The Well-Tempered Ear
The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra starts its four-concert Winter Chamber Series TONIGHT at 7:30. Tickets are $30 for one-time access from Friday night to Monday night
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 new semester of virtual online concerts begins tonight with the inauguration of the Winter Chamber Series by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (WCO, below in a photo by Mike Gorski).
Tonight’s program features music by Giovanni Gabrieli, Valerie Coleman, Alec Wilder, Craig Russell and Franz Schubert. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear the first movement of the Schubert Cello Quintet, played by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.)
The programs are short and feature classic works as well as new music and neglected composers. Often single movements or excerpts rather than complete works are performed.
Concerts all debut on Fridays and remain available through Monday night. Debut dates are TONIGHT, Jan. 22; Feb. 26; March 26; and April 16. A ticket entitles the purchaser to one viewing.
Here is a description of the chamber music series from the WCO:
“While full orchestras remain sidelined, the WCO is excited to present the Winter Chamber Series. This new series will feature chamber works for multiple ensembles ranging from trios to octets, showcasing the versatility and caliber of the WCO’s 34 world-class musicians.
“Patrons will enjoy the four-concert series in the comfort of their own home, streaming each concert on WCO Live on-demand starting at 7:30 p.m. on the evening of the concert launch.
“All programs will be 60–75 minutes in length, with not only music but also stories from the WCO’s own musicians on their journey to becoming professional musicians.
“Also included is a pre-concert talk with maestro Andrew Sewell and Norman Gilliland, as well as a post-concert reflection with musicians of the WCO.”
Here is a link to the concerts, with programs plus notes by music director and conductor Sewell (below in a photo by Alex Cruz) as well as a link to purchase tickets from the Overture Center box office: https://wcoconcerts.org/concerts-tickets/winter-chamber-series
In addition, the WCO has started a musician’s relief fund. It seeks donations to pay musicians for the wages they have lost due to postponed or canceled concerts.
Here is a link: https://wcoconcerts.org/support/donate
Tags: #AlecWilder, #AndrewSewell, #ArtsPatron, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #BrassMusic, #CelloMusic, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberMusicSocietyofLIncolnCenter, #ConcertSeries, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #CraigRussell, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FranzSchubert, #Fridaynight, #GiovanniGabrieli, #JacobStockinger, #LincolnCenter, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Mondaynight, #MusicalExcerpt, #MusicDirector, #NeglectedComposers, #NewMusic, #NormanGilliland, #OnlineConcert, #OvertureCenter, #Pre-concertTalk, #ProfessionalMusician, #ProgramNotes, #StringMusic, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #TheInauguration, #TheUW, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ValerieColeman, #ViolinMusic, #VirtualConcert, #WindMusic, #WinterChamberSeries, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #YouTubevideo, Alec Wilder, Andrew Sewell, Arts, audience, available, become, biography, blog, box office, brass music, calibre, canceled, cellist, Cello, cello music, Chamber music, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, classic, Classical music, Coleman, comfort, complete, composer, Concert, concert series, conductor, coronavirus, Craig Russell, debut, donation, donor, Early music, ensemble, excerpt, excite, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, flute, forward, Franz Schubert, Friday, full, fund, Gabrieli, Giovanni Gabrieli, hearing, Home, Horn, host, inauguration, Jacob Stockinger, journey, length, like, Lincoln, LIncoln Center, link, listener, lost, Madison, Mead Witter School of Music, minute, minutes, Monday, movement, multiple, Music, Music director, musicians, neglected composers, new, New Music, night, Norman Gilliland, notes, Octet, one, online, Orchestra, Overture Center, pandemic, patron, post, post-concert, posting, postponed, pre-cocert, pre-concert, professional, program, program notes, purchase, purchaser, reflection, relief, remain, Russell, Schubert, semester, share, short, sidelined, single, stories, story, stream, string music, String quartet, symphony, tag, talk, The Ear, ticket, tickets, time, tonight, trio, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, UW-Madsion, VALERIE COLEMAN, versatility, Viola, viola music, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, WCO, Wilder, wind music, winter chamber music, Winter Chamber Series, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wisconsin public radio, YouTube
The UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra will provide a welcome break on Election Night
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
If you find yourself needing some relief or a short break from vote counting and the barrage of election news this coming Tuesday night, Nov. 3, the masked and socially distanced UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra (below) fits the bill.
The group’s refreshingly short, one-hour and intermission-free online video premiere begins at 7 p.m. CST on YouTube. There is no fee for watching the event in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall in the Hamel Music Center, although donations are welcome.
No in-person attendance is allowed.
The program features “Strum” (1981) by Jessie Montgomery (below, in a photo by Jiyang Chen); the famous and familiar Adagietto from the Symphony No. 5 by Gustav Mahler (which you can hear with conductor Claudio Abbado in the YouTube video at the bottom); and the youthful Sinfonia No. 7 in D minor by Felix Mendelssohn, who wrote 13 of the string symphonies between the ages of 12 and 14.
Here is a direct link to the UW-Madison music school’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/TMNCy9qooCM
Just a personal note of appreciation and encouragement from The Ear: If you are a fan of orchestral music and pay attention to the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and the Middleton Community Orchestra, for example, then you owe to it yourself to become acquainted with the UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra if you don’t already know it.
It is that good, as you can hear for yourself in this virtual concert during the pandemic. You will probably find yourself wanting to hear more.
The programs are outstanding and often feature neglected, modern and contemporary music as well as classic repertoire, and the playing is usually first-rate.
The orchestra sounds exceptionally good, often even professional, under its new conductor Oriol Sans (below), a native of Spain who arrived here last season from a post at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
Sans has provided remarkable leadership both in the orchestra’s programs and in accompanying the University Opera productions and the UW Choral Union.
For more information, including the names of the orchestra’s members, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/uw-madison-symphony-orchestra-video-premiere/
If you listen to it, please let us know: What did you think?
Did the performances please or impress you?
Did you like or dislike the scheduling on Election Night?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BarcelonaSpain, #BillLutes, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CentralStandardTime, #CentralTime, #ChoralMusic, #ChoralUnion, #ClaudioAbbado, #ContemporaryMusic, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DonaldTrump, #ElectionDay, #ElectionNight, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FelixMendelssohn, #GustavMahler, #HamelMusicCenter, #JacobStockinger, #JessieMontgomery, #JoeBiden, #LivingComposers, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #ModernMusic, #NeglectedMusic, #NewMusic, #OnlineConcert, #OrchestralMusic, #OriolSans, #PresidentDonaldTrump, #SocialDistance, #SociallyDistanced, #StringMusic, #TheEar, #TheUW, #Tuesdaynight, #U.S.Congress, #U.S.Senate, #UniversityOfMichigan, #UniversityofMichigan-AnnArbor, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityOpera, #UW-MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #UWChoralUnion, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, accompany, acquainted, Adagietto, allow, appreciation, Arts, attendance, audience, ballot, Barcelona, barrage, bill, blog, break, Central Standard Time, channel, choral music, Choral Union, classic, Classical music, classicalmusic, Claudio Abbado, composer, Concert, conductor, Congress, contemporary, coronavirus, CST, Democrat, Democratic, Donald Trump, donation, Election, Election Day, Election Day (United States), encouragement, Facebook, familiar, famous, fan, federa;, fee, Felix Mendelssohn, first-rate, forward, free, Gustav Mahler, Hamel Music Center, hear, impress, information, intermission, Jacob Stockinger, Jessie Montgomery, Joe Biden, leadership, like, link, living composers, local, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mahler, mask, masked, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, members, Middleton Community Orchestra, modern, more, Music, names, need, neglected, new, New Music, night, note, online, opera, Orchestra, orchestral music, Oriol Sans, owe, pandemic, personal, playing, please, poll, post, posting, premiere, President, President Donald Trump, presidential, production, professional, program, refreshing, regional, relief, remarkable, repertoire, repertory, Republican, Season, Senate, share, short, sinfonia, social distance, socially distanced, Spain, standard, state, string music, strum, Student, symphony, tag, Teacher, The Ear, Tuesday night, United States, University of Michigan, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, US, UW, UW Choral Union, UW-Madison, UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra, virtual, vocal music, vote, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, you, yourself, YouTube, YouTube channel, YouTube video
Classical music: Grace Presents HD offers a free virtual online concert by the acclaimed Willy Street Chamber Players this Saturday at noon
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
Cellist and UW-Madison graduate student James Waldo has sent the following announcement about a FREE virtual online concert by Grace Presents, which he coordinates.
