The Well-Tempered Ear
Madison’s Sonata à Quattro performs TONIGHT online for the prestigious Boston Early Music Festival
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.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following note from the local early music group, Sonata à Quattro (SAQ):
We have a very exciting announcement to share.
Tonight we will be one of the featured ensembles at the 2021 Boston Early Music Festival Fringe Concerts!
The Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) is recognized as a national and international leader in the field of early music, and SAQ is thrilled to make its first appearance at this event.
Concert presented during the Boston Early Music Festival’s 2021 Fringe Concerts. Learn more at https://bemf.org/2021-festival/fringe-concerts/
The online premiere of the SAQ concert video will be TONIGHT — Thursday, June 17 — at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT, and the musicians will be available to chat during and after the recorded performance.
Please join us at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSfzu6Q6DcU
The 50-minute concert, titled “Musical Meditation and Merriment,” features (below, from left) violinists Christine Hauptly Annin and Leanne League; cellist Charlie Rasmussen; and violist Marika Fischer Hoyt.
This period-instrument quartet will perform the following program: Quartet in G Major, TWV 43:G5 by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767); Duo II in D Minor, Op. 19, No. 2, for Violin and Viola by Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754-1812); Duetto III in G Major, Op. 1, No. 3, for Violin and Cello by Giovanni Battista Cirri (1724-1808, below); and Quartet in D Major, Op. 64, No. “The Lark” by Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809).
The concert was live-streamed and recorded at the United Methodist Church in Whitefish Bay, Wis., on April 13, 2021.
From the austere fugal opening of the Telemann to the jaunty Finale of Haydn’s “Lark” Quartet — heard played by the Jerusalem Quartet in the YouTube video at the bottom — this program offers a reflection on the unimaginable year we’ve just experienced, as well as the stirrings of hope, as we awake to a spring and summer of new beginnings.
The slow movements, with their gorgeous string sonorities, range from still, inner contemplation to poignant pleas, while the fast movements outdo one another in wit, verve and sheer joie de vivre.
Tags: #BaroqueMusic, #BejornBerkhout, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BostonEarlyMusicFestival, #BostonMassachusetts, #CentralTime, #ChamberMusic, #CharlieRasmussen, #ChristianChurch, #ChristineHauptlyAnnin, #CityofMadison, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #EasternTime, #FacebookPage, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FastMovement, #FranzAntonHoffmeister, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FringeConcerts, #GeorgPhilippTelemann, #GiovanniBatisteCirri, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #JacobStockinger, #JerusalemQuartet, #JoiedeVivre, #LarkQuartet, #LeanneLeague, #MadisonWisconsin, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #OnlineConcert, #OnlineFestival, #PeriodInstruments, #RecordedMusic, #SlowMovement, #SonataaQuattro, #StringMusic, #TheEar, #UnitedMethodistChurch, #VirtualConcert, #VirtualFestival, #WhitefishBay, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, announcement, appearance, Arts, audience, austere, awake, Baroque, Baroque music, beginning, blog, Boston, Boston Early Music Festival, celiist, cellist, Cello, Central Time, Chamber music, Charlie Rasmussen, chat, Christian, Christian church, Christine Hauptly Annin, church, Classical music, composer, Concert, contemplation, coronavirus, counterpoint, duet, duuo, Early music, Eastern time, ensemble, event, exciting, experience, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, fast, fast movement, field, finale, first, forward, Franz Anton Hoffmeister, Franz Joseph Haydn, Fringe Concerts, fugal, fugue, Georg Philipp Telemann, George Onslow, Giovanni Battista Cirri, gorgeous, Haydn, help, historically informed performance practices, Hoffmeister, hope, inner, international, Jacob Stockinger, jaunty, Jerusalem, Jerusalem Quartet, joie de vivre, lark, Lark Quartet, leader, Leanne League, learn, like, link, live-stream, local, Madison, Marika Fischer Hoyt, Massachusetts, Meditation, merriment, movement, muisicians, Music, musical, national, new, online, page, pandemic, period instruments, pleas, poignant, post, posting, premiere, present, prestigious, program, recoignize, recorded music, reflection, SAQ, share, Slow movement, Sonata, Sonata à Quattro, sonority, Spring, Still, stirrings, string, string music, summer, tag, Telemann, The Ear, thrilled, tonight, unimaginable, United Methodist Church, United States, vello, verve, video, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, wit, year, YouTube, YouTube channel, YouTube video
Pianist John O’Conor plays the sublimely beautiful Impromptu in G-Flat Major by Franz Schubert
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 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.
