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Classical music: Here are many more FREE online and streamed concerts to follow and listen to as you quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic

April 25, 2020
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By Jacob Stockinger

During the COVID-19 public health crisis and coronavirus pandemic, live streaming of concerts has taken off. It started with daily broadcasts of past productions by the Metropolitan Opera and the Berlin Philharmonic.

Local organizations have followed suit. They include the Madison Symphony Orchestra; the “couchertos” of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra; the twice weekly “tiny desk concerts” by the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society sent to email newsletter subscribers and other recorded audiovisual performances; and local recordings made by Rich Samuels and aired on WORT-FM 89.9.

Here is a compilation, from the British radio station Classic FM with many other FREE listings that also get updated: https://www.classicfm.com/music-news/live-streamed-classical-music-concerts-coronavirus/

Here is another listing of FREE live streams and archived performances from Minnesota Public Radio (MPR): https://www.classicalmpr.org/story/2020/03/16/free-online-classical-concerts

And below are several more that The Ear has checked out and recommends:

CARNEGIE HALL LIVE

Carnegie Hall (below), America’s premier concert venue, has started a series of live streams that include world music, jazz and of course classical music.

The format includes conversation and remarks from homes as well as first-rate live performances from the past. (You can also hear many of the concerts on radio station WQXR in New York City: https://www.wqxr.org)

This past week, The Ear heard an outstanding concert with three pianists, all of whom appeared in Madison last season: Emanuel Ax, who performed an all-Beethoven recital at the Wisconsin Union Theater, played the piano and acted as host; Orion Weiss, who performed a Mozart concerto with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra; and Shai Wosner, who gave a terrific master class and a memorable recital on the Salon Piano Series at Farley’s House of Pianos. If you missed it, it is still archived and accessible.

On this Thursday, April 30, at 1 p.m. CDT you can hear violinist Joshua Bell with pianist Jeremy Denk and cellist Steven Isserlis.

Here is a link: https://www.carnegiehall.org/Explore/Watch-and-Listen/Live-with-Carnegie-Hall?sourceCode=31887&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsYigzumB6QIVjIbACh061Qz2EAAYASABEgJE3fD_BwE

DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON

Deutsche Grammophon, the world oldest record label, which was established in 1898, has several online series of live streams and archived concerts.

They include “Moment Musical” (Musical Moment) by Daniel Barenboim and guest artists, broadcast from the Pierre Boulez Saal (concert hall) in Berlin.

Barenboim, who started as a child prodigy pianist and ended up being a world-class conductor who once headed the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, has done solo piano and chamber music concerts with the Piano Quintet and two solo pieces by Robert Schumann; the epic Diabelli Variations by Beethoven; and an all-Chopin program of encores. You can also find individual ones on YouTube.

Along more promotional lines, DG also offers a “Best of” series that features movements and excerpts from their newer recordings by some of the best known artists – including pianists Lang Lang, Danill Trifonov, Yuja Wang, Vikingur Olafsson, Jan Lisiecki and Seong-Jin Cho; conductors Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Andris Nelsons; opera singers Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanca.

Here is a link to DG’s homepage from where you can get to the various series: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC34DbNyD_0t8tnOc5V38Big

MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Closer to home, every Friday you can listen to weekly concerts by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra called “Musical Journeys.”

Performers include the MSO’s new music director Ken-David Masur as well as guest conductors like Jeffrey Kahane and the past conductor Edo de Waart.

You can hear the past five episodes, and join new ones. You can also hear past concerts by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (below) on Wisconsin Public Radio. Broadcast time is Sunday at 2 p.m.

Here is a link to Musical Journeys: https://www.mso.org/about/music/mso-musical-journeys-5/

VIOLINIST DANIEL HOPE AT HOME

British violinist Daniel Hope – who has performed with the Madison Symphony Orchestra — has been streaming chamber music concerts from the living room of his home in Berlin.

A prolific concert artist and 25 recordings and four Grammy Award nominations to his credit, Hope (below) has many invited guests and offers a wide range of repertoire.

Here is a link with past episodes. You can also click in upcoming episodes: https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/RC-019356/hope-home/

Are there other sites and streamed performances that you recommend?

Please leave the name and a link in the Comment section.

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: After 54 years at the UW-Madison, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) will move this fall to the new McFarland Performing Arts Center.

April 19, 2020
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By Jacob Stockinger

Starting this fall, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO, below) will have a new home for classes, rehearsals and performances.

The news of moving to the McFarland Performing Arts Center (below) is very good for WYSO. But The Ear feels sad to see the University of Wisconsin-Madison and WYSO parting ways after a partnership of 54 years.

