The Well-Tempered Ear
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
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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
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Classical music: Pianist Gabriela Montero plays music by Schubert and Schumann and then does her own spontaneous improvisations this Saturday night at the Wisconsin Union Theater
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By Jacob Stockinger
Pianist Gabriela Montero (below, in a photo by Shelley Mosman) will perform in Shannon Hall at the Wisconsin Union Theater on this Saturday night, Feb. 11, at 8 p.m. Montero last performed in Madison with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and wowed the house at the Overture Center.
On this Friday, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in Mills Hall, Montero will also hold a master class, FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music.
Here are ticket prices for her recital: UW-Madison students are $10; Union members and non-UW students are $42, $38 and $25; UW-Madison faculty and staff are $44, $40 and $25; the general public is $46, $42 and $25; and young people 18 and under are $20.
Tickets can be bought online; by phone at 608-265-ARTS (2787); or in person — see locations and hours here.
The first half of Montero’s program features the first set of Four Impromptus, Op. 99, D. 899, by Franz Schubert and the playfully Romantic “Carnival” by Robert Schumann.
After intermission, the former prodigy will perform the spontaneous improvisations – usually on themes suggested by the audience – that she is acclaimed for.
According to The New York Times, “[Gabriela] Montero’s playing has everything: crackling rhythmic brio, subtle shadings, steely power in climactic moments, soulful lyricism in the ruminative passages and, best of all, unsentimental expressivity.”
Here she is performing the third Schubert impromptu, in G-flat major, in the set of four that she will play here:
Montero was born in Venezuela and gave her first performance to a public audience at the age of five. When she was eight, she made her concerto debut in Caracas, which led to a scholarship for private study in the United States.
Montero played with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Itzhak Perlman and clarinetist Anthony McGill at Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential Inauguration.
She has been invited to perform with the world’s most respected orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Liverpool Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony and more, performing in the Kennedy Center, Avery Fisher Hall and Wigmore Hall, among others.
Celebrated for her ability to brilliantly improvise, compose and play new works, Montero is an award-winning and best-selling recording artist.
She has received the Bronze Medal at the Chopin Competition, two Echo Klassik Awards in 2006 and 2007, and a Grammy nomination for her Bach and Beyond follow-up Baroque work in 2008.
She participated in the 2013 Women of the World Festival in London and spoke at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. She has also been recognized as a composer for her Piano Concerto No. 1.
In the YouTube video at the bottom you can hear Montero improvise on a famous melody by Sergei Rachmaninoff in the style of Johann Sebastian Bach.
This performance is presented by the Wisconsin Union Directorate’s Performing Arts Committee and was supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. Media sponsors are WORT 89.9 FM and the UW-Madison student station WSUM 91.7 FM.
Tags: Anthony McGill, Arts, Avery Fisher Hall, Bach, Barack Obama, Baroque, best-selling, bronze, Caracas, Carnival, Cello, Chopin, clarinet, Classical music, Compact Disc, Competition, compose, composer, concerto, Echo award, faculty, Franz Schubert, Grammy, grant, impromptu, improvisation, improvise, inauguration, Itzhak Perlman, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Kennedy Center, Klassik award, Liverpool Philharmonic, London, Los Angeles Philharmonic, lyricism, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, medal, melody, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, New Music, New York Philharmonic, New York Times, Orchestra, Piano, President, prodigy, public, rhythm, Robert Schumann, Romantic, scholarship, Sergei Rachmaninoff, staff\, State of Wisconsin, Student, Switzerland, theme, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Venezuela, Vienna Symphony, Violin, Website, Wigmore Hall, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, Wisconsin Union Theater, Women of the World Festival, World Economic Forum, WORT-FM 89.9, WSUM, WSUM 91.7 FM, Yo-Yo Ma, young people, YouTube
Classical music: Superstar cellist Yo-Yo Ma turns 60. NPR offers a capsule biography and generous sound samples from throughout his varied career.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Have cello. Will play.
Any style. Any place.
Last Wednesday, superstar cellist Yo-Yo Ma, turned 60.
The unquestionable quality, astounding diversity and enviable longevity of his career will come as no surprise to Madison audiences.
After all, Ma (below, in a photo by Jason Bell for Sony Classical) has performed here many times, mostly at the Wisconsin Union Theater – he reopened the renovated Shannon Hall — but also at the Overture Center.
Ma has performed solo here. But he also has played with his longtime chamber music partner pianist Emanuel Ax and with the acclaimed Silk Road Ensemble and the bluegrass or roots music by violinist-composer Mark O’Conner.
