The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Soprano Sarah Brailey and nine UW-Madison cellists team up for the FREE concert of songs at Grace Presents this Saturday at noon
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By Jacob Stockinger
This Saturday, Sept. 21, at noon, a FREE one-hour program in the Grace Presents series will feature soprano Sarah Brailey (below) in “My Loyal Heart,” a recital of songs by Arvo Pärt, John Tavener, Guillaume de Machaut, Dmitri Shostakovich and Heitor Villa-Lobos.
The concert is at Grace Episcopal Church (below), located downtown on the Capitol Square at 116 West Washington Avenue.
Brailey is an acclaimed professional singer who often tours and who is doing graduate work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music.
Brailey will be joined by friends and colleagues. They include UW baritone Paul Rowe and members of the UW Madison Cello Ensemble, featuring nine local Madison cellists who include Grace Presents program coordinator James Waldo. (Below is a summer cello choir at the UW-Madison from several years ago.)
The works will be sung in Russian, Portuguese, and both modern and medieval French.
Here is an introduction from Waldo:
“It is often said that the cello is the instrument most like the human voice.
“My Loyal Heart,” devotes an entire program to music for soprano Sarah Brailey and cello from the 14th century to the 20th century.
“It opens with Arvo Pärt’s L’abbé Agathon about the legend of Father Agathon from the 4th century book “The Desert Fathers,” followed by a new arrangement by Brailey for soprano and cello trio of Guillaume de Machaut’s elegant love song Se quanque amours puet donner.
“This intimately ardent piece is followed by a more tragic love story, that of Shakespeare’s Ophelia, in the opening movement of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Seven Romances on Poems by Alexander Blok.
“The program continues in Russian with Sir John Tavener’s powerful and darkly spiritual Akhmatova Songs with poetry by Russian-Soviet Modernist poet, Anna Akhmatova.
“The concert concludes with the hauntingly beautiful and famous first movement and the playful concluding dance of Bachianas Brasileiras (Brazilian Bach Suites) No.5 for soprano and eight cellos by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. (You can hear the Villa-Lobos aria in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
“Text and translations will be provided.
“This program will not be performed anywhere else in Madison.”
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Classical music: The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge sings a varied program with organ accompaniment this Wednesday night in Overture Hall
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By Jacob Stockinger
The new season of the popular Overture Concert Organ series, sponsored by the Madison Symphony Orchestra and curated by MSO organist Greg Zelek, begins this Wednesday night, Sept. 11, at 7:30 p.m. in Overture Hall.
All single tickets are $20. (A subscription to all four organ concerts is $63.)
The opening program features the world-famous Choir of Trinity College Cambridge (below), on tour from its home in the United Kingdom.
Adds Zelek:
“Our season opens with the amazing Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, named by Gramophone Magazine as one of the best choirs in the world.
“Conducted by the choir’s music director Stephen Layton (below top) and accompanied on the mighty Klais concert organ (below bottom), this 25-voice choir will present a program of music spanning many centuries that will display its beauty of tone and depth of feeling. These rich voices will make this varied program soar through Overture Hall and leave everyone in the audience breathless.”
Here are some sample reviews:
Virtuoso is the right word. I, for one, can’t immediately think of any more appropriate way of describing singing of such staggering accomplishment. – BBC Music Magazine
Sitting front and center at a recent Trinity Choir of Cambridge concert at Grace Cathedral was, sonically speaking, a heavenly experience. -The New York Times
Here is Wednesday night’s eclectic program:
William Byrd | Sing joyfully
William Byrd | O Lord, make thy servant, Elizabeth
Thomas Tallis | Salvator mundi
Henry Purcell | Thou knowest, Lord
Arvo Part | Bogoroditse Djévo
John Tavener | Mother of God, here I stand
Vasily Kalinnikov | Bogoroditse Djevo
Robert Parsons | Ave Maria
Eriks Esenvalds | The Heavens’ Flock (You can hear a different Esenvalds work, “Only in Sleep,” sung by the Trinity College Choir, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Morten Lauridsen | O magnum mysterium
Jaakko Mantyjarvi | Stuttgarter Psalmen
Herbert Howells | Take him, earth, for cherishing
Herbert Howells | Trinity St. Paul’s
For more information about the Overture Organ Series, detailed background about the Trinity College Choir and how to purchase tickets, call (608) 258-4141 or go to: https://madisonsymphony.org/concerts-events/overture-concert-organ-performances/ or https://madisonsymphony.org/event/organ-trinity-choir/
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Classical music: Here are classical music winners — and nominees — of the 61st annual Grammy nominations for 2019.
