The Well-Tempered Ear
Check out the 2022 classical music Grammys for trends and suggested listening
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By Jacob Stockinger
No doubt you have already heard about the 64th annual Grammy Awards, which were awarded last Sunday night.
But chances are you haven’t heard much about the classical music Grammys.
That’s just not where the money and publicity are for major record companies and for the music industry in general, compared to other, much more profitable genres such as hip-hop, rock and pop.
But the classical Grammy nominations and winners can be a good source about what composers, performers and music you might want to check out via streaming or by buying a CD.
You can also get a good idea of trends in classical music.
Contemporary or new music is big again this year, dominating the old standard classics.
Just like local, regional, national and international performers, both individuals and groups, the Grammys show an emphasis on female composers and performers, and a similar emphasis on rediscovering composers and performers of color from both the past and the present.
You might also notice that the New Orleans-born, Juilliard-trained jazz pianist and singer Jon Batiste (below) — who plays on CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and directs the house band Stay Human and who seems a one-man Mardi Gras — was nominated for a record 11 Grammys and won five in other categories, seems to be the new Wynton Marsalis. Like Marsalis, with whom Batiste worked, Batiste seems perfectly at home in classical music as well as jazz, soul, blues and pop. And his original classical work Movement 11 was nominated for a Grammy this year.
Social activism, in short, has finally brought diversity and inclusion into the Grammys in a way that seems permanent.
Below are the nominations and winners of the 2022 classical music Grammys. Winners are boldfaced. I have also offered a few examples of those musicians who have performed in Madison and for what venue, although there are many more connections than indicated.
If you want to see the nominations and winners in other categories, here is a link:
https://www.npr.org/2022/04/03/1090342877/2022-grammys-full-list-winners-nominees
75. Best Engineered Album, Classical
- Archetypes — Jonathan Lackey, Bill Maylone and Dan Nichols, engineers; Bill Maylone, mastering engineer (Sérgio Assad, Clarice Assad and Third Coast Percussion)
- Beethoven: Cello Sonatas – Hope Amid Tears — Richard King, engineer (Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax)
- Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 — Mark Donahue, engineer; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck, Mendelssohn Choir Of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
- Chanticleer Sings Christmas — Leslie Ann Jones, engineer (Chanticleer)
- Mahler: Symphony No. 8, ‘Symphony Of A Thousand’ — Alexander Lipay and Dmitriy Lipay, engineers; Alexander Lipay and Dmitriy Lipay, mastering engineers (Gustavo Dudamel, Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, Luke McEndarfer, Robert Istad, Grant Gershon, Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, National Children’s Chorus, Pacific Chorale and Los Angeles Philharmonic)
76. Producer Of The Year, Classical
- Blanton Alspaugh
- Steven Epstein
- David Frost
- Elaine Martone
- Judith Sherman (below, who also recorded the UW-Madison Pro Arte Quartet’s centennial commissions)
CLASSICAL
77. Best Orchestral Performance
- “Adams: My Father Knew Charles Ives; Harmonielehre” — Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor (Nashville Symphony Orchestra)
- “Beethoven: Symphony No. 9” — Manfred Honeck, conductor (Mendelssohn Choir Of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
- “Muhly: Throughline” — Nico Muhly, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)
- “Florence Price: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3″ — Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Philadelphia Orchestra (below)
- “Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra; Scriabin: The Poem Of Ecstasy” — Thomas Dausgaard, conductor (Seattle Symphony Orchestra)
78. Best Opera Recording
- “Bartók: Bluebeard’s Castle” — Susanna Mälkki, conductor; Mika Kares and Szilvia Vörös; Robert Suff, producer (Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra)
- “Glass: Akhnaten” — Karen Kamensek, conductor; J’Nai Bridges, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Zachary James and Dísella Lárusdóttir; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
- “Janáček: Cunning Little Vixen” — Simon Rattle, conductor; Sophia Burgos, Lucy Crowe, Gerald Finley, Peter Hoare, Anna Lapkovskaja, Paulina Malefane, Jan Martinik & Hanno Müller-Brachmann; Andrew Cornall, producer (London Symphony Orchestra; London Symphony Chorus and LSO Discovery Voices)
