The Well-Tempered Ear
Should the 1812 Overture be played this Fourth of July?
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear recently noticed that the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra has once again scheduled the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky (below) as part of the finale of its Fourth of July concert on the evening of July 6, 2022.
The performance is part of this summer’s FREE Concerts on the Square (COS) by the WCO that run on six consecutive Wednesday nights from June 29 through Aug. 3. Concerts start at 7 p.m. on the King Street corner of the Capitol Square in downtown Madison, and will be conducted by Andrew Sewell.
For more information about the series and individual performers and programs, go to: https://wcoconcerts.org/concerts-tickets/concerts-on-the-square
An asterisk says programs are subject to change.
Which got The Ear to thinking: Should Tchaikovsky’s perennial favorite, the flashy and loud 1812 Overture, be played again this year?
It is a tradition that was started on Independence Day in 1974 by Arthur Fielder and the Boston Pops, according to reputable sources.
But this year might be a very different case because of a quandary that might cause organizers, including PBS’ “A Capitol Fourth,” to rethink the program.
It is a choice that will confront many musical groups across the U.S., given the current unprovoked brutality and and war crimes being committed by Russia against Ukraine.
After all, many music groups, including the Metropolitan Opera, have already banned Russian performers who support Russian President Vladimir Putin and his unjustified war in Ukraine (below).
So here’s the question: Is it appropriate to play a favorite work celebrating a Russian military victory while Ukraine, the United States and Western allies, including NATO, are desperately trying to defeat Russian forces?
As you may recall, the overture was inspired by Russia’s victory over the invading forces of Napoleon who was attempting go conquer Russia. Like Hitler and the Nazis, Napoleon failed and the Russians prevailed. That is why, in the work, you hear the French national anthem “La Marseillaise” overcome by the chimes and cannons of the Russian victory hymn. (There was no Russian national anthem until 1815.)
Here is a link to more background in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1812_Overture
Will the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra or other orchestras as well as radio and TV stations around the U.S. find a substitute piece? Perhaps it could be the Ukrainian national anthem that is performed (as in the BBC Proms concert in the YouTube video at the bottom and as many other orchestras around the world, including the Madison Symphony Orchestra and John DeMain, have done).
What else could the WCO and other groups play — especially since Sousa marches are already usually featured on The Fourth?
Do you have a suggestion?
The Ear will be interested to see how the quandary is solved — with explanations and excuses, or with alternative music?
Meanwhile, as comedian Stephen Colbert likes to say: What do you think?
Should the “1812 Overture” be played on this Fourth of July?
Why?
Or why not?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Madison’s Sonata à Quattro performs TONIGHT online for the prestigious Boston Early Music Festival
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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
The Ear is back
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear is back!
For the first time since the May 18 posting about the season’s last concert by Just Bach, The Ear can post a new entry.
For three weeks, The Ear struggled to correct the situation, but to no avail. But then yesterday everything suddenly seemed to fall into place and new postings became possible.
Some readers and subscribers have contacted The Ear to ask if he was ill or something disabling had happened. Thank you for your concern.
But let me reassure you. The absence and silence were due simply to the technological glitch on the WordPress.com platform.
In some ways, though, the involuntary sabbatical was welcome. It provided The Ear with an opportunity to consider whether he wanted to continue the blog after the past 13 years.
After much consideration, The Ear has decided to continue, at least for the time being.
But the blog will see some changes.
Stay tuned and The Ear will explain more in detail.
In the mean time, thank you for continuing to subscribe and read the blog. It has been gratifying to see both the loyalty of the readers, many of whom used the hiatus to explore the archives.
And if you have any comments or suggestions to make about the blog, please leave them in the Comment section.
The Ear wants to hear.
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The Wisconsin Union Theater closes its 2020-21 season with only one online concert this weekend. Sō Percussion on Saturday night has been CANCELED. The Wisconsin Sound all-Beethoven concert with the Pro Arte Quartet will take place at noon on Sunday.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Two online concerts this weekend were supposed to close the 2020-21 season at the Wisconsin Union Theater.
On Saturday night at 7:30 p.m., the usual subscriber season was supposed to wind up with an online concert by the Sō Percussion Ensemble with the contemporary Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Caroline Shaw.
