The Well-Tempered Ear
YOU MUST HEAR THIS: No piece captures the mixed emotions of Memorial Day better than Charles Ives’ “Decoration Day”
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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 is Memorial Day, 2022.
It is the annual holiday to remember those who died in military service to the country. (Below are flags placed each year at the tombstones in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.)
If you want to honor survivors and current service members, that would be Veterans Day on Nov. 11.
All weekend long the radio has been playing music and the television has been showing war movies.
A lot of the music is familiar and repeated every year: Sousa marches and Morton Gould suites, elegies by Gustav Mahler, Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein; requiems by Mozart and Fauré; a hymn by John Williams and other movie scores. This year has also seen the playlist include rediscovered works of homage by African-American composers such as William Grant Still.
But only this year did The Ear finally hear — thanks to Wisconsin Public Radio — the one piece that, to his mind, best captures Memorial Day with its blending of consonance and dissonance, its mix of major and major keys, of familiar or “found” music and original music.
It is called, simply, “Decoration Day” and it was composed in 1912 — but not published until 1989 — by the 20th-century iconoclastic and early modernist American composer Charles Ives (below, 1874-1954). It ended up as part of a work the composer called “A Symphony: New England Hollidays.”
See if you agree with The Ear.
Listen to the 8-minute performance by “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in the YouTube video at the bottom.
Listen to the deep anguish and and sense of loss conveyed in the opening, when a solemn remembrance procession goes to a cemetery to plant flags and lay flowers and wreaths to “decorate” the graves of the fallen.
Listen carefully and you will hear a faint version of “Taps” and ringing church bells in the atmospheric music.
Then as so often happens in reality, life suddenly intrudes in the form of a celebration by a loud marching brass band as it leaves the cemetery for the celebratory marches, picnics and fireworks.
But at the end, the darkness briefly returns. The sense of loss lingers long after the actual death and long after the holiday has been celebrated.
There is no closure.
Just resignation.
Just living with loss.
Here is the background from Wikipedia about how the holiday started as Decoration Day after the Civil War and when it evolved into Memorial Day in 1970: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day
And here is biographical background, with the actual sources and depictions of “Decoration Day” — just go down the page to compositions and click — about Charles Ives: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Ives
Did you know and like Charles Ives’ music?
Does “Decoration Day” impress or move you?
What music most embodies Memorial Day for you?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Classical music: Black Marigold will mix beer and wind music, starting this Sunday afternoon on the “Sunday Live From the Chazen” concert and live webcast
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By Jacob Stockinger
Beer-inspired classical music may seem a stretch at first.
But then you haven’t heard the Madison-based wind quintet Black Marigold.
And there is a historical precedent or two, including the “Coffee Cantata” by Johann Sebastian Bach and Classical Revolution Madison, which performs classic music in unusual venues such as cafes, coffee houses and bars.
In any case, Black Marigold (below) performed some of Beer Music in brew pubs and a church at the end of August.
Now the ensemble will begin its September concerts this Sunday afternoon at the Chazen Museum of Art on the UW-Madison campus.
The concert, which used to be carried live by Wisconsin Public Radio but was discontinued, is FREE at 12:30 p.m. in Brittingham Gallery No. 3 (below).
It will also be streamed live at this site:
Here are more details about the dates, venues and programs:
Music on Tap: 2016 Summer Concert Series
Upcoming Black Marigold Concerts:
- Sunday, September 4, 12:30 p.m., Sunday Afternoon Live at the Chazen
- Saturday, September 10, 3 p.m., The Malt House
- Thursday, September 15, 7 p.m., Stoughton Public Library
All performances offer FREE admission, with free will donations accepted.
As many Madisonians geared up for this past week’s Great Taste of the Midwest, the region’s largest craft beer festival, Black Marigold logged time in the rehearsal hall instead of the beer hall, fermenting new music for the group’s end-of-summer concert series.
