The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: WQXR radio names 19 musicians to watch in ’19. What do you think of the choices? Who would you add?
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By Jacob Stockinger
What will 2019 bring in the way of classical music?
What and who should we be looking at and paying attention to?
WQXR — the famed classical radio station in New York City – recently published its list of 19 to watch in ‘19, with detailed reasons for and explanations of their picks.
It seems like a pretty good choice to The Ear, although there is always something of a parlor game aspect to such projects.
Nonetheless, the list covers a fine variety – instrumentalists and vocalists, young and old, American and international, the well-known and the up-and-coming such as the opera singer Devone Tines (below, in a photo by Nikolai Schukoff).
Some names will be familiar to Madison audiences – such as pianist Inon Barnatan, violinist Nicola Benedettti, the JACK Quartet and cellist Steven Isserlis — especially through their live appearances at the Wisconsin Union Theater, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music and the Madison Symphony Orchestra plus broadcasts on Wisconsin Public Radio.
Here is a link to the list: https://www.wqxr.org/story/wqxr-presents-19-19-artists-collaborations-upcoming-year/
The Ear can think of some other musicians that he would add to the list.
An especially deserving one of them is the young American virtuoso pianist George Li (below, in a photo by Simon Fowler).
Born in China and brought as a child to the United States by his parents, Li attended Harvard and just finished his master’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. (At the bottom, you can hear Li play virtuosic music by Liszt and Horowitz in the YouTube video of a Tiny Desk Concert at National Public Radio or NPR.)
Li won the silver medal in the 2015 at the 15th Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow and had a lot of people talking about the energy and excitement of his playing. He was praised for both outstanding technical prowess and deep expressiveness.
He then took first prize at a piano competition in Paris.
Ever since, he has been steadily booked. At 23, the amiable Li has already toured China, Japan and Russia and seems to have a very busy schedule ahead of him, judging by his posts on Instagram.
He has also released his first recording on the Warner Classics label, a fine CD that received many positive reviews from critics, including this one.
The program includes Haydn’s Sonata in B minor, Chopin’s Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor “Funeral March,” Rachmaninoff’s “Variations on a Theme of Corelli,” and Consolation No. 3 and the popular Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt.
Given all the concertos he is now performing, it would not surprise one to see his next recording be a concerto, possibly the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto N. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23, which brought him instant acclaim.
Here is a link to his website: http://www.georgelipianist.com
And here is a link to his entry in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Li
Keep your ears and eyes on George Li.
What do you think of the choices made by WQXR?
Who would you add to the list of musicians to watch in 2019, and why?
If possible, maybe you can include a YouTube link to a performance, live or recorded, in your comment.
The Ear wants to hear.
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Classical music: Here are lists of the Best Classical Recordings of 2017 as named by The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes magazine and Gramophone magazine
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By Jacob Stockinger
Just in time for last-minute holiday shopping and streaming – whether by others or yourself – some major publications and critics have published their lists of the top classical recording of 2017.
Personal preferences and taste matter, to be sure. So opinions inevitably differ.
But in some cases, the verdicts seem close to unanimous.
Take the case of some pianists.
You can, for example, find overlapping agreement on the merits of the 24-year-old Italian pianist and Cliburn Competition silver medal laureate Beatrice Rana playing the famed Goldberg Variations by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Same for the 33-year-old Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olaffson who gives revelatory readings of works by contemporary American Minimalist composer Philip Glass.
And many critics give raves to acclaimed Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes playing neglected piano miniatures by Finnish symphonic titan Jean Sibelius. (See Andsnes discussing Sibelius in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The various lists cover all genres from solo piano music to songs, chamber music to symphonies, oratorios to operas.
You can find lots of neglected repertoire — both early and new — unknown artists and small labels.
But there are also major stars, tried-and-true repertoire and large vintage or heritage labels.
In short, both beginners and experienced classical listeners and players can find plenty to please them.
In addition, some of the lists for the past year include links to lists from previous years. And those lists too still have some excellent choices that hold up.
Here is a link to the 2017 list in The New York Times, which was compiled by several critics:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/13/arts/music/best-classical-music-recordings-2017.html
Here is a list by a critic and columnist for Forbes magazine:
Here is the list from John von Rhein for the Chicago Tribune:
And here is a list from the British Gramophone magazine, which often favors artists and groups located in the United Kingdom:
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/feature/the-best-new-classical-albums-december-2017
And in case you missed it before, here are lists from other sources that this blog has posted and linked to:
From famed WQXR-FM radio in New York City:
And here are the classical nominations for the 2018 Grammy awards:
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Classical music: Here are the Top 20 classical recordings of 2017 as chosen by famed radio station WQXR
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By Jacob Stockinger
As he has done in previous years, this year The Ear is offering various compendiums of the best classical recordings from the past year.
Such lists are, of course, subjective.
But many of the “judges” have a vast experience with classical music and are worth listening to and at least considering.
The lists can give you an idea of new artists and trends as well as of new releases of famous artists and tried-and-true repertoire.
So far, The Ear has offered the nominees for Grammy Awards. But that list is chosen by the industry.
Here is a link to that Grammy list:
The famed New York City radio station WQXR seems more objective and less commercial, although you will find well known veteran artists such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Evgeny Kissin mixed in with newcomers such as pianist Beatrice Rana (below).
The genres and periods are quite mixed too, going from early music to new music, from Johann Sebastian Bach to Philip Glass and Osvaldo Golijov.
Similarly, the list has familiar labels and small, relatively unknown labels.
The list could serve as a guide to what you want to give as a gift or what you want to receive as a gift.
But you can also take the list just as more information about the classical music scene, which is under-reported in the mainstream media.
In addition, each of the 20 selections features the CD album cover and a sound sample of the recording and a compact explanation of what makes the performance exceptional or outstanding.
Here is a link:
http://www.wqxr.org/story/best-classical-recordings-2017/
Hope you enjoy it.
Use the COMMENT section to let us know what you think and whether you agree or disagree with the choices.
The Ear wants to hear.
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