The Well-Tempered Ear
Today – Monday, March 22 — is Day 6 of the 2021 online Bach Around the Clock festival. The program features string, keyboard, percussion and vocal music with some interesting transcriptions
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By Jacob Stockinger
Yesterday – Sunday, March 21 — was the actual birthday, the 336th, of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750).
But the 10-day virtual and online celebration being held by Bach Around the Clock (BATC) continues.
Here are the pieces and performers that will take place.
The Ear is especaially pleased by some of the transcriptions, which offer more proof of just how indestructible and versatile Bach’s music remains.
Particularly interesting is the string quartet version of the famous cantata “Wachet auf” (Sleepers, Wake) and the Three-Part Inventions or Sinfonias transcribed for marimba, and played by Sean Kleve (below), a UW-Madison graduate who performs with the critically acclaimed experimental Madison-based percussion ensemble Clocks in Motion.
Monday’s program is available starting at 8 a.m.
Click here and scroll down to Day 6 to view.
Performers
• Minuet 2 in G Major, Anh 116; Suite in G Minor, BWV 822; Gavotte from Double Concerto in D Minor, BWV 1043, I. Vivace. Suzuki Strings Sonora Ensemble
• Cantata 140: “Wachet Auf” (Sleeper, Wake), arranged for string quartet. St. Croix Valley String Quartet: Janette Cysewski and Debbie Lanzen, violins; Dianne Wiik, viola; and Joel Anderson, cello.
• French Suite No. 3 in B Minor for keyboard, BWV 814: Sarabande, Anglaise, Menuett and Trio. Kris Sankaran
• Sinfonia 1 in C Major, BWV 787; Sinfonia 7 in E Minor, BWV 793; Sinfonia 10 in G Major, BWV 796; Sinfonia 11 in G Minor, BWV 797; Sinfonia 15 in B Minor, BWV 801. Sean Kleve, marimba. (You can hear Glenn Gould playing the original version of the first Sinfonia in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
• Chorale: We thank Thee, Lord, for sending. Katie Hultman, soprano, and Kenneth Stancer, organ
Live and Recorded Evening Program at 7 p.m.
Click here and scroll down to Day 6 to view.
BATC audiences will remember pianist Lawrence Quinnett (below) from his exquisite renderings of selections from The Well-Tempered Clavier, at the 2018 Festival.
Quinnett, on the piano faculty of Livingstone College, returns in 2021 to give a brief talk on his approach to ornamentation in the six French Suites, as a prelude to his live performance of Suite No. 5. The floor will open for questions, followed by Quinnett’s recorded performance of the remaining five Suites.
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Classical music: Background discussions, lectures and documentaries lead up to Madison Opera’s production of the LGBTQ-themed, McCarthy-era opera “Fellow Travelers” on Feb. 7 and 9
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Madison Opera continues its foray into 21st-century operas with Gregory Spears’ Fellow Travelers on Friday night, Feb. 7, at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoon, Feb. 9, at 2:30 p.m. in the Capitol Theater at the Overture Center.
(Production photos below are by Dan Norman of the Minnesota Opera production, which is being encored in Madison. You can see and hear a preview of the Minnesota Opera production in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The acclaimed 2016 opera is set in 1950s Washington, D.C. The “Lavender Scare,” in which suspected homosexuals saw their livelihoods and lives destroyed, has enveloped the U.S. government. (Below are Andres Acosta as Timothy Laughlin and Sidney Outlaw as Tommy McIntyre.)
Against this backdrop, Timothy Laughlin, a recent college graduate and an ardent supporter of Wisconsin’s anti-Communist Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy, meets Hawkins Fuller, a State Department official.
The two men (below, Acosta on the right) embark on a relationship, tangled in a web of fear and necessary deceit. Their friends and colleagues fill out a story of individuals grappling with their beliefs and emotions.
With a libretto by Greg Pierce that is based on Thomas Mallon’s 2007 novel, Fellow Travelers was praised as “a near-perfect example of fast-flowing musical drama” by The New York Times and tells of the very human consequences of prejudice and fear, with compassion, nuance and incredible beauty.
The opera will be sung in English with projected text.
The performance will last approximately 2 hours 25 minutes, including one intermission.
For more information, go to: www.madisonopera.org/FellowTravelers
Tickets are $26 to $118 with discounts available for students and groups. Go to the Overture Center box office at 201 State Street or call it at (608) 258-4141 or go online to www.MadisonOpera.org/Tickets
“When I saw Fellow Travelers, I knew before it was over that I would be producing it in Madison,” says Madison’s Opera’s General Director Kathryn Smith (below in a photo by James Gill). “I fell in love with the haunting music and the well-drawn characters, and the emotional impact at the end was even more powerful than I had anticipated. I am truly looking forward to sharing this modern masterpiece with our community.”
