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
The Ear has received the following announcement to post from violist Marika Fischer Hoyt – the founder, participant and artistic director of the annual Bach Around the Clock (BATC). It is one of the most enjoyable events in the area and celebrates the birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750, below).
It features performances by student, amateur and professional individuals and groups — local, regional and national. (Performance photos come from last year’s videos, thanks to Rich Samuels, who recorded and edited the WORT-FM radio show devoted to BATC 2020, which you can hear in the impressive 3-hour YouTube video at the bottom. Listen to it in its entirety or skip around.)
The Bach Around the Clock (BATC) Board of Directors is delighted to present the BATC 2021 Festival, a series of online and virtual events designed to make the joy of Bach’s music as widely available as possible.
Our theme this year is Building Bridges with Bach, and we look forward to expanding our activities to reach new performers and new audiences. (Below is pianist Vibhu Akella playing an electric keyboard.)
The 2021 Virtual Festival launches on Wednesday, March 17, with a concert by our Ensemble-In-Residence, Sonata à Quattro (below, in a photo by Barry Lewis). SAQ will present a program recorded in Luther Memorial Church, as part of the monthly Just Bach concert series.
BATC will add a new festival program every day for 10 days, through March 26, with all programs posted FREE on our home website at https://bachclock.com. (Below is the Webb Trio.)
Interested performers should visit the “Contact/Sign Up” page to submit their proposals and ideas.
BATC participants, who are located far and wide, have two options this year: they can pre-record their performances at home or elsewhere and submit them electronically; or they can request to perform in a BATC concert venue with a professional recording crew. (Below is cellist Derick Handley.)
We will provide keyboard players with the use of a concert-level piano, organ and harpsichord in a space roomy enough to safely accommodate small ensembles. (Below is harpsichordist Dan Sullivan.)
The resulting videos will be incorporated into one of the festival day’s free public programs, and will be available to the performers to keep. This option might be particularly attractive for high school seniors, looking to augment their college applications. (Below is clarinetist Brian Gnojek.)
Other new festival initiatives include Bach Chorale sing-alongs; evening Zoom receptions; mini-courses to help participants of all ages take part; and possibly a Guest Artist. More details will be announced closer to the festival.
The BATC Board hopes the 2021 Festival provides an outlet for musicians to share their talent and passion with the warmly appreciative local community.
Live music nourishes the soul of performer and audience member alike, and the transcendent, life-giving joy woven into the music of Johann Sebastian Bach is something we need now more than ever.
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
During the COVID-19 public health crisis and coronavirus pandemic, live streaming of concerts has taken off. It started with daily broadcasts of past productions by the Metropolitan Opera and the Berlin Philharmonic.
Local organizations have followed suit. They include the Madison Symphony Orchestra; the “couchertos” of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra; the twice weekly “tiny desk concerts” by the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society sent to email newsletter subscribers and other recorded audiovisual performances; and local recordings made by Rich Samuels and aired on WORT-FM 89.9.
And below are several more that The Ear has checked out and recommends:
CARNEGIE HALL LIVE
Carnegie Hall (below), America’s premier concert venue, has started a series of live streams that include world music, jazz and of course classical music.
The format includes conversation and remarks from homes as well as first-rate live performances from the past. (You can also hear many of the concerts on radio station WQXR in New York City: https://www.wqxr.org)
This past week, The Ear heard an outstanding concert with three pianists, all of whom appeared in Madison last season: Emanuel Ax, who performed an all-Beethoven recital at the Wisconsin Union Theater, played the piano and acted as host; Orion Weiss, who performed a Mozart concerto with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra; and Shai Wosner, who gave a terrific master class and a memorable recital on the Salon Piano Series at Farley’s House of Pianos. If you missed it, it is still archived and accessible.
On this Thursday, April 30, at 1 p.m. CDT you can hear violinist Joshua Bell with pianist Jeremy Denk and cellist Steven Isserlis.
Deutsche Grammophon, the world oldest record label, which was established in 1898, has several online series of live streams and archived concerts.
They include “Moment Musical” (Musical Moment) by Daniel Barenboim and guest artists, broadcast from the Pierre Boulez Saal (concert hall) in Berlin.
Barenboim, who started as a child prodigy pianist and ended up being a world-class conductor who once headed the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, has done solo piano and chamber music concerts with the Piano Quintet and two solo pieces by Robert Schumann; the epic Diabelli Variations by Beethoven; and an all-Chopin program of encores. You can also find individual ones on YouTube.
Along more promotional lines, DG also offers a “Best of” series that features movements and excerpts from their newer recordings by some of the best known artists – including pianists Lang Lang, Danill Trifonov, Yuja Wang, Vikingur Olafsson, Jan Lisiecki and Seong-Jin Cho; conductors Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Andris Nelsons; opera singers Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanca.
