The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Is this summer’s Token Creek Festival on or off? And if it is on, what form will it take? We will know the delayed decision by July 15
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By Jacob Stockinger
For 30 years, the Token Creek Festival (below), which takes place in a refurbished barn, has been a welcome and distinguished bridge from the summer concert season to the autumn season.
It usually takes place from late August through early September.
And by this time we usually know the theme, the performers and the ever-inventive programs that co-directors John and Rose Mary Harbison (below), along with managing director Sarah Schaffer, have put together. (Editor’s note: You can hear festival participants rehearsing the beautiful opening of the slow movement to the Piano Quartet by Robert Schumann in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
But not this year.
Thanks to challenges and complications from the coronavirus and the public health crisis posed by COVID-19, a stop-or-go decision has been postponed until July 15.
Will there be one or more live events? Will the festival be virtual and online? Will guest artists and even the Harbisons risk traveling by plane? Will the mainly older public attend? There are many variables to take into account.
Here is an official announcement from the festival:
Dear Friends,
The middle of June is when we usually announce our concerts for the season, scheduled every year to begin in late August and run through Labor Day.
As we continue to endure the many shifts of the crises of health, politics and civil rights, we find ourselves struggling to understand all the contradictions.
In spite of it all, we have some hopes for a concert emblematic of the festival — perhaps a single event taking advantage of the small venue (below top and bottom), with the audience socially distanced or virtually engaged, or perhaps new dates later in the season — having a chance to recall what we have enjoyed together.
So we are delaying our announcement of what the Token Creek Festival might present, with a final decision by July 15. (Editor’s note: You can check at: http://tokencreekfestival.org.)
It is hard to give up something that has been evolving for 30 years and counting. It is a luxury and a lifeline for both the performers and the listeners, something that holds us fast in spite of the present challenges.
We are not yet advertising or taking ticket orders or building new facilities. But we, and the artists who are holding dates for us, are doing something else: We are practicing, imagining, thinking in real terms about presenting concerts again.
If for no other than those reasons, we beg the indulgence of our friends as we become perhaps the last to depart the season, or among the few to be able to propose some radical, slim, socially distanced, barn-size festival.
We hope you will stay tuned, as we are staying tuned.
And we’ll let you know what’s possible by mid-July.
With warm wishes,
John and Rose Mary and Sarah, TCF Directors
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Classical music: Members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will give two concerts this week as part of the centennial season of the Concert Series at the Wisconsin Union Theater
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By Jacob Stockinger
Think of it as one anniversary celebrating another anniversary.
This week, four members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York City will be giving two concerts as part of the Concert Series at the Wisconsin Union Theater (below).
The Chamber Music Society is marking its 50th anniversary and is in town this week to help the WUT’s Concert Series celebrate its 100th anniversary.
Here is a link with more background about the special programming for the anniversary season: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2019/03/30/classical-music-personal-experience-artistic-excellence-and-historical-importance-drew-pianist-wu-han-and-cellist-david-finckel-into-planning-next-years-centennial-season-at-the-wisconsin-u/
The first concert is tomorrow — Thursday night, March 5 — at 7:30 p.m. in Shannon Hall at the Memorial Union. The program features two piano quartets and a violin sonatina.
The Ear has seen the Society players before in Madison and has never heard them give anything short of a first-rate performance.
The piano quartets are the Piano Quartet in A Minor, Op. 1, by Czech composer Josef Suk; the Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25, by Johannes Brahms; and the Violin Sonatina in G Major, Op. 100, by Antonin Dvorak. (You can hear Chopin Competition winner and South Korean pianist Song-Jin Cho, play the Gypsy Rondo finale from the Brahms piano quartet in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Personal ties link all three works. Brahms greatly admired Dvorak and helped launch his career. And Dvorak was both the teacher and father-in-law of Suk.
The performers (below, from left) are violinist Arnaud Sussmann, pianist Wu Han, violist Paul Neubauer; and cellist David Finckel.
The wife-and-husband team of Wu Han and David Finckel are the co-music directors of the Chamber Music Society and also the artistic advisors who helped the Wisconsin Union Theater put together its centennial season.
Says Han: Chamber music is a form of music that has the ability to provide comfort in difficult times, escape and inspiration for all. The Musical America’s Musician of the Year award winner adds that it’s those very things that drive her to continue to make music.
The performance is part of the new David and Kato Perlman Chamber Music Series. More information about the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center can be found on their website.
There will also be a pre-concert performance by students of the Suzuki method in Sonora Strings (below) beginning in Shannon Hall at 7 p.m.
For more background as well as how to purchase tickets ($10-$50), go to: https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/chamber-music-society-of-lincoln-center/
SATURDAY NIGHT
On Saturday night, March 7, at 7:30 p.m. in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall of the new Hamel Music Center, 740 University Ave., pianist Wu Han (below top) will perform with the UW Symphony Orchestra under the baton of its director and conductor Oriol Sans (below bottom).
The program is the Suite No. 1 from the chamber opera “Powder Her Face” by the contemporary British composer Thomas Adès; the Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37, by Beethoven; and the Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73, by Brahms.
Tickets are $30 for the public, $25 for Union members and UW faculty and staff; and $10 for UW students. For more information about Wu Han and to purchase tickets, go to: https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/wu-han-with-uw-symphony/
“Wu Han brings to the Wisconsin Union Theater not only a passion for music, but also authentic excitement about inspiring a love of music in others,” said Amanda Venske, Concert Series coordinator of the Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Performing Arts Committee.
The students of the UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra (below, with the UW Choral Union in the background) will have the opportunity to learn from Han as they prepare for the Saturday performance.
