Centers for Disease Control | The Well-Tempered Ear

Looks like there will be no live concerts for the rest of the 2020-21 season and maybe until early 2022

September 21, 2020
3 Comments

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By Jacob Stockinger

Some important things for classical music fans to know happened over the weekend, even as Dane County continues to break records for new cases of coronavirus.

Three high federal health officials, including director of the CDC Dr. Robert Redfield and his colleague Dr. Anthony Fauci, have testified that it is highly unlikely that vaccines for the coronavirus will be widely available to the public until May 2021 at the earliest and may well be delayed until early 2022 or later.

President Donald Trump says they are wrong, but the public health officials are standing by their estimates.

Adding to the concern is that the rate of people who say they will not get the hurried vaccine continues to rise from 35 percent to 50 percent or more.

In addition, there are reports of logistical problems because the vaccines will be difficult to distribute as they require cold temperatures.

This amounts to bad news for a long list of local arts presenters.

The net effect is that mass gatherings – such as concerts – will not be safe to attend for the rest of this season and perhaps until the beginning of 2022.

That means that many groups that have planned on reopening by January or February are likely to cancel or postpone events for the remainder of this season, and perhaps also for next fall – just as they planned for doing this concert season.

Instead there will probably be more virtual and online events substituted for in-person events — if anything at all is offered.

Among the major groups who have announced earlier reopening and be affected by the new deadlines are: the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below top); the Madison Opera; the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (below bottom, in a photo by Mike Gorski); the Wisconsin Union Theater; the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music; the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO); and the Middleton Community Orchestra.

We can all hope that live music starts happening sooner. But The Ear suspects that alternative plans are already being drawn up and will be announced shortly.

What do you think about the estimates of the delays in vaccine accessibility and acceptance?

What do you think music groups will do – or should do in –in the wake of the public health crisis?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: "Music After the Fall", #AnthonyFauci, #ArtsPresenters, #BadNews, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CentersforDiseaseControl, #ClassicalMusician, #ConcertSeason, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DaneCounty, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #HealthCrisis, #JacobStockinger, #LiveMusic, #MadisonOpera, #MassGathering, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #NetEffect, #NewsReports, #OnlineConcert, #PresidentDonaldTrump, #PresidentTrump, #PublicHealth, #RelatedEvent, #RobertRedfield, #TheEar, #ThePresident, #TheUW, #VirtualConcert, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WisconsinYouthSymphonyOrchestras, 2021, 2022, acceptance, accessibility, adueince, alternative, announce, Anthony Fauci, Arts, arts presenters, attend, avaioale, bad news, beginning, blog, cancel, cases, CDC, Centers for Disease Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Classical music, classicalmusic, cold, Concert, concert season, coronavirus, crisis, Dane County, delay, delayed, difficult, director, distribute, doctor, earliest, early, estimate, event, Facebook, fall, fans, Fauci, February, federal, forward, group, happen, Health, high, hurried, in person, Jacob Stockinger, January, like, link, live music, logistics, Madison Opera, major, mass gathering, Mead Witter School of Music, Middleton Community Orchestra, net effect, new, news, next, official, online, pandemic, People, performer, perhaps, plan, planned, post, posting, postpone, President, President Donald Trump, problems, public 2020, Public health, rate, reader, reopening, reports, Robert Redfield, safe, Season, share, shortly, sooner, start, subscriber, suspect, tag, temperature, testify, The Ear, Trump, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, vaccine, virtual, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, wrong, WYSO

Classical music: It’s clear to The Ear: It will be at least another full year before audiences in the U.S. can safely attend live concerts. What do you think?

August 11, 2020
7 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

All the signs point to the same conclusion: It will be at least the fall of 2021 before we can safely attend concerts again – if we are lucky.

These past two weeks, The Ear answered questionnaires sent out by the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below top), which has already canceled the season through January, and the Wisconsin Union Theater (below bottom is Shannon Hall).

If you read between the lines, both questionnaires seemed to suggest the same two things: that the entire 2020-21 concert season will be canceled or postponed; or else that it will feature virtual online performances — for ticket prices (perhaps called a “donation”) that have not yet been announced and may not be acceptable to a lot of any group’s core audience.

Perhaps you disagree. If so, The Ear would like to hear in the comment section what you think and why you think it.