And Ma has commissioned many works – including some by composers Osvaldo Golijov and John Adams – that have entered the mainstream repertoire. His influence on contemporary music will be felt for a very long time.
The Ear has met Ma in person a couple of times and found him to be as congenial and humorous as he is talented and original.
An iconic figure on TV and radio, Ma is a master of using the mass media although he never seems a crass self-promoter.
He is a veritable American cultural institution who also enjoys going on PBS for “Sesame Street” and “Live From Lincoln Center” as well as doing a cameo appearance playing unaccompanied Bach in the drama “The West Wing.” (You can hear him play the same piece in a YouTube video at the bottom that has more than 12 million hits.)
Perhaps you have also heard him live, maybe even more than once.
One thing is important but is overlooked by the NPR piece: The ever-reliable Ma is outstandingly successful at the box office. He is probably the most bankable and commercially successful American classical musician on the scene today. Ma’s career bodes well for the future of classical music that otherwise worries so many observers and participants.
You surely will appreciate the eminently readable and listenable post that Tim Huizenga wrote for the “Deceptive Cadence” blog on NPR or National Public Radio.
Here is a link:
http://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2015/10/07/446364616/the-diverse-world-of-yo-yo-ma
Do you have a birthday greeting for or memory of cellist Yo-Yo Ma?
Leave it in the COMMENT section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: Arts, Avery Fisher Hall, Bach, Baroque, bluegrass, Boston, box office, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, Compact Disc, concerto, Emanuel Ax, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Adams, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Live From Lincoln Center, Madison, mass media, media, Music, New York City, NPR, Orchestra, Osvaldo Golijov, PBS, Piano, public radio, Radio, roots music, Sesame Street, Silk Road Ensemble, Television, The West Wing, TV, United States, Violin, Wisconsin, Yo-Yo Ma, YouTube
Classical music: Playing musical chairs in The Big Apple: The New Yorker magazine gives you the dirt on who might succeed James Levine at the Metropolitan Opera and Alan Gilbert at the New York Philharmonic.
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By Jacob Stockinger
They are two of the most high-profile jobs in the world of classical music and they are both in New York City: the music director of the Metropolitan Opera and the music director of the New York Philharmonic.
And right now candidates are being examined as possible successors to their current heads, James Levine and Alan Gilbert respectively.
According to a story in The New Yorker magazine, one major player reportedly is the acclaimed firebrand and openly gay French-Canadian conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin (below, in a photo by Hiroyuki Ito for Getty Images), who currently heads the Philadelphia Orchestra. Guess which post he is a candidate for?
Another major candidate seems to be the conductor-composer Esa-Pekka Salonen (below). Can you guess for which post?
The Ear asks: Whatever happened to American candidates?
Are we going backwards from the Leonard Bernstein achievement of putting American maestros on a par with European or other foreign conductors?
To be fair, though, some report that Bernstein protégée Marin Alsop, currently music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, could be a contender for the New York Philharmonic post.
Anyway, the recent New Yorker magazine had a very good take on the game of musical chairs being played around the two major vacancies.
The story shows careful research and excellent deep sourcing. But it also reads a bit like an engagingly conversational gossip column.
Maybe that is because it is written not by music critic Alex Ross but by Russell Platt, who is the classical music editor for the Goings On About Town column that starts the magazine.
Here is a link to an excellent read and what seems to be a pretty good crystal ball about the future leaders of the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic.
It’s great reading for a Sunday afternoon. Enjoy!
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/musical-chairs-conductors
Tags: Alex Ross, Arts, Avery Fisher Hall, Baltimore, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Classical music, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Getty Images, Grieg, Jacob Stockinger, Leonard Bernstein, Madison, Marin Alsop, Metropolitan Opera, Music, New York City, New York Philharmonic, New Yorker magazine, opera, Orchestra, Peer Gynt, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Orchestra, pops, United States, vocal music, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Classical music: What qualities are needed to be a world-class conductor? New York Times critics weigh in. What do you think?
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By Jacob Stockinger
You may recall that Alan Gilbert (below), the conductor of the New York Philharmonic, surprised the music world when he recently announced he would step down at the end of the 2017 season after only eight seasons on the job.
Speculation about a successor — with Marin Alsop (below top) of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Finnish native Esa-Pekka Salonen (below bottom) former director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, topping the lists — began immediately.
