Make Music Madison | The Well-Tempered Ear

Live music continues its comeback from the pandemic. Today is Make Music Madison with free concerts citywide of many kinds of music. Here are guides with details

June 21, 2021
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By Jacob Stockinger

Live music continues to make its comeback from the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The past week saw live outdoor concerts by Con Vivo, the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society and the Middleton Community Orchestra.

Today – Monday, June 21 –is Make Music Madison 2021.

It is part of an annual worldwide phenomenon that started in France in 1982. It has since spread globally and is now celebrated in more than 1,000 cities in 120 countries.

Yet in the U.S., Wisconsin is one of only five states that celebrate Make Music Day statewide. The other states are Connecticut, Hawaii, New Mexico and Vermont. In there U.S., more than 100 cities will take part in presenting free outdoor concerts. Globally, the audience will be in the millions.

The day is intended to be a way to celebrate the annual Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. Technically, the solstice occurred in Wisconsin last night, on Father’s Day, at 10:32 p.m. CDT.

But The Ear is a forgiving kind. This will be the first full day of summer, so the spirit of the celebration lives on despite the calendar.

You can see – the composer Igor Stravinsky advised listening with your eyes open – and hear 38 different kinds of music. The choices include blues, bluegrass, Celtic, roots music, gospel, rock, jazz, classical, folk, African music, Asian music, world music, children’s music (see the YouTube video at the bottom) and much more. It will be performed by students and teachers, amateurs and professionals, individuals and groups.

Here is a link to a press release about the overall event: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/make-music-day-2021-announces-updated-schedule-of-events-301304107.html

And here is a link to the global home website — with more background information and a live-stream video of a gong tribute to the who died of COVID — about the festival: https://www.makemusicday.org

The local events will take place from 5 a.m. to midnight. All are open to the public without admission, and safety protocols will be observed.

Here is a guide to local events that allow you to search particulars of the celebration by area of the city, genre of music, performers, venues and times. If you are a classical fan, in The Ear’s experience you might want to pay special attention to Metcalfe’s market in the Hilldale mall.

Here is a link to the home webpage of Make Music Madison: https://www.makemusicmadison.org

Here is a link to the event calendar with maps and schedules as well as alternative plans in case of rain and various menus for searching: https://www.makemusicmadison.org/listings/

Happy listening!

In the Comment section, please leave your observations and suggestions or advice about the quality and success of the festival and the specific events you attended.

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AfricanMusic, #AsianMusic, #BachDancingandDynamiteSociety, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #Children'sMusic, #ChoralMusic, #CityofMadison, #ConVivo, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #CulturalPhenomenon, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Father'sDay, #FolkMusic, #HilldaleMall, #HomeWebpage, #IgorStravinsky, #JacobStockinger, #LiveMusic, #LiveStreaming, #MadisonWisconsin, #MakeMusicDay, #MakeMusicMadison, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #Mondaynight, #NewMexico, #PianoMusic, #PressRelease, #RockMusic, #RootsMusic, #SummerSolstice, #TheBlues, #TheEar, #TheU.S., #UnitedStates, #VocalMusic, #WebPage, #WorldMusic, #YouTubevideo, admission, advice, Africa, alternative, amateur, annaul, area, Arts, Asia, Asian music, audience, Bach, Bach Dancing and Dynamt, background, Baroque, Beethoven, blog, blue, bluegrass, blues, calendar, celebrate, celebration, Cello, Celtic, Chamber music, children, children's music, choral music, city, citywide, Classical music, classicalmusic, comeback, comment, composer, Con Vivo, Connecticut, coronavirus, cultural, culture, different, event, eyes, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, fathers day, festival, Folk music, forgive, forgiving, forward, France, free, genre, gospel, group, guide, happy', Hawaii, hear, Hilldale, Hilldale Mall, Holiday, Home, Igor Stravinsky, individual, information, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, kijd, like, link, listen, listening, live music, live-stream, livestream, local, Madison, make, Make Music Day, Make Music Madison, map, market, menu, Metcalfe's, Middleton Community Orchestra, million, Monday, Music, New Mexico, night, now, observation, occur, open, outdoors, pandemic, particulars, performer, phenomenon, Pianist, Piano, piano music, plans, post, posting, press release, professional, protocol, public, quality, rain, Rock, rock music, roots music, schedule, search, see, share, Spring, Stravinsky, stuydent, success, suggest, Summer solstice, tag, Teacher, technical, technically, The blues, The Ear, time, U.S., United States, venue, Vermont, video, vocal music, Wisconsin, World music, worldwide, YouTube video

