The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: The Madison Symphony Orchestra presents another FREE Farmer’s Market Organ Recital this Saturday at 11 a.m.
1 Comment
By Jacob Stockinger
This Saturday at 11 a.m. in Overture Hall of the Overture Center, the Madison Symphony Orchestra will offer another FREE Farmer’s Market Organ Recital.
The concert will last 45 minutes. No tickets or reservations are required. All ages are welcome to attend.
The organist this time is the prize-winning Simone Gheller.
Gheller (below) is an international organist from Padua, Italy. He has played concerts in prestigious locations in Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Brazil, and America among others. Gheller studied at Oberlin College in Ohio with Professor James David Christie and Olivier Latry, and currently serves as the Music Director and Organist at St. Jerome Catholic Church in Oconomowoc.
Gheller’s program will feature works by Liszt, Bossi, Thalben-Ball, Buck and Creston. Sorry, no word about specific works on the program. (You can hear Gheller playing a dramatic and animated work by Liszt in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
For more information about the performer, go to:
http://www.simonegheller.it/en/biography.html
For more information about the Farmer’s Market Organ Recitals, go to:
https://www.madisonsymphony.org/farmer
Tags: America, animated, Austria, Bossi, Brazil, Buck, Catholic, church, Classical music, Dane County Farmers' Market, drama, dramatic, Farmer's Market, France, George Thalben-Ball, Germany, international, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Liszt, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music, Oberlin College, Oconomowoc, organ, Paul Creston, recital, Roman Catholic, Simone Gheller, St. Jerome, study, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: We should hear more encores, especially at outstanding chamber music concerts. Plus, a FREE Farmer’s Market organ recital is this Saturday at 11 a.m.
6 Comments
ALERT: This Saturday at 11 a.m. in Overture Hall of the Overture Center, the Madison Symphony Orchestra will offer another FREE Farmers Market Organ Concert. The program, which runs 45 minutes, features music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Felix Mendelssohn, Charles-Marie Widor and Louis Vierne. The organist is the prize-winning Madison native Adrian Binkley.
By Jacob Stockinger
Two weeks ago, the Willy Street Chamber Players gave The Ear yet another reason to like them and be a fan.
After the season-ending program of Schubert, Osvaldo Golijov and Mozart was over, while the audience was cheering, standing and applauding loudly, two members of the young chamber music group played an encore.
The encore was “Julie-O” by Mark Summer. It was written for one cellist, as you can hear in a performance by the composer in the YouTube video at the bottom.
But this time it was performed by the two cellists of The Willys — Lindsey Crabb and Mark Bridges (below).
They agreed to play an encore only reluctantly – after some prodding by other members of The Willys, by guest clarinetist Michael Maccaferri (of the Grammy-winning group eighth blackbird) and, of course, by the audience.
But there shouldn’t have been any reluctance.
The Ear thinks we hear too few encores after so much memorable music-making.
Certain student recitals at the UW-Madison come immediately to mind. It sometimes seems that the protocol of student recitals prohibits encores, but The Ear has been told by faculty members that such is not the case.
What also comes to mind is the lack of encores at chamber music concerts by larger ensembles – piano trios, string quartets and piano or string quintets and sextets.
And rarely do you hear encores at the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra or Madison Opera except when they are played by concerto soloists.
But why not?
The Ear recalls that several years ago the Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Florez, performing the aria with notoriously difficult nine high C’s in the aria “Ah! Mes amis” from Donizetti’s opera “La Fille du Regiment,” then quickly repeated the same passage to frenzied approval.
What are encores but a way of saying: “You liked me, so now I like you.”
Encores are not immodest bragging. They are a reward, a gift, a way for the performer to say thank you to the audience for its attention and appreciation.
Maybe every individual or group should have some kind of encore in the back pocket and ready to go. It could be a short movement or even a section of a movement, perhaps a coda or finale.
It seems to The Ear that many instrumentalists, especially pianists who have such a rich repertory, would do well to have four encores ready: one fast and one slow, one loud and one soft.
That way, the encore can underscore — by either complementarity or contrast — the piece or pieces that preceded it and called for it.
Have you ever wanted to hear an encore and been frustrated?
What do musicians themselves say about playing encores?
