The Well-Tempered Ear
Starting TODAY, the First Unitarian Society of Madison offers three free, online mini-concerts at noon on Fridays to celebrate Women’s History Month
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
The Ear has received the following announcement to post about three free, online mini-concerts to celebrate Women’s History Month through the Friday Noon Musicales at the First Unitarian Society of Madison.
The concerts start today:
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
• To celebrate Women’s History Month, the First Unitarian Society of Madison will present three Friday Noon Musicales during March.
• All three will be guest produced by Iva Ugrcic.
• Iva Ugrcic (below) is Founding Artistic Director of the Madison-based LunART Festival, which supports, inspires, promotes and celebrates women in the arts.
• Each program will feature highlights from past LunART Festival performances.
• Each program will be approximately 45 minutes long.
DATES AND PROGRAMS
Each video will become available at noon on the indicated date, and will remain available for viewing in perpetuity.
This Friday, March 12 — Works by living composers Jocelyn Hagen, Salina Fisher and Missy Mazzoli (below top), as well as Romantic-era composer Clara Schumann (below bottom, Getty Images). Specific titles are not named.
Performers include: Iva Ugrcic, flute; Matthew Onstad, trumpet; Tom Macaluso, trombone; Elena Ross and Todd Hammes, percussion; Kyle Johnson, Jason Kutz, Satoko Hayami and Yana Avedyan, piano; Beth Larson and Isabella Lippi, violin; Karl Lavine, cello (below); ARTemis Ensemble.
Friday, March 19 — Works by living composers Linda Kachelmeier, Elsa M’bala, Doina Rotaru (below top) and Eunike Tanzil, as well as Medieval mystic Hildegard von Bingen (below bottom) and Romantic-era Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel. Specific works are not named. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear flutist Iva Ugrcic play Doina Rotaru’s haunting “Japanese Garden.”)
Performers include: Iva Ugrcic, flute; Jose Ignacio Santos Aquino, clarinet; Midori Samson, bassoon; Breta Saganski and Dave Alcorn, percussion; Satoko Hayami (below), Jason Kutz and Eunike Tanzil, piano; ARTemis Ensemble
Friday, March 26 — Alexandra Olsavsky, Edna Alejandra Longoria, Kate Soper and Jenni Brandon as well as post-Romantic era American composer Amy Beach (below bottom). Specific pieces are not named.
Performers include: ARTemis Ensemble; a string quartet with violinists Isabella Lippi and Laura Burns, violist Fabio Saggin, and cellist Mark Bridges (below); Jeff Takaki, bass; Vincent Fuh and Kyle Johnson, piano; Jennifer Lien, soprano; Iva Ugrcic, flute.
THREE OPTIONS FOR ATTENDING
• Website — https://www.fusmadison.org/musicales
• Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/fusmadison
• YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/fusmadison > “Playlists” > “Music at FUS”
ABOUT THE “FRIDAY NOON MUSICALES” RECITAL SERIES
• The Friday Noon Musicales at First Unitarian Society is a free noon-hour recital series offered as a gift to the community.
• Founded in 1971, 2020-2021 is the series’ 50th season.
• The series has featured some of the finest musicians in the Midwest, who flock to perform in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Landmark Auditorium.
• The music performed is mostly classical, but folk, jazz and musical theater styles are presented on occasion.
• During the pandemic, the Musicales have largely been on hiatus.
JUSTICE AND MUSIC INITIATIVE (JAM)
• The Justice And Music Initiative (JAM) at the First Unitarian Society of Madison represents a commitment to more socially equitable and earth-friendly music practices.
• This commitment includes music performed on our campus, both for worship and non-worship events.
• To help achieve our goal, we recognize and celebrate recognition days and months with our musical selections, such as Hispanic Heritage Month (9/15–10/15), LGBT History Month (October); Native American Indian Heritage Month (November), Black History Month (February), Women’s History Month (March), and African-American Music Appreciation Month (prev. Black Music Month; June).
