The Well-Tempered Ear

Here’s music to mark Mother’s Day

May 11, 2024
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By Jacob Stockinger

This Sunday is Mother’s Day 2024.

The holiday celebrating mothers, grandmothers and women whose are like mothers to us is celebrated around the world in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Mothers have long provided inspiration to composers, performers and listeners.

The Ear’s mom loved to hear him practice and play Chopin’s Waltz in E minor and Rachmaninoff’s popular Prelude in C-sharp minor (played by the composer in the YouTube video at the bottom), which dropped out of fashion for many years but now seems back in favor, especially as an encore. 

Mom was proud of her pianist son and once even let the telephone sit near the piano when I was playing the Rachmaninoff for someone who had called her long-distance and wanted to hear more of what was until then just background noise to her conversation.

Anyway, here is one of the best pieces I have seen for you to read and listen to  as you celebrate Mother’s Day. Some of the music is sure to be very familiar, other music less so.

Here are 20 pieces, with brief introductions and translations, about mothers from the website Interlude in Hong Kong:

Here’s to you, Mom.

Do you have a piece to dedicate to your mom?

Did your mother have a favorite piece she liked to hear?

The Ear wants to hear.


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What made Beethoven sick and deaf?

May 9, 2024
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By Jacob Stockinger

What made Beethoven (below) deaf and sick his entire adult life?

Scientists think they have an answer, although their opinion is not unanimous.

Here is a news story from Classic FM about the latest research:

https://www.classicfm.com/composers/beethoven/scientists-hair-analysis-deaf-mystery/


Gramophone names the 50 best classical recordings of 2024 — so far

May 2, 2024
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By Jacob Stockinger

The monthly Gramophone magazine, based in London, is probably the most respected classical music periodical.

In addition to feature stories — such as, in the May issue, a remembrance of Maurizio Pollini, an interview with Korean piano phenom Yunchan Lim, a roundup of summer festivals and an assessment of Edward Elgar’s choral music — it offers well-informed reviews of recent recordings.

Here is the latest collection of critics’ reviews that cover recordings released so far in 2024.

You will find an impressive variety of artists, some only being rediscovered — such as the songs of Louis Beytds in the YouTube video at the bottom — and genres among the 50 selections.

Still, this selection seems to be heavier on piano music than is typical.

The choices are also noteworthy for the number of small labels that are singled out for high praise.

Plus there are bonuses.

Don’t forget to check out the links to the full reviews for more information about the music, the performer and comparisons with other recordings.

And at the bottom you will also notice links to Gramophone stories about the Top 20 Recordings of Haydn, Ravel, Verdi, Bartok, Debussy and Stravinsky. 

That is a lot of music  to explore and check out, especially if you have a streaming service.

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/features/article/the-best-classical-music-albums-of-2024-so-far


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What classical music is good for studying, reading and writing?

April 30, 2024
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By Jacob Stockinger

It is about to be Finals Week here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and in many other places.

Little wonder, then, that The Ear recently read a good story about the role of of music in studying.

It was written by a student journalist for The State Press at Arizona State University in Tempe. It covered more kinds of music than classical, but it had some good comments about the ability of music and its various components — melody, rhythm, tempo, text — to focus one’s attention or to distract from the necessary focus.

Here is a link to the story, which also includes 100 music selections from mixed genres:

It got me to wondering what classical music do you readers like for studying, reading and writing — if you like it at all for such serious and intense tasks.

The Ear tends to love listening to Baroque music — especially Vivaldi violin concertos and Bach harpsichord concertos such as the one in the YouTube video at the bottom — and to chamber music and solo piano music.

So, what music do you like to listen to when you are: studying? reading? writing?

Do you have a favorite style, or favorite composer, or favorite pieces?

The Ear wants to hear.


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Meet and hear piano phenom Yunchan Lim

April 24, 2024
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By Jacob Stockinger

He is looks like a young, mop-topped Beatle, but he plays the piano with the lyricism of Arthur Rubinstein and the technical virtuosity of Vladimir Horowitz or Maurizio Pollini.  

He is the South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim (seen below, during his winning performances at the last Van Cliburn Competition two years ago). If you haven’t yet heard of him or listened to him, you really  should. Otherwise you are missing out of a phenomenal talent who is just 20 years old and offer sublimely beautiful interpretations.