That concert has been CANCELED. No reason is listed.
On this Sunday, May 2, at noon CDT, however, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s acclaimed string quartet, the Pro Arte Quartet (below top), will by joined by pianist and UW-Madison graduate Thomas Kasdorf (below bottom) in an all-Beethoven concert.
This will be the last concert of the WUT’s innovative Wisconsin Sounds – they feature local performers– this season.
Here are more details:
PROGRAM and PERFORMERS
The “Beethoven in C Minor” program will feature two works:
String Trio in C minor, Op. 9, No. 3 (1797-98). Performers are Sally Chisholm, viola; Parry Karp, cello; and David Perry, violin.
Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 1, No. 3 (1793-4). Performers are: Suzanne Beia, violin; Parry Karp, cello; and Thomas Kasdorf, piano. You can hear the opening movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.
The Pro Arte Quartet’s performance of early works by the young Beethoven (below) is part of the Wisconsin Sound Series, which showcases and supports local musicians and artists during the coronavirus pandemic.
Learn more about the series.
To learn more about the Pro Arte Quartet, go to the group’s Website or page on Facebook
TICKETS
Tickets cost $15 and are available at the Wisconsin Union Theater box office. You can purchase tickets and also see more information about the program and performers here: https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/pro-arte-quartet/
For ticket buyers who purchase a ticket less than two hours before the event start time, the link to view the concert will be in the confirmation email you will receive immediately following your purchase. This link will be accessible for seven days following the initial broadcast.
For all other purchases, all emails will come from https://union.wisc.edu/visit/wisconsin-union-theater/theater-tickets/
If you do not receive your email to your inbox, please check your junk or spam folder in case it was filtered there. If you have questions or problems, the box offices phone number is (608) 265-ARTS (2787).
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The Madison Bach Musicians host a virtual online Baroque Tour starting this Saturday, April 24, and lasting through May 8
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following notice from Trevor Stephenson, the founder and artistic director of the Madison Bach Musicians (MBM), who will debut their season-closing concert live and online this coming Saturday night, April 24:
Stephenson (below) writes:
Since travel has been so very limited during the pandemic, Madison Bach Musicians is elated to conclude its 2020-21 season with a musical journey through both space and time, and invites you to join us from the intimacy and safety of your own home.
A Baroque Tour is a musical travelogue of instrumental masterworks from 17th- and 18th-century Europe. Luminaries like Handel, Vivaldi, Purcell and Buxtehude are in the mix on this program with their brilliant though lesser-known contemporaries such as Louis-Gabriel Guillemain (below top), Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Andrea Falconieri (below bottom) and Francisco Jose de Castro.
A Baroque Tour will explore the glorious sonic landscapes of Italy, Spain, France, England and Germany.
Our ensemble for this program consists of five strings plus harpsichord, and we are thrilled that baroque bassoon virtuoso Marc Vallon (below, in a photo by James Gill), who teaches at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, will join us for Vivaldi’s exuberant Bassoon Concerto in B-Flat Major. (You can hear the opening movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
A Baroque Tour will be broadcast via live-streaming from the acoustically spectacular sanctuary of Grace Episcopal Church on this Saturday evening, April 24. (Rebroadcasts will be available on demand through May 8.)
Tickets are $15 and available online at: https://madison-bach-musicians.square.site/product/a-baroque-tour-april-24-2021-livestream-on-demand-until-may-8/57?cs=true&cst=custom
If you wish to purchase tickets through the mail, use this downloadable form: https://madisonbachmusicians.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/MBM-2020-21-Live-Stream-Ticket-Form-A-Baroque-Tour.pdf
Here is the schedule for the concert and related events:
From 7:30-8 p.m., in a pre-concert lecture, MBM artistic director Trevor Stephenson will discuss the composers, the repertoire and the historical instruments.
The performance will run from 8 p.m. until approximately 9:15 p.m.
The evening will then conclude with a live Question-and-Answer session with the musicians who will be socially distanced on the concert platform.
Listeners should submit their questions—in advance or during the broadcast—via email to Karen Rebholz at madisonbachmusicians.manager@gmail.com.