Tags: #African-AmericanMusic, #AlexandraOlsavsky, #AmericanComposer, #AmericanIndian, #AmyBeach, #ARTemisEnsemble, #ArtisticDirector, #AsianMusic, #BethLarson, #BlackCulture, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BretaSaganski, #CelebratingWomen, #ChamberMusic, #CityofMadison, #ClaraSchumann, #ConcertSeries, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DaveAlcorn, #DoinaRotaru, #EdnaAlejandraLongoria, #ElenaRoss, #ElsaM’bala, #EunikeTanzil, #FabioSaggin, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FannyMendelssohn-Hensel, #FirstUnitarianSocietyofMadison, #FluteMusic, #FolkMusic, #FrankLloydWright, #FridayNoonMusicale, #GettyImages, #HildegardvonBingen, #HomeWebsite, #IsabellaLippi, #IvaUgrcic, #JacobStockinger, #JapaneseGarden, #JasonKutz, #JeffTakaki, #JenniBrandon, #JenniferLien, #JocelynHagen, #JoseIgnacioSantosAquino, #KateSoper, #KyleJohnson, #LandmarkAuditorium, #LauraBurns, #LGBTQrights, #LGBTRights, #LindaKachelmeier, #LivingComposer, #LunARTFestival, #MadisonWisconsin, #MarkBridges, #MatthewOnstad, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MedievalMusic, #MidoriSamson, #MissyMazzoli, #MusicalTheater, #MusicalTheatre, #MusicAppreciation, #NativeAmerican, #NoonMusicale, #OnlineConcert, #RomanticEra, #RomanticMusic, #SalinaFisher, #SatokoHayami, #SocialJustice, #SopranoSinger, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #TheUW, #ToddHammes, #TomMacaluso, #VincentFuh, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #Women'sHistoryMonth, #WomenComposers, #YanaAvedyan, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, African American, Alexandra Olsavsky, alumna, America, American, American Indian, Amy Beach, announcement, appreciation, ARTemis Ensemble, Artistic director, Arts, Asia, asian, attend, audience, available, bass, Bassoon, bassoonist, Beth Larson, black, blog, Breta Saganski, bridges, Burns, Campus, celebrate, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Clara Schumann, clarinet, clarinetist, Classical, Classical music, classicalmusic, commitment, community, composer, Concert, concert series, coronavirus pandemic, date, Dave Alcorn, design, Doina Rotaru, Early music, Earth, Edna Alejandra Longoria, Elena Ross, Elsa M’bala, ensemble, equitable, era, Eunike Tanzil, Fabio Saggin, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, feature, First Unitarian Society of Madison, flute music, flutist, folk, forward, founded, founder, Frank Lloyd Wright, free, Friday Noon Musicale, friendly, Garden, Getty Images, gift, glute, goal, graduate, graduate student, guest, haunting, hear, heritage, hiatus, highlights, Hildegard von Bingen, Hispanic, History, home website, Indian, indicate, initiative, inspire, Isabella Lippi, Iva Ugrcic, Jacob Stockinger, Japan, Japanese, Jason Kutz, Jazz, Jeff Takaki, Jenni Brandon, Jennifer Lien, Jocelyn Hagen, Jose Ignacio Santos Aquino, justice, Karl Lavine, KarlLavine, Kate Soper, Kutz, Kyle Johnson, Landmark Auditorium, Larson, Laura Burns, Lavine, LGBT, LGBTQ, like, Linda Kachelmeier, link, living, long, Longoria, LunART Festival, Madison, march, Mark Bridges, Matthew Onstad, Mead Witter School of Music, Medieval, Midori Samson, Midwest, minutes, Missy Mazzoli, Music, Musical theater, musical theatre, mystic, mystical, name, Native American, non-worship, noon, Noon Musicale, occasion, online, option, pandemic, participant, past, percussion, percussionists, performance, perpetuity, Pianist, Piano, playlist, post, post-Romantic, posting, practices, present, produced, program, promote, recital, recognition, Religion, remain, Romantic, Ross, Salina Fisher, Samsin, Satoko Hayami, Schumann, Season, series, share, sing, Singing, social justice, society, Sonata, song, soprano, specific, String quartet, Student, style, support, tag, The Ear, theater, title, Todd Hammes, Tom Macaluso, Trumpet, trumpeter, Unitarian, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, upcoming, UW, UW-Madison, video, view, Vincent Fuh, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, vocal music, voice, Website, Wisconsin, women, women composers, Women's History Month, work, worship, Yana Avedyan, YouTube, YouTube video
Classical music: This weekend guest violinist Rachel Barton Pine solos with the Madison Symphony Orchestra in an all-Russian program
9 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
This weekend the acclaimed Chicago violinist Rachel Barton Pine (below) makes her debut with the Madison Symphony Orchestra playing Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto in D minor.