Peter Rothstein (below) directs this production in his Madison Opera debut. Rothstein, who received his MFA from the UW-Madison, directed Fellow Travelers for Minnesota Opera in 2018.
The Twin City Arts Reader called his production “equal parts sweeping love affair and tragic circumstance. To some, the events will feel comfortably distant for this doomed period romance. For others, they will seem all too real and possible in this day and age. It’s a powerful combination.”
Making his Madison Opera debut as Timothy Laughlin is Andres Acosta (below), who performed this role to acclaim at the Minnesota Opera.
Ben Edquist (below), who debuted at Opera in the Park this past summer, sings Hawkins Fuller.
Adriana Zabala (below, of Florencia en el Amazonas) returns as Mary Johnson, who works with Hawkins and is a friend and voice of conscience for him and Timothy.
Returning to Madison Opera are Sidney Outlaw (below top, of Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet) as Tommy McIntyre, a political insider, and Alan Dunbar (below bottom, in a photo by Roy Hellman, of Mozart’s The Magic Flute) in multiple roles, including Senator Joseph McCarthy and a government interrogator who puts Hawkins through a lie detector test.
Andrew Wilkowske (below) debuts in several roles, including Senator Potter and General Arlie.
Filling out the cast is Madison Opera Studio Artist Emily Secor (below top) as Miss Lightfoot, who works in Hawkins’ office; soprano Cassandra Vasta (below bottom) as Lucy, whomHawkins marries; and Madison Opera Studio Artist Stephen Hobe in five different roles.
John DeMain (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson) conducts, with the Madison Symphony Orchestra in the pit.
Madison Opera’s production of “Fellow Travelers” is sponsored by: Fran Klos; Sally and Mike Miley; David Flanders and Susan Ecroyd; John Lemke and Pamela Oliver; Sharyn and Carl Stumpf; and Dane Arts. Community events are sponsored by The Capital Times.
RELATED EVENTS
In addition to the two performances, Madison Opera offers several events to allow deeper exploration of the opera and its historical background.
They include a free discussion of the “Wisconsin Dimension” of this period in history at the Madison Central Library and a free showing of The Lavender Scare documentary at PBS Wisconsin (formerly Wisconsin Public Television).
OPERA NOVICE: WELCOME TO THE 21st CENTURY
This Friday, Jan. 17, 6-7 p.m. FREE and open to the public at the Madison Opera Center (below), 335 West Mifflin Street
New to opera? Not sure how you feel about modern opera? Come to the Madison Opera Center for a short, fun and informative evening, led by General Director Kathryn Smith.
Learn about some of the new American operas that are shaping the operatic landscape in the 21st century, including Fellow Travelers. Studio Artist Stephen Hobe (below) will sing an aria from Fellow Travelers, and there will be plenty of time for questions. It’s the perfect jump-start for the opera-curious.
FELLOW TRAVELERS: THE WISCONSIN DIMENSION
This Sunday, Jan. 19, 3–4:30 p.m.; FREE and open to the public at the Madison Central Library, 201 West Mifflin Street
Join us for a discussion of how the Lavender Scare and its fallout was felt in Wisconsin, led by R. Richard Wagner (below top), activist and author of We’ve Been Here All Along: Wisconsin’s Early Gay History (below middle), and Susan Zaeske (below bottom), a UW-Madison campus leader in the arts and humanities who has taught an experiential-learning course on LGBTQ history.
THE LAVENDER SCARE– Documentary Screening
Friday, Jan. 24, 7 p.m.; FREE and open to the public at PBS Wisconsin, 821 University Avenue
PBS Wisconsin (formerly Wisconsin Public Television) presents a screening of The Lavender Scare, the first documentary film to tell the little-known story of an unrelenting campaign by the federal government to identify and fire all employees suspected of being homosexual.
Narrated by Glenn Close, the film was praised as “a gripping, nimbly assembled documentary… vivid, disturbing and rousing” by the Los Angeles Times. The screening will be followed by a discussion.
OPERA UP CLOSE: FELLOW TRAVELERS
Sunday, Feb. 2, 1-3 p.m.; FREE for full-season subscribers; $10 for two-show subscribers; and $20 for non-subscribers; at the Madison Opera Center, 335 West Mifflin Street
Join the Madison Opera for a multimedia behind-the-scenes preview of Fellow Travelers. General Director Kathryn Smith will discuss many aspects of the opera, including the historical events that provide the story’s backdrop, the novel on which it is based, and how this 2016 opera swiftly spread across the country.
