The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music plus tips for watching Monday’s solar eclipse
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By Jacob Stockinger
This coming Monday, April 8, will see a rare solar eclipse crossing the United States and visible to varying degrees (below) in different locations. In Madison, it will start at 12:50 p.m. CST, peak at 2:05 and end at 3:20.
It got The Ear to thinking about appropriate classical music to listen to.
But some other information seems more important to convey first:
For last-minute tracking of the eclipse and traveling to see it, here are stories from NPR (National Public Radio) and PBS:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/how-to-watch-the-2024-total-solar-eclipse
And from, MIT (the Massachusetts Institute of Technology), here are tips in the form of a Q&A about how to make the most out of viewing the eclipse:
https://news.mit.edu/2024/qa-brian-mernoff-tips-for-viewing-solar-eclipse-0404
NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has some advice about watching the eclipse safely:
https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/safety
If you want to watch the eclipse in real time from a place where a total eclipse — known as totality — will take place, the PBS NewsHour will live-stream it on YouTube. Here is a link, which also allows you to set up a notification starting at noon on Monday for the real-time broadcast:
A solar eclipse is an event that inspired awe and fear. It caused our pre-historic ancestors to beat the ground with sticks and exchange stories about the wrath of the gods.
These days it leads to even more conspiracy theories by more primitive-minded, far-right conspiracy theorists. Here is an an overview from Rolling Stone magazine of the nonsense that is being promulgated by Alex Jones (below, from Getty Images) and other popular science- and fact-deniers.
The Ear looked for some music to capture the feeling of the eclipse — the mystery and awe when it is happening, and the relief when it is over.
He’s pretty sure that on the radio, internet and elsewhere you will hear excerpts from “The Planets” by Gustav Holst; the “Moonlight” Sonata by Beethoven; maybe Haydn’s “Sunrise” string quartet, “Clair de lune” by Debussy; “Morning Mood” from “Peer Gynt Suite Suite” by Edvard Grieg; “Sunrise” from the “Grand Canyon Suite” by Ferde Grofé; the beautiful sunrise opening of the “Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2” by Ravel; and of course the dramatic opening sunrise to “Thus Spake Zarathustra” by Richard Strauss, which was made famous in the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
But The Ear settled on the “Helios Overture” (in the YouTube video at the bottom) by the Danish composer Carl Nielsen. It is a haunting performance by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the American conductor Alan Gilbert.
Do you have a piece of classical music that you think would be appropriate for watching the eclipse?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Klaus Mäkelä, 28, is the new music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
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By Jacob Stockinger
It seems to The Ear that another young conducting superstar is in the making.
I’m talking about the 28-year-old Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä (below, in a photo by Marco Borggreve), who just yesterday was named the successor to 82-year-old Riccardo Muti as the music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, starting in 2027.
Chances are good that the talented, photogenic and charismatic Mäkelä — ignore the umlauts and “ke” is pronounced kay — who has had a meteoric rise will eventually join the company of Gustavo Dudamel and Yannick Nézet-Séguin as an heir to such celebrated conductors as Leonard Bernstein and Herbert von Karajan, then Claudio Abbado, Michael Tilson Thomas and Marin Alsop.
The Ear would love to post stories from the New York Times, the Washington Post or the Chicago Tribune. But they all hide their online stories behind a paywall.
Here is another story, from ABC-TV in Chicago and the Associated Press, that has all the essentials and some extra background:
In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can see his 2-minute video made specifically to introduce himself on the occasion of his selection to lead the CSO. He talks about what he likes about the world-famous orchestra and why he wanted to accept the permanent position after guest conducting the CSO
And here is an excerpt of Mäkelä conducting the Paris Orchestra in Carnegie aHall last month. His reading of Igor Stravinsky’s “The Firebird” — on an all-Stravinsky program with “The Rite of Spring — raised the neck hair on The Ear.
You can under how the young Finn has developed a reputation for both spontaneous energy and sonic clarity.
What do you think of Klaus Mäkelä becoming the music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra?
Have you heard him conduct? What did you think?
Would you go to Chicago to hear him conduct?