The concert by the orchestra (below, in a photo by Peter Rodgers) opens with Prokofiev’s Suite from Lieutenant Kijé and concludes with Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9.
Performances will be held in Overture Hall, 201 State St., on Friday night, Oct. 18, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday night, Oct. 19, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday afternoon, Oct. 20, at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall. Tickets are $19-$95. See below for details.
“There will be great discoveries in our all-Russian concert, starting with the MSO debut of virtuoso violinist Rachel Barton Pine playing the Khachaturian Violin Concerto, a big, bold and beautiful work in its MSO premiere,” said MSO music director and conductor John DeMain (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson). Lieutenant Kijé is sure to delight you with its wonderful melodies and infectious rhythms. Shostakovich has become a favorite with our audiences, and his ninth symphony is delightfully upbeat.”
Lieutenant Kijé is the fictional protagonist of an anecdote about the reign of Emperor Paul I of Russia. The story was used as the basis of a novella by Yury Tynyanov published in 1928 and filmed in 1934, with music by Sergei Prokofiev (below). The plot is a satire on bureaucracy and is often parodied in fictional works making fun of bureaucracies, most famously in the form of the M*A*S*H television episode “Tuttle,” featuring a fictional captain of similar provenance. (You can hear the popular “Troika” episode in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Many of the themes in Violin Concerto in D minor are evocative of the native Armenia of Aram Khachaturian (below). Although the folk melodies aren’t played explicitly, one can hear the Armenian roots through the oriental essence of the scales and the rhythmic range of the featured dances. The piece won the Stalin Prize in 1941, becoming one of Khachaturian’s favorites.
Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 is entirely unlike his other symphonies. In fact, it completely disregards the expectations for its programmatic elements. Shostakovich’s prior two symphonies are thematically tied to the ongoing war, therefore the public presumed that the ninth symphony would be a grand culmination to Stalin and mark the end of World War II. Instead, the composer (below) produced a short, neo-classical work that generated an abundance of controversy.
ABOUT RACHEL BARTON PINE
In both art and life, violinist Rachel Barton Pine (below) – who has performed in Madison before with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra — has an extraordinary ability to connect with people.
Celebrated as a leading interpreter of great classic and contemporary works, her performances combine her innate gift for emotional communication and her scholarly fascination with historical research. She plays with passion and conviction, thrilling audiences worldwide with her dazzling technique, lustrous tone, and infectious joy in music-making.
A prolific recording artist, she has also championed the works of female composers and African-American composers.
Pine was also recently named the recipient of the Cedille Records Musical Partnership Award for her Rachel Barton Pine Foundation. The Foundation was recognized as an organization that has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to the classical music community in Chicago. Cedille noted the Foundation’s “support of the Chicago musical community’s most valuable asset — its musicians and composers.”
Pine was presented with the award by U.S Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg whose son, Jim Ginsburg, founded Cedille Records. Pine began her Foundation in 2001 to provide instruments and instruction to children who might not otherwise be able to afford them.
You can read the Artist Story online about how Rachel Barton Pine overcame severe injuries and her own personal adversity to achieve her goals: https://madisonsymphony.org/19-20-artist-story-rachel-barton-pine-overcomes-adversity/
CONCERT, TICKET AND EVENT DETAILS
The lobby opens 90 minutes prior to each concert.
