The Well-Tempered Ear
Why are Asians dominating Western classical music?
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 month of May is Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage month in the U.S.
And here is a perfect story to provide questions and raise issues that pertain to that theme as it figures in classical music.
We have not seen many of them booked for concerts locally, but perhaps you have noticed how so many Asian musicians, particularly pianists, have been winning major competitions.
Those competitions include the Van Cliburn (Korean Yunchan Lim, below top), the Chopin (Chinese-Canadian Bruce Liu, below bottom), the Tchaikovsky, the Arthur Rubinstein, the Queen Elizabeth of Belgium, the Leeds Competition, the Geneva Competition and many others that are less famous.
Perhaps you have also noticed how we hear more Asian opera singers at the Met and more Asian string players in orchestras around the world.
More Asians also seem to be studying and performing in lower and higher educational institutions and organizations.
And perhaps you, like The Ear, have wondered what is behind that trend?
Here is a terrific first-person story — with research, details, photos and performance videos – written by a Canadian musician of Japanese descent that appeared on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
But The Ear thinks it could easily apply to the United States, Australia and other non-Asian places and cultures.
Here is a link:
Do you think this story applies to Asians and Asian-Americans in the U.S.?
If you yourself are an Asian or Asian-American musician or music student, do the observations and analysis in the story ring true to you own experience?
Do you have other thoughts to add about the cultural reasons for the surge of Western classical music in Asia and among Asians elsewhere?
Are there important lessons here for non-Asian people and places?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #World-famous, #YouTubevideo, analysis, apply, approval, Arthur Rubinstein, Arts, Artur Rubinstein, Asia, Asian American, Asians, audience, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Belgium, blog, Book, Bruce Liu, Canada, Canadian, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Chen, Child, China, Chinese, Chopin, Chopin International Piano Competition, choral music, Classical music, Competition, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, culture, descent, details, discipline, dominate, domination, Early music, Education, experience, Facebook, famous, Focus, Geneva, heritage, institution, Israel, Japan, Japanese, Kevin Chen, Korea, Korean, Lang Lang, Leeds, Leeds Competition, lessons, Lim, Liu, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Margaret Cho, May, Metropolitan Opera, model minority, month, Montreal, Mozart, Music, music student, observation, opera, Orchestra, organization, Ottawa, Overture Center, Pacific Islander, Parent, photo, Pianist, Piano, population, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth of Belgium, reason, research, respect, Rubinstein, Seong-Jin Cho, share, singer, Sonata, South Korea, South Korean, stereotype, string player, Student, success, surge, Switzerland, symphony, tag, Tchaikovsky, Tel Aviv, The Ear, the Met, think, thought, Timothy Chooi, Toronto, true, U.S., University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, video, Viola, Violin, violinist, vocal music, Western, win, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, yourself, YouTube, Yuja Wang, Yunchan Lim
A changing Earth demands changing music to mark Earth Day
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
Today — Saturday, April 22 — is Earth Day 2023.
It is the 53rd annual celebration of the environment that was started on this date in 1970 by the former Wisconsin governor and U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson (below bottom).
As the website “Self-Help Africa” says: “Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to highlight environmental issues across the planet and demonstrate support for environmental protection.
“First held in the United States on April 22, 1970, it has since become THE BIGGEST SECULAR CELEBRATION OBSERVATION DAY IN THE WORLD, and an opportunity to highlight the issues and environmental challenges affecting our world.”
Here is the official Earth Day website: https://www.earthday.org/
Music has always been part of how the world celebrates the event.
But lately the trend in music seems to parallel the trends in the global warming crisis and species extinctions.
So, for example, in British composer Debbie Wiseman’s “Carnival of the Endangered Animals” in 2022 is meant to parallel but update the famous “Carnival of the Animals” by Camille Saint-Saëns.
Other titles of works by contemporary composers that reflect current realities about the natural world are: “The Lost Birds” by American composer Christopher Tin (below top); “Mass for the Endangered” by American composer Sarah Kirkland Snider (below middle); “The Rising Sea” Symphony by British composer Kieran Brunt; and “Glaciers in Extinction” by Italian flutist and composer Roberto Fabbriciani (below bottom).
You can hear these and other contemporary works plus a more familiar and traditional musical celebration of the Earth and nature by Beethoven. Just go this site for Colorado Public Radio:
Do you have a favorite among the new pieces?
Is there other music you think is appropriate to celebrate Earth Day and the natural world as they exist today?
What composers and pieces do you suggest listening to?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #HealthCrisis, #YouTubevideo, Africa, America, American, animals, Arts, Asia, asian, audience, birds, blog, Britain, Brunt, Camille Saint-Saëns, Carnival, Carnival of the Animals, celebrate, celebration, Cello, Chamber music, change, changing, China, Chinese, choral music, Christopher Tin, Classical music, climate change, Colorado, Colorado Public Radio, composer, Concert, contemporary composers, contemporary music, CPR, crisis, Debbie Wiseman, Earth, Earth Day, endangered, England, environment, environmental, event, extinction, Facebook, favorite, flute, flutist, France, French, Gaylord Nelson, glacier, global warming, governor, habitat, hear, issue, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Kieran Brunt, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, mass, Music, National Public Radio, natural world, nature, NPR, opera, Orchestra, Piano, piece, planet, protection, public radio, Radio, realities, reality, rising sea level, Roberto Fabbriciani, Sarah Kirkland Snider, sea, secular, Self-Help Africa, senator, share, species, support, symphony, tag, The Ear, traditional, U.K., U.S., UK, United States, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, YouTube
Meet Kevin Chen, who just won the 17th Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition
2 Comments
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 Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition is one of the most prestigious keyboard competitions in the world.
It ranks right up there with the Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Leeds and Van Cliburn competitions.
It takes place every three years in Tel Aviv, Israel. And this year, it started on March 14 and wrapped up just a week ago, on April 1.
This was the 17th Rubinstein Competition.
And it was won by an 18-year-old Chinese-Canadian pianist from Calgary.
He is Kevin Chen (below). He also composes and seems well on his way to a major career, especially since last year he also won the Geneva piano competition and was the youngest winner ever of the Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Budapest.
Winning the Rubinstein has launched many major career from Emanuel Ax, the first winner in 1974, to Daniil Trifnov in 2011.
At the bottom is a YouTube video with a recital by Chen along with a recital by the Georgian pianist who placed second: Giorgi Gigashvili. Chen’s performance of Chopin’s 12 Etudes, Op. 10, for example, begins at 2 hours, 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
You can also find a YouTube video of Chen’s prize-winning performance of Mozart’s last piano concerto, No. 27 in B-flat major, K. 595; and a wonderful recital from the Geneva competition. And more solo videos from the Rubinstein are sure to be posted soon.