- “Little: Soldier Songs” — Corrado Rovaris, conductor; Johnathan McCullough; James Darrah and John Toia, producers (The Opera Philadelphia Orchestra)
- “Poulenc: Dialogues Des Carmélites” — Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Karen Cargill, Isabel Leonard, Karita Mattila, Erin Morley and Adrianne Pieczonka; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
79. Best Choral Performance
- “It’s A Long Way” — Matthew Guard, conductor (Jonas Budris, Carrie Cheron, Fiona Gillespie, Nathan Hodgson, Helen Karloski, Enrico Lagasca, Megan Roth, Alissa Ruth Suver and Dana Whiteside; Skylark Vocal Ensemble)
- “Mahler: Symphony No. 8, ‘Symphony Of A Thousand'” — Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Grant Gershon, Robert Istad, Fernando Malvar-Ruiz and Luke McEndarfer, chorus masters (Leah Crocetto, Mihoko Fujimura, Ryan McKinny, Erin Morley, Tamara Mumford, Simon O’Neill, Morris Robinson and Tamara Wilson; Los Angeles Philharmonic; Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, National Children’s Chorus and Pacific Chorale)
- “Rising w/The Crossing” — Donald Nally, conductor (International Contemporary Ensemble and Quicksilver; The Crossing)
- “Schnittke: Choir Concerto; Three Sacred Hymns; Pärt: Seven Magnificat-Antiphons” — Kaspars Putniņš, conductor; Heli Jürgenson, chorus master (Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir)
- “Sheehan: Liturgy Of Saint John Chrysostom” — Benedict Sheehan, conductor (Michael Hawes, Timothy Parsons and Jason Thoms; The Saint Tikhon Choir)
- “The Singing Guitar” — Craig Hella Johnson, conductor (Estelí Gomez; Austin Guitar Quartet, Douglas Harvey, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and Texas Guitar Quartet; Conspirare)
80. Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
- “Adams, John Luther: Lines Made By Walking” — JACK Quartet
- “Akiho: Seven Pillars” — Sandbox Percussion
- “Archetypes” —Sérgio Assad, Clarice Assad and Third Coast Percussion
- “Beethoven: Cello Sonatas – Hope Amid Tears” — Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax (who have frequently performed individually and together at the Wisconsin Union Theater)
- “Bruits” — Imani Winds
81. Best Classical Instrumental Solo
- “Alone Together” — Jennifer Koh (below, who has performed with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra)
- “An American Mosaic” — Simone Dinnerstein
- “Bach: Solo Violin Sonatas and Partitas” — Augustin Hadelich (a favorite of the Madison Symphony Orchestra)
- “Beethoven and Brahms: Violin Concertos” — Gil Shaham; Eric Jacobsen, conductor (The Knights)
- “Mak Bach” — Mak Grgić
- “Of Power” — Curtis Stewart
82. Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
- Confessions — Laura Strickling; Joy Schreier, pianist
- Dreams Of A New Day – Songs By Black Composers — Will Liverman (who has sung with the Madison Opera); Paul Sánchez, pianist (below at in the YouTube video at the bottom)
- Mythologies — Sangeeta Kaur and Hila Plitmann (Virginie D’Avezac De Castera, Lili Haydn, Wouter Kellerman, Nadeem Majdalany, Eru Matsumoto and Emilio D. Miler)
- Schubert: Winterreise — Joyce DiDonato; Yannick Nézet-Séguin, pianist
- Unexpected Shadows — Jamie Barton; Jake Heggie, pianist (Matt Haimovitz)
83. Best Classical Compendium
- American Originals – A New World, A New Canon — AGAVE and Reginald L. Mobley; Geoffrey Silver, producer
- Berg: Violin Concerto; Seven Early Songs and Three Pieces For Orchestra — Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Jack Vad, producer
- Cerrone: The Arching Path — Timo Andres and Ian Rosenbaum; Mike Tierney, producer
- Plays — Chick Corea; Chick Corea and Birnie Kirsh, producers
- Women Warriors – The Voices Of Change — Amy Andersson, conductor; Amy Andersson, Mark Mattson and Lolita Ritmanis, producers (below)
84. Best Contemporary Classical Composition
- “Akiho: Seven Pillars” — Andy Akiho, composer (Sandbox Percussion)
- “Andriessen: The Only One” — Louis Andriessen, composer (Esa-Pekka Salonen, Nora Fischer and Los Angeles Philharmonic)
- “Assad, Clarice and Sérgio, Connors, Dillon, Martin & Skidmore: Archetypes” — Clarice Assad, Sérgio Assad, Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin and David Skidmore, composers (Sérgio Assad, Clarice Assad and Third Coast Percussion)
- “Batiste: Movement 11′” — Jon Batiste, composer (Jon Batiste)
- “Shaw: Narrow Sea” — Caroline Shaw, composer (Dawn Upshaw, Gilbert Kalish and Sō Percussion)
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WORT-FM 89.9 now has a Monday morning show of modern and contemporary classical music with Paul Baker
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By Jacob Stockinger
The listener-sponsored, community radio station WORT-FM 89.9 — long a home for classical music from all eras, from the earliest to the newest — has a new program to join its many others about music in all genres and all periods as well as news and commentary about public affairs.
