The Well-Tempered Ear
Four local classical musicians perform Black women composers in a virtual holiday concert to benefit the health of Black women
1 Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Wisconsin Ensemble (WE) Project, a quartet of local classical musicians, has announced that it will host a holiday concert to support Dane County-based non-profit, the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness (FFBWW, below).
The concert will be the first in a series of performances to benefit local and international organizations working for social justice and human interest.
This unique effort is rooted in the quartet’s desire to not only delve deeply into chamber music repertoire, but also to address some of the many pressing social justice issues of our time.
This recorded, virtual YouTube concert will be available at https://wisconsinensembleproject.com from 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 25, through 6 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 3. — times are CST — where contributions will be accepted via PayPal.
Viewers will hear the story and see the face of the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness woven through quality chamber music by Black women composers performed by WE Project artists violinists Leanne League and Mary Theodore (below ends, in a photo by Katrin Talbot); violist Christopher Dozoryst (second from right); and cellist Karl Lavine. The four play together in the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.
Pieces they will perform include Strum (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom) and Voodoo Dolls by Jessie Montgomery (below top, in a photo by Jiyang Chen); Modes by Dorothy Rudd Moore (below center); and String Quartet in G Major by Florence Price (below bottom).
“This production offers viewers a meaningful program which leads to direct impact,” says WE Project member Mary Theodore who has been working with Foundation staff to coordinate the benefit over the last few weeks.
”We felt strongly about the work of the Foundation as we learned more about their mission to eliminate the startling health and economic disparities Black women face in our community,” adds Theodore. “When you donate and tune in to our concert, you will be helping to cover basic production costs and getting funds directly into the hands of this very worthy organization”.
Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness CEO Lisa Peyton-Caire (below), who launched the Black women’s health advocacy organization in 2012, says the concert is a beautiful example of how community and organizations can partner to drive social change together.
“We are elated that WE Project chose us as their first benefit recipient, and that our mission and work to transform Black women’s health in Wisconsin resonated with them,” said Peyton-Caire. “We know that ultimately it takes all of our effort to solve the inequities in our community, and this benefit concert is a beautiful example of the loving and creative ways we can join forces to do this.”
To learn more about the concert, visit https://wisconsinensembleproject.com, where you can contribute via PayPal anytime beginning now through Jan. 3.
To listen to a recent morning coffee chat between members of the two organizations, go to: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=431169757916539&ref=watch_permalink. Click on individual profiles to hear them.
To learn more about The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness, visit https://ffbww.org.
Tags: #BenefitConcert, #BlackComposer, #BlackLivesMatter, #BlackWomen, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChiefExecutiveOfficer, #ChristmasConcert, #ChristopherDozoryst, #CivilRights, #ClassicalMusicians, #ConcertSeries, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DaneCounty, #DorothyRuddMoore, #economicimpact, #EqualRights, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FlorencePrice, #FoundationforBlackWomen'sWellness, #HolidayConcert, #HomeWebsite, #HumanInterest, #IncomeDisparity, #JacobStockinger, #JessieMontgomery, #LeanneLeague, #LisaPeyton-Caire, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #NewYear's, #NewYear'sConcert, #OnlineConcert, #PayPal, #PublicHealth, #RecordedMusic, #SocialActivism, #SocialChange, #SocialJustice, #StringMusic, #StringPlayers, #StringQuartet, #SystemicRacism, #TheEar, #TuneIn, #VirtualConcert, #VoodooDolls, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WisconsinEnsembleProject, #WomanComposer, #WomenComposers, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, accept, address, advocacy, announce, Arts, audience, available, basic, beautiful, benefit, benefit concert, black, black composer, Black composers, Black Lives Matter, Black women, blog, cellist, Cello, CEO, Chamber music, chat, Chief Executive Organization, Christmas, Christmas concert, Christopher Dozoryst, civil rights, Classical music, classical musician, click, community, composer, concert series, contribution, conversation, coordinate, coronavirus, cost, cover, create, creative, Dane County, December, deep, delve, desire, direct, disparity, donate, donation, Dorothy Rudd Moore, economic, effort, eliminate, equal rights, example, face, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, feel, feminist, FFBWW, Florence Price, force, forward, foundation, Foundation for Black Women's Wellness, funds, hands, Health, help, Holiday, holiday concert, home website, host, human interest, impact, Income Disparity, inequity, international, issues, Jacob Stockinger, January, Jessie Montgomery, join, Karl Lavine, KarlLavine, launch, Leanne League, like, link, Lisa Peyton-Caire, listen, local, Love, loving, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, meaningful, mision, mission, Modes, morning, Music, New Year, New Year's concert, non-profit, online, organization, pandemic, perform, performances, piece, post, posting, pressing, production, profile, program, project, Public health, quality, Quartet, racism, racist, recorded, recorded music, repertoire, repertory, rooted, series, share, social activism, social change, social justice, staff\, string music, string players, String quartet, strum, support, systematic racism, tag, The Ear, time, together, transform, tune in, unique, United States, viewer, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, Voodoo, Voodoo Dolls, ways, we, Website, weeks, wellness, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Ensemble Project, women, women composer, women composers, working, worthy, YouTube
Can American film director Ron Howard make a sensitive and accurate biopic of Chinese superstar pianist Lang Lang? Or is it a cultural appropriation that deserves to be condemned?
6 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
The self-appointed PC diversity police have struck again.
This is getting silly and tiresome, insulting and embarrassing.
Some advocates of cultural diversity are crying foul over the latest project of the American and Academy Award-winning Hollywood film director Ron Howard: making a biopic of the superstar Chinese classical pianist Lang Lang (below).
The script will be drawn from the pianist’s bestselling memoir “Journey of a Thousand Miles” — which has also been recast as an inspirational children’s book — and the director and scriptwriters will consult with Lang Lang.
It seems to The Ear a natural collaboration, as well as a surefire box office hit, between two high-achieving entertainers. Check out their bios:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lang_Lang
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Howard
But some people are criticizing the project in the belief that because Ron Howard (below) is white and Western, he cannot do justice to someone who is Chinese or to Asian culture.
Here is an essay, found on the website of Classic FM, by one objector. She is Chinese film director Lulu Wang (below), who says she has no interest in doing the project herself: https://www.classicfm.com/artists/lang-lang/pianist-biopic-ron-howard-faces-criticism-lulu-wang/
Talk about misplaced alarm over “cultural appropriation.”
Don’t you think that Lang Lang will have a lot to say about how he is depicted?
Do you wonder if Wang thinks cultural appropriation works in reverse?
Should we dismiss Lang Lang’s interpretations of Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev and Bartok simply because he is non-Western and Chinese rather than German, French or Russian?
Of course not. They should be taken on their own merits, just as the interpretations of any other Asian classical musician, and artists in general including Ai Weiwei, should be.
But however unfairly, cultural appropriation just doesn’t seem to work in reverse.
Mind you, The Ear thinks that cultural appropriation is a valid concept and can indeed sometimes be useful in discussing cross-cultural influences.
But it sure seems that the concept is being applied in an overly broad and even misdirected or ridiculous way, kind of the way that the idea of “micro-aggressions” can be so generously applied that it loses its ability to be truthful and useful.
Take the example of the heterosexual Taiwanese movie director Ang Lee. He certainly proved himself able to depict American culture in “The Ice Storm” and the gay world in “Brokeback Mountain.”
Let’s be clear. The Ear is a piano fan.
But if he objects to the project, it is because he doesn’t like Lang Lang’s flamboyant playing, his Liberace-like performance manners and showmanship, and his exaggerated facial expressions.
Yet there is no denying the human appeal of his story. He rose from a young and suicidal piano student (below) who was emotionally abused by his ambitious father – shades of the lives of young Mozart and Beethoven and probably many other prodigies – to become the best known, most frequently booked and highest paid classical pianist in the world.
Yet not for nothing did some critics baptize him with the nickname Bang Bang.
Still, the Curtis Institute graduate does all he can to foster music education, especially among the young and the poor.
And there is simply no denying his virtuosity. (See Lang Lang playing Liszt’s Paganini etude “La Campanella” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
So there is plenty to object to about Lang Lang the Piano Star besides the ethnicity of Ron Howard, who also did a biopic of opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti, in telling his story.
What do you think?
Is it culturally all right for Ron Howard to direct a film about Lang Lang?
Do you look forward to the movie and seeing it?
