The Well-Tempered Ear
UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra gives a FREE hybrid online concert this Thursday night by mixing both recorded and live performances
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
One of the most interesting and innovative responses to the limitations imposed on live concerts by the coronavirus can be heard this Thursday night, Nov. 19, at 8 p.m.
That is when the UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra – playing under the baton of director Oriol Sans in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall of the Hamel Music Center — will perform a short concert that features both live performances and pre-recorded performances in the same piece.
The reason for the hybrid is public health precautions, the same reason why no in-person audience will be allowed.
String players can play with masks and social distancing, as the same orchestra showed in a previous virtual concert (below) this semester.
But brass and woodwinds prohibit wearing masks and involve the spraying or draining of saliva – an obvious risk for the spread of COVID-19.
So, presenting the full symphonic experience of the Beethoven piece will be accomplished by a combination of pre-recorded and live music, all performed by UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra musicians.
The concert will last about 90 minutes with no intermission.
Here is a direct link to the YouTube channel of the UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music: https://youtu.be/af6hjmW1cQw
The program is:
“Fuga con Pajarillo” (Fugue with Pajarillo Dance) by the Venezuelan composer Aldemaro Romero (below, 1928-2007), who was known for blending folk songs and dances with classical music. You can hear the string version of the orchestral piece in the YouTube video at the bottom.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldemaro_Romero
The famous Allegretto second movement from Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92, by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
“Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite III” by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi (below, 1879-1936)
I. Anon.: Italiana
II. Jean-Baptiste Besard: Arie di corte
III. Anon.: Siciliana
IV. Lodovico Roncalli: Passacaglia
For more information about the program and the names of the student performers, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/uw-madison-symphony-orchestra-3/
Tags: #AldemaroRomero, #AncientAirsandDances, #BaroqueMusic, #BeethovenSymphony, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrassMusic, #ClassicalMusician, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FolkDance, #FugaconParajillo, #HamelMusicCenter, #JacobStockinger, #Jean-BaptisteBesard, #LatinAmerican, #LiveMusic, #LudovicoRoncalli, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #OnlineConcert, #OrchestralArrangement, #OriolSans, #OttorinoRespighi, #RecordedMusic, #SecondMovement, #SeventhSymphony, #SocialDistance, #SouthAmerica, #SouthAmerican, #StringMusic, #SymphonyNo.7, #TheEar, #TheUW, #Thursdaynight, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UW-MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #VirtualConcert, #WoodwindSection, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, air, Aldemaro Romero, Allegretto, ancient, Ancient Airs and Dances, anonymous, Arts, audience, Baroque, Baroque music, Beethoven, blend, blog, brass, Cello, Classical music, combination, composer, Concert, conductor, coronavirus, dance, drain, Early music, experience, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, folk, folksong, forward, free, Fuga con Parajillo, full, Hame Music Center, hour, hybrid, impose, infection, information, innovative, interesting, intermission, Itaky, Italian, Jacob Stockinger, Jean-Baptiste Besard, Latin America, like, limitation, link, live, Ludovico Roncalli, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, mask, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, mix, movement, Music, Musician, names, night, obvious, online, Orchestra, orchestral, Oriol Sans, Ottorino Respighi, pandemic, passacaglia, perform, piece, post, posting, pre-recorded, previous, recorded, Respighi, response, risk, saliva, second movement, semester, Seventh Symphony, share, short, Siciliana, social distance, song, South America, South American, spray, spread, string music, strings, Student, Suite, symphonic, symphony, Symphony No. 7, tag, The Ear, Thursday, United States, university, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, Venezuela, Venezuelan, version, Viola, Violin, virtual, winds, Wisconsin, woodwinds, YouTube
Classical music: The Madison Opera performs Verdi’s popular “La Traviata” this Friday night and Sunday afternoon in Overture Hall
2 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
This weekend, the Madison Opera opens its 59th season with a traditional production of Verdi’s “La Traviata” (The Lost One), one of the most popular operas in history.
According to the website www.operasense.com — specifically at https://www.operasense.com/most-popular-operas/ — it has been the most performed opera in the world, beating out such perennial favorites as Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” Puccini’s “La Boheme” and “Madama Butterfly,” and Bizet’s “Carmen.” (Below are photos by Matthew Staver from the production by Opera Colorado in Denver, which features the same sets and costumes that will be used in the production by Madison Opera.)
Performances in Overture Hall are this Friday night, Nov. 1, at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoon, Nov. 3 at 2:30 p.m. The opera will be sung in Italian with projected supertitles in English. The running time, with two intermissions, is 2 hours and 45 minutes.
