The Well-Tempered Ear
UW-Madison’s new Marvin Rabin String Quartet makes its premiere when it performs a FREE online concert this Friday night
Leave a 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
This Friday night, Nov. 6, will see the premiere concert by the new Marvin Rabin String Quartet at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music.
The concert takes place virtually and online on the music school’s YouTube channel. It is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. and run to 8 p.m.
Here is the direct link: https://youtu.be/ObJMMA220Jw
The new string quartet — which replaces The Hunt Quartet — is named in honor of the late Dr. Marvin J. Rabin, who was an internationally acclaimed music educator and Professor Emeritus at UW-Madison.
Rabin (below) is best known as the founder of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras.
The members of the Marvin Rabin String Quartet are graduate students at the UW-Madison.
Members are (below from top left) are: Fabio Saggin, viola; Ben Therrell, cello; Ava Shadmani, violin; and Rachel Reese-Kollmeyer, violin.
They will perform the virtual concert in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall of the Hamel Music Center.
There is NO in-person attendance
The program is:
String Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 18, No. 6 by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Two Armenian Miniatures for String Quartet –“The Red Shawl” (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom) and “Echmiadzin Dance” – by the Armenian priest Komitas (1869-1935, see 1902 photo below) as arranged by S. Aslamazyan
Here is Komitas’ Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komitas
15-MINUTE INTERMISSION
String Quartet in E minor, Op. 44, No. 2 by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Tags: #AvaShadmani, #BenTherrell, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ConcertProgram, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #EmeritusProfessor, #FabioSaggin, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FelixMendelssohn, #Fridaynight, #GraduateStudent, #HamelMusicCenter, #HuntQuartet, #JacobStockinger, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MarvinRabin, #MarvinRabinStringQuartet, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicEducation, #Musicfaculty, #MusicSchool, #OnlineConcert, #StringMusic, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #TheUW, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VirtualConcert, #Wikipediabiography, #Wikipediaentry, #WisconsinYouthSymphonyOrchestras, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, acclaimed, Armenia, Armenian, arranged, arrangement, Arts, attendance, audience, Ava Shadmani, Beethoven, Ben Therrell, biography, blog, cellist, Cello, celo, Chamber music, Christian, Christianity, Classical music, composer, Concert, dance, Echmiadzin, educator, Fabio Saggin, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, faculty, Felix Mendelssohn, founder, Friday night, graduate student, Hamel Music Center, hear, heard, honor, Hunt Quartet, in person, international, internationally, Jacob Stockinger, Komitas, late, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Marvin Rabin, Marvin Rabin String Quartet, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, Mendelssohn, miniature, Music, Music education, music faculty, music school, named, no, online, Orchestra, perform, post, posting, premiere, priest, professor, program, Rachel Reese-Kollmeyer, red, replace, schedule, shawl, slated, string music, String quartet, Student, symphony, The Ear, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, Wikipedia, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, WYSO, YouTube, YouTube channel
UW-Madison will forego in-person concerts through the fall and go virtual. The FREE online concerts start TONIGHT, Monday, Sept. 14, at 6-8:30 p.m. with a graduate student recital
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.
PLEASE NOTE: The following post has been updated with more information since it first appeared.
By Jacob Stockinger
In ordinary times, the yearlong schedule would be set and concerts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music would be already well underway.
But these are not ordinary times – as you can tell from the silence about the UW season that usually presents some 300 events.
It has taken time, but the music school has finally worked out the basic approach to concerts during the pandemic. It will allow worldwide listening.
Audiences will NOT be present for any Mead Witter School of Music concerts or recitals this fall. Instead, a live stream of faculty recitals and all required student recitals, many of them in the new Hamel Music Center (below), will be available.
The portal to the live streaming, along with a scheduling clock and time countdown, can be found at: youtube.com/meadwitterschoolofmusic
The concert season starts tonight at 6:30 to 8 p.m. The performer is graduate student flutist Heidi Keener (below), who is giving her recital for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree. The recital was postponed from March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On the school of music’s concert website you will find a biography and the program — just hover the computer’s cursor over the event: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/recital-heidi-keener-dma/.
The same information will also be on the YouTube website for the actual concert. Just click on MORE: https://youtu.be/gA6S3OXUKCc
Given so few calendar listings so far, clearly the format is still a work-in-progress.
For updated listings of other events, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/events/
The next events are slated for Oct. 2 with a student recital and another installment of the Pro Arte Quartet’s Beethoven cycle (below).
That other programs and dates are still missing is not surprising.
The entire UW-Madison from classes to sports, is in a state of flux about how to deal with the pandemic, with in-person classes paused through Sept. 25, and possibly longer.
Many questions about concerts remain as the process plays out.
All live-stream concerts will be free. But they will NOT be archived, so they will be taken down as soon as they end.
A donation link to the UW Foundation will be included to help cover the costs of the livestreaming and also other expenses.
Will choral concerts even take place, given that singing is especially risky because the singers can’t wear masks and social distancing is nearly impossible to provide with groups?
What about chamber music groups like the Pro Arte Quartet, the Wingra Wind Quintet and Wisconsin Brass Quintet? Many faculty members, who have to teach virtually and online right now, are no doubt concerned about the possible health risks of playing in groups.
And what about the excellent UW Symphony Orchestra, which The Ear considers a must-hear local orchestral ensemble? Those musicians too will have a hard time social distancing – unless individual safe performances at home or in a studio are edited and stitched together.
So far, though, we know that the University Opera will offer “I Wish It Were So,” an original revue of the American opera composer Marc Blitzstein on Oct. 23.
Here is a link to a story with more details about the production: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2020/08/07/classical-music-the-university-opera-announces-a-new-season-that-is-politically-and-socially-relevant-to-today-the-two-shows-are-a-virtual-revue-of-marc-blitzstein-and-a-live-operatic-version-of/
What do you think of the plans for the concert season?
