The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: The Ancora String Quartet opens its new season this Saturday night with a new first violinist and works by Beethoven, Turina and Tchaikovsky
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By Jacob Stockinger
The critically acclaimed, Madison-based Ancora String Quartet welcomes its new first violinist Wes Luke – who replaces Leanne Kelso League — for the launch of the string quartet’s 16th season.
The concert is this coming Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in the Landmark Auditorium of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive.
The program includes the String Quartet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 18, No. 2, by Ludwig van Beethoven; “The Bullfighter’s Prayer” by the Spanish composer Joaquin Turina; and the String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11, by Russian composer Peter Tchaikovsky.
Tickets at the door are $15 for general admission; $12 for seniors and students; and $6 for children under 12.
Members of the Ancora (above from left) are: first violinist Wes Luke — who filled in for the past two seasons — plays with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the LaCrosse Symphony Orchestra, the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra and the Mosaic Chamber Players; second violinist Robin Ryan, who plays with the Madison Symphony Orchestra; violist Marika Fischer Hoyt (she performs on both modern and early instruments) who plays with the Madison Bach Musicians, the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble; and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra; and cellist Benjamin Whitcomb, who teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and frequently performs chamber music.
According to program notes: “Beethoven’s charming and lyrical early quartet shows him bridging the divide between the Classical and Romantic eras; Turina’s dramatic tone poem fuses French Impressionism with musical elements from his native Seville; and Tchaikovsky’s first quartet includes the poignant Andante Cantabile, which moved writer Leo Tolstoy to tears. (You can hear it in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
A champagne reception will close the evening.
Tags: Ancora String Quartet, Andante Cantabile, Arts, Baroque, Beethoven, bullfight, Cello, Chamber music, champagne, charm, Classical, Classical music, composer, First Unitarian Society of Madison, France, Frank Lloyd Wright, Impressionism, instrument, Jacob Stockinger, Joaquin Turina, LaCrosse Symphony Orchestra, Ludwig van Beethoven, lyricism, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Madison Symphony Orchestra, modern, Mosaic Chamber Players, Music, prayer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, reception, Romantic, Romanticism, Russia, Russian music, Seville, Spain, Spanish music, String quartet, Tchaikovsky, tone poem, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Whitewater, Viola, Violin, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, YouTube
Classical music: The Mosaic Chamber Players excel in trios by Haydn, Bartok and Brahms. They are new, but they deserve your attention.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Here is a special posting, a review written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker, who also provided the performance photos for this review. Barker (below) is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who writes for Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who for 12 years hosted an early music show every other Sunday morning on WORT FM 89.9 FM. He serves on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison.
By John W. Barker
I have, so far, not followed carefully the work of the Mosaic Chamber Players (below).
But I certainly will from now on.
They are, to put it simply, among the finest purveyors of quality chamber music in Madison just now.
The Mosaic group is currently in its second season. It was founded by pianist Jess Salek, along with four string-playing colleagues, and sometimes added guests. The group gives three performances each season, at the First Unitarian Society of Madison. The latest one was on Saturday evening in the original Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Landmark Auditorium.
Salek was the anchor of continuity in all three of the works presented, playing with vigorous collegiality. At least the first two of the selections related to the concert’s announced theme of “The Gypsy Spirit!”
The first was Franz Joseph Haydn’s most familiar trio, the one in G major, for violin, cello and piano—most famous for its “Gypsy” rondo-finale. The performance was wonderful, and a particular showcase for violinist Wes Luke, who is himself emerging as one of Madison’s premier chamber musicians and who has been playing with the Ancora String Quartet, the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the LaCrosse Symphony Orchestra and the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra. His tender, nuanced playing in the second movement was particularly distinguished.
Béla Bartók’s spikey and spunky Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet and Piano, was composed for Benny Goodman and Joseph Szigeti.
For this, guest player Linda Bartley (below) was brought in. Former principal clarinetist of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and a faculty member at the UW-Madison School of Music, Bartley is well-known for her artistry by now, and contributed pungent color to the performance.
But Luke again drew attention for his brilliant playing: in fact, in the third movement, alternating on two differently tuned fiddles (with backup from a delightful young lady), and replacing his missing mute with a folded dollar bill.
The final work was the Trio in A minor for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano by Johannes Brahms. The first of his late “autumnal” chamber works for the clarinetist Richard Muhlfeld, it is a warm, big-hearted piece, bespeaking personal closeness as well as professional admiration. (A performance from the 2010 International Chamber Music Festival of the Clarinet Trio can be heard in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
In this, cellist Michael Allen (below) was able to show off his robust and rich playing as full partner to Bartley’s finely tailored clarinet role.
This was, in sum, a superb program of music making, one to send the audience out into a winter night with a wonderful feeling of warm satisfaction.