The hi-def, one-hour concert by the critically acclaimed and popular Willy Street Chamber Players (below) is at noon (CDT) this Saturday, Aug. 22.
Says Waldo:
“This is a pre-recorded event, and as such, I had the singular pleasure of sitting in the room while these fantastic musicians recorded their program. This event is not to be missed!
“Grace Presents HD brings you free, crystal-clear performances by local Madison musicians in the nave of historical Grace Episcopal Church – located downtown on the Capitol Square — from the comfort and safety of your own home.
“The Willy Street Chamber Players will have a video premiere that will be available on the Grace Presents YouTube channel on this Saturday, Aug. 22 at noon CDT. (This virtual concert is available for a limited time only!)
You can see and hear a preview of the concert in the YouTube video at the bottom.
Artists in the Willy Street Chamber Players are: Paran Amirinazari, artistic director, violin and viola; Eleanor Bartsch, violin and viola; Mark Bridges, cello; and Lindsay Crabb, cello, five-string cello.
You can find more information about the chamber music ensemble, including a link to a post in which The Ear named them as Musicians of the Year for 2016, at: http://willystreetchamberplayers.org
As is typical for The Willys, the program reflects diversity and includes both classical masters and contemporary composers:
Schubert: String trio in B-flat major, D. 47
Tania León (below) – Four Pieces for Solo Cello: II. Prayer
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber – Passacaglia
George Walker (below) – “Bleu”
J.S. Bach – Solo Cello Suite No. 6 in D major: I. Prelude and IV. Sarabande
Kimo Williams (below): “Quiet Shadows”
Beethoven: String Trio in G major, Op. 9, No. 1 / I. Adagio-Allegro
“We will be hosting a Zoom meet-and-greet with our guest artists following the performance. If you’d like to attend this virtual gathering, please RSVP to Grace Presents Program Coordinator James Waldo (gracepresents@gmail.com) for more information.
“Here is biographical background: The Willy Street Chamber Players (WSCP) are dedicated to creating community through classical music. Established in 2015, the group has become a fixture of the Willy Street neighborhood’s vibrant cultural scene.
“Recently awarded a gold medal in Madison Magazine’s prestigious “Best of Madison” reader poll, WSCP has received numerous accolades for its accessible and exciting performances, intelligent and fun programming, and community partnerships.
“Today, the group consists of four core members. Led by Artistic Director and violinist Paran Amirinazari, each player brings a fresh, imaginative take to classical music.
WSCP convenes each July – this summer’s concerts were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic — to present their popular summer concert series at Immanuel Lutheran Church (below) on Spaight Street. For these programs, the group has collaborated with many well-known guest artists from Madison and beyond.
“In addition, WSCP presents an array of events throughout the year including the admission-free Community Connect series that aims to bring classical music to inclusive spaces.
“WSCP has also performed at many other popular Madison venues including Marquette Waterfront Fest; Summer Serenades at Memorial Union Terrace; the Frank Lloyd Wright Taliesin compound in Spring Green; the Madison New Music Festival; and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA).”
OTHER DETAILS
Video recording and editing has been done by: https://www.microtonemedia.com/
Audio engineering has been done by Bruce Kasprzyk.
Grace Presents is supported in part by generous project grants from Dane Arts, the Madison Arts Commission, the Episcopal Church Women (ECW) and the Grace Episcopal Development Fund Trust as well as individual gifts and in-kind support.
Tags: #ArtisticDirector, #BaroqueMusic, #BestofMadison, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CapitolSquare, #CelloSuite, #ChamberMusic, #ChristianChurch, #CityofMadison, #ClassicalMusician, #ConcertSeries, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #CulturalDiversity, #DaneArts, #EleanorBartsch, #EmailAddress, #EpiscopalChurch, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FinancialSupport, #FrankLloydWright, #FranzSchubert, #GeorgeWalker, #GoldMedal, #GoodShepherdLutheranChurch, #GraceEpiscopalChurch, #GracePresentsHD, #GraduateStudent, #GuestArtist, #HeinrichBiber, #ImmanuelLutheranChurch, #JacobStockinger, #James Waldo, #JamesWaldo, #JohannSebastianBach, #KimoWilliams, #LindsayCrabb, #LivingComposer, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonArtsCommission, #MadisonMagazine, #MadisonMuseumofContemporaryArt, #MadisonNewMusicFestival, #MadisonWisconsin, #MarkBridges, #MarquetteWaterfrontFest, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Meet-and-Greet, #MemorialUnion, #MusicianoftheYear, #NewMusic, #ParanAmirinazari, #QuietShadows, #ReaderPoll, #SpringGreen, #StringMusic, #StringTrio, #SummerSerenades, #Taliesincompound, #TaniaLeon, #TheEar, #TheWillys, #UnionTerrace, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #WilliamsonStreet, #WillyStreetChamberPlayers, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, accesible, accolades, allegro, annoucement, array, Artistic director, Arts, audience, Audio, available, award, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Best of Madison, Biber, blog, canceled, Capitol Square, CDT, cellist, Cello, Cello Suite, Cello Suites (Bach), Chamber music, channel, Christian, Christian church, church, classic, Classical music, classicalmusic, collaborate, community, comofrt, composer, Concert, convene, cooridnate, coronavirus, critically acclaimed, crystal-clear, cultural, cultural diversity, danceamdante, Dane Arts, dedicated, diversity, donor, downtown, Early music, editing, Eleanor Bartsch, email, engineering, ensemble, Episopal, established, event, events, exciting, Facebook, fantastic, forward, Frank Lloyd Wright, Franz Schubert, free, fresh, fun, fund, funding, gathering, generous, George Walker, gift, gold, Gold medal, Grace Episcopal Church, Grace Presents HD, graduate student, grants, group, guest artist, Heinrich Biber, help, historica;, Home, hour, imaginative, Immanuel Lutheran Church, in-kind, information, intelligent, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, July, Kimo Williams, like, limited, Lindsay Crabb, link, living composers, local, located, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Arts Commission, Madison Magazine, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison New Music Festival, Mark Bridges, Marquette Waterfront Fest, Master, masterpieces, Mead Witter School of Music, medal, member, MMOCA, Music, Musician, Musician of the Year, nave, neighborhood, New Music, noon, online, pandemic, Paran Amarinazari, partnerships, passacaglia, performers, piece, pleasure, poll, popular, post, posting, prayer, pre-recorded, Prelude, prestigious, program, programming, project, quiet, Quiet Shadows, reader, reader poll, receive, record, recording, room, RSVP, safety, sarabande, Saturday, scene, Schubert, series, shadow, share, sit, solo, Spring Green, Spring Green Wisconsin, string music, string trio, Suite, summer, Summer Serenades, support, tag, Taliesin, Tania Leon, The Ear, The Willys, time, trio, turst, typical, Union Terrace, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, venue, vibrant, video, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, Walker, Williamson Street, Willy Street, Willy Street Chamber Players, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Union Terrace, women, YouTube, Zoom
Classical music: With live concerts cancelled, what will you do for music? The Ear has some suggestions but wants to hear your ideas
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.
