content | The Well-Tempered Ear

WORT-FM 89.9 now has a Monday morning show of modern and contemporary classical music with Paul Baker

April 6, 2022
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 listener-sponsored, community radio station WORT-FM 89.9 — long a home for classical music from all eras, from the earliest to the newest — has a new program to join its many others about music in all genres and all periods as well as news and commentary about public affairs.

It airs on Monday mornings from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. with Paul Baker (below, in his WORT studio). He is well-known radio host, music critic and amateur musician.

Baker recently shared with The Ear some insights into his new show “Listen Adventurously”:

Are you still doing your show for WSUM, the student-run FM radio station at the University of Wisconsin-Madison?

I hosted Only Strings on WSUM-FM 91.7 to focus on chamber music at a time when I was taking cello lessons. I wanted to absorb as much chamber music as possible, and preparing for, and hosting, a radio program was one good way to do that. I ended the show in 2019 when I reached the five-year mark.

How did the new WORT show come about?

I’ve been a WORT fan for more than 30 years. I know many of the program hosts and have been in touch with the music director, Sybil Augustine, for some time.

I had hosted a WORT Sunday early morning show briefly about 20 years ago. The Monday morning classical slot recently became available when Christopher Delamarter stepped down, so I raised my hand.

What can you tell us about the content of the show?

The show has been billed as 20th-century classical music. I am extending that to include pieces from the 2000s as well — things written as recently as last year. There is just so much good material. Younger composers and performers deserve to be heard.

So the show will feature Bartok and Shostakovich and Samuel Barber, of course, but also Philip Glass and Arvo Pärt and Jennifer Higdon and Laura Schwendinger (below, who teaches at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music and whose music is widely performed) and Chicago’s Third Coast Percussion Ensemble. In my opinion, there’s a lack of local availability to hear this music.

I enjoy sharing music with people. When I worked on campus, I programmed three shows for WSUM-FM. Now that I’m retired, I’m happy to have this opportunity on WORT. The only drawback is that I must get up at 4 a.m. for the 5 a.m. air time. But I’m a morning person, so it’s not that bad.

Editor’s note: If you want to see a sample playlist, as well as WORT’s daily show schedule, here a link to the one from this past Monday: https://www.wortfm.org/on-air-schedule/

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #ArvoPärt, #BelaBartok, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ContemporaryComposer, #ContemporaryMusic, #DmitriShostakovich, #EarlyMorning, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #JacobStockinger, #JenniferHigdon, #LastYear, #LauraSchwendinger, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #ModernComposers, #ModernMusic, #MusicCritic, #MusicDirector, #NewMusic, #OnlyStrings, #PaulBaker, #PhilipGlass, #RadioHost, #SamuelBarber, #StringMusic, #SybilAugustine, #TheEar, #TheUW, #ThirdCoastPercussion, #UniversityofWisconsin, #WORT-FM89.9, #WSUM-FM 91.7, 20th-century, 20th-century classical music, adventure, alarm, amateur, Arts, Arvo Part, audience, availability, available, Barber, Bartok, Béla Bartók, billed, Campus, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Chicago, choral music, Classical music, community, composer, Concert, concerto, contemporary, contemporary music, content, critic, Dmitri Shostakovich, drawback, Early music, Facebook, Glass, good, hand, hear, Higdon, host, Jacob Stockinger, Jennifer Higdon, lack, last year, Laura Schwendinger, lessons, link, listen, listener, local, Madison, material, Mead Witter School of Music, modern, modern composers, modern msuic, morning, Music, music critic, Music director, new, New Music, Only Strings, opinion, Orchestra, part, Paul Baker, performer, person, Philip Glass, Piano, playlist, post, postr, program, programmed, programming, Radio, raise, retired, Samuel Barber, schedule, Schwendinger, share, Shostakovich, slot, Sonata, string music, Student, Sunday, Sybil Augustine, symphony, tag, teach, tell, The Ear, Third Coast Percussion, time, United States, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, WORT-FM 89.9, WSUM, WSUM 91.7 FM, young, younger

Songs by Black composers trace their cultural realities in a free online UW performance TONIGHT of “Verisimilitudes.” Plus, the five winners of this year’s Beethoven Competition perform Sunday.

April 24, 2021
Leave a Comment

ALERT: This Sunday, April 25, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. the five winners of this year’s Beethoven Competition at the UW-Madison will perform in a winners’ concert. Included in the program are the popular and dramatic “Appassionata” Sonata, Op. 57, and the famous and innovative last piano sonata, No. 32 in C minor, Op 111. Here is a link to the YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMF0Hd1MJwMg. Click on “Show More” and you can see the full programs and biographical profiles of the winners.

By Jacob Stockinger

The concert could hardly be more timely or the subject more relevant.

Think of the events in and near Minneapolis, Chicago and elsewhere in the U.S.; of the Black Lives Matter movement and social protest; of the political fight for D.C. statehood and voting rights – all provide a perfect context for an impressive student project that will debut online TONIGHT, Saturday, April 24, at 7 p.m.

The one-hour free concert “Verisimilitudes: A Journey Through Art Song in Black, Brown and Tan” originated at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music. It seems an ideal way for listeners to turn to music and art for social and political commentary, and to understand the racial subtexts of art.

Soprano Quanda Dawnyell Johnson (below) created, chose and performs the cycle of songs by Black composers with other Black students at the UW-Madison.