Just listen to his superb and subtle performance of the “Aeolian Harp” etude, Op. 25, No. 1, by Chopin in the YouTube video  at the bottom.

Recently, the British radio classical music radio station Classic FM offered a complete primer on Lim. It includes his personal and professional background and history as well as links to many of his special performances that have been acclaimed by his fellow musicians, the critics and the public.

Here is a link:

https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/instruments/piano/yunchan-lim-age-albums-performances-competition

Do you know about Yunchan Lim?

Have you heard his playing?

What do you think of him?

The Ear wants to hear.


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Muti to conduct an opera academy in China

April 15, 2024
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By Jacob Stockinger

Italian maestro Riccardo Muti (below) — the 83-year-old retired music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and longtime music director of the iconic La Scala Opera House in Milan— will take his workshops for young conductors and musicians to China for the first time this coming November and December.

Muti is a devoted advocate and practitioner of music education, and has led similar academies in: Ravenna and Milan, Italy; Tokyo, Japan; and Seoul, South Korea.

In a story published in Chinese media, Muti explains why he chose China this time. There he will work in the city of Suzhou with the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra and with individual applicants from around the world.

“During the past decades, classical music has gained a large fan base in China, with new concert halls and new symphony orchestras appearing in the country,” Muti adds. “There are also many great Chinese musicians performing around the world — pianists, violinists, singers and conductors — who have become like bridges, bringing our countries closer to each other.”

The repertoire he has chosen to work on is the one-act Italian opera “Cavalleria Rusticana” (Rustic Chivalry) by Pietro Mascagni. 

It seems a perfect choice to The Ear. It is shorter and easier to stage than most full-length operas. It uses the Roman Catholic Church and religion as well as other aspects of European and Italian society and culture. This includes the famous “Regina Coeli” or Easter Hymn (below):

The opera itself has beautiful parts for the vocal soloists, the chorus and the orchestral instrumentalists — as you can hear above and in the famously melodic Intermezzo (in the YouTube video at the bottom) that was used in the film “The Godfather.” 

Here is a link to the full story from the China Daily newspaper:

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202404/13/WS661a1d39a31082fc043c1c81.html

You might also recall an earlier blog post about the recent successes of Asian classical musicians:

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/?s=Asian+musicians

When it comes to Western classical music in China, it seems that success keeps building on success.


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Conductor Edo de Waart retires after 60 years

April 11, 2024
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By Jacob Stockinger

World-famous Dutch conductor Edo de Waart (below) announced on Wednesday that he is retiring after a career that has spanned 60 years.

You might recall that de Waart, 82, was the music director of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra from 2008 to 2017 and is now a conductor laureate of the MSO.

He lived in Middleton, Wisconsin, a suburb of Madison, while conducting in Milwaukee. He and his sixth wife, Rebecca Dopp, and their two children now live in Maple Bluff, another suburb of Madison.

De Waart is known for championing contemporary music and for an his extensive catalogue of recordings.

The Ear especially loved his early recording of Mozart’s “Gran Partita” wind serenade with the Netherlands Wind Ensemble. You can hear the sublime slow movement — which was used in the film “Amadeus” —  in the YouTube video at the bottom. 

Here is a press release from his current agent:

https://www.harrisonparrott.com/news/2024-04-09/conductor-edo-de-waart-announces-his-retirement

Here is a link to a biography in Wikipedia that has many details about de Waart and his career:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edo_de_Waart

Did you ever hear de Waart conduct?

Did you happen to play music under Edo de Waart?

Do you have a favorite de Waart recording?

What do you think of Edo de Waart as a conductor?

The Ear wants to hear.


Klaus Mäkelä, 28, is the new music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

April 3, 2024
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By Jacob Stockinger

It seems to The Ear that another young conducting superstar is in the making.

I’m talking about the 28-year-old Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä (below, in a photo by Marco Borggreve), who just yesterday was named the successor to 82-year-old Riccardo Muti as the music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, starting in 2027. 

