The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Here is update and analysis of this year’s Grammy Award winners in classical music. Plus, the Madison Symphony Chorus under conductor Beverly Taylor will sample American choral traditions this Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Overture Center.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear’s friends at the Madison Symphony Orchestra have sent in the following announcement:
“Can you name all the different distinctly American choral traditions?
“Director Beverly Taylor (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot) and the Madison Symphony Chorus will answer that question this Sunday afternoon, Feb. 2, at 2 p.m., when they’ll appear in “Apple Pie America: A Slice of Choral Americana” in Promenade Hall at the Overture Center for the Arts. (Taylor is also the head of the choral department at the university of Wisconsin-Madison, where she directs the UW Choral Union and UW Concert Choir, and is the assistant conductor of the Madison Symphony Orchestra. And sorry, I have so specific titles of works on the program but I have been told that the concert is closing in on being sold-out, with only a few tickets remaining.)
The concert will start with classical music selections from Charles Pachelbel, Lukas Foss, Randall Thompson and others, while the second half will be dedicated to folk songs, hymns, and spirituals.
Many of the works will be accompanied by Madison Symphony Orchestra principal pianist Daniel Lyons (below).
Tickets are $15, and are available at http://madisonsymphony.org/Americana or at the Overture Center Box Office at (608) 258-4141 or 201 State Street.
Formed in 1927, the Madison Symphony Chorus (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson) gave its first public performance in 1928 and has performed regularly with the Madison Symphony Orchestra ever since.
It was featured at the popular Madison Symphony Christmas concerts in December, and it will be joined by four soloists for the MSO’s performance of Mozart’s Requiem on April 4, 5 and 6.
The Chorus is comprised of more than 125 volunteer musicians from all walks of life who enjoy combining their artistic talent, and new members are always welcome. Visit http://madisonsymphony.org/chorus for more information.
CATCHING UP WITH THE GRAMMY WINNERS
Last Sunday was the Grammy Awards.
Here is a complete list of the nominees and the winners. It makes for a good listening list or buying list.
Atterberg: Orchestral Works Vol. 1
Neeme Järvi, conductor (Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra)
Lutosławski: Symphony No. 1
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Schumann: Symphony No. 2; Overtures Manfred & Genoveva
Claudio Abbado, conductor (Orchestra Mozart)
Stravinsky: Le Sacre Du Printemps
Simon Rattle, conductor (Berliner Philharmoniker)
WINNER Adès: The TempestThomas Adès, conductor; Simon Keenlyside, Isabel Leonard, Audrey Luna & Alan Oke; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
Britten: The Rape Of Lucretia
Oliver Knussen, conductor; Ian Bostridge, Peter Coleman-Wright, Susan Gritton & Angelika Kirchschlager; John Fraser, producer (Aldeburgh Festival Ensemble)
Kleiberg: David & Bathsheba
Tõnu Kaljuste, conductor; Anna Einarsson & Johannes Weisser; Morten Lindberg, producer (Trondheim Symphony Orchestra; Trondheim Symphony Orchestra Vocal Ensemble)
Vinci: Artaserse
Diego Fasolis, conductor; Valer Barna-Sabadus, Daniel Behle, Max Emanuel Cencic, Franco Fagioli & Philippe Jaroussky; Ulrich Ruscher, producer (Concerto Köln; Coro Della Radiotelevisione Svizzera, Lugano)
Wagner: Der Ring Des Nibelungen
Christian Thielemann, conductor; Katarina Dalayman, Albert Dohmen, Stephen Gould, Eric Halfvarson & Linda Watson; Othmar Eichinger, producer (Orchester Der Wiener Staatsoper; Chor Der Wiener Staatsoper)
WINNER Pärt: Adam’s LamentTõnu Kaljuste, conductor (Tui Hirv & Rainer Vilu; Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir; Sinfonietta Riga & Tallinn Chamber Orchestra; Latvian Radio Choir & Vox Clamantis)
Berlioz: Grande Messe Des Morts
Colin Davis, conductor (Barry Banks; London Symphony Orchestra; London Philharmonic Choir & London Symphony Chorus)
Palestrina: Volume 3
Harry Christophers, conductor (The Sixteen)
Parry: Works For Chorus & Orchestra
Neeme Järvi, conductor; Adrian Partington, chorus master (Amanda Roocroft; BBC National Orchestra Of Wales; BBC National Chorus Of Wales)
Whitbourn: Annelies
James Jordan, conductor (Arianna Zukerman; The Lincoln Trio; Westminster Williamson Voices)
WINNER Roomful Of Teeth
Brad Wells & Roomful Of Teeth
Beethoven: Violin Sonatas
Leonidas Kavakos & Enrico Pace
Cage: The 10,000 Things
Vicki Ray, William Winant, Aron Kallay & Tom Peters
Duo Hélène Grimaud & Sol Gabetta
Labe;: Deutsche Grammophon
Times Go By Turns
New York Polyphony
77. BEST CLASSICAL INSTRUMENTAL SOLO
WINNER Corigliano: Conjurer – Concerto For Percussionist & String OrchestraEvelyn Glennie; David Alan Miller, conductor (Albany Symphony)
Bartók, Eötvös & Ligeti
Patricia Kopatchinskaja; Peter Eötvös, conductor (Ensemble Modern & Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra)