What do you think of Lang Lang as a pianist and a celebrity?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AcademyAward, #AGermanRequiem, #AiWeiwei, #All-Russian, #AmericanCulture, #AngLee, #ArtsandEntertainment, #AsianCulture, #BangBang, #BelaBartok, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrokebackMountain, #Children'sBook, #ChinesePianist, #ClassicalPianist, #ClassicFM, #ConcertPianist, #CulturalAppropriation, #CulturalDiversity, #CurtisInstitute, #EmotionalAbuse, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FilmDirector, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FranzLiszt, #FranzSchubert, #FredericChopin, #HighAchieving, #HumanAppeal, #IceStorm, #JacobStockinger, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #LangLang, #LGBTQrights, #LGBTRights, #LookForward, #LucianoPavarotti, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #LuluWang, #MusicalInterpretation, #MusicCritic, #MusicEducation, #NiccoloPaganini, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PhysicalAbuse, #PianoConcerto, #PianoStudent, #PoliticallyCorrect, #PopularSuccess, #RobertSchumann, #RonHoward, #SergeiProkofiev, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #SmashHit, #TaipeiTaiwan, #TheEar, #TheIceStorm, #ThePolice, #VirtuosoPianist, #WesternCulture, #Wikipediabiography, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, ability, abuse, abused, Academy Award, accurate, advocate, Ai Weiwei, alarm, ambitious, American, Ang Lee, appeal, applied, artists, Arts, Arts and Entertainment, Asia, asian, Asian culture, audience, autobiographical, autobiography, award, award-winning, Bach, bad, Bang Bang, baptize, Bartok, Béla Bartók, Beethoven, bestselling, bio, biography, biopic, blog, Book, booked, box office, Brahms, broad, Brokeback Mountain, Business, celebrity, children's book, China, Chinese, Chopin, Classic FM, Classical music, classical pianist, collaboration, composer, concept, Concert, concerto, condemn, criticize, criticizing, critics, cross-cultural, Cry, cultural, cultural appropriation, Curtis Institute, Curtis Institute of Music, deny, depicted, depiction, deserve, discuss, diversity, do, draw, embarrassing, emotion, emotional abuse, emotionally, entertain, entertaining, Entertainment, essay, ethnic, etude, exaggerate, exaggerated, example, expression, extreme, Facebook, facial, fan, fanatic, father, film director, flamboyance, flamboyant, forward, foster, foul, France, Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin, gay, generously, German, Germany, graduate, Haydn, hear, herself, heterosexual, high achieving, highest, Hollywood, homosexual, human, human appeal, ice, ice storm, insulting, interest, interpretation, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, journey, justice, Lang Lang, LGBT, LGBTQ, Liberace, life, like, link, Liszt, lives, look forward, Luciano Pavarotti, Ludwig van Beethoven, Lulu Wang, manner, market, memoir, merit, micro-aggression, miles, misdirected, misplaced, movie, Mozart, Music, music critic, Music education, natural, nature, Niccolo Paganini, nickname, non-Western, object, objects, opera, Orchestra, overly, Paganini, paid, Pavarotti, PC, People, performance, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, physical abuse, Pianist, Piano, piano student, pic, playing, police, politically correct, poor, popular, post, posting, prodigies, prodigy, profit, profitable, project, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, recast, reverse, ridiculous, rise, Robert Schumann, Ron Howard, Russian, say, Schubert, Schumann, script, scriptwriter, see, seem, self-appointed, sensitive, Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, shades, share, showman, showmanship, silly, smash hit, Sojourner Truth, Sonata, storm, Student, suicidal, superstar, surefire, symphony, tag, Taiwan, Taiwanese, Tchaikovsky, The Ear, The Ice Storm, think, thousand, tiresome, truthful, unfair, United States, use, useful, virtuosity, want, Western, white, Wikipedia, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, wonder, work, world, young, YouTube
Classical music: This year’s virtual Bach Around the Clock proved a 10-day success. Here is a news update with a date for 2021
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following message from artistic director and violist Marika Fischer Hoyt (below top) about this year’s virtual Bach Around the Clock and the dates for next year’s festival when amateur and professional musicians will again celebrate the birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750):
Greetings! I hope this finds you well and finding ways to maintain equilibrium in these tumultuous times.
I’d like to thank you all again for making our 10-day 2020 Virtual Festival (one example is in the YouTube video at the bottom) such a success.
After the sad cancellation of our in-person festival, it was wonderful to see so many of you playing and singing Bach! It reminded me of the Dr. Seuss book; the COVID Grinch may have stolen the trappings of our festival, but we just held it anyway! (Below are members of the Suzuki Strings from a previous BATC festival.)
With the summer over, the BATC board of directors is looking ahead to next year’s festival, which will take place on Saturday, March 20, 2021. We don’t yet know what format it will take — whether in-person, virtual or some combination — but we will explore all available options.
If you have suggestions, please contact us.
Meanwhile, with so many concerts canceled, I hope you can find other ways to include music in your lives. I’ll continue posting Bach-related articles and performance links on our Facebook page.
If you have the means, please consider donating to artists and ensembles whose livelihoods have vanished for the foreseeable future.
Thank you again for being part of the BATC community, and please take care.
Tags: #AfricanHoliday, #AmateurMusicians, #BachAroundtheClock, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ClarinetMusic, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #HarpsichordContinuo, #InstrumentalMusic, #InstrumentalPlayer, #JacobStockinger, #JohannSebastianBach, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #NewsUpdate, #NextYear, #ProfessionalMusician, #SopranoSinger, #SuzukiStrings, #SuzukiStringsofMadison, #TheEar, #TheUW, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VioladaGamba, #ViolinistVirtuoso, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #YouTubevideo, amateur, Articles, artists, Arts, audience, available, Bach, Bach Around the Clock, Baroque, Baroque music, BATC, birthday, blog, Book, canceled, cancellation, care, celebrate, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, clarinet, Classical music, classicalmusic, combination, community, composer, Concert, concerto, contiue, coronavirus, day, donating, Dr. Seuss, Early music, ensemble, equilibrium, example, explore, Facebook, festival, foreseeable, format, forward, future, greetings, Grinch, harpsichord, hope, in person, include, instrumental music, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, like, link, livelihood, lives, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, maintain, Marika Fischer Hoyt, me, Mead Witter School of Music, means, member, message, Music, musicians, news, next year, one-day, online, option, other, pandemic, participant, Piano, play, player, playing, popular success, post, posting, professional, remind, share, Singing, Sonata, soprano, stolen, success, sucessful, suggestion, summer, Suzuki, Suzuki Strings, Suzuki Strings of Madison, tag, take, The Ear, times, trappings, tumultuous, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, update, UW, UW-Madison, vanished, Viola, viola da gamba, Violin, violinist, virtual, vocal music, ways, well, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wonderful, year, YouTube
Classical music: Meet the “Stay at Home” Symphony Orchestra. How do they sound so close and tight? Plus, today is May Day. What music would you play to celebrate workers?
2 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
ALERT: Today is May Day, a time to honor workers. What music would you play to celebrate and thank all the frontline workers — doctors, nurses, EMTs, police officers, firefighters, bus drivers, cleaners and janitors, grocery store workers, delivery people and others — who are now so indispensable?
By Jacob Stockinger
Many musicians — both singers and instrumentalists (below) — are self-isolating and doing their at-home best to keep those of us also sheltering in place entertained by performing virtual concerts.
It is something listeners can be grateful for. The players do an admirable and free public service during the COVID-19 crisis and coronavirus pandemic.
Of course, the virtual performances also have practical purposes.
The musicians keep their skills sharp during isolation.
And the virtual performances help to keep the names of individuals and groups, of composers and pieces, in the public’s mind at a time when live concerts have all been canceled or postponed.
There are many, many virtual concerts to choose from – made by local, regional, national and international musicians, some amateurs and some professional.
Many of them are solo performances given by an individual member of an orchestra, chamber music group or choral ensemble as well as big-name soloists such as pianist Emanuel Ax and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
The individual ones are appreciated and impressive, even if some of the performances seem amateur-like in the sound or awkwardness.
What really impresses The Ear is when large groups, such as symphony orchestras and choirs, perform something with all the players at home and yet somehow the whole finished product sounds incredibly tight in and incredibly professional.
Last Saturday, the Metropolitan Opera even held a four-hour online gala with singers and instrumentalists from all over the world.
It makes The Ear wonder why they sound so good. How they do it, with all the complications and variables of timing and tempo, of rhythm, pitch and dynamics?
Is it the planning?
The processing and editing?
In any case, a very good example comes from the “Stay at Home” Symphony Orchestra playing Mozart’s Overture to the opera “The Marriage of Figaro.”
You can hear the YouTube video of the performance below.
Are there other such performances that you can point out to The Ear and you would like to see posted on this blog?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AmateurMusician, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BusDriver, #ChoralMusic, #Classicalera, #COVID-19, #EmanuelAx, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GroceryStore, #LiveMusic, #MarriageofFigaro, #MayDay, #MetropolitanOpera, #OrchestralMusic, #PoliceOfficers, #ProfessionalMusician, #PublicHealth, #Self-Isolation, #ShelterinPlace, #SocialDistance, #SocialDistancing, #Stayathome, #StayatHomeSymphonyOrchestra, #SymphonyOrchestra, #TheMet, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #Yo-YoMa, #YouTubevideo, admiran;e, amateur, Arts, at home, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, big-name, blog, bus driver, cancel, canceled, celebrate, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Choir, choral music, Classical, Classical music, cleaner, complications, composer, Concert, coronavirus, crisis, delivery, doctors, dynamics, editing, Emanuel Ax, EMT, entertain, era, example, execution, Facebook, finish, firefighters, forward, free, frontline, gala, good, grateful, grocery, grocery store, group, hear, Home, honor, impress, impressive, indispensible, individual, instrumentalists, international, isolation, Jacob Stockinger, janitor, Johann Sebastian Bach, like, link, listeners, live music, local, Ludwig van Beethoven, Ma, Marriage of Figaro, May Day, member, Metropolitan Opera, mind, Mozart, Music, national, nurses, online, opera, Orchestra, Overture, pandemic, perform, performer, Pianist, Piano, piece, pitch, planning, play, police, police officers, post, posting, postpone, practical, processing, product, professional, Public health, purpose, regional, self-isolating, share, sharp, shelter, shelter in place, singer, skill, social distance, social distancing, solo, soloists, Sound, stay at home, Stay at Home Symphony Orchestra, symphony, symphony orchestra, tag, Tempo, The Marriage of Figaro, the Met, tight, time, timing, United States, variable, Viola, Violin, virtual, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, work, workers, Yo-Yo Ma, YouTube
Classical music: The 7th annual Schubertiade at the UW-Madison is this Sunday afternoon and will explore the influence of Beethoven on Schubert
3 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
This coming Sunday afternoon, Jan. 26, is the seventh annual UW Schubertiade – named after the evening gatherings of friends (below) where the composer Franz Schubert performed and premiered his own music.
This year’s theme, given that 2020 is the Beethoven Year, is the immense influence that the older Beethoven (below top) 1770-1827) had on the younger Schubert (below bottom, 1797-1828).
The event will begin with a pre-concert lecture by UW-Madison Professor of Musicology Margaret Butler at 2:15 p.m. in the Rehearsal Hall at the new Hamel Music Center, 740 University Avenue, next to the Chazen Museum of Art.
Then at 3 p.m. in the 330-seat Collins Recital Hall in the same building, the two-hour concert will take place.
