The Well-Tempered Ear
Middleton Community Orchestra performs the second of four FREE outdoor summer concerts at Firemen’s Park this Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
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
This Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Firemen’s Park, the mostly amateur but critically acclaimed Middleton Community Orchestra (MCO) will give the second of its FREE four summer outdoors concerts.
Besides the fact that the day is Father’s Day holiday, weather predictions also call for a good chance of rain or even thunderstorms.
Updates on whether the concert will take place, be cancelled or postponed to a later date, can be found by checking the MCO’s website at 10 a.m.: https://middletoncommunityorchestra.org
Meanwhile, here are the programs, conductors and soloists for the remaining three concerts. All concerts take place in Firemen’s Park in Middleton close to Middleton High School:
CONCERT – SUNDAY, JUNE 20, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (revised program)
Sergei Pavlov (below), conductor and professor at Edgewood College
George Walker – “Lyric for Strings”
Ralph Vaughan Williams – “Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis” (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom)
Giacomo Puccini – Lauretta’s aria from “Gianni Schicchi”; Mimi’s aria in Act 3 and Musetta’s aria in Act 2 from “La Boheme” with soprano Yanzel Rivera (below).
Selections from the Pixar movie COCO (piano and strings)
CONCERT – SUNDAY, JULY 25, 11:30 – a.m.-1 p.m.
Chris Ramaekers (below), conductor and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Peter Illyich Tchaikovsky – “March Slav”
Carl Maria von Weber — Clarinet Concerto No. 2 with soloist and Madison Symphony Orchestra principal clarinetist JJ Koh (below)
Tchaikovsky — Symphony No. 2 “Little Russian”
CONCERT 4 – SUNDAY, AUG. 15, 11:30-1 p.m.
Sergei Pavlov, conductor
Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 with soloist and UW-Madison graduate Thomas Kasdorf (below)
Tags: #AgnusDei, #AlbumCover, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CarlMariavonWeber, #ChoralMusic, #ChristopherRamaekers, #ClarinetConcerto, #Cocomovie, #CreoleMass, #CriticalAcclaim, #EdgewoodCollege, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FantasiaonaThemeofThomasTallis, #FantasyonaThemebyThomasTallis, #Father'sDay, #FilmMusic, #Firemen'sPark, #GeorgeWalker, #GiacomoPuccini, #JacobStockinger, #JJKoh, #JohannesBrahms, #LaBoheme, #LittleRussian", #LyricforStrings, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarchSlav, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #MiddletonHighSchool, #MiddletonWisconsin, #MissaCriolla, #MovieScore, #MusicCritic, #Musicfaculty, #OperaMusic, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PianoConcerto, #RalphVaughanWilliams, #RomanCatholic, #RomanCatholicism, #SacredMusic, #SergeiPavlov, #SopranoSinger, #SouthAmerica, #SouthAmerican, #SpanishLanguage, #StringMusic, #TheEar, #TheUW, #ThomasKasdorf, #ThomasTallis, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityofWisconsin-Whitewater, #VocalMusic, #YanzelRivera, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, Agnus Dei, amateur, aria, arias, arrangement, Arts, audience, blog, Blog post, blog posting, Brahms, cancel, Carl Maria von Weber, Catholicism, chance, channel, check, choral msuic, Christian, Christianity, Christopher Ramaekers, clarinet, clarinet concerto, clarinetist, Classical music, Coco, composer, Concert, concerto, concerts, conductor, Creole, Creole Mass, critic, critical acclaim, date, Early music, Edgewood College, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, fact, Fantasia, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, fathers day, film, film music, Firemen's Park, forward, free, George Walker, Giacomo Puccini, graduate, Holiday, Jacob Stockinger, JJ Koh, Johannes Brahms, Kasdorf, Koh, La bohème, like, link, Little Russian, lyric, Lyric for Strings, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, march, March Slav, mass, MCO, Mead Witter School of Music, Middleton, Middleton Community Orchestra, Middleton High School, Missa Criolla, movie, movie score, Music, music critic, music faculty, opera, opera musiuc, Orchestra, outdoors, performer, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, Pixar, post, posting, postpone, prediction, principal, professor, programs, Puccini, rain, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Ramaekers, remaining, Roman Catholic, Russia, sacred music, Sergei Pavlov, share, singer, Slav, soloist, soprano, South America, South American, Spain, Spanish, string music, strings, summer, Sunday, symphony, tag, Tchaikovsky, The Ear, Thomas Kasdorf, Thomas Tallis, thunderstorms, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, University of Wisconsin–Madison, update, UW, UW-Madison, vaughan williams, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Walker, weather, Weber, Website, Wisconsin, Yanzel Rivera, YouTube, YouTube video
This Sunday at 4 p.m., the Salon Piano Series debuts an online recital by pianist Kangwoo Jin. He plays music by Scarlatti, Beethoven, Liszt and Schumann. It is up until May 9
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
This Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. CDT, the Salon Piano Series, hosted by Farley’s House of Pianos, will debut an online concert by pianist Kangwoo Jin (below, in a photo by Andy Manis).
The concert, which was recorded at Luther Memorial Church, costs $10 and will be available online through May 9.
The program is:
Scarlatti – Sonatas in D minor and D Major, K. 213 and 214 (ca. 1756-1757)
Beethoven – Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2, “Moonlight” (1801)
Liszt – Transcriptions for solo piano of the songs “Widmung” (Dedication) by Robert Schumann and “Litanei” (Litany) by Franz Schubert
Schumann – Symphonic Etudes, Op.13 (1830)
Bishop – Home, Sweet Home
Tickets are only available online at eventbrite.com. Service fees apply. Complete program and concert information is at salonpianoseries.org
PROGRAM NOTES
Jin has written the following program notes for The Ear:
“As a musician, I am always eager to share music with the public. I am very excited to be able to reach out to the audience with this unprecedented Salon Piano Series Virtual Concert.
“I believe music soothes our mental health in difficult times regardless of age, gender or race. I very much hope my performance will contribute to this collective healing we feel through music.
“I wanted to include three different styles, as I usually do for recitals. This time I have Baroque, Classical and Romantic music.
“I chose one of the most famous Beethoven sonatas in order to celebrate his 250th birth year (2020), which I did not have a chance to mark last year.
“This piece is popular with the title of “Moonlight,” which Beethoven (below) never intended. Five years after his death, the German critic Ludwig Rellstab used the word “Moonlight” in order to describe the first movement. But it was really inspired by the funeral march in Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni.” I try to bring out the tragic color of the first movement. (You can hear Jin play the exciting final movement of the sonata in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
“I also wanted to play the virtuosic masterpiece “Symphonic Etudes,” Op. 13, by Robert Schumann (below), including the beautiful posthumous variations 4 and 5.
I find this piece special in the sense that Schumann intended to make this piece “symphonic.” He created multiple layers of voices in various ways through each etude and created orchestral sounds. This polyphonic writing with multiple layers and a thick texture is what makes this piece difficult to play.
“I also specifically wanted to include one of the piano transcriptions by Franz Liszt (below) of Schubert’s Litanei auf das Fest Aller Seelen (Litany for the Feast of All Souls), D. 343.