Closer to home, every Friday you can listen to weekly concerts by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra called “Musical Journeys.”
Performers include the MSO’s new music director Ken-David Masur as well as guest conductors like Jeffrey Kahane and the past conductor Edo de Waart.
You can hear the past five episodes, and join new ones. You can also hear past concerts by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (below) on Wisconsin Public Radio. Broadcast time is Sunday at 2 p.m.
British violinist Daniel Hope – who has performed with the Madison Symphony Orchestra — has been streaming chamber music concerts from the living room of his home in Berlin.
A prolific concert artist and 25 recordings and four Grammy Award nominations to his credit, Hope (below) has many invited guests and offers a wide range of repertoire.
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.
ALERT: The Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) will be suspending the remainder of its spring season until further notice. Music director Kyle Knox and executive director Bridget Fraser says they are hopeful that an adjusted end-of-year schedule might be possible. Many ideas are under consideration. But they say they have no idea at this point what might be possible given the restrictions currently in place at the UW-Madison. “All we can do is explore possible scenarios and be ready to react if the restrictions are lifted,” they add.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following note from Rich Samuels (below), a retired Chicago reporter and broadcaster who is often seen at concerts with microphones and a laptop computer. His public service is especially commendable and useful during the current coronavirus pandemic when almost all live concerts in music-rich Madison have been canceled or postponed for the foreseeable future.
Jake:
WORT (89.9 FM and at wortfm.org) will shortly start to air recordings of past public performances by Madison area classical musicians within its regularly scheduled classical music broadcasts.
This should help keep our local musician friends in the public ear even though their local venues have been shuttered and their gigs canceled.
I’ve had the good fortune to record hundreds of hours of local performances since 2012. I’m now editing them into segments that can be inserted into the shows of WORT’s classical music hosts.
The first segment to air, if all goes well, will be part of the “Musica Antiqua” early music program, hosted by Carol Moseson, this Sunday, March 22, from 8 to 11 a.m.
It will feature Eric Miller on viola da gamba and Daniel Sullivan on harpsichord performing a suite by French Baroque composer Louis Couperin. I recorded the concert (below) last Oct. 11 in the Landmark Auditorium of the First Unitarian Society of Madison (FUS).
Other such segments will follow on the weekday classical music shows that air from 5 to 8 a.m. We are still working on the details.
Additionally, I’ll be pre-recording three-hour broadcasts that can be run in place of the regularly scheduled classical music shows, assuming the host, for whatever reason, is unable to make it to the station.
These will hopefully include complete concert performances from the FUS Friday Noon Musicale, Grace Presents (in the YouTube video at the bottom) and Willy Street Chamber Players (below) series.
I gave up my own Thursday morning WORT show about a year ago after my wife developed some health issues. But I’ve continued to record local musicians whenever possible. (My wife, by the way, is presently in good shape).
Hopefully, this WORT effort will benefit both local musicians and their audiences. (Below is Samuels recording at Bach Around the Clock, which has been canceled this year.)
Please join The Ear in thanking Rich Samuels and WORT for their service to the community by leaving word in the Comment section.
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
The state health emergency declared by Gov. Tony Evers has now become a national emergency declared by President Trump.
Six more local groups have cancelled concerts as the pandemic of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 spreads exponentially and threatens the health of both the public and the performers:
The Festival Choir of Madison (below) has cancelled its concert TONIGHT of Yiddish music at the First Unitarian Society of Madison.
The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (below, in a photo by Mike Gorski) has cancelled and postponed all concerts through March. They include the “Beethoven Lives Next Door” Family Series concerts THIS MORNING at the Goodman Community Center and on March 29 in Brookfield; and the third Masterworks Concert in Madison with harpist Yolanda Kondonassis on March 27 in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center.
Says Joe Loehnis, CEO of the WCO: “We ask for your patience as we work to determine all of the options we will be able to offer to ticket holders. We are deeply grateful for your understanding.
“We’ll also keep you informed of the status of all our upcoming performances as we continue to monitor the situation closely over the coming days and weeks.
“To learn more about our contingency planning, please visit our website at http://bit.ly/2wSMCbe.
“If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call us at (608) 257-0638, or email, wco@wcoconcerts.org.
“Thank you for your patronage and support.”
The Oakwood Chamber Players (below) have cancelled their concerts on Saturday and Sunday, March 21 and 22, at Oakwood Village University Woods on the far west side.
The Middleton Community Orchestra (below, below in a photo by Brian Ruppert) has cancelled its upcoming concert of teenage concerto winners with guest conductor Kyle Knox on Wednesday, April 8, and postponed it until large gatherings become safe again.