The concert will close with the usual custom. The audience and performers will join in singing “An die Musik” (To Music). (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear it sung by legendary German soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and legendary British accompanist Gerald Moore.)
A reception will follow the concert in the main lobby.
For more description of the event plus a complete program and list of performers – who consist of UW-Madison graduates and musicians including soprano Jamie Rose Guarrine (below top) and mezzo-soprano Alisanne Apple (below middle) as well as the Pro Arte Quartet (below bottom, in a photo by Rick Langer) – go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/our-annual-schubertiade/
At the site, you will also find information about buying tickets – general admission is $20 with free student tickets on the day of the concert is space is available – and about parking.
The event was founded by and continues to be directed by wife-and-husband pianists Martha Fischer and Bill Lutes (below) who also sing, accompany and play works for piano, four hands.
Lutes sent the following introductory remarks: “Ever since Martha and I presented the first of our annual Schubertiades back in January 2014, we’ve looked for ways to keep our all-Schubert birthday parties fresh and interesting for our audience.
“From time to time we contemplated introducing another composer – maybe even switching our allegiance from the immortal Franz to another of our favorites: perhaps a “Schumanniade.”
“This time, with six years of all-Schubert behind us, we thought we would do the obvious and finally unite Schubert with the composer who probably meant more to him than almost any other – Beethoven, whose 250th birthday is being celebrated this year.
“Once Beethoven moved permanently to Vienna at age 22, he soon became famous and eventually was regarded as the greatest of the city’s composers.
“Schubert, who was born in Vienna five years after Beethoven’s arrival, grew up hearing the older master’s works, often at their premieres. As his genius flowered early, Schubert was often challenged and inspired by Beethoven’s music.
“We bring together these two giants who lived in the same city, knew the same people, attended the same musical events, perhaps met or quite possibly didn’t.
“Yet Beethoven’s presence and example guided Schubert in his own road toward the Ultimate Sublime in music. Our concert of “Influences and Homages” features works where the musical, if not the personal, relationship is there for all to hear.”
Lutes also supplied a list of the song titles in English translation:
“Ich liebe dich” – I love you
“Der Atlas” – Atlas
“Auf dem Strom” – On the River
“Der Zufriedene” – The Contented Man
“Der Wachtelschlag” – The Quail’s Cry
“Wonne der Wehmut” – Joy in Melancholy
“Kennst du das Land?” – Do You Know the Land?
“An die ferne Geliebte” – To the Distant Beloved
“An die Freude” – Ode to Joy
“Gruppe aus dem Tartarus” – Scene from Hades
“Elysium”
“Nachthymne” – Hymn to the Night
“Abendlied unterm gestirnten Himmel” – Evening Song Beneath the Starry Firmament
Have you attended a past Schubertiade (below, in Mills Hall)?
What did you think?
Would you recommend it to others?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AlisanneApple, #AndieMusik, #BeethovenYear, #BillLutes, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChazenMuseumofArt, #CollaborativePianist, #CollinsRecitalHall, #ElisabethSchwarzkopf, #EnglishTranslation, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FranzSchubert, #GeneralAdmission, #GeraldMoore, #HamelMusicCenter, #JacobStockinger, #JamieRoseGuarrine, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MargaretButler, #MarthaFischer, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Mezzo-sopranoSinger, #MillsHall, #OdetoJoy, #PersonalRelationship, #PianoAccompanist, #Pre-concertLecture, #ProArteQuartet, #RehearsalHall, #RobertSchumann, #Schubertiadeconcert, #SopranoSinger, #Sundayafternoon, #TheEar, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UW-MadisonMusician, #UWProfessor, #UWSchubertiade, #ViennaAustria, #YouTubevideo, accompanist, accompany, Alisanne Apple, allegiance, An die Musik, annual, attend, audience, available, Beethoven, Beethoven Year, beloved, Bill Lutes, birthday, blog, building, buy, challenge, Chazen Museum of Art, city, close, Collins Recital Hall, composer, contemplate, contented, Cry, custom, distant, early, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, English, English translation, evening, event, example, Facebook, famous, firmament, flower, forward, four-hands, Franz Schubert, freind, fresh, gathering, general admission, genius, Gerald Moore, giants, graduates, greatest, guide, Hades, Hamel Music Center, hear, homage, hymn, immortal, influence, inspire, interesting, Jacob Stockinger, Jamie Guarrine, Jamie-Rose Guarrine, join, Joy, know, land, lecture, legendary, like, link, Love, Ludwig van Beethoven, man, Margaret Butler, Martha Fischer, Master, Mead Witter School of Music, mean, meet, melancholy, Mezzo-soprano, Mills Hall, Music, Musician, musicology, night, ode, Ode to Joy, old, older, online, other, PAQ, parking, parties, party, People, performer, personal, Pianist, Piano, post, posting, pre-concert lecture, premiere, presence, Pro Arte Quartet, professor, quail, reception lobby, recommend, rehearsal hall, relationship, river, road, Robert Schumann, scene, Schubert, Schubertiade, Schumann, seat, share, sing, song, soprano, space, starry, students, sublime, subscriber, Sunday afternoon, switch, tag, The Ear, ticket, translation, ultimate, unite, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, UW, UW-Madison, Vienna, Website, work, young, younger, YouTube
Classical music: A veteran reviewer bids farewell with a rave review of this summer’s last concert by the Willy Street Chamber Players and UW-Madison pianist Christopher Taylor
18 Comments
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
Here is a very special posting, the final review that will be written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker.
Barker (below), who is dealing with medical issues, is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who wrote for The Capital Times, Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who, until two weeks ago, hosted an early music show once a month on a Sunday morning on WORT-FM 89.9. For years, he served on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gave pre-concert lectures in Madison.
Please use the comment section to join The Ear in thanking Barker for his many years of public service and wishing him well.
By John W. Barker
I had to miss the first concert this summer by the Willy Street Chamber Players (below) on July 12; and the next one, on July 19, was cancelled because of power failures. But the final one, last Friday night, was well worth waiting for — one of the really memorable events of the year, I think.
The program, performed at the usual near East Side venue of the Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1021 Spaight Street, began with some short items.
First, there was a set of Three Nocturnes (1924) for piano trio — violin, cello and piano — by Ernest Bloch. They contain elements of the Hebraic sound that Bloch cultivated but also had their own individualities, the first two contemplative and the third marked “tempestuoso.” Interesting was Bloch’s alternating uses of muting the strings.
After this came an example of the short pieces for string quartet by the contemporary composer Jessie Montgomery, her “Voodoo Dolls” (2008). Much is packed into this five-minute piece. A few lyrical touches aside, it sounded like a hoedown gone crazy, full of quite novel sounds, including rhythmic thumping on the wood of the instruments.
All that was a curtain-raiser to the big event of the program: the Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major, Op. 81, by Antonin Dvorak. This 40-minute work is one of the composer’s best-known chamber music compositions, and one of the standouts in the whole chamber music literature.
The very opening notes of the first movement bring a flood of warm well-being. (After hearing just that, I commented, “I haven’t felt such happiness in months.”)
The fecundity and richness of invention pervaded the entire work. For me, its high point is the second movement, in which Dvorak (below) used the Czech formula of the dumka, a kind of folk music lament that is paced slow-fast-slow-fast. (You can hear the Dumka movement, played by the Jerusalem Quartet and pianist Stefan Vladar, in the YouTube video below.)
Dvorak liked to play viola in chamber music, and so he always wrote some good things for himself. The sublime passages for viola in this movement were played with such transcendent beauty by Rachael Hauser (below) – who is leaving Madison for New York City — that I felt I was hearing the composer’s voice directly. Put simply, this was one of the greatest examples of chamber-music performance that I have ever heard.
All of the players, many of whom play in the Madison Symphony Orchestra, of course matched remarkable skill with humane vitality and vibrancy.
And a measure of the Willys’ standards was the fact that they were able to draw as a partner no less than that magnificent UW-Madison music school pianist, Christopher Taylor (below), who also performed the same Dvorak Piano Quintet in the 1993 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, where he won a bronze medal. Much of his excellence here was demonstrated by the fact that he did not play the star, but joined with the Willys in perfect collegial integration.
This ends the Willy Street group’s fifth summer season. As a symbol of vibrancy and fresh spirit, they are among the most important of Madison’s classical music world today. They have drawn steadily growing audiences, and the house was truly packed for this concert. We can only hope that they will continue to brighten that world in the years ahead.
I am now ending my time as a music critic. I can think of no more satisfying a final review to write than of the Willy Street Chamber Players.
