The Well-Tempered Ear
Here’s music to mark Mother’s Day
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By Jacob Stockinger
This Sunday is Mother’s Day 2024.
The holiday celebrating mothers, grandmothers and women whose are like mothers to us is celebrated around the world in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Mothers have long provided inspiration to composers, performers and listeners.
The Ear’s mom loved to hear him practice and play Chopin’s Waltz in E minor and Rachmaninoff’s popular Prelude in C-sharp minor (played by the composer in the YouTube video at the bottom), which dropped out of fashion for many years but now seems back in favor, especially as an encore.
Mom was proud of her pianist son and once even let the telephone sit near the piano when I was playing the Rachmaninoff for someone who had called her long-distance and wanted to hear more of what was until then just background noise to her conversation.
Anyway, here is one of the best pieces I have seen for you to read and listen to as you celebrate Mother’s Day. Some of the music is sure to be very familiar, other music less so.
Here are 20 pieces, with brief introductions and translations, about mothers from the website Interlude in Hong Kong:
Here’s to you, Mom.
Do you have a piece to dedicate to your mom?
Did your mother have a favorite piece she liked to hear?
The Ear wants to hear.
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A biopic about Vivaldi is in the works
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By Jacob Stockinger
The baroque master and violin virtuoso Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741, below) composed the most recorded piece of classical music of all time: “The Four Seasons.”
The work was composed around 1720 and published in 1723, but because Vivaldi died in poverty and his music fell into obscurity, it was not rediscovered and recorded until 1939. And scholars are still finding manuscripts and rediscovering works by the prolific composer who has some 500 concertos and 40 operas to his credit.
The Roman Catholic priest with flaming red hair who was admired by J.S. Bach and who taught at an orphanage for girls in Venice, Italy, has been the subject of numerous biographies, critical studies and even novels, including mystery novels.
But now — after a 20-year delay since the script was completed and submitted — Vivaldi is about to hit the Big Screen in a biopic.
Last year saw “Maestro” about Leonard Bernstein and his wife. And a movie about opera diva Maria Callas is in the works with Angelina Jolie in the title role.
It seems a trend that might perhaps help attendance as concert organizations still are struggling to recover from the Covid pandemic. One wonders if we will see more Vivaldi programmed in response to his increased visibility and publicity his music will get thanks to Hollywood.
For more background and details, here is a link to the story on Classic FM:
Which is your favorite of the four violin concertos that make up “The Four Seasons”?
And what about Vivaldi’s other pieces, including the glorious “Gloria”?
The Ear particularly likes Vivaldi’s concertos for two violins. It is in A minor, RV 523, and you can hear the first movement played by Simon Standage and Collegium 90 in the YouTube video at the bottom.
Do you recommend a particular work by Vivaldi?
What is your favorite piece — choral, operatic, instrumental — by The Red Priest?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Klaus Mäkelä, 28, is the new music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
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By Jacob Stockinger
It seems to The Ear that another young conducting superstar is in the making.
I’m talking about the 28-year-old Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä (below, in a photo by Marco Borggreve), who just yesterday was named the successor to 82-year-old Riccardo Muti as the music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, starting in 2027.
Chances are good that the talented, photogenic and charismatic Mäkelä — ignore the umlauts and “ke” is pronounced kay — who has had a meteoric rise will eventually join the company of Gustavo Dudamel and Yannick Nézet-Séguin as an heir to such celebrated conductors as Leonard Bernstein and Herbert von Karajan, then Claudio Abbado, Michael Tilson Thomas and Marin Alsop.
The Ear would love to post stories from the New York Times, the Washington Post or the Chicago Tribune. But they all hide their online stories behind a paywall.
Here is another story, from ABC-TV in Chicago and the Associated Press, that has all the essentials and some extra background:
In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can see his 2-minute video made specifically to introduce himself on the occasion of his selection to lead the CSO. He talks about what he likes about the world-famous orchestra and why he wanted to accept the permanent position after guest conducting the CSO
And here is an excerpt of Mäkelä conducting the Paris Orchestra in Carnegie aHall last month. His reading of Igor Stravinsky’s “The Firebird” — on an all-Stravinsky program with “The Rite of Spring — raised the neck hair on The Ear.
You can under how the young Finn has developed a reputation for both spontaneous energy and sonic clarity.
What do you think of Klaus Mäkelä becoming the music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra?
Have you heard him conduct? What did you think?
Would you go to Chicago to hear him conduct?