Do you have any suggestions?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AcademicCalendar, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrassMusic, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #CollinsRecitalHall, #ConcertSeason, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DoctorofMusicalArts, #EventsCalendar, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FluteMusic, #Googlesearch, #GraduateStudent, #HamelMusicCenter, #HeidiKeener, #JacobStockinger, #LaborCosts, #LiveStreaming, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MarcBlitzstein, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Musicfaculty, #OrchestralMusic, #ProArteQuartet, #SocialDistancing, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #TheUW, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityOpera, #UW-SymphonyOrchestra, #UWFoundation, #VocalMusic, #WindMusic, #WingraWindQuartet, #WisconsinBrassQuintet, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, academic calendar, American, appear, approach, archive, archived, Arts, ask, audience, basic, Beethoven, blog, brass, calendar, cancel, canceled, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, classes, Classical music, click, Clock, Collins Recital Hall, computer, Concert, concert season, coronavirus, costs, countdown, cursor, degree, details, Doctor of Musical Arts, donation, editstich, ensemble, event, excellent, expenses, Facebook, faculty, fall, flute, flutist, flux, free, Google, graduate student, group, groups, Hamel Music Center, Health, hear, Heidi Keener, Home, hover, impossible, in person, individual, Jacob Stockinger, labor costs, like, link, listening, listing, live streaming, live-stream, livestream, local, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Marc Blitzstein, mask, masks, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, more, Music, music school, Musician, must-hear, news, online, opera, Orchestra, orchestral music, ordinary, original, pandemic, PAQ, paused, payment, performance, plans, play, portal, post, posting, postpone, postponed, present, Pro Arte Quartet, process, production, progress, question, recital, require, research, revue, risk, risky, safe, schedule, school, School of Music, search, Season, share, silence, sing, singer, Singing, social distancing, Sports, state, story, String quartet, Student, suggestion, symphony, tag, teach, The Ear, time, times, together, tonight, underway, United States, university, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, updated, UW, UW Foundation, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, Viola, Violin, virtual, vocal music, Website, wind music, Wind quintet, Wingra Wind Quintet, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Brass, Wisconsin Brass Quintet, work, worldwide, yearlong, you, YouTube
Classical music: University Opera succeeded brilliantly by setting Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in the 1960s at Andy Warhol’s The Factory
2 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
Larry Wells — the Opera Guy for this blog – took in two performances last weekend of the University Opera’s production of Benjamin Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which played to three sold-out houses at Music Hall. He filed this review. Performance photos are by Benjamin Hopkins and Michael Anderson.
By Larry Wells
The University Opera’s production of Benjamin Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was set in Andy Warhol’s Factory of the 1960s with countertenor Thomas Alaan (below) as a Warhol-like Oberon presiding over the antics.
The opera by Britten (below) follows Shakespeare’s play fairly closely. The magical transformations and herbs of the original were translated to a hallucinogen-filled milieu of go-go dancing fairies, master-slave relationships and same-sex liaisons.
And for me it worked. That is to say, this production contained the same strangeness and wonder as the traditional productions I have seen. The play itself is very strange and wonderful.
Alaan is a fine singer and played a manipulative and somewhat slimy Warhol/Oberon whose flat affect seemed to be reflected in the relative lack of expressivity in the voice. Pitted against Oberon were Amanda Lauricella and Kelsey Wang alternating as Tytania.
Although the program stated that the portrayal of Tytania was loosely based on Edie Sedgwick in this production, without the platinum hair I missed the references. Both portrayals were much more assertive than Edie ever was, and both singers’ ardent coloratura voices tended to overshadow Oberon’s, which may have been intentional. Wang (below, far right) was an intense actress who put sparks into her portrayal, while Lauricella really has a superb voice.
(Below, from left, are Michael Kelley as Puck; Thomas Alaan as Oberon; Tanner Zocher as a young man; and Kelsey Wang as Tytania.)
The four lovers (below left) seemed to be employees at The Factory. Tenor Benjamin Liupaogo portrayed Lysander. The vocal part has an uncomfortable upper range, but Liupaogo’s singing in the second act particularly was up to the challenge.
His rival Demetrius was portrayed by baritone Kevin Green. Their contending affections for Hermia and Demetrius’ initial scorn for Helena were oddly lacking in ardor.
Hermia was double cast with Julia Urbank, a promising soprano, and Chloe Agostino, who was also a very good singer. Poor Helena, first ignored and then pursued by both men, was also double cast with a terrific Rachel Love and an equally gifted Jing Liu.
(The four lovers, below from left, were: Benjamin Liupaogo as Lysander; Chloe Agostino as Hermia; Jing Liu as Helena;, Kevin Green as Demetrius; and Paul Rowe as Theseus with Lindsey Meekhof as Hippolyte.)
As I have noted before, the female singers in the opera program often seem to be very solid performers. (You can hear the lovers’ quartet in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
And then there were the “Rustics” (below), the workers who have come together to put on the play “Pyramus and Thisbe” for the upcoming wedding of the local duke, or in this case a rich art patron.
(The six rustics, below from left, were: James Harrington as Bottom; Jacob Elfner as Quince; Benjamin Galvin as Snug; Jack Innes as Starveling; Thore Dosdall as Flute; Jeffrey Larson as Snout; with Kevin Green as Demetrius, seated.)
The six men were each talented comic actors and provided many of the performance’s laughs. Foremost was James Harrington’s Bottom. Not only a very funny actor, he produced in my opinion the finest singing among the many talented students.
Mention must be made of the very amusing Flute, hysterically portrayed by Thore Dosdall, and the promising bass Benjamin Galvin as the slow learner Snug.
These men not only sang well together and separately, but also provided many guffaws whenever they appeared. (Below are: Jacob Elfner as Quince; Jeffrey Larson as Snout; James Harrington as Bottom; Jack Innes – back row up on box – as Starveling; Benjamin Galvin as Snug; and Thore Dosdall as Flute.)
Additionally we had the fairies — all female voices in this production — who sounded wonderful together and got to demonstrate their incongruous ‘60s dance moves to Britten’s score.
Professor Paul Rowe (below left, with Lindsey Meekhof as Hippolyta) made an appearance as Theseus, the duke. His singing was that of a mature artist, a quality to which the students are clearly aspiring.
As the opera drew to a close with a beautifully harmonious chorus, one felt the transformation from dissonance to harmony in the opera and conflict to resolution embodied in the original play.
Many mentions of woods and forest are made in the libretto. Director David Ronis had the walls of the factory cleverly hung with changing arrays of Warhol-like multiple images of flowers and animals. With the amount of weed being smoked and who knows what being ingested onstage, it was easy to believe that the characters might think they were in a forest despite being in a Manhattan warehouse (below).
(The cast, below from left, included Amanda Lauricella and Thomas Alaan in the foreground as Tytania and Oberon. Others were: Julia Urbank on the floor; Benjamin Liupaogo, on the floor; Chloe Flesch; Maria Steigerwald; Amanda Lauricella; Maria Marsland; Angela Fraioli; Thomas Aláan; and James Harrington lying on the couch.)
Presiding over all of this were members of the UW Symphony Orchestra led by new conductor Oriol Sans (below). I have heard maestro Sans conduct the students several times this fall, and I feel he is an outstanding addition to the music school. His control over the forces was amazing, and the subtlety he drew from the players was remarkable.