All September programs will feature selections from Beer Music, an epic collection of short pieces inspired by 18 local craft beers, composed by Brian DuFord for Black Marigold.
Learn more about this unique commissioning collaboration in this recent feature in The Capital Times.
Here are details of individual programs:
Summer Concert Series
Sunday, September 4, 12:30 p.m., Sunday Afternoon Live at the Chazen (live stream link)
Thursday, September 15, 7 p.m., Stoughton Public Library
- Quintet in D Major, Op. 91 No. 3 by Anton Reicha
- Partita for Wind Quintet by Irving Fine
- Beer Music (selections) by Brian DuFord (below top)
Pub Concerts: relax and enjoy a pint with your performance!
Saturday, September 10, 3 pm, The Malt House (below bottom)
- Beer Music selections
- Additional wind quintet selections
Beer Music was made possible by a grant from Dane Arts and individual donations from many friends.
For more information, visit: www.blackmarigold.com
To contact the group, use this email address:
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Classical music: The Malt House craft beer tavern is seeking classical musicians to perform chamber music. A guitarist performs this afternoon
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following message from Bill Rogers, the owner of The Malt House tavern on Madison’s near east side. It fits in with the national and international trend of performing classical music in non-traditional venues such as bars, cafes and coffee houses, much like what the Classical Revolution movement does here and Le Poisson Rouge does in New York City do. So The Ear thinks what Rogers says will interest both performers and listeners.
Hi Jake,
Thanks for calling and asking about classical music at The Malt House (below). I love the name of your blog!
I put up a flier in Metcalfe’s seeking musicians who’d like a place to perform. I’ve got three bookings from that flier, and I will try other locations soon.
Upcoming performances include:
Jeff Larsen (below) — Classical Guitar – TODAY, Saturday Jan. 23, 3-5 p.m.
Yahara String Quartet (below) — (classical and love songs, “pops-style”) – Saturday, Feb. 13, 3-5 p.m.
Jeff Larsen and Inna Larsen — Classical Guitar and Violin — Saturday March 12, 3-5 p.m.
Karl von Huene (below)– Solo Cello – Saturday, March 26, 3-5 p.m.
Unfortunately, there is no piano to use. And patrons seem to prefer instrumental music to vocal music.
The musicians play 2 hours, including a beer break. Alas, these are not paid gigs. They play for tips and beer. People DO tip.
I don’t play, but I’ve been a fan of classical music since high school (40 years ago). I subscribed a few years ago to the Madison Symphony Orchestra at the Overture Center, but I found the atmosphere stifling although the music was amazing. Nobody bobbed their heads, tapped their toes or fingers, nobody “air conducted.” Meh. There was no life in the room!
I’m also not likely to seek out concerts in churches either, because I like a drink while I listen.
I wanted a more vibrant and intimate experience and, as a bar owner, I happen to have a small performance space.
So … I’m looking for chamber music-style experiences for our customers, and lively feedback for performers.
Chamber music is party music. That’s what it was written for, yes? It belongs in parties, bars, etc.
I think there’s an unmet need for intimate, relaxed, classical performances. I want my bar to be the place people come for weekend classics. A lot of University of Wisconsin faculty, staff, technicians and others who live near us come here, and they seem to respond well to these shows.
The Yahara String Quartet has played at The Malt House several times before. Attendance was decent, we sold a fair number of drinks, and everyone had a great afternoon. They’ve received a few wedding bookings because people heard them here.
I’m seeking other musicians because they’re often busy with other performances, and normal family life. I can’t book them as often as I’d like. Incidentally, I found them because one of the violinists also plays fiddle for the Oak Street Ramblers, a bluegrass band playing here monthly.
About the bar: We’ve been in business almost 8 years. Isthmus Readers voted us best craft beer bar five consecutive years, Madison Magazine named us 2nd best beer bar twice, and we’ve been named one of the 10 hottest places in America to drink whiskey by Zagat. Besides a great beer and whiskey selection, we have a full bar setup, so wine, cocktails, cider and other beverages are all available.