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By Jacob Stockinger
This should have come out sooner since the Grammy Awards (below) were given out a week ago. But it has been such a busy week for Iive music in Madison – as will next week be – that this was the first occasion to post them.
In any case, for all their insider shortcomings they are a matter of interest to many, and can be helpful in understanding the contemporary classical scene and new music as you build your own playlists and recording library.
There are some points of interest including the fact that two Grammys were won by Canadian violinist James Ehnes for his performance of the Violin Concerto by the contemporary composer Aaron Jay Kernis.
Ehnes (below) is in town this weekend to play the Violin Concerto by Johannes Brahms with the Madison Symphony Orchestra (the last performance is this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall. The Ear hopes he might return to perform the Kernis concerto with MSO.
Also, Apollo’s Fire, which won in the Best Solo Vocal category, will perform Baroque music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi and Marco Uccellini at the Wisconsin Union Theater on Saturday, March 30.
Finally and unfortunately, some Madison nominees — including retired UW-Madison flute professor Stephanie Jutt and her co-director of the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society pianist Jeffrey Sykes — got edged out in the Producer category, as did retired UW professor James P. Leary for his liner notes to “Alpine Dreaming.”
In the orchestra category is John Harbison — who is in town marking his 80th birthday with many events, including the world premiere tonight at the W-Madison of his Sonata for Viola and Piano. In the Chamber Music category, Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin will solo in concertos by Maurice Ravel and Richard Strauss with the Madison Symphony Orchestra on April 12-14.
Look at the winners carefully. Clearly, the recording industry is, by and large, skipping over the usual classical masters such as Bach, Beethoven and Brahms to focus instead on living composers and contemporary music or stories relevant to our times, such as the opera by Mason Bates about the late Apple wizard Steve Jobs.
One major exception is the third Grammy in a row for the cycle of symphonies by the famed Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich being done by the Latvian-born conductor Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Here are the nominees and winners – the latter marked with an asterisk, a photo and the word WINNER — for the 61st Grammy Awards. Leave a comment with wa you think of the nominees and winners.
- Best Engineered Album, Classical
An Engineer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
BATES: THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS. Mark Donahue & Dirk Sobotka, engineers; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Michael Christie, Garrett Sorenson, Wei Wu, Sasha Cooke, Edwards Parks, Jessica E. Jones & Santa Fe Opera Orchestra)
BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY NO. 3; STRAUSS: HORN CONCERTO NO. 1
Mark Donahue, engineer; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
JOHN WILLIAMS AT THE MOVIES. Keith O. Johnson & Sean Royce Martin, engineers; Keith O. Johnson, mastering engineer (Jerry Junkin & Dallas Winds).
LIQUID MELANCHOLY – CLARINET MUSIC OF JAMES M. STEPHENSON
Bill Maylone & Mary Mazurek, engineers; Bill Maylone, mastering engineer (John Bruce Yeh)
*WINNER — SHOSTAKOVICH: SYMPHONIES NOS. 4 & 11. Shawn Murphy & Nick Squire, engineers; Tim Martyn, mastering engineer (Andris Nelsons & Boston Symphony Orchestra)
VISIONS AND VARIATIONS. Tom Caulfield, engineer; Jesse Lewis, mastering engineer (A Far Cry)
- Producer Of The Year, Classical
A Producer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
* WINNER — BLANTON ALSPAUGH (below)
- Arnesen: Infinity – Choral Works (Joel Rinsema & Kantorei)
- Aspects Of America (Carlos Kalmar & Oregon Symphony)
- Chesnokov: Teach Me Thy Statutes (Vladimir Gorbik & PaTRAM Institute Male Choir)
- Gordon, R.: The House Without A Christmas Tree (Bradley Moore, Elisabeth Leone, Maximillian Macias, Megan Mikailovna Samarin, Patricia Schuman, Lauren Snouffer, Heidi Stober, Daniel Belcher, Houston Grand Opera Juvenile Chorus & Houston Grand Opera Orchestra
- Haydn: The Creation (Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Betsy Cook Weber, Houston Symphony & Houston Symphony Chorus)