Will he become a worthy successor to such Chicago luminaries as Muti, Daniel Barenboim, George Solti and Fritz Reiner?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Classical music: Cellist-composer Steuart Pincombe performs music by Bach, Biber and Abel on this Thursday night at the Chocolaterian Cafe in Middleton
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement about a special and unusual populist concert:
Cellist Steuart Pincombe (below) can regularly be found playing in some of the world’s more prestigious concert halls, premiering new compositions and soloing in major festivals.
On this coming Thursday night, Sept. 20, at 7:30 p.m., Pincombe will perform music in a more intimate setting: the Chocolaterian Cafe (below), located at 6637 University Avenue in Middleton. Phone is 608 836-1156.)
The concert is part of an international movement called Music in Familiar Spaces, which is bringing the classical music experience at its highest level into homes, cafes, breweries, bookstores or any place where people feel comfortable.
One of the aims of the Music in Familiar Spaces is to make classical music accessible to a wide and varied audience. This is accomplished not only by performing in familiar, comfortable and untraditional spaces, but by designing programs that invite the audience to experience the music in a new and engaging way.
The program at the Chocolaterian is titled “Sweet Sorrow” and features music of some of the Baroque period’s most beloved composers: Karl Friedrich Abel (below top in a painting by Thomas Gainsborough), Heinrich Biber (below middle) and Johann Sebastian Bach (below bottom) plus an original composition by Pincombe.
Pincombe will be joined by local violinist and concertmaster of the Madison Bach Musicians Kangwon Kim (below) in a selection from Biber’s Rosary Sonatas.
Here is the program:
Selections in D minor (From 27 Pieces for Viola da gamba) by Carl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787)
Violin Sonata No. 10 in G minor, “Crucifixion” (From the Rosary sonatas) by Heinrich Biber (1644-1702)
Suite No. 5 in C minor for Solo Cello, BWV 1011, by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). You can hear Mischa Maisky playing the Prelude to the Bach suite in the YouTube video at the bottom.
Psalm 56 for Voice and Viola da gamba by Steuart Pincombe (1987-)
In order to make the concert accessible to anyone, the audience is asked to name-their-own-ticket-price for the concert, paying what they can afford and what they deem the concert is worth.
The suggested ticket price is $15-30 per person, plus the cost of whatever food and drink you wish to purchase from the cafe.
Want to know more about Steuart Pincombe?
Here is a link to his home website: https://www.steuartpincombe.com
Steuart Pincombe’s career as a cellist has brought him to leading halls and festivals across North America and Europe and he has been named by the Strad Magazine as a “superb solo cellist” and a “gorgeous player [with] perfect intonation, imaginative phrasing” by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Highlights of Steuart’s recent concert seasons include being a featured soloist with Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop (Germany), festival appearances with Asko | Schönberg (Netherlands), Cello8ctet Amsterdam (Netherlands), Ensemble Ansonia (Belgium), Oerknal! (Netherlands), performing with Holland Baroque Society (Netherlands) for King Willem Alexander of The Netherlands, appearing as soloist at the Amsterdam Cello Bienalle (Netherlands), and recording Bach’s Cello Suite No. 2 in Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw for All of Bach.
His concert “Bach and Beer” was selected by the Cleveland Plain Dealer as one of the Top 10 Classical Events of the Year and a concert in which he appeared as soloist with Rene Schiffer and Apollo’s Fire was numbered in London’s ‘5 Best Classical Music Moments of 2014’ according to The Telegraph (United Kingdom).
In 2015-2016, Pincombe toured North America for one year bringing classical music to new spaces and new audiences in a project he started called Music in Familiar Spaces.
