The Well-Tempered Ear
The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra starts its four-concert Winter Chamber Series TONIGHT at 7:30. Tickets are $30 for one-time access from Friday night to Monday night
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
The new semester of virtual online concerts begins tonight with the inauguration of the Winter Chamber Series by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (WCO, below in a photo by Mike Gorski).
Tonight’s program features music by Giovanni Gabrieli, Valerie Coleman, Alec Wilder, Craig Russell and Franz Schubert. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear the first movement of the Schubert Cello Quintet, played by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.)
The programs are short and feature classic works as well as new music and neglected composers. Often single movements or excerpts rather than complete works are performed.
Concerts all debut on Fridays and remain available through Monday night. Debut dates are TONIGHT, Jan. 22; Feb. 26; March 26; and April 16. A ticket entitles the purchaser to one viewing.
Here is a description of the chamber music series from the WCO:
“While full orchestras remain sidelined, the WCO is excited to present the Winter Chamber Series. This new series will feature chamber works for multiple ensembles ranging from trios to octets, showcasing the versatility and caliber of the WCO’s 34 world-class musicians.
“Patrons will enjoy the four-concert series in the comfort of their own home, streaming each concert on WCO Live on-demand starting at 7:30 p.m. on the evening of the concert launch.
“All programs will be 60–75 minutes in length, with not only music but also stories from the WCO’s own musicians on their journey to becoming professional musicians.
“Also included is a pre-concert talk with maestro Andrew Sewell and Norman Gilliland, as well as a post-concert reflection with musicians of the WCO.”
Here is a link to the concerts, with programs plus notes by music director and conductor Sewell (below in a photo by Alex Cruz) as well as a link to purchase tickets from the Overture Center box office: https://wcoconcerts.org/concerts-tickets/winter-chamber-series
In addition, the WCO has started a musician’s relief fund. It seeks donations to pay musicians for the wages they have lost due to postponed or canceled concerts.
Here is a link: https://wcoconcerts.org/support/donate
Tags: #AlecWilder, #AndrewSewell, #ArtsPatron, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #BrassMusic, #CelloMusic, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberMusicSocietyofLIncolnCenter, #ConcertSeries, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #CraigRussell, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FranzSchubert, #Fridaynight, #GiovanniGabrieli, #JacobStockinger, #LincolnCenter, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Mondaynight, #MusicalExcerpt, #MusicDirector, #NeglectedComposers, #NewMusic, #NormanGilliland, #OnlineConcert, #OvertureCenter, #Pre-concertTalk, #ProfessionalMusician, #ProgramNotes, #StringMusic, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #TheInauguration, #TheUW, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ValerieColeman, #ViolinMusic, #VirtualConcert, #WindMusic, #WinterChamberSeries, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #YouTubevideo, Alec Wilder, Andrew Sewell, Arts, audience, available, become, biography, blog, box office, brass music, calibre, canceled, cellist, Cello, cello music, Chamber music, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, classic, Classical music, Coleman, comfort, complete, composer, Concert, concert series, conductor, coronavirus, Craig Russell, debut, donation, donor, Early music, ensemble, excerpt, excite, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, flute, forward, Franz Schubert, Friday, full, fund, Gabrieli, Giovanni Gabrieli, hearing, Home, Horn, host, inauguration, Jacob Stockinger, journey, length, like, Lincoln, LIncoln Center, link, listener, lost, Madison, Mead Witter School of Music, minute, minutes, Monday, movement, multiple, Music, Music director, musicians, neglected composers, new, New Music, night, Norman Gilliland, notes, Octet, one, online, Orchestra, Overture Center, pandemic, patron, post, post-concert, posting, postponed, pre-cocert, pre-concert, professional, program, program notes, purchase, purchaser, reflection, relief, remain, Russell, Schubert, semester, share, short, sidelined, single, stories, story, stream, string music, String quartet, symphony, tag, talk, The Ear, ticket, tickets, time, tonight, trio, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, UW-Madsion, VALERIE COLEMAN, versatility, Viola, viola music, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, WCO, Wilder, wind music, winter chamber music, Winter Chamber Series, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wisconsin public radio, YouTube
The New York Times music critics suggest 10 must-hear online classical concerts during December
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
Tomorrow is Dec. 1, 2020.
Lately, at the end of every month the music critics for The New York Times publish a list of 10 virtual and online classical concerts for the following month that they think deserve special attention.