- Heggie: Great Scott (Patrick Summers, Manuel Palazzo, Mark Hancock, Michael Mayes, Rodell Rosel, Kevin Burdette, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Nathan Gunn, Frederica von Stade, Ailyn Pérez, Joyce DiDonato, Dallas Opera Chorus & Orchestra)
- Music Of Fauré, Buide & Zemlinsky (Trio Séléné)
- Paterson: Three Way – A Trio Of One-Act Operas (Dean Williamson, Daniele Pastin, Courtney Ruckman, Eliza Bonet, Melisa Bonetti, Jordan Rutter, Samuel Levine, Wes Mason, Matthew Treviño & Nashville Opera Orchestra)
- Vaughan Williams: Piano Concerto; Oboe Concerto; Serenade To Music; Flos Campi (Peter Oundjian & Toronto Symphony Orchestra)
DAVID FROST
- Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Volume 7 (Jonathan Biss)
• Mirror In Mirror (Anne Akiko Meyers, Kristjan Järvi & Philharmonia Orchestra)
• Mozart: Idomeneo (James Levine, Alan Opie, Matthew Polenzani, Alice Coote, Nadine Sierra, Elza van den Heever, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)
• Presentiment (Orion Weiss)
• Strauss, R.: Der Rosenkavalier (Sebastian Weigle, Renée Fleming, Elīna Garanča, Erin Morley, Günther Groissböck, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)
ELIZABETH OSTROW
- Bates: The (R)evolution Of Steve Jobs (Michael Christie, Garrett Sorenson, Wei Wu, Sasha Cooke, Edwards Parks, Jessica E. Jones & Santa Fe Opera Orchestra)
• The Road Home (Joshua Habermann & Santa Fe Desert Chorale)
JUDITH SHERMAN
- Beethoven Unbound (Llŷr Williams)
• Black Manhattan Volume 3 (Rick Benjamin & Paragon Ragtime Orchestra)
• Bolcom: Piano Music (Various Artists)
• Del Tredici: March To Tonality (Mark Peskanov & Various Artists)
• Love Comes In At The Eye (Timothy Jones, Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio, Jeffrey Sykes, Anthony Ross, Carol Cook, Beth Rapier & Stephanie Jutt)
• Meltzer: Variations On A Summer Day & Piano Quartet (Abigail Fischer, Jayce Ogren & Sequitur)
• Mendelssohn: Complete Works For Cello And Piano (Marcy Rosen & Lydia Artymiw)
• New Music For Violin And Piano (Julie Rosenfeld & Peter Miyamoto)
• Reich: Pulse/Quartet (Colin Currie Group & International Contemporary Ensemble)
DIRK SOBOTKA
- Beethoven: Symphony No. 3; Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1 (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
• Lippencott: Frontier Symphony (Jeff Lippencott & Ligonier Festival Orchestra)
• Mahler: Symphony No. 8 (Thierry Fischer, Mormon Tabernacle Choir & Utah Symphony)
• Music Of The Americas (Andrés Orozco-Estrada & Houston Symphony) 
- Best Orchestral Performance Award to the Conductor and to the Orchestra
- BEETHOVEN: SYMPHONY NO. 3; STRAUSS: HORN CONCERTO NO. 1. Manfred Honeck, conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
- NIELSEN: SYMPHONY NO. 3 & SYMPHONY NO. 4. Thomas Dausgaard, conductor (Seattle Symphony)
- RUGGLES, STUCKY & HARBISON: ORCHESTRAL WORKS. David Alan Miller, conductor (National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic)
- SCHUMANN: SYMPHONIES NOS. 1-4. Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)
- * WINNER — SHOSTAKOVICH: SYMPHONIES NOS. 4 & 11 Andris Nelsons, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra)
76. Best Opera Recording Award to the Conductor, Album Producer(s) and Principal Soloists.
- ADAMS: DOCTOR ATOMIC. John Adams, conductor; Aubrey Allicock, Julia Bullock, Gerald Finley & Brindley Sherratt; Friedemann Engelbrecht, producer (BBC Symphony Orchestra; BBC Singers)
- * WINNER –BATES: THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS. Michael Christie, conductor; Sasha Cooke, Jessica E. Jones, Edwards Parks, Garrett Sorenson & Wei Wu; Elizabeth Ostrow, producer (The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra)
- LULLY: ALCESTE. Christophe Rousset, conductor; Edwin Crossley-Mercer, Emiliano Gonzalez Toro & Judith Van Wanroij; Maximilien Ciup, producer (Les Talens Lyriques; Choeur De Chambre De Namur)
- STRAUSS, R.: DER ROSENKAVALIER. Sebastian Weigle, conductor; Renée Fleming, Elīna Garanča, Günther Groissböck & Erin Morley; David Frost, producer (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
- VERDI: RIGOLETTO. Constantine Orbelian, conductor; Francesco Demuro, Dmitri Hvorostovsky & Nadine Sierra; Vilius Keras & Aleksandra Keriene, producers (Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra; Men Of The Kaunas State Choir)
- Best Choral Performance. Award to the Conductor, and to the Choral Director and/or Chorus Master where applicable and to the Choral Organization/Ensemble.