One hour before each performance, retired MSO trombonist and UW-Whitewater professor Michael Allsen (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot) will lead a 30-minute Prelude Discussion in Overture Hall to enhance concertgoers’ understanding and listening experience. It is free to ticket holders.
The MSO recommends that concert attendees arrive early for each performance to make sure they have time to pass through Overture Center’s security stations, and so they can experience the Prelude Discussion.
Program notes for the concerts are available online: http://bit.ly/msooct19programnotes.
- Single Tickets are $19-$95 each and are on sale now at: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/rachel-barton-pine-plays-khachaturian/through the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street, or by calling the Box Office at (608) 258-4141. Fees apply to online/phone sales.
- Groups of 10 or more can save 25% by calling the MSO office at (608) 257-3734. For more information, visit, https://www.madisonsymphony.org/groups.
- Student rush tickets can be purchased in person on the day of the concert at the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street. Students must show a valid student ID and can receive up to two $15 or $20 tickets. More information is at: https://www.madisonsymphony.org/studentrush
- Seniors age 62 and up receive 20% savings on advance and day-of-concert ticket purchases in select areas of the hall.
- Flex-ticket booklets of 8-10 vouchers for 19-20 symphony subscription concerts are available. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/flex
- Subscriptions for the 2019–2020 season are available now. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/19-20
Discounted seats are subject to availability, and discounts may not be combined.
Tags: #African-AmericanComposer, #All-Russian, #AllTime, #AramKhachaturian, #ArtisticControversy, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #CedilleRecords, #ContemporaryMusic, #CriticalAcclaim, #DmitriShostakovich, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FemaleComposers, #FilmScore, #FilmSoundtrack, #folksongs, #Fridaynight, #GuestArtist, #JimGinsburg, #JohnDeMain, #JosefStalin, #LieutenantKijé, #M*A*S*H, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MichaelAllsen, #MovieSoundtrack, #Music-Making, #MusicAppreciation, #MusicDirector, #NewMusic, #NotoriousRBG, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #PoliticalControversy, #PopularMusic, #PreludeDiscussion, #ProgramNotes, #RachelBartonPine, #RachelBartonPineFoundation, #RussianComposer, #RussianMusic, #RuthBaderGinsburg, #SaturdayNight, #SeniorCitizen, #SergeiProkofiev, #Sovietcomposer, #SovietMusic, #SovietUnion, #StalinPrize, #Sundayafternoon, #SupremeCourt, #TheViolin, #U.S.SupremeCourt, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityofWisconsin-Whitewater, #ViolinConcerto, #ViolinistVirtuoso, #VirtuosoViolinist, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #World-wide, #WorldWarll, #YouTubevideo, #YuryTynyanov, ability, abundance, acclaim, achieve, adversity, afford, African American, afternoon, anecdote, appreciation, Aram Khachaturian, Armenia, Armenian, Art, artist, Arts, asset, audience, availability, basis, beautiful, big, blog, bold, box office, bureaucracy, captain, Cedille Records, celebrated, champion, Chicago, children, Classical music, classicalmusic, commitment, communication, community, Compact Disc, composer, Concert, concerto, conclude, conductor, connect, conquer, contemporary music, controversy, conviction, dance, debut, delight, discount, discovery, discussion, Dmitri Shostakovich, element, emotional, Emperor, end, episode, essence, expectations, experience, explicit, extraordinary, Facebook, fascination, favorite, feature, female composers, fictional, film, Film score, folk, folk song, forward, foundation, free, Friday, fun, generate, gift, goal, great, group, guest, guest artist, historical, History, ID, infectious, information, injuries, instruction, instruments, interpreter, J. Michael Allsen, Jacob Stockinger, Jim GInsburg, John DeMain, Joy, justice, Khachaturian, kids, lieutenant, Lieutenant Kijé, life, like, link, listening, lobby, lustrous, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, mark, Mead Witter School of Music, melodies, melody, Michael Allsen, military, Mother, movie, movie music, MSO, Music, music appreciation, Music