The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: This Saturday night, UW pianist Christopher Taylor will perform the virtuosic Liszt transcriptions of Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 1 and 9
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ALERT: The first concert by the Verona Area Community Orchestra is set for this Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m. in the Verona Area High School’s Performing Arts Center at 300 Richard St. in Verona. A reception, with a sheet cake, will follow the concert. Admission is FREE.
Thirty-five amateur string orchestra musicians will play selections from: Johann Sebastian Bach (Brandenburg Concerto No. 3), Aaron Copland (“Rodeo”), Sir Edward Elgar (“Serenade for Strings”), Eric Whitacre (“October”), Louis Prima (“Sing Sing with a Swing”), and Peter Warlock (“Capriol” Suite).
By Jacob Stockinger
This coming Saturday, Feb. 1, will see what promises to be one of the most interesting and impressive events of The Beethoven Year in Madison.
At 8 p.m. in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, in the new Hamel Music Center at 740 University Avenue, the UW-Madison’s virtuoso pianist Christopher Taylor (below) will perform the solo piano transcriptions made by Franz Liszt of Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 1 and 9.
When he was just 12, the young Liszt — often considered the greatest pianist who ever lived — performed for and met Beethoven, who gave the boy his blessing.
For the rest of his life, Liszt (below top) promoted Beethoven’s piano sonatas and symphonies through the keyboard. Liszt also studied with Carl Czerny, who studied with Beethoven (below bottom).
These performances mark Taylor’s completion of the ambitious and monumental cycle of Liszt’s Beethoven symphony transcriptions.
The Ninth or “Choral” Symphony – with the famous “Ode to Joy” finale – will also have five singers to perform the solo and choral parts. They are: Mead Witter School of Music faculty members Mimmi Fulmer and Paul Rowe (below top); and graduate students Sarah Brailey (below bottom), Thore Dosdall and Benjamin Liupaogo.
(You can hear the famous Scherzo movement played by Cyprien Katsaris and see the note-filled score for it in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Tickets are $20, except for music school faculty and students who will be admitted free on the night of the performance if space allows.
For more information about the tickets, parking, the performers and the program, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/christopher-taylor-and-friends-beethoven-symphony-extravaganza/
To just purchase tickets, go to the Campus Arts Ticketing box office in the Memorial Union, call (608) 265-ARTS (2787) or go to: https://artsticketing.wisc.edu/Online/default.asp?doWork::WScontent::loadArticle=Load&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::article_id=79084672-5D75-4981-B0A3-B135EDB97FF1
For more information about the extraordinary keyboard transcriptions, go to the Wikipedia entry and be sure to read the section on History: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beethoven_Symphonies_(Liszt)
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Music education: Madison Youth Choirs perform their Spring Concert series “Seriously Funny” this Sunday
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post:
“This spring, the Madison Youth Choirs singers (below) are exploring the unexpected ways that elements of humor, from irony and incongruity to improvisation and timing, are reflected in a wide variety of classical and contemporary musical compositions.
“We’re learning that music, like humor, is a kind of language, operating with its own sense of logic, patterns, and conventions that composers can twist to surprise us and take our musical journey to new places.
“As we study the complexity of humor as a mode of creative expression, we are discovering the power of satire, wit, and misdirection to help us reexamine our assumptions, musical and otherwise.
“In our culminating concert series, our singers will present works including “No, di voi non vo’ fidarmi” by George Frideric Handel; Timothy Takach’s “I Will Howl” by Timothy Takach; the “Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls; and the second movement of Chichester Psalms by Leonard Bernstein.”
The MYC Spring Concerts, “Seriously Funny: Musical Humor, Wit, and Whimsy” will take place this Sunday afternoon and evening, May 13, at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Ave., across from Camp Randall Stadium.
Performance are: 1:30 p.m. for Girlchoirs; 4 p.m. for Boychoirs; and 7 p.m. for High School Ensembles.
Tickets will be available at the door: $10 for general admission; $5 for students 7-18; and free for children under 7. A separate ticket is required for each performance.
This concert is supported by American Girl’s Fund for Children, BMO Harris Bank, Dane Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times, the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation, and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation. This project is also supported by the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the state of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
About the Madison Youth Choirs (MYC):
Recognized as an innovator in youth choral music education, Madison Youth Choirs (MYC) welcomes singers of all ability levels, annually serving more than 1,000 young people, ages 7-18, through a wide variety of choral programs in our community.
