The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: TONIGHT through Sunday night, the Ancora String Quartet reprises the program it just performed on a 10-day tour of Germany
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ancora String Quartet (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis) has sent the following announcement about its upcoming concerts in Wisconsin – including two in Madison – that will reprise the group’s recent tour to Germany.
Members are (below, from left) violinist Wes Luke, violinist Robin Ryan, violist Marika Fischer Hoyt; and cellist Benjamin Whitcomb.
“The Ancora String Quartet (below, rehearsing in Nieder-Olm during the tour) is fresh back from Germany, our first overseas tour, which we called “Deutsch-Amerikanische “Träume,” or “German-American Dreams.”
“We are partnering with a wonderful mezzo-soprano, Melinda Paulsen, who serves on the voice faculty at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt, Germany.
“Together, we have prepared a program of works by German and American composers, for string quartet, and for mezzo-soprano and quartet.
“We spent 10 fabulous days in Germany in August of 2018, performing at town halls, concert halls, churches, and a music school, in Nieder-Olm, Frankfurt, Vellmar, Schlitz and St. Goar on the Rhine. It was wonderful and we can’t wait to go back again in future years.
“We are back in Madison now with Melinda, to perform this same program in concert venues around the state of Wisconsin.
“We are grateful for funding from several German organizations, and from the Kassel-Dane Sister County Task Force.
“Melinda and the members of this quartet (below, in Schlitz) are thrilled that this project has taken shape, are pleased with our recent reception in Germany, and look forward to sharing with Wisconsin audiences a program exploring the intersections between two cultures that are quite distinct today, but which share deep, common roots.”
Here is the “German-American Dreams” Tour, Sept. 4-9, at venues in Wisconsin
Admission is FREE except where noted
- TONIGHT, Tuesday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. at Capitol Lakes Grand Hall, Madison
- Wednesday, Sept. 5 at noon on The Midday on Wisconsin Public Radio in Madison and at 6 p.m. at Germantown Community Library, Germantown
- Thursday, Sept. 6, at 7:30 p.m. in the Light Recital Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. For ticket information, go to: https://mastercal.uww.edu/MasterCalendar/EventDetails.aspx?data=hHr80o3M7J72xlWbKk4NucsOjgrgFcp7yGVHvRRLZ2VDe4XLariznlZrFvCFdeeY
- Friday, Sept. 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Janesville Women’s Club
- Saturday, Sept. 8, at 7:30 p.m. at the Eaton Chapel, Beloit College
- Sunday, Sept. 9, at 7:30 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Madison. Admission is $15.
PROGRAM
“Dover Beach” by Samuel Barber
Drei Lieder (Three Songs) by Viktor Ullmann
“Melancholia,” Op. 13, by Paul Hindemith
Intermission
Quartet in B Minor, Op. 11, by Samuel Barber (with the more transparent slow movement that later became the orchestral “Adagio for Strings,” heard in the YouTube video at the bottom)
“Wesendonck” Lieder, WWV 91 (arranged by Stefan Heucke) by Richard Wagner
Tags: #AdagioforStrings, #AncoraStringQuartet, #BeloitCollege, #BenjaminWhitcomb, #CapitolLakes, #CapitolLakesRetirementCenter, #ChamberMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ConcertHall, #DaneCounty, #DoverBeach, #EpiscopalChurch, #FacultyMember, #ForeignTour, #GermantownWisconsin, #JanesvilleWisconsin, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MelindaPaulsen, #MusicSchool, #OverseasTour, #PaulHindemith, #PublicLibrary, #RhineRiver, #RichardWagner, #SamuelBarber, #SisterCounty, #St.Andrew'sEpiscopalChurch, #StateOfWisconsin, #StringQuartet, #TheMidday, #TownHall, #UniversityofWisconsin-Whitewater, #VictorUllmann, #VocalMusic, #WesendonckLieder, #WisconsinPublic Radio, #Women'sClub, #YouTubevideo, American, Ancora String Quartet, arrangement, Arts, audience, August, Beloit College, Benjamin Whitcomb, Capitol Lakes, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, chapel, Christian, church, Classical music, composer, Concert, county, culture, Dane County, days, Dover Beach, Dreams, Episcopal Church, faculty, Frankfurt, future, German, Germany, Jacob Stockinger, Kassel, library, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marika Fischer Hoyt, melancholia, Melinda Paulsen, Mezzo-soprano, Music, overseas, Paul Hindemith, public library, reception, recital, Retirement, Rhine, Rhine River, river, roots, Samuel Barber, Schlitz, sister, song, String quartet, The Midday, tour, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Whitewater, venue, Victor Ullmann, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, vocal music, voice, Wagner, Wesendonck Lieder, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wisconsin public radio, women, work, year, YouTube