Ronis (below, in a photo by Luke Delalio) has tried original twists in several of his previous productions, but I think this has been the most outlandish. And I have to say that I really loved it. So carry on, please.
He has a penchant for Britten, one of my favorite composers. His previous productions included “Albert Herring” and “Turn of the Screw.” I wonder if readers have suggestions for another Britten opera he could conceivably produce here. I have my own wish list.
Tags: #AlbertHerring, #AMIdsummerNight'sDream, #AndyWarhol, #ArtPatron, #BaritoneSinger, #BenjaminBritten, #BenjaminLiupaogo, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BlogReview, #ChoralMusic, #CountertenorSinger, #DavidRonis, #DrugsandAlcohol, #EdieSedgwick, #EmeritusProfessor, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #LarryWells, #Master-Slave, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicHall, #MusicReview, #MusicSchool, #OrchestralAccompaniment, #OriolSans, #PaulRowe, #PopArt, #SopranoSinger, #TenorSinger, #The1960s, #TheaterReview, #TheEar, #TheFactory, #TheOperaGuy, #TurnoftheScrew, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityOpera, #UWProfessor, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #VocalMusic, #WilliamShakespeare, #WishList, #YouTubevideo, 1960s, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Actor, actress, affect, affection, Albert Herring, alcohol, amazing, Andy Warhol, animal, antics, ardent, Art, art patron, artist, Arts, aspire, assertive, baritone, beautiful, Benjamin Britten, Benjamin Liupaogo, blog, Britten, cast, challenge, characters, choral music, chorus, Classical music, coloratura, comic, composer, conductor, conflict, contend, control, countertenor, dance, dancing, David Ronis, director, dissonance, dream, drugs, duke, Edie Sedgwick, employee, expressivity, Facebook, factory, fairies, fairy, favorite, females, flat, flowers, forces, forest, forward, funny, gifted, go-go, guffaw, hair, hallucinogens, harmonious, harmony, herb, herbs, House, houses, hysterical, image, incongruous, ingest, intense, Jacob Stockinger, Larry Wells, laughs, learner, liaison, libretto, like, link, local, lover, Madison, magic, magical, male, MANHATTAN, manipulative, mature, Mead Witter School of Music, member, men, mention, milieu, move, Music, Music Hall, music review, music school, Oberon, onstage, opera, opera music, Orchestra, original, Oriol Sans, outlandish, outstanding, overshadow, patron, Paul Rowe, penchant, photos, platinum, play, pop, Pop art, portrayal, post, posting, preside, presiding, produce, produced, production, professor, promising, Puck, quality, range, reference, relationship, remarkable, resolution, rich, rustic, same-sex, score, scorn, Shakespeare, share, sing, singer, Singing, slimy, smoke, sold-out, soprano, sparks, strange, strangeness, subtlety, suggest, suggestion, summer, superb, tag, talent, talented, terrific, The Ear, The Factory, The Opera Guy, theater review, traditional, transformation, Transformations, translated, Turn of the Screw, twist, Tytania, uncomfortable, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, upper, UW, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music, video, vocal music, voice, wall, warehouse, Warhol, wedding, weed, William Shakespeare, Wisconsin, wish list, women, wonder, Woods, workers, YouTube
Classical music: This Friday night, Nov. 22, the UW-Madison’s Pro Arte Quartet begins its 14-month complete cycle of Beethoven’s 16 string quartets. Here are programs and information about the six concerts
Leave a 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
As you might have already heard, 2020 is a Beethoven Year. Musicians are already marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827, below).
One of the big local events – unfolding over the next 14 months — is that the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s acclaimed Pro Arte Quartet will perform a complete, six-concert cycle of Beethoven’s 16 string quartets, which are considered to be a monumental milestone in chamber music and in the development of the genre.
They encompass the styles of Beethoven’s early, middle and late periods, and often served as an experimental laboratory for musical ideas he used on other works. Each of the Pro Arte’s programs wisely features works from different periods, which makes comparisons and differences easier to understand. (You can hear Beethoven biographer Jan Stafford discuss the late quartets in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
For more about Beethoven’s string quartets, go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:String_quartets_by_Ludwig_van_Beethoven
A Beethoven cycle is also what originally brought the Pro Arte Quartet from Belgium — where it was founded by students at the Royal Conservatory in 1912 — to Madison, where they performed it at the Wisconsin Union Theater in 1940. In fact, they were in the process of performing the cycle when they heard that their homeland of Belgium has been invaded by Hitler and the Nazis, and they could not go home.
Stranded here by World War II, they were offered a chance to be artists-in-residence at the UW-Madison. They accepted — and the quartet has remained here since, becoming the longest performing quartet in music history.
For more about the history of the Pro Arte (below, in 1928), go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/pro-arte-quartet/
Current members of the Pro Arte Quartet (below from left, in a photo by Rick Langer) are: David Perry and Suzanne Beia, violins; Sally Chisholm, viola; and Parry Karp, cello.
PROGRAM I: Friday, Nov. 22, 8 p.m. in Collins Recital Hall
String Quartet in G Major, Op. 18, No. 2 (1798-1800)
String Quartet in F Minor, Op. 95 “Serioso” (1810)
String Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 130 (1825-6)
PROGRAM II: Friday, Feb. 28, 8 p.m., Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall
String Quartet in F Major, Op. 18, No. 1 (1798-1800)
String Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 74 “Harp” (1809)
String Quartet in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131 (1826)
PROGRAM III: Thursday, April 16 (NOT April 23, as was mistakenly listed in a press release), 7:30 p.m., Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall
String Quartet in D Major, Op. 18, No. 3 (1798-1800)
String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 59, No. 2 (1806)
String Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 127 (1825)
PROGRAM IV: Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, 8 p.m., Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall
String Quartet in A Major, Op. 18, No. 5 (1798-1800)
String Quartet in C Minor, Op. 18, No. 4 (1798-1800)
String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 132 (1825)
PROGRAM V: Friday, Nov. 20, 2020, 8 p.m., Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall
String Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6 (1798-1800)
String Quartet in F Major, Op. 135 (1826)
String Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3 (1806)
PROGRAM VI: Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021, 8 p.m., Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall
String Quartet in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1 (1806)
String Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 130 with the Great Fugue Finale, Op. 133 (1825)
Tags: #AdolfHitler, #Artists-in-Residence, #BeethovenYear, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrusselsBelgium, #ChamberMusic, #CollinsRecitalHall, #ConcertHall, #DavidPerry, #EarlyQuartet, #EarlyStyle, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #JanSwafford, #LateQuartet, #LateStyle, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiddleQuartet, #MiddleStyle, #MusicSchool, #NaziGermany, #ParryKarp, #ProArteQuartet, #RoyalConservatory, #SallyChisholm, #SchoolofMusic, #StringQuartet, #SuzanneBeia, #TheEar, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #Wikipediaentry, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WorldWarII, anniversary, audience, Beethoven Year, Belgium, big, birth, blog, Brussels, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, chance, Collins Recital Hall, comparison, complete, concert hall, conservatory, current, cycle, David Perry, development, difference, discuss, early, early style, event, Facebook, fact, forward, genre, Germany, harp, History, Hitler, Home, homeland, idea, invasion, Jan Swafford, Laboratory, late, late style, like, link, local, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, middle, middle style, milestone, moumental, music history, music school, Musician, Nazi, opus, Opus number, Parry Karp, performer, post, posting, Pro Arte Quartet, Quartet, royal, Royal Conservatory in Brussels, Sally Chisholm, School of Music, share, stranded, String quartet, Student, Suzanne Beia, tag, The Ear, understand, University of Wisconsin–Madison, use, UW-Madison, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, Wikipedia, Wild War II, Wisconsin Union Theater, wise
Classical music: Tuesday night brings concerts of band music as well as organ and violin duets
Leave a Comment
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 Tuesday night, Oct. 22, will see concerts of band music and organ-violin duets.
