The Well-Tempered Ear

Why are Asians dominating Western classical music?

May 27, 2023
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By Jacob Stockinger

The month of May is Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage month in the U.S.

And here is a perfect story to provide questions and raise issues that pertain to that theme as it figures in classical music.

We have not seen many of them booked for concerts locally, but perhaps you have noticed how so many Asian musicians, particularly pianists, have been winning major competitions.

Those competitions include the Van Cliburn (Korean Yunchan Lim, below top), the Chopin (Chinese-Canadian Bruce Liu, below bottom), the Tchaikovsky, the Arthur Rubinstein, the Queen Elizabeth of Belgium, the Leeds Competition, the Geneva Competition and many others that are less famous.


Perhaps you have also noticed how we hear more Asian opera singers at the Met and more Asian string players in orchestras around the world.

More Asians also seem to be studying and performing in lower and higher educational institutions and organizations. 

And perhaps you, like The Ear, have wondered what is behind that trend?

Here is a terrific first-person story — with research, details, photos and performance videos – written by a Canadian musician of Japanese descent that appeared on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

But The Ear thinks it could easily apply to the United States, Australia and other non-Asian places and cultures.

Here is a link:

https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbc.ca%2Fmusic%2Fwhat-s-behind-the-predominance-of-asians-in-classical-music-1.6846375&data=05%7C01%7C%7C852fdf58ce64492a4c6008db5e04e9c4%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638207147418451193%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=JNR5H4OH26QHqKlknDNTeQtjzcqfO%2BCKcMpLfvNuzUE%3D&reserved=0

Do you think this story applies to Asians and Asian-Americans in the U.S.?

If you yourself are an Asian or Asian-American musician or music student, do the observations and analysis in the story ring true to you own experience?

Do you have other thoughts to add about the cultural reasons for the surge of Western classical music in Asia and among Asians elsewhere?

Are there important lessons here for non-Asian people and places?

The Ear wants to hear. 


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Real-time online playlists return to Wisconsin Public Radio

May 10, 2023
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By Jacob Stockinger

Good news!

Really good news!

Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) has finally returned to posting real-time playlists on both its online website and its mobile app.

Now you can see and identify what has been played and what is being played (below, displayed in yellow) — AS it is being played as well as after it has been played.

 

The only recent exception was Saturday when there was nothing posted until later in the day when all-day programming was listed at the same time. No reason has been given for the suspension or tardiness.

The playlists are especially good given the many unknown composers and compositions that are increasingly being aired.

The Ear also finds the playlists helpful to see what is playing and who is performing — along with the record label and catalogue number when you click “More” — when he hears part of a piece and is interested but didn’t hear the introductory information or can’t complete listening to it.

Please leave kudos and congratulate WPR for serving its listeners and supporters.

Try it and see.

Will you find the online real-time playlists helpful and use them?

The Ear wants to hear.


Online playlists return to Wisconsin Public Radio

April 29, 2023
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By Jacob Stockinger

Good news!

News that deserve a big shout-out!

Online playlists for classical music programming have returned to Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR).

The user-friendly move comes after more than a year of absent playlists and, fortuitously, as WPR is conducting a spring membership drive seeking financial support from the public.

There is one major drawback: You still can’t check on pieces and performances in real time — that is, on the same day or even the same moment as you are listening. Now you have to wait until the next day to see the posting.

That is an unfortunate change from the past. And one hopes it will be fixed soon. Maybe WPR will even let listeners know if and when real-time postings will return.

The current one-day delay seems especially odd, given that the pieces played overnight on WPR — from Minnesota Public Radio, I believe  — are posted right as they begin to air.

But at least now we don’t have to wait weeks or months to find out information about something you have probably already forgotten about.

The new format seems less straightforward and less user-friendly than the old one, which put the information right in front of you when you went to the home website and clicked on playlists for News and Music Network.

But now you just go to the date bar and choose the day you are looking for. Once you find the piece, you will notice the name of the show on which it aired such as “Morning Classics” or “The Midday.” You also find the time with the composer, title and performer.

If you also click on “More,” you will see additional details such as the record label and catalogue number. Here a link to try it out:

https://www.wpr.org

The return of the playlists is especially useful now that WPR is programming so many neglected composers and so much unfamiliar music — something the current pledge drive seems to be explaining and emphasizing.

