The Well-Tempered Ear
New York Times music critics pick 10 MUST-HEAR online virtual classical concerts to stream for October
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
ALERT: Tonight’s concert by the choral group Roomful of Teeth for the Wisconsin Union Theater at the UW-Madison’s Hamel Music Center has been canceled and postponed indefinitely.
By Jacob Stockinger
Increasingly the coronavirus pandemic seems surging out of control. So it comes as no surprise that also more and more concerts of classical music are taking place virtually and online.
There are many ways to choose among local, regional, national and international concerts.
But one good guide was published this last week and featured the choice of must-hear classical concerts by critics for The New York Times.
It is an interesting and varied selection, and includes times, links and brief descriptions.
It features concerts that emphasize Black composers such as Florence Price (below top) and women composers. It covers many genres from a solo piano recital by Jeremy Denk (below bottom) – who is supposed to perform here on Dec. 11 at the Wisconsin Union Theater – to chamber music, vocal music, orchestral concerts and operas.
Curiously, there is quite bit of new music but little early music, either Renaissance or Baroque. Perhaps more will appear around the holiday times, when that music is part of the traditional holiday celebrations.
You will find contemporary composers but also lots of certified, tried-and-true classics and masterworks.
Some are one-day only events but many run from a week through a month.
Here is a link to the story. PLEASE NOTE THAT TIMES ARE ALL EASTERN: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/arts/music/classical-music-stream.html
Please let The Ear know if you like this kind of listing and find it useful.
And please feel free to leave in the comment section other guides or events that the public should know about.
Tags: "Blind Tom" Wiggins, #92ndStreetY, #African-AmericanComposer, #African-AmericanMusic, #AndrewNorman, #BachCantata, #BaroqueComposers, #BaroqueMusic, #BenjaminBritten, #BerlinGermany, #BerlinPhilharmonic, #BlackAmericans, #BlackComposer, #BlindTom"Wiggins, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrentanoQuartet, #BrentanoStringQuartet, #CarnegieHall, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberMusicSocietyofLIncolnCenter, #ClaudeDebussy, #ClevelandOrchestra, #ConcertProgram, #CoronavirusPandemic, #CountertenorSinger, #COVID-19, #DetroitMichigan, #DetroitSymphonyOrchestra, #EasternTime, #EricGarner, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FelixMendelssohn, #FlorenceItaly, #FlorencePrice, #folksongs, #FrankBridge, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FranzWelser-Möst, #FredericRzewski, #GeorgeWalker, #GillesVonsattel, #GustavoDudamel, #HamelMusicCenter, #HolidayConcert, #HolidayMusic, #J'NaiBridges, #JeremyDenk, #JessieMontgomery, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnAdams, #KirillPetrenko, #LawrenceBrownlee, #LosAngelesPhilharmonic, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MetropolitanOpera, #MichaelBrown, #MinimalistMusic, #MusicCritic, #NathalieJoachim, #NewMusic, #NewYorkTimes, #OnlineConcert, #OperaMusic, #OperaPhiladelphia, #OrchestralMusic, #OttorinoRespighi, #PeopleofColor, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PianoMusic, #PIanoRecital, #PianoSonata, #QuodlibetEnsemble, #RenaissanceMusic, #RoomfulofTeeth, #ScottJoplin, #SpektralQuartet, #SpokenWord, #StringQuartet, #StringQuintet, #TaniaLeon, #TenorSinger, #TheEar, #TheMet, #TheUW, #TrayvonMartin, #Tried-and-True, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VikingurOlafsson, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #WilliamGrantStill, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WomenComposers, #YouTubevideo, 92nd Street Y, Adams, Africa, African, African American, African-American music, America, American, Arts, audience, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Benjamin Britten, Berlin, Berlin Philharmonic, Bert, black, Black Americans, blog, Brentano Quartet, Brentano String Quartet, Britten, cancel, canceled, Cantata, Caramoor, Carnegie Hall, celebration, cellist, Cello, certified, Chamber music, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, choose, choral music, Classical music, classicalmusic, classics, Claude Debussy, Cleveland Orchestra, comment, composer, Concert, conductor, contemporary, coronavirus, countertenor, critic, Debussy, Denk, description, Detroit, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Dudamel, Early music, earlymusic, Eastern time, emphasize, Eric Garner, Europe, Facebook, Felix Mendelssohn, Florence, Florence Price, folk, folk song, forward, Frank Bridge, Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Welser-Möst, George Walker, Germany, Gilles Vonsattel, good, guide, Gustavo Dudamel, Haiti, Haitian, Hamel Music Center, Haydn, Holiday, holiday music, Holidays, images, incarceration, interesting, internation, inventive, Italy, J'Nai Bridges, Jacob Stockinger, Jeremy Denk, Jessie Montgomery, Joachim, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Adams, kind, Kirill Petrenko, know, Lawrence Brownlee, like, link, live-stream, local, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ludwig van Beethoven, masterpiece, Mead Witter School of Music, Mendelssohn, Metropolitan Opera, Mezzo-soprano, Michael Brown, Michigan, minimalism, month, Mozart, Music, music critic, must-hear, narrator, Nathalie Joachim, national, New Music, New York City, New York Times, October, Ohio, online, opera, Opera Philadelphia, Orchestra, orchestral music, Ottorino Respighi, pandemic, people of color, performer, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Pianist, Piano, post, posting, postpone, postponed, price, prison, program, public, Quodlibet Ensemble, recital, regional, Renaissance, Respighi, Roomful of Teeth, Rzewski, Scott Joplin, selection, share, singer, Singing, solo, Sonata, Spektral Quartet, spoken word, Still, stream, String quartet, string quintet, subscriber, surprise, symphony, tag, Tania Leon, Tchaikovsky, tenor, text, The Ear, the Met, theme, time, traditional, Trayvon Martin, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, useful, UW, UW-Madison, varied, Vikingur Olafsson, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, virtually, vocal music, Walker, ways, week, William Grant Still, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, women, YouTube
Classical music: Musical America offers an exhaustive and helpful guide to international FREE streaming of operas, concerts and recitals, complete with program notes and links for listening
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
During the COVID-19 pandemic, so much music is being streamed – through both live streaming and delayed pre-recorded streaming – that it can be hard to keep track of it all.
After all, the events are taking place locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
How do you know what operas, orchestral concerts, chamber music concerts and individual recitals will take place? Where and when they will take place? What time is it in your time zone? And where do you find links to the performances, such as those by the famed Berlin Philharmonic (below)?
Getting so much information can be daunting.
But one loyal reader has helped The Ear by sending word about the most exhaustive compilation or online guide to FREE streaming of classical music events he has seen so far.
It is done by Musical America, and The Ear highly recommends it.
The Musical America website advises users that the guide will be updated twice weekly, and that Central European Time (CET) is six hours ahead of Eastern Daylight time (EDT) — or seven hours ahead of Central Daylight Time (CDT).
It also tells you how long many of the streamed videos are available for. A full 23 or 24 hours after the initial airing seems pretty average. But many appealing events – by some of the most prestigious organizations and individual performers in the world — will be available for the entire duration of the coronavirus pandemic.
You also get concise notes about the performers and the programs.
Today and tonight, for example, you could take in productions by the Berlin State Opera, the Zurich Opera and Ballet, the Metropolitan Opera (below) and the Vienna State Opera.
You could also take in the historical performances from the ongoing Cliburn Watch Party from the Cliburn International Piano Competition, and the twice weekly concerts by the six musically talented children in the acclaimed Kanneh-Mason family in England, now dubbed “The Von Trapp’s of classical music.” (Below is cellist brother Sheku Kanneh-Mason performing at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.)