Patrons can purchase tickets online or at the Memorial Union Box Office. The Wisconsin Union Theater team offers discounted tickets for University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty, staff and students as well as Wisconsin Union members.
Other upcoming Concert Series performances are by violinist Gil Shaham with Akira Eguchi on March 28, and superstar soprano Renée Fleming on May 2. The Concert Series is the longest running classical music series in the Midwest.
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Classical music: The Mosaic Chamber Players open their new four-concert season this Saturday night with an all-Mozart program
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By Jacob Stockinger
The critically acclaimed Mosaic Chamber Players (below, in a photo by John W. Barker) will open their new season this coming Saturday night, Oct. 12, at 7:30 p.m. in the older and historic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Landmark Auditorium of the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive.
The program is all works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (below) and includes the following pieces:
The Sonata for Violin and Piano in C Major, K. 303, features violinist Laura Burns, of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Oakwood Chamber Players, and pianist Jess Salek, who is also the founder and artistic director of the chamber music ensemble.
The Sonata for Violin and Piano in B-Flat Major K. 454, will be performed by violinist Wes Luke, of the Ancora String Quartet and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and pianist Salek.
The energetic Piano Quartet in G minor, K. 478, features violinist Laura Burns, violist Wes Luke, pianist Salek and cellist Derek Handley (below), of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can see a graphic depiction of the first movement of the Piano Quartet.)
Tickets are $15 for general admission, $10 for seniors, and $5 for students. Only checks or cash will be accepted.
A reception will be held after the performance
Here are the concerts and programs – all take place at the First Unitarian Society — for the rest of four-concert season, including two-all Beethoven concerts to mark the Beethoven Year in which the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth will be celebrated.
Friday, Feb. 21, at noon (Free admission)
All-Beethoven (below) String Sonata Program:
Sonata in F Major for Piano and Cello, Op. 5, No. 1
Sonata in E-Flat Major for Piano and Violin, Op. 12, No. 3
Sonata in C minor for Piano and Violin, Op. 30, No. 2
Saturday March 21, at 7:30 p.m. (Tickets required)
All-Prokofiev (below) Program:
Sonata in F minor for Violin and Piano, Op. 80
Sonata in D Major for Violin and Piano, Op. 94a
Sonata in C Major for Cello and Piano, Op. 119
Saturday June 13, 2020 7:30 p.m. (Tickets required)
All-Beethoven Piano Trio Program:
Piano Trio in E-Flat Major, Op. 1, No. 1
Piano Trio in E-Flat Major, Op. 70, No. 2
Piano Trio in G Major, Op. 121a: “Kakadu” Variations
For more information about the group and biographies of the players, go to: http://www.mosaicchamberplayers.com
You can also follow the group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mosaicchamberplayers/
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Classical music: The Karp family turns in a memorable and moving 40th annual Labor Day concert that also took listeners back in time
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By Jacob Stockinger
If you missed the free 40th annual Karp Family Labor Day Concert on Tuesday night in Mills Hall, you missed more than music. You missed the kind of event that makes for long and precious memories.
Sure, you can nitpick the program and the performers, who also included daughter-in-law violist Katrin Talbot (below right) and guest violinist Suzanne Beia (below left), who performs with the Pro Arte Quartet, the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.
You could ask, for example, which cello transcription worked better – the Violin Sonatina, Op. 100, by Dvorak or the Violin Sonata No. 10, Op. 96, by Beethoven. (The Ear votes for the Dvorak.)
And you could also ask which performer stood out the most. (The Ear thinks that is the great-grandmother and matriarch pianist Frances Karp playing in a Mozart piano quartet. At 90, Frances still possesses beautiful tone, the right volume and balance, and the necessary technical chops. They say there is nowhere to hide in Mozart, but Frances Karp did need any place to hide. Her Mozart was, simply, sublime.)
But, in the end, those kinds of questions and critiques really seem beside the bigger point.
What mattered most was the sheer enjoyment of hearing a family perform live some wonderful music by Mozart, Beethoven, Dvorak and Schumann (the passionate Adagio and Allegro in A-flat Major, Op. 70, played by Lynn Harrell in the YouTube video at the bottom).
And what mattered more as The Ear thought about it was the kind of time travel the concert involved.
There were two kinds, really.
One had to do with having watched the various performing Karps – clearly Madison’s First Family of Music – over four decades. It was touching to realize that The Ear has seen cellist Parry Karp, to take one example, evolve from son to husband to father to grandfather. And through it all, the music remained.
In today’s culture of short attention spans, that kind of constancy and persistence — through the inevitable ups and downs of 40 years — is something to celebrate, admire and cherish.
Time travel happened in another way too.
The Ear first watched Frances Karp accompany her son Parry (below top), then watched son Christopher Karp accompany his older brother Parry (below bottom). And it called to mind the days when – before radio or recordings – families made music together in their homes.
Historically, that’s how many great composers and much great music got started. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Felix Mendelssohn played piano duets with their gifted sisters, Nannerl and Fanny, respectively. Jean Sibelius played duets with his sister. And there were surely many more. Hausmusik, or “house music,” played a vital role.
And this is how it felt at the traditional Karp family concert. We felt invited into a loving, close and gifted musical family who were performing as much for each other as for the audience.
We could use more of that.
The musical and the familial mixed so beautifully, so convincingly, that all one can say after the event is “Thank you” with the ardent wish to hear them again next year.