ALERT 1: It’s official. The Madison Symphony Orchestra has cancelled its performances of Dvorak’s Requiem on April 3, 4 and 5. Sometime this week, according to the MSO website, the administration will inform ticket holders about what they can do.
ALERT 2: The Mosaic Chamber Players have cancelled their performance of Beethoven Piano Trios on March 21 at the First Unitarian Society of Madison.
By Jacob Stockinger
Now that live concerts and performances have been cancelled for the near future – thanks to the threat of the pandemic of the coronavirus and COVID-19 — music-lovers are faced with a problem:
What will we – especially those of us who are isolated at home for long periods of time — do to continue to listen to music?
Perhaps you have a large CD collection you can turn to. Or perhaps you subscribe to a streaming service such as Apple Music, SoundCloud, Amazon Music or another one.
Don’t forget local sources such as Wisconsin Public Radio and WORT-FM 89.9, both of which generously broadcast classical music, from the Renaissance to contemporary music, and often feature local performers.
Here is a link to Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR): https://www.wpr.org
Here is a link to WORT 88.9 FM: https://www.wortfm.org
There are also many other choices.
Happily, there is YouTube with its mammoth collection of free musical performances and videos. You can surf YouTube for new music and classic music, contemporary performers and historic performers, excerpts and complete works.
Here is a link: https://www.youtube.com
Those who are students or amateurs might use the time to sing – like those marvelous, uplifting Italians making music from their balconies during the crisis – or practice and play an instrument at home.
But other organizations – solo performers, chamber music ensembles, symphony orchestras, opera houses – are also trying to meet the challenge by providing FREE public access to their archives.
And it’s a good time for that.
Music can bring us together in this crisis.
Music can help us relax, and fight against the current panic and anxiety.
It’s also a good time to have a music project. Maybe you want to explore all the many symphonies or string quartets of Haydn, or perhaps the 550 keyboard sonatas by Scarlatti, or perhaps the many, many songs of Franz Schubert.
Here are some suggestions offered as possible guidance:
Here is what critics for The New York Times, including senior critic Anthony Tommasini (below) who likes Van Cliburn playing a Rachmaninoff concerto, will do: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/arts/music/coronavirus-classical-music.html
If you are an opera lover, you might want to know that, starting today, the Metropolitan Opera (below) in New York City will be streaming for FREE a different opera every day or night.
The productions are video recordings of operas that have been broadcast over past years in the “Live in HD” program. The titles are listed by the week and here is a link:
https://operawire.com/metropolitan-opera-to-offer-up-nightly-met-opera-streams/
If you like orchestral music, it is hard to beat the Berlin Philharmonic – considered by many critics to be the best symphony orchestra in the world — which is also opening up its archives for FREE.
Here is a background story with a link: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/coronavirus-concerts-the-music-world-contends-with-the-pandemic
Here is another link, from Norman Lebrecht’s blog “Slipped Disc,” to the Berlin Philharmonic along with some other suggestions, including the Vienna State Opera: https://slippedisc.com/2020/03/your-guide-to-the-new-world-of-free-streaming/
And if you like chamber music, you can’t beat the FREE performances being offered by the acclaimed Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, some of whom recently performed in Madison at the Wisconsin Union Theater and with the UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra: https://www.chambermusicsociety.org/watch-and-listen/
But what about you?
What will you listen to?
Where will you go to find classical music to listen to?
Do you have certain projects, perhaps even one to recommend?
How will you cope with the absence of live concerts?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AmazonMusic, #AnthonyTommasini, #AntoninDvorak, #AppleMusic, #BaroqueMusic, #BerlinGermany, #BerlinPhilharmonic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberMusicSocietyofLIncolnCenter, #ChoralMusic, #ClassicMusic, #CompactDisc, #ContemporaryMusic, #COVID-19, #DomenicoScarlatti, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FirstUnitarianSocietyofMadison, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FranzSchubert, #HistoricRecording, #HomeWebsite, #JacobStockinger, #KeyboardSonata, #LincolnCenter, #LiveConcert, #LiveinHD, #LiveMusic, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MadisonWisconsin, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MetropolitanOpera, #MosaicChamberPlayers, #MusicCritic, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #NormanLebrecht, #OperaAria, #OperaHouse, #OperaLover, #OperaWire, #OrchestralMusic, #PianoTrio, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #SlippedDisc, #StreamingService, #StringQuartet, #SymphonyOrchestra, #TheEar, #TheMet, #TheNewYorker, #TheNewYorkTImes, #TicketHolder, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #VanCliburn, #ViennaAustria, #ViennaStateOpera, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WORT-FM89.9, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, absence, access, administration, amateur, Amazon Music, amazon.com, Anthony Tommasini, Antonín Dvořák, anxiety, Apple, Apple Music, archive, Arts, audience, balcony, Baroque, Baroque music, Beethoven, Berlin, Berlin Philharmonic, blog, Broadcast, cancel, CD, cellist, Cello, challenge, Chamber music, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, choral music, classic, Classical, Classical music, classicalmusic, Cliburn, collection, comment, Compact Disc, complete, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, contemporary, cope, coronavirus, crisis, critic, day, Domenico Scarlatti, Dvorak, Early music, ensemble, excerpt, Facebook, fear, First Unitarian Society of Madison, Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, free, future, generous, Haydn, HD, hear, historic, Home, home website, idea, instruments, isolation, Italians, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Keyboard, keyboard sonata, like, LIncoln Center, link, listen, live concert, Live in HD, live music, long, lover, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Baroque Musicians, Madison Symphony Orchestra, marvelous, Mead Witter School of Music, Metropolitan Opera, Mosaic Chamber Players, Mozart, MSO, Music, music critic, music lover, New Music, New York City, night, Norman Lebrecht, official, opera, Opera house, Orchestra, orchestral music, Overture Center, pandemic, panic, perform, performer, period, Pianist, Piano, Piano Trio, play, post, posting, practice, problem, production, project, provide, public, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Radio, recommend, recording, Recordings, relx, Renaissance, Requiem, Scarlatti, Schubert, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, share, sing, Singing, Slipped Disc, solo, Sonata, song, SoundCloud, state, streaming, Streaming media, String quartet, Student, subscribers, surf, symphony, symphony orchestra, tag, The Ear, the Met, The New York Times, The New Yorker, threat, ticket holder, time, title, today, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, uplifting, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, Van Cliburn, video, Vienna, Vienna State Opera, Violin, violinist, vocal music, Website, week, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Union Theater, works, world, worry, WORT-FM 89.9, year, you, your, YouTube
Classical music: The Wisconsin Chamber Choir will sing a program of “Live, Laugh and Love” this Sunday afternoon. Music by Brahms, Puccini, Bizet, Sondheim, Lin-Manuel Miranda and others is featured
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
This Sunday afternoon, Feb. 16, at 3 p.m. in the First Unitarian Society of Madison’s Landmark Auditorium, 900 University Bay Drive, the Wisconsin Chamber Choir will perform a varied program of vocal music.