Right now, The Ear leans toward Marin Alsop. It would be great to see a woman in such a high-profile post. It would also be fitting for a protege of Leonard Bernstein to ascend to the podium where American-born and American-trained conductors first made their name. Buy American!
The sensational Venezuelan-born and Venezuelan-trained superstar Gustavo Dudamel (below) seems to have taken himself out of the competition by agreeing to stay longer in LA. But every performer has his or her price, so his story may not yet be over in terms of going to New York.
But Gilbert’s move also raises the issue: What qualities should one look for in a world-class music director and conductor?
These days, it involves a whole lot more than holding the baton and leading the players.
Anyway recently music critics for The New York Times weighed in with their preferences and points of view.
Here is a link to the story:
Read and see what you agree and disagree with.
And also let us know who you think would be a good choice to be the next music director and conductor of the New York Philharmonic.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: Alan Gilbert (conductor), Arts, Avery Fisher Hall, Classical music, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Finland, Finn, Finnish, Gustavo Dudamel, Jacob Stockinger, Leonard Bernstein, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Marin Alsop, Music director, New York City, New York Philharmonic, New York Times, Orchestra, Simón Bolívar, South America, The New York Times, Venezuela
Classical music: World-class conductors are making news with two retirements, a death and a contract renewal. Who will emerge as the new and younger star maestros? Plus, today is the last performance by the Madison Symphony Orchestra and pianist Ingrid Fliter of music by Benjamin Britten, Frederic Chopin and Robert Schumann. Read two reviews of the concert.
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ALERT: Today at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall is the last performance by the Madison Symphony Orchestra under John DeMain and pianist Ingrid Fliter (below) of the “Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge” by Benjamin Brittten, the Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor by Frederic Chopin and the Symphony No. 4 in D Minor by Robert Schumann. Here are two reviews to tempt you.
Here is a review that John W. Barker wrote for Isthmus:
http://www.isthmus.com/daily/article.php?article=44522&sid=841e6fa0653921af622026d5ee793a0f
And here is a review that Jess Courtier wrote for The Capital Times and the Wisconsin State Journal:
By Jacob Stockinger
Sometimes things just seem to happen in waves and clusters.
This past week has been a rough one for the media, for example.
There were the deaths of reporter Bob Simon (he was 73) of CBS News and “60 Minutes” and columnist David Carr (he was 58) of The New York Times.
Then there are the ongoing truth-telling problems of NBC’s top-rated anchor Brian Williams. And comedian-host Jon Stewart is leaving The Daily Show.
The same seems to go for orchestral conductors.
ITEM: Edo DeWaart will step down at the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra after the 2016-17 season. It is a major loss for the orchestra that many critics say has never sounded better.
ITEM: Alan Gilbert will step down from The New York Philharmonic after only eight seasons, after the 2016-17 season. He has his reasons for leaving such a prestigious post, especially after all the praise he has earned for programming and performing during his tenure.
Here is a terrific story from NPR (National Public Radio):
And another story for the revered British magazine Gramophone:
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/alan-gilbert-to-leave-the-new-york-philharmonic
ITEM: The conductor Israel Yinon – known for exploring neglected repertoire — has died at the age of 58, during a performance in Lucerne, Switzerland of Richard Strauss’ “An Alpine Symphony.”
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/conductor-israel-yinon-has-died
But there is some good news:
On the other hand, the acclaimed Yannick Nézet-Séguin -– the openly gay French-Canadian maestro — has just extended his contract with the Philadelphia Orchestra through 2022.
Here is a story:
Tags: 60 Minutes, Alan Gilbert (conductor), Arts, Asian American, Avery Fisher Hall, Benjamin Britten, Board of Directors, Bob Simon, Brian Williams, CBS, Chopin, Classical music, Compact Disc, concerto, conductor, David Carr, French-Canadian, Fundraising, gay, Gramophone, Great Britain, Ingrid Fliter, Israel Yinon, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, John DeMain, John W. Barker, Jon Stewart, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Lucerne, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Music director, National Public Radio, NBC, NBC-TV, New York City, New York Philharmonic, NPR, opera, Orchestra, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Orchestra, Robert Schumann, Switzerland, symphony, The Capital Times, The New York Times, The Wisconsin State Journal, UK, United Kingdom, Wisconsin, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Classical music: Historic Steinway Hall in Manhattan to be torn down and moved.
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By Jacob Stockinger
I think of Steinway Hall the same way that some people think of and advertise Sedona, Arizona: A kind of navel to a spiritual world.
For many pianists, anyway, such is the case.