It feels like the UW, a distinguished public institution, is backing away from the Wisconsin Idea of public service to the citizens who fund the university. It is embodied in the saying that “the boundaries of the university are the boundaries of the state.” (Editor’s note: For more about the Wisconsin Idea and its Progressive Era history, go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin_Idea)

It feels, in short, like a setback to community engagement by the UW-Madison and its Mead Witter School of Music, where WYSO once had offices and used Mills Concert Hall.

Be that as it may, here is a WYSO email newsletter’s account of what led up to the decision and move.

“The news from University of Wisconsin-Madison started trickling in a little at a time.

“First, Mills Hall (below), where WYSO had rehearsed almost every Saturday since the Humanities Building opened, was scheduled for transformation from a concert hall into a lecture hall. (You can see WYSO performing in Mills Hall in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

“Then the UW began to reconsider whether pre-college programs should actually share space with university departments.

“And there was the growth of WYSO itself — from one full orchestra to three, plus two string orchestras, a chamber music program (below top), a full array of ensembles, and the community-impact Music Makers (below bottom).

“Meanwhile, 12 minutes away, the town of McFarland opened an amazing 841-seat, state-of-the-art performing arts center (below).

“And incredibly, the adjacent middle school and high school campus (below) had enough parking and enough rehearsal space to accommodate the entire WYSO program with room to grow — all of the student musicians, all of the orchestras, and all rehearsing at the same time.

“In a unique move of creative place-making, McFarland’s School Superintendent Andrew Briddell reached out to WYSO and suggested all of the above opportunities, plus collaboration with the McFarland schools, staff and community, and the ability to build on the creative history of the town itself.

“Passionate about music and education, Andrew Briddell, earned a double major in music and English from Indiana University, a Master’s degree in bassoon from Temple University, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the UW-Madison.

“”A talented bassoon player, Briddell (below) played with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and was music director of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Birmingham.

“What a perfect match for this collaboration!

“It was an invitation too good to pass up. So starting in the fall of 2020, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras will be in residence at the new McFarland Performing Arts Center.”

To read more details about WYSO’s new home, including design and acoustics, go to: https://www.wysomusic.org/the-wyso-weekly-tune-up-april-17-2020-wysos-new-home/

What do you think about the new move WYSO?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AlabamaSymphonyOrchestra, #AndrewBriddell, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ConcertHall, #DoctoralDegree, #DoubleMajor, #EmailNewsletter, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #HarpEnsemble, #HighSchool, #HumanitiesBuilding, #IndianaUniversity, #JacobStockinger, #LectureHall, #Master'sDegree, #McFarlandHighSchool, #McFarlandPerformingArtsCenter, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiddleSchool, #MillsHall, #MosseHumanitiesBuilding, #MusicDirector, #MusicEducation, #MusicMakers, #PassUp, #PercussionEnsemble, #PerformingArts, #PerformingArtsCenter, #PublicService, #SchoolSuperintendent, #StringMusic, #StringOrchestra, #StudentMusicians, #SymphonyOrchestra, #TempleUniversity, #TheEar, #Wikipediabiography, #Wikipediaentry, #WisconsinIdea, #WisconsinYouthSymphonyOrchestras, #YouthSymphonyOrchestraofBirmingham, #YouTubevideo, ability, accomodate, account, acoustics, Alabama, analysis, Andrew Briddell, Arts, audience, bassoonist, Birmingham, blog, border, boundary, build, Campus, Chamber music, citizen, classes, Classical music, collaboration, community, Concert, concerto, concerto hall, creative, degree, department, design, detail, doctorate, double major, downtown, Education, educational, email, embody, English, ensemble, entire, Facebook, fall, forward, full, fund, good, grow, grown, high school, History, Home, humanities, humanities building, impact, Indiana University, institution, invitation, Jacob Stockinger, leadership, lecture hall, like, link, Madison, major, masters degree, match, McFarland, McFarland High School, McFarland Performing Arts Center, Mead Witter School of Music, Middle school, Mills Hall, Mosse Humanities Building, move, Music, Music director, Music education, Music Makers, new, newsletter, oepn, opportunities, Orchestra, PAC, parking, partnership, pass, pass up, percussion, perfect, perform, performance, performer, Performing arts, Performing Arts Center, Piano, player, policy, post, posting, pre-college, program, progressive, Progressive Era, public, public service, rehearsal, residence, room, saying, schedule, school, school superintendent, share, sharspace, space, staff\, state, state-of-the-art, string music, String Orchestra, student musicians, symphony, symphony orchestra, tag, talented, Temple University, The Ear, think, town, transformation, unique, United States, university, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, up, UW-Madison, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Idea, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, WYSO, years, Youth Symphony Orchestra of Birmingham, YouTube

Classical music: The Middleton Community Orchestra announces an ambitious 2020-21 season with new guest soloists and conductors, but with no Middleton venue

March 30, 2020
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By Jacob Stockinger

Amid all the concert cancellations due to COVID-19 comes good news.