And you could listen to award-winning cellist Alisa Weilerstein (below) will also discuss and play all 36 movements of the six solo cello suites by Johann Sebastian Bach that she recently recorded and just released.
The guide lists some of the more outstanding paid websites such as Medici TV but also lists events that took place much earlier but are still available for free watching and listening.
The guide has a link so that organizations can submit their own events for listing or users can make suggestions.
In short, the Musical America guide is extremely useful. You should probably bookmark it if you are planning to listen to a lot of musical events online through streaming.
But don’t take The Ear’s word for it. Take a look and check it out for yourself.
Here is a link: https://www.musicalamerica.com/news/newsstory.cfm?storyid=44766&categoryid=1&archived=0
What do you think of it?
Do you find it useful and think you will?
Do you see any major shortcomings or overlooked events?
Recommendations of your own?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BerlinPhilharmonic, #BerlinStateOpera, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CelloMusic, #CelloSuite, #CentralDaylightTime, #CentralEuropeanTime, #ChamberMusic, #CliburnWatchParty, #COVID-19, #EasternDaylightTime, #EnglishMusicians, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GreatBritain, #JacobStockinger, #JohannSebastianBach, #Kanneh-Mason, #LiveStreaming, #MediciTV, #MeghanMarkle, #MetropolitanOpera, #MusicalAmerica, #NewsProgram, #OrchestralMusic, #PandemicPlaylist, #PrinceHarry, #ProgramNotes, #RoyalWedding, #ShekuKanneh-Mason, #SoloCelloSuites, #TakePlace, #TheEar, #TheMet, #TheU.K., #TimeZone, #VanCliburn, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #ViennaStateOpera, #VonTrapp, #YouTubevideo, #ZurichBallet, #ZurichOpera, #ZurichSwitzerland, air, airing, appealing, audience, average, award, award-winning, Bach, Berlin Philharmonic, Berlin State Opera, blog, bookmark, brother, CDT, cellist, Cello, Central Daylight Time, Central European Time, CET, Chamber music, check, Cliburn Watch Party, compilation, Concert, concise, coronavirus, daunting, discuss, duration, Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, England, ensembles, entire, Europe, event, exhaustive, extreme, Facebook, Family, forward, free, Great Britain, groups, guide, individual, individuals, information, inital, initial, international, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, like, link, listing, livestream, local, look, loyal, medici.tv, Meghan Markle, Metropolitan Opera, movement, Music, Musical America, national, notes, online, opera, orchestral music, organizations, overlooked, pandemic, pandemic playlist, participant, party, paylist, performance, Pianist, Piano, play, post, posting, pre-recorded, prestigious, Prince Harry, program, program notes, reader, recital, recommendation, regional, royal, royalty, share, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, shortcoming, solo, Solo Cello Suites, stream, subscriber, suggestion, Suite, Switzerland, tag, take place, The Ear, the Met, time, time zone, tonight, TV, U.K., update, useful, user, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, video, Vienna, Vienna State Opera, von Trapp, watch, wedding, week, when, where, winning, word, world, YouTube, Zurich, Zurich Opera
Classical music: Bach Around the Clock 2020 goes virtual and wants your audio-video contribution. Plus TONIGHT, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra streams its Dec. 27 concert at the UW
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
ALERT: TONIGHT, March 27, at 7:30 p.m., the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra will be streaming its sold-out premiere performance (below) on Dec. 27 in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall at the UW-Madison’s new Hamel Music Center. If you couldn’t get seats for the in-person performance, you can tune in for FREE tonight.
The program is: “Poet and Peasant Overture” by Suppe; the Introduction and Allegro appassionato, Op. 92, by Robert Schumann with pianist Jason Kutz; the Overture to “Orpheus in the Underworld” by Offenbach; the “Habanera” from the opera “Carmen” by Bizet and “What a movie” from the opera “Trouble in Tahiti” by Leonard Bernstein, both with mezzo-soprano Kitt Reuter-Foss; and the Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor, Op. 61, by Saint-Saens with Rachel Barton Pine. WCO music director Andrew Sewell conducts.
For a link and portal to the streamed video, go to: https://wisconsinchamberorchestra.org/about/wisconsin-chamber-orchestra-live/
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following message from artistic director Marika Fischer Hoyt (below) about the decision to make this year’s Bach Around the Clock a virtual event with a call for community submissions:
The BATC Board of Directors shares the keen disappointment that all music lovers feel at the sudden, shocking collapse of the current concert season.
The BATC 2020 Festival was fully booked, and we had looked forward to 12 hours of music by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by musicians ranging from young students to adult amateurs to seasoned professionals, all to celebrate the composer’s 335th birthday.
Sadly, that was not to be.
But thinking outside of the box, the Board has decided to try something new: the BATC 2020 Virtual Festival.
We invite local musicians to submit video or audio recordings of themselves singing or playing a selection by Bach. If you’d like, you can also talk at the beginning of your recording, explaining what music by Bach (below) means to you, and why you chose this particular piece. Or feel free to write your thoughts on this subject, and we’ll include that text with your recording.
We reach out especially to those who were scheduled to perform at this year’s festival, and those who have performed with us in the past. But we are very happy to include newcomers to our BATC community as well.
Performers can click on Performers Guide for Media Submissions to find instructions for audio or video file submission.
We request that files be of musical selections 20 minutes or less. If a piece is longer than that, please record the piece in two files.
Our tech team will preview clips for technical quality, upload them to the BATC YouTube channel, and post them on our website and then on our Facebook page, for everyone to enjoy.
BATC plans to launch the Virtual Festival this Saturday, March 28, at 10 a.m., the time the original in-person Festival was scheduled to begin.
We will add new videos every day at 10 a.m., as long as submissions keep coming in. (Below are the Suzuki Strings of Madison performing during a past BATC.)
The BATC Board hopes this Virtual Festival gives local musicians an outlet for sharing their talent and passion with the warmly appreciative local community.
Live music nourishes the soul of performer and audience member alike, and the transcendent, life-giving joy woven into the music of Bach is something we need, now more than ever. (Below is a performance from last year’s Bach Around the Clock.)