The FREE Friday Noon Musicale series at the First Unitarian Society of Madison will be live-streamed without an audience. Says music director Drew Collins:
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the First Unitarian Society of Madison will alter the schedule for its Friday Noon Musicale recital series.
“Stay tuned for the upcoming launch of our SoundCloud channel, curated by Rich Samuels, where you will be able to listen to highlights from the Musicales.
In related news, the Madison Symphony Orchestra announced Friday that it will make a decision about upcoming concerts next week. But since the Overture Center later announced it is closing its doors until April 13 and cancelling all performances, it would seem that the MSO performances of the Dvorak Requiem on April 3, 4 and 5 will be cancelled. But that has not yet been officially confirmed by the MSO.
In addition, the Madison Opera has cancelled its production of Offenbach’s “Orpheus in the Underworld” on April 17 and 19.
Classical music: Here are many more FREE online and streamed concerts to follow and listen to as you quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic
Leave a Comment
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
During the COVID-19 public health crisis and coronavirus pandemic, live streaming of concerts has taken off. It started with daily broadcasts of past productions by the Metropolitan Opera and the Berlin Philharmonic.
Local organizations have followed suit. They include the Madison Symphony Orchestra; the “couchertos” of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra; the twice weekly “tiny desk concerts” by the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society sent to email newsletter subscribers and other recorded audiovisual performances; and local recordings made by Rich Samuels and aired on WORT-FM 89.9.
Here is a compilation, from the British radio station Classic FM with many other FREE listings that also get updated: https://www.classicfm.com/music-news/live-streamed-classical-music-concerts-coronavirus/
Here is another listing of FREE live streams and archived performances from Minnesota Public Radio (MPR): https://www.classicalmpr.org/story/2020/03/16/free-online-classical-concerts
And below are several more that The Ear has checked out and recommends:
CARNEGIE HALL LIVE
Carnegie Hall (below), America’s premier concert venue, has started a series of live streams that include world music, jazz and of course classical music.
The format includes conversation and remarks from homes as well as first-rate live performances from the past. (You can also hear many of the concerts on radio station WQXR in New York City: https://www.wqxr.org)
This past week, The Ear heard an outstanding concert with three pianists, all of whom appeared in Madison last season: Emanuel Ax, who performed an all-Beethoven recital at the Wisconsin Union Theater, played the piano and acted as host; Orion Weiss, who performed a Mozart concerto with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra; and Shai Wosner, who gave a terrific master class and a memorable recital on the Salon Piano Series at Farley’s House of Pianos. If you missed it, it is still archived and accessible.
On this Thursday, April 30, at 1 p.m. CDT you can hear violinist Joshua Bell with pianist Jeremy Denk and cellist Steven Isserlis.
Here is a link: https://www.carnegiehall.org/Explore/Watch-and-Listen/Live-with-Carnegie-Hall?sourceCode=31887&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsYigzumB6QIVjIbACh061Qz2EAAYASABEgJE3fD_BwE
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON
Deutsche Grammophon, the world oldest record label, which was established in 1898, has several online series of live streams and archived concerts.
They include “Moment Musical” (Musical Moment) by Daniel Barenboim and guest artists, broadcast from the Pierre Boulez Saal (concert hall) in Berlin.
Barenboim, who started as a child prodigy pianist and ended up being a world-class conductor who once headed the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, has done solo piano and chamber music concerts with the Piano Quintet and two solo pieces by Robert Schumann; the epic Diabelli Variations by Beethoven; and an all-Chopin program of encores. You can also find individual ones on YouTube.
Along more promotional lines, DG also offers a “Best of” series that features movements and excerpts from their newer recordings by some of the best known artists – including pianists Lang Lang, Danill Trifonov, Yuja Wang, Vikingur Olafsson, Jan Lisiecki and Seong-Jin Cho; conductors Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Andris Nelsons; opera singers Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanca.
Here is a link to DG’s homepage from where you can get to the various series: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC34DbNyD_0t8tnOc5V38Big
MILWAUKEE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Closer to home, every Friday you can listen to weekly concerts by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra called “Musical Journeys.”
Performers include the MSO’s new music director Ken-David Masur as well as guest conductors like Jeffrey Kahane and the past conductor Edo de Waart.
You can hear the past five episodes, and join new ones. You can also hear past concerts by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (below) on Wisconsin Public Radio. Broadcast time is Sunday at 2 p.m.
Here is a link to Musical Journeys: https://www.mso.org/about/music/mso-musical-journeys-5/
VIOLINIST DANIEL HOPE AT HOME
British violinist Daniel Hope – who has performed with the Madison Symphony Orchestra — has been streaming chamber music concerts from the living room of his home in Berlin.