Classical music: Next week, the Ancora String Quartet closes its 16th season with three concerts that contrast the German Romanticism of Beethoven and the French Impressionism of Saint-Saëns. This Saturday night, the Festival Choir of Madison sings about astrology and signs of the Zodiac
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ALERT: On this Saturday night, May 6, at 7:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Society of Madison 900 University Bay Drive, the Festival Choir of Madison will perform a spring program of choral music linked to signs of the Zodiac and astrology, Sorry, no word on the specific program. Tickets are $15, $12 for seniors and $6 for students. For more information go to: http://festivalchoirmadison.org/concerts/a-musical-zodiac
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear received the following note to post from the Ancorans, who are among his favorite musicians:
You are invited to join the Ancora String Quartet (ASQ), below in a photo by Barry Lewis) for the closing concert program of our 16th season.
The performance takes place next Saturday night, May 13, at 7:30 p.m., at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church (below), 1833 regent Street. A champagne reception will follow.
French Impressionism and German Romanticism – Vive la difference! Whether you prefer Bordeaux or Riesling wine, you’ll enjoy our spring program.
On the program are the Quartet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 153, by Camille Saint-Saëns (below top) and the Quartet No. 12 in E-flat Major, Op. 127, by Ludwig van Beethoven (below bottom).
Saint-Saëns’ second quartet reveals the lyricism and witty invention that earned him the nickname “the French Mendelssohn.” (You can hear the quartet’s beautiful slow movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
We follow this up with the first of Beethoven’s late quartets, written shortly after he finished his Ninth Symphony. From its wistfully dreamy first movement to the ethereally mysterious coda in the last, Beethoven charts a new course.
Tickets will be available at the door, and are for general seating. Ticket prices are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students, and $6 for children under 12.
Other performances of this program will take place earlier.:
The first is on Monday, May 8, at 3 p.m. at the Stoughton Opera House (below) in Stoughton. Admission is a free-will donation.
The other performance is on Friday, May 12, at 7:30 p.m. in the MacDowell Music Club in Janesville. The concert is FREE and open to the public.
Members of the quartet (below, from left, in a photo by Barry Lewis) are Wes Luke and Robin Ryan, violins; Marika Fischer Hoyt, viola; and Benjamin Whitcomb, cello. They represent professional experience playing with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Madison Bach Musicians and many other groups plus teaching privately and in the University of Wisconsin System.
For more information, including individual biographies and concert schedules, go to:
Tags: Ancora Quartet, Ancora String Quartet, Arts, astrology, beautiful, beauty, Beethoven, biography, Bordeaux, Camille Saint-Saëns, Cello, Chamber music, champagne, Classical music, club, cod, Concert, dream, Episcopal, Episcopal Church, ethereal, Festival Choir of Madison, French, French Impressionism, Friday, German Romanticism, Impressionism, invention, Jacob Stockinger, Janesville, late quartet, Ludwig van Beethoven, lyricism, MacDowell, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mendelssohn, Monday, movement, Music, music club, Musician, mysterious, mystery, nickname, night, Ninth Symphony, opera, opus, Opus number, program, reception, Riesling, Romanticism, Saint-Saës, Saint-Saens, Saturday, schedule, Season, slow, Slow movement, Spring, St. Andrew's, Stoughton, Stoughton Opera House, String quartet, symphony, United States, University of Wisconsin System, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, video, Viola, Violin, Wine, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wit, YouTube, Zodiac
Classical music: Is “The Death of Klinghoffer” anti-Semitic, racist or pro-terrorist? Does it merit protests of and death threats to the Metropolitan Opera? Or is it a painfully realistic and human portrayal of political fanaticism and terrorism? What would Alice say? What do you say?
