The Well-Tempered Ear
This ‘body percussion” version of Beethoven will make your day!
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By Jacob Stockinger
Here is something that easily outdoes Bavarian thigh-slapping in Lederhosen!
It features 157 school children playing the opening theme of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony using “body percussion.”
That is, they use their hands, feet, knees and chests with various pressures and degrees of loudness, rhythm, speed and dynamics.
It is a performance practice and method of music education that has roots in folk music.
It was performed in 2020 — hence the covid masks — and was recently posted on Instagram by ClassicFM.
Here is a fuller definition from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_percussion
The kids are amazing. They are so synchronized and precise.
It took five months of practicing and rehearsing, so the persistent music teacher who organized and executed this must be amazing too.
It all seems very French in its combination of the physical and the emotional.
Take a look and listen. Here is a link to the one-minute video:
Does anybody else wonder if an American parent might have protested or even filed a lawsuit alleging inappropriate touching by classmates?
What do you think of this “body percussion” Beethoven?
The Ear wants to hear.
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This Sunday at 4 p.m., the Salon Piano Series debuts an online recital by pianist Kangwoo Jin. He plays music by Scarlatti, Beethoven, Liszt and Schumann. It is up until May 9
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By Jacob Stockinger
This Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. CDT, the Salon Piano Series, hosted by Farley’s House of Pianos, will debut an online concert by pianist Kangwoo Jin (below, in a photo by Andy Manis).
The concert, which was recorded at Luther Memorial Church, costs $10 and will be available online through May 9.
The program is:
Scarlatti – Sonatas in D minor and D Major, K. 213 and 214 (ca. 1756-1757)
Beethoven – Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2, “Moonlight” (1801)
Liszt – Transcriptions for solo piano of the songs “Widmung” (Dedication) by Robert Schumann and “Litanei” (Litany) by Franz Schubert
Schumann – Symphonic Etudes, Op.13 (1830)
Bishop – Home, Sweet Home
Tickets are only available online at eventbrite.com. Service fees apply. Complete program and concert information is at salonpianoseries.org
PROGRAM NOTES
Jin has written the following program notes for The Ear:
“As a musician, I am always eager to share music with the public. I am very excited to be able to reach out to the audience with this unprecedented Salon Piano Series Virtual Concert.
“I believe music soothes our mental health in difficult times regardless of age, gender or race. I very much hope my performance will contribute to this collective healing we feel through music.
“I wanted to include three different styles, as I usually do for recitals. This time I have Baroque, Classical and Romantic music.
“I chose one of the most famous Beethoven sonatas in order to celebrate his 250th birth year (2020), which I did not have a chance to mark last year.
“This piece is popular with the title of “Moonlight,” which Beethoven (below) never intended. Five years after his death, the German critic Ludwig Rellstab used the word “Moonlight” in order to describe the first movement. But it was really inspired by the funeral march in Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni.” I try to bring out the tragic color of the first movement. (You can hear Jin play the exciting final movement of the sonata in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
“I also wanted to play the virtuosic masterpiece “Symphonic Etudes,” Op. 13, by Robert Schumann (below), including the beautiful posthumous variations 4 and 5.
I find this piece special in the sense that Schumann intended to make this piece “symphonic.” He created multiple layers of voices in various ways through each etude and created orchestral sounds. This polyphonic writing with multiple layers and a thick texture is what makes this piece difficult to play.
“I also specifically wanted to include one of the piano transcriptions by Franz Liszt (below) of Schubert’s Litanei auf das Fest Aller Seelen (Litany for the Feast of All Souls), D. 343.
“Schubert (below) used the poem “Litany” by Johann Jacobi (1740-1814). It is written for comforting the deceased. Robert Capell, the author of the book “Schubert’s Songs” (1929), said about this lied: There was never a truer or more touching expression of simple devotion and consoled grief … “The music rises from a pure well of affection and humility.”
“I would like to dedicate this piece to all the people who suffered from Covid 19.”