Often – but not always — their choices feature the unusual: new music and world premieres; neglected repertoire; and lesser-known performers that most of us are not likely to hear locally.
The December choices, for example, include an oratorio “Perle Noire” (Black Pearl), by composer Tyshawn Sorey, about the famous African-American, Paris-based expat dancer Josephine Baker – she of the banana skirt (below). But she was more than just a risqué dancer and entertainer. She fought in the French Resistance movement against the Nazis and was a civil rights champion.
But this list also includes seasonal fare such the holiday tradition by which the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center performs in one night all six Brandenburg Concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach (you can hear an excerpt in the YouTube video at the bottom); and other holiday celebrations such as a concert by the early music vocal group Tenet (below, in a photo by Nan Melville.)
But those suggestions do not take away from more local efforts and performances.
The Ear is certain that those same critics would approve of supporting local musicians and music groups during the coronavirus pandemic.
And there are many local offerings. The Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Union Theater, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, the Madison Bach Musicians and Just Bach all have virtual online concerts scheduled for December.
You can check out their offerings at their websites and here on this blog as the month unfolds.
But if the Times’ choices interest you – and they should — here is a link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/arts/music/classical-music-stream-december.html
Note that the blurbs show Eastern Time but also include how long the performances are posted for and links to the organizations presenting the concerts.
Happy listening!
And Happy Holidays!
Do you have other online performances – local, regional, national or international — to suggest?
Please leave the necessary information in the Comment section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AmericanJazz, #AmericanSymphonyOrchestra, #AntoninDvorak, #AristoSham, #BaroqueMusic, #BlackPearl, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrandenburgConcerto, #CarlVine, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberMusicSocietyofLIncolnCenter, #CivilRights, #ClaudeDebussy, #ConradTao, #CoronavirusPandemic, #CreaturesofPromethus, #CurtisInstitute, #DoverQuartet, #DukeEllington, #EasternTime, #ElliottCarter, #Esa-PekkaSalonen, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FredericChopin, #FrenchResistance, #GerardMcBurney, #GyorgyLigeti, #HolidayMusic, #HolidayTradition, #HomeWebsite, #IntenrationalContemporaryEnsemble, #JACKQuartet, #JacobStockinger, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JosephineBaker, #JuliaBullock, #JustBach, #LeonBotstein, #LocalMusicians, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonBachMusicians, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarcusRoberts, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MetropolitanMuseumofArt, #MoonlightSonata, #MusicCritic, #NateWooley, #NeglectedComposers, #NeglectedMusic, #NeglectedRepertoire, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #OnlineConcert, #ParisFrance, #PerleNoire, #PhilharmoniaOrchestra, #PianoMusic, #PianoSonata, #RuthCrawfirdSeeger, #SaadHaddad, #SeasonalMusic, #SopranoSinger, #StephenFry, #StringQuartet, #TakaKigawa, #TheEar, #TheNewYorkTImes, #TheUW, #ToruTakemitsu, #TyshawnSorey, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VirtualConcert, #VocalGroup, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WorldPremiere, #YouTubevideo, African American, African-Amercican, always, American Symphony Orchestra, animation, Antonín Dvořák, approve, Aristo Sham, Arts, audience, Bach, baker, Ballade, ballet, banana, Baroque, Baroque music, Beethoven, black, Black Pearl, blog, blurb, Brahms, Brandenburg Concerto, Carl Vine, celebration, certain, Chamber music, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, champion, choice, Chopin, choral music, civil rights, Classical music, Claude Debussy, composer, composers, Concert, concerto, conductor, Conrad Tao, coronavirus, Creatures of Prometheus, Curtis Institute, dancer, Debussy, December, Dover Quartet, duet, Duke Ellington, duo, Dvorak, Early music, earlymusic, Eastern time, efforts, Elliott Carter, entertainer, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Estampes, ex-pat, excerpt, Facebook, famous, fare, forward, France, Franz Joseph Haydn, Frédéric Chopin, French Resistance, Gerard McBurney, György Ligeti, Happy Holidays, happy', Haydn, hear, Holiday, holiday tradition, home website, images, information, instrumental, international, International Contemporary Ensemble, JACK Quartet, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Josephine Baker, Julia Bullock, Just Bach, lately, Leon Botstein, Ligeti, like, link, listening, local, long, Lstin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marcus Roberts, Mead Witter School of Music, Metropolitan Museum of Art, month, Moonlight Sonata, movement, Mozart, MSO, Music, music critic, narration, Nate Wolley, national, Nazi, necessary, neglected, neglected music, New Music, New York City, night, offerings, often, one, online, opera, oratorio, Orchestra, orchestral, pandemic, Paris, performances, Perle Noir, Perle Noire, Philharmonia Orchestra, Pianist, Piano, piano music, Piano sonata, polonaise, post, posting, Prelude, prints, publish, recital, regional, repertoire, repertory, risqué, Ruth Crawford Seeger, Saad Haddad, schedule, script, seasonal, seasonal music, share, six, skirt, Sonata, soprano, Sorey, Sory, Stephen Fry, String quartet, studies, suggest, suggestions, support, Sweden, tag, Taka Kigawa, take away, takeaway, Takemitsu, Tenet, The Ear, The New York Times, Toru Takemitsu, Tyshawn Sorey, Tyshown Sorey, unfold, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, unsual, UW, UW-Madison, vignette, Violin, virtual, vocal group, vocal music, Website, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, world premiere, WUT, YouTube
The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra cancels its first Masterworks concert and launches an online virtual Winter Chamber Series in January
2 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
With the surge in the coronavirus pandemic, the dominos are starting to fall again — this time for the spring series of live, in-person concerts that had been planned.