Steinway Hall (below is the hallmark rotunda of the famed building) is a landmark building where a historic meeting took place between composer-pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff and keyboard virtuoso Vladimir Horowitz.
For generations it is where the greatest keyboard artists have gone to select the proper instrument for the Carnegie Hall and other solo recitals, chamber music concerts and concerto appearances at other venues such as Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center.
To be selected and named a “Steinway artist” was the highest professional accolade, whether you were Arthur Rubinstein or Van Cliburn or Emanuel Ax or Pierre-Laurent Aimard or Jeremy Denk or Daniil Trifonov. And there have been countless others.
But nothing can block “progress.”
Especially the progress officials call economic development.
So soon the old Steinway Hall will move to a new location, and the old Steinway Hall will be demolished to make room for upscale luxury condominiums.
Maybe it is just another example of the old real estate saying: Location, location, location.
After all, Steinway Hall is not very far from Carnegie Hall (below).
Talk about prime locations and reputable or prestigious addresses.
Here is a link to an earlier story and less complete story, with less background, from March 2013 in The New York Times. Be sure to read the Reader Comments:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/steinway-to-sell-its-famed-showroom-building/?_r=1
Tags: Arizona, Arthur Rubinstein, Arts, Avery Fisher, Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall, Chamber music, Christopher O'Riley, Classical music, concerto, Daniil Trifonov, Emanuel Ax, Helene Grimaud, Jacob Stockinger, Jeremy Denk, Music, New York City, New York Times, NPR, Piano, Piano concerto, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, recital, Sedona, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Steinway, Steinway Hall, The New York Times, Van Cliburn, Vladimir Horowitz
Classical music: Avery Fisher Hall will be renamed. Is there no end to the shameless egos of Big Money and the desperation of those who pursue it? What’s next? The Walmart States of America? Plus, this afternoon is your last chance to see the Madison Opera’s production of Beethoven’s “Fidelio,” which gets rave reviews.
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ALERT: Today at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall of the Overture Center is your last chance to see the Madison Opera‘s production of Ludwig van Beethoven‘s only opera “Fidelio.” The production has drawn high praise from local critics. (Below, in a photo by James Gill, are the lead singers tenor Clay Hilley as the imprisoned Florestan and soprano Alexandra LoBianco as his wife Leonore.) For tickets, call the Overture Center box office at (608) 258-4141.
Here is a review by John W. Barker for Isthmus:
http://www.isthmus.com/daily/article.php?article=44067&sid=39e0add1db8c192442a2b8defe5ff286
And here is a review by Greg Hettmansberger for Madison Magazine’s blog “Classically Speaking”:
http://www.madisonmagazine.com/Blogs/Classically-Speaking/November-2014/Fidelio-Rings-True/
By Jacob Stockinger
It reads like something right out of a novel by Charles Dickens or Honore de Balzac or Emile Zola.
Did you hear about Avery Fisher Hall (below)? They want to rename it!!!!
It needs major work and expensive upgrading.
The stakes only get higher and more expensive, of course. But Big Money is no doubt up to the challenge.
Some you may remember the comments I recently posted about the renaming of the Wisconsin Union Theater as Shannon Hall (below) because of generous donations. A plaque would have sufficed, like at Camp Randall Stadium.
It shouldn’t be too hard for Big Money to follow the more modest and more respectable examples of local philanthropists Jerry Frautschi and Pleasant Rowland, who funded the Overture Center for the Arts without plastering their names all over it.
But no! The rich need to splash their names all over the buildings so that we honor wealth more than public service or history.
Well, now I see that a renovation of famed Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City is seeking some deep pockets by offering naming rights.
Or should I say “re-naming rights.”
Officials will even pay the Fisher family millions of dollars to allow the renaming of the legendary hall where so many great careers have started and been put on display for the public.
That’s tacky, and even outdoes the University of Wisconsin-Madison when it asked the Elvehjem (pronounced LVM) family if it could rename the Elvehjem Museum of Art to the Chazen Museum of Art.
The Ear didn’t like that, either. But at least the UW-Madison didn’t pay for the family’s permission, didn’t buy back the honor and then turn around and give it to someone else.
Maybe that is the reality of financing projects in today’s income disparity and wealth gap plus lower taxes on the rich that Trickle-Downers want to lower even more.
But it is nonetheless shameful.
What’s next? Avery Fisher Hall becomes David H. Koch Hall?
When do we become the Wal-Mart States of America?
Here is the story that appeared in The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/14/arts/music/lincoln-center-to-rename-avery-fisher-hall.html?_r=0
Tell us what you think of it.