Here is what The Ear, who has talked with other season subscribers and various musicians, has seen and heard.

The United States has now surpassed 5 million coronavirus infections and 163,000 Covid-19 deaths with no sign of slowing down and many signs of accelerating. One widely cited model now predicts 300,000 deaths by this Dec. 1.

Plus, too many Americans refuse to wear masks or to maintain social distancing or to shelter at home to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Add in that we will be fortunate if enough vaccines are found to be safe, efficient and approved for use by Jan 1.

Then – despite federal government’s “Warp Speed” development or fast-tracking of the search for vaccines — there is the time needed to manufacture enough of them.

Then it will take considerable time to distribute them equitably, which other countries and public health agencies around the world demand.

Then, if we hope to reach herd immunity, it will take time to convince enough people to get the vaccine, especially with the growing number of anti-vaxxers.

Then those who do get vaccinated will have to wait a month for the second shot that will be required.

Then we wait a few weeks to see if and how much the vaccine really works – if it is safe and prevents infection or at least lessens the damage of the disease if you do get infected.

Plus, it sees unreasonable to think all of these steps will go without a hitch. So maybe a few more weeks or even months should be added.

Add up the math, and the conclusion seems clear: Performing arts events, like sports and other large in-person gatherings, seem increasingly likely to be canceled or reconfigured for a full year.

Concerts are already taking place in China, and other countries in Asia and Europe seem likely to catch up soon. But music lovers in the U.S. will be lucky if they get to attend a live concert with 100 or 500 or 1,000 or 2,500 other people before the fall of 2021 – at least a full year away. Maybe more.

The Ear could well be wrong. Maybe you see a different conclusion, which we would all love to hear. Perhaps international readers will share estimates about when concerts will begin in their country.

One way or another, we will learn a lot more about how the new music season is being planned and changed in the next three weeks.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AtLeast, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ClassicalMusician, #ConcertSeason, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #EdgewoodCollege, #Europeanmusic, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FederalGovernment, #JacobStockinger, #LiveMusic, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #MusicLover, #OakwoodChamberPlayers, #OldPeople, #OperaMusic, #OrchestralMusic, #PerformingArts, #PublicHealth, #ShannonHall, #SlowDown, #SocialDistance, #Stayathome, #TheEar, #TheU.S., #TicketPrice, #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #WarpSpeed, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WisconsinYouthSymphonyOrchestras, #YouTubevideo, 2020, 2020-21, 2021, accelerating, acceptable, add, agency, American, Americans, announced, anti-vaxxer, Arts, Asia, at least, attend, audience, blog, cancel, canceled, Centers for Disease Control, Chamber music, China, Chinese, choral music, Classical music, classicalmusic, clear, comment, commentary, Concert, conclusion, continent, core, coronavirus, countries, country, damage, dead, death, December, demand, development, die, disagree, Disease, disguise, distance, distribute, donation, Early music, Edgewood College, efficient, enough, estimate, Europe, event, Facebook, fall, fast-track, federal government, fee, fortunate, forward, group, growing, hear, hitch, Home, infection, international, Jacob Stockinger, January, lessen, like, lines, link, live music, Love, luck, lucky, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, manufacture, mask, math, Mead Witter School of Music, Middleton Community Orchestra, month, more, mused, Music, music lover, Musician, number, Oakwood Chamber Players, opera, Orchestra, orchestral music, other, Overture Center, pandemic, People, performances, performer, Performing arts, Point, post, posting, postpone, postponed, predict, prevent, price, Public health, questionnaire, reader, refuse, required, safe, same, search, Season, second, Shannon Hall, share, shelter, shot, signs, slow, slow down, social, social distance, spread, stay at home, step, subscriber, suggest, surpassed, symphony, tag, take, talk, The Ear, things, think, ticket, time, trial, U.S., United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, unreasonable, used, UW-Madison, vaccine, virus, vocal music, warp speed, we, wear, weeks, what, why, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, work, world, you

Classical music: What music is helping you get through the Coronavirus by staying home? Help create a Pandemic Playlist

March 25, 2020
10 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

Starting today, Wisconsin joins other states and countries in proclaiming a stay-at-home emergency condition to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.