Principal artists, stage director Peter Rothstein, and conductor John DeMain will participate in a roundtable discussion about Madison’s production and their own takes on this acclaimed 2016 work.
PRE-OPERA TALKS
Friday, February 7, 2020, 7 p.m. and Sunday, February 9, 2020, 1:30 p.m. FREE to ticket holders at the Wisconsin Studio in the Overture Center
Join General Director Kathryn Smith one hour prior to performances for an entertaining and informative talk about Fellow Travelers.
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Classical music: The Pro Arte Quartet minus one plays string trios this Friday night and Sunday afternoon, then starts its Beethoven string quartet cycle on Friday, Nov. 22. Plus 3 UW profs premiere a new fusion work tonight
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CORRECTION: The all-Telemann concert by the Madison Bach Musicians on this Saturday night at the First Unitarian Society of Madison is at 8 p.m. — NOT 7:30 as it was mistakenly listed in the early version of yesterday’s post. The Ear apologizes for the error. The pre-concert lecture is at 7:15 p.m. There is also a performance on Sunday at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton at 3:30 p.m., with a lecture at 2:45 p.m. For more information, go to: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2019/10/02/classical-music-how-did-baroque-composer-telemann-get-overshadowed-and-why-is-he-being-rediscovered-trevor-stephenson-talks-about-his-all-telemann-concerts-this-weekend/
ALERT: TONIGHT, Thursday, Oct. 3, at 8 p.m., three UW-Madison music professors — Anthony Di Sanza (percussion), Tom Curry (tuba, keyboard and electronics) and Mark Hetzler (trombone and electronics) — will perform their new composition “Don’t Look Down” at the Arts + Literature Laboratory, located at 2021 Winnebago Street on Madison’s near east side. (Phone is 608 556-7415.)
The trio’s goal to showcase their instruments using a combination of electro-acoustic techniques, improvisation and traditional chamber music applications to create an array of sonic environments and musical languages.
The result is a work that looks at the impact of media and technology on society, while featuring shifting soundscapes and a variety of styles including classical, rock, jazz and experimental.
Tickets are $10 in advance at: https://dontlookdown.brownpapertickets.com; and $15 at the door. Student tickets are $5 off with a valid school ID. Advance ticket sales end one hour before the show. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.
By Jacob Stockinger
First, a news flash: The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s critically acclaimed Pro Arte Quartet (below, in a photo by Rick Langer) will begin its complete cycle of Beethoven’s 16 string quartets on Friday, Nov. 22.
The program, time and other dates are not available yet, but should be announced soon.
The performances are part of the 2020 Beethoven Year, which will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth. Stayed tuned for more details.
This Friday night, Oct. 4, at 8 p.m. in Mills Hall, three members of the Pro Arte will perform a FREE concert of string trios. Performers are second violinist Suzanne Beia, violist Sally Chisholm and cellist Parry Karp.
Featured on the program are: the Serenade in C Major, Op. 10 (1902), by the Hungarian composer Ernst von Dohnanyi (below top); the String Trio, Op. 48 (1950), by the Polish composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg (below bottom); and the Serenade in D Major, Op. 8 (1796-97), by Ludwig van Beethoven.) You can hear the opening movement of the Weinberg Trio in the YouTube video at the bottom.
For more information about the quartet and the program, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/pro-arte-quartet-5/
This Sunday afternoon, the Pro Arte Quartet will also perform FREE at the Chazen Museum of Art on Sunday Afternoon Live at the Chazen. The same program of string trios will be repeated. The performance will be held starting at 12:30 in the Brittingham Gallery 3.
For details about attending, go to: https://www.chazen.wisc.edu/index.php?/events-calendar-demo/event/sunday-afternoon-live-at-the-chazen9/
It will also be streamed live at the following portal: https://c.streamhoster.com/embed/media/O7sBNG/OS1C0ihJsYK/iqf1vBMs3qg_5
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Classical music: On Saturday and Sunday, the Madison Savoyards and Central Wisconsin Ballet team up in Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Pineapple Poll” and “Trial by Jury.” Plus, the first Stoughton Chamber Music Festival starts Saturday
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ALERT: The two concerts of the first Stoughton Chamber Music Festival will take place on this Saturday afternoon, Aug. 17, at 3 p.m. and on Monday night, Aug. 19, at 7 p.m. at the Stoughton Opera House, 381 East Main Street. Admission is FREE with a suggested donation of $15.
