The Well-Tempered Ear
Just Bach free concert series seeks Interim Co-Artistic Director. Apply by July 5
Leave a Comment
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 Ear has received the following announcement to post about an interim job at Just Bach:
Do you love the music of Johann Sebastian Bach (below)?
Would you love to perform it every month in one of the most beautiful churches (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis) in Madison?
Are you a professional instrumentalist with training and experience in period performance practice?
Do you have strong organizational skills?
If the answer to all these questions is yes, then Just Bach needs you!
Because Co-Artistic Director Marika Fischer Hoyt (below) will leave on a sabbatical starting in November, Just Bach is looking for an instrumentalist to join the Artistic Team. (You can check out the typical format by using the search engine on this blog or going to Just Bach’s Facebook page or YouTube Channel.)
The popular monthly concert series, which made it to the final round of the 2021 “Best of Madison” awards, seeks an Interim Artistic Co-Director for its upcoming fourth season.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Interim Artistic Co-Director works with the Just Bach team and the staff at Luther Memorial Church to program, produce, promote and perform monthly Bach concerts (below) from September through May.
The Interim Co-Artistic Director helps finalize the programming, contract any remaining needed players, schedule rehearsals and performances, perform in the concerts as needed, and upload the concert video to the Just Bach YouTube channel.
The Co-Artistic Director devotes about 4 hours per month to administrative tasks, on a volunteer basis.
The Co-Artistic Director rehearses and performs as needed in the monthly concerts — and is paid $100 per concert. (You can hear and see the closing concert of this past season in the YouTube video at the bottom. Click on Show More to see other instruments, players, singers and the program.)
The current Artistic Team will provide training for this position, and will be available for assistance once the season begins.
A detailed job description is available at:: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CDis-RSY5FUnfUGCBvYunWZ1fR4EtyfzSo3xYiMyjUs/edit#
For more information, please contact and apply to Just Bach at: justbachseries@gmail.com
APPLICATION ARE DUE BY JULY 5.
Tags: #ArtisticDirector, #ArtisticTeam, #BachCantatas, #BaroqueMusic, #BestofMadison, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #FacebookPage, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FinalRound, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #HomeWebsite, #InstrumentalMusic, #InstrumentalPlayer, #JacobStockinger, #JesusChrist, #JobDescription, #JohannSebastianBach, #JustBach, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MadisonBachMusicians, #MadisonSymhonyOrchestra, #MadisonWisconsin, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #PeriodInstruments, #PeriodPerformance, #SearchEngine, #StringInstruments, #TheEar, #TheLord, #TheUW, #TrioSonata, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinBaroqueEnsemble, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, administrative, answer, applications, apply, artistic, Artistic director, Artistici Team, Arts, assistance, audience, available, award, Bach, Baroque, basis, beautiful, begin, Best of Madison, blog, Blog post, blog posting, Cantata, cantatas, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Chirstianity, choral music, Christ, Christian, Christian church, church, Classical music, co-artistic director, composer, Concert, concerto, contact, contract, deadline, description, Early music, email, experience, Facebook, Facebook page, Facebook post, Facebook posting, final, final round, finalize, forward, free, harpsichord, harpsichordist, historically informed performance practices, home website, hours, instrumental music, instrumental player, instrumentalist, interim, J.S. Bach, Jacob Stockinger, Jesus, job, job description, Johann Sebastian Bach, join, July, July 5, Just Bach, last, leave, like, link, love music, Luther, Luther Memorial Church, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marika Fischer Hoyt, Mead Witter School of Music, month, Music, need, needed, Orchestra, organizational, paid, past, perform, period instruments, period performance, play, player, popular, position, post, posting, practice, produce, professional, programming, promote, provide, question, questions, rehearsals, rehearse, remaining, sabbatical, schedule, search engine, Season, series, share, sibng, singer, skills, Sonata, starting, string, string music, symphony, tag, task, team, The Ear, The Lord, training, trio sonata, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, upload, UW, UW-Madison, video, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, vocal music, volunteer, Website, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, work, yes, you, YouTube, YouTube channel, YouTube video
Pianist Jeremy Denk combines first-rate playing with innovative programs. He performs a virtual online recital this Friday night for the Wisconsin Union Theater
1 Comment
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
Jeremy Denk (below) is not only one of the top pianists on the concert stage today. He is also one of the most interesting and thoughtful pianists when it comes to original, innovative and eclectic programming.