BACKGROUND
Here is a link to Kangwoo Jin’s impressive website where you can see many photos, learn about his extensive career as a teacher and hear many samples of his playing: https://www.pianistkangwoojin.com
Praised for his “refined tone quality with powerful energy” (Chosun Daily Newspaper), Jin (below, in a photo by Steve Apps for the Wisconsin State Journal) concertizes nationally and internationally, including performances in Germany, Italy, China, Indonesia and South Korea.
He gave his debut concert at the Sejong Arts Center in Seoul, South Korea, sponsored by the Chosun Daily Newspaper. He has given live performances on Wisconsin Public Radio and WORT 89.9 FM.
Jin appears frequently as a guest artist at music festivals, universities and various concert series. Recent invitations include UW-River Falls, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and Tongji University in Shanghai. Kawai Pianos USA has also invited him as a guest artist at the annual Piano Technicians Guild Convention and Technical Institute in Florida.
Jin completed the Bachelor of Music degree at Hanyang University in South Korea, then earned his Performer Diploma and Master’s of Music at Indiana University, where he worked as an associate instructor.
He is the recipient of the J. Battista Scholarship for performance excellence at Indiana University and received the Collins Distinguished Fellowship for his doctoral studies, completed last year, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied piano with Christopher Taylor and piano pedagogy with Jessica Johnson.
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UW-Madison alumna Kathryn Lounsbery gives a FREE virtual online talk this Tuesday night about how musicians can develop and market new skills during COVID
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By Jacob Stockinger
It is no secret that the coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic have been especially hard on gig workers and artists worldwide – hurting musicians financially and professionally as well as psychologically and artistically.
But this Tuesday night, Nov. 10, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. UW-Madison alumna Kathryn Lounsbery (below) will give a FREE virtual and interactive talk about developing marketable skills that can help carry musicians through the pandemic and beyond.
There is no in-person attendance. But here is a link to the live-streaming session of YouTube video: https://youtu.be/me1tC0LfEVU
Here is more information from the Mead Witter School of Music:
“Pure talent does not always equal a paycheck. Now, more than ever, musicians need to be savvy and employ out-of-the-box thinking with regards to their careers.
“Kathryn Lounsbery — a graduate of the UW-Madison School of Music — has taken her two classical piano degrees and crafted a life in music that includes teaching, performing, comedy, workshops, music-directing, cabaret and more.
“In this interactive session, she will pass on ways in which musicians can craft creative and rewarding careers for themselves, all while making a living.
“Lounsbery is a Los Angeles-based pianist, vocal coach, educator, comedian, music director, composer, arranger and educator. She holds a Master’s degree from the University of Southern California (2004) and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2000).
“She has served on the faculty of The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) for a decade. Many of her former students are currently on Broadway and have been in feature films and television shows. Prior to her tenure at AMDA, she was on the faculty at Sonoma State University.
“Lounsbery is endorsed by Roland Pianos and frequently gives concerts and clinics on their behalf across the U.S. and abroad.
“For seven years, she served as a Keyboard Editor at Alfred Music Publishing, the world’s largest educational music publisher.
“Lounsbery has worked alongside entertainment industry greats including David Foster, Jim Brickman, Evan Rachel Wood, Travis Barker, Kathy Najimy, Charlotte Rae, Laura Benanti and Aubrey Plaza to name a few. She has been a music coach for HBO, Showtime and ABC series.
“As a comedian, Kathryn was featured on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” and has appeared at The Laugh Factory and The Improv, and has headlined at The World Famous Comedy Store. Her musical improv skills lead her to hold the position of music director at the famed Second City in Chicago for several years.
“Lounsbery is the creator and director of “Authenticity and Bad-Assery,” a popular performance-based workshop in Los Angeles. There is currently a waitlist to participate.
“She has toured the country with her solo show “Kathryn Lounsbery Presents Kathryn Lounsbery.” Her comedy videos have garnered millions of views and have been shown at film festivals around the world. (You can see a comedy beefcake video based on Beethoven’s “Pathetique” piano sonata in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
“She is also the music arranger on “The Potters” an animated feature to be released through Lionsgate in 2021.”
