The Well-Tempered Ear
Why are Asians dominating Western classical music?
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By Jacob Stockinger
The month of May is Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage month in the U.S.
And here is a perfect story to provide questions and raise issues that pertain to that theme as it figures in classical music.
We have not seen many of them booked for concerts locally, but perhaps you have noticed how so many Asian musicians, particularly pianists, have been winning major competitions.
Those competitions include the Van Cliburn (Korean Yunchan Lim, below top), the Chopin (Chinese-Canadian Bruce Liu, below bottom), the Tchaikovsky, the Arthur Rubinstein, the Queen Elizabeth of Belgium, the Leeds Competition, the Geneva Competition and many others that are less famous.
Perhaps you have also noticed how we hear more Asian opera singers at the Met and more Asian string players in orchestras around the world.
More Asians also seem to be studying and performing in lower and higher educational institutions and organizations.
And perhaps you, like The Ear, have wondered what is behind that trend?
Here is a terrific first-person story — with research, details, photos and performance videos – written by a Canadian musician of Japanese descent that appeared on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
But The Ear thinks it could easily apply to the United States, Australia and other non-Asian places and cultures.
Here is a link:
Do you think this story applies to Asians and Asian-Americans in the U.S.?
If you yourself are an Asian or Asian-American musician or music student, do the observations and analysis in the story ring true to you own experience?
Do you have other thoughts to add about the cultural reasons for the surge of Western classical music in Asia and among Asians elsewhere?
Are there important lessons here for non-Asian people and places?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Too bad the Wisconsin Union Theater didn’t book a great pianist for next season
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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.
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Classical music: The Wisconsin Union Theater announces its new season featuring Renée Fleming’s postponed concert on Oct. 24
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement with the lineup for next season’s concerts at the Wisconsin Union Theater (below top, with a photo of Shannon Hall below bottom), which he calls “The Carnegie Hall of Madison.”
The upcoming season of the Wisconsin Union Theater features eight performances, including a rescheduled performance on Oct. 24 by world-renowned vocalist Renée Fleming (below), who was previously scheduled to perform May 2, 2020, as part of the 100th Concert Series but had to cancel because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fleming recorded a special message for Wisconsin Union Theater patrons: https://youtu.be/V1B4L2KFUls.
During the 101st Concert Series, patrons will have the opportunity to attend performances by the following artists. Click on the links and names to find out more:
- Oct. 3, 2020 – Room Full of Teeth (below in a photo by Bonica Ayala)
- Oct. 24, 2020 – Soprano Renée Fleming
- Nov. 7, 2020 – Cellist Camille Thomas (below in a photo by Dan Carabas)
- Dec. 11, 2020 – Pianist Jeremy Denk (below, in a photo by Shervin Lainez)
- Jan. 29, 2021 – Verona Quartet (below in a photo by Dario Acosta)
- Feb. 28, 2021 – Meccore Quartet (below in a photo by Arkadiusz Berbecki)
- April 15, 2021 – Brentano Quartet (below in a photo by Juergen Frank)
- May 1, 2021 – Sō Percussion with Caroline Shaw (below in photos by Stefan Cohen, top, and Kait Moreno)
All programs are subject to change. The WUT team will announce when subscriptions and single-event tickets, along with prices, will become available for purchase at a later date.
The Wisconsin Union Theater’s Concert Series is one of the oldest uninterrupted series of its kind in the United States and has brought such talented artists as pianists Arthur Rubinstein and Vladimir Horowitz, violinists Fritz Kreisler and Itzhak Perlman, and pianists Vladimir Ashkenazy and Claudio Arrau to Madison.
The Wisconsin Union Theater holds numerous arts events throughout the year and has provided cultural experiences for community members and visitors for more than 75 years.
The student-led Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Performing Arts Committee plans many of the Wisconsin Union Theater’s events, including the Concert Series.
More information — including ticket prices and programs — about the Concert Series and other 2020-21 Wisconsin Union Theater events will be made available soon at uniontheater.wisc.edu and on the Wisconsin Union Theater Facebook page.
Tickets purchased for Fleming’s May 2, 2020, performance are valid for the Oct. 24, 2020, performance.
Violinist Gil Shaham (below), who was to perform March 28, 2020, as part of the 100th Concert Series season will instead perform as part of the 2021-22 Wisconsin Union Theater season. Ticket holders for Shaham’s previously scheduled performance date are receiving refunds.
The upcoming year of programming will undoubtedly bring new challenges, and the Wisconsin Union team will continue to make decisions with the health and safety of team members and patrons in mind while providing experiences for a lifetime.
While Memorial Union and Union South remain closed to the public until further notice, the Wisconsin Union continues to provide support services, such as Meals To-Go, and online events and activities.
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Classical music: It’s time to go back to the future. The classical music scene needs more professional groups to act like the Middleton Community Orchestra and break down barriers between performers and listeners.
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By Jacob Stockinger
There was a time when no professional symphony orchestras existed, at least outside of royal courts. Even Ludwig van Beethoven had to hire freelance pick-up orchestras to premiere his monumental and iconic symphonies and concertos.
That meant that classical music was much more of a home activity and much more of a community affair that it usually is today.
But there are exceptions.
I was reminded of that on Wednesday night when – in the Middleton Performing Arts Center that is attached to Middleton High School — I attended the concert that closed the fourth season of the Middleton Community Orchestra (below).
As I sat there, I realized I was simultaneously getting a glimpse of both the past and the future of classical music, which is under siege and needs some new strategies to thrive and prevail if it is to attract new and younger audiences.
I have written before about why I like the Middleton Community Orchestra so much.