It airs on Monday mornings from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. with Paul Baker (below, in his WORT studio). He is well-known radio host, music critic and amateur musician.
Baker recently shared with The Ear some insights into his new show “Listen Adventurously”:
Are you still doing your show for WSUM, the student-run FM radio station at the University of Wisconsin-Madison?
I hosted Only Strings on WSUM-FM 91.7 to focus on chamber music at a time when I was taking cello lessons. I wanted to absorb as much chamber music as possible, and preparing for, and hosting, a radio program was one good way to do that. I ended the show in 2019 when I reached the five-year mark.
How did the new WORT show come about?
I’ve been a WORT fan for more than 30 years. I know many of the program hosts and have been in touch with the music director, Sybil Augustine, for some time.
I had hosted a WORT Sunday early morning show briefly about 20 years ago. The Monday morning classical slot recently became available when Christopher Delamarter stepped down, so I raised my hand.
What can you tell us about the content of the show?
The show has been billed as 20th-century classical music. I am extending that to include pieces from the 2000s as well — things written as recently as last year. There is just so much good material. Younger composers and performers deserve to be heard.
So the show will feature Bartok and Shostakovich and Samuel Barber, of course, but also Philip Glass and Arvo Pärt and Jennifer Higdon and Laura Schwendinger (below, who teaches at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music and whose music is widely performed) and Chicago’s Third Coast Percussion Ensemble. In my opinion, there’s a lack of local availability to hear this music.
I enjoy sharing music with people. When I worked on campus, I programmed three shows for WSUM-FM. Now that I’m retired, I’m happy to have this opportunity on WORT. The only drawback is that I must get up at 4 a.m. for the 5 a.m. air time. But I’m a morning person, so it’s not that bad.
Editor’s note: If you want to see a sample playlist, as well as WORT’s daily show schedule, here a link to the one from this past Monday: https://www.wortfm.org/on-air-schedule/
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Just Bach concludes its season this Wednesday morning with highlights of the past season
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post about this season’s final Just Bach online concert this Wednesday:
Greetings from Just Bach!
We hope this finds you all well, enjoying the spring, and ready to experience more of the timeless beauty of Bach’s music.
Our May concert features musical highlights from this extraordinary past season.
The complete program listing is below. It is organized in two parts, corresponding to the two semesters.
Indoor singing was risky during the pandemic, so the bulk of our programming was instrumental, with strings and keyboard for the most part (below in a photo by Barry Lewis).
The Sinfonia from the Christmas Oratorio was recorded at St. Matthias Episcopal Church in Waukesha, because of the Dane County Emergency Order prohibiting indoor gatherings in November and December during the pandemic.
We were back at Luther Memorial Church for the January concert, and by April we were able to include woodwinds (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis)
You can view the May concert here, starting at 8 a.m. this Wednesday, May 19, and then staying available indefinitely: https://justbach.org/concerts/
Please join us for a half-hour live Zoom post-concert reception on Wednesday night, May 19, at 7 p.m. Chat with the performers by following the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85144014343?pwd=RmVURXBBU1hMcloyalJhbUdCQ1NmQT09
Viewing the concerts is FREE, but we ask those who are able, to help us pay our musicians by making a tax-deductible donation at: https://justbach.org/donate
Just Bach will take a break for the summer, and concerts will resume in September.
