The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Famed radio station WQXR names the best 100 recordings of 2019. Listen to samples of them here
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By Jacob Stockinger
Did you get a gift card for the holidays?
Are you looking how to spend it by either purchasing CDs or subscribing to a streaming service?
Help and guidance are available.
Few names in the airing of classical music carry more prestige than the famed radio station WQXR in New York City.
To check out the radio station’s choice of the best recordings of 2019 is also to see where the worlds of recording and concertizing are heading.
Such trends include rediscovering neglected composers and championing new music as well as women composers, such as Clara Schumann, and composers of color, such as the American composer Florence Price (below), who has often been featured on Wisconsin Public Radio this past year.
But you will also find noteworthy recordings of such classics as Johann Sebastian Bach – and two of his rarely heard cousins instead of his sons – and well as outstanding recordings of symphonies and piano sonatas (below, the set by Igor Levit) for the upcoming Beethoven Year to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of the composer.
And you will also find names of outstanding performers you may not have heard of — such as the exceptional Chinese pianist Haochen Zhang (below), a Van Cliburn Competition gold medalist whom The Ear would like to see perform here.
Here is a link to 25 picks with commentaries– plus another 75 titles and samples, without commentary, to round out a Top 100.
Happy listening!
https://www.wqxr.org/story/best-classical-recordings-2019/
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Classical music: The fourth annual Madison New Music Festival takes place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It features Wisconsin composers and several world premieres
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By Jacob Stockinger
The fourth season of the Madison New Music Festival (below, in a photo from 2017 by Max Schmidt) will take place this coming Friday, Aug. 9, through Sunday, Aug. 11.
The Madison New Music Festival is an annual, weekend-long celebration for the Madison community of classical works written by contemporary composers.
In four concerts – three with admission and one free — the festival will showcase Wisconsin-based composers and performers of new music, as well as world premiere performances by guest artists.
Tickets for each concert are $15 for adults and $5 for students. Subscriptions to all three concerts are available for $35. For more information, go to http://madisonnewmusic.org or to Facebook (@Madison New Music Festival) or Instagram (@madisonnewmusic).
Here is the line-up:
Concert 1: Music from Wisconsin – Friday, Aug. 9, at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (227 State St.)
What: In anticipation of this fall’s Wisconsin Triennial and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, this concert spotlights all Wisconsin-born, -based, or -educated composers, curated by pianist Robert Fleitz (below, with a toy piano he often performs on), whom The New York Times called “mesmerizing.” Joined by young local musicians, Fleitz explores music created right here in their own backyard.
Concert 2: World Premieres – Saturday, Aug. 10, at 7:30 p.m.
Where: First Unitarian Society of Madison’s Atrium Auditorium (900 University Bay Drive)
What: Internationally acclaimed violist Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti and Wisconsin-born pianist Karl Larson (below top) will give the world premieres of new viola sonatas from three of the world’s leading composers: Andrew Norman, Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Scott Wollschleger. In addition, local cellist James Waldo will kick off the evening with a premiere of a work for solo cello by University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Les Thimmig (below bottom).
Concert 3: SistaStrings – Sunday, Aug. 11, at 2:30 p.m.
Where: Robinia Courtyard (829 East Washington Avenue)
What: The concert features the Milwaukee-based sister duo SistaStrings (below, in a photo by Adam Ryan Morris). Violinist Chauntee Ross and cellist Monique LaDora Ross blend their training as accomplished classical instrumentalists with “R&B and a touch of gospel influence that culminates in a vibey, lush sound.” The sisters will play tracks from their new and acclaimed Extended Play recording in the cozy courtyard. (You can hear them in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Partner concert: Madison New Music Ensemble (FREE concert) – Sunday, Aug. 11, at 5 p.m.
Where: Memorial Union Terrace (800 Langdon Street, below)
What: Join the newly formed Madison New Music Ensemble (below top), led by UW-Madison composer Joseph Koykkar (below bottom), at the Memorial Union Terrace as part of their Summer Serenade series. The group will perform works by Koykkar, Ian Clarke, Gabriela Lena Frank, Gareth Farr and Kirsten Volness.