Classical music: Here are the world premieres of the sixth and seventh pieces of “pandemic music” commissioned by the U.S. Library of Congress

June 24, 2020
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By Jacob Stockinger

The project has is now heading towards it end.

Last week was when the world premieres of the 10 short pieces — written for the U.S. Library of Congress’ “Boccaccio Project” — started going public and began being posted on various social media sites as well as the Internet.

This week will see the last five compositions and complete the project.

One performance is released each weekday night starting at 8 p.m. EDT.

The project, funded by the federal government, is intended to capture some aspect of the unique culture brought about by the coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19.

The first piece was “Sequestered Thoughts,” a solo piano work by composed Damien Sneed and performed by Jeremy Jordan.

The second was “shadow of a difference/falling” by composer Richard Drehoff Jr. and solo oboist Andrew Nogal of the Grossman Ensemble.

The third was “Intuit – a way to stay in the world” for solo cello composed by Miya Masaoka and performed by Kathryn Bates of the Del Sol String Quartet.

The first three were featured in two postings on this blog last week. Here are links:

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2020/06/16/classical-music-here-is-the-world-premiere-of-the-first-piece-of-pandemic-music-commissioned-by-the-library-of-congress/

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2020/06/18/classical-music-here-are-the-world-premieres-of-the-second-and-third-pieces-of-pandemic-music-commissioned-by-the-u-s-library-of-congress/

The fourth and fifth pieces were premiered last Thursday and Friday, bringing the project to the half way point before the Summer Solstice, Father’s Day and Make Music Madison weekend.

They were posted on this past Monday. Here is a link:

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2020/06/22/classical-music-here-are-the-world-premieres-of-the-fourth-and-fifth-pieces-of-pandemic-music-commissioned-by-the-u-s-library-of-congress/

The fourth work is “Bridges,” a solo piano work composed by Cliff Eidelman and performed at home by Jenny Lin. The title refers to the composer’s focus on finding bridges from the coronavirus pandemic to normal life.

The fifth piece is “Hello World” by composer by Erin Rogers, an exploratory work for solo flute, and is performed by Erin Lesser of the Wet Ink Ensemble.

And now the second half of premieres has started.

The sixth piece is “1462 Willard Street,” composed for solo viola by Luciano Chessa (below top, in a photo by Melesia Nunez) and performed by Charlton Lee (below bottom, in a photo by RJ Muna) of the Del Sol String Quartet.

The address refers to a place in San Francisco where the composer was staying on March 16, 2020 – the day the city enacted orders to stay at home because of the pandemic.

https://www.loc.gov/concerts/boccaccio-project/chessa-lee.html

The seventh piece, premiered last night, is “Olcott Park” for solo piano composed by Aaron Travers (below top, in a photo by James Matthew Daniel) and performed by Daniel Pesca (below bottom, in a photo by Jay Morthland) of the Grossman Ensemble.

It is a recollection of the forest and birds the composer knows in a park near his home but which he hasn’t’ visited much during the pandemic.

https://www.loc.gov/concerts/boccaccio-project/travers-pesca.html

On the same page as the performance you can read what the composer and sometimes the performer have to say about the new work and what it strives to mean or express.

You can use links to go to the past performances and premieres.

You can also follow links on the bottom of the page to see more information about both the composer and the performer, and to general background of the project.

If you would like some more background, along with some commentary and questions from The Ear, go to https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2020/06/13/classical-music-the-library-of-congress-has-commissioned-new-music-about-the-coronavirus-pandemic-you-can-listen-to-the-premieres-from-this-monday-june-15-through-june-28/

What do you think of the individual pieces?