Featured is music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Samuel Barber, Edvard Grieg, George Gershwin and Paul Schoenfield as well as Norwegian folk music. The Ear did not receive details, but here is more information from a story in Isthmus: https://isthmus.com/events/stoughton-chamber-music-festival/
By Jacob Stockinger
This weekend, the Madison Savoyards and Central Midwest Ballet Academy team up to present two of the less well-known works by Gilbert and Sullivan: the comic ballet Pineapple Poll and the operetta Trial by Jury (below, in a photo by Kat Stiennon).
The performances of the two one-acts are in the Mitby Theater at Madison College (formerly Madison Area Technical College), located at 1701 Wright Street on Madison’s east side, at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night, Aug. 17, and at 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 18.
Tickets are $30 for adults; $28 for seniors; and $15 for young people and students. Children 3 and under get in for free.
For more information, call the Mitby Theater Box Office at (608) 243-4000 or got to: www.TrialbyPineapple.com
The music director and conductor of the professional orchestra, who is making his debut with the Madison Savoyards, is Sergei Pavlov (below), who teaches at Edgewood College and directs the Festival Choir of Madison.
The “Pineapple Poll” choreography is by Marguerite Luksik (below) of the Central Midwest Ballet Academy.
The stage director of “Trial by Jury” is J. Adam Shelton (below).
PROGRAM NOTES
Here are some program notes provided by The Madison Savoyards:
In an age of international copyright and patent tension, Pineapple Poll ballet suite is an intriguing story. The composer, Arthur Sullivan, had died in 1900. The 50-year copyright moratorium on his music expired in 1950, but his librettist partner, W.S. Gilbert, died in 1911. So in 1950, the leading 20th-century conductor, the late Sir Charles Mackerras (below), could only use the work of the former to create a new work in their honor.
From this legal oddity came the only ballet based on the works of Gilbert and Sullivan (below) and, according to The Times of London, one of the best loved of English ballets. It was first performed in the United States in 1970 by the Joffrey Ballet in New York City; and, most recently, in El Paso, Tulsa, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Livermore, Sarasota and Northampton, Mass.
The music for Pineapple Poll,as a suite, has been played in numerous venues in the U.S., including a performance with band director Mike Leckrone at the UW-Madison in 2008 and at the UW-La Crosse in 2015, thus indicating a strong Wisconsin interest in the music alone.
From its opening notes leaping off the pages of Mikado, Pineapple Poll is a vigorous listen and a visual delight. Clement Crisp of the Financial Times called it, “that rarest of delights, a true balletic comedy.” The National Association for Music Education had identified it as a model piece for elementary school children. In 2003, Christopher Rawson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette observed that, in its pairing with Trial by Jury, “if there’s ever been a Gilbert and Sullivan show for people who don’t like Gilbert and Sullivan, this is it.”
Trial by Jury contrasts with the non-verbal Pineapple Poll, showcasing Gilbert’s lyric style in songs that tell the Victorian tale of marital promissory breach with the resulting farcical trial ending in marriage. It was Gilbert and Sullivan’s second collaboration and established their successful reputations. (In photos by Aimee Broman, below top shows Thore Dosdall playing the defendant Edwin (at left) getting the feeling that the jury is not on his side. Below bottom shows the plaintiff Angelina, played by Megan McCarthy).
The Central Midwest Ballet Academy’s Marguerite Luksik and Michael Knight have created original choreography for Pineapple Poll, and performances will feature students from the Academy’s pre-professional level.
In contrast to the tragic-dramatic plots of traditional ballets, the lighthearted nature of Pineapple Poll appeals to a broader audience. Pineapple Poll presents a combination of balanced spectacle and the challenge of experimental work.
Yoked to Trial by Jury, the two productions spark social and artistic novelty, critique and entertainment.
It is worth noting that the performances this weekend are a new collaboration between two homegrown Madison troupes. The Savoyards have been performing every summer since 1963, while Central Midwest Ballet has been active since 2015.
Here is an example of the Sullivan operetta tunes patched together in the Opening Dance of “Pineapple Poll.” (You can hear the Overture in the YouTube video at the bottom):
-
- The Mikado, Opening Act 1.
- Trial By Jury, “Hark, the hour of Ten is sounding.”
- The Mikado, “So please you, sir, we much regret” (“But youth, of course, must have its fling. . .”
- Patience, “The Soldiers of our Queen.”
- Trial by Jury, “He will treat us with awe” (“Trial-la- law”).
- The Gondoliers, “Good Morrow, Pretty Maids” (orchestral accompaniment).
- Trial By Jury, “Hark, the hour of Ten is sounding.”
- The Mikado, “So please you, sir, we much regret.”