The Mosaic Chamber Players give their next concert on April 25, with piano quintets by Johannes Brahms and Gabriel Fauré. Watch for it!
Tags: American Record Guide, Ancora String Quartet, Arts, Bartok, Benny Goodman, Brahmns, Brahms, Cello, Chamber music, clarinet, clarinet trio, Classical music, critic, Elgin, Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Faure, Frank Lloyd Wright, Haydn, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, Jess Salek, Johannes Brahms, John W. Barker, Joseph Szigeti, LaCrosse, LaCrosse Symphony Orchestra, Linda Bartley, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Medieval history, Mosaic Chamber Players, music critic, Piano, Piano Trio, trio, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, Wes Luke, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, WORT-FM 89.9, YouTube
Classical music: University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s Kipperton String Quartet will open the Rural Musicians Forum’s summer season on Monday night, June 9, in Spring Green at Unity Chapel with a FREE concert of Borodin, Britten and Shostakovich.
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By Jacob Stockinger
If you think you have to live in a big city to hear fine classical music, think again.
Blog friend Kent Mayfield, who lives in Milwaukee but works with rural musicians, writes:
“Known for its high energy and musical depth, the Kipperton String Quartet (below) will open the 2014 summer concert season for the Rural Musicians Forum with a FREE concert in Spring Green on Monday, June 9.
“The Kipperton String Quartet performs at 7:30 p.m., at Unity Chapel. The Chapel (below top is the exterior and below bottom is the interior) is located on County Road T, just east of Hwy 23. The chapel is a living testament to the simple and contemplative lives early settlers created for themselves in southwest Wisconsin. While famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright did not design the building, he did help in its planning and it seems to reflect at least some of his early designs and influence.
“There is no ticket charge but a freewill offering to support the concert series will be taken. For more information: www.ruralmusiciansforum.org OR contact Kent Mayfield ruralmusiciansforum@yahoo.com
“The Kipperton String Quartet includes (from left) violinists Timothy Kamps and Wes Luke; violist Paul Alan Price-Brenner; and cellist Kevin Price-Brenner.
“Music for a Summer Evening” for June 9 will feature three string quartets from the 19th and 20th centuries.
“The most familiar of these is surely the String Quartet No. 2 in D Major by Russian composer Alexander Borodin (below), who was also a professional chemist. The quartet was well-received during Borodin’s life but managed to “cross-over” into the mega-popular realm when at least two of its themes (heard at bottom in a popular YouTube video) were used as part of the 1953 musical “Kismet.” Robert Wright and George Forrest used several of Borodin’s compositions to accompany a story set in the times of the Arabian Nights. Two songs in particular, “Baubles, Bangles and Beads” and “This is My Beloved” are based directly on lyrical and exotic themes from the second and third movements of Borodin’s quartet.
“The Kipperton String Quartet will also perform Three Divertimenti for String Quartet by Benjamin Britten (below). Britten is one of the great 20th-century composers and certainly among the greatest British composers of all time. The Three Divertimenti are a set of three individual character pieces meant as “pleasing entertainment.” The bristling rhythms, and colorful sounds are broadly appealing. Britten was a composer of great skill and imagination who wrote for the wider public.
“The third work on the Kipperton program for RMF’s “Music for a Summer Evening,” is the String Quartet No. 1 in C major for Strings, Op. 49, by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich (below). It is a short piece, in four movements of compact, classical form: a slow opener, then variations on a folk-style melody, followed by a rushing scherzo and an exuberant, dancing finale – a progression from unease to exhilaration taking not much more than a quarter of an hour. The atmosphere is, he said, spring-like. Some of the music came from one of his film scores, for “The Girl Friends,” about three girlhood friends growing up before World War I who eventually become nurses.”
The quartet first met in the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra and quickly coalesced into the premier string quartet of the tri-state area. In addition to the DSO, the members also play in other orchestras such as the LaCrosse Symphony Orchestra, the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, and the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra.
The quartet was the very first String Quartet in Residence at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
According to RMF Artistic Director, Kent Mayfield, “The Kipperton String Quartet creates a shimmering sound full of energy and virtuosic skill that pleases both the casual listener and more serious students of the classics. This is a perfect way to welcome summer to the Wisconsin River Valley.”
Tags: Alexander Borodin, Arts, Benjamin Britten, Borodin, Britten, Cedar Falls, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, Dmitri Shostakovich, Dubuque, Dubuque Symphony Orchestra, Frank Lloyd Wright, Jacob Stockinger, Kipperton String Quartet, Kismet, LaCrosse, LaCrosse Symphony Orchestra, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee, Music, Orchestra, Quad Cities, Quad City, Quad City Symphony Orchestra, Rural Musicians Forum, Shostakovich, Spring Green, String quartet, Unity Chapel, University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Waterloo, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, YouTube
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