IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
This past weekend, this whole past month, the Rainbow flags (below) have been flying openly and high.
We saw all sorts of major Pride parades for LGBTQ rights as well as the 50th anniversary of the riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York City that eventually gave birth to a worldwide movement to ensure that queer people receive the human rights they deserve.
Since today is the last day of June, of Pride month, it seems fitting to recall the many LGBTQ composers and performers in classical music.
The gay rights movement has opened the closet doors not only of individual lives today but also of historical figures.
So here are several lists that may teach you something new about gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer musicians.
Some of the calls seem iffy, unconvincing or overstated. Beethoven, Schubert and Chopin, for example, lived when homoerotic friendship did not necessarily mean a queer sexual identity. But one way or the other, historical proof and documentation can be hard to come by. And clearly there is much more to know about the past.
But take a look. At least you will see how scholars are undertaking new research and often undermining the heterosexual assumption that has wrapped so many historical and even contemporary figures in wrong or mistaken gender identity.
And if you find someone missing, please leave the name and appropriate information in the comment section.
Freedom, acceptance and respect are not zero-sum games in which one person or group can win only if another one loses. There is enough of each to go around. All can celebrate pride.
So enjoy the information, whether it is new or not, and the respect it should inspire for the central role of LGBTQ people in the arts both past and present.
Here is a pretty extensive and comprehensive list, in alphabetical order, from Wikipedia of LGBT composers, both living and dead. It includes Chester Biscardi (below) who did graduate work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Pauline Oliveros who did a residency at the UW-Madison several years ago. You don’t have to click on each name. Just hover the cursor arrow over the name and you will see a photo and biographical blurb.
And here is a list, also in alphabetical order and also from Wikipedia, of LGBT musicians and performers, not all of them classical. It works by clicking on sub-categories that include nationality – though one wonders if musicians from extremely homophobic countries and cultures are included.
Here is a more selective list from The Advocate, an LGBTQ magazine, of 18 queer composers — including Corelli — who made history and you should know about:
And in the YouTube video at the bottom is a Pride concert — 1 hour and 43 minutes long — recently held in New York City at the Greene Space, and hosted and recorded by radio stations WQXR and WNYC.
It features music by queer composers and performances by queer artists. Metropolitan Opera star Anthony Roth Constanzo performs. Also playing are pianists Steven Blier and Sara Davis Buechner, who have performed with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, respectively. The New York Gay Men’s Chorus sings. The Ear found the concert timely and moving.
If you have questions, comments or additional names, please do leave word in the comment section.
This coming Sunday afternoon, beer and brats are about to mix with Bach, Beethoven and Brahms at Madison’s premier summer watering hole when the new FREE Summer Serenades begin at the landmark Union Terrace (below).
The Ear likes that combination a lot along with classical concerts that last only about an hour. No details on the programs yet, but hey — for an hour you can be a sport and chance it.
“Casual high-brow” increasingly seems the way to go, especially in Madison. And fittingly, a lot of the performers chosen by the Wisconsin Union Theater have ties to the UW-Madison as professors, graduates and students.
All hour-long concerts are FREE and take place on Sundays at 5 p.m., except on July 2, which will begin at 5:30 p.m.
The Willy Street Chamber Players (below) Sunday, June 18, 2017
Named 2016 Musicians of the Year by The Well-Tempered Ear Blog, their programming is adventurous, combining beloved classics and new music from contemporary composers.
Stephanie Jutt, flute (below top) and Thomas Kasdorf, piano (below bottom)
Sunday, July 2, 2017 at 5:30
Two of Madison’s most esteemed musicians will delight with melodies from their upcoming CD and will celebrate the Fourth of July weekend with patriotic tunes.
Isthmus Brass
Sunday, July 16, 2017
Comprised of the finest professional brass players in the Midwest, Isthmus Brass (below) is Wisconsin’s premiere large brass ensemble. It has performed on concert series and music festivals throughout the Midwest.