The mostly amateur and critically acclaimed Middleton Community Orchestra (MCO, below) — which has canceled and postponed concerts for the remainder of this season — has announced its five-concert line-up for the 2020-21 season.

It is undeniably ambitious on several counts.

But unfortunately it usual venue — the Middleton Performing Arts Center that is attached to Middleton High School — will be undergoing renovations.

That means that the MCO will be using other venues besides its home base (below) for its 11th season.

The new venues include the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall (below) in the new Hamel Music Center, 740 University Ave., at the UW-Madison, which will host three of the concerts.

Also included for the other two concerts are the brand new McFarland Performing Arts Center (below) – where the MCO will give the center’s inaugural public concert on Oct. 7 — and Madison Memorial High School.

Concert dates and times are usually Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. They are Oct. 7, Dec. 16, Feb. 17, April 2 (Friday) and May 26. Admission will remain $15 with free admission for students. And, as usual, post-concert meet-and-greet receptions will be held at all performances.

The ambitious new season includes some familiar faces but also some new names.

On Oct. 7, pianist Thomas Kasdorf (below) will open the season by performing the Piano Concerto No. 2 by Rachmaninoff; and then, on May 26, he will close the season with the Piano Concerto No. 1 by Beethoven as the first installment of a complete cycle of Beethoven piano concertos.

On Oct. 7, UW professor and Pro Arte Quartet first violinist David Perry (below top) will make his MCO debut in the Violin Concerto No. 4 by Mozart; and on Dec. 16, Madison Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Naha Greenholtz (below bottom) will return to play the Violin Concerto by Brahms.

On April 2, the Festival Choir of Madison (below), under its director Sergei Pavlov, will makes its MCO debut in the movie-score cantata “Alexander Nevsky” by Prokofiev.

And the teenage winners of the second Youth Concerto Competition, to be held next December, will perform with the orchestra on Feb. 17.

The conductor for three concerts will be Kyle Knox, the music director of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) and associate conductor of the Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO).

A frequent MCO guest conductor, Knox has also agreed to become the ensemble’s new principal conductor and artistic adviser. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear Kyle Knox conducting the MCO last December in Wagner’s Overture to the opera “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” (The Master Singers of Nuremberg) at the UW’s Hamel Music Center.)

Two guest conductors will be making their MCO debuts: UW-Whitewater professor Christopher Ramaekers (below top) on Oct. 7 and Edgewood College professor Sergei Pavlov (below bottom) on April 2.

Some repertoire still hasn’t been decided. For up-to-date information, as well as information about how to audition for the MCO, how to subscribe to its email newsletter and how to support it, go to the newly redesigned website at: https://middletoncommunityorchestra.org

“We will also try to schedule the concert with this year’s Youth Concerto Competition winners for this summer, even if it means going to an outdoor venue,” says MCO co-founder and co-artistic director Mindy Taranto. The winners are: violinists Ava Kenny and Dexter Mott, and cellist Andrew Siehr.

Adds Taranto: “We are really excited about the lineup of guest soloists and new conductors, and are especially grateful to Kyle Knox for his continued association with us. We’re going to have a fantastic year.”

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: Here is a year-long list of concerts at the University of Wisconsin Mead Witter School of Music. They start Tuesday night with the 40th annual Karp Family Labor Day Concert

September 1, 2019
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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

Get out your datebooks and calendars.

Here is a complete listing for major concerts and events at the University of Wisconsin Mead Witter School of Music during the new 2019-20 season.

The calendar starts with the FREE season-opening 40th annual Karp Family Labor Day Concert this coming Tuesday night, Sept. 3, at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall. The program features chamber music by Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Dvorak. For more information about the program and performers, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/40th-karp-family-concert/

Using the search engine on this blog, you could also consult whenever individual or group you want. You could print it out and have it in hand instead of the usual brochure, which will not be printed this year. See a previous blog post: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2019/08/19/classical-music-the-uw-madison-school-of-music-will-not-have-a-complete-brochure-for-the-new-season-go-to-the-website-and-sign-up-for-an-email-newsletter-the-30th-karp-family-labor-day-concert-is-s/

Most concerts this season will take place in the new Hamel Music Center (below), which has a three-day opening celebration Oct. 25-27.