Friday night brought important news from the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (below, in photo by Mike Gorski).
The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (WCO) has canceled its first Masterworks concert, with guest cellist Amit Peled, in late January. In its place the WCO is launching its first-ever digital Winter Chamber Series.
The virtual, online series of digital concerts will feature the ensemble’s 34 players in smaller groups of four to eight, That will be safer for both players and audiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Four home-viewable virtual online concerts are planned: Jan. 22, Feb. 26, March 26, and April 16. Programs are not available except for the first concert.
Also included are a pre-concert talk with WCO music director and maestro Andrew Sewell (below top, in a photo by Alex Cruz) and Wisconsin Public Radio host Norman Gilliland (below bottom), and post-concert reflections with musicians of the WCO.
The ticket price for each concert, which will run 60-75 minutes, is $30 per household. A ticket entitles you to one viewing of the concert between Friday, Jan. 22, and Monday, Jan. 25. The concert will start streaming at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Patrons who have already purchased season subscription tickets can apply that to the full series of four concerts.
Tickets are available online at the Overture Center box office. See below.
The program for the first Winter Chamber Concert on Jan. 22 is:
Four Canzonas by the Baroque Italian composer Giovanni Gabrieli (below):
“Tzigane” (a term for music by Hungarian gypsies or Romani) for Wind Quintet by the contemporary American composer Valerie Coleman (below):
The first movement of the famed String Quintet in C major, D. 956, by the Austrian Romantic composer Franz Schubert (below):
Four Octets by the 20th-century American composer and jazz musician Alec Wilder (below), which you can sample in the YouTube video at the bottom.
To see more background about the composers, more details about the concert and purchase tickets, go to: https://www.overture.org/events/wco-chamber-series
You can also check out the series as it progressively gets announced on the WCO home website: https://wcoconcerts.org/concerts-tickets/winter-chamber-series
The concert series sounds like a terrific substitution for the regular concerts that cannot yet take place.
But The Ear wonders if the price per concert is a bit steep, given that comparable concerts by UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music , the Wllly Street Chamber Players and Just Bach are free – although they do ask for donations — and that the Madison Opera charged $50 for its entire fall digital series while the Wisconsin Union Theater charges between $10 and $20 per virtual concert.
The Ear likes the eclectic programming, but also thinks it is kind of teasing and unsatisfying to offer just the first movement of such an organic masterpiece and profoundly beautiful work as the Schubert Cello Quintet. Doing one movement of a chamber music work somehow seems very different from doing one movement of a symphony.
It would also be nice to see the programs for all the concerts plus a series discount as an incentive.
What do you think about the WCO’s Winter Chamber Series?