The Ear wants to hear.
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Classical music: The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music will open its new season Saturday night with a FREE recital of Latin American and German music by flutist Stephanie Jutt.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear likes that a new season at the University of Wisconsin School of Music will officially open in an intimate rather than grand manner with a chamber music concert.
At 8 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall on this Saturday, Sept. 6, flutist Stephanie Jutt (below) will perform Latin American music plus a classic masterpiece sonata by Johannes Brahms. The concert is FREE and OPEN to the public.
Jutt, who is a longtime professor the UW-Madison School of Music, is also the principal flute of the Madison Symphony Orchestra as well as a co-founder and co-artistic director of the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, which performs each summer in June. She also performs in the Wingra Woodwind Quintet (below, in a photo by Michael Anderson) at the UW-Madison.
On this program, Jutt and Venezuelan pianist Elena Abend will offer audiences a look at some of the beautiful and spicy music written by Latin American composers, including Argentinean composers Carlos Guastavino (below top), Astor Piazzolla (below middle) and Angel Lasala (below bottom).
Jutt recently traveled to Argentina to research this repertoire, and will be recording it with Elena Abend later this year in New York City.
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, pianist Elena Abend (below) has performed with all the major orchestras of her country. Receiving her Bachelor and Master degrees from the Juilliard School, she has performed at venues such as the Purcell Room in London’s Royal Festival Hall, Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Academy of Music with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as the Wigmore Hall in London, Toulouse Conservatoire, Theatre Luxembourg, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C., Chicago Cultural Center and the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee.
More performances include Ravinia and Marlboro Music Festivals, live broadcasts on Philadelphia’s WFLN, The Dame Myra Hess Concert Series on Chicago’s WFMT and Wisconsin Public Radio at the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison. She has recorded for the Avie label and numerous recording and editing projects for Hal Leonard’s G. Schirmer Instrumental Library and Schirmer Performance Editions.
Elena Abend currently serves on the Piano and Chamber Music Faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Program:
Milonga en Re (at bottom in a YouTube video) Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Tanguano Astor Piazzolla (1912-1992)
Introduccion y Allegro Carlos Guastavino (1912-2000)
With ELENA ABEND, PIANO
Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 120 Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) as arranged for flute by Stephanie Jutt
With UW Piano Professor CHRISTOPHER TAYLOR (below)
INTERMISSION
Poema del Pastor Coya Angel Lasala (1914-2000)
Con la Chola y el Changuito Carlos Guastavino (1912-2000)
Fuga e Misterio Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Tags: Angel Lasala, Argentina, Arts, Avery Fisher, Avery Fisher Hall, Avie Records, Ástor Piazzolla, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Brahms, Carlos Guastavino, Carnegie Hall, Chamber music, Chazen Museum of Art, Chicago, Christopher Taylor, D.C., ELENA ABEND, flute, France, G. Schirmer, Hal Leonard, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, Juilliard School, Juilliard School of Music, LIncoln Center, London, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marlboro Festival, Music, Myra Hess, New York City, Orchestra, Paris, Piano, Ravinia, Royal Festival Hall, Sonata, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Venezuela, Washington, Weil Hall, Weill Hall, WFMT, Wigmore Hall, winds, Wingra Woodwind Quintet, wisconsin public radio, YouTube
Classical music news: Get ready for another week of FREE concerts, lectures and rehearsals plus a TV appearance and the world premiere of William Bolcom’s Piano Quintet No. 2 with Christopher Taylor and the UW-Madison’s Pro Arte String Quartet.
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By Jacob Stockinger
If you lived in New York City, say, you might pay $50 or more for a ticket to hear one or more of these events, concerts and performers at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall or the Juilliard School.
But next week in Madison, you can attend all of them or any of them FOR FREE at the Wisconsin Union Theater and the UW School of Music.
That is because the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Pro Arte String Quartet will be holding the third of its four week-long series of events in its centennial season. (The quartet, below in a photo by Rick Langer, consists of violinists David Perry and Suzanne Beia (second from left), violist Sally Chisholm and cellist Parry Karp.)
This Sunday at 10 a.m., the Pro Arte Quartet will appear on WISC-TV‘s weekly public affairs show “For the Rec0rd.” (Turn to Channel 3 and Cable Channel 603 for hi-def to view the local CBS affiliate.) They will perform live and do an interview with program host Neil Heinen.