- CHESNOKOV: TEACH ME THY STATUTES. Vladimir Gorbik, conductor (Mikhail Davydov & Vladimir Krasov; PaTRAM Institute Male Choir)
- KASTALSKY: MEMORY ETERNAL. Steven Fox, conductor (The Clarion Choir)
- * WINNER — MCLOSKEY: ZEALOT CANTICLES. Donald Nally, conductor (Doris Hall-Gulati, Rebecca Harris, Arlen Hlusko, Lorenzo Raval & Mandy Wolman; The Crossing)
- RACHMANINOV: THE BELLS. Mariss Jansons, conductor; Peter Dijkstra, chorus master (Oleg Dolgov, Alexey Markov & Tatiana Pavlovskaya; Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks; Chor Des Bayerischen Rundfunks)
- SEVEN WORDS FROM THE CROSS. Matthew Guard, conductor (Skylark)
- Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance. For new recordings of works with chamber or small ensemble (24 or fewer members, not including the conductor). One Award to the ensemble and one Award to the conductor, if applicable.
- * WINNER — ANDERSON, LAURIE: LANDFALL. Laurie Anderson & Kronos Quartet
- BEETHOVEN, SHOSTAKOVICH & BACH. The Danish String Quartet
- BLUEPRINTING. Aizuri Quartet
- STRAVINSKY: THE RITE OF SPRING CONCERTO FOR TWO PIANOS. Leif Ove Andsnes & Marc-André Hamelin
- VISIONS AND VARIATIONS. A Far Cry
- Best Classical Instrumental Solo. Award to the Instrumental Soloist(s) and to the Conductor when applicable.
- BARTÓK: PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2. Yuja Wang; Simon Rattle, conductor (Berliner Philharmoniker)
- BIBER: THE MYSTERY SONATAS. Christina Day Martinson; Martin Pearlman, conductor (Boston Baroque)
- BRUCH: SCOTTISH FANTASY, OP. 46; VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 1 IN G MINOR, OP. 26. Joshua Bell (The Academy Of St. Martin In The Fields)
- GLASS: THREE PIECES IN THE SHAPE OF A SQUARE. Craig Morris
- * WINNER — KERNIS: VIOLIN CONCERTO. James Ehnes; Ludovic Morlot, conductor (Seattle Symphony)
- Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. Award to: Vocalist(s), Collaborative Artist(s) (Ex: pianists, conductors, chamber groups) Producer(s), Recording Engineers/Mixers with 51% or more playing time of new material.
- ARC. Anthony Roth Costanzo; Jonathan Cohen, conductor (Les Violons Du Roy)
- THE HANDEL ALBUM. Philippe Jaroussky; Artaserse, ensemble
- MIRAGES. Sabine Devieilhe; François-Xavier Roth, conductor (Alexandre Tharaud; Marianne Crebassa & Jodie Devos; Les Siècles)
- SCHUBERT: WINTERREISE. Randall Scarlata; Gilbert Kalish, accompanist
- * WINNER — SONGS OF ORPHEUS – MONTEVERDI, CACCINI, D’INDIA & LANDI. Karim Sulayman; Jeannette Sorrell, conductor; Apollo’s Fire, ensembles
- Best Classical Compendium. Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s) and Engineer(s) of over 51% playing time of the album, if other than the artist.
- * WINNER — FUCHS: PIANO CONCERTO ‘SPIRITUALIST’; POEMS OF LIFE; GLACIER; RUSH. JoAnn Falletta, conductor; Tim Handley, producer
- GOLD. The King’s Singers; Nigel Short, producer
- THE JOHN ADAMS EDITION. Simon Rattle, conductor; Christoph Franke, producer
- JOHN WILLIAMS AT THE MOVIES. Jerry Junkin, conductor; Donald J. McKinney, producer
- VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: PIANO CONCERTO; OBOE CONCERTO; SERENADE TO MUSIC; FLOS CAMPI. Peter Oundjian, conductor; Blanton Alspaugh, producer
- Best Contemporary Classical Composition. A Composer’s Award. (For a contemporary classical composition composed within the last 25 years, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year.) Award to the librettist, if applicable.
- BATES: THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS. Mason Bates, composer; Mark Campbell, librettist (Michael Christie, Garrett Sorenson, Wei Wu, Sasha Cooke, Edwards Parks, Jessica E. Jones & Santa Fe Opera Orchestra)
- DU YUN: AIR GLOW. Du Yun, composer (International Contemporary Ensemble)
- HEGGIE: GREAT SCOTT. Jake Heggie, composer; Terrence McNally, librettist (Patrick Summers, Manuel Palazzo, Mark Hancock, Michael Mayes, Rodell Rosel, Kevin Burdette, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Nathan Gunn, Frederica von Stade, Ailyn Pérez, Joyce DiDonato, Dallas Opera Chorus & Orchestra)
- * WINNER — KERNIS: VIOLIN CONCERTO. Aaron Jay Kernis (below top), composer (James Ehnes, Ludovic Morlot & Seattle Symphony). You can hear the first movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.