THE MUSICIANS are:
Marc Vallon – baroque bassoon soloist
Kangwon Kim (below) – baroque violin
Emily Dupere – baroque violin
Micah Behr – baroque viola and baroque guitar
Martha Vallon – baroque cello and viola da gamba
James Waldo – baroque cello (and tambourine)
Trevor Stephenson – harpsichord
THE PROGRAM is:
HANDEL – Sonata in A major for Violin and Continuo, HWV 361
CHARPENTIER – Concerto for Four Viols, H 545
PURCELL – Trio Sonata in C major, Z 795
VIVALDI – Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major, RV 503
GUILLEMAIN – Sonata in A minor for Two Violins, Op. 5, No.1
BUXTEHUDE – Trio Sonata in G major, BuxWV 271
DE CASTRO – Trio Sonata in C major, Op. 1, No. 6
FALCONIERI – La Folia (Folías de España)
Here is a link to some brief biographies and interesting facts about these remarkable composers: https://madisonbachmusicians.org/april-24-a-baroque-tour-a-livestream-event/
Tags: #AndreaFalconieri, #AntonioVivaldi, #ArtisticDirector, #BaroqueBassoon, #BaroqueContinuo, #BaroqueMusic, #BassoonConcerto, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChristianChurch, #CoronavirusPandemic, #DietrichBuxtehude, #EmailAddress, #EmilyDupere, #EnglishComposer, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FranciscoJosedeCastro, #Frenchcomposer, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GermanComposer, #GermanComposers, #GraceEpiscopalChurch, #HarpsichordContinuo, #HenryPurcell, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #HomeWebsite, #InstrumentalMusic, #italianComposer, #JacobStockinger, #JamesWaldo, #JohannSebastaianBach, #KangwonKim, #KeyboardMusic, #LaFolia, #LiveStreaming, #Louis-GabrielGuillemain, #MadisonBachMusicians, #Marc-AntoineCharpentier, #MarcVallon, #MarthaVallon, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MicahBehr, #Musicfaculty, #OnlineConcert, #PeriodInstruments, #Pre-concertLecture, #RelatedEvent, #SaturdayNight, #SocialDistance, #SpanishComposer, #StringMusic, #TheEar, #TheUW, #TrevorStephenson, #TrioSonata, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VioladaGamba, #VirtualConcert, #WoodwindInstruments, #YouTubevideo, acoustics, Andrea Falconieri, Antonio Vivaldi, April, April Fool, Artistic director, Arts, audience, Bach, Baroque, bassoon concerto, biography, blog, brief, brilliant, Britain, Broadcast, Buxtehude, Castro, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Charpentier, Christian, church, Classical music, composer, Concert, concerto, conclude, contemporary, continuo, coronavirus, cost, demand, Dietrich Buxtehude, downloadable, Dupere, Early music, elate, email, Emily Dupere, England, English, evening, event, exuberant, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, fact, Falconieri, form, forward, founder, Francisco Jose de Castro, French, George Frideric Handel, German, Germany, glorious, Grace Episcopal Church, Guillemain, guitar, Handel, harpsichord, help, Henry Purcell, historically informed performance practices, Home, home website, instrumental, intimacy, invite, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, James Walso, Johann Sebastian Bach, journey, Kangwon Kim, Keyboard, keyboard music, La Folia, landscape, like, limited, link, livestream, Louis-Gabriel Guillemain, luminary, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, mail, Marc Vallon, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Martha Vallon, masterpiece, MBM, Mead Witter School of Music, Micah Behr, mix, Music, music faculty, musical, Musician, notice, online, pandemic, performer, period instruments, post, posting, pre-concert lecture, professor, Purcell, Q&A, question-and-answer, related, remarkable, repertoire, repertory, safety, sanctuary, Saturday, Season, session, share, social distance, Sonata, sonic, space, Spain, Spanish, spectacular, string, string music, tag, tambourine, The Ear, thrill, ticket, time, tour, travel, travelogue, Trevor Stephenson, trio, trio sonata, UK, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, video, Viol, Viola, viola da gamba, Violin, violinist, virtual, virtuoso, Vivaldi, Website, Wisconsin, woodwind, write, YouTube
This weekend, starting Friday night, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra finishes up its winter season of online chamber music
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By Jacob Stockinger
This is the time of the year when music groups generally announce their next season while finishing up the current one.