Are there unwritten guidelines or an unstated protocol about when to play encores?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: Adrian Binkley, applause, Arts, audience, Bach, Baroque, bragging, Cello, Chamber music, Charles-Marie Widor, cheer, clarinet, Classical music, concerto, Dane County Farmers' Market, Donizetti, eighth blackbird, encore, fan, farmer, fast, gift, Golijov, Grammy, Grammy Award, guidelines, high C, High C's, immodest, Jacob Stockinger, Juan Diego Florez, Julie-O, La fille du régiment, lead, like, Lindsey Crabb, loud, Louis Vierne, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mark Bridges, market, Mary Summer, Mendelssohn, Michael Maccaferri, Mozart, Music, Musician, opera, organ, Osvaldo Golijov, Peru, Peruvian, prize, program, protocol, Quartet, quintet, recital, reward, role, Schubert, Season, sextet, sing, singer, slow, soft, soloist, stand, String quartet, string sextet, strings, Student, summer, tenor, thank you, trio, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Willy Street Chamber Players, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: Madison composer Scott Gendel discusses the new piece he wrote to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It receives its world premiere this coming Sunday afternoon and Monday night in Spring Green
Leave a Comment
By Jacob Stockinger
As The Ear posted yesterday, this coming Sunday afternoon and Monday night will see a special commemorative concert at the Hillside Theater of the Taliesin compound in Spring Green.
It will mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright (below).
Here is a link to an overview with more details about the concerts and program:
Certainly the standout piece will be the world premiere of a work for chorus, string quartet and piano, commissioned by Taliesin from Scott Gendel, a Madison-based composer who studied at the UW-Madison.
Gendel recently commented on his work:
“When I first heard about this opportunity to write a musical work in honor of Frank Lloyd Wright’s 150th birthday, I had a lot of grandiose ideas about big architectural music, music that would be huge in sound and concept.
“But when Taliesin Director of Music Effi Casey (below top) took me on a tour of the house and the grounds (below bottom), what struck me more than anything else was the beautiful intimacy of the spaces, the way in which every room was designed to draw you in closer.
“And then when I learned of the Taliesin Community Chorus and their love of singing together to create community, I knew “That Which Is Near” was going to take a different direction than I’d originally thought, and really become a piece about intimacy and connections between people.
““Some Flowers For Frank Lloyd Wright” by Hendrik Theodorus Wijdeveld (below) felt like the perfect text to use for such a piece. It’s stunning in its descriptions of Wright’s work, but also has a charming sweetness about it, the way he’s just offering “some flowers” rather than a huge extravagant gift.
“And so “That Which Is Near” is two things at once: First, it’s a celebration of Frank Lloyd Wright’s incredibly masterful work, and how wonderfully persistent and evergreen that work still is, 150 years after his birth.
“But second, it’s a celebration of the community at Taliesin, and the ways in which the place brings people together and fosters human connection.”
ABOUT SCOTT GENDEL
Here are some impressive biographical details about Gendel (bel0w):
Scott Gendel is a composer, vocal coach, theatrical music director and pianist living in Madison, Wisconsin. As a composer, his music has a wide-ranging scope, but Scott is particularly fond of all things vocal, and of the artistry of the human voice in all its forms. As a performing musician, Scott collaborates on vocal recitals around the country, and is the official pianist and vocal coach for Madison Opera.
Recently, he recorded his piece “At Last” with soprano Camille Zamora and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, as part of “An AIDS Quilt Songbook: Sing For Hope,” a recording released on Naxos Records and GPR, benefiting amfAR, the American Foundation for AIDS Research. (You can hear “At Last” in the YouTube video at there bottom.)
Last year, his song “Advice to Those Like Me, With Hearts Like Kindling” was premiered by soprano Melody Moore in her Carnegie Hall debut recital.
This spring, Gendel’s choral-orchestral oratorio “Barbara Allen,” based on the traditional Appalachian folk song, was premiered by the Santa Clara Chorale and San Jose Chamber Orchestra.
In 2005, the same year he received his doctoral degree from UW-Madison, Gendel was awarded first prize in the ASCAP/Lotte Lehmann Foundation Song Cycle Competition, a juried national award in its inaugural year.
More recently Scott was the second prize winner of the 2016 NATS Art Song Composition Award, and winner of the 2017 Ortus International New Music Competition.
