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By Jacob Stockinger
Today — Tuesday, March 29, 2022 — is World Piano Day.
(Below is a restored vintage concert grand piano at Farley’s House of Pianos used for recitals in the Salon Piano Series.)
How will you mark it? Celebrate it?
It’s a fine occasion to revisit your favorite pianist and favorite piano pieces.
Who is your favorite pianist, and what piano piece would you like to hear today?
If you yourself took piano lessons or continue to play, what piece would you play to mark the occasion? Fo the Ear, it will be either a mazurka by Chopin or a movement from either a French Suite or a Partita by Johann Sebastian Bach. Maybe both!
What piano piece do you wish you could play, but never were able to? For The Ear, it would be the Ballade No. 4 in F minor by Chopin.
One of the best ways to mark the day is to learn about a new younger pianist you might not have heard of.
For The Ear, one outstanding candidate would be the Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olafsson ( below), who has won critical acclaim and who records for Deutsche Grammophon (DG).
Olafsson has a particular knack for innovative and creative programming, like his CD that alternates works by Claude Debussy and Jean-Philippe Rameau.
He also seems at home at in many different stylistic periods. His records every thing from Baroque masters, to Mozart and his contemporaries in the Classical period — including Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach — to Impressionists to the contemporary composer Philip Glass.
But The Ear especially loves his anthology of Bach pieces (below) that include original works and transcriptions, including some arranged by himself. His playing is always precise and convincing, and has the kind of cool water-clear sound that many will identify with Andras Schiff.
You can hear a sample of his beautiful playing for yourself in the YouTube video at the bottom. It is an live-performance encore from his inaugural appearance last August at The Proms in London, where he also played Mozart’s dramatically gorgeous Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor (also available on YouTube.)
Final word: You might find some terrific pianists and performances on the Internet. Record labels, performing venues and other organizations are marking the day with special FREE recitals that you can reach through Google and Instagram.
Happy playing!
Happy listening!
Please leave a comment and let The Ear and other readers know what you think of the piano — which seems to be falling out of favor these days — and which pianists and piano pieces you will identify this year with World Piano Day.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has the following announcement to post from the Salon Piano Series.
As the series has done during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is offering a FREE excerpt from a past concert.
In this case, it is the South Korean pianist Kangwoo Jin (below, in a photo by Andy Manis) playing Franz Liszt’s solo piano transcription of Robert Schumann’s song “Widmung” (Dedication). which you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom. It is a sensitive and lyrical performance full of unrushed songfulness.
It is often used as an encore, and was a favorite of Van Cliburn and others.
Here it was part of a larger program that Jin – who last summer received his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin’s Mead Witter School of Music — did virtually and only during the pandemic.
Here is the announcement from the Salon Piano Series, which is sponsored by and held at Farley’s House of Pianos on Madison’s far west side near West Towne:
Please take a break from your day to see and hear Kangwoo Jin perform a portion of Franz Liszt’s Transcriptions for Piano.
This video was recorded (below), without an audience, at Luther Memorial Church on April 15, 2021 as part of the Salon Piano Series.
Over the years, many of you have supported the Salon Piano Series with your attendance, individual sponsorships and donations.
We look forward to bringing you world-class musical performances in our unique salon setting again soon.
Please stay tuned for the announcement of our 2021-22 season.
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 Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. CDT, the Salon Piano Series, hosted by Farley’s House of Pianos, will debut an online concert by pianist Kangwoo Jin (below, in a photo by Andy Manis).
The concert, which was recorded at Luther Memorial Church, costs $10 and will be available online through May 9.
The program is:
Scarlatti – Sonatas in D minor and D Major, K. 213 and 214 (ca. 1756-1757)
Beethoven – Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2, “Moonlight” (1801)
Liszt – Transcriptions for solo piano of the songs “Widmung” (Dedication) by Robert Schumann and “Litanei” (Litany) by Franz Schubert
Schumann – Symphonic Etudes, Op.13 (1830)
Bishop – Home, Sweet Home
Tickets are only available online at eventbrite.com. Service fees apply. Complete program and concert information is at salonpianoseries.org
PROGRAM NOTES
Jin has written the following program notes for The Ear:
“As a musician, I am always eager to share music with the public. I am very excited to be able to reach out to the audience with this unprecedented Salon Piano Series Virtual Concert.
“I believe music soothes our mental health in difficult times regardless of age, gender or race. I very much hope my performance will contribute to this collective healing we feel through music.
“I wanted to include three different styles, as I usually do for recitals. This time I have Baroque, Classical and Romantic music.