The “Live, Laugh and Love” program includes Johannes Brahms’ Neue Liebeslieder Waltzes (New Love Song Waltzes) along with a wide variety of solos, duets and ensembles encompassing music by Giacomo Puccini, Georges Bizet, Clara Schumann, John Dowland, Stephen Sondheim and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
The singers will accompanied by duo-pianists Mark Brampton Smith and Sherri Hansen.
Brahms (below) completed his second group of “Love Song Waltzes” in 1874, setting poems that are alternately passionate, brooding, fiery and contemplative. (You can hear some excerpts in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Building on the success of his first installment of Liebeslieder from five years earlier, Brahms’ music for the later set is more deeply emotional, mirroring the composer’s own complex romantic entanglements. Out of all Brahms’ female friends, he seems to have maintained the deepest affection for Clara Schumann (below), whose music appears on the first half of our program.
Classic arias and duets from the operas La Bohème, and The Pearl Fishers, and contemporary selections by Stephen Sondheim and Hamilton composer, Lin-Manuel Miranda, round out the program to be performed in the intimate setting of the historic auditorium designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
A wine-and-cheese reception will follow the concert.
Advance tickets are available online for $15 ($10 for students) from www.wisconsinchamberchoir.org or Brown Paper Tickets, or from a member of the choir. The ticket price at the door is $20.
Founded in 1998, the Wisconsin Chamber Choir has established a reputation for excellence in the performance of oratorios by Bach, Handel, Mozart and Brahms; a cappella works from various centuries; and world premieres.
Artistic director and conductor Robert Gehrenbeck (below) – who heads the choral program at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater — has been hailed by critics for his vibrant and emotionally compelling interpretations of a wide variety of choral masterworks.
Tags: #ACappella, #ACappellaMusic, #AltoSinger, #ArtisticDirector, #BaritoneSinger, #BassSinger, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrownPaperTickets, #ChoralMusic, #ClaraSchumann, #ContemporaryMusic, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FirstUnitarianSocietyofMadison, #FrankLloydWright, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GeorgesBizet, #GiacomoPuccini, #IntimateSetting, #JacobStockinger, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnDowland, #LaBoheme, #LandmarkAuditorium, #LiebesliederWaltzes, #Lin-ManuelMiranda, #LivingComposer, #MarkBramptonSmith, #MusicalInterpretation, #PianoAccompaniment, #PianoAccompanist, #RobertGehrenbeck, #SherriHansen, #SopranoSinger, #StephenSondheim, #Sundayafternoon, #TenorSinger, #TheEar, #ThePearlFishers, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Whitewater, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinChamberChoir, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WorldPremiere, #YouTubevideo, a cappella, accompaniment, accompany, affection, afternoon, alto, aria, Artistic director, Arts, audience, auditorium, Bach, baritone, Baroque, bass, Bizet, blog, Brahms, brooding, Brown Paper Tickets, build, centuries, cheese, Choir, choral music, Clara Schumann, classic, Classical music, classicalmusic, compeling, composer, Concert, conductor, contemplative, contemporary music, design, door, Dowland, duet, duo-pianists, Early music, emotion, ensemb;e, entanglement, excellence, excerpts, Facebook, female, fiery, first, First Unitarian Society of Madison, forward, Frank Lloyd Wright, friend, George Frideric Handel, Georges Bizet, Giacomo Puccini, group, hail, Hamilton, Handel, historic, History, installment, interpretation, intimate, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Dowland, La bohème, Landmark Auditorium, laugh, Liebeslieder Waltzes, like, Lin-Manuel Miranda, link, live, Living composer, Love, Madison, Mark Brampton Smith, masterwork, member, Mozart, Music, new, online, opera, oratorio, passionate, performer, Pianist, Piano, poem, post, posting, program, Puccini, reader, reception, reputation, Robert Gehrenbeck, Romantic, second, selection, setting, share, Sherri Hansen, sing, singer, Singing, solo, Sondheim, soprano, Stephen Sondheim, subscriber, success, Sunday, tag, tenor, The Ear, The Pearl Fishers, tickets, United States, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Whitewater, varied, virbrant, vocal music, Website, Wine, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Choir, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, world premiere, YouTube
Classical music: The UW Schubertiade last Sunday afternoon explored the influence of Beethoven on Schubert with insight and beauty
3 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.
ALERT: In early editions of my last post, I mistakenly said that the UW Choral Union and the UW Symphony Orchestra will perform the Verdi Requiem on May 25 and 26. The correct dates are APRIL 25 and 26. The Ear regrets the error.
By Jacob Stockinger
One of the most informative and enjoyable events of the Beethoven Year – 2020 is the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth – came early.
It took place last Sunday afternoon in the Collins Recital Hall of the new Hamel Music Center at the UW-Madison.
It was the seventh annual Schubertiade, and its theme was “Schubert and Beethoven: Influences and Homages.” A classic contrast-and-compare examination of two musical giants who lived and worked in Vienna in the early 19th century, the concert took place for almost three hours before a packed house. (Schubert is below top, Beethoven below middle, and the sold-out audience below bottom)
The annual event is organized by co-founders and co-directors UW piano professor Martha Fisher and her pianist husband Bill Lutes (below, greeting the crowd), who also perform frequently, especially as outstandingly sensitive and subtle accompanists.
They make the event, with audience members sitting onstage, look easy and informal. But it takes a lot of hard work.
The two sure know how to choose talent. As usual, all the singers and instrumentalists – UW alumni and faculty members (below) — proved very capable. The concert cohered with consistency.
Nonetheless, The Ear heard highlights worth singling out.
Baritone Michael Roemer (below) sang exceptionally in “An die ferne Geliebte” (To the Distant Beloved) by Beethoven (1770-1827). His voice brought to mind the young Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in the inviting tone and direct delivery of the first song cycle ever composed. It was also the one that inspired the younger Schubert (1797-1828) to compose his own song cycles, and you could hear why.
Soprano Jamie Rose Guarrine (below right), accompanied by Bill Lutes and cellist Karl Knapp (below center), brought warmth, ease and confidence to the lyrical beauty of “Auf dem Strom” (On the River).
Tenor Daniel O’Dea (below) showed how Schubert’s setting of Friedrich Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” – the same Romantic poem made famous in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony “Choral” – ended up much more lighthearted than the more familiar, serious and intense symphonic version.