His music is published by Classical Vocal Reprints, ECS Publishing, and the Tuba/Euphonium Press. His art songs have been recorded on Albany Records, GPR Records and Naxos.
Upcoming commissions include the original opera “Super Storm!” for Opera for the Young’s 2018-2019 season, which will be performed in nearly 200 schools around the Midwest; and a song cycle for soprano, cello and piano on the poetry of Emily Dickinson, to be premiered and recorded in her hometown of Amherst, Massachusetts by UW-trained soprano Jamie-Rose Guarrine (below), cellist Karl Knapp and the composer at the piano.
Gendel will also perform some of his art songs with soprano Emily Birsan (below), another UW-Madison graduate who also attended classes and sang at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, at the Friday night concert, Aug. 11, of the Madison New Music Festival.
Go to http://www.scottgendel.com for more information.
Tags: AIDS, Albany Records, American, American Foundation for AIDS Research, Amherst, anniversary, Appalachia, art song, Arts, ASCAP, Barbara Allen, Beethoven, birth, Camille Zamora, Carnegie Hall, Cello, Chamber music, chamber orchestra, choral music, chorus, Classical music, coach, commission, community, composer, conneciton, connection, debut, Effi Casey, Emily Birsan, Emily Dickinson, Euphonium, evergeen, flower, folk, Folk music, folk song, Frank Lloyd Wright, gift, Guarrine, hope, human, human rights, international, Jacob Stockinger, Jamie-Rose Guarrine, link, Lotte Lehman, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Madison New Music Festival, Madison Opera, Massachusetts, Midwest, Music, national, Naxos, Naxos Records, New Music, official, opera, Opera for the Young, Optus International New Music Competition, oratorio, Orchestra, People, Piano, poem, Poetry, prize, quilt, recital, San Jose, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, Santa Clara, Scott Gendel, sesquicentennial, singer, song cycle, soprano, String quartet, Super Storm, sweet, sweetness, Taliesin, Tuba, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal, vocal music, voice, Wifdeveld, Yo-Yo Ma, YouTube
Classical music: Madison native Ansel Norris returns to perform a FREE recital this Saturday night of songs transcribed for trumpet and piano
Leave a Comment
CORRECTION: In some downloads of yesterday’s post, the performance by the Ancora String Quartet was mistakenly listed for Friday night. The performance is SATURDAY night. The Ear apologizes for the error. For more information, go to:
By Jacob Stockinger
On this Saturday night, July 29, at 7 p.m., trumpeter Ansel Norris and pianist Beth Wilson will perform a FREE recital of vocal music in an unusual format — for solo trumpet and piano, with the poetry that inspired the music spoken in between each song.
“In music for voice and piano there lies a special intimacy, and the composers featured each captured something close to the essence of the form,” Norris (below) told The Ear. “I wanted to see what happened if I split the songs up into a poem, read it out loud, and then played a wordless melody to follow. The result was interesting and felt meaningful, so I’ve decided to give it another go.”
The recital, in the Grand Hall at Capitol Lakes Retirement Community, 333 West Main Street, downtown and three blocks off the Capitol Square.
The program includes: Richard Strauss, “Morgen”; Robert Schumann, “Liederkreis,” Op. 24, No. 5;” Richard Strauss, “Die Nacht”: Robert Schumann, “Liederkreis,” Op. 24, No. 1; Robert Schumann, “Liederkreis,” Op. 24, No. 9; Johannes Brahms, “Die Mainacht”; Franz Schubert, “Der Einsame”; Johannes Brahms, “Unbewegte laue Luft”; Robert Schumann, “Liederkreis,” Op. 24, No. 3; Richard Strauss, “Befreit”; and Peter Tchaikovsky, “Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt” (“None but the Lonely Heart,” sung by Elizabeth Schwarzkopf in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Admission is FREE and open to the public.
Ansel Norris grew up on the east side of Madison, and last set foot in Capitol Lakes (below) in the spring of 2010, for his graduation recital. In recent years, he has distinguished himself as a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician of enthusiasm and diverse taste.
Norris has won a number of prizes as a soloist, including first-prize twice in the National Trumpet Competition, and has drawn acclaim as an orchestral player, performing with the Chicago and Boston Symphonies and holding a fellowship with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida.