So let’s offer hearty congratulations and sincere thanks to WPR and its engineers for the move.

What do you think of the return of WPR playlists?

Have you used the new playlists?

What do you think about their usefulness and online display?

Should WPR playlists be posted in real time?

The Ear wants to hear.


Music builds brain health. Which composers and pieces would you recommend?

April 15, 2023
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By Jacob Stockinger

If you think music education and music lessons are only for young people who are still growing and maturing, you couldn’t be more wrong.

More and more research studies show that in adults and older people, even in Alzheimer’s patients, music has force and can break through. 

Music is — like many other kinds of art including poetry, dance and paintings — a key that unlocks the plasticity of the human brain (below is an image from Shutterstock) and the brain’s ability to grow and endure in a healthy manner.

Here is one of the most recent studies that was covered in a story by NPR (National Public Radio), which you can read or listen to:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/04/03/1167494088/your-brain-on-art-music-dance-poetry

The Ear finds it convincing food for thought.

Certain genres of music, for example, come to mind as brain-healthy. Think Schubert. Art songs which combine music and words, even poetry, seem an especially likely candidate.

String quartets and theme-and-variations also come to mind as artistic and brain-developing genres. So does the sonata form that is used to develop and establish harmonic and thematic logic in symphonies and concertos as well as sonatas.

As for specific composers, The Ear thinks Johann Sebastian Bach (below) stands out as a one whose music requires active listening and critical thinking. 

Preludes and fugues by Johann Sebastian Bach (below and in the YouTube video at the bottom where Friedrich Gulda plays the Prelude and Fugue No. 1 of the WTC) in The Well-Tempered Clavier and his many suites and Beethoven’s string quartets, especially the late ones, are individual challenging works that do the same.

Are there musical genres that you think are good for the brain and would recommend?

Are there certain composers you think are especially helpful in building brain health?

Are there any particular pieces that you think also work toward brain health and plasticity?

The Ear wants to hear.


ALL Bach Around the Clock 2023 concerts are now online. Here are the links and some stats

April 4, 2023
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By Jacob Stockinger

The Ear has received the following news from Bach Around the Clock 2023 (BATC). Please note that there is no time limit or expiration date on viewing and listening to the online postings (see the example video of a string quartet arrangement from “The Art of Fugue” at the bottom):

BATC 2023 Festival video recordings are now available at BachClock.com and on YouTube

BATC 2023 recordings have been organized into playlists: Guest Artist Lawrence Quinnett; String SoloistsKeyboard soloistsEnsembles and StudiosFestival FinaleVirtual Performances

Recordings for Just Bach’s Concert and Bach on Marimba lecture/performance are also available.

Thank you to BATC 2023 performers! True to our mission, Bach Around The Clock welcomed the participation of over 115 performers (below in St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church), including amateurs and professionals of all ages and experience levels, sharing their love of Bach’s music with the community.

85 musicians performed at St. Andrew’s on Saturday, March 11.
30 musicians submitted recordings from their homes and studios.
28 hours of Bach Around The Clock performances are available.

Thank you to our audience members (below in Grace Episcopal Church)! In-person and online — BATC 2023 performances have been enjoyed by record-setting numbers of Bach enthusiasts.

Thank you to our BATC Donors, acknowledged here. With the generous support of over 40 BATC fans and business sponsors, we achieved our fundraising goal of covering all 2023 festival expenses! New contributions will help us with planning for the future of Bach Around The Clock.

New contributions will help us with planning for the future of Bach Around The Clock.

You can donate here: https://bachclock.com/donate


Today is World Piano Day. Deutsche Grammophon has a free online celebration

March 29, 2023
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By Jacob Stockinger

Today — Wednesday March 29, 2023 — is World Piano Day.

That is because today is the 88th day of the year — and most pianos these days have 88 keys, with the exception of the Austrian high-end maker Bösendorfer, which also makes models with 91 and 97 keys.

Deutsche Grammophon is the world’s oldest recording label and has signed many great pianists in the past and continues to do so  today, including two of the Ear’s young favorites: South Korean pianist and 2015 Chopin Competition gold medalist Seong-Jin Cho (below top) and Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olaffsson (below bottom).

Here’s the press release:

“Deutsche Grammophon is set to mark World Piano Day on 29 March 2023 with its fourth international festival of pianism. 