Please note that just a few programs are listed. For other programs, and for information about any admission charge, you can go to the School of Music’s home website closer to the event and click on Concerts and Events: https://www.music.wisc.edu/events/

Tuesday, Sep 3, 2019	Karp Family Concert	7:30 PM	Mills Hall
Sunday, September 29, 2019,	Jessica Martin & John O’Brien – Nordic song recital	4:00 PM	Morphy Hall
Monday, Sept. 30, 2019	Beth Wiese, Tuba, Guest Artist Recital	7:30 PM	Morphy Hall
Friday, October 4, 2019	Pro Arte Quartet	8:00 PM	Mills Hall
Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019	Chanticleer	7:30 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019	Wind Ensemble	7:30 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Friday, October 11, 2019	UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra	8:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Sunday, October 13, 2019	University Bands	2:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Tuesday, October 15, 2019	Contemporary Jazz & Blue Note Ensemble	7:30 PM	Collins Hall
Wednesday, October 16, 2019	Wisconsin Brass Quintet – Faculty Concert Series	7:30 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Thursday, October 17	Jazz Faculty Quintet with special guest Michael Dudley, trumpet	7:30 PM	Collins Hall
Monday, October 21, 2019	Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble and UW Jazz Orchestra	7:30 PM	Play Circle
Tuesday, October 22, 2019	Concert Band	7:30 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Wed, October 23, 2019	Jazz Composers Group & Jazz Standards	7:30 PM	Collins Hall
Thu, October 24, 2019	Parry Karp with Eli Kalman, piano	7:30 PM	Collins Hall
Friday, October 25, 2019	Opening Celebration Weekend: Hamel Music Center. Please check our website for details.	All Day	740 University Avenue
Saturday, October 26, 2019	Opening Celebration Weekend: Hamel Music Center. Please check our website for details.	All Day	740 University Avenue
Sunday, October 27, 2019	Opening Celebration Weekend: Hamel Music Center. Featured Event: Collins Fellows Concert	1:00 PM	Collins Recital Hall, Hamel Music Center
Wed, October 30, 2019	Master Class with Violist Nobuko Imai	6:30 PM	Collins Hall
Thu, October 31, 2019	Violist Nobuko Imai with Pro Arte Quartet	12:00 PM	Collins Hall
Fri, November 1, 2019	Madrigal Singers	8:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall

Sat, November 2, 2019	Alicia Lee, faculty clarinet	8:00 PM	Collins Hall
Sun, November 3, 2019	Wind Ensemble	2:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Fri, November 8, 2019	Wingra Wind Quintet	8:00 PM	Collins Hall
Sat, November 9, 2019	UW Chorale	8:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Thu, November 14, 2019	UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra	7:30 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Fri, November 15, 2019	University Opera: Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream	7:30 PM	Music Hall
Sun, November 17, 2019	University Opera: Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream	2:00 PM	Music Hall
Tue, November 19, 2019	University Opera: Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream	7:30 PM	Music Hall
Sat, November 16, 2019	Low Brass Ensemble	4:00 PM	Collins Hall
Sat, November 16, 2019	Combined Choirs	8:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Sat, November 16, 2019	Timothy Hagen, faculty flute	8:00 PM	Collins Hall
Fri, November 22, 2019	UW Concert Choir	8:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Fri, November 22, 2019	Pro Arte Quartet	8:00 PM	Collins Hall
Fri, November 22, 2019	UW Jazz Orchestra	5:00-7:00 PM	Rathskeller
Saturday, Nov 23, 2019	Undergrad Audition Day	All day
Sat, November 23, 2019	World Percussion Ensemble	12:00 PM	Music Hall
Sat, November 23, 2019	Brass Ensembles	1:00 PM	??
Sun, November 24, 2019	UW Concert Band with Winds of Wisconsin	5:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Mon, November 25, 2019	Chamber Percussion Ensemble	7:30 PM	Mills Hall
Tue, November 26, 2019	Opera Scenes	7:30 PM	Music Hall
Mon, December 2, 2019	Piano Studio Recital	6:30 PM	Collins Hall
Tue, December 3, 2019	Jazz Composers & Contemporary Jazz Ensembles	7:30 PM	Collins Hall
Wed, December 4, 2019	Jazz Standards Ensemble & Afro-Cuban Jazz	7:30 PM	Collins Hall

