The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Here are the winners of the fifth annual Handel Aria Competition
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By Jacob Stockinger
This posting should have appeared earlier, but The Ear regrets that other news, reviews and previews preempted it and apologizes for the tardiness.
In any case, in case you haven’t already heard, the fifth annual Handel Aria Competition took place a week ago Friday night, and was well attended.
The seven finalists were chosen from an international field of 107 applicants. For the third year in a row, they were accompanied by harpsichordist Trevor Stephenson, who conducted the Madison Bach Musicians.
In five years, the competition has certainly blossomed into a respected global event, and it shows all the signs of continuing to grow. The Ear is unaware of other competitions devoted to the prolific vocal music of George Frideric Handel, who is so often overshadowed by his Baroque contemporary Johann Sebastian Bach.
First prize went to mezzo-soprano Nian Wang (below center in the photo by David Peterson) from Nanjing, China; second prize and audience favorite to tenor Gene Stenger (below left) from New Haven, Connecticut; and third prize to mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski (below right) from Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.
The competition judges for this year were Paul Rowe, Craig Trompeter and Alessandra Visconti.
You can’t yet find an audio video clip of Wang’s performances on YouTube. But contestants from previous years are there, and no doubt soon there will be a YouTube video of Wang singing.
Here are more photos of Nian Wang performing and receiving the first prize flanked by other contestants and the founders of the competition, Orange and Dean Schroeder:
For more information about the winners, identities and biographies of the seven finalists (below), and the competition itself – including previous years and winners — go to:
https://handelariacompetition.com
and
https://handelariacompetition.com/2017-handelariacompetition-finalists/
Tags: Alessandra Visconti, applicants, aria, Arts, audience, Bach, Baroque, biography, Cello, Chamber music, China, Classical music, Connecticut, Craig Trompeter, Early music, finalists, George Frideric Handel, Handel, Handel Aria Competition, harpsichord, identity, international, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, judge, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Mezzo-soprano, Minnesota, Music, Nanjing, news, Paul Rowe, photo, preview, prize, review, sing, Singing, song, tenor, Trevor Stephenson, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: Maestro Gustav Meier has died at 86. UW-Madison choral conductor Beverly Taylor pays tribute to him.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has some catching up to do on several fronts.
Well, that is what happens in a city with such a busy musical life and in a year with so many news items.
And it also happens when you give priority to previews, then reviews and then trend stories, as The Ear likes to do.
Plus, there are only seven days in the week, which usually means just seven posts.
Anyway, one neglected or belated item is a generous piece — a recollection homage — that was kindly sent to The Ear by Beverly Taylor, the longtime director of choral activities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music and the assistant music director of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
Her remarks concern the death at 86 in late May of Swiss-born conductor Gustav Meier (below, in a photo by Doug Elbinger), who trained several other Madison-area musicians as well as her. Born in Switzerland, Meier was a quiet celebrity who trained many students at Yale University, the Eastman School of Music and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and who led the Lansing Symphony Orchestra for 27 years.
(You can see and hear Gustav Meier conducting the Greater Bridgeport Symphony in the slow movement of Sergei Rachmaninoff‘s Symphony No. 2 in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Taylor (below) writes:
“Did you know Gustav Meier died in this year of losing so many?
“Maybe the others were more famous, but he was my teacher, mentor and friend from 1990 on, and we visited regularly. I even coached the Beethoven Ninth with him a year ago, before our performance here.
“I wanted you to know how many people he influenced. I wouldn’t have had the life I’d had without his help. He was a GENEROUS musician and he was beloved.”
Here is a link to a fascinating obituary, one that is well worth reading, in the Lansing, Michigan newspaper that Taylor shared:
http://lansingcitypulse.com/article-13267-%E2%80%98tchaikovsky-turns-me-on%E2%80%99.html
Tags: Aaron Copland, Arts, Beethoven, Beethoven's Ninth, Beverly Taylor, Bridgeport, choral music, Classical music, conductor, Connecticut, Eastman School of Music, Gustav Meier, Jacob Stockinger, Lansing, Leonard Bernstein, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maestro, Music, Ninth Symphony, Orchestra, Overture Center, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Swiss, Switzerland, symphony, United States, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin, Yale University, YouTube
Classical music: Fourth annual Handel Aria Competition announces the 2016 finalists who will sing for prizes next FRIDAY (NOT Thursday) night
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement:
The Handel Aria Competition is pleased to announce the finalists for this year’s fourth annual event.
The final round of the region, national and international competition is presented as a public concert in conjunction with the Madison Early Music Festival in Madison, Wisconsin.
It will take place on next FRIDAY night July 8, at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Concert Hall at the UW-Madison School of Music, 455 North Park Street. (An earlier version mistakenly said Thursday night. The correct date is FRIDAY night, July 8. The Ear apologizes for the error.)
Tickets are $10, general admission, and are available in advance, through Orange Tree Imports, in person at 1721 Monroe St., Madison, WI, and by phone: (608) 255-8211; or at the door They are now available online through UW Arts on Campus (use the link below) and at the Memorial Union Box Office.
https://itkt.choicecrm.net/templates/UWIM/index.php?&event_ids=3974
Seven finalists and two alternates were chosen from a field of almost 100 singers from around the world.