But of course the pandemic continues to shroud plans for the new upcoming season in uncertainty and whether it will be online or in-person.
Meanwhile, groups are in the final stretch of finishing up this season.
This Friday night, April 16, at 7:30 p.m., the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (WCO, below in photo by Mike Gorski) will debut the fourth and last online chamber music concert of its curtailed and substituted winter season.
The varied program includes works, both well-known and neglected, by four composers — from Italy, Russia, France and Austria — who come from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
The concert begins with the complete Concerto for Four Violins in B minor, RV 580, by Antonio Vivaldi (below). The string accompaniment will be scaled down.
Then comes the complete Septet for Winds, Strings and Piano by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky (below).
The first and third movements of the Nonet by the rediscovered 19th-century French composer Louise Ferenc come next. (Here is the Wikipedia link to Ferenc (below):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Farrenc
The final music will be the first, fourth and fifth movements – including the famous theme-and-variations – of the famously tuneful “Trout” Piano Quintet by Franz Schubert (below).
In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear the namesake theme-and-variations movement — based on one of Schubert’s songs — played by Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Daniel Barenboim, Jacqueline du Pre and Zubin Mehta, with a graphical depiction of the score.
The concert lasts 60-75 minutes.
Tickets are $30.
Here is a link to program notes by WCO music director and conductor Andrew Sewell (below, in a photo by Alex Cruz) and to purchasing a ticket through the Overture Center box office.
The ticket is good for one viewing between Friday night and Monday night, April 19, at 7:30 p.m.
https://wcoconcerts.org/events/winter-chamber-series-no-iv
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From Beethoven to today: The next five days at the UW-Madison are busy with FREE online concerts of new music, string music, brass music and more
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By Jacob Stockinger
From now through Monday, April 13, there are many FREE online concerts – virtual or pre-recorded – at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music.
The schedule includes three different concerts on Saturday, April 10, alone. (All times are central and many concerts will be available for longer than a day.)
The variety of music is terrific and features all kinds of instruments and genres of music.
Here is a link to all of them, which will appear on YouTube. If your click on “Show More,” you will see more information about the performers and the programs. You can also set a convenient Reminder Timer to help you remember to listen: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZZ2F66Bu2yAfccvsugEtsA
You can read all of them by yourself. But the Ear wants to single out several of special interest.
NEW MUSIC: TONIGHT
If you are a fan of new music, there are two concerts you should consider listenIing to.
TONIGHT, April 8, at 7:30 p.m. and then at 8:30 p.m. are two concerts of new music.
The first concert is by the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble.
Titled “Colors” (below is the poster) the concert features music by Debussy, Lang, San Martin, UW-Madison professor Laura Schwendinger and Edgard Varese.
The performance are by faculty performers violist Sally Chisholm, flutist Conor Nelson and pianist Christopher Taylor, as well as alumni and students Eric Tran, Eric Delgado, Heidi Keener, Ben Therrell and Ben Yats.
Here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Gxe7yTWpI
Then at 8:30 p.m., a studio recital by composition students (below) at the UW-Madison will take place. No names of performers or pieces are listed. But here is the link that is given: https://youtu.be/WmTBoLD9IQc
BEETHOVEN QUARTET CYCLE 7: FRIDAY NIGHT
At 7:30 p.m. is the seventh installment of the cycle, which is part of the Pro Arte Quartet’s yearlong retrospective of Beethoven’s string quartets to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth.
Members are David Perry and Suzanne Beia, violins; Sally Chisholm, viola; and Parry Karp, cello.
The program has two late quartets: the famous last one, Op. 135, in F major (1826) with the :”Muss es sein” (Must It Be?) motif, which can be heard in the YouTube video at the bottom of the final movement played by the Cypress String Quartet; and the famous “Grosse Fuge” quartet and ending in B-flat Major, Opp. 130 and 133 (1825-6).