He is currently visiting Teacher of Historical Performance at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
Tags: #AmsterdamTheNetherlands, #Apollo'sFire, #BachandBeer, #BaroqueMusic, #BiblicalPsalms, #BookofPsalms, #CarlFriedrichAbel, #CelloMusic, #ChocolaterianCafe, #ChristianReligion, #ClevelandOhio, #ConcertHall, #HeinrichBiber, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #HistoricalPerformance, #InternationalMovement, #IntimateSetting, #JesusChrist, #JohannSebastianBach, #KangwonKim, #KarlFriedrichAbel, #LondonEngland, #MadisonBachMusicians, #MiddletonWisconsin, #MischaMaisky, #MusicFestival, #MusicinFamiliarSpaces, #NewMusic, #NorthAmerica, #OberlinConservatory, #PhiladelphiaInquirer, #RosarySonata, #RosarySonatas, #SoloCelloSuite, #SteuartPincombe, #StradMagazine, #SuiteforSoloCello, #TheBible, #TheWorld, #ThomasGainsborough, #Thursdaynight, #UnitedKingdom, #VioladaGamba, #VocalMusic, #YouTubevideo, Abel, accessible, Amsterdam, announcement, Apollo's Fire, Arts, audience, Bach, Bach and Beer, bar, Baroque, Baroque music, Beer, Belgium, bewery, Bible, Book of Psalms, bookstore, cafe, Carl Friedrich Abel, cellist, Cello, cello suites, Chamber music, chocolate, Chocolaterian Cafe, Christian religion, Classical music, Cleveland, comfortable, composer, concert hall, Concertgebouw, concertmaster, crucifixion, drink, Early music, England, Europe, experience, familiar, food, Germany, Heinrich Biber, historical, historical performance, Home, internaitonal, intimate, intonation, Jacob Stockinger, Jesus Christ, Johann Sebastian Bach, Kangwon Kim, Karl Friedrich Abel, London, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Middleton, Mischa Maisky, movement, Music festival, Music in Familiar Spaces, Netherlands, new, New Music, Newspaper, North America, Oberlin Conservatory, Ohio, original, painting, performance, performing, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Inquirer, phrasing, populist, Prelude, premiere, prestige, price, program, psalm, rosary, Rosary Sonatas, Season, selection, setting, society, solo, Solo Cello Suites, Sonata, special, Steuart Pincombe, Strad magazine, Suite, Suite for solo cello, Teacher, Thomas Gainsborough, Thursday night, ticket, United Kingdom, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, untraditional, unusual, varied, viol da gamba, Violin, visiting, vocal music, voice, web site, Website, wide, Wisconsin, world, worth, YouTube
Classical music: Oakwood Chamber Players take a “Journey” to explore neglected and oppressed German and Dutch composers this Saturday night and Sunday afternoon
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By Jacob Stockinger
The accomplished and acclaimed Oakwood Chamber Players (below) continue their exploration of neglected repertoire and end their “Journey” season with two performances of a concert titled Legacy on this Saturday night, May 19, at 7 p.m. and on Sunday afternoon, May 20, at 2 p.m.
The concerts will be held at the Oakwood Center for Arts and Education, 6209 Mineral Point Road, on Madison’s far west side near West Towne Mall.
Tickets can be purchased with cash or personal checks at the door: $25 general admission, $20 seniors and $5 students. Visit www.oakwoodchamberplayers.com for more information.
Trio for flute, clarinet and bassoon by Dutch composer Julius Röntgen (below) was written in 1917 and is neo-Classical in style. Röntgen was a classmate and lifelong friend of Edvard Grieg’s whom he met at the Leipzig Conservatory. He studied with Lachner and Reinecke, and collaborated with Brahms and Casals in concerts. His musical career spanned the roles of composer, teacher, and concert pianist. He was instrumental in the founding of the Amsterdam Conservatory and the world-famous Concertgebouw Orchestra.
A frequent participant in chamber music himself, he was a fine contributor to the genre. Röntgen’s Wind Trio in G Major shows his compositional facility: from a playful Haydn-influenced first movement (which you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom) to an adagio melody in the second movement that is drawn from Johann Sebastian Bach’s “St. Matthew’s Passion” and to the final movement with a Danish folk melody at its heart that is enhanced by upbeat creative variations.
German composer Heinrich Kaminski (below) wrote his atmospheric String Quartet in F major. Written over the time period leading up to World War I, this four-movement piece encompasses moodiness contrasted with high energy. The scherzo movement has the feel of a driven dance, the adagio movement is emotionally charged, and Kaminski’s final movement recaps themes of the piece’s restless expressivity.
Recognition of his talent in Berlin was cut short when the Nazi Gestapo intercepted correspondence that revealed Jewish heritage. His music was deemed unsuitable for performance in Germany and banned in 1937. He fled to Switzerland yet his life was profoundly impacted by events. He died shortly after the war, having endured the dissolution of his marriage, declining health and loss of children. However interest in Kaminski’s unique composition style has led to resurgence in recent performances of his works.
Dutch composer Leo Smit (below) studied at the Amsterdam Conservatory and then lived in Paris for a decade before returning to Holland. He was greatly influenced by Ravel and Stravinsky’s innovations and exchanged ideas with fellow composers Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc and Arthur Honegger. He enjoyed jazz rhythms and they often are found in his works.