Tags: #AntoninDvorak, #AttentionSpan, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BlogReview, #ChamberMusic, #ChristopherKarp, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FannyMendelssohn, #FelixMendelssohn, #FirstFamily, #FrancesKarp, #HouseMusic, #JeanSibelius, #KarpFamily, #KatrinTalbot, #LaborDay, #LiveMusic, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #LynnHarrell, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MillsHall, #MusicReview, #NannerlMozart, #ParryKarp, #PianoAccompaniment, #PianoAccompanist, #PianoQuartet, #ProArteQuartet, #RobertSchumann, #SuzanneBeia, #ThankYou, #TheEar, #TimeTravel, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UpsandDowns, #ViolinSonata, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, accompanist, accompany, adagio, admire, allegro, annual, Antonín Dvořák, ardent, ask, attention span, audience, balance, beautiful, Beethoven, blog, brother, celebrate, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, cherish, Christopher Karp, close, Concert, constancy, convincing, convincingly, critique, culture, daughter-in-law, decade, downs, duet, Dvorak, enjoyment, event, evolution, evolve, exposure, Facebook, familial, Family, Fanny Mendelssohn, father, Felix Mendelssohn, first family, forward, Frances Karp, free, gifted, grandfather, grandmother, Haus Musik, hausmusik, hide, historical, History, Holiday, Home, house music, husband, Jean Sibelius, Karp Family, Katrin Talbot, kind, Labor Day, like, link, listener, live, live music, long, Love, loving, Ludwig van Beethoven, Lynn Harrell, Madison Symphony Orchestra, matriarch, matter, memorable, memories, Mills Hall, miss, Mother, moving, Music, music review, musical, Nannerl Mozart, nitpick, nowhere, older, other, Parry Karp, Passion, passionate, performer, persistence, Pianist, Piano, Piano accompanist, Piano Quartet, place, play, Point, post, posting, precious, Pro Arte Quartet, program, Quartet, question, Radio, reader, recording, Recordings, Robert Schumann, share, short, sister, son, Sonata, sonatina, sublime, subscriber, Suzanne Beia, tag, technical, technique, thank you, The Ear, time, time travel, today, tone, tradition, traditional, transcription, travel, University of Wisconsin–Madison, ups, video, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, volume, vote, watch, wish, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, wonderful, year, YouTube
Classical music: Here is a year-long list of concerts at the University of Wisconsin Mead Witter School of Music. They start Tuesday night with the 40th annual Karp Family Labor Day Concert
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By Jacob Stockinger
Get out your datebooks and calendars.
Here is a complete listing for major concerts and events at the University of Wisconsin Mead Witter School of Music during the new 2019-20 season.
The calendar starts with the FREE season-opening 40th annual Karp Family Labor Day Concert this coming Tuesday night, Sept. 3, at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall. The program features chamber music by Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Dvorak. For more information about the program and performers, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/40th-karp-family-concert/
Using the search engine on this blog, you could also consult whenever individual or group you want. You could print it out and have it in hand instead of the usual brochure, which will not be printed this year. See a previous blog post: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2019/08/19/classical-music-the-uw-madison-school-of-music-will-not-have-a-complete-brochure-for-the-new-season-go-to-the-website-and-sign-up-for-an-email-newsletter-the-30th-karp-family-labor-day-concert-is-s/
Most concerts this season will take place in the new Hamel Music Center (below), which has a three-day opening celebration Oct. 25-27.
Please note that just a few programs are listed. For other programs, and for information about any admission charge, you can go to the School of Music’s home website closer to the event and click on Concerts and Events: https://www.music.wisc.edu/events/
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Tuesday, Sep 3, 2019 |
Karp Family Concert |
7:30 PM |
Mills Hall |
|
Sunday, September 29, 2019, |
Jessica Martin & John O’Brien – Nordic song recital |
4:00 PM |
Morphy Hall |
|
Monday, Sept. 30, 2019 |
Beth Wiese, Tuba, Guest Artist Recital |
7:30 PM |
Morphy Hall |
|
Friday, October 4, 2019 |
Pro Arte Quartet |
8:00 PM |
Mills Hall |
|
Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019 |
Chanticleer |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019 |
Wind Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Friday, October 11, 2019 |
UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sunday, October 13, 2019 |
University Bands |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Tuesday, October 15, 2019 |
Contemporary Jazz & Blue Note Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Wednesday, October 16, 2019 |
Wisconsin Brass Quintet – Faculty Concert Series |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Thursday, October 17 |
Jazz Faculty Quintet with special guest Michael Dudley, trumpet |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Monday, October 21, 2019 |
Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble and UW Jazz Orchestra |
7:30 PM |
Play Circle |
|
Tuesday, October 22, 2019 |
Concert Band |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Wed, October 23, 2019 |
Jazz Composers Group & Jazz Standards |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Thu, October 24, 2019 |
Parry Karp with Eli Kalman, piano |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Friday, October 25, 2019 |
Opening Celebration Weekend: Hamel Music Center. Please check our website for details. |
All Day |
740 University Avenue |
|
Saturday, October 26, 2019 |
Opening Celebration Weekend: Hamel Music Center. Please check our website for details. |
All Day |
740 University Avenue |
|
Sunday, October 27, 2019 |
Opening Celebration Weekend: Hamel Music Center. Featured Event: Collins Fellows Concert |
1:00 PM |
Collins Recital Hall, Hamel Music Center |
|
Wed, October 30, 2019 |
Master Class with Violist Nobuko Imai |
6:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Thu, October 31, 2019 |
Violist Nobuko Imai with Pro Arte Quartet |
12:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Fri, November 1, 2019
|
Madrigal Singers |
8:00 PM
|
Mead Witter Hall |
Sat, November 2, 2019 |
Alicia Lee, faculty clarinet |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sun, November 3, 2019 |
Wind Ensemble |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Fri, November 8, 2019 |
Wingra Wind Quintet |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sat, November 9, 2019 |
UW Chorale |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Thu, November 14, 2019 |
UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Fri, November 15, 2019 |
