The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: This Saturday night, pianist Emanuel Ax returns to the Wisconsin Union Theater in an all-Beethoven recital, and also is in a FREE and PUBLIC Q&A that afternoon. That same night, UW-Madison professor Alicia Lee gives a free clarinet recital
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By Jacob Stockinger
This Saturday night, Nov. 2, brings two separate but noteworthy recitals by Grammy-winning pianist Emanuel Ax and by UW-Madison clarinetist Alicia Lee.
Here are details:
EMANUEL AX
Emanuel Ax and Madison go way back.
Since 1974, the Wisconsin Union Theater has often seen Emanuel Ax (below, in a photo by Lisa-Marie Mazzucco) perform both as a soloist and a chamber musician with the legendary violinist Nathan Milstein and the superstar cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who is also a close friend. (Ax has also performed with the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra at the old Civic Center and with the Madison Symphony Orchestra in the Overture Center.)
This Saturday night, Nov. 2, Emanuel Ax returns again to help celebrate the centennial of the Union Theater’s Concert Series and to help kick off the Beethoven Year in 2020, which marks the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth.
The concert is at 7:30 p.m. in Shannon Hall with a pre-concert lecture, given by Andrea Fowler, a UW-Madison graduate student in musicology. Her lecture is at 6 p.m. in the Memorial Union’s Play Circle.
The program centers on the first three piano sonatas, Op. 2, by Beethoven (below) plus two rarely heard sets of theme-and-variations. In addition, he will start the performance with the popular “Für Elise” Bagatelle known to so many piano students, their parents and the public. (You can hear “Für Elise” and see a graphic depiction of it in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Tickets run from $15 for UW-Madison students to $70. For more information about tickets, Emanuel Ax, the program, sample reviews and links to Ax’s website, go to:
https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/emanuel-ax/
NOTE: This time, there will also be a special event as part of his appearance.
On Saturday afternoon from 1 to 2 p.m. in Collins Recital Hall at the new Hamel Music Center, 740 University Ave., Ax will participate in a FREE and public Q&A.
Here is a publicity blurb about that event: “Join us for a Q&A with Grammy Award-winning pianist Emanuel Ax. Now is your chance to ask how he selects repertoire, what his practice schedule is like, if he has any pre-recital rituals, or whatever you would like to know!”
“This event is intended for UW-Madison students and UW campus community, however the Madison community is welcome.”
For more information about the Q&A, go to: https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/q-and-a-with-emanuel-ax/
ALICIA LEE
At 8 p.m. in Collins Recital Hall, UW-Madison clarinetist Alicia Lee (below), who also plays in the UW Wingra Wind Quintet, will give a FREE recital of chamber music.
The program includes music by Robert Schumann, Bela Bartok, Isang Yun, Eugene Bozza and Shulamit Ran.
Two faculty colleagues will join Lee: pianist Christopher Taylor and violinist Soh-Hyun Park Altino.
For more information about the event, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/alicia-lee-faculty-clarinet/
For an extensive biography of Alicia Lee, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/alicia-lee/
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Classical music: Pianist Ilya Yakushev returns to play Russian jazz with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra on Friday night, then a recital of piano classics at Farley’s House of Pianos on Saturday night
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ALERT: The second of two FREE Friday Noon Musicales — devoted to the music of John Harbison on the occasion of his 80th birthday — will take place this Friday at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive. The Mosaic Chamber Players will perform. The concert runs from 12:15 to 1 p.m. The composer will be there to sign copies of his new book “What Do We Make of Bach?”
By Jacob Stockinger
Although he has heard the jazz suites by Dmitri Shostakovich many times, The Ear was surprised to learn how many modern Russian composers fell under the spell of American jazz.
Cultural difference combined with cultural exchanges might be one explanation.
But he also wonders if perhaps living in a state of psychological and emotional distress and danger – the Stalinist Terror facing composers in the Soviet Union and the Jim Crow racism facing African-American jazz artists in the United States – created a certain affinity between such apparently different musical traditions.
One thing is certain: the program that Ilya Yakushev (below), who was born and trained in Russia and now teaches at the Mannes College of Music in New York City – promises to be one of the most interesting programs of this season.