director, Musician, myriad, native, neo-Classical, neoclassical, New Music, night, Notorious RBG, novella, online, Orchestra, oriental, oversame, Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts, Overture Hall, parody, partnership, Passion, Paul, People, performance, performer, person, personal, play, plot, popular, post, posting, Prelude, premiere, prize, professor, program notes, programmatic, Prokofiev, prolific, protagonist, provenance, provide, public, publish, Rachel Barton Pine, Rachel Barton Pine Foundation, range, reader, recipient, recognize, recommend, recording, reign, research, retired, Retirement, rhythm, rhythms, roots, Russia, Russian, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, satire, savings, scales, scholarly, seat, security, senior, senior citizen, Sergei Prokofiev, severe, share, short, Shostakovich, similar, solo, son, soundtrack, Soviet, Stalin, Stalin Prize, story, Student, subscriber, Suite, Sunday, support, Supreme Court, symphony, tag, technique, Television, thematic, themes, thrill, ticket, time, tone, troika, Trombone, TV, U.S. Supreme Court, understanding, United States, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, upbeat, USSR, UW-Whitewater, valuable, Violin, Violin concerto, violinist, virtuoso, war, weekend, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wonderful, works, world, World War II, worldwide, YouTube, Yury Tynyanov
Classical music: The Ancora String Quartet closes its 18th season with three upcoming local concerts of music by Mendelssohn, Beethoven and Caroline Shaw
Leave a Comment
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
The Ancora String Quartet closes its 18th season with a trio of concerts, and a program featuring two quartets from the early 19th century, juxtaposed with a shorter piece of much more recent date.
The program is the String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 13, by Felix Mendelssohn; “Entr’acte” (Minuet and Trio) by Caroline Shaw; and String Quartet No. 6 in B-Flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6, by Ludwig van Beethoven.
The schedule of concert dates, times and venues is below.
Members of the Ancora String Quartet (below, from left, in a photo by Barry Lewis), who also perform with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and the Madison Bach Musicians among other groups, are: Wes Luke and Robin Ryan, violins; Marika Fischer Hoyt, viola; and Benjamin Whitcomb, who teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Whtewater.
Here are some program notes provided by violist Marika Fischer Hoyt:
“Mendelssohn’s Op. 13 was written in 1827 when he was 18 years old. He’d written the Octet two years earlier, but this was his first mature string quartet. It expresses his youthful passion and includes one of his signature bubbly scherzos.
“Between our two more-established works, we insert a short piece entitled (appropriately enough) “Entr’acte” (“Intermission,” heard in the YouTube video at the bottom), composed by the American Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw (below, in a photo by Dashing Burton) in 2011. (It is one of The Ear’s favorite contemporary works.)
The 12-minute piece, subtitled “a minuet and trio,” takes haunting fragments and memes from Baroque and Classical styles and treats them with 21st-century audacity. With an ABA structure, the opening and closing sighing motif seems dolorous, but takes its own sadness in a philosophical spirit.
“While both the Mendelssohn and Shaw end quietly, we conclude the program with Beethoven’s exuberant Quartet No. 6, the final quartet in the composer’s set of six early quartets, his Opus 18. This delightful work, completed in 1800, is full of energy and drive; the melancholy mood of the brief fourth movement “La malinconia” (Melancholy) is banished by a cheerful Allegretto, ending with a flourish in the final Prestissimo.”
SCHEDULE
Monday, May 13, at 3 p.m. in the Stoughton Opera House‘s Music Appreciation Series, 381 East Main Street, Stoughton. Free and open to the public
Tuesday, May 14, 7:30 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 1833 Regent Street, Madison. Ticketed event — $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $6 for young people. There will be a reception following the concert.
Saturday, June 15, at noon in Grace Episcopal Church for “Grace Presents,” 116 West Washington Avenue, on the Capitol Square in downtown Madison. Free and open to the public.