The Ear — who particularly likes Beethoven’s return to clarity and classicism in his final quartet — has listened to all the installments and they have all been superb. There’s no reason to expect anything different with this installment.
UW professor of musicology Charles Dill will give short introductory talks before each quartet. You can find extended program notes about the quartet and the program here: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/pro-arte-quartet-beethoven-string-quartet-cycle-program-7/
And here is the link to the live-streamed concert from the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall in the Hamel Music Center: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIW_5NVgGaA
UNIVERSITY OPERA SINGS SONGS OF RACIAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
This spring, University Opera follows up its groundbreaking video production on the life and times of composer Marc Blitzstein with another video.
What’s Past is Prologue: The Unfinished American Conversation, a program of staged and filmed songs and song cycles with social and racial justice themes, will be released on the Mead Witter School of Music YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/7Up_OXD6K2U this Saturday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m., with an encore stream this Sunday, April 11, at 2 p.m. David Ronis, Director of University Opera, is the director, and Thomas Kasdorf is the musical director, who accompanies the singers on piano.
For more background, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/university-opera-presents-whats-past-is-prologue-the-unfinished-american-conversation/
For the performance, go to: https://youtu.be/7Up_OXD6K2U
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Pianist John O’Conor plays the sublimely beautiful Impromptu in G-Flat Major by Franz Schubert
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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.
“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
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Bach Around the Clock 2021 will incorporate many new aspects – including more audiences and artists of color — into the 10-day free virtual festival that runs March 17-26
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following update about Bach Around the Clock (BATC), the annual March free event to celebrate the birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach (below). Like last year, the year’s will be virtual and online and spread out over 10 days, from March 17 to March 26.
The BATC 2021 Festival is shaping up brilliantly. We have about 50 participants signed up so far, with musical selections totaling more than eight hours.
As always, it has a nice mix of ages and levels of performers, from young students to seasoned professionals. It also runs from traditional instruments like the violin, viola, cello, oboe, bassoon, piano and organ as well as the human voice to more unusual instruments like the clavichord, 6-string electric bass and a saxophone quartet.
We are so grateful to all the participants who have volunteered to share their talents. (Below is the Webb Trio playing last year from home.)
Last year’s virtual format forms the basis of this year’s festival, but we’ve expanded on that in some very exciting ways.
BATC board member Melanie de Jesus (below) is producing two mini-films aimed at making the festival more accessible to participants. For the tech-challenged among us, the “How to Film Yourself” video will make it easier for musicians to participate virtually.
This film will be available this THURSDAY, Feb. 25, in time to help participants film and submit their performances by the March 5 deadline. Would you like to perform? For information about signing up for slots. Click here to let us know!
Make your own recording or request a time slot at a BATC venue where a professional videographer will create a recording for you to keep. Harpsichord, piano and organ are available.
Melanie’s “Bach for Kids” film will be published during the festival, and will introduce basic musical concepts to the youngest participants. It will culminate in a sing-along, play-along, dance-along performance of some simple Bach tunes, as demonstrated by some (very) young students at the Madison Conservatory, where de Jesus is the director.
Another significant new element of this year’s festival will be our evening Zoom events, including receptions with performers, and guest artists giving special performances, lecture/demos, master classes and panel discussions.
In keeping with this year’s theme of “Building Bridges Through Bach,” we will celebrate and feature musicians and guest artists of color.
We are thrilled to announce Wisconsin Public Radio music host Jonathan Overby (below) as our keynote speaker. Overby’s work to research and demonstrate how music, especially sacred music, serves as a cultural bridge, has taken him all over the planet. His core values are in close alignment with the theme of this year’s festival, and his address will set the tone for the rest of the festival.
The virtual format enables us to bring in guest artists from afar. Lawrence Quinnett (below), on the piano faculty of Livingstone College, a private, historically black college in Salisbury, North Carolina, will perform all six French Suites, and give a brief talk on his approach to ornamentation. (You can hear Quinnett performing French Suite No. 1 by Bach in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Clifton Harrison (below, in photo by Stephen Wright), violist in the Kreutzer String Quartet, in residence at Oxford University in England, will give a master class for interested BATC participants. Information on how to audition for this opportunity will be shared very soon.
