Barbara Strozzi | The Well-Tempered Ear

20 women composers talk about classical music

December 2, 2023
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By Jacob Stockinger

What do women composers think about themselves, their careers and the place they occupy in the world of classical music?

Here are quotes — with YouTube videos, great vintage still photographs and musical excerpts — by 20 women composers throughout history from Hildegard von Bingen in the Middle Ages to contemporary living composers such as Americans Joan Tower, Missy Mazzoli, Jennifer Higdon and Jessie Montgomery.

That many of the names will seem familiar to many readers is a sign of how the “canon” has expanded in recent years and brought a new appreciation of neglected women composers, many of whom have been completely overlooked but are now featured prominently on concert programs and radio shows.

Mind you, insightful observations and great quotes about sexism, racism, ambition, creativity and history don’t guarantee music of superior quality.

But their music has to be played and listened to before it can be judged.

The Ear found this collection well worth paying attention to by men as well as women, especially young ones pursuing a career in music. Everyone can use a little inspiration and encouragement.

Here is a link to the website based in Hong Kong, China that has the story:

https://interlude.hk/twenty-quotes-by-women-composers-throughout-classical-music-history/?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter_1_Dec_2023

What about Louise Ferrenc or Florence Price?

Barbara Strozzi and Asian women?

Are there other names you would include?

What do you think of the collage of quotes, music and videos?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: Famed radio station WQXR names the best 100 recordings of 2019. Listen to samples of them here

December 28, 2019
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By Jacob Stockinger

Did you get a gift card for the holidays?

Are you looking how to spend it by either purchasing CDs or subscribing to a streaming service?

Help and guidance are available.

Few names in the airing of classical music carry more prestige than the famed radio station WQXR in New York City.

To check out the radio station’s choice of the best recordings of 2019 is also to see where the worlds of recording and concertizing are heading.

Such trends include rediscovering neglected composers and championing new music as well as women composers, such as Clara Schumann, and composers of color, such as the American composer Florence Price (below), who has often been featured on Wisconsin Public Radio this past year.

But you will also find noteworthy recordings of such classics as Johann Sebastian Bach – and two of his rarely heard cousins instead of his sons – and well as outstanding recordings of symphonies and piano sonatas (below, the set by Igor Levit) for the upcoming Beethoven Year to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of the composer.

And you will also find names of outstanding performers you may not have heard of — such as the exceptional Chinese pianist Haochen Zhang (below), a Van Cliburn Competition gold medalist whom The Ear would like to see perform here.

Here is a link to 25 picks with commentaries– plus another 75 titles and samples, without commentary, to round out a Top 100.

Happy listening!

https://www.wqxr.org/story/best-classical-recordings-2019/

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: The New Milwaukee Consort performs Renaissance and early Baroque love songs this Monday night in Spring Green

August 3, 2019
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By Jacob Stockinger

The Rural Musicians Forum will present the New Milwaukee Consort in a program of Baroque love songs on this coming Monday, Aug. 5, at 7:30 p.m. at the Unity Chapel in Spring Green.

This group of professionals and experts in early music includes soprano Kristin Knutson (below top), who competed in the 2015 Handel Aria Competition in Madison (in the YouTube video at the bottom); cellist and viol player Charlie Rasmussen (below middle); and lutenist Tim Sterner Miller (below bottom). They will perform on period instruments, bringing audiences back in time to the courts and chambers of Italy, England and France.

The New Milwaukee Consort is dedicated to the music of the European Renaissance and Baroque eras, crafting intimate performances around stories in words and music that resonate across the centuries.

They particularly relish bringing lesser-known sounds of the 17th century to modern audiences, from the work of women composers such as Barbara Strozzi (below) to music from handwritten manuscripts documenting the early development of the cello and ongoing experiments on the lute.

This concert features music from the chamber cantatas of the Venetian singer and composer Strozzi to celebrate her 400th birthday as well as works by her compatriots Claudio Monteverdi and Taruinio Merula; Elizabethan songs by lutenist and composer John Dowland (below); and “airs de cour” (Court music) by French court composer Etienne Moulinie.

Interwoven with these vocal works are pieces for the lute by Dowland and his contemporary Nicholas Vallet; for the viola da gamba by Tobia Hume and Marin Marais (below); and for the cello by Giulio Ruvo, Francesco Supriani and Giuseppe Jacchini.