Do you have one or more favorites?

What do you think of the project?

How successful is it?

Will you like to hear more of the commissioned music?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AaronTravers, #AndrewNogal, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoccaccioProject, #CliffEidelman, #CommissionedMusic, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DamienSneed, #DanielPesca, #DelSolQuartet, #DelSolStringQuartet, #ErinLesser, #ErinRogers, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Father'sDay, #FederalGovernment, #GrossmanEnsemble, #InstrumentalMusic, #JacobStockinger, #JennyLin, #JeremyJordan, #KathrynBates, #LibraryofCongress, #LucianoChessa, #MakeMusicDay, #MakeMusicMadison, #MiyaMasaoaka, #NewMusic, #NormalLife, #OboeMusic, #OlcottPark, #RichardDrehoffJr., #SanFrancisco, #Self-Isolation, #SocialMedia, #Stayathome, #StringQuartet, #SummerSolstice, #TheEar, #TheU.S., #WetInkEnsemble, #WilliamStreet, #WorldPremiere, Aaron Travers, American, Andrew Nogal, bird, blog, Boccaccio Project, Boccacio, bridge, capture, Cello, city, Cliff Eidelman, commission, complete, composer, Composition, Congress, coronavirus, culture, Damien Sneed, Daniel Pesca, date, day, Del Sol Quartet, Del Sol String Quartet, difference, Erin Lesser, erin rogers, Facebook, fathers day, favorite, federal, federal government, fifth, flute, flutist, forest, forward, fourth, fund, government, Grossman Ensemble, half way, halfway, hello, Home, individual, instrumental, Intuit, isolation, Jacob Stockinger, Jenny Lin, Jeremy Jordan, Kathryn Bates, library, Library of Congress, life, like, link, Luciano Chessa, Make Music Day, Make Music Madison, Miya Masaoka, New Music, night, normal, Oboe, Olcott Park, one, pandemic, Park, perform, performance, Pianist, Piano, piece, place, post, posting, premiere, project, Richard Drehoff Jr., San Francisco, second, seventh, shadow, share, sixth, social media, solo, stay at home, String quartet, successful, summer, Summer solstice, tag, The Ear, think, third, trees, two, U.S., unique, week, weekday, weekend, Wet Ink Ensemble, Willard Street, work, world, world premiere

Classical music: Here are the world premieres of the fourth and fifth pieces of “pandemic music” commissioned by the U.S. Library of Congress

June 22, 2020
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By Jacob Stockinger

The project has reached the midway point.

Last week was when the world premieres of the 10 short pieces — written for the Library of Congress’ “Boccaccio Project” — started going public and began being posted on various social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube as well as the Internet.

One performance is released each weekday night starting at 8 p.m. EDT.

The project is a way to capture some of the unique culture brought about by the coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19.

The first piece was “Sequestered Thoughts,” a solo piano work by composed Damien Sneed and performed by Jeremy Jordan.

The second was “shadow of a difference/falling” by composer Richard Drehoff Jr. and solo oboist Andrew Nogal of the Grossman Ensemble.

There were featured in this blog last week.

The fourth and fifth pieces were premiered last Thursday and Friday, bringing the project to the halfway point before the Summer Solstice, Father’s Day and Make Music Madison weekend.

The fourth work is “Bridges,” a solo piano work composed by Cliff Eidelman (below top) and performed at home by Jenny Lin (below bottom, in a photo by Liz Linder).

The title refers to the composer’s focus on finding bridges from the peculiar coronavirus pandemic back to normal life.

https://www.loc.gov/concerts/boccaccio-project/eidelman-lin.html

The fifth piece is “Hello World” by composer by Erin Rogers (below top, in a photo by Aleksandr Karjaka), an exploratory work for solo flute that is performed by Erin Lesser (below bottom) of the Wet Ink Ensemble.

https://www.loc.gov/concerts/boccaccio-project/rogers-lesser.html

On the same page as the performance you can read what the composer and sometimes the performer have to say about the new work and what it strives to mean or express.

You can use links to go to the five past performances and premieres.