Chances are good that the talented, photogenic and charismatic Mäkelä — ignore the umlauts and “ke” is pronounced kay — who has had a meteoric rise will eventually join the company of Gustavo Dudamel and Yannick Nézet-Séguin as an heir to such celebrated conductors as Leonard Bernstein and Herbert von Karajan, then Claudio Abbado, Michael Tilson Thomas and Marin Alsop.

The Ear would love to post stories from the New York Times, the Washington Post or the Chicago Tribune. But they all hide their online stories behind a paywall.

Here is another story, from ABC-TV in Chicago and the Associated Press, that has all the essentials and some extra background:

https://abc7chicago.com/klaus-makela-chicago-symphony-orchestra-riccardo-mutti-new-conductor/14606816

In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can see his 2-minute video made specifically to introduce himself on the occasion of his selection to lead the CSO. He talks about what he likes about the world-famous orchestra and why he wanted to accept the permanent position after guest conducting the CSO

And here is an excerpt of Mäkelä conducting the Paris Orchestra in Carnegie aHall last month. His reading of Igor Stravinsky’s “The Firebird” — on an all-Stravinsky program with “The Rite of Spring — raised the neck hair on The Ear.

You can under how the young Finn has developed a reputation for both spontaneous energy and sonic clarity. 

What do you think of Klaus Mäkelä becoming the music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra?

Have you heard him conduct? What did you think?

Would you go to Chicago to hear him conduct?

Will he become a worthy successor to such Chicago luminaries as Muti, Daniel Barenboim, George Solti and Fritz Reiner?

The Ear wants to hear.


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Today is World Piano Day — so play, listen, watch, celebrate

March 28, 2024
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By Jacob Stockinger

World Piano Day — established in 2015 — falls on the 88th day of the year because the standard piano keyboard has 88 keys.

Because 2024 is a Leap Year, World Piano Day is being celebrated a day later than usual — on today, March 28.

For more background and past playlists, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Day

There are lots of free celebrations online, to say nothing of just sitting down at a piano and playing or listening to someone else play or going to your library of CDs and LPs or using your streaming service.

Here is a list of live international events from March 12-April 7,  complete with information links, to concerts and other events marking Piano Day around the world.

Some presenters have put together their own special celebrations. DG is offering a 30-day free trial to its Stage+ streaming site to mark the occasion.

Deutsche Grammophon, the world’s oldest classical record company, has a terrific stable of prize-winning, critically acclaimed pianists, includes Maurizio Pollini who died last Saturday, as well as Lang Lang, Yuja Wang, Vikingur Olaffson, Maria Joao Pires, Seong-Jin Cho, Grigory Sokolov, Alice Sara Ott, Daniil Trifonov, Hélène Grimaud and Bruce Liu.

Check it out. Here is a  link to DG’s celebration:

https://www.worldpianoday.com

You can also find many things to watch and hear — concerts, documentaries — for this year and from past year of YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=World+Piano+Day

And at the bottom, from World Piano Day 2023, is a YouTube video with 88 minutes of piano music from masters old and current — including Vladimir Horowitz and Arthur Rubinstein — to celebrate World Piano Day:

Will you celebrate World Piano Day?

Do you play the piano or did you take piano lessons?

Do you have a favorite pianist?

Do you have a favorite composer and favorite piece for the piano?

The Ear wants to hear.


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Here are Gramophone’s 12 best recordings for March 

March 27, 2024
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By Jacob Stockinger

Gramophone magazine, based in the UK, is probably the best and most influential periodical about classical music for the general public.

Every month, the editors pick a recording of the month with 11 others to make up a dozen great opportunities for listening. The reviews — which often favor British performers and composers — include links to excerpts on streaming services.

Would you like to hear the prolific super-virtuoso pianist Marc-André Hamelin play his own compositions, including his Variations on a Theme of Paganini? See the YouTube video at the bottom for an astonishing display of pianism.

Or an obscure opera by Leos Janacek?

Or historic recordings of the violinist Joseph Szigeti?

Or the contemporary composer Nicola LeFanu?

Maybe a spring bouquet of songs about flowers?

Then check out this month’s choices for the Best Of.

And if these reviews interest you, check out the other stories and reviews at the bottom of the Gramophone webpage.

Here is a link:

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/features/article/editor-s-choice-march-2024-the-best-new-classical-recordings


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