University Opera: Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
|
Sun, November 17, 2019 |
University Opera: Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
2:00 PM |
Music Hall |
|
Tue, November 19, 2019 |
University Opera: Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
|
Sat, November 16, 2019 |
Low Brass Ensemble |
4:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Sat, November 16, 2019 |
Combined Choirs |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Sat, November 16, 2019 |
Timothy Hagen, faculty flute |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
|
Fri, November 22, 2019 |
UW Concert Choir |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
|
Fri, November 22, 2019 |
Pro Arte Quartet |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Fri, November 22, 2019 |
UW Jazz Orchestra |
5:00-7:00 PM |
Rathskeller |
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Saturday, Nov 23, 2019 |
Undergrad Audition Day |
All day |
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Sat, November 23, 2019 |
World Percussion Ensemble |
12:00 PM |
Music Hall |
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Sat, November 23, 2019 |
Brass Ensembles |
1:00 PM |
?? |
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Sun, November 24, 2019 |
UW Concert Band with Winds of Wisconsin |
5:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Mon, November 25, 2019 |
Chamber Percussion Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mills Hall |
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Tue, November 26, 2019 |
Opera Scenes |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
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Mon, December 2, 2019 |
Piano Studio Recital |
6:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Tue, December 3, 2019 |
Jazz Composers & Contemporary Jazz Ensembles |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Wed, December 4, 2019
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Jazz Standards Ensemble & Afro-Cuban Jazz |
7:30 PM
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Collins Hall |
Thu, December 5, 2019 |
UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra & UW Wind Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Fri, December 6, 2019 |
Saxophonist Greg Ward with the Blue Note Ensemble and UW jazz faculty |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Sat, December 7, 2019 |
UW & Madison Metropolitan Jazz Festival |
Final Concert, 3:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sat, December 7, 2019 |
Choral Union: Ralph Vaughan Williams’s “A Sea Symphony” |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sun, December 8, 2019 |
University Bands |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sun, December 8, 2019 |
Choral Concerts at Luther Memorial Church |
2:00 PM |
Luther Memorial Church |
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Sun, December 8, 2019 |
Choral Concerts at Luther Memorial Church |
4:00 PM |
Luther Memorial Church |
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Sun, December 8, 2019 |
All-University Strings |
4:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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BEGIN 2020 |
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Sun, January 26, 2020 |
Annual Schubertiade |
3:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sat, February 1, 2020 |
Christopher Taylor and Friends — Beethoven Symphony Extravaganza |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Wed, February 5, 2020 |
Daniel Grabois, horn |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Thu, February 6, 2020 |
UW Symphony Orchestra |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sat, February 8, 2020 |
The Knights |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sun, February 16, 2020 |
UW Wind Ensemble |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Monday, February 17, 2020 |
Chamber Percussion Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mills Hall |
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Tue, February 18, 2020 |
Concert Band |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Thu, February 20, 2020 |
Parry Karp, faculty recital |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Fri, February 21, 2020 |
Marc Vallon & Friends |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Sunday, Feb 23, 2020 |
Les Thimmig, faculty recital |
2:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Sat, April 18, 2020 |
Low Brass Ensemble |
4:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Fri, February 28, 2020
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Pro Arte Quartet |
8:00 PM
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Collins Hall |
Sat, February 29, 2020 |
Wingra Wind Quintet |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Fri, February 28, 2020, |
University Opera – Mozart’s Così fan tutte |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
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Sun, March 1, 2020 |
University Opera – Mozart’s Così fan tutte |
2:00 PM |
Music Hall |
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Tue, March 3, 2020 |
University Opera – Mozart’s Così fan tutte |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
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Sun, March 1, 2020 |
Winds of Wisconsin |
5:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Wed, March 4, 2020 |
Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble & Jazz Composers Group |
7:30 |
Collins Hall |
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Thu, March 5, 2020 |
Blue Note Ensemble & Jazz Standards Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Sat, March 7, 2020 |
UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra with guest pianist Wu Han |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sun, March 8, 2020 |
University Bands |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Tue, March 10, 2020 |
Percussion Department Recital |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Weds March 11, 2020 |
UW Jazz Orchestra |
7:30 PM |
Play Circle |
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Wednesday, March 11, 2020 |
Wisconsin Brass Quintet – Faculty Concert Series |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Thu, March 12, 2020 |
UW Wind Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Fri, March 27, 2020 |
Le Domaine Musicale with Marc Vallon and Friends |
8:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Sun, March 29, 2020 |
Concert Band |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sun, April 5, 2020 |
Beethoven Competition Winners’ Recital |
3:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Sun, April 5, 2020 |
“Symphony Showcase” Concerto Winners’ Solo Concert |
7:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sat, April 11, 2020 |
Chorale |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Fri, April 12, 2019 |