His three-movement Sextet for piano and wind quintet is full of variety, warm melodic lines and fascinating harmonies. With the German invasion during World War II Smit’s circumstances as a Jewish musician deteriorated and he was forbidden to continue as a professional musician. Despite the dire circumstances he continued composing, completing a Sonata for flute and piano in 1943 just prior to his transportation to and death in a concentration camp.
The program ends with a cleverly written piece by German composer Bernhard Sekles (below). The final movement from his Capriccio for violin, cello and piano is titled Yankee-Doodle with variations and a delightful way to conclude the concert. Based in Frankfurt, Sekles was an innovative composer and teacher, and in 1928 became the first European teacher of jazz.
Oakwood Chamber Players members are Marilyn Chohaney, flute; Amanda Szczys, bassoon; Anne Aley, horn; Leyla Sanyer, violin; and Maggie Darby Townsend, cello. They will be joined by guests Martha Fischer, piano; Elspeth Stalter-Clouse, violin; Shannon Farley, viola; Aaron Hill, oboe; and Bernard Parish, clarinet.
The Oakwood Chamber Players are a group of Madison-area professional musicians who play in other professional organizations such as the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and who have rehearsed and performed at Oakwood Village for over 30 years.
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The Oakwood Chamber Players are a professional music ensemble proudly supported by Oakwood Lutheran Senior Ministries and the Oakwood Foundation.
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Classical music education: Brother and sister alumni return to play cello and conduct in the fall concerts by Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras. Plus, hear a free concert of three solo cello suites by Bach on Friday at noon
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ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison 900 University Bay Drive, features cellist Leonardo Altino playing Suites Nos. 1, 5 and 6 for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach. The concert runs from 12:15 to 1 p.m.
By Jacob Stockinger
WYSO will kick-off its 51st season with the Evelyn Steenbock Fall Concerts on this Saturday, Nov. 12, and next Saturday, Nov. 19. Nearly 500 young musicians will display their talents to the community during the concerts, which are dedicated to music teachers.
The Youth Orchestra concert on Nov. 19 will be performed at the River Arts Center in Prairie du Sac, where WYSO will welcome back two alumni guest artists: Kenneth Woods and Cynthia Woods.
Kenneth will be playing cello and Cynthia will be conducting in the Cello Concerto by British composer Philip Sawyers. (You can hear Kenneth Woods conduct the opening movement of the cello concerto in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The Youth Orchestra, under the direction of James Smith, will also be playing Symphony No. 2 by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Overture to the opera “Der Freischuetz” by Carl Maria von Weber.
Cynthia Woods (below) is currently the Music Director of the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra and the conductor for the Youth Preparatory Orchestra at the New England Conservatory, where she serves on the violin, chamber and conducting faculty.
Along with her conducting activities, Ms. Woods is also a frequent speaker and writer. She has been a guest lecturer at institutions such as MIT and the Longy School of Music of Bard College, a panelist for radio shows such as WGBH’s Callie Crossley, and a frequent contributor to The Boston Herald’s State of the Arts blog. Cynthia was a member of WYSO from 1984–1989 in Concert, Philharmonia and Youth Orchestra.
For more background about Cynthia Woods, go to:
http://www.wysomusic.org/guest-artists/cynthia-woods/
Kenneth Woods (below) is currently the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the English Symphony Orchestra. As a cello soloist and chamber musician, Wood’s collaborators have included members of the Toronto, Chicago and Cincinnati symphonies, the Minnesota, Gewandhaus and Concertgebouw orchestras and the La Salle, Pro Arte, Tokyo and Aubudon String Quartets.
He also is currently cellist of the string trio Ensemble Epomeo, with whom he performs regularly in the UK, Europe, and the USA. He writes a popular blog, “A View From the Podium.” Kenneth was a member of WYSO from 1980–1986 in Concert, Philharmonia and Youth Orchestra. He also studied cello at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music with Parry Karp, of the Pro Arte Quartet.