Thu, December 5, 2019	UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra & UW Wind Ensemble	7:30 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Fri, December 6, 2019	Saxophonist Greg Ward with the Blue Note Ensemble and UW jazz faculty	8:00 PM	Collins Hall
Sat, December 7, 2019	UW & Madison Metropolitan Jazz Festival	Final Concert, 3:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Sat, December 7, 2019	Choral Union: Ralph Vaughan Williams’s “A Sea Symphony”	8:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Sun, December 8, 2019	University Bands	2:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Sun, December 8, 2019	Choral Concerts at Luther Memorial Church	2:00 PM	Luther Memorial Church
Sun, December 8, 2019	Choral Concerts at Luther Memorial Church	4:00 PM	Luther Memorial Church
Sun, December 8, 2019	All-University Strings	4:30 PM	Mead Witter Hall
BEGIN 2020
Sun, January 26, 2020	Annual Schubertiade	3:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Sat, February 1, 2020	Christopher Taylor and Friends — Beethoven Symphony Extravaganza	8:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Wed, February 5, 2020	Daniel Grabois, horn	7:30 PM	Collins Hall
Thu, February 6, 2020	UW Symphony Orchestra	7:30 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Sat, February 8, 2020	The Knights	8:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Sun, February 16, 2020	UW Wind Ensemble	2:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Monday, February 17, 2020	Chamber Percussion Ensemble	7:30 PM	Mills Hall
Tue, February 18, 2020	Concert Band	7:30 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Thu, February 20, 2020	Parry Karp, faculty recital	7:30 PM	Collins Hall
Fri, February 21, 2020	Marc Vallon & Friends	8:00 PM	Collins Hall

Sunday, Feb 23, 2020	Les Thimmig, faculty recital	2:00 PM	Collins Hall
Sat, April 18, 2020	Low Brass Ensemble	4:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Fri, February 28, 2020	Pro Arte Quartet	8:00 PM	Collins Hall

Sat, February 29, 2020	Wingra Wind Quintet	8:00 PM	Collins Hall
Fri, February 28, 2020,	University Opera – Mozart’s Così fan tutte	7:30 PM	Music Hall
Sun, March 1, 2020	University Opera – Mozart’s Così fan tutte	2:00 PM	Music Hall
Tue, March 3, 2020	University Opera – Mozart’s Così fan tutte	7:30 PM	Music Hall
Sun, March 1, 2020	Winds of Wisconsin	5:30 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Wed, March 4, 2020	Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble & Jazz Composers Group	7:30	Collins Hall
Thu, March 5, 2020	Blue Note Ensemble & Jazz Standards Ensemble	7:30 PM	Collins Hall
Sat, March 7, 2020	UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra with guest pianist Wu Han	8:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Sun, March 8, 2020	University Bands	2:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Tue, March 10, 2020	Percussion Department Recital	7:30 PM	Collins Hall
Weds March 11, 2020	UW Jazz Orchestra	7:30 PM	Play Circle
Wednesday, March 11, 2020	Wisconsin Brass Quintet – Faculty Concert Series	8:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Thu, March 12, 2020	UW Wind Ensemble	7:30 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Fri, March 27, 2020	Le Domaine Musicale with Marc Vallon and Friends	8:00 PM	Collins Hall
Sun, March 29, 2020	Concert Band	2:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Sun, April 5, 2020	Beethoven Competition Winners’ Recital	3:30 PM	Collins Hall
Sun, April 5, 2020	“Symphony Showcase” Concerto Winners’ Solo Concert	7:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Sat, April 11, 2020	Chorale	8:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Fri, April 12, 2019	Perlman Trio Chamber Concert	3:00 PM	Collins Hall
Tue, April 14, 2020	Opera Scenes	7:30 PM	Music Hall
Wed, April 15, 2020	Contested Homes: Migrant Liberation Movement Suite	7:30 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Thu, April 16, 2020	Pro Arte Quartet	7:30 PM	Collins Hall
Fri, April 17, 2020	Combined Choirs	8:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Sat, April 18, 2020	Low Brass Ensemble	4:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Sat, April 18, 2020	UW-Madison Choral Reunion concert featuring Concert Choir, Madrigals and alumni	8:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall

Mon, April 20, 2020	Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble & Blue Note Ensemble	7:30 PM	Collins Hall
Tue, April 21, 2020	Jazz Standards Ensemble & Jazz Composers Group	7:30 PM	Collins Hall
Wed, April 22, 2020	Chamber Percussion Ensemble	7:30 PM	Mills Hall
Thu, April 23, 2020	UW Jazz Orchestra with the UW Honors Jazz Band	7:30 PM	Music Hall
Fri, April 24, 2020	Concert Band and Wind Ensemble	7:30 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Sat, April 25, 2020	All-University Strings	2:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Sat, April 25, 2020	Choral Union: Giuseppe Verdi’s “Requiem”	8:00 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Sun, April 26, 2020	Choral Union: Giuseppe Verdi’s “Requiem”	7:30 PM	Mead Witter Hall
Sun, April 26, 2020	University Bands	2 PM	Mead Witter Hall

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: The Well-Tempered Ear turns 10 today. Changes are probably in store. What do you like and dislike? What changes would you like to see or not to see?

August 20, 2019
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By Jacob Stockinger

Today – August 20, 2019 – The Well-Tempered Ear turns 10 years old.