Perlman Trio Chamber Concert |
3:00 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Tue, April 14, 2020 |
Opera Scenes |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
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Wed, April 15, 2020 |
Contested Homes: Migrant Liberation Movement Suite |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Thu, April 16, 2020 |
Pro Arte Quartet |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Fri, April 17, 2020 |
Combined Choirs |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sat, April 18, 2020 |
Low Brass Ensemble |
4:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sat, April 18, 2020
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UW-Madison Choral Reunion concert featuring Concert Choir, Madrigals and alumni |
8:00 PM
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Mead Witter Hall |
Mon, April 20, 2020 |
Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble & Blue Note Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Tue, April 21, 2020 |
Jazz Standards Ensemble & Jazz Composers Group |
7:30 PM |
Collins Hall |
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Wed, April 22, 2020 |
Chamber Percussion Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mills Hall |
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Thu, April 23, 2020 |
UW Jazz Orchestra with the UW Honors Jazz Band |
7:30 PM |
Music Hall |
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Fri, April 24, 2020 |
Concert Band and Wind Ensemble |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sat, April 25, 2020 |
All-University Strings |
2:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sat, April 25, 2020 |
Choral Union: Giuseppe Verdi’s “Requiem” |
8:00 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sun, April 26, 2020 |
Choral Union: Giuseppe Verdi’s “Requiem” |
7:30 PM |
Mead Witter Hall |
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Sun, April 26, 2020
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University Bands | 2 PM | Mead Witter Hall |
Tags: #AliciaLee, #All-UniversityStrings, #AntoninDvorak, #ASeaSymphony, #BandMusic, #BassoonMusic, #BeethovenSymphony, #BenjaminBritten, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrassMusic, #BrassQuintet, #CelloMusic, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ChoralUnion, #ChristianChurch, #ChristopherKarp, #ChristopherTaylor, #ClarinetMusic, #ConcertBand, #ConcertChoir, #ContemporaryMusic, #CosifanTutte, #DanielGrabois, #EliKalman, #EmailNewsletter, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyConcert, #FacultyMember, #FluteMusic, #FrancesKarp, #FranzSchubert, #GiuseppeVerdi, #GuestArtist, #HamelMusicCenter, #HornMusic, #JazzMusic, #KarpFamily, #KatoPerlman, #KatrinTalbot, #LaborDay, #LesThimmig, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MadrigalSingers, #MarcVallon, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MidsummerNight'sDream, #MillsHall, #NobukoImai, #OperaMusic, #OperaScenes, #OperaSinger, #OrchestralMusic, #ParryKarp, #PaulCollins, #PerlmanTrio, #PianoAccompaniment, #PianoAccompanist, #PianoConcerto, #PianoMusic, #PianoQuartet, #PianoTrio, #ProArteQuartet, #RalphVaughan-Williams, #RalphVaughanWilliams, #RecitalHall, #RobertSchumann, #SaxophoneMusic, #Schubertiadeconcert, #StringMusic, #StringQuartet, #SuzanneBeia, #TheKnights, #TimothyHagen, #TrumpetMusic, #TubaMusic, #UniversityBands, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityofWisconsin-Oshkosh, #UniversityOpera, #UWChorale, #UWChoralUnion, #UWSchubertiade, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #ViolaMusic, #ViolinMusic, #VocalMusic, #WilliamShakespeare, #WindMusic, #WindsofWisconsin, #WingraWindQuintet, #WisconsinBrassQuintet, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WorldPercussionEnsemble, #WuHan, A Sea Symphony, admission, Afro, Afro-Cuban, All-University Strings, alumni, Antonín Dvořák, audience, audition, band, Bassoon, Beethoven, Beethoven symphony, Benjamin Britten, blog, brass music, Brass quintet, brochure, calendar, celebration, Cello, cello music, Chamber music, Chanticleer, Choir, choral music, Choral Union, Chorale, Christian, Christian church, Christopher Karp, Christopher Taylor, church, clarinet, clarinet music, Classical music, classicalmusic, Competition, Concert, Concert Band, Concert Choir, concerto, contemporary music, contested, Cuban, Daniel Grabois, datebook, details, Dvorak, Eli Kalman, email, ensemble, event, extravaganza, Facebook, faculty, Family, flute, flute music, forward, Frances Karp, Franz Schubert, friends, Giuseppe Verdi, guest artist, Hamel Music Center, Home, Horn, Jazz, Karp Family, Kato Perlman, Katrin Talbot, Les Thimmig, liberation, like, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Luther, Luther Memorial Church, Lutheran, madrigal, Marc Vallon, master class, masterclass, Mead Witter School of Music, Midsummer Night's Dream, migrant, Mills Hall, Mozart, Music, newsletter, Nobuko Imai, Nordic, opening, opera, opera scenes, opera singer, orchestral music, Oshkosh, Parry Karp, Paul Collins, percussion, performer, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, Piano Quartet, Piano Trio, post, posting, Pro Arte Quartet, program, quintet, Ralph Vaughan Williams, reader, recital, recital hall, Requiem, Robert Schumann, Saxophone, scenes, Schubert, Schubertiade, Schumann, sea, Shakespeare, share, showcase, singer, song, string, string music, String quartet, studio, subscriber, Suzanne Beia, symphony, symphony orchestra, tag, The Knights, Timothy Hagen, Trumpet, Tuba, undergraduate, university, University Bands, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, University Opera, UW, UW Concert Band, UW Concert Choir, UW-Madison, UW-Oshkosh, Verdi, Viola, Violin, violinist, vocal music, Website, weekend, William Shakespeare, wind music, Wind quintet, winds, Winds of Wisconsin, Wingra Wind Quintet, winner, Wisconsin Brass Quintet, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, World Percussion Ensemble, Wu Han, year
Classical music: This Saturday and Sunday, the Token Creek Festival explores how an unrequited love for Clara Schumann helped make Brahms and his music autumnal
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By Jacob Stockinger
Johannes Brahms (below) remains the only composer whose complete catalogue of chamber music is still in constant use. This is due to his fastidiously high standards, and to his ideal temperament for music played by smaller groups of players.
His music is universally admired for its combination of sheer craft and deep emotional impact, ranging from the most muted private conversation to the most passionate and revealing passages he ever composed.
But putting aside his own personal temperament as well as his melancholy melodies, his bittersweet harmonies, and his masterful use of strings and woodwinds, what gives Brahms’ music that quality of sadness that so many listeners and critics describe as “autumnal”?