For more information, go to: https://bachclock.com and https://www.facebook.com/batcmadison
Tags: #AmateurMusician, #AndrewSewell, #ArtisticDirector, #BachAroundtheClock, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoardofDirectors, #CamilleSaint-Saens, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ConcertSeason, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Fridaynight, #GeorgesBizet, #HighTechnology, #HomeWebsite, #InstrumentalMusic, #IntroductionandAllegroAppassionato, #JacobStockinger, #JacquesOffenbach, #JasonKutz, #JohannSebastianBach, #KittReuter-Foss, #LeonardBernstein, #LiveMusic, #LocalMusicians, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Mezzo-sopranoSinger, #MusicDirector, #MusicLover, #OperaMusic, #OriginalEnding, #OrpheusintheUnderworld, #PianoConcerto, #PianoMusic, #PoetandPeasantOverture, #ProfessionalMusician, #RachelBartonPine, #RobertSchumann, #SaturdayMorning, #SoldOut, #SuzukiMethod, #SuzukiStringsofMadison, #TheEar, #TroubleinTahiti, #TuneIn, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolinConcerto, #VirtuosoViolinist, #VocalMusic, #WhataMovie, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #YouTubeChannel, add, adult, amateur, Andrew Sewell, appreciate, appreciative, Artistic director, Arts, audience, Audio, Bach, Bach Around the Clock, Baroque, beginning, Bernstein, birthday, Bizet, blog, Board of Directors, booked, Box, Camille Saint-Saëns, Cantata, Carmen, Cello, Chamber music, channel, choral music, Classical music, classicalmusic, click, collapse, community, composer, Concert, concert season, concerto, conduct, conductor, disappointment, Early music, enjoy, explain, exposure, Facebook, festival, file, forward, Franz von Suppe, free, Friday, full, Georges Bizet, guide, Habanera, home website, in person, include, information, instructions, instrumental music, introduction, Introduction and Allegro Appassionato, invite, Jacob Stockinger, Jacques Offenbach, Jason Kutz, Johann Sebastian Bach, Joy, Kitt Reuter-Foss, Leonard Bernstein, life-giving, like, link, live, live music, local, lover, Madison, Marika Fischer Hoyt, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, meaning, media, message, Mezzo-soprano, morning, movie, Music, Music director, music lover, musical, musicians, need, new, newcomer, newcomers, night, opera, original, Orpheus, Orpheus in the Underworld, outlet, Overture, page, participate, participation, particular, Passion, past, performance, performer, Pianist, Piano, piece, playing, Poet and Peasant Overture, portal, post, posting, premiere, professional musician, program, quality, Rachel Barton Pine, recording, request, Robert Schumann, Saint-Saens, Saturday, schedule, Schumann, seasoned, seat, selection, share, shocking, Singing, sold-out, something, Sonata, stream, students, subject, submission, sudden, Suppe, Suzuki, Suzuki Strings of Madison, tag, talent, talk, team, tech, technical, technology, text, thinking, thoughts, time, tonight, transcendent, Trouble in Tahiti, try, tune in, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, video, Viola, Violin, violinist, virtual, vocal music, WCO, Website, What a Movie, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, you, young, YouTube
Classical music: The 7th annual Schubertiade at the UW-Madison is this Sunday afternoon and will explore the influence of Beethoven on Schubert
3 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
This coming Sunday afternoon, Jan. 26, is the seventh annual UW Schubertiade – named after the evening gatherings of friends (below) where the composer Franz Schubert performed and premiered his own music.
This year’s theme, given that 2020 is the Beethoven Year, is the immense influence that the older Beethoven (below top) 1770-1827) had on the younger Schubert (below bottom, 1797-1828).
The event will begin with a pre-concert lecture by UW-Madison Professor of Musicology Margaret Butler at 2:15 p.m. in the Rehearsal Hall at the new Hamel Music Center, 740 University Avenue, next to the Chazen Museum of Art.
Then at 3 p.m. in the 330-seat Collins Recital Hall in the same building, the two-hour concert will take place.
The concert will close with the usual custom. The audience and performers will join in singing “An die Musik” (To Music). (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear it sung by legendary German soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and legendary British accompanist Gerald Moore.)
A reception will follow the concert in the main lobby.
For more description of the event plus a complete program and list of performers – who consist of UW-Madison graduates and musicians including soprano Jamie Rose Guarrine (below top) and mezzo-soprano Alisanne Apple (below middle) as well as the Pro Arte Quartet (below bottom, in a photo by Rick Langer) – go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/our-annual-schubertiade/
At the site, you will also find information about buying tickets – general admission is $20 with free student tickets on the day of the concert is space is available – and about parking.
The event was founded by and continues to be directed by wife-and-husband pianists Martha Fischer and Bill Lutes (below) who also sing, accompany and play works for piano, four hands.
Lutes sent the following introductory remarks: “Ever since Martha and I presented the first of our annual Schubertiades back in January 2014, we’ve looked for ways to keep our all-Schubert birthday parties fresh and interesting for our audience.
“From time to time we contemplated introducing another composer – maybe even switching our allegiance from the immortal Franz to another of our favorites: perhaps a “Schumanniade.”
“This time, with six years of all-Schubert behind us, we thought we would do the obvious and finally unite Schubert with the composer who probably meant more to him than almost any other – Beethoven, whose 250th birthday is being celebrated this year.
“Once Beethoven moved permanently to Vienna at age 22, he soon became famous and eventually was regarded as the greatest of the city’s composers.
“Schubert, who was born in Vienna five years after Beethoven’s arrival, grew up hearing the older master’s works, often at their premieres. As his genius flowered early, Schubert was often challenged and inspired by Beethoven’s music.
“We bring together these two giants who lived in the same city, knew the same people, attended the same musical events, perhaps met or quite possibly didn’t.
“Yet Beethoven’s presence and example guided Schubert in his own road toward the Ultimate Sublime in music. Our concert of “Influences and Homages” features works where the musical, if not the personal, relationship is there for all to hear.”
Lutes also supplied a list of the song titles in English translation:
“Ich liebe dich” – I love you
“Der Atlas” – Atlas
“Auf dem Strom” – On the River
“Der Zufriedene” – The Contented Man
“Der Wachtelschlag” – The Quail’s Cry
“Wonne der Wehmut” – Joy in Melancholy
“Kennst du das Land?” – Do You Know the Land?
“An die ferne Geliebte” – To the Distant Beloved
“An die Freude” – Ode to Joy
“Gruppe aus dem Tartarus” – Scene from Hades
“Elysium”
“Nachthymne” – Hymn to the Night
“Abendlied unterm gestirnten Himmel” – Evening Song Beneath the Starry Firmament
Have you attended a past Schubertiade (below, in Mills Hall)?
What did you think?
Would you recommend it to others?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AlisanneApple, #AndieMusik, #BeethovenYear, #BillLutes, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChazenMuseumofArt, #CollaborativePianist, #CollinsRecitalHall, #ElisabethSchwarzkopf, #EnglishTranslation, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FranzSchubert, #GeneralAdmission, #GeraldMoore, #HamelMusicCenter, #JacobStockinger, #JamieRoseGuarrine, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MargaretButler, #MarthaFischer, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Mezzo-sopranoSinger, #MillsHall, #OdetoJoy, #PersonalRelationship, #PianoAccompanist, #Pre-concertLecture, #ProArteQuartet, #RehearsalHall, #RobertSchumann, #Schubertiadeconcert, #SopranoSinger, #Sundayafternoon, #TheEar, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UW-MadisonMusician, #UWProfessor, #UWSchubertiade, #ViennaAustria, #YouTubevideo, accompanist, accompany, Alisanne Apple, allegiance, An die Musik, annual, attend, audience, available, Beethoven, Beethoven Year, beloved, Bill Lutes, birthday, blog, building, buy, challenge, Chazen Museum of Art, city, close, Collins Recital Hall, composer, contemplate, contented, Cry, custom, distant, early, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, English, English translation, evening, event, example, Facebook, famous, firmament, flower, forward, four-hands, Franz Schubert, freind, fresh, gathering, general admission, genius, Gerald Moore, giants, graduates, greatest, guide, Hades, Hamel Music Center, hear, homage, hymn, immortal, influence, inspire, interesting, Jacob Stockinger, Jamie Guarrine, Jamie-Rose Guarrine, join, Joy, know, land, lecture, legendary, like, link, Love, Ludwig van Beethoven, man, Margaret Butler, Martha Fischer, Master, Mead Witter School of Music, mean, meet, melancholy, Mezzo-soprano, Mills Hall, Music, Musician, musicology, night, ode, Ode to Joy, old, older, online, other, PAQ, parking, parties, party, People, performer, personal, Pianist, Piano, post, posting, pre-concert lecture, premiere, presence, Pro Arte Quartet, professor, quail, reception lobby, recommend, rehearsal hall, relationship, river, road, Robert Schumann, scene, Schubert, Schubertiade, Schumann, seat, share, sing, song, soprano, space, starry, students, sublime, subscriber, Sunday afternoon, switch, tag, The Ear, ticket, translation, ultimate, unite, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, UW, UW-Madison, Vienna, Website, work, young, younger, YouTube
Classical music: Here are the classical music nominees for the 2020 Grammy Awards. They make a useful holiday gift guide and highlight the trend toward more diversity
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
Today is Black Friday followed by Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday — all with special deals and sales.