Will he become a worthy successor to such Chicago luminaries as Muti, Daniel Barenboim, George Solti and Fritz Reiner?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Hear 25 works of Christmas-inspired classical music plus 86 minutes of background music
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By Jacob Stockinger
Today — Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023 — is Christmas Eve.
Many people and households will start celebrating Christmas today and tonight.
Then, of course, there is tomorrow — Christmas Day and especially morning,
By now you have certainly heard many hymns and carols plus the usual popular holiday musical fare.
But here are 25 works of classical music that are appropriate for today and tomorrow.
Some composers and works probably sound familiar while others are more obscure or neglected.
But each work comes with a short background story or narrative, plus an audio-visual video clip from YouTube.
Here is the link. Take a listen and decide for yourself.
In a less serious vein, the YouTube video below adds a different site with 86 minutes of traditional and familiar songs, hymns and carols — but in instrumental arrangements. It might sound a lot like old-fashioned Mantovani, but The Ear thinks that the lack of words and vocal music makes it more suitable for background to conversation and socializing.
What do you think?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Apple Music Classical is now available for iPads
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By Jacob Stockinger
Apple Music Classical (logo is below) continues to make headway in the streaming service market.
Originally, it was only available on iPhones with an OS operating system. Then it became available on Google’s Android phones.
As of this week, it is now available on iPad, programmed for bigger formats.
The Ear finds the app particularly useful and cheap for checking out new releases. IT offers more than 5 million recordings.
Some critics complain, however, that the app is still not available for other Mac computers and Apple devices. But one imagines Apple is working on that too even as it continues to buy up other classical music labels.
The recordings on the Hyperion label are now fully available on the app, thanks to that label’s decision to finally offer streaming. (The Ear particularly likes having accessibility to the recordings of prolific pianists Marc-André Hamelin and Stephen Hough as well as those of violinist Isabelle Faust and cellist Steven Isserlis.)
The app also now has the complete catalogue of the critically acclaimed Swedish label BIS as well as the Pentatone label it started with.
Here is a story from MacRumors about the technical update, with almost 70 comments and some very good background and tips about how to use it — which you can also find in the YouTube video at the bottom:
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/11/16/apple-music-classical-comes-to-ipad/
And here are links to previous posts about Apple Music Classical and its release and expansion:
What do you think of Apple Music Classical?
Do you use it or plan to subscribe?
Like it or dislike it?
Why?
The Ear wants to hear.
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See and hear the new extended trailer for ‘Maestro’
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By Jacob Stockinger
If — like The Ear — you are really looking forward to seeing “Maestro”(below) and can hardly wait for it to arrive, you will want to see the newly released extended preview or trailer.
The bio-pic about the late American conductor, composer, pianist and educator Leonard Bernstein being in love has been acclaimed at festivals and received standing ovations around the world. Film greats Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg were involved in making it.
“Maestro” — which runs 2 hours and 9 minutes — opens in select theaters in the U.S. on Nov. 22.
Then it comes to Netflix on Dec. 20.
And the soundtrack — which includes the music of Mahler whom Bernstein help to rediscover — will be released soon on the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon label.
Forget the silly brouhaha about whether Bradley Cooper — who wrote, directed and stars in the film — should have used a prosthetic nose to portray Lenny. It was a move that Lenny’s children approved of and it works even though some critics said the actor should have been the same ethnicity as the characters.
Cooper also practiced a certain way of breathing and talking, and took conducting lessons from Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
And to see and hear his portrayal is to be amazed at how closely he resembles Lenny.
And yes, if you ware wondering, it definitely does not ignore the gay side of Bernstein.
Just take a look and a listen.
The visuals and the music whet your appetite for more, much more.
Here is some of it found of the British radio station ClassicFM:
https://www.classicfm.com/composers/bernstein-l/maestro-official-trailer-bradley-cooper-biopic/
And for more background, here is the movie’s Wikipedia entry:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maestro_(2023_film)
What you think?
The Ear wants to hear.
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It’s requiem time for the UW Choral Union
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By Jacob Stockinger
It’s official.
The UW Choral Union (below), a campus-community singing group with a 130-year history, is dead.
It was killed off last spring by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music.
The death was quietly announced in June but became even more official Monday night. That is when Dan Cavanagh (below top), the new director of the School of Music, and Mariana Farrah (below bottom), the new choral activities director, held what was advertised as a public “conversation” in the Hamel Music Center.
Here is link to a posting about the event by one former self-described Friend of the Choral Union. At the end of the story you will find other background links:
https://welltempered.wordpress.com/
From what The Ear understands, about 60-70 people attended the “conversation.”