- MAZZOLI: VESPERS FOR VIOLIN. Missy Mazzoli, composer (Olivia De Prato)
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Classical music: Here are playlists of the best classical music for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. What music would you choose?
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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.
REMINDER: A well-edited one-hour excerpt of the recent Christmas concert by the Madison Symphony Orchestra will air on Wisconsin Public Television at 9:30 p.m. this Tuesday, on Christmas Night. The Ear saw the first airing of the broadcast and highly recommends it. Both the programming and the performing are top-notch. It is a perfect way to wrap up your holiday.
By Jacob Stockinger
Today is Christmas Eve and tomorrow is Christmas Day.
Some people celebrate tonight and some people celebrate tomorrow.
But no matter when you mark the holiday with gifts, gathering and special food, great music has an integral place in the celebration.
Indeed, music seems nothing less than a great gift to the entire world. As the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “Without music, life would be a mistake.”
To help you celebrate, here are playlists of the best classical music, from Medieval times through Baroque music up to living composers, for marking Christmas.
Here are two playlists, with a total of two hours of music, already compiled and available on YouTube. Be sure to hit SHOW MORE at the top to see the complete title, composer’s name and timing of the selections:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrFCdi7apV8&list=PLcGkkXtask_cCaCLkrmuDUfukHct9eut-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voIrzsxeE6w
And perhaps best of all, here are several lists in the same place from famed classical radio station WQXR in New York City. They not only have generous sound samples, but also allow you to choose what genre of music you prefer — say, choral music or brass music or piano music to string quartet chamber music:
https://www.wqxr.org/story/essential-christmas-recordings/
What music would you choose as favorite Christmas fare?
The Ear wants to hear.
Enjoy! And Merry Christmas to all!
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Classical music: Four UW concerto competition winners and the student composer winner are featured in the annual Symphony Showcase concert this Sunday night. Plus, the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s “Final Forte” high school concerto competition airs tonight at 7 on Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television
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REMINDER: The final round of the Madison Symphony Orchestra‘s teenage concerto competition, “The Final Forte,” will be broadcast live TONIGHT at 7 p.m. on Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television.
ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Ave., features a “Triple Play” of trumpeter David Miller, cellist Amy Harr and pianist Jane Peckham in music by Pärt, Piazzolla, Scarlatti, Levy and Verdi. The concert runs from 12:15 to 1 p.m.
By Jacob Stockinger
This sure is the week for concerto competitions.
The Big Event this week at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is the annual Symphony Showcase concert devoted to student performances of concertos and the world premiere of new music by a student composer.
The concert takes place on Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall.
Tickets are $10, free to students and children.
The concert features the UW Symphony Orchestra (below top) under the baton of its new conductor, Chad Hutchinson (below bottom).
The four winners of the concerto competition will perform and the work by the UW composition winner will receive its first public performance.
There will be reception in the lobby following the concert.
The four concerto winners, who study at the UW’s Mead Witter School of Music, are:
Violinist Kaleigh Acord (below, in a photo by Michael R. Anderson), who will perform the first movement from the Violin Concerto in D Major by Ludwig van Beethoven.
Percussionist Aaron Gochberg (below), who will perform the “Prism Rhapsody” by Japanese composer Keiko Abe.
Bassoonist Eleni Katz (below), who will perform the Bassoon Concerto in B-Flat Major, K. 191, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Pianist Eric Tran (below), who will play the Keyboard Concerto No. 4 in A Major, BWV 1055, by Johann Sebastian Bach.
“Blooming” is by UW composition student Mengmeng Wang (below), who is from China.
The concert will open with the Overture to “Candide” by Leonard Bernstein. This year is the centennial of Bernstein’s birth.
