The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: The Madison Symphony Orchestra receives a national grant for its HeartStrings outreach program of music therapy for the special-needs community. Plus, you can hear the MSO’s Rhapsodie Quartet perform music by Schubert and Dvorak on Monday, May 23
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following note, which he finds worth sharing because of the local distinction and because it confirms that the importance of hearing music goes far beyond the concert hall and recording studio.
The notice outlines an example of musical outreach that is both empathetic and compassionate, traits that mean the entire public should know about and support the MSO’s outreach programs:
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Jane Chu announced on May 10 that the Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO) has been awarded an NEA Art Works grant of $20,000 to support HeartStringsSM, an internationally recognized, music therapy-informed community engagement program for individuals with special needs.
The NEA has approved more than $82 million total to fund local arts projects and partnerships in this second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2016.
HeartStringsSM uses live music to address the physical, emotional, cognitive and social needs of individuals with disabilities, long-term illnesses, dementia and assisted-living needs.
Participants receive the HeartStringsSM program free-of-charge, and the MSO’s Rhapsodie Quartet (below), a professional string quartet comprised of principal MSO musicians, performs the music live at various sites.
NOTE: You can hear the Rhapsodie Quartet plus UW-Madson and Pro Arte Quartet cellist Parry Karp perform on Monday, May, 23, at 7 p.m. in the Promenade Hall of the Overture Center. The program features the “American” String Quartet by Antonin Dvorak and the late and sublime String Quintet in C Major, D. 956, by Franz Schubert. The suggested donation is $5 at the door.
The Quartet will facilitate a series of nine group music therapy-informed sessions at 10 retirement communities, healthcare facilities, and state institutions across Dane County, reaching nearly 3,200 individuals –many of whom would not otherwise have access to the restorative effects of live music.
“The arts are all around us, enhancing our lives in ways both subtle and obvious, expected and unexpected,” said Chu. “Supporting projects like the one from the Madison Symphony Orchestra offers more opportunities to engage in the arts every day.”
MSO Director of Education and Community Engagement Kathryn Schwarzmann said:
“HeartStrings is a signature program of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, which brings meaningful musical experiences directly into the lives of individuals with special needs throughout Dane County, Wisconsin. This nationally recognized community engagement program combines the beneficial effects of live music with participatory, music therapy-informed activities designed to promote the well-being of traditionally underserved populations.”
The NEA’s Art Works grants support the creation of work, and presentation of both new and existing work, lifelong learning in the arts, and public engagement with the arts through 13 arts disciplines or fields.
To join the Twitter conversation about this announcement, please use #NEASpring16.
For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, go to arts.gov
Here is a video of a television interview that features Kathryn Schwarzmann, who explains more about the background of the HeartStrings program and about how it works:
Tags: American Quartet, Arts, Beethoven, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, cognitive, Dane County, dementia, disabilities, disability, Dvorak, Franz Schubert, handicap, heart, illness, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, John DeMain, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, mental illness, Mozart, Music, music therapy, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, Orchestra, outreach, Parry Karp, Pro Arte Quartet, quintet, Retirement, Schubert, social, special needs, String quartet, strings, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: The Harlem Renaissance opera “Voodoo” is rediscovered and resurrected in performance. Plus, “Music as Medicine” will be streamed LIVE today from the Chazen Museum of Art at 12:30 p.m.
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A REMINDER: Today at 12:30 p.m., the early music choral group Eliza‘s Toyes (below) will perform “Music as Medicine” at the Chazen Museum of Art. The concert is FREE to attend. It will also be streamed LIVE as a replacement (first Sunday of the month) for the weekly Sunday Afternoon Live From the Chazen that Wisconsin Public Radio cancelled last season after 36 years.
Here is a statement: “Music has been an integral part of our well-being. To this date, many listen to music for its power in relaxation, excitement, and even catharsis. The development of music therapy as a medical profession, as well as increasing research in the physiological and psychological effects of music, signifies our ongoing interest to understand and utilize music. As scientists continue to examine music in an utilitarian light, it is worthwhile for us to rediscover how human beings have historically viewed music and its connection with health.”
Here is a link for streaming the concert:
By Jacob Stockinger
Over the Fourth of July weekend, we have heard a lot of American music, most of it pretty well-known.
But every once on a while, an important discovery is made. Here is one to read about. It is “Voodoo,” an opera from the Harlem Renaissance that was composed by Harry Lawrence Freeman (below, in a photo from Columbia University in New York City). It was recently rediscovered and revived for a couple of performances.