PRE-OPERA TALKS are on Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in the Wisconsin Studio of the Overture Center. One hour prior to performances, general director Kathryn Smith will give an entertaining and informative talk about “La Traviata.” The talks are free to ticket holders.
POST-OPERA Q&A’s are on Friday and Sunday and will also take place in the Wisconsin Studio of the Overture Center. Audience members can join general director Kathryn Smith immediately after the performance to ask questions about what they have just seen. The sessions are free to ticket holders.
Tickets are $18-$135 with student and group discounts available. For information about tickets, the production and the cast, go to: https://www.madisonopera.org
Set in mid-19th century Paris, “La Traviata” tells of Violetta, a courtesan who tries to follow her heart. But societal pressures force her to leave the man she loves, and an incurable illness takes care of the rest.
Glittering parties contrast with quiet desperation, and ravishing music underscores all-consuming emotions.
“Only a few operas ever achieve a truly beloved status — and “La Traviata” is one of them,” says Kathryn Smith (below, in a photo by James Gill). For being over 150 years old, its story is quite modern: a young woman trying to overcome the limitations that society has placed on her because of her class and gender, searching for happiness yet willing to make sacrifices.
“Plus it is full of very famous music, from the ‘Brindisi’ to ‘Sempre Libera’ and more,” Smith adds. “It’s always a pleasure to have a new generation discover this work, and to share it with opera omnivores who know it well.” (You can hear Renée Fleming sing Violetta’s signature aria “Sempre libera” (Always Free) at the Royal Opera House in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
“La Traviata” is based on the play and novel “La Dame aux Camélias” (The Lady of the Camellias) by Alexandre Dumas the son (below top), which were in turn based on his real-life relationship with the courtesan Marie Duplessis (below bottom), who died in 1847 of consumption.
The play was an instant hit when it premiered in Paris in 1852, and Verdi (below) turned it into an opera the following year.
While the first production of the opera was not a success, due to the poor singing of two cast members and the physical unsuitability of one singer, its second production was acclaimed, and the opera swiftly became one of the most performed operas in the world, a status it has not lost.
Both the opera and the play have inspired countless films, including “Camille” (with Greta Garbo), “Pretty Woman” (with Julia Roberts) and “Moulin Rouge” (with Nicole Kidman).
Madison Opera’s artistic director John DeMain (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson) says: “”La Traviata” has been a part of my artistic life since the very beginning of my career – it’s one of the reasons I so wanted to conduct opera. The heartfelt and tragic story of a love that was cut short by both health and cultural circumstances is still deeply moving today.
“The role of Violetta is a tour-de-force that ranges from high-flying coloratura to dramatic vocalism, with a strongly-etched character. I love this opera so deeply and look forward to conducting it for our audience.”
Returning to Madison Opera as Violetta is Cecilia Violetta Lopez (she played Carmen in Madison), whom The Washington Post reviewer called “as compelling a Violetta as I’ve seen.”
Mackenzie Whitney (below, who appeared in “Florencia en el Amazonas” for the Madison Opera) returns as Alfredo, the young man for whom she sacrifices everything.
Weston Hurt (below) debuts with Madison Opera as Alfredo’s father Germont, whose disapproval of his son’s relationship with Violetta has tragic consequences.
Madison Opera’s Studio Artists are featured: Kirsten Larson as Flora, Emily Secor as Annina, Benjamin Hopkins as Gastone, and Stephen Hobe as the Marquis d’Obigny.
Rounding out the cast are Benjamin Sieverding (Romeo and Juliet) as Dr. Grenvil and Benjamin Major in his Madison Opera debut as Baron Douphol.
Fenton Lamb (below) directs this traditional production in her Madison Opera debut.
Maestro John DeMain conducts the singers, the Madison Opera Chorus and the Madison Symphony Orchestra.
The Madison Opera’s production of “La Traviata” is sponsored by the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation, Bert and Diane Adams, Carla and Fernando Alvarado, Chun Lin, Patricia and Stephen Lucas, Millie and Marshall Osborn, Kato and David Perlman, the Wallach Family, Helen Wineke, Capitol Lakes, and the Wisconsin Arts Board.