“I chose one of the most famous Beethoven sonatas in order to celebrate his 250th birth year (2020), which I did not have a chance to mark last year.
“This piece is popular with the title of “Moonlight,” which Beethoven (below) never intended. Five years after his death, the German critic Ludwig Rellstab used the word “Moonlight” in order to describe the first movement. But it was really inspired by the funeral march in Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni.” I try to bring out the tragic color of the first movement. (You can hear Jin play the exciting final movement of the sonata in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
“I also wanted to play the virtuosic masterpiece “Symphonic Etudes,” Op. 13, by Robert Schumann (below), including the beautiful posthumous variations 4 and 5.
I find this piece special in the sense that Schumann intended to make this piece “symphonic.” He created multiple layers of voices in various ways through each etude and created orchestral sounds. This polyphonic writing with multiple layers and a thick texture is what makes this piece difficult to play.
“I also specifically wanted to include one of the piano transcriptions by Franz Liszt (below) of Schubert’s Litanei auf das Fest Aller Seelen (Litany for the Feast of All Souls), D. 343.
“Schubert (below) used the poem “Litany” by Johann Jacobi (1740-1814). It is written for comforting the deceased. Robert Capell, the author of the book “Schubert’s Songs” (1929), said about this lied: There was never a truer or more touching expression of simple devotion and consoled grief … “The music rises from a pure well of affection and humility.”
“I would like to dedicate this piece to all the people who suffered from Covid 19.”
BACKGROUND
Here is a link to Kangwoo Jin’s impressive website where you can see many photos, learn about his extensive career as a teacher and hear many samples of his playing: https://www.pianistkangwoojin.com
Praised for his “refined tone quality with powerful energy” (Chosun Daily Newspaper), Jin (below, in a photo by Steve Apps for the Wisconsin State Journal) concertizes nationally and internationally, including performances in Germany, Italy, China, Indonesia and South Korea.
He gave his debut concert at the Sejong Arts Center in Seoul, South Korea, sponsored by the Chosun Daily Newspaper. He has given live performances on Wisconsin Public Radio and WORT 89.9 FM.
Jin appears frequently as a guest artist at music festivals, universities and various concert series. Recent invitations include UW-River Falls, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and Tongji University in Shanghai. Kawai Pianos USA has also invited him as a guest artist at the annual Piano Technicians Guild Convention and Technical Institute in Florida.
Jin completed the Bachelor of Music degree at Hanyang University in South Korea, then earned his Performer Diploma and Master’s of Music at Indiana University, where he worked as an associate instructor.
He is the recipient of the J. Battista Scholarship for performance excellence at Indiana University and received the Collins Distinguished Fellowship for his doctoral studies, completed last year, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied piano with Christopher Taylor and piano pedagogy with Jessica Johnson.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Here is the schedule for Day 2 of the 2021 virtual, online Bach Around the Clock festival, which is today — Thursday, March 18:
Today’s program will be available starting at 8 a.m. and then throughout the festival.
• Musette (from Suzuki Book 2); Ossian Rogers, violin; Faolan Rogers, harp; Kara Rogers, piano
• Sheep May Safely Graze, from Cantata 208; Gift Akere, piano
• Sonata No. 3, BWV 1005: Largo; Rebekah May, viola
• Cello Suite V in C minor, BWV 1011: Prelude, Gavottes I and II, Gigue; Cindy Cameron-Fix, bassoon
• Anna Magdalena Bach Notebook: Menuet, BWV anh 114; Tim Farley, clavichord
• Chorale: Now God be with us; Katie Bultman, soprano, and Kenneth Stancer, organ
Live Evening Keynote Discussion at 7 p.m.Jonathan Øverby, (below) distinguished Wisconsin Public Radio host of “The Road to Higher Ground,” will discuss building The Bridge To and Through Bach with BATC Artistic Director Marika Fischer Hoyt.
Click here to join the Zoom call, starting at 7 p.m. tonight, Thursday, March 18. Viewers are encouraged to submit questions in the chat for Overby to address.
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By Jacob Stockinger
In late January of this year, Jess Anderson (below) — a longtime friend, devoted musician and respected music critic – died at 85.
The Ear promised then that when more was known or written, it would be posted on this blog.
That time has come.
Jess was a polymath, a Renaissance Man, as the comments below attest to time and again.
For the past several years, he suffered from advancing dementia and moved from his home of 56 years to an assisted living facility. He had contracted COVID-19, but died from a severe fall from which he never regained consciousness.
Jess did not write his own obituary and he had no family member to do it. So a close friend – Ed Wegert (below) – invited several of the people who knew Jess and worked with him, to co-author a collaborative obituary. We are all grateful to Ed for the effort the obituary took and for his caring for Jess in his final years.