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REMINDER: If you can’t or won’t go hear superstar cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Kathryn Stott in music by Johannes Brahms, Igor Stravinsky, Astor Piazzolla and others at their SOLD–OUT recital at the Wisconsin Union Theater TONIGHT, you can stream it LIVE and for FREE by going to this website at 8 p.m.:
http://www.uniontheater.wisc.edu
By Jacob Stockinger
Talk about mixing politics and art!
And especially at a time so close to a contemporary conflict — Hamas, Gaza and Israel — that reflects the continuing tensions, frictions and bloodshed depicted in the original art decades ago.
No wonder, then, that the Metropolitan Opera has been protested and has received death threats over the new production of American composer John Adams’ controversial reality-based opera about Israel and Palestinian terrorists called “The Death of Klinghoffer.”
Due to pressure from the pro-Israeli lobby and some Jewish groups, the opera was already canceled as part of this season’s “Live From The Met in HD” telecasts.
Both detractors and defenders of the opera are deeply displeased with the Met.
But the actual production — which has gone on without incident in other cities at other times — continues in rehearsal as it heads to its opening this Monday night. (At bottom is a YouTube video with the director, conductor and composer of “The Death of Klinghoffer.”)
Here is a story from The New York Times (Below is a photo from The New York Times by Damon Winter of actor-singers Aubrey Allicock (left) and Paolo Szot):
And here is another story from The Los Angeles Times:
And finally here is a terrific and well-balanced, well-sourced summary story, which includes an interview with librettist Alice Goodman (below) — who converted from Judaism to Christianity and is now an Episcopalian priest in England — about the opera and the protests. It was broadcast Friday on NPR (National Public Radio):
What do you think about the opera “The Death of Klinghoffer”?
Would you be a defender?
Or a detractor and protester?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: Alice Goodman, Arts, Chamber music, Classical music, Death of Klinghoffer, Episcopal, Episcopal Church, Igor Stravinsky, Israel, Jacob Stockinger, Jewish, Johannes Brahms, John Adams, Kathryn Stott, Live From The Met in HD, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Times, Los Angles Times, Madison, Metropolitan Opera, National Public Radio, New York City, New York Times, NPR, opera, Palestine, Palestinian, Piazzolla, terrorism, Wisconsin Union Theater, YouTube
Classical music: The new early music, a cappella vocal group Voces Aestatis (Voices of Summer) makes an impressive debut with many Renaissance composers and works. Plus, the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival opens to acclaim.
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ALERT: Perhaps you didn’t make it to the opening of the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival last Saturday night or Sunday afternoon (below is a photo of the renovated barn concert hall). The festival runs through this coming Sunday afternoon and is celebrating both its 25th anniversary and the 300th anniversary of the birth of Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach. Here is a link to a review written for the Classically Speaking blog of Madison Magazine by Greg Hettmansberger, along with two preview stories from this blog:
By Jacob Stockinger
Last Friday was one of those nights, one of those increasingly frequent “train wrecks,” as The Wise Critic likes to call them, when two or more worthy classical musical events conflict and compete.
The Ear could not be in two places at once.
The two concerts were given by the Madison Area Youth Chamber Orchestra (MAYCO), which was reviewed yesterday by John W. Barker.
At another venue, at exactly the same time, the new early music vocal group Voces Aestatis made its Madison debut.
To give you an idea of that performance, The Ear welcomes another new reviewer -– Ann Boyer, a retired medical research librarian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a longtime member of the UW-Madison Choral Union.
Here is her review debut for The Well-Tempered Ear:
By Ann Boyer
The new Renaissance Choral group Voces Aestatis (Latin for Summer Voices) — all 13 of them, including director Ben Luedcke — delighted the 200 or so listeners who filled St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, on Regent Street, last Friday night. (Below is a photo of the choral group, minus Jerry Hui, the composer, singer and teacher who did graduate work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music and now teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.)
They had rehearsed four times, we learned, but had been instructed to come prepared. They were professionals, and it showed.
Songs were arranged in thematic pairs or threes, the sacred songs reflecting such themes as the imperfection of humankind, the birth of Jesus (emphasizing Mary’s role), and the death of Jesus.