Here are details:
ORGAN AND VIOLIN CONCERT
At 7:30 p.m. in Overture Hall, the Overture Concert Organ Series, sponsored by the Madison Symphony Orchestra and organized by MSO principal organist Greg Zelek, offers a concert of music for organ and violin.
The organist is Michael Hey (below right), a Wisconsin native who won first prize at an organ competition in Shanghai, China, and is the organist at the famed St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.
The violinist is Christiana Liberis (below left) who recently toured with the rock band The Eagles.
Tickets are $20.
The program includes music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Sir Edward Elgar, Maurice Ravel, Charles-Marie Widor, Giovanni Battista Vitali, Naji Hakim and Fritz Kreisler.
In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear the duo perform a haunting version of the popular “Gymnopedie No. 1” by Erik Satie
For information, including specific works on the program and detailed biographies about the performers, go to: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/organ-michael-hey-christiana-liberis/
UW-MADISON CONCERT BAND
At 7:30 p.m. in the new Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall of the Hamel Music Center, 740 University Avenue, the UW-Madison Concert Band (below) will perform a FREE concert.
The band will perform under director Scott Teeple (below) and guest conductor Ross Wolf.
The program includes:
“Lux Arumque” by Eric Whitacre
“Firefly” by Ryan George
“Colonial Song” by Percy Grainger/ed. Mark Rogers
“Huntington Tower Ballad” by Ottorino Respighi
“George Washington Bridge” by William Schuman
For information, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/uw-concert-band-and-winds-of-wisconsin/
Tags: #BandConcert, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #Charles-MarieWidor, #ChristianaLiberis, #ChristianChurch, #ConcertBand, #DuetMusic, #EdwardElgar, #EricWhitacre, #ErikSatie, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FritzKreisler, #GeorgeWashington, #GiovanniBattistaVitali, #GregZelek, #JohannSebastianBach, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MauriceRavel, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MichaelHey, #MusicSchool, #NajiHakim, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #OrganMusic, #OrganSymphony, #OttorinoRespighi, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #PercyGrainger, #PopularMusic, #RockBand, #RockMusic, #RomanCatholic, #RomanCatholicism, #RossWolf, #RyanGeorge, #ScottTeeple, #ShanghaiChina, #St.Patrick'sCathedral, #TheEagles, #TheEar, #Tuesdaynight, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWConcertBand, #ViolinConcerto, #ViolinMusic, #WilliamSchuman, #YouTubevideo, American, Arts, audience, Bach, ballad, band concert, Baroque, Baroque music, biographies, biography, blog, bridge, British, cathedral, Chamber music, Charles-Marie Widor, China, Christiana Liberis, church, Classical music, colonial, Competition, composer, Concert, Concert Band, concert hall, concerto, conductor, details, director, duet, eagle, Early music, Edward Elgar, Elgar, English, Eric Whitacre, Erik Satie, Facebook, famed, firefly, first prize, forward, free, French, Fritz Kreisler, George Washington, German, Greg Zelek, Gymnopedie, haunting, help, information, Italian, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lebanese, like, link, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maurice Ravel, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, Michael Hey, Music, music school, Naji Hakim, native, New Music, New York City, night, Ottorino Respighi, Overture Center, Overture Hall, Percy Grainger, performer, popular, post, posting, principal, prize, program, public, Ravel, reader, Religion, Rock, rock band, rock music, Roman Catholic, Roman Catholicism, Ross Wolf, Ryan George, School of Music, Scott Teeple, Shanghai, share, song, subscriber, symphony, tag, The Eagles, The Ear, tour, tower, Tuesday, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW Concert Band, UW-Madison, version, video, Violin, Violin concerto, violin music, Vitali, web page, Website, Widor, William Schuman, Wisconsin, works, YouTube
Classical music: TONIGHT one longtime, generous classical music patron honors another with a FREE public, all-Schubert memorial concert at Oakwood Village West
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
Think of it as a well-deserved, heart-felt homage that one longtime and generous patron of classical music is paying to another patron who also happened to be a close personal friend and a professional colleague.
The public is invited to join in the one-hour, FREE all-Schubert memorial concert at Oakwood Village West (University Woods), at 6205 Mineral Point Road, on Madison’s far west side near West Towne Mall, at 7 p.m. TONIGHT, Oct. 19.
Here is an invitation from retired University of Wisconsin-Madison chemist Kato Perlman (below) about the concert she is sponsoring and funding in memory of her close friends:
“Join flutist Iva Ugrcic (below top) and pianist Thomas J. Kasdorf (below middle) for a FREE All-Schubert Evening and enjoy the music from one of the greatest composers of the 19th century, Franz Schubert (1797-1828, below bottom).
“This concert is in memory of the late Irving and Millie Shain. Irv Shain (below) was a chemistry professor and then a long-serving Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin, and a great supporter of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music.
“He played the flute himself and these Schubert pieces belonged to some of his favorites for the flute.
“He also established, in addition to his long-running annual Beethoven piano sonata competition, a woodwind and piano competition. Both Iva Ugrcic and Thomas Kasdorf are previous winners.”
