instrumental | The Well-Tempered Ear

Just Bach concludes its season this Wednesday morning with highlights of the past season

May 18, 2021
1 Comment

PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.

By Jacob Stockinger

The Ear has received the following announcement to post about this season’s final Just Bach online concert this Wednesday:

Greetings from Just Bach!

We hope this finds you all well, enjoying the spring, and ready to experience more of the timeless beauty of Bach’s music.

Our May concert features musical highlights from this extraordinary past season.

The complete program listing is below. It is organized in two parts, corresponding to the two semesters.

Indoor singing was risky during the pandemic, so the bulk of our programming was instrumental, with strings and keyboard for the most part (below in a photo by Barry Lewis).

The Sinfonia from the Christmas Oratorio was recorded at St. Matthias Episcopal Church in Waukesha, because of the Dane County Emergency Order prohibiting indoor gatherings in November and December during the pandemic.

We were back at Luther Memorial Church for the January concert, and by April we were able to include woodwinds (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis)

You can view the May concert here, starting at 8 a.m. this Wednesday, May 19, and then staying available indefinitely: https://justbach.org/concerts/

Please join us for a half-hour live Zoom post-concert reception on Wednesday night, May 19, at 7 p.m. Chat with the performers by following the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85144014343?pwd=RmVURXBBU1hMcloyalJhbUdCQ1NmQT09

Viewing the concerts is FREE, but we ask those who are able, to help us pay our musicians by making a tax-deductible donation at: https://justbach.org/donate

Just Bach will take a break for the summer, and concerts will resume in September.

Here is the May program:

• Welcome

Part I – Fall Semester

• Cantata 146: Sinfonia

• Violin Sonata, BWV 1001: movement 4 Presto

• Double Violin Concerto: movement 3 Allegro (in the YouTube video, with an animated graphic, at the bottom)

• Christmas Oratorio, Part II: Sinfonia

• Christmas Oratorio: Chorale “Ich steh’ an deiner Krippen hier” (I stand here by your crib)

Part II – Spring Semester

• Cantata 35: Sinfonia

• Trio Sonata, BWV 526: movement 2 Largo

• Violin Sonata, BWV 1019: movement 5 Allegro

• Flute Sonata BWV 1034: movement 1 Adagio ma non tanto

• Cantata 42: Sinfonia

• Cantata 149: Chorale “Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein” (O Lord, let your dear little angel)

Performers are: Kangwon Kim, Christine Hauptly Annin, Leanne League, Xavier Pleindoux, Nathan Giglierano and Aaron Yarmel, violin; Marika Fischer Hoyt, viola; Charlie Rasmussen and Lindsey Crabb, cello; Linda Pereksta and Monica Steger, traverse flute; Marc Vallon, bassoon; Grammy-winner Sarah Brailey, soprano; John Chappell Stowe and Jason Moy, harpsichord; Mark Brampton Smith, organ; and Bruce Bengston, organ.

Dave Parminter is the videographer and Barry Lewis is the photographer.

For more information, go to:

https://justbach.org

facebook.org/JustBachSeries

youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AaronYarmel, #AppalachianSpring, #BachCantata, #BaroqueMusic, #BarryLewis, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BruceBengston, #ChamberMusic, #CharlieRasmussen, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ChristineHauptlyAnnin, #ChristmasOratorio, #ClassicalMusician, #CoronavirusPandemic, #DaneCounty, #DaveParminter, #DoubleConcerto, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Grammy-winning, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #InstrumentalMusic, #JacobStockinger, #Jason Moy, #JesusChrist, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnChappellStowe, #JustBach, #KangwonKim, #LeanneLeague, #LindaPereksta, #LindseyCrabb, #Lord'sPrayer, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MadisonBachMusicians, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarcVallon, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MarkBramptonSmith, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MonicaSteger, #MusicFacukty, #NathanGiglierano, #NonprofitOrganization, #OnlineConcert, #OrganMusic, #PeriodInstruments, #SarahBrailey, #SopranoSinger, #St.MatthiasEpiscopalChurch, #StringMusic, #TheEar, #TheLord, #TheUW, #TraversoFlute, #TrioSonata, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #WaukeshaWisconsin, #WindMusic, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #XavierPleindoux, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, #ZoomMeeting, Aaron Yarmel, able, adagio, allegro, angel, animated, animation, Arts, audience, available, Bach, Baroque, Baroque music, Barry Lewis, Bassoon, bassoonist, blog, break, Bruce Bengston, BWV, Cantata, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Charlie Rasmussen, chat, choral music, Chorale, Christ, Christian, Christianity, Christine Hauptly Annin, Christmas, Christmas Oratorio, church, Classical music, classicalmusic, composer, Concert, concerto, coronavirus, Dane County, Dave Parminter, December, donate, double concerto, Early music, emergency, Episcopal, extraordinary, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, fall, flauto traverso, flute, free, gathering, Grammy, graphic, harpsichord, harpsichordist, highlights, historically informed performance practices, indefinite, indefinitely, indoor, instrumental, Jacob Stockinger, January, Jesus Christ, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Chappell Stowe, Just Bach, Kangwon Kim, Keyboard, Kim, Largo, league, Leanne League, like, Linda Pereksta, Lindsey Crabb, link, live, Lord, Love, Luther Memorial Church, Lutheran, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marc Vallon, Marika Fischer Hoyt, Mark Brampton Smith, Mead Witter School of Music, meauty, Monica Steger, morning, most, movement, Music, music faculty, Nathan Giglierano, nonprofit, November, nulk, online, online concert, Orchestra, order, organ, organist, organize, pandemic, part, past, pay, performers, period instruments, photographer, post, post-concert, posting, presto, program, programming, prohibit, Protestant, reception, recorded, Religion, resume, risky, Sarah Brailey, Season, semester, September, share, sinfonia, singer, Singing, Smith, Sonata, soprano, soprano singer, St. Matthias Episcopal Church, string music, strings, summer, tag, tax-deductible, The Ear, timeless, traverso, trio sonata, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, Vallon, videographer, view, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, virtual concert, vocal music, Waukasha, Wednesday, welcome, wind music, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, woodwinds, Xavier Pleindoux, YouTube, Zoom

The Madison Bach Musicians host a virtual online Baroque Tour starting this Saturday, April 24, and lasting through May 8

April 19, 2021
Leave a Comment

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/

Posted in Classical music
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

The acclaimed Meccore String Quartet performs an online concert of works by Mozart, Beethoven and Penderecki this Sunday night as part of the Wisconsin Union Theater season

February 26, 2021
3 Comments

The Wisconsin Union Theater will stream an online Concert Series performance by the Meccore String Quartet (below, in a photo by Arkadiusz Berbecki) this Sunday night, Feb. 28, at 7:30 p.m. CST.

The program is: String Quartet No. 21 in D major, K. 575, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; String Quartet No. 3 “Leaves from an Unwritten Diary” by 20th-century Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki; and String Quartet in A minor, Op. 132, by Ludwig van Beethoven.

The ensemble includes violinists Wojciech Koprowski and Aleksandra Bryla; violist Michal Bryla; and cellist Marcin Maczynski.

As one of Europe’s most compelling ensembles, the Meccore String Quartet has appeared at many influential music festivals around the globe, such as the Rheingau Musik Festival and the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

The ensemble was the first-ever Polish string quartet to perform during the Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at the Bundestag, the national parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The Meccore String Quartet has also received many international awards, including a nomination for the Paszport Polityki award in the classical music category for its “innovative approach to the music and for breaking the musical stereotypes.”

The musicians won the Premio Paolo Borciani International String Quartet Competition and the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition.

When they are not performing, Meccore’s members lead chamber music and individual instrumental classes at the Frederic Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, Poland.

Praised for their technical accuracy, Meccore is also known for its deep musicality and expressiveness. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear the Meccore playing an excerpt from Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 2 n G Major, Op. 18, No. 2.)

“The Meccore String Quartet brings an unparalleled energy and emotional depth to its performances,” says Wisconsin Union Theater director Elizabeth Snodgrass (below). “This ensemble is admired the world over, and our patrons will experience why the Quartet has earned global praise during its virtual Wisconsin Union Theater performance.”

Information about purchasing tickets can be found here. Tickets for this online event are $10 for UW-Madison students; $17 for Wisconsin Union members, UW-Madison staff and faculty, and students that do not attend UW-Madison; and $20 for all other patrons. Tickets are good for access for a week, through next Sunday, March 7.

