presenter | The Well-Tempered Ear

Too bad the Wisconsin Union Theater didn’t book a great pianist for next season

May 21, 2022
9 Comments

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By Jacob Stockinger

“We are living in a Golden Age of pianists,” famed concert pianist, Juilliard teacher and frequent Madison performer Emanuel Ax (below) has said.

He should know. But you would never guess that from the recently announced next season at the Wisconsin Union Theater (below).

The WUT has not booked a solo pianist for the 2022-23 season.

Here is a link to the lineup for the next season:

https://union.wisc.edu/visit/wisconsin-union-theater/seasonevents/

Is The Ear the only one who has noticed and is disappointed?

Who else feels bad about it?

After all, this is the same presenting organization that brought to Madison such legendary pianists as Sergei Rachmaninoff, Ignaz Jan Paderewski, Percy Grainger, Arthur Rubinstein, Vladimir Horowitz, Dame Myra Hess, Guiomar Novaes, Egon Petri, Robert Casadesus, William Kapell, Claudio Arrau, Alexander Brailowsky, Gary Graffman, Glenn Gould, Rosalyn Tureck, Byron Janis, Misha Dichter, Peter Serkin, André Watts, Lili Kraus and Garrick Ohlsson

It is the same hall (below) in which The Ear has heard Rudolf Serkin, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Angela Hewitt, Alfred Brendel, Murray Perahia, Valentina Lisitsa, Andras Schiff, Joyce Yang, Yefim Bronfman, Jeremy Denk, Ingrid Fliter, Richard Goode, Leon Fleisher, Simone Dinnerstein, Wu Han and so many other great and memorable names including, of course, Emanuel Ax.

What a history!

As you can see and as The Ear likes to say, the Wisconsin Union Theater is “The Carnegie Hall of Madison.” For over 100 years, it is where the great ones play.

One irony is that many of those former bookings of pianists took place when the University of Wisconsin School of Music had many more pianists on the faculty and provided a major alternative venue for piano recitals.

Another irony is that so many young people take piano lessons (below) and are apt to want to attend, probably with their parents, to hear a live professional concert piano recital. You would think the WUT would also see the advantages of having such community outreach links to the public and to music education, especially since the WUT has hosted Open Piano Day for the public. (See the YouTube video of a Channel 3000 story in February 2020 at the bottom.)

From what The Ear reads, there are lots of up-and-coming pianists, many affordable names of various winners of national and international competitions. They should be affordable as well as worthy of being introduced to the Madison public.

But that seems a mission now largely left to the Salon Piano Series.

Plus, so many of the new pianists are young Asians who have never appeared here, which should be another draw for the socially responsible and diversity-minded WUT.

But that is another story for another day.

What do you think of the WUT not presenting a solo pianist next season?

Maybe there will be a pianist booked for the 2023-24 season.

What pianists would you like see booked by the WUT student programming committee?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AlexanderBrailowsky, #AlfredBrendel, #AndrasSchiff, #AndréWatts, #AngelaHewitt, #ArthurRubinstein, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ByronJanis, #CarnegieHall, #Channel3000, #CommunityOutreach, #ConcertHall, #ConcertPianist, #EgonPetri, #EmanuelAx, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GarrickOhlsson, #GaryGraffman, #GlennGould, #GoldenAge, #GuiomarNovaes, #IgnazJanPaderewski, #IngridFliter, #JacobStockinger, #JeremyDenk, #JoyceYang, #JuilliardSchool, #LatinAmericanmusic, #LeonFleisher, #LiliKraus, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MishaDichter, #MurrayPerahia, #MusicalOrganization, #Musicfaculty, #MyraHess, #OpenPianoDay, #PercyGrainger, #PeterSerkin, #PIanoRecital, #PIanoTeacher, #RichardGoode, #RobertCasadesus, #RosalynTureck, #RudolfSerkin, #SalonPIanoSeries, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #ShannonHall, #SimoneDinnerstein, #TheEar, #TheUW, #TheUW-Madison, #TooBad, #Up-and-Coming, #ValentinaLisitsa, #VladimirAskenazy, #VladimirHorowitz, #WilliamKapell, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WuHan, #YefimBronfman, #YouTubevideo, advantage, affordable, Alexander Brailowsky, Alfred Brendel, alternative, András Schiff, André Watts, Angela Hewitt, announce, appear, Arrau, Arthur Rubinstein, Arts, Ashkenazy, Asia, asian, audience, bad, Baroque, Beethoven, blog, Blog post, Book, Brendel, Byron Janis, Carnegie Hall, Chamber music, Channel 3000, China, Chinese, Classical music, Claudio Arrau, committee, community, Competition, composer, Concert, concert hall, concert pianist, diversity, Education, Egon Petri, Emanuel Ax, Facebook, Facebook post, faculty, fame, famed, famous, female, Garrick Ohlsson, Gary Graffman, Glenn Gould, Golden Age, great, guess, Guiomar Novaes, hall, he, hear, her, here, History, Horowitz, Ingrid Fliter, international, irony, Jacob Stockinger, Japan, Japanese, Jeremy Denk, Joyce Yang, Juilliard, know, Korea, Korean, legendary, Leon Fleisher, Lili Kraus, lineup, link, live, living, Madison, male, Mead Witter School of Music, memorable, men, Misha Dichter, mission, Murray Perahia, Music, music student, Myra Hess, name, national, new, Open Piano Day, organization, outreach, Paderewski, Parent, Percy Grainger, performer, Peter Serkin, Pianist, Piano, piano recital, piano student, piano teacher, play, post, posting, presenter, professional, program, programming, public, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, read, recent, recital, Richard Goode, Robert Casadesus, Rosalyn Tureck, Rubinstein, Rudolf Serkin, Salon Piano Series, say, Season, see, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, Shannon Hall, share, Simone Dinnerstein, socially responsible, solo, Sonata, South Korea, South Korean, Student, tag, Taiwan, Taiwanese, Teacher, Television, The Ear, think, too bad, TV, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Valentina Lisitsa, venue, video, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Vladimir Horowitz, who, William Kapell, winner, WISC-TV, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Union Theater, women, worth, worthy, Wu Han, WUT, year, Yefim Bronfman, you, young, YouTube