“To see how the 1908 Chickering concert grand played by John O’Conor was restored, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5RJWeve6R8
“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.
Sincerely,
Salon Piano Series
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CapTimes, #ChickeringPiano, #CityofMadison, #ClassicalComposers, #Classicalera, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Farley'sHouseofPianos, #FranzSchubert, #IntimateSetting, #IrishComposer, #JacobStockinger, #JohnField, #LiveConcert, #LiveMusic, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonWisconsin, #PianoSonata, #RecordedMusic, #RomanticComposer, #RomanticEra, #RomanticMusic, #SalonPIanoSeries, #TheEar, #WisconsinChamberMusic, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, appreciate, Arts, attendance, audience, beauitful, Beethoven, blog, Book, break, Chickering, class, Classical, Classical era, Classical music, come, composer, Concert, concerto, coronavirus, day, Deutsch, donation, era, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, Farley's House of Pianos, field, forward, Franz Schubert, hear, help, host, impromptu, individual, intimate, introduction, Ireland, Irish, Irish composer, Jacob Stockinger, John Field, like, link, live concert, live music, look, Love, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Mozart, Music, Orchestra, pandemic, performance, performer, Pianist, Piano, Piano sonata, play, post, posting, recital, record, recorded music, remember, revival, revive, Romantic, Romantic era, Romantic music, salon, Salon Piano Series, Schubert, see, setting, share, solo, Sonata, specialize, spend, sponsorships, sublime, superb, supreme, symphony, tag, take, The Ear, times, together, United States, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, world, world-class, YouTube
Classical music: The Mosaic Chamber Players and the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble open their new seasons this Saturday night
2 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
It’s another busy week at the start of the new concert season, and two more groups are giving opening concerts this Saturday night:
MOSAIC CHAMBER PLAYERS
On this Saturday night at 7:30 p.m., in the historic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Landmark Auditorium of the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, the Mosaic Chamber Players will open their new season.
The Madison-based group will perform an all-Beethoven program and complete its cycle of all the string sonatas. The program is the Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 12, No. 2; the Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96 (performed by Anne-Sophie Mutter in the YouTube video below); and the Cello Sonata No. 5 in D Major, Op. 102, No. 2.
The performers are Laura Burns (below top) and Wes Luke (below second), violins; Kyle Price, cello (below third); and Jess Salek, piano (below bottom).
Tickets are $15 for the public; $10 for seniors; and $5 for students. Check or cash only.
Adds artistic director Jess Salek: “We have been opening our seasons with the Beethoven string sonatas for five years now, so this really exciting for us!”
WISCONSIN BAROQUE ENSEMBLE
The Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble (below) will give a concert of varied baroque vocal and instrumental chamber music on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 1833 Regent Street.
Members of the WBE are Mimmi Fulmer, soprano; Nathan Giglierano, baroque violin; Brett Lipshutz, traverse flute; Eric Miller, viola da gamba; Sigrun Paust, recorder; Monica Steger, traverse flute and harpsichord; Anton TenWolde, baroque cello; and Max Yount, harpsichord.
Tickets at the door only are $20, $10 for students.