It was featured on NPR or National Public Radio:
And here is a trailer preview or sampler, with some great photos, on YouTube:
Tags: Arts, Chazen Museum of Art, choral music, Classical music, Columbia University, Early music, Fourth of July, Harlem, Harlem Renaissance, Harry Lawrence Freeman, Henry Lawrence Freeman, Independence Day, Jacob Stockinger, Music, music therapy, New York City, NPR, opera, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, Voodoo, wisconsin public radio, YouTube
Classical music: Early music group Eliza’s Toyes offers a fascinating exploration of the role of music in medicine from Medieval though Baroque times.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Here is a special posting, a review written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker, who also took the performance photos. Barker (below) is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who writes for Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who for 12 years hosted an early music show every other Sunday morning on WORT FM 89.9 FM. He serves on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison.
By John W. Barker
Eliza’s Toyes (below top), the consort of voices and instruments devoted to early music, is led by the formidably talented Jerry Hui. The group gave another of its imaginative programs, this time on Friday night at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery (below bottom).
The theme and title of this program was “Music: The Miracle Medicine.” Offered were 15 selections, conveying various ideas or beliefs about health (both physical and spiritual), illness, medicine, miracle cures and good living.
Each selection was preceded by the reading of passages from moral and medical texts of various periods. (I wonder if today’s medical and health-advice writings will sound as comical generations from now as do those of the past to us!)
Fifteen composers were represented in the course of the program, from Medieval through Baroque: Hildegard von Bingen (below top, 1098-1179), Alfonso El Sabio (1221-1284), Thomas Tallis (1505-1585), Cipriano da Rore (1516-1565),Hubert Waelrant (1515-1595), Orlando di Lassus (1532-1594), William Byrd (1540-1623), Lelio Bertani (1553-1612), John Wilbye (1574-1638), Gabriel Bataille (1575-1630), Melchior Franck (1579-1639), John Maynard (15??-16??), Anonymous 17th-Century (2 items), Marin Marais (1656-1728) and John Eccles (1668-1735).
The selections were mostly vocal, either solo or ensemble. One instrumental selection stood out as probably the one most likely to be familiar: Marin Marais’ excruciatingly detailed “Representation of the Operation for Gallstone” (below top is Marais, below bottom is the introduction to his work) — complete with narrative headings for each section. (You can hear the narration and the music to the unusual piece in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
The performances were earnest and often accomplished. But it must be said in honesty that, in motets and madrigals, the vocal ensemble was not balanced or smooth — the singers clearly need to live with this kind of musical writing somewhat longer. Still, the overall effect was certainly entertaining and thematically fascinating.
There were no printed programs, but the titles and text translations were projected on a background screen. These projections were fully visible and readable, so they worked well.
This is a program that will be offered again, I understand, at the Chazen Museum of Art on July 15, so that it can be caught and savored once more.
Above all, it is one more tribute to the thoughtful, deeply researched and intriguing program skills of Jerry Hui (below).
Tags: Arts, Baroque, Cello, Chamber music, Chazen Museum of Art, choral music, Classical music, cure, Early music, gallstones, good living, Health, Hildegard von Bingen, illness, instrumental music, Jacob Stockinger, Jerry Hui, John W. Barker, John Wilbye, living, Madison, madrigal, Marin Marais, medicine, Medieval, Melchior Franck, miracles, motet, Music, music therapy, Orlando de Lassus, Orlando di Lasso, projections, screen, text, Thomas Tallis, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, viola da gamba, vocal music, wellness, William Byrd, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, WORT-FM 89.9, YouTube
Classical music: The early music group Eliza’s Toyes will explore music as medicine in a concert this Friday night at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear’s friend Jerry Hui –- a supremely talented individual and graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music who performs, composes and teaches at UW-Stout – sends the following word:
The Madison-based early music group Eliza’s Toyes (below top) has a concert this Friday night, May 22, at 7:30 p.m. at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery (below bottom). The concert is titled “Music: The Miracle Medicine.”
Here is an introduction to the program:
“Rediscover the integral role of music as the restorer of health in the early days of medical science during the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods.
“Music has been an integral part of our wellbeing. To this date, many listen to music for its power in relaxation, excitement, and even catharsis. The development of music therapy as a medical profession, as well as increasing research in the physiological and psychological effects of music, signifies our ongoing interest to understand and utilize music.
“As scientists continue to examine music in a utilitarian light, it is worthwhile for us to rediscover how human beings have historically viewed music and its connection with health.”