The performance by the Meccore String Quartet is sponsored by the David and Kato Perlman Chamber Music Fund. The Wisconsin Union Theater presents this event, in part, with the help of financial support from Wisconsin Arts Board funding from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information about the Meccore String Quartet’s upcoming performance, visit union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/meccore-quartet.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #20thCentury, #BerlinGermany, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DavidandKatoPerlmanChamberMusicSeries, #ElizabethSnodgrass, #Europeanmusic, #EuropeanMusician, #FacebookPage, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FredericChopin, #HolocaustRemembranceDay, #InstrumentalMusic, #JacobStockinger, #KrzysztofPenderecki, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MeccoreStringQuartet, #MusicEducation, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #OnlineConcert, #PolishComposer, #StateOfWisconsin, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #TheHolocaust, #TheUW, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VirtualConcert, #WigmoreHall, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, 20th-century, access, accuracy, admire, approach, Arts, audience, award, Beethoven, blog, break, cellist, Cello, ceremony, Chamber music, Chopin, class, Classical music, Competition, composer, Concert, coronavirus, coronavirus pandemic, David and Kato Perlman Chamber Music Series, deep, depth, diary, Elizabeth Snodgrass, emotional, energy, ensemble, Europe, European, expressiveness, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, faculty, federal, festival, financial, forward, Frédéric Chopin, Germany, global, good, Holocaust, Holocaust Remembrance Day, innovative, instrumental, international, Jacob Stockinger, Krzysztof Penderecki, leaves, like, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Meccore String Quartet, member, Mozart, Music, Music education, musicality, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, night, nomination, online, patron, Penderecki, Poland, Polish, post, posting, praise, purchase, receive, republic, say, share, staff\, State of Wisconsin, stereotype, stream, String quartet, Student, students, Sunday, support, tag, teach, technical, The Ear, tickets, United States, university, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, unwritten, upcoming, UW, UW-Madison, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, Warsaw, week, Wigmore Hall, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, world, YouTube

The UW Symphony Orchestra performs a FREE online concert Thursday night and Friday night the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra debuts its second chamber music concert. But in-person micro-concerts on Sunday by the the Willy Street Chamber Players are sold-out

February 24, 2021
Leave a Comment

By Jacob Stockinger

The second half of the music season is well under way, with just about every major group performing online – or in one case even in person.

Here are three selections this week:

THURSDAY

Two of the most musically and technically impressive concerts The Ear heard last semester took place at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music. They were by the UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra under the direction of conductor Oriol Sans (below).

First, Sans conducted a socially distanced and virtual all-strings concert (below).

Then, for the second concert, the conductor had the winds and brass – which spray dangerous aerosol droplets – record their parts individually. Then for the live performance, Sans donned earphones and masterfully combined all the forces into a full orchestra performance (below).

You can see similar results – with percussion joining for the strings for the last piece — this Thursday night, Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m. on YouTube when the UW Symphony Orchestra live-streams a 90-muinute concert from the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall in the Hamel Music Center. No in-person attendance is allowed.

Here is the program:

I Crisantemi (Chyrsanthemums) by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), with Michael Dolan, guest conductor

“Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout” by contemporary American composer Gabriela Lena Frank (b. 1972) Coqueteos (Flirtations)

“Carmen” Suite (after the opera by Georges Bizet) by Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin (b.1932): Introduction; Dance; Carmen’s entrance and Habanera Torero; Adagio; Fortune-telling; and Finale.

Here is a link to the live-streamed video: https://youtu.be/GSrMLKrjlVg

And here is a link to more information, including program notes and the names of members of the orchestra: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/uw-madison-symphony-orchestra-2/

FRIDAY NIGHT

On Friday night at 7:30 p.m. the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (below, in a photo by Mike Gorski) will offer the second of its Winter Chamber Series. It will run between 60 and 75 minutes.

There will be string, brass and percussion music by Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, Steve Reich, Craig H. Russell and Thomas Siwe. Be aware that three of the works – string quartets by Mozart and Beethoven and a string sonata by Rossini — are presented in excerpts. That is not listed on the webpage.

The cost for one-time access between Friday night and Monday night is $30.

Here is a link to more information, including a link to ticket sales from the Overture Center box office and program notes by WCO music director and conductor Andrew Sewell (below, in a photo by Alex Cruz): https://wcoconcerts.org/events/winter-chamber-series-no-ii

SOLD-OUT

The Micro-concerts scheduled for this coming Sunday, Feb. 28, by the esteemed Willy Street Chamber Players (below), are SOLD-OUT.

The 10-minute private concerts for two, which require masks and social distancing for all, are perhaps the most innovative move by any local music group during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Ear, who expects concert habits to change after the pandemic, thinks such micro-concerts have a very bright future even after the pandemic is under control and audiences can return safely to mass events.

The concert are pay-what-you can but a $20 donation for two was suggested.

For more information about the micro-concerts, listen to the YouTube video at the bottom and go to: http://www.willystreetchamberplayers.org/micro-concerts.html

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AndesMountains, #AndrewSewell, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #BrassMusic, #ChamberMusic, #Chrysanthemums, #CoronavirusPandemic, #CraigH.Russell, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GabrielaLenaFrank, #GeorgesBizet, #GiacomoPuccini, #GioachinoRossini, #HamelMusicCenter, #HomeWebsite, #italianComposer, #JacobStockinger, #LiveStreaming, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicDirector, #OnlineConcert, #OperaMusic, #OriolSans, #OvertureCenter, #ProgramNotes, #PublicSafety, #RecordedMusic, #RodionShchedrin, #RussianComposer, #SocialDistance, #SocialDistancing, #SteveReich, #StringMusic, #StringQuartet, #SundayAfternoonLifeFromtheChazen, #TheEar, #TheUW, #TheWillys, #ThomasSiwe, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #VirtualConcert, #WebPage, #WillyStreetChamberPlayers, #WindMusic, #WinterChamberMusicSeries, #WinterChamberSeries, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, access, aerosol, allow, American, Andes, Andrew Sewell, Arts, attendance, audience, Beethoven, Bizet, blog, Blog post, blog posting, bog, box office, brass, brass music, bright, buy, Carmen, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, change, Classical music, classicalmusic, combine, composer, Concert, conductor, control, coronavirus, Craig H. Russell, dance, dangerous, direction, donation, droplet, earphones, excerpts, expect, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, force, fortune-teller, forward, free, Friday, future, Gabriela Lena Frank, Georges Bizet, Giacomo Puccini, Gioachino Rossini, group, habits, Hamel Music Center, home website, impressive, in person, individual, information, innovative, instrumental, introduction, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, like, link, livestream, Livestreamed, local, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, masks, masterful, masterfully, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, member, micro-concert, Monday, Mozart, Music, Music director, musical, name, night, notes, online, opera, Orchestra, orchestral music, Oriol Sans, Overture Center, pandemic, part, percussion, performer, perhaps, post, posting, private, program, program notes, public safety, Puccini, record, recorded music, Reich, Rodion Shchedrin, Rossini, run, Russell, Russia, Russian, safe, safely, sales, schedule, scheduled, Season, semester, Sewell, share, Siwe, social distance, sold-out, Sonata, spray, Steve Reich, string music, String quartet, strings, Suite, Sunday, symphony, tag, technical, The Ear, The Willys, Thomas Siwe, Thursday, ticket, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, video, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, WCO, web page, Willy Street Chamber Players, wind music, winds, winter, Winter Chamber Music Series, Winter Chamber Series, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube, YouTube video