“Schubert (below) used the poem “Litany” by Johann Jacobi (1740-1814). It is written for comforting the deceased. Robert Capell, the author of the book “Schubert’s Songs” (1929), said about this lied: There was never a truer or more touching expression of simple devotion and consoled grief … “The music rises from a pure well of affection and humility.”
“I would like to dedicate this piece to all the people who suffered from Covid 19.”
BACKGROUND
Here is a link to Kangwoo Jin’s impressive website where you can see many photos, learn about his extensive career as a teacher and hear many samples of his playing: https://www.pianistkangwoojin.com
Praised for his “refined tone quality with powerful energy” (Chosun Daily Newspaper), Jin (below, in a photo by Steve Apps for the Wisconsin State Journal) concertizes nationally and internationally, including performances in Germany, Italy, China, Indonesia and South Korea.
He gave his debut concert at the Sejong Arts Center in Seoul, South Korea, sponsored by the Chosun Daily Newspaper. He has given live performances on Wisconsin Public Radio and WORT 89.9 FM.
Jin appears frequently as a guest artist at music festivals, universities and various concert series. Recent invitations include UW-River Falls, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and Tongji University in Shanghai. Kawai Pianos USA has also invited him as a guest artist at the annual Piano Technicians Guild Convention and Technical Institute in Florida.
Jin completed the Bachelor of Music degree at Hanyang University in South Korea, then earned his Performer Diploma and Master’s of Music at Indiana University, where he worked as an associate instructor.
He is the recipient of the J. Battista Scholarship for performance excellence at Indiana University and received the Collins Distinguished Fellowship for his doctoral studies, completed last year, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied piano with Christopher Taylor and piano pedagogy with Jessica Johnson.
Tags: #AmericanPlayersTheatre, #ArtsCenter, #ArtSong, #BachelorofMusic, #BaroqueEra, #BaroqueMusic, #BeethovenYear, #BeijingChina, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChosunDailyNewspaper, #ChristianChurch, #ChristopherTaylor, #Classicalera, #ClassicalMusician, #CoronavirusPandemic, #CorpusChristi, #COVID-19, #DifficultTime, #DoctoralStudies, #DomenicoScarlatti, #DonGiovanni, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Farley'sHouseofPianos, #FeastofAllSouls, #FranzLiszt, #FranzSchubert, #FuneralMarch, #GuestArtist, #HanyangUniversity, #HomeWebsite, #IndianaUniversity, #JacobStockinger, #JohannJacobi, #KangwooJin, #KawaiPianos, #LivePerformance, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MajorKey, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MentalHealth, #MinorKey, #MoonlightSonata, #MusicCritic, #Musicfaculty, #MusicProfessor, #OnlineConcert, #OperaMusic, #PerformerDiploma, #PianoTechnician, #PolyphonicMusic, #ProgramNotes, #RobertSchumann, #RomanticEra, #RomanticMusic, #SalonPIanoSeries, #SchubertLieder, #SeoulSouthKorea, #ServiceFee, #ShanghaiChina, #SouthKorea, #SouthKorean, #SteveApps, #Sundayafternoon, #SymphonicEtudes, #TexasA&M, #TheEar, #TheUW, #Tongjiniversity, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UW-RiverFalls, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WisconsinStateJournal, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, affection, afternoon, age, April, art song, Arts, arts center, audience, auhtor, available, Bachelor of Music, Baroque, Baroque music, beautiful, Beethoven, Beethoven Year, birth, Bishop, blog, Blog post, blog posting, Book, China, Chosun Daily Newspaper, Christian, Christian church, Christopher Taylor, church, Classical, Classical era, Classical music, classicalmusic, collective, Collins, color, comfort, complete, composer, Concert, concertize, console, contribute, convention, coronavirus, coronavirus pandemic, Corpus Christi, cost, create, dead, death, deceased, dedicate, dedication, degree, different, difficult, difficult time, diploma, doctoral studies, doctorate, Domenico Scarlatti, Don Giovanni, Early music, energy, era, etude, excited, exciting, expression, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, Farley's House of Pianos, feast, Feast of All Souls, fee, festival, final, Florida, forward, Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, funeral march, gender, German, Germany, grief, guest artist, guild, Hanyang University, healing, hear, Home, home website, hope, host, humiity, imformation, impressive, Indiana University, Indonesia, instructor, intend, internationally, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Jacobi, Johann Sebastian Bach, Kangwoo Jin, Kawai, Kawai PIanos, Korea, layer, layers, lied, like, link, link'share, Liszt, litany, live performance, Ludwig van Beethoven, Luther, Luther Memorial Church, Madison, major key, masterpiece, May, Mead Witter School of Music, Mental health, minor key, Moonlight Sonata, movement, Mozart, multipile, multiple, Music, music critic, music faculty, music professor, Musician, nationally, Newspaper, online, opera, Orchestra, orchestral, pandemic, People, Performer Diploma, photo, photos, Pianist, Piano, piano technician, piece, play, playing, poem, Poetry, polyphonic, polyphony, popular, post, posthumous, posting, powerful, professor, program, program notes, Protestant, public, race, Radio, reach, recital, Robert Schumann, Romantic, Romantic music, Salon Piano Series, sample, Scarlatti, scholarship, Schubert, sense, Seoul, service, service fee, Shanghai, share, simple, Singing, Sonata, song, soothe, soul, Sound, South Korea, special, sponsor, Steve Apps, study, style, suffer, Sunday, Sweet Home, SweetHome, Symphonic Etudes, symphony, tag, Teacher, teaching, Texas A&M, texture, The Ear, theme and variations, thick, ticket, times, tone, Tongji University, touching, tragedy, Tragic, transcription, true, United States, universities, university, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, unprecedented, USA, UW, UW-Madison, UW-River Falls, variation, virtual, virtuosic, vocal music, voice, Website, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin State Journal, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, WORT, WORT-FM 89.9, WPR, write, YouTube
Soprano and UW-Madison graduate student Sarah Brailey wins a Grammy Award
6 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
Soprano Sarah Brailey (below), a native of Wisconsin — who now lives, works and studies in Madison — won a Grammy Award last night.
Brailey received the prestigious award (below) in the category “Best Classical Solo Album” category. It was for her role in the long-neglected, opera-like choral symphony “The Prison” by English composer Dame Ethel Smyth on the Chandos label. (You can hear an excerpt from the Brailey recording in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Brailey’s win is especially noteworthy because it comes early in her career.
Although she has toured nationally and internationally, and has established herself as a professional singer of note, Brailey is a busy graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, where she is finishing her doctoral degree.
Here is a link to her website: https://sarahbrailey.com
Brailey is also one of the city’s busiest and most respected musicians.
During the pandemic year, she explained and help spark benefit concerts and fundraising for musicians whose livelihoods suffered due to cancelled performances. Here is a link: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/?s=sarah+brailey
She also hosts the Sunday morning radio show “Musica Antiqua” – which features early music — on WORT-FM 89.9.
Recently, Brailey became the artistic director of “Grace Presents,” a series of free concerts at the downtown Grace Episcopal Church across from the state Capitol.
An avid early music performer, Brailey — who won and now directs the annual Handel Aria Competition — also co-founded and co-directs the free monthly series of Just Bach concerts (below, second from right), the lastest of which takes place this Wednesday, March 17. She sings solos, greets listeners and viewers, and often leads the final sing-along chorale from a Bach cantata.