Going live! Here are some links to newly announced summer concerts and 2021-22 seasons

June 15, 2021
2 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

Get out your datebooks.

Now that the pandemic is fast abating, at least locally, music groups and music presenters in the Madison area have been announcing a return to live music and their new seasons and summer events in a relentless way.

The Ear had been out of commission since mid-May until this week. But in any case, The Ear was overwhelmed and just couldn’t keep up with a separate post for each one.

Still, he thought it might be helpful to be able to check the dates, performers, programs, tickets and other information in one place.

Remember that the Madison Early Music Festival is no more. It has been absorbed into the regular music curriculum at the UW.

Please know that many groups – including, but not limited to, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music (below is the UW Symphony Orchestra — masked, socially distanced and virtually streamed — during the pandemic), University Opera, Edgewood College, Just Bach, Grace Presents, the Salon Piano Series, the First Unitarian Society of Madison, Bach Around the Clock, the Festival Choir of Madison, the Wisconsin Chamber Choir and the Madison Bach Musicians – have not yet released details of their new seasons.

But most of their websites say that an announcement of their new season is coming soon.

There are also some trends you may notice.

Many of the groups are raising prices and persistently seek donations as well as subscribers, no doubt to help make up for the loss of revenue during the pandemic.

The Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra have reduced the number of concerts or start later.

Some have simply rescheduled events, like the Wisconsin Union Theater closing its season with soprano Renée Fleming. And the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s new season is largely the same one they were planning to have to celebrate the Beethoven Year in 2020-21.

The Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, the Middleton Community Orchestra and the Willy Street Chamber Players all have pop-up concerts and scheduled outdoor concerts in parks. Some have also scheduled individual mini-concerts or personal sessions.

If you look at programs, you will see an emphasis on Black composers and performers by almost all groups. (The Madison Symphony Orchestra has scheduled “Lyric for Strings” by George Walker, below. You can hear it performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

What is most disappointing is that no group seems to have announced a special concert or event to pay homage to the public ordeal, health care workers and victims of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ear keeps thinking a performance of a suitable requiem (by perhaps Mozart, Faure, Brahms, Verdi or Britten) or Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony would have been an appropriate way to start the in-person season and, at the same time, acknowledge the more than 7,000 deaths in Wisconsin and almost 600,000 deaths in the U.S. and almost 4 million worldwide as of now. Maybe even Barber’s overplayed Adagio for Strings would suffice.

Finally, very few groups seem to be offering online virtual concert attendance as a possibility for those listeners who found that they actually enjoyed at least some the music in their own homes and at their own times.

IN ANY CASE, HERE IS WHAT HAS ALREADY TAKEN PLACE OR IS STILL ON TAP. CHECK IT OUT!

Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society in free live and for-pay recorded concerts: https://bachdancing.org

Middleton Community Orchestra’s summer concerts at Fireman’s Park (below) in Middleton: https://middletoncommunityorchestra.org

Madison Bach Musicians summer workshops (below): https://madisonbachmusicians.org/2021-summer-chamber-music-workshop/

Concerts on the Square with limited paid admission at Breese Stevens Field (below): https://wcoconcerts.org/concerts-tickets/concerts-on-the-square

Madison Symphony Orchestra (below, in a photo by Peter Rodgers): https://madisonsymphony.org/concerts-events/madison-symphony-orchestra-concerts/

Madison Opera and Opera in the Park (below): https://www.madisonopera.org/oitp21/; and https://www.madisonopera.org/21-22/

Wisconsin Union Theater: https://union.wisc.edu/visit/wisconsin-union-theater/seasonevents/concert-series/

Willy Street Chamber Players (below) at Orton Park: http://www.willystreetchamberplayers.org/2021-summer-concert-series.html

If you know of more entries or have observations to make about these, please leave word and, when possible, a link in the comment section.