Here is a fine story, with lots of personal details, from Chen’s hometown newspaper:
https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/kevin-chen-piano-arthur-rubinstein-competition
Here is a story about all the winners:
Israel’s Rubinstein Piano Competition Announces 2023 Winners
And for much more background about the competition’s history, the jury members for this year’s contestants, the past winners, repertoire requirements, mandatory stages, rules and so forth, go to:
https://arims.org.il/competition-2023-homepage/jury-2023/
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #InternationalTchaikovskyCompetition, #TchaikovskyInternationalCompetition, #YouTubevideo, Arthur Rubinstein, Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition, Arts, Asia, asian, audience, Bartok, Béla Bartók, Beethoven, blog, Budapest, Canada, Canadian, Chamber music, China, Chinese, Chopin, Chopin International Competition, Classical music, composer, Concert, concerto, Concours de Genève, etude, Facebook, Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Liszt, Franz Liszt Competition, Geneva, Georgia, Gold medal, Haydn, History, hometown, Hungary, Israel, Jacob Stockinger, jury, Keyboard, keyboard music, Leeds, Leeds Competition, link, Liszt, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, mandatory, Mozart, Music, Newspaper, Orchestra, Piano, Piano concerto, prestigious, recital, repertoire, Republic of Georgia, rules, share, solo, Sonata, Suisse, Switzerland, tag, Tchaik, Tchaikovsky, teenager, Tel Aviv, The Violin Channel, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, winner, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, world, YouTube
Today is World Piano Day. Deutsche Grammophon has a free online celebration
6 Comments
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
Today — Wednesday March 29, 2023 — is World Piano Day.
That is because today is the 88th day of the year — and most pianos these days have 88 keys, with the exception of the Austrian high-end maker Bösendorfer, which also makes models with 91 and 97 keys.
Deutsche Grammophon is the world’s oldest recording label and has signed many great pianists in the past and continues to do so today, including two of the Ear’s young favorites: South Korean pianist and 2015 Chopin Competition gold medalist Seong-Jin Cho (below top) and Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olaffsson (below bottom).
Here’s the press release:
“Deutsche Grammophon is set to mark World Piano Day on 29 March 2023 with its fourth international festival of pianism.
“Available to enjoy without charge on DG’s streaming service STAGE+ and the label’s YouTube channel, the festival will turn the spotlight on artists including Joep Beving, Seong-Jin Cho, Brian Eno and Roger Eno, Jan Lisiecki, Hélène Grimaud, Lucas and Arthur Jussen, Evgeny Kissin, Lang Lang, Bruce Liu, Fabian Müller, Víkingur Ólafsson, Max Richter, Grigory Sokolov and Daniil Trifonov.
“Together they will offer a feast of music ranging from the keyboard works of J.S. Bach and Handel to contemporary compositions.
“Music-lovers will be able to tune in free of charge for 30 days by using promo code WORLDPIANODAY. Full details can be found at https://worldpianoday.com.”
Piano students and fans will love the many close-ups and hand shots.
You can also sample the 1 hour, 21 minute-digital celebration on YouTube via this link (be sure to click of HEAR MORE to see the pianist, the piece and the timing) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H5ZRqfDZ7Y.
You can hear one of The Ear’s favorite young pianists, pieces and recordings — a new release — at the bottom.
Who is your favorite established pianist?
Who is your favorite young pianist?
What are your favorite piano pieces?
Do you have a favorite piano recording, old or new, to recommend?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BösendorferPiano, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BruceLiu, #BuckyBadger, #ChopinInternationalPianoCompetition, #DaniilTrifonov, #FacebookPost, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #KoreanMusician, #LangLang, #Seong-JinCho, #TheEar, #VikingurOlaffsson, #WilhelmKempff, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, 88, Arts, Asia, asian, audience, Austria, Austrian, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, blog, Bosendorfer, Brian Eno, Bruce Liu, Canada, Canadian, celebration, Chamber music, China, Chinese, Chopin, Chopin International Piano Competition, Classical music, composer, Concert, concerto, contemporary, contemporary composers, Daniil Trifonov, Deutsche Grammophon, DGG, digital, Early music, Evgeny Kissin, Facebook, favorite, Gold medal, Grigory Sokolov, Grimaud, Handel, hear, Helene Grimaud, Jacob Stockinger, Jan Lisiecki, Japan, Japanese, Johann Sebastian Bach, Kempff, key, Korea, Lang Lang, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, march, Max Richter, month, Mozart, Music, online, Orchestra, Piano, piece, recital, recommend, recording, Seong-Jin Cho, share, solo, Sonata, South Korea, South Korean, The Ear, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, video, Vikingur Olaffsson, Wilhelm Kempff, winner, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, World Piano Day, year, young, YouTube
Here are the nominees, winners and trends of the 2023 classical music Grammys
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
Chances are good you have already heard about Beyoncé and Lizzo, about Bonnie Raitt and Harry Styles, and how they won their Grammy awards last Sunday night.
But it is not by chance that you have to scroll way, way, way down the list of Grammy nominees and winners to find the ones for classical music. (It comes a third from the end, just before the list of short-form and long-form videos.)
No doubt it is in part a question of respect. Classical is not even listed with other “Musical Genres” on the Grammys’ home website while you will find: Pop; Rock; R&B; Country; Rap; Latin; Global; Gospel and Contemporary Christian; New Age; Jazz; and Alternative.
It seems like the most important thing to say about classical music is that pop star Beyoncé (below above) surpassed the record for individual Grammys previously held for decades by the late Hungarian-born conductor Sir George Solti (below bottom). He had won 31, she has won 32. But it seems like an unfair comparison since The Ear suspects many more categories are open to Beyoncé and her pop music than were open to Solti and classical music.
But even more than respect, it is a question of popularity and money.
We mustn’t forget that the Grammys are above all an industry event designed to reward those who make the commercial recording industry flourish.
Still, there are trends to take note of.
You’ll notice that quite a few of the nominees and winners have performed had their music performed in Madison. They include composers Caroline Shaw and Kevin Puts; the Imani Winds and Valerie Coleman; the Attacca Quartet; singer Will Liverman; Third Coast Percussion; Hilary Hahn; and producer Judith Sherman (below, in 2016)), who has overseen recent recordings by the UW-Madison’s Pro Arte Quartet and won many such Grammys.