Tags: #AndrewNorman, #AnnaThorvaldsdottir, #ArtisticWork, #AtriumAuditorium, #BarabooWisconsin, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChaunteeRoss, #ContemporaryComposers, #ContemporaryMusic, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #EPrecording, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FirstUnitarianSocietyofMadison, #GabrielaLenaFrank, #GarethFarr, #GospelMusic, #GuestArtist, #IanClarke, #InstagramPost, #JacobStockinger, #James Waldo, #JamesWaldo, #JosephKoykkar, #KirstenVolness, #LesThimmig, #LivingComposers, #MadisonMuseumofContemporaryArt, #MadisonNewMusicEnsemble, #MadisonNewMusicFestival, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MemorialUnion, #MilwaukeeWisconsin, #MoniqueLaDoraRoss, #NewMusic, #R&BMusic, #RobertFleitz, #RobiniaCourtyard, #ScottWollschleger, #SistaStrings, #SummerSerenade, #TheNewYorkTImes, #ToyPiano, #UnionTerrace, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolaSonata, #WisconsinTriennial, #WisconsinUnionTerrace, #WorldPremiere, #YouTubevideo, acclaimed, admission, adult, Andrew Norman, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, annual, Art, Arts, Atrium Auditorium, audience, backyard, based, blend, blog, celebration, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Chauntee Ross, Classical, Classical music, classicalmusic, community, composer, Concert, concerts, contemporary composers, contemporary music, courtyard, critically acclaimed, curated, educated, EP, event, explore, extended play, Facebook, festival, First Unitarian Society of Madison, forward, free, Friday, Gabriela Lena Frank, Gareth Farr, Goodbye, gospel, guest artist, Ian Clarke, influence, Instagram, instrumentalist, international, Jacob Stockinger, Joseph Koykkar, Karl Larson, KarlLarson, Kirsten Volness, Les Thimmig, like, link, living composers, local, Madison, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison New Music Ensemble, Madison New Music Festival, Mead Witter School of Music, Memorial Union, mesmerizing, Milwaukee, Monique LaDora Ross, Museum, Music, new, New Music, performer, Pianist, Piano, post, posting, R&B, read, recording, Robert Fleitz, Robinia Courtyard, Saturday, Scott Wollschleger, Season, series, share, showcase, solo, Student, subscriber, Summer Serenade, Sunday, tag, talent, The New York Times, ticket, toy, toy piano, training, Union Terrace, Unitarian, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, Website, weekend, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Triennial, Wisconsin Union Terrace, work, world, world premiere, young, YouTube, YouTube video
Classical music: The Willy Street Chamber Players conclude this summer season on such a high note that one already hungers for next summer
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By Jacob Stockinger
Here is a special posting, a review written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker. Barker (below) is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who writes for Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who hosts an early music show once a month on Sunday morning on WORT-FM 89.9 FM. For years, he served on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison.
By John W. Barker
At Immanuel Lutheran Church last Friday night, the Willy Street Chamber Players ended the 2018 summer season – their fourth — with a concert full of fascinating variety.
Four works were performed, each introduced by one of the players. Personnel shifted according to the scorings.
To begin, a core group of the organization (below, from left) — violinists Eleanor Bartsch and Paran Amirinazari, cellists Lindsay Crabb and Mark Bridges, and violist Beth Larson — played Luigi Boccherini’s Cello Quintet in C major (G. 324), which has the Italian title translatable as “Night Music of the Streets of Madrid.” (The piece, which has military or martial aspects to it, was featured in the soundtrack to the popular film “Master and Commander,” which you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Typical of the composer’s prolific writing for string quintets, it is unique in offering in its seven movements a dusk-to-dawn evocation of Madrid’s street life in Boccherini’s day. This delightful work was performed with relish.
Next came a contemporary work by American composer Andrew Norman (below top). Written in his 20s, Night Screens (2002),for flute and string quartet, is a playful work inspired by the asymmetrical stained glass windows designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
The music is quite tonal, but very episodic in its succession of tempos and rhythms. For this work, Amirinazari, Larson and Crabb were joined by a friend of the composer, flutist Timothy Hagen (below), now a faculty member of the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music.
Rarely heard in concert, but a really fascinating novelty is Sergei Prokofiev’s Overture on Hebrew Themes, Op. 34. This was composed in 1919, during the composer’s stay in the U.S. It is based on two melodies whose actual Jewish origins are in doubt, but their juxtaposition and elaboration are fascinating to follow.