Tags: #21stCentury, #AmericanComposer, #AncoraStringQuartet, #BaroqueEra, #BaroqueMusic, #BaroqueStyle, #BenjaminWhitcomb, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CapitolSquare, #CarolineShaw, #ChamberMusic, #ChristianChurch, #Classicalera, #ContemporaryMusic, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FelixMendelssohn, #GraceEpiscopalChurch, #GracePresents, #LivingComposer, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonBachMusicians, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MusicAppreciation, #NewMusic, #ProgramNotes, #PulitzerPrize, #RobinRyan, #St.Andrew'sEpiscopalChurch, #StoughtonOperaHouse, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #UniversityofWisconsin-Whitewater, #WesLuke, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, 21st century, adult, American, Ancora String Quartet, Arts, ASQ, audacity, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Benjamin Whitcomb, blog, Capitol Square, Caroline Shaw, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Christian church, Classical, Classical music, classicalmusic, closing, composer, Concert, contemporary, dates, downtown, entr'acte, express, Facebook, favorite, Felix Mendelssohn, forward, fragment, free, Grace Episcopal Church, Grace Presents, group, haunting, House, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, like, link, Living composer, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marika Fischer Hoyt, mature, melancholy, meme, minuet, mood, motif, movement, Music, music appreciation, New Music, Octet, open, opening, opera, Passion, perform, philosophical, piece, program, program notes, public, Pulitzer Prize, reception, recpeiton, Robin Ryan, sadness, schedule, Scherzo, Season, senior, share, sigh, signature, spirit, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Stoughton Opera House, String quartet, structure, style, tag, The Ear, ticket, time, trio, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, University of Wisconsin–Madison, venue, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, Wes Luke, winner, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, works, written, years, young people, youthful, YouTube
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: The 10th anniversary concert of the Middleton Community Orchestra hit all the right notes – including a surprise of high beauty
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.
By Jacob Stockinger
Last Wednesday night at the Middleton Performing Arts Center, the mostly amateur but critically acclaimed Middleton Community Orchestra (below, in a photo by Brian Ruppert) celebrated its 10th anniversary.
The MCO hit all the right notes. And there were many of them, both big and small.
But perhaps the biggest one was also the quietest one.
It came during the repetition section near the end of the heart-rending slow movement of the Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622, by Mozart.
The Ear knows the piece and considers it one of the most perfect compositions ever written. But suddenly he heard the familiar work in a fresh way and with a new appreciation, thanks to the talented guest soloist J.J. Koh, who is principal clarinet of the Madison Symphony Orchestra. (You can hear the slow movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The movement was going beautifully when suddenly, Koh (below) brought the dynamics down to almost a whisper. It felt prayer-like, so quiet was the sound. Yet it was completely audible. The tone was rich and the notes on pitch, even though Koh sounded as if he were barely breathing. It was a heart-stopping, breathtaking moment of high beauty.
It takes a virtuoso to play that softly and that solidly at the same time. And Koh was backed up with the same subtlety by the fine accompaniment provided by the scaled-down orchestra under conductor Steve Kurr.
The sublime result was nothing short of haunting, a musical moment that The Ear will remember and cherish as long as he lives.
And he wasn’t alone. A complete silence fell over the appreciative audience as Koh and the MCO were playing, and at intermission it was what everybody was talking about and wondering at. You just had to be there. It was the kind of musical experience that makes a live performance so engaging and unforgettable.
That moment of communion between soloist and ensemble by itself was enough to tell you how very much the MCO, which improves with each performance, has accomplished in its first decade.
There were other noteworthy moments too.
Of course tributes had to be paid.
So the evening started off with some brief background and introductory words from the co-founders and co-artistic directors Larry Bevic and Mindy Taranto (below).
Then Middleton Mayor Gurdip Brar (below) came on stage to read his official 10th anniversary proclamation and to urge people to applaud. He proved a jovial, good-natured cheerleader for the large audience of “good neighbors” that included many children.