Also, just as in Madison this has also been a big year for performers and composers of color — Black, Indigenous, Latin and Asian — as well as women composers and performers. Florence Price, Valerie Coleman and Jessie Montgomery (below and in the YouTube video at the end of her composition “Strum”), who is now composer-in-residence at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and was just named Composer of the Year by Musical America; and Valerie Coleman.
Local presenters and performers can be proud of reflecting the same priorities. They include: the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music; the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO); the Madison Symphony Orchestra; the Madison Opera; the Wisconsin Union Theater; the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra; the Willy Street Chamber Players; the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society; Edgewood College; and Wisconsin Public Radio and WORT-FM among others.
See for yourself which ones you caught and which ones you missed.
Here is a list of the classical music winners of the 65th annual Grammy awards. It is provided by the insightful Australian arts and culture journal Limelight Magazine:
The 2023 Grammy Awards: Classical winners announced
And here is the complete list of the Grammy nominees along with the winners, so you can compare them all, find out details and judge for yourself. The Ear thinks many of the nominees are often just as worthwhile to check out and listen to as the winners:
https://www.grammy.com/awards/65th-annual-grammy-awards-2022
What do you think of the Grammy nominees and winners?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #African-AmericanMusic, #BachDancingandDynamiteSociety, #BlogPost, #ChristianMusic, #ClassicalRecording, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FlorencePrice, #GeorgeSolti, #GospelMusic, #HarryStyles, #Hip-hopmusic, #JessieMontgomery, #KevinPuts, #LimelightMagazine, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicalGenre, #PeopleofColor, #TheEar, #TheGrammys, #TheUW-Madison, #WillyStreetChamberPlayers, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WorldMusic, #WORT-FM89.9, #YouTubevideo, 2023, Adele, African American, alternative, Arts, Asia, asian, audience, Australia, Bach, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Baroque, BDDS, Beethoven, Beyonce, BIPOC, black, blog, blues, Bonnie Raitt, Caroline Shaw, Cello, Chamber music, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, China, Chinese, choral music, Christian, Classical music, composer, Concert, concerto, country, culture, Early music, Edgewood College, Facebook, Florence Price, genre, George Solti, global, gospel, gospel music, Grammys, Harry Styles, Hillary Hahn, hip-hop, Hispanic, Imani Winds, Indigenous, industry, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, Jessie Montgomery, Johann Sebastian Bach, Judith Sherman, Kevin Puts, Latin, Limelight, Limelight magazine, link, listen, Lizzo, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony, Madison Symphony Orchestra, magazine, Mead Witter School of Music, money, Mozart, Music, Musical America, New Age, nominee, opera, Orchestra, Overture Center, people of color, Piano, pop, popularity, Pro Arte Quartet, R&B, rap, recording, respect, Rock, share, Sonata, String quartet, symphony, tag, The Ear, trend, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, VALERIE COLEMAN, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Website, Willy Street Chamber Players, winner, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, World music, WORT, WORT-FM 89.9, WPR, WYSO, YouTube
See and hear The Cliburn piano competition for FREE via streaming. It runs through June 18
5 Comments
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 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition got under way this past Thursday, June 2, and will run through Saturday, June 18, when the winners will be announced.
2022 marks the 60th anniversary year of the competition, which the American pianist Van Cliburn founded at Texas Christian University after his 1958 Cold War victory in the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow,.
You can follow it all online. The complete impressive competition is being broadcast on medici.tv and on YouTube.
But The Ear has used the competition’s own streaming website and finds the videos, sound quality, contestant biographies and background information very professional and helpful. So far, it has been a thoroughly satisfying, enjoyable and engaging experience. I highly recommendation it for students, amateur pianists and all music lovers.
For The Ear, one of the most impressive performances from yesterday was given by the 21-year-old Chinese pianist Yangrui Cai (below), heard in the YouTube video at the bottom. Such beautiful and subtly virtuosic but shaded Liszt and Brahms is not often heard.
Here is a link to the home page (below): https://cliburn.org
From there you can hear live performances, past performances and many facts , including the complete schedule, about The Cliburn, as it is now called. All times are Central Daylight.
Starting at 10 a.m. today — Saturday, June 4 — will see the final 10 performances (3 in the morning and night, four in the afternoon) of the preliminary round, which has featured 30 pianists in 40-minute solo recitals. Except for a specially commissioned “Fanfare Toccata” by Sir Stephen Hough, who is also on the jury, the choice of programs is entirely up to the individual contestants.
The road to the Cliburn is not easy.
It started with 388 applicants. That was trimmed down to 72 by preliminary judges. Out of 72, 30 were chosen by jurors to compete.
After today, it will be on to the quarter-finals with 18 contestants in 40-minute recitals with no repetition from the preliminary round; then the semi-final round with 12 contestants in a combination of 60-minute solo recital along with a Mozart piano concerto accompanied by the Fort Worth Symphony conducted by the Nicholas McGegan, who is famous for his interpretations of Baroque and Classical era music; and the final concerto round with each contestant play two concertos with Fort Worth Symphony under famed conductor Marin Alsop, who is also the head juror.
The Ear will be posting his own thoughts as he experiences the extensive competition, maybe after each round or even each day.
But The Ear also wants to hear from you.
Do you have thoughts about the various contestants?
Who are your favorites and why?
Thoughts about the programs and repertoire being played?
Other thoughts about the competition in general?
The Ear Wants to hear.
Tags: #AmateurMusician, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CentralDaylightTime, #ChinesePianist, #ClassicalMusician, #ColdWar, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FortWorthSymphony, #FranzLiszt, #FranzSchubert, #IgorStravinsky, #InGeneral, #JacobStockinger, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #LiveStreaming, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MarinAlsop, #MoscowConservatory, #MusicalInterpretation, #NicholasMcGegan, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PianoMusic, #PianoStudent, #RobertSchumann, #Semi-finals, #SergeiProkofiev, #SoloRecital, #SouthKorea, #SouthKorean, #StephenHough, #TexasChristianUniversity, #TheCliburn, #TheEar, #TheInternet, #TheU.S., #UnitedStates, #VanCliburn, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, accompaniment, accompany, afternoon, amateur, America, American, anniversary, announce, Arts, Asia, asian, audience, Bach, background, Baroque, beautiful, Beethoven, Belarus, Belarusian, biography, blog, Brahms, Central Daylight Time, China, Chinese, Christian, Classical, Classical music, classicalmusic, Cold War, commission, Competition, composer, Concert, concerto, contest, Dallas, Europe, European, experience, Facebook, Facebook post, fact, fame, Fanfare, final, Fort Worth, Fort Worth Symphony, found, founded, Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, general, great, Handel, hear, home ]poage, idea, Igor Stravinsky, impressive, in general, individual, information, Internet, interpretation, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Japan, Japanese, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, juror, jury, Korea, Korean, like, link, Liszt, live, lover, Ludwig van Beethoven, Marin Alsop, medici.tv, minute, morning, Moscow, Mozart, Music, Nicholas McGegan, night, online, Orchestra, past, performance, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, piano music, post, professional, program, programming, Prokofiev, quality, quarter-finals, recital, repertoire, repertory, Robert Schumann, Russia, Russian, satisfying, Saturday, schedule, Schubert, Schumann, Sergei Prokofiev, shade, share, solo recital, Sonata, Sound, South Korea, South Korean, start, Stephen Hough, Stravinsky, stream, streaming, Student, subtle, symphony, tag, Tchaikovsky, TCU, Texas, Texas Christian University, The Cliburn, The Ear, thought, Thursday, time, toccata, today, U.S., Ukraine, Ukrainian, United States, university, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, victory, video, virtuosic, virtuosity, web, winner, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, yesterday, you, YouTube
Too bad the Wisconsin Union Theater didn’t book a great pianist for next season
9 Comments
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
“We are living in a Golden Age of pianists,” famed concert pianist, Juilliard teacher and frequent Madison performer Emanuel Ax (below) has said.