This is an opportunity to enjoy some of the most precious pieces of Renaissance and Baroque era in the beautiful Unity Chapel (below) designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

The Chapel is located at 6597 County Highway T in Spring Green.

Admission is by free will offering, with a suggested donation of $15.

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: Starting Wednesday, the second LunART Festival will again spotlight women in the performing and creative arts. Here is the first of a two-part preview

June 2, 2019
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By Jacob Stockinger

The Ear has received a long and detailed announcement about the upcoming second LunART Festival. Here is Part 1 with background and participants. Tomorrow will be Part 2 with more information about new music and a schedule of events.

The LunART Festival is back for its second season from this Wednesday, June 5, through Sunday, June 9, and will continue its mission of supporting, inspiring, promoting and celebrating women in the arts.

The 2019 season brings 10 events to eight venues in the Madison area, providing accessible, high-quality, engaging concerts and events with diverse programming from various arts fields.

The festival will showcase over 100 artists this season, including many familiar local artists and performers as well as guest artists hailing from Missouri to Texas, Minnesota to Florida and as far away as Peru.

LunART’s inaugural 2018 season was a success on numerous fronts. From showcasing a wide variety of artists and arts disciplines to building lasting relationships and collaborations, LunART has distinguished itself from other arts events in Madison.

Both artists and audiences have commented that the LunART atmosphere is one of camaraderie, love and acceptance. Festival directors Iva Ugrcic and Laura Medisky (below right and left, respectively) have set this season to come back even stronger, with expanded dates and more diverse programming.

Like last year, the three ticketed evening gala concerts are centered on classical chamber music. Other art forms — including contemporary and aerial dance, poetry, spoken word and visual arts — are interwoven throughout the programs to create a unique atmosphere for performers, artists and audiences.

This year’s Grammy-nominated composer-in-residence is flutist Valerie Coleman (below), a former member of Imani Winds, who was described as one of the “Top 35 Female Composers in Classical Music” by The Washington Post.

Coleman embodies LunART’s vision by challenging norms and being a strong advocate for diversity in the arts. Her rich compositional output infuses elements of jazz and African secular music into the Western classical tradition, creating a soundscape that honors both worlds. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear Valerie Coleman playing her own composition “Fanmi Imen” at the 2018 convention of the National Flute Association.)

Coleman’s music will be featured throughout the festival among the works of other remarkable women who shaped music history, from Baroque composer Barbara Strozzi to Romantic composer Clara Schumann to living composer Missy Mazzoli.

Drawing from Madison’s rich arts scene and community, LunART 2019 features local artists including: former Madison poet laureate Andrea Musher (below); actor and theater artist Deborah Hearst; choreographers and dancers Liz Sexe and Kimi Evelyn; and aerial dancer Linda DiRaimondo.

Also featured are musicians from arts organizations such as Madison Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Fresco Opera Theatre, Arbor Ensemble, Madison New Music Ensemble and Sound Out Loud Contemporary Music Collective. Under the direction of Edgewood College professor Kathleen Otterson, Madison’s only women’s choir ARTemis Ensemble returns in greater numbers and will present a work by LunART 2018 “From Page to Stage” alum Meg Huskin among others.

Visual art will have a stronger presence in the 2019 Festival. From May 11-July 7, Overture’s Playhouse Gallery will house “Women Against Hate United by Love,” a collaborative, traveling art exhibition and multi-step “anti-hate” campaign united against bigotry, intolerance and racism, created by J. Leigh Garcia (below), Rachael Griffin and Kelly Parks Snider.

A gallery reception on Wednesday, June 5, serves as LunART’s opening event, in which Snider will give a talk about the exhibit and her use of art to educate communities about targeted issues in the hopes of shaking up the status quo. This engaging and thought-provoking exhibit is meant to provide a meaningful and hopeful community experience for all who attend.

In collaboration with Studio 84 and ArtWorking, two nonprofit art studios specializing in the creative development of people with disabilities, the final Gala concert at First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, on Saturday, June 8, will showcase 40 artworks. This exhibit will feature 20 women artists whose works will be displayed, flanking the Atrium Auditorium stage as well as in the lobby.