With that in mind, here is a list of the recently announced nominees in classical music for the 2020 Grammy Awards.
Although it is a self-serving list for a competition sponsored by The Industry, it can also be good way to find holiday gifts to give to others or to receive for yourself.
The list can be useful for spotting trends and finding new releases you may not have heard of.
For example, this year seems especially good for new music or recent works and contemporary composers. You won’t find any Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky or Mahler although you will find Berlioz, Schumann, Wagner, Bruckner, Berg, Rachmaninoff and Copland.
Another favorite seems to be the rediscovery of older composers such as Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919-1996, below) whose centennial has become an occasion for bringing his neglected works to the forefront.
You can also see that like the Oscars, the Grammys seem to be paying more attention to women composers and conductors, artists of color and crossovers or mixed and hybrid genres.
For complete lists of all 84 categories, go to this site and click on the categories that interest you: https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/2020-grammy-awards-complete-nominees-list
The 62nd annual Grammy Awards will be presented on Sunday, Jan. 26, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on CBS television.
- Best Engineered Album, Classical
An Engineer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
- AEQUA – ANNA THORVALDSDÓTTIR
Daniel Shores, engineer; Daniel Shores, mastering engineer (International Contemporary Ensemble) - BRUCKNER: SYMPHONY NO. 9
Mark Donahue, engineer; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) - RACHMANINOFF – HERMITAGE PIANO TRIO
Keith O. Johnson & Sean Royce Martin, engineers; Keith O. Johnson, mastering engineer (Hermitage Piano Trio) - RILEY: SUN RINGS
Leslie Ann Jones, engineer; Robert C. Ludwig, mastering engineer (Kronos Quartet) - WOLFE: FIRE IN MY MOUTH
Bob Hanlon & Lawrence Rock, engineers; Ian Good & Lawrence Rock, mastering engineers (Jaap Van Zweden, Francisco J. Núñez, Donald Nally, The Crossing, Young People’s Chorus Of NY City & New York Philharmonic)
- Producer Of The Year, Classical
A Producer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
- BLANTON ALSPAUGH
- Artifacts – The Music Of Michael McGlynn (Charles Bruffy & Kansas City Chorale)
• Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique; Fantaisie Sur La Tempête De Shakespeare (Andrew Davis & Toronto Symphony Orchestra)
• Copland: Billy The Kid; Grohg (Leonard Slatkin & Detroit Symphony Orchestra)
• Duruflé: Complete Choral Works (Robert Simpson & Houston Chamber Choir)
• Glass: Symphony No. 5 (Julian Wachner, The Choir Of Trinity Wall Street, Trinity Youth Chorus, Downtown Voices & Novus NY)
• Sander: The Divine Liturgy Of St. John Chrysostom (Peter Jermihov & PaTRAM Institute Singers)
• Smith, K.: Canticle (Craig Hella Johnson & Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble)
• Visions Take Flight (Mei-Ann Chen & ROCO) - JAMES GINSBURG (below)
- Project W – Works By Diverse Women Composers (Mei-Ann Chen and Chicago Sinfonietta)
• Silenced Voices (Black Oak Ensemble)
• 20th Century Harpsichord Concertos (Jory Vinikour, Scott Speck and Chicago Philharmonic)
• Twentieth Century Oboe Sonatas (Alex Klein and Phillip Bush)
• Winged Creatures & Other Works For Flute, Clarinet, And Orchestra (Anthony McGill, Demarre McGill, Allen Tinkham and Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra) - MARINA A. LEDIN, VICTOR LEDIN
- Bates: Children Of Adam; Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem (Steven Smith, Erin R. Freeman, Richmond Symphony & Chorus)
• The Orchestral Organ (Jan Kraybill)
• The Poetry Of Places (Nadia Shpachenko)
• Rachmaninoff – Hermitage Piano Trio (Hermitage Piano Trio) - MORTEN LINDBERG
- Himmelborgen (Elisabeth Holte, Kare Nordstoga & Uranienborg Vokalensemble)
• Kleiberg: Do You Believe In Heather? (Various Artists)
• Ljos (Fauna Vokalkvintett)
• LUX (Anita Brevik, Trondheimsolistene & Nidarosdomens Jentekor)
• Trachea (Tone Bianca Sparre Dahl & Schola Cantorum)
• Veneliti (Hakon Daniel Nystedt & Oslo Kammerkor) - DIRK SOBOTKA
- Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
75. Best Orchestral Performance Award to the Conductor and to the Orchestra.
- BRUCKNER: SYMPHONY NO. 9
Manfred Honeck, conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) - COPLAND: BILLY THE KID; GROHG
Leonard Slatkin, conductor (Detroit Symphony Orchestra) - NORMAN: SUSTAIN
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic) - TRANSATLANTIC
Louis Langrée, conductor (Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra) - WEINBERG: SYMPHONIES NOS. 2 and 21
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, conductor (City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra & Kremerata Baltica)
- Best Opera Recording
Award to the Conductor, Album Producer(s) and Principal Soloists.
- BENJAMIN: LESSONS IN LOVE & VIOLENCE
George Benjamin, conductor; Stéphane Degout, Barbara Hannigan, Peter Hoare & Gyula Orendt; James Whitbourn, producer (Orchestra Of The Royal Opera House) - BERG: WOZZECK
Marc Albrecht, conductor; Christopher Maltman & Eva-Maria Westbroek; François Roussillon, producer (Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra; Chorus Of Dutch National Opera) - CHARPENTIER: LES ARTS FLORISSANTS; LES PLAISIRS DE VERSAILLES
Paul O’Dette & Stephen Stubbs, conductors; Jesse Blumberg, Teresa Wakim & Virginia Warnken; Renate Wolter-Seevers, producer (Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble; Boston Early Music Festival Vocal Ensemble) - PICKER: FANTASTIC MR. FOX
Gil Rose, conductor; John Brancy, Andrew Craig Brown, Gabriel Preisser, Krista River & Edwin Vega; Gil Rose, producer (Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Boston Children’s Chorus) - WAGNER: LOHENGRIN
Christian Thielemann, conductor; Piotr Beczała, Anja Harteros, Tomasz Konieczny, Waltraud Meier & Georg Zeppenfeld; Eckhard Glauche, producer (Festspielorchester Bayreuth; Festspielchor Bayreuth)
- Best Choral Performance
Award to the Conductor, and to the Choral Director and/or Chorus Master where applicable and to the Choral Organization/Ensemble.
- BOYLE: VOYAGES
Donald Nally, conductor (The Crossing) - DURUFLÉ: COMPLETE CHORAL WORKS
Robert Simpson, conductor (Ken Cowan; Houston Chamber Choir) - THE HOPE OF LOVING
Craig Hella Johnson, conductor (Conspirare) - SANDER: THE DIVINE LITURGY OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
Peter Jermihov, conductor (Evan Bravos, Vadim Gan, Kevin Keys, Glenn Miller & Daniel Shirley; PaTRAM Institute Singers) - SMITH, K.: THE ARC IN THE SKY
Donald Nally, conductor (The Crossing)
- Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
For new recordings of works with chamber or small ensemble (twenty-four or fewer members, not including the conductor). One Award to the ensemble and one Award to the conductor, if applicable.