He should know. But you would never guess that from the recently announced next season at the Wisconsin Union Theater (below).
The WUT has not booked a solo pianist for the 2022-23 season.
Here is a link to the lineup for the next season:
https://union.wisc.edu/visit/wisconsin-union-theater/seasonevents/
Is The Ear the only one who has noticed and is disappointed?
Who else feels bad about it?
After all, this is the same presenting organization that brought to Madison such legendary pianists as Sergei Rachmaninoff, Ignaz Jan Paderewski, Percy Grainger, Arthur Rubinstein, Vladimir Horowitz, Dame Myra Hess, Guiomar Novaes, Egon Petri, Robert Casadesus, William Kapell, Claudio Arrau, Alexander Brailowsky, Gary Graffman, Glenn Gould, Rosalyn Tureck, Byron Janis, Misha Dichter, Peter Serkin, André Watts, Lili Kraus and Garrick Ohlsson
It is the same hall (below) in which The Ear has heard Rudolf Serkin, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Angela Hewitt, Alfred Brendel, Murray Perahia, Valentina Lisitsa, Andras Schiff, Joyce Yang, Yefim Bronfman, Jeremy Denk, Ingrid Fliter, Richard Goode, Leon Fleisher, Simone Dinnerstein, Wu Han and so many other great and memorable names including, of course, Emanuel Ax.
What a history!
As you can see and as The Ear likes to say, the Wisconsin Union Theater is “The Carnegie Hall of Madison.” For over 100 years, it is where the great ones play.
One irony is that many of those former bookings of pianists took place when the University of Wisconsin School of Music had many more pianists on the faculty and provided a major alternative venue for piano recitals.
Another irony is that so many young people take piano lessons (below) and are apt to want to attend, probably with their parents, to hear a live professional concert piano recital. You would think the WUT would also see the advantages of having such community outreach links to the public and to music education, especially since the WUT has hosted Open Piano Day for the public. (See the YouTube video of a Channel 3000 story in February 2020 at the bottom.)
From what The Ear reads, there are lots of up-and-coming pianists, many affordable names of various winners of national and international competitions. They should be affordable as well as worthy of being introduced to the Madison public.
But that seems a mission now largely left to the Salon Piano Series.
Plus, so many of the new pianists are young Asians who have never appeared here, which should be another draw for the socially responsible and diversity-minded WUT.
But that is another story for another day.
What do you think of the WUT not presenting a solo pianist next season?
Maybe there will be a pianist booked for the 2023-24 season.
What pianists would you like see booked by the WUT student programming committee?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AlexanderBrailowsky, #AlfredBrendel, #AndrasSchiff, #AndréWatts, #AngelaHewitt, #ArthurRubinstein, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ByronJanis, #CarnegieHall, #Channel3000, #CommunityOutreach, #ConcertHall, #ConcertPianist, #EgonPetri, #EmanuelAx, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GarrickOhlsson, #GaryGraffman, #GlennGould, #GoldenAge, #GuiomarNovaes, #IgnazJanPaderewski, #IngridFliter, #JacobStockinger, #JeremyDenk, #JoyceYang, #JuilliardSchool, #LatinAmericanmusic, #LeonFleisher, #LiliKraus, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MishaDichter, #MurrayPerahia, #MusicalOrganization, #Musicfaculty, #MyraHess, #OpenPianoDay, #PercyGrainger, #PeterSerkin, #PIanoRecital, #PIanoTeacher, #RichardGoode, #RobertCasadesus, #RosalynTureck, #RudolfSerkin, #SalonPIanoSeries, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #ShannonHall, #SimoneDinnerstein, #TheEar, #TheUW, #TheUW-Madison, #TooBad, #Up-and-Coming, #ValentinaLisitsa, #VladimirAskenazy, #VladimirHorowitz, #WilliamKapell, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WuHan, #YefimBronfman, #YouTubevideo, advantage, affordable, Alexander Brailowsky, Alfred Brendel, alternative, András Schiff, André Watts, Angela Hewitt, announce, appear, Arrau, Arthur Rubinstein, Arts, Ashkenazy, Asia, asian, audience, bad, Baroque, Beethoven, blog, Blog post, Book, Brendel, Byron Janis, Carnegie Hall, Chamber music, Channel 3000, China, Chinese, Classical music, Claudio Arrau, committee, community, Competition, composer, Concert, concert hall, concert pianist, diversity, Education, Egon Petri, Emanuel Ax, Facebook, Facebook post, faculty, fame, famed, famous, female, Garrick Ohlsson, Gary Graffman, Glenn Gould, Golden Age, great, guess, Guiomar Novaes, hall, he, hear, her, here, History, Horowitz, Ingrid Fliter, international, irony, Jacob Stockinger, Japan, Japanese, Jeremy Denk, Joyce Yang, Juilliard, know, Korea, Korean, legendary, Leon Fleisher, Lili Kraus, lineup, link, live, living, Madison, male, Mead Witter School of Music, memorable, men, Misha Dichter, mission, Murray Perahia, Music, music student, Myra Hess, name, national, new, Open Piano Day, organization, outreach, Paderewski, Parent, Percy Grainger, performer, Peter Serkin, Pianist, Piano, piano recital, piano student, piano teacher, play, post, posting, presenter, professional, program, programming, public, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, read, recent, recital, Richard Goode, Robert Casadesus, Rosalyn Tureck, Rubinstein, Rudolf Serkin, Salon Piano Series, say, Season, see, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, Shannon Hall, share, Simone Dinnerstein, socially responsible, solo, Sonata, South Korea, South Korean, Student, tag, Taiwan, Taiwanese, Teacher, Television, The Ear, think, too bad, TV, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Valentina Lisitsa, venue, video, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Vladimir Horowitz, who, William Kapell, winner, WISC-TV, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Union Theater, women, worth, worthy, Wu Han, WUT, year, Yefim Bronfman, you, young, YouTube
The famed International Tchaikovsky Competition has been expelled from the World Federation of International Music Competitions
9 Comments
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
One of the granddaddies of all international music competitions — probably the best known and most prestigious — has been disowned.