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

February 22, 2021
Leave a Comment

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

batc.director@gmail.com

https://bachclock.com

facebook.com/batcmadison

Posted in Classical music
Tags: "Goldberg" Variations, #501(c)(3), #ArtisticDirector, #BachAroundtheClock, #BachforKids, #BaroqueMusic, #BaroqueOrnamentation, #BlackCollege, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoardofDirectors, #BuildingBridgesThroughBach, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #CityofMadison, #CliftonHarrison, #CoreValues, #CreditCard, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FrenchSuites, #Goldberg"Variations, #GuestArtist, #HighCulture, #HigherGround, #HistoricallyBlackCollegesandUniversities, #HomeWebpage, #HomeWebsite, #InstrumentalMusic, #JacobStockinger, #JohannSebastianBach, #JonathanOverby, #KeynoteSpeaker, #KreutzerStringQuartet, #LawrenceQuinnett, #LivingstoneCollege, #MadisonBachMusicians, #MadisonConservatoryofMusic, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MadisonWisconsin, #MakeMusicMadison, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MelaniedeJesus, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #MiddletonHighSchool, #MusicEducation, #NonprofitOrganization, #NorthCarolina, #OfColor, #OnlineConcert, #OnlineFestival, #OxfordUniversity, #PanelDiscussion, #PayPal, #PianoFaculty, #Pre-concertLecture, #Quartet-in-Residence, #SacredMusic, #SaxophoneMusic, #SecularMusic, #SteveKurr, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #TheUK, #TheUW, #TimeSlot, #TrevorStephenson, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #YouTubevideo, #ZoomMeeting, 501(3)(c), accessible, address, afar, age, aim, alignment, angels, annual, another, approach, artist, Artistic director, Arts, astonishing, audience, audition, Bach, Bach Around the Clock, Bach for Kids, background, Baroque, Baroque music, Bassoon, bassoonist, BATC, beyond, birthday, black college, blog, Blog post, blog posting, board member, bridges, brillitant, buikding, Building Bridges Through Bach, celebrate, cellist, Cello, challenge, Chamber music, choral music, Chorale, Christian, church, Classical music, clavichord, click, Clifton Harrison, composer, Concert, conductor, core values, creative, credit card, cultural, culture, curriculum, dance, dance-along, day, deadline, decide, delight, demo, demonstrate, demonstration, development, director, donate, donation, Early music, easier, eassy, editor, electric bass, element, England, enjoy, evening, exciting, expand, Facebook, feature, festival, film, format, free, French Suites, future, grateful, guest, guest artist, hard, harpsichord, HBUC, help, Higher Ground, historically, historically black universities and colleges, Home, home website, hope, hours, human, human voice, impact, incorporate, information, instrument, instrumental, instrumental music, interview, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Jonathan Overby, keynote, kids, kind, know, Kreutzer String Quartet, Lawrence Quinnett, lecture, level, link, Livingstone College, local, Lutheran, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Madison Conservatory of Music, Madison Symphony Orchestra, mail, make, march, Marika Fischer Hoyt, master class, masterclass, Mead Witter School of Music, Melanie de Jesus, Middleton Community Orchestra, Middleton High School, mix, Music, Music education, musical, Musician, new, Nice, nonprofit, Nonprofit organization, North Carolina, of color, online, opportunity, Orchestra, organ, organist, ornamentation, outreach, overstate, overstatement, Oxford University, panel discussion, participants, performance, performer, Pianist, Piano, piano faculty, planet, play, play-along, pleased, popular, post, posting, pre-concert lecture, private, produce, professional, Quartet, reception, recording, research, residence, sacred, sacred music, Salisbury, Saxophone, seasoned, secular, secular music, selections, semester, services, share, sign-up, significant, simole, sing-along, Singing, slot, Sonata, soon, speaker, Steve Kurr, String quartet, Student, submit, talent, tax-deductible, teach, Teacher, technical, technology, The Ear, theme, thrilled, time slot, tone, total, traditional, Trevor Stephenson, tunes, UK, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, unusual, update, US, UW, UW-Madison, venue, video, videographer, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, visit, vocal music, voice, volunteer, way, Website, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wisconsin public radio, work, write, year, you, young, yourself, YouTube, Zoom

This Wednesday’s FREE Just Bach virtual online concert features holiday music from the Christmas Oratorio and other works

December 14, 2020
Leave a Comment

By Jacob Stockinger

The Ear has received the following announcement from the organizers of Just Bach:

The program for Just Bach’s holiday concert this Wednesday, Dec. 16, opens with Chorale Prelude settings of Advent melodies from the Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book) by Johann Sebastian Bach (below), with Mark Brampton Smith on organ and soprano Sarah Brailey singing the melodies.

Violinist Nathan Giglierano follows with the beautiful, contemplative Largo from the third solo violin Sonata, along with two pieces – Two-Part Invention No. 13 and the Sinfonia from Cantata 156 — arranged for violin and viola, which he plays with his wife Gillian.

The second half of the program features selections from the Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248. The Madison-based early music group Sonata à Quattro (SAQ, below in a photo by Barry Lewis) plays the luminous Sinfonia – in an arrangement for string quartet and organ– that opens the second Cantata in this work. The performance was recorded at St. Matthias Episcopal Church in Waukesha, Wis., where SAQ is ensemble-in-residence. (You can hear the Sinfonia in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

Members of SAQ (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis) are: Christine Hauptly Annin and Leanne League, violins; Marika Fischer Hoyt, viola; Charlie Rasmussen, cello; and Mark Brampton Smith, organ.

Soprano and UW-Madison graduate student Sarah Brailey (below) — who was just nominated for a Grammy Award — returns with three chorales from the Christmas Oratorio, singing all four parts in a multi-track recording and bringing the holiday program to a high-tech conclusion.

We are thrilled to participate in the weekly ‘Music at Midday’ concert series by Luther Memorial Church. Here is a link: https://www.luthermem.org/music-at-midday.

As part of this series, Just Bach concerts take place on the third Wednesday of each month. Remaining concerts are Dec. 16, Jan. 20, Feb. 17, March 17, April 21 and May 19. Each program lasts approximately 30 minutes.

It is still too risky to have in-person audiences, so these concerts are posted on the Just Bach and Luther Memorial YouTube Channels.

Please note: Now that concerts are online instead of in person, the videos are published early Wednesday mornings, instead of at noon. Then the online post will remain up and accessible for an indefinite time.

Here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ?

Viewing the concerts is free, but we ask those who are able, to help us pay our musicians with a tax-deductible donation. https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7A4R7CA8VDRMG&source=url

Concert viewers are invited to a half-hour live Zoom post-concert reception on Wednesday night, Dec. 16, at 7:30 p.m. Those who would like to join us and chat with the performers can follow this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88960952122?pwd=NTNQY21HZmxNSEh0ODRWdmQvVTlsQT09

Just Bach concerts are typically performed in Luther Memorial’s beautiful nave (below), but that was not possible this month. The recent Emergency Order barring indoor gatherings in Dane County of people from different households inspired some special creativity.

The program was recorded by musicians in their respective homes, and at a church in Waukesha County, and in some cases, some high technology was involved.

Dave Parminter was the videographer.

Just Bach’s social media links are:

https://justbach.org

facebook.org/JustBachSeries

youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ?

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AdventMusic, #BachCantata, #BaroqueOratorio, #BarqoueMusic, #BarryLewis, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #CharlieRasmussen, #ChoralePrelude, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ChristineHauptlyAnnin, #ChristmasMusic, #ChristmasOratorio, #CityofMadison, #ClassicalMusician, #ClassicalMusicians, #ConcertSeries, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DaneCounty, #DaveParminter, #EarlyMorning, #EmergencyOrder, #Ensemble-in-residence, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GillianGiglierano, #GraduateStudent, #GrammyAward, #HighTechnology, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #HolidayConcert, #HolidayMusic, #HolidayProgram, #HomeWebsite, #husband-and-wife, #InPerson, #InstrumentalMusic, #JacobStockinger, #JesusChrist, #JohannSebastianBach, #JustBach, #LeanneLeague, #LittleOrganBook, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MarkBramptonSmith, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Multi-track, #MusicatMidday, #NathanGiglierano, #OnlineConcert, #OrganMusic, #PeriodInstruments, #RecordedMusic, #SarahBrailey, #SixtyMinutes, #SocialMedia, #SoloViolin, #SoloViolinSonata, #SonataaQuattro, #SopranoSinger, #St.MatthiasEpiscopalChurch, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #TheUW, #Two-PartInvention, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #WaukeshaWisconsin, #Wife-and-Husband, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, #ZoomMeeting, Advent, approximately, arrangement, audience, Bach, bar, Baroque music, Barry Lewis, beautiful, blog, BWV, Cantata, cases, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Charlie Rasmussen, chat, choral music, Chorale, chorale prelude, Christ, Christian, Christian church, Christine Hauptly Annin, Christmas, Christmas music, Christmas Oratorio, church, Classical music, classicalmusic, concert series, conclusion, contemplative, coronavirus, creativity, Dane County, Dave Parminter, different, donation, early, Early music, earlymusic, emergency order, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, forward, free, gathering, Gillian Giglierano, graduate student, Grammy, Grammy Award, group, help, high tech, historically informed performance practices, Holiday, holiday music, holiday program, Home, home website, household, husband, in person, indefinite, indoor, inspired, instrumental, Jacob Stockinger, Jesus, Johann Sebastian Bach, join, Just Bach, lasts, Leanne League, like, link, Little Organ Book, live, luminous, Madison, Marika Fischer Hoyt, Mark Brampton Smith, Mead Witter School of Music, melodies, members, minutes, month, morning, Music, Music at Midday, musicians, muti-track, Nathan Giglierano, nave, noon, online, oratorio, organ, organ music, organist, Orgelbüchlein, pandemic, part, participate, pay, People, performance, performer, performers, period instruments, pieces, play, post, post-concert, posting, published, reception, recorded, recorded music, remain, remaining, risky, Sarah Brailey, selections, series, setting, share, sinfonia, singer, Singing, social media, solo, solo violin sonata, Sonata, Sonata à Quattro, soprano, special, St. Matthias Episcopal Church, String quartet, tag, tax-deductible, technology, The Ear, thrilled, time, Two-Part Invention, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, videographer, Viola, Violin, Violin Sonata, violinist, violist, virtual, vocal music, Waukesha, we, Website, Wednesday, wife, YouTube, Zoom

The New York Times music critics suggest 10 must-hear online classical concerts during December

November 30, 2020
Leave a Comment

By Jacob Stockinger

Tomorrow is Dec. 1, 2020.