Tags: #AmericanRecordGuide, #AntoninDvorak, #AudienceMembers, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BlogReview, #BronzeMedal, #ChamberMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ChristopherTaylor, #ContemporaryComposer, #ContemporaryMusic, #Curtain-Raiser, #CzechMusic, #EastSide, #EmeritusProfessor, #ErnestBloch, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FolkMusic, #HebraicMusic, #HighPoint, #ImmanuelLutheranChurch, #InstrumentalMusic, #IsthmusNewspaper, #JacobStockinger, #JerusalemQuartet, #JessieMontgomery, #JohnW.Barker, #LivingComposer, #LyricalMusic, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MedievalHistory, #ModernMusic, #MusicCritic, #MusicReview, #MusicSchool, #NewYorkCity, #PianoQuintet, #PianoTrio, #PowerFailure, #PublicService, #RachelHauser, #RadioHost, #RadioShow, #RadioStation, #StefanVladar, #StringQuartet, #SundayMorning, #TheCapitalTimes, #TheEar, #TheWillys, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VanCliburn, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #VoodooDolls, #WillyStreetChamberPlayers, #WORT-FM89.9, #YouTubevideo, advisor, ahead, alternating, American Record Guide, Antonín Dvořák, Arts, audience, beauty, best-known, bid, blog, board, brighten, bronze, bronze medal, bronze medalist, cancel, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Christian, Christopher Taylor, church, Classical music, classicalmusic, collegial, comment, composer, Concert, contemplative, contemporary, crazy, cultivate, Czech, dance, demonstrate, directly, doll, dumka, Early music, earlymusic, east side, emeritus professor, end, Ernest Bloch, event, example, excellence, Facebook, fact, farewell, fecundity, feel, felt, final, flood, folk, folk dance, Folk music, formula, forward, frequent, fresh, great, group, growing, guest, happiness, hearing, Hebraic, high point, History, hoedown, House, humane, Immanuel Lutheran Church, important, individualities, instrument, instrumental music, integration, interesting, invention, items, Jacob Stockinger, Jerusalem, Jerusalem Quartet, Jessie Montgomery, John W. Barker, known, lament, lecture, like, literature, living, Living composer, lyrical, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, Madison Symphony Orchestra, match, Mead Witter School of Music, measure, medal, medical issues, Medieval, memorable, modern, months, morning, movement, Music, music school, muting, New York City, Newspaper, nocturne, novel, packed, partner, passage, perfect, performer, pervade, Pianist, Piano, Piano Quintet, Piano Trio, pieces, players, post, posting, power, power failure, public service, quintet, Rachel Hauser, Radio, radio show, radio station, rave, reader, recording, remarkable, review, reviewer, rhythmic, rich, richness, satisfying, service, set, share, short, skill, Sound, special, spirit, spread, standards, standout, star, Stefan Vladar, String quartet, strings, sublime, subscriber, summer, Sunday, Sunday morning, symbol, tag, thank, The Capital Times, The Ear, The Willys, three, thump, thumping, time, touch, transcendent, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, use, UW-Madison, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, venue, Veteran, vibrancy, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, vitality, voice, Voodoo, Voodoo Dolls, warm, well-being, Willy Street Chamber Players, Wisconsin, Wiscosnin, wood, work, world, WORT-FM 89.9, worth, Writer, year, YouTube
Music education: The Madison Youth Choirs explore the theme of “Legacy” in three concerts this Saturday and Sunday in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center
1 Comment
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post from the Madison Youth Choirs about their upcoming concerts this weekend:
This spring, Madison Youth Choirs singers are exploring the meaning of “Legacy,” studying works that have endured throughout history, folk traditions that have been passed on, and musical connections that we maintain with those who have come before us. Along the way, we’re discovering how our own choices and examples are leaving a lasting impact on future generations.
In our upcoming concert series in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center, 201 State Street, on this Saturday, May 11, and Sunday, May 12, we’ll present a variety of works. They include Benjamin Britten’s “The Golden Vanity,” Palestrina’s beloved “Sicut Cervus,” Sweet Honey in the Rock’s “Wanting Memories,” the final chorus of Handel’s oratorio Samson, American and Scottish folk songs, and Zoe Mulford’s powerful modern folk piece, “The President Sang Amazing Grace.”
The concert will also pay tribute to our alumni, with selections featured on the very first Madison Boychoir album, and past Cantabile singers invited to join us on stage for “Sisters, Now Our Meeting is Over.”
At the Saturday concert, MYC will present the 2019 Carrel Pray Music Educator of the Year award to Diana Popowycz (below), co-founder of Suzuki Strings of Madison.
DETAILS ABOUT “LEGACY” MYC’S SPRING CONCERT SERIES
Saturday
7:30 p.m. Purcell, Britten, Holst and Ragazzi (boychoirs)
Sunday
3:30 p.m. Choraliers, Con Gioia, Capriccio, Cantilena and Cantabile (girlchoirs)
7:30 p.m. Cantilena, Cantabile and Ragazzi (high school ensembles)
THREE WAYS TO PURCHASE TICKETS:
- In person at the Overture Center Box Office (lowest cost)
- Online (https://www.overture.org/events/legacy)
- By phone (608-258-4141)
Tickets are $15 for adults and $7.50 for students. Children under 7 are free, but a ticket is still required and can be requested at the Overture Center Box Office. Seating is General Admission.
This concert is supported by the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation, American Girl’s Fund for Children, BMO Harris Bank, the Green Bay Packers Foundation, the Kenneth A. Lattman Foundation and Dane Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, charitable arm of The Capital Times, and the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation. This project is also made possible by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with additional funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
ABOUT MADISON YOUTH CHOIRS (MYC):
Recognized as an innovator in youth choral music education, Madison Youth Choirs (MYC) welcomes singers of all ability levels, annually serving more than 1,000 young people, ages 7-18, through a wide variety of choral programs in our community. Cultivating a comprehensive music education philosophy that inspires self-confidence, responsibility, and a spirit of inquiry leading students to become “expert noticers,” MYC creates accessible, meaningful opportunities for youth to thrive in the arts and beyond.
REPERTOIRE
SATURDAY
For the 7:30 p.m. Concert (featuring MYC Boychoirs)
Britten
“The Golden Vanity,” by Benjamin Britten (to our knowledge, this will be the first time the work has ever been performed in Madison)
Purcell
“Simple Gifts” by Joseph Brackett, arr. Aaron Copland
“Tallis Canon” by Thomas Tallis
“Sound the Trumpet” from Come Ye Sons of Art by Henry Purcell
Britten
“Ich jauchze, ich lache” by Johann Sebastian Bach
Holst
“Hallelujah, Amen” from Judas Maccabeus by George Frideric Handel
“Sed diabolus” by Hildegard von Bingen
“Bar’bry Allen” Traditional ballad, arr. Joshua Shank
“Ella’s Song” by Bernice Johnson Reagon
Ragazzi
“Let Your Voice Be Heard” by Abraham Adzenyah
“Sicut Cervus” by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
“Agincourt Carol,” Anonymous, ca. 15th century
Ragazzi & Holst
“The President Sang Amazing Grace” by Zoe Mulford, arr. Randal Swiggum
Holst
“Shosholoza,” Traditional song from Zimbabwe
Combined Boychoirs
“Will Ye No Come Back Again?” Traditional Scottish, arr. Randal Swiggum
Legacy Choirs
“Day is Done” by Peter Yarrow, arr. Randal Swiggum
SUNDAY
For the 3:30 p.m. Concert (featuring MYC Girlchoirs)
Choraliers
“Music Alone Shall Live,” Traditional German canon
“Ut Queant Laxis,” Plainsong chant, text attributed to Paolo Diacono
“This Little Light of Mine” by Harry Dixon Loes, arr. Ken Berg
“A Great Big Sea,” Newfoundland folk song, arr. Lori-Anne Dolloff
Con Gioia
“Seligkeit” by Franz Schubert
“Blue Skies” by Irving Berlin, arr. Roger Emerson
“When I am Laid in Earth” from Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell
“Pokare Kare Ana” by Paraire Tomoana
“Ah, comme c’est chose belle” Anonymous, 14th century
“Hope” by Marjan Helms, poem by Emily Dickinson
Capriccio
“Non Nobis Domine,” attributed to William Byrd
“Ich Folge Dir Gleichfalls” from St. John Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach
“Dirait-on” by Morten Lauridsen
Cantilena
“Aure Volanti” by Francesca Caccini
“Ella’s Song” by Bernice Johnson Reagon
Cantabile
“Come All You Fair and Pretty Ladies” Traditional Ozark song, adapted by Mike Ross
“Wanting Memories” by Ysaye M. Barnwell
Legacy Choir
“Music in My Mother’s House” by Stuart Stotts
For the 7:30 p.m. concert (featuring High School Ensembles)
Cantilena
“Aure Volanti” by Francesca Caccini
“Una Sañosa Porfía by Juan del Encina
“Ella’s Song” by Bernice Johnson Reagon
“O Virtus Sapientiae” by Hildegard von Bingen
Ragazzi
“Sicut Cervus” by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
“Agincourt Carol,” Anonymous, ca. 15th century
“Let Your Voice Be Heard” by Abraham Adzenyah
“The President Sang Amazing Grace” by Zoe Mulford, arr. Randal Swiggum
Cantabile
“In a Neighborhood in Los Angeles” by Roger Bourland
“Sed Diabolus” by Hildegard von Bingen
“Come All You Fair and Pretty Ladies” Traditional Ozark song, adapted by Mike Ross
“Wanting Memories” by Ysaye M. Barnwell
Combined Choirs
“Let Their Celestial Concerts All Unite” by George Frideric Handel
Cantabile and Alumnae
“Sisters, Now Our Meeting is Over,” Traditional Quaker meeting song
Tags: #AaronCopland, #AmazingGrace, #AmericanGirl, #BarackObama, #BaroqueMusic, #BenjaminBritten, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BMOHarrisBank, #CapitolTheater, #CarrelPray, #ChoralMusic, #ComeYeSonsofArt, #CompactDisc, #ContemporaryComposer, #ContemporaryMusic, #ContemporaryRepertoire, #DianaPopowycz, #DidoAndAeneas, #EmilyDickinson, #EndresMfg.Company, #EvjueFoundation, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FolkMusic, #folksongs, #FrancescaCaccini, #FranzSchubert, #GeneralAdmission, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GiovannidePalestrina, #GreenBayPackers, #GustavHolst, #HarryDixon, #HenryPurcell, #HighSchool, #HildegardvonBingen, #IrvingBerlin, #JohannSebastianBach, #JudasMaccabeus, #LivingComposer, #MadisonBoychoir, #MadisonYouthChoirs, #MiddleSchool, #MortenLauridsen, #MusicEducation, #MusicEducator, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #NewMusic, #OakwoodCenterforArtsandEducation, #OvertureCenter, #PersonalResponsibility, #PeterYarrow, #PleasantT.Rowland, #PresidentObama, #RandalSwiggum, #SoundtheTrumpet, #St.JohnPassion, #StateOfWisconsin, #SuzukiMethod, #SuzukiStringsofMadison, #SweetHoneyintheRock, #TheCapitalTimes, #TheEar, #TheGoldenVanity, #ThePresidentSangAmazingGrace, #ThisLIttleLightofMine, #ThomasTalliis, #VocalMusic, #W.JeromeFrautschi, #WantingMemories, #WilliamByrd, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #YoungPeople, #ZoeMulford, Aaron Copland, ability, accessible, Agincourt, Album, alumni, Amazing Grace, Amen, American, American Girl, American Girls, announcement, anonymous, Arts, audience, Bach, ballad, Barack Obama, Baroque, beloved, Benjamin Britten, blog, BMO Harris Bank, boy, boy choir, boychoir, Canon, cantabile, cantilena, Capitol Theater, Carrel Pray, celestial, chant, charity, choice, Choir, choral music, chorus, Classical music, classicalmusic, Come Ye Sons of Art, community, Compact Disc, composer, Concert, conductor, connection, contemporary, cultivate, day, Diana Popowicz, Dido and Aeneas, discover, Early music, Earth, Education, educator, Emily Dickinson, Endres Mfg. Company, Evjue Foundation, example, Facebook, Folk music, folk song, folk songs, folksong, forward, foundation, Francesca Caccini, Franz Schubert, Friday, funds, future, general admission, generation, George Frideric Handel, German, girl, golden, grant, Green Bay Packers, Gustav Holst, Hallelujah, Handel, Harry Dixon, Henry Purcell, high school, Hildegard von Bingen, History, hope, House, impact, inquiry', Irving Berlin, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Judas Maccabeus, legacy, level, like, link, live, Madison, Madison Boychoir, Madison Youth Choirs, May, meeting, memories, memory, Middle school, modern, Morten Lauridsen, Mother, Music, Music education, music educator, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, New Music, Newfoundland, opportunities, oratorio, Overture Center, Ozark, Palestrina, People, performer, Peter Yarrow, philosophy, Piano, plainsong, Pleasant T. Rowland, poem, Poetry, powerful, President, President Obama, program, purchase, Quaker, Randel Swiggum, recording, repertoire, repertory, responsibility, Samson, Saturday, Scottish, sea, seating, self-confidence, share, singers, sister, song, Sound, spirit, St. John Passion, State of Wisconsin, strings, students, Suzuki, Suzuki Method, Suzuki Strings of Madison, Sweet Honey in the Rock, tag, teenager, The Capital Times, The Ear, The Evjue Foundation, The Golden Vanity, The President, This Little Light of Mine, Thomas Tallis, ticket, tradition, traditional, Trumpet, unite, United States, University of Wisconsin–Madison, upcoming, vanity, variety, vocal music, voice, W. Jerome Frautschi, want, weekend, William Byrd, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, word, work, young, young people, Youth, YouTube, Zimbabwe, Zoe Mulford
Classical music: Moscow and Paris meet through cello and piano music at the Wisconsin Union Theater this Saturday night at 7:30
Leave a Comment
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
By Jacob Stockinger
What was the musical relationship between Paris and Moscow, especially after the Russian Revolution?