When the music finally arrived, conductor Kurr (below) raised the curtain with his own original 14-minute episodic composition celebrating the “Good Neighbor City” of Middleton. It proved a fitting work for the occasion that evoked both the Midwestern harmonies of Aaron Copland and the brassy film scores of John Williams.
After intermission, the full 90-member MCO under Kurr returned and turned in a performance of Antonin Dvorak’s popular “New World” Symphony that did them all proud.
The tempo was energetic with a strong, constant pulse that didn’t falter. As usual, the string and wind sections proved outstanding – and still seem to get better each time.
But the real star this time was the brass, whose prominent part in the Dvorak symphony is hard to play. Playing consistently on pitch and expressively – they were clearly well-rehearsed — the brass boosted the whole performance and raised it to a new level. Which is exactly what the anniversary concert demanded and received.
The Ear wasn’t alone in being impressed.
A professional musician visiting from San Francisco said simply: ”They are much better than our community orchestra.”
Is there better homage to pay to a 10th anniversary concert and to make listeners look forward to hearing more? If you aren’t going to MCO’s affordable and appealing concerts, you are only cheating yourself.
For more information about the complete season, including programs, performers, guest soloists and how to join or support the MCO, go to: http://middletoncommunityorchestra.org
If you went, what did you think of the opening anniversary concert?
Leave your opinions and good wishes in the comment section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Share this:
Tags: #AaronCopland, #AmateurMusicians, #AntoninDvorak, #ArtisticDirector, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BlogReview, #BrassSection, #ClarinetConcerto, #CommunityOrchestra, #Curtain-Raiser, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FilmMusic, #GoodNeighborCity, #GoodWishes, #GurdipBrar, #HomeWebsite, #J.J.Koh, #JohnWilliams, #LarryBevic, #LiveMusic, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #MiddletonPerformingArtsCenter, #MiddletonWisconsin, #MindyTaranto, #MovieMusic, #MovieSoundtrack, #MusicalMoment, #MusicAppreciation, #NewMusic, #NewWorldSymphony, #PrincipalClarinet, #PrinicpalPlayer, #RightNotes, #SanFrancisco, #SlowMovement, #SteveKurr, #StringSection, #TheEar, #TheMidwest, #TonalBeauty, #WindSection, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, Aaron Copland, accompaniment, accomplish, amateur, anniversary, Antonín Dvořák, applause, appreciation, appreciative, Artistic director, audible, audience, background, beautiful, beauty, big, blog, boost, brass, brass section, breath, breathing, California, cheerleader, cherish, children, clarinet, clarinet concerto, co-founder, comment, communion, community, community orchestra, Composition, concerto, conductor, constant, decade, Dvorak, dynamics, engaging, ensemble, episodic, expressive, Facebook, falter, familiar, Fanfare, film, film music, forward, founder, fresh, From the New World, good neighbor, Good Neighbor City, good wishes, good-natured, Gurdip Brar, haunting, hear, heart-stopping, high, hit, homage, home website, John Williams, join, jovial, K, kids, know, Kochel, Larry Bevic, like, link, listener, live, live music, Madison Symphony Orchestra, mayor, member, Middleton, Middleton Community Orchestra, Middleton Performing Arts Center, Midwest, Midwestern, Mindy Taranto, minute, moment, movie, Mozart, musical, musical moment, new, New Music, New World Symphony, notes, noteworthy, occasion, official, opinion, Orchestra, original, outstanding, People, perfect, performer, piece, pitch, play, popular, post, posting, prayer, principal, proclamation, program, prominent, Pulse, quiet, raise, reader, real, rehearse, remeber, repetition, rich, right, right notes, San Francisco, score, Season, section, share, silence, Slow movement, small, soft, solo, soloist, Sound, star, Steve Kurr, string, string section, stroing, sublime, subscriber, suddenly, support, symphony, tag, talent, talented, Tempo, The Ear, think, tone, tribute, unforgettable, urge, warning, way, Website, whisper, wind section, winds, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, words, work, written, years, you, YouTube