That means non-essential businesses and schools are closed; restaurants can only deliver food and do pick-up; and residents must stay at home except for essential services and travel such as buying food, seeing a doctor and getting medicine.

For a couple of weeks, many of us have already been spending almost all our time hunkering down at home.

And the Internet and other mass media are full of helpful hints about how to handle the loneliness, fear and anxiety that can come with self-isolation and self-quarantining.

For many, music proves a reliable coping strategy.

Since there are no live concerts to preview or review, now seems like a good time for The Ear to ask readers: What music helps you deal with the isolation of staying at home?

Is listening to music a part of your daily schedule, structure or routine?

Maybe you are using the time to discover new music or neglected composers, works and performers.

Maybe you are using the time to revisit old favorites by Bach, Mozart and Beethoven.

Maybe you prefer darker and deeper, more introverted works such as symphonies by Mahler, Bruckner and Shostakovich?

Maybe you prefer the stories and drama of operas by Verdi and Puccini, oratorios by Handel and songs by Schubert?

Maybe, like The Ear, you find the music of Baroque Italian composers, such as the violin concertos by Vivaldi and Corelli, to be a great, upbeat way to start the day with energy and a good mood.

One more modern but neo-classical work that The Ear likes to turn to — a work that is rarely heard or performed live – is the beautiful “Eclogue” for piano and strings by the 20th-century British composer Gerald Finzi (below).

Finzi wrote it as a slow movement to a piano concerto, but then never finished the concerto. The “Eclogue” — a short pastoral poem — was never performed in his lifetime. So it continues to stand alone.

But like so much English pastoral music, the poignant Eclogue feels like sonic balm, some restorative comfort that can transport you to a calmer and quieter place, put you in a mood that you find soothing rather than agitated.

Hear it for yourself and decide by listening to it in the YouTube video at the bottom, then let The Ear know what you think.

Perhaps you have many other pieces to suggest for the same purpose.

But the series of reader suggestions is meant to be ongoing.

The idea is to build a collective “Pandemic Playlist.”

So right now and for this time, please post just ONE suggestion – with a YouTube link, if possible — in the Comment section with perhaps what you like about it and why it works for you during this time of physical, psychological and emotional distress from COVID-19.

What do you think of the idea of creating a Pandemic Playlist?

The Ear hopes that you like his choice, and that he and other readers like yours.

Be well and stay well.

Let’s get through this together.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #20thCentury, #AntonBruckner, #AntonioVivaldi, #ArcangeloCorelli, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BritishComposer, #BritishMusic, #CentersforDiseaseControl, #ChoralMusic, #COVID-19, #DmitriShostakovich, #EmotionalImpact, #EnglishComposer, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FranzSchubert, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GeraldFinzi, #GiacomoPuccini, #GiuseppeVerdi, #GoodMood, #GustavMahler, #HandelOratorio, #HealthCare, #HolidayFavorites, #HunkerDown, #ItalianBaroque, #JacobStockinger, #JohannSebastianBach, #LiveConcert, #LivingComposer, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MassMedia, #ModernMusic, #MusicReview, #NeglectedComposers, #NeglectedMusic, #NeglectedWorks, #NewMusic, #OperaMusic, #PandemicPlaylist, #PianoConcerto, #PianoMusic, #Self-Isolation, #shelter-at-home, #SlowMovement, #SocialDistancing, #Stayathome, #StringMusic, #TheEar, #TheInternet, #ViolinConcerto, #ViolinMusic, #VocalMusic, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, 20th-century, agitating, agitation, alone, Anton Bruckner, Antonio Vivaldi, anxiety, Arcangelo Corelli, Arts, audience, Bach, balm, Baroque, beautiful, Beethoven, blog, Bruckner, Business, buy, calm, Centers for Disease Control, Chamber music, choice, choral music, Classical music, classicalmusic, closed, collective, comfort, Compact Disc, composer, Concert, condition, cope, coping, Corelli, coronavirus, countries, country, COVID19, create, daily, darker, day, decide, deeper, deliver, discover, distress, Dmitri Shostakovich, doctor, drama, Early music, Eclogue, Education, emergency, emotional, energy, English, essential, Facebook, favorites, fear, fight, finish, Finzi, food, forward, Franz Schubert, George Frideric Handel, Gerald Finzi, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, good, good mood, Gustav Mahler, Handel, health care, help, helpful, hints, Home, hunker down, idea, Internet, introvert, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, lifetime, like, link, live, live concert, Living composer, lockdown, loneliness, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Mahler, mass media, media, medicine, modern, mood, Mozart, Music, music review, neglected, neglected composer, neo-Classical, new, New Music, non-essential, old, opera, oratorio, Orchestra, pandemic, pandemic playlist, pastoral, performer, physical, Pianist, Piano, pick-up, piece, playlist, poem, poignant, post, posting, prefer, prevention, preview, proclaim, prove, psychological, psychology, Puccini, quarantine, quiet, quieter, rare, reliable, resident, restaurants, restorative, review, revisit, routine, schedule, school, schools, Schubert, self-isolating, Self-Quarantining, services, share, shelter, short, Shostakovich, sing, Singing, Slow movement, social, social distancing, song, songs, sonic, soothing, spend, start, state, stay at home, stories, strategy, stress, strings, structure, suggest, suggestion, symphony, tag, The Ear, think, thought, time, together, transport, travel, United States, use, Verdi, Viola, Violin, virus, Vivaldi, vocal music, weeks, wisconsin public radio, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube

Classical music: The coronavirus forces the cancellation of Bach Around the Clock plus concerts by pianist Drew Petersen and violinist Gil Shaham. Other groups will wait and see. Read local and national overviews

March 13, 2020
2 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

The pandemic of the coronavirus (below, from by the federal Centers for Disease Control) has now put Wisconsin into a public health emergency, as declared Thursday morning by Gov. Tony Evers, and continues to take its toll on the local art scene – and does so very quickly.

Since yesterday, the threat posed by the coronavirus and COVID-19 has forced the cancellation of three more major musical events:

The biggest is the cancellation of Bach Around the Clock 2020 on Saturday, March 28.

BATC is the FREE annual event celebrating the birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). It runs for 12 hours, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and offers dozens of performances by student, amateur and professional musicians.

A Saturday night concert and Sunday afternoon master class by up-and-coming pianist Drew Petersen (below) — for the Salon Piano Series at Farley’s House of Pianos– has been cancelled and postponed until the summer.

And the March 28 recital by violinist Gil Shaham (below) and pianist Akira Eguchi at the Wisconsin Union Theater has been cancelled

Some other major groups are taking a wait-and-see approach about cancelling events. They include: the Madison Opera, the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.

You can read more about them, and about other local arts events, including pop music as well as museum openings and exhibitions, in a comprehensive overview by Michael Muckian in Isthmus: https://isthmus.com/news/news/coronavirus-impacts-arts-events/

And here is an excellent story from National Public Radio (NPR) about the national context of how the Coronavirus is impacting the arts across the U.S. https://www.npr.org/2020/03/12/814992409/in-the-age-of-covid-19-event-cancellations-precipitate-a-large-economic-impact

DETAILS ABOUT POSTPONEMENTS AND REFUNDS

Here is the announcement from BATC artistic director Marika Fischer Hoyt (below):

“Dear friends and colleagues,

“We on the BATC board have been carefully monitoring this rapidly-developing situation: the exponentially increasing number of cases being diagnosed in the U.S., the recommendations from the medical community, and responses from other organizations large and small.

“After careful consideration, we have decided, regretfully, that the most responsible course of action is to cancel the BATC festival this March.

“We on the board are so grateful to the performers, hosts and donors, who have invested time, talent and resources in this year’s festival. Our hope is to reschedule for a date in the fall. Stand by for more information on that soon.

“But for now, we ask for your understanding.

“I hope, even though we can’t celebrate his music together on the March 28, that we will all find ways to enjoy Bach’s music this month.”

For more information, go to: https://bachclock.com and facebook.com/batcmadison

Here are details about the Drew Petersen cancellations:

“Sadly, we are postponing both the Drew Petersen concert on March 14 and his master class on March 15 until the summer.

“New dates for the concert and master class are yet to be determined. We will announce them via email, the Salon Piano Series website and on social media for the Salon Piano Series.

“We know you’ll understand that our concern for your health and well-being made this decision necessary.