The Edge Of Light
Gloria Cheng (Calder Quartet)
Lindberg: Piano Concerto No. 2
Yefim Bronfman; Alan Gilbert, conductor (New York Philharmonic)
Salonen: Violin Concerto; Nyx
Leila Josefowicz; Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor (Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra)
Schubert: Piano Sonatas D. 845 & D. 960
Maria João Pires
78. BEST CLASSICAL VOCAL SOLO
WINNER Winter Morning WalksDawn Upshaw (Maria Schneider; Jay Anderson, Frank Kimbrough & Scott Robinson; Australian Chamber Orchestra & St. Paul Chamber Orchestra)
Drama Queens
Joyce DiDonato (Alan Curtis; Il Complesso Barocco)
Mission
Cecilia Bartoli (Diego Fasolis; Philippe Jaroussky; I Barocchisti)
Schubert: Winterreise
Christoph Prégardien (Michael Gees)
Wagner
Jonas Kaufmann (Donald Runnicles; Markus Brück; Chor Der Deutschen Oper Berlin; Orchester Der Deutschen Oper Berlin)
WINNER Hindemith: Violinkonzert; Symphonic Metamorphosis; KonzertmusikChristoph Eschenbach, conductor
Holmboe: Concertos
Dima Slobodeniouk, conductor; Preben Iwan, producer
Tabakova: String Paths
Maxim Rysanov; Manfred Eicher, producer
80. BEST CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL COMPOSITION
WINNER Schneider, Maria: Winter Morning WalksMaria Schneider, composer (Dawn Upshaw, Jay Anderson, Frank Kimbrough, Scott Robinson & Australian Chamber Orchestra)
Lindberg, Magnus: Piano Concerto No. 2
Magnus Lindberg, composer (Yefim Bronfman, Alan Gilbert & New York Philharmonic)
Pärt, Arvo: Adam’s Lament
Arvo Pärt, composer (Tõnu Kaljuste, Latvian Radio Choir, Vox Clamantis & Sinfonietta Riga)
Salonen, Esa-Pekka: Violin Concerto
Esa-Pekka Salonen, composer (Leila Josefowicz, Esa-Pekka Salonen & Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra)
Shaw, Caroline: Partita For 8 Voices
Caroline Shaw, composer (Brad Wells & Roomful Of Teeth)
Tags: Alan Gilbert, Alan Oke, Arts, Arvo Part, Bach, Bartok, Beethoven, Berlioz, Britten, Cage, Classical music, Daniel Lyons, Dawn Upshaw, Franz Schubert, Grammy Award, Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance, Isabel Leonard, Jacob Stockinger, John Corigliano, Jonas Kaufmann, Leila Josefowicz, Lukas Foss, Madison, Madison Symphony Chorus, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Magnus Lindberg, Maria Schneider, Metropolitan Opera, Mozart, New York Philharmonic, NPR, Orchestra, Overture Center, Palestrina, Paul Hindemith, Peter Coleman-Wright, Randall Thompson, Requiem, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Schubert, Schumann, Sibelius, Sunday, Ted Kooser, Thomas Ades, United States, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW Choral Union, UW Concert Choir, Wagner, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Yefim Bronfman, YouTube
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The Well-Tempered Ear 
New York Times critics choose 10 online classical music concerts to stream in February, starting this Thursday
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By Jacob Stockinger
As they have done for previous months during the coronavirus pandemic, the classical music critics for The New York Times have named their top 10 choices of online concerts to stream in February, which is also Black History Month, starting this Thursday, Feb. 4.
Also predictably, they focus on new music – including a world premiere — new conductors and new composers, although “new” doesn’t necessarily mean young in this context.
For example, the conductor Fabio Luisi (below) is well known to fans of Richard Wagner and the Metropolitan Opera. But he is new to the degree that just last season he became the new conductor of Dallas Symphony Orchestra and its digital concert series.
Similarly, the Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg (below top, in a photo by Saara Vuorjoki) and the American composer Caroline Shaw (below bottom, in a photo by Kait Moreno), who has won a Pulitzer Prize, have both developed reputations for reliable originality.
But chances are good that you have not yet heard of the young avant-garde cellist Mariel Roberts (below top) or the conductor Jonathon Heyward (below bottom).
Nor, The Ear suspects, have you probably heard the names and music of composers Angélica Negrón (below top), who uses found sounds and Tyshawn Sorey (below bottom). (You can sample Negrón’s unusual music in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Of course, you will also find offerings by well-known figures such as the Berlin Philharmonic and its Kurt Weill festival; conductor Alan Gilbert; pianists Daniil Trifonov and Steven Osborne; violinist Leonidas Kavakos; and the JACK Quartet.
Tried-and-true composers are also featured, including music by Beethoven, Schnittke, Weber, Ravel and Prokofiev. But where are Bach, Vivaldi, Telemann and Handel? No one seems to like Baroque music.
Here is a link to the events with links and descriptions. All times are Eastern: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/arts/music/classical-music-streaming.html
Do you have other virtual and online concerts to suggest? Please leave details in the Comment sections.
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