Cultivating a comprehensive music education philosophy that inspires self-confidence, personal responsibility, and a spirit of inquiry leading students to become “expert noticers,” MYC creates accessible, meaningful opportunities for youth to thrive in the arts and beyond.
For further information, go to www.madisonyouthchoirs.org or call (608) 238-7464.
Here is the Repertoire List for MYC 2018 Spring Concert Series, “Seriously Funny: Musical Humor, Wit and Whimsy”
1:30 P.M. CONCERT (FEATURING MYC GIRLCHOIRS)
Choraliers
“Bee! I’m expecting you!” by Emma Lou Diemer
“A Menagerie of Songs” by Carolyn Jennings
Con Gioia
“When V and I” by Henry Purcell
“The Fate of Gilbert Gim” by Margaret Drynan
“The Cabbage-Tree Hat,” traditional Australian folk song
Capriccio (below)
“Papageno-Papagena Duet” (from The Magic Flute) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
“Ich jauchze, ich lache” (from BWV 15) by Johann Sebastian Bach
“J’entends le Moulin,” French folk song, arr. Donald Patriquin
Combined Choirs
“Funiculi, Funicula” by Luigi Denza
4 P.M. CONCERT (FEATURING MYC BOYCHOIRS)
Combined Boychoirs
“Sumer is icumen in,” Anonymous, 13th century Middle English piece
Purcell Boychoir
“When V and I” by Henry Purcell
“Modern Major-General” from The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan
“Weevily Wheat,” arr. Dan Krunnfusz
Britten Boychoir (below)
“Gloria Tibi” by Leonard Bernstein
“The Plough Boy,” Traditional, arr. Benjamin Britten
Holst Boychoir
“Il est bel et bon” by Pierre Passereau
“Hopkinton” by William Billings
Ragazzi Boychoir
“I Will Howl” by Timothy Takach
“Rustics and Fishermen,” part V of Choral Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten
“Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls by Frank Loesser
Combined Boychoirs
“Chichester Psalms” II. Adonai ro-i by Leonard Bernstein
7 P.M. CONCERT (FEATURING HIGH SCHOOL ENSEMBLES)
Cantilena
“A Girl’s Garden” from Frosting by Randall Thompson
“Love Learns by Laughing” by Thomas Morley
“Turn, Turn, Then Thine Eyes” from The Fairy Queen by Henry Purcell
“My Funny Valentine” from Babes in Arms by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
“Etude 1 pour les cinq doigts d’après Monsieur Czerny” by Claude Debussy
Ragazzi
“I Will Howl” by Timothy Takach
“Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls by Frank Loesser
Cantabile
“sam was a man” by Vincent Persichetti, text by e.e. cummings
“No, di voi non vo’ fidarmi” by George Frideric Handel
“Cruel, You Pull Away Too Soon” by Thomas Morley
“This Sky Falls” by Jocelyn Hagen
“Svatba,” Traditional Bulgarian, arr. H.R. Todorov
Cantabile and Ragazzi
Choral Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten
Tags: #AmericanGirl, #AustralianMusic, #BenjaminBritten, #BMOHarrisBank, #BroadwayMusical, #Bulgarianmusic, #CampRandall, #CampRandallStadium, #CarlCzerny, #ChichesterPsalms, #ChoralMusic, #ClaudeDebussy, #ContemporaryComposer, #ContemporaryMusic, #DaneArts, #EndresManufacturing, #FirstCongregationalUnitedChurchofChrist, #FolkMusic, #FrankLoesser, #FrenchMusic, #FugueforTinhorns, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GilbertandSullivan, #GustavHolst, #GuysandDolls, #HenryPurcell, #HighSchool, #JohannSebastianBach, #LeonardBernstein, #LorenzHart, #MadisonYouthChoirs, #MiddleEnglish, #MiddleSchool, #ModernMajor-General, #MusicEducation, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #NewMusic, #PierrePassereau, #PiratesofPenzance, #PleasantT.Rowland, #RandallThompson, #RichardRodgers, #RodgersandHart, #SpringConcert, #StateOfWisconsin, #TheCapitalTimes, #TheEvjueFoundation, #TheMagicFlute, #ThomasMorley, #TimothyTakach, #VincentPersichetti, #W.JeromeFrautschi, #WilliamBillings, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouthChoirs, admission, afternoon, American Girl, Arts, assumptions, Bach, Baroque, BMO Harris Bank, boy, boychoir, Broadway musical, Bulgaria, Carl Czerny, children, Choir, choral music, Classical music, community, composer, conventions, dance, duet, e.e. cummings, Early music, evening, folk song, folksong, foundation, free, fugue, Fugue for Tinhorns, G&S, George Frideric Handel, Gilbert and Sullivan, girl, girlchoir, girls, Gloriana, Gustav Holst, Guys and Dolls, high school, Holst, Humor, improvisation, incongruity, inquiry', irony, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, language, logic, Madison, Madison Youth Choirs, menagerie, Middle school, Modern Major-General, movement, Music, Music education, musical, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, New Music, opera, Papagena, Papageno, patterns, performance, personal, Piano, poem, poet, Poetry, power, Purcell, responsibility, sature'wit, self-confidence, singer, singers, Singing, song, stadium, summer, Sunday, text, The Capital Times, The Evjue Foundation, ticket, timing, traditional, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Vincent Persichetti, voys, whimsy, William Billings, Wisconsin Arts Board, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, young people, Youth, YouTube
Classical music: The third and final week of the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society’s 26th season offers vocal music, four-hand piano music and instrumental chamber music of four centuries plus a Midwest premiere
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By Jacob Stockinger
Building on the success of the past two weekends and previous four programs, the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society chamber music festival, which features top local and guest performers, concludes its season this weekend with a typically eclectic mix of vocal and instrumental music that ranges from the late 18th century up to today, including a Midwest premiere.