Tags: #AlfredMusicPublishing, #AmericanMusicalandDramaticAcademy, #AnimatedFeature, #ArtsandEntertainment, #AubreyPlaza, #AuthenticityandBad-Assery, #Bachelor'sDegree, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BroadwayMusicals, #CharlotteRae, #ChicagoIllinois, #ClassicalPianist, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #CreativeArts, #DavidFoster, #EntertainmentIndustry, #EvanRachelWood, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FeatureFilm, #FilmFestival, #GigWorker, #HBOTV, #JacobStockinger, #JimBrickman, #KathrynLounsbery, #KathyNajimy, #LastComicStanding, #LauraBenanti, #LosAngeles, #LosAngelesCalifornia, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #Master'sDegree, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicCoach, #MusicDirector, #MusicEducation, #MusicEducator, #NewRelease, #NewYorkCity, #OnlineTalk, #PathetiqueSonata, #PianoSonata, #RolandPianos, #SecondCity, #SheetMusic, #ShowtimeTV, #SonomaStateUniversity, #TelevisionShow, #TheEar, #TheImprov, #TheLaughFactory, #ThePotters, #TheU.S., #TheUW, #TravisBarker, #TVShow, #UnitedStates, #UniversityofSouthernCalifornia, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VirtualTalk, #VocalCoach, #VocalMusic, #WorldFamousComedyStore, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, ABC, ABC-TV, abroad, Alfred Music Publishing, alumna, AMDA, America, American Musical and Dramatic Academy, animated feature, animation, arranger, artistic, Arts, attendance, Aubrey Plaza, audience, Authenticity and Bad-Assery, Bachelor's degree, badass, beefcake, Beethoven, Beethoven piano sonatas, beyond, blog, bloh, Broadway, cabaret, California, career, Charlotte Rae, Chicago, Classical music, classical piano, clinics, coach, comedian, comedy, comic, composer, Concert, concerts, country, covid, Craft, creative, David Foster, decade, degree, develop, editor, educator, emoloy, endorse, Entertainment, equal, Evan Rachel Wood, Facebook, factory, faculty, feature film, festival, film, film festival, financial, gig, gig worker, give, graduate, greats, hard, HBO, ILLINOIS, industry, Jacob Stockinger, Jim Brickman, Kathryn Lounsbery, Kathy Najimy, Keyboard, Last Comic Standing, laugh, Laura Benanti, like, link, Lionsgate, live-stream, livelihood, living, Los Angeles, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, market, marketable, masters degree, Mead Witter School of Music, millions, movie, Music, music coach, Music director, Music education, music educator, music-directing, Musician, NBC, NBC-TV, New York City, online, out-of-the-box, pandemic, participate, Pathetique Sonata, paycheck, performance, performing, Pianist, Piano, Piano sonata, popular, post, posting, psycholoigcal, puyre, regard, release, rewarding, Roland pianos, savvy, Second City, series, serve, session, share, sheet music, Showtime, skills, solo, Sonata, Sonoma State University, Student, tag, talent, talk, teaching, Television, television show, tenure, The Ear, The Improv, The Laugh Factory, The Potters, thinking, tour, Travis Barker, TV, TV show, U.S., United States, University of Southern California, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, US, USC, UW, UW-Madison, views, virtual, vocal, vocal coach, vocal music, waitlist, Wisconsin, worker, workshop, world, World Famous Comedy Store, years, YouTube
UW-Madison will forego in-person concerts through the fall and go virtual. The FREE online concerts start TONIGHT, Monday, Sept. 14, at 6-8:30 p.m. with a graduate student recital
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PLEASE NOTE: The following post has been updated with more information since it first appeared.
By Jacob Stockinger
In ordinary times, the yearlong schedule would be set and concerts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music would be already well underway.
But these are not ordinary times – as you can tell from the silence about the UW season that usually presents some 300 events.