Here is the May program:
• Welcome
Part I – Fall Semester
• Cantata 146: Sinfonia
• Violin Sonata, BWV 1001: movement 4 Presto
• Double Violin Concerto: movement 3 Allegro (in the YouTube video, with an animated graphic, at the bottom)
• Christmas Oratorio, Part II: Sinfonia
• Christmas Oratorio: Chorale “Ich steh’ an deiner Krippen hier” (I stand here by your crib)
Part II – Spring Semester
• Cantata 35: Sinfonia
• Trio Sonata, BWV 526: movement 2 Largo
• Violin Sonata, BWV 1019: movement 5 Allegro
• Flute Sonata BWV 1034: movement 1 Adagio ma non tanto
• Cantata 42: Sinfonia
• Cantata 149: Chorale “Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein” (O Lord, let your dear little angel)
Performers are: Kangwon Kim, Christine Hauptly Annin, Leanne League, Xavier Pleindoux, Nathan Giglierano and Aaron Yarmel, violin; Marika Fischer Hoyt, viola; Charlie Rasmussen and Lindsey Crabb, cello; Linda Pereksta and Monica Steger, traverse flute; Marc Vallon, bassoon; Grammy-winner Sarah Brailey, soprano; John Chappell Stowe and Jason Moy, harpsichord; Mark Brampton Smith, organ; and Bruce Bengston, organ.
Dave Parminter is the videographer and Barry Lewis is the photographer.
For more information, go to:
youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ
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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
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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
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The UW Pro Arte Quartet performs the sixth installment of its must-hear Beethoven cycle in a FREE virtual online concert this Friday night. Here are the schedule and links for the rest of the cycle
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By Jacob Stockinger
This Friday night, Feb. 5, the University of Wisconsin Mead Witter School of Music’s Pro Arte Quartet (PAQ, below) will perform a FREE live virtual and online all-Beethoven concert.
The program is the sixth installment of the PAQ’s Beethoven string quartet cycle, which is part of the Pro Arte Quartet’s yearlong retrospective of Beethoven’s quartets to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of the composer (below).
Members (below, from left, in a photo by Rick Lang) are violinists David Perry; violist Suzanne Beia; and cellist Parry Karp.
The live-streamed concert begins at 7:30 CST with a short lecture by UW-Madison professor of musicology Charles Dill (below), who will introduce both string quartets: String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6; and String Quartet in F major, Op. 59, No. 1.
If this concert is at all like the past ones online, listeners are in for a treat. The playing is always first-rate, but – unlike what has been the case with even professional online and virtual performers – the sound and visual technology matches that quality. To The Ear, these are must-hear performances, wherever you are in the world.
Because of copyright issues, each concert will stay posted in YouTube for only 24 hours.
Here is the new schedule for the spring semester and the rest of the Beethoven cycle.
Explains cellist Parry Karp: “The schedule for this coming semester has been changed a bit because the semester started a week later and we decided to do Beethoven’s String Quintets as well.”
All virtual concerts will take place in Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall in the Hamel Music Center. But no in-person attendance will be allowed.
PROGRAM No. 6: Friday, Feb. 5, 7:30 p.m. String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6 (1798-1800). You can hear the last movement in the YouTube video at the bottom. String Quartet in F Major, Op 59, No. 1 (1808)
PROGRAM No. 7: Friday, March 5, 7:30 p.m. Fugue for String Quintet in D Major, Op. 137 (1817); String Quintet in C Major, Op. 29 (1801); String Quartet in C Major, Op. 59, No. 3 (1808)
PROGRAM No. 8: Friday, April 9, 7:30 p.m. String Quartet in F Major, Op. 135 (1826); String Quartet in B-flat major, Opp. 130 and 133 (1825-6)
And here are links to those performances:
Feb. 5
March 5
April 9
Tags: #All-Beethoven, #BeethovenYear, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CentralTime, #ChamberMusic, #CharlesDill, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DavidPerry, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Fridaynight, #HamelMusicCenter, #HighTechnology, #JacobStockinger, #LiveConcert, #LiveStreaming, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicProfessor, #OnlineConcert, #ParryKarp, #Pre-concertLecture, #ProArteQuartet, #SallyChisholm, #SpringSemester, #StringQuartet, #StringQuintet, #TheEar, #TheUW, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VirtualConcert, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, anniversary, Arts, audience, Beethoven, Beethoven Year, birth, blog, cellist, Cello, Central Time, Chamber music, change, Charles Dill, Classical music, composer, Concert, coronavirus, CST, David Perry, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, first-rate, free, Friday, Hamel Music Center, installment, introduce, Jacob Stockinger, lecture, like, link, listener, live concert, live streaming, live-stream, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, match, Mead Witter, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, Music, musicology, must-hear, night, online, pandemic, PAQ, Parry Karp, part, perform, playing, post, posting, Pro Arte Quartet, professor, quaity, retrospective, Sally Chisholm, schedule, semester, share, six, Sound, Spring, stream, String quartet, string quintet, tag, talk, technology, The Ear, treat, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, video, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, Wisconsin, world, yearlong, YouTube
This Wednesday, Just Bach debuts its free 30-minute online concert of solo and chamber organ music with a sing-along cantata chorale
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post:
Happy New Year from Just Bach!