Before the post-mortem, some former Choral Union participants held out hope that the two administrators might be open to revisiting and perhaps reversing the decision to end the Choral Union.
They were the optimists.
And they were wrong.
Others were pessimistic and thought that the long-overdue public reply to disappointment and criticism wouldn’t change anything. They said the meeting was designed from the beginning to be a kind of hand-holding and whitewashing to soothe those who had ruffled feathers over the decision, and was meant to use the occasion to make themselves look good to both the public and the university administration.
They were the pessimists.
And they were right.
Unfortunately, The Ear couldn’t make it to the event. But he has heard from several trustworthy sources who did attend.
They agree in their accounts of what happened.
Apparently Cavanagh and Farrah were congenial and patient. They gave lots of reasons, some vague, why the long and popular tradition had to end. The reasons ranged from fiscal constraints and staff shortages to pedagogical practices.
But many who attended apparently remained doubtful, judging from their questions and the answers they received.
The pessimists — or at least the skeptics — said the two were just trying to make the decision more palatable to the same public that has widely disapproved of the move and that has threatened to withhold donations to the School of Music.
But Cavanagh made the future of the Choral Union clear when he said, according to several sources: “We are not restarting Choral Union as we know it.”
Whatever that means besides it is over and done with.
The Ear still suspects that something that fishy is going on and that the details of the process are being withheld. Not only has the School of Music killed off the Choral Union, but it has also killed off the Madrigal Singers (below in a joint concert last year with the UW Chorale Lab Choir).
In addition, the sold-out traditional Tudor Holiday Dinners (below) — dating back 90 years at the Wisconsin Union — have been discontinued in favor of some less impressive celebration of winter called “Frosty Bites” with the Wisconsin Singers and various a cappella groups from campus. (See https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/special-events/frosty-bites/)
Did The Ear get anything wrong? Should he correct something?
What do you thinks explains the move to end the Choral Union after it survived for 130 years, through two world wars and the Great Depression?
Were you there at the Choral Union meeting?
What did you think of the conversation and the explanations that you heard?
Do you have any other reaction to or ideas about the demise of the Choral Union?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Will you help revive the UW Choral Union?
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By Jacob Stockinger
Soprano Janet Murphy was a longtime and enthusiastic participant in the UW Choral Union.
(You can see it below performing Ralph Vaughn Williams’ “A Sea Symphony” under former director Beverly Taylor during its inaugural appearance with the UW Symphony Orchestra in Hamel Hall. At the bottom you can see and hear the UW Choral Union singing “He Watching Over Israel” from Mendelssohn’s oratorio “Elijah” 12 years ago in Mills Hall).
In the wake of the Choral Union being ended by former music school director Susan C. Cook this past summer, many participants were outraged and disappointed that the campus-community group would no longer exist.
Among them, Murphy formed a support group, Friends of the Choral Union, and met in person with the new director of the UW School of Music.
Murphy now seems optimistic that the Choral Union can be revived — IF there is enough public support.
She sent the following appeal and asked The Ear to post it:
A message from Friends of the UW Choral Union:
As many of you know, the UW Mead Witter School of Music decided to disband the Choral Union after 130 years. They have heard a great deal from the community about that!
Dan Cavanagh, the new director of the School of Music, has graciously offered to hold a conversation with the community this Monday evening.
He seems open to re-establishing the Choral Union if there is a lot of support for that.
It’s now or never for classical music lovers and fans of the Wisconsin Idea to show the School of Music that we want the Choral Union back.
We need many hundreds of fans to come.
A big turnout will mean as much as anything we say.
Please…
Bring your family and friends
Post on social media
Email broadly
A conversation with Dan Cavanagh (below top) and Director of Choral Activities Mariana Farah (below bottom) will take place this Monday October 23, 7-8:15 p.m. in Hamel Music Center, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, 740 University Ave.
That’s where the UW Choral Union overfilled the 660-seat concert hall last April. Let’s fill the hall again!
Editor’s note: If you are looking for background, here are the previous stories dating back to the announcement of ending the Choral Union in June. It is also telling to read the many comments from participants and the public:
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Public ‘autopsy’ of UW Choral Union is Monday, Oct. 23
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By Jacob Stockinger
What was the cause of death?
Ever since last June — when the University of Wisconsin Mead Witter School of Music announced it was killing off the UW Choral Union after 130 years — the school has not issued any kind of public statement, specific explanation or response to the overwhelming negative reactions from the community.
That is finally about to change.
On Monday, Oct. 23, 2023 from 7:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall of the Hamel Music Center, the School of Music’s new director Dan Cavanagh will meet with former Choral Union singers and others members of the public to discuss the decision to cancel and to explore the future off campus-community choral activities.
