The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Here are the classical music nominees for the 2020 Grammy Awards. They make a useful holiday gift guide and highlight the trend toward more diversity
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By Jacob Stockinger
Today is Black Friday followed by Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday — all with special deals and sales.
With that in mind, here is a list of the recently announced nominees in classical music for the 2020 Grammy Awards.
Although it is a self-serving list for a competition sponsored by The Industry, it can also be good way to find holiday gifts to give to others or to receive for yourself.
The list can be useful for spotting trends and finding new releases you may not have heard of.
For example, this year seems especially good for new music or recent works and contemporary composers. You won’t find any Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky or Mahler although you will find Berlioz, Schumann, Wagner, Bruckner, Berg, Rachmaninoff and Copland.
Another favorite seems to be the rediscovery of older composers such as Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919-1996, below) whose centennial has become an occasion for bringing his neglected works to the forefront.
You can also see that like the Oscars, the Grammys seem to be paying more attention to women composers and conductors, artists of color and crossovers or mixed and hybrid genres.
For complete lists of all 84 categories, go to this site and click on the categories that interest you: https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/2020-grammy-awards-complete-nominees-list
The 62nd annual Grammy Awards will be presented on Sunday, Jan. 26, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on CBS television.
- Best Engineered Album, Classical
An Engineer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
- AEQUA – ANNA THORVALDSDÓTTIR
Daniel Shores, engineer; Daniel Shores, mastering engineer (International Contemporary Ensemble) - BRUCKNER: SYMPHONY NO. 9
Mark Donahue, engineer; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) - RACHMANINOFF – HERMITAGE PIANO TRIO
Keith O. Johnson & Sean Royce Martin, engineers; Keith O. Johnson, mastering engineer (Hermitage Piano Trio) - RILEY: SUN RINGS
Leslie Ann Jones, engineer; Robert C. Ludwig, mastering engineer (Kronos Quartet) - WOLFE: FIRE IN MY MOUTH
Bob Hanlon & Lawrence Rock, engineers; Ian Good & Lawrence Rock, mastering engineers (Jaap Van Zweden, Francisco J. Núñez, Donald Nally, The Crossing, Young People’s Chorus Of NY City & New York Philharmonic)
- Producer Of The Year, Classical
A Producer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
- BLANTON ALSPAUGH
- Artifacts – The Music Of Michael McGlynn (Charles Bruffy & Kansas City Chorale)
• Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique; Fantaisie Sur La Tempête De Shakespeare (Andrew Davis & Toronto Symphony Orchestra)
• Copland: Billy The Kid; Grohg (Leonard Slatkin & Detroit Symphony Orchestra)
• Duruflé: Complete Choral Works (Robert Simpson & Houston Chamber Choir)
• Glass: Symphony No. 5 (Julian Wachner, The Choir Of Trinity Wall Street, Trinity Youth Chorus, Downtown Voices & Novus NY)
• Sander: The Divine Liturgy Of St. John Chrysostom (Peter Jermihov & PaTRAM Institute Singers)
• Smith, K.: Canticle (Craig Hella Johnson & Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble)
• Visions Take Flight (Mei-Ann Chen & ROCO) - JAMES GINSBURG (below)
- Project W – Works By Diverse Women Composers (Mei-Ann Chen and Chicago Sinfonietta)
• Silenced Voices (Black Oak Ensemble)
• 20th Century Harpsichord Concertos (Jory Vinikour, Scott Speck and Chicago Philharmonic)
• Twentieth Century Oboe Sonatas (Alex Klein and Phillip Bush)
• Winged Creatures & Other Works For Flute, Clarinet, And Orchestra (Anthony McGill, Demarre McGill, Allen Tinkham and Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra) - MARINA A. LEDIN, VICTOR LEDIN
- Bates: Children Of Adam; Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem (Steven Smith, Erin R. Freeman, Richmond Symphony & Chorus)
• The Orchestral Organ (Jan Kraybill)
• The Poetry Of Places (Nadia Shpachenko)
• Rachmaninoff – Hermitage Piano Trio (Hermitage Piano Trio) - MORTEN LINDBERG
- Himmelborgen (Elisabeth Holte, Kare Nordstoga & Uranienborg Vokalensemble)
• Kleiberg: Do You Believe In Heather? (Various Artists)
• Ljos (Fauna Vokalkvintett)
• LUX (Anita Brevik, Trondheimsolistene & Nidarosdomens Jentekor)
• Trachea (Tone Bianca Sparre Dahl & Schola Cantorum)