Norris has also worked in close relationship with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, at the Tanglewood Music Center, in the summers of 2014 and 2015.
He says he is fascinated with the relationship between music and storytelling, and is currently exploring interesting formats of solo recitals to draw new connections between them. In a sense, this recital is an experiment, but one conducted with great love, care and curiosity.
While in Madison, Ansel Norris said, he was lucky to participate in a number of the diverse opportunities available to young musicians. He was a three-year member of Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra’s Youth Orchestra and a four-year, inaugural member of the Winds of Wisconsin.
He was also a participant in the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s “Final Forte” was a winner of the Neale-Silva Young Artist Competition held by Wisconsin Public Radio. He was a devoted student of the UW-Madison’s recently retired professor of trumpet, John Aley (below), who to this day is one of his greatest inspirations.
As he grows older, Norris says, he often reflects on what a special place Madison was to grow up in, and he looks forward to every chance he has to be home.
Beth Wilson (below) currently lives in Madison and is a freelance musician and professional pianist. She is a member of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, playing for the “Nutcracker Ballet” and “Concerts on the Square.” She also performs with Grupo Candela, a salsa band. Broadway touring shows contract her to play in the pit orchestra including the recent shows “Wicked,” “Book of Mormon,” “Sound of Music” and “Beautiful –The Carole King Musical.”
As an accompanist, Beth Wilson has collaborated with Bernhard Scully of the Canadian Brass; Diana Gannett of the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor; and Ansel Norris — with whom she is now reunited after seven years.
Tags: arrangement, Arts, ballet, band, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical, Book of Mormon, Boston Symphony Orchestra, brass, Broadway, Canadian Brass, Capitol Lakes Retirement Center, Capitol Lakes Retirement Community, Capitol Square, care, Carole King, chamber, Chamber music, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Classical music, Concerts on the Square, curiosity, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Final Forte, Florida, freelance, graduation, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, John Aley, Love, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Miami, Miami Beach, Music, Music education, musical, Musical theater, National Tumpet Competition, Neale-Silva Young Artist Competition, New World Symphony, None but the Lonely Heart, Nutcracker, orchestral, Piano, poem, Poetry, professor, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, recital, Retirement, Richard Strauss, Salsa, Schubert, Schumann, singer, soloist, song, Sound of Music, storytelling, summer, symphony, Tanglewood Music Festival, transcription, Trumpet, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, Wicked, winds, Winds of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, WYSO, young, Youth, YouTube
Classical music: More chamber music should be performed at the Goodman Community Center on the east side. Are there other underused venues?
2 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
Last Saturday morning, The Ear headed off to the Goodman Community Center (below), on the near east side just off Atwood Avenue.
The reason was to hear a noontime concert by one of his favorite chamber music groups: The Willy Street Chamber Players.
The summer concert was part of the new and FREE Community Connect series by The Willys. And the terrific performances of works by Caroline Shaw, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Astor Piazzolla and Johannes Brahms seemed to draw in a good-sized crowd that was younger and even included some children.
Clearly, The Willys have indeed connected to the community in a different part of town than where they usually perform.
But another of the great things about The Willys is that they also explore new venues.
For the past two winters, they have performed a season preview concert in “A Place to Be” on Williamson Street.
What struck The Ear this time, however, was the Evjue Community Room (below) at the Goodman Center.
The handsomely rehabbed room sure seems an ideal venue for chamber music.
Why, The Ear wondered, was it the first time he was there for a concert?
The room seats about 100, making it ideal for intimate music.
It has lots of natural light, which the players (below) said they really like for reading music.
And the acoustics were superb, no doubt the result of the cream-colored brick, the dark wood, the glass windows and the metal ductwork – all hard surfaces that made for clarity and sufficient volume, even in the back rows. It is, as they say in the biz, a “live” space.
Take a look:
The Ear sure hopes the Goodman Center will see the return of The Willys.
More to the point, he also hopes that other chamber music groups will also use the center. It would be a wonderful spot for recitals and small groups of all kinds.
What do you think of the Goodman Center as a venue for classical music and other kinds of music?