We hope this finds you all well, and ready to experience more of the timeless beauty of music by Johann Sebastian Bach (below, 1685-1750) in 2021, because we have a lovely new program ready to debut on this Wednesday, Jan. 20, at 8 a.m. (It will stay up indefinitely after the premiere, so you can listen to it before or after the Inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris.)
As regular performers on Luther Memorial Church’s weekly “Music at Midday” concert series, Just Bach presents half-hour programs on the third Wednesday of each month. The spring semester’s dates are: Jan. 20, Feb. 17, March 17, April 21 and May 19.
Our online concerts — Dave Parminter is the videographer — are posted early Wednesday mornings at 8 a.m. on the Just Bach and Luther Memorial YouTube Channels. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ
Viewing the virtual concerts is free to the public, but we ask those who are able to help us pay our musicians with a tax-deductible donation at https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick…
Our January concert opens with Just Bach co-founder and Grammy-nominated soprano Sarah Brailey (below) – a graduate student at the UW-Madison — providing welcoming remarks.
The program offers two trio sonatas from the set of six that Bach composed for solo organ. Bruce Bengston (below) will perform Sonata No. 4 in E Minor, BWV 528, on the big Austin organ up in the church’s balcony.
Then Bruce will switch to the small portative organ and join violinist Kangwon Kim (below top) and violist Marika Fischer Hoyt (below middle) in a performance of Sonata No. 2 in C Minor, BWV 526, arranged for violin, viola and organ continuo (a rehearsal photo is below bottom).
Sarah, who also recorded herself paying a cello part, closes the program with the final chorale from Cantata 149 —Ach Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein (Ah, Lord, let your dear little angel) — a powerfully transcendent movement that Bach also used to close the St. John Passion. (You can hear it in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
We encourage viewers to sing along by following the chorale sheet music, which will be displayed on the computer screen as Sarah sings and Bruce accompanies on the organ.
The world needs this soul-centering music now more than ever. Please join us this Wednesday, Jan. 20.
Tags: #All-Bach, #AustinOrgan, #BachCantata, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BruceBengtson, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ComputerScreen, #ConcertSeries, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DaveParminter, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GraduateStudent, #GrammyAward, #HappyNewYear, #JacobStockinger, #JesusChrist, #JohannSebastianBach, #JustBach, #KamalaHarris, #KangwonKim, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MusicatMidday, #OnlineConcert, #PayPal, #PortativeOrgan, #PresidentBiden, #ProtestantReligion, #SaintJohn, #SarahBrailey, #SheetMusic, #SopranoSinger, #SpringSemester, #St.JohnPassion, #TheEar, #TheInauguration, #TheUW, #TrioSonata, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #Vice-PresidentHarris, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, 2021, accompany, angel, Arts, audience, Austin, Bach, balcony, Baroque, Baroque music, beauty, Biden, blog, Bruce Bengtson, BWV, Cantata, cellist, Cello, center, Chamber music, choral music, Chorale, Christ, Christian, Christianity, church, Classical music, close, co-founder, compose, composer, computer, computer screen, Concert, concert series, continuo, coronavirus, Dave Parminter, debut, display, donate, donation, Early music, ever, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, final, forward, founder, free, graduate student, Grammy, half-hour, Happy New Year, hope, inauguration, Jacob Stockinger, Jesus, Johann Sebastian Bach, join, Joseph Biden, Just Bach, Kamala Harris, Kangwon Kim, like, link, Lord, lovely, Luther Memorial Church, Lutheranism, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marika Fischer Hoyt, Mead Witter School of Music, movement, Music, Music at Midday, need, new, nomination, now, online, open, organ, pandemic, part, Passion, performance, photo, portative organ, post, posting, POTUS, powerful, President, President Biden, program, Protestant, public, ready, rehearsal, Religion, remarks, Saint John, Sarah Brailey, screen, semester, series, share, sheet music, sing, sing-along, singer, solo, Sonata, soprano, soul, Spring, spring semester, St. John Passion, tag, tax-deductible, The Ear, timeless, transcendent, trio sonata, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, vice president, Vice-President Harris, videographer, viewer, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtual, virus, vocal music, Wednesday, week, weekly, welcome, well, Wisconsin, world, YouTube, YouTube channel, YouTube video
This Wednesday’s FREE Just Bach virtual online concert features holiday music from the Christmas Oratorio and other works
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement from the organizers of Just Bach:
The program for Just Bach’s holiday concert this Wednesday, Dec. 16, opens with Chorale Prelude settings of Advent melodies from the Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book) by Johann Sebastian Bach (below), with Mark Brampton Smith on organ and soprano Sarah Brailey singing the melodies.