Here is a link to the YouTube video: https://youtu.be/-g5hjeuSumw

Click on “Show More” to see the complete program and more information.

Here is the artist’s statement:

“Within the content of this concert are 17 art songs that depict the reality of the souls of a diasporic people. Most of the lyricists and all of the composers are of African descent. In large part they come from the U.S. but also extend to Great Britain, Guadeloupe by way of France, and Sierra Leone.

“They speak to the veracity of Black life and Black feeling. A diasporic African reality in a Classical mode that challenges while it embraces a Western European vernacular. It is using “culture” as an agent of resistance.

“I refer to verisimilitude in the plural. While syntactically incorrect, as it relates to the multiple veils of reality Black people must negotiate, it is very correct.

“To be packaged in Blackness, or should I say “non-whiteness” is to ever live in a world of spiraling modalities and twirling realities. To paraphrase the great artist, Romare Bearden, in “calling and recalling” — we turn and return, then turn again to find the place that is our self.

“I welcome you to… Verisimilitudes: A Journey Through Art Song in Black, Brown, and Tan”

Here, by sections, is the complete program and a list of performers:

I. Nascence

Clear Water — Nadine Shanti

A Child’s Grace — Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson

Night — Florence Price (below)

Big Lady Moon — Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

II. Awareness

Lovely, Dark, and Lonely — Harry T. Burleigh

Grief –William Grant Still (below)

Prayer — Leslie Adams

Interlude, The Creole Love Call — Duke Ellington

III. The Sophomore

Mae’s Rent Party, We Met By Chance –Jeraldine Saunders Herbison

The Barrier — Charles Brown

IV. Maturity

Three Dream Portraits: Minstrel Man, Dream Variation; I, Too — Margaret Bonds (below)

Dreams — Lawren Brianna Ware

Song Without Words — Charles Brown

Legacy

L’autre jour à l’ombrage (The Other Day in the Shade) — Joseph Boulogne (Chevalier de Saint-Georges, below)

The Verisimilitudes Team

Quanda Dawnyell Johnson — Soprano and Project Creator

Lawren Brianna Ware – -Pianist and Music Director

Rini Tarafder — Stage Manager

Akiwele Burayidi – Dancer

Jackson Neal – Dancer

Nathaniel Schmidt – Trumpet

Matthew Rodriguez – Clarinet

Craig Peaslee – Guitar

Aden Stier –Bass

Henry Ptacek – Drums

Dave Alcorn — Videographer

Here is a link to the complete program notes with lyrics and composer bios. And a preview audio sample is in the YouTube video at the bottom: https://simplebooklet.com/verisimilitudesprogramnotes#page=1

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #Americanhistory, #AppassionataSonata, #ArtSong, #BeethovenCompetition, #BeethovenPianoSonatas, #Blackcomposers, #BlackCulture, #BlackHistory, #Blacklife, #BlackLivesMatter, #BlackMusic, #BlackMusician, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CentralTime, #ChamberMusic, #CharlesBrown, #ChevalierdeSaint-Georges, #ChicagoIllinois, #Coleridge-TaylorPerkinson, #CoronavirusPandemic, #DukeElington, #DukeEllington, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FlorencePrice, #GreatBritain, #HarryT.Burleigh, #IrvingShain, #JacobStockinger, #JeraldineSaundersHerbison, #JosephBoulogne, #LawrenBriannaWare, #LeslieAdams, #LosAngelesGuitarQuartet, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MargaretBonds, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MinneapolisMinnesota, #MusicDirector, #NadineShanti, #OnlineConcert, #PoliticalProtest, #ProgreamNotes, #QuandaJohnson, #RomareBearden, #SamuelColeridge-Taylor, #SierreLeone, #SingWithoutWords, #SocialProtest, #SongCycle, #SopranoSinger, #StageDirector, #TheEar, #TheU.S., #TheUK, #TheUW, #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #VotingRights, #WashingtonD.C., #WesternEuropean, #WilliamGrantStill, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, African, agent, America, Appassionata Sonata, Art, art song, Arts, audience, barrier, bass, bassist, Beethoven, Beethoven Competition, big, biography, black, Black composers, Black culture, Black life, Black Lives Matter, black music, Blackness, blog, bonds, brown, call, Central Daylight Time, Central Time, Chamber music, chance, Charles Brown, Chevalier de Saint Georges, Chicago, Child, choose, clarinet, clarinetist, Classical music, Coleridge-Taylor, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, commentary, Competition, complete, composer, Concert, content, context, coronavirus, correct, Creole, culture, cycle, D.C., dance, dancer, dark, day, debut, depict, descent, diaspora, dramatic, dream, Dreams, drummer, drums, Ellington, Europe, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, famous, feeling, Florence Price, forward, France, free, grace, Great Britain, Guadeloupe, guitarist, Harry T. Burleigh, History, hour, ideal, impressive, information, interlude, Irving Shain, Jacob Stockinger, Jeraldine Saunders Herbison, Joseph Boulogne, journey, journeyt, lady, Lauren Brianna Ware, legacy, Leslie Adams, life, like, link, live, Love, lovely, Ludwig van Beethoven, lyricist, lyrics, Madison, man, Margaret Bonds, maturity, Mead Witter School of Music, Minneapolis, minstrel, modality, mode, moon, multiple, Music, Music director, Musician, Nadine Shanti, nascence, night, online, originate, other, package, pandemic, party, People, percussion, perfect, perform, performer, Pianist, Piano, Piano sonata, plural, political protest, popular, portrait, post, posting, prayer, preview, price, program, program notes, project, Quanda Johnson, racial, read, reality, recall, recital, Rent, resistance, right, Romare Bearden, sample, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, shade, share, show, Sierra Leone, singer, Singing, social protest, Sonata, song, song cycle, Song Without Words, sophomore, soprano, soul, speak, spiral, stage director, statehood, statement, Still, students, subtext, syntax, tag, Tan, team, The Ear, tonight, Trumpet, trumpeter, U.S., UK, understand, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, veil, veracity, verisimilitude, vernacular, videographer, virtual, vocal music, voting, voting rights, Washington, water, way, Western European, whiteness, William Grant Still, winner, Wisconsin, year, YouTube, YouTube video