No discussion of Brahms can take place without engaging with the most important person in his life — Clara Schumann (below, in a Getty photo), who was born Clara Wieck and became a virtuoso pianist and a composer whose 200th birth anniversary is being celebrated this year.
Brahms was deeply in love with Clara. But unfortunately she was married to Robert Schumann (below right with Clara), one of Brahms’ closest friends and most loyal promoters. Even after a mentally ill Robert Schumann died of suicide at 46, Clara remained loyal to his memory. For the rest of her long life, she performed, edited and promoted his music and rejected Brahms as a lover or second husband.
Almost overnight, Clara’s rejection seemed to cause Brahms to turn from a handsome young man (below top) to the more familiar figure of an overweight, cigar-smoking, bearded and prematurely old curmudgeon (below bottom).
Clara Schumann’s hidden presence is involved with all of the pieces on the Token Creek Festival program, which will be performed at 4 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 24 and 25, in the festival’s refurbished barn (below) at 4037 Highway 19 in DeForest.
The program includes the Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, illustrated with a performance of Brahms’ “Regenlied” (the “Rain Song” that precedes it and introduces the theme of the sonata); the Sonata No. 1 for Cello and Piano in E minor; and the Piano Quartet No 3 in C minor, a piece that retains its distinctive charge of unresolvable emotion. (You can hear that unresolved emotion in the beautiful slow movement of the Piano Quartet No. 3 in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Performers are violinist Rose Mary Harbison, co-artistic director of the Token Creek Festival; violist Lila Brown; cellist Rhonda Rider; pianist Janice Weber; and Edgewood College mezzo-soprano Kathleen Otterson.
THE REST OF THE FEST
Upcoming programs include “Words & Music,” a belated 80th birthday tribute to artistic co-director John Harbison, on Wednesday night, Aug. 28 at 7:30 p.m. The intimate program will include readings by poet Lloyd Schwartz, the premiere of new Harbison songs, plus works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Arnold Schoenberg.
The festival closes with “The Piano” program on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, both at 4 p.m. The festival welcomes back pianists Robert Levin and Ya-Fei Chuang, playing together and as soloists.
Their program explores the question of the composer-performer, here composers who were also formidable pianists: Mozart, Maurice Ravel and Franz Liszt. Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, arranged by the composer for chamber ensemble, and excerpts of John Harbison’s Sonata No. 2, written for Levin, complete the program.
For tickets ($32) and more information, go to www.tokencreekfestival.org or call (608) 241-2525.
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Classical music: The UW-Madison School of Music will NOT have a complete brochure for the new season. Use the website and sign up for an email newsletter. The 40th Karp Family Labor Day Concert is Sept. 3
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By Jacob Stockinger
Summer is almost over and the new concert season is about to begin in just a couple weeks.
Just about all the groups in the Madison area, large and small, have announced their upcoming seasons.
But it you are wondering why the brochure for the hundreds of events that will take place at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music hasn’t arrived yet, here is the answer.
There isn’t one this year.
For many years the UW-Madison’s SOM — as the School of Music is often abbreviated – has issued a handsome season brochure (below) with names and dates, if not always complete programs.
In the past couple of years, the brochure has been particularly informative with background about performers and events at the school as well as about students and alumni.
But due to a variety of factors, there will be no season brochure although there will be a special brochure for the opening weekend on the new Hamel Music Center (below), which is Oct. 25-27.
A variety of reasons has caused the lack of a brochure, says Publicist and Concert Manager Katherine Esposito. But the familiar full-season brochure will return for the 2020-21 season.
It the meantime, Esposito recommends that you go to the Concert and Events calendar, which has been updated and made more user-friendly, on the website for the school of music. It also features information about faculty and staff as well as news about the school. Here is a link:
https://www.music.wisc.edu/events/
On the right hand side is a menu that allows you to view the calendar as a running list or by the month, week or day with maps or photos.
On the left hand side is another menu that allows you to search by musical category (performers and ensemble) as well as concert date, time, venue and admission cost, if any.
Esposito always recommends that you subscribe to the email newsletters. You can see past ones and sign up to receive future ones if you go to this part of the home website: https://www.music.wisc.edu/recent-newsletters/
As usual, the season at the UW-Madison will open with 40th FREE Karp Family Labor Day Concert, which now takes place the day after the holiday, on Tuesday, Sept. 3, at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall.
Over four decades, the Karps (below are the brothers pianist Christopher Karp with cellist Parry Karp, who will team up again this year) have never repeated a piece on the the Labor Day concerts.
The program this year includes the sublime Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-Flat Major, K. 493, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (you can hear the first movement with a visual schematic in the YouTube video at the bottom); the late Sonata No. 10 for Violin and Piano in G major, Op. 96, by Ludwig van Beethoven, which has been transcribed by Parry Karp for cello and piano; and lesser known works by Robert Schumann and Antonin Dvorak.
For more about the program and the performers, who include guest violinist Suzanne Beia of the Pro Arte Quartet, the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/40th-karp-family-concert/
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Classical music: The Token Creek Chamber Music Festival starts this Friday and marks 30 years with jazz plus music by Bach, Mozart, Liszt, Brahms, Ravel, Schoenberg and John Harbison
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By Jacob Stockinger
Starting this coming Friday, Aug. 16, and running through Sept. 1, the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival will mark its 30th anniversary with the theme of “Sanctuary.” (The festival takes place in a refurbished barn, below, at 4037 Highway 19 in DeForest.)
Add the festival directors: “The term ‘sanctuary’ attempts to capture in a single word something essential about what the festival has meant to players and listeners over all these years. From the start it aspired to offer something of retreat, an oasis, a place of refreshment and nourishment in art, both for musician participants who find a welcoming environment to “re-charge” their work, and for audience attendees who engage in and become a part of it.”