We’re at the corner of East Washington Avenue and Milwaukee Street. Red Letter News is kitty-corner from us, and that’s the landmark people recognize when asking “where are you on East Wash?”
Cheers,
Bill Rogers, Owner,
The Malt House
2609 East Washington Avenue
Madison, WI 53704
Tags: Arts, bar, Beer, cafe, Cello, Chamber music, cider, Classical music, Classical Revolution, cocktails, coffee house, craft beer, guitar, Jacob Stockinger, Le Poisson Rouge, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Malt House, Music, New York, New York City, Overture Center, party, Piano, tavern, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wine, Wisconsin
Classical music: Brass ensemble from UW-Platteville performs a FREE concert Monday night at Taliesin in Spring Green. Plus, the Willy Street Chamber Players perform living composers tonight at 6.
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ALERT: A reminder that tonight at 6 p.m. in the Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1021 Spaight Street, the newly formed group the Willy Street Chamber Players (below) — whose members also play in the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and other groups — will present a concert of works for strings and piano by living composers, including Paul Schoenfield (you can hear the first movement of his “Cafe Music,” which is on the program, in a YouTube video at the bottom) and UW-Madison School of Music students. Admission is $12, $8 for students and seniors. For more information, here is a link to the group’s website:
http://www.willystreetchamberplayers.org
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear’s friends at the Rural Musicians Forum write:
The University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s faculty brass ensemble, Ensemble Nouveau, takes the stage at Hillside Theater in Spring Green, at famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s compound Taliesin, as part of the Rural Musicians Forum summer concert series, on this coming Monday night, July 27 at 7:30 p.m.
The Hillside Theater (below) is located at 6604 Highway 23 in Spring Green.
The concert is not ticketed and is open to the public. A free-will offering will be taken to support the concert series. For additional information and driving directions see www.ruralmusiciansforum.org.
The ensemble’s performance will be held in the fashion of the quickly growing trend called “Classical Revolution,” where audiences hear classical music in a setting that is different and more accessible than typical concert venues and settings. Since the ensemble formed in 2009, it has performed at community centers, schools and radio stations in northern Illinois, Chicago, northeast Iowa and all across Wisconsin.
“The novelty of the group is that each member plays at least four different instruments when we perform,” said David Cooper, associate professor of trumpet and chair of the Department of Performing and Visual Arts. “Another unique feature of the group is that we arrange all of our own music because no musical arrangements exist with parts written for our unique combination of instruments.”
The group began as a quartet of four UW-Platteville faculty members and held its first concert in 2009. The group soon attracted the attention of Wisconsin Public Radio because of the quality of the members’ musicianship.
Today, the group has grown to a sextet: Cooper, who plays B-flat, C, E-flat, flugel horn and piccolo trumpet; Matthew Gregg, associate director of bands, who plays French horn, mellophone, flugel and trumpet; Allen Cordingley, lecturer of saxophone and jazz studies, who plays soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophone; percussion instructor Keith Lienert, who plays an assortment of instruments including the drum set, marimba and steel pan; Corey Mackey, lecturer of clarinet, guitar, chamber music and music appreciation, who plays all members of the clarinet family; and David Earll, lecturer of music technology, chamber music and music appreciation, who plays different tubas and euphonium.
In the photo below, members of the Ensemble Nouveau are, from left to right, David Earll, Matthew Gregg, Keith Lienert, Corey Mackey, David Cooper, Allen Cordingley.
Ensemble Nouveau now represents almost every musical member of a typical high school band program, and its program is widely varied.
“I’ve never played with a group like this before – where the literature varies so much, from Johann Sebastian Bach to Stevie Wonder to Astor Piazzola,” said Gregg. “We can play a multitude of styles: jazz, classical, funk, Latin – you name it, we play it.”