The Madison Opera launches its Digital Fall this Sunday afternoon and Sept. 27 with more to come through December. The cost is $50 per household

September 18, 2020
Leave a Comment

By Jacob Stockinger

The Ear has received the following announcement from the Madison Opera about its Digital fall season, which will open with an artists’ panel discussion this Sunday afternoon, Sept. 20, and then an original world-premiere production on Sept. 27, a week from this Sunday.

“Although the coronavirus pandemic has closed the Overture Center for the Arts this fall, Madison Opera is not going silent.

“We are creating a fall season that lasts from September through December. It includes both digital content and live performances at the Margaret C. Winston Madison Opera Center, our home in downtown Madison.

“All content will be available to subscribers for at least one month from the “live” date, so you can watch at your leisure, and as often as you wish.”

A Digital Fall subscription is $50 per household. It can be purchased on its own, or as part of a new subscription package. It can be purchased through the link at the bottom.

Here is how it will work: About 48 hours before each event, subscribers will receive an email with the private link to that event. (You may need to check your spam folder). If you have not received an email the day before an event, email info@madisonopera.org and we’ll send you the link directly.

The link remains active for one month, so if you cannot watch an event live – or want to re-watch it – you won’t miss out.

Do you miss operatic conversation? Join us online! Opera Up Close is a favorite event for Madison Opera subscribers, usually featuring a discussion of the upcoming opera from a historical context and with cast members.

For our Digital Fall, this conversation is reimagined via technology to discuss broader opera topics, featuring favorite Madison Opera company members, interviewed by Madison Opera’s general director Kathryn Smith (below, in a photo by James Gill).

Opera Up Close Cocktail Hour Discussions take place on Sunday afternoons, 4– 5:30 p.m. Subscribers will have the opportunity to ask questions both in advance and during the talk.

UP CLOSE COCKTAIL HOUR DISCUSSION

This Sunday, Sept. 20, 4-5:30 p.m.

Many singers have debuted at Madison Opera (MO) early in their careers, before going on to sing around the world.

Featured in this discussion are: Kyle Ketelsen of Sun Prairie (below top in a photo by Lawrence Brownlee, MO debut 2000); Emily Fons (below middle, MO debut 2012); and Will Liverman (below bottom, MO debut 2015). Join us for a wide-ranging discussion about their careers, training paths, and much more.

WORLD PREMIERE OF A SONG CYCLE

Jeni Houser and David Blalock, singers

Saturday, Sept. 26, 7:30 p.m.

Featuring the world premiere of “Keep Moving” by Madison composer and UW-Madison graduate Scott Gendel

Married singers Jeni Houser and David Blalock (below) have a long history with Madison Opera. Jeni was one of our first Studio Artists in 2012, and has returned many times, most recently as Anne in Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music.”

David debuted in Beethoven’s “Fidelio” (2014), and both artists sang at Opera in the Park 2019 (below). This past season, Jeni and David made (separate) Metropolitan Opera debuts, and were slated to sing the leads in Offenbach’s “Orpheus in the Underworld ” in Madison last spring, which was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Wisconsin residents will launch our Live from the Opera Center series in a joint recital, accompanied by principal pianist Scott Gendel (below).

Gendel is also an acclaimed composer, and the recital will feature the world premiere of his song cycle “Keep Moving,” set to poetry by Maggie Smith, which he is writing specifically for Jeni and David. (below, in a photo by David Scott, are all three are rehearsing in the Madison Opera’s Winston Center.)

Here is a link to the initial schedule of events, including a cooperative production of Jean Cocteau’s monologue opera “The Human Voice” with the Austin Opera in Texas, and biographies of various singers and participants.

More events will be added and announced in the coming months.