In addition, the obituary has some wonderful, not-to-be-overlooked photos of Jess young and old, at home, with friends, sitting at the piano and at his custom-built harpsichord.
It appears in the March issue of Our Lives, a free statewide LGBTQ magazine that is distributed through grocery stores and other retail outlets as well as free subscriptions. Here is a link to the magazine’s home webpage for details about it: https://ourliveswisconsin.com.
That Jess was an exceptional and multi-talented person is obvious even from the distinguished names of the accomplished people who contributed to the obituary:
They include:
Chester Biscardi (below), who is an acclaimed prize-winning composer, UW-Madison graduate, composer and teacher of composition at Sarah Lawrence College.
John Harbison (below), the MacArthur “genius grant” recipient and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer who teaches at MIT and co-directs the nearby Token Creek Chamber Music Festival in the summer.
Rose Mary Harbison (below), who attended the UW-Madison with Jess and became a professional performing and teaching violinist who co-directs the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival.
Steve Miller (below), a close friend who became a bookmaker and is now a professor at the University of Alabama.
The Ear, who knew Jess over many decades, was also invited to contribute.
Feel free to leave your own thoughts about and memories of Jess in the comment section.
It also seems a fitting tribute to play the final chorus from The St. John Passion of Johann Sebastian Bach. You can hear it in the YouTube video below. It is, if memory serves me well, the same piece of sublime music that Jess played when he signed off from hosting his Sunday morning early music show for many years on WORT-FM 89.9.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear loves Franz Schubert, who wrote supremely beautiful music. And one of his most sublime pieces comes from his first set of Impromptus for solo piano, the one in G-Flat Major, D. 899, No. 3.
This beautiful music was superbly performed here in 2018 by the Irish pianist John O’Conor (below), who specializes in the composers of the Classical era — especially Beethoven, Schubert and Mozart. He also has revived the music of the Irish Romantic composer John Field and appeared in Madison with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.
Here is the introduction from the Salon Piano Series at Farley’s House of Pianos, which booked, hosted and recorded the live solo recital performance (below) on May 12, 2018.
“During these uncertain times, we appreciate remembering time spent together enjoying music.
“Please take a break from your day to see and hear John O’Conor perform Franz Schubert’s Impromptu in G-flat, D. 899, No. 3, in the YouTube video at the bottom that was recorded live at Farley’s House of Pianos as part of the Salon Piano Series on May 12, 2018.
“Over the years, you have supported Salon Piano Series with your attendance, individual sponsorships and donations (you can link to https://salonpianoseries.org/donate).
“We look forward to bringing you world-class musical performances in our unique salon setting again soon.
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
Here is an announcement about the latest monthly free concert excerpt from the Salon Piano Series. It features pieces by Chopin, some of which are played by students and amateurs, and other that require the technique of a virtuoso:
“During these uncertain times, we appreciate remembering time spent together enjoying music.
Please take a brief break from your day to see and hear Adam Neiman (below) perform Frederic Chopin’s Preludes 1-6, Opus 28. (The Ear hopes we get to hear the remaining 18 preludes in several installments from Neiman, who has performed with and recorded Mozart piano concertos with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and conductor Andrew Sewell.\.)
The 8-minute video was recorded live at Farley’s House of Pianos as part of the Salon Piano Series on Feb. 26, 2017.
You can hear the performance in the YouTube video at the bottom.
Over the years, you have supported Salon Piano Series with your attendance, individual sponsorships, and donations. We look forward to bringing you world-class musical performances in our unique salon setting again soon.
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 announcement from the Salon Piano Series that take place at Farley’s House of pianos:
Dear friends,
How we’ve missed seeing you, since last we were able to gather – in February, for pianist Shai Wosner (below, in a photo by Marco Borggreve) and his recital of heart-stopping Schubert, Scarlatti, Rzewski and Beethoven.
Since then, our pianos have sat silent, waiting for the day we can safely reopen and welcome you back.
For now, although it breaks our hearts, we do need to stay dark through the rest of the 2020-21 season, for everyone’s safety. Our highest priority is the well-being of our artists, audience and staff.
But rest assured that we are rescheduling all of our postponed performances:
We are working to schedule Sara Daneshpour, violinist Rachel Barton Pine, Niklas Sivelov and John O’Conor over the next two seasons.
In the meantime, while we can’t gather in person, we’re pleased to announce the launch of a monthly video series featuring some of our past and upcoming artists.
December brings us the incomparable Shai Wosner and in January, Adam Neiman (below).