For more information about the contestants and their photos, as well as how to get tickets, go to:
https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/symphony-showcase-concerto-winners-solo-recital-reception/
You can also hear interviews with the winners, who discuss the pieces and their teachers, in the terrific YouTube video below:
Tags: #BassoonMusic, #CelloMusic, #DomenicoScarlatti, #JohannSebastianBach, #LeonardBernstein, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #NewMusic, #PercusssionConcerto, #PianoConcerto, #PianoMusic, #TrumpetMusic, #UnitarianSociety, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #ViolinConcerto, #ViolinMusic, #WisconsinPublic Radio, #WisconsinPublicRadio, Arts, Arvo Part, Ástor Piazzolla, Bach, Baroque, Bassoon, Beethoven, birth, BWV, Candide, Cello, centennial, China, Chinese, choral music, Classical music, Competition, composer, concerto, contestant, Early music, Final Forte, First Unitarian Society of Madison, free, Friday, Jacob Stockinger, Japan, Japanese, Johann Sebastian Bach, K, Leonard Bernstein, Levy, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Mozart, musicale, New Music, noon, Orchestra, Overture, Overture to Candide, percussion, photo, Pianist, Piano, Radio, Scarlatti, Student, symphony, Teacher, Television, trumpeter, trumpter, TV, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Verdi, Violin, web site, Website, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Public Television, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: ECM Records finally streams its entire catalogue of award-winning artists and recordings
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By Jacob Stockinger
The critically acclaimed and award-winning independent label ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) was founded in Munich, Germany, in 1969 by the Grammy-winning producer Manfred Eicher (below).
Known for its penchant for the contemporary and even avant-garde, Eicher’s label was nonetheless a conservative hold-out when it came to the newer technology of digital streaming.
The old technology has its points besides superior sound quality. When you got an ECM CD, you usually also got one of their terrific black-and-white photographs, often a square-format landscape, as a cover. (ECM even published a book of its photographic covers.)
But as of this past Friday, ECM finally gave into the inevitable and streamed its entire catalogue. Its rationale was that it was more important for its music and musicians to be heard than to remain loyal to certain platforms.
ECM also cited the pressure from unauthorized uploads to YouTube and bootleg versions of its recordings as the reason for the decision.
So as of yesterday, ECM, which has won many awards for individual titles and artists, will be available on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, Deezer, Tidal and other streaming services.
ECM is known for its popular and critically acclaimed jazz artists including pianist Keith Jarrett (below, of “The Köln Concert” or The Cologne Concert) and saxophonist Jan Garbarek and the Hilliard Ensemble (“Officium”). But it also included classical chamber music groups such as the Keller Quartet, the Trio Medieval, the Danish Quartet and others.
ECM is also known for championing contemporary classical composers (Arvo Pärt, below, who is the most performed contemporary composer, as well as Tigur Mansurian, Lera Auerbach, Gyorgy Kurtag and Valentin Silvestrov among others) and some outstanding crossover classical musicians, including Jarrett, a jazz great who has also recorded Bach, Handel and Shostakovich on both piano and harpsichord.
The Ear especially likes violist Kim Kashkashian and Harvard pianist Robert Levin (a frequent performer at the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival) in sonatas of Brahms. He is also fond of Alexei Lubimov in various piano recitals as well as the many recordings of Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Janacek and Robert Schumann by the superb pianist Andras Schiff (below). In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear Schiff in a live performance of the Gigue from Bach’s Keyboard Partita No. 3.)
And there are many, many more artists and recordings worth your attention. Here is a link to an extensive sampler on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/ECMRecordsChannel
Who are your favorite ECM artists?
What are your favorite ECM recordings?
What ECM downloads do you recommend?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: acclaim, Alexei Lubimov, Amazon, András Schiff, Apple, Apple Music, Arts, Arvo Part, avant-garde, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, black-and-white, Book, bootleg, catalogue, Cello, Chamber music, champion, choral music, Classical music, Cologne, Compact Disc, composer, concerto, conservative, contemporary, critic, crossover, Danish Quartet, Deezeer, digital, Dmitri Shostakovich, download, Early music, ECM, ECM Records, format, Franz Schubert, fugue, George Frideric Handel, Germany, gigue, Grammy Award, great, Gyorgy Kurtag, harpsichord, Harvard, Harvard University, Hilliard Ensemble, independent, Jacob Stockinger, Jan Garbarek, Janacek, Jazz, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Keller Quartet, Keyboard, Kim Kashkashian, Koln Concert, label, landscape, Lera Auerbach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Manfred Eicher, Mansurian, modern, Munich, Music, Musician, new, New Music, Officium, partita, photography, Piano, popular, Prelude, producer, publish, quality, Quartet, recital, recommend, recommendation, Robert Levin, sampler, Saxophone, Schubert, Schumann, service, Silvestrov, Sonata, Sound, Spotify, square, stream, streaming, technology, Tidal, Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, Trio Medieval, unauthorized, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, upload, Viola, Violin, vocal music, YouTube
Classical music: Two FREE concerts of wind and choral music take place Sunday at the UW-Madison. Plus Wisconsin Public Radio will air a live broadcast by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
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ALERT: Tomorrow, on Sunday afternoon from 2:30 to 4 p.m., Wisconsin Public Radio will broadcast a live performance by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra under its outgoing music director Edo de Waart.