Denk will display his talents again when he performs his third solo recital in Madison this Friday night, Dec. 11, for the Wisconsin Union Theater.
The concert of music by Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms and Missy Mazzoli is at 7:30 p.m. and will be preceded by a public Q&A at 7 p.m. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, both the discussion and the concert will be virtual and online.
Access to the online posting is $20 for the general public, $17 for Wisconsin Union members, and $10 for students.
Denk’s performance, which is part of the Theater’s 101st Annual Concert Series, will include “Papillons” (Butterflies), Op. 2, by Robert Schumann; Three Romances, Op. 21, by Clara Schumann; “Bolts of Loving Thunder” by the contemporary American composer Missy Mazzoli (below); and Four Pieces for Piano, Op. 119, by Johannes Brahms. (You can hear Denk play the lyrically introspective first intermezzo of Brahms’ late Op. 119 in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
To purchase tickets to Denk’s performance, visit https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/jeremy-denk/
Ticket buyers will receive an email from the box office approximately 2 hours before the event begins that will contain their link to view the performance. Anyone who purchases a ticket within 2 hours of the event’s start time will receive their email within 15 minutes of purchase.
To The Ear, Denk’s well-planned and fascinating program seems like a probing contrast-and-compare, narrative exploration of the musical styles and close personal relationships – a kind of love triangle — between Robert and Clara Schumann (below top); between Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms, whom Robert Schumann championed; and between Brahms and Clara Schumann, who also championed Brahms (below bottom) but rejected him as a lover and suitor after the premature death of her husband Robert.
One of America’s foremost pianists, Denk is a winner of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, and the Avery Fisher Prize, and was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In the United States, Denk has performed with the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra and frequently performs at Carnegie Hall. Internationally, he has toured with the world-famous Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and performed at Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms.
Denk’s talents include writing about music. Some of his stories about music have been featured on the front page of The New York Times Book Review as well as in The New Yorker, The New Republic and The Guardian. Many of those writings form the basis for a forthcoming book.
His passion for composing both music and writing compositions is evident in his music-based blog “Think Denk” — “to think” in German is “denizen” — which dates back to 2005.
“Jeremy Denk is one of the greatest pianists of our generation,” says WUT director Elizabeth Snodgrass. “While many pianists specialize in a particular period or composer, Jeremy is a musical omnivore whose wide-ranging interests span centuries and styles, and he is exceptional at playing all of them. As The New York Times said, he is ‘a pianist you want to hear no matter what he performs.’”
Proof of that can be found in the program “c. 1300-c. 2000” he toured with and recorded last year for Nonesuch, which features a sampling tour of 700 years of keyboard compositions.
Said a critic for the Boston Globe: “Denk has “an unerring sense of the music’s dramatic structure and a great actor’s intuition for timing.”
This performance was made possible by the David and Kato Perlman Chamber Music Endowment Fund.