You can hear many of her performances duing the Just Bach concerts on the Just Bach channel on YouTube.
Leave your own congratulations and thoughts about her performances in the Coment section.
The Ear will post a complete list of the classical music Grammy Award nominees and winners later this week.
PS: Another native of the Madison area was nominated for a non-classical Grammy is Bill Rahko, who co-produced the album “Everyday Life” for the rock band Coldplay. The album was nominated for Album of the Year, but lost to Taylor Swift’s “Folklore.”
Here is a link to a story on NBC 15 about Rahko, who attended Middleton High School: https://www.nbc15.com/2021/03/14/madison-area-native-up-for-grammy-award-for-album-of-the-year/
Tags: #BachCantata, #BaroqueComposer, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CapitolSquare, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #CityofMadison, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DoctoralDegree, #EthelSmyth, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FundraisingCampaign, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GraceEpiscopalChurch, #GracePresents, #GraduateStudent, #HandelAriaCompetition, #JacobStockinger, #JesusChrist, #JohannSebastianBach, #JustBach, #LastNight, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MadisonWisconsin, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiddletonHighSchool, #MiddletonWisconsin, #MusicaAntiqua, #MusicalExcerpt, #OperaMusic, #RadioHost, #RadioShow, #RecordedMusic, #RockandRoll, #RockBand, #SarahBrailey, #SopranoSinger, #TaylorSwift, #TheEar, #ThePrison, #TheUK, #TheUW, #UnversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VocalMusic, #WORT-FM89.9, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, Album, Arts, audience, avid, award, Bach, Baroque, benefit, blog, Brailey, British, cancel, Cantata, Capitol, career, category, Chamber music, Chandos, Chandos Records, channel, choral music, Choral Symphony, Chorale, chorus, Christ, Christian, Christianity, church, Classical music, co-found, co-founder, Coldplay, complete, composer, Concert, congratulations, coronavirus pandemic, coronavrius, dame, director, doctoral, doctorate, downtown, early, Early music, England, English, Ethel Smyth, everyday life, excerpt, explian, Facebook, final, folklore, found, Fundraising, George Frideric Handel, Grace Episcopal, Grace Episcopal Church, Grace Presents, graduate student, greet, Handel, Handel Aria Competition, Jacob Stockinger, Jesus, Johann Sebastian Bach, Just Bach, labek, lead, like, link, list, listener, live, Luther Memorial Church, Madison, Mead Witter School of Music, Middleton, Middleton High School, monthly, Music, Musica Antiqua, Musician, native, NBC 15, NBC15, night, nominees, note, noteworthy, opera, pandemic, performance, pop, pop music, post, posting, postpone, prestigious, prison, producer, professional, Radio, recorded music, Rock, rock band, rock music, Sarah Brailey, series, share, sing-along, singer, Singing, Smyth, solo, soprano, spark, study, Swift, symphony, Taylor Swift, The Ear, The Prison, thoughts, UK, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, video, viewer, vocal music, win, winners, Wisconsin, work, WORT-FM 89.9, YouTube
Here are the Top 10 online concerts to stream in March, according to critics for the New York Times
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.
ALERT: The online live-streamed concert by the UW-Madison’s Pro Arte Quartet — scheduled for this Friday night, March 5 — in the all-Beethoven cycle of string quartets has been canceled and postponed until next year. The Friday, April 9 installment of the Beethoven cycle will be held as Installment 7 instead of 8.
By Jacob Stockinger
Classical music critics of The New York Times have once again picked their Top 10 online concerts for the month of March.
The Ear has found such lists helpful for watching and hearing, but also informative to read, if you don’t actually “attend” the concert.
If you have read these lists before, you will see that this one is typical.
It offers lots of links with background about the works and performers; concert times (Eastern); and how long the online version is accessible.
Many of the performers will not be familiar to you but others – such as pianist Mitsuko Uchida (below, in a photo by Hiroyuki Ito for the Times), who will perform an all-Schubert recital, will be very familiar.
But the critics once again emphasize new music and even several world premieres – including one by Richard Danielpour — and a path-breaking but only recently recorded live performance of the 1920 opera “Die Tote Stadt” (The Dead City) by long-neglected composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold (below), who is best known for his Hollywood movie scores but who also wrote compelling classical concert hall music. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear soprano Renée Fleming sing “Marietta’s Song.’)
But some works that are more familiar by more standard composers – including Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Ravel and Copland – are also included.
The Times critics have also successfully tried to shine a spotlight on Black composers and Black performers, such as the clarinetist and music educator Anthony McGill (below top), who will perform a clarinet quintet by composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (below) and music in the setting of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
No purists, the critics also suggest famous oboe and clarinet works in transcriptions for the saxophone by composer-saxophonist Steven Banks (below).
Also featured is a mixed media performance of words and music coordinated by the award-winning Nigerian-American novelist, essayist and photographer Teju Cole (below), whose writings and photos are irresistible to The Ear.
Here is a link to the story in the Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/25/arts/music/classical-music-streaming-concerts.html
Are there other online concerts in March – local, regional, national or international – that you recommend in addition to the events listed in the Times?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AaronCopland, #AdolphusHailstork, #AmyBeach, #AnthonyMcGill, #AppalachianSpring, #AsianComposer, #BerlinGermany, #BlackComposer, #BlackCulture, #BlackMusic, #Blackperformer, #BlackTraditions, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BluesMusic, #CarolineShaw, #ChamberMusic, #ClaraSchumann, #ClarinetConcerto, #ClarinetQuintet, #ClevelandOrchestra, #ConcertHall, #ConcertTime, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DavidFung, #DavidHydePierce, #DeutscheOper, #ErichWolfgangKorngold, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FemaleComposer, #FlorencePrice, #FranzSchubert, #GreatBritain, #GreatMigration, #HenryGorecki, #HildgardvonBingen, #JacobStockinger, #JenniferKoh, #JohnDowland, #KurtWeill, #LiveMusic, #LondonEngland, #LouisianaPhilharmonicOrchestra, #LouisvilleOrchestra, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MargaretBonds, #MauriceRavel, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MetropolitanMuseumofArt, #MitsukoUchida, #MixedMedia, #MusicCritic, #NegroSpiritual, #NewMusic, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #NewYorkTimes, #OboeQuartet, #OnlineConcert, #OperaMusic, #OperaPhiladelphia, #OrchestralMusic, #OrchestraofSt.Luke's, #PhiladelphiaPennsylvania, #PhilipGuston, #PianoConcerto, #PianoSonata, #PolishComposer, #PrincipalClarinet, #ProArteQuartet, #RecordedMusic, #RenéeFleming, #RiccardoChailly, #RichardDanielpour, #RobertSchumann, #SamuelColeridge-Taylor, #SarahCahill, #SopranoSinger, #StevenBanks, #StringQuartet, #TejuCole, #The CoronationofPoppea, #TheBlues, #TheDeadCity, #TheEar, #TheUW, #Top10, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UnsukChin, #ViolinConcerto, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #WigmoreHall, #WilliamBolcom, #WorldPremiere, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, Aaron Copland, Actor, Adolphus Hailstork, Africa, Americana, Amy Beach, Anthony McGill, Appalachian Spring, Art, Arts, Asi, asian, Asian composer, audience, award, background, bakcground, beach, Beethoven, Berlin, black composer, Black culture, black music, Black performer, Black traditions, blog, blues, Bolcom, bovel, cancel, Caroline Shaw, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Clara Schumann, clarinet, clarinet concerto, Clarinet Quintet, clarinetist, Classical music, Cleveland, Cleveland Orchestra, Cole, composer, Concert, concert hall, concert time, concerto, conductor, Copland, coronavirus, coronavirus pandemic, critic, cycle, Danielpour, David Fung, David Hyde Pierce, Deutsche Oper, Deutsche Opera, Early music, England, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, essay, essayist, event, Facebook, Facebook page, familiar, female, Florence Price, forward, Franz Schubert, Fung, Germany, Gorecki, Great Britain, Great Migration, Hailstork, hear, helful, Henryk Gorecki, Hildegard von