The colorful scoring is for clarinet, piano, and string quartet, so this drew other guest artists, Alicia Lee (below top) also of the UW faculty, and pianist Thomas Kasdorf (below bottom) to join Bartsch, Amirinazari, Larson and Bridges.
Finally came a rare opportunity to encounter Johann Strauss II collaborating with Arnold Schoenberg, or rather vice-versa. For a fund-raising concert on behalf of his radical atonal ensemble in Vienna in 1925, Schoenberg made a chamber arrangement of the great waltz master’s Kaiser-Walzer or “Emperor Waltz.”
He scored it for flute, clarinet, piano and string quartet — perfectly allowing seven of the eight performers (less Crabb) to offer a triumphant grand finale. Even in such a lean and reduced format, Schoenberg faithfully conveyed Strauss’s melodic genius, and brought the large audience enthusiastically to its feet.
The Willys continue to match great enterprise in programming with superb artistry in playing, all in a summer season that leaves us hungering for the next one.
Tags: #AliciaLee, #AmericanComposer, #AmericanRecordGuide, #AndrewNorman, #ArnoldSchoenberg, #AtonalMusic, #BethLarson, #BlogPosting, #CelloQuintet, #ChristianChurch, #ChristianReligion, #ContemporaryComposer, #ContemporaryMusic, #EleanorBartsch, #EmeritusProfessor, #FacultyMember, #FilmMusic, #FilmScore, #FilmSoundtrack, #FluteMusic, #FrankLloydWright, #Fridaynight, #GrandFinale, #ImmanuelLutheranChurch, #IsthmusNewspaper, #JohannStrauss, #JohnW.Barker, #LindsayCrabb, #LivingComposer, #LuigiBoccherini, #LutheranChurch, #LutheranReligion, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MadridSpain, #MarkBridges, #MartialMusic, #MasterandCommander, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MedievalHistory, #MilitaryMusic, #MovieMusic, #MovieScore, #MovieSoundtrack, #MusicReview, #NewMusic, #NightMusic, #OvertureonHebrewThemes, #ParanAmirinazari, #PianoMusic, #RadioHost, #RadioShow, #RussellCrowe, #SergeiProkofiev, #StainedGlass, #StreetLife, #StringQuartet, #StringQuintet, #SummerSeason, #TheWillys, #ThomasKasdorf, #TimothyHagen, #TonalMusic, #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViennaAustria, #WillyStreetChamberPlayers, #WORT-FM89.9, #YouTubevideo, American, American Record Guide, Andrew Norman, architect, artistry, asymmetrical, atonal, audience, Austria, Beth Larson, blog, Boccherini, cellist, Cello, clarinet, clarinetist, classicalmusic, Concert, critic, dawn, delightful, dusk, Early music, earlymusic, elaboration, Eleanor Bartsch, emeritus, Emperor, episode, episodic, faculty, fascinating, feet, film, flute, flutist, format, Frank Lloyd Wright, Friday, friend, genius, guest, Hebrew, History, Immanuel Lutheran Church, inspiration, inspired, Isthmus, Italian, Jewish, John W. Barker, juxtaposition, lecture, Lindsay Crabb, Luigi Boccherini, Madison Early Music Festival, Madrid, Mark Bridges, martial, Master and Commander, Medieval, melodic, melody, member, MEMF, military, movie, Music, Music of Spain, New Music, night, night music, novelty, origin, Overture, Paran Amirinazari, perform, Piano, playful, playing, popular, post, posting, professor, programming, Prokofiev, prolific, quintet, relish, review, rhythm, Russell Crowe, score, Sergei Prokofiev, soundtrack, Spain, stained glass, street, String quartet, summer, superb, Tempo, The Willys, theme, tonal, translate, triumphant, U.S., United States, variety, video, Vienna, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, Waltz, Willy Street Chamber Players, window, work, WORT-FM 89.9, Writer
Classical music: The Mendota Consort gives a FREE performance of motets by Johann Schein in Madison this Saturday night. Performances in Eau Claire and Milwaukee are tonight and Friday night
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ALERT: The superb Willy Street Chamber Players are back from a week of free and Community Connect concerts. They resume their regular summer series this Friday at 6 p.m. in Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1021 Spaight Street. The guest artist is UW-Madison saxophonist Les Thimmig who will play six arias from the opera “Porgy and Bess” by George Gershwin. A rarely heard String Quintet by Alexander Glazunov ends the program. Tickets are $15.