The program is:
Sonata in A Minor, D. 821 (“Arpeggione”)
Introduction and Variations on “Trockne Blumen” (Withered Flowers) from “Die Schöne Müllerin” (The Beautiful Miller’s Daughter), D. 802 (Op. 160)
Ständchen (“Serenade”) from Schubert’s final song cycle Schwanengesang (Swan Song), D. 957 (heard in the YouTube video below)
Tags: #19thCentury, #ArpeggioneSonata, #ArtsPatron, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #DieSchöneMüllerin, #DieSchoeneMullerin, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FluteMusic, #FranzSchubert, #IntroductionandVariations, #IrvingShain, #IvaUgrcic, #KatoPerlman, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicSchool, #OakwoodVillageWest, #One-Hour, #PianoAccompaniment, #PianoAccompanist, #PianoSonata, #SchoolofMusic, #SongCycle, #SwanSong, #SwanSongs, #TheEar, #ThemeAndVariations, #ThomasKasdorf, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityWoods, #VocalMusic, #WestTowneMall, #WoodwindMusic, #YouTubevideo, 19th century, Arpeggione sonata, Arts, arts patron, attract, audience, beautiful, Beethoven, belong, blog, Chamber music, chancellor, chemist, chemistry, Classical music, classicalmusic, close, colleague, Competition, composer, Concert, daughter, deceased, deserve, Die Schöne Müllerin, donor, enjoy, evening, extra, Facebook, favorite, final, flowers, flute, flutist, forward, Franz Schubert, free, friend, fund, funding, generosity, generous, great, heart, heart-felt, help, himself, homage, hour, introduction, introduction and variations, invitation, Irving Shain, Iva Ugrcic, Jacob Stockinger, join, Kato Perlman, late, like, link, long-running, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Mead Witter School of Music, memorial, memory, miller, Music, music school, Oakwood Village, Oakwood Village West, patron, performer, personal, Pianist, Piano, Piano sonata, piece, post, posting, professional, professor, program, public, reader, retire, retired, Retirement, School of Music, Schubert, Schwanengesang, Serenade, share, side, Sonata, song, song cycle, sponsor, statement, subscriber, supporter, Swan Song, Swan Songs, tag, The Ear, theme and variations, Thomas Kasdorf, tonight, tribute, United States, university, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Woods, UW, UW-Madison, UW-Madison School of Music, video, vocal music, well-deserved, west, west side, West Towne Mall, winner, winners, Wisconsin, withered, Woods, woodwind, YouTube
Classical music: A busy week at the UW-Madison brings FREE concerts in new halls with an emphasis on new music for winds, chamber ensembles, orchestra and band
3 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.
ALERT: Tonight’s performance by the a cappella vocal group Chanticleer is SOLD OUT.
By Jacob Stockinger
It’s going to be a busy week at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music and especially in its new Hamel Music Center (below), 740 University Ave., next to the new wing of the Chazen Museum of Art.
On tap is a variety of FREE concerts, with an emphasis on new music, including compositions for winds, chamber ensembles, orchestra and band.
Earlier mistakes on dates and time have been corrected. To double check dates, times and venues as well programs, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/events/
Here is a schedule:
TUESDAY, OCT. 8
At 7:30 p.m. in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, the UW Wind Ensemble (below), conducted by director Scott Teeple and guest conductor Ross Wolf, will perform a FREE program of contemporary wind music.
The program includes works by Augusta Read Thomas (below top), Jake Runestad, Larry Tuttle, Xi Wang (below bottom) and Carlos Simon.
There will be one world premiere and two Wisconsin premieres.
For more information and the complete program, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/uw-wind-ensemble-5/
THURSDAY, OCT. 10
At 8 p.m. in Collins Recital Hall of the new Hamel Music Center, the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble will perform a FREE recital of new music, including two works — “Wet Ink” and ” Treetop Studio” — by the critically acclaimed UW-Madison composer Laura Schwendinger (below).
Also on the “Fall Notes” program are “Wing and Prayer” by Melinda Wagner (below top) and “Pentacle” by Irish composer Raymond Deane (below bottom) who will make his UW-Madison debut.
Performers for “Fall Notes” will feature UW-Madison musicians, including clarinetist Alicia Lee, cellist James Waldo, violist Sally Chisholm, pianist Christopher Taylor and student performers.
FRIDAY, OCT. 11
At 8 p.m. in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, the UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra (below) will open its season with a FREE concert under its new conductor Oriol Sans, a native of Catalonia, Spain, who studied at the Barcelona Conservatory and who came to Madison from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
The program is: “aequilibria” by contemporary Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom); “Death and Transfiguration; by Richard Strauss; and “Symphonic Dances” by Sergei Rachmaninoff.
For more information about conductor Oriol Sans (below), go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/oriol-sans/
For more information, from Wikipedia, about composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir (below), go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_S._Þorvaldsdóttir
SUNDAY, OCT. 13
At 2 p.m., in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, the University Bands will perform a FREE concert under conductor Darin Olson (below), the assistant director of bands at the UW-Madison.
No program is available.
Tags: #ACapella, #AliciaLee, #AmericanComposer, #AnnaThorvaldsdottir, #AsianComposer, #AugustaReadThomas, #BandConcert, #BandMusic, #BarcelonaSpain, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CarlosSimon, #ChamberMusic, #ChazenMuseumofArt, #Chinesecomposer, #ChineseMusic, #ChristopherTaylor, #ClarinetMusic, #ClassicalMusician, #CollinsRecitalHall, #ConcertHall, #ConcertProgram, #ContemporaryChamberEnsemble, #ContemporaryComposers, #ContemporaryMusic, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #DarinOlson, #DeathandTransfiguration, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyConcert, #GuestConductor, #HamelMusicCenter, #IcelandicComposer, #IrishComposers, #JacobStockinger, #JakeRunestad, #James Waldo, #JamesWaldo, #LarryTuttle, #LauraSchwendinger, #LivingComposers, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MelindaWagner, #Musicfaculty, #MusicProfessors, #MusicSchool, #NewMusic, #OrchestralMusic, #OriolSans, #PaulCollins, #RaymondDeane, #RichardStrauss, #RossWolf, #SallyChisholm, #SchoolofMusic, #ScottTeeple, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #SoldOut, #SymphonicDances, #SymphonyOrchestra, #UniversityBands, #UniversityOfMichigan, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UW-MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #UWContemporaryChamberEnsemble, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #UWWindEnsemble, #ViolaMusic, #VocalMusic, #Wikipediabiography, #Wikipediaentry, #WindEnsemble, #WindMusic, #WisconsinPremiere, #WorldPremiere, #XiWang, #YouTubevideo, a cappella, Alicia Lee, American, Ann Arbor, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Arts, Asia, asian, Augusta Read Thomas, band, Barcelona, blog, busy, Carlos Simon, Catalonia, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Chanticleer, Chazen Museum of Art, China, Christopher Taylor, clarinet, clarinetist, Classical music, classicalmusic, Collins Recital Hall, composer, Concert, concert hall, conductor, conservatory, critically acclaimed, dance, dances, Darin Olson, death, Death and Transfiguration, debut, director, emphasis, Facebook, faculty, fall, follow, forward, free, group, guest, hall, Hamel Music Center, Iceland, Icelandic composer, information, Irish, Jacob Stockinger, Jake Runestad, Larry Tuttle, Laura Schwendinger, like, link, living composers, Madison, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, Melinda Wagner, Music, music faculty, music school, native, new, New Music, notes, Orchestra, orchestral music, Oriol Sans, Paul Collins, performance, Pianist, Piano, post, posting, premiere, professor, program, Raymond Deane, recital, Richard Strauss, Ross Wolf, Sally Chisholm, schedule, School of Music, Scott Teeple, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, share, sold-out, Spain, Spanish, Student, symphonic, Symphonic Dances, symphony orchestra, tag, tonight, transfiguration, United States, University Bands, University of Michigan, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW Wind Ensemble, UW-Madison, UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra, variety, Viola, violist, vocal music, week, Wikipedia, wind ensemble, wind music, wing, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Premiere, work, world premiere, Xi Wang, YouTube
Classical music: The UW-Madison School of Music will NOT have a complete brochure for the new season. Use the website and sign up for an email newsletter. The 40th Karp Family Labor Day Concert is Sept. 3
Leave a 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
Summer is almost over and the new concert season is about to begin in just a couple weeks.