Violinist Nathan Giglierano follows with the beautiful, contemplative Largo from the third solo violin Sonata, along with two pieces – Two-Part Invention No. 13 and the Sinfonia from Cantata 156 — arranged for violin and viola, which he plays with his wife Gillian.
The second half of the program features selections from the Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248. The Madison-based early music group Sonata à Quattro (SAQ, below in a photo by Barry Lewis) plays the luminous Sinfonia – in an arrangement for string quartet and organ– that opens the second Cantata in this work. The performance was recorded at St. Matthias Episcopal Church in Waukesha, Wis., where SAQ is ensemble-in-residence. (You can hear the Sinfonia in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Members of SAQ (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis) are: Christine Hauptly Annin and Leanne League, violins; Marika Fischer Hoyt, viola; Charlie Rasmussen, cello; and Mark Brampton Smith, organ.
Soprano and UW-Madison graduate student Sarah Brailey (below) — who was just nominated for a Grammy Award — returns with three chorales from the Christmas Oratorio, singing all four parts in a multi-track recording and bringing the holiday program to a high-tech conclusion.
We are thrilled to participate in the weekly ‘Music at Midday’ concert series by Luther Memorial Church. Here is a link: https://www.luthermem.org/music-at-midday.
As part of this series, Just Bach concerts take place on the third Wednesday of each month. Remaining concerts are Dec. 16, Jan. 20, Feb. 17, March 17, April 21 and May 19. Each program lasts approximately 30 minutes.
It is still too risky to have in-person audiences, so these concerts are posted on the Just Bach and Luther Memorial YouTube Channels.
Please note: Now that concerts are online instead of in person, the videos are published early Wednesday mornings, instead of at noon. Then the online post will remain up and accessible for an indefinite time.
Here is a link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ?
Viewing the concerts is free, but we ask those who are able, to help us pay our musicians with a tax-deductible donation. https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7A4R7CA8VDRMG&source=url
Concert viewers are invited to a half-hour live Zoom post-concert reception on Wednesday night, Dec. 16, at 7:30 p.m. Those who would like to join us and chat with the performers can follow this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88960952122?pwd=NTNQY21HZmxNSEh0ODRWdmQvVTlsQT09
Just Bach concerts are typically performed in Luther Memorial’s beautiful nave (below), but that was not possible this month. The recent Emergency Order barring indoor gatherings in Dane County of people from different households inspired some special creativity.
The program was recorded by musicians in their respective homes, and at a church in Waukesha County, and in some cases, some high technology was involved.
Dave Parminter was the videographer.
Just Bach’s social media links are:
youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ?
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November’s “Just Bach” FREE online concert is this Wednesday morning at 8 instead of noon. It features two favorites: “Air on the G String” and the Concerto for Two Violins
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This Wednesday, Just Bach again shares the timeless beauty of the music by Johann Sebastian Bach (below) from their home in the nave of Luther Memorial Church (LCM), 1021 University Avenue.
The group participates in LMC’s weekly ‘Music at Midday’ concert series at https://www.luthermem.org/music-at-midday. (Please note: Now that the concerts are online instead of in person, the videos will be posted early Wednesday mornings at 8 a.m., instead of at noon. They will remain online indefinitely so viewers can see them at their convenience.).