You will also a find a button to click on to subscribe to the Digital Fall: https://www.madisonopera.org/Fall2020

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #ALittleNightMusic, #AltoSinger, #AustinOpera, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CastMembers, #CityofMadison, #CocktailHour, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #CreatingArt, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #DavidBlalock, #DigitalFall, #EmilyFons, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FallSeason, #GeneralDirector, #GraduateStudent, #HighTechnology, #HistoricalContext, #husband-and-wife, #JacobStockinger, #JacquesOffenbach, #JeanCocteau, #JeniHouser, #KathrynSmith, #KeepMoving, #KyleKetelsen, #LeadRole, #LivePerformance, #LiveStreaming, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonOperaCenter, #MadisonOperaChorus, #MaggieSmith, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #OperaInThePark, #OperaMusic, #OperaUpClose, #OriginalWork, #OrpheusintheUnderworld, #OvertureCenter, #PanelDiscussion, #PianoAccompanist, #PrincipalPianist, #ScottGendel, #SeasonSubscriber, #SongCycle, #SopranoSinger, #StephenSondheim, #Sundayafternoon, #SunPrairie, #TenorSinger, #TheEar, #TheHumanVoice, #TheUW, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #Wife-and-Husband, #WillLiverman, #WorldPremiere, A Little Night Music, acclaimed, accompanist, accompany, add, advance, afternoon, alto, artist, ask, Austin, Austin Opera, available, bass-baritone, Beethoven, biographies, biography, blog, broader, button, cancel, career, cast members, click, cocktail, cocktail hour, Cocteau, composer, content, context, conversation, coronavirus, create, creating, David Blalock, debut, debuted, digital, Digital Fall, discussion, downtown, Emily Fons, event, Facebook, fall, fall season, favorite, Fidelio, forward, Gendel, General director, graduate, historical, History, Home, Houser, husband, interview, Jacob Stockinger, Jacques Offenbach, Jean Cocteau, Jeni Houser, Kathryn Smith, Keep Moving, Ketelsen, Kyle Ketelsen, lead role, leads, leisure, like, link, live, live performance, live streaming, livestream, long, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Opera Center, Madison Opera Chorus, Maggie Smith, married, Mead Witter School of Music, monologue, month, Offenbach, often, online, opera center, Opera in the Park, opera music, Opera Up Close, operatic, opportunity, original, Orpheus in the Underworld, Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts, own, package, pandemic, panel discussion, part, participants, path, performer, Pianist, Piano, Poetry, post, posting, postpone, postponed, principal pianist, production, purchase, Q&A, question, recital, rehearsal, rehearsing, reimagine, resident, return, Scott Gendel, Season, September, share, silent, sing, singer, Singing, slated, Smith, Sondheim, song cycle, soprano, Stephen Sondheim, stream, streaming, Student, studio, subscriber, subscription, Sun Prairie, Sunday, tag, talk, technology, tenor, Texas, The Ear, The Human Voice, topic, training, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, upcoming, UW, UW-Madison, viewer, virtual, vocal music, watch, wife, Will Liverman, Wisconsin, wish, world, world premiere, writing

Classical music: The Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madison Opera, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and Overture Center cancel their fall seasons. Plus, on Saturday cellist Cole Randolph performs a virtual concert for Grace Presents

June 26, 2020
Leave a Comment

ALERT: The Saturday at noon, Grace Presents will offer the first in its series of HD Virtual Concerts online. Future performers include organist Mark Brampton Smith and the Willy Street Chamber Players.

The performer this time is the cellist and recent UW-Madison graduate Cole Randolph (below). The program is: the Sonata for Solo Cello by the American composer George Crumb; two of the “Seven Songs Heard in China” by Chinese composer Bright Sheng; and the Suite for Solo Cello No. 3 by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Here is where you can hear the 40-minute concert inside the church on the Capitol Square: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vaOCH53osk

You can also connect with Cole Randolph after the show by joining in a Zoom meet-and-greet immediately following the performance at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88001773181

The meeting ID is: 880 0177 3181

You can hear Randolph (below, in a photo by Michael Anderson) playing in the YouTube video at the bottom.

By Jacob Stockinger

With all the talk of a second wave of coronavirus coming in the fall — complicated by the seasonal flu – concert cancellations don’t come as a surprise, unfortunately.

In fact, The Ear suspects many more cancellations are to come, including those from the UW-Madison, the Wisconsin Union Theater and the Middleton Community Orchestra.

Here is the latest round: the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Madison Opera, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and the Overture Center have all canceled their fall seasons, with some qualifications.

The announcements came on Thursday morning in the wake of the Overture Center canceling all performances this summer and fall through Nov. 30.

MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The Madison Symphony Orchestra has provided a short statement and a more complete and detailed press release.

Here is the statement:

“The Madison Symphony Orchestra’s 2020-21 “Beethoven and Beyond” season concerts and Overture Concert Organ performances are now canceled from September 2020 through January 2021.

“The move is due to the Overture Center’s decision to suspend events through Nov. 30, 2020, and the requirements of Dane County’s “Forward Dane” Reopening Plan.

“The 2020-21 season performances in February, March, April and May 2021 are scheduled to take place as planned.

“All subscribers will be sent a refund for the value of their tickets for the September 2020 through January 2021 concerts.”

Here is a list on the five MSO concerts – including the Beyond the Score performance of Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” on Jan. 25 — that will be canceled and the four that remain scheduled: https://madisonsymphony.org/concerts-events/2020-2021-symphony-season-concerts/

Here is a link to the full press release about the cancellations by the MSO (below, in a photo by Peter Rodgers): https://madisonsymphony.org/press-release-june-2020-concert-events-update/

MADISON OPERA

The Madison Opera is canceling the two in-person performances of Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” (The Troubadour) but is planning on offering some kind of large digital event and smaller live events at its center.

Here is statement from the Madison Opera:

“Although the Overture Center for the Arts is closed until the end of November, we will not be going silent.

“We are creating a fall season that lasts from September through December, and includes both digital content and live performances at the Margaret C. Winston Madison Opera Center, our home in downtown Madison.

