The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Autumn arrives today. Here is some Vivaldi to help mark the event
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By Jacob Stockinger
Today is the autumnal equinox.
Fall arrives at 9:21 a.m. in the Midwest.
Here is a something musical to mark it: “Autumn” from the popular Baroque work “The Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi, who described the seasons sonically, with accompanying sonnets, in a series of four violin concertos.
It features violinist Julia Fischer with members of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields chamber orchestra.
And it also features beautiful fall photographs from the National Botanical Garden of Wales.
Sure, some people will complain about another warhorse. But The Ear likes Vivaldi.
And so did Johann Sebastian Bach.
So enjoy!
Are there other pieces of classical music that embody Autumn for you?
Leave the information and a YouTube link, if possible, in the COMMENT section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Happy Fall!
Tags: Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Arts, autumn equinox, Bach, Baroque, botanical garden, Cello, Chamber music, chamber orchestra, Classical music, concerto, equinox, fall, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Julia Fischer, Music, Orchestra, photograph, sonnet, The Four Seasons, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, Violin concerto, Vivaldi, Wales, YouTube
Classical music: Meet Jennifer Koh – a native Midwesterner and one of the best, most interesting and most accomplished violinists on the scene today.
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By Jacob Stockinger
To The Ear, this seems a particularly promising time for young violinists, and especially for young women violinists such as Julia Fischer, Lelia Josefowicz, Lisa Batiashvili, Janine Jansen and Hilary Hahn.
But among all those violinists and their prodigious amounts of talent, one in particular stands out as unique: Jennifer Koh (below, in a photo by Christopher Berkey for The New York Times).
An American of Korean heritage who was born in Chicago, Kho is an international competition winner who also came into a career in professional music somewhat via the back door, which has only deepened her music-making and her interpretations. Koh is anything but predictable and mainstream or traditional. A master of the old classics, she is also devoted to new music.
Her breadth of interests and her open personality show in her intense and exciting playing. We in Madison are lucky that the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and its music director-conductor Andrew Sewell booked her to perform the Beethoven Violin Concerto early on, in 2004 before word got out and she became so in demand. (Below, a photo by Karsten Moran for The New York Times.)
Kohn has made many acclaimed recordings. But the first CD (below) in her three-volume series of “Bach and Beyond” (for the non-profit, Chicago-based label Cedille Records) made many critics’ lists of The Best Classical Recordings of 2012” – including mine. (At bottom, she discusses the project.)
I had been a waiting for a Q&A from Jennifer Koh. But she is obviously busy with more important things like playing the violin and, one suspects, reading serious English literature (you have to know her background to understand the reference!).
All the more reason, then, to read the excellent profile that appeared recently in The New York Times.
Here is a link to that detailed but readable and very accessible profile that leaves you wondering: How can you not like Jennifer Koh?:
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