You can also follow links on the bottom of the page to see more information about both the composer and the performer, and to general background of the project.

What do you think of the pieces?

What do you think of the project?

Will you like to hear more of the commissioned music?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AndrewNogal, #AWeekendintheCountry, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoccaccioProject, #ChamberMusic, #CliffEidelman, #CommissionedMusic, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DamienSneed, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Father'sDay, #GiovanniBoccaccio, #GrossmanEnsemble, #HelloWorld, #JacobStockinger, #JennyLin, #JeremyJordan, #LibraryofCongress, #MakeMusicDay, #MakeMusicMadison, #NewMusic, #NormalLife, #RichardDrehoffJr., #Self-Isolation, #Stayathome, #SummerSolstice, #TheEar, #TheInternet, #TheU.S., #U.S.Government, #ViolaMusic, #ViolinMusic, #WetInkEnsemble, #WorldPremiere, #YouTubevideo, Andrew Nogal, Arts, audience, background, blog, Boccaccio, Boccaccio Project, bridge, California, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, Cliff Eidelman, commentary, commission, composer, Congress, coronavirus, culture, Damien Sneed, difference, ensemble, exploratory, explore, express, Facebook, falling, fathers day, federal, fifth, first, flute, flutist, forward, fourth, Friday, general, Giovanni Boccaccio, government, Grossman Ensemble, halfway, hear, hello, Hello World, Home, Internet, isolation, Jacob Stockinger, Jenny Lin, Jeremy Jordan, last, library, Library of Congress, life, like, link, Madison, Make Music Day, Make Music Madison, mean, Music, New Music, New York City, night, normal, Oboe, oboist, page, pandemic, past, peculiar, performance, performer, Pianist, Piano, piece, piuece, Point, posting, project, public, questions, reader, Richard Drehoff Jr., say, second, self-isolating, shadow, share, shelter, short, solo, solstice, stay at home, summer, Summer solstice, tag, The Ear, think, third, Thursday, Twitter, U.S., unique, United States, Viola, violoist, week, weekday, weekend, Wet Ink Ensemble, world, world premiere, YouTube

Classical music: Today is the Summer Solstice. What music best greets summer during this odd year? Plus, here is information about Make Music Madison this Sunday

June 20, 2020
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By Jacob Stockinger

Today – Saturday, June 20, 2020 – is the Summer Solstice.

Summer officially arrives this afternoon at 4:43 p.m. CDT.

Is The Ear alone in thinking that the time since the winter solstice has passed both more slowly and also more quickly than usual, thanks to the pandemic?

And now the days will start getting shorter. Can that be possible? Is the year really half over?

Well, it has been an unusual spring and promises to be an unusual summer, to say the least.

So how about some unusual Vivaldi?

If you listen to Wisconsin Public Radio, chances are good that today or sometime soon you will hear the hyper-popular original version of “Summer” from Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons.”

But The Ear finds this unusual contemporary version a welcome change from the over-programmed and too familiar original version, and more appropriate to the special summer that will follow the special spring.

It is a version that has been “recomposed” by British composer Max Richter (below top) with violin soloist Daniel Hope (below bottom), a protege of the legendary Yehudi Menuhin, who performed several years ago with the Madison Symphony Orchestra.

The Ear finds the entire work very appealing, but here is the YouTube video of just the Summer section as it was being recorded.

If you don’t like this music, what music would you choose to listen to as you celebrate the coming of summer?

And if you like this excerpt, here is a link to the complete version of “Vivaldi Recomposed”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJnxPgT83rw

MAKE MUSIC MADISON

Today may be the Summer Solstice, but this year’s Make Music Madison will take place this Sunday, which also happens to be Father’s Day.

The eight annual Make Music Madison – which includes classical music but also rock, jazz, folk, blues, hip-hop and country — is part of Make Music Day, an international celebration of the Summer Solstice that this year will take place in some 1,000 cities in 120 countries.

Here is a helpful listing with locations, time, performers and programs as well as form (virtual and online, with links, or real): http://www.makemusicmadison.org

Here is a story with more background about the event: http://www.makemusicday.org

If you attend or hear some of the events, let us know what you thought.