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AdagioforStrings, #African-AmericanComposer, #AncoraStringQuartet, #BachAroundtheClock, #BachDancingandDynamiteSociety, #BeethovenYear, #BenjaminBritten, #BlackComposer, #Blackcomposers, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BreeseStevensField, #ChristianChurch, #CollageNewMusic, #ConcertsontheSquare, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #EdgewoodChamberOrchestra, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FestivalChoirofMadison, #FiremansPark, #GabrieFaure, #GiuseppeVerdi, #GraceEpiscopalChurch, #GracePresents, #GustavoDudamel, #HealthCare, #JacobStockinger, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JustBach, #LiveMusic, #LosAngeles, #LosAngelesPhilharmonic, #MadisonBachMusicians, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #MusicEducation, #NewMusic, #NinthSymphony, #OperaInThePark, #OrtonPark, #RecordedMusic, #RenéeFleming, #SalonPIanoSeries, #SamuelBarber, #ShannonHall, #SocialDistance, #SopranoSinger, #StringMusic, #StringQuartet, #TakePlace, #TheEar, #TheU.S., #TheUW, #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityOpera, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #WillyStreetChamberPlayers, #WisconsinChamberChoir, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, abate, absorb, acknowledge, Adagio for Strings, admission, African American, America, Ancora String Quartet, Arts, audience, Bach, Bach Around the Clock, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Barber, Baroque, BDDS, Beethoven, Beethoven Year, Benjamin Britten, black, black composer, blog, Blog post, blog posting, Brahms, Breese Stevens Field, Britten, celebrate, Chamber music, choral music, Christia, church, Classical music, comment, commission, composer, Concert, concerto, Concerts on the Square, coronavirus, COS, curriculum, death, deaths, details, donation, Dudamel, Early music, Edgewood College, enjoy, entry, Facebook, Facebook page, Facebook post, fast, Faure, Festival Choir of Madison, Firemans Park, for-pay, forward, free, funding, Gabriel Fauré, Giuseppe Verdi, Grace Episcopal Church, Grace Presents, group, Gustavo Dudamel, health care, homage, Home, indoors, information, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Just Bach, later, like, limited, link, listener, live music, live-stream, local, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Philharmonic, loss, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Madison Early Music Festival, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, mask, MCO, Mead Witter School of Music, MEMF, Middleton, Middleton Community Orchestra, Mozart, Music, Music education, new, New Music, Ninth Symphony, notice, opera, Opera in the Park, Orchestra, ordeal, Orton Park, outdoors, overplay, Overture Center, overwhelm, overwhelming, paid, pandemic, performers, persistent, personal, Pianist, Piano, pop-up, presenter, price, program, public, recorded music, Renée Fleming, Requiem, revenue, Salon Piano Series, Samuel Barber, schedule, Season, seating, seek, separate, Shannon Hall, share, singer, Singing, social distance, Sonata, soprano, start, stream, string music, String quartet, strings, subscriber, suffice, summer, symphony, tag, take place, tap, The Ear, ticket, tickets, times, trend, U.S., United State, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, UW, UW Symphony Orchestra, Verdi, victim, Violin, vocal music, Website, Willy Street Chamber Players, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Choir, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, workers, workshop, YouTube

Madison Opera cancels its January production of “She Loves Me.” Will other groups follow suit? Plus, tonight is the last online concert by the LunART Festival of music by Black women

October 17, 2020
1 Comment

ALERT: TONIGHT, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. the third LunART Festival will wrap up with the second of its two FREE streamed “Human Family” concerts featuring the works of Black women (below). Due to popular demand, last week’s concert is still posted and available for viewing. This week’s concert will be followed by a virtual party. Here are links for information, programs and biographies: https://www.lunartfestival.org/2020virtualfestival and https://welltempered.wordpress.com/?s=LunART

By Jacob Stockinger

The coronavirus pandemic continues to slowly take its toll on local live productions during the current season.

The Madison Opera has now canceled its second production of the season, the Broadway musical “She Loves Me” by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, which was scheduled for late January in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center.

Here are details from Madison Opera: “We will replace She Loves Me with a Digital Winter season that lasts from January to March. Details will be announced in December. (She Loves Me will be part of our 2021/22 season, so it’s only a delay!)”

For more about Madison Opera’s digital fall season – which costs $50 per household to subscribe to – go to: https://www.madisonopera.org/Fall2020

The next digital event is at 7:30 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 24, by Sun Prairie bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen (below, in a photo by Lawrence Brownlee), who has performed around the world, including at the Metropolitan Opera.