Composers included Michael Praetorius, De Victoria and Giovanni di Palestrina, Orlando di Lasso, Thomas Tallis, Orlando Gibbons and Heinrich Schütz. A particularly beautiful song was one by Antonio Lotti (below)
The second half of the program consisted of secular songs: the famous “Mille Regretz” (A Thousand Regrets) by Josquin des Prez (below and at bottom in a YouTube video performance by the famed Jordi Savall), sung sweetly and gently; the strange, expressionistic harmonies of Gesualdo and a work by Claudio Monteverdi with surprisingly erotic lyrics. A final pair of somber songs by Weelkes and Wilbye ended the program on a dark note, relieved by the encore: the chipper ”El Grillo” (The Grasshopper).
The group demonstrated fluidity of line, diction which varied from very clear to less so, good phrasing in particular songs, and good vocal blending. Towards the beginning the women’s voices seemed to dominate, but this corrected itself as the program continued.
The energy of director Ben Luedcke (below) – another UW-Madison graduate who was the music director of Lake Edge Lutheran Church and the founder-director of the Madison Summer Choir and who is completing a master’s degree at the University of Iowa — carried us all along.
We hope that the group will reassemble next summer.
Tags: American Record Guide, Ann Boyer, Antonio Lotti, Arts, Ben Luedcke, C.P.E. Bach, Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach, choral music, Classical music, Claudio Monteverdi, Early music, Episcopal, Episcopal Church, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, Friday, Greg Hettmansberger, Heinrich Schütz, Jacob Stockinger, John W. Barker, Jordi Savall, Lutheranism, Madison, Madison Magazine, Madison Summer Choir, Michael Praetorius, Mille Regretz, Monteverdi, Music, Orlando di Lasso, Orlando Gibbons, Regent Street, Reniassance, Singing, song, summer, Thomas Tallis, Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, University of Iowa, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin-Stout, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Wiscosnin, UW Choral Union, vocal music, Voces Aestatis, YouTube
Classical music: This weekend brings concerts of wind music; old and new music for Baroque flute; and early songs about money and poverty.
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By Jacob Stockinger
This weekend brings us three big events: two performances by the Madison Opera of Jake Heggie’s opera “Dead Man Walking” (Friday night at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.); a one-time performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s rarely heard a cappella “Vespers” by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Choral Union on Saturday night at 8 p.m.; and pianist Ryan McCullough in Ludwig Beethoven’s last three piano sonatas at Farley’s House of Pianos on Saturday night at 8 p.m.
But there are smaller concerts for you to consider too, some of which do not conflict with the others.
WIND MUSIC
Tonight, Friday night, at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, the UW Wind Ensemble (below, in a photo by Katherine Esposito), under director and conductor Scott Teeple, will perform a FREE concert.
The program include “Profanation” by Leonard Bernstein, arranged by Bencriscutto; ”Concerto for Wind Percussion and Wind Ensemble” by Karel Husa; ”Colonial Song” by Percy Grainger “Raise the Roof” by Michael Daugherty; and ”Symphony in Three Movements” by retiring UW tubist and composer John Stevens (below).
NEW MUSIC FOR BAROQUE FLUTES
On Saturday from noon to 1 p.m., the FREE concert series Grace Presents will present “New and Historic Music for Baroque Flute” with flutist Millie Chang (below) and others.
The concert is designed to be a refreshing break, a parenthesis in time and task, from the Dane County Farmers’ Market, which has started up again. Audiences are invited to bring lunch or food.
The venue is the lovely and acoustically resonant Grace Episcopal Church (below are exterior and interior views), at 116 West Washington Avenue, down on the Capitol Square.
Some of Madison’s most talented classical instrumentalists will perform the short but unique recital for baroque flute featuring compositions spanning three centuries.
Performers include Millie (Mi-Li) Chang and Danielle Breisach (below top), Baroque flute; UW-Madison professor Stephanie Jutt, modern flute; UW-Madison professor John Chappell Stowe, harpsichord; and Eric Miller (below bottom), viola da gamba.
Here is the specific program: David MacBride: “Shadow” for two baroque flutes (1993); Robert Strizich: “Tombeau” for baroque flute and harpsichord (1982); François Couperin, “Concert Royal” No. 2 in D major (1722), which can be heard in a YouTube video at the bottom; University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music composer Stephen Dembski (below top), “Gits and Piths” for modern and baroque flutes (2014); UW-Madison bassoonist, conductor and composer Marc Vallon (below bottom), “Ami” (2014); and Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonata in B minor for baroque flute and harpsichord, BWV 1030 (1736-37).