Lately, at the end of every month the music critics for The New York Times publish a list of 10 virtual and online classical concerts for the following month that they think deserve special attention.

Often – but not always — their choices feature the unusual: new music and world premieres; neglected repertoire; and lesser-known performers that most of us are not likely to hear locally.

The December choices, for example, include an oratorio “Perle Noire” (Black Pearl), by composer Tyshawn Sorey, about the famous African-American, Paris-based expat dancer Josephine Baker – she of the banana skirt (below). But she was more than just a risqué dancer and entertainer. She fought in the French Resistance movement against the Nazis and was a civil rights champion.

But this list also includes seasonal fare such the holiday tradition by which the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center performs in one night all six Brandenburg Concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach (you can hear an excerpt in the YouTube video at the bottom); and other holiday celebrations such as a concert by the early music vocal group Tenet (below, in a photo by Nan Melville.)

But those suggestions do not take away from more local efforts and performances.

The Ear is certain that those same critics would approve of supporting local musicians and music groups during the coronavirus pandemic.

And there are many local offerings. The Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Union Theater, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, the Madison Bach Musicians and Just Bach all have virtual online concerts scheduled for December.

You can check out their offerings at their websites and here on this blog as the month unfolds.

But if the Times’ choices interest you – and they should — here is a link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/arts/music/classical-music-stream-december.html

Note that the blurbs show Eastern Time but also include how long the performances are posted for and links to the organizations presenting the concerts.

Happy listening!

And Happy Holidays!

Do you have other online performances – local, regional, national or international — to suggest?

Please leave the necessary information in the Comment section.

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AmericanJazz, #AmericanSymphonyOrchestra, #AntoninDvorak, #AristoSham, #BaroqueMusic, #BlackPearl, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrandenburgConcerto, #CarlVine, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberMusicSocietyofLIncolnCenter, #CivilRights, #ClaudeDebussy, #ConradTao, #CoronavirusPandemic, #CreaturesofPromethus, #CurtisInstitute, #DoverQuartet, #DukeEllington, #EasternTime, #ElliottCarter, #Esa-PekkaSalonen, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FredericChopin, #FrenchResistance, #GerardMcBurney, #GyorgyLigeti, #HolidayMusic, #HolidayTradition, #HomeWebsite, #IntenrationalContemporaryEnsemble, #JACKQuartet, #JacobStockinger, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JosephineBaker, #JuliaBullock, #JustBach, #LeonBotstein, #LocalMusicians, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonBachMusicians, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarcusRoberts, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MetropolitanMuseumofArt, #MoonlightSonata, #MusicCritic, #NateWooley, #NeglectedComposers, #NeglectedMusic, #NeglectedRepertoire, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #OnlineConcert, #ParisFrance, #PerleNoire, #PhilharmoniaOrchestra, #PianoMusic, #PianoSonata, #RuthCrawfirdSeeger, #SaadHaddad, #SeasonalMusic, #SopranoSinger, #StephenFry, #StringQuartet, #TakaKigawa, #TheEar, #TheNewYorkTImes, #TheUW, #ToruTakemitsu, #TyshawnSorey, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VirtualConcert, #VocalGroup, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WorldPremiere, #YouTubevideo, African American, African-Amercican, always, American Symphony Orchestra, animation, Antonín Dvořák, approve, Aristo Sham, Arts, audience, Bach, baker, Ballade, ballet, banana, Baroque, Baroque music, Beethoven, black, Black Pearl, blog, blurb, Brahms, Brandenburg Concerto, Carl Vine, celebration, certain, Chamber music, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, champion, choice, Chopin, choral music, civil rights, Classical music, Claude Debussy, composer, composers, Concert, concerto, conductor, Conrad Tao, coronavirus, Creatures of Prometheus, Curtis Institute, dancer, Debussy, December, Dover Quartet, duet, Duke Ellington, duo, Dvorak, Early music, earlymusic, Eastern time, efforts, Elliott Carter, entertainer, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Estampes, ex-pat, excerpt, Facebook, famous, fare, forward, France, Franz Joseph Haydn, Frédéric Chopin, French Resistance, Gerard McBurney, György Ligeti, Happy Holidays, happy', Haydn, hear, Holiday, holiday tradition, home website, images, information, instrumental, international, International Contemporary Ensemble, JACK Quartet, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Josephine Baker, Julia Bullock, Just Bach, lately, Leon Botstein, Ligeti, like, link, listening, local, long, Lstin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marcus Roberts, Mead Witter School of Music, Metropolitan Museum of Art, month, Moonlight Sonata, movement, Mozart, MSO, Music, music critic, narration, Nate Wolley, national, Nazi, necessary, neglected, neglected music, New Music, New York City, night, offerings, often, one, online, opera, oratorio, Orchestra, orchestral, pandemic, Paris, performances, Perle Noir, Perle Noire, Philharmonia Orchestra, Pianist, Piano, piano music, Piano sonata, polonaise, post, posting, Prelude, prints, publish, recital, regional, repertoire, repertory, risqué, Ruth Crawford Seeger, Saad Haddad, schedule, script, seasonal, seasonal music, share, six, skirt, Sonata, soprano, Sorey, Sory, Stephen Fry, String quartet, studies, suggest, suggestions, support, Sweden, tag, Taka Kigawa, take away, takeaway, Takemitsu, Tenet, The Ear, The New York Times, Toru Takemitsu, Tyshawn Sorey, Tyshown Sorey, unfold, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, unsual, UW, UW-Madison, vignette, Violin, virtual, vocal group, vocal music, Website, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, world premiere, WUT, YouTube

Here are the classical music nominations for the 63rd annual Grammy Awards in 2021

November 28, 2020
3 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

It’s time again for the annual Grammy Awards (below).

Although determined by the recording industry and often considered promotional marketing, they might be more helpful given the peculiar circumstances of the past year.

After all, the coronavirus pandemic has changed our listening habits.

Perhaps you now listen mostly via computer to virtual online concerts and performances that are streamed.

Perhaps you listen to Compact Discs using home stereo systems.

Perhaps you subscribe to a streaming service such as Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify and others.

However you listen to music, you might find the following list useful, especially as it comes at the beginning of the holiday shopping and gift-giving season.

You might also find the nominations for the 63rd annual Grammy Awards informative about individual musicians and musical groups in your area.

They can help you judge how many or how few contemporary composers and new works get performed.

Performers provide other examples. You might find it interesting, for example, that soprano Sarah Brailey (below) has been nominated for her role in the solo vocal work “The Prison” by Ethel Smyth. Brailey is a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music and a co-founder and performer of the free monthly Just Bach concerts.

Pianist Shai Wosner (below, in a photo by Marco Borggreve), who played late Schubert sonatas at the Salon Piano Series at Farley’s House of Pianos, is included in a list of producer awards for his recording of those sonatas.

The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Florentine Opera have been nominated for a recording of Carlisle Floyd’s opera “Prince of Players.”

Conductor Julian Wachner (below top), violinist Augustin Hadelich (below middle) and pianist Jonathan Biss (below bottom) have all performed with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, some more than once.

Soprano Laquita Mitchell (below) — who has sung with the Madison Opera — has been nominated for her performance in the choral work “Sanctuary Road” by Paul Moravec.

Cellist Matt Haimovitz (below top) and composer Luna Pearl Woolf (below bottom) have been nominated for the latter’s “Fire and Flood.” Both have appeared with UW-Madison orchestral and choral groups.