Tomorrow: New music to be premiered, comedy and the full schedule of events

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: The Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble performs a concert of music by Handel, Strozzi, Sammartini and rarely heard other composers this Friday night at 7:30

November 21, 2018
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By Jacob Stockinger

The Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble (below bottom) will perform a concert of baroque chamber music on this coming Friday night, Nov. 23, at 7:30 p.m. in Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church (below top), 1833 Regent Street, on Madison’s near west side.

Tickets are at the door ONLY: $20 for adults, $10 for students.

Members of the ensemble are: Eric Miller, viola da gamba; Sigrun Paust, recorder; Chelsie Propst, soprano; Charlie Rasmussen, baroque cello and viola da gamba; Consuelo Sañudo, mezzo-soprano; Monica Steger, traverso, harpsichord and recorder; Anton TenWolde, baroque cello; and Max Yount, harpsichord.

The program is:

Giulio Ruvo – Sonata for cello and basso continuo in A minor (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom played by cellist Charlie Rasmussen and harpsichordist Max Yount of the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble)

Andreas Lidl – Trio for flute, viola and cello

George Frideric Handel – Cantata “Dite, mie piante” (Say, My Plants)

Unico Wilhelm Count Van Wassenaer – Sonata No. 1 for recorder and basso continuo

INTERMISSION

Barbara Strozzi (below): “L’amante segreto” (The Secret Lover) from Opus II (1651)

Giuseppe Tommaso Giovanni Giordani – Duo No. 2 for two cellos, Op.18

Giuseppe Sammartini – Trio Sonata No. 5 for two flutes and basso continuo (1727)

Handel – “Tanti Strali” (Many Rays) HWV 197

Michel Corrette – Concert “Le Phénix”

For more information: (608) 238-5126, email: info@wisconsinbaroque.org, or got to: www.wisconsinbaroque.org

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: The Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble performs rarely heard instrumental and vocal music this Saturday night

February 8, 2018
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By Jacob Stockinger

The Ear has received the following announcement to post:

The Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble (below, in a photo by John W. Barker) invites you to a concert of Baroque chamber music on this Saturday night, Feb. 10, at 7:30 p.m.

The concert is in Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church (below), 1833 Regent Street, on Madison’s near west side.

Members of the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble include: Nathan Gigilierano – baroque violin; Brett Lipshutz – traverse flute; Sigrun Paust – recorder; Charlie Rasmussen – baroque cello; Consuelo Sañudo – mezzo-soprano; Monica Steger – traverso, harpsichord; Anton TenWolde – baroque cello; and Max Yount – harpsichord.

Tickets will be sold at the door only: $20 for the public, $10 for students.

For more information: Call (608) 238 5126; email info@wisconsinbaroque.org, or visit www.wisconsinbaroque.org

A reception will be held after the concert at 2422 Kendall Ave., second floor.

The program is:

Johann Friedrich Fasch – Trio Sonata for flute, violin and continuo

George Frideric Handel – Sonata for recorder and basso continuo, Op. 1, No. 7

John Dowland – “I Saw My Lady Weep”

Barbara Strozzi (below) – “Vane le mie speranze” (Are My Hopes in Vain?)

Pierre Guédron – Cessés mortels de soupirer” (Weep No More, Mortals)

Jean-Baptiste Barrière – Sonata for violoncello and basso continuo, Book 3, No. 4

INTERMISSION

Johann Joachim Quantz – Trio Sonata for recorder and flute in C major (in the YouTube video at bottom)

Tommasso Giordani – Duo for Two Violoncellos, Op. 18, No. 3

Nicola Matteis – Selections from “Ayres for the Violin,” Books 1 and 2

Michel Pignolet de Montéclair – “La Bergere” (The Shepherdess), Cantata for solo voice, flute and violin.

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: Two performances of the annual Winter Choral Concert, to benefit the homeless, are this Sunday afternoon at 2 and 4. Other UW groups also perform during a busy end-of-semester week

November 29, 2017
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By Jacob Stockinger

As always happens towards the end of a semester, the tempo of the performances at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music picks up and accelerates.

One highlight this week is two performances of a traditional choral concert.

Under conductor and UW choral program director Beverly Taylor (below), six of seven UW-Madison choirs — Chorale, Concert Choir, Madrigal Singers, University Chorus, Women’s Chorus, Masters Singers – will perform their annual winter concert twice this Sunday afternoon.