• Veneliti (Hakon Daniel Nystedt & Oslo Kammerkor) - DIRK SOBOTKA
- Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
75. Best Orchestral Performance Award to the Conductor and to the Orchestra.
- BRUCKNER: SYMPHONY NO. 9
Manfred Honeck, conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) - COPLAND: BILLY THE KID; GROHG
Leonard Slatkin, conductor (Detroit Symphony Orchestra) - NORMAN: SUSTAIN
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic) - TRANSATLANTIC
Louis Langrée, conductor (Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra) - WEINBERG: SYMPHONIES NOS. 2 and 21
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, conductor (City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra & Kremerata Baltica)
- Best Opera Recording
Award to the Conductor, Album Producer(s) and Principal Soloists.
- BENJAMIN: LESSONS IN LOVE & VIOLENCE
George Benjamin, conductor; Stéphane Degout, Barbara Hannigan, Peter Hoare & Gyula Orendt; James Whitbourn, producer (Orchestra Of The Royal Opera House) - BERG: WOZZECK
Marc Albrecht, conductor; Christopher Maltman & Eva-Maria Westbroek; François Roussillon, producer (Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra; Chorus Of Dutch National Opera) - CHARPENTIER: LES ARTS FLORISSANTS; LES PLAISIRS DE VERSAILLES
Paul O’Dette & Stephen Stubbs, conductors; Jesse Blumberg, Teresa Wakim & Virginia Warnken; Renate Wolter-Seevers, producer (Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble; Boston Early Music Festival Vocal Ensemble) - PICKER: FANTASTIC MR. FOX
Gil Rose, conductor; John Brancy, Andrew Craig Brown, Gabriel Preisser, Krista River & Edwin Vega; Gil Rose, producer (Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Boston Children’s Chorus) - WAGNER: LOHENGRIN
Christian Thielemann, conductor; Piotr Beczała, Anja Harteros, Tomasz Konieczny, Waltraud Meier & Georg Zeppenfeld; Eckhard Glauche, producer (Festspielorchester Bayreuth; Festspielchor Bayreuth)
- Best Choral Performance
Award to the Conductor, and to the Choral Director and/or Chorus Master where applicable and to the Choral Organization/Ensemble.
- BOYLE: VOYAGES
Donald Nally, conductor (The Crossing) - DURUFLÉ: COMPLETE CHORAL WORKS
Robert Simpson, conductor (Ken Cowan; Houston Chamber Choir) - THE HOPE OF LOVING
Craig Hella Johnson, conductor (Conspirare) - SANDER: THE DIVINE LITURGY OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
Peter Jermihov, conductor (Evan Bravos, Vadim Gan, Kevin Keys, Glenn Miller & Daniel Shirley; PaTRAM Institute Singers) - SMITH, K.: THE ARC IN THE SKY
Donald Nally, conductor (The Crossing)
- Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
For new recordings of works with chamber or small ensemble (twenty-four or fewer members, not including the conductor). One Award to the ensemble and one Award to the conductor, if applicable.
- CERRONE: THE PIECES THAT FALL TO EARTH
Christopher Rountree and Wild Up - FREEDOM & FAITH
PUBLIQuartet - PERPETULUM
Third Coast Percussion - RACHMANINOFF – HERMITAGE PIANO TRIO
Hermitage Piano Trio - SHAW: ORANGE
Attacca Quartet
79. Best Classical Instrumental Solo Award to the Instrumental Soloist(s) and to the Conductor when applicable.
- THE BERLIN RECITAL
Yuja Wang - HIGDON: HARP CONCERTO
Yolanda Kondonassis; Ward Stare, conductor (The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra) - MARSALIS: VIOLIN CONCERTO; FIDDLE DANCE SUITE
Nicola Benedetti; Cristian Măcelaru, conductor (Philadelphia Orchestra) - THE ORCHESTRAL ORGAN
Jan Kraybill - TORKE: SKY, CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN
Tessa Lark; David Alan Miller, conductor (Albany Symphony)
80. Best Classical Solo Vocal Album Award to: Vocalist(s), Collaborative Artist(s) (Ex: pianists, conductors, chamber groups) Producer(s), Recording Engineers/Mixers with 51% or more playing time of new material.