Do you know of other underused performance spaces around the Madison area that you would recommend?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: acoustics, Arts, Astor Piazzola, brick, Caroline Shaw, Cello, Chamber music, children, clarity, Classical music, community, crowd, Daniel Bernard Roumain, ductwork, Evjue, Glass, Goodman, Goodman Center, Goodman Community Center, handsome, intimate, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, light, Madison, metal, morning, Music, natural, New Music, performance, Performing arts, player, reading, recital, rehab, room, Saturday, space, String quartet, string quintet, summer, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, venue, Viola, Violin, volume, Willy Street Chamber Players, window, winter, Wisconsin, wood, young
Classical music: Madison Symphony Orchestra names Greg Zelek as its new principal organist
3 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following important news:
The Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO) has announced that Greg Zelek (below) will become Principal Organist and Curator of the Overture Concert Organ, beginning Sept. 1, 2017.
Zelek will succeed Samuel Hutchison, who retired after 16 years in the position. Hutchison will remain active in an advisory role during the transition to his successor.
MSO Music Director John DeMain said “Greg Zelek’s decision to move to Madison and become our principal organist, is a testimony to the international reputation both the instrument and organ programs have gained in the past 12 years. Greg is simply a phenomenal virtuoso on the instrument and will be a wonderful addition to the symphony, the organ program, and the community.”
Samuel Hutchison (below) said: “Greg comes to Madison as one of the brightest lights of a new generation of concert organists. His effortless facility at the organ console coupled with highly creative programming ideas will provide great excitement for our organ audiences. I anticipate his tenure with great enthusiasm as he launches the new season of organ concerts with his inaugural recital on August 26.”
Greg Zelek is recognized as one of the most exciting young organists in the American organ scene. The South Florida Classical Review praised Zelek for his “effortless facility on the instrument.” He has performed with orchestras as both a soloist and professional ensemble member throughout the US, including appearances with the Miami Symphony Orchestra and Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in Carnegie Hall.
He was the organist in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Faust, and performed twice with the New World Symphony, including a performance of Lukas Foss’s Phorion, under Michael Tilson Thomas. Zelek was chosen by The Diapason magazine as one of the top “20 Under 30” organists in 2016, a feature which selects the most successful young artists in the field.
Zelek has appeared in multiple venues throughout the US, including a performance of Cochereau’s Bolero for Organ and Percussion in Alice Tully Hall. He closed the WQXR Bach Marathon at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, which was streamed live on New York City’s only classical music station.
A proponent of new music for the organ, Greg (below) has premiered and performed works by fellow Juilliard composers and faculty, including Wayne Oquin’s Reverie and Samuel Adler’s Partita for Organ in concerts. Awards he has received include First Prize in both the 2012 Rodgers North American Classical Organ Competition and the 2012 West Chester University Organ Competition, and selection as a 2010 NFAA Young Arts Silver Medal Winner.
He won First Prize, as well as the “Bach Prize,” at the East Carolina University Organ Competition, and was a prizewinner in the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival. Most recently, Greg was the Audience Prize winner and finalist in the 2016 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition. (You can hear Greg Zelek perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s famous Toccata and Fugue in D Minor in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Greg’s engagements have included serving as the Music Director and Organist at the Episcopal Church of St. Matthew and St. Timothy in New York City; Organ Scholar at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church in Scarsdale, New York; Music Director of Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Miami; and summer organist for San Pedro Apostol Church in Ramales de la Victoria, Spain.
He is completing an Artist Diploma as a student of Paul Jacobs at the Juilliard School. A recipient of the inaugural Kovner Fellowship, Greg also received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Juilliard.
Zelek is enthused about the opportunity and says. “I’m deeply honored to have received this unique opportunity with the Madison Symphony Orchestra. I look forward to building on Sam Hutchison’s outstanding work of promoting and elevating the art of organ music in performance and the magnificent Klais organ (below) to new heights.”