For more information, visit www.gracepresents.org
WOODWIND QUINTET
The fourth concert of the Kat Trio Chamber Music Series features the Veldor Woodwind Quintet. The concert will take place in Memorial United Church of Christ, 5705 Lacy Road, Fitchburg on Saturday night, April 26, 2014 at 7 p.m.
There will be 30-minute Q&A session before the performance.
Suggested donation: $10 adults and $5 students.
Member of the Veldor Woodwind Quintet (below) are: Barbara Paziouros Roberts (flute), Andy Olson (oboe), Joe Kania (clarinet), Brad Sinner (horn), and Brian Ellingboe (bassoon). They combine educational backgrounds in music performance from the Eastman School of Music, DePaul University, Lawrence University, Luther College, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music with many years of performing experience both locally and abroad.
Now in their fifth year, the Veldor continues to entertain audiences with its dynamic performances of standard and non-traditional repertoire alike.
For additional information, visit www.thekattrio.net/chamberseries
EARLY MONEY SONGS
Then on Sunday, April 27, at 2 p.m., at the Mount Olive Lutheran Church, 110 North Whitney Way, the early music group Eliza’s Toyes (below) is performing a program titled “Toss The Pot: Songs About Money, or the Lack Thereof.”
Writes founder singer and conductor Jerry Hui (below): “Through songs from the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque period, we sing about the age-old problem of money, people’s desire for it, as well as things that are even more precious. There’ll be a “sermon of money” from “Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana”; selection from Palestrina’s “Canticum Canticorum”; a song by Orlandi di Lassus about hungry musicians stealing food; chansons by Josquin des Prez, Sermisy and Le Jeune; and many more.”
Tickets are $15.
Tags: Arts, Bach, Baroque, Chamber music, Classical music, Concerts Royaux, Couperin, Dane County Farmers' Market, DePaul University, Early music, Eastman School of Music, Eliza's Toyes, Episcopal, Episcopal Church, flute, François Couperin, Grace Episcopal Church, Grace Presents, Jacob Stockinger, Jake Heggie, Jerry Hui, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Stevens, Josquin, Karel Husa, Lawrence University, Leonard Bernstein, Ludwig van Beethoven, Luther College, Madison, Madison Opera, Marc Vallon, Michael Daugherty, New Music, opera, Percy Grainger, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Royal Concerts, Saturday, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, Sonata, Stephen Dembski, Suite, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vespers, wind music, winds, Woodwind quintet, YouTube
Classical music: An newly formed early music trio will give two performances of rarely played 16th-century and 17th-century Baroque music this weekend at two Madison churches. Plus, Madison Symphony Orchestra maestro John DeMain discusses Dvorak’s “New World” Symphony on WORT-FM 89.9 Thursday morning.
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ALERT: Blog friend Rich Samuels, who hosts his “Anything Goes” show from 5 to 8 a.m. every Thursday on WORT-FM 89.9, writes: “John DeMain joins me at 7:08 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 23, to talk about the Madison Symphony Orchestra‘s “Beyond the Score” presentation and performance of Antonin Dvorak‘s Symphony No. 9 on Sunday, 1/26. In addition to John DeMain’s take on the symphony “From the New World.” I’ll also be offering a 1927 discussion of the work by Leopold Stokowski (with musical examples performed by Artur Rodzinski, who was then Stokowski’s assistant at the Philadelphia Orchestra), and a 1956 analysis by Leonard Bernstein taken from an LP distributed by the Book of the Month Club. I’ll also be airing the one and only recording by African-American composer Harry T. Burleigh (below) who, as a young music student, introduced Dvořák to the Negro spiritual. And I’ll be playing Marian Anderson’s first recording (made when she was 26) of Burleigh’s arrangement of “Deep River.”
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear met Eric Miller (below) at Wisconsin Public Radio‘s now defunct “Bach Around the Clock,” which used to e held annual to mark the birth of Johann Sebastian Bach. Miller, who plays the viola da gamba and is a friend of the blog, writes about two performances by an early music and period instrument trio of 16th-century and 17th-century Baroque music coming up this weekend:
Miller writes: “Come hear our new trio, as part of the newly formed Wisconsin Baroque Musicians Collective, a collection of musicians from across the state interested in historically informed performance.