He will perform a live-streamed concert from the Madison Opera Center that will be a tribute to the American bass Giorgio Tozzi (below), who was Ketelsen’s teacher at Indiana University. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear Tozzi sing “This Nearly Was Mine” from “South Pacific” by Rodgers and Hammerstein.)

Here is Tozzi’s biography from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Tozzi

Soprano Emily Secor (below top) and pianist Scott Gendel (below bottom) will perform with Ketelsen.

Here is a link to details of Kyle Ketelsen’s recital: https://www.madisonopera.org/class/liveketelsen/?wcs_timestamp=1603567800

___________________________________________________________________________

The cancellation makes The Ear wonder: Are local groups and presenters being too timid or too hopeful when it comes to future plans for the current season?

After all, this past week we learned that both the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic have canceled the rest of the current season due to public health concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. And all indications are that it will be a very rough, unsafe winter and spring in Wisconsin and Madison.

That’s why The Ear suspects that, unfortunately, the rest of the season will either be canceled or be virtual and moved online. It even seems more than plausible that there will be no live performances until the winter or spring of 2022.

So you can probably expect further word pretty soon of more cancellations, postponements and virtual online performances from the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Madison Opera, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the Wisconsin Union Theater, the UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music, the University Opera and others.

What do you think?

Will there be operas, orchestral performances and live chamber music sometime yet this season?

When do you think it will be safe to perform and attend live concerts?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #African-AmericanComposer, #Blackcomposers, #BlackWomen, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BloomingtonIndiana, #BroadwayMusical, #CapitolTheater, #ChamberMusic, #CityofMadison, #CollaborativePianist, #ConcertProgram, #ConcertSeason, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DigitalWinter, #EmilySecor, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FlorencePrice, #GiogioTozzi, #HumanFamily, #IndianaUniversity, #JacobStockinger, #JerryBock, #KyleKetelsen, #LiveConcerts, #LiveStreaming, #LunARTFestival, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonOperaCenter, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MadisonWisconsin, #MetropolitanOpera, #MusicEducation, #MusicPresenter, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #OnlineConcert, #OrchestralMusic, #OscarHammerstein, #OvertureCenter, #PianoAccompaniment, #PianoAccompanist, #PopularDemand, #PublicHealth, #RichardRodgers, #RodgersandHammerstein, #ScottGendel, #SeasonSubscriber, #SheldonHarnick, #SheLovesMe, #SouthPacific, #SunPrairie, #SunPrairieWisconsin, #TheEar, #TheMet, #TheUW, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityOpera, #VirtualConcert, #VirtualFestival, #VocalMusic, #Wikipediabiography, #Wikipediaentry, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WomenComposer, #WrapUp, #YouTubevideo, 2020, 2020-21, 2021, 2022, accompaniment, accompany, African American, American, announce, artists, Arts, attend, audience, bass, bass-baritone, biography, Black composers, Black women, blog, Bloomington, Broadway, cacnel, cancellation, Capitol Theater, Chamber music, Classical music, classicalmusic, composer, Concert, coronavirus, current, December, delay, demand, details, digital, Digital Winter, Emily Secor, expect, Facebook, Florence Price, forward, free, further, future, Gendel, Giorgio Tozzi, group, hopeful, household, human family, Indiana, Indiana University, indication, information, Jacob Stockinger, January, Jerry Bock, Ketelsen, Kyle Ketelsen, last, like, link, live, live concerts, live streaming, livestream, local, LunART Festival, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Opera Center, Madison Symphony Orchestra, make, Mead Witter School of Music, Metropolitan Opera, move, Music, Music education, musical, New York City, New York Philharmonic, online, opera, Orchestra, orchestral, Oscar Hammerstein, Overture Center, pandemic, party, perform, performance, Pianist, Piano, plans, plausible, popular, post, posting, postpone, postponements, presenter, price, production, program, Public health, recital, replace, Richard Rodgers, rough, safe, scheduled, Scott Gendel, Season, Secor, share, She Loves Me, Sheldon Harnick, South Pacific, stream, Student, subscribe, Sun Prairie, suspect, symphony, tag, Teacher, The Ear, the Met, think, timid, toll, Tozzi, tribute, unfortunately, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, unsafe, UW, UW-Madison, virtual, vocal music, week, what, when, Wikipedia, winter, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Union Theater, women composer, wonder, word, world, wrap up, you, YouTube

Will the public pay for online virtual concerts? Will you? Consider the fate of newspapers

August 23, 2020
4 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

More and more local classical musicians and music presenters are moving concerts and music-making to virtual online events, at least for the fall and early winter – and quite possibly for the rest of the season. (Below is Shannon Hall in the Wisconsin Union Theater.)

And although we are still waiting for details, it seems all but certain that many of them will be pay-per-view and require tickets.