Martha Fischer and Bill Lutes, who also sang as well as narrated and accompanied, showed complete blending and tightness in Schubert’s first published composition: “Eight Variations on a French Song.” It was for piano, four-hands – a sociable genre that Schubert favored and wrote a lot of.
Soprano Jennifer D’Agostino (below) sang Schubert’s song “Elysium” in which it is unclear whether it is a pastiche or a parody of Beethoven, who remained a mentor until Schubert died at 31. Could that ambiguity point to Schubert’s maturing sense of himself and his own art as compared to Beethoven’s?
One year after Beethoven’s death – Schubert was a pallbearer — Schubert put on his only formal public concert of his own work. That was when he premiered his Piano Trio No. 2, the bravura last movement of which was played by Bill Lutes with cellist Parry Karp and first violinist David Perry (below), of the UW’s Pro Arte Quartet.
Then all four members of the Pro Arte Quartet (below) – with violist Sally Chisholm and second violinist Suzanne Beia – played the last two movements of Beethoven’s late String Quartet in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131, the work that Schubert requested to hear performed as he lay on his death bed in his brother’s Vienna apartment.
Of course there were other moments that pleased and instructed. There was a set of four songs – one coupling sung by mezzo-soprano Allisanne Apple (below) — in which the same texts were set to music by both Beethoven and Schubert.
We got to hear Beethoven’s final song, “Abendlied unterm gestirnten Himmel” (Evening Song Beneath the Starry Firmament).
Then there was the heart-wrenching “Nachthymne” (Hymn to the Night) by Schubert, again beautifully performed by Jamie Rose Guarrine. (You can hear “Hymn to the Night,” sung by Elly Ameling, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
So in the end, what were the big lessons, the takeaways from this year’s Schubertiade?
One lesson is that for all his more familiar symphonies and concertos, his string quartets and piano trios, his piano sonatas and his sonatas for cello and violin, Beethoven was also a much more accomplished song composer than the public generally knows.
But for The Ear, the biggest lesson of all is that despite Beethoven’s deep influence, Schubert retained his own special voice, a voice full of unforgettable melodies and harmonies, of lyricism and empathy.
And using a mentor to find, refine and retain one’s own identity is the highest homage any student can pay to a teacher.
Tags: #19thCentury, #AllisanneApple, #BaritoneSinger, #BeethovenYear, #BillLutes, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ChoralSymphony, #CollinsRecitalHall, #Contrast-and-Compare, #DanceMovement, #DanielO'Dea, #DavidPerry, #DeathBed, #DietrichFischer-Dieskau, #DietrichFischerDieskau, #EllyAmeling, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FranzSchubert, #FriedrichSchiller, #GermanRomanticism, #GiuseppeVerdi, #HamelMusicCenter, #Hard Work, #HardWork, #husband-and-wife, #InstrumentalMusic, #InstrumentalPlayer, #JacobStockinger, #JamieRoseGuarrine, #JenniferD'Agostino, #KarlKnapp, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #LyricalMusic, #MarthaFischer, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Mezzo-sopranoSinger, #MichaelRoemer, #MusicalGenre, #OdetoJoy, #OrchestralMusic, #ParryKarp, #PianoConcero, #PianoSonata, #PianoTrio, #ProArteQuartet, #SallyChisholm, #SongCycle, #SopranoSinger, #StringQuartet, #Sundayafternoon, #SuzanneBeia, #TenorSinger, #TheEar, #ThemeAndVariations, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWChoralUnion, #UWSchubertiade, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #ViennaAustria, #Wife-and-Husband, #YouTubevideo, 19th century, accompanist, age, Allisanne Apple, alumni, ambiguity, annual, annversary, April, Art, Arts, audience, beauty, Beethoven, Beethoven Year, beloved, big, Bill Lutes, birth, blending, blog, bravura, brother, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, choose, choral music, Choral Symphony, Choral Union, classic, Classical music, cohere, Collins Recital Hall, compare, composer, Concert, concerto, confidence, consistency, contrast, coupling, cycle, Daniel O'Dea, David Perry, death, death bed, delivery, die, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, direct, director, early, ease, easy, edition, ego, Elly Ameling, enjoyable, error, evening, event, examination, Facebook, faculty member, familar, famous, favor, final, find, firmament, first, Fischer-Dieskau, formal, forward, founder, four-hands, France, Franz Schubert, French, Friedrich Schiller, genre, giant, Giuseppe Verdi, greet, Hamel Music Center, high, highlight, himself, homage, hours, House, husband, hymn, identity, influence, informal, informative, insight, inspire, instruct, intense, invite, inviting, Jacob Stockinger, Jamie-Rose Guarrine, Jennifer D'Agostino, Karl Knapp, know, late, lesson, lighthearted, like, link, live, look, Love, Ludwig van Beethoven, lyrical, Madison, Martha Fischer, mature, May, Mead Witter School of Music, mentor, Mezzo-soprano, Michael Roemer, mind, mistake, moment, moments, movement, Music, musical, narrate, night, Ode to Joy, old, older, onstage, Orchestra, packed, pallbearer, parody, Parry Karp, pastiche, performer, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, Piano sonata, Piano Trio, please, poem, post, posting, Pro Arte Quartet, public, publish, recall, refine, request, Requiem, retain, river, Romantic, Romanticism, Sally Chisholm, Schiller, Schubert, Schubertiade, second, sense, sensitive, serious, share, show, sing, singer, single, sociable, Sonata, song, song cycle, soprano, starry, String quartet, Student, subtle, Sunday afternoon, sung, Suzanne Beia, symphonic, symphony, tag, takeaway, talent, Teacher, tenor, text, The Ear, theme and variations, tightness, tone, unclear, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW Choral Union, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, variations, Verdi, version, Vienna, Viola, Violin, Violin concerto, violinist, vocal, vocal music, voice, warmth, wife, Wisconsin, work, write, year, young, younger, YouTube
Classical music: The Oakwood Chamber Players perform a mini-opera version of “A Christmas Carol” this Saturday night and Sunday afternoon
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
Over several deuces, the Oakwood Chamber Players have built a solid reputation for their top-notch performances of unusual and neglected repertoire.
So it comes as no surprise that the group will offer one of the newer, more unusual and promising takes on the holiday classic, “A Christmas Carol.”
Twice this weekend, the Madison-based, widely experienced musical theater actor and baritone Robert A. Goderich reprises his tour-de-force performance, last done in 2016, of Charles Dickens’ characters for the Oakwood Chamber Players’ presentation of the mini-opera “The Passion of Scrooge” by New York composer Jon Deak.
A dozen musicians, including ensemble members with special guest artists, provide the platform for Goderich’s characterizations on this coming Saturday night, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m., and Sunday afternoon, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m.
The concerts take place at Oakwood Village University Woods Auditorium at 6209 Mineral Point Road, on Madison’s far west side near West Towne Mall.
Tickets are available at the door and are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors, and $5 for students. Go to https://www.oakwoodchamberplayers.com for more information.
Members of the ensemble for this program are: Marilyn Chohaney (flute), Nancy Mackenzie (clarinet), Anne Aley (horn), Elspeth Stalter Clouse (violin) and Maggie Darby Townsend (cello), and guest musicians Hillary Hempel (violin), Emma Cifrino (viola), Brad Townsend (bass), Mike Koszewski (percussion), and Margaret Mackenzie (harp).
