The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Here are the world premieres of the sixth and seventh pieces of “pandemic music” commissioned by the U.S. Library of Congress
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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:
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:
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.
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
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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
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.
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 pieces?
What do you think of the project?
Will you like to hear more of the commissioned music?
The Ear wants to hear.
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
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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.
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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
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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
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.
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