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AmericanJazz, #AntonioVivaldi, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BluesMusic, #BritishComposer, #ChamberMusic, #CoronavirusPandemic, #CountryMusic, #COVID-19, #DanielHope, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Father'sDay, #FolkMusic, #FourSeasons, #GreatBritain, #Hip-hopmusic, #ItalianBaroque, #italianComposer, #JacobStockinger, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MakeMusicDay, #MakeMusicMadison, #MaxRichter, #MusicalExcerpt, #OriginalVersion, #RapMusic, #RockandRoll, #SummerSolstice, #TheBlues, #TheEar, #UnitedKingdom, #ViolinConcerto, #VocalMusic, #WinterSolstice, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #YehudiMenuhin, #YouTubevideo, alone, Antonio Vivaldi, appealing, arrive, Arts, attend, audience, background, Baroque, blog, blues, British, celebrate, Chamber music, change, cities, city, Classical music, complete, compose, composer, concerto, contemporary, coronavirus, countries, country, country music, Daniel Hope, day, Early music, England, event, excerpt, Facebook, fathers day, find, folk, form, forward, Four Seasons, Great Britain, greet, half, helpful, hip-hop, information, international, Italian, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, June, legend, legendary, like, link, listing, location, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Make Music Day, Make Music Madison, Max Richter, Music, odd, official, online, original, over, pandemic, passed, perform, performer, Piano, popular, possible, post, posting, program, promise, protege, quickly, rap, real, recompose, Richter, Rock, Saturday, Season, share, shorter, slowly, soloist, solstice, Spring, story, summer, Summer solstice, Sunday, tag, thanks, The Ear, The Four Seasons, think, time, today, UK, United States, unusual, version, Violin, Violin concerto, violinist, virtual, Vivaldi, vocal music, welcome, winter solstice, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, years, Yehudi Menuhin, YouTube

Classical music: Summer begins today with Make Music Madison. Plus, both American pianists have advanced in the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition

June 21, 2019
1 Comment

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

The summer solstice arrives this morning at 10:54 a.m.

That means today is when Make Music Madison takes place. Wisconsin’s capital city will join more than 1,000 other cities across the globe in celebrating live music-making of all kinds that is FREE and mostly outdoors.

Here is a link to the site with a map of various artists and venues – some 400 events in about 100 venues — and well as times around Madison:

http://www.makemusicmadison.org

Here is an earlier post with more details about the worldwide event:

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2019/06/15/classical-music-the-seventh-annual-make-music-madison-is-on-friday-june-21-and-features-17-different-free-classical-concerts-as-well-as-dozens-of-performances-of-jazz-folk-blues-hip-hop-swing-a/

But that’s not the only news today.

Last night, the 24 piano contestants in the preliminary round of the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and Saint Petersburg were trimmed down to 14 semi-finalists. (It was supposed to be 12, but the jury couldn’t agree on 12.)

And the good news is that both Americans — Sara Daneshpour (below top) and Kenneth Broberg (below bottom, in a photo by Jeremy Enlow), who performed a recital last season in Madison at the Salon Piano Series held at Farley’s House of Pianos — made the cut. The next round starts very early today, given the 8 hours ahead time difference between here and Moscow, and runs into the afternoon.

Here is the complete list of the piano semi-finalists:

https://tch16.medici.tv/en/news/piano-first-round-results/

Of course, pianists aren’t the only ones who might be interested in the competition that became well known in the West when Van Cliburn won the inaugural competition in 1958.

These days, competitions are also going on in violin, cello, voice, brass and woodwinds as well as piano.

What’s more, the entire competition is being live-streamed on Medici TV, and all the performances, from the preliminaries through the finals, are being streamed in real time and also archived. Plus, it’s all FREE. Thank you, Medici!

Here is a link. You’ll find archived performances, which go up pretty fast, under replays. The Ear has found that the sound is excellent and the website pretty self-explanatory and easy to navigate. Check out the preliminary recitals with music by Bach, Haydn. Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff and of course Tchaikovsky. Here is a link:

https://tch16.medici.tv/en/

Today being the first day of summer, you’ll probably get to hear “Summer” from “The Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi.