The finalists are:
- Adele Grabowski, mezzo-soprano, of New Haven, Connecticut
- Fiona Gillespie Jackson, soprano, of Williamsport, Pennsylvania
- Eric Jurenas, countertenor, of New York, New York
- Christina Kay, soprano, of Madison, Wisconsin
- Nola Richardson, soprano, of Sydney, Australia
- Elena Snow, mezzo-soprano, of Chicago, Illinois
- Pascale Brigitte Boilard, soprano, of Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Each singer will present two arias from an opera or cantata by George Frideric Handel, accompanied by the Madison Bach Musicians (below, at the 2015 competition) under the direction of Trevor Stephenson.
Three professional judges will select a first, second and third prize winner, and all those in attendance will be invited to vote for the recipient of the “audience favorite” prize.
For more information about the competition, visit:
https://handelariacompetition.com
Below are the 2016 Handel Aria Competition Finalists – from upper left, clockwise: Fiona Gillespie Jackson; Christina Kay; Nola Richardson; Elena Snow; Pascale Brigitte Boilard; Adele Grabowski; and Eric Jurenas.
Tags: aria, Arts, Australia, Bach, Baroque, Best of Madison, Canada, Chamber music, Chicago, choral music, Classical music, Competition, Connecticut, countertenor, Early music, George Frideric Handel, Handel Aria Competition, international, Johann Sebastian Bach, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Mezzo-soprano, Montreal, Music, national, New Haven, New York, New York City, opera, Pennsylvania, Quebec, regional, soprano, Sydney, Trevor Stephenson, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Williamsport, Wisconsin
Classical music: Acclaimed organist Ahreum Han Congdon returns to conclude the Overture Concert Organ season Tuesday night. Plus, the percussion ensemble Clocks in Motion performs a FREE and STREAMED LIVE concert Sunday afternoon at the Chazen Museum of Art and the UW-Madison’s Wingra Woodwind Quintet performs a FREE all-French program tomorrow night at 7
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ALERT 1: Tomorrow, starting at 12:30 p.m., this month’s Sunday Afternoon Live From the Chazen will feature the Madison-based percussion group Clocks in Motion. The FREE concert in Brittingham Gallery 3 will also be streamed live. Here is a link with information about the complete program and a link to the streaming web site:
ALERT 2: Tomorrow night, on Sunday at 7 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall, the UW-Madison‘s Wingra Wind Quintet will perform a FREE concert of modern and contemporary French music. For more information, here is a link:
http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/wingra-quintet-spring-faculty-concert/
By Jacob Stockinger
Ahreum Han Congdon (below), a critically acclaimed organist, will mark the end of the current Overture Concert Organ season with a recital on this Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. in Overture Hall of the Overture Center, 201 State Street.
Han Congdon, a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and Yale University, thrilled the audience in her Madison debut performance during the 2014 Dane County Farmers’ Market concert.
Now she returns for a full solo recital on the colossal Klais concert organ in a program of music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Jacques Offenbach, Louis Vierne, Max Reger and others.
Here is the complete program, which concludes the current season of organ concerts sponsored by the Madison Symphony Orchestra:
Charles-Marie Widor. Symphony V in F Minor, Op. 42, No. 1. I. Allegro Vivace
Johann Sebastian Bach. Concerto in A Minor, BWV 593 I. Untitled II. Adagio III. Allegro
Sigfrid Karg-Elert. Valse Mignonne, Op. 142, No. 2
Louis Vierne. Clair de Lune, Op. 53, No. 5
Jacques Offenbach. Orpheus in the Underworld. Transcribed by Ahreum Han Congdon
Johannes Matthias Michel. Organ, Timbrel and Dance: Three Jazz Organ Preludes I. Swing Five (Erhalt uns, Herr) II. Bossa Nova (Wunderbarer König) III. Afro-Cuban (In dir ist Freude)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Andante in F Major, K. 616
Max Reger. Chorale Fantasy on J.S. Bach’s Sleepers Awake, A Voice is Calling, Op. 52, No. 2 (You can hear it in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
Han Congdon has appeared in recital on many of the world’s major organs in addition to solo performances at national and regional conventions for the American Guild of Organists.
General admission for the concert is $20 and tickets can be purchased at www.madisonsymphony.org/han, the Overture Box Office or (608) 258-4141.
Student rush tickets are $10 day of show with a valid student ID (see http://www.madisonsymphony.org/studentrush).
Support for all Overture Concert Organ programs is provided by the Diane Endres Ballweg Fund.
With a gift from Pleasant T. Rowland, the Madison Symphony Orchestra commissioned from famous Klais Organ Works in Germany the Overture Concert Organ (below), which is the stunning backdrop of all MSO concerts.