If you notice more local connections, please leave word in the Comment section.

The winners will be announced on CBS Television the evening of Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021.

73. Best Engineered Album, Classical
An Engineer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)

· DANIELPOUR: THE PASSION OF YESHUA
Bernd Gottinger, engineer (JoAnn Falletta, James K. Bass, Adam Luebke, UCLA Chamber Singers, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra & Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus)

· GERSHWIN: PORGY AND BESS
David Frost and John Kerswell, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (David Robertson, Eric Owens, Angel Blue, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus)

· HYNES: FIELDS
Kyle Pyke, engineer; Jesse Lewis and Kyle Pyke, mastering engineers (Devonté Hynes & Third Coast Percussion)

· IVES: COMPLETE SYMPHONIES (below)

Alexander Lipay and Dmitriy Lipay, engineers; Alexander Lipay and Dmitriy Lipay, mastering engineers (Gustavo Dudamel and Los Angeles Philharmonic)

· SHOSTAKOVICH: SYMPHONY NO. 13, ‘BABI YAR’
David Frost and Charlie Post, engineers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (Riccardo Muti and Chicago Symphony Orchestra)

·
74. Producer Of The Year, Classical
A Producer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)

· BLANTON ALSPAUGH

• Aspects Of America – Pulitzer Edition (Carlos Kalmar and Oregon Symphony)
• Blessed Art Thou Among Women (Peter Jermihov, Katya Lukianov and PaTRAM Institute Singers)
• Dvorak: Symphony No. 9; Copland: Billy The Kid (Gianandrea Noseda and National Symphony Orchestra)
• Glass: The Fall Of The House Of Usher (Joseph Li, Nicholas Nestorak, Madison Leonard, Jonas Hacker, Ben Edquist, Matthew Adam Fleisher and Wolf Trap Opera)
• Kahane: Emergency Shelter Intake Form (Alicia Hall Moran, Gabriel Kahane, Carlos Kalmar and Oregon Symphony)
• Kastalsky: Requiem (Leonard Slatkin, Steven Fox, Benedict Sheehan, Charles Bruffy, Cathedral Choral Society, The Clarion Choir, The Saint Tikhon Choir, Kansas City Chorale and Orchestra Of St. Luke’s)
• Massenet: Thaïs (Andrew Davis, Joshua Hopkins, Andrew Staples, Erin Wall, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Toronto Symphony Orchestra)
• Smyth: The Prison (Sarah Brailey, Dashon Burton, James Blachly and Experiential Orchestra)
• Woolf, L.P.: Fire And Flood (Julian Wachner, Matt Haimovitz and Choir Of Trinity Wall Street)

· DAVID FROST (below)

• Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 9 (Jonathan Biss)
• Gershwin: Porgy And Bess (David Robertson, Eric Owens, Angel Blue, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus)
• Gluck: Orphée ed Eurydice (Harry Bicket, Dmitry Korchak, Andriana Chuchman, Lauren Snouffer, Lyric Opera Of Chicago Orchestra and Chorus)
• Holst: The Planets; The Perfect Fool (Michael Stern and Kansas City Symphony)
• Muhly: Marnie (Robert Spano, Isabel Leonard, Christopher Maltman, Denyce Graves, Iestyn Davies, Janis Kelly, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus)
• Schubert: Piano Sonatas, D. 845, D. 894, D. 958, D. 960 (Shai Wosner)
• Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13, ‘Babi Yar’ (Riccardo Muti, Alexey Tikhomirov, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus)

· JESSE LEWIS

• Gunn: The Ascendant (Roomful Of Teeth)
• Harrison, M.: Just Constellations (Roomful Of Teeth)
• Her Own Wings (Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival)
• Hynes: Fields (Devonté Hynes and Third Coast Percussion)
• Lang, D.: Love Fail (Beth Willer and Lorelei Ensemble)
• Mazzoli: Proving Up (Christopher Rountree, Opera Omaha and International Contemporary Ensemble)
• Sharlat: Spare The Rod! (NOW Ensemble)
• Soul House (Hub New Music)
• Wherein Lies The Good (The Westerlies)

· DMITRIY LIPAY

• Adams, J.: Must The Devil Have All The Good Tunes? (Yuja Wang, Gustavo Dudamel and Los Angeles Philharmonic)
• Cipullo: The Parting (Alastair Willis, Laura Strickling, Catherine Cook, Michael Mayes and Music Of Remembrance)
• Ives: Complete Symphonies (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic)
• LA Phil 100 – The Los Angeles Philharmonic Centennial Birthday Gala (Gustavo Dudamel and Los Angeles Philharmonic)
• Langgaard: Prelude To Antichrist; Strauss: An Alpine Symphony (Thomas Dausgaard and Seattle Symphony Orchestra)
• Nielsen: Symphony No. 1 and Symphony No. 2, ‘The Four Temperaments’ (Thomas Dausgaard and Seattle Symphony)

· ELAINE MARTONE

• Bound For The Promised Land (Robert M. Franklin, Steven Darsey, Jessye Norman and Taylor Branch)
• Dawn (Shachar Israel)
• Gandolfi, Prior and Oliverio: Orchestral Works (Robert Spano and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra)
• Singing In The Dead Of Night (Eighth Blackbird)
• Whitacre: The Sacred Veil (Eric Whitacre, Grant Gershon and Los Angeles Master Chorale)

75. Best Orchestral Performance
Award to the Conductor and to the Orchestra.

· ASPECTS OF AMERICA – PULITZER EDITION (below)
Carlos Kalmar, conductor (Oregon Symphony)

· CONCURRENCE
Daniel Bjarnason, conductor (Iceland Symphony Orchestra)

· COPLAND: SYMPHONY NO. 3
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)

· IVES: COMPLETE SYMPHONIES
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic)

· LUTOSLAWSKI: SYMPHONIES NOS. 2 and 3
Hannu Lintu, conductor (Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra)

76. Best Opera Recording
Award to the Conductor, Album Producer(s) and Principal Soloists.

· DELLO JOIO: THE TRIAL AT ROUEN
Gil Rose, conductor; Heather Buck and Stephen Powell; Gil Rose, producer (Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Odyssey Opera Chorus)

· FLOYD, C.: PRINCE OF PLAYERS
William Boggs, conductor; Keith Phares and Kate Royal; Blanton Alspaugh, producer (Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra; Florentine Opera Chorus)

· GERSHWIN: PORGY AND BESS (below)
David Robertson, conductor; Angel Blue and Eric Owens; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)

· HANDEL: AGRIPPINA
Maxim Emelyanychev, conductor; Joyce DiDonato; Daniel Zalay, producer (Il Pomo D’Oro)

· ZEMLINSKY: DER ZWERG
Donald Runnicles, conductor; David Butt Philip and Elena Tsallagova; Peter Ghirardini and Erwin Sturzer, producers (Orchestra of The Deutsche Oper Berlin; Chorus of The Deutsche Oper Berlin)

77. Best Choral Performance
Award to the Conductor, and to the Choral Director and/or Chorus Master where applicable and to the Choral Organization/Ensemble.

· CARTHAGE
Donald Nally, conductor (The Crossing)

· DANIELPOUR: THE PASSION OF YESHUA (below)
JoAnn Falletta, conductor; James K. Bass and Adam Luebke, chorus masters (James K. Bass, J’Nai Bridges, Timothy Fallon, Kenneth Overton, Hila Plitmann and Matthew Worth; Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and UCLA Chamber Singers)

· KASTALSKY: REQUIEM
Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Charles Bruffy, Steven Fox and Benedict Sheehan, chorus masters (Joseph Charles Beutel and Anna Dennis; Orchestra Of St. Luke’s; Cathedral Choral Society, The Clarion Choir, Kansas City Chorale and The Saint Tikhon Choir)

· MORAVEC: SANCTUARY ROAD
Kent Tritle, conductor (Joshua Blue, Raehann Bryce-Davis, Dashon Burton, Malcolm J. Merriweather and Laquita Mitchell; Oratorio Society of New York Orchestra; Oratorio Society of New York Chorus)

· ONCE UPON A TIME
Matthew Guard, conductor (Sarah Walker; Skylark Vocal Ensemble)

78. Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
For new recordings of works with chamber or small ensemble (24 or fewer members, not including the conductor). One Award to the ensemble and one Award to the conductor, if applicable.