Bingen, impromptu, international, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, jazzy, Jennifer Koh, John Dowland, Kaija Saariaho, Koh, Korngold, Kurt Weill, like, link, list, live music, local, London, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, march, Margaret Bonds, Maurice Ravel, McGill, Mead Witter School of Music, media, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mitsuko Uchida, mixed media, Mozart, Museum, Music, music critic, national, neglect, Negro spirituals, New Music, New York Philharmonic, New York Times, Nigeria, Nigerian, novelist, Oboe, Oboe Quartet, oboist, online, opera, Opera Philadelphia, Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, orchestral music, other, pandemic, PAQ, Pennsylvania, performer, Philip Guston, photographer, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, Piano sonata, players, Polish composer, post, posting, postpone, price, Principal Clarinet, Pro Arte Quartet, purist, quintet, Ravel, read, recital, recommendation, recorded music, regional, Renée Fleming, Riccardo Chailly, Richard Danielpour, Robert Schumann, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Sarah Cahill, Saxophone, Schubert, Schumann, setting, share, Shaw, Shine, Singing, soloist, Sonata, song, soprano, spirituals, spotlight, Spring, Steven Banks, stream, String quartet, symphony, tag, Teju Cole, The blues, The Dead City, The Ear, time, Top 10, transcription, typical, Uchida, UK, United Kingdom, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Unsuk Chin, UW, UW-Madison, value, version accessible, Viola, Violin, Violin concerto, violinist, violist, virtual, vocal music, watch, Weill, Wigmore Hall, WILLIAM BOLCOM, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, women, works, world premiere, Writer, writing, YouTube, YouTube video
The UW Symphony Orchestra performs a FREE online concert Thursday night and Friday night the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra debuts its second chamber music concert. But in-person micro-concerts on Sunday by the the Willy Street Chamber Players are sold-out
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 second half of the music season is well under way, with just about every major group performing online – or in one case even in person.
Here are three selections this week:
THURSDAY
Two of the most musically and technically impressive concerts The Ear heard last semester took place at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music. They were by the UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra under the direction of conductor Oriol Sans (below).
First, Sans conducted a socially distanced and virtual all-strings concert (below).
Then, for the second concert, the conductor had the winds and brass – which spray dangerous aerosol droplets – record their parts individually. Then for the live performance, Sans donned earphones and masterfully combined all the forces into a full orchestra performance (below).
You can see similar results – with percussion joining for the strings for the last piece — this Thursday night, Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m. on YouTube when the UW Symphony Orchestra live-streams a 90-muinute concert from the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall in the Hamel Music Center. No in-person attendance is allowed.
Here is the program:
I Crisantemi (Chyrsanthemums) by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924), with Michael Dolan, guest conductor
“Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout” by contemporary American composer Gabriela Lena Frank (b. 1972) Coqueteos (Flirtations)
“Carmen” Suite (after the opera by Georges Bizet) by Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin (b.1932): Introduction; Dance; Carmen’s entrance and Habanera Torero; Adagio; Fortune-telling; and Finale.
Here is a link to the live-streamed video: https://youtu.be/GSrMLKrjlVg
And here is a link to more information, including program notes and the names of members of the orchestra: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/uw-madison-symphony-orchestra-2/
FRIDAY NIGHT
On Friday night at 7:30 p.m. the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (below, in a photo by Mike Gorski) will offer the second of its Winter Chamber Series. It will run between 60 and 75 minutes.
There will be string, brass and percussion music by Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, Steve Reich, Craig H. Russell and Thomas Siwe. Be aware that three of the works – string quartets by Mozart and Beethoven and a string sonata by Rossini — are presented in excerpts. That is not listed on the webpage.
The cost for one-time access between Friday night and Monday night is $30.
Here is a link to more information, including a link to ticket sales from the Overture Center box office and program notes by WCO music director and conductor Andrew Sewell (below, in a photo by Alex Cruz): https://wcoconcerts.org/events/winter-chamber-series-no-ii
SOLD-OUT
The Micro-concerts scheduled for this coming Sunday, Feb. 28, by the esteemed Willy Street Chamber Players (below), are SOLD-OUT.
The 10-minute private concerts for two, which require masks and social distancing for all, are perhaps the most innovative move by any local music group during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Ear, who expects concert habits to change after the pandemic, thinks such micro-concerts have a very bright future even after the pandemic is under control and audiences can return safely to mass events.
The concert are pay-what-you can but a $20 donation for two was suggested.
For more information about the micro-concerts, listen to the YouTube video at the bottom and go to: http://www.willystreetchamberplayers.org/micro-concerts.html
Tags: #AndesMountains, #AndrewSewell, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #BrassMusic, #ChamberMusic, #Chrysanthemums, #CoronavirusPandemic, #CraigH.Russell, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GabrielaLenaFrank, #GeorgesBizet, #GiacomoPuccini, #GioachinoRossini, #HamelMusicCenter, #HomeWebsite, #italianComposer, #JacobStockinger, #LiveStreaming, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicDirector, #OnlineConcert, #OperaMusic, #OriolSans, #OvertureCenter, #ProgramNotes, #PublicSafety, #RecordedMusic, #RodionShchedrin, #RussianComposer, #SocialDistance, #SocialDistancing, #SteveReich, #StringMusic, #StringQuartet, #SundayAfternoonLifeFromtheChazen, #TheEar, #TheUW, #TheWillys, #ThomasSiwe, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #VirtualConcert, #WebPage, #WillyStreetChamberPlayers, #WindMusic, #WinterChamberMusicSeries, #WinterChamberSeries, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, access, aerosol, allow, American, Andes, Andrew Sewell, Arts, attendance, audience, Beethoven, Bizet, blog, Blog post, blog posting, bog, box office, brass, brass music, bright, buy, Carmen, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, change, Classical music, classicalmusic, combine, composer, Concert, conductor, control, coronavirus, Craig H. Russell, dance, dangerous, direction, donation, droplet, earphones, excerpts, expect, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, force, fortune-teller, forward, free, Friday, future, Gabriela Lena Frank, Georges Bizet, Giacomo Puccini, Gioachino Rossini, group, habits, Hamel Music Center, home website, impressive, in person, individual, information, innovative, instrumental, introduction, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, like, link, livestream, Livestreamed, local, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, masks, masterful, masterfully, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, member, micro-concert, Monday, Mozart, Music, Music director, musical, name, night, notes, online, opera, Orchestra, orchestral music, Oriol Sans, Overture Center, pandemic, part, percussion, performer, perhaps, post, posting, private, program, program notes, public safety, Puccini, record, recorded music, Reich, Rodion Shchedrin, Rossini, run, Russell, Russia, Russian, safe, safely, sales, schedule, scheduled, Season, semester, Sewell, share, Siwe, social distance, sold-out, Sonata, spray, Steve Reich, string music, String quartet, strings, Suite, Sunday, symphony, tag, technical, The Ear, The Willys, Thomas Siwe, Thursday, ticket, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, video, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, WCO, web page, Willy Street Chamber Players, wind music, winds, winter, Winter Chamber Music Series, Winter Chamber Series, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube, YouTube video
New York Times critics choose 10 online classical music concerts to stream in February, starting this Thursday
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
As they have done for previous months during the coronavirus pandemic, the classical music critics for The New York Times have named their top 10 choices of online concerts to stream in February, which is also Black History Month, starting this Thursday, Feb. 4.