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Classical music: Con Vivo will perform a “Winter Warmth” chamber music concert this Sunday afternoon. Plus, a FREE viola da gamba concert is Friday at noon
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ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features the viola da gamba duo ViolMedium in “Façades and Duplicities,” a multi-dimensional exploration of the rich harmonic, timbral and dramatic potentials offered by violas da gamba.
The viol is the medium through which gambists Eric Miller of Madison and Phillip Serna of Chicago bridge contemporary and historically informed performance. They use experimental and innovative programming as exemplified in masterworks by Carl Friedrich Abel, Bela Bartok, Gottfried Finger, Marin Marais, Christoph Schaffrath and others.
The concert runs from 12:15 to 1 p.m. Food and beverages are allowed.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Madison-based chamber music group Con Vivo (below) will perform a “Winter Warmth” program of chamber music this coming Sunday afternoon, Feb. 3.
The concert will include the Finale from Symphony No. 6 for organ by Charles Marie Widor; the Quartet for oboe and strings by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; and the Piano Quintet for piano, clarinet and strings, Op. 42, by Czech composer Zdenek Fibich.
The concert takes place this Sunday afternoon, Feb. 3, at 2:30 p.m. in the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Ave. across from Camp Randall Stadium.
Tickets can be purchased at the door. Admission is $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and students.
Audience members are invited to join the musicians after the concert for a free reception to discuss the concert.
New to this concert is that Con Vivo will perform in two different spaces. The first half of the concert will be in the sanctuary, and the second half in the chapel at the First Congregational Church. This will provide the audience with different experiences for hearing the chamber music.
In remarking about the concert, Con Vivo’s artistic director Robert Taylor said, “We continue our 17th season with music evocative of warm winter thoughts during these cold, dark winter days that we often have.
“The wonderful lush strains of Charles Marie Widor’s organ music are contrasted by the bright cheerful music of Mozart in his oboe quartet. (You can hear the opening movement of Mozart’s Oboe Quartet in the YouTube video at the bottom.) The afternoon is capped off by the rarely played Piano Quintet by Fibich (below). What better way to spend a cold winter afternoon?”
Con Vivo is a professional chamber music ensemble comprised of Madison area musicians assembled from the ranks of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and various other performing groups familiar to Madison audiences.
Tags: #ArtisticDirector, #BaroqueMusic, #BelaBartok, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CampRandallStadium, #CarlFriedrichAbel, #ChamberMusic, #CharlesMarieWidor, #ChicagoIllinois, #ChristianChurch, #ChristianReligion, #ChristophSchaffrath, #ClarinetMusic, #ColdWeather, #Czechcomposer, #EricMiller, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FirstCongregationalUnitedChurchofChrist, #FirstUnitarianSocietyofMadison, #GottfriedFinger, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #JesusChrist, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarinMarais, #OboeMusic, #OboeQuartet, #OrganMusic, #OrganSymphony, #PhillipSerna, #PianoQuintet, #ProfessionalMusician, #SeniorCitizen, #VioladaGamba, #WinterWeather, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, #ZdenekFibich, adult, afternoon, alert, Artistic director, Arts, audience, Baroque, Baroque music, Béla Bartók, beverages, blog, bright, Camp Randall Stadium, Carl Friedrich Abel, Cello, Chamber music, chapel, Charles-Marie Widor, cheerful, Chicago, Christ, Christian, Christian church, Christianity, Christoph Schaffrath, church, clarinet, Classical music, cold, cold weather, composer, contemporary, Czech, drama, dramatic, duo, Early music, ensemble, Eric Miller, experiment, experimental, exposure, Facebook, finale, First Congregational United Church of Christ, First Unitarian Society of Madison, food, forward, free, Gottfried Finger, group, harmonic, harmony, Historically informed performance, historically informed performance practices, innovative, Jacob Stockinger, Jesus, Jesus Christ, like, lush, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marin Marais, masterwork, medium, Mozart, Music, Musician, Oboe, Oboe Quartet, organ, organ music, organ symphony, performer, performing, Phillip Serna, Pianist, Piano, Piano Quintet, post, posting, potential, professional, program, programming, Quartet, reception, Religion, sanctuary, senior, share, strain, string, Student, Sunday, tag, ticket, timbral, timbre, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, viola da gamba, Violin, warm, warmth, winter, winter weather, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube, Zdenek Fibich
Classical music: A FREE recital by the Del Sol string quartet on Monday night honors pioneering composer Ben Johnston
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has been asked to post the following announcement:
The San Francisco-based ensemble the Del Sol Quartet will give a FREE public recital on Monday night, May 21, in Madison in honor of pioneer composer, teacher and mentor Ben Johnston (below).