Just about all the groups in the Madison area, large and small, have announced their upcoming seasons.
But it you are wondering why the brochure for the hundreds of events that will take place at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music hasn’t arrived yet, here is the answer.
There isn’t one this year.
For many years the UW-Madison’s SOM — as the School of Music is often abbreviated – has issued a handsome season brochure (below) with names and dates, if not always complete programs.
In the past couple of years, the brochure has been particularly informative with background about performers and events at the school as well as about students and alumni.
But due to a variety of factors, there will be no season brochure although there will be a special brochure for the opening weekend on the new Hamel Music Center (below), which is Oct. 25-27.
A variety of reasons has caused the lack of a brochure, says Publicist and Concert Manager Katherine Esposito. But the familiar full-season brochure will return for the 2020-21 season.
It the meantime, Esposito recommends that you go to the Concert and Events calendar, which has been updated and made more user-friendly, on the website for the school of music. It also features information about faculty and staff as well as news about the school. Here is a link:
https://www.music.wisc.edu/events/
On the right hand side is a menu that allows you to view the calendar as a running list or by the month, week or day with maps or photos.
On the left hand side is another menu that allows you to search by musical category (performers and ensemble) as well as concert date, time, venue and admission cost, if any.
Esposito always recommends that you subscribe to the email newsletters. You can see past ones and sign up to receive future ones if you go to this part of the home website: https://www.music.wisc.edu/recent-newsletters/
As usual, the season at the UW-Madison will open with 40th FREE Karp Family Labor Day Concert, which now takes place the day after the holiday, on Tuesday, Sept. 3, at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall.
Over four decades, the Karps (below are the brothers pianist Christopher Karp with cellist Parry Karp, who will team up again this year) have never repeated a piece on the the Labor Day concerts.
The program this year includes the sublime Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-Flat Major, K. 493, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (you can hear the first movement with a visual schematic in the YouTube video at the bottom); the late Sonata No. 10 for Violin and Piano in G major, Op. 96, by Ludwig van Beethoven, which has been transcribed by Parry Karp for cello and piano; and lesser known works by Robert Schumann and Antonin Dvorak.
For more about the program and the performers, who include guest violinist Suzanne Beia of the Pro Arte Quartet, the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/40th-karp-family-concert/
Tags: #AntoninDvorak, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChristopherKarp, #ConcertManager, #EmailNewsletter, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FrancesKarp, #FreeAdmission, #GuestArtist, #HamelMusicCenter, #HomeWebpage, #KarpFamily, #KatherineEsposito, #KatrinTalbot, #LaborDay, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MadisonWisconsin, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Musicfaculty, #NewsReleases, #OrchestralMusic, #ParryKarp, #PianoQuartet, #RobertSchumann, #StringQuartet, #SuzanneBeia, #TheInternet, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolaMusic, #ViolinVirtuoso, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, admission, alumni, anniversary, announce, Antonín Dvořák, arrange, arrangement, arrive, artist, Arts, audience, background, Beethoven, blog, brochure, brother, calendar, category, celllist, Cello, Cello Sonata, Chamber music, chamber orchestra, Christopher Karp, Classical music, composer, Concert, concert manager, cost, date, day, decade, diagram, Dvorak, Early music, email, ensemble, event, Facebook, factor, Family, forwrad, Frances Karp, graphic, group, guest, guest artist, Hamel Music Center, handsome, Holiday, Home, informative, Internet, Karp, Karp Family, Katherine Esposito, Katrin Talbot, known, Labor Day, like, link, list, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, map, Mead Witter School of Music, menu, month, Mozart, Music, music school, musical, name, news, newsletter, opening, Orchestra, Parry Karp, performer, photo, Pianist, Piano, Piano Quartet, post, posting, program, publicist, publicity, Robert Schumann, schematic, School of Music, Schumann, search, share, Sonata, String quartet, sublime, subscribe, summer, Suzanne Beia, symphony, tag, transcribe, transcription, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, variety, venue, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, visual, visual schematic, web, web page, Website, weekend, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, works, year, YouTube
Classical music: The future of Western classical music is in Asia – specifically China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Why is that?
3 Comments
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.
By Jacob Stockinger
It’s not just about Lang Lang.
The signs are everywhere.
They were present at a recent piano recital by elementary school, middle school and high school students that The Ear attended.
You see it at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music and at top music schools, including the Curtis Institute of Music, across the U.S. and Western Europe. And you see it in youth groups such as the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (below).
Western classical music recording labels, such as Deutsche Grammophon and Sony Classical, are looking to develop new markets and so are signing more Asian musicians, such as the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Shanghai String Quartet, and releasing more Asian performances. (Below is the Taiwanese-Australian, prize-winning violinist Ray Chen, who is also a master at using social media to build his meteoric career.)
All these items point to the same conclusion: The future of Western classical music looks more and more likely to be found in Asian culture and in Asia – specifically in China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. (Next season, prize-winning South Korean pianist Joyce Yang (below) returns to Madison, where she first gave a recital at the Wisconsin Union Theater, to solo with the Madison Symphony Orchestra.)
Consider some of the following:
There are, The Ear read somewhere, now more piano students in China than in all of Europe, North America and South America combined. And he is reading about more and more concert tours of China and other Asian countries by Western performers — even while in the U.S. the number of pianos in homes are on the decline.
