The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Happy New Year! The annual New Year’s Day concert in Vienna, popular around the world, airs on Wisconsin public radio and TV this morning and tonight
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ALERT 1: What piece of music do you like most to celebrate the New Year? Leave the name and a YouTube link, if possible, in the Comment section.
By Jacob Stockinger
For many music fans, today just wouldn’t be New Year’s Day without the annual concert (below) by the Vienna Philharmonic with a famous guest conductor in Vienna, Austria, that is broadcast nationwide both on radio and television by PBS and NPR. (The concert also goes out to more than 90 countries around the world.)
In Wisconsin, the first hearing comes this morning from 10 a.m. to noon CST on Wisconsin Public Radio.
Then tonight from 8 to 9:30 CST, Wisconsin Public Television – recently rebranded as PBS Wisconsin – will feature a longer version with host Hugh Bonneville (below) of “Downton Abbey” and with choreographed dance interpretations by the Vienna State Ballet that take place in various historical sites in Vienna.
The broadcast will be available to stream tomorrow, Thursday, Jan. 2, on pbs.org/gperf and the PBS Video app.
Here is an overview with a biography of the critically acclaimed, Grammy-winning conductor Andris Nelsons (below), along with some background about the various orchestras he directs – including the Boston Symphony — and the spectacular floral arrangements in the Golden Hall:
https://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/new-years-concert/new-years-concert-main
And here is a playlist of the waltzes, polkas and marches by the Strauss family and many other composers, including Beethoven since 2020 is the Beethoven Year and will celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth:
https://www.wienerphilharmoniker.at/concerts/concert-detail/event-id/10034
As always, the performance will conclude with the Radetzky March (heard in the YouTube video at the bottom) with the audience clapping along.
If you are a fan of the event, you might also be pleased to learn the Sony Classical will again be releasing the live recording (below) and DVD very shortly. Every year Sony rushes to get it out and on the market – something made easier, one suspects, by streaming.
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Classical music education: Here is the latest news about the current concert season for the Madison Youth Choirs. It begins with a FREE preview at Hilldale Mall this Saturday.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear’s friends over at the Madison Youth Choirs sent the following Fall 2014 edition of the email newsletter called “The Voice.”
I am including it in full because it is to the point and includes many details about concert dates for the new season, but adds other relevant and impressive information.
MYC is a terrific and well-established music education organization for young people in the Madison area.
MADISON YOUTH CHOIRS RETURNS FROM A TRIUMPHANT INTERNATIONAL TOUR
This past summer, 71 members of MYC’s boychoirs traveled to Scotland to take part in the invitation-only Aberdeen International Youth Festival (below), where they collaborated with hundreds of other young artists from all over the world, finding friendship and camaraderie that transcended cultural boundaries.
The boys delivered stunning performances in medieval cathedrals, public squares, local businesses, and Aberdeen‘s gorgeous Music Hall, making a great impression on the international arts community.
In addition to wildly supportive local crowds and fellow performers, the boys drew high praise from the Lord Provost of Aberdeen, George Adam, who serves as the Queen’s representative in the city, and declared MYC’s performance with the National Youth Choir of Scotland “magnificent.”
Throughout the entire trip, these young men demonstrated their thoughtfulness, patience, excellent work ethic, and outstanding musicianship. We could not be more proud of the way these boys and our wonderful parent chaperones represented the MYC family on the world stage.
Here is a link to a video (captured by MYC parent David Woods) of the boys singing Exultate Justi in Domino at Aberdeen’s St. Machar’s Cathedral: http://vimeo.com/109192022
ANNOUNCING OUR WINTER CONCERT THEME
At a time when so many of us are fully immersed in a digital world surrounded by electronic gadgets, our singers are preparing to take on some musical time travel, exploring the creative accomplishments of an unplugged era.
Our first semester theme is “Musica Ficta: Imagining the Past.” We will dive into the intricate ornamentation of the Baroque period, the spare beauty of monastic chanting, and the colorful madrigals of the Renaissance, while illuminating the history and cultural context that brought these musical works into being.
Join us on this journey through the centuries as we present the MYC Winter Concert Series, generously endowed by Diane Ballweg, on Sunday, December 14, 2014 at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Avenue, in Madison.
MYC RECEIVES A GRANT FROM THE MADISON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
We are thrilled to announce that the Madison Community Foundation has awarded a $30,000 capacity-building and community-building grant to Madison Youth Choirs, which will focus on our continued efforts to break down barriers to arts participation.
This significant gift will provide additional support for several MYC outreach programs, including the Adopt-a-School choirs at Lincoln, Chavez and Nuestro Mundo elementary schools, musical enrichment at the Lussier Community Education Center, a new intergenerational choir program at Capitol Lakes Retirement Community and the development of an Outreach and Education Coordinator position.