Also predictably, they focus on new music – including a world premiere — new conductors and new composers, although “new” doesn’t necessarily mean young in this context.
For example, the conductor Fabio Luisi (below) is well known to fans of Richard Wagner and the Metropolitan Opera. But he is new to the degree that just last season he became the new conductor of Dallas Symphony Orchestra and its digital concert series.
Similarly, the Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg (below top, in a photo by Saara Vuorjoki) and the American composer Caroline Shaw (below bottom, in a photo by Kait Moreno), who has won a Pulitzer Prize, have both developed reputations for reliable originality.
But chances are good that you have not yet heard of the young avant-garde cellist Mariel Roberts (below top) or the conductor Jonathon Heyward (below bottom).
Nor, The Ear suspects, have you probably heard the names and music of composers Angélica Negrón (below top), who uses found sounds and Tyshawn Sorey (below bottom). (You can sample Negrón’s unusual music in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Of course, you will also find offerings by well-known figures such as the Berlin Philharmonic and its Kurt Weill festival; conductor Alan Gilbert; pianists Daniil Trifonov and Steven Osborne; violinist Leonidas Kavakos; and the JACK Quartet.
Tried-and-true composers are also featured, including music by Beethoven, Schnittke, Weber, Ravel and Prokofiev. But where are Bach, Vivaldi, Telemann and Handel? No one seems to like Baroque music.
Here is a link to the events with links and descriptions. All times are Eastern: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/arts/music/classical-music-streaming.html
Do you have other virtual and online concerts to suggest? Please leave details in the Comment sections.
Tags: #African-AmericanComposer, #AlanGilbert, #AlfredSchnittke, #AmericanComposer, #AngelicaNegron, #AnthonyTommasini, #AntonioVivaldi, #BaroqueMusic, #BavarianStateOpera, #BerlinGermany, #BerlinPhilharmonic, #BertoltBrecht, #BlackComposer, #BlackHistory, #BlackHistoryMonth, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CarlMariavonWeber, #CarolineShaw, #ChamberMusic, #ClassicalSymphony, #ConcertSeries, #ContemporaryMusic, #CoronavirusPandemic, #CountertenorSinger, #COVID-19, #DallasSymphonyOrchestra, #DallasTexas, #DaniilTrifonov, #DetroitMichigan, #DetroitSymphony, #DetroitSymphonyOrchestra, #EasternTime, #FabioLuisi, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FranzJosephHaydn, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GeorgPhilippTelemann, #HamburgGermany, #HannahKendall, #HelmutLachenmann, #JACKQuartet, #JacobStockinger, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnHoliday, #JohnStorgards, #JonathonHeyward, #JoshuaBarone, #KurtWeill, #LatinoComposers, #LeonidasKavakos, #LivingComposer, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MagnusLindberg, #MarielRoberts, #MauriceRavel, #MetropolitanOpera, #ModernMusic, #MotherGoose, #MotherGooseSuite, #MunichGermany, #MusicCritic, #NDRElbphilharmonieOrchestra, #NewMusic, #NewYorkTimes, #OnlineConcert, #OnlineFestival, #OperaMusic, #OrchestralMusic, #PercussionEnsemble, #PercussionMusic, #PianoConcerto, #PuertoRico, #PulitzerPrize, #RichardWagner, #RiseandFalloftheCotyofMahagonny, #SeattleSymphony, #SergeiProkofiev, #SethColterWalls, #SoPercussion, #SteveOsborn, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #TheMet, #TheThreeopennyOpera, #TheVoice, #TVShow, #TyshawnSorey, #ViolinConcerto, #VirtualConcert, #VirtualFestival, #VocalMusic, #YouTubevideo, #ZacharyWoolfe, abolitionist, African American, African-Amercian, Alan Gilbert, Alfred Schnittke, America, American, Angelica Negron, Anthony Tommasini, Antonio Vivaldi, Arts, audience, avant-garde, Bach, Barone, Baroque, Baroque music, Bavaria, Bavarian State Opera, Beethoven, Berlin, Berlin Philharmonic, Bertolt Brecht, black, black composer, Black history, Black History Month, blog, Brecht, Carl Maria von Weber, Caroline Shaw, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, chance, Classical music, Classical Symphony, colorful, comment, composer, computer, Concert, concert series, concerto, conductor, contemporary, contemporary music, context, coronavirus, coronavirus pandemic, countertenor, critics, Dallas, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Daniil Trifonov, dergee, description, details, Detroit, Detroit Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, digital, Eastern time, enchanting, Europe, European, event, Fabio Luisi, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, February, female, festival, Finland, Finnish, forward, Franz Joseph Haydn, Georg Philipp Telemann, George Frideric Handel, German, Germany, Gilbert, Hamburg, Handel, Hannah Kendall, Haydn, Helmut Lachenmann, Heyward, Hispanic, History, JACK Quartet, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Holiday, John Storgards, Jonathon Heyward, Joshua Barone, Kavakos, Kendall, Kurt Weill, Latina, Latino, Leonidas Kavakos, like, Lindberg, link, living composers, Ludwig van Beethoven, Luisi, Magnus Lindberg, Mariel Roberts, Maurice Ravel, Metropolitan Opera, modern music, Mother Goose, Mother Goose Suite, Munich, Music, music critic, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Negrón, new, New Music, New York Times, online, opera, Orchestra, orchestral music, original, originality, Osborn, Overture, percussion, Percussion Ensemble, performers, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, post, posting, Prokofiev, Puerto Rico, Pulitzer Prize, Ravel, reliable, reputation, Richard Wager, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, Roberts, Romantic, Schnittke, Season, Seattle, Seattle Symphony, section, Sergei Prokofiev, series, Seth Colter Walls, share, Shaw, singer, Singing, So percussion, Sorey, Steven Osborn, Storgards, stream, String quartet, suffragist, suggestion, Suite, symphony, tag, Telemann, Texas, The Ear, the Met, The Threepenny Opera, The Voice, time, Tommasini, Trifonov, TV, TV show, Tyshawn Sorey, United States, Violin, Violin concerto, violinist, virtual, Vivaldi, vocal music, Wagner, Weber, Weill, win, women, Woolfe, young, YouTube, Zachary Woolfe
Here is a comprehensive overview of classical music in 2020. It includes deaths, virtual seasons, world premieres, major awards, new albums and other noteworthy events
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
The last day of a year, especially a year as tragic and eventful for the arts as 2020, seems a good time for a retrospective.