But given other news, something by Tchaikovsky seems especially appropriate. So here is the “June” Barcarolle, or boat song, from the solo piano suite “The Four Seasons,” which features one piece for each of the 12 months in the year. You can hear “June” in the YouTube video at the bottom.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AntonioVivaldi, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BluesMusic, #BoatSong, #ChopinEtudes, #Classicalperiod, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Farley'sHouseofPianos, #FolkMusic, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FranzLiszt, #FredericChopin, #GospelMusic, #Hip-hopmusic, #InternationalTchaikovskyCompetition, #JazzMusic, #JohannSebastianBach, #KennethBroberg, #LiveMusic, #LiveStreaming, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MakeMusicMadison, #MediciTV, #MoscowRussia, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PreludeandFugue, #RussianMusic, #SaintPetersburg, #SalonPIanoSeries, #SaraDaneshpour, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SummerSolstice, #SwingMusic, #TchaikovskyInternationalCompetition, #TheFourSeasons, #VanCliburn, #VocalMusic, #Well-TemperedClavier, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, American, Antonio Vivaldi, archive, arrive, artist, artists, Arts, attract, audience, Bach, barcarolle, Baroque, Beethoven, blog, blues, boat song, brass, capital, celebrate, Cello, Chopin, cities, city, Classical, Classical music, classicalmusic, Competition, composer, Concert, concerto, details, difference, earlhours, Early music, etude, event, Facebook, Farley's House of Pianos, Folk music, forward, Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Liszt, free, fugue, globe, gospel, hip-hop, interest, International Tchaikovsky Competition, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, Johann Sebastian Bach, June, Kenneth Broberg, like, link, Liszt, live, live music, live streaming, live-streamed, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Make Music Madison, map, Medici, medici.tv, month, morning, Moscow, Mozart, Music, new, news, Orchestra, outdoors, performance, performer, Pianist, Piano, piece, post, preliminary, Prelude, reader, real, round, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Salon Piano Series, Sara Daneshpour, semi-finalist, Sergei Rachmaninoff, share, site, solo, solstice, Sonata, song, streaming, subscriber, Suite, summer, Summer solstice, swing, tag, Tchaikovsky, Tchaikovsky International Competition, The Four Seasons, time, today, Van Cliburn, venue, Violin, vocal music, voice, Well-Tempered Clavier, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, woodwinds, world, worldwide, year, YouTube

Classical music: The seventh annual Make Music Madison is on Friday, June 21, and features 17 different FREE classical concerts as well as dozens of performances of jazz, folk, blues, hip-hop, swing and other genres

June 15, 2019
1 Comment

REMINDER: TODAY, Saturday, June 15, at noon in Grace Episcopal Church, 116 West Washington Avenue, on the Capitol Square, the Ancora String Quartet will give a FREE performance as part of “Grace Presents.” The one-hour program includes the String Quartet in A Major, Op. 13, by Felix Mendelssohn; the String Quartet in B-flat Major, “La Malinconia” (Melancholy), Op. 18, No. 6, by Ludwig van Beethoven; and “Entr’acte” by the contemporary Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw. The Ear heard an earlier performance of the same program by the Ancora, and highly recommends it.

By Jacob Stockinger

This coming Friday, June 21, is the Summer Solstice, which arrives at 10:54 a.m. CDT.

That means not only the first day of summer, but also the seventh annual Make Music Madison – a day-long FREE mostly outdoor festival of live performances.

The event, which is organized and staffed by volunteers and costs about $45,000, will take place from easy morning until midnight. Madison will be joining more than 80 cities in the United States and more than 1,000 cities around the world for the global event. The estimated audience worldwide is in the tens of millions.

The local lineup is impressive.

More than 400 concerts at more than 100 venues will take place all around the Madison area.

Many genres of music besides classical will be featured: jazz, folk, ethnic, rock, blues, hip-hop, reggae, gospel, swing and more. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear a compilation of different music and assessments from Make Music Madison participants in 2014.)