Learn more about Jeremy Denk at: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Website
For more information and a video clip of Denk playing different Brahms, go to: https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/jeremy-denk/
Tags: #AcademyofSt.MartinintheFields, #AmericanAcademyofArtsandSciences, #AmericanComposer, #AveryFisherPrize, #BBCProms, #Beautifulmusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoltsofLovingThunder, #BoxOffice, #CarnegieHall, #ChamberMusic, #ChicagoSymphonyOrchestra, #ClevelandOrchestra, #ConcertStage, #ConsortLoanProgram, #Contrast-and-Compare, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DavidandKatoPerlmanChamberMusicSeries, #DramaticStructure, #ElizabethSnodgrass, #EmailAddress, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Fridaynight, #FrontPage, #GeniusGrant, #HomeWebsite, #husband-and-wife, #InstagramPost, #JacobStockinger, #JeremyDenk, #JohannesBrahms, #LastYear, #LosAngeles, #LosAngelesPhilharmonic, #LoveTriangle, #MacArthurFellow, #MacArthurFoundation, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MissyMazzoli, #MusicalStyle, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #NewYorkTimes, #NewYorkTimesBookReview, #NonesuchRecords, #OnlineConcert, #PersonalRelationship, #PianoIntermezzi, #PianoMusic, #RecordedMusic, #RobertSchumann, #RoyalAlbertHall, #SanFranciscoSymphony, #StartTime, #TheEar, #TheGuardian, #TheNewRepublic, #TheNewYorker, #TheU.S., #TheUW, #ThinkDenk, #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VirtualConcert, #WiscnsinUnionTheater, #World-famous, #YouTubevideo, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, access, Actor, American, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Arts, audience, Avery Fisher Prize, basis, BBC, BBC Proms, beautiful, best, blog, Bolts of Loving Thunder, Book, box office, Brahms, butterflies, Carnegie Hall, centuries, Chamber music, champion, Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Clara Schumann, Classical music, Cleveland, Cleveland Orchestra, clip, compare, composer, compositions, Concert, concert stage, concerto, contemporary, contrast, coronavirus, David and Kato Perlman Chamber Music Series, Denk, discussion, display, drama, dramatic, Early music, eclectic, Elizabeth Snodgrass, email, event, evident, exceptional, exploration, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, fascinating, form, forthcoming, forward, Friday, front page, generation, genius grant, German, great, greatest, handful, hear, home website, husband, information, innovate, innovative, Instagram, interesting, interests, intermezzo, international, introspective, intuition, investigation, Jacob Stockinger, Jeremy Denk, Johannes Brahms, Kato Perlman, Keyboard, last year, late, learn, like, link, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Love, love triangle, lover, loving, lyrical, MacArthur Fellow, MacArthur Foundation, Madison, Mazzoli, Mead Witter School of Music, member, minutes, Missy Mazzoli, Music, musical, musical style, narrative, New Music, New York City, New York Philharmonic, New York Times, New York Times Book Review, night, Nonesuch Records, omnivore, online, original, pandemic, Papillons, particular, Passion, perform, performance, period, personal, personal relationship, Pianist, Piano, piano music, pieces, playing, post, posting, precede, probing, program, programming, public, purchase, Q&A, question-and-answer, receive, recital, record, recorded music, reject, relationship, rhapsody, Robert Schumann, Romance, Royal Albert Hall, sample, sampling, San Francisco, San Francisco Symphony, Schumann, sense, share, solo, spans, specialist, specialize, start, story, structure, Student, style, suitor, tag, talent, The Ear, The Guardian, The New Republic, The New Yorker, Think Denk, thoughtful, time, timing, tour, triangle, Twitter, U.S., unerring, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, view, virtual, want, Website, well-planned, wife, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Union Theater, writing, WUT, you, YouTube
Classical music: This weekend guest violinist Rachel Barton Pine solos with the Madison Symphony Orchestra in an all-Russian program
9 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE 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
This weekend the acclaimed Chicago violinist Rachel Barton Pine (below) makes her debut with the Madison Symphony Orchestra playing Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto in D minor.
The concert by the orchestra (below, in a photo by Peter Rodgers) opens with Prokofiev’s Suite from Lieutenant Kijé and concludes with Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9.
Performances will be held in Overture Hall, 201 State St., on Friday night, Oct. 18, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday night, Oct. 19, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday afternoon, Oct. 20, at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall. Tickets are $19-$95. See below for details.
“There will be great discoveries in our all-Russian concert, starting with the MSO debut of virtuoso violinist Rachel Barton Pine playing the Khachaturian Violin Concerto, a big, bold and beautiful work in its MSO premiere,” said MSO music director and conductor John DeMain (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson). Lieutenant Kijé is sure to delight you with its wonderful melodies and infectious rhythms. Shostakovich has become a favorite with our audiences, and his ninth symphony is delightfully upbeat.”