What do you think about the price and the programming?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #20thCentury, #AlecWilder, #AmitPeled, #AndrewSewell, #BaroqueChamberMusic, #BaroqueMusic, #BlackComposer, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #ChamberGroup, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberOrchestra, #ClassicalMusician, #ConcertSeries, #ContemporaryComposer, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FranzSchubert, #Fridaynight, #GiovanniGabrieli, #GuestArtist, #JacobStockinger, #JetPlane, #JustBach, #LiveMusic, #LivingComposer, #MasterworksConcerts, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MEMFOnline, #MusicDirector, #NormanGilliland, #OnlineConcert, #OvertureCenter, #Pre-concertTalk, #PrincipalCellist, #RomanticComposer, #SeasonSubscription, #TheEar, #TheUW, #ValerieColeman, #VirtualConcert, #WillyStreetChamberPlayers, #WindMusic, #WindQuintet, #WinterChamberSeries, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WomanComposer, #YouTubevideo, 20th-century, Afro-American, Alec Wilder, America, American, Amit Peled, Andrew Sewell, April, Arts, ask, audience, Austria, Austrian, available, Baroque, black, blog, box office, canceled, cancellation, canzona, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, chamber orchestra, Classical, Classical music, classicalmusic, Coleman, composer, Concert, concert series, conductor, contemporary, coronavirus, different, do, domino, donation, Early music, eclectic, ensemble, entitle, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, fall, famed, feature, February, first, first-ever, Franz Schubert, Friday, Gabrieli, Giovanni Gabrieli, group, guest artist, gypsy, Home, host, household, Hungarian, Hungary, important, in person, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, January, Jazz, jazzy, Just Bach, launch, like, live music, Living composer, Madison, Maestro, march, Masterworks Season, Mead Witter School of Music, minutes, Monday, movement, Music, Music director, Musician, news, night, Norman Gilliland, Octet, one, Orchestra, organic, Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts, pandemic, patron, per, plan, players, post, post-concert, posting, pre-concert, price, progam, programming, progressive, purchase, Quartet, quintet, Radio, reflections, Romani, Romantic, safe, safety, sample, Schubert, Season, septet, series, sextet, smaller, Spring, start, steep, stream, streaming, subscription, supply, surge, talk, The Ear, ticket, Tzigane, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, VALERIE COLEMAN, view, viewing, virtual, WCO, Wilder, Willy Street Chamber Players, wind music, Wind quintet, Winter Chamber Series, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Union Theater, woman, YouTube
Classical music: Here are the world premieres of the sixth and seventh pieces of “pandemic music” commissioned by the U.S. Library of Congress
1 Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
The project has is now heading towards it end.
Last week was when the world premieres of the 10 short pieces — written for the U.S. Library of Congress’ “Boccaccio Project” — started going public and began being posted on various social media sites as well as the Internet.
This week will see the last five compositions and complete the project.
One performance is released each weekday night starting at 8 p.m. EDT.
The project, funded by the federal government, is intended to capture some aspect of the unique culture brought about by the coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19.
The first piece was “Sequestered Thoughts,” a solo piano work by composed Damien Sneed and performed by Jeremy Jordan.
The second was “shadow of a difference/falling” by composer Richard Drehoff Jr. and solo oboist Andrew Nogal of the Grossman Ensemble.
The third was “Intuit – a way to stay in the world” for solo cello composed by Miya Masaoka and performed by Kathryn Bates of the Del Sol String Quartet.
The first three were featured in two postings on this blog last week. Here are links:
The fourth and fifth pieces were premiered last Thursday and Friday, bringing the project to the half way point before the Summer Solstice, Father’s Day and Make Music Madison weekend.
They were posted on this past Monday. Here is a link:
The fourth work is “Bridges,” a solo piano work composed by Cliff Eidelman and performed at home by Jenny Lin. The title refers to the composer’s focus on finding bridges from the coronavirus pandemic to normal life.
The fifth piece is “Hello World” by composer by Erin Rogers, an exploratory work for solo flute, and is performed by Erin Lesser of the Wet Ink Ensemble.
And now the second half of premieres has started.
The sixth piece is “1462 Willard Street,” composed for solo viola by Luciano Chessa (below top, in a photo by Melesia Nunez) and performed by Charlton Lee (below bottom, in a photo by RJ Muna) of the Del Sol String Quartet.
The address refers to a place in San Francisco where the composer was staying on March 16, 2020 – the day the city enacted orders to stay at home because of the pandemic.
https://www.loc.gov/concerts/boccaccio-project/chessa-lee.html
The seventh piece, premiered last night, is “Olcott Park” for solo piano composed by Aaron Travers (below top, in a photo by James Matthew Daniel) and performed by Daniel Pesca (below bottom, in a photo by Jay Morthland) of the Grossman Ensemble.