- THE EDGE OF SILENCE – WORKS FOR VOICE BY GYÖRGY KURTÁG
Susan Narucki (Donald Berman, Curtis Macomber, Kathryn Schulmeister & Nicholas Tolle) - HIMMELSMUSIK
Philippe Jaroussky & Céline Scheen; Christina Pluhar, conductor; L’Arpeggiata, ensemble (Jesús Rodil & Dingle Yandell) - SCHUMANN: LIEDERKREIS OP. 24, KERNER-LIEDER OP. 35
Matthias Goerne; Leif Ove Andsnes, accompanist - SONGPLAY
Joyce DiDonato; Chuck Israels, Jimmy Madison, Charlie Porter and Craig Terry, accompanists (Steve Barnett and Lautaro Greco) - A TE, O CARA
Stephen Costello; Constantine Orbelian, conductor (Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra)
- Best Classical Compendium
Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s) and Engineer(s) of over 51% playing time of the album, if other than the artist.
- AMERICAN ORIGINALS 1918
John Morris Russell, conductor; Elaine Martone, producer - LESHNOFF: SYMPHONY NO. 4 ‘HEICHALOS’; GUITAR CONCERTO; STARBURST
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Tim Handley, producer - MELTZER: SONGS AND STRUCTURES
Paul Appleby & Natalia Katyukova; Silas Brown & Harold Meltzer, producers - THE POETRY OF PLACES
Nadia Shpachenko; Marina A. Ledin & Victor Ledin, producers - SAARIAHO: TRUE FIRE; TRANS; CIEL D’HIVER
Hannu Lintu, conductor; Laura Heikinheimo, producer
- Best Contemporary Classical Composition
A Composer’s Award. (For a contemporary classical composition composed within the last 25 years, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year.) Award to the librettist, if applicable.
- BERMEL: MIGRATION SERIES FOR JAZZ ENSEMBLE & ORCHESTRA
Derek Bermel, composer (Derek Bermel, Ted Nash, David Alan Miller, Juilliard Jazz Orchestra & Albany Symphony Orchestra) - HIGDON: HARP CONCERTO
Jennifer Higdon, composer (Yolanda Kondonassis, Ward Stare & The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra) - MARSALIS: VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D MAJOR
Wynton Marsalis, composer (Nicola Benedetti, Cristian Măcelaru & Philadelphia Orchestra) - NORMAN: SUSTAIN
Andrew Norman, composer (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic) - SHAW: ORANGE
Caroline Shaw, composer (Attacca Quartet) - WOLFE: FIRE IN MY MOUTH
Julia Wolfe, composer (Jaap Van Zweden, Francisco J. Núñez, Donald Nally, The Crossing, Young People’s Chorus Of NY City & New York Philharmonic)
Tags: #20thCentury, #AaronCopland, #AlbanBerg, #AlbanySymphony, #AmericanJazz, #AndrewDavis, #AnnaThorvaldsdottir, #AntonBruckner, #AntoninDvorak, #ArtistsofColor, #AttaccaQuartet, #BaroqueMusic, #BerlinGermany, #BillytheKid, #BlackFriday, #BlackOakEnsemble, #BlantonAlspaugh, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BostonEarlyMusicFestival, #CarolineShaw, #ChamberMusic, #ChicagoPhilharmonic, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianThielemann, #CincinnatiPops, #CincinnatiSymphonyOrchetsra, #CityofBirminghamOrchestra, #ClarinetConcerto, #ClassicalGuitar, #ContemporaryComposers, #CyberMonday, #DerekBermel, #DetroitSymphony, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FluteConcerto, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FranzSchubert, #GidonKremer, #GrammyAwards, #GuitarConcerto, #GustavMahler, #GustavoDudamel, #HectorBerlioz, #HolidayGiftGuide, #HybridGenre, #InstrumentalMusic, #JamesGinsburg, #JappVanSweden, #JenniferHigdon, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JoyceDiDonato, #JulianWachner, #JuliaWolfe, #KaijaSaariaho, #KremerataBaltica, #KronosQuartet, #LeifOveAndsnes, #LeonardSlatkin, #LesArtsFlorissants, #LivingComposers, #LosAngeles, #LouisLangree, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #ManfredHoneck, #Marc-AntoineCharpentier, #MatthiasGoerner, #MauriceDuruflé, #MichaelTorke, #MieczyslawWeinberg, #MirgaGražinytė-Tyla, #MixedGenre, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #NicolaBenedetti, #OboeConcerto, #OboeSonata, #OrchestralMusic, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PhilipGlass, #PianoTrio, #PittsburghSymphony, #RalphVaughanWilliams, #RichardWagner, #RobertSchumann, #RochesterPhilharmonic, #RoyalOperaHouse, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #SmallBusinessSaturday, #SoundEngineer, #StaplesCenter, #StephenCostello, #StringQuartet, #SymphonicMusic, #TerryRiley, #TobiasPicker, #TorontoSymphonyOrchestra, #ViolinConcerto, #VocalMusic, #WilliamShakespeare, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WyntonMarsalis, #YolandaKondonassis, #YujaWang, 