Lieutenant Kijé is the fictional protagonist of an anecdote about the reign of Emperor Paul I of Russia. The story was used as the basis of a novella by Yury Tynyanov published in 1928 and filmed in 1934, with music by Sergei Prokofiev (below). The plot is a satire on bureaucracy and is often parodied in fictional works making fun of bureaucracies, most famously in the form of the M*A*S*H television episode “Tuttle,” featuring a fictional captain of similar provenance. (You can hear the popular “Troika” episode in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Many of the themes in Violin Concerto in D minor are evocative of the native Armenia of Aram Khachaturian (below). Although the folk melodies aren’t played explicitly, one can hear the Armenian roots through the oriental essence of the scales and the rhythmic range of the featured dances. The piece won the Stalin Prize in 1941, becoming one of Khachaturian’s favorites.
Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 is entirely unlike his other symphonies. In fact, it completely disregards the expectations for its programmatic elements. Shostakovich’s prior two symphonies are thematically tied to the ongoing war, therefore the public presumed that the ninth symphony would be a grand culmination to Stalin and mark the end of World War II. Instead, the composer (below) produced a short, neo-classical work that generated an abundance of controversy.
ABOUT RACHEL BARTON PINE
In both art and life, violinist Rachel Barton Pine (below) – who has performed in Madison before with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra — has an extraordinary ability to connect with people.
Celebrated as a leading interpreter of great classic and contemporary works, her performances combine her innate gift for emotional communication and her scholarly fascination with historical research. She plays with passion and conviction, thrilling audiences worldwide with her dazzling technique, lustrous tone, and infectious joy in music-making.
A prolific recording artist, she has also championed the works of female composers and African-American composers.
Pine was also recently named the recipient of the Cedille Records Musical Partnership Award for her Rachel Barton Pine Foundation. The Foundation was recognized as an organization that has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to the classical music community in Chicago. Cedille noted the Foundation’s “support of the Chicago musical community’s most valuable asset — its musicians and composers.”
Pine was presented with the award by U.S Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg whose son, Jim Ginsburg, founded Cedille Records. Pine began her Foundation in 2001 to provide instruments and instruction to children who might not otherwise be able to afford them.
You can read the Artist Story online about how Rachel Barton Pine overcame severe injuries and her own personal adversity to achieve her goals: https://madisonsymphony.org/19-20-artist-story-rachel-barton-pine-overcomes-adversity/
CONCERT, TICKET AND EVENT DETAILS
The lobby opens 90 minutes prior to each concert.
One hour before each performance, retired MSO trombonist and UW-Whitewater professor Michael Allsen (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot) will lead a 30-minute Prelude Discussion in Overture Hall to enhance concertgoers’ understanding and listening experience. It is free to ticket holders.
The MSO recommends that concert attendees arrive early for each performance to make sure they have time to pass through Overture Center’s security stations, and so they can experience the Prelude Discussion.
Program notes for the concerts are available online: http://bit.ly/msooct19programnotes.
- Single Tickets are $19-$95 each and are on sale now at: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/rachel-barton-pine-plays-khachaturian/through the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street, or by calling the Box Office at (608) 258-4141. Fees apply to online/phone sales.
- Groups of 10 or more can save 25% by calling the MSO office at (608) 257-3734. For more information, visit, https://www.madisonsymphony.org/groups.
- Student rush tickets can be purchased in person on the day of the concert at the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street. Students must show a valid student ID and can receive up to two $15 or $20 tickets. More information is at: https://www.madisonsymphony.org/studentrush
- Seniors age 62 and up receive 20% savings on advance and day-of-concert ticket purchases in select areas of the hall.
- Flex-ticket booklets of 8-10 vouchers for 19-20 symphony subscription concerts are available. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/flex
- Subscriptions for the 2019–2020 season are available now. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/19-20
Discounted seats are subject to availability, and discounts may not be combined.