Tags: advisor, Albert Schweitzer, Alice Tully Hall, Arts, audience, Bach, Baroque, Carnegie Hall, church, Classical music, community, Competition, concerto, Early music, Florida, George Frideric Handel, Greg Zelek, instrument, international, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, John DeMain, Juilliard School, Klais, Lukas Foss, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, marathon, medal, Met, Metropolitan Opera, Miami, Michael Tilson Thomas, Music, New Music, New World Symphony, New York City, news, Orchestra, organ, organist, Overture Center, Paul Jacobs, percussion, principal, prize, promoting, promotion, recital, Retirement, Samuel Adler, Samuel Hutchison, Season, Spain, stream, symphony, Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, virtuoso, Wayne Oquin, Wisconsin, WQXR, YouTube
Classical music education: Let us now praise music teachers and their legacy
4 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
By now, the school year is mostly over at all levels from kindergarten through undergraduate and graduate school at colleges and universities.
So are music lessons, both public and private, and student recitals and concerts. (Below is Madison and UW-Madison violin teacher Eugene Purdue with student Thomas Stringfellow during a lesson in 2011.)
So now is the perfect time to talk about the legacy of creativity that music teachers have in our lives.
Here is an essay that The Ear finds to be one of the best appreciations of music teachers – even those famous teachers at Juilliard who taught violinists Itzhak Perlman, Anne Akiko Meyers and Midori — that he has ever read. It covers different methods and styles of teaching and learning. And it is filled with gratitude from students toward their teachers.
It appeared in The New York Times and was written by critic Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim.
Here is a link:
If you have an appreciation or memory of, or a tribute to, a music teacher and music lessons, leave word in the COMMENT section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: Anne Akiko Meyers, Arts, Bachelor's degree, Chamber music, Classical music, college, Creation, creative, Eugene Purdue, Graduate School, Itzhak Perlman, Jacob Stockinger, Juilliard, K-12, legacy, lesson, Madison, method, Midori, Music, Music education, Piano, private, public, recital, style, Teacher, The New York Times, United States, university, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin
Classical music: Music is another reason to like Emmanuel Macron, the new President of France
1 Comment
ALERT 1: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the recital TONIGHT by the Ancora String Quartet in Janesville will take place in St. Mary’s Catholic Church, instead of in the Janesville Woman’s Club building.
For more information, go to: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2017/05/05/classical-music-next-week-the-ancora-string-quartet-closes-its-16th-season-with-three-concerts-that-contrast-the-german-romanticism-of-beethoven-and-the-french-impressionism-of-saint-saens/
REMINDER: This Saturday, “Live From the Met in HD” will feature Richard Strauss‘ “Der Rosenkavalier.” The acclaimed Metropolitan Opera production features superstar soprano Renee Fleming in a farewell performance of her signature role of the aging Marshallin.
By Jacob Stockinger
Besides the fact that he decisively defeated the dangerous far right candidate Marine Le Pen to become the new President of France, there is much to like about centrist Emmanuel Macron (below).
PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP/Getty Images
Some people like his background in economics and international banking, and his desire to stay in the European Union.
Some people like that he is a newcomer who has formed his own political party.
Some people like the fact that he married a high school teacher, Brigitte Trogneux, who is 25 years older than he is.
Some people like the fact that he has foregone having his own children in order to be an instant stepfather and step-grandfather through his wife’s family.
But here is another reason to like Macron.
Classical music.
Not only is Macron a winning politician, he is also an avid amateur pianist.
For details – including his training and his favorite composers — see the story on National Public Radio (NPR).
Here is a link:
Tags: Ancora String Quartet, Arts, banking, Catholic, centrist, church, Classical music, club, composer, Der Rosenkavalier, economics, Elections in France, Emmanuel Macron, EU, European Union, far right, farewell, France, Getty Images, international, Jacob Stockinger, Janesville, Liszt, Live From The Met in HD, Marine Le Pen, Marine LePen, Metropolitan Opera, Music, National Public Radio, NPR, opera, performance, Piano, politic, politician, President, President of France, Radio, recital, Renée Fleming, Richard Strauss, role, Schumann, signature, soprano, step-grandfather, stepfather, String quartet, superstar, women'woman
Classical music: In a busy week, here are some other performances of violin, harpsichord, guitar and vocal music that merit your attention and attendance
2 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
It’s getting so that, more and more often, the week just isn’t long enough to cover the ever-increasing number of classical music events in the Madison area.
It is compounded by the fact that so many events mean more previews than reviews – which The Ear thinks benefits both the public and the performers.