Over the past two decades, New York Philharmonic bassist and composer Jon Deak (below) has created a variety of “concert dramas” that tell stories through words and sound.
Performed annually at the Smithsonian, this two-act musical setting re-imagines Ebenezer Scrooge’s struggle to transform his past, present and future from a life of avarice to warmth and humanity.
As singer and narrator, Goderich, who plays all the parts, is the focal point; but the composer has given the instrumentalists an integral part in the story line, too. Conductor Kyle Knox (below) leads the ensemble through many facets of this humorous work filled with dramatic effects.
Deak requires the musicians to be nimble performers, juggling melodic lines while interjecting entertaining sounds into Dickens’ traditional tale. You can hear the opening introduction by the Storyteller in the YouTube video at the bottom.
One of the score’s important aspects is the varied use of percussion, which provides a broad range of instruments and sound effects. Audiences can enjoy both the aural and visual artistry of chains rattling, doors creaking and footsteps echoing in this holiday classic.
Additionally, the Oakwood Chamber Players will perform a suite of British reels and carols, including songs mentioned in the text of Dickens’ original story.
For example, when the Ghost of Christmas Past reminds Scrooge of his first employer Fezziwig, a fiddler plays the tune “Sir Roger De Coverley.” This Scottish-English country dance, arranged by composer Frank Bridge in 1922, is one of the tunes providing an engaging introduction to “The Passion of Scrooge.”
Tags: #AChristmasCarol, #AnneAley, #BaritoneSinger, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberOpera, #CharlesDickens, #CountryDance, #DoubleBass, #DoubleBassist, #EbenezerScrooge, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FocalPoint, #FrankBridge, #GhostofChristmasPast, #GuestArtist, #HilaryHahn'sViolincase, #HolidayClassic, #HomeWebpage, #InstrumentalMusic, #InstrumentalPlayer, #JonDeak, #KyleKnox, #MargaretMackenzie, #MarilynChohaney, #MelodicLine, #MikeKoszewski, #MusicalTheater, #NeglectedMusic, #NeglectedRepertoire, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #OakwoodChamberPlayers, #OakwoodVillage, #OperaMusic, #RobertGoderich, #SeniorCitizen, #SmithsonianInstitution, #SoundEffects, #ThePassionofScrooge, #ThePasson ofScrooge, #UniversityWoods, #VocalMusic, #WestSide, #WestTowneMall, #YouTubevideo, A Christmas Carol, acclaim, Actor, adult, Anne Aley, annual, artistry, Arts, audience, aural, avarice, baritone, bass, bassist, blog, British, broad, Carol, Cello, chains, Chamber music, chamber opera, character, Charles Dickens, Christmas, clarinet, clarinetist, classic, Classical music, composer, Concert, conductor, country, country dance, creaking, dance, decades, double bass, double bassist, drama, dramatic, echo, echoing, employer, English, enjoy, ensemble, entertain, entertaining, Facebook, fiddler, flute, flutist, focal point, footsteps, forward, Frank Bridge, future, ghost, Ghost of Christmas Past, guest artist, harp, harpist, Holiday, holiday classic, Horn, hornist, humanity, humorous, instrumental music, instrumental player, instrumentalist, Jacob Stockinger, Jon Deak, juggle, Kyle Knox, life, like, link, Madison, Margaret Mackenzie, Marilyn Chohaney, melodic, melody, Mike Koszewski, Music, Musical theater, musicians, narrator, neglected, new, New Music, New York City, New York Philharmonic, nimble, Oakwood Chamber Players, Oakwood Village, online, opera, opera music, past, percussion, percussionist, performer, player, post, posting, present, presentation, promising, range, reels, repertoire, repetoire, reputation, Robert Goderich, Scottish, Scrooge, senior, senior citizen, setting, share, singer, Smithsonian, Smithsonian Institution, solid, song, songs, Sound, sound effects, standard, story, struggle, Student, Suite, surprise, tag, tale, text, The Passion of Scrooge, ticket, traditional, transform, tune, tunes, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Woods, unusual, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, visual, vocal music, Website, weekend, west side, West Towne Mall, Wisconsin, words, YouTube
Classical music: The Madison Opera performs Verdi’s popular “La Traviata” this Friday night and Sunday afternoon in Overture Hall
2 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
This weekend, the Madison Opera opens its 59th season with a traditional production of Verdi’s “La Traviata” (The Lost One), one of the most popular operas in history.
According to the website www.operasense.com — specifically at https://www.operasense.com/most-popular-operas/ — it has been the most performed opera in the world, beating out such perennial favorites as Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” Puccini’s “La Boheme” and “Madama Butterfly,” and Bizet’s “Carmen.” (Below are photos by Matthew Staver from the production by Opera Colorado in Denver, which features the same sets and costumes that will be used in the production by Madison Opera.)
Performances in Overture Hall are this Friday night, Nov. 1, at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoon, Nov. 3 at 2:30 p.m. The opera will be sung in Italian with projected supertitles in English. The running time, with two intermissions, is 2 hours and 45 minutes.
PRE-OPERA TALKS are on Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in the Wisconsin Studio of the Overture Center. One hour prior to performances, general director Kathryn Smith will give an entertaining and informative talk about “La Traviata.” The talks are free to ticket holders.
POST-OPERA Q&A’s are on Friday and Sunday and will also take place in the Wisconsin Studio of the Overture Center. Audience members can join general director Kathryn Smith immediately after the performance to ask questions about what they have just seen. The sessions are free to ticket holders.
Tickets are $18-$135 with student and group discounts available. For information about tickets, the production and the cast, go to: https://www.madisonopera.org
Set in mid-19th century Paris, “La Traviata” tells of Violetta, a courtesan who tries to follow her heart. But societal pressures force her to leave the man she loves, and an incurable illness takes care of the rest.
Glittering parties contrast with quiet desperation, and ravishing music underscores all-consuming emotions.
“Only a few operas ever achieve a truly beloved status — and “La Traviata” is one of them,” says Kathryn Smith (below, in a photo by James Gill). For being over 150 years old, its story is quite modern: a young woman trying to overcome the limitations that society has placed on her because of her class and gender, searching for happiness yet willing to make sacrifices.
“Plus it is full of very famous music, from the ‘Brindisi’ to ‘Sempre Libera’ and more,” Smith adds. “It’s always a pleasure to have a new generation discover this work, and to share it with opera omnivores who know it well.” (You can hear Renée Fleming sing Violetta’s signature aria “Sempre libera” (Always Free) at the Royal Opera House in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
“La Traviata” is based on the play and novel “La Dame aux Camélias” (The Lady of the Camellias) by Alexandre Dumas the son (below top), which were in turn based on his real-life relationship with the courtesan Marie Duplessis (below bottom), who died in 1847 of consumption.
The play was an instant hit when it premiered in Paris in 1852, and Verdi (below) turned it into an opera the following year.
While the first production of the opera was not a success, due to the poor singing of two cast members and the physical unsuitability of one singer, its second production was acclaimed, and the opera swiftly became one of the most performed operas in the world, a status it has not lost.