During these uncertain times, we appreciate remembering time spent together enjoying music.
Please take a break from your day to see and hear Shai Wosner (below) performing Domenico Scarlatti’s Sonata in C Minor, K. 230, and Frederic Rzewski’s Nano Sonata No. 12.
The video was recorded live at Farley’s House of Pianos as part of the Salon Piano Series on Feb. 23, 2020.
Last March, Shai Wosner released a 2-CD album (http://www.shaiwosner.com/recordings.html) of Schubert late piano sonatas. The album’s producer is nominated for a Grammy Award for the album.
Over the years, you have supported the intimate Salon Piano Series with your attendance, individual sponsorships and donations (https://salonpianoseries.org/donate).
We look forward to bringing you more world-class musical performances in our unique salon setting again soon.
In the meantime, these performances are a way to recapture the live concert experience, including commentary from artistic director Tim Farley, with videography by Tom Moss.
Those on our e-newsletter list, available at our website at https://salonpianoseries.org/contact.html, will receive a video link each month, and the videos are also available on our social media channels.
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)
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
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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)
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 note from the Salon Piano Series to post:
During these uncertain times, we appreciate remembering time spent together enjoying music.
Please take a break from your day to see and hear the young, prize-winning pianist Maxim Lando (below) perform the theme-and-variations third movement of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109, “Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo” (Slowly, very singing and expressive).
The 15-minute video – posted and viewable now- — was recorded live at Farley’s House of Pianos, as part of the Salon Piano Series, on Nov. 17, 2019.
Over the years, you have supported Salon Piano Series with your attendance, individual sponsorships and donations. We look forward to bringing you world-class musical performances in our unique salon setting again soon.
Editor’s note: Here is a Wikipedia entry with more impressive information about Maxim Lando’s biography and many concert performances around the world including China and Russia as well as the U.S.: https://maximlando.com
If you want to hear the entire Beethoven Sonata, you can hear a performance by Richard Goode in the YouTube video below.
Here is a collaborative obituary for music critic, radio host, performer and gay pioneer Jess Anderson, who died in January at 85
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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
In late January of this year, Jess Anderson (below) — a longtime friend, devoted musician and respected music critic – died at 85.
The Ear promised then that when more was known or written, it would be posted on this blog.
That time has come.
Jess was a polymath, a Renaissance Man, as the comments below attest to time and again.
For the past several years, he suffered from advancing dementia and moved from his home of 56 years to an assisted living facility. He had contracted COVID-19, but died from a severe fall from which he never regained consciousness.
Jess did not write his own obituary and he had no family member to do it. So a close friend – Ed Wegert (below) – invited several of the people who knew Jess and worked with him, to co-author a collaborative obituary. We are all grateful to Ed for the effort the obituary took and for his caring for Jess in his final years.
In addition, the obituary has some wonderful, not-to-be-overlooked photos of Jess young and old, at home, with friends, sitting at the piano and at his custom-built harpsichord.
It appears in the March issue of Our Lives, a free statewide LGBTQ magazine that is distributed through grocery stores and other retail outlets as well as free subscriptions. Here is a link to the magazine’s home webpage for details about it: https://ourliveswisconsin.com.
That Jess was an exceptional and multi-talented person is obvious even from the distinguished names of the accomplished people who contributed to the obituary:
They include:
Chester Biscardi (below), who is an acclaimed prize-winning composer, UW-Madison graduate, composer and teacher of composition at Sarah Lawrence College.
John Harbison (below), the MacArthur “genius grant” recipient and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer who teaches at MIT and co-directs the nearby Token Creek Chamber Music Festival in the summer.
Rose Mary Harbison (below), who attended the UW-Madison with Jess and became a professional performing and teaching violinist who co-directs the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival.
Steve Miller (below), a close friend who became a bookmaker and is now a professor at the University of Alabama.
The Ear, who knew Jess over many decades, was also invited to contribute.
Here is a link to the joint obituary in Our Lives magazine, a free LGBTQ periodical that you can find in local grocery store and other retail outlets: https://ourliveswisconsin.com/article/remembering-jess-anderson/?fbclid=IwAR027dzv2YqRUNlYF1cF6JyXnEcQxAwcprPYbtBQCs3rYt0Nu847W_xbjpk
Feel free to leave your own thoughts about and memories of Jess in the comment section.
It also seems a fitting tribute to play the final chorus from The St. John Passion of Johann Sebastian Bach. You can hear it in the YouTube video below. It is, if memory serves me well, the same piece of sublime music that Jess played when he signed off from hosting his Sunday morning early music show for many years on WORT-FM 89.9.
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