But here are four more events that you might be interested in attending during the coming weekend:
SATURDAY
On Saturday night at 8 p.m. in Overture Hall, legendary superstar violinist Itzhak Perlman (below, in a photo by Lisa-Marie Mazzucco) will perform a recital with his longtime accompanist Rohan de Silva. (You can hear the two perform the Serenade by Franz Schubert in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The program includes the Sonata in A Major, Op. 2, No. 2, by Antonio Vivaldi; Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 12, No. 1, by Ludwig van Beethoven; the “Fantasy Pieces,” Op. 73, by Robert Schumann; the Sonata No. 2 in G Major for Violin and Piano by Maurice Ravel; and selected works to be announced from the stage.
Tickets are $50 to $100. Here is a link for tickets and more information about the performers:
http://www.overture.org/events/itzhak-perlman
If you want to prepare for the concert and go behind the scenes with Perlman, here is a great interview with Perlman done by local writer Michael Muckian for the Wisconsin Gazette:
http://wisconsingazette.com/2017/04/20/itzhak-perlman-good-music-recipe-mix/
On Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in the Landmark Auditorium of the First Unitarian Society, 900 University Bay Drive, the Third Annual Mark Rosa Harpsichord Recital will take place. It features guest harpsichordist JungHae Kim (below top) and local baroque violinist Kangwon Kim (below bottom).
The program includes works by Arcangelo Corelli, Jean-Henri D’Anglebert, Jean-Marie Leclair, Gaspard LeRoux and Domenico Scarlatti.
Admission at the door is $15, $10 for seniors and students.
The harpsichord was built by Mark Rosa and is a faithful reproduction of the 1769 Pascal Taskin instrument at Edinburgh University. It has two keyboards, two 8-foot stops, one 4-foot stop, two buff stops and decorative painting by Julia Zwerts.
Korean born harpsichordist JungHae Kim earned her Bachelor’s degree in harpsichord at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore She then earned a Masters in Historical Performance in Harpsichord at the Oberlin Conservatory before completing her studies with Gustav Leonhardt in Amsterdam on a Haskell Scholarship. While in The Netherlands she also completed an Advanced Degree in Harpsichord Performance under Bob Van Asperen at the Sweelinck Conservatorium.
Kim has performed in concert throughout United States, Europe and in Asia as a soloist and with numerous historical instrument ensembles including the Pierce Baroque Dance Company, the Los Angeles Baroque Orchestra, Music’s ReCreation, and Agave Baroque. She performed at the Library of Congress with American Baroque and frequently performs with her Bay Area period instrument group; Ensemble Mirable.
As a soloist, Kim has performed with Musica Angelica, Brandywine Baroque, the New Century Chamber Orchestra, and with the San Francisco Symphony. Kim frequently teaches and performs at summer music
SUNDAY
On Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in the St. Joseph Chapel of Edgewood College, 1000 Edgewood College Drive, the Edgewood Chorale, along with the Guitar Ensemble, will give a spring concert.
The concert also features performances by students Johanna Novich on piano and Renee Lechner on alto saxophone.
The program includes music by Gabriel Fauré, John Rutter, Frederic Chopin, Bernhard Heiden and many others.
Admission is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
Edgewood College’s Music Department was recognized by the readers of Madison Magazine with the Best of Madison 2017 Silver Award.
On Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. at the West Middleton Lutheran Church, 3773 Pioneer Road, at Mineral Point Road in Verona, the internationally acclaimed and Grammy Award-winning tenor Dann Coakwell (below) will team up with keyboardist and MBM founder-director Trevor Stephenson to perform Robert Schumann’s masterpiece song cycle Dichterliebe (A Poet’s Loves).
Just last week Coakwell sang the role of the Evangelist John in the Madison Bach Musicians’ production of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion.
Stephenson will be playing his restored 1855 Bösendorfer concert grand piano (both are below).
Also on the program are four selections from Franz Schubert’s last song collection Schwanengesang (Swansong).
This concert will start off a three-day recording session of this repertoire ― with a CD due for release later this year.