“Available to enjoy without charge on DG’s streaming service STAGE+ and the label’s YouTube channel, the festival will turn the spotlight on artists including Joep Beving, Seong-Jin Cho, Brian Eno and Roger Eno, Jan Lisiecki, Hélène Grimaud, Lucas and Arthur Jussen, Evgeny Kissin, Lang Lang, Bruce Liu, Fabian Müller, Víkingur Ólafsson, Max Richter, Grigory Sokolov and Daniil Trifonov.

“Together they will offer a feast of music ranging from the keyboard works of J.S. Bach and Handel to contemporary compositions.

“Music-lovers will be able to tune in free of charge for 30 days by using promo code WORLDPIANODAY. Full details can be found at https://worldpianoday.com.”

Piano students and fans will love the many close-ups and hand shots.

You can also sample the 1 hour, 21 minute-digital celebration on YouTube via this link (be sure to click of HEAR MORE to see the pianist, the piece and the timing) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H5ZRqfDZ7Y.

You can hear one of The Ear’s favorite young pianists, pieces and recordings — a new release — at the bottom.

Who is your favorite established pianist?

Who is your favorite young pianist?

What are your favorite piano pieces?

Do you have a favorite piano recording, old or new, to recommend?

The Ear wants to hear.

 


Bach Around the Clock 2023 is now streaming live and virtual performances

March 19, 2023
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By Jacob Stockinger

Perhaps you’ll recall the cold weather and heavy snow that greeted the seventh annual celebration of Johann Sebastian Bach’s birthday with — Bach Around the Clock — in Madison a few weeks ago.

The bad winter weather even caused performances to be cancelled during the March 8-12 event.

But the free and public festival was planned to be both live and virtual, and now BATC has started to stream globally both public and private performances with more in the offing. It is a testament to the vision and unending hard work of the late director Marika Fischer Hoyt, who died just weeks before it began, that the festival remains on such a solid footing and seems certain to survive without her. 

For complete details about programs and performers, go to the website’s home page: https://bachclock.com/

And here is a previous blog post with more background: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2023/03/08/remember-marika-with-bach-around-the-clock-2023-the-free-celebration-begins-today-and-runs-through-saturday-in-person-and-online/

The variety is astounding. You will find professionals, amateurs and young students. You will find choral music and instrumental music. You will find well-known pieces and less common repertoire. In short, you should find something to please you and perhaps even something that you or someone you know took part in.

Here is a link to the first batch of recorded and streamed performances:

Watch on YouTube the BATC 2023 virtual performances recorded in the homes and studios of Jim Burkholder; Tim Farley; Jeffery Rowley; Linda Clifford; Kieran Foltz; students of Shannon Farley; Marjasana Kay with Mark Bramptom Smith and Carol Carlson; Glenwood Moravian Trombone Choir; and The Neighborly Consort.

Also available now are: Just Bach’s Wednesday, March 8, concert of a motet; and Sean Kleve’s Thursday, March 9, marimba lecture/performance.

Recordings of performances from the all-day Saturday concert at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church will be posted soon.

Stay tuned! And spread the word!


Apple Music’s new all-Classical streaming service launches March 28. Here are details

March 10, 2023
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By Jacob Stockinger

The long-awaited, overdue announcement is here.

Apple Music’s all-classical service app will launch for iPhones on March 28. Android systems will be a bit later.

Here are details from Wednesday’s press release:


Apple today announced Apple Music Classical, a brand-new stand-alone app designed specifically for classical music. Pre-order now on App Store HERE and follow @appleclassical on Twitter

Apple Music Classical makes it quick and easy to find any recording in the world’s largest classical music catalog with fully optimized search, and listeners can enjoy the highest audio quality available and experience many classical favorites in a whole new way with immersive spatial audio.

Apple Music Classical is the ultimate classical experience with hundreds of curated playlists, thousands of exclusive albums, insightful composer biographies, deep-dive guides for many key works, intuitive browsing features and much more.

Apple Music Classical will launch later this month and Apple Music subscribers will be able to download and enjoy the Apple Music Classical app as part of their existing subscription at no additional cost.

Pre-order today on the App Store HERE. Once the pre-order is complete, Apple Music Classical will automatically download at launch to enable immediate listening for users who have Auto Update turned on in their settings.