Here is a link to a 2012 review with the nine reasons why I like them and think you should too:
But this most recent concert only deepened and expanded those convictions.
So here are some of my more recent thoughts, not necessarily deep but perhaps helpful and even insightful:
First and foremost, I liked the way the barriers between the performers and the audience members were broken down. I took some photos of what I saw: brass and string players talking with friends, family members, admirers and strangers both before the concert, during the intermission and then during the social dessert reception after the concert.
It all made the act of music-making seem more humane, more do-able, more central to daily life. Music seemed a cohesive bond for the entire community.
I also liked that the community orchestra –- which used some professional members but also many amateur musicians — once again turned in convincing readings of great music.
And they did so by once again spotlighting local talent.
One was pianist and Middleton native, Thomas Kasdorf, who did his undergraduate work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music and who returns there in the fall for a graduate degree.
Kasdorf (below) gave an absolutely thrilling and gorgeous reading of Edvard Grieg’s popular Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16. Here is a link to an interview The Ear did with him:
Kasdorf played with dynamism and lyricism, drawing a big sound out of the smaller-than-concert grand Steinway. He captured the many moods and beautiful tunes, the infectious rhythms, the long and songful phrases, and the stirring harmonies of Grieg’s evergreen concerto.
Not everyone agreed. Here is critic John W. Barker’s dissent for Isthmus:
http://www.thedailypage.com/music/article.php?article=42912
No less than pianist-composer Sergei Rachmaninoff (below) told Arthur Rubinstein that the Grieg Piano Concerto was the best and most effective piano concerto ever composed. And Rachmaninoff, who himself used the Grieg as a model, knew a thing or two about composing and performing piano concertos.
Kasdorf wasn’t alone in excelling.
UW-Madison graduate violist Alice Bartsch (below) also turned in a sublime and moving reading of Antonin Dvorak’s soaringly lyrical Romance in F Minor, Op. 11, for Violin and Orchestra. It was all the more moving because it was her last concert as concertmaster of the MCO before she moves on to a professional job. (You can hear Dvorak’s lovely Romance at the bottom in a popular YouTube video. Tell me it doesn’t make you want to hear more of the tuneful Dvorak’s music.)
In fact, conductor Steve Kurr, who teaches at Middleton High School, also recognized other members of the orchestra who were moving on after this valedictory concert and asked them to stand up for applause — which they received:
I also loved the audience. I don’t know them by name, but enough people were there that the house seemed plenty full. Moreover, many of the listeners were very young or looked like people you don’t usually see at events like the Madison Symphony Orchestra or the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.
Well, one reason is that the price is right. WCO admission has two prices: $10 for adults and free for students. At that level, who can’t afford to take a chance? It might be nice if bigger groups tried cutting costs instead of increasing them. Affordability begets accessibility, The Ear suspects.
The orchestra, of course, also played on its own. It gave a respectable and at times moving reading to Sir Edward Elgar’s ambitious musical portraits in the “Enigma” Variations. As happened in also in the Grieg, I found especially the brass and percussion outstanding, though all sections, and especially the strings and winds, also held their own and had much to be proud of.
That’s not to say there weren’t mistakes or lapses or shortcomings. But, hey, this isn’t the Berlin Philharmonic. Besides, imperfection is an inherent part of most performing arts. But the orchestra clearly communicated the music’s emotion to the audience, and that is what matters most.
The concert finished with the suite of three dances from Spanish composer Manuel de Falla’s ballet score for “The Three-Cornered Hat.”
And there was my one criticism.
I am afraid the MCO has unfortunately expanded to imitate more professional organizations. I prefer the 90-minute, no intermission format. I think that could have been done if they had programmed this way: open with the Dvorak Romance; then do the Grieg Piano Concerto; and then finish with the Elgar Variations. (By my reckoning that would add up to about 85 minutes of music, with time left over for some stage changes.)
This concert was just a bit too long. People were tired, especially on a weekday night. And beside, it is nice to get in The Zone and then leave The Zone –- and not try to renter the Zone after intermission. It is also nice to get back home early when work is facing you the next day.
Then came the FREE desserts and the chat between hungry musicians and hungry audience members.
But it seemed everyone left with their appetite for music satisfied.
So congratulations then to the MCO co-founders Mindy Taranto and Larry Bevic plus conductor Steve Kurr. Over four seasons, they have grown an experimental project into a new tradition that seems to be attracting more people who appreciate them -– as you could tell from the cheers and hearty applause and prolonged standing ovations.
Next season promises very good things: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8; Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances and Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition”; the famous “William Tell” Overture (the “Lone Ranger” theme) by Giacchino Rossini and the Academic Festival Overture and Tragic Overture by Johannes Brahms; plus Thomas Kasdorf again in the great Piano Concerto No. 1 by Tchaikovsky (with, three cheers, Thomas Kasdorf as soloist in what The Ear jokingly calls the Van Cliburn Piano Concerto No. 1) and more.
It is something to look forward to.
All that music and all that fun for all that affordability.
See you then, see you there!
Tags: Academic Festival Overture, Antonín Dvořák, Arthur Rubinstein, Arts, Beethoven, Classical music, concerto, conductor, Dvorak, Edvard Grieg, Edward Elgar, Enigma Variations, Grieg, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Manuel de Falla, Middleton Community Orchestra, Middleton High School, Modest Mussorgsky, Music, Mussorgsky, Orchestra, Piano, Piano concerto, Pictures at an Exhibition, Rachmaninoff, Romance, Rossini, Rubinstein, Sergei Rachmaninoff, symphony, Symphony No. 7, Tchaikovsky, Tchaikowsky, Thomas Kasdorf, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Van Cliburn, Violin, William Tell Overture, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, YouTube
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