MYC IN THE NEWS
In the past four years, MYC’s Adopt-a-School choral outreach program (a collaboration with Madison Metropolitan School District) has grown from serving 30 students at Lincoln Elementary School to serving over 250 students at Lincoln, Chavez and Nuestro Mundo schools, with potential for even greater expansion in the years to come.
This month, the program reached a new milestone as the Lincoln choir members made their television debut on the NBC-15 news. The choir performed at the press conference for Any Given Child, an initiative designed by the Kennedy Center to provide equitable in-school arts education opportunities for all K-8 students. The young singers performed before numerous local arts leaders, Madison Mayor Paul Soglin, MMSD Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham, Overture Center President Ted DeDee and the Kennedy Center’s Darrell Ayres. See the video here: http://www.nbc15.com/video?videoid=2955538
JOIN US FOR OUR UPCOMING PERFORMANCES!
MYC Free Preview Concert at Hilldale Mall
Hilldale Mall Atrium, Saturday, November 15; Performances throughout the day, 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m.; FREE
Jitro Concert (below, a world-renowned girls’ choir from the Czech Republic) featuring Cantabile; St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, 7337 Hubbard Ave., Middleton; Friday, November 21, 7:30 p.m.; FREE (Donations gladly accepted at the door)
45th anniversary presentation of University of Wisconsin-Madison Chemistry Professor Bassam Shakhashiri‘s Christmas Lectures, featuring members of Con Gioia and Capriccio; Wisconsin Union Theater, 800 Langdon St., Madison; Sunday, November 30, 2 p.m. Tickets are free but must be requested here. THIS PROGRAM WILL BE RECORDED FOR PBS AND BROADCAST NATIONALLY.
A Madison Symphony Christmas, featuring the Purcell, Britten, Holst, Ragazzi and Cantabile choirs. Overture Hall, Overture Center for the Arts. Friday, December 5, 2014, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, December 6, 2014, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, December 7, at 2:30 p.m.
Click here for ticketing information
MYC Winter Concerts. First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Avenue, Madison. Sunday, December 14, 2014. 1:30 p.m. – High School Ensembles. 4 p.m. – Boychoirs. 7 p.m. – Girlchoirs. Tickets at the door, $10 general admission, free for children under 7. (You can hear a video from last year’s Winter Concert in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
Madison Boychoir Festival. Madison West High School. Saturday, February 7, 2015. Half-day workshop and FREE concert for the community.
Madison Choral Project Concert featuring the Cantabile and Ragazzi choirs. First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Avenue. Saturday, February 28, 7:30 p.m. Click here for ticketing information
MYC Spring Concerts. Capitol Theater of the Overture Center. Saturday, May 2, 2015. 7 p.m. – Boychoirs. Sunday, May 3, 2015: 3 p.m. – Girlchoirs; 7:30 p.m. – High School Ensembles. Ticketing information coming soon
KNOW A YOUNG SINGER WHO MIGHT LIKE TO JOIN THE CHOIRS? Singers ages 11-18 are invited to audition on Wednesday, November 19, 2014 to join an ensemble in January.
YOUNGER SINGERS (AGES 7-10) ARE INVITED TO ENROLL IN A SPRING INTRODUCTORY CHOIR CLASS.
Click here for more information
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The Well-Tempered Ear 
Classical music: Today is the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Here is disturbing music that sonically depicts the charred remains of the people and the city
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PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
Today is the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima (below) and the dawn of the Atomic Age.
On this Sunday, it will be the same anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki (below).
Whether you agree or disagree with President Harry S Truman’s decision to use nuclear weapons to end World War II between Japan and the United States, the disturbing music at the bottom uses sound to help the listener picture the charred remains of the people and the devastated cities, seen below in a photo from The New York Times.
It is hard to imagine music being used more descriptively than in this disturbing and even terrifying piece that has received more than 2 million views on YouTube.
“Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima” was composed by the celebrated Polish composer Krzysztof Pederecki (1933-2020, below), who died just over four months ago. Here is a link to more information about the composer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krzysztof_Penderecki
And here are some links to historical accounts of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing:
From cable TV channel CNN, here is an account of the two bombings in photos: https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/04/world/gallery/hiroshima-nagasaki-atomic-bomb/index.html
Here, also from CNN, is an account of Tinian Island, the place where the bombings started: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/hiroshima-atomic-bomb-75th-anniversary-intl-hnk/index.html
Here is a comprehensive history about Hiroshima and its culture, both pre-bombing and post-bombing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima
There will be much more to see, hear and read today and this weekend on National Public Radio (NPR), on many TV news channels including the History Channel and on PBS (especially The Newshour), and in many newspapers as well as on the internet.
If you know of other noteworthy accounts, please leave the name with a link in the Comment section.
What do you think of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
And what do you think about the musical depiction?
The Ear wants to hear.
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