The last concert is next Friday, July 27, and features flute, clarinet and piano soloists in music by Luigi Boccherini, Sergei Prokofiev, Andrew Norman and Johann Strauss/Arnold Schoenberg. For more information, go to:
http://www.willystreetchamberplayers.org
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has been asked to post the following announcement:
The early music vocal ensemble The Mendota Consort (below) invites you to an evening of madrigals from Israelsbrünnlein, a collection by the 17th-century composer Johann Schein. (Editor’s note: You can hear an excerpt in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Vocalists who are dedicated to Renaissance polyphony, The Mendota Consort will present a story of ancient Israel though dramatic 1623 treatments by Schein (below) of sacred texts.
Admission is free with donations kindly accepted.
The Madison performance is this Saturday night, July 21, at 7:30 p.m. in Luther Memorial Church (below), 1021 University Ave.
Other performances are:
Tonight, Thursday, July 19, at 7:30 p.m. in Saint Edward’s Montessori School, 1129 Bellevue Ave., in Eau Claire.
Friday night, July 20, at 6:30 p.m. in the Cathedral Church of All Saints, 818 East Juneau Ave., in Milwaukee.
You can learn more and follow the group on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/TheMendotaConsort/
Tags: #AlexanderGlazunov, #AndrewNorman, #ArnoldSchoenberg, #CathedralChurchofAllSaints, #ChristianChurch, #ChristianReligion, #ClarinetMusic, #EauClaire, #FacebookPost, #FluteMusic, #FreeConcert, #GuestArtist, #HistoryofIsrael, #ImmanuelLutheranChurch, #JohannSchein, #JohannStrauss, #LesThimmig, #LuigiBoccherini, #LutheranChurch, #LutheranReformation, #LutheranReligion, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MartinLuther, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MontessoriSchool, #OperaAria, #PianoMusic, #PorgyandBess, #RenaissancePolyphony, #SacredTexts, #SaxophoneMusic, #SergeiProkofiev, #St.Edward, #StringMusic, #StringQuintet, #TheMendotaConsort, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VocalEnsemble, #YouTubevideo, aria, artist, Arts, Baroque, cathedral, choral music, church, clarinet, Classical music, community, composer, Concert, Early music, earlymusic, Eau Claire, Facebook, flute, free, georgegershwin, Gershwin, guest, Israel, Israelsbrünnlein, Johann Hermann Schein, Johann Schein, Madison, madrigal, Milwaukee, Montessori School, opera, Piano, polyphony, Porgy and Bess, Renaissance, sacred, saint, strings, summer, Wisconsin, Wiscosnin, YouTube
Classical music: Why are the Willy Street Chamber Players so successful at presenting neglected and new music?
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By Jacob Stockinger
Many individuals and groups, large and small, like to program neglected works and new music.
But no one does it better than the Willy Street Chamber Players, who are now in the middle of their fourth annual summer season.
So what is the secret of the Willys?
Some clues were given at the outstanding and thoroughly successful opening concert last Friday night, when the Willys, with guest mezzo-soprano Jazimina MacNeil (below), played new music by Caroline Shaw, Colin Jacobsen and Michael Kelley – all to a very enthusiastic reception from the large audience.
More chances to experience such success and figure out the reasons behind it are coming up.
Tonight from 4 to 7 p.m. – and again on next Thursday, July 19, at the same time and place — at the Art and Literature Laboratory, 2021 Winnebago Street, the Willys will hold an open rehearsal. Admission is FREE, and you can bring something to eat and have a drink, including beer ($5 donation), as you listen and wander around to explore the space.
Then on Friday from noon to 1:30 p.m., during the Community Connect Concert for the whole family at the Goodman Community Center (below top) at 149 Waubesa Street, the Willys will perform “Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout” by the contemporary American composer Gabriela Lena Frank (below bottom) and the rarely performed “Procession of the Military Night Watch in Madrid” by the Classical-era composer Luigi Boccherini. (Starting at 11 a.m. there is also an instrument “petting zoo.”)