“Some of our signature engagement activities — such as Opera Novice and Opera Up Close — will have monthly editions that include artists from around the country.

“The Opera Center itself will be the site of “Live from the Opera Center,” a variety of streamed performances with a small live audience.

“Other performances will be created digitally and made available exclusively to subscribers.

“Artists involved include members of the original “Il Trovatore” cast: soprano Karen Slack, baritone Weston Hurt, bass Kenneth Kellogg, and stage director Fenlon Lamb. Other soloists include Wisconsin-based artists Jeni Houser (below), David Blalock, Emily Fons, Emily Secor and Kirsten Larson.

“We are working with our artists to create programming that is chosen from their passions: music they want to share, ideas they want to explore, and conversations they want to start. The challenges facing us will create new art, and new ways to make sure it is accessible to everyone.”

Marketing director Andrew Rogers told The Ear that the opera company is still deciding whether digital performances will be ticketed or free with suggested donations.

The full schedule will be announced in early August, after the digital online Opera in the Park takes place Saturday, July 25. For details, go to: https://www.madisonopera.org/2020/05/06/opera-in-the-park-is-going-digital/

To stay current about the regular opera season, you can sign up for the Madison Opera’s news updates via email by going to this website: https://www.madisonopera.org/fall2020/

WISCONSIN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

The Nov. 20 opening concert with pianist John O’Conor of the Masterworks Series has been POSTPONED with no new date set yet.

Music director Andrew Sewell says the Family Concert on is still on for Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Goodman Community Center but the WCO is looking for an alternative venue.

The concert on Nov. 7 at the Verona Area Performing Arts Center has been CANCELED.

Both performances of Handel’s “Messiah” — on Dec. 9 and Dec. 12 at the Blackhawk Church in Middleton and the UW’s Hamel Music Center on Dec. 12 – have also been CANCELED.

And this season the WCO will not play Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” from Dec. 17-27 because the Madison Ballet has canceled those performances.

For more information about the WCO (below, in photo by Mike Gorski), go to: https://wcoconcerts.org/concerts-tickets/calendar

What do you think?

Do you think the cancellations are warranted?

Do you want to leave a message or comment encouraging and supporting the various groups and their many musicians?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AmericanComposer, #AndrewSewell, #AsianComposer, #BalletMusic, #BaritoneSinger, #BaroqueComposer, #BaroqueMusic, #BassSinger, #BeethovenYear, #BeyondTheScore, #BlackhawkChurch, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrightSheng, #CapitolSquare, #ChamberMusic, #Chinesecomposer, #ChristianChurch, #ColeRandolph, #CommunityOutreach, #ConcertOrgan, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DaneCounty, #DavidBlalock, #EmailNewsletter, #EmilyFons, #EmilySecor, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FenlonLamb, #ForwardDane, #GeorgeCrumb, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GiuseppeVerdi, #GoodmanCommunityCenter, #GraceEpiscopalChurch, #GracePresents, #HamelMusicCenter, #Handel'sMessiah, #HomeWebsite, #IgorStravinsky, #IlTrovatore, #JacobStockinger, #JeniHouser, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnO'Conor, #KarenSlack, #KirstenLarson, #LiveMusic, #LivingComposer, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonBallet, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonOperaCenter, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarkBramptonSmith, #MarketingDirector, #MarkMorrisDanceGroup, #MasterworksConcerts, #MasterworksSeason, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Meet-and-Greet, #MessiahOratorio, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #NewMusic, #NewsUpdate, #OperaInThePark, #OperaUpClose, #OrchestralMusic, #OrganMusic, #OvertureCenter, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PressRelease, #PublicHealth, #RiteofSpring, #SecondWave, #SopranoSinger, #StageDirector, #StreamedLive, #TheEar, #TheNutcracker, #TheUW, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VeronaAreaPerformingArtsCenter, #WestonHurt, #WillyStreetChamberPlayers, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #YouTubevideo, accessible, alternative, American, Andrew Sewell, April, artists, Arts, Asia, asian, audience, August, available, Bach, ballet, baritone, Baroque, bass, Beethoven, Beethoven Year, Beyond the Score, Blackhawk Church, blog, Bright Sheng, cancel, canceled, cancellation, Capitol Square, cast, cellist, Cello, center, challenge, Chamber music, China, Chinese, choose, Christian, Christian church, church, Classical music, Cole Randolph, comment, community, company, composer, Concert, concert organ, concerto, conductor, connect, content, conversation, coronavirus, country, create, Creation, Crumb, Dane County, date, David Blalock, December, decision, digital, donation, Early music, edition, email, Emily Fons, Emily Secor, encourage, event, everyone, explore, Facebook, fall, Family, February, Fenlon Lamb, flu, Forward Dane, free, Friday, future, George Crumb, George Frideric Handel, Giuseppe Verdi, Goodman Community Center, Grace Episcopal Church, Grace Presents, graduate, group, Hamel Music Center, Handel, HD, hear, heard, ID, idea, Igor Stravinsky, Il Trovatore, in person, influenza, Jacob Stockinger, January, Jeni Houser, Johann Sebastian Bach, John O'Conor, Karen Slack, Kirsten Larson, like, link, live, live music, live-stream, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Ballet, Madison Opera, Madison Opera Center, Madison Symphony Orchestra, march, Mark Brampton Smith, marketing director, Masterworks, Masterworks Season, May, Mead Witter School of Music, meeting, message, Messiah, Middleton, Middleton Community Orchestra, minute, Monday, monthly, morning, move, MSO, Music, Musician, new, New Music, news, night, noon, November, October, online, opera, Opera in the Park, Opera Up Close, Orchestra, orchestral music, organ, organ music, organist, outreach, Overture Center, Overture Concert Organ, pandemic, Passion, performance, performer, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Piano, plan, play, post, posting, postpone, press release, program, programming, public, Public health, qualification, re-schedule, recent, refund, regular, reopen, Rite of Spring, Saturday, schedule, Season, seasonal, second wave, September, sguuest, share, show, silent, solo, soloist, Sonata, song, soprano, stage director, statement, Stravinsky, streamed, subscribers, Suite, summer, Sunday, support, suspend, symphony, tag, Tchaikovsky, The Ear, The Nutcracker, Thursday, tickets, troubadour, Tuesday, unfortunate, unfortunately, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, update, UW, UW-Madison, value, venue, Verdi, Verona, Verona Area Performing Arts Center, video, Viola, Violin, virtual, virus, vocal music, warranted, WCO, Website, Wednesday, Weston Hurt, Willy Street Chamber Players, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Union Theater, YouTube, Zoom