The International Tchaikovsky Competition — the one that catapulted the young American pianist and first winner Van Cliburn (below, during the competition) to worldwide fame during the height of the Cold War, for which he received the only ticker tape parade in New York City ever given to a musician — has been expelled from the World Federation of International Music Competitions, which was founded in 1957 and represents 110 music competitions and programs to help young musicians build a career.
The move comes in response to recent events in Ukraine — including alleged Russian war crimes during its brutal, deadly and unprovoked invasion.
The famed Tchaikovsky Competition — which started in 1958 and is now for pianists, violinists, cellists, vocalists as well as woodwind and brass players — is held in Moscow and St. Petersburg and is financed and organized by the Russian government. It has launched the careers on many great musicians.
It is co-chaired by the discredited Russian conductor Valery Gergiev (below right, in 2014), a close friend and avid supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin (below left) and of the conflict in Ukraine.
The expulsion came about because the Tchaikovsky Competition refused to condemn the Russian invasion, as the federation requested.
Here is a link to the story that was published on the website Classical Music, an online publication of the BBC Music Magazine. It contains background on both the competition and the current state of affairs regarding Russian musicians and the Russian conflict in Ukraine. It has a lot of noteworthy links:
And here is the response from the organizers of the Russian competition, which takes place every four years. The 16th competition was held in 2019, and the 17th is still scheduled for 2023. (The announcement of the 2019 piano winners — by the Russian former piano winner Denis Matsuev, who has been boycotted because of Ukraine — is in the YouTube-Medici.TV video at the bottom.)
The response — which accuses the federation of “persecuting” Russian musicians and promises that it will be held as usual and remain open to contestants worldwide — is posted on the competition’s website:
https://tchaikovskycompetition.com/en/news/415.htm
It makes one wonder what the effects on the next Tchaikovsky competition will be.
Will potential jurors outside Russia boycott the competition?
Will non-Russian contestants — with the exception perhaps on Chinese and Belarusian performers — avoid participating?
And what will be the effect on the inaugural Rachmaninoff Competition for pianists, composers and conductors that is scheduled to take place this June in Moscow?
What do you think?
Is it the right call by the international federation?
Or the wrong call?
Why do you think so?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AnnaNetrebko, #ArmedConflict, #BBCMusicMagazine, #BestKnown, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrassMusic, #ChineseMusicians, #ColdWar, #DaniilTrifonov, #DenisMatsuev, #DublinIreland, #DublinPianoCompetition, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GidonKremer, #InternationalTchaikovskyCompetition, #JacobStockinger, #NewYorkCity, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PianoConcerto, #RussianFederation, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #StringMusic, #TheEar, #UniversalMusic, #ValeryGergiev, #VanCliburn, #VictoriaMullova, #ViolinConcerto, #VladimirAshkenazy, #VladimirPutin, #VocalMusic, #WarCime, #WoodwindMusic, #WorldFederationofInternationalMusicCompeititions, #YouTubevideo, accuse, Anna Netrebko, announcement, armed conflict, Arts, audience, authoritarian, background, BBC, BBC Music Magazine, Belarus, Belarusian, best-known, blog, Blog post, blog posting, boycott, brass, brutal, build, career, cellist, Cello, China, Chinese, Classical music, classicalmusic, close, Cold War, composer, Concert, concerto, condemn, conductor, conflict, contestant, Daniil Trifonov, deadly, deffect, democracy, Democratic, Denis Matsuev, discredited, Dublin, Dublin Piano Competition, exception, expel, expulsion, Facebook, fame, federation, founded, friend, funance, Gidon Kremer, government, grandaddy, great, hear, International Tchai, International Tchaikovsky Competition, invasion, Jacob Stockinger, June, juror, jury, launch, link, medici.tv, Moscow, move, Music, Musician, New York City, next, now, online, Orchestra, parade, participate, persecute, pianists, Piano, Piano concerto, President, prize, program, publication, publish, Putin, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninoff Competition, Rachmaninov, represent, response, right, Russia, Russian, Russian Federation, schedule, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, share, sing, singer, Singing, St. Petersburg, story, string music, supporter, symphony, tag, Tchaikovsky, The Ear, think, Ukraine, Ukrainian, United States, Universal Music, Valery Gergiev, Victoria Mullova, video, Violin, Violin concerto, violin music, violinist, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Vladimir Putin, vocal music, war, war crime, Website, why, win, winner, Wisconsin, wonder, woodwind, world, World Federation of International Music Competitions, worldwide, wrong, year, young, YouTube
Check out the 2022 classical music Grammys for trends and suggested listening
4 Comments
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
No doubt you have already heard about the 64th annual Grammy Awards, which were awarded last Sunday night.
But chances are you haven’t heard much about the classical music Grammys.
That’s just not where the money and publicity are for major record companies and for the music industry in general, compared to other, much more profitable genres such as hip-hop, rock and pop.
But the classical Grammy nominations and winners can be a good source about what composers, performers and music you might want to check out via streaming or by buying a CD.
You can also get a good idea of trends in classical music.
Contemporary or new music is big again this year, dominating the old standard classics.
Just like local, regional, national and international performers, both individuals and groups, the Grammys show an emphasis on female composers and performers, and a similar emphasis on rediscovering composers and performers of color from both the past and the present.
You might also notice that the New Orleans-born, Juilliard-trained jazz pianist and singer Jon Batiste (below) — who plays on CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and directs the house band Stay Human and who seems a one-man Mardi Gras — was nominated for a record 11 Grammys and won five in other categories, seems to be the new Wynton Marsalis. Like Marsalis, with whom Batiste worked, Batiste seems perfectly at home in classical music as well as jazz, soul, blues and pop. And his original classical work Movement 11 was nominated for a Grammy this year.
Social activism, in short, has finally brought diversity and inclusion into the Grammys in a way that seems permanent.