For more information about the composer, go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Johnston_(composer)
The recital is on the occasion of Johnston’s upcoming induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letters: https://artsandletters.org/pressrelease/2018-newly-elected-members/
This FREE performance will be held in the new Atrium Auditorium (below, in a photo by Zane Williams) of the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, on Monday night at 7 p.m.
The program will feature Johnston’s two most popular string quartets: the Fourth Quartet (based on the beloved theme “Amazing Grace”); and the Tenth Quartet (also based on a popular folk melody). In addition there will be works by some of Johnston’s contemporaries. (You can hear the Fourth Quartet of Ben Johnston in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Johnston, 92, has made his home in the Madison area for the past 11 years, where he continues to advance the field of microtonal music composition and performance, most notably initiated in the U.S. by music legend Harry Partch, with whom Johnston studied for several years. Partch’s seminal work, “Genesis of Music,” was first published in Madison by the University of Wisconsin Press in 1949.
Winner of numerous awards and honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award, Johnston spent most of his career at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He had a significant role in some of the Contemporary Arts Festivals, which were annual events in the 1960s. His service, as composition teacher and mentor there, led to an honorary doctorate from that institution. He is also the author of “Maximum Clarity,” published by the University of Illinois Press.
Hailed by New York Times critic Mark Swed as “probably [America‘s] most subversive composer …able to make both radical thinking and avant-garde techniques sound invariably gracious,”Johnston’s diligent dedication recently resulted in the release of the third CD by the Milwaukee-based Kepler Quartet https://www.keplerquartet.com/ on the New World Music label https://www.newworldmusic.com/
The three CD series encompasses all of Johnston’s string quartets and took 14 years of painstaking collaboration to bring to fruition, receiving high acclaim internationally. Johnston has been well-known in experimental music circles since his second quartet came out on Nonesuch Records in 1969.
Hailed by Gramophone as “masters of all musical things they survey” and two-time winner of the top Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, the Del Sol String Quartet shares living music with an ever-growing community of adventurous listeners.
Del Sol (below) was founded in 1992 at Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada and is recognized as a “vigorous champion of living composers,” focusing on music that reflects the cultural diversity of the community, advocating works by both world-renowned and emerging composers, and collaborating across disciplines. Del Sol has commissioned and premiered over 100 works by a diverse range of composers.
The Quartet has performed on prominent concert series nationwide, including the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, National Gallery of Art, Symphony Space, Cabrillo Festival, Other Minds Festival, and Santa Fe Opera.
The quartet conducts an active educational program in the San Francisco Bay Area, in addition to regular residencies at universities and music schools across the country.”
For more information, go to: http://delsolquartet.com/
Tags: #AmazingGrace, #AmericanAcademyofArtsandLetters, #AmericanMusic, #ASCAPaward, #BanffCanada, #BanffCentrefortheArts, #BenJohnston, #CabrilloFestival, #CommissionedMusic, #ContemporaryArtsFestivals, #CulturalDiversity, #DeemsTaylorAward, #DelSolQuartet, #EmergingComposers, #ExperimentalMusic, #FirstUnitarianSocietyofMadison, #FolkMelody, #GuggenheimFellowship, #HarryPartch, #HymnMusic, #KennedyCenter, #KeplerQuartet, #LibraryofCongress, #LivingComposer, #LivingComposers, #MadisonWisconsin, #MicroTonalMusic, #MilwaukeeWisconsin, #MusicCommission, #NationalGalleryofArt, #NewMusic, #NewWorldMusic, #NonesuchRecords, #OtherMindsFestival, #RenownedComposers, #SanFrancisco, #SantaFeOpera, #SymphonySpace, #TheNewYorkTImes, #UniversityofIllinois-Champaign-Urbana, #UniversityofIllinoisPress, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsinPress, #WorldPremiere, adventurous, Amazing Grace, America, American, American Academy of Arts and Letters, annual, Art, Arts, ASCAP, Banff Center for the Arts, Ben Johnston, Canada, Cello, Chamber music, champion, Classical music, collaboration, commission, Compact Disc, composer, contemporaries, cultural, dedication, Deems Taylor, diligent, diversity, doctorate, event, experimental, festival, First Unitarian Society of Madison, folk melody, Folk music, free, Genesis, Guggenheim Fellowship, Harry Partch, honorary, hymn, induction, Jacob Stockinger, Kennedy Center, Kepler Quartet, Library of Congress, living, Madison, mentor, microtonal, Milwaukee, Monday night, Music, National Gallery of Art, New Music, New York Times, Nonesuch Records, pioneer, pioneering, popular, premiere, programming, recital, San Francisco, San Francisco Bay Area, seminal, service, subversive, Teacher, theme, U.S., United States, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, University of Illinois Press, University of Wisconsin Press, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: New Yorker magazine music critic Alex Ross names his favorite performances, recordings and book of 2017
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By Jacob Stockinger
Many musicologists, musicians and music fans consider Alex Ross (below), of The New Yorker magazine, to be the best music critic in the U.S.