During his return to Madison, the Russian virtuoso pianist – who has his own interest in jazz and played a solo version of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” when last here — will perform two programs at venues where he has proven to be a sensational audience favorite.
This Friday night, Feb. 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center, Yakushev will once again team up with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (below) and its music director and conductor Andrew Sewell, to perform two rarely heard Russian works that demonstrate the influence of American jazz.
Those two Russian works are “Ten Bagatelles for Piano Orchestra” by Alexander Tcherepnin (below top) and the “Jazz Suite for Piano and Small Orchestra by Alexander Tsfasman (below bottom).
You can hear the Lyrical Waltz from Tsfasman’s Suite in the YouTube video at the bottom.
The WCO complements that with two jazz-influenced works by Igor Stravinsky (below): Suite No. 2 for Small Orchestra and “Ragtime.”
Then the concert concludes with one of the most iconic and well-known pieces of all classical music: the Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
For much more information about Yakushev and the program as well as to a link to buy tickets ($15-$80) go to:
https://wisconsinchamberorchestra.org/performances/masterworks-ii-4/
SATURDAY
Then on this Saturday, Feb. 23, at 7:30 p.m. at Farley’s House of Pianos, 6522 Seybold Road, on Madison’s far west side near West Towne Mall, Yakushev will perform a program of impressive tried-and-true classics as part of the Salon Piano Series.
An artist’s reception will follow the concert.
Tickets are $45 in advance (students $10) or $50 at the door. Service fees may apply. Tickets can also be purchased at Farley’s House of Pianos. Call (608) 271-2626.
Student tickets can only be purchased online and are not available the day of the event. Tickets can be purchased in advance from:
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/706809brownpapertickets.com
For more information, go to: https://salonpianoseries.org
Yakushev’s recital program is:
Adagio in B minor, K. 540 (1788), by Mozart
Sonata in F minor “Appassionata,” Op. 57 (1804), by Ludwig van Beethoven
Vallée d’Obermann, S. 160 (1855), from “Années de pèlerinage, Première année” (Years of Pilgrimage, First Year), by Franz Liszt
The song “Widmung” (Dedication) by Robert Schumann as transcribed for solo piano by Liszt, S.566 (1848)
“Mephisto Waltz No. 1,” S. 514 (1862), by Liszt (below, in an 1886 photo, the year before he died, when Liszt was teaching many students, by Nadar)
In addition, on Saturday at 4 p.m., Yakushev will teach a FREE and PUBLIC master class at Farley’s House of Pianos, where he will instruct local students.
The master class program will include:
Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 2, No. 1, First Movement by Beethoven; performed by Kevin Zhang who studies with Kangwoo Jin.
Six Variations on “Nel cor piu non mi sento” (In My Heart I No Longer Feel) by Beethoven, performed by Daniel Lee who studies with Irmgard Bittar.
Etude in G-Flat Major (“Black Key”) Op. 10, No. 5,by Frederic Chopin; performed by Alysa Zhou, who studies with Denise Taylor.
Master classes for the 2018-19 season are supported by the law firm of Boardman & Clark LLP.
The concert is 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.