We are extremely pleased that Trevor Stephenson (below), artistic director of the Madison Bach Musicians, will give an evening lecture and demonstration on the Goldberg Variations.
Through his performances, interviews and extremely popular pre-concert lectures, Trevor has served as a very important builder of bridges to the music of J.S. Bach in Madison and beyond. It would be hard to overstate the impact of Trevor’s work to make Bach’s music accessible to local audiences of all ages and backgrounds. We’re sure viewers will enjoy this event.
An astonishing new development resulted from BATC’s outreach efforts to local high schools: Steve Kurr (below), orchestra director at Middleton High School and former conductor of the Middleton Community Orchestra, decided to incorporate BATC into his curriculum this semester.
Fifteen of his students will perform for BATC, filmed by four other students, and then the students will all view the performances and write essays about them.
BATC is delighted with this creative initiative, looks forward to receiving the videos from this cohort of students, and hopes to expand on this kind of outreach in future years. Maybe we can include the final essays on our website, if the students agree.
There are a few other ideas still under construction; perhaps a panel discussion with educators, or one with local musical bridge-builders (aka “Angels in our Midst”)?
Please help us keep this festival free and open to all.
Bach Around The Clock is a unique program in our community. It offers everyone the opportunity to share their love of the music of Bach. There is no charge to perform or to listen.
But the festival is not free to produce! BATC provides venues, instruments, videographers, editors, and services for performers and audience.
We need your support!
Click on there link below to donate securely online with a PayPal account or credit card: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=WU7WWBW5LBMQJ
Or you can make a check out to Bach Around The Clock and mail it to: Bach Around The Clock, 2802 Arbor Drive #2, Madison, WI 53704
Bach Around The Clock is a 501(c)(3) organization; your donation is tax-deductible as allowed by the law. Donors will be listed on the acknowledgments page of the BATC website .
For the latest updates, please visit our website, bachclock.org, or our Facebook page, facebook.com/batcmadison.
We hope you will join us.
Marika Fischer Hoyt, Artistic Director, Bach Around The Clock, (608) 233-2646
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The Well-Tempered Ear 
To celebrate Pride month, here are lists of LGBTQ+ composers, performers and musical ensembles
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By Jacob Stockinger
June is Pride month.
And this weekend will see Pride marches and celebrations in some major cities including New York City, Chicago, Paris and Rome.
As time passes, scholars are finding out more about the LGBTQ+ composers, performers and musical groups that have been hidden by history.
And some ironies emerge. One can only imagine the response of conservative, right-wing Evangelical Christians who find out that the composer of “Messiah” – George Frideric Handel (below) — was queer, at least according to some researchers.
For most listeners, surprises abound.
Here is a good place to start. It is the very large Wikipedia entry of LGBTQ+ composers and performers, both contemporary and historical. The Ear finds it very informative. It is organized by the kind of musicians they are and the category of their sexual identity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:LGBT_musicians
If you want to be more selective, try these: https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/greatest-lgbtq-conductors-you-should-know/. They include Marin Alsop (below top) and her teacher and mentor Leonard Bernstein (below bottom).
Here is longer essay that focuses on lesbian conductors as well as gay men and reaches back to the Middle Ages: http://www.glbtqarchive.com/arts/conductors_A.pdf
And here is one with some great photos or pictures of the individuals: https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/great-classical-composers-who-were-gay/
Finally, here are some of the international music ensembles – with audio samples of their performances — made up of LGBTQ+ singers and instrumentalists, including the Rainbow Symphony of Paris (in the YouTube video at the bottom, performing the beautiful Gloria by the gay French composer Francis Poulenc in a benefit Concert Against Homophobia for UNESCO): https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/best-lgbtq-classical-music-ensembles/
Inevitably, some readers will react by asking: What difference does the sexual identity of composer or performer make? All that matters, they argue, is the music.
Here is a reply to that specious argument that focuses on Yannick Nézet-Séguin (below), the music director of the Metropolitan Opera, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the City Symphony of Montreal. It appeared in The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/arts/music/yannick-nezet-seguin-met-opera-gay.html
Happy Pride – this month and every day of the year!
Do you have questions, additions or comments?
Leave them below.
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