The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: University Opera announces a new season that is politically and socially relevant to today. The two shows are a virtual revue of Marc Blitzstein and a live operatic version of “The Crucible.”
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By Jacob Stockinger
David Ronis (below), the director of the University Opera at the UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music, has posted the following notice about its upcoming season on social media.
The award-winning Ronis is known for being creative both in programming and staging. The new season is yet another example of that. It features one virtual original production about an American composer to see and hear online, and two live performances of a mid-20th century American opera.
Both works seem especially pertinent and cautionary, given the times we currently live in in the U.S.
Here are the details:
FINALLY!!!
Things have fallen into place for the University Opera 2020-21 season and we are happy to announce our productions:
“I Wish It So: Marc Blitzstein — the Man in His Music”
“A biographical pastiche featuring songs and ensembles from Marc Blitzstein’s shows, spoken excerpts from his letters and working notes, and a narration.
“Oct. 23, 2020
8 p.m. Video Release
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“The Crucible” (1961)
Music by Robert Ward
Libretto by Bernard Stambler
Based on the 1953 play by Arthur Miller
March 19 and 21, 2021
Shannon Hall, Wisconsin Union Theater
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We will post more information as we get it. For now, we are very excited about both projects! Stay tuned.”
(Editor’s note: To stay tuned, go to: https://www.facebook.com/UniversityOpera/)
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And what does The Ear think?
The revue of Marc Blitzstein seems a perfect choice for Madison since his papers and manuscripts are located at the Wisconsin Historical Society. For details, go to: http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=wiarchives;view=reslist;subview=standard;didno=uw-whs-us0035an
Focusing on Blitzstein (1905-1964) also seems an especially politically relevant choice since he was a pro-labor union activist whose “The Cradle Will Rock, directed by Orson Welles,” was shut down by the Works Progress Administration of the federal government.
For more about Blitzstein (below in 1938) and his career, go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Blitzstein
“The Crucible” also seems an especially timely choice. In its day the original play about the Salem witch trials was seen as a historical parable and parallel of McCarthyism and the Republican witch hunt for Communists.
Read about the Salem witch trials here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials
Now that we are seeing a time when Democrats and others with progressive ideas are accused of being radical leftists, socialists and destructive revolutionaries, its relevance has come round again. Like McCarthy, President Donald Trump relies on winning elections by generating fear and denigrating opponents.
For more about the operatic version of “The Crucible” (below, in a production at the University of Northern Iowa) — which was commissioned by the New York City Opera and won both a Pulitzer Prize and the New York Music Critics Circle Award in 1962 — go to this Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crucible_(opera)
You can hear the musically accessible opening and John’s aria, from Act II, in the YouTube video at the bottom. For more about composer Robert Ward (1917-2013, below), go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ward_(composer)
What do you think of the new University Opera season?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Classical music: This week features FREE music for horn, violin, flute and voice at the UW-Madison
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By Jacob Stockinger
This will be a busy week at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, with a lot of FREE concerts and special events happening especially on SUNDAY.
Here is a schedule:
WEDNESDAY
This Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, Daniel Grabois — UW-Madison professor of horn and director of the Electro-Acoustic Research Space (EARS) – will be joined by several other faculty members for a FREE concert of trio music by Dana Wilson, Heinrich von Herzogenberg and John Harbison (his “Twilight Music,” which you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
For a complete list of performers and the full program, go to:
https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/faculty-recital-daniel-grabois-horn/
For information about Daniel Grabois (below, in a photo by James Gill), go to:
https://www.music.wisc.edu/faculty/daniel-grabois/
SUNDAY
Starting on Sunday at 11 a.m., the UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music will host Flute Day, in which middle school and high school students are invited to participate.
There will also be a FREE public concert at 5 p.m. with guest flutist George Pope (below top) and UW-Madison faculty flutist Timothy Hagen (below bottom), who is a member of the Wingra Wind Quintet. The UW-Madison Flute Ensemble will also perform. No word on the program, sorry.
To register and find out more information about workshops and master classes, go to:
https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/flute-day/
On Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall a FREE recital of songs by Jean Sibelius and Edvard Grieg will be performed by soprano Anna Hersey (below), who teaches at UW-Oshkosh and specializes in Scandinavian songs, and pianist Alan Johnson.
https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/guest-artists-anna-hersey-soprano-alan-johnson-piano/
On Sunday at 7:30 p.m. in Morphy Hall, guest violinist Blaise Magniere, who was a founding member of the Avalon String Quartet and who teaches at Northern Illinois University, (below) will perform a recital of solo violin music by Johann Sebastian Bach. He will also hold a free and open master class on MONDAY morning at 9 a.m. in Morphy Hall.
For the full program, go to:
https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/guest-recital-blaise-magniere-violin/
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Classical music: The Galena String Quartet reunites for a FREE chamber music concert of Beethoven, Brahms and Dohnanyi this coming Monday night on the UW-Madison campus.
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By Jacob Stockinger
A friend, violinist Kangwon Kim, who plays with the Madison Bach Musicians and the Madison Early Music Festival as well as for other groups and events, writes:
“Dear Jake,
I am having a reunion concert with the quartet members from 13-14 years ago (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot), who made up the Galena Quartet in 2001. Its members (from the left) included violist Allyson Fleck, violinist Allison Ostrander (Jones), cellist Karl Knapp and violinist Kangwon Kim.
The FREE concert is this coming Monday night, Sept. 15, at 7:30 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall on the campus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music.
The program includes string trios by Ludwig van Beethoven and Ernö von Dohnányi as well as the Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, by Johannes Brahms with guest pianist SeungWha Baek (below, in a performance at Northern Illinois University). You can hear the appealing Hungarian Gypsy Rondo finale from the Brahms Piano Quartet at the bottom in a popular YouTube performance with violinist Isaac Stern, violist Jaime Laredo, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Emanuel Ax.
Everything in the program, plus background information about the quartet and the players, is on the following website.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music | Galena Quartet Alumni Reunion Concert
The Galena String Quartet was formed in the Fall of 2001 as the graduate string quartet-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Besides performing as the resident quartet for the “Up Close and Musical” program through the Madison Symphony and visiting numerous elementary schools in the Madison area, the quartet performed at the Governor’s mansion, Stoughton Opera House, Fredric March Play Circle at the Memorial Union, and the Colony House in Mountain Lake, Florida. It was also a semi-finalist at the Fischoff chamber music competition.
The members are thrilled to perform this “reunion” concert after pursuing their separate musical careers during the past 10 years, and are grateful to the pianist SeungWha Baek for joining them for this concert. Below are violinist Allyson Fleck (below top) and cellist Karl Knapp (middle) and Kangwon Kim (bottom).
If you could include the announcement sometime in your blog, I would be grateful!!
Tags: Arts, Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, Early music, Emanuel Ax, Erno von Dohnanyi, First Unitarian Society of Madison, Galena, Galena String Quartet, gypsy rondo, Isaac Stern, Jacob Stockinger, Jaime Laredo, Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Music, Northern Illinois University, Piano, Piano Quartet, Stoughton Opera House, String quartet, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, Yo-Yo Ma, YouTube
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The Well-Tempered Ear 