Increasingly the winners of major international competitions — such as the Chopin competition, the Van Cliburn competition, the Tchaikovsky competition, the Queen Elizabeth of Belgium competition and the Leeds competition – come from Asia or are Asian. (Below, in a photo by Simon Fowler, is American pianist George Li, who immigrated from China as a child and attended Harvard and the New England Conservatory before winning a silver medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition. His concert career is now blossoming fast.)
In recent years, China has been building a lot of first-rate concert halls, opera houses and music schools. And the famed Juilliard School in New York City will open its second campus this fall in Tianjin, near Beijing.
China has certainly come a long way from the days of the Cultural Revolution when people could be imprisoned for listening to Beethoven, who is now a cultural icon in China — as you can hear at the bottom in the YouTube video of Li Jing Zhan conducting the orchestra at the Chinese National Opera in Beethoven’s No. 7. (Below is the striking new National Center for the Performing Arts in China.)
https://www.interlude.hk/front/culture-construction-chinas-new-concert-halls/
Nineteen of the 24 final competitors, ages 13-17, in the second Van Cliburn Junior Competition – which starts in Dallas, Texas, on May 31 and ends on June 8 – are Asian, Asian-American and Asian-Canadian, all with astonishingly impressive credentials and experience. It will be streamed live and free. Take a look and listen:
https://www.cliburn.org/2019-cliburn-junior-competitors/
Why this Asian shift is happening remains somewhat of a mystery to The Ear, although he had been thinking about for a long time.
Then he came across a op-ed column confirming the prevalence of Asian classical musicians. It was written by the American concert pianist and teacher Inna Faliks (below), who teaches at UCLA and who wrote convincingly about her recent concert experiences in China in The Washington Post.
Read it and see what you think, and tell us whether you agree:
Why are Asians so interested in Western classical music and music education? And why do they respect it or even revere it so much?
Does it have to do with the “tiger mom” phenomenon of strong parental pressure to succeed and achieve?
Is it largely a function of population?
Is it because of the collective teamwork required to make a lot of chamber music and orchestral music, or with the intense and instructive teacher-student relationship?
Is it because the cultural depth and seriousness in Western music education – ing contrast to the increasingly pop culture of the West – that prepares students well for the training and intellectual discipline required in other educational fields and careers, including the STEM areas (science, technology, engineering and mathematics)?
Is Asia simply fascinated by Western culture the same way that Western culture was fascinated by the exotic Asian cultures – especially in China and Japan — during the 19th century and earlier? Or is the West increasingly ignoring its own culture. (The Ear can’t recall any classical musicians performing at President Donald Trump’s White House. Can you?)
How do you see the situation and react to it? And what do you think about the causes and effects?
Please leave your reactions and thoughts in the COMMENT section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BeijingChina, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChineseNationalOpera, #ChopinInternationalPianoCompetition, #ClassicalMusician, #ClassicalRecording, #ConcertHall, #ConcertTour, #CulturalRevolution, #CurtisInstitute, #DallasTexas, #DeutscheGrammphon, #ElementarySchool, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GeorgeLi, #HarvardUniversity, #HighSchool, #HongKong, #HongKongChina, #InnaFaliks, #JoyceYang, #JuilliardSchool, #LangLang, #LeedsCompetition, #LiJingZhan, #LiveStreaming, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiddleSchool, #MusicEducation, #MusicSchool, #NationalCenterforthePerformingArts, #NewEnglandConservatoryofMusic, #NewYorkCity, #NorthAmerica, #OperaHouse, #OperaMusic, #OrchestralMusic, #ParentalPressure, #People'sRepublicofChina, #PerformingArts, #PersonalRelationship, #PopCulture, #PresidentDonaldTrump, #Prize-Winning, #PrizeWinner, #QueenElizabeth, #QueenElizabethCompetition, #RayChen, #RecordingLabels, #RecordLabels, #ShangaiQuartet, #ShanghaiChina, #ShanghaiSymphonyOrchestra, #SilverMedal, #SocialMedia, #SonyClassical, #SouthAmerica, #SouthKorea, #SouthKorean, #StreamedLive, #StringQuartet, #TchaikovskyCompetition, #TheEar, #TheWashingtonPost, #TheWest, #TianjinChina, #TigerMom, #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VanCliburn, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #WesternCulture, #WesternEurope, #WhiteHouse, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WisconsinYouthSymphonyOrchestras, #YouTubevideo, American, Arts, Asia, asian, attend, audience, Australia, Australian, Beethoven, Beijing, Belgium, blog, building, Canadian, career, cause, Cello, Chamber music, Child, children, China, Chinese, Chinese National Opera, Chopin International Piano Competition, Classical music, classical musician, classicalmusic, collective, comment, Compact Disc, Competition, composer, Concert, concert hall, concert tour, conclusion, conduct, conductor, construction, credential, Cultural Revolution, culture, Curtis Institute of Music, Dallas, decline, depth, Deutsche Grammophon, discipline, Donald Trump, Education, effect, elementary school, engineering, Europe, exotic, experience, Facebook, first-rate, forward, free, function, future, George Li, group, Harvard, high school, Home, Hong Kong, icon, immigrant, immigrated, immigration, imprison, Inna Faliks, instruct, instructive, intense, International Tchaikovsky Competition, item, Jacob Stockinger, Japan, Japanese, Joyce Yang, Juilliard School, Juilliard School of Music, Korean, Lang Lang, Leeds Competition, Li Jing Zhan, like, link, listen, live, look, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, market, Master, mathematics, Mead Witter School of Music, medal, media, member, meteoric, Middle school, Music, Music education, music school, music schools, Musician, mystery, National Center for the Performing Arts, New England, New England Conservatory, New York City, North America, number, opera, Opera house, Orchestra, orchestral music, parental pressure, parents, People, People's Republic of China, performer, Performing arts, personal relationship, Pianist, Piano, pop, pop culture, population, President, President Donald Trump, pressure, prison, prize, public, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth Competition, Ray Chen, reaction, recital, Record label, recording, relationship, respect, revere, rite, science, section, seriousness, Shanghai, share, silver, sing, social media, solo, Sony Classical, South America, South Korea, STEM, streamed, String quartet, Student, symphony, tag, Taiwan, Taiwanese, Teacher, teamwork, technology, Texas, The Ear, The Washington Post, The West, The White House, thought, Tianjin, tiger mom, tour, training, U.S., UCLA, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Violin, violinist, Western Cuture, Western Europe, White House, winner, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, wrote, Youth, YouTube
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 
Classical music: A veteran reviewer bids farewell with a rave review of this summer’s last concert by the Willy Street Chamber Players and UW-Madison pianist Christopher Taylor
18 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
Here is a very special posting, the final review that will be written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker.
