The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: The Mosaic Chamber Players continues with its all-Beethoven concerts of sonatas for strings and piano this Saturday night. Plus, the woodwind quintet Black Marigold performs a FREE concert Friday at noon.

ALERT: The week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale, to take place from 12:15 to 1 p.m. at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, will feature the local woodwind quintet Black Marigold. It will perform music by August Klughardt, Darius Milhaud and Brian DuFord.

Here is a link about Black Marigold’s winter concerts and the program:

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2016/01/21/classical-music-the-wind-quintet-black-marigold-announces-its-four-upcoming-free-winter-concerts/

By Jacob Stockinger

The Mosaic Chamber Players — recently hailed as “among the finest purveyors of chamber music in Madison” by critic John W. Barker on The Well-Tempered Ear blog — will be performing an all-Beethoven program this Saturday night, Jan. 30, at 7:30 p.m.

The concert will take place in the beautiful and historic Landmark Hall of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, on Madison’s near west side.

This will be the third program of a 5-concert cycle of all the string sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven (below).

The impressive list of performers (below, from left), most of whom were educated at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music and Lawrence University in Appleton, includes pianist Jess Salek; violinist Laura Burns; cellist Michael Allen; and violinist Wes Luke.

They play with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the Oakwood Chamber Players, the Ancora String Quartet, the Rhapsodie String Quartet, the Madison Youth Choirs, Sound Ensemble Wisconsin, Fresco Opera Theatre, Opera for the Young, and other ensembles here and in Dubuque and LaCrosse.

On the program are: the Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major Op. 30, No. 1; the Sonata for Cello and Piano in C Major, Op. 102, No. 1; and the Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major, Op. 47 “Kreutzer.” (You can hear the first movement of the famous and riveting Kreutzer Sonata performed by superstar violinist Itzhak Perlman and pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy in a YouTube video at the bottom.)

There will be a reception following the program.

Tickets are $15 for the public; $10 for seniors; and $5 for students – by cash or check only. NO CREDIT CARDS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

Adds founder and pianist Jess Salek:

“This concert is perfect for an adult or caregiver night-out, and also for students at the middle school-and-above age.

“Please come hear some beautiful music performed by talented, expressive, and professional local artists.

“Thanks for considering. Hope to see you there!”