For more background and an interview with Kenneth Woods, go to:
http://www.wysomusic.org/guest-artists/kenneth-woods-cellistconductor/
Schedule and Programs
November 12, 2016 – 1:30 P.M., Mills Hall
Philharmonia Orchestra
- Rimsky- Korsakov: Procession of the Nobles from Mlada
- Shostakovich: Finale from Symphony No. 5, Op. 47
- Prokofiev: Montagues and Capulets from Romeo and Juliette, 2nd suite
- Shostakovich: Six Pieces from the First Ballet Suite Op. 84
November 12, 2016 – 4 P.M., Mills Hall
CONCERT ORCHESTRA (below)
- Jack Bullock: Okeanos
- James Curnow: Phoenix Overture
- Jaromír Weinberger: Polka from the Opera Schwanda, the Bagpiper
- Albert O. Davis: Moonlight Masquerade
- Richard Strauss: Allerseelen (All Souls’ Day) Op. 10 No. 8
SINFONIETTA
- Domenico Gallo: Sinfonia in G
- Grieg: A Nordic Lullaby Op. 68, No.5
- Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings
- Robert S. Frost and Mary Elledge: Tales from Sherwood Forest
- Brian Balmages: Wood Splitter Fanfare
- Norman Leyden: Serenade for String Orchestra
- Michael Korb and Ulrich Roever: Highland Cathedral
- William Owens: Carpathia
- Sebastian Yradier: La Paloma
November 19, 2016 – 7 P.M., River Arts Center
YOUTH ORCHESTRA (below)
- Symphony No.2– Ralph Vaughan Williams
- Overture to the opera “Der Freishuetz”– Carl Maria von Weber
- Cello Concerto– Philip Sawyers with Kenneth Woods – Cello, Cynthia Woods – Conductor
The Evelyn Steenbock Fall Concerts will be held in Mills Concert Hall in the UW Humanities Building, 455 N. Park Street, Madison, and at the River Arts Center, 105 Ninth St. Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin.
WYSO concerts generally run about an hour and a half in length, providing a great orchestral concert opportunity for families.
Tickets are available at the door, $10 for adults and $5 for youth 18 and under.
This project is supported by Dane Arts with additional funds from the Evjue Foundation, Inc., the charitable arm of The Capital Times. This project is also supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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Classical music: Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television again ring in the New Year with music — but too late. Plus, tomorrow morning WORT broadcasts a recording of the Willy Street Chamber Players
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ALERT: The Ear’s friend and radio host colleague Rich Samuels writes: “I’ll be airing the performance of Felix Mendelssohn‘s Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20, by the Willy Street Chamber Players (below) on this Thursday morning (Dec. 31) at 7:14 on my “Anything Goes” broadcast on WORT-FM 88.9. (It was recorded July 31, 2015 by WORT at Madison’s Immanuel Lutheran Church). I think this was the high point of the ensemble’s inaugural season. It’s nice to know WSCP will be back next summer and that they have a special event scheduled on Jan. 23 and 24.”
By Jacob Stockinger
Today’s post is just a simple reminder of the various programs that Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television will soon air to once again ring in the New Year with classical music.
Both organizations are outstanding friends of classical music, although sometimes The Ear wishes there was more music and fewer British mysteries — which this year interfere with arts programming and push music broadcasts later.
NEW YEAR’S EVE
On Thursday night from 10 to 11:30 p.m., Wisconsin Public Television will air an all-French program from New York City with Alan Gilbert (below top) conducting the New York Philharmonic and guest soloist mezzo-soprano Susan Graham (below bottom). “Live From Lincoln Center” will broadcast “La Vie Parisienne” (Parisian Life) program includes music by Jacques Offenbach and Camille Saint-Saens.
Also featured are classical pianist Inon Barnatan (below top), who performed a recital for the Wisconsin Union Theater, and jazz pianist Makoto Ozone (below bottom) in “The Carnival of the Animals.”
The Ear likes the program and wonders if it was decided before or after the recent terrorist attacks in Paris.
However, The Ear is very disappointed by the late hour of the airing. It would be better if young people and children could hear and see it. He would much prefer prime-time broadcasts from 8 to 9:30 p.m. or maybe 9 to 10:30 p.m.
What do readers think?
NEW YEAR’S DAY
On Friday morning from 10 a.m. to noon, Wisconsin Public Radio will air a broadcast from Vienna’s Golden Hall (below) of “New Year’s Concert From Vienna,” with waltzes and polkas by the Strauss family as well as some other music.