For many years, Wikipedia has done a fine job of collating noteworthy classical music events, both nationally and internationally.
Organized by categories and then by month and day, the events include deaths, many from COVID-19 of course.
The list also includes the world premieres of new operas and new works in other musical genres. (You can hear “From the Diary of Anne Frank and “Meditations on Rilke” by the American conductor, educator and composer Michael Tilson Thomas — below in a photo by Hiroyuki Ito for The New York Times — in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The list, which has 567 footnotes and citations, includes cancellations, staff changes, virtual and online concert seasons and other fallout from the coronavirus. And they include awards for new recordings.
If you hover the cursor over names in blue print, you will also get specific details or biographical information with a portrait or photo in many cases. Then click on the blue name and you will go to the organization’s or individual’s home website.
The Ear finds it very useful as a year-in-review and hopes you do too.
Take a look for yourself. And here’s hoping that both artists and the arts thrive better in the coming new year of 2021.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_in_classical_music
What do you think of the Wikipedia list?
How did it leave you feeling?
Do you have something to add to the list?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AmericanComposer, #AnneFrank, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ClassicalMusicians, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DiaryofAnneFrank, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FranzLiszt, #GrammyAward, #HomeWebsite, #JacobStockinger, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MetropolitanOpera, #MichaelTilsonThomas, #MusicEducator, #NewMusic, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #NewYorkTimes, #OnlineConcert, #OperaMusic, #OrchestralMusic, #PlacidoDomingo, #RainerMariaRilke, #TheEar, #TheMet, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #Wikipediaentry, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WorldPremiere, #YouTubevideo, 2020, 2021, Album, American, Anne Frank, Arts, audience, award, Bach, Beethoven, better, biographical, biography, blog, blue, Brahms, cancellation, category, Chamber music, change, choral music, citation, Classical music, classicalmusic, click, collate, composer, comprehensive, computer, Concert, concerto, conductor, coronavirus, cursor, day, death, details, Diary of Anne Frank, Domingo, Early music, educator, event, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, fallout, feeling, festival, find, footnote, forward, Franz Liszt, Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, genre, Grammy, hear, home website, hope, hover, information, inidividual, international, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, last, like, link, list, Liszt, Ludwig van Beethoven, major, Meditation, Metropolitan Opera, Michael Tilson Thomas, month, Mozart, MTT, Music, Music education, musical, names, national, New Music, new recording, New York Philharmonic, New York Tmes, noteworthy, online, opera, orchestral music, organization, organize, overview, pandemic, photo, photograph, Picture, Plácido Domingo, portrait, post, posting, print, Rainer Maria Rilke, Retirement, retrospective, Rilke, Season, share, specific, staff\, tag, The Ear, the Met, Thomas, thrive, Tragic, useful, Violin, virtual, vocal music, Website, Wikipedia, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, world premiere, year, year-in-review, YouTube
It’s Thanksgiving Day. Conductor Marin Alsop, NPR, WQXR, WFMT and Wisconsin Public Radio offer music suggestions. What piece would you choose to mark the holiday?
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
Today – Thursday, Nov. 26, 2020 — is Thanksgiving Day.
Right now, the U.S. has had more than 12 million cases of COVID-19 with more than 260,000 deaths plus all the alarming signs and conditions that many more cases and deaths are coming in the next several months.
We might be sad that we can’t be with the family and friends we usually celebrate with. But we nonetheless have many things to give thanks for during this strange and tragic time.
We can thank the vaccine researchers; the doctors and nurses; and the other health care workers who take care of Covid patients, even those who don’t observe precautions and bring on their own illness.
We can thank all kinds of people on the front lines — food and transportation workers, for example — who help protect us and care for us.
We can thank the friends, family and others who stay in touch and help get us through these trying times.
And we can thank technology that makes isolating a lot less unbearable because we have telephones, radios, TVs, CD players, computers, cell phones and virtual online ZOOM meetings and gatherings and various other events including live-streamed concerts.
For The Ear, music has never meant more or brought more comfort than during this difficult year. He is giving thanks for that as well as for the other people and things just mentioned.
So what music should we celebrate this year’s emotionally complicated and mixed Thanksgiving holiday with?
Well, you can Google sources and go to YouTube to find compilations of music appropriate to the holiday. (See one playlist lasting 90 minutes in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Famed classical radio station WQXR in New York City has five suggestions for being musically grateful: https://www.wqxr.org/story/top-five-expressions-thanks-classical-music/
And WFMT in Chicago is offering 20 suggestions based on holiday food: https://www.wfmt.com/2019/11/25/a-complete-thanksgiving-feast-in-20-food-inspired-pieces/
But here are a couple of other suggestions, some local.
Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) is always a reliable source. And tomorrow is no exception.
If WPR programming stays true to past patterns, music by American composers will be emphasized.
Plus, starting at 10 a.m. WPR will broadcast performances from the Honors Concerts (below) by middle and high school students around the state and who participate in the Wisconsin School Music Association. This year, for the first time, the performances will be virtual. But as in past years, they are sure to be moving and even inspiring.
Other fine suggestions from the world-famous conductor Marin Alsop (below), a Leonard Bernstein protégée, who recently spoke for 7 minutes to NPR Weekend Edition host Scott Simon.
Here is a link, but you should listen rather than just read the transcript if you want to hear the musical samples: https://www.npr.org/2020/11/21/937448472/this-thanksgiving-put-on-some-music-to-soothe
Do you like any of those suggestions? Were any new to you?