Tags: #African-AmericanComposer, #All-Russian, #AllTime, #AramKhachaturian, #ArtisticControversy, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #CedilleRecords, #ContemporaryMusic, #CriticalAcclaim, #DmitriShostakovich, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FemaleComposers, #FilmScore, #FilmSoundtrack, #folksongs, #Fridaynight, #GuestArtist, #JimGinsburg, #JohnDeMain, #JosefStalin, #LieutenantKijé, #M*A*S*H, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MichaelAllsen, #MovieSoundtrack, #Music-Making, #MusicAppreciation, #MusicDirector, #NewMusic, #NotoriousRBG, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #PoliticalControversy, #PopularMusic, #PreludeDiscussion, #ProgramNotes, #RachelBartonPine, #RachelBartonPineFoundation, #RussianComposer, #RussianMusic, #RuthBaderGinsburg, #SaturdayNight, #SeniorCitizen, #SergeiProkofiev, #Sovietcomposer, #SovietMusic, #SovietUnion, #StalinPrize, #Sundayafternoon, #SupremeCourt, #TheViolin, #U.S.SupremeCourt, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityofWisconsin-Whitewater, #ViolinConcerto, #ViolinistVirtuoso, #VirtuosoViolinist, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #World-wide, #WorldWarll, #YouTubevideo, #YuryTynyanov, ability, abundance, acclaim, achieve, adversity, afford, African American, afternoon, anecdote, appreciation, Aram Khachaturian, Armenia, Armenian, Art, artist, Arts, asset, audience, availability, basis, beautiful, big, blog, bold, box office, bureaucracy, captain, Cedille Records, celebrated, champion, Chicago, children, Classical music, classicalmusic, commitment, communication, community, Compact Disc, composer, Concert, concerto, conclude, conductor, connect, conquer, contemporary music, controversy, conviction, dance, debut, delight, discount, discovery, discussion, Dmitri Shostakovich, element, emotional, Emperor, end, episode, essence, expectations, experience, explicit, extraordinary, Facebook, fascination, favorite, feature, female composers, fictional, film, Film score, folk, folk song, forward, foundation, free, Friday, fun, generate, gift, goal, great, group, guest, guest artist, historical, History, ID, infectious, information, injuries, instruction, instruments, interpreter, J. Michael Allsen, Jacob Stockinger, Jim GInsburg, John DeMain, Joy, justice, Khachaturian, kids, lieutenant, Lieutenant Kijé, life, like, link, listening, lobby, lustrous, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, mark, Mead Witter School of Music, melodies, melody, Michael Allsen, military, Mother, movie, movie music, MSO, Music, music appreciation, Music director, Musician, myriad, native, neo-Classical, neoclassical, New Music, night, Notorious RBG, novella, online, Orchestra, oriental, oversame, Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts, Overture Hall, parody, partnership, Passion, Paul, People, performance, performer, person, personal, play, plot, popular, post, posting, Prelude, premiere, prize, professor, program notes, programmatic, Prokofiev, prolific, protagonist, provenance, provide, public, publish, Rachel Barton Pine, Rachel Barton Pine Foundation, range, reader, recipient, recognize, recommend, recording, reign, research, retired, Retirement, rhythm, rhythms, roots, Russia, Russian, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, satire, savings, scales, scholarly, seat, security, senior, senior citizen, Sergei Prokofiev, severe, share, short, Shostakovich, similar, solo, son, soundtrack, Soviet, Stalin, Stalin Prize, story, Student, subscriber, Suite, Sunday, support, Supreme Court, symphony, tag, technique, Television, thematic, themes, thrill, ticket, time, tone, troika, Trombone, TV, U.S. Supreme Court, understanding, United States, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, upbeat, USSR, UW-Whitewater, valuable, Violin, Violin concerto, violinist, virtuoso, war, weekend, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wonderful, works, world, World War II, worldwide, YouTube, Yury Tynyanov
Classical music: Saturday afternoon, Live From the Met in HD closes this season with an acclaimed production of “Dialogues of the Carmelites.” Here is a background story, two rave reviews, and next season’s 10 operas
2 Comments
ALERT:The Brass Choirs of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras will present an afternoon of brass music this Saturday afternoon, May 11, at 2:30 p.m. in Mills Concert Hall, 455 North Park Street, in Madison. Directed by Tom Curry, the program features brass musicians from WYSO’s Concert, Philharmonia and Youth Orchestras. The concert is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLC. Music to be played is by Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Giovanni Gabrieli, Charles Gounod, Edward Elgar, Paul Hindemith, Alan Hovahaness and Karel Husa.