You can find out, and hear examples, this Saturday night, Dec. 8, at 7:30 p.m. in Shannon Hall (below) at the Wisconsin Union Theater.
Pianist Lise de la Salle and cellist Christian-Pierre La Marca (below right and left, respectively) will explore the musical relationship between Moscow and Paris through works by Gabriel Fauré (you can hear them play his Elegy in the YouTube video at the bottom), Camille Saint-Saëns, Jules Massenet, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Prokofiev, Igor Stravinsky and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. It is the subject of their latest recording from Sony Classical.
For the full program plus biographies and videos of the performers and information about obtaining tickets ($25-$42 for the general adult public, $20 for young people, $10 for UW students), go to: https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/lise-de-la-salle-and-christian-pierre-la-marca/
Lise de la Salle made her debut at age 13 in a performance at the Louvre. According to Le Monde, she “possesses a youthful single-minded spirit and the courage of conviction seldom expected of such a young artist.”
Now 29, de la Salle has established a reputation as one of today’s most exciting young artists and as a musician of uncommon sensibility and maturity. Her playing inspired a Washington Post critic to write, “For much of the concert, the audience had to remember to breathe … the exhilaration didn’t let up for a second until her hands came off the keyboard.”
She specializes in Russian composers and has played with symphony orchestras in London, Paris, Munich, Tokyo, Baltimore, Detroit and Quebec. Says Bryce Morrison of Gramophone magazine,“Lise de la Salle is a talent in a million.”
In just a few years, through his international concert appearances, the young cellist Christian-Pierre La Marca already ranks among the masters of the cello. He has performed in concert halls such as the Louvre, the Philharmonie of Berlin, the 92nd Street Y in New York City, and Izumi Hall in Osaka, among others.
La Marca has appeared as a soloist with many leading orchestras and is also highly sought after in chamber music. He plays a unique golden period Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume cello (1856) and the Vocation Foundation has provided him a rare Jacob Eury cello bow (1825). An exclusive Sony Classical artist, La Marca has already released three albums unanimously praised by international press and international critics.
Before the performance, enjoy a lecture by Kyle Johnson (below) at 6 p.m. Check Today in the Union for room location. Johnson is a pianist who recently received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the UW-Madison.
His performing experience ranges from solo and festival appearances throughout the U.S. and U.K., co-founding the Madison-based contemporary ensemble Sound Out Loud, and as a performance fellow in the Longitude Contemporary Ensemble in Boston, Mass.
His research interests strongly correlate with his interest in 20th-century piano repertoire, of which he produces a podcast series around (Art Music Perspectives). For more information, visit www.kyledjohnson.com.
This performance is presented by the Wisconsin Union Theater’s Performing Arts Committee. This project 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. WORT-FM 89.9 is the media sponsor.
Tags: #92ndStreetY, #ArtMusicPersepctives, #BaltimoreMaryland, #BerlinGermany, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BostonMassachusetts, #CamilleSaint-Saens, #ChamberMusic, #Christian-Pierre La Marca, #ConcertHall, #DetroitMichigan, #DoctorofMusicalArts, #GabrielFaure, #GramophoneMagazine, #IgorStravinsky, #JacobEury, #Jean-BaptisteVuillaume, #JulesMassenet, #KyleJohnson, #LeMonde, #LisedelaSalle, #LondonEngland, #LongitudeContemporaryEnsemble, #MediaSponsor, #MoscowRussia, #MunichGermany, #MusicCritic, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #NewMusic, #NikolaiRimsky-Korsakov, #OsakaJapan, #ParisFrance, #PianoAccompaniment, #PianoAccompanist, #PianoMusic, #QuebecCanada, #RussianComposer, #RussianRevolution, #SaturdayNight, #SergeiProkofiev, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #ShannonHall, #SonyClassical, #SoundOutLoud, #StateOfWisconsin, #SymphonyOrchestra, #TheLouvre, #ThePress, #TheWashingtonPost, #TokyoJapan, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WORT-FM89.9, #YoungArtists, #YouTubevideo, 20th-century, 92nd Street Y, adult, Art Music Perspectives, Arts, Baltimore, Berlin, biographies, biography, blog, Blog post, Boston, bow, Camille Saint-Saëns, Canada, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, Compact Disc, composer, concert hall, courage, critic, Detroit, Doctor of Musical Arts, Elegy, example, explore, France, fund, funding, Gabriel Fauré, Germany, Gramophone (magazine), Igor Stravinsky, Jacob Eury, Jacob Stockinger, Japan, Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, Jules Massenet, Kyle Johnson, Le Monde, lecture, like, link, Lise de la Salle, London, Longitude Contemporary Ensemble, Louvre, Madison, Maryland, Master, maturity, media, Michigan, Moscow, Munich, Music, musical, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, New Music, New York City, night, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Orchestra, Osaka, Paris, performers, Pianist, Piano, podcast, posting, pre-concert, press, program, Quebec, recording, relationship, repertoire, reputation, Russia, Saturday, sensibility, Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, Shannon Hall, share, Sonata, SONY, Sony Classical, Sound Out Loud, spirit, sponsor, State of Wisconsin, Student, symphony, symphony orchestra, tag, talent, The Washington Post, ticket, Tokyo, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, video, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, Wisconsin Union Theater, WORT-FM 89.9, youthful, YouTube, YouTube video
Classical music: The Madison Symphony Orchestra concerts this weekend feature three local debuts — by a woman conductor, a Grammy-winning cellist and an immigrant composer
2 Comments
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR SHARE IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
By Jacob Stockinger
Three local debuts will take place this weekend in the three “Epic Romance” concerts by the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below).
Renowned Canadian guest conductor Tania Miller will lead the MSO while music director John DeMain makes his debut at the Liceu Theater in Barcelona, conducting the opera Candide in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth.
Grammy Award-winning American cellist Zuill Bailey will make his Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO) solo debut in Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto.
And Canadian composer Michael Oesterle will be performed for the first time in Madison when his work “Home” opens each concert.
The second half of the program is Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5.
Performances will be held in Overture Hall of the Overture Center, 2912 State Street, on Friday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m.; on Saturday, Oct. 20 at 8 p.m.; and on Sunday, Oct. 21, at 2:30 p.m.
Here are more details:
Canadian Conductor Tania Miller has distinguished herself as a dynamic interpreter, musician and innovator, on the podium and off. She has been praised for “energy, grace, precision and restraint.” She has appeared as a guest conductor in Canada, the United States and Europe with such orchestras as the Bern Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Oregon Symphony and the Vancouver Symphony, among others.
Over a 14-year tenure as the Music Director of the Victoria Symphony in Canada, Miller (below) gained national acclaim for her passion and commitment to the orchestra and community. Recipient of the 2017 Friends of Canadian Music award from the Canadian League of Composers for her acclaimed commitment to contemporary music in Canada, Miller has been an example of the impact of commitment and dedication to an orchestra and to the future of orchestral music through creative innovation and vision.
You can hear Tania Miller discuss women conductors in the informative YouTube video at the bottom.(But please be forewarned: YouTube was having major technical issues and glitches last night that affected all their videos on this blog, not just this one. If it doesn’t load when you try, wait and then try again.)