True, the move from free streaming to pay-for-view might be very useful in helping performers earn a much-needed living.

But it could also be disastrous – or at least extremely disruptive and disappointing.

Anthony Tommasini (below), the senior music critic for The New York Times, recently wrote a long story defending the move from being free to becoming paid for both livestreams and pre-recorded music concerts.

Tommasini — whose profession demands that he follow wherever the music goes — thinks it will, or should, work.

Here is a link to his story that includes concerts at The Metropolitan Opera and elsewhere with international stars such as soprano Renée Fleming (beow top) and pianist Daniil Trifonov (below bottom).

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/arts/music/classical-music-livestream.html

But The Ear isn’t so sure.

For one thing, many listeners might find alternatives. They might like watching outstanding performances of the same works by great and even historical performers on YouTube for free.

They might like exploring their own collections of recordings, or listening to the radio and watching TV, or even making more music as amateurs.

The Ear also suspects that now that the habit of going to live concerts has been interrupted, many people will simply find that they miss going to live performances much less than they thought they would – or than various arts groups hoped they would. (Below is the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra in a photo by Mike Gorski.)

In addition, even since the coronavirus pandemic lockdown last March, listeners have become used to the free events that many organizations offered if only to keep a presence in the public’s mind.

The strategy was understandable and made sense at the time.

But The Ear thinks of what happened with newspapers.

In the early days of the internet, newspapers offered online stories for free, as a kind of extra attraction or added benefit to secure subscribers.

But as the newspapers lost both advertisers and subscribers and tried to “monetize” their online editions, they found that the horse was already out of the barn.

Many viewers did indeed subscribe to digital editions, but many others abandoned newspapers and instead turned to free online media for their news.

So what will happen in cases less prestigious than what Tommasini describes?

What do you think?

Will local pay-per-view concerts, perhaps with bigger volume if lower individual ticket prices, be successful?

Will you pay to “attend” such virtual online events?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AnthonyTommasini, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ClassicalRecording, #COVID-19, #DaniilTrifonov, #DigitalMedia, #EdgewoodCollege, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #JacobStockinger, #LiveStreaming, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MetropolitanOpera, #Music-Making, #MusicCritic, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #OperaMusic, #OrchestralMusic, #OvertureCenter, #RenéeFleming, #ShannonHall, #shelter-at-home, #SopranoSinger, #TheEar, #TheInternet, #TheMet, #TheNewYorkTImes, #TicketPrice, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WORT-FM89.9, #YouTubevideo, abandon, added, advertiser, alternative, Anthony Tommasini, Arts, attraction, audience, barn, be, benefit, bigger, blog, case, CDs, certain, Chamber music, choral music, Classical music, classicalmusic, collection, composer, Concert, Daniil Trifonov, days, defend, demand, describe, details, digital, early, Early music, Edgewood College, edition, explore, extra, Facebook, fall, free, go, great, habit, happen, hear, help, historical, horse, individual, Internet, interrupt, Jacob Stockinger, job, kiving, like, link, listener, livelihood, livestream, living, local, lockdown, lower, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mead Witter School of Music, media, Metropolitan Opera, mind, monetize, move, Music, music critic, New Music, New York City, news, newspapers, offer, online, opera, Orchestra, orchestral music, organization, outstanding, Overture Center, own, paid, pay-per-view, performances, Pianist, Piano, post, posting, pre-recorded, presenter, prestigious, price, profession, public, radi, Radio, recital, recording, Renée Fleming, require, rest, Season, secure, senior, Shannon Hall, share, singer, soprano, star, stars, stories, story, subscriber, successful, symphony, tag, The Ear, the Met, The New York Times, theor, think, ticket price, tickets, TV, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, useful, UW-Madison, virtual, vocal music, volume, waiting, want, watch, what, winter, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Union Theater, work, WORT-FM 89.9, you, YouTube

Classical music: The Met just canceled its entire fall opera season. Can local groups be far behind?

June 3, 2020
5 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

The question has weighed on The Ear ever since local groups started announcing their new concert seasons.

Will audiences – especially older and more vulnerable ones — be ready to risk venturing into crowds of 500, 1,000 or 2,000 people without an effective treatment or vaccine for global pandemic of the coronavirus (below) and the growing number of deaths from COVID-19?

Now such suspicions have been supported or even confirmed by news that the world-famous Metropolitan Opera (below), at Lincoln Center in New York City, has just canceled all of its live fall productions.

It cited concerns about the safety of both the public and the performers. And its reasoning makes sense — even though it is estimated that the Met will lose up to $100 million. It is hard or impossible in concert halls and on stages (below is a photo of the Met’s stage) to use masks and maintain social distancing.

All in all, it sounds all too familiar, similar to the reasons given for cancellations this past winter and spring, and even this summer.