CORRECTION: The Madison Youth Choirs will perform its “Legacy” concerts this weekend in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center on Saturday and Sunday — NOT Friday, as mistakenly listed and then corrected in the original post, which is below: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2019/05/08/classical-music-the-madison-youth-choirs-will-explore-the-theme-of-legacy-in-three-concerts-this-saturday-and-sunday-in-the-capitol-theater-of-the-overture-center/
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
By Jacob Stockinger
This Saturday afternoon, May 11, the last production of this season’s “Live From the Met in HD” series, broadcast worldwide via satellite to cinemas, is Francis Poulenc’s “Dialogues of the Carmelites.”
By all accounts, it would be hard to end on a higher, stronger or more darkly dramatic note, given the outstanding music and performance of the score as well as the superb acting. (There is a brief preview of short scenes in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The world premiere of the opera took place in 1957 at La Scala in Milan, Italy. One of the most successful operas of the later decades of the 20th century, “Dialogues of the Carmelites” is a rare case of a modern work that is equally esteemed by audiences and experts, according to program notes from the Metropolitan Opera.
The opera focuses on a young member of the order of Carmelite nuns, the aristocratic Blanche de la Force, who must overcome a pathological timidity in order to answer her life’s calling. The score reflects key aspects of its composer’s personality: Francis Poulenc (below) was an urbane Parisian with a profound mystical dimension, and the opera addresses both the characters’ internal lives and their external realities.
The opera takes place between 1789 and 1794 in Paris and in the town of Compiègne in northeastern France, the site of the Carmelite nuns’ convent.
Its historical basis is the martyrdom of a group of 16 Carmelite nuns and lay sisters from Compiègne, who chose to offer themselves as victims for the restoration of peace to France during the French Revolution.
The Met uses the classic John Dexter production of Poulenc’s devastating story of faith and martyrdom.
Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard (below right) sings the touching role of Blanche and soprano Karita Mattila (below left), a legend in her own time, returns to the Met as the Prioress.
The conductor for the performance is the Met’s highly acclaimed new music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who also leads the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Metropolitan Orchestra of Montreal.
The high-definition broadcast of the live performance from the Metropolitan Opera (below) in New York City starts at noon and runs until 3:10 p.m. with two intermissions. (It will also air at noon on Wisconsin Public Radio.)
The encore HD showings are next Wednesday, May 15, at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
The opera will be sung in French with supertitles in English, German and Spanish.
Tickets for Saturday broadcasts are $24 for adults and $22 for seniors and children under 13. For encore showings, all tickets are $18.
The cinemas where the opera can be seen are two Marcus Cinemas: the Point Cinema on the far west side of Madison (608 833-3980) and the Palace Cinema (608 242-2100) in Sun Prairie.