It has taken time, but the music school has finally worked out the basic approach to concerts during the pandemic. It will allow worldwide listening.
Audiences will NOT be present for any Mead Witter School of Music concerts or recitals this fall. Instead, a live stream of faculty recitals and all required student recitals, many of them in the new Hamel Music Center (below), will be available.
The portal to the live streaming, along with a scheduling clock and time countdown, can be found at: youtube.com/meadwitterschoolofmusic
The concert season starts tonight at 6:30 to 8 p.m. The performer is graduate student flutist Heidi Keener (below), who is giving her recital for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree. The recital was postponed from March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On the school of music’s concert website you will find a biography and the program — just hover the computer’s cursor over the event: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/recital-heidi-keener-dma/.
The same information will also be on the YouTube website for the actual concert. Just click on MORE: https://youtu.be/gA6S3OXUKCc
Given so few calendar listings so far, clearly the format is still a work-in-progress.
For updated listings of other events, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/events/
The next events are slated for Oct. 2 with a student recital and another installment of the Pro Arte Quartet’s Beethoven cycle (below).
That other programs and dates are still missing is not surprising.
The entire UW-Madison from classes to sports, is in a state of flux about how to deal with the pandemic, with in-person classes paused through Sept. 25, and possibly longer.
Many questions about concerts remain as the process plays out.
All live-stream concerts will be free. But they will NOT be archived, so they will be taken down as soon as they end.
A donation link to the UW Foundation will be included to help cover the costs of the livestreaming and also other expenses.
Will choral concerts even take place, given that singing is especially risky because the singers can’t wear masks and social distancing is nearly impossible to provide with groups?
What about chamber music groups like the Pro Arte Quartet, the Wingra Wind Quintet and Wisconsin Brass Quintet? Many faculty members, who have to teach virtually and online right now, are no doubt concerned about the possible health risks of playing in groups.
And what about the excellent UW Symphony Orchestra, which The Ear considers a must-hear local orchestral ensemble? Those musicians too will have a hard time social distancing – unless individual safe performances at home or in a studio are edited and stitched together.
So far, though, we know that the University Opera will offer “I Wish It Were So,” an original revue of the American opera composer Marc Blitzstein on Oct. 23.
Here is a link to a story with more details about the production: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2020/08/07/classical-music-the-university-opera-announces-a-new-season-that-is-politically-and-socially-relevant-to-today-the-two-shows-are-a-virtual-revue-of-marc-blitzstein-and-a-live-operatic-version-of/
What do you think of the plans for the concert season?
Do you have any suggestions?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Classical music: After 54 years at the UW-Madison, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) will move this fall to the new McFarland Performing Arts Center.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Starting this fall, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO, below) will have a new home for classes, rehearsals and performances.
The news of moving to the McFarland Performing Arts Center (below) is very good for WYSO. But The Ear feels sad to see the University of Wisconsin-Madison and WYSO parting ways after a partnership of 54 years.
It feels like the UW, a distinguished public institution, is backing away from the Wisconsin Idea of public service to the citizens who fund the university. It is embodied in the saying that “the boundaries of the university are the boundaries of the state.” (Editor’s note: For more about the Wisconsin Idea and its Progressive Era history, go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin_Idea)
It feels, in short, like a setback to community engagement by the UW-Madison and its Mead Witter School of Music, where WYSO once had offices and used Mills Concert Hall.
Be that as it may, here is a WYSO email newsletter’s account of what led up to the decision and move.
“The news from University of Wisconsin-Madison started trickling in a little at a time.
“First, Mills Hall (below), where WYSO had rehearsed almost every Saturday since the Humanities Building opened, was scheduled for transformation from a concert hall into a lecture hall. (You can see WYSO performing in Mills Hall in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
“Then the UW began to reconsider whether pre-college programs should actually share space with university departments.
“And there was the growth of WYSO itself — from one full orchestra to three, plus two string orchestras, a chamber music program (below top), a full array of ensembles, and the community-impact Music Makers (below bottom).
“Meanwhile, 12 minutes away, the town of McFarland opened an amazing 841-seat, state-of-the-art performing arts center (below).
“And incredibly, the adjacent middle school and high school campus (below) had enough parking and enough rehearsal space to accommodate the entire WYSO program with room to grow — all of the student musicians, all of the orchestras, and all rehearsing at the same time.
“In a unique move of creative place-making, McFarland’s School Superintendent Andrew Briddell reached out to WYSO and suggested all of the above opportunities, plus collaboration with the McFarland schools, staff and community, and the ability to build on the creative history of the town itself.
“Passionate about music and education, Andrew Briddell, earned a double major in music and English from Indiana University, a Master’s degree in bassoon from Temple University, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the UW-Madison.
“”A talented bassoon player, Briddell (below) played with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and was music director of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Birmingham.
“What a perfect match for this collaboration!
“It was an invitation too good to pass up. So starting in the fall of 2020, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras will be in residence at the new McFarland Performing Arts Center.”
To read more details about WYSO’s new home, including design and acoustics, go to: https://www.wysomusic.org/the-wyso-weekly-tune-up-april-17-2020-wysos-new-home/
What do you think about the new move WYSO?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Classical music: Madison Bach Musicians cancels its performances in late April of the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610. Here are details about ticket donations and refunds
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following note from founder and artistic director Trevor Stephenson (below top) and associate artistic director Kangwon Kim (below bottom) of the Madison Bach Musicians regarding the cancellation of the April performances of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610.
Dear Friends of Madison Bach Musicians,
We hope everyone is staying well and hanging in there during this global health crisis and massive shutdown. We’re all monitoring the news and looking for any indication that things might improve soon.
Unfortunately, the chances of improvement coming soon enough for public concerts scheduled even near the end of April are overwhelmingly remote.
Madison Bach Musicians (MBM) is very sorry to have to cancel the Vespers of 1610 by Claudio Monteverdi (below) on April 25 and 26. We were all greatly looking forward to it, and of course the piercing irony of having to cancel is that the joy this music brings is what we now, as a culture, need more than ever.
The global economic impact of the coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic is certainly catastrophic. And, in the music world we are feeling this directly. As a non-profit organization, cancelling a performance is one of the hardest decisions to make ― but the health and well-being of our audience, musicians and staff absolutely come first.
Madison Bach Musicians (below) has offered the Vespers musicians 40 percent of their fee ― we regret we are not a large enough organization to offer full payment.
Several of the players, however, in a show of great generosity, immediately requested that their portion be distributed among the other players. Considering the economic hardship that most freelance musicians will be facing in the coming months, every degree of financial support is deeply appreciated.
MBM is so very grateful to those of you who have purchased tickets to the Vespers. As MBM will feel the economic effects of the Vespers cancellation for a long time, we ask for your support and careful consideration as you decide what to do with your unused Vespers tickets.
If you have purchased tickets, please let us know by April 26, 2020 whether you would like to:
Make your Vespers tickets a tax-deductible donation to MBM. Thank you ― we appreciate it!
A. If you purchased tickets as part of a 2019-20 MBM season subscription or as individual tickets online, please email MBM manager Karen Rebholz at madisonbachmusicians.manager@gmail.com. She will email you your donation tax receipt.
B. If you purchased tickets at one of our outlet locations (Orange Tree Imports or Willy Street Co-op East and West), please mail your tickets to MBM by U.S. mail, provide us with your email address, and we will email you your donation tax receipt.
Request a refund. We’re happy to provide your money back, and look forward to seeing you again in 2020-21 season.
A. If you purchased tickets as part of a 2019-20 MBM season subscription or as individual tickets online, please email MBM manager Karen Rebholz at madisonbachmusicians.manager@gmail.com. MBM will mail you your refund check.
B. If you purchased tickets at one of our outlet locations (Orange Tree Imports or Willy Street Co-op East and West), please mail your tickets to MBM by the U.S. mail, provide us with your street address, and MBM will mail you your refund check.
Our mailing address is: Madison Bach Musicians, 5729 Forsythia Place, Madison WI 53705. If you have questions, please email Karen Rebholz, MBM manager, at madisonbachmusicians.manager@gmail.com or call us at (608) 238-6092
Thank you for your understanding. We look forward to seeing you in the 2020-21 season
Very best wishes―and please stay safe.
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Classical music: Meet UW-Madison bassoonist Marc Vallon who performs with the Willy Street Chamber Players on Friday night
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By Jacob Stockinger
Who is Marc Vallon (below, in a photo by James Gill)?
This week, he is the bassoonist who will perform Franz Danzi’s Quartet for Bassoon and Strings in D minor, Op. 40, No. 2 (ca. 1820), this coming Friday night, July 19, with the acclaimed Willy Street Chamber Players (below), who will also be joined by pianist Jason Kutz and violist Sharon Tenhundfeld..
(The concert is at 6 p.m. in Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1021 Spaight Street. The program includes: the Allegretto for Piano Trio by Ludwig van Beethoven (1812); “Dark Wood” by American composer Jennifer Higdon (2001); and the rarely heard String Quartet No. 1 (1948) by Argentinean composer Alberto Ginastera. Admission is $15.)
A native of France, Vallon is one of the busiest musicians in Madison. He teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, where he also performs individually, with faculty and student colleagues, and as a member of the Wingra Wind Quintet. He also frequently performs and conducts Baroque music with the Madison Bach Musicians.
Vallon attended the Paris Conservatory, where he won first prizes in bassoon and chamber music, and also earned a philosopher degree at the Sorbonne or University of Paris.
A versatile musician, Vallon played with famed avant-garde French composer Pierre Boulez and for more than 20 years was the principal bassoon of the well-known Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. He has also performed with major modern orchestras and conductors as well as with many period-instrument groups.
He gives master classes worldwide and also composes.
For a more extended and detailed biography, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/faculty/marc-vallon/
Vallon recently did an email Q&A interview with The Ear:
What drew you to the bassoon (below) over, say, the piano or singing, over strings, brass or other woodwinds?
I played the piano as young kid but was not very interested in the mechanics of it, even if I had a strong passion for music. It was the day that my piano teacher brought to my lesson a friend of his to do a bassoon demo that I found the right medium for my passion.
I started practicing like a maniac and knew by the age of 14 that I was going to be a professional bassoonist.
What would you like the public to know about the bassoon, perhaps about the challenges of playing it and about the repertoire for it?
The bassoon does not offer more challenges than other wind instruments, but it is safe to say that an absolute perfectionist person should probably not play it.
It is an instrument capable of true beauties, yet it has its own character. You don’t conquer it, you work with it like you would work with a wonderful but temperamental colleague.
Bassoonists sometimes complain that our solo repertoire is not as rich in masterpieces as the clarinet’s or the flute’s. True, but in its 350 years of existence, the bassoon has amassed enough wonderful music to keep us busy for several lifetimes.
What would you like to tell the public about the specific Bassoon Quartet by Franz Danzi that you will perform, and about Danzi and his music in general?
The bassoon and strings quartet became popular in the last decades of the 18th century, a trend that lasted well into the Romantic era.
Sadly, many of these quartets are basically show-off pieces for the bassoonist while the strings players have to suffer through some often very dull accompaniment parts.
I like this one by Danzi (below) because it features the strings on the same musical level as the bassoon, creating an enjoyable musical conversation rather than a cocky bassoon monologue. (You can hear that musical conversation in the opening movement of the Bassoon Quartet by Danzi in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
As a performer and conductor, you are well–known for championing baroque music as well as modern and contemporary music. Do you have a preference? Do they feed each other in your experience?
What I always have enjoyed about playing contemporary music is the possibility to work with living composers because I often realized how flexible they are with their own music and how much they like the performer’s input. They’re often ready to compromise and veer away from the strict notation.
The approach when playing composers from the past is actually very similar in the sense that we have to remember how approximate music notation is. Baroque composers are not here anymore obviously, but the 17th and 18th centuries sources tell us clearly how much flexibility we, modern performers, have in our approach to their music.
When it comes to music pre-1800, we basically have a sketch on our music stands. I always want to remember this. (Below is a manuscript page of a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach.)
Do you have big projects coming up next season?
Always! I am putting together a contemporary program on March 27 in our new concert hall on campus. It is called ”Opening Statements” and will feature early works from major 20th-century composers.
On period instruments, I have Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio,” Mendelssohn’s “Elijah” and more Bach on my calendar.
Is there something else you would like to say?
A big Thank You to you, Jake, for being such a relentless and informed advocate of the Madison musical scene!
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Classical music: This Friday night, the Wisconsin Union Theater presents a world-class Spanish string quartet and will also announce the special concerts to mark its centennial anniversary next season
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By Jacob Stockinger
Think of it as a two-fer, and then some, at the Wisconsin Union Theater this Friday night, March 1.
The main event is the Madison debut of a world-class string quartet from Spain.
The other event is the announcement of the schedule for the Concert Series’ 2019-2020 season — the series’ 100th season.
The first event is the concert by Cuarteto Casals (below) at 7:30 p.m. in Shannon Hall.
Prices for the event are: the general public, $25-40; for Union members, $25-36; for UW faculty and staff members, $25-38; for young people, $20; and for UW-Madison students, $10. Tickets can be bought online, by phone at 608-265-ARTS (2787) or in person. See locations and hours here.
The program includes the String Quartet in C Major “The Bird,” Op. 33, No. 3, by Franz Joseph Haydn; the String Quartet No. 3 by Bela Bartok; selections from the Fantasies for String Quartet by Henry Purcell; and the String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 10, by Claude Debussy. (You can hear the Cuarteto Casals play a movement of a different Haydn string quartet in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Cuarteto Casals was founded in 1997 at the Escuela Reina Sofia in Madrid. They are named after great 20th-century Catalan cellist Pau (Pablo) Casals (below). Members of the quartet are Vera Martinez Mehner and Abel Tomas, violins; Jonathan Brown, viola; and Arnau Tomas, cello.
The group achieved international recognition after winning First Prizes at the London and Brahms-Hamburg competitions. After receiving the prestigious Burletti-Buitoni Trust award designed to assist young musicians, the quartet acquired a matching set of Baroque and Classical period bows, used to distinguish between musical styles.
The year 2017 marked the 20th anniversary of the quartet, and also the start of a commemorative project: a six-concert series of the complete Beethoven quartets, accompanied by six commissioned works from great composers since the 17th century.
The quartet was selected as ambassadors of Catalan culture by the Generalitat of Catalunya, and accompanies the King of Spain on diplomatic visits.
It is the quartet-in-residence at the Spanish Royal Palace through 2020 and the quartet-in-residence at the Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya in Barcelona.
Carol Carlson (below) will offer a free pre-concert lecture at 6 p.m. Carol holds both Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in violin performance from the UW-Madison.
Carlson dedicates herself to music education as co-founder, co-director and teacher of Music con Brio, a non-profit organization that provides affordable violin lessons and equipment for students at Emerson Elementary School in Madison. Music con Brio (below, in a photo by Scott Maurer) will perform on the stage of Shannon Hall from 7 to 7:20 p.m.
This program was supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. The media sponsor is WORT 89.9 FM.
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Classical music: Concerts by UW cellist Parry Karp and the chamber music group Con Vivo take place this Saturday night
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ALERT: The Rhapsodie Quartet, featuring members of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, will perform a FREE public concert (suggested donation is $5) at the Capitol Lakes Retirement Community, 333 West Main Street, two blocks off the Capitol Square, this Friday night, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m.
The program is the String Quartet in G minor, Op. 74, No. 3, by Franz Joseph Haydn and the “Razumovsky” String Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3, by Ludwig van Beethoven. For more information and background, go to: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/rhapsodie-quartet-recital/
By Jacob Stockinger
It is a busy week for classical music in Madison, and all the listings have still not been included here.
On Saturday night, Oct. 13, two more noteworthy events will take place.
PARRY KARP
A Faculty Concert Series recital by UW-Madison cello professor Parry Karp (below), who is also the longtime cellist of the Pro Arte Quartet, will take place on Saturday night in Mills Hall at 8 p.m.
Karp will be joined by two pianists: his mother Frances Karp, a longtime Madison piano teacher; and Thomas Kasdorf (below), who is pursuing his doctoral degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music.
The program is an interesting and unusual one.
It features “Hamabdil” (1919), or Hebrew Rhapsody, by Granville Bantock (below), who, Karp says “was a wonderful British composer, a favorite of Elgar.” (You can hear “Hamabdil” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
“Phantasma for Solo Cello” (2006) is by Jesse Benjamin Jones (below), who is on the faculty of the Oberlin College Conservatory.
The Violin Sonata in A Major, Op. 30, No. 1 (1801-02), by Ludwig van Beethoven, continues the exploration of Beethoven’s violin sonatas transcribed for the cello by Karp himself.
The Cello Concerto (1956) by William Walton (below), says Karp, who performed it this summer with the English Symphony Orchestra, “is one of the great cello concertos of the 20th century. This version features a piano reduction of the orchestral score.
CON VIVO
Con Vivo (below), the critically acclaimed Madison-based chamber music group, will also give a concert to open its 17th season on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in the First Congregational United Church of Christ, at 1609 University Avenue, near Camp Randall Stadium.
Free parking is two blocks away, at the nearby UW Foundation, 1848 University Avenue.
The eclectic program, called “Members Choice,”will include the “Kegelstatt” Trio for piano, clarinet and viola by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; and the Suite for Organ, Violin and Cello by Josef Rheinberger (below).
The night will be rounded out by solo works from the group’s talented and veteran performers many of whom also play with other major groups including the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.
Tickets are available at the door, and cost $18 for general admission; $15 for seniors and students.
For information, go to www.convivomusicwithlife.org
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Classical music: Greg Zelek closes out the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s organ recital season this Friday night with music by Bach, Schumann, Franck and Liszt
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO) organist Greg Zelek (below) will perform a recital this Friday night, May 11, at 7:30 p.m. in Overture Hall of the Overture Center, 201 State St.
According to the MSO, “Zelek thrilled the Overture audience with his spellbinding debut recital in 2016, and then again with his appearances in 2017 and 2018 as the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s new Principal Organist and Curator of the Overture Concert Organ (below).”
This past weekend, Zelek played an impressively virtuosic organ passage in the “Glagolitic Mass” by Leos Janacek and was warmly received by the audience.
This time, Zelek returns to close out the season’s concert organ series in a “Voices of Spring” program of music that includes music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Robert Schumann, John Weaver, Cesar Franck and Gioachino Rossini as well as the monumental 30-minute Fantasy and Fugue on the Chorale “Ad nos, ad salutarem unjam” by Franz Liszt.
For the complete program and an audiovisual sample of Zelek’s playing Bach, go to: https://www.madisonsymphony.org/zelek
Zelek recently completed Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, and an Artist Diploma at the Julliard School. Adds the MSP: “Greg continues to cultivate his reputation as one of the most exciting organists in the American organ scene.” (You can hear Zelek play Bach’s famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Admission for each Overture Concert Organ performance is $20.
Tickets can be purchased at madisonsymphony.org/zelek, (608) 258-4141 or the Overture Box Office.
Student Rush tickets can be purchased in person on the day of the concert at the Overture Box Office at 201 State Street. Students must show a valid student ID and can receive up to two $10 tickets.
This performance is sponsored by Walter and Karen Pridham. 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 the Overture Concert Organ, which is the stunning backdrop of all MSO concerts.
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