Zuill Bailey (below), described by Classical Net as “easily one of the finest cellists today,” has been featured with symphony orchestras worldwide, including Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Israel, Cape Town, and the Bruckner Orchestra in Linz, Austria. Bailey has also appeared at Disney Hall, the Kennedy Center, the United Nations, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.
In 2017, Bailey won a best solo performance Grammy Award for his live recording of “Tales of Hemingway,” by composer Michael Daugherty. His celebrated “Bach Cello Suites” and recently released Britten Cello Symphony and Sonata CD with pianist Natasha Paremski immediately rose to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard magazine Classical Chart.
His Cello Concerto was the last notable work by Sir Edward Elgar (below), composed in 1919 in the aftermath of World Ear I. Upon regaining consciousness following a 1918 tonsillectomy, Elgar immediately asked for pencil and paper and wrote down the melody that would become the first theme in this concerto.
Despite today’s renown as a crowd favorite, the piece did not achieve wide popularity until the 1960s, when a recording by Jacqueline du Pré caught the public’s attention, and it became a classical favorite.
Michael Oesterle’s “Home” had its world premiere in November 2017 with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra and conductor Tania Miller.
The piece is an homage to the great geographical ebb and flow of humanity, also known as the immigrant experience. Oesterle (below) notes, “I wrote it through the filter of my personal impressions as an immigrant, and with the realization that this subject is humbling in its breadth.”
Composed between May and August 1888, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 was first performed in St. Petersburg at the Mariinsky Theatre with Tchaikovsky below) conducting.
Unlike its two predecessors, there is no known program for the Fifth Symphony, save for a recurring main theme heard throughout all four movements. Over the years this theme has become known as the “fate” motive; its original ominous character undergoes various metamorphoses, emerging triumphant in the score’s concluding pages.
ABOUT ATTENDING
The lobby opens 90 minutes prior to each concert. One hour before each performance, Madison Symphony Chorus Director and UW-Madison director of choral activities Beverly Taylor (below) will lead a 30-minute Prelude Discussion in Overture Hall to enhance concertgoers’ understanding and listening experience. It is free to ticket holders.
The MSO recommends concert attendees arrive early for each performance to make sure they have time to pass through Overture Center’s security stations, and so they can experience the Prelude Discussion.
Program notes for the concerts are available online: http://bitly.com/oct2018programnotes
Tickets can be purchased in the following ways:
- Single Tickets are $18-$93 each and are on sale now at: https://madisonsymphony.org/ax through the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street, or by calling the Box Office at (608) 258-4141. Fees apply to online/phone sales.
- Groups of 10 or more can save 25% by calling the MSO office at (608) 257-3734. For more information, visit, https://www.madisonsymphony.org/groups.
- Student rush tickets can be purchased in person on the day of the concert at the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street. Students must show a valid student ID and can receive up to two $15 or $20 tickets. More information is at: https://www.madisonsymphony.org/studentrush
- Seniors age 62 and up receive 20% savings on advance and day-of-concert ticket purchases in select areas of the hall.
- Subscribers to 5 or more symphony subscription concerts can save up to 50% off single ticket prices. More information is available about the season at: https://madisonsymphony.org/18-19
- Flex-ticket booklets of 10 vouchers for 18-19 symphony subscription concerts are available. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/flex
Discounted seats are subject to availability, and discounts may not be combined.
Find more information, go to madisonsymphony.org
Major funding for the October concert is provided by: Mirror 34 Productions and National Guardian Life Insurance Company. Additional funding is provided by John A. Johnson Foundation, a component fund of the Madison Community Foundation, Barbara J. Merz, Selma Van Eyck, and the Wisconsin Arts Board, with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Tags: #AmericanImmigration, #AntonBruckner, #AsianImmigration, #BarcelonaSpain, #BenjaminBritten, #BillboardMagazine, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #CanadianComposer, #CanadianConductor, #CanadianLeagueofComposers, #CanadianMusic, #CandideOpera, #CapeTown, #CarnegieHall, #CelloConcerto, #ChoralMusic, #ClassicalChart, #ClassicalNet, #CompactDisc, #ContemporaryComposers, #ContemporaryMusic, #DisneyHall, #EbbandFlow, #EdwardElgar, #ErnestHemingway, #EuropeanImmigration, #FacebookPost, #FemaleConductor, #GrammyAward, #GuestConductor, #HomeWebsite, #InsuranceCompany, #JacquelineduPré, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnDeMain, #KennedyCenter, #LeonardBernstein, #LincolnCenter, #LinzAustria, #LiveRecording, #MadisonCommunityFoundation, #MadisonSymphonyChorus, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MariinskyTheatre, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MichaelOesterle, #MusicalInterpretation, #MusicDirector, #NatashaParemski, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #NationalGuardianLife, #NewMusic, #OperaMusic, #OrchestralMusic, #OregonSymphony, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PublicAttention, #RoyalConservatory, #RussianComposer, #SeattleSymphony, #SeattleWashington, #SoloCelloSuites, #SoloDebut, #SouthAfrica, #StateOfWisconsin, #TalesofHemingway, #TaniaMiller, #TechnicalGlitch, #TechnicalIssue, #The1960s, #The60s, #TorontoCanada, #UnitedNations, #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VancouverCanada, #VancouverSymphony, #VictoriaSymphony, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #WomanConductor, #WorldPremiere, #WorldWarI, #YouTubevideo, #ZuillBailey, 1960s, acclaim, anniversary, Anton Bruckner, Arts, Austria, award, Bach, Barcelona, Benjamin Britten, Bern, BernSwitzerland, Billboard magazine, birth, Canadian, Candide, Cape Town, Carnegie Hall, cellist, Cello, centennial, character, Chicago, choral music, Classical chart, Classical music, Classical Net, commitment, community, Compact Disc, composer, concerto, conductor, debut, dedication, discount, discussion, Disney Hall, Edward Elgar, epic, Ernest Hemingway, Europe, example, Facebook, favorite, female, funding, geographical, geography, glitch, Grammy, Grammy Award, group, homage, Home, immigrant, immigration, impact, impression, innovation, innovator, insurance, interpretation, interpreter, Israel, issue, Jacob Stockinger, Jacqueline du Pré, Johann Sebastian Bach, John DeMain, Kennedy Center, Leonard Bernstein, Lincoln, LIncoln Center, Linz, Live Recording, Los Angeles, Madison, Madison Community Foundation, Madison Symphony Chorus, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre, Mead Witter School of Music, melody, metamorphoses, Michael Oesterle, Music, Natasha Paremski, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, New York City, ominous, online, opera, Oregon, Passion, personal, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Pianist, Piano, podium, popular, popularity, Prelude, public attention, Romance, Royal Conservatory, Russia, San Francisco, Seattle, security, senior, solo, Sonata, South Africa, Spain, St. Petersburg, State of Wisconsin, Student, subscriber, Switzerland, symphony, Tales of Hemingway, Tania Miller, technical, theme, ticket, Toronto, United Nations, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Victoria, Viola, Violin, vision, web site, Website, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, women, YouTube, Zuill Bailey
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 
Here are the classical music nominations for the 63rd annual Grammy Awards in 2021
3 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
It’s time again for the annual Grammy Awards (below).
Although determined by the recording industry and often considered promotional marketing, they might be more helpful given the peculiar circumstances of the past year.
After all, the coronavirus pandemic has changed our listening habits.
Perhaps you now listen mostly via computer to virtual online concerts and performances that are streamed.
Perhaps you listen to Compact Discs using home stereo systems.
Perhaps you subscribe to a streaming service such as Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify and others.
However you listen to music, you might find the following list useful, especially as it comes at the beginning of the holiday shopping and gift-giving season.
You might also find the nominations for the 63rd annual Grammy Awards informative about individual musicians and musical groups in your area.
They can help you judge how many or how few contemporary composers and new works get performed.
Performers provide other examples. You might find it interesting, for example, that soprano Sarah Brailey (below) has been nominated for her role in the solo vocal work “The Prison” by Ethel Smyth. Brailey is a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music and a co-founder and performer of the free monthly Just Bach concerts.
Pianist Shai Wosner (below, in a photo by Marco Borggreve), who played late Schubert sonatas at the Salon Piano Series at Farley’s House of Pianos, is included in a list of producer awards for his recording of those sonatas.
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Florentine Opera have been nominated for a recording of Carlisle Floyd’s opera “Prince of Players.”
Conductor Julian Wachner (below top), violinist Augustin Hadelich (below middle) and pianist Jonathan Biss (below bottom) have all performed with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, some more than once.
Soprano Laquita Mitchell (below) — who has sung with the Madison Opera — has been nominated for her performance in the choral work “Sanctuary Road” by Paul Moravec.
Cellist Matt Haimovitz (below top) and composer Luna Pearl Woolf (below bottom) have been nominated for the latter’s “Fire and Flood.” Both have appeared with UW-Madison orchestral and choral groups.
If you notice more local connections, please leave word in the Comment section.
The winners will be announced on CBS Television the evening of Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021.