“In our small country barn,” writes prize-winning composer John Harbison (below top, in a photo by Tom Artin) who co-directs the festival with his violinist wife Rose Mary Harbison (below bottom, in a photo by Tom Artin), “we have always remained devoted to the scale and address of much chamber music, which speaks as often in a whisper as in a shout.
“Where larger musical institutions have been habitually frustrated by trying to live in the business model of growth, we have remained devoted to the intensity of the experience, which explains why the music never goes away, rather than to claims of numbers, which begs the music itself to change its very nature.
“Our conviction is that today’s composers, just like Schubert and Mozart, are still striving to embody daily experience, to connect to the natural world, and to ask philosophically and spiritually unanswerable questions, surrounded and interrupting silence, asking only for our most precious commodity — time. We continue to look for valuable ways to offer this transaction to our listeners, and are grateful for their interest over so many years.”
The first two concerts, at 5 p.m., on Friday and Saturday nights, feature the return of a jazz cabaret featuring standard works in the Great American Songbook. For more information about the program and performers, as well as tickets, go to: www.tokencreekfestival.org or call (608) 241-2525.
Tickets for the two jazz concerts are $40 for the balcony and $45 for cafe seating. Tickets for the other concerts are $32 with a limited number of student tickets available for $12.
HERE IS THE LINEUP FOR THE REST OF THE FESTIVAL
Program 2: Music of Brahms at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24, and Sunday, Aug. 25
Johannes Brahms is the only composer whose complete catalogue of chamber music is still in constant use. This is due to his fastidious high standards, and to his ideal temperament for music played by smaller groups of players. His music is universally admired for the astounding combination of sheer craft and deep emotional impact.
The program includes the Regenlied (Rain Song), Op. 57 no. 3; Sonata for Violin and Piano in G major, Op. 78; the Sonata for Cello and Piano in E minor, Op. 38; and the Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 60. (The “Rain Song” is used as the theme of the last movement of the violin sonata. You can hear it performed by violinist Leonidas Kavakos and pianist Yuja Wang in the YouTube video at the bottom, which also features the score so that you can follow along.)
Performers are Edgewood College mezzo-soprano Kathleen Otterson (below top); violinist Rose Mary Harbison; violist Lila Brown (below second); cellist Rhonda Rider (below third, in a photo by Liz Linder); and pianist Janice Weber (below bottom).
Program 3: Then and Now, Words and Music – An 80th Birthday Tribute to John Harbison. Wednesday, Aug. 28, at 7:30 p.m.
Last February, when Madison launched a citywide celebration of co-artistic director John Harbison’s 80th birthday, bitter cold and deep snow made it impossible for the festival to open up The Barn and join in the festivities.
The Wednesday program – an intimate concert of words and music curated by the Harbisons — is the festival’s belated birthday tribute. Harbison will read from his new book about Johann Sebastian Bach, and Boston poet Lloyd Schwartz (below top) will offer a reading of his poems that are the basis of a song cycle to presented by baritone Simon Barrad (below bottom). The evening will include a discussion on setting text, “Poem to Song,” and the world premiere of new Harbison songs, still in progress, on poems of Gary Snyder.
The program includes: Selections from the Violin Sonata in B minor, with violinist Rose Mary Harbison, and “The Art of Fugue” by Johann Sebastian Bach; “Four Songs of Solitude” and “Nocturne” by John Harbison; the Violin Sonata in G Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; the “Phantasy” for violin and piano by Arnold Schoenberg; the “SchwartzSongs” and “Four Poems for Robin” by John Harbison.
Program 4: The Piano , at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 31, and Sunday, Sept. 1.
The closing program welcomes back husband-and-wife pianists Robert Levin and Ya-Fei Chuang, playing together and as soloists.
Chuang (below top) is acclaimed by critics in the U.S. and abroad for performances of stunning virtuosity, refinement and communicative power. Levin (below bottom, in a photo by Clive Barda), who teaches at Harvard University, is revered for his Mozart completions and classical period improvisations.
Their program explores the question of the composer-performer — that is, composers who were also formidable pianists: Mozart, Ravel and Liszt.
Beethoven’s fourth piano concerto, arranged by the composer for chamber ensemble, and excerpts of Harbison’s Piano Sonata No. 2, written for Levin, will be performed. Also on the program are Mozart’s Allegro in G Major, K. 357 (completion by Robert Levin); Maurice Ravel’s “Gaspard de la Nuit”; and Franz Liszt’s “Reminiscences of Don Juan.”
Other performers are: violinists Rose Mary Harbison and Laura Burns, of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Rhapsodie String Quartet; violists Jen Paulson and Kaleigh Acord; cellist Karl Lavine, who is principal cello of both the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra as well as the Chamber Music Director of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO); and double bassist Ross Gilliland.
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Classical music: Superstar soprano Renée Fleming and pianist Emanuel Ax headline the 100th anniversary of the Wisconsin Union Theater’s Concert Series next season
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following major announcement to post about the Wisconsin Union Theater, which The Ear calls “the Carnegie Hall of Madison” for its long and distinguished history of presenting great performing artists.
The Wisconsin Union Theater (below top, with Shannon Hall below bottom) is delighted to announce the schedule for its 100th Concert Series during 2019-20.
In this celebratory year, we introduce two exciting additions: A transformative gift by Kato Perlman establishes the David and Kato Perlman Chamber Series, ensuring the world’s best chamber ensembles continue to perform as a regular feature of the Concert Series.