Below are the nominations and winners of the 2022 classical music Grammys. Winners are boldfaced. I have also offered a few examples of those musicians who have performed in Madison and for what venue, although there are many more connections than indicated.
If you want to see the nominations and winners in other categories, here is a link:
https://www.npr.org/2022/04/03/1090342877/2022-grammys-full-list-winners-nominees
75. Best Engineered Album, Classical
- Archetypes — Jonathan Lackey, Bill Maylone and Dan Nichols, engineers; Bill Maylone, mastering engineer (Sérgio Assad, Clarice Assad and Third Coast Percussion)
- Beethoven: Cello Sonatas – Hope Amid Tears — Richard King, engineer (Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax)
- Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 — Mark Donahue, engineer; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck, Mendelssohn Choir Of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
- Chanticleer Sings Christmas — Leslie Ann Jones, engineer (Chanticleer)
- Mahler: Symphony No. 8, ‘Symphony Of A Thousand’ — Alexander Lipay and Dmitriy Lipay, engineers; Alexander Lipay and Dmitriy Lipay, mastering engineers (Gustavo Dudamel, Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, Luke McEndarfer, Robert Istad, Grant Gershon, Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, National Children’s Chorus, Pacific Chorale and Los Angeles Philharmonic)
76. Producer Of The Year, Classical
- Blanton Alspaugh
- Steven Epstein
- David Frost
- Elaine Martone
- Judith Sherman (below, who also recorded the UW-Madison Pro Arte Quartet’s centennial commissions)
CLASSICAL
77. Best Orchestral Performance
- “Adams: My Father Knew Charles Ives; Harmonielehre” — Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor (Nashville Symphony Orchestra)
- “Beethoven: Symphony No. 9” — Manfred Honeck, conductor (Mendelssohn Choir Of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
- “Muhly: Throughline” — Nico Muhly, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)
- “Florence Price: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3″ — Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Philadelphia Orchestra (below)
- “Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra; Scriabin: The Poem Of Ecstasy” — Thomas Dausgaard, conductor (Seattle Symphony Orchestra)
78. Best Opera Recording
- “Bartók: Bluebeard’s Castle” — Susanna Mälkki, conductor; Mika Kares and Szilvia Vörös; Robert Suff, producer (Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra)
- “Glass: Akhnaten” — Karen Kamensek, conductor; J’Nai Bridges, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Zachary James and Dísella Lárusdóttir; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
- “Janáček: Cunning Little Vixen” — Simon Rattle, conductor; Sophia Burgos, Lucy Crowe, Gerald Finley, Peter Hoare, Anna Lapkovskaja, Paulina Malefane, Jan Martinik & Hanno Müller-Brachmann; Andrew Cornall, producer (London Symphony Orchestra; London Symphony Chorus and LSO Discovery Voices)
- “Little: Soldier Songs” — Corrado Rovaris, conductor; Johnathan McCullough; James Darrah and John Toia, producers (The Opera Philadelphia Orchestra)
- “Poulenc: Dialogues Des Carmélites” — Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Karen Cargill, Isabel Leonard, Karita Mattila, Erin Morley and Adrianne Pieczonka; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
79. Best Choral Performance
- “It’s A Long Way” — Matthew Guard, conductor (Jonas Budris, Carrie Cheron, Fiona Gillespie, Nathan Hodgson, Helen Karloski, Enrico Lagasca, Megan Roth, Alissa Ruth Suver and Dana Whiteside; Skylark Vocal Ensemble)
- “Mahler: Symphony No. 8, ‘Symphony Of A Thousand'” — Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Grant Gershon, Robert Istad, Fernando Malvar-Ruiz and Luke McEndarfer, chorus masters (Leah Crocetto, Mihoko Fujimura, Ryan McKinny, Erin Morley, Tamara Mumford, Simon O’Neill, Morris Robinson and Tamara Wilson; Los Angeles Philharmonic; Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, National Children’s Chorus and Pacific Chorale)
- “Rising w/The Crossing” — Donald Nally, conductor (International Contemporary Ensemble and Quicksilver; The Crossing)
- “Schnittke: Choir Concerto; Three Sacred Hymns; Pärt: Seven Magnificat-Antiphons” — Kaspars Putniņš, conductor; Heli Jürgenson, chorus master (Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir)
- “Sheehan: Liturgy Of Saint John Chrysostom” — Benedict Sheehan, conductor (Michael Hawes, Timothy Parsons and Jason Thoms; The Saint Tikhon Choir)
- “The Singing Guitar” — Craig Hella Johnson, conductor (Estelí Gomez; Austin Guitar Quartet, Douglas Harvey, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and Texas Guitar Quartet; Conspirare)
80. Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
- “Adams, John Luther: Lines Made By Walking” — JACK Quartet
- “Akiho: Seven Pillars” — Sandbox Percussion
- “Archetypes” —Sérgio Assad, Clarice Assad and Third Coast Percussion
- “Beethoven: Cello Sonatas – Hope Amid Tears” — Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax (who have frequently performed individually and together at the Wisconsin Union Theater)
- “Bruits” — Imani Winds
81. Best Classical Instrumental Solo
- “Alone Together” — Jennifer Koh (below, who has performed with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra)
- “An American Mosaic” — Simone Dinnerstein
- “Bach: Solo Violin Sonatas and Partitas” — Augustin Hadelich (a favorite of the Madison Symphony Orchestra)
- “Beethoven and Brahms: Violin Concertos” — Gil Shaham; Eric Jacobsen, conductor (The Knights)
- “Mak Bach” — Mak Grgić
- “Of Power” — Curtis Stewart
82. Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
- Confessions — Laura Strickling; Joy Schreier, pianist
- Dreams Of A New Day – Songs By Black Composers — Will Liverman (who has sung with the Madison Opera); Paul Sánchez, pianist (below at in the YouTube video at the bottom)
- Mythologies — Sangeeta Kaur and Hila Plitmann (Virginie D’Avezac De Castera, Lili Haydn, Wouter Kellerman, Nadeem Majdalany, Eru Matsumoto and Emilio D. Miler)
- Schubert: Winterreise — Joyce DiDonato; Yannick Nézet-Séguin, pianist
- Unexpected Shadows — Jamie Barton; Jake Heggie, pianist (Matt Haimovitz)
83. Best Classical Compendium
- American Originals – A New World, A New Canon — AGAVE and Reginald L. Mobley; Geoffrey Silver, producer
- Berg: Violin Concerto; Seven Early Songs and Three Pieces For Orchestra — Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Jack Vad, producer
- Cerrone: The Arching Path — Timo Andres and Ian Rosenbaum; Mike Tierney, producer
- Plays — Chick Corea; Chick Corea and Birnie Kirsh, producers
- Women Warriors – The Voices Of Change — Amy Andersson, conductor; Amy Andersson, Mark Mattson and Lolita Ritmanis, producers (below)
84. Best Contemporary Classical Composition
- “Akiho: Seven Pillars” — Andy Akiho, composer (Sandbox Percussion)
- “Andriessen: The Only One” — Louis Andriessen, composer (Esa-Pekka Salonen, Nora Fischer and Los Angeles Philharmonic)