As usual, the BDDS venues are suitably intimate for chamber music: The Playhouse (below top) at the Overture Center at 201 State St.; the jewel box historic Stoughton Opera House (below middle) at 381 East Main St.; and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hillside Theater (below bottom) at Taliesin on County Highway 23 in Spring Green.
Concerts are spiked with stories about the music, mystery guests and even door prizes.
This season’s theme is Alphabet Soup, because it’s BDDS’ 26th year and there are 26 letters in the alphabet. Each program is named after a combination of letters used in everyday language. Sometimes the musical interpretation of those letters is literal and sometimes it’s quite loose.
The final weekend of concerts welcomes back audience favorites Hye-Jin Kim, violin; Ara Gregorian, viola; Randall Hodgkinson, piano (below top); and Timothy Jones, bass-baritone (below bottom).
They are joined by the acclaimed local violinist Soh-Hyun Park Altino (below top), a new member of the UW-Madison music faculty, and by Madison Symphony Orchestra cellist Madeleine Kabat (below bottom, in a photo by Christian Steiner), who is filling in for UW-Madison professor and Pro Arte Quartet cellist Parry Karp, who has sustained a finger injury.
“Cs the Day” includes the Midwest premiere of “Cool Fire” for flute, string quartet and piano by Paul Moravec (below), and Mozart’s “Coronation Piano Concerto” arranged for the entire ensemble.
Timothy Jones will be featured in the song cycle, “Let Us Garlands Bring” by Gerald Finzi. These are settings of carpe diem poems of Shakespeare. (Carpe diem is Latin for “seize the day” = “Cs the Day”— get it?) You can hear the songs in the YouTube video at the bottom.
At the center of this program is Carl Czerny’s Sonata in C minor for piano four-hands. BDDS will suspend a camera over the keyboard so the audience can see how the hands of the pianists cross and interlock throughout this virtuosic masterpiece. (Below is a view of a similar set up six seasons ago.)
Cs the Day will be performed at The Playhouse, Overture Center for the Arts on Friday, June 23, at 7:30 p.m.; and Spring Green at the Hillside Theater, Sunday, June 25, at 2:30 p.m.
The final program of the season, “R&B,” features “Rounds for Robin, a short work by Kevin Puts (below top) for flute and piano written in memory of comedian Robin Williams, and the Flute Quintet in G minor by Luigi Boccherini (below bottom).
The “Santa Fe Songs” for baritone and piano quartet by Ned Rorem (below, in a photo by Christian Steiner) features the mesmerizing voice of Timothy Jones in one of the great American song cycles.
The 26th season concludes with Johannes Brahms’ towering Piano Quintet in F minor.
R&B will be performed at The Playhouse, Overture Center, Madison, on Saturday, June 24, at 7:30 p.m.; and Spring Green at the Hillside Theater, Sunday, June 25, and 6:30 p.m.
Photos by Dick Ainsworth of BDDS performances and behind-the-scenes will be on exhibit in The Playhouse through Sunday, July 9.
Single general admission tickets are $43. Student tickets are always $10.
For tickets visit: http://www.overture.org/events/bach-dancing
For more information about the programs, performers, performances and background, visit www.bachdancinganddynamite.org or call (608) 255-9866.
