconsin public radio, world premiere, YouTube
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 
Classical music: The Virtual Bach Around the Clock 2020 festival ends today. Here’s how to catch up on the 10 days of making Baroque music
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.
By Jacob Stockinger
If you recall, this year’s 12-hour Bach Around the Clock festival – a platform for students, amateurs and professional musicians to celebrate the birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach (below) — was scheduled to take place at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church on Saturday, March 28.
Faced with cancellation of the annual free event because of the public health dangers posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for social distancing, the organizers decided to try going virtual and hold the festival online by asking performers to send in short videos made at home.
And it worked.
“From what we have heard, it has been a very rewarding experience for both the performers who sent in videos and for the people who watched and listened to them,” says violist and BATC artistic director Marika Fischer Hoyt (below).
The cost of going virtual was not great, but it took lot of time and hard work, admits Fischer Hoyt, who says she spent between 7 and 10 hours a day to post each day’s Bach video.
It was hard especially at the beginning, she notes, when she had to learn how to use software programs, such as iMovie, to make and then upload and post the videos.
She didn’t just organize the online festival. She also performed and provided gracious introductions to the program for each day.
Lately, the videos average about 20 minutes – your Daily Minimum Requirement of Bach, as the witty Wisconsin Public Radio host Anders Yocom would say. But they were longer at the beginning when more videos were sent in. Towards the end, the festival even used some photos and audio recordings from past years to round out programs.
But the reach of the virtual festival, intended to be local, was wider than Fischer Hoyt had expected. Musicians replied and participated from Florida, Minnesota and – as you can hear today – from Costa Rica.
All the effort worked.
In one of the major victories against all the coronavirus cancellations and postponements in the Madison music scene, the Virtual Bach Around the Clock 2020 brought the public beautiful Baroque music by voices, strings, keyboards and winds in cantatas, partitas, preludes and fugues, sonatas and suites.
Listening to just one a day would be a good way to spread out and savor the joy of the festival for 10 days while you self-isolate and shelter in place at home.
You can find the videos on YouTube. In the search bar, just type in Virtual Bach Around the Clock 2020, Madison, Wisconsin.
But a much easier and more organized way can be found here on the festival’s home website, which lists the videos in chronological order and links to them: https://bachclock.com/audience-listening-viewing
Try listening to them and tell us what you think about the individual videos and performances — do you have a favorite? — and about mounting the virtual festival.
And, if you like, leave a note of thanks in the Comment section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Here is Day 5:
Share this:
Like this:
Tags: #AmateurMusicians, #AndersYocom, #ArtisticDirector, #BachAroundtheClock, #BachCantata, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #CostaRica, #COVID-19, #DailyMinimumRequirement, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Hard Work, #HardWork, #JacobStockinger, #JohannSebastianBach, #KeyboardMusic, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #NationalPublicRadio, #PreludeandFugue, #ProfessionalMusician, #PublicHealth, #Self-Isolation, #ShelterinPlace, #SocialDistancing, #SpreadOut, #St.Andrew'sEpiscopalChurch, #StringMusic, #TheEar, #TheInternet, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VocalMusic, #WindMusic, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #YouTubevideo, 2020, admit, amateur, Anders Yocom, annual, Artistic director, Arts, audience, Audio, average, Bach, Bach Around the Clock, bar, Baroque, BATC, beautiful, beginning, birthday, blog, cancel, cancellation, Cantata, celebrate, Chamber music, choral music, Christian, chronological, church, Classical music, classicalmusic, comment, composer, Concert, coronavirus, cost, Costa Rica, covid, daily minimum requirement, day, Early music, effort, event, expect, expense, experience, Facebook, festival, Florida, forward, free, fugue, gracious, hard, harpsichord, Health, Home, host, hour, iMovie, individual, Internet, introduction, isolation, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Joy, Keyboard, leave, like, link, listen, local, longer, made, Madison, Marika Fischer Hoyt, Mead Witter School of Music, Minnesota, minute, Music, music student, Musician, National Public Radio, need, note, NPR, on-line, online, order, organizer, pandemic, participate, partita, past, People, performance, performer, photo, Piano, platform, post, posting, postpone, postponement, Prelude, programs, provide, public, Public health, Radio, reach, recording, rewarding, round out, Saturday, savor, scene, schedule, search, section, self-isolate, share, shelter in place, sing, singer, social distancing, software, Sonata, soprano, spread out, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, string music, strings, students, Suite, tag, thanks, The Ear, think, time, today, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, upload, use, UW-Madison, video, Viola, Violin, violist, virtual, vocal music, voice, watch, winds, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, witty, work, WPR, year, YouTube