Here is a link to the Marcus website for addresses and more information. You can also use them to purchase tickets:
https://www.movietickets.com/movies
Here is a link to the Metropolitan Opera’s website where you can find the titles, dates, casts, production information and video clips of all 10 productions this past season — PLUS an announcement, with dates and titles, for next season’s 10 productions (which feature five new productions but no Verdi):
https://www.metopera.org/season/in-cinemas/
Here is a background story that focuses on the French-Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who leads the orchestra in this production and is the new music director of the Metropolitan Opera:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/02/arts/music/met-opera-dialogues-des-carmelites.html
Here is a rave review of “Dialogues of the Carmelites” by senior classical music critic Anthony Tommasini for The New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/05/arts/music/dialogues-des-carmelites-met-opera-review.html
And here is another rave review from New York Classical Review:
http://newyorkclassicalreview.com/2019/05/met-closes-season-with-a-riveting-devastating-carmelites/
Here are links to a synopsis and program notes:
https://www.metopera.org/discover/synopses/dialogues-des-carmelites/
https://www.metopera.org/season/2018-19-season/dialogues-des-carmelites/
And here is a Wikipedia history of the hi-def broadcast series that gives you more information about how many cinemas it uses, the enormous size of the worldwide audience – now including Russia, China and Israel — and how much money it makes for The Met.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Opera_Live_in_HD
Tags: #20thCentury, #AlanHovhaness, #AlbanBerg, #AnthonyTommasini, #BaroqueMusic, #BaroqueOpera, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BlogReview, #BrassChoir, #BrassMusic, #CapitolTheater, #CatholicReligion, #CharlesGounod, #ChinaBroadcast, #ChristianReligion, #DialoguesoftheCarmelites, #EdwardElgar, #EnglishLanguage, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FrancisPoulenc, #FrenchCanadian, #FrenchLanguage, #FrenchMusic, #FrenchRevolution, #GaetanoDonizetti, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GermanLanguage, #GiacomoPuccini, #GiovanniGabrieli, #GiuseppeVerdi, #Hi-Definition, #HomeWebsite, #IsabelLeonard, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnDexter, #JulesMassenet, #KarelHusa, #KaritaMattila, #LaScala, #LiveFrom the MetinHD, #LivePerformance, #MadamaButterfly, #MadisonYouthChoirs, #Marcus, #MarcusTheaters, #MarcusTheatres, #MetLiveinHD, #MetropolitanOpera, #MetropolitanOperaLiveinHD, #MetropolitanOrchestraofMontreal, #Mezzo-sopranoSinger, #MilanItaly, #MontrealCanada, #MovieTheater, #MusicCritic, #MusicDirector, #MusicEducation, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkClassicalReview, #OperaMusic, #OvertureCenter, #PalaceCinema, #ParisFrance, #PaulHindemith, #PhiladelphiaOrchestra, #PhiladelphiaPennsylvania, #PhilharmoniaOrchestra, #PhilipGlass, #PointCinema, #PorgyandBess, #ProgramNotes, #RichardWagner, #RomanCatholicism, #SopranoSinger, #SpanishLanguage, #SunPrairie, #TheFlyingDutchman, #TheMet, #TheNewYorkTImes, #VocalMusic, #Wikipediaentry, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WisconsinYouthSymphonyOrchestras, #WorldPremiere, #YannickNezet-Seguin, #YouthOrchestra, #YouTubevideo, 20th-century, address, afternoon, Agrippina, air, Alan Hovhaness, Alban Berg, alert, Anthony Tommasini, aristocratic, Arts, aspect, audience, background, Baroque, basis, blog, brass, brass choir, Broadcast, calling, Capitol Theater, Carmelite, cast, Charles Gounod, China, choral music, Christian, Christianity, cinema, classic, Classical music, composer, conductor, convent, correction, dark, darkly, date, decade, devastating, dialogue, Dialogues of the Carmelites, dimension, Donizetti, drama, dramatic, Edward Elgar, encore, end, English, enormous, equal, esteem, expert, experts, external, Facebook, faith, forward, France, Francis Poulenc, free, French, French language, French Revolution, French-Canadian, georgegershwin, German language, Gershwin, Giovanni Gabrieli, global, Handel, HD, hi def, high, historical, History, information, inner, intermission, Isabel Leonard, Israel, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Dexter, Karel Husa, Karita Mattila, key, La Scala, language, last, lay, legend, like, link, Live From The Met in HD, live performance, Madama Butterfly, Madison, Madison Youth Choirs, Manon, martyr, martyrdom, Massenet, member, Met Live in HD, Metropolitan Orchestra of Montreal, Mezzo-soprano, Milan, modern, money, Montreal, more, Movie theater, Music, music critic, Music director, Music education, mystical, new, New York City, New York Classical Review, New York Times, Nobel Peace Prize, noon, note, nun, opera, Orchestra, order, outer, outstanding, overcome, Overture Center, Palace