(You can hear an excerpt from the work by Gabriela Lena Frank in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
On this Sunday from 5 to 6 p.m., the Willys will perform the same program — which also features some string quartet selections by Romantic composer Robert Schumann — for FREE on the Union Terrace (below).
Other regular series concerts include the rarely heard String Quintet in A Major by Alexander Glazunov on July 20 and “Light Screens” (2002) by Andrew Norman (below) on July 27.
For times, place and details about series and special concerts, and for other information, go to: http://www.willystreetchamberplayers.org/calendar.html
Anyway, the way The Ear sees it there are several reasons to explain the Willys’ success with new and neglected music.
One can start with the basics: The impressive musicianship of all the Willys, who are remarkable for both technique and interpretation.
Another reason is the players’ unflagging ability to project energy and enthusiasm, suggested by upbeat and exciting tempi and by even such a small gesture as the two violinists and two violists playing while standing up, as was the custom in the Baroque era, rather than seated.
The Willys also introduce the pieces, providing not only information but also some humor, often self-deprecating. They prepare you for liking the music, not just for listening to it.
They often choose shorter and easily digestible pieces, so it is never an ordeal that overwhelms you. Sometimes you want a musical short story, not a musical novel.
But most of all the Willys do what more proponents of new music should do: They seem to keep their listeners in mind when they choose the pieces they will play.
Never do you get the feeling that listening to new or neglected music is some sort of aesthetic obligation imposed on you. It is there to be enjoyed, and you are there to be pleased, not just instructed or preached to.
Too often new music seems chosen as a gesture of R&D – research and development – that feels more important to the performers rather than to the audiences.
Maybe there is more to say? What do others think? The Ear looks forward to hearing what you think.
In the meantime, The Ear suggests you take in as much as you can of the superlative music-making of both classics and new music by the Willy Street Chamber Players.
He doubts you will be disappointed and is pretty sure you will be as pleased and impressed as he is.
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Classical music: You probably know Brahms, but who are Caroline Shaw, Colin Jacobsen and Michael Kelley? The Willy Street Chamber Players will show you this Friday night
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By Jacob Stockinger
The fourth annual concert series by the Willy Street Chamber Players (below) promises to be one of the high points of the summer season.
For more background about the Willys, go to:
Three concerts in July – at 6 p.m. on July 6, 20 and 27 in the Immanuel Lutheran Church (below) at 1021 Spaight Street on the near east side – are all inviting. (A subscription to all three is $40, while admission is $15 for each one separately.)
Each concert lasts about 60 to 90 minutes with no intermission.
That’s something The Ear really likes and would like to see copied by other groups and presenters. Such a format leaves you plenty of time to do other things to start the weekend – including enjoying the post-concert reception (below) with snacks the Willys obtain from east-side providers.
The opening concert seems especially promising to The Ear.
That is because so far the Willys have had a knack for programming new music that The Ear really likes.
This time is no different.
Along with the regular members, who rotate in and out, a guest singer, mezzo-soprano Jazimina MacNeil (below), who sang a new work by John Harbison with the UW-Madison’s Pro Arte String Quartet this past winter, will team up to present new works.
The three contemporary composers and their works are: “Cant voi l’aube (composed in 2015 and heard in the YouTube video at the bottom) by Caroline Shaw (below top), a composer whose work the Willys have performed before with great success; “For Sixty Cents” (2015) by Colin Jacobsen (below middle, in a photo by Erin Baiano); and “Five Animal Stories” for string sextet and “Ashug” (2018) by Michael Kelley (below bottom).
Then to leaven newness with something more classic and familiar, the concert will close with the String Quintet No. 2, Op. 111, by Johannes Brahms. (The Willys have been working their way through the string quintets and sextets of Brahms with terrific performances.)
Other concerts will include:
On July 20, six arias from the opera “Porgy and Bess” by George Gershwin as transcribed and played by UW-Madison soprano saxophonist Les Thimmig (below) and the rarely performed String Quintet in A Major, Op. 39, by the Russian composer Alexander Glazunov ;
And on July 27, a program featuring wind music that includes “Night Music in the Streets of Madrid,” Op. 30, No. 6, by Luigi Boccherini; the Overture on Hebrew Themes by Sergei Prokofiev “Light Screens” (2002) by Andrew Norman (below); and the Kaiser Waltzes of Johann Strauss II, as arranged by Arnold Schoenberg.