“I enjoy the challenge that comes from the uniqueness of the group,” said Cordingley. “This group is a small version of a concert band, involving all types of instruments and all types of music. During Renaissance times, consorts of musicians played in diverse locations. It almost feels like we’re old-time consorts playing contemporary music in our own diverse locations.”
In an important way, Ensemble Nouveau is also an attractive representation of what the UW-Platteville Department of Visual and Performing Arts has to offer.
As Cooper says: “We are part of this ensemble because we want to be. This group has a sincere camaraderie that reflects our passion for music and our appreciation for the opportunities we have at UW-Platteville.
“We want students at area high schools to know that they will have access to world-class players, musicians and singers at UW-Platteville. It’s important to keep music alive. Ensemble Nouveau is going to do everything in its power to do that.”
Ensemble Nouveau promises an evening of exuberant all-brass music. It will not be “all crashing cymbals and honking tubas,” Gregg insists.
For openers, two talented student flutists from the Wisconsin River Valley, Brenna Ledesma and Carly Stanek, will be featured. Each will play a solo selection followed by a duet.
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Classical music: Founder Bruce Croushore explains how the “Grace Presents” series of FREE concerts came about and what it offers for the future.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Bruce Croushore is leaving Madison this month.
Croushore founded Grace Presents, a monthly FREE concert series that features performances of eclectic music. He agreed to answers questions about his role as a local music entrepreneur or amateur impresario.
Croushore, a retired corporate attorney, and his wife Michele Hilmes, who retired last month from her position as Professor in the Communication Arts Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, are moving to New York, where they met and married 38 years ago and where their daughter, her husband and their infant grandson live.
What motivated you to start Grace Presents?
It occurred to me for years that Grace Church’s historic and beautiful nave or sanctuary (below top) is the right size and has pleasant acoustical properties for music performed by soloists and small ensembles.
Having attended concerts in churches in cities in the US and in Europe, I figured Grace -– a lovely and peaceful space ideally situated (below bottom) on Madison’s Capital Square and on the music venue axis from Monona Terrace to Overture Hall and on to Mills Hall -– is perfectly suited for a concert series.
How did you piece together Grace Presents?
To put it together, I figured the series first needed the support of Grace’s clergy, staff and lay leadership, which came quickly and unanimously in March of 2011, with some caution about staff time demands.
Next, I held a meeting of several folks I knew in Madison’s music community to seek their input on feasibility, frequency, format, timing and programming. Their questions and comments helped launch the series, which in a fit of rare creativity I dubbed, “Grace Presents.”
How is Grace Presents managed and operated?
Out of the planning meetings arose a task force without whose support and hard work the Grace Presents series would not have advanced. Members of the task force worked diligently, not only at the concerts but also in start-up efforts to negotiate a mission statement and work out processes and procedures.
More goes on behind the scenes in organizing and presenting a concert series than one might imagine. I feel the scheme we devised suits our purpose well.
In a stroke of fortune, Laura Weiner (below) came on board as our first program coordinator. Laura is a gifted horn player who was working at the time on a Master’s degree at the UW-Madison School of Music and who was a leader in the “Classical Revolution” movement in Madison.
She brought the energy, organizational skills and musical connections Grace Presents needed in its inaugural season. (Below are violinist Laura Burns, of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and pianist Jess Salek playing the complete violin sonatas of Johannes Brahms, whose “Liebeslieder” Waltzes can be heard in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
Did the series take off as you had hoped?
That first experimental season began in June 2011 and met with success. We tried different days of the week and different times of the day. We also experimented with varied programs, from a UW-Madison student brass quartet to Caravan, a local gypsy swing band.
Very importantly, we stuck to the guiding principles of charging no admission but paying an honorarium to all performers and keeping the music secular and eclectic. The quality of the performances was outstanding and attendance was gratifying.
Over the years, the task force realized that noon on Saturdays, especially when the Dane County Farmers’ Market is open, works best, as does keeping the concerts between 45 and 60 minutes long.