Cinema, Paris, Parisian, pathological, Paul Hindemith, peace, Pennsylvania, performer, personality, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Orchestra, Philharmonia, Philip Glass, Point Cinema, Porgy and Bess, preview, prioress, production, profound, program notes, public, Puccini, purchase, rave, realities, reality, Religion, restoration, review, role, Roman Catholicism, Russia, satellite, satellite broadcast, Saturday, scene, score, Season, share, short, showing, sisters, size, soprano, Spanish, story, strong, successful, Sun Prairie, sung, superb, supertitle, synopsis, tag, The Flying Dutchman, the Met, The New York Times, theatre, time, timid, timidity, title, Tosca, touching, Turandot, United States, urbane, Verdi, victim, victims, vocal music, Wagner, Website, Wikipedia, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, work, world premiere, worldwide, Wozzeck, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, you, young, Youth Orchestra, YouTube
Classical music: Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra offers FREE concert tickets to furloughed federal workers
1 Comment
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
By Jacob Stockinger
Restaurants, food banks, retail stores and other organizations have responded with compassion and generosity to victims of the ongoing partial shutdown of the U.S. government.
Here is an announcement of a timely move that The Ear thinks is terrific news for budget-strapped workers who have to cut back on entertainment or discretionary expenses. It should be a model for other local groups as well as statewide, regional and national arts presenters.
The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (below) is offering free tickets to furloughed federal workers for the Masterworks performance on Friday, Jan. 25, featuring the young cello prodigy and sensation, Miriam K. Smith.
Fresh from performances with the Cincinnati and Louisville symphonies, Smith (below) will perform the Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor by Camille Saint-Saëns. (You can hear her perform a violin and cello duet by George Frideric Handel and Johan Halvorsen in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
If you want to know more about Smith, go to her website: https://miriamksmith.com
A forgotten gem by Domenico Cimarosa, Overture to The Secret Marriage, will open the concert, and the performance concludes with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8, the sunniest of his even-numbered symphonies.
The concert, under the baton of WCO music director Andrew Sewell, will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Capitol Theater at the Overture Center for the Arts, 201 State St.
If you are a furloughed federal employee, you can call the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra offices at (608) 257-0638, and mention your place of employment. Best available tickets are on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets are limited to two per person.
Others who want to attend this concert can find information about the soloist, the program and tickets at: https://wisconsinchamberorchestra.org/performances/masterworks-i-4/
Tags: #AndrewSewell, #ArtsPresenters, #BaroqueComposer, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CamilleSaint-Saens, #CapitolTheater, #CelloConcerto, #CelloMusic, #ChamberMusic, #CincinnatiOhio, #DomenicoCimarosa, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FederalWorker, #GovernmentShutdown, #JohanHalvorsen, #LouisvilleKentucky, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MiriamK.Smith, #MusicDirector, #RetailStore, #TheEar, #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolinMusic, #YouTubevideo, Andrew Sewell, announcement, Arts, Arts and Entertainment, arts presenters, audience, available, bank, Baroque, basis, baton, Beethoven, best, blog, budget, Camille Saint-Saëns, Capitol Theater, Cello, Cello Concerto, Chamber music, Cincinnati, Classical music, compassion, composer, concerto, conductor, discretionary, Domenico Cimarosa, duet, Early music, employee, Entertainment, expense, expenses, Facebook, federal, federal worker, food, food bank, foodbank, forgotten, forward, free, furlough, gem, generosity, George Frideric Handel, government, government shutdown, Jacob Stockinger, Johan Halvorsen, Kentucky, like, link, Louisville, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, masterwork, Miriam K. Smith, model, Music, Music director, national, news, Ohio, organization, Overture, Overture Center, performer, presenter, prodigy, regional, restaurant, retail store, Saint-Saens, sensation, share, shutdown, statewide, sunny, symphonies, symphony, tag, The Ear, ticket, timely, U.S., United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, victim, Violin, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, worker, young, YouTube
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 