Here’s a link about the Met cancellation, with lots of details and quotes, in The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/arts/music/metropolitan-opera-cancels-season-virus.html

Locally, it seemed like the show might go on when many groups – despite the public health crisis growing worse — went ahead and started announcing their fall seasons or even an event this summer, as in the case of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra’s Concerts on the Square, which were postponed by a month.

After all, the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson), the Madison Opera, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the Wisconsin Union Theater, the Middleton Community Orchestra and the Madison Bach Musicians have all announced new seasons — as did the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. (You can hear about the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s new “Ode to Joy” season in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

The UW-Madison – the biggest presenter of live concerts in the Madison area with some 300 events a year – has wisely not yet announced its concert season, let alone how it will hold lessons and classes.

The Ear suspects that more cancellations are in the making, especially when it comes to mass gatherings such as concerts, movies, plays and sports events.

Indeed, it seems like many of the groups even took possible cancellations into consideration when it came to planning programs; cutting back on expenses and staffing; and using local or regional guest artists, who might be less expensive and less difficult to cancel, rather than long-distance imported ones.

Even if a vaccine is perfected by Jan. 1, it will take a while to produce enough of it, then to administer it and then to have it take effect.

But perhaps those suspicions and speculations are overly cautious or too pessimistic.

What do you think will happen to the fall concert season?

Will going online and streaming new or past concerts once again be a substitution?

Has the pandemic changed your own habits — perhaps waiting to purchase single tickets rather than renew a season subscription? Or your plans for the fall season, perhaps even the entire season?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: Local groups stream videos to entertain home-bound listeners, and perhaps to promote their next seasons. Plus, the Madison Symphony Orchestra cancels and postpones its May concerts

April 4, 2020
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By Jacob Stockinger

Cancellations and postponements aren’t the only effects that the coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic are having on the local classical music scene.

Many local ensembles – much like such national and international organizations as the Metropolitan Opera and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra — are also starting to offer free streamed performances, some of them archival and some of them are specially performed.

Bach Around the Clock even held a virtual festival this year that featured many different original recorded performances spread out over many days and continues.

Why are they doing so?

Certainly to help entertain the public while they weather the boredom and loneliness of social distancing and sheltering in place at home. Music can comfort.

Perhaps they are also doing so as a smart marketing move to stay in the public’s consciousness despite cancellations and to indirectly promote their upcoming seasons.

Here are some examples:

The Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is offering a link to a YouTube performance — by the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra below) — of the Dvorak Requiem, which the MSO orchestra and chorus were supposed to perform this weekend but had to cancel.

The video also has a message from music director John DeMain; texts and translations from the Czech; a special pre-concert talk and program notes for the Requiem by J. Michael Allsen; and a link to the MSO’s 2020-21 season.

Here is a link: https://madisonsymphony.org/experience-dvorak-requiem-virtually/

In other MSO news: The concerts with pianist Yefim Bronfman playing the Piano Concerto No. 1 by Brahms on May 1, 2 and 3 and the open rehearsal on April 30 are now canceled, and the May 5 organ performance has been postponed.

For those who hold tickets for May concerts, the MSO will be announcing options for donation, exchange and refunds sometime this weekend or next week.

The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (WCO), which recently streamed its December concert in the UW’s Hamel Center, has started a special “Coucherto” series – it’s a pun on concerto and couch – of special at-home concerts by individual musicians in the WCO for those listeners who are staying at home.

The project uses social media including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Vimeo and at the WCO’s home website. Also included is an invitation by music director Andrew Sewell.

The WCO’s next season hasn’t been announced yet, but should be soon.

Here is a link: https://wisconsinchamberorchestra.org/about/coucherto/

For its part, the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, which is facing uncertainty about its June concert series, which focuses on Beethoven’s piano trios – is offering selected chamber music performances from its past seasons that are on BDDS’ YouTube channel.

It too has comments and the program lineup for its season this summer.

Here is a link: https://bachdancing.org/watch-listen/video/

Have you seen any of these videos?

What do you think of them?

Dp you think they work as marketing strategies?

Have you discovered sites for streaming classical music that you recommend to others?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: Acclaimed local soprano Sarah Brailey explains why performing artists and presenters need help during the COVID-19 pandemic

March 23, 2020
2 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

Sarah Brailey (below) is worried.

And with good reason.

Chances are good that you have seen the local soprano or heard her sing.

She is the artistic director of the Handel Aria Competition, which she herself won in 2015. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear Brailey sing the aria “Will the Sun Forget to Streak” from Handel’s oratorio “Solomon,” with the Trinity Baroque Orchestra under conductor Julian Wachner, in the St. Paul Chapel in New York City.)

Brailey is a co-founder of and participant in the monthly free Just Bach concerts here. In addition, while pursuing graduate studies at the UW-Madison, she is a concert artist with a budding international career. For more about her, including a rave review from The New York Times and sample videos, go to: https://sarahbrailey.com

But right now the Wisconsin native is especially concerned about the lasting impact that the Coronavirus pandemic will have on her own career as well as on the careers of others like her and on the well-being of arts presenters.