Tickets will be available at the door: $15 for the general public and $10 for students.
Here is the program, which is organized by theme, and which include singing i English, Latin, French, German and Spanish:
CONCERNING THE FOUR HUMORS
Vos flores rosarum — Hildegard von Bingen (below top, 1098-1179)
Descendi in hortum meum — Cipriano de Rore
Absterge Domine (1575) — Thomas Tallis (1505-1585)
Turn Our Captivity (1611) — William Byrd (below bottom, 1540-1623)
MIRACLES AND REMEDIES
Tantas en Santa María — (Cantigas de Santa Maria)
In principio erat Verbum (1566) — Orlando di Lassus (below, 1532-1594)
Caecus quidam (1558) — Hubert Waelrant (1518-1595)
Gehet hin und saget Johanni wieder — Melchior Franck (1579-1639)
PRACTICING MEDICINE
Le Tableau de l’Opération de la Taille (1725) — Marin Marais (below, 1656-1728; you can hear the piece, with a narration in French, in a YouTube video at the bottom)
Qui veut chasser une migraine — Gabriel Bataille
The nurse’s song — (Pills to Purge Melancholy)
A Wonder: The Physician — John Maynard
GOOD HEALTH THROUGH GOOD LIVING
Chloe found Amyntas lying — (Pills to Purge Melancholy)
My fair Teresa — (Pills to Purge Melancholy)
O Sonno / Ov’e’l silenzio — Marco da Gagliano (1582-1643)
Cara mia Dafne — Lelio Bertani (1553-1612)
Sweet honey sucking bees — John Wilbye (1574-1638)
Tags: Arts, Baroque, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Chamber music, choral music, Classical music, Doctor of Medicine, Early music, Eliza's Toyes, England, English, English music, France, French, French music, German, German music, Germany, Health, Hildegard von Bingen, Hubert Waelrant, Jacob Stockinger, Jerry Hui, John Maynard, John Wilbye, Latin, Lelio Bertani, Madison, medicine, melancholy, Melchior Franck, Music, music therapy, Orlando di Lasso, Orlando di Lassus, physician, pills, science, scientist, Spain, Spanish, Spanish music, Thomas Tallis, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, viola da gamba, vocal music, William Byrd, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, YouTube
Classical music: The Madison Symphony Orchestra receives a National Endowment for the Arts grant for community outreach and music therapy, and gives its season-closing last performance of “The Gershwin Legacy” this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall. Plus, the University of Wisconsin Masters Singers give a FREE concert Monday night.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Today brings some of this and some of that:
MSO GETS NEA MUSIC THERAPY GRANT
The federal National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has awarded the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below) a $15,000 grant to support HeartStringsSM, an internationally-recognized music therapy-informed community engagement program for individuals with special needs.
The MSO, under music director John DeMain, is one of 886 nonprofit organizations nationwide that received grants totaling $25.8 million.
HeartStrings uses live music to address the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of children and adults with disabilities, long-term illnesses, dementia, and assisted-living needs.
The distinctive program is presented free-of-charge by the MSO’s Rhapsodie Quartet (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson), a professional string quartet comprised of principal MSO musicians: from left, they are violinist Suzanne Beia, violinist Laura Burns, violist Christopher Dozoryst and cellist Karl Lavine.
The Quartet leads a series of 9 group music therapy-informed sessions at 10 retirement communities, healthcare facilities, and state institutions across Dane County each year. It reaches nearly 3,200 individuals per season–many of whom would not otherwise have access to the restorative effects of live classical music.
Acting NEA Chairman Joan Shigekawa said, “These NEA-supported projects will not only have a positive impact on local economies, but will also provide opportunities for people of all ages to participate in the arts, help our communities to become more vibrant, and support our nation’s artists as they contribute to our cultural landscape.”
Art Works grants support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts. A complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support is available at the NEA website at http://arts.gov/.
MSO Education and Community Engagement Director Michelle Kaebisch (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot) commented, “HeartStrings is a signature program of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and has transformed healthcare environments by bringing meaningful musical experiences directly to individuals across south-central Wisconsin. This nationally-recognized community engagement initiative combines the profound impact of live music with interactive, music therapy-informed activities designed to promote the well being of traditionally underserved populations.”
THE “GERSHWIN LEGACY” PROGRAM ENDS MSO SEASON TODAY
Here is a link to background preview with information about tickets and program notes to the program about the musical legacy of American composer George Gershwin (see the photo of Gershwin further down) with music by Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein and Harold Arlen.