The program features works by Igor Stravinsky, the Symphony No. 4 by Ludwig van Beethoven and the Concerto for Two Pianos by Francis Poulenc, with the Madison-born twin sisters Christina and Michelle Naughton as soloists.
By Jacob Stockinger
With less than a month left in the first semester’s concert schedule, the performances are really starting to pile up.
Tomorrow, on Sunday, Nov. 20, five groups will perform two FREE concerts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music:
- Tomorrow at 2 p.m. in Mills Hall is a joint concert by the Women’s Chorus (below), the Master Singers and the University Chorus.
The program includes music by Giuseppe Verdi, Arvo Part, Gustav Holst, Leonard Bernstein, George Frideric Handel and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
For more information and the complete program, go to:
http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/joint-concert-womens-chorus-masters-singers-university-chorus/
- Tomorrow at 5 p.m. in Mills Hall there is a joint concert by the UW Wind Ensemble (below) and the Winds of Wisconsin.
The program includes “Grand Pianola Music” (982) by the contemporary American composer John Adams. (You can hear the first part of the work in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
For more information and the full program, go to:
http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/uw-wind-ensemble-wow-joint-concert/
Tags: Arts, Arvo Part, Baroque, Beethoven, Chamber music, choral music, chorus, Christina and Michelle Naughton, Classical music, concerto, Early music, Edo de Waart, Francis Poulenc, George Frideric Handel, Grand Pianola Music, Gustav Holst, Igor Stravinsky, Jacob Stockinger, John Adams, Leonard Bernstein, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Master Singers, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Mozart, Orchestra, Piano, symphony, United States, University Chorus, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW Wind Ensemble, Verdi, Viola, Violin, vocal music, winds, Winds of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, women, women's chorus, YouTube
Classical music: The Festival Choir opens its season Saturday night with a light and music project devoted to peace
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Festival Choir of Madison (below, in a photo by Stephanie Williams), singing under its director Sergei Pavlov, will open its new season with a mixed arts event devoted to peace.
The concert is this Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in the Atrium Auditorium at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive.
“Da Pacem Domine” is a project of music and light dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
It will feature light design by Andrew Schmitz.
Tickets are $15 for general admission; $12 for seniors; and $9 for students.
For more information about this concert, tickets and the entire season with three more concerts, go to: http://festivalchoirmadison.org
Says Pavlov (below), who teaches at Edgewood College:
“Tonight the Festival Choir of Madison presents a project that goes beyond the concept of a traditional concert. With the help of compositions from all around the world, we recreate a day in the life of a nation. Yes, this day is September 11, 2015. But in fact, it could be any day in history, when humanity has faced profound grief caused by hatred and destruction.
“The concert comprises six parts: “Morning,” “Cries and Whispers,” “A Prayer for Peace,” “Interlude,” “The Memory of our Heroes” and “On Earth, as it is in Heaven.”
“From the dream-like visions of Daniel Elder, through the biting dissonances of Hikaru Hayashi and the otherworldly sounds of Ēriks Ešenvalds, the Festival Choir of Madison and the light designer Andrew Schmitz will take you on a journey of compassion and hope.
“Experience the healing power of LIGHT AND MUSIC in a project inspired by choral works of Arvo Pärt, John Tavener, Ēriks Ešenvalds (heard below in a YouTube video), Hikaru Hayashi, Daniel Elder, Rene Clausen and James MacMillan.”
There will also be cello music by Johann Sebastian Bach and bagpipe music performed by Rhys O’Higgins.
Tags: 9/11, Andrew Schmitz, Arts, Arvo Part, Bach, bagpipe, Baroque, Cello, choral music, Classical music, Daniel Elder, Edgewood College, Eriks Esenvalds, Festival Choir of Madison, First Unitarian Society of Madison, Hikaru Hayashi, Jacob Stockinger, James MacMillan, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Tavener, light, Madison, Music, René Clausen, September 11, September 11 attacks, Sergei Pavlov, Sound, terrorism, terrorist attacks, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, YouTube
Classical music: Band and choral music is on tap this Sunday at the UW-Madison and Edgewood College
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By Jacob Stockinger
It has been a busy weekend for music, and tomorrow, Sunday, Oct. 16, it continues.
For fans of band and choral music, a lot of choices are on tap at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music and Edgewood College.
Here is the lineup:
At 1 p.m. in Mills Hall, the University Bands (below top) at the UW-Madison will perform under conductors Darin Olson (below bottom), Nathan Froebe, Justin Lindgre. Sorry, no word on the program.