Tags: #19thCentury, #AlexandreDumasfils, #ArtisticDirector, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CapitolLakes, #CapitolLakesRetirementCenter, #CastList, #CeciliaViolettaLopez, #ChoralMusic, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #DenverColorado, #DrinkingSong, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FentonLamb, #FlorenciaenelAmazonas, #Fridaynight, #GeneralDirector, #GeorgesBizet, #GiacomoPuccini, #GiuseppeVerdi, #GretaGardo, #HomeWebsite, #IncurableIllness, #InstantHit, #JohnDeMain, #JuliaRoberts, #KathrynSmith, #KatoPerlman, #LaBoheme, #LaTraviata, #MackenzieWhitney, #MadamaButterfly, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonOperaChorus, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarieDuplessis, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MoulinRouge, #MusicCritic, #MusicReview, #NicoleKidman, #OperaAria, #OperaColorado, #OperaHouse, #OrchestralMusic, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #ParisFrance, #PerennialFavorite, #PersonalRelationship, #PleasantT.Rowland, #PopularMusic, #PrettyWoman, #QuietDesperation, #RenéeFleming, #RomeoandJuliet, #RoyalOperaHouse, #RunningTime, #SempreLibera, #Sickness, #SopranoSinger, #StateOfWisconsin, #Sundayafternoon, #TenorSinger, #TheEar, #TheLostOne, #TheMagicFlute, #TheWashingtonPost, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VocalMusic, #WestonHurt, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #WisconsinStudio, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YoungMan, #YoungWoman, #YouTubevideo, 19th century, acclaimed, afternoon, Alexandre Dumas fils, Alfredo, all-consuming, aria, Artistic director, artististic, artists, Arts, ask, audience, baron, beloved, Bizet, blog, Brindisi, Camille, Capitol, Capitol Lakes, care, career, Carmen, cast, Cecilia Violetta Lopez, character, choral music, chorus, circumstance, circumstances, class, classic, Classical music, classicalmusic, classism, Colorado, coloratura, composer, conduct, conductor, consequences, consume, consuming, consumption, costumes, courtesan, critically acclaimed, cultural, culture, death, debut, Denver, desperation, die, director, disapproval, discount, discover, dramatic, drinking song, Dumas, emotions, English, etched, Facebook, famous, father, favorite, feature, Fenton Lamb, film, first, Florencia en el Amazonas, flute, foundation, France, free, Friday, gender, General director, generation, Georges Bizet, Germont, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, glittering, Greta Garbo, group, happiness, Health, heart, heartfelt, high-flying, History, hit, Home, illness, incurable, information, instant, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, John DeMain, Jula Roberts, Kathryn Smith, Kato Perlman, La bohème, La Traviata, lakes, life, like, limitation, limitations, link, lost, loves, Mackenzie Whitney, Madama Butterfly, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Opera Chorus, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maestro, magic, man, Marie Duplessis, Mead Witter School of Music, modern, Moulin Rouge, movie, moving, Mozart, Music, music critic, music reviewer, Nicole Kidman, night, novel, old, omnivore, open, opera, Opera Colorado, Opera house, Orchestra, orchestral music, overcome, Overture Center, Overture Hall, Paris, parties, party, perennial, performer, personal relationship, photo, physical, play, Pleasant T. Rowland, pleasure, poor, popular, post, posting, premiere, pressure, Pretty Woman, production, projected, Puccini, Q&A, question-and-answer, questions, quiet, ravishing, reader, real, real-life, relationship, Renée Fleming, Retirement, review, role, Romeo and Juliet, royal, Royal Opera House, running, running time, sacrifice, same, Season, Sempre Libera, session, sets, Sexism, sexist, share, sick, signature, singer, Singing, social, societal, society, son, soprano, sponsor, State of Wisconsin, status, story, studio, subscriber, success, Sunday, sung, supertitles, surtitles, tag, talks, tenor, The Ear, The Lost One, The Magic Flute, The Washington Post, ticket, time, today, tour-de-force, traditional, Tragic, translation, tuberculosis, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Verdi, Violetta, vocal music, Website, weekend, well-known, Weston Hurt, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, Wisconsin Studio, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, woman, world, year, young, young man, young woman, YouTube
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 
Classical music: The Middleton Community Orchestra honors retired music critic John W. Barker with a special performance of Brahms and a season dedication
7 Comments
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE 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
How does an individual musician or musical group pay tribute and say thank you to a critic?
By performing, of course.
And that is exactly what 30 members of the Middleton Community Orchestra did, playing under guest conductor Kyle Knox (below top), last Friday night for the veteran music critic John W. Barker (below bottom).
The orchestra performed for him at the downtown Capitol Lakes Retirement Community, near the Capitol Square, where the ailing Barker lives with his wife Margaret.
Because of space limitations, word of the special performance never went public. But the large basement room was packed with affectionate and respectful fans and friends.
The MCO members played the lyrical and sunny Serenade No. 1, Op. 11, of Johannes Brahms. (You can hear the opening movement of the Serenade by Brahms in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The orchestra also announced that it would dedicate its upcoming 10th anniversary season to Barker as a gesture of thanks for all he has done over the past nine years to promote the mostly amateur orchestra — which opens its new season on Wednesday, Oct. 9.