Below are details of each event for the following week. But first, let’s recall some background:
The UW-Madison Pro Arte Quartet (below, in 1940) is celebrating its centennial. The quartet has been artists-in-residence at the UW since 1940, when they were exiled by World War II from their home in Belgium while on tour in the US. That pioneering academic affiliation subsequently became the business model for most other string quartets around the world and is still in use today.
The Pro Arte Quartet is the first string quartet EVER in history to reach 100 and has commissioned two new string quartets and two new piano quintets to premiere this season to mark its centennial. Each of the four concerts this season also has featured or will feature a free series of lectures of critics and composers.
In keeping with The Wisconsin Idea – which is also marking its centennial this year and which states that the university should serve the taxpayers who support it — ALL EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
Here is a Pro Arte Quartet round-up so you can plan ahead and fill in your datebook:
On Wednesday, March 21, 3:30-5 p.m. in Room 1351 of the Mosse Humanities Building, 455 N. Park St., American composer WILLIAM BOLCOM (below) will discuss his recent music in a public composition master class as part of the Pro Arte Quartet’s Centennial. ADMISSION IS FREE.
For background on the Pulitzer Prize- and Grammy winning-composer Wiliam Bolcom, who has also received the National Medal of the Arts, visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bolcom
On Thursday, March 22, 9 a.m. to noon in Mills Hall, Mosse Humanities Building, 455 N. Park St., there is an OPEN REHEARSAL by the Pro Arte Quartet and UW PIANIST CHRISTOPHER TAYLOR (below) of the world premiere of the third commissioned work (Piano Quintet No. 2 by William Bolcom) for the quartet’s centennial concert on Saturday night, March 24, at 8 p.m. in the Wisconsin Union Theater. FREE ADMISSION.
On Friday, March 23, 4-5:30 p.m. in the UW School of Music Colloquium in Room 2650 in the Mosse Humanities Building, 455 N. Park St., there will be a public lecture-discussion by The New York Times senior music critic ANTONY TOMMASINI (below) on “Academic Writing and Music Criticism: Where Research and Journalism Intersect.” FREE and NO TICKETS.
On Saturday, March 24, 3-5 p.m. in the Wisconsin Union Theater is a lecture by New York Times senior music critic ANTHNY TOMMASINI on “Concert Music Today: A State of the Union Address,” followed by a question-and-answer session. FREE and NO TICKETS.
(Pre-concert cocktails and dinner with both composer William Bolcom and critic Anthony Tommasini will be in Tripp Commons at the Memorial Union. They are optional ($35) by calling (608) 265-ARTS or going to uniontheater.wisc.edu)
Here is a link to an interview Lindsay Christians of The Capital Times and 77 Square did with Tommasini this past week:
On Saturday, March 24, at 8 p.m. in the Wisconsin Union Theater is the third of the four concerts with WORLD PREMIERES of commissioned works: The Pro Arte Quartet and UW pianist Christopher Taylor will perform Anton Webern’s “Langsamer Satz” (Slow Movement, composed in 1905 and premiered in 1962); Darius Milhaud’s String Quartet No. 7, Op. 87 (composed in 1925, dedicated to and premiered by the Pro Arte Quartet back then plus Milhaud was William Bolcom’s teacher); Mozart’s aublime String Quintet in G Minor, K. 516 (1781), with Juilliard teacher and Juilliard String Quartet guest violist SAMUEL RHODES (below); and the world premiere of William Bolcom’s Piano Quintet No. 2 (2011). FREE and NO TICKETS.
(Pre-concert events, with introductions to composer William Bolcom and New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini and with questions from the audience, will be held from 7-7:30 p.m. in the Wisconsin Union Theater. There will also be a free post-concert celebratory dessert reception at the Memorial Union’s Main Lounge immediately following the concert.) BOTH ARE FREE with NO TICKETS.
Here is the detailed UW news release for the Saturday concert and other events:
http://www.news.wisc.edu/20389
On Sunday, March 25, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Brittingham Gallery III of the Chazen Museum of Art, 800 University Ave., “SUNDAY LIVE FROM THE CHAZEN” (below) will feature part of the Pro Arte Quartet’s Saturday night concert, including the second performance of William Bolcom’s Piano Quintet No. 2” with UW pianist Christopher Taylor and the Mozart String Quintet in G Minor with Samuel Rhodes. The event will be broadcast live over Wisconsin Public Radio (WERN 88.7 FM). Call 263-2246. Free.
For more information, visit Pro Arte web sites:
http://proartequartet.org/schedule.html
http://www.music.wisc.edu/pro-arte
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