Scheduling was and remains a challenge because of conflicts such as events at the Overture Center and around the Capitol Square, as well as Badger football games. We surveyed the first concertgoers – and we have surveyed all that followed – and found that diverse programming has wide appeal.
What did you learn over Grace Presents’ seasons?
Despite satisfying turnouts and positive comments on the surveys, we learned quickly that Grace Presents could not be sustained by free-will donations tossed into a basket at the concerts.
With Laura Weiner’s diligence in researching and writing a proposal, we had the good fortune to obtain a grant from Dane Arts near the end of the first season. That grant, along with a few generous individual donations and gifts from Grace Church, allowed us to meet our obligations. Funding for the following seasons came from the same sources. (Below are the Madison Bach Musicians performing a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach.)
What does the future look like for Grace Presents?
The 2015 season line-up features many gifted musicians who perform a wide variety of music genres. Some members of Grace Presents’ voluntary task force attend Grace Church and others do not.
This is in keeping with the series’ mission of offering quality yet informal performances of secular music to the broader Madison and Dane County community, at no charge.
It also provides an attractive, historic and acoustically pleasing space to artists who perform a wide range of music and who are paid a decent honorarium.
The current program coordinator, Andrea Mauch (below), has the drive, charm and savvy required to move the series to the next level. She is talented in using the Internet and social media to promote Grace Presents. I am especially grateful to Andrea and to task force members Lynn Morgan (the current chair), Tino Balio, Bill Foote, Kia Karlen and Ginny Shannon for all they do to keep the Grace Presents concert series going strong.
They’ll do a great job maintaining the series on a sound footing. I pray it remains for years to come “a masterpiece of eclecticism,” as John McPhee once described Bill Bradley’s graceful hook shot.
For more information, you can go to this link:
Tags: Arts, Bach, Badger, Baroque, Bill Bradley, Campus, Cantata, Chamber music, choral music, Classical music, Classical Revolution, concerto, corporate lawyer, Early music, entrepreneur, football, George Frideric Handel, hook shot, Horn, Internet, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, lawyer, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mozart, Music, Orchestra, Piano, secular, secular music, social media, swing, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, vocal music, Waltz, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: Pianist Ingrid Fliter talks about sexism in the concert world and discusses the difficulty of playing the music of Chopin, which she specializes in and will perform this coming weekend with the Madison Symphony Orchestra.
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By Jacob Stockinger
It is hard to imagine a more fitting program for Valentine’s Day weekend than the one that the Madison Symphony Orchestra will perform.
The program, to be performed under the baton of MSO music director John DeMain, includes the Piano Concerto No. 2 by Frederic Chopin with the prestigious Gilmore Prize-winning pianist Ingrid Fliter (below); the Symphony No. 4 by Robert Schumann, an arch-Romantic; and the Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge by British composer Benjamin Britten, who was a student of Bridge.
Performances are in Overture Hall in the Overture Center. Times are Friday at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets are $12-$84.
But until midnight this Tuesday, there is a special Valentine’s Day deal of two tickets for the price of one going on. For details, got to http://www.overturecenter.org/events/fliter-plays-chopin or call the Overture Center Box Office at (608) 258-4141.
Fliter recently agreed to an email Q&A with The Ear:
Can you briefly introduce yourself to readers who may not know you? What are your current and future plans and projects?
I’m an Argentinian pianist. I live in Italy in Lake Como for many years now. I consider myself an art lover. I do believe art can be life-changing to people. And that’s what I concentrate on doing when I perform: To bring happiness and inspiration to audiences.
Do you think the professional concert world treats women differently? Or has the sexism of past eras improved in your experience?
I do believe sexism in art still exists among presenters, conductors, agents, people in general, etc. The phrase “She plays like a man!” is heard more often than wanted. And it is amazing to see that even women can be sexists towards other women as well by accepting certain prejudices imposed by obsolete cultural traditions.