As part of this series, Just Bach concerts take place on the third Wednesday of each month. Remaining concerts are: Nov. 18, Dec. 16, Jan. 20, Feb. 17, March 17, April 21 and May 19. The programs last approximately 30 minutes.
It is still too risky to have in-person audiences. So in addition to the Luther Memorial website, they will be posted on:
The Just Bach home website at: https://justbach.org/concerts/
The Just Bach Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/JustBachSeries
And the Just Bach YouTube Channel, where previous concerts are still posted, at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ
Viewing the concerts is FREE, but the group asks those who are able, to help pay the musicians with tax-deductible donations at: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7A4R7CA8VDRMG&source=url
PLEASE NOTE: New this month will be a half-hour live ZOOM post-concert reception on this Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. CST. Those who would like to join us and chat with the performers can follow this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87144868956?pwd=aHUrR3BNZFF5Y1hlVG1EWkNvMklkQT09
The November concert opens with Just Bach co-founder, UW graduate student and nationally concertizing soprano Sarah Brailey (below), who will provide welcoming remarks and an overview of the program.
Our guest artists this month (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis) are a quartet of string players from the Madison Symphony Orchestra: violinists Leanne League and Xavier Pleindoux; violist Marika Fischer Hoyt; and cellist Lindsey Crabb. Also performing is harpsichordist John Chappell Stowe, a professor in the UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music. Dave Parminter is the videographer.
League and Pleindoux (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis) will play the solo parts in the familiar and beautiful Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins (the ‘Bach Double’), BWV 1043.
Madison Symphony Orchestra audiences will remember their gorgeous performance of this piece at a Christmas Spectacular concert a couple of years back. (You can hear the beautiful and poignant slow movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The ensemble will continue with a movement from the Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068, the serenely transcendent “Air on a G String.”
Sarah Brailey returns to lead the final chorale from Cantata 139, composed for the 23rd Sunday after Trinity, which happens to be this coming Sunday. The stirring title, Dahero Trotz der Höllen Heer! translates as “Therefore Defiance to the Host of Hell.”
We encourage viewers to sing along by following the chorale sheet music, which will be displayed on the screen, as Stowe accompanies on the organ.
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October’s FREE virtual and online Just Bach concert is this Wednesday at noon. It lasts 30 minutes. Here are details
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement about the month’s Just Bach virtual concert from co-founder and violist Marika Fischer Hoyt.
The online concert takes place at noon CDT this Wednesday, Oct. 21.
Please join us as Just Bach shares the timeless beauty of music by Johann Sebastian Bach (below) from our home in the nave of Luther Memorial Church (LCM), 1021 University Ave.
We are thrilled to participate in LMC’s weekly “Music at Midday” concert series.
As part of this virtual online series, Just Bach concerts (below) take place at NOON on the third Wednesday of each month: Sept. 16; Oct. 21; Nov. 18; Dec. 16; Jan. 20; Feb. 17; March 17; April 21; and May 19.
The online programs last approximately 30 minutes instead of 60 minutes.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, it is still too risky to have in-person audiences, so Music at Midday concerts are posted on the Luther Memorial website: https://www.luthermem.org/music-at-midday/
In addition, Just Bach concerts are posted on the Just Bach website, the Just Bach Facebook page, and the Just Bach YouTube Channel, where you can still hear the season’s opening concert in September. Links are below.
Viewing the concerts is FREE, but we ask those who are able to help us pay our musicians with a tax-deductible donation at https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7A4R7CA8VDRMG&source=url
Just Bach co-founder and graduate student soprano at the UW-Madison Sarah Brailey (below) will provide the opening welcome remarks at this Wednesday’s program.
Our guest artists this month, the Madison-based baroque ensemble Sonata à Quattro (SAQ, below top in a photo by Barry Lewis) will perform the instrumental Sinfonia from Cantata 146, featuring organist Mark Brampton Smith (below bottom). You might recognize this as the first movement of the well-known Harpsichord Concerto in D Minor, BWV 1052.
Members of SAQ, who normally use period instruments and historically informed performance practices, will play modern instruments this time because of the organ pitch. SAQ members will continue the program with movements from the solo Cello Suite in G Major and the solo Violin Sonata in G Minor.