And many forms of music, both instrumental and vocal, will be featured. (Below is the Madison Flute Club performing during last year’s event.)

Performers include professionals and amateurs, young people and adults, students and teachers, individuals and ensembles.

Some events will be more formal, while others will be jam sessions. Some events will have an open mic.

The Ear counts 17 different venues for classical music, including a public piano in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Alumni Park, between the Memorial Union and the Red Gym. Also featured there is opera singer Prenicia Clifton (below).

You will also find classical music at Metcalfe’s market in the Hilldale Mall; the First Congregational United Church of Christ near Camp Randall Stadium; branches of the Madison Public Library; and other places. You can hear the Suzuki Strings as well as violin, viola, cello, brass, winds, piano and guitar ensembles.

Unfortunately, though, specific programs and works are not listed, which might cut into the attendance at some performances.

To whet your appetite, here is a link to the Make Music Madison home website, with lots of background, some fine photos, a complete listing of events and the names of major funding sources, which include the Madison Arts Commission, Isthmus, Dane Arts, WORT FM 89.9, Wisconsin Public Radio. WSUM-FM 91.7 (the student radio at the University of Wisconsin-Madison) and La Voz de Latinoamerica Desde Wisconsin as well as individual private donors.

To help classical fans decide what to attend and what works in their weekday schedule, here is a map of concerts. Just click on “Classical” in “Filter Map,” which is first tab on the top right, to see classical events listed by genre, location and name:

http://www.makemusicmadison.org/listings/

Have you ever attended Make Music Madison?

What did you think of it? Did you have a good time? Did you hear good music and fine performances?

Do you have any words of advice, tips or recommendations for organizers, performers and listeners?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: The fifth FREE citywide annual Make Music Madison – featuring 300 concerts at 100 venues — takes place all day tomorrow

June 20, 2018
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By Jacob Stockinger

Tomorrow – Thursday, June 21, 2018 — is the Summer Solstice.

That means summer arrives.

That makes it the longest day and shortest night of the year.

And that also makes it the day when the fifth annual Make Music Madison will take place. The FREE citywide festival of outdoor music-making will go on all day.

According to the official website, there will be more than 300 concerts at more than 100 venues.

The website also has a very well-organized listing of concerts, artists and venues. It features a very user-friendly search engine – called a Filter Map — where you can check out the events by genre of music, name of the performers and the venue. It also includes rain accommodations, and given the weather this week, that could come in handy.

Here is a link to the complete listings:

http://www.makemusicmadison.org/listings/2018/locations/

Here is a link to the website, which has a fascinating and impressive overview and also a gallery of photos from last year’s event:

http://www.makemusicmadison.org

Of course the majority of the music that will be played by both amateurs and professionals, both individuals and groups, will be non-classical: jazz, pop, hip-hop, rock and roll, folk, world, musical theater, early music, blues, Celtic, funk, gospel and many more.

But from what The Ear sees there are about 25 noteworthy classical offerings too. They include music for guitar, organ, brass, strings, cello, flute and piano, including a public piano that will be at the UW-Madison’s Alumni Park from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Other venues include churches and libraries, schools and shopping malls, parks and businesses.

Here is a more detailed list of classical offerings with artists as well as venues (you can hear a vocal group from 2015 in the YouTube video at the bottom):

http://www.makemusicmadison.org/listings/2018/artists?artist_name=&genre=Classical

Happy Listening!

If you go, leave a message about your reaction and how well it went in the COMMENT section.

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: What classical music best celebrates the solstice and the arrival of summer?

June 21, 2017
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REMINDER: Today is the fifth annual citywide Make Music Madison that celebrates the coming of summer with FREE, PUBLIC and LOCAL performances. For more information, go to: https://welltempered.wordpress.com

By Jacob Stockinger

Summer arrived late last night – at 11:24 p.m. — in the Midwest.

To mark and celebrate the welcome event, here are three pieces of well-known summer-related music:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” or a “A Short Night Music” (or “A Little Night Music”:

Summer from Astor Piazzolla’s “Four Seasons in Buenos Aires”:

And Samuel Barber’s “Knoxville, Summer of 1914” with soprano Dawn Upshaw.