Besides the major awards his two books – “The Rest Is Noise” and “Listen to This” — have won, Ross has a reputation for emphasizing the new, the unknown and the neglected, and for deeply perceptive judgments and original observations.
Now, a lot of other critics, from The New York Times, National Public Radio (NPR) and Gramophone magazine as well as the Grammy nominations have named their Best of 2017.
Here is a link to a posting that contains other links to those different lists:
Yet it seems particularly important and enlightening to consider what Alex Ross has selected for his recommendations for one book, 10 performances and 20 recordings.
Here is a link to Ross’ list, which has many links to samples and reviews:
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/2017-in-review/notable-performances-and-recordings-of-2017
Tags: "Music After the Fall", Alex Ross, America, Arts, award, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Björk, Book, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, Classical music, Compact Disc, composer, concerto, critic, Daniel Barenboim, Du Yun, Early music, ECM, experimental, fan, Franz Schubert, Grammy, Hollywood, Hollywood Bowl, JACK Quartet, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Adams, John Eliot Gardiner, judgment, Kate Soper, Kurtag, list, Listen to This, Luciano Pavarotti, Ludwig van Beethoven, magazine, Margaret Bonds, Monteverdi, Mozart, Music, musicologist, musicology, New Music, New York City, New York Times, New Yorker, New Yorker magazine, NPR, observation, opera, Orchestra, Orson Welles, performance, Peter Sellars, Piano, recording, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Sibelius, Sonata, symphony, The Rest Is Noise, Thomas Demenga, U.S., United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wagner, War of the Worlds, William Grant Still, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Yo-Yo Ma
Classical music: Sound Out Loud and Madison Public Philosophy explore cultural appropriation in three FREE concerts and discussions over the coming week
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post:
Musicians from the Sound Out Loud ensemble (below) and Madison Public Philosophy are teaming up to present an interactive exploration of cultural exchange, appreciation, appropriation, and assimilation in music, from Claude Debussy‘s Pagodas (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom) to the hit song The Lion Sleeps Tonight to Irving Berlin’s nostalgic White Christmas.
There will be three performances:
Monday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. at Lathrop Hall’s Virginia Harrison Parlor (1002 University Avenue, below);
Saturday, Oct. 28, at 1:30 p.m. at the American Family Insurance‘s DreamBank (1 N. Pinckney Street , below);
and Sunday, Oct. 29 at 2:30 p.m. at the Arts + Literature Laboratory (2021 Winnebago Street, below).
Audience members will hear live music performed by Sound Out Loud accompanied by historical context and analysis from UW-Madison musicologist Andrea Fowler.
After the performances, Madison Public Philosophy will lead a discussion about the musical examples. Audience members will be asked to decide which of the following categories the examples fall into: exchange, appropriation, appreciation, and assimilation.
The events are free, but donations are accepted. Each program will last just over one hour.
For more information, got o these websites:
https://www.soundoutloudensemble.com
https://publicphilosophysite.wordpress.com
About the Organizations:
Madison Public Philosophy is a group of philosophy students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Its mission is to share philosophy with all members of the community through educational programs and public performances.
Sound Out Loud is a new music performance ensemble currently based out of Madison, Wisconsin. The group seeks to expand the realm of possibilities within the chamber ensemble repertoire through the implementation of experimental techniques, innovative performance practice, and the use of live electronics.
Tags: American, American Family Insurance, Andrea Fowler, appreciation, appropriation, Arts, Arts and Literature Laboratory, assimiilation, audience, Chamber music, Christmas, clarinet, community, composer, context, cultural, Debussy, Education, electronic, ensemble, exchange, experimental, exploration, explore, Family, flute, free, historical, History, hit, insurance, interactive, Irving Berlin, Jacob Stockinger, Laboratory, Lathrop Hall, lion', literature, live, Madison, Music, musicologist, musicology, New Music, nostalgia, Pagodas, performance, philosophy, Piano, pop, pop music, practice, program, public, singer, Singing, Sleep, song, Sound Out Loud, technique, The Lion Sleeps Tonight, tonight, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, white, White Christmas, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: UW trombonist Mark Hetzler explores Stravinsky with new music and alumni musicians in a FREE concert on FRIDAY night. Plus, you can hear FREE Brahms at noon this Friday
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ALERT: The music of Johannes Brahms will be featured at this Friday’s FREE Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive. Performers are Wes Luke and Valerie Sanders, violin; Ina Georgieva and Marie Pauls, viola; and Rachel Bottner, cello. (No word on specific works, but it sure sounds like a string quintet is on the program.) The concert runs from 12:15 to 1 p.m.