Tickets can also be purchased at Overture Center for the Arts, (608) 258-4141, www.overturecenter.org (additional fees apply).
Tickets are also available at the door at all locations.
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Classical music: Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society announces its upcoming summer season of “Alphabet Soup” this June
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By Jacob Stockinger
The time for announcing new seasons has arrived.
Pretty soon, over the next several weeks and months, The Ear will hear from larger and smaller presenters and ensembles in the Madison area, and post their new seasons.
First out of the gate is the critically acclaimed and popular summer group, the Madison-based Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society. (You can see a short promo video about BDDS on the YouTube video at the bottom.)
It has just announced its upcoming summer season this June, and sent out brochures with the season’s details.
This will be the 26th annual summer season and it has the theme of “Alphabet Soup.”
The concept is explained online and in a brochure newsletter (also online) in an editorial essay by BDDS co-founder and co-artistic director flutist Stephanie Jutt (seen below with co-founder and co-director pianist Jeffrey Sykes).
By the way, Jutt is retiring from the UW-Madison this spring but will continue to play principal flute with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and to work and perform with BDDS.
In many ways it will be a typical season of the eclectic group. It will feature local and imported artists. Many of both are favorites of The Ear.
His local favorites include UW-Madison pianist Christopher Taylor; violist Sally Chisholm of the UW-Madison’s Pro Arte Quartet; UW violinist Soh-Hyun Park Altino (below top, in a photo by Caroline Bittencourt); and Pro Arte cellist Parry Karp (below bottom).
Among The Ear’s favorite guest artists are violinist Carmit Zori, clarinetist Alan Kay, the San Francisco Piano Trio (below top); UW alumna soprano Emily Birsan; pianist Randall Hodgkinson; and baritone Timothy Jones (below bottom).
As usual, the season features 12 concerts of six programs over three weeks (June 9-25) in three venues – the Playhouse in the Overture Center (below top), the Hillside Theater (below middle) at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin compound in Spring Green and the Stoughton Opera House (below bottom).
In addition, there is a FREE family concert in the Overture Playhouse on June 10.
What does seem somewhat new is the number of unknown composers and an edgier, more adventurous choice of pieces, including more new music and more neglected composers.
Oh, there will be classics by such composers as Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Luigi Boccherini, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, Peter Tchaikovsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Maurice Ravel, Bela Bartok, Arnold Schoenberg, Benjamin Britten and others. These are the ABC’s of the alphabet soup, according to BDDS.
But also represented are composers such as Philippe Gaubert, Czech Holocaust victim Gideon Klein (below), Guillaume Conneson, Carl Czerny, Paul Moravec and Franz Doppler. These are the XYZ’s of the alphabet soup.
In between come others. Contemporary American composer, and Pulitzer Prize winner, Kevin Puts (below) is a BDDS favorite and is well represented. You will also find less performed works by Ned Rorem, Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Gerald Finzi.
For the complete programs and schedules as well as the list of performers, some YouTube videos and ticket prices, both for season tickets ($109.50, $146, $182 and $219) and for individual concerts ($43), and other information, go to:
http://bachdancinganddynamite.org/concerts/festival-concerts/
Tags: ABC, Alan Kay, alphabet soup, Arnold Schoenberg, Arts, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, baritone, Bartok, BDDS, Benjamin Britten, Boccherini, Carl Czerny, Carmit Zori, Cello, Chamber music, Christopher Taylor, clarinet, Classical music, composer, Czech, Emily Birsan, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Frank Lloyd Wright, Franz Doppler, Gerald Finzi, Gideon Klein, Guillaume Conneson, Haydn, Hillside Theater, Holocaust, Jacob Stockinger, Jeffrey Sykes, Johannes Brahms, Kevin Puts, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mozart, Music, Ned Rorem, New Music, opera, Orchestra, Overture Center, Parry Karp, Paul Moravec, Philippe Gaubert, Piano, Piano Trio, Pro Arte Quartet, Pulitzer Prize, Randall Hodgkinson, Ravel, Sally Chisholm, San Francisco Piano Trio, San Francisco Trio, Schubert, Season, Sergei Prokofiev, Soh-Hyun Park Altino, Sonata, soprano, soup, Spring Green, Stephanie Jutt, Stoughton Opera House, summer, symphony, Taliesin, Tchaikovsky, Timothy Jones, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, victim, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, XYZ, YouTube
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The Well-Tempered Ear 