Apple Music Classical offers… The world’s largest classical music catalog, with over 5 million tracks, and works from new releases to celebrated masterpieces Thousands of exclusive albums The ability to search by composer, work, conductor or even catalog number, and find specific recordings instantly.

The Apple Music Classical introductory trailer is: HERE

The highest audio quality (up to 192 kHz/24-bit Hi-Res Lossless) with thousands of recordings in immersive spatial audio Complete and accurate metadata to make sure you know exactly what work and which artist is playing Thousands of editorial notes, including composer biographies, descriptions of key works, and more

Apple is working closely with some of the most prolific classical music artists and renowned classical music institutions in the world to offer Apple Music Classical listeners new, unique and exclusive content and recordings at launch and beyond. Follow Apple Music Classical on Twitter @appleclassical for news and updates.

Apple Music Classical listeners will also enjoy brand-new exclusive artwork, including a series of unique, high-resolution digital portraits for many of the world’s greatest composers – with more to come. Specially commissioned from a diverse group of artists, each image blends historical research with color palettes and artistic references from the relevant classical period. The results display an astonishing attention to detail, bringing listeners face-to-face with leading classical figures like never before. Download composer portraits for Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin and Johann Sebastian Bach HERE.



Availability: Apple Music Classical will be launching on March 28 and is available for pre-order now. Requires an Apple Music subscription (Individual, Student, Family or Apple One). Not available with the Apple Music Voice Plan. Available worldwide where Apple Music is offered, with the exception of China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, with those regions to follow.

Apple Music Classical is available for all iPhone models running iOS 15.4 or later.

Apple Music Classical for Android is coming soon. To listen to music on Apple Music Classical, you must have an internet connection.


Remember Marika with Bach Around the Clock 2023. The FREE five-day, in-person and online birthday celebration begins today

March 8, 2023
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NOTE: You can see and hear the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Final Forte concert with four youth concerto finalists at 7  tonight on PBS Wisconsin and Wisconsin Public Radio. For complete information, including other airings, go to these websites: https://madisonsymphony.org/education-community/education-programs/young-artist-competitions/the-final-forte/ and https://pbswisconsin.org/the-final-forte/

By Jacob Stockinger

The seventh annual Madison-based Bach Around the Clock festival — a celebration of the March 31 birthday of composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1756, below) —- will start today and run through Sunday both in-person and online.

All events and streaming are free and open to the public.

As usual, it will feature professional and amateur performers of all ages and levels of proficiency in all kinds of repertoire and arrangements, including Bach on the Marimba.

It begins today, Wednesday, March 8, at noon with a Bach motet sung in Luther Memorial Church, 1021 University Ave.

The live portion, which will also be live-streamed, will end on Saturday, March 11, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with continuous performances at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church (below) at 1833 Regent Street on the near west side.

Then on this Sunday, March 12, the virtual online festival will premier.

For more details — including a full schedule with times, venues, pieces, performers and other links — go to:

https://bachclock.com/

The Ear thinks of the entire festival as a life celebration and memorial not just for Bach but also for his avid local advocate, violist Marika Fisher Hoyt (below). 

Hoyt — who was also a member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the Madison Bach Musicians, the Ancora String Quartet, Just Bach and Sonata à Quattro — died Feb. 21 from cancer. She was one of the kindest and most caring persons, one of the hard-working and most energetic, talented musicians, that The Ear has ever known and worked with.

After Wisconsin Public Radio abandoned BATC in 2013, Fischer Hoyt rescued it in 2017, raised money and support, and expanded its offerings and performers as well as took it into a virtual online format as well as remaining an in-person event.

You can find many tributes online. You can also plug in her name on this blog’s search engine to get some idea of her overwhelming and inspiring contributions to the area’s cultural life. In 2017, The Ear named her Musician of the Year:

Classical music: For reviving and securing Bach Around the Clock, The Ear names Marika Fischer Hoyt as “Musician of the Year” for 2017

But the best tribute of all will be to listen to Bach’s extraordinarily inventive and beautiful music — her abiding passion and the gift she never stopped wanting to give to others — with Marika in mind.

You can also find videos from past BATC’s. But she once told me that the piece she loved most is the St. John Passion. So a YouTube video of the final chorus from that oratorio is posted at the bottom.

Have you attended or heard BATC before?

What did you especially like and would you recommend the event to others?

Did you know Marika Fischer Hoyt?

What would you like other people to know about Marika?

The Ear wants to hear.


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