“You may request a refund or keep your ticket for the concert in the summer. Everyone who bought a ticket will have one week after the announcement of the new concert date to request a refund.

“If you would like a refund immediately, please follow the instructions below. Please allow several business days for refunds to be processed.

Paper Tickets: If you have a paper ticket, please take a photo of your ticket and email the photo to cristofori@salonpianoseries.org

explaining that you would like a refund.

Online Tickets: “If the ticket is not part of a season ticket, call Brown Paper Tickets at 1-800-838-3006.

If your ticket is part of a season ticket, contact Salon Piano Series at 608-271-2626. Refunds for season ticket holders will be issued through Salon Piano Series by check, not through Brown Paper Tickets.

Tickets Ordered by Phone

If you purchased a ticket by phone, contact Salon Piano Series at 608 271-2626 to request a refund.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AkiraEguchi, #AmateurMusician, #ArtExhibition, #ArtisticDirector, #BachAroundtheClock, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrownPaperTickets, #BusinessDay, #CentersforDiseaseControl, #ChamberMusic, #COVID-19, #Drew Petersen, #DrewPetersen, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Farley'sHouseofPianos, #GilShaham, #Gov.Evers, #Gov.TonyEvers, #HealthEmergency, #HomeWebsite, #IsthmusMagazine, #IsthmusNewspaper, #JacobStockinger, #JohannSebastianBach, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MichaelMuckian, #NationalPublicRadio, #OvertureCenter, #PopMusic, #ProfessionalMusician, #PublicHealth, #SalonPIanoSeries, #SocialMedia, #TheU.S., #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #Up-and-Coming, #Wait-and-See, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WisconsinUnionTheater, Akira Eguchi, amateur, annual, approach, Art, Artistic director, Arts, audience, Bach, Bach Around the Clock, Baroque, Baroque music, BATC, birthday, blog, board, Brown Paper Tickets, Business, business day, cancel, cancellation, case, CDC, celebrate, Centers for Disease Control, Chamber music, check, Classical music, classicalmusic, community, composer, comprehensive, concern, Concert, coronavirus, date, day, declare, diagnose, donor, dozens, Early music, edia, enjoy, event, exhibition, exponential, Facebook, fall, Farley's House of Pianos, federal, festival, find, forward, free, Gil Shaham, Gov. Tony Evers, governor, grateful, Health, health emergency, home website, hope, host, hour, impact, increase, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, large, like, link, local, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, march, Marika Fischer Hoyt, medical, Michael Muckian, monitor, morning, Museum, Music, musical, national, National Public Radio, Newspaper, NPR, number, opening, opera, Orchestra, organization, Overture Center, overview, pandemic, paper, performer, phone, Pianist, Piano, pop music, post, posting, postpone, postponement, professional, public, Public health, quick, recital, refund, reschedule, response, run, Salon Piano Series, scene, Season, share, small, social, state, story, Student, summer, symphony, tag, talent resources, threat, ticket, toll, Tony Evers, U.S., understanding, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Violin, violinist, virus, way, Website, well-being, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Union Theater, year, yesterday, young

Classical music: Home or concert hall? Will older listeners follow new CDC guidelines about the coronavirus to stay home and avoid attending concerts? What will performers and presenters do in response?

March 7, 2020
17 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

Late yesterday the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued new guidelines for behavior during the outbreak of the coronavirus and COVID-19.

The CDC is asking all adults over 60, especially those with compromised immune systems and serious underlying illnesses and conditions, to “stay home as much as possible” and avoid attending events with big crowds. (Below is a sample of a full house at the Madison Symphony Orchestra in Overture Hall.)

Here is the full story — which also mentions other kinds of mass events such as movie theaters, mall shopping, sports events and religious services — from CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/06/health/coronavirus-older-people-social-distancing/index.html

Moreover, the new guidelines apply nationwide — including here in Wisconsin where only one case has been confirmed and is now healthy– during the increasingly widespread, worldwide outbreak of confirmed cases and deaths.

The Ear wonders if the new advice will hit classical music especially hard because so much of the audience for it is made up of older people who are more vulnerable.

Will the guidelines affect your own attendance at concerts, even tonight and this weekend at the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin Union Theater?

Will a lack of attendance and a more severe outbreak lead to empty concert halls and the cancellation of concerts? Refunds for seniors?