73. Best Engineered Album, Classical
An Engineer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
· DANIELPOUR: THE PASSION OF YESHUA
Bernd Gottinger, engineer (JoAnn Falletta, James K. Bass, Adam Luebke, UCLA Chamber Singers, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra & Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus)
· GERSHWIN: PORGY AND BESS
David Frost and John Kerswell, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (David Robertson, Eric Owens, Angel Blue, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)
· HYNES: FIELDS
Kyle Pyke, engineer; Jesse Lewis and Kyle Pyke, mastering engineers (Devonté Hynes & Third Coast Percussion)
· IVES: COMPLETE SYMPHONIES (below)
Alexander Lipay and Dmitriy Lipay, engineers; Alexander Lipay and Dmitriy Lipay, mastering engineers (Gustavo Dudamel and Los Angeles Philharmonic)
· SHOSTAKOVICH: SYMPHONY NO. 13, ‘BABI YAR’
David Frost and Charlie Post, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (Riccardo Muti and Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
·
74. Producer Of The Year, Classical
A Producer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
· BLANTON ALSPAUGH
• Aspects Of America – Pulitzer Edition (Carlos Kalmar and Oregon Symphony)
• Blessed Art Thou Among Women (Peter Jermihov, Katya Lukianov and PaTRAM Institute Singers)
• Dvorak: Symphony No. 9; Copland: Billy The Kid (Gianandrea Noseda and National Symphony Orchestra)
• Glass: The Fall Of The House Of Usher (Joseph Li, Nicholas Nestorak, Madison Leonard, Jonas Hacker, Ben Edquist, Matthew Adam Fleisher and Wolf Trap Opera)
• Kahane: Emergency Shelter Intake Form (Alicia Hall Moran, Gabriel Kahane, Carlos Kalmar and Oregon Symphony)
• Kastalsky: Requiem (Leonard Slatkin, Steven Fox, Benedict Sheehan, Charles Bruffy, Cathedral Choral Society, The Clarion Choir, The Saint Tikhon Choir, Kansas City Chorale and Orchestra Of St. Luke’s)
• Massenet: Thaïs (Andrew Davis, Joshua Hopkins, Andrew Staples, Erin Wall, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Toronto Symphony Orchestra)
• Smyth: The Prison (Sarah Brailey, Dashon Burton, James Blachly and Experiential Orchestra)
• Woolf, L.P.: Fire And Flood (Julian Wachner, Matt Haimovitz and Choir Of Trinity Wall Street)
· DAVID FROST (below)
• Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 9 (Jonathan Biss)
• Gershwin: Porgy And Bess (David Robertson, Eric Owens, Angel Blue, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus)
• Gluck: Orphée ed Eurydice (Harry Bicket, Dmitry Korchak, Andriana Chuchman, Lauren Snouffer, Lyric Opera Of Chicago Orchestra and Chorus)
• Holst: The Planets; The Perfect Fool (Michael Stern and Kansas City Symphony)
• Muhly: Marnie (Robert Spano, Isabel Leonard, Christopher Maltman, Denyce Graves, Iestyn Davies, Janis Kelly, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus)
• Schubert: Piano Sonatas, D. 845, D. 894, D. 958, D. 960 (Shai Wosner)
• Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13, ‘Babi Yar’ (Riccardo Muti, Alexey Tikhomirov, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus)
· JESSE LEWIS
• Gunn: The Ascendant (Roomful Of Teeth)
• Harrison, M.: Just Constellations (Roomful Of Teeth)
• Her Own Wings (Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival)
• Hynes: Fields (Devonté Hynes and Third Coast Percussion)
• Lang, D.: Love Fail (Beth Willer and Lorelei Ensemble)
• Mazzoli: Proving Up (Christopher Rountree, Opera Omaha and International Contemporary Ensemble)
• Sharlat: Spare The Rod! (NOW Ensemble)
• Soul House (Hub New Music)
• Wherein Lies The Good (The Westerlies)
· DMITRIY LIPAY
• Adams, J.: Must The Devil Have All The Good Tunes? (Yuja Wang, Gustavo Dudamel and Los Angeles Philharmonic)
• Cipullo: The Parting (Alastair Willis, Laura Strickling, Catherine Cook, Michael Mayes and Music Of Remembrance)
• Ives: Complete Symphonies (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)
• LA Phil 100 – The Los Angeles Philharmonic Centennial Birthday Gala (Gustavo Dudamel and Los Angeles Philharmonic)
• Langgaard: Prelude To Antichrist; Strauss: An Alpine Symphony (Thomas Dausgaard and Seattle Symphony Orchestra)
• Nielsen: Symphony No. 1 and Symphony No. 2, ‘The Four Temperaments’ (Thomas Dausgaard and Seattle Symphony)
· ELAINE MARTONE
• Bound For The Promised Land (Robert M. Franklin, Steven Darsey, Jessye Norman and Taylor Branch)
• Dawn (Shachar Israel)
• Gandolfi, Prior and Oliverio: Orchestral Works (Robert Spano and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra)
• Singing In The Dead Of Night (Eighth Blackbird)
• Whitacre: The Sacred Veil (Eric Whitacre, Grant Gershon and Los Angeles Master Chorale)
75. Best Orchestral Performance
Award to the Conductor and to the Orchestra.
· ASPECTS OF AMERICA – PULITZER EDITION (below)
Carlos Kalmar, conductor (Oregon Symphony)
· CONCURRENCE
Daniel Bjarnason, conductor (Iceland Symphony Orchestra)
· COPLAND: SYMPHONY NO. 3
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)
· IVES: COMPLETE SYMPHONIES
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic)
· LUTOSLAWSKI: SYMPHONIES NOS. 2 and 3
Hannu Lintu, conductor (Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra)
76. Best Opera Recording
Award to the Conductor, Album Producer(s) and Principal Soloists.
· DELLO JOIO: THE TRIAL AT ROUEN
Gil Rose, conductor; Heather Buck and Stephen Powell; Gil Rose, producer (Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Odyssey Opera Chorus)
· FLOYD, C.: PRINCE OF PLAYERS
William Boggs, conductor; Keith Phares and Kate Royal; Blanton Alspaugh, producer (Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra; Florentine Opera Chorus)
· GERSHWIN: PORGY AND BESS (below)
David Robertson, conductor; Angel Blue and Eric Owens; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
· HANDEL: AGRIPPINA
Maxim Emelyanychev, conductor; Joyce DiDonato; Daniel Zalay, producer (Il Pomo D’Oro)
· ZEMLINSKY: DER ZWERG
Donald Runnicles, conductor; David Butt Philip and Elena Tsallagova; Peter Ghirardini and Erwin Sturzer, producers (Orchestra of The Deutsche Oper Berlin; Chorus of The Deutsche Oper Berlin)
·
77. Best Choral Performance
Award to the Conductor, and to the Choral Director and/or Chorus Master where applicable and to the Choral Organization/Ensemble.
· CARTHAGE
Donald Nally, conductor (The Crossing)
· DANIELPOUR: THE PASSION OF YESHUA (below)
JoAnn Falletta, conductor; James K. Bass and Adam Luebke, chorus masters (James K. Bass, J’Nai Bridges, Timothy Fallon, Kenneth Overton, Hila Plitmann and Matthew Worth; Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and UCLA Chamber Singers)
· KASTALSKY: REQUIEM
Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Charles Bruffy, Steven Fox and Benedict Sheehan, chorus masters (Joseph Charles Beutel and Anna Dennis; Orchestra Of St. Luke’s; Cathedral Choral Society, The Clarion Choir, Kansas City Chorale and The Saint Tikhon Choir)
· MORAVEC: SANCTUARY ROAD
Kent Tritle, conductor (Joshua Blue, Raehann Bryce-Davis, Dashon Burton, Malcolm J. Merriweather and Laquita Mitchell; Oratorio Society of New York Orchestra; Oratorio Society of New York Chorus)
· ONCE UPON A TIME
Matthew Guard, conductor (Sarah Walker; Skylark Vocal Ensemble)
·
78. Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
For new recordings of works with chamber or small ensemble (24 or fewer members, not including the conductor). One Award to the ensemble and one Award to the conductor, if applicable.
· CONTEMPORARY VOICES
Pacifica Quartet
· HEALING MODES
Brooklyn Rider
· HEARNE, T.: PLACE
Ted Hearne, Steven Bradshaw, Sophia Byrd, Josephine Lee, Isaiah Robinson, Sol Ruiz, Ayanna Woods and Place Orchestra
· HYNES: FIELDS
Devonté Hynes and Third Coast Percussion
· THE SCHUMANN QUARTETS
Dover Quartet
·
79. Best Classical Instrumental Solo
Award to the Instrumental Soloist(s) and to the Conductor when applicable.
· ADÈS: CONCERTO FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA
Kirill Gerstein; Thomas Adès, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra)
· BEETHOVEN: COMPLETE PIANO SONATAS (below)
Igor Levit
· BOHEMIAN TALES
Augustin Hadelich; Jakub Hrusa, conductor (Charles Owen; Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks)
· DESTINATION RACHMANINOV – ARRIVAL
Daniil Trifonov; Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor (The Philadelphia Orchestra)
· THEOFANIDIS: CONCERTO FOR VIOLA AND CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Richard O’Neill; David Alan Miller, conductor (Albany Symphony)
·
80. Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
Award to: Vocalist(s), Collaborative Artist(s) (Ex: pianists, conductors, chamber groups) Producer(s), Recording Engineers/Mixers with 51% or more playing time of new material.
· AMERICAN COMPOSERS AT PLAY – WILLIAM BOLCOM, RICKY IAN GORDON, LORI LAITMAN, JOHN MUSTO
Stephen Powell (Attacca Quartet, William Bolcom, Ricky Ian Gordon, Lori Laitman, John Musto, Charles Neidich and Jason Vieaux)
· CLAIRIÈRES – SONGS BY LILI and NADIA BOULANGER
Nicholas Phan; Myra Huang, accompanist
· FARINELLI
Cecilia Bartoli; Giovanni Antonini, conductor (Il Giardino Armonico)
· A LAD’S LOVE
Brian Giebler; Steven McGhee, accompanist (Katie Hyun, Michael Katz, Jessica Meyer, Reginald Mobley and Ben Russell)
· SMYTH: THE PRISON
Sarah Brailey and Dashon Burton; James Blachly, conductor (Experiential Chorus; Experiential Orchestra)
·
81. Best Classical Compendium
Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s) and Engineer(s) of over 51% playing time of the album, if other than the artist.