A prolific concert artist and 25 recordings and four Grammy Award nominations to his credit, Hope (below) has many invited guests and offers a wide range of repertoire.
Here is a link with past episodes. You can also click in upcoming episodes: https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/RC-019356/hope-home/
Are there other sites and streamed performances that you recommend?
Please leave the name and a link in the Comment section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Share this:
Like this:
Tags: #AndrisNelsons, #AnnaNetrebko, #BachDancingandDynamiteSociety, #BaroqueMusic, #BerlinGermany, #BerlinPhilharmonic, #Bestof, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CarnegieHall, #ChamberMusic, #ChicagoSymphonyOrchestra, #ChineseMusicians, #ChoralMusic, #ClassicalMusician, #ClassicFM, #COVID-19, #DanielBarenboim, #DanielHope, #DaniilTrifonov, #DeutscheGrammophon, #DiabelliVariations, #EdodeWaart, #ElinaGaranca, #EmailNewsletter, #EmanuelAx, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Farley'sHouseofPianos, #FredericChopin, #GrammyAward, #GuestArtist, #GustavoDudamel, #HomePage, #JacobStockinger, #JanLisiecki, #JeffreyKahane, #JeremyDenk, #JohannSebastianBach, #JoshuaBell, #Ken-DavidMasur, #KoreanMusician, #LangLang, #LiveFromtheMetinHD, #LiveStreaming, #LivingRoom, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MetropolitanOpera, #MilwaukeeWisconsin, #MInnesotaPublicRadio, #MomentMusical, #MusicalJourneys, #MusicalMoment, #NationalPublicRadio, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #OperaSinger, #OrionWeiss, #PianoConcerto, #PianoQuintet, #PierreBoulez, #PierreBoulezSaal, #PolishComposer, #PublicHealth, #RadioStation, #RichSamuels, #RobertSchumann, #RomanticMusic, #SalonPIanoSeries, #Seong-JinCho, #ShaiWosner, #shelter-at-home, #SouthKorea, #SouthKorean, #StevenIsserlis, #TheEar, #TheMet, #TinyDeskConcert, #VikingurOlafsson, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WorldMusic, #WORT-FM89.9, #WQXRradio, #YannickNezet-Seguin, #YouTubevideo, #YujaWang, accessible, America, Andris Nelsons, Anna Netrebko, archive, Arts, at home, audience, Bach, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Baroque, BDDS, Beethoven, Berlin, Berlin Philharmonic, best, blog, British, Broadcast, Carnegie Hall, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Child, China, Chinese, Cho, Chopin, choral music, Classic FM, Classical music, classicalmusic, comment, compilation, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, conversation, coronavirus, coucherto, credit, crisis, Daniel Barenboim, Daniel Hope, Daniil Trifonov, Deutsche Grammophon, DG, Diabelli Variations, Dudamel, Early music, Edo de Waart, Elina Garanca, email, Emanuel Ax, encore, encores, episode, Facebook, Farley's House of Pianos, format, forward, Frédéric Chopin, free, Grammy, Grammy Award, guest artist, Gustavo Dudamel, HD, hear, hope, host, Jacob Stockinger, Jan Lisiecki, Jazz, Jeffrey Kahane, Jeremy Denk, Johann Sebastian Bach, Joshua Bell, Ken-David Masur, Korea, Korean musician, label, Lang Lang, like, link, listing, live, Live From The Met in HD, live streaming, live-stream, livestream, living room, local, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, master class, masterclass, memorable, Metropolitan Opera, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Public Radio, Moment Musical, Mozart, MPR, MSO, Music, Musical Journeys, musical moment, National Public Radio, New Music, New York City, newsletter, nomination, NPR, oldest, online, opera, Orchestra, organizations, Orion Weiss, pandemic, past, performance, performer, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, Piano Quintet, pieces, Pierre Boulez, Pierre Boulez Saal, Polish, post, posting, premier, prodigy, program, prolific, Public health, public radio, Radio, radio station, range, recital, recording, remarks, repertoire, Rich Samuels, Robert Schumann, Romantic, Romantic music, Salon Piano Series, Seong-Jin Cho, series, Shai Wosner, share, singer, solo, Sonata, South Korea, South Korean, stay at home, Steven Isserlis, stream, streaming, subscriber, Sunday, symphony, tag, The Ear, the Met, time, Tiny Desk Concert, United States, upcoming, update, venue, Vikingur Olafsson, Violin, violinist, vocal music, Wang, WCO, Website, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, world, World music, world-class, WORT-FM 89.9, WPR, WQXR, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, YouTube, Yuja Wang