However I do believe women have the power to keep changing that mentality by showing the world and, more importantly themselves that they can do as well (or better) as anyone else.
You known especially as a specialist in Chopin (below), whose music you will play here. What makes Chopin so unique and so popular?
Chopin is a composer who speaks directly to the heart of people. Like a dear friend who shares with us his deepest secrets of life, his music is intimate and personal. He doesn’t describe landscapes or tell stories. He speaks about human feelings and people feel represented and touched by the beauty he creates. He enhances harmony and enriches people’s life.
Recently, Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes said Chopin is more difficult to play successfully than Beethoven. What are the elements of great Chopin playing that make his music so challenging to the performer?
I can agree with this. Chopin is one of the most difficult composers to play. His Romanticism is not obvious and it is very important — and hard — to find a right balance between his Romantic soul and his Classical expression.
Also, the importance of making the piano sing as a singer would do is deeply challenging because it means fighting against the nature of the piano, which is a percussive instrument.
But more importantly, Chopin (below) requires from us all our senses completely in balance and in harmony with nature. We cannot allow our body to be tensed or our heart to be arid when we play Chopin. His music will always be a mirror of our soul and will reflect our inner world, totally naked.
You will perform Piano Concerto No. 2 over Valentine’s Day weekend. It seems a perfect choice for the occasion. What would you like the audience to know about the Piano Concerto No. 2, especially as compared to No. 1, which was composed later?
This concerto is one of the most beautiful pieces ever written. The poetry, the beauty, the perfection of form and level of maturity reached by this 18-year-old teenager are simply astonishing and revealing.
This music is irresistible and seductive. Let yourself be embraced by the perfumes and textures he creates and you’ll be taken into a wonderful world, a world you would never want to come back from. Special attention goes to the marvelous second movement with its beautiful melodic lines, which might bring a little tear to your eyes. (You can hear the second movement, performed by pianist Arthur Rubinstein with the London Philharmonic under conductor-composer Andre Previn in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
You have performed in Madison before in a recital at the Wisconsin Union Theater. Do you have an opinion about Madison and its audiences?
I have the best memories from Madison and its public, and I’m looking forward to our next encounter!
Was there an Aha Moment! – a piece or performance or performer – when you knew you wanted to be a professional concert pianist?
I was 16 years old and playing the Piano Concerto No. 3 by Ludwig van Beethoven for the first time with the orchestra at the Teatro Colon (below) in Buenos Aires. The hall was packed and the atmosphere was febrile. I remember my feeling of total joy knowing I was about to perform that concerto for all those people. I felt in the right moment in the right place.
How do you think can we get more young people interested in classical music?
Education, education, education. We must show young people classical music is theirs as well, not something old that belongs to museums.
Music is a vehicle of human expression and this is what we, as educators, parents, need to inculcate since the very beginning. So, parents have to be educated as well.
Music in school shouldn’t be the “free time” classroom, but should be taken as a moment of spiritual joy and recreation. Parents should listen to classical music at home, and share their feelings that music brings with their children.
Also, we should bring classical music into more deconstructed environments outside concert halls, in houses, bars, airports, parks. (Below is the Madison chapter of Classical Revolution performing chamber music in a bar.)
Tags: Andre Previn, Argentina, Arthur Rubinstein, Arts, Beethoven, Benjamin Britten, Classical music, Classical Revolution, Compact Disc, concerto, Frank Bridge, German Romanticism, Gilmore, Gina Bachauer, Ingrid Fliter, Irving S. Gilmore Foundation, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, John DeMain, Lake Como, Leif Ove Andsnes, London, London Symphony Orchestra, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music, Norway, Orchestra, Overture Center, Piano, Piano concerto, Schumann, Sexism, Wisconsin Union Theater, YouTube
Classical music education: The Madison Symphony Orchestra’s “Final Forte” – the final round of the Bolz Young Artists Competition –- will be broadcast LIVE on Wisconsin Public Television and Wisconsin Public Radio this Thursday night. The public can attend the live performance in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center for FREE. Plus, the music tonight by Classical Revolution Madison at Brocach Irish Pub has been CANCELLED.