The three local soloists for the final concert are: flutist Timothy Hagen (below top) and clarinetist Alicia Lee (below middle), who both teach at the UW-Madison and are members of the Wingra Wind Quintet, and pianist Thomas Kasdorf, who is finishing his doctorate at the UW-Madison and has often soloed with the Middleton Community Orchestra.
For more information about the Willy Street Chamber players—including a FREE community concert at the Goodman Community Center on Friday, July 13, at noon (with an instrument “petting zoo” for children at 11 a.m.) and at the Wisconsin Union Terrace — go to:
http://www.willystreetchamberplayers.org
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Classical music: The first-rate and listener-friendly Willy Street Chamber Players announce their five impressive July concerts – three with admission and two for FREE — as both subscription and single tickets go on sale
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Willy Street Chamber Players (below) remains one of The Ear’s favorite chamber music ensembles, which his why he named it “Musicians of the Year” in 2016.
Here is a link to that posting:
Nothing has changed, although some programs hold more appeal than others, as you would expect for anyone.
What’s not to like about the Willys?
The Willys emphasize friendliness and informality, putting a premium on accessible communication with the audience. You never get that snobby or exclusive feeling that some classical music concerts exude.
The price is right — $15 for each concert, $40 for the series of three — plus a FREE community concerts at the Goodman Center (below) and another FREE community concert at the Union Terrace.
The playing is always first-rate by both group members and guest artists. Many of both groups are local and come from the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music or play with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the Middleton Community Orchestra and other groups.
The programming is always inventive and eclectic. The music the Willys play includes both old and new works, familiar and unfamiliar composers, classic and contemporary music.
The Friday night concerts start at 6 p.m. and last 60 to 90 minutes, giving you plenty of time to do something else to kick off the weekend. (See the YouTube video by Paul Baker at there bottom.)
True to their name, at the post-concert receptions the Willys serve snacks that promote businesses on the east side. And trust The Ear, the food is very good.
Here is a link to the new season, the group’s third:
http://www.willystreetchamberplayers.org/calendar.html
And here is a link to the Willys’ outstanding, informative and well organized website where you can find much more, including the full programs; the names of the core players; how to order tickets; how to donate and support The Willys; the names and location of the food providers; the rave reviews by several critics; favorite east side restaurants; frequently asked questions; and more (don’t ignore the heading FAQ on the home page).
http://www.willystreetchamberplayers.org
You can order season tickets and, if you go to the home page and look at each concert under Summer Series, individual tickets. You can also click on the box “Tickets Available.”
It all starts Friday, July 6, at 6 p.m. in the usually well attended Immanuel Lutheran Church (below), 1021 Spaight Street.
The Ear can hardly wait.
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The Well-Tempered Ear 
New York Times music critics pick 10 MUST-HEAR online virtual classical concerts to stream for October
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ALERT: Tonight’s concert by the choral group Roomful of Teeth for the Wisconsin Union Theater at the UW-Madison’s Hamel Music Center has been canceled and postponed indefinitely.
By Jacob Stockinger
Increasingly the coronavirus pandemic seems surging out of control. So it comes as no surprise that also more and more concerts of classical music are taking place virtually and online.
There are many ways to choose among local, regional, national and international concerts.
But one good guide was published this last week and featured the choice of must-hear classical concerts by critics for The New York Times.
It is an interesting and varied selection, and includes times, links and brief descriptions.
It features concerts that emphasize Black composers such as Florence Price (below top) and women composers. It covers many genres from a solo piano recital by Jeremy Denk (below bottom) – who is supposed to perform here on Dec. 11 at the Wisconsin Union Theater – to chamber music, vocal music, orchestral concerts and operas.
Curiously, there is quite bit of new music but little early music, either Renaissance or Baroque. Perhaps more will appear around the holiday times, when that music is part of the traditional holiday celebrations.
You will find contemporary composers but also lots of certified, tried-and-true classics and masterworks.
Some are one-day only events but many run from a week through a month.
Here is a link to the story. PLEASE NOTE THAT TIMES ARE ALL EASTERN: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/arts/music/classical-music-stream.html
Please let The Ear know if you like this kind of listing and find it useful.
And please feel free to leave in the comment section other guides or events that the public should know about.
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