Tickets are $30. Seating at the church is very limited. Email to reserve tickets: www.trevorstephenson.com
Tags: alto, Amsterdam, annual, Arcangelo Corelli, art song, Arts, Asia, Bach, Baltimore, Baroque, Baroque violin, Bay Area, Beethoven, Bernhard Heiden, Bob Van Asperen, Bosen, Cello, Chamber music, Chopin, choral music, church, Clara Haskell, Classical music, concert grand, D'Anglebert, Dann Coakwell, Dichterliebe, Domenico Scarlatti, Early music, Edgewood College, Edinburgh, email, Europe, Fantasy Pieces, Faure, First Unitarian Society of Madison, Franz Schubert, Gaspard LeRoux, guitar, Gustav Leonhardt, harpsichord, Itzhak Perlman, Jacob Stockinger, Jean-Marie Leclair, Johann Sebastian Bach, Korea, Korean, legendary, lieder, Los Angeles, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Madison Magazine, Mark Rosa, Music, New Century Chamber Ensemble, Oberlin, Orchestra, Overture Center, Peabody Conservatory of Music, period instruments, Piano, Ravel, recital, Rohan de Silva, Rutter, San Francisco Symphony, Saxophone, Schumann, Schwanengesang, Serenade, Sonata, song, St. Joseph, superstar, symphony, tenor, the Netherlands, United States, university, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, Vivaldi, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Gazette, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: Two weeks of choral music and world premieres start this week at the UW-Madison
2 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
The last two weeks of April look to be a busy time, with several world premieres of new music taking place – one in chamber music this week, then next week one in choral music and one by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra in orchestral and piano music.
It is also a busy time for choral music, especially with back-to-back performances next week by the Concert Choir and the community-campus UW Choral Union.
All UW-Madison concerts scheduled for this week are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
Here — with an unfortunate lack of details about programs — is the UW-Madison lineup for this week:
TUESDAY
At 7:30 p.m. in Music Hall, the University Opera presents its spring program of “Opera Scenes” done by the UW-Madison Opera Workshop. Sorry, no word about specific operas, scenes or singers. Staging is minimal and accompaniment is done by a piano.
WEDNESDAY
At 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, the UW Pro Arte Quartet (below top) will give the world premiere of “The Cross of Snow,” written by John Harbison (below middle) and commissioned by local businessman William Wartmann in memory of his late wife.
The new work, scored for string quartet and voice, features guest mezzo-soprano Jazmina Macneil (below bottom).
Also on the program are: String Quartet in E Major, Op. 54, No. 3 (1788), by Franz Joseph Haydn; and the String Quartet in A Minor Op. 16 (1874) by Antonin Dvorak.
For more information about the new work, including the text of the poem “The Cross of Snow” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, go to:
http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/pro-arte-quartet-7/
FRIDAY
At 8 p.m. in Mills Hall, Chorale and the Madrigal Singers (below) team up for a joint concert under director Bruce Gladstone. Sorry, no word about composers or works.
SATURDAY
At 4 p.m. in Mills Hall, the All-University Strings – an amateur group of non-music majors — will perform its annual spring concert. Sorry, no word on the program.
At 8 p.m. in Mills Hall, the Women’s Chorus (below), Masters Singers and University Chorus will give a joint concert. Sorry, no word on the program.
SUNDAY
From 2 to 5 p.m. in Mills Hall, University Bands will perform under directors Darin Olson, Nathan Froebe and Justin Lingre will perform. Sorry, no word on specific programs.
This week, The Ear also counts 10 different student degree recitals on tap, from piano and violin to percussion and voice. Some listings mention programs, but others do not. For more information, go to:
http://www.music.wisc.edu/events/
Tags: amateur, annual, Arts, band, bands, Cello, Chamber music, Choir, choral music, Chorale, chorus, Classical music, commission, composer, Concert, Conducting, degree, Dvorak, Haydn, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Jacob Stockinger, Jazmina Macneil, John Harbison, Madison, madrigal, Madrigal Singers, major, Master, Mezzo-soprano, Music, New Music, Piano, Pro Arte Quartet, program, recital, scene, Spring, String quartet, strings, Student, The Cross of Snow, United States, university, University Bands, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, women, women's chorus, work, world premiere
Recent Comments
 | FFlambeau on Classical music: What classica… |
| FFlambeau on Classical music: What classica… |
| Classical music: Wha… on Classical music: This year’s T… | |
| FFlambeau on Classical music: The Madison S… |
 | Konsgaard on Classical music: Explore how m… |