Will the guidelines lead to alternative ways of “attending” and hearing, such as live-streaming and other virtual attendance?

Pretty soon we should start hearing from music presenters and performers about their reactions, solutions and advice.

Meanwhile, here is a news story from The New York Times about what one string quartet did in Venice, Italy: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/arts/music/arts-coronavirus.html

Are you an older or vulnerable person?

Will you go to concerts or stay home?

What do you think presenters and performers should do to deal with the situation?

Please leave word about your plans and your thoughts.

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #BigCrowd, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CentersforDiseaseControl, #ChamberMusic, #CNNNews, #ConcertHall, #COVID-19, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FullHouse, #HomeWebsite, #ImmuneSystem, #JacobStockinger, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MallShopping, #MovieTheaters, #NewsUpdate, #ReligiousServices, #SeniorCitizen, #SocialDistance, #SportsEvents, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #TheNewYorkTImes, #TheU.S., #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VeniceItaly, #WisconsinUnionTheater, 60, adult, advice, advisory, alert, alternative, America, American, Arts, ask, audience, Beethoven, behavior, blog, cancel, cancellation, case, cases, CDC, Centers for Disease Control, Chamber music, church, Classical music, classicalmusic, CNN, compromised, Concert, concert hall, condition, confirm, confirmed, coronavirus, crowd, death, distance, empty, Facebook, forward, full house, games, guidelines, hearing, hit, Home, home website, idea, ill, illness, immune, immune system, isolate, isolation, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, know, large, like, live-stream, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, mall, mall shopping, mass, movie theaters, Music, nationwide, new, New York City, news, online, opera, Orchestra, outbreak, Overture Center, performer, performers, plans, post, posting, presenter, prevention, quarantine, reaction, refund, Religion, religious services, senior, senior citizen, share, Shopping, sick, social, social distance, solution, Sports, spread, stay, story, String quartet, symphony, tag, The Ear, The New York Times, The U.S., theater, theatre, think, tonight, underlying, United States, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Venice, virtual, virus, vulnerable, way, Website, weekend, widespread, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Union Theater, word, worldwide, yesterday

Classical music: During flu season, should concert halls pass out surgery masks?

January 16, 2014
1 Comment

By Jacob Stockinger

It is happening more and more frequently these days, it seems to The Ear.

You see them offered as a helpful courtesy in hospitals and clinics, in the offices of doctors and dentists.

I am talking about those disposable surgical masks that hook around the ears and cover the nose and mouth, and are intended to help cut down on the risks of spreading contagious and infectious diseases.

This time of the year, they are especially meant to reduce illnesses like the flu, which is now starting to spike around the U.S., according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that was broadcast on Fox News.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/01/11/flu-season-worsens-as-illness-spreads-to-at-least-35-states-cdc-says/

So as the weekend approaches and the 2013-2014 concert season picks up again after the holidays and the usual winter intermission, The Ear find himself asking: Should those masks be offered at concerts – perhaps even for a small fee if they are expensive? After all, some venues already offer free cough drops.

You can could use the mask protect yourself if you are well, or else to protect others if you are sick. Big audiences, after all, can be like one big hospital ward or Petri dish. And as one bog suggested, they might even have a logo printed on them as a promotion or marketing tool if you use them away form the concert hall.

And the audiences for classical music are generally older — which also means they have weaker immune systems and generally a greater susceptibility to serious effects of the flu and other illnesses. Next time you are in one in January and February, just listen for the hacking and sneezing and blowing of noses. Those can be more than annoyances.

Offering masks would be good for public health, and it might also help reduce the annoyance of coughing, a topic I posted about yesterday in the following link:

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2014/01/15/classical-music-how-do-the-flu-and-classical-music-mix-what-can-be-done-now-that-the-flu-season-is-peaking-here-and-in-the-concert-hall-how-should-musicians-and-presenters-deal-with-a-sick-and-coug/

You see those masks used everywhere in Asian culture. But our own culture seems to see them as ugly and stigmatizing rather than as a sign of respect for other people’s health and a contribution to protecting the general public’s health. (Also look at the YouTube video at the bottom about wearing surgical masks in Japan.)

It turns out that The Ear is not the only one with this on his mind.