But there is so much more to choose from.

Here is a link to five other pieces by different composers –- Antonio Vivaldi, Felix Mendelssohn, Frank Bridge, Alexander Glazunov, Frederick Delius and George Gershwin.

http://www.classical-music.com/article/six-best-pieces-classical-music-summer

Which music would you choose to mark the summer solstice and the coming of summer?

Leave word and a YouTube link, if possible, in the COMMENT section.

The Ear wants to hear.

Classical music: Wednesday brings the fifth annual Make Music Madison celebration of the summer solstice. You can hear FREE music of all kinds from morning to night, outdoors and indoors

June 20, 2017
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By Jacob Stockinger

Registration has closed and the fifth annual Make Music Madison festival is set to take place tomorrow, Wednesday, June 21, 2017. ( A promotional video from the 2013 event is in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

The annual celebration of the Summer Solstice, which arrives at 11;24 p.m. tonight, will run all day, featuring all kinds of music from morning to night, and take place indoors and outdoors.

And it is FREE and completely local.

So far, there are more than 275 artists registered to perform at 108 venues in every area across the city, including the Dane County Regional Airport, Henry Vilas Zoo, Olbrich Botanical Gardens, the Goodman Center, Hilldale Mall, the First Congregational United Church of Christ, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

For a complete listing, go to: http://www.makemusicmadison.org

Once you are on the website, go to the map on the right hand side and under FILTER and GENRE and click on classical. You will find more than 20 events.

Then click on the VENUE’s tear-drop shaped red indicator to see the name of artists, group and kind of music you can hear.

They include a cello choir, an early music group, a guitar ensemble, string quartets and the Suzuki Strings of Madison (seen below at last spring’s Bach Around the Clock.) There is plenty of amateur music-making, which The Ear loves to see, but also some professional performances.

The click on the name and you will get more detailed background and a program, if one is available.

You can also search by ARTIST and VENUE – including general areas of the city — and well as by GENRE.

Take it from The Ear: This site has some really impressive and easy-to-use organization for getting at its information. So The Ear gives big shout-outs to to the people who designed the website and put it together.

Of course there are many more events in other genres and kinds of music, including blues, jazz, rock, roots, folk, world music and others. But many of them overlap or pertain to classical music, and you won’t want to miss them.

There is plenty to go around.

The Ear might even meet you at one of the events.

Enjoy! Have fun!

Classical music: Applications are now being accepted for the fifth Make Music Madison on Wednesday, June 21. Read all about it and tell us what you think

April 29, 2017
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By Jacob Stockinger

Doing something for five years in a row is certainly enough to qualify it as an annual tradition.

So it is with Make Music Madison, the successful day-long, community-wide festival of free music performed outdoors by students, amateurs and professionals as individuals and in groups.

It takes place on the Summer Solstice, the longest day and shortest night of the calendar year. That means the event this year will happen on Wednesday, June 21, 2017.

So far, there are 178 artists and performers participating in 85 venues, which you can check out on the event’s website. More than 400 concerts in more than 100 venues are expected. (Below, in 2016, is the Oaknut Duo.)

For more background about the event that started in Paris, France, and now takes place nationwide, listen to the YouTube video about the 2013 celebration at the bottom.

Of course The Ear is well aware that most of the events are not classical music. But there will be some classical music. And it is clear that many students who start off in classical music often migrate to jazz, folk, pop, roots, blues, rock, swing, big band, rap, hip-hop and other kinds of music.

Some music almost inevitably leads to more music. (Below is keyboard artist Zuzu.)

Also needed are donations to the non-profit organization that organizes the event every year for less than the cost of a traffic light -or about $45,000. That’s a lot of bang for the bucks.

For more information about participating, donating and attending as well as seeing a photo gallery, go to:

http://www.makemusicmadison.org

What do you think?

Have you ever attended Make Music Madison?

What did you see and hear?

What did you think of individual performances and the entire event?

Leave word in the COMMENT section.

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