Hear a fun night of comic and classic melodies from your favorite operas. It features extraordinary lead singers from the School of Music and UW Opera Theater. Among them: Katie Anderson, soprano (below top); Courtney Kayser, mezzo-soprano (below middle); José Muñiz, tenor (below bottom); and accompanist Thomas Kasdof, piano.
Sound Out Loud and Lucia String Quartet
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Sound Out Loud (below) specializes in contemporary music from the early 20th century to the present. They expand the realm of possibilities within contemporary chamber music repertoire through the implementation of experimental techniques, the incorporation of a variety of instruments and musical styles from the Middle East and Asia, innovative performance practice, and the use of live electronics.
The Lucia String Quartet (below) has been performing at events throughout the Midwest for over 15 years. The string quartet’s repertoire puts a fresh spin on many favorite rock/pop songs as well as eloquently performing classical pieces.
Summer Serenades are presented by the Wisconsin Union Directorate’s Performing Arts Committee with support from the Bill and Char Johnson Classical summer Concert Series Fund.
This is the inaugural season But Ralph Russo, director of the Wisconsin Union Theater, adds: “The 2017 Summer Serenades is a pilot program. The coordinator has put together an excellent program in a very short time and I’m confident we’ll see a good audience response.
“Assuming all goes well I’m hopeful it will continue for many summers to come. But we won’t know for certain until we do a thorough evaluation at the end of summer and determine if the donor is interested and willing to continue funding the program.”
Classical music: As Pride month comes to an end, let us proudly recall LGBTQ classical composers and musicians. Plus, you hear a concert of queer composers and performers
6 Comments
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
This past weekend, this whole past month, the Rainbow flags (below) have been flying openly and high.
We saw all sorts of major Pride parades for LGBTQ rights as well as the 50th anniversary of the riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York City that eventually gave birth to a worldwide movement to ensure that queer people receive the human rights they deserve.
Since today is the last day of June, of Pride month, it seems fitting to recall the many LGBTQ composers and performers in classical music.
The gay rights movement has opened the closet doors not only of individual lives today but also of historical figures.
So here are several lists that may teach you something new about gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer musicians.
Some of the calls seem iffy, unconvincing or overstated. Beethoven, Schubert and Chopin, for example, lived when homoerotic friendship did not necessarily mean a queer sexual identity. But one way or the other, historical proof and documentation can be hard to come by. And clearly there is much more to know about the past.
But take a look. At least you will see how scholars are undertaking new research and often undermining the heterosexual assumption that has wrapped so many historical and even contemporary figures in wrong or mistaken gender identity.
And if you find someone missing, please leave the name and appropriate information in the comment section.
Freedom, acceptance and respect are not zero-sum games in which one person or group can win only if another one loses. There is enough of each to go around. All can celebrate pride.
So enjoy the information, whether it is new or not, and the respect it should inspire for the central role of LGBTQ people in the arts both past and present.
Here is a pretty extensive and comprehensive list, in alphabetical order, from Wikipedia of LGBT composers, both living and dead. It includes Chester Biscardi (below) who did graduate work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Pauline Oliveros who did a residency at the UW-Madison several years ago. You don’t have to click on each name. Just hover the cursor arrow over the name and you will see a photo and biographical blurb.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:LGBT_composers
And here is a list, also in alphabetical order and also from Wikipedia, of LGBT musicians and performers, not all of them classical. It works by clicking on sub-categories that include nationality – though one wonders if musicians from extremely homophobic countries and cultures are included.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:LGBT_musicians
Here is a more selective list from The Advocate, an LGBTQ magazine, of 18 queer composers — including Corelli — who made history and you should know about:
https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2017/2/08/18-queer-composers-who-made-music-history?pg=full
And here is a similarly selective list from radio station WFMT in Chicago of 15 LGBT composers — including Handel and Lully — you should know about:
https://www.wfmt.com/2015/06/25/15-queer-composers-know/
And in the YouTube video at the bottom is a Pride concert — 1 hour and 43 minutes long — recently held in New York City at the Greene Space, and hosted and recorded by radio stations WQXR and WNYC.