Clearly, the program points to what George Gershwin might have achieved had he lived longer than 39 and had he developed the orchestral skills he was exploring in the “Catfish Row” Suite he extracted from his folk opera “Porgy and Bess.” (You can hear it performed by conductor James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a YouTube video at the bottom)
Also, two stars are born at the MSO concert — by which I mean that two local talents were given the opportunity to stand out, and they did: the young pianist Garrick Olsen (below top) and the increasingly familiar soprano Emily Birsan (below bottom), who was trained at the University of Wisconsin-Madiosn School of Music and then the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Just read the review by John W. Barker (below) for Isthmus. Here is a link:
http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=42665&sid=b176b1add7d22af437fc720c5a689e79
And here is a link to the review by Greg Hettsmanberger (below) for Madison Magazine:
And here are links to the MSO’s new 2014-15 season:
http://www.madisonsymphony.org/14-15
UW MASTERS SINGERS PERFORM MONDAY
On this Monday night at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music Masters Singers will perform a FREE concert.
The choir will singer under the direction of Anna Volodarskaya and Adam Kluck (below).
Sorry, no word about the program.
Tags: art therapy, Arts, arts therapy, assisted living, Bernstein, Catfish Row Suite, Chamber music, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Choir, choral music, Classical music, Concert, Dane County, George Gershwin, Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Jacob Stockinger, James Levine, John DeMain, Leonard Bernstein, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, MSO, Music, Music education, music therapy, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, opera, Orchestra, Overture Center, Piano, singer, Sondheim, songs, Stephen Sondheim, String quartet, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, Wisconsin, YouTube
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The Well-Tempered Ear 
Which classical composer has helped you the most during the Covid-19 pandemic?
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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 holidays are over and as we close in on marking a year of the coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic, The Ear has a question:
Which composer has helped you the most to weather the pandemic so far?
The Ear wishes he could say Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin or Brahms. And the truth is that they all played a role, some more than others.
But The Ear was surprised by the composer whose works he most listened to and liked — Antonio Vivaldi (below), the Red Priest of Venice who lived from 1678 to 1714 and taught at a Roman Catholic girls school.
Here is more about his biography, which points out that his work was neglected for two centuries and began being rediscovered only in the early 20th-century and still continues being rediscovered to the present day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Vivaldi
The Ear isn’t talking about popular The Four Seasons although that set of 12 solo violin concertos has its charms and originalities.
The Ear especially appreciated the lesser-known concertos for two violins and the cello concertos, although the concertos for bassoon, flute, recorder, oboe, lute, trumpet and mandolin also proved engaging, as did the concerto grosso.
It was the 20th-century composer Igor Stravinsky (below) – the modern pioneer of neo-Classicism — who complained that Vivaldi rewrote the same concerto 500 times. “Vivaldi,” Stravinsky once said, “is greatly overrated – a dull fellow who could compose the same form many times over.”
But then did anyone turn to Stravinsky – who, The Ear suspects, was secretly envious — when they needed music as medicine or therapy during the pandemic?
Vivaldi was, in fact, a master. See and hear for yourself. In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear a performance of Vivaldi’s Concerto Grosso in G minor, RV 535, performed by the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.
Why Vivaldi? You might ask.
Well, it’s nothing highbrow.
The best explanation is that Vivaldi’s music simply seems like caffeine for the ears and sunshine for the eyes. His music isn’t overly introspective or glum, and it isn’t too long or melodramatic.
The melodies and harmonies are always pleasing and energizing, and the tempi are just right, although bets are that the music is much harder to play than it sounds.
In short, Vivaldi’s extroverted music is infectious and appealing because it just keeps humming along — exactly as those of us in lockdown and isolation at home have had to do.
Happily, there are a lot of fine recordings of Vivaldi by period instrument groups from England, Italy and Germany and elsewhere that use historically informed performance practices. But some the most outstanding recordings are by modern instrument groups, which should not be overlooked.
With a few exceptions – notably Wisconsin Public Radio – you don’t get to hear much Vivaldi around here, especially in live performances, even from early music and Baroque ensembles. If you hear Vivaldi here, chances are it is The Four Seasons or the Gloria. Should there be more Vivaldi? Will we hear more Vivaldi when live concerts resume? That is a topic for another time.
In the meantime, The Ear wants to know:
Which composer did you most listen to or find most helpful throughout the pandemic?
Leave your choice in the comment section with, if possible, a YouTube link to a favorite work and an explanation about why you liked that composer and work.
The Ear wants to hear.
Thank you and Happy New Year!
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