“I’ve known this piece most of my life,” said Barker, who soon turns 86 and who started reviewing in his teens. “It’s lots of fun.”
And so was the unusual honor.
“An orchestra paying tribute to a critic? It’s unprecedented,” Barker quipped, as both he and the audience laughed. Barker also quoted the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius who once said, “A statue has never been erected in honor of a critic.”
After the 40-minute performance, Barker spoke briefly to the players and audience.
“The job of the critic,” he said, “is to stimulate performers to play up to their best standards and to give readers some background and context. Being critical doesn’t mean being negative, although at times I have made some negative comments. But you never have to be nasty. I guess I’ve succeeded,” he said looking around at the players and the public, both of whom generously applauded his remarks.
Barker’s list of personal accomplishments is impressive. He has written local music reviews for The Capital Times, Isthmus and this blog.
But he is a participant as well as a critic. He has sung in many choirs, including 47 years in the one at the local Greek Orthodox Church, and has performed with the Madison Opera. He directed Gilbert and Sullivan productions for the Madison Savoyards.
Barker is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which may help to explain his general taste for the traditional. He also is a well-known classical music critic, with a national reputation, who has written for 63 years for the American Record Guide. For many years, he hosted an early music radio show on Sunday mornings for WORT-FM 89.9.
He also worked with Opera Props, the support group for University Opera, and was a member of the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival. And he frequently gave pre-concert lectures in Madison. He has published two books on Wagner and written a definitive history of the Pro Arte Quartet.
But this time even the voluble Barker had to admit, “I am grateful and thankful. I am very moved, even floored. But I’m afraid I’m finally at a loss for words.”
You can leave your own words of tribute in the Comment section.
To see the full “Barker season” schedule for the Middleton Community Orchestra and to read many of Barker’s past reviews of the MCO, go to: http://middletoncommunityorchestra.org
Thank you, John, for all you have done to enrich the cultural and musical life of Madison!
Share this:
Like this:
Tags: #AmateurMusicians, #AmericanRecordGuide, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoardofAdvisors, #CapitalLakesRetirement Community, #CapitolLakes, #CapitolSquare, #CapTimes, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #CriticalAcclaimed, #EmeritusProfessor, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FinnishComposer, #Fridaynight, #GilbertandSullivan, #GreekOrthodoxChurch, #GuestArtist, #HomeWebsite, #IsthmusNewspaper, #JeanSibelius, #JohannesBrahms, #JohnW.Barker, #KyleKnox, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonSavoyards, #MedievalHistory, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #MusicCritic, #MusicReview, #NationalReputation, #OperaProps, #OrchestralMusic, #ProArteQuartet, #RichardWagner, #SpecialPerformance, #StringQuartet, #SundayMorning, #ThankYou, #TheCapitalTimes, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityOpera, #WORT-FM89.9, accomplishment, admit, affectionate, ailing, amateur, American Record Guide, anniversary, applaud, audeience, audience, background, basement, blog, board, Board of Advisors, Book, Cap Times, Capitol Lakes, Capitol Lakes Retirement Community, Capitol Square, Chamber music, choirs, choral music, church, Classical music, classicalmusic, comments, composer, conductor, context, critic, cultural, culture, dedicate, downtown, Early music, earlymusic, emeritus professor, enrich, erect, Facebook, fan, festival Madison Early Music Festival, Finnish composer, forward, Friday, Friday night, friend, fun, generous, gesture, Gilbert and Sullivan, grateful, gratitude, Greek Orthodox Church, group, guest artist, History, home website, honor, host, impressive, individual, Isthmus, Jean Sibelius, job, Johannes Brahms, John W. Barker, Kyle Knox, laugh, lecture, life, like, limitation, link, list, local, loss, lyrical, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Savoyards, Medieval, member, MEMF, Middleton Community Orchestra, morning, moved, music critic, music review, musical, Musician, nasty, national, negative, Newspaper, night, opera, Opera Props, Orchestra, orchestral music, past, pay, perform, performer, personal, piece, play, player, post, posting, pre-concert, Pro Arte Quartet, professor, promote, published, quip, quote, Radio, remarks, reputation, respectful, Retirement, Richard Wagner, room, schedule, Season, Serenade, share, show, sing, singer, space, special, special performance, standards, statue, stimulate, String quartet, sun, Sunday, sunny, tag, taste, teens, thank you, thankful, thankfulness, The Capital Times, traditional, tribute, university, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, unprecedented, unusual, UW-Madison, Veteran, voluble, Wagner, Website, well-known, Wisconsin, words, WORT-FM 89.9, written, years