It is a recollection of the forest and birds the composer knows in a park near his home but which he hasn’t’ visited much during the pandemic.
https://www.loc.gov/concerts/boccaccio-project/travers-pesca.html
On the same page as the performance you can read what the composer and sometimes the performer have to say about the new work and what it strives to mean or express.
You can use links to go to the past performances and premieres.
You can also follow links on the bottom of the page to see more information about both the composer and the performer, and to general background of the project.
If you would like some more background, along with some commentary and questions from The Ear, go to https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2020/06/13/classical-music-the-library-of-congress-has-commissioned-new-music-about-the-coronavirus-pandemic-you-can-listen-to-the-premieres-from-this-monday-june-15-through-june-28/
What do you think of the individual pieces?
Do you have one or more favorites?
What do you think of the project?
How successful is it?
Will you like to hear more of the commissioned music?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AaronTravers, #AndrewNogal, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoccaccioProject, #CliffEidelman, #CommissionedMusic, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DamienSneed, #DanielPesca, #DelSolQuartet, #DelSolStringQuartet, #ErinLesser, #ErinRogers, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Father'sDay, #FederalGovernment, #GrossmanEnsemble, #InstrumentalMusic, #JacobStockinger, #JennyLin, #JeremyJordan, #KathrynBates, #LibraryofCongress, #LucianoChessa, #MakeMusicDay, #MakeMusicMadison, #MiyaMasaoaka, #NewMusic, #NormalLife, #OboeMusic, #OlcottPark, #RichardDrehoffJr., #SanFrancisco, #Self-Isolation, #SocialMedia, #Stayathome, #StringQuartet, #SummerSolstice, #TheEar, #TheU.S., #WetInkEnsemble, #WilliamStreet, #WorldPremiere, Aaron Travers, American, Andrew Nogal, bird, blog, Boccaccio Project, Boccacio, bridge, capture, Cello, city, Cliff Eidelman, commission, complete, composer, Composition, Congress, coronavirus, culture, Damien Sneed, Daniel Pesca, date, day, Del Sol Quartet, Del Sol String Quartet, difference, Erin Lesser, erin rogers, Facebook, fathers day, favorite, federal, federal government, fifth, flute, flutist, forest, forward, fourth, fund, government, Grossman Ensemble, half way, halfway, hello, Home, individual, instrumental, Intuit, isolation, Jacob Stockinger, Jenny Lin, Jeremy Jordan, Kathryn Bates, library, Library of Congress, life, like, link, Luciano Chessa, Make Music Day, Make Music Madison, Miya Masaoka, New Music, night, normal, Oboe, Olcott Park, one, pandemic, Park, perform, performance, Pianist, Piano, piece, place, post, posting, premiere, project, Richard Drehoff Jr., San Francisco, second, seventh, shadow, share, sixth, social media, solo, stay at home, String quartet, successful, summer, Summer solstice, tag, The Ear, think, third, trees, two, U.S., unique, week, weekday, weekend, Wet Ink Ensemble, Willard Street, work, world, world premiere
Classical music: This Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, the Oakwood Chamber Players finish their “Vignettes” season with an American audio-visual work and music by French, Italian and British composers
1 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
This weekend, the Oakwood Chamber Players — known for highlighting neglected composers and works — perform the last concert of their current season series “Vignettes” with an array of contrasting and generally neglected works from the late 19th to 21st century.
Performances will take place on Saturday night, May 18, at 7 p.m. and on Sunday afternoon, May 19, at 2 p.m. Both concerts will be held at the Oakwood Village Center for Arts and Education, 6209 Mineral Point Road, on Madison’s far west side near West Towne Mall.
Tickets can be purchased with cash or personal checks at the door: $25 for general admission, $20 for seniors and $5 for students.
Members of the Oakwood Chamber Players (below) are: Marilyn Chohaney, flute; Nancy Mackenzie, clarinet; Amanda Szyczs, bassoon; Anne Aley, horn; and Maggie Townsend, cello.
They are joined by guest artists: Valree Casey, oboe; Hillary Hempel, violin; Michael Koszewski, percussion; Jason Kutz, piano; and Carrie Backman, conductor.
American composer Michael Gandolfi (below top) collaborated with MIT computer animator Jonathan Bachrach (below bottom) to create a unique musical and visual partnership for his Abridged History of the World in Seven Acts. Six instrumentalists create overlapping textures and rhythmic interplay in response to mesmerizing images.