Sarah Brailey returns to lead the final chorale from Cantata 146, which uses the familiar tune from “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.” (You can hear “Jesu, Joy” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
We encourage viewers to sing along by following the chorale sheet music, which will be displayed on the computer screen, as Mark Brampton Smith accompanies on the organ.
We need this soul-centering music now more than ever. So we invite the music community to join us at noon this Wednesday, Oct. 21, for a wonderful program of music by J.S. Bach.
OCT. 21 PROGRAM:
• Cantata 146: Opening Sinfonia
• Solo Cello Suite in G Major, BWV 1007: Menuets I and II, Courante
• Solo Violin Sonata in G Minor, BWV 1001: Adagio, Presto
• Cantata 146: Final chorale: Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele (Rejoice greatly, oh my soul)
Guest Ensemble: Sonata à Quattro, whose members are: Christine Hauptly Annin, violin; Nathan Giglierano, violin; Leanne League, violin; Marika Fischer Hoyt, viola; Charlie Rasmussen, cello; and Mark Brampton Smith, organ.
Sarah Brailey provides the welcome and leads the chorale.
Dave Parminter is the videographer.
Here, in order, are links to: the Just Bach webpage; the Just Bach Facebook page; and the Just Bach YouTube channel:
youtube.com/channel/UCcyVFEVsJwklHAx9riqSkXQ
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The Well-Tempered Ear 
The Madison Early Music Festival joins the UW-Madison School of Music’s regular program and undergoes a major revamping. There will be no more separate summer events, and the two directors will retire next spring
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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
After refining the format over the past 20 years, the Madison Early Music Festival (below) has grown into a popular event that is recognized regionally, nationally and internationally. It usually takes place for about 10 days in July.
But no longer.
The Ear has received the following updates from the two co-founders and co-directors, singers Cheryl-Bensman Rowe and UW-Madison Professor Paul Rowe.
Curiously, no reasons or causes are given for the major changes and revamping, or for the cancellation of the event this summer.
The Ear suspects it has something to do with the lack of funding and the reorganizations and consolidations being carried out because of the budgetary effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the UW-Madison, the whole UW System and the performing arts scene in general.
But that could be completely wrong. We will probably find out more details in the near future.
For more information and background, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/2021/02/01/memf-school-of-music-announce-administrative-partnership/
And to sound off, please leave your reactions to the news in the comment section.
Here is the letter from the Rowes (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot):
Dear MEMF Supporters,
It is difficult to believe that February is over and spring is on its way. We hope everyone is having luck scheduling coronavirus vaccines, and that you have all stayed healthy throughout this past year.
We are writing to give you advance notice of the latest MEMF news before you read it in an upcoming press release.
Due to programming realignment in the UW-Madison Division of the Arts, the Madison Early Music Festival will become a program of the Mead Witter School of Music, which will be our new administrative home.
After much discussion with the Director of the School of Music and the Interim Director of the Division of the Arts, the details of the move have been finalized.
The School of Music is excited to bring MEMF into its programming, and would like MEMF to be an integral part of the academic year so more students can have an opportunity to work with professionals in the field of early music.
At this point, in order to focus on this goal, the decision has been made to discontinue the summer festival in its current (pre-pandemic) format.(You can hear a sample of that in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
We know this is disappointing news, but at the same time we are excited that MEMF concerts, lectures and classes will now be offered in some capacity throughout the year.
Although MEMF will be taking a different direction than the one we have all known and loved over the past 20 years, we are thrilled that it will continue to provide early music learning and presentation opportunities through this new collaboration.
We also want to announce that the two of us will be retiring from MEMF in the spring of 2022 and new leadership will take the helm.
Current plans are to present a celebratory MEMF concert and workshop next spring with School of Music students and faculty and former MEMF participants and faculty.
We want all of you to know that we appreciate everything you have done for MEMF. Some of you have been involved for 21 years!
We are grateful for your support, the friendships we have made, and all the beautiful music we have heard and made together. The success of the festival would not have been possible without each and every one of you.
This is an exciting new journey for MEMF, although different from what we have known and experienced. We hope that you will continue to be involved in MEMF in its new format, and we hope to see you in the spring of 2022!
Thank you for all your generosity in so many ways,
Cheryl Bensman-Rowe and Paul Rowe, co-founders and co-artistic directors of the Madison Early Music Festival
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