- CERRONE: THE PIECES THAT FALL TO EARTH
Christopher Rountree and Wild Up - FREEDOM & FAITH
PUBLIQuartet - PERPETULUM
Third Coast Percussion - RACHMANINOFF – HERMITAGE PIANO TRIO
Hermitage Piano Trio - SHAW: ORANGE
Attacca Quartet
79. Best Classical Instrumental Solo Award to the Instrumental Soloist(s) and to the Conductor when applicable.
- THE BERLIN RECITAL
Yuja Wang - HIGDON: HARP CONCERTO
Yolanda Kondonassis; Ward Stare, conductor (The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra) - MARSALIS: VIOLIN CONCERTO; FIDDLE DANCE SUITE
Nicola Benedetti; Cristian Măcelaru, conductor (Philadelphia Orchestra) - THE ORCHESTRAL ORGAN
Jan Kraybill - TORKE: SKY, CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN
Tessa Lark; 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.
- THE EDGE OF SILENCE – WORKS FOR VOICE BY GYÖRGY KURTÁG
Susan Narucki (Donald Berman, Curtis Macomber, Kathryn Schulmeister & Nicholas Tolle) - HIMMELSMUSIK
Philippe Jaroussky & Céline Scheen; Christina Pluhar, conductor; L’Arpeggiata, ensemble (Jesús Rodil & Dingle Yandell) - SCHUMANN: LIEDERKREIS OP. 24, KERNER-LIEDER OP. 35
Matthias Goerne; Leif Ove Andsnes, accompanist - SONGPLAY
Joyce DiDonato; Chuck Israels, Jimmy Madison, Charlie Porter and Craig Terry, accompanists (Steve Barnett and Lautaro Greco) - A TE, O CARA
Stephen Costello; Constantine Orbelian, conductor (Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra)
- 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.
- AMERICAN ORIGINALS 1918
John Morris Russell, conductor; Elaine Martone, producer - LESHNOFF: SYMPHONY NO. 4 ‘HEICHALOS’; GUITAR CONCERTO; STARBURST
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Tim Handley, producer - MELTZER: SONGS AND STRUCTURES
Paul Appleby & Natalia Katyukova; Silas Brown & Harold Meltzer, producers - THE POETRY OF PLACES
Nadia Shpachenko; Marina A. Ledin & Victor Ledin, producers - SAARIAHO: TRUE FIRE; TRANS; CIEL D’HIVER
Hannu Lintu, conductor; Laura Heikinheimo, producer
- 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.
- BERMEL: MIGRATION SERIES FOR JAZZ ENSEMBLE & ORCHESTRA
Derek Bermel, composer (Derek Bermel, Ted Nash, David Alan Miller, Juilliard Jazz Orchestra & Albany Symphony Orchestra) - HIGDON: HARP CONCERTO
Jennifer Higdon, composer (Yolanda Kondonassis, Ward Stare & The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra) - MARSALIS: VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D MAJOR
Wynton Marsalis, composer (Nicola Benedetti, Cristian Măcelaru & Philadelphia Orchestra) - NORMAN: SUSTAIN
Andrew Norman, composer (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic) - SHAW: ORANGE
Caroline Shaw, composer (Attacca Quartet) - WOLFE: FIRE IN MY MOUTH
Julia Wolfe, composer (Jaap Van Zweden, Francisco J. Núñez, Donald Nally, The Crossing, Young People’s Chorus Of NY City & New York Philharmonic)
Tags: #20thCentury, #AaronCopland, #AlbanBerg, #AlbanySymphony, #AmericanJazz, #AndrewDavis, #AnnaThorvaldsdottir, #AntonBruckner, #AntoninDvorak, #ArtistsofColor, #AttaccaQuartet, #BaroqueMusic, #BerlinGermany, #BillytheKid, #BlackFriday, #BlackOakEnsemble, #BlantonAlspaugh, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BostonEarlyMusicFestival, #CarolineShaw, #ChamberMusic, #ChicagoPhilharmonic, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianThielemann, #CincinnatiPops, #CincinnatiSymphonyOrchetsra, #CityofBirminghamOrchestra, #ClarinetConcerto, #ClassicalGuitar, #ContemporaryComposers, #CyberMonday, #DerekBermel, #DetroitSymphony, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FluteConcerto, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FranzSchubert, #GidonKremer, #GrammyAwards, #GuitarConcerto, #GustavMahler, #GustavoDudamel, #HectorBerlioz, #HolidayGiftGuide, #HybridGenre, #InstrumentalMusic, #JamesGinsburg, #JappVanSweden, #JenniferHigdon, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JoyceDiDonato, #JulianWachner, #JuliaWolfe, #KaijaSaariaho, #KremerataBaltica, #KronosQuartet, #LeifOveAndsnes, #LeonardSlatkin, #LesArtsFlorissants, #LivingComposers, #LosAngeles, #LouisLangree, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #ManfredHoneck, #Marc-AntoineCharpentier, #MatthiasGoerner, #MauriceDuruflé, #MichaelTorke, #MieczyslawWeinberg, #MirgaGražinytė-Tyla, #MixedGenre, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #NicolaBenedetti, #OboeConcerto, #OboeSonata, #OrchestralMusic, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PhilipGlass, #PianoTrio, #PittsburghSymphony, #RalphVaughanWilliams, #RichardWagner, #RobertSchumann, #RochesterPhilharmonic, #RoyalOperaHouse, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #SmallBusinessSaturday, #SoundEngineer, #StaplesCenter, #StephenCostello, #StringQuartet, #SymphonicMusic, #TerryRiley, #TobiasPicker, #TorontoSymphonyOrchestra, #ViolinConcerto, #VocalMusic, #WilliamShakespeare, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WyntonMarsalis, #YolandaKondonassis, #YujaWang, 20th-century, Aaron Copland, Alban Berg, Albany Symphony, American, Andrew Davis, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, annual, Anton Bruckner, Antonín Dvořák, artists of color, Attacca Quartet, award, Bach, Baroque music, Beethoven, Berg, Berlin, Berlioz, best, Billy the Kid, black, Black Friday, Black Oak Ensemble, Blanton Alspaugh, blog, Boston Early Music Festival, Brahms, Broadcast, Bruckner, Business, buying, California, canticle, Caroline Shaw, category, CBS, CBS-TV, Chamber music, Chicago, Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra, choral music, chorus, Christian Thielemann, Cincinnati Pops, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, clarinet, Classical music, classicalmusic, Competition, composer, concerto, contemporary composers, Copland, crossover, cyber, Cyber-Monday, dance, deal, Derek Bermel, Detroit, Detroit Symphony, divine, Dvorak, Early music, Earth, edge, engineer, ensemble, Facebook, faith, fiddle, fire, flute, forefront, forward, Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, freedom, genre, Germany, Gidon Kremer, give, good, Grammy Awards, Grammys, guide, guitar, Gustav Mahler, Gustavo Dudamel, harp, harpsichord, Haydn, Hector Berlioz, Higdon, Holiday, holiday gift guide, hope, hybrid genre, industry, instrumental, James Ginsburg, Japp Van Sweden, Jazz, Jennifer Higdon, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Joyce DiDonato, Julia Wolfe, Julian Wachner, Kaija Saariaho, Kremerata Baltica, Kronos Quartet, Kurtag, Leif Ove Andsnes, Leonard Slatkin, Les Arts Florissants, lessons, like, link, living, living composers, Lohengrin, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Louis Langrée, Love, loving, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mahler, Manfred Honeck, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Matthias Goerner, Maurice Durufle, Michael Torke, Mieczyslaw Weinberg, Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla, mixed, mixed genre, mouth, Mozart, neglected, new, New Music, New York City, New York Philharmonic, Nicola Benedetti, nomination, nominee, Oboe, oboe sonata, occasion, opera, orange, Orchestra, orchestral, organ, original, Oscars, percussion, performance, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Philip Glass, Pianist, Piano, Piano Trio, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, places, Poetry, pops, post, posting, producer, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Ralph Vaughan Williams, receive, recital, rediscovery, release, Retail, Richard Wagner, Robert Schumann, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Opera House, sale, Schubert, Schumann, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, Shakespeare, share, Shopping, silence, singer, site, sky, small, solo, Sonata, song, special, Staples Center, Stephen Costello, String quartet, Suite, sun, symphonic music, symphony, tag, Tchaikovsky, Tchakovsky, Television, Terry Riley, Tobias Picker, Torke, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, trend, Trinity, TV, Versailles, violence, Violin concerto, violinist, vision, vocal music, voices, voyage, Wagner, Wang, Weinberg, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, women, Wozzeck, Wynton Marsalis, year, Yolanda Kondonassis, young people, Yuja Wang
Classical music: The Middleton Community Orchestra and UW duo-pianists showcase the remarkable music of Camille Saint-Saens and Mozart in the popular concert that closes its season
10 Comments
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
By Jacob Stockinger
Here is a special posting, a review written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker. Barker (below) is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who writes for Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who hosts an early music show once a month on Sunday morning on WORT-FM 89.9. For years, he served on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison.