Four French composers from the late 19th to mid-20th century are featured: The piano, four-hand “Dolly Suite” by Gabriel Fauré (below top) in an arrangement for woodwind quintet and piano; Petite Pièces (Small Pieces) for violin, horn and piano by his student Charles Koechlin (below middle; the sweetly engaging quartet Sérénade (Serenade) by Reynaldo Hahn (below third); and five Pièces en Trio (Trio Pieces) for oboe, clarinet and bassoon by Jacques Ibert (below bottom).
The Piano Trio in One Movement” by British composer Norman O’Neill (below) is full of verve and heart-felt melodies.
The woodwind quintet Piccolo Offerta Musicale” by noted Italian film composer Nino Rota (below), who wrote the scores for many films by Federico Fellini, is a short homage to Johann Sebastian Bach. (You can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The Oakwood Chamber Players are a group of Madison-area professional musicians who have rehearsed and performed at Oakwood Village for over 30 years. They perform in other groups, including the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and the Willy Street Chamber Players.
For more information, go to www.oakwoodchamberplayers.com or call (608) 230-4316.
The Oakwood Chamber Players are a professional music ensemble supported by Oakwood Lutheran Senior Ministries and the Oakwood Foundation.
Tags: #19thCentury, #21stCentury, #AmericanComposer, #AnneAiley, #BaroqueMusic, #BassoonMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BritishComposer, #CelloMusic, #ChamberMusic, #CharlesKoechlin, #ClarinetMusic, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FedericoFellini, #FilmComposer, #FilmScore, #FilmSoundtrack, #FluteMusic, #Frenchcomposer, #FrenchMusic, #GabrielFaure, #GuestArtist, #HornMusic, #InstrumentalMusic, #InstrumentalPlayer, #italianComposer, #JacquesIbert, #JasonKutz, #JohannSebastianBach, #JonathanBachrach, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MaggieTownsend, #MarilynChohaney, #MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MichaelGandolfi, #NancyMackenzie, #NeglectedComposers, #NeglectedMusic, #NeglectedRepertoire, #NinoRita, #NormanO'Neill, #OakwoodChamberPlayers, #OakwoodVillage, #OboeMusic, #PercussionMusic, #PersonalCheck, #PianoMusic, #PianoTrio, #PrincipalCellist, #ReynaldoHahn, #SaturdayNight, #SeniorCitizen, #Sundayafternoon, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolinMusic, #WestTowneMall, #WillyStreetChamberPlayers, #WindMusic, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WoodwindInstruments, #WoodwindMusic, #WoodwindQuintet, #YouTubevideo, 19th century, 21st century, abridged, acts, admission, afternoon, American, animate, animation, animator, Anne Ailey, array, Arts, audio-visual, Bach, Baroque, Bassoon, bassoonist, blog, British, cash, Cello, Chamber music, Charles Koechlin, clarinet, clarinetist, Classical music, collaborate, composer, computer, Concert, conductor, contrast, create, current, Dolly, door, Early music, ensemble, Facebook, feature, Federico Fellini, film, flute, flutist, forward, foundation, French, full, funding, Gabriel Fauré, group, guest artist, heart, highlight, History, homage, Horn, images, information, instrumentalist, interplay, Italian, Jacob Stockinger, Jacques Ibert, Jason Kutz, Johann Sebastian Bach, Jonathan Bachrach, like, link, Lutheran, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marilyn Chohaney, Mead Witter School of Music, melodies, melody, mesmerizing, Michael Gandolfi, ministry, MIT, movement, movie, Music, musical, Nancy Mackenzie, night, Nino Rota, Norman O'Neill, Oakwood Chamber Players, Oakwood Village, Oboe, oboist, one, partnership, percussion, percussionist, perform, performer, personal, Pianist, Piano, Piano Trio, pieces, professional, purchase, quintet, rehearse, response, Reynaldo Hahn, rhythm, Saturday, score, Season, senior, Serenade, series, share, short, small, soundtrack, Student, students, Suite, Sunday, support, sweet, tag, texture, tickets, trio, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, variety, verve, vignette, Violin, violinist, visual, west, west side, West Towne Mall, Willy Street Chamber Players, winds, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, woodwind, work, world, YouTube
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 
To celebrate Pride month, here are lists of LGBTQ+ composers, performers and musical ensembles
1 Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
June is Pride month.
And this weekend will see Pride marches and celebrations in some major cities including New York City, Chicago, Paris and Rome.