- “Assad, Clarice and Sérgio, Connors, Dillon, Martin & Skidmore: Archetypes” — Clarice Assad, Sérgio Assad, Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin and David Skidmore, composers (Sérgio Assad, Clarice Assad and Third Coast Percussion)
- “Batiste: Movement 11′” — Jon Batiste, composer (Jon Batiste)
- “Shaw: Narrow Sea” — Caroline Shaw, composer (Dawn Upshaw, Gilbert Kalish and Sō Percussion)
Tags: #AlbanBerg, #AlexanderScriabin, #AlfredSchnittke, #AmericanSymphonyOrchestra, #ArtExhibition, #ArvoPärt, #AugustinHadelich, #BelaBartok, #BestPerformance, #BlackComposer, #BlackMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #Bluebeard'sCastle, #BluesMusic, #CarolineShaw, #CelloSonata, #CelloSuite, #ChamberChoir, #ChamberMusic, #CharlesIves, #ChickCorrea, #ChoralMusic, #ChristmasMusic, #ClassicalGuitar, #CompactDisc, #ComposersofColor, #ConcertHall, #ContemporaryComposer, #ContemporaryMusic, #CoronavirusPandemic, #CorradoRavaris, #COVID-19, #DavidFrost, #DialoguesoftheCarmelites, #EmanuelAx, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FemaleComposers, #FemaleMusicians, #FlorencePrice, #FrancisPoulenc, #FranzSchubert, #GasparCassado, #GilShaham, #GrammyAward, #GrammyAwards, #GrammyNominations, #GuitarMusic, #GustavMahler, #GustavoDudamel, #Hip-hopmusic, #HispanicMusic, #ImaniWinds, #J'NaiBridges, #JacobStockinger, #JakeHeggie, #JenniferKoh, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnAdams, #JonBatiste, #JoyceDiDonato, #JudithSherman, #LatinAmerican, #LeosJanacek, #LiveStreaming, #londonSymphonyOrchestra, #LosAngelesPhilharmonic, #LouisAndriessen, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #ManfredHoneck, #MardiGras, #MattHaimovitz, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MetropolitanOpera, #MichaelTilsonThomas, #NashvilleSymphony, #NashvilleTennessee, #NewOrleans, #NicoMuhly, #OfColor, #OperaMusic, #OrchestralMusic, #PacificChorale, #PercussionMusic, #PerformersofColor, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PhiladelphiaOrchestra, #PhilipGlass, #PianoAccompaniment, #PopMusic, #ProArteQuartet, #RacialJustice, #RichardStrauss, #RockMusic, #SaintJohn, #SandboxPercussion, #SanFranciscoSymphony, #SeattleSymphony, #SimoneDinnerstein, #SimonRattle, #SocialActivism, #SocialJustice, #SoulMusic, #SoundEngineer, #SouthKorea, #SouthKorean, #StayHuman, #StephenColbert, #StreamingService, #StringMusic, #SundayNight, #SusannaMalkki, #SymphonyofaThousand, #TexasGuitarQuartet, #TheEar, #TheGrammys, #TheKnights, #TheMet, #TheUW, #TheUW-Madison, #ThirdCoastPercussion, #ThomasDausgaard, #UniverstyofWisconsin, #ViolinMusic, #VocalMusic, #WillLivermore, #WindMusic, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WORT-FM89.9, #WyntonMarsalis, #YannickNezet-Seguin, #Yo-YoMa, #YouTubevideo, Activism, activity, African American, Akhnaten, Alban Berg, Alexander Scriabin, Alfred Schnittke, alone, American, annual, arrt, art exhibition, Arts, Arvo Part, asian, Asian American, audience, Augustin Hadelich, Bach, band, Baroque, Bartok, Batiste, Béla Bartók, Beethoven, Berg, best, BIPOC, black, black music, blog, Bluebeard, Bluebeard's Castle, blues, Book, Brahms, Brahms Violin Concerto, brown, buy, Canon, Caroline Shaw, category, CBS, CBS-TV, CD, Cello, chamber, Chamber choir, Chamber music, change, Chanticleer, Charles Ives, checm, Chick Correa, children, China, Chinese, Choir, choral, choral music, chorus, Christmas, Classical, Classical music, classics, collaboration, color, commission, Compact Disc, compendium, compose, composer, composer of color, Composition, Concert, concert hall, concerto, conductor, contemporary, coronavirus, coronavirus pandemic, Corrado Ravaris, covid, David Frost, day, dialogue, Dialogues of the Carmelites, Dinnerstein, diversity, dominate, Dreams, Dudamel, Early music, ecstasy, Emanuel Ax, emphasis, engineer, Estonia, examples, Facebook, female, Florence Price, Franz Schubert, gender, genre, Gil Shaham, Glass, Grammy, Grammy Award for Best Classical Compendium, group, guitar, guitar music, Gustav Mahler, Gustavo Dudamel, Hadelich, hip-hop, Hispanic, Home, hope, House, hymn, idea, Imani Winds, inclusion, indicate, individual, industry, international, Ives, J'Nai Bridges, Jacob Stockinger, Jake Heggie, Janacek, Jazz, Jennifer Koh, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Adams, Jon Batiste, Joyce DiDonato, Judith Sherman, Juilliard, Juilliard School, justice, Koh, Korean, LA, LateShowwithStephenColbert, Latin, Leos Janacek, like, link, liturgy, Livermore, local, London, London Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Louis Andriessen, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Magnificat, Mahler, Manfred Honeck, Mardi Gras, Marsalis, Matt Haimovitz, Mead Witter School of Music, Mednelssohn, Met, Metropolitan Opera, Michael Tilson Thomas, mosaic, movement, Mozart, MSO, MTT, Music, Nashville, Nashville Symphony, national, new, New Orleans, Nico Muhly, nomination, nominee, of color, old, one-man, opera, Orchestra, orchestral music, original, Overture Center, Pacific, Pacific Chorale, pandemic, part, partita, pasrt, percussion, performance, performer, performers of color, permanent, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Philadelphia, Philip Glass, Pianist, Piano, piano accompaniment, piece, pillar, Pitssburgh, poem, Poem of Ecstasy, pop, Poulenc, power, present, price, Pro Arte Quartet, producer, profit, profitable, project, publisher, Publishing, racial justice, Radio, recording, rediscover, regional, Richard Strauss, Rock, sacred, Saint John, San Francisco, San Francisco Symphony, Sandbox Percussion, Schnittke, School of Music, Schubert, Scriabin, sea, Seattle, Seattle Symphony, sex, share, Shaw, show, Simon Rattle, Simone Dinnerstein, sing, singer, Singing, social, social activism, social justice, soldier, solo, solo violin, Sonata, song, soul, source, South Korea, standard, Stay Human, Stephen Colbert, Strauss, streaming, string, string music, subscriber, Sunday night, Susanna Malkki, symphony, Symphony of a Thousand, tag, Tchaikovsky, tears, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Guitar Quartet, The Ear, The Knights, Third Coast Percussion, Thomas Dausgaard, together, trend, TV, United States, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW School of Music, UW-Madison, venue, video, Violin, Violin concerto, violinist, vixen, vocal music, voice, warrior, way, WCO, Will Livermore, wind music, winner, Winterreise, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, women, work, world, WORT-FM 89.9, WPR, Wynton Marsalis, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, year, Yo-Yo Ma, YouTube
As the semester ends, virtual concerts allow UW students to reach many more family members, friends and listeners. Here is how the public can connect to them
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
Starting tonight and over the next two weeks, as the spring semester at the UW-Madison comes to a close, there will be more than two dozen student recitals to listen to. (Below is the YouTube video for the concert this Thursday night, April 15, at 6:30 p.m. of the Marvin Rabin String Quartet that is comprised of graduate students.)