20th-century, Aaron Copland, Alban Berg, Albany Symphony, American, Andrew Davis, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, annual, Anton Bruckner, Antonín Dvořák, artists of color, Attacca Quartet, award, Bach, Baroque music, Beethoven, Berg, Berlin, Berlioz, best, Billy the Kid, black, Black Friday, Black Oak Ensemble, Blanton Alspaugh, blog, Boston Early Music Festival, Brahms, Broadcast, Bruckner, Business, buying, California, canticle, Caroline Shaw, category, CBS, CBS-TV, Chamber music, Chicago, Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra, choral music, chorus, Christian Thielemann, Cincinnati Pops, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, clarinet, Classical music, classicalmusic, Competition, composer, concerto, contemporary composers, Copland, crossover, cyber, Cyber-Monday, dance, deal, Derek Bermel, Detroit, Detroit Symphony, divine, Dvorak, Early music, Earth, edge, engineer, ensemble, Facebook, faith, fiddle, fire, flute, forefront, forward, Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, freedom, genre, Germany, Gidon Kremer, give, good, Grammy Awards, Grammys, guide, guitar, Gustav Mahler, Gustavo Dudamel, harp, harpsichord, Haydn, Hector Berlioz, Higdon, Holiday, holiday gift guide, hope, hybrid genre, industry, instrumental, James Ginsburg, Japp Van Sweden, Jazz, Jennifer Higdon, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Joyce DiDonato, Julia Wolfe, Julian Wachner, Kaija Saariaho, Kremerata Baltica, Kronos Quartet, Kurtag, Leif Ove Andsnes, Leonard Slatkin, Les Arts Florissants, lessons, like, link, living, living composers, Lohengrin, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Louis Langrée, Love, loving, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mahler, Manfred Honeck, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Matthias Goerner, Maurice Durufle, Michael Torke, Mieczyslaw Weinberg, Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla, mixed, mixed genre, mouth, Mozart, neglected, new, New Music, New York City, New York Philharmonic, Nicola Benedetti, nomination, nominee, Oboe, oboe sonata, occasion, opera, orange, Orchestra, orchestral, organ, original, Oscars, percussion, performance, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Philip Glass, Pianist, Piano, Piano Trio, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, places, Poetry, pops, post, posting, producer, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Ralph Vaughan Williams, receive, recital, rediscovery, release, Retail, Richard Wagner, Robert Schumann, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Opera House, sale, Schubert, Schumann, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, Shakespeare, share, Shopping, silence, singer, site, sky, small, solo, Sonata, song, special, Staples Center, Stephen Costello, String quartet, Suite, sun, symphonic music, symphony, tag, Tchaikovsky, Tchakovsky, Television, Terry Riley, Tobias Picker, Torke, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, trend, Trinity, TV, Versailles, violence, Violin concerto, violinist, vision, vocal music, voices, voyage, Wagner, Wang, Weinberg, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, women, Wozzeck, Wynton Marsalis, year, Yolanda Kondonassis, young people, Yuja Wang
Classical music: Black Friday started the holiday shopping rush. What gifts about classical music would you recommend?
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By Jacob Stockinger
Yesterday was Black Friday – the day that ushers in the start of frantic holiday gift shopping.
Today is Small Business Saturday for local shopping and Monday is Cyber Monday for on-line shopping.
It sure sounds like decadent capitalism that is growing ever more desperate for sales and marketing gimmicks.
And it sure sounds overwhelming.
But some help is available.
As in past years, from now through late December The Ear will offer some gift ideas of his own, including books, recordings and tickets to live performances.
Also as usual, he will offer the new Grammy nominations plus list of the Top 10 of 2017 and similar lists from The New York Times, National Public Radio (NPR), WQXR-FM (see the link below), The Washington Post, Gramophone magazine, and other sources.