The two performances, at 2 and 4 p.m., will be at Luther Memorial Church, located at 1021 University Avenue.

Consider arriving early since these concerts are often very well attended.

Choirs will perform choral works as individual ensembles and jointly.

Holiday carols are part of the program and concert-goers are invited to sing along.

Sorry, but no composers or titles of works have been provided.

Professor John Chappell Stowe (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot) will perform organ music for the season.

A free-will offering is accepted at the end of the program with proceeds after expenses donated to “The Road Home,” an organization that provides housing and food to homeless families.

THURSDAY

At 7:30 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall, guest artists flutist Patricia Surman (below) and pianist Michel Keller will give a FREE recital. There is no word on the program, but if you want to know more background about the two musicians, go to:

http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/guest-recital-patricia-surman-flute/

FRIDAY

At 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, UW bassoonist Marc Vallon (below top, in a photo by James Gill) will perform a FREE program called “Breaking New Ground” that features the music of Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, Anton Webern and Yannis Xenakis among others. UW pianist Christopher Taylor (below bottom) will also play the last piano sonata, No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111, by Ludwig van Beethoven.

For the complete program, go to: http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/breaking-ground-with-marc-vallon-and-friends/

SATURDAY

At 4 p.m. in Mills Hall, the All-University Strings (below in a photo by Jeff Miller of the UW-Madison), which is made up of students from all fields and not just music, will perform a FREE concert under conductor Matt Chan. No word on composers or works on the program.

SUNDAY

At 12:30 p.m. in the Brittingham Gallery No. 3 of the Chazen Museum of Art, the Wingra Wind Quartet will perform on “Sunday Live at the Chazen.” Admission is free.

The program includes: “Piano Piece” by Richard Strauss and arranged by Marc Vall0n; Wind Quintet by Theodor Blumer; “Eight Etudes and a Fantasy for Woodwind Quartet” by Elliott Carter; “Opus Number Zoo” by Luciano Berio.

Members (below, from left, in a photo by Katrin Talbot) are: Marc Vallon, bassoon; Timothy Hagen, flute; Alicia Lee, clarinet; Aaron Hill, oboe; and Joanna Schulz, horn.

You can digitally stream the concert live by going to this website: https://www.chazen.wisc.edu/about/news/in-the-news/sunday-afternoon-live-with-the-wingra-wind-quintet/

For more background about the Wingra Wood Quintet, go to: http://www.music.wisc.edu/wingra-woodwind-quintet/

At 1 p.m in Mills Hall, the UW Concert Band (below top), under conductor Scott Teeple, will perform a FREE concert.The program features UW trombonist Mark Hetzler (below bottom). The program includes “Psalm for Band” by Vincent Persichetti (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom) “Silver Lining” by Anne McAninch, a UW doctoral student in composition; and “Falling” by Mark Hetzler.

At 4 p.m. in Mills Hall, University Bands will perform a FREE concert. No word on the program.

MONDAY

At 8:30 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall, the UW Early Music Ensemble, under director Jeanne Swack will mark the 250th anniversary of the death of Baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann (below) by performing music of Telemann, Johann Joachim Quantz, Barbara Strozzi and Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre. No word on a specific program. For more information, go to: http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/early-music-ensemble-3/

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: The Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble opens its new season with rarities beautifully performed

October 18, 2016
2 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

Here is a special posting, a review written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker. Barker (below) is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who writes for Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who hosts an early music show once a month on Sunday morning for WORT-FM 89.9. For years, he served on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison. Barker also took the performance photos in the review.

By John W. Barker

The season opener for the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble was held last Saturday night at the historic Gates of Heaven Synagogue, in James Madison Park on East Gorham Street.

An unusual feature of the program this time was a kind of running backbone: the music of the little-known 18th-century French composer Benoît Guilemant.

From a collection of duo miniatures for flute and violin, six short pieces were sprinkled through the program. There was also a larger work of his, a Quartet Sonata, Op. 1, No. 3, for two flutes and violin with basso continuo. All these were spirited, clever and imaginative pieces that greatly delighted the audience.