The Salon Piano Series is a nonprofit founded to continue the tradition of intimate salon concerts featuring exceptional artists. To become a sponsor of the Salon Piano Series, please contact Renee Farley at (608) 271-2626 or email renee@salonpianoseries.org
Tags: #African-AmericanMusic, #AfricanAmerican, #AlexanderTcherepnin, #AlexanderTsfasman, #AmericanJazz, #AndrewSewell, #AnnéesdePèlerinage, #AppassionataSonata, #AudienceFavorite, #BlackKey, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BookSigning, #BrownPaperTickets, #CapitolTheater, #ChamberOrchestra, #ChopinEtudes, #CulturalExchange, #DmitriShostakovich, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Farley'sHouseofPianos, #FirstUnitarianSocietyofMadison, #FirstYear, #FranzLiszt, #FredericChopin, #FridayNoonMusicale, #IgorStravinsky, #IlyaYakushev, #IntimateSetting, #JazzMusic, #JazzSuite, #JimCrow, #JohnHarbison, #JosefStalin, #LawFirm, #LocalArts, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MannesCollege, #MephistoWaltz, #MosaicChamberPlayers, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #NewYorkCity, #NonprofitOrganization, #OvertureCenter, #PianoSonata, #RagtimeMusic, #RhapsodyinBlue, #RobertSchumann, #RussianComposer, #RussianMusic, #SalonPIanoSeries, #SongTranscription, #SovietUnion, #StalinistTerror, #StateOfWisconsin, #SymphonyNo.40, #TheDevil, #TheTerror, #Tried-and-True, #UnitedStates, #Valléed'Obermann, #VirtuosoPianist, #WestTowneMall, #WhatDoWeMakeofBach?, #WineReception, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YearsofPilgrimage, adagio, advance, affinity, African American, Alexander Tcherepnin, Alexander Tsfasman, American, Andrew Sewell, Années de pèlerinage, Appassionata, artist, Arts, audience, bagatelle, Beethoven, Black Key, blog, Book, book signing, Brown Paper Tickets, Capitol Theater, Cello, Chamber music, chamber orchestra, Chopin, Classical music, classics, composer, composers, concerto, cultural exchange, culture, danger, death, dedication, Devil, died, distress, Dmitri Shostakovich, donor, emotional, etude, event, Facebook, Farley's House of Pianos, First Unitarian Society of Madison, Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, free, Friday Noon Musicale, funding, George Gershwin, georgegershwin, Igor Stravinsky, Ilya Yakushev, influence, interesting, intimate, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, jazz suite, Jim Crow, John Harbison, law firm, local, Ludwig van Beethoven, lyrical, Madison, Mannes College of Music, master class, masterclass, Mephisto, Mephisto Waltz, Mosaic Chamber Players, movement, Mozart, Music, Nadar, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, New York City, nonprofit, Nonprofit organization, online, Orchestra, Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts, performer, photograph, Piano, Piano sonata, program, promise, psychological, racism, Ragtime, reception, Rhapsody in Blue, Robert Schumann, rush, Russia, Russian, salon, Salon Piano Series, Satan, sensational, Sonata, song, Soviet Union, sponsor, Stalin, Stalinist Terror, State of Wisconsin, Student, Suite, Switzerland, symphony, Symphony No. 40 (Mozart), Teacher, teaching, terrorism, tickets, tradition, transcription, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Vallée d'Obermann, variations, Viola, Violin, virtuoso, virtuoso pianist, vocal music, Waltz, WCO, West Towne Mall, What Do We Make of Bach?, Widmung, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, work, works, Years of Pilgrimage, YouTube
Classical music: Fresco Opera Theatre premiers its original prequel to Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” this Thursday though Sunday
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ALERT: UW-Madison clarinetist Alicia Lee (below) will perform a FREE faculty recital this Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall. She will be joined by two fellow faculty members: collaborative pianist Martha Fischer and violist Sally Chisholm of the Pro Arte Quartet.
The program includes sonatas by Johannes Brahms and 20th-century Russian composer Edison Denisov as well as four Bagatelles by contemporary German composer Matthias Pintscher and the “Kegelstatt” Trio by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. For more information about he program and the performers, go to:
https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/faculty-concert-alicia-lee-clarinet/
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement about a production that promises to be one of the most original musical events in Madison in a long time, something that sounds like a cross between Broom Street Theater and the Madison Opera.
This is especially true since The Queen of the Night in this production is sung by Caitlin Cisler (seen below by herself and rehearsing with Jonathan Ten Brink), who also played the Queen of the Night is last year’s production of “The Magic Flute” by the Madison Opera. (You can hear the famously virtuosic aria sung by The Queen of the Night in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Folks –
I am extremely proud of Fresco’s next production “The Queen Of The Night,” which is our original prequel to Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.”
This is a new production from the ground up! New music. New story. New songs.
The music is by Jordan Jenkins, and the libretto-story is by Andrew Ravenscroft and Amy Quan Barry.
It is a world premiere opera called, “The Queen of the Night.” Mozart was given a gift from the immortals to bestow the world with “The Magic Flute,” and now it’s up to us to tell the untold story that has been hidden in secret for over 200 years. The opera is steeped in Masonic symbolism, secret rituals and lush musical melodies.
Using the characters from “The Magic Flute,” “Queen of the Night” tells the background story of the Queen and her struggle between darkness and light.