This is the 75th anniversary of the event that will be broadcast to more than 90 countries and seen by some 50 million people. It is billed as the world’s largest classical music event.
Latvian conductor Mariss Jansons, who leads the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam and appears regularly with major orchestras around the world, is returning for his third stint as the conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic for this program.
Here is a link with more information, which is hard and confusing to find on the website (look under Seasonal Programming, not the regular schedule):
http://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/en
In the afternoon from 1:30 to 3 p.m. and in the evening form 10 to 11:30 p.m., the 32nd annual television version of “Great Performances” will be broadcast by Wisconsin Public Television. Actress Julie Andrews (below) returns to host for the seventh time, and dancers from the Vienna State Ballet will be featured along with great landscape shots of Vienna and its historical landmarks.
And of course there will be the final clap-along encore: The Radetzky March, which you can hear conducted by Daniel Barenboim in a YouTube video at the bottom.
Once again, The Ear recalls that it used to air at a much earlier, more family-friendly hour.
For more information, go to:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/from-vienna-the-new-years-celebration-2016/4440/
Maybe next year will see earlier broadcast times and more information about the programs and broadcast’s duration on the web and the regular radio schedule.
Tags: Alan Gilbert, Amsterdam, Arts, attack, ballet, Camille Saint-Saëns, Chamber music, Classical music, Compact Disc, Concertgebouw, Daniel Barenboim, Felix Mendelssohn, Golden Hall, Great Performance, Inon Barnatan, Jacob Stockinger, Jacques Offenbach, Jazz, Julie Andrews, Live From Lincoln Center, Makoto Ozone, Mariss Jansons, Metropolitan Opera, Mezzo-soprano, Music, New Year, New York City, NPR, Octet, opera, Orchestra, Paris, PBS, Piano, polka, Radetsky March, Susan Graham, terrorist, Vienna, Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna State Ballet, vocal music, Waltz, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Union Theater, WORT-FM 89.9, YouTube
Classical music: The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra will perform music by Rossini, Wieniawski and Tchaikovsky this Tuesday night in Edgerton.
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By Jacob Stockinger
It has been a few years since the acclaimed and impressive Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO, below) –- still in the news (a link to a story on NPR, or National Public Radio, is below) because of the attempted theft of concertmaster Frank Almond’s $3-million Stradivarius violin — played an annual concert at the Wisconsin Union Theater. The Ear always looked forward to the top-flight playing and fine programs that the Milwaukee group brought to Madison.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2014/10/12/355623871/the-case-of-the-stolen-stradivarius
But this week, the MSO, playing under an assistant conductor, will perform in nearby Edgerton at the Edgerton Performing Arts Center.
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra – without its music director Edo de Waart — will perform at the Edgerton Performing Arts Center on this coming Tuesday, November 18, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door.
Here is some information from a press release: “The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, under the dynamic leadership of Music Director Edo de Waart, has embarked upon a new era of artistic excellence and critical acclaim. Now in his fifth season with the MSO, Maestro de Waart has led sold-out concerts, elicited rave reviews, and conducted an acclaimed performance at Carnegie Hall. The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra has four purposes: to comfort, educate, entertain and exhilarate the human soul.” For more information, visit www.mso.org
The concert will feature conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong and violin soloist Jeanyi Kim.
The program will include the Overture to the opera “Semiramide” by the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (below top); the Concerto for Violin No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 22, by the well-traveled Polish violin virtuoso and composer Henryk Wieniawski (below middle); and the popular Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Opus 64, by the Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (below bottom). You can hear the tuneful and melancholy Tchaikovsky symphony, played by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Bernstein, in a popular YouTube video at the bottom.
Jeanyi Kim (below) is the associate concertmaster (third chair) of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the concertmaster of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra. In 2007, she served as a guest assistant concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis and Valery Gergiev.
As an orchestral musician, the Toronto native has performed in illustrious venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, the Barbican Centre, Salle Pleyel, and the Concertgebouw. In addition to maintaining a private studio, she has served on the faculties at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, University of New Haven, and Neighborhood Music School, to name a few.
She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Yale University, from which she also earned her BA, MM, and MMA degrees.
Francesco Lecce-Chong (below), currently associate conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, has worked with the Atlanta, Indianapolis, and St. Louis Symphony Orchestras, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Hong Kong, Pitesti (Romania), and Ruse (Bulgaria) philharmonic orchestras. Equally at ease in the opera house, Maestro Lecce-Chong has served as principal conductor for the Brooklyn Repertory Opera and as staff conductor for the Santa Fe Opera.