Classical music: On Wednesday at noon, Just Bach turns to C.P.E. Bach. At night, the Middleton Community Orchestra, with soloist Paran Amirinazari, plays the Violin Concerto No. 1 by Bruch plus works by Janacek and Sibelius.

February 17, 2020
2 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

This coming Wednesday, Feb. 19, features two noteworthy concerts, one by Just Bach at noon and the other by the Middleton Community Orchestra at 7:30 p.m.

Here are details:

JUST BACH

For this month’s FREE one-hour Just Bach concert (below, in a photo by John W. Barker) on this Wednesday at noon in Luther Memorial Church, 1021 University Avenue, attention will turn from father to son.

The concert features music by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (below), the eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach.

The concert opens with a movement from the Sonata in A Minor, Wq. 70/4, H. 85, performed by organist Mark Brampton Smith.

The program continues with a recently rediscovered Cantata, “Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Stande” (I Am Content with My Station), featuring bass-baritone Professor Paul Rowe, and the Just Bach period-instrument players led by Kangwon Kim.

Just Bach co-founder and soprano Sarah Brailey (below) will lead the chorale sing-along, a beloved audience-participation feature of these programs.

The program concludes with eight selections from the “Geistliche Oden und Lieder ‘Gellert Lieder’” (Sacred Odes and Songs ‘Gellert Songs’), performed by students of Paul Rowe (below, in a photo by Michael R. Anderson), accompanied by organist Mark Brampton Smith.

This will also be the first concert with a mother and daughter performing, with violinist Leanne League in the Just Bach players, and soprano Cecilia League in the Paul Rowe studio.

Performers are: Sarah Brailey, soprano; Paul Rowe, baritone; Kangwon Kim, violin 1 (below); Leanne League, violin 2; Katrin Talbot, viola; Anton TenWolde, cello; Mark Brampton Smith, organ; Allyson Mills, Cecilia League, Carly Ochoa and Ella Anderson, sopranos; and Jack Innes, Jake Elfner, Nick Schinner and Chase Kozak, baritones.

The concert is free and open to the public, with a goodwill offering collected.

Other Just Bach concerts this spring, all Wednesdays at noon are on: March 25, April 15 and May 20.

MIDDLETON COMMUNITY ORCHESTRA

At 7:30 p.m., the mostly amateur and critically acclaimed Middleton Community Orchestra (below) will perform its winter concert as part of its 10th anniversary season.

The concert takes place in the comfortable and acoustically pleasing Middleton Performing Arts Center (below, in a photo by Brian Ruppert) that is attached to Middleton High School, 2100 Bristol Street.

The program, under conductor-composer Steve Kurr, includes the “Lachian Dances” by Leos Janacek; “Finlandia” by Jean Sibelius; and the Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor by Max Bruch with guest soloist Paran Amirinazari (below). (You can hear the finale of the violin concerto, played by Sarah Chang, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

Tickets are $15 for adults. Students are admitted free.

The box office opens at 6:30 p.m. and auditorium doors open at 7 p.m.

There will be a meet-and-greet reception (below) with the orchestra players and audience members after the concert.

For more information about upcoming concerts, how to join the orchestra and how to support it, call (608) 212-8690 or go to: http://middletoncommunityorchestra.org