Here is a synopsis:
The Queen of the Night lives in the Realm of Night, a place of perpetual darkness. Sarastro, a sorcerer priest from the Realm of Day, enters her world and they fall in love.
Their children, Papageno, Pamina and The Three Ladies, are born from the shadows. They are stalked by Apophis the Serpent, an ancient denizen of the night who hates Day, and is jealous of the QUEEN’s feelings for Sarastro, and wants to destroy him.
Apophis persuades a young prince from the borderlands named TAMINO to enter the Realm of Night on the promise of a reward if he will destroy Sarastro.
Night and Day are at odds with each other and a storm of black magic awaits anyone that gets in the way of the Queen’s happiness
This production has musical virtuosity and is visually stunning. I am confident that Mozart would approve of what we have created.
We are performing in the legendary Madison Masonic Center, 301 Wisconsin Avenue, a beautiful performing space (below) that allows us to stretch out in a way no other space can.
If that doesn’t pique your interest, I don’t know what will.
Do come see “Queen of the Night.” We will not disappoint! It is a fantastic show, and you will be supporting LOCAL artists!
There will be four performances: Thursday night at 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday night at 8 p.m.; and Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
Tickets cost $10-$75.
For complete information about the cast as well as how to order advance tickets, go to:
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3320280
As we approach 10 years at Fresco, I can’t think of a more appropriate way to usher in that milestone than with “The Queen Of The Night.” It is new and fresh, but rooted in tradition.
See you at the Masonic Center!
Jeff Turk, Emeritus President, Board of Directors
https://www.facebook.com/frescoopera
Melanie Cain, Artistic Director
Frank Cain, Executive Director
Tags: #20thCentury, #BroomStreetTheatre, #ClarinetMusic, #ClarinetTrio, #ContemporaryComposer, #ContemporaryMusic, #EdisonDenisov, #FrescoOperaTheatre, #GermanMusic, #JohannesBrahms, #LivingComposer, #MadisonMasonicCenter, #MadisonOpera, #MasonicRituals, #MatthiasPintscher, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #NewMusic, #PianoMusic, #ProArteQuartet, #QueenoftheNight, #RussianMusic, #TheMagicFlute, #ViolaMusic, #ViolaSonata, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WorldPremiere, aria, Arts, bagatelle, choral music, clarinet, Classical music, composer, contemporary, event, faculty, libretto, librettto, lush, Madison, Madison Opera, Masons, melodies, melody, Mozart, Music, musical, opera, Orchestra, original, Piano, prequel, priest, recital, rituals, secret, Sonata, story, symbolism, synopsis, The Magic Flute, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, virtuosic, virtuoso, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: YOU MUST HEAR THIS — the slow movement of the Violin Concerto by Gerald Finzi
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has long had a fondness for the works of the 20th-century British composer Gerald Finzi (below).
His work may be relatively tweedy and conservative, but it is unmistakably modern. It is very poignant and appealing, with accessible harmonies and beautiful melodies. He seems much like a British Samuel Barber.
Ever since he first heard it maybe 20 years ago, The Ear has loved Finzi’s pastoral Eclogue for Piano and String Orchestra, which was meant to be the slow movement of a piano concerto but ended up being an independent work. And, judging by how increasingly often it gets played on Wisconsin Public Radio, the Eclogue seems to be a favorite among a growing number of fans.
But there are other works.
There is the Romance for Violin and Small Orchestra.
There is the Romance for String Orchestra.
There is the Concerto for Cello.
There is his Romance for Clarinet and String Orchestra as well as the Five Bagatelles for Clarinet and Orchestra.
And now The Ear has discovered the slow movement — appropriately marked “very serene” — of the Violin Concerto by Finzi, which you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom.
It is performed by British violinist Tasmin Little (below, in a photo by Melanie Winning), who four seasons years ago turned in wonderful performances in Madison with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra under Andrew Sewell. She played Finzi’s rarely heard “Introit.”
If you want to hear the whole concerto, it is available for free on YouTube from a couple of different performers. And you can find many other works by Finzi on YouTube.
In any case, The Ear hopes the Violin Concerto gets programmed at a local concert.
This past summer, the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society featured a song cycle by Finzi. Even so, we need to hear more music by Gerald Finzi in live performances.