He has earned national distinction, including the Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award and The Presser Foundation Music Award. In summer 2014, he served as the associate conductor at the Grand Tetons Music Festival and had guest appearances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Las Vegas Philharmonic and the Breckenridge Music Festival.
He is a graduate of the Mannes College of Music, where he received his Bachelor of Music degree with honors in piano and orchestral conducting. Lecce-Chong also holds a diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music.
Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door. They are available at the Edgerton Pharmacy and Edgerton Piggly Wiggly; and in Janesville at Knapton Musik Knotes and Voigt Music Center, and by calling (608) 561-6093. Online, go to at iTickets.com
All performances funded by the William and Joyce Wartmann Endowment for the Performing Arts. An additional sponsor is the Edgerton Piggly Wiggly.
Tags: Amsterdam, Antonio Stradivari, Arts, Associated Press, Atlanta, Carnegie Hall, Classical music, Colin Davis, Concertgebouw, concertmaster, concerto, conductor, Edgerton Performing Arts Center, Edo de Waart, Frank Almond, Henryk Wienawski, Hong Kong, Jacob Stockinger, Las Vegas, Leonard Bernstein, Mannes College of Music, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Music, Musician, opera, Orchestra, Rossini, Saint Paul, St. Louis, Stradivarius, symphony orchestra, Tchaikovsky, Theft, Toronto, Valery Gergiev, Violin, Violin concerto, Wisconsin Union Theater, Yale University, YouTube
Classical music: Pianist Howard Karp, who taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has died at 84.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Late last night, The Ear received the following message and photographs from Parry Karp, who teaches cello at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music and who performs with the Pro Arte String Quartet:
“On Monday morning June 30, 2014 pianist and UW-Madison Emeritus Professor Howard Karp died at the Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, Colorado, of complications of cardiac arrest. He was 84, and was surrounded by his wife Frances and his two sons Parry and Christopher.”
Here are Frances and Howard Karp on June 22, 2014:
Here are Howard Karp and Parry Karp on New Year’s Eve, 2013.
Here is Howard Karp in 2000, in a photo taken by Katrin Talbot, the wife of Parry Karp.
Here are the hands of Howard Karp in a photo taken by Katrin Talbot:
Here is Howard Karp at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in 1968:
Here is Howard Karp ca. 1958:
Here is Howard Karp ca. 1955:
And here is Howard Karp ca. 1942:
I will have more to say about the gifted performer and teacher Howard Karp, and so will the many students and friends he had in Madison and elsewhere during his long career.
But please leave your recollections and memories as well as condolences and good wishes in the REPLY or COMMENT section.
In the meantime, here is an excerpt, a movement from a sonata by Franz Schubert, from the 6-CD retrospective of live recordings by Howard Karp that was released on May 31 by Albany Records:
Tags: Albany Records, Amsterdam, Arts, Classical music, Concertgebouw, Frances, Franz Schubert, Howard Karp, Jacob Stockinger, Katrin Talbot, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Medical Center of the Rockies, Music, Parry Karp, Piano, Pro Arte Quartet, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Classical music Q&A: American pianist Bryan Wallick talks about his synesthesia and about his season-opening concert this Friday with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra under Andrew Sewell.
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REMINDER: Do you suffer from stage fright or at least get nervous before a performance? Meet Noa Kageyama (below), a performance psychologist who teaches at the Juilliard School of Music. He will be in Madison at the University of Wisconsin on this Wednesday and Thursday to give free public talks and workshops. Here is his schedule and an illuminating Q&A with him by Kathy Esposito on the UW School of Music’s new blog “Fanfare”:
http://uwmadisonschoolofmusic.wordpress.com/2013/09/25/kageyama/
By Jacob Stockinger
This Friday evening at 8 p.m. in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (below) will open its new season with the piano soloist Bryan Wallick making his local debut.
The program includes “Young Apollo” by Benjamin Britten, to celebrate the centennial of the birth of the most famous 20th-century English composer (below).
Also on the program are two famous Fifths: the Piano Concerto No. 5 (“Egyptian”) by Camille Saint-Saens and the ever-powerful Symphony No. 5 in C minor by Ludwig van Beethoven.