Often two or more concerts a day are scheduled, often at 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
That much is typical.
What is not typical during the pandemic is that technology will allow the recitals to be presented live-streamed and virtual.
The downside is that the students will not experience performing before a live audience.
But there is an upside.
Going virtual also means that the recitals will be available longer to family, friends and interested listeners here as well as around the country and — especially for international students — the world. (Below, in a photo by Bryce Richter for the UW-Madison, is the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall in the Hamel Music Center.)
It also means you can hear them when it is convenient for you and not at the actual scheduled times.
The Ear has heard his share of student recitals and often finds them to be exceptional events.
If you go to the Mead Witter School of Music’s website, you can see the concerts and the lineups.
You will see that there will be student recitals of vocal music, brass music, wind music, string music and piano music. There are solo recitals, chamber music and even a symphony orchestra concert. (Below, in a photo by Bryce Richter for the UW-Madison, is the Collins Recital Hall in the Hamel Music Center.)
There are too many details for each concert to list them all here individually.
But if you go to the Concerts and Events page on the music school’s outstanding website, you can hover the cursor over the event and then click on the event and get everything from the performers and programs to program notes, a performer biography and a photo with a link to the YouTube performance.
On the YouTube site, if you click on “See More” you will see more details and can even set up an alarm for when the concert starts.
Here is a link: https://www.music.wisc.edu/events/
Try it and see for yourself. Below is the YouTube link for pianist Mengwen Zhu, who performs his recital this Saturday, April 17, at 6 p.m.)
Happy listening!
Let us know what you think, especially if it is encouraging for the students.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BaroqueMusic, #BenjaminBritten, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrassMusic, #CarolineShaw, #CecileChaminade, #CelloMusic, #ChamberMusic, #Chinesecomposer, #ClarinetMusic, #ClassicalGuitar, #ClaudeDebussy, #CoronavirusPandemic, #DmitriShostakovich, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FluteMusic, #ForeignStudent, #FranzJosephHaydn, #GabrielFaure, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GeorgPhilippTelemann, #GraduateStudent, #GuitarMusic, #HamelMusicCenter, #JacobStockinger, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #KatoPerlman, #LeosJanacek, #LiveAudience, #LiveMusic, #LiveStreaming, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MarvinRabin, #MarvinRabinStringQuartet, #MauriceRavel, #MengwenZhu, #OboeMusic, #OnlineConcert, #PercussionMusic, #PerlmanQuartet, #PianoMusic, #ProgramNotes, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #StringMusic, #StringQuartet, #SymphonyOrchestra, #TheEar, #TheUW, #TromboneMusic, #TrumpetMusic, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UW-MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #ViolaMusic, #ViolinMusic, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #WindMusic, #WisconsinYouthSymphonyOrchestras, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, alarm, Arts, Asia, asian, audience, available, Bach, Baroque, Baroque music, Beethoven, Benjamin Britten, biography, blog, Brahms, brass music, Britten, Caroline Shaw, Cecile Chaminade, cellist, Cello, cello music, Chamber music, Chaminade, China, Chinese, clarinet, clarinetist, Classical music, Claude Debussy, click, close, composer, comprise, computer, Concert, convenient, coronavirus, country, cursor, Debussy, Dmitri Shostakovich, downside, dozen, Early music, encourage, encouragement, end, event, experience, Facebook, Family, Faure, flute, flute music, flutist, foreign, foreign student, forward, Franz Joseph Haydn, friends, Gabriel Fauré, Georg Philipp Telemann, George Frideric Handel, graduate student, guitar, Hamel Music Center, Handel, Haydn, hear, information, international, Jacob Stockinger, Janacek, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Leos Janacek, like, link, live, live audience, live music, livestream, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Marvin Rabin, Marvin Rabin String Quartet, Maurice Ravel, member, Mengwen Zhu, Mozart, Music, music student, Oboe, oboe music, oboist, online, Orchestra, pandemic, percussion, Percussion music, percussionist, performance, performer, Perlman, Perlman Quartet, photo, Pianist, Piano, piano music, post, posting, program, program notes, public, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Ravel, recital, schedule, see, semester, Sergei Rachmaninoff, set, share, Shaw, Shostakovich, solo, Sonata, Spring, start, string music, String quartet, Student, symphony, symphony orchestra, tag, technology, Telemann, The Ear, time, tonight, Trombone, trombone music, Trumpet, trumpeter, try, typical, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, upside, UW, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, Viola, viola music, Violin, violin music, violinist, violist, virtual, vocal music, week, wind music, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, world, WYSO, YouTube, Zhu
Recent Comments
 | Ronnie on How do post-pandemic concert a… |
 | welltemperedear on How do post-pandemic concert a… |
 | Polly Kuelbs on How do post-pandemic concert a… |
| welltemperedear on How do post-pandemic concert a… |
 | Ann Boyer on How do post-pandemic concert a… |
The Well-Tempered Ear 