For more information, got to www.wisconsinbaroque.org
A reception will be held after the concert at 2422 Kendall Ave, second floor
The program features:
Johann Philipp Kernberger – Sonata in C major for traverso and basso continuo
D’India – “Piangono al pianger mio” (I Shed Tears, As The Wild Animals Do)
Cipriano de Rore – “Ancor che col partire” (Although When I Part From You), arranged for viola da gamba by Riccardo Rognini
Francesca Caccini – “Io Veggio i Campi Verdeggiar Fecondi” (I See the Fertile Fields Turn Green); “Dov’io Credea de Mie Speranze” (Where I Thought My Hopes Were Real)
Georg Philipp Telemann (below) – Trio Sonata for alto recorder, violin and basso continuo TWV 42:d10 (heard in the YouTube video below)
INTERMISSION
Michel Pignolet de Montéclair – duet for two traversi without bass
Francesco Mancini – Sonata No. 1 in D Minor for recorder and basso continuo
Georg Friedrich Handel – “Süsse Stille” (Sweet Silence)
Jean-Philippe Rameau (below) – La Pantomime (The Pantomime), from Pièces de clavecin, 4th concert; “Les Surprises de l’Amour” (Love’s Surprises), selected movement from Act II, transcribed by Ludwig Christian Hesse
Tags: alto, animal, Arts, Baroque, Baroque music, Beethoven, Cello, Chamber music, church, Cipriano de Rore, Classical music, continuo, D'India, duet, Episcopal, field, First Unitarian Society of Madison, flute, Francesca Caccini, Francesco Mancini, Frank Lloyd Wright, George Frideric Handel, harpsichord, hope, Jacob Stockinger, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Kernberger, Love, Ludwig van Beethoven, Michel Pignolet de Monteclair, Mosaic Chamber Players, Music, night, Piano, Rameau, recorder, Season, silence, Sonata, soprano, St. Andrew, strings, surprise, sweet, tear, Telemann, traberso, transcription, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, viola da gamba, Violin, vocal music, wild, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, YouTube
Classical music education: Here are 10 reasons why students should be allowed to major in music
Leave a Comment
By Jacob Stockinger
Many, maybe most, of the college and university students are back by now.
And a week from tomorrow, classes at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will begin.
K-12 classes in public schools and private schools will also start, if they haven’t already, as will another year of music lessons.
And so will the new concert season.
Coincidentally, The Ear came across a post from Forbes magazine that deals with whether students should be allowed to major in music (below, in a photo by Shutterstock).
Many parents, and many politicians too, feel that more practical, higher paying fields are better investments of energy, time and especially money.
The same logic applies these days to the arts and humanities versus the so-called STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Anyway, the advice columnist Liz Ryan answered the question with 10 reasons why it is a good idea to let a student major in music.
The Ear –- who is an avid defender of the liberal arts and of college years not as a trade school but as a chance to explore and experiment — thought that whether you are a student, parent or teacher, you might be interested in reading the reasons why a music major makes sense.
Here is a link:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2017/06/04/ten-reasons-to-let-your-kid-major-in-music/
Tags: advice, Arts, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, classes, Classical music, college, column, Early music, engineering, experiment, explore, field, Forbes, humanities, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, K-12, lesson, lessons, liberal arts, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, magazine, major, mathematics, Mozart, Music, Music education, music major, opera, Orchestra, Parent, pay, Piano, politician, Politics, practical, private, private school, public, public school, school, school year, science, STEM, Student, symphony, talent, Teacher, technology, trade, trade school, United States, university, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 
The Madison Early Music Festival joins the UW-Madison School of Music’s regular program and undergoes a major revamping. There will be no more separate summer events, and the two directors will retire next spring
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.
By Jacob Stockinger
After refining the format over the past 20 years, the Madison Early Music Festival (below) has grown into a popular event that is recognized regionally, nationally and internationally. It usually takes place for about 10 days in July.
But no longer.
The Ear has received the following updates from the two co-founders and co-directors, singers Cheryl-Bensman Rowe and UW-Madison Professor Paul Rowe.
Curiously, no reasons or causes are given for the major changes and revamping, or for the cancellation of the event this summer.
The Ear suspects it has something to do with the lack of funding and the reorganizations and consolidations being carried out because of the budgetary effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the UW-Madison, the whole UW System and the performing arts scene in general.
But that could be completely wrong. We will probably find out more details in the near future.
For more information and background, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/2021/02/01/memf-school-of-music-announce-administrative-partnership/
And to sound off, please leave your reactions to the news in the comment section.