And more Brahms (below) fits into the question The Ear recently posted about what explains why we are hearing more music by Brahms these days. Here is a link to that post:
https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2017/10/07/classical-music-are-we-hearing-more-brahms-if-so-why/
By Jacob Stockinger
The always adventurous and inventive UW-Madison trombone professor Mark Hetzler (below) will once again perform an experimental and innovative FREE concert this FRIDAY night (NOT Saturday night, as incorrectly listed on here before) at 8 p.m. in Mills Hall.
“Solitude and Stravinsky“ is an exploration of social isolation and a reimagining of Igor Stravinsky’s popular Neo-Classical “Pulcinella” Suite (which you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom).
According to the website at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music: “This concert will showcase landmark works by contemporary composers and an experimental performance by the quartet combo Mr. Chair, with special guests and alumni Jason Kutz (piano, below top), Ben Ferris (double bass, below bottom) and Mike Koszewski (drums).”
Here is the full eclectic program:
Allemande, Suite No. 2 in D Major for Solo Cello……J.S. Bach
Brass Atmosphere…..Matthew Burtner
Disegno…….Anders Eliasson
Caravaggio….John Stevens (below)
- Realism; 2. Shadow; 3. Vulgarity; 4. Light
Luminous….Mark Engebretson
Onyzx Quartet…..Jason Kutz
PULCINELLA RE-IMAGINED……Igor Stravinsky (below)
Introduzione (Domenico Gallo)
Scherzino (Giovanni Battista Pergolesi)
Serenata (Pergolesi)
Allegro assai (Gallo)
Allegro alla breve (Pergolesi)
Largo (Pergolesi)
Tarantella (Count Unico Wilhelm Wasserader/Fortunato Chelleri)
Gavotta (Carlo Monza)
Andantino (Alessandro Parisotti)
Minuetto (Pergolesi)
Finale (Gallo)
For a biography of Mark Hetzler and his previous projects, including his many recordings, prizes and guest appearances, go to:
http://www.music.wisc.edu/faculty/mark-hetzler/
Tags: alumni, Arts, Bach, Baroque, bass, blog, Caravaggio, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, combo, composer, contemporary, drum, Early music revival, experimental, finale, First Unitarian Society of Madison, Gavotte, guest, Igor Stravinsky, innovative, introduction, isolation, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Stevens, landmark, light, Madison, Mark Hetzler, Mead Witter School of Music, minuet, Mr Chair, Music, musicale, New Music, Orchestra, Pergolesi, Piano, posting, prize, project, Pulcinella Suite, Quartet, quintet, realism, recording, reimagining, Scherzo, Serenade, shadow, social, Stravinsky, Suite, Tarantella, Trombone, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vulgar, Website, YouTube
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The Well-Tempered Ear 
Critics for The New York Times name their Top 10 online classical concerts for May
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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
Even as we wait to see whether concerts in the next season will be mostly streamed or live, the critics for The New York Times have named their Top 10 classical concerts to stream and hear online in May.
The Times critics have been doing this during the pandemic year. So perhaps if and when they stop, it will be a sign of returning to concert life before the pandemic.
Then again, maybe not, since The Ear suspects that many listeners have liked the online format, at least for some of the times and for certain events. So maybe there will be a hybrid format with both live and online attendance.
As the same critics have done before, they mix an attention to contemporary composers, world premieres and up-and-coming performers, including the Finnish conductor Susanna Maliki (below top) in a photo by Hiroyuki Ito for The New York Times).
In a welcome development, the recommendations for this month also seem to mention more Black composers, performers and pieces than usual, including the rising star bass-baritone Davon Tines (below, in a photo by Vincent Tullo for The New York Times).
But you will also find many of the “usual suspects,” including Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Bartok, Benjamin Britten, Olivier Messiaen and Shostakovich. (On the play list is Schubert’s last song, “The Shepherd on the Rock,” which you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
You will also find dates and times (all are Eastern), links to the event and some short commentaries about what makes the concerts, programs and the performers noteworthy.
Here is a link to the story: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/arts/music/classical-music-streaming.html
Do you know of local, regional, national or international online concerts that you recommend? Leave word with relevant information in the Comment section.
Happy Listening!
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