Here is the email invitation that Cavanagh (below) sent out this week:
October 10, 2023
Dear Choral Union Singers,
I have been fortunate to meet several of you in my first few months in Madison as the new Director of the Mead Witter School of Music (MWSoM). I have felt welcomed and excited to make Madison my home, both personally and professionally.
As you know well, I started my position during a time of change here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I have learned much over the past few months about the long history, impact, and value that the Choral Union has had here in Madison and beyond.
I understand that many have felt disappointed by the decision to discontinue the Choral Union (shown below under longtime but now retired choral director Beverly Taylor) as it has been a longstanding and stalwart example of the Wisconsin Idea in action. I have begun having discussions with the local choral community writ large to explore ways to serve the Madison area in a way that honors that tradition while ensuring that we are able to serve our students in the most pedagogically and fiscally responsible way.
With the above in mind, I am writing to invite you and those interested to a conversation on Monday, October 23, from 7:00 p.m.-8:15 p.m. in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall in the Hamel Music Center.
Janet Murphy has, in parallel, reached out to me about the new “Friends of the Choral Union” group, and I plan to meet with her and a few others prior to this larger meeting so that I can come prepared to be responsive and engaged in the discussion.
I hope to come away from our conversation having had a chance to explain in more detail why the original decision was made last spring before I arrived, as well as having had a chance to hear your concerns and hopes for how we can partner together in the future to serve the choral community around us.
When I interviewed for this position back in early March, I talked a lot about how Music is one of the “front doors” to the University, and how our public charge includes engaging outside the walls of the “ivory tower.”
This philosophy is uniquely enacted through the Wisconsin Idea, and I do not use that phrase lightly. While our focus needs to remain first and foremost on our students and our ability (and resources) to adapt our pedagogical practices to a rapidly changing arts and cultural environment in this country, I am excited to work together with you and others to find ways to connect that pedagogical work with the wider community in our state and nationally.
Please consider joining me for this important conversation on October 23. No RSVP is needed. I look forward to meeting each of you in person and to hearing your passion, ideas, and concerns.
With deep respect,
Dan Cavanagh
Pamela O. Hamel/Board of Advisors Director; Mead Witter School of Music Professor of Jazz Studies and Composition
University of Wisconsin-Madison: music.wisc.edu
NOTE: If you want more to see more background and reader public reactions to it, here are links to three previous blog posts:
The Ear wonders how well attended the meeting will be?
Will you attend or not? Why or why not?
Will anything change about the future of the Choral Union?
Will Mariana Farah (below top) — the highly acclaimed new Director of Choral Activities — be on hand to answer questions and offer her perspective?
Will former music school director Susan C. Cook (below bottom), who made the decision, also be there?
How convincing will the explanations for the past decision and for possible future activities be?
Did it change your mind or thinking? How?
The Ear wants to hear.
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The Well-Tempered Ear 
Watch ‘The Last Repair Shop’ — the Oscar-winning short documentary about music education
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PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
The beautiful and animated face of the young girl comes on the screen with a violin, smiles and says simply, “I love the violin.”
And we as viewers fall in love right then and there.
“The Last Repair Shop” just won the 2024 Oscar for Best Short Documentary. The 40-minute film, released in 2023, is now available to watch on YouTube.
It is a feel-good, feel-guilty story about the last shop to repair free musical instruments offered students in the Los Angeles public schools. But it is also a meditation on things that are broken– and not just musical instruments but also people, schools and politics.
It is really a story about growing up; about adults making art matter to young people; about the role of public education at a time when it keeps getting attacked by ideologues as well as stingy legislatures, city councils, school boards and, ultimately, voters.
Here is a capsule summary: “Since 1959, Los Angeles has been one of the few United States cities to offer and fix musical instruments for its public school students at no cost.
“Those instruments, numbering around 80,000, are maintained at a Los Angeles downtown warehouse by a handful of craftspeople.
“The film profiles four of them, each specializing in an orchestra section, as well as students whose lives have been enriched by the repair shop’s work. The film concludes with a performance by district alumni.”
It sounds irresistible — and it is.
Here are some more background and particulars — including other awards and honors — from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Repair_Shop
If you don’t have time right now to watch the whole film, the two-minute trailer is at the bottom. But if you go to YouTube yourself, you can also read the heart-warming and perceptive comments from other viewers:
What do you think of the movie?
How did you react?
And what do you think about the importance of music education in schools?
The Ear wants to hear
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