· CONTEMPORARY VOICES
Pacifica Quartet

· HEALING MODES
Brooklyn Rider

· HEARNE, T.: PLACE
Ted Hearne, Steven Bradshaw, Sophia Byrd, Josephine Lee, Isaiah Robinson, Sol Ruiz, Ayanna Woods and Place Orchestra

· HYNES: FIELDS
Devonté Hynes and Third Coast Percussion

· THE SCHUMANN QUARTETS
Dover Quartet

79. Best Classical Instrumental Solo
Award to the Instrumental Soloist(s) and to the Conductor when applicable.

· ADÈS: CONCERTO FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA
Kirill Gerstein; Thomas Adès, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra)

· BEETHOVEN: COMPLETE PIANO SONATAS (below)
Igor Levit

· BOHEMIAN TALES
Augustin Hadelich; Jakub Hrusa, conductor (Charles Owen; Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks)

· DESTINATION RACHMANINOV – ARRIVAL
Daniil Trifonov; Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor (The Philadelphia Orchestra)

· THEOFANIDIS: CONCERTO FOR VIOLA AND CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Richard O’Neill; David Alan Miller, conductor (Albany Symphony)

80. Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
Award to: Vocalist(s), Collaborative Artist(s) (Ex: pianists, conductors, chamber groups) Producer(s), Recording Engineers/Mixers with 51% or more playing time of new material.

· AMERICAN COMPOSERS AT PLAY – WILLIAM BOLCOM, RICKY IAN GORDON, LORI LAITMAN, JOHN MUSTO
Stephen Powell (Attacca Quartet, William Bolcom, Ricky Ian Gordon, Lori Laitman, John Musto, Charles Neidich and Jason Vieaux)

· CLAIRIÈRES – SONGS BY LILI and NADIA BOULANGER
Nicholas Phan; Myra Huang, accompanist

· FARINELLI
Cecilia Bartoli; Giovanni Antonini, conductor (Il Giardino Armonico)

· A LAD’S LOVE
Brian Giebler; Steven McGhee, accompanist (Katie Hyun, Michael Katz, Jessica Meyer, Reginald Mobley and Ben Russell)

· SMYTH: THE PRISON
Sarah Brailey and Dashon Burton; James Blachly, conductor (Experiential Chorus; Experiential Orchestra)

81. Best Classical Compendium
Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s) and Engineer(s) of over 51% playing time of the album, if other than the artist.

· ADÈS CONDUCTS ADÈS
Mark Stone and Christianne Stotijn; Thomas Adès, conductor; Nick Squire, producer

· SAARIAHO: GRAAL THEATER; CIRCLE MAP; NEIGES; VERS TOI QUI ES SI LOIN
Clément Mao-Takacs, conductor; Hans Kipfer, producer

· SEREBRIER: SYMPHONIC BACH VARIATIONS; LAMENTS AND HALLELUJAHS; FLUTE CONCERTO
José Serebrier, conductor; Jens Braun, producer

· THOMAS, M.T.: FROM THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK and MEDITATIONS ON RILKE
Isabel Leonard; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Jack Vad, producer

· WOOLF, L.P.: FIRE AND FLOOD
Matt Haimovitz; Julian Wachner, conductor; Blanton Alspaugh, producer

82. Best Contemporary Classical Composition
A Composer’s Award. (For a contemporary classical composition composed within the last 25 years, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year.) Award to the librettist, if applicable.

· ADÈS: CONCERTO FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA
Thomas Adès, composer (Kirill Gerstein, Thomas Adès and Boston Symphony Orchestra)

· DANIELPOUR: THE PASSION OF YESHUA
Richard Danielpour, composer (JoAnn Falletta, James K. Bass, Adam Luebke, UCLA Chamber Singers, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra & Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus)

· FLOYD, C.: PRINCE OF PLAYERS (below)
Carlisle Floyd, composer (William Boggs, Kate Royal, Keith Phares, Florentine Opera Chorus and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra)

· HEARNE, T.: PLACE
Ted Hearne, composer (Ted Hearne, Steven Bradshaw, Sophia Byrd, Josephine Lee, Isaiah Robinson, Sol Ruiz, Ayanna Woods and Place Orchestra)

· ROUSE: SYMPHONY NO. 5
Christopher Rouse, composer (Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)

If you want to see many more nominations, including those for pop, rock, folk, hip hop, jazz and videos, go to: https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/2021-grammys-complete-nominees-list

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AaronCopland, #AlexanderZemlinsky, #AmazonMusic, #AmsterdamTheNetherlands, #AnneFrank, #AntoninDvorak, #AppleMusic, #AspectsofAmerica, #AtlantaSymphonyOrchestra, #AugustinHadelich, #BabiYar, #BaroqueMusic, #BaroqueOpera, #Bestof, #BestPerformance, #BlantonAlspaugh, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BostonSymphony, #CarlisleFloyd, #CarlNielsen, #CeciliaBartoli, #CedilleRecords, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberOrchestra, #CharlesIves, #ChicagoSymhonyOrchetsra, #ChoralMusic, #ChristmasGifts, #ChristopherRouse, #ChristopherTheofanidis, #ChristophWillibaldGluck, #CityofMadison, #ClassicalMusician, #CompactDisc, #CompleteCycle, #ConcertPianist, #ContemporaryVoices, #DaniilTrifonov, #DavidFrost, #DavidRobertson, #DeccaRecords, #DeutscheGrammophon, #DeutscheOper, #DmitriShostakovich, #DmitriyLipay, #DoverQuartet, #EighthBlackbird, #ElaineMartone, #EricOwens, #EricWhitacre, #EthelSmyth, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Farley'sHouseofPianos, #FireandFlood, #FlorentineOpera, #FolkMusic, #FranzSchubert, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GospelMusic, #GraduateStudent, #GrammyAwards, #GrammyNominations, #GuestArtist, #GustavHolst, #GustavoDudamel, #Hip-hopmusic, #HipHop, #HolidayGiftGuide, #HolidayShopping, #IcelandSymphonyOrchestra, #IgorLevit, #InstrumentalMusic, #JacobStockinger, #JesseLewis, #JoAnnFalletta, #JohnAdams, #JonathanBiss, #JoyceDiDonato, #JulesMassenet, #JulianWachner, #JustBach, #KaijaSaariaho, #KirillGerstein, #LaquitaMitchell, #LeonardSlatkin, #LiliBoulanger, #LiveStreaming, #LosAngelesCalifornia, #LosAngelesPhilharmonic, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #LunaPearlWoolf, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MattHaimovitz, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MetropolitanOpera, #Mezzo-sopranoSinger, #MichaelTilsonThomas, #MilwaukeeSymphonyOrchestra, #MilwaukeeWisconsin, #MissyMazzoli, #ModernMusic, #NadiaBoulanger, #NashvilleSymphony, #NashvilleTennessee, #NewMusic, #NicoMuhly, #NormanDelloJoio, #OnlineConcert, #OrchestraofSt.Luke's, #PacificaQuartet, #PaulMoravec, #PhiladelphiaOrchestra, #PhiladelphiaPennsylvania, #PhilipGlass, #PianoConcerto, #PianoMusic, #PianoSonata, #PopMusic, #PorgyandBess, #PrinceofPlayers, #PulitzerPrize, #RainerMariaRilke, #RecordedMusic, #RhythmandBlues, #RiccardoMuti, #RichardDanielpour, #RichardStrauss, #RobertSchumann, #RobertSpano, #RockMusic, #SalonPIanoSeries, #SanctuaryRoad, #SanFranciscoSymphony, #SarahBrailey, #SeattleSymphony, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #ShaiWosner, #SonyClassical, #SopranoSinger, #SoundEngineer, #StringQuartet, #TedHearne, #TheEar, #TheMet, #ThePassionofYeshua, #ThePlanets, #ThePrison, #TheUW, #ThomasAdès, #TorontoCanada, #TorontoSymphonyOrchestra, #UniversalRecords, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolinMusic, #VirtualConcert, #VirtuosoViolinist, #VocalMusic, #WilliamBolcom, #WitoldLutoslawski, #WorldWarII, #YannickNezet-Seguin, #YouTubevideo, #YujaWang, Aaron Copland, Adams, Adès, African-Ameican, Agrippina, Album, Alexander Zemlinsky, Amazon Music, America, Amsterdam, Anne Frank, annual, Antichrist, Antonín Dvořák, Apple Music, Arts, Asia, Aspects of America, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Augustin Hadelich, Babi Yar, Baroque, Baroque music, Beethoven, Berlin, best, black, Blanton Alspaugh, blog, blues, Bolcom, Boston Symphony, Buffalo, California, Carl Nielsen, Carlisle Floyd, Carthage, CBS, CBS-TV, Cecila Bartoli, Cedille, Cedille Records, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, chamber orchestra, Chanukah, Charles Ives, Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, China, Chinese, choral, choral music, chorus, Christmas, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Christopher Rouse, Christopher Theofanidis, cirumstances, Classical music, classicalmusic, comment, Compact Disc, complete, composer, computer, Concert, concerto, conductor, connection, Contemporary Voices, Copland, Daniil Trifonov, David Frost, David Robertson, dead, Decca, Della Joio, Deutsche Grammophon, Deutsche Opera, DG, Dmitri Shostakovich, Dmitriy Lipay, Dover Quartet, Dudamel, Dvorak, Early music, eighth blackbird, Elaine Martone, engineer, ensemble, ERIC OWENS, Eric Whitacre, Ethel Smyth, example, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, Farinelli, Farley's House of Pianos, Fire and Flood, Florentine Opera, folk, Folk music, forward, founder, France, Franz Schubert, free, George Frideric Handel, George Gershwin, georgegershwin, German, Germany, Gershwin, gift guide, Glass, Gluck, gospel, graduate student, Grammy, Grammy Award, guest artist, Gustav Holst, Gustavo Dudamel, Handel, Hanukkah, Hearne, Hip hop music, hip-hop, Hitler, Holiday, holiday gift guide, Holst, Home, Hynes, Iceland, Igor Levit, instrumental, Ives, Jacob Stockinger, January, Jazz, Jesse Lewis, JoAnn Falletta, John Adams, Jonathan Biss, Joyce DiDonato, Jules Massenet, Julian Wachner, Just Bach, Kahane, Kaija Saariaho, Kastalsky, Kirill Gerstein, Kwanzaa, Laquita Mitchell, Leonard Slatkin, like, Lili Boulanger, link, list, livestream, local, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ludwig van Beethoven, Luna Pearl Woolf, Lutoslawski, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, marketing, Marnie, Massenet, Matt Haimovitz, Mazzoli, Mead Witter School of Music, Meditation, Metropolitan Opera, Mezzo-soprano, Michael Tilson Thomas, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Missy Mazzoli, modern, monthly, Muhly, Music, Nadia Boulanger, Nashville Symphony, Nazi, New Music, New York, New York City, Nico Muhly, Nielsen, night, nominations, Norman Dello Joio, online, opera, Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, orchestral, Pacifica Quartet, Paul Moravec, peculiar, Pennsylvania, percussion, performance, performer, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Orchestra, Philip Glass, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, piece, player, pop, Porgy and Bess, post, posting, Prince of Players, prison, producer, promotional, Pulitzer Prize, R&B, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Rainer Maria Rilke, recorded music, records, repertoire, repertory, Requiem, Rhythm and Blues, Riccardo Muti, Richard Danielpour, Richard Strauss, Rilke, Robert Schumann, Robert Spano, Rock, rock music, role, Rouen, Rouse, Saariaho, Salon Piano Series, San Francisco, San Francisco Symphony, Sanctuary Raod, Sarah Brailey, Schubert, Schumann, Seattle, Seattle Symphony, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, service, Shai, Shai Wosner, share, Shopping, Shostakovich, singer, Singing, solo, soloist, Sonata, song, SONY, Sony Classical, soprano, Spotify, stereo, Strauss, stream, String quartet, sung, symphony, system, tag, Ted Hearne, Television, The Ear, the Met, The Passion of Yeshua, The Planets, Theofanidis, Thomas Ades, time, Toronto, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, trial, Trofonov, TV, United States, universal, Universal Records, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, useful, UW, UW-Madison, video, Viola, Violin, violin music, violinist, violist, virtual, vocal music, voice, Wang, WILLIAM BOLCOM, winner, Wisconsin, Witold Lutoslawski, work, World War II, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Yuja Wang, Zemlinsky