Both the opera and the play have inspired countless films, including “Camille” (with Greta Garbo), “Pretty Woman” (with Julia Roberts) and “Moulin Rouge” (with Nicole Kidman).
Madison Opera’s artistic director John DeMain (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson) says: “”La Traviata” has been a part of my artistic life since the very beginning of my career – it’s one of the reasons I so wanted to conduct opera. The heartfelt and tragic story of a love that was cut short by both health and cultural circumstances is still deeply moving today.
“The role of Violetta is a tour-de-force that ranges from high-flying coloratura to dramatic vocalism, with a strongly-etched character. I love this opera so deeply and look forward to conducting it for our audience.”
Returning to Madison Opera as Violetta is Cecilia Violetta Lopez (she played Carmen in Madison), whom The Washington Post reviewer called “as compelling a Violetta as I’ve seen.”
Mackenzie Whitney (below, who appeared in “Florencia en el Amazonas” for the Madison Opera) returns as Alfredo, the young man for whom she sacrifices everything.
Weston Hurt (below) debuts with Madison Opera as Alfredo’s father Germont, whose disapproval of his son’s relationship with Violetta has tragic consequences.
Madison Opera’s Studio Artists are featured: Kirsten Larson as Flora, Emily Secor as Annina, Benjamin Hopkins as Gastone, and Stephen Hobe as the Marquis d’Obigny.
Rounding out the cast are Benjamin Sieverding (Romeo and Juliet) as Dr. Grenvil and Benjamin Major in his Madison Opera debut as Baron Douphol.
Fenton Lamb (below) directs this traditional production in her Madison Opera debut.
Maestro John DeMain conducts the singers, the Madison Opera Chorus and the Madison Symphony Orchestra.
The Madison Opera’s production of “La Traviata” is sponsored by the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation, Bert and Diane Adams, Carla and Fernando Alvarado, Chun Lin, Patricia and Stephen Lucas, Millie and Marshall Osborn, Kato and David Perlman, the Wallach Family, Helen Wineke, Capitol Lakes, and the Wisconsin Arts Board.
Tags: #19thCentury, #AlexandreDumasfils, #ArtisticDirector, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CapitolLakes, #CapitolLakesRetirementCenter, #CastList, #CeciliaViolettaLopez, #ChoralMusic, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #DenverColorado, #DrinkingSong, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FentonLamb, #FlorenciaenelAmazonas, #Fridaynight, #GeneralDirector, #GeorgesBizet, #GiacomoPuccini, #GiuseppeVerdi, #GretaGardo, #HomeWebsite, #IncurableIllness, #InstantHit, #JohnDeMain, #JuliaRoberts, #KathrynSmith, #KatoPerlman, #LaBoheme, #LaTraviata, #MackenzieWhitney, #MadamaButterfly, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonOperaChorus, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarieDuplessis, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MoulinRouge, #MusicCritic, #MusicReview, #NicoleKidman, #OperaAria, #OperaColorado, #OperaHouse, #OrchestralMusic, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #ParisFrance, #PerennialFavorite, #PersonalRelationship, #PleasantT.Rowland, #PopularMusic, #PrettyWoman, #QuietDesperation, #RenéeFleming, #RomeoandJuliet, #RoyalOperaHouse, #RunningTime, #SempreLibera, #Sickness, #SopranoSinger, #StateOfWisconsin, #Sundayafternoon, #TenorSinger, #TheEar, #TheLostOne, #TheMagicFlute, #TheWashingtonPost, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VocalMusic, #WestonHurt, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #WisconsinStudio, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YoungMan, #YoungWoman, #YouTubevideo, 19th century, acclaimed, afternoon, Alexandre Dumas fils, Alfredo, all-consuming, aria, Artistic director, artististic, artists, Arts, ask, audience, baron, beloved, Bizet, blog, Brindisi, Camille, Capitol, Capitol Lakes, care, career, Carmen, cast, Cecilia Violetta Lopez, character, choral music, chorus, circumstance, circumstances, class, classic, Classical music, classicalmusic, classism, Colorado, coloratura, composer, conduct, conductor, consequences, consume, consuming, consumption, costumes, courtesan, critically acclaimed, cultural, culture, death, debut, Denver, desperation, die, director, disapproval, discount, discover, dramatic, drinking song, Dumas, emotions, English, etched, Facebook, famous, father, favorite, feature, Fenton Lamb, film, first, Florencia en el Amazonas, flute, foundation, France, free, Friday, gender, General director, generation, Georges Bizet, Germont, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, glittering, Greta Garbo, group, happiness, Health, heart, heartfelt, high-flying, History, hit, Home, illness, incurable, information, instant, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, John DeMain, Jula Roberts, Kathryn Smith, Kato Perlman, La bohème, La Traviata, lakes, life, like, limitation, limitations, link, lost, loves, Mackenzie Whitney, Madama Butterfly, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Opera Chorus, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maestro, magic, man, Marie Duplessis, Mead Witter School of Music, modern, Moulin Rouge, movie, moving, Mozart, Music, music critic, music reviewer, Nicole Kidman, night, novel, old, omnivore, open, opera, Opera Colorado, Opera house, Orchestra, orchestral music, overcome, Overture Center, Overture Hall, Paris, parties, party, perennial, performer, personal relationship, photo, physical, play, Pleasant T. Rowland, pleasure, poor, popular, post, posting, premiere, pressure, Pretty Woman, production, projected, Puccini, Q&A, question-and-answer, questions, quiet, ravishing, reader, real, real-life, relationship, Renée Fleming, Retirement, review, role, Romeo and Juliet, royal, Royal Opera House, running, running time, sacrifice, same, Season, Sempre Libera, session, sets, Sexism, sexist, share, sick, signature, singer, Singing, social, societal, society, son, soprano, sponsor, State of Wisconsin, status, story, studio, subscriber, success, Sunday, sung, supertitles, surtitles, tag, talks, tenor, The Ear, The Lost One, The Magic Flute, The Washington Post, ticket, time, today, tour-de-force, traditional, Tragic, translation, tuberculosis, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Verdi, Violetta, vocal music, Website, weekend, well-known, Weston Hurt, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, Wisconsin Studio, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, woman, world, year, young, young man, young woman, YouTube
Classical music: Autumn arrives today. The Ear thinks Richard Strauss’ poignant orchestral song “September” is perfect for greeting Fall. What music would you choose?
3 Comments
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
Fall officially arrives today.
The autumnal equinox takes place at 2:50 a.m. CST.
If you listen to Wisconsin Public Radio, it’s a certainty that you will hear music appropriate to the season. WPR does these tie-ins very well and very reliably — even during a pledge drive.
At the top of the list will probably be the “Autumn” section of three violin concertos from the ever popular “The Four Seasons” by the Italian baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi.
But there are lots of others, including late songs, piano sonatas and chamber music by Franz Schubert; slow movements from symphonies by Gustav Mahler; and many of the “autumnal” late works by Johannes Brahms, especially the short piano pieces and chamber music such as the Clarinet Trio, Clarinet Quintet and the two sonatas for clarinet or viola and piano.