In fact, you can use the blog’s search engine to look up suggestions from past years. You might be surprised at how relevant a lot of them still remain.
http://www.wqxr.org/story/hand-picked-gift-guide-classical-music-lover-your-list/
Is there a trend this year?
Well, because of the Leonard Bernstein centennial there is a lot of Lenny (below) being repacked for holiday sales, including his mid-century revival of Gustav Mahler with the New York Philharmonic. (You can hear Bernstein introduce and explain Mahler to young people in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
And the growing prevalence of digital streaming means that more and more wonderful box sets of operas, orchestral music, choral music, vocal music, chamber music and solo music are available for about $3 a disc or less.
But this year, The Ear also wants to encourage his readers, who are often very knowledgeable, to send in their own suggestions for holiday gift-giving.
It should be something you would either like to give or like to receive.
Plus, the recordings or whatever other products you mention do not have to be new.
The only important criterion is that you think either yourself or the recipient would enjoy it and somehow benefit from it.
Maybe it is something new you think up.
Or something you heard from someone else or another source.
Maybe it is a gift that you yourself received and think others would enjoy getting.
Anyway, let’s all educate each other and please each other this holiday season.
Let the suggestions begin!
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Classical music: For this coming Giving Tuesday, The Ear takes note that symphony orchestras are not alone in now being more like charities than businesses
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By Jacob Stockinger
This coming Tuesday, Nov. 29, is Giving Tuesday.
It follows such hyped-up promotional and for-profit business days as Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.
But this year Giving Tuesday seems more important than ever.
It’s no secret that the conservative political forces now in ascendancy do not favor government subsidies of the arts. And one has no idea about what the taste in the arts is for the incoming administration.
Plus, economic competition among proliferating music groups has only tightened the screws even further on many organizations.
Of course, lots of music organizations – small, medium and big – need your help.
The Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the Madison Opera, the Wisconsin Union Theater and increasingly the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music all seek out and solicit donations with more and more frequency.
And it is no secret that The Ear especially favors supporting music education organizations for young people such as the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (below, at the group’s 50th anniversary concert last winter). They not only train future musicians but also build future audiences for classical music.
But in whatever direction your philanthropy and generosity extend, here is some relevant news.
It is a story from The New York Times about how symphony orchestras are now less like businesses and more like charities.
Symphony orchestras aren’t alone, so the account seems especially timely with Giving Tuesday looming.
Here is a link:
If you have some thoughts, please leave them in the COMMENT section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: Arts, Black Friday, Cello, Chamber music, charity, Classical music, conservative, Cyber-Monday, donation, Jacob Stockinger, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music, Music education, New York Times, opera, Orchestra, philanthropy, Small Business Saturday, symphony, taste, The New York Times, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, WYSO
Classical music: Today is Cyber Monday. Here are some gift guides and links to local music organizations if you want to buy tickets and look into performers, concerts and dates.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Today is Cyber Monday, which follows on the heels of Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Small Business Saturday.
Just look at those names of Institutionalized Shopping Days. Are we a consumer society or what?
All the news stories that the Ear hears and sees seem to agree: Online buying is by far the fastest growing segment of the holiday retail market.
In that spirit, here are two links to various gifts guides.
First, BBC Music Magazine and the Telegraph newspaper:
And The New York Times:
But just as important are the local music makers and concert promoters. The Ear thinks that tickets to future concerts make a great gift – especially if you agree to accompany someone and provide companion or maybe even transportation is the person is older.
And you don’t have to buy today.
The important thing is to USE YOUR COMPUTER OR SMART PHONE to browse and shop, to assist you in shopping.
Some of the local groups are even offering major and minor holiday discounts. Or the past several years, the Madison Symphony Orchestra has offered has reduced price tickets. (This year, the MSO tickets sale of seats for $20 or $48 takes place Dec. 12-24.) This year, the Wisconsin Union Theater is waiving handing fees (but not discounting tickets) for the month of December and through Jan. 2. And other deals are likely, given the competitive nature of the performing arts in Madison.
And if you don’t buy them today or the sales come later, at least you can do the research right now and find out what you might want to buy later.
In some cases, as with the FREE Friday Noon Musicales at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, performers and programs are not listed much in advance. And the terrific new ensemble Willy Street Chamber Players won’t announce its new dates and programs until the spring.
The Ear thinks that combining a ticket to a live performance with a recording of the music or a book about music makes a superb holiday gift. And you will be supporting local businesses and local musicians.