Barker (below), who is dealing with medical issues, is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who wrote for The Capital Times, Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who, until two weeks ago, hosted an early music show once a month on a Sunday morning on WORT-FM 89.9. For years, he served on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gave pre-concert lectures in Madison.
Please use the comment section to join The Ear in thanking Barker for his many years of public service and wishing him well.
By John W. Barker
I had to miss the first concert this summer by the Willy Street Chamber Players (below) on July 12; and the next one, on July 19, was cancelled because of power failures. But the final one, last Friday night, was well worth waiting for — one of the really memorable events of the year, I think.
The program, performed at the usual near East Side venue of the Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1021 Spaight Street, began with some short items.
First, there was a set of Three Nocturnes (1924) for piano trio — violin, cello and piano — by Ernest Bloch. They contain elements of the Hebraic sound that Bloch cultivated but also had their own individualities, the first two contemplative and the third marked “tempestuoso.” Interesting was Bloch’s alternating uses of muting the strings.
After this came an example of the short pieces for string quartet by the contemporary composer Jessie Montgomery, her “Voodoo Dolls” (2008). Much is packed into this five-minute piece. A few lyrical touches aside, it sounded like a hoedown gone crazy, full of quite novel sounds, including rhythmic thumping on the wood of the instruments.
All that was a curtain-raiser to the big event of the program: the Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major, Op. 81, by Antonin Dvorak. This 40-minute work is one of the composer’s best-known chamber music compositions, and one of the standouts in the whole chamber music literature.
The very opening notes of the first movement bring a flood of warm well-being. (After hearing just that, I commented, “I haven’t felt such happiness in months.”)
The fecundity and richness of invention pervaded the entire work. For me, its high point is the second movement, in which Dvorak (below) used the Czech formula of the dumka, a kind of folk music lament that is paced slow-fast-slow-fast. (You can hear the Dumka movement, played by the Jerusalem Quartet and pianist Stefan Vladar, in the YouTube video below.)
Dvorak liked to play viola in chamber music, and so he always wrote some good things for himself. The sublime passages for viola in this movement were played with such transcendent beauty by Rachael Hauser (below) – who is leaving Madison for New York City — that I felt I was hearing the composer’s voice directly. Put simply, this was one of the greatest examples of chamber-music performance that I have ever heard.
All of the players, many of whom play in the Madison Symphony Orchestra, of course matched remarkable skill with humane vitality and vibrancy.
And a measure of the Willys’ standards was the fact that they were able to draw as a partner no less than that magnificent UW-Madison music school pianist, Christopher Taylor (below), who also performed the same Dvorak Piano Quintet in the 1993 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, where he won a bronze medal. Much of his excellence here was demonstrated by the fact that he did not play the star, but joined with the Willys in perfect collegial integration.
This ends the Willy Street group’s fifth summer season. As a symbol of vibrancy and fresh spirit, they are among the most important of Madison’s classical music world today. They have drawn steadily growing audiences, and the house was truly packed for this concert. We can only hope that they will continue to brighten that world in the years ahead.
I am now ending my time as a music critic. I can think of no more satisfying a final review to write than of the Willy Street Chamber Players.
Share this:
Like this:
Tags: #AmericanRecordGuide, #AntoninDvorak, #AudienceMembers, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BlogReview, #BronzeMedal, #ChamberMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ChristopherTaylor, #ContemporaryComposer, #ContemporaryMusic, #Curtain-Raiser, #CzechMusic, #EastSide, #EmeritusProfessor, #ErnestBloch, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FolkMusic, #HebraicMusic, #HighPoint, #ImmanuelLutheranChurch, #InstrumentalMusic, #IsthmusNewspaper, #JacobStockinger, #JerusalemQuartet, #JessieMontgomery, #JohnW.Barker, #LivingComposer, #LyricalMusic, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MedievalHistory, #ModernMusic, #MusicCritic, #MusicReview, #MusicSchool, #NewYorkCity, #PianoQuintet, #PianoTrio, #PowerFailure, #PublicService, #RachelHauser, #RadioHost, #RadioShow, #RadioStation, #StefanVladar, #StringQuartet, #SundayMorning, #TheCapitalTimes, #TheEar, #TheWillys, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VanCliburn, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #VoodooDolls, #WillyStreetChamberPlayers, #WORT-FM89.9, #YouTubevideo, advisor, ahead, alternating, American Record Guide, Antonín Dvořák, Arts, audience, beauty, best-known, bid, blog, board, brighten, bronze, bronze medal, bronze medalist, cancel, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Christian, Christopher Taylor, church, Classical music, classicalmusic, collegial, comment, composer, Concert, contemplative, contemporary, crazy, cultivate, Czech, dance, demonstrate, directly, doll, dumka, Early music, earlymusic, east side, emeritus professor, end, Ernest Bloch, event, example, excellence, Facebook, fact, farewell, fecundity, feel, felt, final, flood, folk, folk dance, Folk music, formula, forward, frequent, fresh, great, group, growing, guest, happiness, hearing, Hebraic, high point, History, hoedown, House, humane, Immanuel Lutheran Church, important, individualities, instrument, instrumental music, integration, interesting, invention, items, Jacob Stockinger, Jerusalem, Jerusalem Quartet, Jessie Montgomery, John W. Barker, known, lament, lecture, like, literature, living, Living composer, lyrical, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, Madison Symphony Orchestra, match, Mead Witter School of Music, measure, medal, medical issues, Medieval, memorable, modern, months, morning, movement, Music, music school, muting, New York City, Newspaper, nocturne, novel, packed, partner, passage, perfect, performer, pervade, Pianist, Piano, Piano Quintet, Piano Trio, pieces, players, post, posting, power, power failure, public service, quintet, Rachel Hauser, Radio, radio show, radio station, rave, reader, recording, remarkable, review, reviewer, rhythmic, rich, richness, satisfying, service, set, share, short, skill, Sound, special, spirit, spread, standards, standout, star, Stefan Vladar, String quartet, strings, sublime, subscriber, summer, Sunday, Sunday morning, symbol, tag, thank, The Capital Times, The Ear, The Willys, three, thump, thumping, time, touch, transcendent, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, use, UW-Madison, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, venue, Veteran, vibrancy, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, vitality, voice, Voodoo, Voodoo Dolls, warm, well-being, Willy Street Chamber Players, Wisconsin, Wiscosnin, wood, work, world, WORT-FM 89.9, worth, Writer, year, YouTube