It features music by queer composers and performances by queer artists. Metropolitan Opera star Anthony Roth Constanzo performs. Also playing are pianists Steven Blier and Sara Davis Buechner, who have performed with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, respectively. The New York Gay Men’s Chorus sings. The Ear found the concert timely and moving.
If you have questions, comments or additional names, please do leave word in the comment section.
Happy Pride!
The Ear wants to hear.
Share this:
Like this:
Tags: #AaronCopland, #AlphabeticalOrder, #AnthonyRothCostanzo, #ArcangeloCorelli, #BaroqueMusic, #BenjaminBritten, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CamilleSaint-Saens, #ChamberMusic, #ChesterBiscardi, #ChicagoIllinois, #ChoralMusic, #ClassicalMusician, #ContemporaryComposers, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FrancisPoulenc, #FranzSchubert, #FredericChopin, #GayRights, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GianCarloMenotti, #GraduateStudent, #GraduateWork, #HumanRights, #Jean-BaptisteLully, #LeonardBernstein, #LGBTRights, #LivingComposers, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MetropolitanOpera, #NewComposers, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkGayMen'sChorus, #PaulineOliveros, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PrideFlag, #PrideMonth, #SamuelBarber, #SaraDavisBuechner, #SexualIdentity, #StevenBlier, #StonewallInn, #StonewallRiot, #StonewallUprising, #TheAdvocate, #TheGreeneSpace, #TheMet, #TokenCreekChamberMusicFestival, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VocalMusic, #Wikipediaentry, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WQXRradio, #YouTubevideo, Aaron Copland, acceptance, alphabetical, anniversary, Anthony Roth Costanzo, arrow, Arts, assumption, audience, Baroque, Beethoven, Benjamin Britten, biographical, birth, bisexual, blog, blurb, call, Camille Saint-Saëns, celebrate, central, Chamber music, Chester Biscardi, Chicago, Chopin, choral music, Classical music, classicalmusic, click, closet, comments, composer, comprehensive, contemporary, Corelli, countries, country, culture, cultures, cursor, dead, documentation, door, Early music, Facebook, figure, flag, forward, freedom, friendship, game, gay, gay rights, gender, Gian-Carlo Menotti, graduate work, group, Handel, heterosexual, historical, History, homoerotic, homophobic, homosexual, Homosexuality, human rights, identity, iffy, individual, information, inn, Jean-Baptiste Lully, June, Leonard Bernstein, lesbian, LGBT, LGBT rights, LGBT rights in the United States, LGBTQ, like, link, list, living, living composers, Ludwig van Bethoven, Lully, Madison Symphony Orchestra, magazine, Mead Witter School of Music, member, Metropolitan Opera, mistaken, month, movement, Mozart, name, nationality, new, New York City, New York Gay Men's Chorus, opera, overstate, overstatement, parade, past, Pauline Oliveros, People, performer, person, photo, Pianist, Piano, Poulenc, present, pride, Pride flag, Pride month, proof, queer, questions, Radio, radio statio, reader, recall, research, residency, resident, respect, rights, riot, role, Samuel Barber, Sara Davis Buechner, scholar, scholarship, Schubert, selective, sexual, sexual identity, share, sing, Singing, solo, spread, star, Steven Blier, Stonewall, Stonewall Inn, Stonewall riots, straight, sub-category, subscriber, tag, Tchaikovsky, teach, The Advocate, the Met, timely, Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, transgender, University of Wisconsin–Madison, uprising, vocal music, weekend, Wikipedia, WMFT, WNYC, word, worldwide, WQXR, WQXR-FM, wring, you, YouTube, zero sum