So here are some links. But please forgive The Ear if the list is not exhaustive. There are so many classical music groups now in Madison and the surrounding area, it is hard to keep up.
If you want to ask something, please put the name and a link in the COMMENT section. The Ear will be grateful, and so will other readers.
The Ear hopes you find it useful.
A drumroll, please!
University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music:
http://www.music.wisc.edu/events/
Madison Symphony Orchestra:
https://www.madisonsymphony.org
Madison Opera (a scene from “La Boheme” in a photo by James Gill):
Overture Center for the Arts:
Wisconsin Union Theater:
http://www.uniontheater.wisc.edu
Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras:
Oakwood Chamber Players:
http://www.oakwoodchamberplayers.com
Madison Bach Musicians:
http://madisonbachmusicians.org
Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble:
http://www.wisconsinbaroque.org
Middleton Community Orchestra:
http://middletoncommunityorchestra.org
Con Vivo:
http://www.convivomusicwithlife.org
Festival Choir of Madison:
http://festivalchoirmadison.org/seasons/events.html
Madison Choral of Madison:
Farley’s House of Pianos:
Fresco Opera Theatre:
http://www.frescooperatheatre.com
Live From the Met in HD:
http://www.metopera.org/Season/In-Cinemas/
Tags: Arts, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Black Friday, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, cinema, cinemas, Classical music, Compact Disc, computer, Con Vivo, concerto, cyber, Cyber-Monday, digital, Early music, Edgewood College, Farley's House of Pianos, Franz Schubert, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John DeMain, Live From The Met in HD, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera, Middleton Community Orchestra, Movie theater, Music, New York Times, Oakwood Chamber Players, opera, Orchestra, Overture Center, Piano, Pro Arte Quartet, Small Business Saturday, smart phone, Sonata, Thanksgiving, The New York Times, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Baroque Enemble, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wisconsin Youth Symhony Orchestras, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, WYSO
Classical music: As we head into Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber-Monday, how appealing as holiday gifts are complete CD boxed sets?
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By Jacob Stockinger
Today is Black Friday, known for deep price cuts, huge sales and outrageous store hours that draw massive crowds — and for putting retails business in the profitable black at the end of the year.
Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday, which is supposed to encourage us to patronize local businesses.
And Monday is Cyber-Monday for on-line Internet shopping.
Never mind that they are all starting to get mixed up and to become one big, long shopping frenzy.
As I do every year, I will hunt out and post on this blog the “Best of 2013” lists, which should feature lots of recordings, some great DVDs and also some noteworthy books about classical music. Here are some links to last year’s from NPR, The New York Times and The New Yorker and Gramophone magazines among others. After all, the music and the performances are just as good as it was a year ago:
But recently The New York Times chief music critic Anthony Tommasini (below) wrote about the phenomenon of these multi-CD boxed sets, containing dozens of CDs and costing hundreds of dollars (unless of course you are a reviewer) that often use original LP covers and that give you the encore output” – or “oeuvre,” if you like – of a particular performer (like pianist Arthur Rubinstein, below) or composer. But they also probably offer lots of duplicates to serious collectors who already have a substantial number of recordings.
Tommasini remarks on the seeming contradictions of these as music becomes more and more about digital downloads rather than physical Compact Discs.
He makes some intriguing points worth considering if you are hunting for a special classical music gift.
So in honor of the days-long holiday shopping frenzy that is facing us, here is a link to Tommasini’s story that covers several major pianists including Vladimir Horowitz at Carnegie Hall (below top, bowing, in a photo by Don Hunstein, and below middle in the scale model “Carnegie Hall” box container), Murray Perahia (below bottom) and Van Cliburn as well as Byron Janis, Leon Fleisher and Gary Graffman plus the composer Benjamin Britten, whose birth centennial was on Nov. 22.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/17/arts/music/classical-music-boxed-sets-multiply.html?_r=0
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE RECORDING TO RECOMMEND AS A GIFT?
The Ear wants to hear.
Classical music: Looking for a great holiday music gift? Look to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony in a new book and recording that show how revolutionary and radical the work is.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Well, it started with Gray Thursday and yesterday proceeded to Black Friday. Today is Small Business/Shop Local Saturday and then we move on to Cyber-Monday.
Yes, the holiday gift-giving season– and especially gift-BUYING season — is upon us. And how!!!