Brailey (below, in photo by Miranda Loud) sent The Ear the following essay:

By Sarah Brailey

This is a scary time for everyone, but particularly for anyone who works as an independent contractor.

I am a freelance classical soprano based in Madison. I maintain a very active performing career, traveling all over the globe, and I am also a doctoral student at the UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music.

When COVID-19 hit the United States, presenting organizations on the east and west coasts started canceling concerts to comply with social distancing recommendations.

I initially thought I was lucky to be living in the middle of the country where our lesser population density might save us. Plus, I am a Teaching Assistant at the UW right now, so I will still be getting my stipend — although teaching virtual voice lessons will be its own special challenge!

But many of my colleagues are not so lucky and are facing bankruptcy. If the government doesn’t include independent contractors in its relief packages, a lot of people are going to be insolvent.

And I myself am not immune. As the seriousness of the situation became clear, all my concerts in the next two months soon disappeared one by one.

While not being able to perform is emotionally devastating, these cancellations are also financially devastating.

There exists a clause in every standard performance contract called “force majeure” (superior force), which is idiomatically referred to as, “an act of God.” This clause excuses a party from not honoring its contractual obligations that becomes impossible or impracticable, due to an event or effect that the parties could not have anticipated or controlled.

This can come in handy for a presenter if there is, say, a blizzard that necessitates the cancellation of a concert. (This happened to me a few seasons ago with the Boston Symphony.) If the presenter will not make any money on ticket sales, they are not then further injured by having to pay the musicians for the canceled concert. (Below, Brailey sings Samuel Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” with the Colorado Symphony.)

The ramifications of this pandemic are unprecedented. Every freelance musician I know is suddenly out of work. The current conventions put all of the upfront financial burden on the artists. We are paid in one lump sum at the end of a project. We do not get a fee for the countless hours of preparation.

We often book travel and lodging on our own dime, and are not reimbursed until the end of the gig. We pay for our own health insurance, and we cannot file for unemployment because our work is paid via IRS Form 1099 and not W2s. The abrupt work stoppage caused by this pandemic means insolvency – or even bankruptcy — for many artists. (Below, Brailey sings Handel’s “Messiah” at the famed Trinity Church on Wall Street in New York City.)

Many institutions — and, unfortunately, many of the bigger players like The Metropolitan Opera — are invoking force majeure without much regard for how their artists are struggling.

My colleague, tenor Zach Finkelstein, is covering this in great detail on his blog The Middle Class Artist, as is Alex Ross, the prize-winning music critic for The New Yorker. Read his piece on force majeure here.

However, there are also thankfully some good stories to tell. The Bach Society of Minnesota reimbursed all my travel expenses and is paying 75 percent of my fee, as is the Lyra Baroque Orchestra.

I am helping Zach keep track of the organizations that are helping their artists in this time of need. (Read about them here. Madison Opera is on the list.)

The arts are not just cultural enrichment; they are an essential part of our economy. In 2017, the industry contributed $877.8 billion, or 4.5 percent, to U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employed over 5 million workers. We cannot afford to let this industry disappear. I fear that many individual artists and arts organizations will not recover from this. (Below, Brailey sings Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Magnificat” at the Bucknell Bach Festival.)

While we wait out this storm, I implore you to donate to a Madison arts organization. Here is a short list of recommendations along with some national relief funds for artists.

Local Arts Organizations

Madison Bach Musicians

Handel Aria Competition

Madison Early Music Festival

Madison Opera

Madison Youth Choirs

List of National Relief Funds

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: Home or concert hall? Will older listeners follow new CDC guidelines about the coronavirus to stay home and avoid attending concerts? What will performers and presenters do in response?

March 7, 2020
17 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

Late yesterday the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued new guidelines for behavior during the outbreak of the coronavirus and COVID-19.

The CDC is asking all adults over 60, especially those with compromised immune systems and serious underlying illnesses and conditions, to “stay home as much as possible” and avoid attending events with big crowds. (Below is a sample of a full house at the Madison Symphony Orchestra in Overture Hall.)

Here is the full story — which also mentions other kinds of mass events such as movie theaters, mall shopping, sports events and religious services — from CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/06/health/coronavirus-older-people-social-distancing/index.html

Moreover, the new guidelines apply nationwide — including here in Wisconsin where only one case has been confirmed and is now healthy– during the increasingly widespread, worldwide outbreak of confirmed cases and deaths.

The Ear wonders if the new advice will hit classical music especially hard because so much of the audience for it is made up of older people who are more vulnerable.

Will the guidelines affect your own attendance at concerts, even tonight and this weekend at the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin Union Theater?

Will a lack of attendance and a more severe outbreak lead to empty concert halls and the cancellation of concerts? Refunds for seniors?