To keep it interesting, entertaining, relevant and useful, but also to offer an easier workload for something that is a hobby, some changes are probably in store and maybe even needed.

For example, the “You Must Hear This” postings that offer pieces of classical music or stories about national and international issues often generate more traffic than local events.

And even with 2.1 million hits, subscriptions seem to have plateaued.

Perhaps all that is because, even with the explosion in classical music over the past decade, many individuals and groups now have their own websites and email newsletters.

But The Ear wants to know what you think.

What would make you and others read the blog more and pass it along?

What do you like or dislike?

Should it even continue?

What changes, if any, would you like to see – or not to see?

Whatever you decide and share, thank you for 10 years of loyal reading, positive reactions and many, many comments.

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
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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

August 19, 2019
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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/

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: Acclaimed pianist Ya-Fei Chuang plays works by Schubert, Liszt and Ravel this Saturday night at Farley’s House of Pianos

April 4, 2019
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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 critically acclaimed pianist Ya-Fei Chuang (below) will return to Madison this weekend to perform a solo recital and give a master class for the Salon Piano Series at Farley’s House of Pianos, 6522 Seybold Road, on Madison’s far west side near West Towne Mall.

Advance tickets are $45 (students $10) or $50 at the door

You can purchase tickets at: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3499200

Service fees may apply. Tickets are also for sale at Farley’s House of Pianos by calling 608 271-2626. Student tickets can only be purchased online and are not available the day of the event.

An artist’s reception will follow the concert.

For more information, go to: https://salonpianoseries.org

RECITAL

The recital by Chuang, who appears at festivals and concert halls around the world, is this Saturday night, April 6, 7:30 p.m. at Farley’s House of Pianos.

She comes with high praise from the famed Alfred Brendel, who said: “If you want to listen to Chopin and Liszt with different ears, Ya-Fei Chuang’s ecstatic performances cannot leave you cold, and her pianism is staggering.”

The program will include:

Maurice Ravel – Sonatine (1905) – Moderate; Menuet; Animated

Franz Schubert – “Moments Musicaux” (Musical Moments), D. 780/Op. 94

No. 2 in A-flat Major (1827); No. 3 in F Minor (1823) – played by Vladimir Horowitz in the YouTube video at the bottom; No. 6 in A-flat Major (1824)

Franz Liszt – “Reminiscences of Bellini’s ‘Norma,’” S. 394 (1831)

INTERMISSION

Maurice Ravel – “Jeux d’eau” (Fountain, or Play of Water) (1901)

Franz Liszt – “Reminiscences of Mozart’s ‘Don Juan,’” S. 418 (1841)

MASTER CLASS

On this Sunday afternoon, April 7, at 2 p.m., Ya-Fei Chuang will teach a master class at Farley’s House of Pianos, where she will instruct local students.

This is a FREE event that the public is invited to observe.

The master class program will include:

Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor (”Pathetique”), Op. 13, Third Movement; performed by Angelina Chang whose teacher is Julie Chang
Franz Liszt – “Liebestraum” (Dream of Love) No. 3 in A-flat Major “Notturno” (Nocturne); performed by Antonio Wu whose teacher is Shu-Ching Chuang
Sergei Rachmaninov – Prelude Op. 3 No. 2, in C-sharp Minor; performed by Alexander Henderson whose teacher is Vlada Henderson

The master classes for the 2018-19 season are supported by the law firm of Boardman and Clark LLP.

This concert is supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional support from Jun and Sandra Lee.

Another year of exceptional artists is planned for the 2019-20 season. Subscribe to the series’ e-newsletter, and check the website and social media sites Instagram and Facebook for the season announcement in June.

For more information, go to: https://salonpianoseries.org

To become a sponsor of Salon Piano Series, contact Renee Farley. Salon Piano Series is a nonprofit organization founded to continue the tradition of intimate salon concerts, including solo recitals and chamber music with piano, featuring exceptional artists.

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: Prize-winning composer John Harbison has turned 80. In February, Madison will see many celebrations of his birthday, starting this Friday night with the Imani Winds

January 30, 2019
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By Jacob Stockinger

This Friday night, Feb. 1, a month-long celebration in Madison of the 80th birthday of critically acclaimed and prize-winning composer John Harbison (below) gets underway.

The festivities start with a concert by the Grammy-nominated Imani Winds (below), which will perform this Friday night at 7:30 p.m. – with a pre-concert lecture at 6 p.m. — in Shannon Hall at the Wisconsin Union Theater. The program includes Harbison’s popular Wind Quintet.