By John W. Barker
The mostly amateur Middleton Community Orchestra (below, in a photo by Margaret Barker) closed its season Thursday night at the Middleton Performing Arts Center with a promising and well-received program.
The centerpiece featured two graduate student soloists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, pianists Thomas Kasdorf (below right) and Satoko Hayami (below left), who joined in Mozart’s Concerto in E-flat Major, K. 365, for two pianos and orchestra. The two soloists were alert and polished collaborators. (You can hear the energetic and catchy final movement, used in the Academy Award-winning film “Amadeus,” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Conductor Steve Kurr (below) set a bouncy pace but a rather fast and overpowering one, and with an orchestra — especially strings — quite overblown by the standards of Mozart’s day.
The MCO was blessed by the loan of a very special model of a Model B Steinway instrument, now owned and lovingly restored by Farley’s House of Pianos. This was paired against a Steinway of much later vintage, owned by the hall. But nowhere was there identification about which piano was which as they sat onstage, much less which pianist was playing which piano (and they switched between the two works utilizing them.) This was disappointing for it prevented making an informed comparison of the two instruments.
Camille Saint-Saens (1835-1921, below) is backhandedly treated as being on the margins of composer greatness. But his scope was remarkable, as witnessed by the two works that were the program’s bookends.
The opener was his humorous Suite, “Carnival of the Animals.” This set of 14 short pieces was written for one private performance, in chamber terms, one player per part. So the orchestra that was used — of 87 listed musicians, 60 of them were string players — became a crushing distortion. The two pianists were a bit formal, but ideally facile.
Saint-Saens made no provision for any kind of spoken text, certainly not in French. In the middle of the last century, the American poet of high-spirited doggerel, Ogden Nash, wrote wickedly funny verses with offbeat rhymes and puns to go with each movement.
It was these Nash verses that Wisconsin Public Radio host Norman Gilliland (below), who was only identified as the “narrator,” read with a good bit of tongue-in-cheek. Nowhere are these at all identified or credited in the bumbling program booklet. (Many in the audience might have just thought that they were written by Gilliland himself.)
In many of the suite’s movements, Saint-Saens quoted or alluded to hit tunes by earlier composers, for parodistic purposes. Unfortunately, there are no program notes in the booklet, so these tidbits would easily go unnoticed by many listeners.
Saint-Saens composed, among his numerous orchestral works, a total of five symphonies, only three of which are numbered. I had originally been given to expect No. 2, a charming work I love, as the program closer. All but the last of them are early works in a graceful post-Classical style.
But No. 3 was composed much later in his life, and in a more expansive style. This is a frequently performed spectacle, unconventional in plan and in scoring. It adds the two pianists and an organ — hence the nickname the “Organ Symphony.”
Unfortunately, the hall has no organ of its own, so the substitute was a rig of electronic organ with its own booming speakers and exaggerated pedal notes. Again totally unmentioned is that this contraption was played by MCO sound technician Alex Ford (below, with the portable electronic organ keyboard from Austria with its computer-screen stops).
This kind of organ could never be integrated into the full orchestral texture and served only to allow the orchestra to play this grandiose score. Such ambition was backed by really splendid and well-balanced orchestral playing.
As intended, the large local audience, with many children and families, was wildly enthusiastic.
Tags: "Amadeus", #AcademyAward, #AlexFord, #AmadeusFilm, #AmateurMusicians, #AmericanPoet, #AmericanRecordGuide, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BlogReview, #CamilleSaint-Saens, #CarnivaloftheAnimals, #ChamberMusic, #ClassicalStyle, #ComputerScreen, #DuoPianists, #ElectricOrgan, #EmeritusProfessor, #EnsemblePlaying, #Farley'sHouseofPianos, #FilmSoundtrack, #GraduateStudent, #IsthmusNewspaper, #JohnW.Barker, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MedievalHistory, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #MiddletonPerformingArtsCenter, #MusicCritic, #MusicReview, #NormanGilliland, #OgdenNash, #OrganSymphony, #OscarAward, #PianoConcerto, #ProgramNotes, #RadioHost, #SatokoHayami, #SteinwayPiano, #SteveKurr, #StringSection, #ThomasKasdorf, #Thursdaynight, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WORT-FM89.9, #YouTubevideo, Academy Award, advisor, alert, Alex Ford, amateur, ambition, American, American Record Guide, Arts, audience, Austria, balance, balanced, blessed, blog, bookend, booklet, boom, booming, bumbling, Camille Saint-Saëns, Carnival of the Animals, catchy, Cello, centerpiece, Chamber music, charm, charming, children, Classical, Classical music, Classical style, classicalmusic, collaborator, comparison, composer, computer screen, Concert, concerto, conductor, credit, critic, day, disappoint, disappointing, distortion, doggerel, Early music, emeritus professor, energetic, engineer, enthusiastic, exaggerate, facile, families, Family, Farley's House of Pianos, fast, festival, film, final movement, finale, forma;, formal, forward, funny, grace, graceful, grandiose, great, greatness, guide, hall, History, hit, host, humorous, idea, idenitfied, identification, inform, instrument, integrate, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, John W. Barker, lecture, like, link, loan, local, loving, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, margin, Mead Witter School of Music, medieva;, Middleton Community Orchestra, Middleton Performing Arts Center, model, month, movement, movie, Mozart, Music, music review, Musician, narrate, narrator, nickname, night, Norman Gilliland, note, offbeat, Ogden Nash, onstage, Orchestra, organ, organ symphony, Oscar, overblown, overpowering, own, pace, pair, parody, pedal, performer, Pianist, Piano, pieces, plan, player, playing, poet, popular, portable, prevent, private, program, program notes, promising, pun, purpose, radio host, read, record, remarkable, rhyme, Satoko Hayami, scope, score, Season, share, short, show, showcase, soloist, Sound, soundtrack, speakers, special, spectacle, splendid, spoken, standards, Steinway, Steve Jobs, stop, strings, Student, style, Suite, symphonies, symphony, tag, technician, text, texture, Thomas Kasdorf, Thursday, tongue-in-cheek, tune, two-piano, unconventional, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, verse, verses, vintage, Viola, Violin, Wicked, wild, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, WORT-FM 89.9, YouTube
Classical music: What music is good to listen to every day for a year? And why? Clemency Burton-Hill discusses her book “Year of Wonder” on PBS’ “Newshour”
1 Comment
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
By Jacob Stockinger
What different pieces of classical music would be good to listen to every day of the year?