For more Overture Concert Organ information, visit http://www.madisonsymphony.org/organseason
Tags: American Guild of Organists, Arts, Bach, Baroque, bossa nova, Chazen Museum of Art, Chorale, Clair de Lune, Classical music, Clocks in Motion, concerto, Connecticut, Curtis Institute of Music, Dane County Farmers' Market, fantasy, France, French music, Jacob Stockinger, Jacques Offenbach, Jazz, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Mathias Michel, Louis Vierne, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Max Reger, Mozart, Music, New Haven, New York City, Orchestra, organ, Orpheus in the Underworld, Overture Center, percussion, Sigfrid Karg-Elert, Sunday Afternoon Live From the Chazen, swing, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, valse, Waltz, Widor, Wind, Wingra Wind Quintet, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, woodwind, Yale University, YouTube
Classical music: Just a reminder that Friday night the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra again hosts virtuoso flutist Dionne Jackson in music of Bach and Carl Nielsen plus works by Respighi and Haydn
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By Jacob Stockinger
This is a very busy week for classical music in Madison.
But today The Ear wants to remind you of a stand-out concert by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (below) on Friday night at 8 p.m. in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center.
Tickets are $15-$80.
The virtuoso flutist Dionne Jackson (below) — who now teaches at the University of Connecticut — will solo with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra under the baton of its longtime music director and conductor Andrew Sewell.
This marks Jackson’s first return to the WCO since her debut in 2000, when she wowed the crowd with her performance of the snappy and colorful Flute Concerto by the French composer Jacques Ibert.
This time she is performing the Flute Concerto by the Danish composer Carl Nielsen as well as the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 by Johann Sebastian Bach. (You can hear it performed in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
To top off the varied program of 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century composers – such eclecticism is a hallmark of Sewell’s programming – the WCO will perform the “Ancient Airs and Dances” Suite No. 1, based on lute music of the 16th century, by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi.
The WCO’s finale will be the Symphony No. 79 in F Major by Franz Joseph Haydn, whose underappreciated output is quickly becoming a specialty of Maestro Sewell (below) – something to rejoice over since Haydn is, according to American composer John Harbison, easily the most neglected on the great composers.
Here is more information about the concert, the performers, tickets, the pre-concert dinner and the repertoire:
http://www.wcoconcerts.org/performances/masterworks-iii-1/
Tags: American, Ancient Airs and Dances, Andrew Sewell, Arts, Bach, Baroque, Brandenburg Concerto, Carl Nielsen, Chamber music, Classical music, composer, concerto, Connecticut, Danish, Denmark, Dionne Jackson, flute, France, French, Harbison, Haydn, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Jacques Ibert, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Harbison, Madison, New Music, Orchestra, Overture Center, Piano, Respighi, Suite, Symphony 79, University of Connecticut, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
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The Well-Tempered Ear 
Live music continues its comeback from the pandemic. Today is Make Music Madison with free concerts citywide of many kinds of music. Here are guides with details
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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
Live music continues to make its comeback from the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The past week saw live outdoor concerts by Con Vivo, the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society and the Middleton Community Orchestra.
Today – Monday, June 21 –is Make Music Madison 2021.
It is part of an annual worldwide phenomenon that started in France in 1982. It has since spread globally and is now celebrated in more than 1,000 cities in 120 countries.
Yet in the U.S., Wisconsin is one of only five states that celebrate Make Music Day statewide. The other states are Connecticut, Hawaii, New Mexico and Vermont. In there U.S., more than 100 cities will take part in presenting free outdoor concerts. Globally, the audience will be in the millions.
The day is intended to be a way to celebrate the annual Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. Technically, the solstice occurred in Wisconsin last night, on Father’s Day, at 10:32 p.m. CDT.
But The Ear is a forgiving kind. This will be the first full day of summer, so the spirit of the celebration lives on despite the calendar.
You can see – the composer Igor Stravinsky advised listening with your eyes open – and hear 38 different kinds of music. The choices include blues, bluegrass, Celtic, roots music, gospel, rock, jazz, classical, folk, African music, Asian music, world music, children’s music (see the YouTube video at the bottom) and much more. It will be performed by students and teachers, amateurs and professionals, individuals and groups.
Here is a link to a press release about the overall event: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/make-music-day-2021-announces-updated-schedule-of-events-301304107.html
And here is a link to the global home website — with more background information and a live-stream video of a gong tribute to the who died of COVID — about the festival: https://www.makemusicday.org
The local events will take place from 5 a.m. to midnight. All are open to the public without admission, and safety protocols will be observed.
Here is a guide to local events that allow you to search particulars of the celebration by area of the city, genre of music, performers, venues and times. If you are a classical fan, in The Ear’s experience you might want to pay special attention to Metcalfe’s market in the Hilldale mall.
Here is a link to the home webpage of Make Music Madison: https://www.makemusicmadison.org
Here is a link to the event calendar with maps and schedules as well as alternative plans in case of rain and various menus for searching: https://www.makemusicmadison.org/listings/
Happy listening!
In the Comment section, please leave your observations and suggestions or advice about the quality and success of the festival and the specific events you attended.
The Ear wants to hear.
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