The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Home or concert hall? Will older listeners follow new CDC guidelines about the coronavirus to stay home and avoid attending concerts? What will performers and presenters do in response?
17 Comments
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
Late yesterday the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued new guidelines for behavior during the outbreak of the coronavirus and COVID-19.
The CDC is asking all adults over 60, especially those with compromised immune systems and serious underlying illnesses and conditions, to “stay home as much as possible” and avoid attending events with big crowds. (Below is a sample of a full house at the Madison Symphony Orchestra in Overture Hall.)
Here is the full story — which also mentions other kinds of mass events such as movie theaters, mall shopping, sports events and religious services — from CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/06/health/coronavirus-older-people-social-distancing/index.html
Moreover, the new guidelines apply nationwide — including here in Wisconsin where only one case has been confirmed and is now healthy– during the increasingly widespread, worldwide outbreak of confirmed cases and deaths.
The Ear wonders if the new advice will hit classical music especially hard because so much of the audience for it is made up of older people who are more vulnerable.
Will the guidelines affect your own attendance at concerts, even tonight and this weekend at the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin Union Theater?
Will a lack of attendance and a more severe outbreak lead to empty concert halls and the cancellation of concerts? Refunds for seniors?
Will the guidelines lead to alternative ways of “attending” and hearing, such as live-streaming and other virtual attendance?
Pretty soon we should start hearing from music presenters and performers about their reactions, solutions and advice.
Meanwhile, here is a news story from The New York Times about what one string quartet did in Venice, Italy: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/arts/music/arts-coronavirus.html
Are you an older or vulnerable person?
Will you go to concerts or stay home?
What do you think presenters and performers should do to deal with the situation?
Please leave word about your plans and your thoughts.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BigCrowd, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CentersforDiseaseControl, #ChamberMusic, #CNNNews, #ConcertHall, #COVID-19, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FullHouse, #HomeWebsite, #ImmuneSystem, #JacobStockinger, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MallShopping, #MovieTheaters, #NewsUpdate, #ReligiousServices, #SeniorCitizen, #SocialDistance, #SportsEvents, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #TheNewYorkTImes, #TheU.S., #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VeniceItaly, #WisconsinUnionTheater, 60, adult, advice, advisory, alert, alternative, America, American, Arts, ask, audience, Beethoven, behavior, blog, cancel, cancellation, case, cases, CDC, Centers for Disease Control, Chamber music, church, Classical music, classicalmusic, CNN, compromised, Concert, concert hall, condition, confirm, confirmed, coronavirus, crowd, death, distance, empty, Facebook, forward, full house, games, guidelines, hearing, hit, Home, home website, idea, ill, illness, immune, immune system, isolate, isolation, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, know, large, like, live-stream, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, mall, mall shopping, mass, movie theaters, Music, nationwide, new, New York City, news, online, opera, Orchestra, outbreak, Overture Center, performer, performers, plans, post, posting, presenter, prevention, quarantine, reaction, refund, Religion, religious services, senior, senior citizen, share, Shopping, sick, social, social distance, solution, Sports, spread, stay, story, String quartet, symphony, tag, The Ear, The New York Times, The U.S., theater, theatre, think, tonight, underlying, United States, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Venice, virtual, virus, vulnerable, way, Website, weekend, widespread, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Union Theater, word, worldwide, yesterday
Recent Comments
 | welltemperedear on What do you think of the… |
 | Scott on What do you think of the… |
| welltemperedear on Yunchan Lim’s Chopin etudes ar… |
 | bratschespeilerin on What do you think of the… |
 | MARVIN P WICKENS on Yunchan Lim’s Chopin etudes ar… |
The Well-Tempered Ear 
Classical music: This Saturday brings Alban Berg’s “Lulu,” one of the most unusual and noteworthy offerings of the “Live From the Met in HD” series of operas shown in cinemas this season.
1 Comment
By Jacob Stockinger
This Saturday, “Live From the Met in HD” features Alban Berg’s opera “Lulu,” a difficult landmark work know for both its 12-tone music and its plot of social commentary, all marked by the violent and decadent German Expressionist sensibility.
The opera will be shown at the Marcus Corporation‘s Point Cinemas on Madison far west side and — now that the Eastgate Cinemas have closed — at the Marcus Palace Cinema in Sun Prairie, a bit past Madison’s far east side.
The production by the Metropolitan Opera in New York City starts at 11:30 a.m. and has a running time, with two intermissions, of 4-1/2 hours. (Below, in a photo by Sara Krulwich of The New York Times, is Marlis Petersen, who is known for the role of Lulu — but who says she will retire the role after this production — and Donald Brenna as a smitten man. Susan Graham, not shown, also stars.)
Tickets are $28 for adults; $22 for seniors; and $18 for young people.
Here is a synopsis and notes about the cast:
http://www.metopera.org/Season/In-Cinemas/SynopsisCast/Lulu/
And here is a link to more about the cast and production with video samples:
http://www.metopera.org/Season/2015-16-Season/lulu-berg-tickets/
The Ear thought some other things might be useful and might whet your appetite to see this unusual production.
Here is a fascinating background piece by Zachary Woolfe of The New York Times, who interviewed several sources involved with the production and are knowledgeable about the opera (below is a photo of the German Expressionist set, taken by Sara Krulwich for The New York Times):
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/arts/music/in-lulu-the-question-that-stops-an-opera.html
And if you are undecided or wavering about going to the acclaimed production, directed by William Kentridge, here is a rave review by senior music critic Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/07/arts/music/metropolitan-opera-lulu-review.html?ref=topics
Share this:
Tags: 12-tone, Alban Berg, Anthony Tommasini, Arts, choral music, cinemas, Classical music, decadent, Donald Brenna, Expressionism, Expressionist, German Expressionism, German Expressionist, Jacob Stockinger, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Live From The Met in HD, Lulu, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marcus Cinemas, Marlis Petersen, Metropolitan Opera, movie theaters, movie theatres, Music, New York City, New York Times, opera, Palace Cinema, Point Cinema, social commentary, Susan Graham, theaters, theatres, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, violence, violent, vocal music, William Kentridge, Zachary Woolfe