What piece of music would you choose to express gratitude on this particular Thanksgiving?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AaronCopland, #AmericanComposer, #Americancomposers, #AntoninDvorak, #AntonioVivaldi, #BachCantata, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CellPhone, #ChamberMusic, #CharlesIves, #ChicagoIllinois, #ChoralMusic, #ClassicalMusician, #ClaudioMonteverdi, #CompactDisc, #CompactDiscPlayer, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FourSeasons, #FranzSchbert, #FredericChopin, #FrontlineWorker, #GeorgPhilippTelemann, #GermanRequiem, #GiuseppeVerdi, #Googlesearch, #HappyThanksgiving, #HealthCare, #HenryPurcell, #HighSchool, #JacobStockinger, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohannStrauss, #KnoxvilleSummer1915, #LeonardBernstein, #LiveStreaming, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MarinAlsop, #MassGathering, #MiddleSchool, #NationalPublicRadio, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkTimes, #OnlineConcert, #OperaMusic, #OrchestralMusic, #OsvaldoGolijov, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PeterTchaikovsky, #RadioStation, #RichardStrauss, #SamuelBarber, #ScottSimon, #Self-Isolation, #SocialDistance, #SocialDistancing, #StringQuartet, #ThanksgivingDay, #ThanksgivingHoliday, #ThanksgivingPlaylist, #TheEar, #TheU.S., #UnitedStates, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #WeekendEdition, #WFMTRadioStation, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WisconsinSchoolMusicAssociation, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #World-famous, #WQXRradio, #YouTubevideo, #ZoomMeeting, Aaron Copland, air, alarming, Alsop, American, Antonín Dvořák, Antonio Vivaldi, appropriate, Arts, audience, Bach, Barber, Baroque, Beethoven, Bernstein, blog, Brahms, Broadcast, Cantata, care, cases, CDs, celebrate, cell phone, Chamber music, Charles Ives, Chicago, Chopin, choral music, Classical music, classicalmusic, Claudio Monteverdi, comfort, coming, Compact Disc, Compact Disc player, compilation, complicated, composer, computer, Concert, condition, conductor, Copland, coronavirus, deaths, difficult, doctor, doctors, Dvorak, Early music, emotional, event, express, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, Family, famous, FM, food, forward, Four Seasons, Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin, friends, frontline, gathering, Georg Philipp Telemann, German Requiem, Giuseppe Verdi, give, Golijov, Google, grateful, gratitude, Happy Thanksgiving, health care, Henry Purcell, high school, Holiday, honors, host, hymn, ILLINOIS, illness, inspiring, isolating, isolation, Ives, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Strauss, Johannes Brahms, Knoxville Summer 1915, Leonard Bernstein, like, link, listen, live streaming, live-stream, local, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Marin Alsop, mark, meeting, Middle school, million, Monteverdi, months, moving, Mozart, Music, musical, National Public Radio, New York City, NPR, nurse, observe, online, opera, Orchestra, orchestral music, Osvaldo Golijov, pandemic, participate, past, patients, pattern, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, piece, playlist, post, posting, precautions, program, programming, protegee, Purcell, Radio, radio host, radio station, rdio, read, reliable, Requiem, researchers, Richard Strauss, sad, sample, Samuel Barber, Schubert, Scott Simon, service, share, sign, singer, Singing, social distance, social distancing, song, source, speak, strange, Strauss, stream, String quartet, suggestions, summer, symphony, tag, Tchaikovsky, technology, Telemann, telephone, Television, thanks, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day, The Ear, theme, times, touch, traditional, Tragic, transcript, transportation, trying, TV, U.S., unbearable, United States, US, vaccine, Verdi, Viola, Violin, virtual, Vivaldi, vocal msuic, vocal music, we, Weekend Edition, WFMT, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin School Music Association, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, workers, world, WPR, WQXR, year, YouTube, Zoom
TONIGHT at 7:30 the UW-Madison offers free but conflicting online concerts of opera and percussion music
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
Tonight – Tuesday, Nov. 24 – at 7:30 p.m. the University of Wisconsin’s Mead Witter School of Music will offer two FREE but competing events online.
You would think with so many empty spots in the events calendar due to the coronavirus pandemic that such conflicts could be avoided.
In any case, whichever concert you choose to watch – or perhaps to toggle back and forth between the two – here are the details:
OPERA SCENES
The first concert, done by University Opera, is Opera Scenes.
According to the website description: “What was to be Opera Workshop’s Fall Opera Scenes program has morphed in a delightful way.
“This term, each singer undertook an in-depth study of one particular operatic role. We’ll be presenting the fruits of that study – excerpted recitatives and arias from The Coronation of Poppea, Don Giovanni and Orfeo ed Euridice – staged in each student’s adapted habitat, and filmed by the students themselves.”
Here is the program with specifics about the singers and the selections as well as other aspects such as direction and accompaniment:
UW-Madison Opera Workshop: Professors Mimmi Fulmer, Thomas Kasdorf and University Opera head David Ronis (below) are the directors; William Preston and Molly Schumacher are the TAs.
“Batti, batti” and “Vedrai carino” from “Don Giovanni” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Zerlina: Maria Steigerwald
Directors: Molly Schumacher and David Ronis
Pianist: William Preston
“Chiamo il mio ben così” and “Che farò senza Euridice” from “Orfeo ed Euridice” by Christoph Willibald Gluck
Orfeo: Emily Quartemont
Director: David Ronis
Pianist: Thomas Kasdorf
“Or sai chi l’onore” and “Non mi dir” from “Don Giovanni” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Donna Anna: Sachie Ueshima
Director: Mimmi Fulmer
Pianist: Thomas Kasdorf
Excerpts from Act I, Scenes 3, 4, and 10 from “L’incoronazione di Poppea”by Claudio Monteverdi. (Below is a photo by Michael R. Anderson of a previous fully staged production in 2018 by University Opera of the Monteverdi opera.)
Poppea: Molly Schumacher
Director: Mimmi Fulmer
Pianist: William Preston
Here is a direct link to the one-hour production: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANcPY9sLGls
UW CHAMBER PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE
Also tonight is a concert by the UW-Madison Chamber Percussion Ensemble (below), directed by Anthony Di Sanza and Thomas Ross.
It takes place in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall of the Hamel Music Center, and will run from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. No in-person attendance is allowed.
The UW-Madison Chamber Percussion Ensemble is dedicated to the performance of significant and engaging works for the Western percussion ensemble tradition. Repertoire from diverse trends in 20th and 21st century chamber composition is explored with an emphasis on new compositions for percussion.
Here is a direct link to the live-streamed concert, with more information about the program and the names of the players if you click on “Show More”: https://youtu.be/iZKO8pZmomA
And here is the program of the mostly new music:
Living Room Music (in the times of Covid) (1940) by John Cage and heard in the YouTube video at the bottom.
I. To Begin
II. Story
III. Melody
IV. End
Spanesque Oscillations (2003) by Steve Riley
For High Hats (2017) by Matt McBane
INTERMISSION
Marimbaireachd (1997) by Matthew Welch
The Lonelyness of Santa Clause (1994) by Fredrik Andersson
Metric Lips (1988) by Bela Fleck (arr. Steinquest)
Tags: #20thCentury, #21stCentury, #AnthonyDiSanza, #BaroqueComposer, #BaroqueMusic, #BaroqueOpera, #BelaFleck, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberPercussionEnsemble, #ChristophWillibaldGluck, #ClaudioMonteverdi, #CollaborativePianist, #ConcertProgram, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DavidRonis, #DonGiovanni, #EmperorNero, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FredrikAndersson, #HamelMusicCenter, #HighHats, #JacobStockinger, #JohnCage, #LivingComposers, #LivingRoom, #LivingRoomMusic, #MarimbaMusic, #MatthewWelch, #MattMcBane, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MetricLips, #MimmiFulmer, #ModernComposers, #Musicfaculty, #NewMusic, #OnlineConcert, #OperaAria, #OperaMusic, #OperaScenes, #OperaticRecitative, #OrfeoedEuridice, #PercussionMusic, #PianoAccompanist, #SantaClause, #SopranoSinger, #SteveRiley, #TheCoronationofPoppea, #TheEar, #TheUW, #ThomasKasdorf, #ThomasRoss, #Tuesdaynight, #UniversityOpera, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #WilliamPreston, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, 2018, 20th-century, 21st century, ;ik, accompany, act, adapted, allow, Anthony Di Sanza, Arts, audience, avoid, Baroque, begin, Bela Fleck, blog, calendar, Chamber music, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Classical music, Claudio Monteverdi, competing, composer, compositions, Concert, conflict, coronation, coronavirus, David Ronis, dedicate, description, details, director, diverse, Don Giovanni, Early music, emphasis, empty, end, engaging, event, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, faculty, fall, forward, Fredrik Andersson, Gluck, habitat, Hamel Music Center, high hats, in person, in-depth, Jacob Stockinger, John Cage, like, lips, living composers, living room, Living Room Music, lonely, Madison, marimba, Matt McBane, Matthew Welch, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, melody, metric, Mimmi Fulmer, modern, Monteverdi, morph, Mozart, Music, music faculty, Nero, new, New Music, online, opera, Opera aria, opera scenes, operatic, Orfeo ed Euridice, oscillations, pandemic, percussion, Percussion music, performer, Pianist, Piano, Piano accompanist, Poppea, post, posting, previous, production, professor, program, recitative, repertoire, repertory, role, run, Santa Clause, scene, selection, share, significant, singer, soprano, specifics, spot, stage, staged, Steve Riley, story, Student, study, tag, The Coronation of Poppea, The Ear, Thomas Kasdorf, Thomas Ross, toggle, tonight, tradition, trend, Tuesday, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, UW, UW-Madison, virtual, virtual concert, vocal music, watch, Western, William Preston, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, works, YouTube, Zelina
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 
New York Times critics name their Top 10 online concerts in April. They start today with a Good Friday performance of Bach’s “St. John Passion.”