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AmateurMusician, #AntonTenWolde, #BaroqueMusic, #BaroqueViolin, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #CarlPhilippEmanuelBach, #CelloSonata, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ConcertSeason, #CPEBach, #CriticalAcclaim, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Free-WillOffering, #GermanLanguage, #HighSchool, #JacobStockinger, #JeanSibelius, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnW.Barker, #JustBach, #KangwonKim, #LeanneLeague, #LeosJanacek, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MarkBramptonSmith, #MaxBruch, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Meet-and-Greet, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #MiddletonHighSchool, #MiddletonPerformingArtsCenter, #MusicCritic, #OrchestralMusic, #OrganMusic, #OrganSonata, #ParanAmirinazari, #PaulRowe, #PeriodInstrument, #ReligiousMusic, #SacredMusic, #SarahBrailey, #SarahChang, #SopranoSinger, #SteveKurr, #TheEar, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolinConcerto, #VocalMusic, #YouTubevideo, accompany, acoustics, admit, amateur, anniversary, Anton TenWolde, April, Arts, audience, auditorium, Bach, Baroque, bass-baritone, blog, box office, Bruch, Cantata, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, Chorale, Christian, church, Classical music, comfortable, community, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, content, critic, dance, daughter, devotional, Early music, evening, Facebook, father, finale, Finlandia, forward, fre, free will offering, German, God, goodwill, high school, hour, hymn, Jacob Stockinger, Janacek, Jean Sibelius, Johann Sebastian Bach, John W. Barker, Just Bach, Kangwon Kim, Leanne League, Leos Janacek, lieder, like, link, Luther, Luther Memorial Church, Madison, march, Marika Fischer Hoyt, Mark Brampton Smith, Max Bruch, May, Mead Witter School of Music, Middleton Community Orchestra, Middleton High School, Middleton Performing Arts Center, month, Mother, movement, Music, Musician, night, noon, noteworthy, ode, offering, open, Orchestra, orchestral music, organ, organist, Paran Amirinazari, participation, Paul Rowe, period-instrument, players, post, posting, public, reception, religious, religious music, sacred, Sarah Brailey, Sarah Chang, Season, share, Sibelius, sing, sing-along, Singing, Sonata, song, songs, soprano, Spring, station, Steve Kurr, students, studio, support, tag, The Ear, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Viola, Violin, Violin concerto, vocal music, Wednesday, winter, Wisconsin, YouTube

Classical music: The amateur Middleton Community Orchestra performs a non-traditional “holiday” concert of Mahler and Kodaly this Wednesday night

December 17, 2018
1 Comment

IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.

By Jacob Stockinger

During the holiday season, many — maybe even most — classical music groups program music that goes with the theme of the holidays from Christmas and Hanukkah to Kwanzaa and the New Year.

But some groups wisely give listeners a respite from holiday fare.

That happened one week ago when the University of Wisconsin-Madison Choral Union and the UW Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Beverly Taylor, performed a memorable program that featured the brassy “Te Deum” by Zoltan Kodaly and especially the calming Requiem by Maurice Duruflé.

Something similar will happen again this Wednesday night, Dec. 19, at 7:30 p.m. in the comfortable Middleton Performing Arts Center, attached to Middleton High School, 2100 Bristol St.

That is when the mostly amateur but critically acclaimed Middleton Community Orchestra (below, in a photo by Brian Ruppert) will perform its “holiday” concert that is holiday-ish more as a matter of timing than of content or theme, since you won’t hear any carols or sing-alongs or the usual or traditional holiday fare. The Ear thinks it’s a smart approach and a welcome break.

The non-holiday “holiday” program includes “Songs of a Wayfarer” by Gustav Mahler, sung by UW-Madison baritone Paul Rowe (below).

Also on the program is “Le Boeuf sur le Toit” (The Steer on the Roof) by Darius Milhaud with violinist soloist Naha Greenholtz (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson), who is the concertmaster of the Madison Symphony Orchestra.

Matthew Coley (below top), a member of the acclaimed Madison-based percussion group “Clocks in Motion,” will perform two pieces of Hungarian music that use the rarely heard cimbalom (below bottom): the “Czardas” by Vittorio Monti and the “Hary Janos Suite” by Kodaly. (You can hear Monti’s familiar “Czardas” in a version for violin and piano in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

Kyle Knox (below), who is the new music director of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras and the new associate conductor of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and who is also the husband of Naha Greenholtz, will once again be the guest conductor.

Admission is $15 for the general public with students and young people getting in for free. Tickets can be bought at the Willy Street Co-op West and at the door. The box office opens at 6:30 p.m. and doors to the hall open at 7 p.m.

As usual, there will be a meet-and-greet reception (below) – complete with Christmas cookies, you can be sure – at the end of the concert.

For more information about future MCO concerts, reviews of past concerts and details about how to join the orchestra or support it, go to: http://middletoncommunityorchestra.org/home