Here is a link to a YouTube video with more than two hours of autumn music. You can check out the composers and the pieces, some of which might be new to you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fddGrDV2gw
And if you want less music with some unusual choices, complete with individual performances, try this much shorter compilation:
http://www.classical-music.com/article/best-classical-music-inspired-autumn
Yet this time of year, when the days end earlier and the mornings dawn later, one work in particular gets to The Ear: It is “Four Last Songs” by Richard Strauss (below), one of the great masterpieces of the 20th century.
The second of the four songs is “September” and fits the bill very nicely.
In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear it sung by Renée Fleming, who will perform a recital next spring in Madison at the Wisconsin Union Theater. She is accompanied by the Houston Symphony Orchestra under conductor Christoph Eschenbach.
Here are the lyrics of the poem, in which summertime is the protagonist, by Nobel Prize winner Hermann Hesse:
The garden is in mourning
Cool rain seeps into the flowers.
Summertime shudders,
quietly awaiting his end.
Golden leaf after leaf falls
from the tall acacia tree.
Summer smiles, astonished and feeble,
at his dying dream of a garden.
For just a while he tarries
beside the roses, yearning for repose.
Slowly he closes
his weary eyes.
Is the Ear the only person who wishes that the Madison Symphony Orchestra and maestro John DeMain, who has a gift for finding great young voices, would perform Strauss’ “Four Last Songs” some autumn?
With the right vocal soloist it could make for a memorable season-opening concert.
What music do you identity with the fall season?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #20thCentury, #AmericanMusician, #AutumnalEquinox, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChristophEschenbach, #ClarinetMusic, #ClarinetQuintet, #ClarinetSonata, #ClarinetTrio, #CompactDisc, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FourLastSongs, #GermanComposer, #GermanLanguage, #GermanWriter, #GustavMahler, #HermannHesse, #HoustonSymphony, #HoustonTexas, #ItalianBaroque, #italianComposer, #ItalianMusic, #JohannesBrahms, #JohnDeMain, #KurtMasur, #LeipzigGermany, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MusicalInterpretation, #NobelPrize, #OrchestralAccompaniment, #PianoMusic, #PianoPieces, #PianoSonata, #PledgeDrive, #RenéeFleming, #RichardStrauss, #SlowMovement, #SopranoSinger, #StringMusic, #TheEar, #TheFourSeasons, #ViolaSonata, #ViolinConcerto, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #YouTubevideo, 20th-century, accompaniment, American, appropriate, Arts, astonished, Autumn, autumnal, Baroque, beautiful, blog, Brahms, CD, Cello, Chamber music, choice, Christoph Eschenbach, clarinet, classic, Classical music, classicalmusic, close, Compact Disc, compilation, composer, concerto, conductor, dawn, day, diva, dream, drive, dying, Early music, equinox, eyes, Facebook, fall, feeble, forward, Four Last Songs, Franz Schubert, Garden, German, Germany, Gewandhaus, gift, golden, great, Gustav Mahler, hear, Hermann Hesse, Houston, Im Abendrot, interpretation, Jacob Stockinger, Jessye Norman, Johannes Brahms, John DeMain, Kurt Masur, late, leaf, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, like, link, list, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maestro, Mahler, masterpiece, mourning, Music, Nobel Prize, Orchestra, perfect, performer, Piano, piano music, pieces, pledge, pledge drive, poem, Poetry, popular, post, posting, protagonist, recital, recording, Renée Fleming, repose, Richard Strauss, rose, roses, Season, September, share, sing, singer, Slow movement, smiles, Sonata, song, soprano, Strauss, string music, sublime, summertime, sunset, symphony, tag, tears, Texas, The Ear, The Four Seasons, tie-in, tree, United States, unusual, Viola, Violin, Violin concerto, Vivaldi, vocal music, voice, weary, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Union Theater, WPR, Writer, young, YouTube
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 
Does Wisconsin Public Radio play too much harp music?
7 Comments
PLEASE NOTE: Due to a technical glitch, the following commentary was posted briefly yesterday and then withdrawn. That also disabled the commentary function temporarily. Once the glitch is solved, The Ear will post it again. That means some of you will get it twice. I apologize for any inconvenience. And to the fans who have kindly greeted my return, heartfelt thanks. I will be posting more details about the use and frequency of this blog in the near future.
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
Can’t help it.
The harp always reminds The Ear of a giant egg slicer.
Still, The Ear loves the sound of the harp — in the right works.
That usually means when it is blended into orchestral works (Brahms, Wagner, Tchaikovsky and Mahler come to mind) and chamber music works (Debussy and Ravel come to mind).
But when it comes to solo harp and harp concertos, no thanks. Barring some Baroque music and Classical works — Handel’s concerti grossi and Mozart’s “Brunch” Concerto for Flute and Harp — he’ll pass for the most part.
So much harp music, both original and arranged, just sounds second-rate or worse. Can anyone name a masterpiece for the solo harp written by a great composer? And I don’t mean Louis Spohr who composed for his harpist wife.
The solo harp repertoire is very small, hence the need for so many transcriptions.
That’s a problem.
The harp tends to make music for other instruments sound so .. so … so pleasant! Even when the original is dramatic, it’s all pluck pluck, twang twang, zing zing. Just listen to the YouTube video at the bottom of J.S. Bach’s mighty Toccata and Fugue in D minor for Organ played on the harp.
So, The Ear asks, why has Wisconsin Public Radio started playing so much harp music on almost every show? (Below is WPR host, accomplished harpist and harp evangelist Ruthanne Bessman, who often includes harp music in her Saturday Morning program “Classics by Request.”)
Is it because the public really loves hearing the harp so much?
Is it because the radio show hosts do?
Do listener surveys indicate a preference for the harp?
Does the covid pandemic play a role in seeking bland but soothing music?
What do you think?
Do you like or even crave harp music?
Do you think WPR is programming too much harp music these days?
Too little?
Or the right amount?
Leave a comment, please.
The Ear wants to hear.
Share this:
Like this:
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ClassicsByRequest, #ClaudeDebussy, #ConcertoGrosso, #CoronavirusPandemic, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FluteMusic, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #HarpMusic, #InstrumentalMusic, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #LouisSpohr, #MauriceRavel, #OrganMusic, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PluckedInstruments, #PublicRadio, #RadioHost, #RichardWagner, #TechnicalGlitch, #ToccataandFugueinDminor, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, arrangement, Arts, audience, Bach, Baroque, bland, blog, Brahms, Chamber music, choral music, classic, Classic By Request, Classical music, comment, commentary, compose, composer, Concert, concerto, Concerto Grosso, coronavirus, coronavirus pandemic, crave, Debussy, details, Early music, egg, evangelist, Facebook, flute, frequency, future, George Frideric Handel, glitch, great, Handel, harp, harpist, heart, heartfelt, host, husband, instrument, instrumental music, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, link, listener, Louis Spohr, Love, Madison, masterpiece, Maurice Ravel, Mozart, Music, near, Orchestra, organ, pandemic, play, pleasant, pluck\, poll, preference, programming, public, public radio, Radio, Ravel, reply, Richard Wagner, right amount, role, Ruthanne Bessman, share, solo, Sonata, soothing, Spohr, survey, symphony, tag, Tchaikovsky, technology, thanks, think, Toccata and Fugue in D minor, too little, too much, transcription, twang, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, use, Wagner, wife, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, WPR, you, YouTube, zing