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
More people are getting COVID vaccines, but concerts will remain virtual and online for quite a while yet, especially if a fourth wave or another spike hits the U.S. and the world.
So here, once again, are the Top 10 online choices for April listening picked by the classical music critics for The New York Times.
This being the weekend of Good Friday and Easter Sunday, it couldn’t be more timely.
The first choice, which starts steaming today, is perfect for both occasions. It is a production of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “St. John Passion.” It is conducted by THE Bach performers – the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque soloists, all conducted by Bach expert John Eliot Gardiner.
Gardiner has recorded and toured the world with Bach’s cantatas and oratorios. He also wrote the well criticially acclaimed book “Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven.”
If you like Bach, you are in for some good listening this month. Pianist Jeremy Denk (below) will also perform the complete first book of Bach’s “The Well-Tempered Clavier” at the end of the month. (You can hear the famous first prelude, popular with students and amateurs but also used in a sacred setting by Schubert and Gounod, in the Youtube video at the bottom.)
You may recall that Denk performed Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” several years ago at the Wisconsin Union Theater, which also hosted an online concert by Denk this season in a program of Brahms and the two Schumann’s – Robert and Clara.
You can also hear chamber music, including a concert of contemporary composers by the Attacca Quartet.
And there is a period performance of “Pelleas and Melisande” by Debussy (below). It will attempt to recreate how the opera score sounded when it was first performed in 1902.
The ever-inventive music educator Leon Botstein will conduct a concert of music by Stravinsky, Leonard Bernstein and Tania Leon.
German baritone Benjamin Appl will perform the famous song cycle “Die Schöne Müllerin” (The Beautiful Miller’s Daughter) by Franz Schubert. It streams from the faned Wigmore Hall in London.
One of the most intriguing choices is the score to Philip Glass’ “pocket opera” based on the short story “In the Penal Colony” by Franz Kafka.
The well-known conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen (below), who is also the new music director of the San Francisco Symphony after Michael Tilson Thomas retired last year. Much of the program is Salonen’s own music, along with Minimalist music by Steve Reich and Terry Riley.
There are also “Monumental Trios, featuring piano trios by Brahms and Beethoven, performed by members of the Chamber Music of Society.
And of course there will be a world premiere of the Symphony No. 2 by Huw Watkins (below is his Wikipedia bio with a photo in case you haven’t heard of the composer).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huw_Watkins
For more details, here is a link to the Times story. Click on the headline. It includes some commentary by the critic who chose each piece. You will also find links to the artist and organization plus the debut date and how long the post will remain available. Please note that all times are Eastern Daylight Time.
Do you have other concerts you recommend for streaming – local, regional, national or international?
Please leave your selection in the Comment section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Happy listening.
Share this:
Like this:
Tags: #AttaccaQuartet, #BachCantata, #BaroqueMusic, #BaroqueOratorio, #BenjaminAppl, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberMusicSocietyofLIncolnCenter, #CharlesGounod, #ChineseConductor, #ChoralMusic, #ClaraSchumann, #ClassicalMusicians, #ClaudeDebussy, #ConcertProgram, #ConcertTour, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #EasternTime, #EasterOratorio, #EasterSunday, #EnglishBaroqueSoloists, #Esa-PekkaSalonen, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FranzKafka, #FranzSchubert, #GoodFriday, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #HuwWatkins, #IgorStravinsky, #JacobStockinger, #JeremyDenk, #JesusChrist, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnEliotGardiner, #LeonardBernstein, #LeonBotstein, #LondonEngland, #MinimalistMusic, #MonteverdiChoir, #MusicCritics, #NewYorkTimes, #OnlineConcert, #OperaMusic, #OrchestralMusic, #PelleasandMelisande, #PelleasetMelisande, #PeriodInstruments, #PhiliipGass, #PianoConcerto, #PianoMusic, #PianoTrio, #RecordedMusic, #RobertSchumann, #SanFranciscoSymphony, #ShortStory, #St.JohnPassion, #SteveReich, #StringQuartet, #TaniaLeon, #TerryRiley, #TheEar, #TheWell-TemperedClavier, #ViolinConcerto, #VirtualConcert, #WigmoreHall, #Wikipediabiography, #Wikipediaentry, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WorldPremiere, April, artist, Attacca Quartet, Bach, Baroque music, Benjamin Appl, Bernstein, blog, Blog post, blog posting, Book, Brahms, Cantata, castle, Chamber music, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Charles Gounod, choice, choral music, Christ, Christian, Christianity, Clara Schumann, Classical music, classicalmusic, Claude Debussy, commentary, Concert, concert tour, coronavirus, critically acclaimed, date, Debussy, Denk, Easter, Easter Sunday, Eastern time, English Baroque Soloists, Esa-Pekka Salonen, expert, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, forward, Franz Kafka, Franz Schubert, fugue, German baritone, Germany, Glass, God, Good Friday, Gounod, heaven, historically informed performance practices, Holiday, Huw Watkins, Igor Stravinsky, Jacob Stockinger, Jeremy Denk, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Eliot Gardiner, Kafka, Leon Bostein, Leonard Bernstein, like, link, London, Lord, minimalism, minimalist, Monteverdi Choir, MTT, Music, music critics, name, New York Times, occasion, online, opera, opera music, oratorio, Orchestra, orchestral music, organization, pandemic, Pelleas and Melisande, Pelleas et Melisande, perfect, period instruments, Philip Glass, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, piano music, Piano Trio, post, posting, Prelude, program, recorded music, Reich, Religion, Robert Schumann, sacred, San Francisco Symphony, Schubert, Schumann, score, Season, share, short story, Spring, St. John Passion, stage, staged, staging, Steve Reich, Stravinsky, String quartet, symphony, tag, Tania Leon, Terry Riley, The Ear, The Well-Tempered Clavier, time, tour, trio, vaccination, vaccine, Violin, Violin concerto, virtual, Watkins, Wigmore Hall, Wikipedia, Wisconsin Union Theater, world premiere, WUT