Here is the letter from the Rowes (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot):
Dear MEMF Supporters,
It is difficult to believe that February is over and spring is on its way. We hope everyone is having luck scheduling coronavirus vaccines, and that you have all stayed healthy throughout this past year.
We are writing to give you advance notice of the latest MEMF news before you read it in an upcoming press release.
Due to programming realignment in the UW-Madison Division of the Arts, the Madison Early Music Festival will become a program of the Mead Witter School of Music, which will be our new administrative home.
After much discussion with the Director of the School of Music and the Interim Director of the Division of the Arts, the details of the move have been finalized.
The School of Music is excited to bring MEMF into its programming, and would like MEMF to be an integral part of the academic year so more students can have an opportunity to work with professionals in the field of early music.
At this point, in order to focus on this goal, the decision has been made to discontinue the summer festival in its current (pre-pandemic) format.(You can hear a sample of that in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
We know this is disappointing news, but at the same time we are excited that MEMF concerts, lectures and classes will now be offered in some capacity throughout the year.
Although MEMF will be taking a different direction than the one we have all known and loved over the past 20 years, we are thrilled that it will continue to provide early music learning and presentation opportunities through this new collaboration.
We also want to announce that the two of us will be retiring from MEMF in the spring of 2022 and new leadership will take the helm.
Current plans are to present a celebratory MEMF concert and workshop next spring with School of Music students and faculty and former MEMF participants and faculty.
We want all of you to know that we appreciate everything you have done for MEMF. Some of you have been involved for 21 years!
We are grateful for your support, the friendships we have made, and all the beautiful music we have heard and made together. The success of the festival would not have been possible without each and every one of you.
This is an exciting new journey for MEMF, although different from what we have known and experienced. We hope that you will continue to be involved in MEMF in its new format, and we hope to see you in the spring of 2022!
Thank you for all your generosity in so many ways,
Cheryl Bensman-Rowe and Paul Rowe, co-founders and co-artistic directors of the Madison Early Music Festival
Share this:
Like this:
Tags: #AcademicYear, #ArtisticDirector, #Beautifulmusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #CherylBensman-Rowe, #ChoralMusic, #CityofMadison, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #IntegralPart, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MadisonWisconsin, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MEMFOnline, #MusicEducation, #Musicfaculty, #NewsUpdate, #PaulRowe, #PerformingArts, #PeriodInstruments, #SoundOff, #TheEar, #TheUW, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWSystem, #VocalMusic, #YouTubevideo, 2021, 2022, academic, academic year, administration, administrative, advance, Arts, audience, Bach, background, baritone, Baroque, beautiful, blog, budget, budgetary, cancel, cancellation, capacity, cause, celebratory, Cello, Chamber music, Cheryl Bensman Rowe, choral music, class, classes, Classical music, co-artistic directors, co-founders, collaboration, comment, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, consolidate, consolidation, coronavirus, coronavirus pandemic, current, details, disappoint, disappointment, discontinue, Early music, earlymusic, event, excite, excited, experience, Facebook, faculty, Feburary, festival, field, finalize, finalized, financial, fiscal, Focus, format, forward, friendship, funding, future, grateful, grow, healthy, helm, historically informed performance practices, Home, information, instrument, integral, international, involve, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, journey, know, leadership, lecture, like, link, Love, luck, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, Mead Witter School of Music, MEMF, move, Music, Music education, music faculty, national, new, news, notice, offer, opera, opportunity, Orchestra, paerticpant, pandemic, part, past, Paul Rowe, performer, Performing arts, period instruments, plans, popular, possible, post, posting, presentation, professionals, program, progrramming, provide, reactions, realign, realignment, reason, recognized, refine, regional, reorganization, reorganize, retire, Retirement, revamp, sample, scene, schedule, share, sing, Singing, Sonata, sound off, Spring, Student, summer, support, tag, The Ear, thrill, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, update, UW, UW System, UW-Madison, vaccine, Viola, Violin, vocal music, way, Wisconsin, work, workshop, wring, year, you, YouTube