The Ear has long proposed combining a book, a CD and a ticket to a live performance.
And this year offers a perfect chance.
Take no doubt the most famous four notes –- made up of just two tones, a minor third – in all of classical music.
They are: DUH-DUH-DUH-DAHHHH.
Say it out loud and you will recognize at once the “fate knocking on the door” motif opening of the Symphony No. 5 in C Minor by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), a work of unparalleled forcefulness for its time – of any time really. It was the “Rite of Spring” of its day.
Half a century ago, Leonard Bernstein (below) discussed Beethoven’s Fifth in a wonderfully lucid talk. He particularly emphasized the inevitability of all the repetitions at the end. I can still see Lenny on TV standing on a floor that was covered with the score that he was discussing.
Well, lo these many years later come two other Great Explainers.
The first is Boston Globe writer and critic come Matthew Guerrieri (below top) in his book “The First Four Notes: Beethoven’s Fifth and the Human Imagination” (below bottom), which is available as both a regular book and an e-book/Kindle.
The second is the award-winning Sir John Eliot Gardiner (below), who conducts and records with the Monteverdi Choir and the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, (the ORR, or Revolutionary and Romantic Orchestra) and who gives his take on the opening of the famous symphony, which he has just released a new recording from live performances of the Fifth and the Seventh Symphonies at Carnegie Hall.
Gardiner and Guerrieri also talked to NPR host Robert Siegel on “All Things Considered” about how period-instrument playing has evolved from historical accuracy to more expressive and visceral playing and the role the Romanticism, the French Revolution and the role that the newly invented metronome played in helping Beethoven decide how fast the symphony should be played.
You can find the story on NPR’s always outstanding classical music blog “Deceptive Cadence.”
Here is a link. Take a listen and tell me it isn’t like hearing this iconic work with new ears – and makes you want to share the news and beauty by giving them as a gift.
Do you have a favorite recording of Beethoven’s Fifth that you recommend? (I personally like Carlos Kleiber and the Vienna Philharmonic on Deutsche Grammophon).
Leave a COMMENT with your pick.
The Ear wants to hear.
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The Well-Tempered Ear 
Classical music: Gift guide or gift or both? Critics for The New York Times name their top classical recordings of 2018, and so does National Public Radio (NPR)
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By Jacob Stockinger
Today is “Panic Saturday” — another, newer theme day on the commerce-driven Holiday Consumer Calendar that goes along with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber-Monday and Giving Tuesday.
In past years, by this time many media outlets would publish the list of the top classical recordings of the past year. And The Ear has offered them as holiday shopping guides with links to the lists.
They seem to be running late this year, probably too late for many shoppers.
But recently the team of critics for The New York Times named their Top 25 classical recordings of 2018 that run from the 15th century to today (sample album covers are below).
This time, the website didn’t just reproduce something that first appeared in the printed edition. And something more than small snippets or excerpts are offered.
This time, the newspaper took full advantage of the electronic possibility of the web and used streaming to add hours of sound samples — some as long as 40 minutes – so you can see what you think of the recordings before you buy them. (Be sure to look at reader reactions and comments.)
It is a new and innovative way to do a Top 25 list – very appealing or entertaining as well as informative. Even if you don’t use it to buy anything for others or yourself, it can provide many minutes of listening pleasure. You can think of it as a gift guide or a gift or both.
Of course, there are also the usual short and very readable, to-the-point narratives or explanations about why the recording stands out and what makes it great music, a great performance or a great interpretation.
So there is a lot to listen to and help you make up your mind. The Ear has enjoyed it and found it helpful, and hopes you do too, whether you agree or disagree with the choice:
Here is a link:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/arts/music/best-classical-music-tracks-2018.html
Since this is the last weekend for holiday shopping before Christmas, here is the previous list – notice the duplications in the two lists — posted here, which was of the nominations for the upcoming 2019 Grammy Awards:
https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2018/12/08/classical-music-here-are-the-just-announced-grammy-nominations-for-2019-they-can-serve-as-a-great-holiday-gift-guide/
And here is the Top 10 list, which was chosen by the always discerning Tom Huizenga (below) — who explains the reasons for his choices — and which also offers generous sound samples, from National Public Radio (NPR) and its Deceptive Cadence blog. Also look for duplications:
https://www.npr.org/2018/12/18/677776208/npr-musics-best-classical-albums-of-2018
What recordings would you suggest?
The Ear wants to hear.
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