And what should you know about it?
Those are the simple but ambitious questions that the British writer Clemency Burton-Hill — who now works for the famed classical radio station WQXR in New York City — tackles in her book “Year of Wonder: Classical Music to Enjoy Day by Day” (below).
You can get a sample by going to the book section of Amazon.com and looking inside the book. Just click on the Introduction for an overview and then click on some specifics dates to see how it works.
But recently Burton-Hill (below) also appeared on “The NewsHour” on PBS to talk about the book, where she explained her purpose and method, especially her intent to help expand the audience for classical music.
Her remarks impressed The Ear who has ordered a copy of her book and hopes to learn from it and maybe even pass along some lessons from it.
All the genres, all the great composers (dead and living) and most of the great works are covered, as are many other neglected composers and unknown works. So the book can be considered a terrific resource for music education for both beginners and those who are experienced.
Her commentaries are also a model of brevity and engaging interest.
All in all, “Year of Wonder” seems a supremely practical, unpretentious and informative guide to daily listening, especially given how many of these works – often they are shorter sections of larger works — can be found for free on YouTube. (In fact, a playlist of music featured in the book is available on YouTube. Go to YouTube and type in “Year of Wonder Playlist” into the search engine, then look to the upper right for a list. A sample is at the bottom. Or use this direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wNTNEZYoHg&list=PLKPwLlyrD2y-1x-uKmUBzSOiAh83GhU7A
But you don’t have to take my word for it. Here is a link to the television interview:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/embracing-classical-music-and-its-potential-for-sonic-salvation
The Ear hopes you find the interview both informative and useful.
Happy listening!
Tags: #AlexanderScriabin, #AndrasSchiff, #AntonioVivaldi, #ArcangeloCorelli, #ArthurRubinstein, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BookReview, #ChamberMusic, #ChopinEtudes, #ChoralMusic, #ClaraSchumann, #ClemencyBurton-Hill, #DmitriShostakovich, #EdvardGrieg, #FrancisPoulenc, #FranzSchubert, #FredericChopin, #GabrielFaure, #GiacomoPuccini, #GiuseppeVerdi, #GustavMahler, #JohannSebastianBach, #LeonardBernstein, #LivingComposer, #LucianoPavarotti, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MauriceRavel, #MaxBruch, #MaxRichter, #MortenLauridsen, #MusicEducation, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #OperaMusic, #PaulHindemith, #SamuelBarber, #SergeiProkofiev, #SteveReich, #StringQuartet, #TheNewsHour, #TomasoAlbinoni, #VocalMusic, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WQXRradio, #YearofWonder, #YouTubevideo, Albinoni, amazon.com, ambitious, András Schiff, Arthur Rubinstein, Arts, audience, Bach, Barber, Baroque, Beethoven, beginners, blog, Book, book review, brevity, Chamber music, Chopin, choral music, Clara Schumann, Classical music, Clemency Burton-Hill, commentaries, commentary, composer, concerto, conductor, Corelli, daily, day, dead, different, Dmitri Shostakovich, Early music, engaging, enjoy, etude, expand, experienced, Faure, Franz Schubert, free, genre, George Frideric Handel, good, great, Grieg, guide, Hindemith, informative, intent, interest, interview, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Leonard Bernstein, lesson, like, link, listen, listening, living, Luciano Pavarotti, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Mahler, Max Bruch, Max Richter, method, Morten Lauridsen, movement, Mozart, Music, Music education, neglected, New York City, opera, Orchestra, Paul Hindemith, PBS, performer, Piano, piece, playlist, Poulenc, practical, Prokofiev, Puccini, purpose, Radio, Ravel, remark, Requiem, Scriabin, section, share, short, simple, sing, Singing, Sonata, song, Steve Reich, String quartet, symphony, tag, Television, The Newshour, TV, United States, unknown, unpretentious, useful, Verdi, Viola, Violin, Vivaldi, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, wonder, word, works, WQXR, year, Year of Wonder, YouTube
Classical music: WQXR names the best classical recording of 2018. Plus, here are other guides to help you use gift cards
8 Comments
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
By Jacob Stockinger
Here is another gift list that The Ear just found. Even though it was compiled before the holiday, he looked for it but didn’t find it.
It’s another of the top classical recordings of 2018. But this time, the list – with plenty of sound samples — comes from WQXR, the famed classical music radio station in New York City.
It may be too late to use for holiday gift giving – unless it is for yourself. After all, there are a lot of gift cards waiting to be redeemed.
Also below are several other lists so that you can cross-check and compare. The CD of Chopin ballades and nocturnes by Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes (below), for example, makes almost all the lists, which is a good sign of quality. (You can hear Andsnes play the Ballade No. 4, The Ear’s favorite, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Here is the link to WQXR:
https://www.wqxr.org/story/best-classical-releases-2018/
Here is a link to the top picks by critics for The New York Times and the Top 10 for National Public Radio (NPR):
And here are the nominations for the 2019 Grammy Awards:
Tags: #AntonioVivaldi, #BalletMusic, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BlogReview, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ChristmasGifts, #ClassicalRecording, #ClaudeDebussy, #CompactDisc, #DmitriShostakovich, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FelixMendelssohn, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FranzSchubert, #FredericChopin, #GiftCard, #GrammyAwards, #GrammyNominations, #GustavMahler, #HistoricRecording, #HolidayGift, #HolidayGiftGuide, #HolidaySeason, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnAdams, #LeifOveAndnes, #LeonardBernstein, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MarinAlsop, #NationalPublicRadio, #NewMusic, #NorwegianPianist, #OperaMusic, #OrchestralMusic, #PercussionMusic, #PianoTrio, #RomeoandJuliet, #SacredMusic, #SecularMusic, #SergeiProkofiev, #SoundSample, #TheEar, #TheNewYorkTImes, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WQXRradio, #YouTubevideo, Arts, audience, Bach, ballet, Baroque, Beethoven, blog, Cello, Chamber music, Chopin, choral music, Classical music, classicalmusic, Compact Disc, compare, composer, concerto, conductor, critic, Debussy, Early music, Facebook, favorite, forward, Franz Schubert, George Frideric Handel, gift, gift card, Grammy Awards, guide, Haydn, hear, Holiday, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Adams, Leonard Bernstein, like, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Mahler, Marin Alsop, Mendelssohn, Mozart, National Public Radio, New Music, nocturne, nomination, NPR, opera, Orchestra, orchestral, percussion, Pianist, Piano, Piano Trio, post, posting, Prokofiev, quality, Radio, recording, review, Romeo and Juliet, Sergei Prokofiev, share, Shostakovich, sing, singer, Singing, Sonata, song, Sound sample, symphony, tag, The Ear, The New York Times, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, Vivaldi, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, WQXR, WQXR-FM
Classical music: Who are the greatest classical composers? And how do you decide?