“The musicians for this concert are: Theresa Koenig (below top), recorder and dulcian; Sigrun Franzen (below bottom) on organ; Koenig; and me on cornetto and baroque cello:
“Here is the program: Daniel Speer, Sonata II; Giovanni Cima, Capriccio and Sonate from “Concerti Ecclesiastici”; Girolamo Frescobaldi (below top), “Canzon Prima, Ricercar”; Phillipe Boddecker, Sonat Sopra la Monica; Giovanni Bassano (below bottom and in a YouTube video at the bottom), “Dolci rosate labia”; Giovanni Fontana, Sonata Nona”; and Bartolome de Selma, Canzon.
“There will be two chances to hear this program: on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 7 p.m. in Saint Andrew‘s Episcopal Church (below), 1833 Regent Street, with a $15 suggested donation; and on Sunday, Jan. 26, at 3 p.m. at Zion Lutheran Church, 2165 Linden Ave.; also with a $15 suggested donation, with all proceeds going to the Zion food pantry.
“The program will feature the beautiful organs at both Saint Andrew’s Episcopal and Zion Lutheran, both in Madison and a variety of instrument combinations, including the dulcian (below top), a predecessor of the modern bassoon, and the cornetto (below bottom), a wooden instrument with holes like a flute, but played with a brass embouchure.
For more information, here is a link to a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/496065417177605/?source=1
Tags: Antonín Dvořák, Bach, Baroque, Baroque music, Book of the Month Club, Chamber music, Classical music, Early music, Episcopal Church, Facebook, Giovanni Bassano, Giovanni Paolo Cima, Girolamo Frescobaldi, Harry T. Burleigh, Historically informed performance, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, John DeMain, Leopold Stokowski, Lutheranism, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music, Saint Andrew, Saturday, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, YouTube, Zion, Zion Lutheran Church
Classical music: Season-openers continue this weekend as Fresco Opera Theatre presents the “Paranormal Playhouse” this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Playhouse in the Overture Center. Plus, the Kat Trio plays a FREE concert at Grace Presents at noon on Saturday and the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra performs Rossini, Haydn and Arvo Part on Sunday afternoon.
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ALERT: A new season of Grace Presents gets underway this Saturday at noon with a FREE hour-long concert at Grace Episcopal Church, 116 West Washington Avenue, downtown on the Capitol Square. The Kat Trio (below, with a different pianist) has a long history in Madison and consists of violinist Victoria Gorbich, clarinetist Vladislav Gorbich and pianist Justin Snyder. The program includes works by Aram Khachaturian, Johannes Brahms, Alexander Glazunov, Jean Sibelius, Peter Tchaikovsky and Dmitri Shostakovich as well as unique Russian arrangements and transpositions of classical works, well-known inspirational songs, and even American pop standards (from “Fiddler on the Roof”) and rags by Scott Joplin. For more, visit: www.thekattrio.net
Next Up at Grace Presents: On Saturday, October 26, at noon, tenor Daniel O’Dea and soprano Marie McNamara will perform. Support for Grace Presents comes from donations, Dane Arts and the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation.
By Jacob Stockinger
As I said earlier this week, even though the concert season officially started with chamber music many classical music fans wait for big groups, bigger pieces and bigger audiences to see that the season is really underway.
Symphonies orchestras are well represented this weekend, what with three performances by the Madison Symphony Orchestra plus the University of Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra’s centennial homage to Igor Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” on Sunday night.
But two other notable events add to the dynamic.
One is the first opera of the new season.
It is “Paranormal Playhouse,” to be presented Friday, Saturday and Sunday on the Playhouse at the Overture Center.
Here is more from an official press release:
“Fresco Opera Theatre has transformed the Overture Center Playhouse into a shell of its former self. The space is haunted by spirits of operas past, including performers who have met untimely deaths, evil spirits who sabotage those who get in their way and mysterious souls who are untraceable.
Patrons are being scared to death. The Overture Center needs help, and who are they going to call?
“Fresco has the answer. A.R.I.A. (Apparition Removal Investigation Association) will find the spirits and the stories behind their inhabiting the Playhouse.
