The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: As superstar Itzhak Perlman turns 75, a critic assesses his virtues and shortcomings in playing both the violin and his audiences
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By Jacob Stockinger
Last Monday, Aug. 31, superstar violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman (below, in a photo by Yael Malka of The New York Times) turned 75.
To celebrate, Sony Classical released a boxed set of 18 CDs (below) with many performances by Perlman – solo, chamber music and concertos – recorded over many years.
On the occasion of Perlman’s birthday, critic Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim of The New York Times wrote a retrospective review of Perlman’s long career. (You can hear his most popular performance ever — with more than 6 million hits — in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The Ear finds the opinion piece both brave and truthful, pointing out Perlman’s mastery of the Romantic repertory but also criticizing his stodgy treatment of Vivaldi and other Baroque music that has benefitted from the period-instrument movement and historically informed performance practices
Yet the essay, which also touches on ups and down of Perlman’s career, always remains respectful and appreciative even when discussing Perlman’s shortcomings.
Offering many historical details and photos as well as sample videos, the critical assessment of Perlman seems perfectly timed.
The Ear hopes you enjoy it as much as he did. Here is a link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/26/arts/music/itzhak-perlman-violin.html
If you have heard Itzhak Perlman either on recordings or live – at the Wisconsin Union Theater, the old Civic Center or Overture Hall — let us know what you think.
The Ear wants to hear.
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Music education: Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras present their spring concerts and concerto winners this Saturday and Sunday afternoons
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) will present its third and final concert series of the season, the Eugenie Mayer Bolz Family Spring Concerts, on this Saturday, May 19, and Sunday, May 20.
The concerts will take place in Mills Concert Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, 455 North Park Street, in Madison.
Programed pieces include works from Felix Mendelssohn, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Dmitri Shostakovich, Arturo Marquez, Aaron Copland, Jacques Offenbach, and more.
For a complete repertoire list, go to:https://www.wysomusic.org/eugenie-mayer-bolz-family-spring-concerts-repertoire/
The concert weekend features four concerto performances from the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Youth Orchestra members, and the final concert by Mark Leiser (below), who will rertire as conductor of WYSO’s Sinfonietta orchestra after 25 seasons.
Each year, WYSO hosts a concerto competition for members of the Youth Orchestra and the Philharmonia Orchestra.
Concerto competition winners performing during the spring concerts this year are Ellen Zhou, a seventh-grader at E.G. Kromrey Middle School in Middleton, and a member of Philharmonia Orchestra; Ava Kenney, a seventh-grader at Saint Maria Goretti School, and a member of Philharmonia Orchestra; Morty Lee, a junior at James Madison Memorial High School, and a member of Youth Orchestra; and Isabelle Krier, a junior at Oregon High School, and a member of Youth Orchestra.
Ellen Zhou (below top) will perform Zigeunerweisen by Pablo de Sarasate, and Ava Kenney (below bottom) will perform the first movement of the Violin Concerto by Felix Mendelssohn with Philharmonia Orchestra on Saturday.
Morty Lee (below top) will perform the first Cello Concerto No. 1 by Dmitri Shostakovich; and Isabelle Krier (below bottom) will perform the third movement of the Violin Concerto in D Major by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky with the Youth Orchestra on Sunday.
Sinfonietta conductor Mark Leiser (below, conducting) will give his final concert on May 19. Leiser has been the sole conductor of Sinfonietta since its inception 25 years ago. His son Kenny Leiser, a WYSO alumnus, will sit in with the orchestra during their performance of Astor Piazzolla’s “new tango” piece Oblivion.
WYSO students travel from communities throughout southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois each weekend throughout the concert season to rehearse on the UW-Madison campus.
Each orchestra performs three concerts per season, with additional performance opportunities available to students, including ensembles and chamber music groups.
Concert admission is $10 for adults, and $5 for youth 18 and under, with tickets available 45 minutes before each performance at the door on the day of the concerts.
For a full concert repertoire, and to learn more about WYSO, visit https://www.wysomusic.org
Here is a schedule of events:
Eugenie Mayer Bolz Family Spring Concerts
SATURDAY
1:00 p.m. – Harp Ensemble (below top), Concert Orchestra, Sinfonietta
4:00 p.m. – Percussion Ensemble (below bottom) and Philharmonia Orchestra
SUNDAY
2:00 p.m. – Opus One and Youth Orchestra
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