· ADÈS CONDUCTS ADÈS
Mark Stone and Christianne Stotijn; Thomas Adès, conductor; Nick Squire, producer
· SAARIAHO: GRAAL THEATER; CIRCLE MAP; NEIGES; VERS TOI QUI ES SI LOIN
Clément Mao-Takacs, conductor; Hans Kipfer, producer
· SEREBRIER: SYMPHONIC BACH VARIATIONS; LAMENTS AND HALLELUJAHS; FLUTE CONCERTO
José Serebrier, conductor; Jens Braun, producer
· THOMAS, M.T.: FROM THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK and MEDITATIONS ON RILKE
Isabel Leonard; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Jack Vad, producer
· WOOLF, L.P.: FIRE AND FLOOD
Matt Haimovitz; Julian Wachner, conductor; Blanton Alspaugh, producer
·
82. Best Contemporary Classical Composition
A Composer’s Award. (For a contemporary classical composition composed within the last 25 years, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year.) Award to the librettist, if applicable.
· ADÈS: CONCERTO FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA
Thomas Adès, composer (Kirill Gerstein, Thomas Adès and Boston Symphony Orchestra)
· DANIELPOUR: THE PASSION OF YESHUA
Richard Danielpour, composer (JoAnn Falletta, James K. Bass, Adam Luebke, UCLA Chamber Singers, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra & Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus)
· FLOYD, C.: PRINCE OF PLAYERS (below)
Carlisle Floyd, composer (William Boggs, Kate Royal, Keith Phares, Florentine Opera Chorus and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra)
· HEARNE, T.: PLACE
Ted Hearne, composer (Ted Hearne, Steven Bradshaw, Sophia Byrd, Josephine Lee, Isaiah Robinson, Sol Ruiz, Ayanna Woods and Place Orchestra)
· ROUSE: SYMPHONY NO. 5
Christopher Rouse, composer (Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)
If you want to see many more nominations, including those for pop, rock, folk, hip hop, jazz and videos, go to: https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/2021-grammys-complete-nominees-list
Share this:
Like this:
Tags: #AaronCopland, #AlexanderZemlinsky, #AmazonMusic, #AmsterdamTheNetherlands, #AnneFrank, #AntoninDvorak, #AppleMusic, #AspectsofAmerica, #AtlantaSymphonyOrchestra, #AugustinHadelich, #BabiYar, #BaroqueMusic, #BaroqueOpera, #Bestof, #BestPerformance, #BlantonAlspaugh, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BostonSymphony, #CarlisleFloyd, #CarlNielsen, #CeciliaBartoli, #CedilleRecords, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberOrchestra, #CharlesIves, #ChicagoSymhonyOrchetsra, #ChoralMusic, #ChristmasGifts, #ChristopherRouse, #ChristopherTheofanidis, #ChristophWillibaldGluck, #CityofMadison, #ClassicalMusician, #CompactDisc, #CompleteCycle, #ConcertPianist, #ContemporaryVoices, #DaniilTrifonov, #DavidFrost, #DavidRobertson, #DeccaRecords, #DeutscheGrammophon, #DeutscheOper, #DmitriShostakovich, #DmitriyLipay, #DoverQuartet, #EighthBlackbird, #ElaineMartone, #EricOwens, #EricWhitacre, #EthelSmyth, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Farley'sHouseofPianos, #FireandFlood, #FlorentineOpera, #FolkMusic, #FranzSchubert, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GospelMusic, #GraduateStudent, #GrammyAwards, #GrammyNominations, #GuestArtist, #GustavHolst, #GustavoDudamel, #Hip-hopmusic, #HipHop, #HolidayGiftGuide, #HolidayShopping, #IcelandSymphonyOrchestra, #IgorLevit, #InstrumentalMusic, #JacobStockinger, #JesseLewis, #JoAnnFalletta, #JohnAdams, #JonathanBiss, #JoyceDiDonato, #JulesMassenet, #JulianWachner, #JustBach, #KaijaSaariaho, #KirillGerstein, #LaquitaMitchell, #LeonardSlatkin, #LiliBoulanger, #LiveStreaming, #LosAngelesCalifornia, #LosAngelesPhilharmonic, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #LunaPearlWoolf, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MattHaimovitz, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MetropolitanOpera, #Mezzo-sopranoSinger, #MichaelTilsonThomas, #MilwaukeeSymphonyOrchestra, #MilwaukeeWisconsin, #MissyMazzoli, #ModernMusic, #NadiaBoulanger, #NashvilleSymphony, #NashvilleTennessee, #NewMusic, #NicoMuhly, #NormanDelloJoio, #OnlineConcert, #OrchestraofSt.Luke's, #PacificaQuartet, #PaulMoravec, #PhiladelphiaOrchestra, #PhiladelphiaPennsylvania, #PhilipGlass, #PianoConcerto, #PianoMusic, #PianoSonata, #PopMusic, #PorgyandBess, #PrinceofPlayers, #PulitzerPrize, #RainerMariaRilke, #RecordedMusic, #RhythmandBlues, #RiccardoMuti, #RichardDanielpour, #RichardStrauss, #RobertSchumann, #RobertSpano, #RockMusic, #SalonPIanoSeries, #SanctuaryRoad, #SanFranciscoSymphony, #SarahBrailey, #SeattleSymphony, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #ShaiWosner, #SonyClassical, #SopranoSinger, #SoundEngineer, #StringQuartet, #TedHearne, #TheEar, #TheMet, #ThePassionofYeshua, #ThePlanets, #ThePrison, #TheUW, #ThomasAdès, #TorontoCanada, #TorontoSymphonyOrchestra, #UniversalRecords, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolinMusic, #VirtualConcert, #VirtuosoViolinist, #VocalMusic, #WilliamBolcom, #WitoldLutoslawski, #WorldWarII, #YannickNezet-Seguin, #YouTubevideo, #YujaWang, Aaron Copland, Adams, Adès, African-Ameican, Agrippina, Album, Alexander Zemlinsky, Amazon Music, America, Amsterdam, Anne Frank, annual, Antichrist, Antonín Dvořák, Apple Music, Arts, Asia, Aspects of America, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Augustin Hadelich, Babi Yar, Baroque, Baroque music, Beethoven, Berlin, best, black, Blanton Alspaugh, blog, blues, Bolcom, Boston Symphony, Buffalo, California, Carl Nielsen, Carlisle Floyd, Carthage, CBS, CBS-TV, Cecila Bartoli, Cedille, Cedille Records, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, chamber orchestra, Chanukah, Charles Ives, Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, China, Chinese, choral, choral music, chorus, Christmas, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Christopher Rouse, Christopher Theofanidis, cirumstances, Classical music, classicalmusic, comment, Compact Disc, complete, composer, computer, Concert, concerto, conductor, connection, Contemporary Voices, Copland, Daniil Trifonov, David Frost, David Robertson, dead, Decca, Della Joio, Deutsche Grammophon, Deutsche Opera, DG, Dmitri Shostakovich, Dmitriy Lipay, Dover Quartet, Dudamel, Dvorak, Early music, eighth blackbird, Elaine Martone, engineer, ensemble, ERIC OWENS, Eric Whitacre, Ethel Smyth, example, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, Farinelli, Farley's House of Pianos, Fire and Flood, Florentine Opera, folk, Folk music, forward, founder, France, Franz Schubert, free, George Frideric Handel, George Gershwin, georgegershwin, German, Germany, Gershwin, gift guide, Glass, Gluck, gospel, graduate student, Grammy, Grammy Award, guest artist, Gustav Holst, Gustavo Dudamel, Handel, Hanukkah, Hearne, Hip hop music, hip-hop, Hitler, Holiday, holiday gift guide, Holst, Home, Hynes, Iceland, Igor Levit, instrumental, Ives, Jacob Stockinger, January, Jazz, Jesse Lewis, JoAnn Falletta, John Adams, Jonathan Biss, Joyce DiDonato, Jules Massenet, Julian Wachner, Just Bach, Kahane, Kaija Saariaho, Kastalsky, Kirill Gerstein, Kwanzaa, Laquita Mitchell, Leonard Slatkin, like, Lili Boulanger, link, list, livestream, local, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ludwig van Beethoven, Luna Pearl Woolf, Lutoslawski, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, marketing, Marnie, Massenet, Matt Haimovitz, Mazzoli, Mead Witter School of Music, Meditation, Metropolitan Opera, Mezzo-soprano, Michael Tilson Thomas, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Missy Mazzoli, modern, monthly, Muhly, Music, Nadia Boulanger, Nashville Symphony, Nazi, New Music, New York, New York City, Nico Muhly, Nielsen, night, nominations, Norman Dello Joio, online, opera, Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, orchestral, Pacifica Quartet, Paul Moravec, peculiar, Pennsylvania, percussion, performance, performer, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Orchestra, Philip Glass, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, piece, player, pop, Porgy and Bess, post, posting, Prince of Players, prison, producer, promotional, Pulitzer Prize, R&B, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Rainer Maria Rilke, recorded music, records, repertoire, repertory, Requiem, Rhythm and Blues, Riccardo Muti, Richard Danielpour, Richard Strauss, Rilke, Robert Schumann, Robert Spano, Rock, rock music, role, Rouen, Rouse, Saariaho, Salon Piano Series, San Francisco, San Francisco Symphony, Sanctuary Raod, Sarah Brailey, Schubert, Schumann, Seattle, Seattle Symphony, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, service, Shai, Shai Wosner, share, Shopping, Shostakovich, singer, Singing, solo, soloist, Sonata, song, SONY, Sony Classical, soprano, Spotify, stereo, Strauss, stream, String quartet, sung, symphony, system, tag, Ted Hearne, Television, The Ear, the Met, The Passion of Yeshua, The Planets, Theofanidis, Thomas Ades, time, Toronto, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, trial, Trofonov, TV, United States, universal, Universal Records, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, useful, UW, UW-Madison, video, Viola, Violin, violin music, violinist, violist, virtual, vocal music, voice, Wang, WILLIAM BOLCOM, winner, Wisconsin, Witold Lutoslawski, work, World War II, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Yuja Wang, Zemlinsky