The incredible British pianist Stephen Hough – who has performed several times in Madison — also posted something recently on his blog for the Telegraph newspaper about using surgical masks – perhaps to protect his own health as he tours around the world playing recitals, concertos and chamber music.

Here is a link to his thoughtful essay. Be sure to read the readers’ comments and reactions.

And be sure to leave your own reactions to the idea in the COMMENT section of this blog.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/stephenhough/100072340/never-mind-the-burka-we-should-all-be-wearing-masks/

Classical music: How do the flu and classical music mix? What can be done now that the flu season is peaking here and in the concert hall. How should musicians and presenters deal with a sick and coughing audience?

January 15, 2014
6 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

As I remarked in blog posts of the past three days, the winter intermission is coming to an end with a recital at Arbco housing by the Madison-based Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano Kitt Reuter-Foss, with a concert this coming Friday by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and with performances of Medieval and Renaissance English music by Eliza’s Toyes on Saturday and Sunday .

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2014/01/12/classical-music-madison-and-metropolitan-opera-mezzo-kitt-reuter-foss-will-perform-a-song-journey-next-saturday-to-benefit-the-piano-restoration-at-arboretum-cohousing/

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2014/01/13/classical-music-the-wisconsin-chamber-orchestra-kicks-off-the-second-half-of-this-concert-season-with-a-performance-this-friday-night-of-orchestral-music-by-mozart-and-bruckner-and-a-guitar-concerto/

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2014/01/14/classical-music-the-early-music-group-elizas-toyes-celebrates-winter-with-medieval-and-renaissance-british-vocal-music/

So it is undeniable: The second half of the concert season is picking up.

So, unfortunately, is the flu season, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control.

Here is a link to a report on NBC-TV about how many states gave started to report serious cases of flu, including deaths, in the majority of states. And there is no sign of a let up. In fact, predictions are for it to get worse — including right here in Wisconsin.

http://www.nbc-2.com/story/24417052/flu-season-may-be-heading-toward-peak#.UtLEoXmKMds

So when you add in a major spike in flu cases to public events held in public spaces — like, say, concerts – you have a volatile and even dangerous risky mix.

Even in healthy times, The Ear finds it bad enough to sit next or near a chronic cougher — whether from allergies, sinus problems or illness — who simply will not leave the hall to hack but prefers instead to fight it out in the hall and ruin much of the music for others.

But right now those same people are not just annoying. They pose public health risks.

One obvious solution is for people who feel ill to stay home. PLEASE. But that may be hard to do when you pay out big money for tickets and don’t want to lose out on the investment or the beauty of the music.

Some presenters offer free cough drops, which some audience members love to unwrap during the slow movement. But a lot of listeners apparently don’t avail themselves of them — or of taking cough medicine before the concert and during intermission.

Perhaps the YouTube video at the bottom about how to use how you breathe to stop coughing can help.

It might also be good if more performing arts organizations offered rebates or switches on tickets for people who need to cancel to protect their own health and the health of others – including, let us not forget, the musicians or performers themselves.

I wonder how realistic that solution is and how many presenters do offer or would offer such a deal for th eska elf public health. If they don’t, they should.

Recently, The New York Times ran a combined story-column, part humorous and self-deprecating and part serious, by Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim about how musicians deal with coughing. Her examples included famous conductors (such as Michael Tilson Thomas, below top, when he conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and instrumentalists (including pianist Andras Schiff, below bottom in a photo by Robert Torres, when he performed a monster concert of Johann Sebastian Bach‘s “Goldberg” Variations and Ludwig van Beethoven‘s “Diabelli” Variations back-to-back in Boston and then went on to play an encore) dealt with coughers in the audience.

I remember a concert years ago at the Wisconsin Union Theater during which pianist Alfred Brendel suddenly stopped playing and chastised the audience for spoiling his music with coughing and noise. He then started over again and – miracle of miracles – the audience was indeed quieter.

If many coughers can keep quiet when asked, why can’t they do so on their own? Silence is part of good concert etiquette.

Anyway here is the amusing yet totally serious Times story about how the performers themselves deal with coughing audiences:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/01/arts/music/maestro-at-work-hold-that-cough.html

Is there more than can be done?

One world-famous musician thinks so.

And so does The Ear.

Tune in tomorrow.

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