Will the guidelines lead to alternative ways of “attending” and hearing, such as live-streaming and other virtual attendance?

Pretty soon we should start hearing from music presenters and performers about their reactions, solutions and advice.

Meanwhile, here is a news story from The New York Times about what one string quartet did in Venice, Italy: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/arts/music/arts-coronavirus.html

Are you an older or vulnerable person?

Will you go to concerts or stay home?

What do you think presenters and performers should do to deal with the situation?

Please leave word about your plans and your thoughts.

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: The Well-Tempered Ear surpasses 2 million hits. Thank you, all!!

March 18, 2019
8 Comments

IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.

By Jacob Stockinger

For a variety of reasons, The Ear has not posted anything new in a few days.

That is unusual for this blog.

Some of the reasons were personal.

But the largest reason simply had to do with success and marking a milestone.

Last week, the blog The Well-Tempered Ear surpassed 2 million hits.

Fittingly, the historic moment came while The Ear was attending the outstanding concert by the Madison Symphony Orchestra that featured three of its principal players.

In the beginning, when The Ear started the blog at the request of the Wisconsin Union Theater, such a landmark was never expected and seemed wholly unattainable.

But email subscriptions grew and readership grew – the blog is now read around the world – and such success is even more gratifying than surprising.

So The Ear wants to thank all of his readers and especially his many subscribers as well as the many musicians and presenters who have cooperated and made this endeavor a success.

He has spent the past few days wondering what piece of music he could post that would express his gratitude.

Sad to say, no one piece came to mind.

So he will simply say a huge and heartfelt THANK YOU to all his loyal readers and followers.

He will add that he welcomes comments and suggestions about the contents of the blog and about what piece of music should be posted to celebrate getting 2 million hits!

Again, thank you.

And continued happy reading.

Classical music: Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra offers FREE concert tickets to furloughed federal workers

January 17, 2019
1 Comment

By Jacob Stockinger

Restaurants, food banks, retail stores and other organizations have responded with compassion and generosity to victims of the ongoing partial shutdown of the U.S. government.

Here is an announcement of a timely move that The Ear thinks is terrific news for budget-strapped workers who have to cut back on entertainment or discretionary expenses. It should be a model for other local groups as well as statewide, regional and national arts presenters.

The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (below) is offering free tickets to furloughed federal workers for the Masterworks performance on Friday, Jan. 25, featuring the young cello prodigy and sensation, Miriam K. Smith.

Fresh from performances with the Cincinnati and Louisville symphonies, Smith (below) will perform the Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor by Camille Saint-Saëns. (You can hear her perform a violin and cello duet by George Frideric Handel and Johan Halvorsen in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

If you want to know more about Smith, go to her website: https://miriamksmith.com

A forgotten gem by Domenico Cimarosa, Overture to The Secret Marriage, will open the concert, and the performance concludes with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8, the sunniest of his even-numbered symphonies.

The concert, under the baton of WCO music director Andrew Sewell, will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Capitol Theater at the Overture Center for the Arts, 201 State St.

If you are a furloughed federal employee, you can call the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra offices at (608) 257-0638, and mention your place of employment. Best available tickets are on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets are limited to two per person.

Others who want to attend this concert can find information about the soloist, the program and tickets at: https://wisconsinchamberorchestra.org/performances/masterworks-i-4/

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AndrewSewell, #ArtsPresenters, #BaroqueComposer, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CamilleSaint-Saens, #CapitolTheater, #CelloConcerto, #CelloMusic, #ChamberMusic, #CincinnatiOhio, #DomenicoCimarosa, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FederalWorker, #GovernmentShutdown, #JohanHalvorsen, #LouisvilleKentucky, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MiriamK.Smith, #MusicDirector, #RetailStore, #TheEar, #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolinMusic, #YouTubevideo, Andrew Sewell, announcement, Arts, Arts and Entertainment, arts presenters, audience, available, bank, Baroque, basis, baton, Beethoven, best, blog, budget, Camille Saint-Saëns, Capitol Theater, Cello, Cello Concerto, Chamber music, Cincinnati, Classical music, compassion, composer, concerto, conductor, discretionary, Domenico Cimarosa, duet, Early music, employee, Entertainment, expense, expenses, Facebook, federal, federal worker, food, food bank, foodbank, forgotten, forward, free, furlough, gem, generosity, George Frideric Handel, government, government shutdown, Jacob Stockinger, Johan Halvorsen, Kentucky, like, link, Louisville, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, masterwork, Miriam K. Smith, model, Music, Music director, national, news, Ohio, organization, Overture, Overture Center, performer, presenter, prodigy, regional, restaurant, retail store, Saint-Saens, sensation, share, shutdown, statewide, sunny, symphonies, symphony, tag, The Ear, ticket, timely, U.S., United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, victim, Violin, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, worker, young, YouTube

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