Here is a link with more information about the group, the program and tickets: https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/imani-winds/

Among America’s most distinguished artistic figures, Harbison is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, among them a MacArthur ”genius grant’ and a Pulitzer Prize. His work encompasses all genres, from chamber music to opera, sacred to secular. (You can hear Harbison discuss his approach to composing in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

He has composed for most of America’s premiere musical institutions, including the Metropolitan Opera, the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle and New York; and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.

Institute Professor at MIT, Harbison serves as composer, conductor, performer, teacher and scholar. He divides his time between Cambridge, Mass., and Token Creek, Wis., where he co-founded and co-directs a summer chamber music festival with his violinist wife Rose Mary Harbison.

Other local birthday events include a performance by the Madison Symphony Orchestra; several chamber music and choral concerts at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, including one by the Mosaic Chamber Players; an exhibition of books and manuscripts at the Mills Music Library at UW-Madison’s Memorial Library.

There are also several concerts, including the world premiere of a new Sonata for Viola, and a composer residency at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music; and the world premiere of a new motet by the Madison Choral Project.

Harbison will also be featured in radio interviews and broadcast retrospectives by both Wisconsin Public Radio and WORT community radio.

National and international celebrations include other world premieres of commissions, many new recordings and the publication of Harbison’s autobiographical book about Johann Sebastian Bach, “What Do We Make of Bach?”

For more details about the many local celebrations, you can go to the following two links. Schedules, programs and updates – events are subject to change — will be posted at www.tokencreekfestival.org and www.johnharbison.com.

To receive “Harbison Occasions,” an intermittent e-newsletter, write to arsnova.artsmanagement@gmail.com

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: The new FREE concert brochure for the UW-Madison’s music school is both entertaining and informative — it’s a MUST-GET, MUST-READ and MUST-USE

September 15, 2018
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By Jacob Stockinger

The new 2018-19 concert season has started. And the Internet makes it very easy to take out your date book and plan out what you want to attend.

If you just use Google to go to home websites, you will find lots of information about the dates and times of performances; cost of tickets; works on the program; biographies of performers; and even notes about the pieces.

That is true for all large and small presenters, including the biggest presenter of all for live classical music events: The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music. Just click on the Events Calendar when you go to http://www.music.wisc.edu

You can also subscribe to an email newsletter by sending an email to: join-somnews@lists.wisc.edu

And you can also download the helpful mobile app for your smart phone that gives you what is happening today with searches possible for other months and days.

But there is something more old-fashioned that you should not forego: the printed season brochure (below).

It is 8-1/2 by 11 inches big and has 24 pages, and it features numerous color photographs. Along the right hand edge is an easy-to-use calendar of major events for the month.

It is a fun and informative read that gives you even more respect for the School of Music than you already had because it contains a lot of background and human interest stories about students, faculty members, guest artists, alumni and supporters. Editor and Concert Manager Katherine Esposito and her staff of writers and photographers have done an outstanding job.

The brochure also has a lot of news, including updates about the new Hamel Music Center that is being built on the corner of Lake Street and University Avenue and will open in 2019, and about the seat-naming, fundraising campaign ($1,500-plus) that is being used for the new performance center.

A particularly useful page (23) gives you information about ordering tickets (many have increased to $17 this year) either in advance or at the door (for the latter you are asked to show up 30 minutes early to avoid long lines); about finding parking, both free and paid; and about making special arrangements for disability access.

In larger and bolder type, the brochure tells you about stand-out special events: the 100th birthday tribute to Leonard Bernstein being held tonight (Saturday, Sept. 15) at 8 p.m. in Mills Hall; the fifth annual Brass Fest on Sept. 28 and 29; the University Opera’s production of Monteverdi’s “The Coronation of Poppea” on Nov. 16, 18 and 20; the annual Schubertiade on Jan. 27; the world premiere of a viola sonata by John Harbison on Feb. 17; the Choral Union’s joint performance with the Madison Symphony Orchestra of Mahler’s “Symphony of a Thousand” (Symphony No. 8) on May 3, 4 and 5; and much, much more.

In short, the brochure is an impressive publication that also provides many hours of enjoyable browsing while you educate yourself about the state of music education at the UW-Madison.

The only major shortcoming The Ear perceives is that lack of specific programs by some individuals and groups that must surely know what they are going to perform this season but apparently didn’t report it. Maybe that can be remedied, at least in part, next year.

Still, the brochure is successful and popular, which is why the UW sent out 13,000 copies – up from 8,000 last year. If you want to get one, they will be available at concerts until supplies run out. You can also order one to be mailed to you by emailing music@music.wisc.edu

Do you have the UW music brochure?

What do you think of it?

Do you find it useful? Enjoyable?