At 2:30 p.m. St. Joseph Chapel, 1000 Edgewood College Drive, the Edgewood College Concert Band presents its Fall concert.
Admission is FREE with a free will offering to benefit the Luke House Community Meal Program.
The program, under the direction of Walter Rich (below, in a photo by Edgewood College) will perform music by John Williams, Leonard Bernstein and Richard Strauss.
The program combines those three legendary names with a selection of new music by three young composers: Brian Balmages, Sean O’Loughlin and the emerging American star Daniel Elder.
The Edgewood College Concert Band provides students and Madison-area community musicians with the opportunity to perform outstanding wind literature. The band has performed a variety of works, ranging from classic British band literature of the early 20th century to transcriptions, marches, and modern compositions.
The group charges no admission for concerts, but often collects a freewill offering for Luke House, a local community meal program. The group rehearses on Wednesday evenings from 7-9 p.m.
At 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music will host the FREE Choral Collage Concert (its logo is below).
The concert features many groups: the Concert Choir (below top), Chorale, Madrigal Singers, Women’s Choir (below bottom), University Chorus and Master Singers.
The program, drawn from the Baroque, Classical and Modern eras, includes music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (the beautiful “Ave Verum Corpus,” which you can hear with Leonard Bernstein conducting, in the YouTube video at the bottom), Benjamin Britten, Johann Schein, Arvo Part (below), Orlando di Lasso and others.
For more information and a link to the complete program, go to:
http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/uw-choral-collage/
Tags: Arts, Arvo Part, Ave Verum Corpus, band, Baroque, Benjamin Britten, brass, Brian Balmages, British, choral music, Chorale, Classical, Classical music, Concert Band, Concert Choir, conductor, Daniel Elder, Edgewood College, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Schein, John Williams, Leonard Bernstein, Luke House, Madison, madrigal, Madrigal Singers, march, marches, Master Singers, modern, Mozart, Music, New Music, Orlando di Lasso, Richard Strauss, Sean O'Loughlin, singer, transcriptions, United States, University Chorus, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, Walter Rich, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, women, women;s choir, YouTube
Classical music: The annual FREE Karp Family Labor Day Concert on Monday night features new music, unknown works and neglected composers
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear is not alone in viewing the official opening of the new fall season as being the annual FREE Karp Family Labor Day concert, which takes place on the holiday Monday night before classes begin at the UW-Madison. (Below and from left, in the 2011 photo, are pianist and violinist son Christopher Karp; violist Katrin Talbot; the late pianist Howard Karp; cellist son Parry Karp (who is married to Katrin Talbot); and pianist wife Frances Karp.)
This year, that means the concert is on this coming Monday night, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall on the UW-Madison campus.
In the decades-long history of the event, pieces never get repeated.
That may help to explain why this year’s program features the new and the neglected rather than the tried-and-true.
Here is how cellist and patriarch of the Karp family Parry Karp (below) explains it:
“The program includes a world premiere performance of a brand new piece for Cello and Piano by Joel Hoffman (below), to be performed by my brother Christopher Karp and myself. It is entitled “Riffs on a Great Life.”
“The great life he is writing about is our Dad’s, longtime UW-Madison pianist Howard Karp, who died two years ago at 84.
“Robert Kahn (below) was a wonderful composer of chamber music and lieder whom Johannes Brahms admired very much. They initially met in 1885 when Kahn was only 20 years old. Brahms was impressed both by his compositions and his piano playing. We are greatly enjoying learning his Piano Quartet No. 2, which will feature my mother Frances Karp.
Pro Arte Quartet second violinist Suzanne Beia and my wife, violist Katrin Talbot, will join in the performance.
“The “Rhapsody” by Rebecca Clarke (below) is an unjustly neglected masterpiece that unfortunately has never been published. Frances and I are playing it from a copy of the manuscript. It was commissioned by Mrs. Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge in 1923, and is a very romantic and expressive piece.
Also on the program is “Fratres” for cello and piano by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt (below), who turns 82 on Sept. 11. According to one source, he has been the most performed living composer in the world for five consecutive years.
The dramatic and insistent piece was used as part of the soundtrack or film score for the movie “There Will Be Blood” with Daniel Day-Lewis. Here is a link to a performance with over one million hits on YouTube:
Tags: Arts, Arvo Part, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, composer, Daniel Day-Lewis, Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, Estonia, Family, film, Film score, Howard Karp, Jacob Stockinger, Joel Hoffman, Johannes Brahms, Labor Day, Madison, manuscript, Music, Piano, Pro Arte Quartet, Rebecca Clarke, rhapsody, soundtrack, There Will Be Blood, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, Wisconsin, YouTube
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