Additionally, two Concert Series performances will take place in the Mead Witter School of Music’s new Hamel Music Center (below). We look forward to increased collaborations with the school of music.
The 100th anniversary series was curated by the Wisconsin Union Directorate’s Performing Arts Committee, with wife-and-husband advisors pianist Wu Han and cellist David Finckel (below, in a photo by Tristan Cook), who are celebrated musicians and directors of several festivals of classical music and also serve as co-artistic directors of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. (You can hear them performing music by Johann Sebastian Bach in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The first season of this distinguished series was in 1920-1921, and featured soprano May Peterson, violinist Fritz Kreisler and pianist Benno Moiseiwitsch.
Nineteen years later, in 1939-1940, the series moved to the newly opened Wisconsin Union Theater. The first season in the Wisconsin Union Theater featured bass singer Ezio Pinza, cellist Emanuel Feuermann, violinist Joseph Szigeti, pianist Robert Casadesus and, the highlight, contralto Marian Anderson.
Through these 99 years, numerous renowned, accomplished and prominent classical musicians have played in the series, the longest continuous classical series in the Midwest. Some made their debut here and continued returning as their fame rose.
See this article for an interview with former WUT director Michael Goldberg about the history of the series.
The schedule for the 100th Concert Series, including the inaugural David and Kato Perlman Chamber Music Series, is:
Oct. 6 – A cappella choral group Chanticleer, Hamel Music Center. Program To Be Announced
Nov. 2 – Pianist Emanuel Ax (below), Shannon Hall. All-Beethoven program, including Piano Sonatas Nos. 1, 2 and 3.
Dec. 6 – The Kalichstein, Laredo and Robinson Piano Trio (below), Shannon Hall. “Canonic Etudes” by Robert Schumann; Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor by Felix Mendelssohn; and Piano Trio in B-flat major “Archduke” by Ludwig van Beethoven.
Jan. 25, 2020 – The Escher String Quartet (below), featuring David Finckel, Shannon Hall. Quartets by Franz Joseph Haydn, Fritz Kreisler and Franz Schubert.
March 5, 2020 – Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center – featuring David Finckel, Wu Han, Paul Neubauer and Arnaud Sussman, Shannon Hall. Sonatine by Antonin Dvorak; Piano Quartet by Josef Suk; Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25, by Johannes Brahms.
March 7, 2020 – Wu Han with the UW Symphony Orchestra, Hamel Music Center. Program TBD.
March 28, 2020 – Violinist Gil Shaham (below) with pianist Akira Eguchi, Shannon Hall. Program TBD.
May 2, 2020 – Special Gala Concert with Renée Fleming (below). Shannon Hall. Mixed Recital.
All programs are subject to change.
Subscriptions will be available starting March 18, 2019. Subscribers benefits include: access to the best seats, 20% off the price of single tickets, no order fees, a free ticket to Wu Han’s performance with the UW Symphony Orchestra, and the opportunity to be first to purchase tickets to Renée Fleming’s 100th Anniversary Gala Concert.
Find more information about the series and the artists at www.uniontheater.wisc.edu. Subscriptions will be available on March 18 at www.artsticketing.wisc.edu.
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The Well-Tempered Ear 
Classical music: Is a local Dvorak revival in the making? This Friday night, Christopher Taylor joins the Willy Street Chamber Players to perform the famed Piano Quintet
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By Jacob Stockinger
Is a major local revival of music by Antonin Dvorak (below) in the making?
Many signs point to: Yes!
At the end of the past season, maestro John DeMain of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, which has also performed the Symphony No. 9 “From the New World,” announced that he was on board as a fan when he told the audiences about the upcoming season, which features the MSO performing Dvorak’s dramatic Symphony No. 7 in D Minor and the large-scale Requiem.
In recent seasons, we have also seen the Madison Opera stage the opera “Rusalka”; the Middleton Community Orchestra perform the Symphony No. 6; the UW-Madison’s Pro Arte String Quartet and the Ancora String Quartet perform the miniatures “Cypresses”; the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra play some “Slavonic Dances”; and more.
What’s not to like about Dvorak? He was one of music’s greatest melodists, something that Johannes Brahms envied and a reason why Brahms helped promote his music. And his use of folk music – Czech, Native American and African-American – is captivating as well as multicultural.
Here is a link to more about Dvorak in his Wikipedia entry:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton%C3%ADn_Dvořák
As audience responses prove, there is so much Dvorak to be fond of.
But one of the greatest works will be performed this Friday night, July 26, at 6 p.m. in the Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1021 Spaight Street.
That is when the Willy Street Chamber Players, in the final concert of their fifth summer series, will perform the famed Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 81 (1887). (You can hear the engaging opening movement, played by pianist Evgeny Kissin and the Emerson String Quartet, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The Willys will team up with the acclaimed UW-Madison virtuoso pianist and Van Cliburn Competition bronze medalist Christopher Taylor, who is a gifted chamber musician as well as a superb soloist.
Filling out the program are Three Nocturnes (1924) by Ernest Bloch and “Voodoo Dolls” (2008) by Jessie Montgomery.
Admission is $15 with a reception afterwards.
Dvorak, who has never fallen out of favor but who seems to have sparked a new enthusiasm, composed a lot.
In addition to the nine symphonies, the string serenade and the piano quintet, there is a lot of chamber music, including string quartets, piano trios, piano quartets; concertos for the violin, cello and piano; and many miniatures, including the lovely “Songs My Mother Taught Me.” There is also some solo piano music that has largely been neglected.
Do you love Dvorak’s music?
What about it do you especially like?
Do you have a favorite Dvorak work?
Let us know what it is, with a YouTube link if possible, in the Comment section.
The Ear wants to hear.
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