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ALERT: The performance tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. by Classical Revolution Madison at Brocach Irish Pub (below) at 7 West Man Street, on the Capitol Square in Madison HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
By Jacob Stockinger
It’s time again for one of Madison’s annual and much anticipated Rites of Spring: “The Final Forte.”
That is the final round where four young classical musicians compete as soloists live and on stage with the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below top) under music director and conductor John DeMain (below bottom, in a photo by James Gill) in the Capitol Theater, although in previous years it was held in Overture Hall, of the Overture Center in downtown Madison near the Capitol Square.
I have heard and watched The Final Forte quite a few times and the music-making is always wonderful, and the display of talent is always impressive. I don’t envy the judges and their task. It is a terrific event to promote classical music, both the making of it and the hearing of it in live performance. Young performing artists always need more public platforms and exposure. And music education always needs more help.
Wisconsin Public Television (WPT) and Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) will once again offer statewide live broadcasts of Wisconsin Young Artists Compete: The Final Forte at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 14. The broadcast — part of WPT’s new Young Performers Initiative — also will be live simulcast at wpt.org on the Web.
The Final Forte features (below, from left, in a photo by James Gill) pianist Christopher Eom; harpist Chloe Tula; violinist C. Andrew Dunlap; and oboist Lauren McNeel. The four will vie for honors in the 2013 Bolz Young Artist Competition.
For more information, including biographies of the four performers and dates for repeat broadcasts, visit: http://www.madisonsymphony.org/competition
Each finalist will perform a movement from a concerto while judges determine who will win scholarships and the opportunity to perform as soloists with the MSO at the Spring Young People’s Concert.
Here is the complete program: W.A. Mozart – “The Impresario” Overture, K. 486; Franz Josef Haydn’s Oboe Concerto in C Major, first movement with Lauren McNeel, Oboe; Reinhold Gliere’s Harp Concerto in E flat Major, Op. 74, first movement, with Chloe Tula, harp; Sergei Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 19, first movement, with C. Andrew Dunlap, violin; Camille Saint-Saëns, Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22, first movement, with Christopher Eom, piano; Igor Stravinsky’s “Firebird” Suite (1945) sections 9) Infernal Dance, 10) Berceuse and 11) Finale.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the free live performance in the Capitol Theater (below) at the Overture Center in Madison; phone (608) 257-3734 to reserve a seat. Audience members must be seated by 6:45 p.m.
“Wisconsin Young Artists Compete: The Final Forte” is a partnership of Wisconsin Public Television, Wisconsin Public Radio and the Madison Symphony Orchestra.
Major funding for “Wisconsin Young Artists Compete: The Final Forte” is provided by Diane Endres Ballweg; Stanley and Shirley Inhorn; Julie and Larry Midtbo; Fred and Mary Mohs; and Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation, with additional gifts from A. Paul Jones Charitable Trust, Baird Foundation, The Boldt Company, Mildred and Marv Conney, Sentry Insurance Foundation, W. Jerome Frautschi, and Friends of Wisconsin Public Television.
WPT is a service of the Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin–Extension. Statewide outlets include WHA-TV, Madison; WPNE-TV, Green Bay; WHRM-TV, Wausau; WLEF-TV, Park Falls; WHLA-TV, La Crosse; and WHWC-TV, Menomonie-Eau Claire.
Tags: Classical Revolution, Classical Revolution Madison, Final Forte, Franz Josef Haydn, Gliere, Igor Stravinsky, John DeMain, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Oboe, Overture Center, Piano, Saint-Saens, Sergei Prokofiev, University of Wisconsin–Extension, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Public Television, Wisconsin-Madison, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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