Finzi was a modest and retiring man, publicity shy and not given to self-aggrandizement or self-promotion, who went underperformed and underappreciated during his lifetime. But he is an extremely welcoming and moving modern composer.
The Ear thinks he deserves a better place among other modern British composers who have become more popular, including Ralph Vaughan Williams (shown, below right, with Finzi), Benjamin Britten, Frank Bridge, William Walton and others.
Are there other Gerald Finizi fans out there?
What do you think about him?
And what is your favorite work by Gerald Finzi?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: accessible, Andrew Sewell, Arts, Bach, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, bagatelle, Barber, Baroque, beautiful, Benjamin Britten, British, Britten, Cello, Chamber music, clarinet, Classical music, composer, concerto, conservative, cycle, dance, dynamite, Eclogue, England, English, Frank Bridge, Gerald Finzi, Great Britain, harmony, introit, Jacob Stockinger, live, Madison, melody, modern, movement, Music, Orchestra, pastoral, performance, Piano, promotion, publicity, Ralph Vaughan Williams, recording, Romance, Samuel Barber, self-aggrandizement, self-promotion, serene, singer, Slow movement, society, song, String Orchestra, summer, symphony, Tasmin Little, tweed, U.K., UK, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, William Walton, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wisconsin public radio, work, YouTube
Classical music poll: Who is your favorite neglected composer? And what is your favorite work by that composer?
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By Jacob Stockinger
It’s the weekend — a good time for another reader poll.
Last weekend, The Ear heard the Violin Sonata No. 1 by the French composer Gabriel Faure (below), in a wonderful performance by UW-Madison faculty members violinist Soh-Hyun Park Altino and pianist Christopher Taylor, who make an outstanding partnership that The Ear hopes to heard more often.
The Ear has long thought that Faure, who was the teacher of Ravel, has been neglected. His work, especially his solo piano pieces and chamber music, is subtle and appealing but unjustly overshadowed by the Germanic school.
Yet Faure seems to be getting more performances, although still not as many as he deserves.
So maybe The Ear will switch to say that the 20th-century English composer Gerald Finzi (below) is now his favorite neglected composer.
You can hear Finzi’s haunting and exquisite “Eclogue” for piano and strings, which was originally the slow movement for a piano concerto, in the YouTube video at the bottom.
But The Ear also likes Finzi’s Clarinet Concerto and his Five Bagatelles — especially the “Romance” movement — for Clarinet and Piano.
There are so many composers who deserve a wider hearing — including big mainstream composers like the prolific master Franz Joseph Haydn whose name is better known than most of his works.
Recently, on Wisconsin Public Radio, The Ear heard rarely performed solo piano works by the Czech Josef Suk (below top) and really liked them. Same goes for some solo piano works and violin works by Clara Schumann (below bottom).
There are so many other composers, including ones from Scandinavia, Asia and the United States, who fly under the radar but deserve better recognition and more performances.
So here is what The Ear wants to know:
Who is your favorite neglected composer?
And what is your favorite piece by that composer and why?
Please tell the rest of us, with a link to a YouTube performance, if possible, and help us expand our horizons.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: Arts, Asia, bagatelle, Chamber music, Christopher Taylor, Clara Schumann, clarinet, composer, concerto, Czech, Eclogue, English, Faure, favorite, Finzi, French, French Canada, Jacob Stockinger, Josef Suk, Madison, Music, neglect, neglected, Orchestra, Piano, piece, Scandinavia, Soh-Hyun Park Altino, Sonata, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, work, YouTube
Classical music: David Ronis is the new opera director at UW-Madison. Con Vivo concludes its 14th season this Saturday night with septets and quintets by Beethoven, Dvorak, Max Reger and Carl Nielsen.
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NEWS ALERT: David Ronis (below, in a photo by Luke Delalio) — who has been an interim director for two years — is the new director of University Opera. He was chosen from a nationwide search, and has posted the following news on his Facebook page:
“For some reason, I’ve been resisting posting my big news, now a couple of months old. But perhaps it’s time. I’ve been appointed the inaugural Karen K. Bishop Director of Opera at University of Wisconsin-Madison! It’s truly humbling to be going into an endowed chair established in memory of such a dear, wonderful, talented, and dedicated soul. This endowment will enable us to continue to develop the exemplary opera program at UW-Madison in all kinds of directions. Stay tuned!”