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AmateurMusician, #AssociateConductor, #BaritoneSinger, #BeverlyTaylor, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #BrassMusic, #ChristmasCarol, #ChristmasCookies, #CimbalomMusic, #ClocksinMotion, #Czardas, #DariusMilhaud, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GuestConductor, #GustavMahler, #HaryJanosSuite, #HolidayCarol, #HolidayConcert, #HolidayMusic, #HolidaySeason, #HungarianComposer, #husband-and-wife, #KyleKnox, #LeBoeufsurleToit, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MatthewColey, #MauriceDuruflé, #Meet-and-Greet, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #MiddletonHighSchool, #MiddletonPerformingArtsCenter, #MiddletonWisconsin, #MusicCritic, #MusicDirector, #MusicReview, #NahaGreenholtz, #NewYear, #PaulRowe, #PercussionEnsemble, #PercussionMusic, #SongsofaWayfarer, #TeDeum, #TraditionalMusic, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWChoralUnion, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #VittorioMonti, #WillySt.CoopWest, #WillyStreetCoopWest, #WisconsinYouthSymphonyOrchestras, #YoungListeners, #YoungPeople, #YouTubevideo, #ZoltanKodaly, acclaim, admission, amateur, approach, Arts, associate conductor, audience, baritone, Beverly Taylor, blog, box office, brass, break, Carol, choral music, Choral Union, Christmas, Christmas cookies, cimbalom, Classical music, Clocks in Motion, composer, concertmaster, conductor, content, cookies, critic, doors hall, Facebook, familiar, group, guest conductor, Gustav Mahler, Hanukkah, Hary Janos Suite, holiday concert, holiday music, holiday season, Hungarian, Hungary, husband, information, Jacob Stockinger, join, Kwanzaa, Kyle Knox, Le Boeuf sur le Toit, like, link, listener, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, married, marry, Matthew Coley, Maurice Durufle, Middleton, Middleton Community Orchestra, Middleton High School, Middleton Performing Arts Center, Music, Music director, music review, Naha Greenholtz, new, New Year, Orchestra, Paul Rowe, performer, Pianist, Piano, post, posting, public, reception, Requiem, share, sing, sing-along, singer, Singing, smart, soloist, song, Songs of a Wayfarer, Student, sung, support, tag, Te Deum, theme, tickets, traditional, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, Viola, Violin, violinist, Vittorio Monti, vocal music, welcome, wife, Wisconsin Youth Symhony Orchestras, word, young people, YouTube, Zoltan Koldaly

Classical music: The UW Choral Union and UW Symphony Orchestra deliver outstanding performances of great music by Mozart and Brahms

December 12, 2017
2 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

Here is a special posting, a review written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker. Barker (below) is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who writes for Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who hosts an early music show once a month on Sunday morning on WORT-FM 89.9. For years, he served on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison. Barker also took the performance photos.

By John W. Barker

The program for the first concert this season by the UW Choral Union (below), mercifully, had nothing whatsoever to do with Christmas, and just offered great music.

There were only two works, one by Brahms and the other by Mozart. Surefire!

Johannes Brahms composed three relatively short works for chorus, without soloists, and orchestra. Of these, I wish conductors would get busy with two of them in particular. The Gesang der Parzen (Song of the Fates) and Nänie are simply superb works by one of the greatest of all choral composers.

The third, the Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny), Op. 54, I would rate just a bit lower for musical content, but that is the one of the three that is more frequently performed, and that was the one we heard.

That said, there is much quite beautiful music in the piece, which sets a poem of Friedrich Hölderlin that moves from anxiety to desperation. Brahms (below) preceded the choral setting with a serene introduction that—to satisfy his aesthetics if not the poet’s—he repeats at the end to restore order.

Conductor Beverley Taylor (below) employed rather broad tempos, but this enabled her to bring out some of the melodic material with great beauty.

And, with a chorus of some 124 singers, she was able to give the music tremendous sonority, if a bit at the price of German diction. With the very good UW Symphony Orchestra in fine fettle, too, this was an excellent performance that should alert listeners to neglected treasures.

The main work was the unfinished “Great” Mass in C minor, K. 427, by Mozart (below). This is music inspired by the composer’s marriage and by the new (for him) artistic climate of Vienna. Even incomplete – it has a fragmentary “Credo” and is missing an “Agnus Dei”) — it still stands, with his also uncompleted Requiem, as a towering masterpiece of his sacred choral output.

Taylor displayed a fine feeling for both the overall and individual qualities of the work, projecting them with vigor and discipline.

There were four student soloists (below), with promising young voices.

But eventually the standout proved to be soprano Sarah Richardson (below). The operatic-style aria, “Et incarnatus est” from the “Credo” was apparently sung by Mozart’s wife in its preliminary performance, and is often heard as a separate solo number today. This was sung by Richardson (below) with skill and eloquence. (You can hear the aria in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

This chorus was really a bit oversized for a work like this, but Taylor made it the real star of the performance, in singing with both power and precision.

A truly rewarding concert!

Posted in Classical music
Tags: aesthetic, Agnus Dei, American Record Guide, anxiety, aria, artistic, Arts, beautiful, Beverly Taylor, Cello, choral music, Christmas, Classical music, climate, composer, content, Credo, critic, desperation, diction, discipline, Early music, eloquence, emeritus, esthetic, feeling, fettle, fine, fragment, German, great, History, Holiday, incomplete, individual, introduction, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, John W. Barker, lecture, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, Marriage, mass, masterpiece, material, Medieval, melodic, melody, Mozart, Music, musical, Nanie, opera, operatic, Orchestra, order, output, photo, photograph, piece, poem, poet, power, precision, preformance, professor, quality, Requiem, restore, review, rewarding, sacred, Season, serene, setting, short, singer, skill, soloists, Song of Destiny, Song of the Fates, star, Student, superb, Tempo, towering, unfinished, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW Choral Union, UW Symphony Orchestra, Vienna, vigor, Viola, Violin, vocal music, voice, wife, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, work, WORT-FM 89.9, YouTube

	MARTIN LUTHER LUTE \|… on Classical music: Who was the e…
	Brian Jefferies on Classical music: A major reass…
	welltemperedear on What made Beethoven sick and…
	rlhess5d5b7e5dff on What made Beethoven sick and…
	welltemperedear on Beethoven’s Ninth turns 200…

Share this:

Share this:

Do you miss operatic conversation? Join us online! Opera Up Close is a favorite event for Madison Opera subscribers, usually featuring a discussion of the upcoming opera from a historical context and with cast members.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: