The Well-Tempered Ear
How did pianist Yuja Wang’s heart respond to playing Rachmaninoff?
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By Jacob Stockinger
You might recall that in January of 2023, superstar Chinese pianist Yuja Wang (below) played a marathon Rachmaninoff concert in New York City’s Carnegie Hall.
It lasted 2½ hours and featured all four Rachmaninoff piano concertos plus his Rhapsody in a Theme of Paganini. It received rave reviews as well as standing ovations and sold-out houses.
Wang — famous for her ease and assurance in playing technically challenging compositions — performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra under conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Deutsche Grammophon recorded the same program Wang did in Los Angeles — but over two consecutive weekends rather than all at once — with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel.
In the YouTube video at the bottom you can hear the sublime slow movement from the Piano Concerto No. 2 from the series of LA performances. If The Ear is not mistaken, in closeups of her hands on the keyboard you can see what looks like a heart monitor on her wrist.
Time and length wasn’t the only remarkable thing about the concert.
Always a fashion plate, Wang wore a different stand-out dress for each piece, as you can see from the photo below:
In addition, she wore a heart monitor — as did the conductor, several players and members of the audience — to track her heart rate while she was playing.
Which concerto do you think proved the most challenging — at least to her heart?
Perhaps the Rach 3, which has been called the “Mt. Everest of piano concertos” and was even made into the 1996 movie “Shine” with its super-virtuosic difficulties at the heart of the story about mental health.
The results are in a story from Classic FM radio station in the UK. Here is a link:
https://www.classicfm.com/artists/yuja-wang/heart-rate-rachmaninov-marathon
The heart rate is an interesting angle at a time when so many people — both audiences and performers — wear wellness monitors and keep track of their own heart rates.
The administrators and performers probably thought showing the heart rate in real time on a jumbo screen during the performance would be too distracting.
But The Ear recalls seeing a live performance years ago by Mikhail Baryshnikov, who wore a heart monitor during one of his dances done to a solo cello suite by Bach.
It proved irresistible as a new hi tech take on classical music.
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The Madison Symphony Orchestra seeks matching funds as it launches a musicians’ relief fund to reach $355,000 by Nov. 5
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO, below in a photo by Peter Rodgers) has announced that a Musicians’ Relief Fund has been established with the goal of securing $355,000 to cover 100% of the orchestra payrolls for the canceled September through December 2020 subscription concerts.
This initiative is in addition to the compensation already provided to its musicians for canceled services from April 2020 to date.
To launch the fund, the MSO Board of Directors has committed current Symphony resources to guarantee 52% of the $355,000 total — $184,000 — and has informed the orchestra that the September and October orchestra payrolls will be paid in full.
MSO is seeking community support to help us raise another $171,000 to assure the orchestra’s compensation for the canceled November and December 2020 subscription concerts.
All contributions to this effort will directly support the musicians. An Anonymous Donor has launched the appeal with a $50,000 lead gift. The campaign seeks to raise the additional funds by Nov. 5, 2020.
All contributions to the MSO Musicians’ Relief Fund are tax-deductible and will be used for musicians’ compensation.
Donations can be mailed to the Madison Symphony Orchestra, 222 W. Washington Ave., Suite 460, Madison WI, 53703.
An online donation form is found at madisonsymphony.org/relief-gift.
To contribute gifts of appreciated stock or to discuss other options, contact Jeff Breisach, Manager of Individual Giving, at jbreisach@madisonsymphony.org.
“The 91 members of the Symphony are a core cultural asset of the greater Madison community,” said MSO Board President Ellsworth Brown (below). “We are committed to doing all we can to assist them through the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.”
“While some MSO musicians have other day jobs, many rely heavily on the wages they earn performing with this Symphony, as well as other orchestras and ensembles in the region,” said MSO Executive Director Rick Mackie (below). “The cancellations of services have caused stress and anxiety for our artists.”
The MSO has demonstrated support of its musicians since April of this year, compensating the orchestra for all canceled rehearsals and performances.
Generous donors, strong financial management and a federal Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Loan enabled the Symphony to pay 100% of the orchestra payrolls for the April and May subscription concerts, the spring youth education programs, HeartStrings®, Madison Opera and Overture Presents engagements, and Concert on the Green.
These unexpected paychecks provided relief to the MSO staff and to our musicians (below, with music director and conductor John DeMain in a photo by Peter Rodgers) were forthcoming with their individual appreciation.
HERE ARE SAMPLES OF THE MUSICIANS OF THE MADISON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA EXPRESSING THEIR GRATITUDE FOR COMPENSATION RELIEF
“I am very grateful that our organization values the health of its musicians and patrons yet also understands the financial difficulty imposed on musicians by being unable to work due to the pandemic. The MSO is a gem of an organization, and if you haven’t heard it enough lately, please let me reiterate my gratitude.”
“WOW! I am humbled to be a part of the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Thank you so much for valuing the musicians and honoring us with payment for cancelled rehearsals and performances. The news made me cry.”
“As someone who makes a living totally from teaching and playing, this has been an incredibly difficult time. I lost half of my students, because they do not want to study online, and of course, all gigs were cancelled. I am truly grateful to you for making this possible. You have no idea how much this will help not only financially, but mentally as well. THANK YOU!!!
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Classical music: Here’s how to apply Madison Symphony Orchestra cancellation refunds to a subscription ticket for next season. Plus, the Oakwood Chamber Players cancel two concerts in May
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ALERT: In accordance with the state’s Stay at Home order, concerts by the Oakwood Chamber Players (below) that were scheduled for Saturday night, May 16, and Sunday afternoon, May 17, at Oakwood Village University Woods, on the far west side, have been CANCELED.
By Jacob Stockinger
Now that the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below in a photo by Peter Rodgers) has canceled the rest of its current season, The Ear and others have wondered how to apply refunds to a subscription ticket for the MSO’s 2020-21 season, with the theme of “Ode to Joy: Beethoven and Beyond.” (See the YouTube promotional video at the bottom.)
The MSO recently announced cancellations because of the COVID-19 pandemic and closing of the Overture Center with detailed descriptions of how you could donate the tickets to benefit musicians or exchange them for vouchers to one concert in the next season.
But missing was the possibility of applying the cost of tickets to this season’s cancellations to a subscription ticket for next year.
So The Ear called Peter Rodgers, the marketing director for the MSO, to get a clarification.
It turns out that the MSO administrative staff met with representatives of the box office at the Overture Center to discuss various refund options.
Rodgers said the box office is very busy handling refunds from other events that have been canceled. That has made for complex mechanical or technical difficulties in applying one season’s subscription tickets to another.
It is true that you can apply this season’s ticket or tickets to one subscription concert next season, but there is no guarantee of securing your current seat preference, according to Rodgers.
If you want apply this season’s refunds and keep your seat for all the concerts or selected one next season, Rodgers said that the best solution is to ask for the refund and then pay in full for the next season’s subscription tickets.
Here is a link to more information about the MSO’s next season with performers and programs: https://madisonsymphony.org/concerts-events/2020-2021-symphony-season-concerts/
Single tickets go on sale Aug. 15.
You can renew online, by mail and by calling (608) 257-3734. The deadline for subscription renewals or new subscriptions, with a discount of up to 50 percent, is Thursday, May 7.
Here is a link to the page for online renewals or new subscriptions: https://madisonsymphony.org/concerts-events/subscribe-now/
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