The French Baroque was further represented by a cantata by François Bouvard (1684-1760), sung by mezzo-soprano Consuelo Sañudo, with flutist Brett Lipshutz and violinist Nathan Giglierano taking obligato parts.

The other veteran singer involved, soprano Mimmi Fulmer, delivered a pungent Italian mini-cantata by Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677).

And, from the German Baroque scene, there was a fine Trio Sonata, Op. 1, No. 2, by the great Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707). You can hear it in the YouTube video at the bottom.

The earliest music in the program was provided by Claudio Monteverdi: first, the delicious concertato madrigal, “Chiome doro” from the Seventh Book (1619); then three delightful pieces from the earlier Scherzi Musicali of 1607.

The ensemble this time consisted of eight performers. Besides the two singers and the two instrumentalists named, there were regulars like Eric Miller (viola da gamba), Monica Steger (flute, recorder, harpsichord), Anton TenWolde (cello), and Max Yount (harpsichord). Violinist Giglierano is a new presence in the group, and it seems as if he will be returning to the fold later this season.

One hates to think that the audience was somewhat smallish due to football. But it was a lively and—as always and justly—an appreciative one.

Classical music: Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble performs works by less well-known composers this Saturday night

October 14, 2016
2 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

Fans of Baroque music can take their experience beyond such standard fare as Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi and George Frideric Handel if they attend a concert this weekend by the veteran Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, which has long used period instruments and historically informed performance practices.

The WBE concert of Baroque chamber music is this Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in the historic Gates of Heaven Synagogue, 300 East Gorham Street, in James Madison Park in downtown Madison.

PLEASE NOTE: There is a Badger Football game on Saturday, so it may take a little longer than usual to get to the Gates of Heaven.

Members of the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble (below) include: Mimmi Fulmer, soprano; Nathan Giglierano, baroque violin; Brett Lipshutz, traverse and recorder; Eric Miller, viola da gamba; Consuelo Sañudo, mezzo-soprano; Monica Steger, traverso, recorder and harpsichord; Anton TenWolde, baroque cello; and Max Yount, harpsichord.

Tickets at the door only: $20 for adults, $10 for students.

Here is the program:

Benoît Guillemant (fl. 1746-1757) – Preludio in D Major, from: Trois Suites d’airs harmonieux et chantant pour la flûte traversière avec un accompagnement de violon obligé (1757-1760)
Barbara Strozzi (below, 1619-1677) “L’Eraclito Amoroso”
Benoît Guillemant – Marche in D Major
Dieterich Buxtehude (1637/39-1707) Sonata for violin, gamba and cembalo, Opus 1, No. 2
Benoît Guillemant – Aria Gratioso in D Major
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) “Chiome d’Oro”

INTERMISSION

Benoît Guillemant – Tambourino 10 in D Major
François Bouvard (1684-1760) Enigme – cantata à voix seule avec accompaniment de violon, flute et la basse continue
Benoît Guillemant – Amoroso in D Major
Benoît Guillemant – Sonate en quatuor pour deux flûtes, un violon oblige et la basse continue, Opus 1, No. 3
Benoît Guillemant – Tambourino 20 in d minor
Claudio Monteverdi (below) from: Scherzi Musicali a tre voci, Venice 1607; “Lidia spina del mio core”; “Dolci miei”; “Damigella tutta bella”

For more information: 238 5126, email: info@wisconsinbaroque.org, or visit www.wisconsinbaroque.org

A reception will be held at 2422 Kendall Ave., second floor, after the concert.

Classical music: These women composers should be household names

March 26, 2016
2 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

It may be known more for basketball, for March Madness and the Big Dance.

But March is also Women’s History Month.

Before it ends, The Ear wanted to share a terrific story about women composers that appeared in the Smithsonian Magazine.

It discusses women composers who should be household names like Johann Sebastian Bach or Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Who are they?

Can you guess their names and match them to the photos?

Have you heard their works?

Read the story and see for yourself.

Here is a link:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/these-women-composers-should-be-household-names-bach-or-mozart-180958464/?no-ist

And at bottom is a YouTube video with a beautiful and tuneful example of one woman composer as well as background about a great but unknown female American violinist, who is championed by the Chicago violinist Rachel Barton Pine (below), who herself has performed several times with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.

And leave what you think about a specific composer or women in music in general in the COMMENT section.

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