6 Comments
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
ALERT: The Madison Symphony Orchestra’s holiday tradition of the “Community Carol Sing,” with organist Greg Zelek, is FREE and open to the public of all ages. It takes place in Overture Hall at 7 p.m. this Monday night, Nov. 26. No tickets or reservations are needed for the hour-long Carol Sing. For more information, including a list of the carols on the program, go to: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/free-community-carol-sing/
By Jacob Stockinger
Who are the greatest composers of classical music?
Who are the most influential composers?
And which composer is the greatest of all time?
Just as important, how do you decide? How do you pick them and make your choice?
And finally, should such choices matter?
You could ask Anthony Tommasini (below), senior classical music critic for The New York Times — who came to the UW-Madison during the Pro Arte Quartet centennial several years ago and lectured in the Wisconsin Union Theater — who has just published a new book about those very questions.
The new book is “The Indispenable Composers: A Personal Guide” (below) and is published by Penguin Books. (It could make a nice holiday gift for a classical music fan.)
In a recent story, Tommasini – who readily admits to the project being very much a subjective game – discussed the process, which comes in the wake of his publishing a two-week project in 2011 when he named the 10 greatest composers of all time.
This time he uses (below, from left) Gustav Mahler, Ludwig van Beethoven and Edvard Grieg as test cases for asking: Who is a great composer, and how do you know or decide what makes a composer great?
The Ear doesn’t agree with all the results, but he found it a fascinating and thought-provoking discussion, and figures you might too:
Here is a link: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/02/arts/music/anthony-tommasini-classical-music.html
Read the overview story, and then leave word if you agree with Tommasini about the greatest of all composers. (A clue is in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Which composers would you include that he didn’t?
Who did he include whom you wouldn’t?
And let’s play along: Which composers would be on your own personal list of the Top 5 or Top 10 indispensable composers? And in what order?
Have fun!
And, pro or con, don’t be shy in saying what you think. The more controversial and stronger the opinion and the words, the better.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AnthonyTommasini, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChristmasCarol, #CommunitySing, #EdvardGrieg, #FacebookPost, #GregZelek, #GustavMahler, #HolidayGift, #JohannSebastianBach, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MusicCritic, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #PenguinBooks, #PersonalGuide, #PianoPrelude, #ProandCon, #ProArteQuartet, #ProorCon, #TestCase, #TheIndispensableComposers, #TheNewYorkTImes, #Top10, #Top5, #TopFive, #TopTen, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #WisconsinUnionTheater, age, Anthony Tommasini, Arts, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, blog, Book, centennial, Chamber music, choral music, Classical music, composer, con, concerto, controversial, critic, decide, discussion, Early music, Edvard Grieg, Facebook, Franz Schubert, free, game, George Frideric Handel, great, Greg Zelek, guide, Gustav Mahler, holiday gift, hour, influence, influential, information, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, know, lecture, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mozart, Music, music critic, New York Times, opera, opinion, Orchestra, organ, organist, Overture Center, Overture Hall, Penguin Books, personal, Piano, post, posting, Prelude, pro, Pro Arte Quartet, process, project, public, publish, question, reservation, share, sing, singer, Sonata, song, story, strong, subjective, symphony, tag, test case, The Indispensable Composers, The New York Times, thought provoking, ticket, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, web site, Website, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, words, YouTube
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 
Live music continues its comeback from the pandemic. Today is Make Music Madison with free concerts citywide of many kinds of music. Here are guides with details
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
Live music continues to make its comeback from the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The past week saw live outdoor concerts by Con Vivo, the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society and the Middleton Community Orchestra.
Today – Monday, June 21 –is Make Music Madison 2021.
It is part of an annual worldwide phenomenon that started in France in 1982. It has since spread globally and is now celebrated in more than 1,000 cities in 120 countries.
Yet in the U.S., Wisconsin is one of only five states that celebrate Make Music Day statewide. The other states are Connecticut, Hawaii, New Mexico and Vermont. In there U.S., more than 100 cities will take part in presenting free outdoor concerts. Globally, the audience will be in the millions.
The day is intended to be a way to celebrate the annual Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. Technically, the solstice occurred in Wisconsin last night, on Father’s Day, at 10:32 p.m. CDT.
But The Ear is a forgiving kind. This will be the first full day of summer, so the spirit of the celebration lives on despite the calendar.
You can see – the composer Igor Stravinsky advised listening with your eyes open – and hear 38 different kinds of music. The choices include blues, bluegrass, Celtic, roots music, gospel, rock, jazz, classical, folk, African music, Asian music, world music, children’s music (see the YouTube video at the bottom) and much more. It will be performed by students and teachers, amateurs and professionals, individuals and groups.
Here is a link to a press release about the overall event: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/make-music-day-2021-announces-updated-schedule-of-events-301304107.html
And here is a link to the global home website — with more background information and a live-stream video of a gong tribute to the who died of COVID — about the festival: https://www.makemusicday.org
The local events will take place from 5 a.m. to midnight. All are open to the public without admission, and safety protocols will be observed.
Here is a guide to local events that allow you to search particulars of the celebration by area of the city, genre of music, performers, venues and times. If you are a classical fan, in The Ear’s experience you might want to pay special attention to Metcalfe’s market in the Hilldale mall.
Here is a link to the home webpage of Make Music Madison: https://www.makemusicmadison.org
Here is a link to the event calendar with maps and schedules as well as alternative plans in case of rain and various menus for searching: https://www.makemusicmadison.org/listings/
Happy listening!
In the Comment section, please leave your observations and suggestions or advice about the quality and success of the festival and the specific events you attended.
The Ear wants to hear.
Share this:
Like this:
Tags: #AfricanMusic, #AsianMusic, #BachDancingandDynamiteSociety, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #Children'sMusic, #ChoralMusic, #CityofMadison, #ConVivo, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #CulturalPhenomenon, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Father'sDay, #FolkMusic, #HilldaleMall, #HomeWebpage, #IgorStravinsky, #JacobStockinger, #LiveMusic, #LiveStreaming, #MadisonWisconsin, #MakeMusicDay, #MakeMusicMadison, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #Mondaynight, #NewMexico, #PianoMusic, #PressRelease, #RockMusic, #RootsMusic, #SummerSolstice, #TheBlues, #TheEar, #TheU.S., #UnitedStates, #VocalMusic, #WebPage, #WorldMusic, #YouTubevideo, admission, advice, Africa, alternative, amateur, annaul, area, Arts, Asia, Asian music, audience, Bach, Bach Dancing and Dynamt, background, Baroque, Beethoven, blog, blue, bluegrass, blues, calendar, celebrate, celebration, Cello, Celtic, Chamber music, children, children's music, choral music, city, citywide, Classical music, classicalmusic, comeback, comment, composer, Con Vivo, Connecticut, coronavirus, cultural, culture, different, event, eyes, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, fathers day, festival, Folk music, forgive, forgiving, forward, France, free, genre, gospel, group, guide, happy', Hawaii, hear, Hilldale, Hilldale Mall, Holiday, Home, Igor Stravinsky, individual, information, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, kijd, like, link, listen, listening, live music, live-stream, livestream, local, Madison, make, Make Music Day, Make Music Madison, map, market, menu, Metcalfe's, Middleton Community Orchestra, million, Monday, Music, New Mexico, night, now, observation, occur, open, outdoors, pandemic, particulars, performer, phenomenon, Pianist, Piano, piano music, plans, post, posting, press release, professional, protocol, public, quality, rain, Rock, rock music, roots music, schedule, search, see, share, Spring, Stravinsky, stuydent, success, suggest, Summer solstice, tag, Teacher, technical, technically, The blues, The Ear, time, U.S., United States, venue, Vermont, video, vocal music, Wisconsin, World music, worldwide, YouTube video