As time passes, scholars are finding out more about the LGBTQ+ composers, performers and musical groups that have been hidden by history.
And some ironies emerge. One can only imagine the response of conservative, right-wing Evangelical Christians who find out that the composer of “Messiah” – George Frideric Handel (below) — was queer, at least according to some researchers.
For most listeners, surprises abound.
Here is a good place to start. It is the very large Wikipedia entry of LGBTQ+ composers and performers, both contemporary and historical. The Ear finds it very informative. It is organized by the kind of musicians they are and the category of their sexual identity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:LGBT_musicians
If you want to be more selective, try these: https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/greatest-lgbtq-conductors-you-should-know/. They include Marin Alsop (below top) and her teacher and mentor Leonard Bernstein (below bottom).
Here is longer essay that focuses on lesbian conductors as well as gay men and reaches back to the Middle Ages: http://www.glbtqarchive.com/arts/conductors_A.pdf
And here is one with some great photos or pictures of the individuals: https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/great-classical-composers-who-were-gay/
Finally, here are some of the international music ensembles – with audio samples of their performances — made up of LGBTQ+ singers and instrumentalists, including the Rainbow Symphony of Paris (in the YouTube video at the bottom, performing the beautiful Gloria by the gay French composer Francis Poulenc in a benefit Concert Against Homophobia for UNESCO): https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/best-lgbtq-classical-music-ensembles/
Inevitably, some readers will react by asking: What difference does the sexual identity of composer or performer make? All that matters, they argue, is the music.
Here is a reply to that specious argument that focuses on Yannick Nézet-Séguin (below), the music director of the Metropolitan Opera, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the City Symphony of Montreal. It appeared in The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/arts/music/yannick-nezet-seguin-met-opera-gay.html
Happy Pride – this month and every day of the year!
Do you have questions, additions or comments?
Leave them below.
The Ear wants to hear.
Share this:
Tags: #BaroqueMusic, #BenefitConcert, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChicagoIllinois, #ChoralMusic, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GayPride, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #Handel'sMessiah, #HumanRights, #InstrumentalMusic, #JacobStockinger, #JesusChrist, #LeonardBernstein, #LGBTQrights, #MarinAlsop, #MetropolitanOpera, #MichelPignoletdeMonteclair, #MiddleAges, #MontrealCanada, #NewMusic, #NewYork, #NewYorkCity, #PhiladelphiaOrchestra, #PhiladelphiaPennsylvania, #PrideMonth, #PrideParade, #RainbowSymphonyOrchestraofParis, #RomeItaly, #SacredMusic, #SoundSamples, #TheEar, #TheMet, #UnitedNations, #VocalMusic, #Wikipediaentry, #YannickNezet-Seguin, #YouTubevideo, addition, Alsop, Arts, audience, Audio, Baroque, Baroque music, beautiful, benefit concert, Bernstein, bisexual, blog, Canada, category, celebration, Chamber music, Chicago, choral music, Christ, Christian, Christianity, cities, city, Classical music, comment, composer, Concert, conductor, conservative, contemporary, day, difference, Early music, emerge, ensemble, entry, Europe, evangelical, Evangelicals, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, female, Focus, forward, France, French, gay, gay Pride, George Frideric Handel, Gloria, good place, great, groups, Handel, happy', hear, help, hidden, historical, History, homophobia, homosexual, Homosexuality, human rights, imagination, imagine, individual, inevitable, instrumental music, instrumentalist, irony, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Jesus, June, kind, Leonard Bernstein, lesbian, LGBT, LGBTQ, like, link, list, Madison, major, male, Marguerite Luksik, Marin Alsop, Medieval, men, mentor, Metropolitan Opera, Middle Ages, month, Montreal, Music, Musician, New Music, New York, New York City, NYC, one, opera, oratorio, Orchestra, Paris, pass, Pennsylvania, performer, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Orchestra, photo, Piano, pictures, place, post, posting, pride, Pride month, Pride parade, queer, question, Rainbow Symphony Orchestra of Paris, research, researcher, right-wing, Rome, sample, scared music, scholar, selective, sexual identity, share, sing, singer, start, sub-category, surprise, symphony, tag, Teacher, The Ear, the Met, time, transsexual, UNESCO, United Nations, United States, video, Violin, vocal music, weekend, Wikipedia, Wisconsin, women, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, year, YouTube