“Fresco knows you will be moved by the stories of these unfortunate souls as they sing to the audience they long for. But be warned. As you are drawn in to these beautiful spiritual voices, something else evil is lurking…
“Opera shouldn’t be scary. No one knows this better than Fresco Opera Theatre.”
Sorry, I have no specifics about arias and other specific works and composers to be sung. For more information about this production and past productions as well as photos of the Fresco Opera Theatre, visit:
http://www.frescooperatheatre.com/paranormal-playhouse.html
The “Paranormal Playhouse” project is made possible with support from the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission (Dane Arts), Madison Arts Commission, and its generous donors.
ALSO: At Edgewood College this Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in the St. Joseph Chapel, 1000 Edgewood College Drive, the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra (below top) will perform under the direction of Blake Walter (below bottom).
The program features Rossini’s Overture to “La Cambiale di Matrimonia,” Franz Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 87 and Arvo Pärt’s “If Bach Had Been a Bee-Keeper” (At the bottom in a YouTube video.)
Admission is $5, or free with an Edgewood College ID.
Tags: Alexander Glazunov, Aram Khachaturian, Arvo Part, chamber orchestra, Dmitri Shostakovich, Edgewood College, Episcopal Church, Fresco Opera Theatre, Gioacchino Rossini, Grace Episcopal Church, Igor Stravinsky, Jacob Stockinger, Jean Sibelius, Johannes Brahms, Kat Trio, London, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, opera, Orchestra, Overture Center, Rite of Spring, Scott Joplin, Sunday, University of Wisconsin–Madison, YouTube
Classical music: The Ancora String Quartet will perform a FREE concert of rarely heard quartets for winds and strings this Friday night at 7:30 p.m..
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By Jacob Stockinger
Over the past decade, the Madison-based Ancora String Quartet (below) has received critical acclaim and established a solid reputation as part of the Madison chamber music scene. For more information, visit: http://ancoraquartet.com
Usually the Ancora plays at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, where its members have been artists-in-residence for several years. The members (above) are Robin Ryan and Leanne Kelso League, violins; Marika Fischer Hoyt, viola; and Benjamin Whitcomb, cello..
But not this time.
And usually the Ancora performs as a typical string quartet with two violins, a viola and a cello.
But not this time.
The concert of the Ancora takes place tomorrow night, Friday, Sept. 13, at 7:30 p.m. in St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 1833 Regent Street, across from Randall Elementary School.
There is no admission charge, but free will offerings will be accepted.
Because a usual member of quartet cannot play the date, some distinguished area wind players have stepped in.
The program includes:
Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 40, No. 3, by Franz Danzi (below top, 1763-1826) with bassoonist Carol Rosing (below bottom), a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate who studied with Richard Lottridge and who plays with the Beloit-Janesville, Oshkosh and Madison Symphony Orchestras.
Quartet in A Major, Op. 56 No. 3, by Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831, below top) with flutist Robin Fellows (below bottom), who teaches at the UW-Whitewater.
INTERMISSION
Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 18, by Heinrich Baermann (1784-1847, below top and in a different work in a YouTube video at the bottom) with clarinetist Christian Ellenwood (below bottom), who teaches at the UW-Whitewater.
Classical music: For Mother’s Day this Sunday, consider giving the gift of live music – Chopin, Debussy, Dvorak and Grieg. Plus, organist-composer Carson Cooman performs a FREE recital tonight at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.
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ALERT: A friend writes: The composer and organist Carson Cooman (below) will perform a FREE recital tonight, Friday, May 10, at 7:30 p.m. in St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 1833 Regent Street. I thought you might want to give readers a heads up about this. It the last concert of the church’s yearly concert series. This recital is notable for a couple of reasons. Carson is one of today’s leading composers — at the age of 31 he has been amazingly prolific and the music is of a wide range and high quality. He has had 17 CDs recorded of his music — he is also highly regarded as an organ recitalist with over 130 works by 100 composers written for him. And the recital has a few baroque composers, but is mostly of contemporary works especially suited for St. Andrew’s beautiful Taylor and Boody tracker organ. I have attached the concert’s program and notes. Here is a picture of the organ and a link to its specs: http://www.taylorandboody.com/opus_pages/opus_33/simpleviewer/organ_photo_gallery.html
Here is a link to Cooman’s website. http://www.carsoncooman.com/
By Jacob Stockinger
It’s late if you are still searching for a Mother’s Day gift. But here is something to consider.