October’s FREE virtual and online Just Bach concert is this Wednesday at noon. It lasts 30 minutes. Here are details

October 19, 2020
5 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

The Ear has received the following announcement about the month’s Just Bach virtual concert from co-founder and violist Marika Fischer Hoyt.

The online concert takes place at noon CDT this Wednesday, Oct. 21.

Please join us as Just Bach shares the timeless beauty of music by Johann Sebastian Bach (below) from our home in the nave of Luther Memorial Church (LCM), 1021 University Ave.

We are thrilled to participate in LMC’s weekly “Music at Midday” concert series.

As part of this virtual online series, Just Bach concerts (below) take place at NOON on the third Wednesday of each month: Sept. 16; Oct. 21; Nov. 18; Dec. 16; Jan. 20; Feb. 17; March 17; April 21; and May 19.

The online programs last approximately 30 minutes instead of 60 minutes.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, it is still too risky to have in-person audiences, so Music at Midday concerts are posted on the Luther Memorial website: https://www.luthermem.org/music-at-midday/

In addition, Just Bach concerts are posted on the Just Bach website, the Just Bach Facebook page, and the Just Bach YouTube Channel, where you can still hear the season’s opening concert in September. Links are below.

Viewing the concerts is FREE, but we ask those who are able to help us pay our musicians with a tax-deductible donation at https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7A4R7CA8VDRMG&source=url

Just Bach co-founder and graduate student soprano at the UW-Madison Sarah Brailey (below) will provide the opening welcome remarks at this Wednesday’s program.

Our guest artists this month, the Madison-based baroque ensemble Sonata à Quattro (SAQ, below top in a photo by Barry Lewis) will perform the instrumental Sinfonia from Cantata 146, featuring organist Mark Brampton Smith (below bottom). You might recognize this as the first movement of the well-known Harpsichord Concerto in D Minor, BWV 1052.

Members of SAQ, who normally use period instruments and historically informed performance practices, will play modern instruments this time because of the organ pitch. SAQ members will continue the program with movements from the solo Cello Suite in G Major and the solo Violin Sonata in G Minor.

Sarah Brailey returns to lead the final chorale from Cantata 146, which uses the familiar tune from “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.” (You can hear “Jesu, Joy” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

We encourage viewers to sing along by following the chorale sheet music, which will be displayed on the computer screen, as Mark Brampton Smith accompanies on the organ.

We need this soul-centering music now more than ever. So we invite the music community to join us at noon this Wednesday, Oct. 21, for a wonderful program of music by J.S. Bach.

OCT. 21 PROGRAM:

• Cantata 146: Opening Sinfonia

• Solo Cello Suite in G Major, BWV 1007: Menuets I and II, Courante

• Solo Violin Sonata in G Minor, BWV 1001: Adagio, Presto

• Cantata 146: Final chorale: Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele (Rejoice greatly, oh my soul)

Guest Ensemble: Sonata à Quattro, whose members are: Christine Hauptly Annin, violin; Nathan Giglierano, violin; Leanne League, violin; Marika Fischer Hoyt, viola; Charlie Rasmussen, cello; and Mark Brampton Smith, organ.

Sarah Brailey provides the welcome and leads the chorale.

Dave Parminter is the videographer.

Just Bach is also trying something new: a Zoom meeting at 12:30 p.m. to serve as a virtual Meet and Greet with performers and some of the artistic team, to answer questions and chat with interested viewers. Here is the link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87475324320?pwd=VitsNVJreTcrODlFSlJ5NzNhUncwQT09