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following note to pass along:
Con Vivo!…music with life (below) presents a chamber music concert entitled “Five by Seven” on this Saturday, May 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Ave., across from Camp Randall.
Tickets can be purchased at the door for $18 for adults and $15 for seniors and students.
Con Vivo!’s spring concert “Five by Seven” features septets and quintets for winds, strings and organ.
The program includes the Septet, Op. 20, by Ludwig van Beethoven, and the folk-like Bagatelles, Op. 47, for strings and organ by Antonin Dvorak. (You can sample Dvorak’s tuneful Bagatelles in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Additional pieces include the story of a lover’s unrequited love in the quintet “Serenata in vano” by Danish composer Carl Nielsen below top) and the miniature “Lyrical Andante” by the German composer Max Reger (below bottom), whose centennial was just marked.
Audience members are invited to join Con Vivo! musicians after the concert for a free reception to discuss the music.
Artistic Director Robert Taylor said: “With Con Vivo!’s spring concert, we conclude our 14th season with exceptional music that combines the wonderful sounds of winds, strings and organ. Our Madison audience will be able to hear our musicians up close and personal playing music of extreme delight and depth.”
Con Vivo! is a professional chamber music ensemble comprised of Madison area musicians assembled from the ranks of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and various other performing groups familiar to Madison audiences.
Tags: Andante, Arts, bagatelle, Beethoven, Carl Nielsen, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, composer, Con Vivo, Danish, David Ronis, Denmark, Dvorak, Facebook, German, Germany, Jacob Stockinger, Ludwig van Beethoven, lyrical, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Max Reger, Music, opera, organ, Piano, quintet, septet, Serenade, tune, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, Viola, Violin, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, YouTube
Classical music: A FREE musical tribute to the French avant-garde composer and conductor Pierre Boulez is this Friday night at 8 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall. Plus, Saturday brings the Winterfest concerts by the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO)
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ALERT: This Saturday will see the annual Winterfest concerts by the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Some 400 student musicians will take part. The special guest is bassoonist Nancy Goeres (below), an alumna of WYSO from 1966 to 1970, who now performs professionally with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Music by Johann Stamitz, Francois Joseph Gossec, Franz Joseph Haydn, Jean Sibelius, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Emmanuel Chabrier, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Witold Lutoslawski and Duke Ellington will be performed, Here is a link to the lists of impressive programs and performers:
http://www.wysomusic.org/dianne-endres-ballweg-winterfest-concert-series/
By Jacob Stockinger
UW-Madison faculty members bassoonist Marc Vallon and saxophonist-composer Les Thimmig will lead a FREE musical tribute to the French avant-garde composer and conductor Pierre Boulez (below) this Friday night a 8 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall.
Boulez, who frequently conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and served as music director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, died recently.
Here is a link with more background about Boulez, including an essay by UW professor Marc Vallon (below, in a photo by James Gill), who worked with Boulez:
https://welltempered.wordpress.com/?s=boulez
![Marc Vallon 2011 James Gill (baroque & modern)[2]](https://welltempered.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/marc-vallon-2011-james-gill-baroque-modern2.jpg)
Called “Le Domaine Musical,” the event will also feature other UW-Madison faculty members and student musicians.
They include violist Sally Chisholm, violinist Soh-Hyun Park Altino, flutist Stephanie Jutt, organist/keyboardist, John Chappell Stowe, hornist Daniel Grabois, pianist Christopher Taylor as well as cellist Martha Vallon, Micah Behr, Thalia Coombs, Ivana Ugrcic, Joanna Schulz, Dave Alcorn, Kai-Ju Ho, Sarah Richardson, Michel Shestak, Rosalie Gilbert and the Hunt String Quartet (Paran Amirinazari, Clayton Tillotson, Blakeley Menghini and Andrew Briggs)
Music will include the following composers: Pierre Boulez, Anton Webern, Claude Debussy and Johann Sebastian Bach
Here is the complete program:
Pierre Boulez (1925-2016) – Dérive 1 for 6 instruments (1984) — Heard in a YouTube video at the bottom as performed by the same group, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, that Boulez founded and led for many years in Paris.