At first it may seem odd to schedule a concert on Mother’s Day. But then I think of the role that music played with the lives of me and my Mom, and it doesn’t seem to far out.
So The Ear got word from Trevor Stephenson, who is hosting one of his delightful and relaxed house concerts (below) on Mother’s Day, this coming Sunday.
This Sunday afternoon, May 12, at 3 p.m. — on Mother’s Day — he will play a house concert of piano music by Frederic Chopin (selected Mazurkas and Nocturnes) and Claude Debussy (“Children’s Corner Suite” – how fitting for Moms), with some cameo appearances by Antonin Dvorak (“Humoresque,” at bottom) and Edvard Grieg (“Cow-keepers Song”).
The featured instrument will his beloved and historic Victorian English Upright piano “Fred” (below).
There will be tasty treats and refreshment as well. The hospitality is tops, take it from me, and music explanations by Trevor Stephenson are both entertaining and enlightening.
The address is 5729 Forsythia Place on Madison’s far west side. Admission is $35. Only about 40 people can be accommodated, so reservations are required. Contact trevor@trevorstephenson.com or (608) 238-6092.
Also, coming up on Sunday, June 30, is a house concert featuring the wonderful late piano music of Brahms “Six Piano Pieces,” Op. 118 (complete), which is one of The Ear’s all-time favorite sets of piano pieces). It also includes Claude Debussy’s visionary Violin Sonata from 1917 –- and one of The Ear’s all-time favorite pieces of chamber music. Guest violinist will be Brandi Berry from Chicago — playing on gut strings, as it was done in 1917!
Tags: Antonín Dvořák, Baroque, Claude Debussy, Edvard Grieg, Episcopal Church, Frédéric Chopin, Humoresque, Johannes Brahms, Mothers Day, Music, organ, Piano, St. Andrew
Classical music: Acclaimed Van Cliburn Competition prize winner, UW-Madison pianist Christopher Taylor performs Messiaen’s COMPLETE “Twenty Looks at the Infant Jesus” in Milwaukee on Friday night, then in New York City on Tuesday night. Could a New Holiday Tradition be in the making?
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By Jacob Stockinger
This Friday night, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. in Milwaukee, the acclaimed University of Wisconsin-Madison pianist Christopher Taylor (below) will perform the COMPLETE sets of Olivier Messiaen‘s work, “Vingt Regards sur L’Enfant Jésus,” at Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, 914 East Knapp Street.
Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for students. They are available at the door and online at www.pianoarts.org or by calling 414-255-0801.
In addition, Timothy Benson, organist at Saint Paul’s Church will present a lecture and performance of Messiaen’s work on TONIGHT, December 6 at 7 p.m. at Saint Paul’s. Admission is free with a ticket to the December 7 concert.
Composed in 1944, “Vingt Regards” (Twenty Looks at the Infant Jesus”) by Olivier Messiaen (1908-1982, below) is a collection of 20 short contemplations on the infant Jesus by “God the Father,” “the Mother Virgin Mary,” the angels, wise men, birds from the heights, silence, time, the stars and the cross.
The music is a kaleidoscope of radiant colors, bird songs, mini-orchestral sounds, Christmas bells and Hindu drums. It is a difficult work technically and interpretatively, and is a specialty of Taylor, who won a bronze medal at the 1991 Van Cliburn Competition and can be heard playing an excerpt at the bottom of this posting.
For more information about the Milwaukee performance, visit: http://www.pianoarts.org/performances.html
Based in Milwaukee, PianoArts’ mission is to foster appreciation and performance of classical music by identifying and mentoring a new generation of pianists with exceptional musical and verbal communication skills and by presenting them to diverse audiences. It also sponsors a major international competition every two years.
This concert is a timely performance of a work that has obvious ties to the holidays, Taylor will also perform the same daunting program in New York City next Tuesday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. as a holiday-related concert at the famed Metropolitan Museum of Art, to be performed in its Medieval Sculpture Hall.
For information about the New York performance, visit:
http://www.metmuseum.org/events/programs/concerts-and-performances/christopher-taylor?eid=3770
Could Christopher Taylor performing Messiaen become a New Holiday Tradition?
We could sure use one.
How about a performance here in Madison next year?
The Well-Tempered Ear 