Single tickets are $15 to $67, and season subscriptions are still available.
For more information, visit: http://wcoconcerts.org/performances/masterworks/68/event-info/
Pianist Bryan Wallick – who is known for his synesthesia – recent gave an email interview to the Ear in which he discussed his special gift of synesthesia as well as his career and the music of Saint-Saens:
Can you briefly introduce yourself?
I grew up in Hamilton, Ohio, a small town outside of Cincinnati. I began playing at the age of 4 and got quite serious about playing when I was about 13. I changed teachers to a couple of professors and duo-pianists at the University of Cincinnati (Eugene and Elizabeth Pridonoff, below) and they prepared me to go to The Juilliard School when I finished high school. The biggest competition I won was the Vladimir Horowitz International Piano Competition in Kiev, Ukraine.
I understand you have synesthesia, or the mixing or blending of the senses. Can you tell us specifically what that means for you and your playing, and for the listener?
In my experience, I see a color with each different notes (12 different notes and 12 different colors). For example, E is green, C is white, G is red, etc.
It’s a peripheral experience in my mind’s eye as I play, and it probably helps a little with memory retention as I have some another association (color) with the notes.
It doesn’t really have any impact on the audience, except in the case where I was given a grant by the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts in Arizona to create a program that displayed some pictures depicting an approximate version of what I see in my mind when I play.
What do think about the role of Camille Saint-Saens (below) in music history? Is he too overlooked, neglected or underestimated? What do you think about the Piano Concerto No. 5 (performed by pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam in a popular YouTube video at the bottom) and how it compares to his other piano concertos as well as those of the standard repertoire?
Saint-Saens’ role in music history is enigmatic. He was recognized as a genius prodigy from a very early age like Mozart and Mendelssohn, and he was also a virtuoso pianist who supposedly had fantastic fingers (which features prominently in most his piano works).
He lived a long life and his career and reputation changed perception a few times. Early in his 30s he was criticized for championing the then “new” music of Liszt and Berlioz, but toward the end of his life in the early 20th century, he was fighting against the music of Debussy and most of the trends that took hold in modern music.
He knew his own music could lean toward the “sentimental” side, and even the famous “Carnival of the Animals” was only published after his death as he knew this kind of music could hurt his reputation in more “serious” circles.
I love his music, even the sentimental pieces, and this particular piano concerto has the best of Saint-Saens musical elements contained within it. The “Egyptian” element is felt mostly in the second movement where he uses oriental scales and some unusual harmonies to depict his “Egyptian” characteristics. It’s a very exciting and virtuosic work.
What do you know of Madison and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and its music director/conductor Andrew Sewell (below). Will this be your Madison or Wisconsin?
I met Andrew in Oregon a few years ago when we were both performing out there. We got on really well, and I was lucky enough for him to engage me to come and open this season with the orchestra. This will be my first time to play in Madison.
Was there an Aha! Moment — a work or composer, a performance or performer– that made you want to be a professional concert pianist?
Perhaps, when I was about 12, I played in a master class of the teachers who then soon after I began to study with. The way they were able to bring music to life in a completely new and exciting way inspired me to want to practice and be able to create music and beauty the way they could.
What advice do you have for young music students, especially pianists?
I would say that one should not go into music unless that is really all they could see themselves doing one day. It is a very difficult career, with lots of bumps and bruises to the ego, but once the hard work is accomplished and one can turn a phrase 15 different ways, its such a joy to create, experiment, and play this instrument.
Many students miss the fun and joy of performing as they are so worried about playing “correctly” and I also had to deal with this in my own way. But the more I take chances with ideas and with sound, the more fun and inspiring the music becomes.
Is there anything else you would like to add or say?
I can’t wait to perform in Madison next week!
Tags: Amsterdam, Andrew Sewell, Beethoven, Bryan Wallick, Camille Saint-Saëns, Concertgebouw, duo-pianists, Elizabeth and Eugene Pridonoff, Jacob Stockinger, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Juilliard School, Kiev, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Overture Center, Performing arts, Piano, Piano concerto, Piano Concerto No. 5, Piano Concerto No. 5 (Beethoven), stage fright, synesthesia, University of Cincinnati, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW School of Music, Vladimir Horowitz, Vladimir Horowitz International Piano Competition, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, YouTube
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