Pierre Boulez (1925-2016) – Notations for piano (1946)
Anton Webern (1883-1945) Six Bagatelles for string quartet, Op. 9
Anton Webern (1883-1945) – Drei Gesänge (Three Songs) aus “Viae inviae” von Hildegard Jone, Op. 23
Claude Debussy (1962-1918) – Three Poems of Stéphane Mallarmé
Claude Debussy (1962-1918) Sonate for flute, viola and harp (1904). Pastorale: Lento, dolce rubato; Interlude: Tempo di Minuetto; Finale. Allegro moderato ma risoluto
Short Webern style intermission
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 (no marking) –Adagio ma non tanto- Allegro
Pierre Boulez (1925-2016) Mémoriale (…explosante fixe… Originel) for solo flute and eight instruments (1985)
Tags: Arts, arts education, avant-garde, Bach, bagatelle, Baroque, Bassoon, Boulez, Brandenburg Concerto, Cello, Chabrier, Chamber music, Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Christopher Taylor, Classical music, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, Debussy, Duke Ellington, Education, faculty, flute, Gossec, harp, Haydn, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lutoslawski, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mallarme, Music, Music education, New York City, New York Philarmonic, New York Philharmonic, Orchestra, Piano, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, poem, Pro Arte Quartet, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Saxophone, Sibelius, Sonata, song, Stamitz, String quartet, Student, Tchaikovsky, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Villa-Lobos, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Webern, Winterfest, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, YouTube
Classical music: UW-Madison’s Hunt Quartet performs a FREE MUST-HEAR concert of Beethoven, Schubert and Webern this Sunday evening. Plus, there is a FREE concert of Schubert’s song cycle “Winterreise” this Saturday afternoon at the UW-Madison
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ALERT: On Saturday night at 3:30 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall, David Richardson, a first-year DMA candidate in Collaborative Piano at the UW-Madison, will be joined by a guest artist, baritone Alan Dunbar, for a FREE performance of the famous song cycle “Winterreise” (Winter Journey) by Franz Schubert. The Ear hears it promises to be an outstanding performance.
By Jacob Stockinger
There are many student recitals and concerts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison each season – many dozens and maybe even into the hundreds.
But still there are standouts.
One such standout is coming up this Sunday night at 6 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall. That’s when the Hunt Quartet, made up of very talented UW-Madison graduate students, will perform a FREE concert.
Too bad it has to compete with the special two-hour final episode of the popular PBS series “Downton Abbey,” which The Ear suspects will cut into the audience. Could they have moved the concert up to 5 or earlier? That would be nice, but maybe hall logistics made that impossible.
Anyway, the members of the string quartet were selected by the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music faculty because they are outstanding performers and pedagogues.
Members are seen below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot. They are from left: Clayton Tillotson, violin; Blakeley Menghini, viola; Paran Amirinazari, violin; and cellist Andrew Briggs, cello.
The appealing all-masterpiece program is: String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Op. 18 No. 5, by Ludwig van Beethoven; Six Bagatelles for String Quartet, Op. 9, by Anton Webern; and the famous String Quartet in D minor, “Death and the Maiden,” by Franz Schubert. (You can hear the slow movement of the Schubert, based on a song he composed, played by the Alban Berg Quartet in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
The Hunt Quartet is the graduate string quartet for UW-Madison’s School of Music. As Project Assistants within the School of Music, the Quartet performs concerts at the School of Music and university events, as well as part of community outreach.
Members work closely with faculty, including the Pro Arte Quartet, and have Professor Uri Vardi as their principal coach. Other artists who have worked with the Quartet include violist Nobuko Imai, violist Lila Brown, and members of the Takacs String Quartet.
The Quartet is also the integral part of the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s “Up Close and Musical” program, visiting area schools to teach students about fundamentals of music and the string quartet.
The Hunt Quartet is generously sponsored by Kato Perlman and the Madison Symphony Orchestra.
Tags: Arts, bagatelle, Beethoven, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, collaborative piano, community outreach, Death and the Maiden, Franz Schubert, Jacob Stockinger, Lila Brown, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, masterpiece, Music, Nobuko Imai, Orchestra, outreach, PBS, Piano, public television, Schubert, song, song cycle, Takacs String Quartet, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Uri Vardi, Viola, Violin, Webern, Winterreise, Wisconsin Public Television, WPT, YouTube
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