What do you suggest to improve the brochure, either by adding something or deleting something or doing it differently?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AcademicCalendar, #BrassFest, #BrassMusic, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ClaudioMonteverdi, #ConcertManager, #ConcertSeason, #EventsCalendar, #FacultyMember, #FranzSchubert, #FreeParking, #FundraisingCampaign, #GuestArtist, #GustavMahler, #HomeWebpage, #HomeWebsite, #HumanInterest, #JohnHarbison, #LeonardBernstein, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MobileApp, #MusicEducation, #MusicPresenter, #MusicSchool, #MusicStudent, #NamingRights, #NewMusic, #Old-fashioned, #SeasonBrochure, #SmartPhone, #SymphonyofaThousand, #TheCoronationofPoppea, #TheInternet, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityOpera, #UWChoralUnion, #ViolaSonata, #WorldPremiere, access, accommodation, alumni, Arts, Bach, background, Baroque, Beethoven, Bernstein, biographies, biography, birthday, brochure, calendar, campaign, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, Choral Union, Classical music, classicalmusic, composer, concert season, concerto, conductor, cost, day, disability, donor, Early music, editor, email, enjoyable, event, events, faculty, Franz Schubert, free, fun, Fundraising, Google, human interest, information, informative, Internet, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Harbison, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Mahler, Mead Witter School of Music, member, Mobile app, Monteverdi, month, Music education, New Music, newsletter, notes, opera, Orchestra, Overture Center, paid, parking, performance, Piano, piece, popular, presenter, printed, program, Schubertiade, seat, smart phone, Sonata, story, Student, subscribe, subscription, successful, supporter, symphony, Symphony of a Thousand, The Coronation of Poppea, ticket, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, useful, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Website, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, work, world premiere

Classical music: Kyle Knox is the new music director of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras

April 29, 2018
1 Comment

By Jacob Stockinger

Kyle Knox has been named the new music director of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO).

Knox (below), who was a clarinetist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras and then studied conducting as a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, will assume his duties on July 1.

Knox, will also conduct the Youth Orchestra (below), the most senior performing group in WYSO.

The move is likely to please many disappointed fans of Knox, who has won praise for conducting the UW Symphony Orchestra, the Madison Opera, the University Opera and the Middleton Community Orchestra but who was passed over as the successor to UW Professor James Smith (below) when Smith retired.

Smith was also the acclaimed longtime music director of WYSO. For the past year Randal Swiggum (below), the music director of the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, has been the interim music director of WYSO and conductor of the Youth Orchestra.

In the latest WYSO newsletter, Knox, a longtime Madison resident who is married to Madison Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Naha Greenholtz, writes:

“I am so looking forward to my first year as Music Director at WYSO, beginning July 1, 1918. Even in the short time I’ve spent at Saturday rehearsals, it is clear this is a first-rate youth orchestra program. Top to bottom, each ensemble offers a special opportunity for music-making and artistic growth. I am lucky to be joining such a vibrant artistic and administrative team.

“Our 2018-2019 season will feature great orchestral and chamber works from all eras. In addition to our stellar roster of sectional and chamber music coaches, the students may have the opportunity to work with world-class guest artists and soloists. It should be an exciting season of music-making.

“As a teenager, music had a transformational effect on my life. I owe much of my personal and professional development to my time playing in youth orchestra and the many wonderful teachers I met as a result.

“Even now, almost 20 years later, the relationships I formed during those years continue to be among the most meaningful in my life. Something about sharing a stage with other people, working toward a collective goal, leaves a special imprint on my mind. (Below is Kyle Knox conducting the UW Symphony Orchestra.)

“For the students, I hope that your time at WYSO is enriching and helps add meaning to your lives, both as artists and people. It is an honor for me to be a small part of that journey.

“I look forward to getting to know everyone in the WYSO family over the coming months.”

For more background and information about WYSO, which is more than 50 years old and has reached thousands of students from more than a hundred communities in south-central Wisconsin, and about the upcoming spring concerts in May, go to:

https://www.wysomusic.org

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #BrassMusic, #ClarinetMusic, #ElginYouthSymphonyOrchestra, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #MilwaukeeSymphonyOrchestra, #MusicDirector, #MusicEducation, #NahaGreenholtz, #OperaMusic, #RandalSwiggum, #StringMusic, #StringQuartet, #UniversityOpera, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #WisconsinYouthSymphonyOrchestras, 2018, 2019, administrative, artistic, Arts, Baroque, Beethoven, brass, Cello, Chamber music, clarinetist, Classical music, communities, composer, Concert, concerto, doctoral, doctorate, graduate student, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marriage, Middleton Community Orchestra, Mozart, Music, Music director, Music education, newsletter, opera, Orchestra, Piano, rehearsal, relationship, resident, Season, Student, symphony, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, Viola, Violin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, WYSO, Youth Orchestra

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