Here, in order, are links to: the Just Bach webpage; the Just Bach Facebook page; and the Just Bach YouTube channel:

https://justbach.org

facebook.org/JustBachSeries

youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AncoraStringQuartet, #ArtisticTeam, #BachCantata, #BaroqueEnsemble, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CelloMusic, #ChamberMusic, #CharlieRasmussen, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ChristineHauptlyAnnin, #CityofMadison, #ConcertSeries, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DaveParminter, #FacebookPage, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GraduateStudent, #GuestArtist, #HarpsichordConcerto, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #HomeWebsite, #InstrumentalMusic, #JacobStockinger, #JesuJoyofMan'sDesiring, #JohannSebastianBach, #JustBach, #LeanneLeague, #LutheranChurch, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MarkBramptonSmith, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Meet-and-Greet, #MusicatMidday, #NathanGiglierano, #OnlineConcert, #PayPal, #PeriodInstruments, #SarahBrailey, #SingAlong, #SoloCelloSuite, #SoloViolinSonata, #SonataaQuattro, #SopranoSinger, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #TheUW, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #YouTubevideo, #ZoomMeeting, 30, 60, accompaniment, accompany, adagio, Ancora String Quartet, announcement, April, artistic, Arts, ask, audience, audiences, Bach, Baroque, Baroque music, beautiful, beauty, blog, BWV, Cantata, Cantata 146, CDT, cellist, Cello, cello music, center, centering, Chamber music, Charlie Rasmussen, chat, choral music, Chorale, Christ, Christian, Christian church, Christine Hauptly Annin, church, Classical music, co-founder, community, composer, computer, Concert, concerto, coronavirus, Courante, Dave Parminter, December, display, donate, donation, Early music, ensemble, ever, Facebook, Facebook page, familar, February, final, first, free, God, graduate student, greet, guest artist, harpsichord, help, historically informed performance practices, Home, home website, in person, instrumental, instrumental msuic, interest, invite, Jacob Stockinger, January, Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Johann Sebastian Bach, join, Just Bach, last, Leanne League, lesd, Luther Memorial Church, Lutheran, Lutheranism, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, march, Marika Fischer Hoyt, Mark Brampton Smith, May, Mead Witter School of Music, meet, meeting, menuet, minuet, minutes, month, more, movement, Music, Music at Midday, Musician, Nathan Giglierano, nave, need, noon, now, October, online, opening, organ, organist, pandemic, part, participate, pay, period instruments, post, posted, posting, presto, program, provide, Q&A, question, question-and-answer, recognize, Religion, remarks, return, risky, riveting, Sarah Brailey, screeen, screen, September, series, serve, sheet music, sinfonia, sing-along, singer, solo, solo cello suite, solo violin sonata, Sonata, Sonata à Quattro, soprano, soul, String quartet, Suite, symphony, tax, tax-deductible, team, The Ear, thrill, timeless, tune, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, videographer, viewer, viewing, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, vocal music, Website, welcome, well-known, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wonderful, YouTube, Zoom

Classical music: The weeklong 21st annual Madison Early Music Festival is virtual and will be free online here and worldwide starting this Saturday

July 8, 2020
Leave a Comment

By Jacob Stockinger

The Ear has received the following announcement from the directors of the Madison Early Music Festival and the UW-Madison Division of the Arts to post:

Due to the coronavirus pandemic and concerns about public health for performers and audiences, the 21st annual Madison Early Music Festival (MEMF) will be virtual.

It will be held as MEMF Online! from this Saturday, July 11, through next Saturday, July 18. It can be accessed at Facebook.com/MadisonEarly or madisonearlymusic.org.

All events are FREE. Lectures and special features begin at NOON (not 11 a.m., as first listed) and concerts begin at 7 p.m. (CDT). All events will be available nationwide and internationally.

The Madison Early Music Festival is internationally recognized as a top early music festival that features music from medieval, Renaissance and baroque eras from award-winning performers and distinguished faculty.

The uncertainty of the future for the arts and MEMF is daunting, but we have persevered and put together a virtual experience to showcase the musicians and faculty members that were supposed to perform this summer.

Each ensemble prepared a special video of highlights from past performances, and other faculty members recorded lectures.

Our focus was going to be “Musical Life from the Burgundian Court,” and the videos of the Orlando Consort, Piffaro, performances and lectures by Michael Allsen and Peggy Murray reflect that theme.

The other two ensembles, Trefoil and Nota Bene, sent us live concert recordings of Trecento and Italian repertoire.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we are launching a fundraiser campaign to help support the artists that were to perform this season. It is critical that we help these musicians as many of them have lost substantial and irreplaceable income for the foreseeable future.

People can donate online at madisonearlymusic.org — where you can also see the concert programs — and click on the Support tab at the top of our home page. All money raised is for the MEMF musicians.

HERE IS A COMPLETE SCHEDULE OF MEMF ONLINE:

Different events will be released each day of the festival, but the content will be available after that time for later viewing.

Saturday, July 11, at 7 p.m.: Orlando Consort (below) in 15th-Century Chansons from the Library of Congress

Sunday, July 12, at 7 p.m.: Piffaro, The Renaissance Band: (below) Excerpts from Burgundian Beginnings and Beyond, Philadelphia

Monday, July 13, at noon: Michael Allsen (below), Musical Life and History at the Burgundian Court

Tuesday, July 14, at 7 p.m.: Trefoil (below): Trecento Music from Bowerbird Concert Series, Philadelphia

Wednesday, July 15, at noon: T-shirt challenge! Post a photo wearing a MEMF T-shirt! #MEMF2020; plus Lecture by William Hudson (below) on style in singing and ornamenting Baroque songs

Thursday, July 16, noon: Renaissance Valois Dance at the Burgundian Court, a lecture by Peggy Murray (below)

Friday, July 17, at 7 p.m.: Nota Bene viol consort (below) in Sonetti Spirituali; Italian Madrigals and Divine Poetry of the High Renaissance composed by Pietro Vinci (c.1525–1584) to settings of the poetry of Vittoria Colonna (1492-1547) Brandeis University in Boston

Saturday, July 18, at 7 p.m.: All-Festival Concert videos from previous festivals. There will be a sing-along of Pastime With Good Company! by King Henry VIII (below). It will be led by a virtual MEMF Faculty Ensemble. You can hear the popular song — also known as “The King’s Ballad” — in the YouTube video at the bottom. (You can download the music and lyrics at: https://memf.wisc.edu/annual/online-program/)

We hope to see everyone in 2021, and that a vaccine is approved to help us gather again as a community experiencing all the arts with musicians, artists and audiences — at MEMF in Madison and around the world.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #All-FestivalConcert, #BaroqueMusic, #BaroqueOrnamentation, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BostonMassachusetts, #BowerbirdConcertSeries, #BrandeisUniversity, #BurgundyFrance, #ChamberMusic, #ClassicalMusician, #CoronavirusPandemic, #CourtMusic, #COVID-19, #DivisionoftheArts, #EnglishComposer, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FundraisingCampaign, #GreatBritain, #HenryVIII, #HomePage, #InstrumentalMusic, #ItalianMusic, #J.MIchaelAllsen, #JacobStockinger, #LibraryofCongress, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MedievalMusic, #MEMFOnline, #Musicfaculty, #NotaBene, #OrlandoConsort, #PeggyMurray, #PietroVinci, #PiffaroRenaissanceBand, #PublicHealth, #RecordedMusic, #RenaissanceMusic, #SheetMusic, #TheEar, #TheKing'sBallad, #TrefoilEnsemble, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VittoriaColonna, #VocalMusic, #YouTubevideo, access, All-Festival concert, annual, approve, Arts, audience, available, award-winning, band, Baroque, blog, Boston, Bowerbird Concert Series, Brandeis University, Burgundy, campaign, century, challenge, Chamber music, chanson, classicalmusic, community, company, compose, composer, Concert, consort, coronavirus, court, critical, dance, daunting, distinguished, divine, division, Division of the Arts, download, early msuic, Early music, earlymusic, England, English, ensemble, era, event, excerpts, experience, Facebook, faculty, feature, festival, foreseeable, France, free, fundraiser, future, good, Great Britain, Henry VIII, highlight, History, home page, income, instrumental, international, internationally, irreplaceable, Italian, Italy, J. Michael Allsen, Jacob Stockinger, King, lecture, Library of Congress, life, like, link, live, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, madrigal, Mead Witter School of Music, Medieval, MEMF, MEMF Online, Michael Alsen, money, muisician, Music, musical, nationwide, Nota Bene, online, Orlando, Orlando Consort, ornament, ornamentation, pandemic, past, pastime, Peggy Murray, perform, performers, persevere, Philadelphia, Pietro Vinci, Piffaro, Poetry, popular, post, posting, program, programming, Public health, recognize, record, recorded, reflect, Renaissance, repertoire, repertory, Saturday, schedule, Season, series, setting, share, sheet music, short, showcase, sing-along, Singing, song, specail, start, substantial, summer, support, T-shirt, tag, tee short, The Ear, The King's Ballad, theme, top, Trecento, Trefoil, Trefoil Ensemble, UK, uncertainty, unemployed, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, vaccine, video, Vinci, Viol, virtual, Vittoria Colonna, vocal music, weeklong, Wisconsin, world, YouTube

	Bill Lane on The new Apple Music Classical…
	Augustine on The new Apple Music Classical…
	samanthacrownoversbc… on How do post-pandemic concert a…
	Ronnie on How do post-pandemic concert a…
	welltemperedear on How do post-pandemic concert a…

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: