The Well-Tempered Ear
Today is Veterans Day. Here is some appropriate music by Beethoven to mark it. Can you guess which piece? What composer or music would you choose?
1 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
Today – Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020 – is Veterans Day.
It started out as Armistice Day in 1918 when the end of World War I was declared to take place on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
It is a day to mark the service of all veterans – not just those who died in the line of duty, as is celebrated on Memorial Day.
You can find a lot of choice of classical music to play for Veterans Day. Here is one link to a compilation that features patriotic songs and marches: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJepYzH1VUY
But The Ear settled on Beethoven (below, in an 1815 portrait by Joseph Willebrord Maehler).
Can you guess which piece?
It is not the memorable funeral marches on the Piano Sonata in A-Flat, Op. 26, or the Symphony No. 3 “Eroica.”
It is also not the “Sacred Hymn of Thanksgiving” in the String Quartet, Op. 132.
And it is not “Wellington’s Victory” or the “Egmont” Overture or the Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor” with its triumphant fast movements.
Instead it is the second movement of the Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92. (You can hear it see it represented graphically in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
That is the very well known Allegretto movement with its repetitious and almost hypnotizing, soaring theme. It seems like a funeral march, full of introspection, poignancy and sadness, that is a bit brisker and more lyrical than usual.
It is so popular, in fact, that it has been used as a soundtrack in many movies, including “The King’s Speech” and has inspired works based on it including the “Fantasia on an Ostinato” by the contemporary American composer John Corigliano.
If it seems an unexpected choice, you just need to know more about its history.
It was composed 1811-1812, and Beethoven correctly considered it one of his finest works. So did Richard Wagner who famously described as the “apotheosis of the dance” for the infectious rhythms throughout the symphony.
At its premiere in Vienna, in his introductory remarks Beethoven said: “We are moved by nothing but pure patriotism and the joyful sacrifice of our powers for those who have sacrificed so much for us.”
Beethoven (below, in 1815 as depicted in a paining the Joseph Willibrord Maehler) premiered the symphony at a charity concert in 1813 to help raise money for the Austrian and Bavarian soldiers who had been wounded at the Battle of Hanau while fighting against France during the Napoleonic Wars.
It was so popular with the first performance that the audience demanded and received an immediate encore performance of the second movement.
Here is a Wikipedia link to the history of the symphony: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._7_(Beethoven)
To this day, the Seventh Symphony, so charged with energy, remains for many people, conductors and orchestral players their favorite Beethoven symphony.
It is ironic that Leonard Bernstein (below, in a photo by Paul de Hueck) performed the Seventh Symphony at the last concert he ever conducted – at the Tanglewood Festival in August 1990. He took the second movement at a slower-than-usual tempo and many have criticized Bernstein, who was in terrible health, and have suggested that he was using it as a funeral march or homage for himself.
They may be right. But in retrospect the choice of Bernstein – who died two months later — finds a certain justification in the original motive for the entire symphony and especially the second movement.
Listen for yourself.
Then tell us what you think.
Does this movement justify it being played on Veterans Day?
What music would you choose to mark the day?
What do you think of the Symphony No. 7 in general and the second movement in particular?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #ArmisticeDay, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #EgmontOverture, #EmperorConcerto, #EroicaSymphony, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FantasiaonanOstinato, #FilmSoundtrack, #FuneralMarch, #HealthEmergency, #JacobStockinger, #JohnCorigliano, #LeonardBernstein, #LivingComposer, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MemorialDay, #MovieSoundtrack, #MusicCritic, #NapoleonicWars, #NewMusic, #OperaMusic, #OrchestralPlayers, #PianoConcerto, #PianoMusic, #PianoSonata, #RichardWagner, #SacredHymnofThanksgiving, #SeventhSymphony, #SlowMovement, #StringQuartet, #TanglewoodFestival, #TanglewoodMusicCenter, #TheEar, #TheKing'sSpeech, #VeteransDay, #ViennaAustria, #VisualArt, #Wellington'sVictory, #Wikipediaentry, #WorldWarI, #YouTubevideo, 1918, Allegretto, apotheosis, appropriate, Armistice Day, Arts, audience, Austria, Austrian, battle, Bavaria, Bavarian, Beethoven, Bernstein, blog, brisk, celebrate, Chamber music, choice, choose, Classical music, compendium, compilation, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, Corigliano, critic, criticize, dance, day, dead, death, declare, describe, duty, Egmont Overture, Emperor Concerto, encore, end, energy, Eroica, Eroica Symphony, Facebook, Fantasia, Fantasia on an Ostinato, fight, film soundtrack, forward, France, French, funeral march, graphic, graphically, guess, Hanau, Health, help, History, hour, hymn, hypnotizing, immediate, infectious, introspection, ironic, Jacob Stockinger, John Corigliano, joyful, know, Leonard Bernstein, like, link, listen, Living composer, Ludwig van Beethoven, lyrical, march, mark, melody, Memorial Day, month, movement, movie, Movies, Music, Napoleon, Napoleonic, Napoleonic Wars, need, New Music, opera, Orchestra, orchestral, orchestral players, ostinato, Overture, patriotic, patriotism, peace, People, performance, Piano, Piano concerto, piano music, Piano sonata, piece, play, player, poignancy, popular, post, posting, pure, repetitious], represent, rhythm, Richard Wagner, sacred, Sacred Hymn of Thanksgiving, sacrifice, sadness, said, say, schematic, service, Seventh Symphony, share, sing, slow, Slow movement, soldiers, Sonata, song, songs, soul, soulful, soundtrack, String quartet, subscriber, suggest, symphony, tag, Tanglewood Festival, Tanglewood Music Center, Tempo, terrible, Thanksgiving, The Ear, The King's Speech, theme, think, today, triumph, triumphant, truce, unexpected, United States, usual, Veteran, Veterans Day, victory, Vienna, visual schematic, Wagner, war, Wednesday, Wellington, Wellington's Victory, Wikipedia, work, World War I, wound, wounded, YouTube, YouTube video
Classical music: This Saturday and Sunday, the Token Creek Festival explores how an unrequited love for Clara Schumann helped make Brahms and his music autumnal
6 Comments
IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE 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
Johannes Brahms (below) remains the only composer whose complete catalogue of chamber music is still in constant use. This is due to his fastidiously high standards, and to his ideal temperament for music played by smaller groups of players.
His music is universally admired for its combination of sheer craft and deep emotional impact, ranging from the most muted private conversation to the most passionate and revealing passages he ever composed.
But putting aside his own personal temperament as well as his melancholy melodies, his bittersweet harmonies, and his masterful use of strings and woodwinds, what gives Brahms’ music that quality of sadness that so many listeners and critics describe as “autumnal”?
No discussion of Brahms can take place without engaging with the most important person in his life — Clara Schumann (below, in a Getty photo), who was born Clara Wieck and became a virtuoso pianist and a composer whose 200th birth anniversary is being celebrated this year.
Brahms was deeply in love with Clara. But unfortunately she was married to Robert Schumann (below right with Clara), one of Brahms’ closest friends and most loyal promoters. Even after a mentally ill Robert Schumann died of suicide at 46, Clara remained loyal to his memory. For the rest of her long life, she performed, edited and promoted his music and rejected Brahms as a lover or second husband.
Almost overnight, Clara’s rejection seemed to cause Brahms to turn from a handsome young man (below top) to the more familiar figure of an overweight, cigar-smoking, bearded and prematurely old curmudgeon (below bottom).
Clara Schumann’s hidden presence is involved with all of the pieces on the Token Creek Festival program, which will be performed at 4 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 24 and 25, in the festival’s refurbished barn (below) at 4037 Highway 19 in DeForest.
The program includes the Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, illustrated with a performance of Brahms’ “Regenlied” (the “Rain Song” that precedes it and introduces the theme of the sonata); the Sonata No. 1 for Cello and Piano in E minor; and the Piano Quartet No 3 in C minor, a piece that retains its distinctive charge of unresolvable emotion. (You can hear that unresolved emotion in the beautiful slow movement of the Piano Quartet No. 3 in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Performers are violinist Rose Mary Harbison, co-artistic director of the Token Creek Festival; violist Lila Brown; cellist Rhonda Rider; pianist Janice Weber; and Edgewood College mezzo-soprano Kathleen Otterson.
THE REST OF THE FEST
Upcoming programs include “Words & Music,” a belated 80th birthday tribute to artistic co-director John Harbison, on Wednesday night, Aug. 28 at 7:30 p.m. The intimate program will include readings by poet Lloyd Schwartz, the premiere of new Harbison songs, plus works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Arnold Schoenberg.
The festival closes with “The Piano” program on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, both at 4 p.m. The festival welcomes back pianists Robert Levin and Ya-Fei Chuang, playing together and as soloists.
Their program explores the question of the composer-performer, here composers who were also formidable pianists: Mozart, Maurice Ravel and Franz Liszt. Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, arranged by the composer for chamber ensemble, and excerpts of John Harbison’s Sonata No. 2, written for Levin, complete the program.
For tickets ($32) and more information, go to www.tokencreekfestival.org or call (608) 241-2525.
Tags: #ArnoldSchoenberg, #ArtisticDirector, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CelloMusic, #ChamberMusic, #ChristmasSong, #ClaraSchumann, #ClaraWieck, #ClassicaMusic, #ConcertProgram, #EdgewoodCollege, #EmotionalImpact, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FranzLiszt, #husband-and-wife, #JaniceWeber, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnHarbison, #KathleenOtterson, #LilaBrown, #LloydSchwartz, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MauriceRavel, #MentalIllness, #Mezzo-sopranoSinger, #NewMusic, #PianoConcerto, #PianoQuartet, #RhondaRider, #RobertLevin, #RobertSchumann, #RoseMaryHarbison, #StringMusic, #TokenCreekChamberMusicFestival, #TokenCreekFestival, #UnrequitedLove, #ViolaMusic, #ViolinMusic, #ViolinSonata, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #Ya-FeiChuang, #YoungMan, #YouTubevideo, anniversary, Arnold Schoenberg, Artistic director, Arts, Autumn, autumnal, Bach, barn, Baroque, beard, bearded, became, Beethoven, bittersweet, blog, born, Brahms, catalogue, celebrate, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, cigar, Clara Schumann, Clara Wieck, Classical music, composer, Concert, concerto, conversation, craft\emotion, curmudgeon, death, DeForest, died, Early music, Edgewood College, emotional impact, Facebook, farm, fastidious, festival, figure, forward, Franz Liszt, friend, groups, handsome, harmonies, harmony, hidden, highway, husband, ideal, impact, introduce, Jacob Stockinger, Janice Weber, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Harbison, Kathleen Otterson, life, like, Lila Brown, link, Lloyd Schwartz, Love, lover, loyal, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, married, Maurice Ravel, melodies, melody, memory, mental illness, mentally ill, mezzo-sorprano, Mozart, Music, muted, New Music, overweight, passages, Passion, passionate, performer, person, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, Piano Quartet, player, playing, poem, poet, Poetry, post, posting, presence, private, program, promote, promoter, question, Ravel, reader, reading, refurbished, rejection, Rhonda Rider, Robert Levin, Robert Schumann, Rose Mary Harbison, sad, sadness, Saturday, Schoenberg, Schumann, share, solo, soloist, Sonata, song, spread, standards, strings, subscriber, suicide, Sunday, tag, temperament, theme, Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, Token Creek Festival, United States, unrequited, unrequited love, unresolved, use, Viola, Violin, Violin Sonata, violinist, violist, virtuoso, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, woodwinds, Ya-Fei Chuang, year, young man, YouTube
Classical music: The Ancora String Quartet closes its 18th season with three upcoming local concerts of music by Mendelssohn, Beethoven and Caroline Shaw
Leave a Comment
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
The Ancora String Quartet closes its 18th season with a trio of concerts, and a program featuring two quartets from the early 19th century, juxtaposed with a shorter piece of much more recent date.
The program is the String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 13, by Felix Mendelssohn; “Entr’acte” (Minuet and Trio) by Caroline Shaw; and String Quartet No. 6 in B-Flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6, by Ludwig van Beethoven.
The schedule of concert dates, times and venues is below.
Members of the Ancora String Quartet (below, from left, in a photo by Barry Lewis), who also perform with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and the Madison Bach Musicians among other groups, are: Wes Luke and Robin Ryan, violins; Marika Fischer Hoyt, viola; and Benjamin Whitcomb, who teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Whtewater.
Here are some program notes provided by violist Marika Fischer Hoyt:
“Mendelssohn’s Op. 13 was written in 1827 when he was 18 years old. He’d written the Octet two years earlier, but this was his first mature string quartet. It expresses his youthful passion and includes one of his signature bubbly scherzos.
“Between our two more-established works, we insert a short piece entitled (appropriately enough) “Entr’acte” (“Intermission,” heard in the YouTube video at the bottom), composed by the American Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw (below, in a photo by Dashing Burton) in 2011. (It is one of The Ear’s favorite contemporary works.)
The 12-minute piece, subtitled “a minuet and trio,” takes haunting fragments and memes from Baroque and Classical styles and treats them with 21st-century audacity. With an ABA structure, the opening and closing sighing motif seems dolorous, but takes its own sadness in a philosophical spirit.
“While both the Mendelssohn and Shaw end quietly, we conclude the program with Beethoven’s exuberant Quartet No. 6, the final quartet in the composer’s set of six early quartets, his Opus 18. This delightful work, completed in 1800, is full of energy and drive; the melancholy mood of the brief fourth movement “La malinconia” (Melancholy) is banished by a cheerful Allegretto, ending with a flourish in the final Prestissimo.”
SCHEDULE
Monday, May 13, at 3 p.m. in the Stoughton Opera House‘s Music Appreciation Series, 381 East Main Street, Stoughton. Free and open to the public
Tuesday, May 14, 7:30 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 1833 Regent Street, Madison. Ticketed event — $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $6 for young people. There will be a reception following the concert.
Saturday, June 15, at noon in Grace Episcopal Church for “Grace Presents,” 116 West Washington Avenue, on the Capitol Square in downtown Madison. Free and open to the public.
Tags: #21stCentury, #AmericanComposer, #AncoraStringQuartet, #BaroqueEra, #BaroqueMusic, #BaroqueStyle, #BenjaminWhitcomb, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CapitolSquare, #CarolineShaw, #ChamberMusic, #ChristianChurch, #Classicalera, #ContemporaryMusic, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FelixMendelssohn, #GraceEpiscopalChurch, #GracePresents, #LivingComposer, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonBachMusicians, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MusicAppreciation, #NewMusic, #ProgramNotes, #PulitzerPrize, #RobinRyan, #St.Andrew'sEpiscopalChurch, #StoughtonOperaHouse, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #UniversityofWisconsin-Whitewater, #WesLuke, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, 21st century, adult, American, Ancora String Quartet, Arts, ASQ, audacity, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Benjamin Whitcomb, blog, Capitol Square, Caroline Shaw, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Christian church, Classical, Classical music, classicalmusic, closing, composer, Concert, contemporary, dates, downtown, entr'acte, express, Facebook, favorite, Felix Mendelssohn, forward, fragment, free, Grace Episcopal Church, Grace Presents, group, haunting, House, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, like, link, Living composer, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marika Fischer Hoyt, mature, melancholy, meme, minuet, mood, motif, movement, Music, music appreciation, New Music, Octet, open, opening, opera, Passion, perform, philosophical, piece, program, program notes, public, Pulitzer Prize, reception, recpeiton, Robin Ryan, sadness, schedule, Scherzo, Season, senior, share, sigh, signature, spirit, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Stoughton Opera House, String quartet, structure, style, tag, The Ear, ticket, time, trio, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, University of Wisconsin–Madison, venue, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, Wes Luke, winner, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, works, written, years, young people, youthful, YouTube
Classical music: A busy week at the UW spotlights choral and vocal music with some wind, brass and guitar music included
Leave a Comment
By Jacob Stockinger
It’s going to be a busy week at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music.
And especially if you are a fan of choral music, there is much to attract you.
Here is run-down by the day:
TODAY
At 3 p.m. in Mills Hall is a FREE concert of Combined Choirs that features the Women’s Chorus (below), the University Chorus and the Masters Singers.
Sorry, no word about the program, but the groups’ past record suggests excellent programs are in store.
TUESDAY
From noon to 1:30 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall, William Buchman (below), who is assistant principal bassoon of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and a faculty member at DePaul University in Chicago, will give a master class that is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
At 7:30 p.m. in Music Hall on Bascom Hill, University Opera a FREE Fall Opera Scenes program with UW student singers (below form last year).
Featured are excerpts from four operas and one Broadway musical: “The Marriage of Figaro” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; “Orpheus in the Underworld” by Jacques Offenbach; “Der Freischuetz” (The Marksman or Freeshooter) by Carl Maria von Weber; and “Carousel” by Rodgers and Hammerstein,
WEDNESDAY
At 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, the Wisconsin Brass Quintet (below, in a photo by Michael R. Anderson) will give a FREE concert.
Members of the faculty ensemble are Alex Noppe and Matthew Onstad, trumpets; Mark Hetzler, trombone; Tom Curry, tuba; and Daniel Grabois, horn.
The program includes: Johann Schein: Three Psalm Settings; Peter Maxwell Davies, arr. Matthew Onstad: “Farewell to Stromness” (1980), from The Yellow Cake Review; Jan Radzynski: Take Five (1984); Gunther Schuller’s Music for Brass Quintet (1961); and Alvin Etler’s Quintet for Brass Instruments (1966).
For more information, go to http://www.wisconsinbrassquintet.com
THURSDAY
From 10 a.m. until noon in Morphy Recital Hall, the acclaimed Grammy Award-winning guitarist Sharon Isbin (below), who will perform with the Madison Symphony Orchestra this coming weekend, will give a FREE master class that is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
FRIDAY
At 8 p.m. in Mills Hall, the Madrigal Singers (below top), under conductor Bruce Gladstone (below bottom, in a photo by Katrin Talbot), will present Part 2 of “Israelsbrünnlein” (Fountains of Israel) by the Baroque composer Johann Hermann Schein.
According to program notes, “Johann Hermann Schein’s collection of 26 motets from 1623 has long been considered the most important set of motets in the early 17th century. Schein (below), frustrated that there wasn’t a true counterpart of the Italian madrigal to be found in German music, set out to marry the expressiveness of the madrigal to German texts.
“In this case, he chose to set sacred and mostly biblical texts, rather than the secular poetry found in most madrigals. His set of spiritual madrigals display both moments of pure joy and exultation as well as heartbreaking sadness and longing.
“Last fall, the Madrigal Singers presented the first 13 of these motets, and this fall, we finish out the collection with motets 14-26.
“This music is incredibly moving and remarkably fresh, revealing a marked sensitivity to the texts and a mastery of musical expression.” (You can hear a sample in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
SATURDAY
At 8 p.m., in Luther Memorial Church (below), 1021 University Avenue, the Low Brass Ensemble will give a FREE recital. No word on composers or pieces on the program.
At 8 p.m. in Mils Hall, the group Chorale, under conductor Bruce Gladstone will present “Songs to Live By.”
Programs notes read: “Music has always had a way to touch our souls the way other things cannot. When paired with poetry that speaks honestly to the human condition, it can lift us out of the merely abstract, touching our souls and offering insight on how we can be better at being human and humane.
“The Chorale offers a choral song-cycle by composer Gwyneth Walker (below) on autobiographical poems by Virginia Hamilton Adair, as well as three works by Elizabeth Alexander: “How to Sing Like a Planet”; “If You Can Walk You Can Dance”; and “Finally On My Way To Yes.”
“Also on the program is Joshua Shank’s “Rules To Live By,” a heartfelt and moving piece whose text was written by the commissioning ensemble.
SUNDAY
At 5 p.m., in Mills Hall, the UW-Madison Wind Ensemble (below top) and Winds of Wisconsin will give a FREE joint concert.
Scott Teeple will conduct with guest violinist, Professor Soh-Hyun Altino (below bottom, in a photo by Caroline Bittencourt) soloing.
Here is the program:
UW-Madison Wind Ensemble:
“Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, #2,” by Joan Tower
Concerto for Violin and Wind Ensemble, by Robert Hutchinson with the violinist Park Altino
Winds of Wisconsin:
“Chester Overture for Band,” by William Schuman
“A Child’s Embrace” by Charles Rochester Young
“Vesuvius,” by Frank Ticheli
Combined UW Wind Ensemble and Winds of Wisconsin:
“Folk Dances,” by Dmitri Shostakovich
Tags: abstract, acclaim, Alvin Etler, arranged, arrangement, Arts, assistant, avenue, award, band, Baroque, Bassoon, Bible, biblical, brass, Broadway, cake, Carousel, century, Chamber music, Charles Rochester Young, Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Child, children, Choir, choral music, church, Classical music, collection, combined, composer, Concert, concerto, dance, DePaul University, Der Freischuetz, Dmitri Shostakovich, Early music, Elizabeth Alexander, embrace, ensemble, expression, expressiveness, exultation, faculty, Fanfare, farewell, Figaro, folk, fountain, Frank Ticheli, free, fresh, German, Germany, Grammy, guest, guitar, Gunther Schuller, Gwyneth Walker, Hammerstein, heartbreak, Horn, human, humane, important, insight, instrument, Israel, Jacob Stockinger, Jan Radzynski, Joan Tower, Johann Schein, joint, Joshua Shank, Joy, live, longing, Luther, Luther Memorial Church, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, madrigal, Madrigal Singers, marksman, Marriage, Marriage of Figaro, Master, master class, masterclass, mastery, Mead Witter School of Music, motet, moving, Mozart, Music, musical, Musical theater, notes, Onstad, opera, Orchestra, Orpheus, Orpheus in the Underworld, Overture, part, Peter Maxwell Davies, photo, Poetry, principal, program, psalm, quintet, recital, review, Robert Hutchinson, Rodgers, Rodgers and Hammerstein, rule, sad, sadness, sample, scene, secular, sensitivity, Sharon Isbin, shooter, singer, solo, song, soul, spiritual, symphony, text, theater, theatre, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, uncommon, underworld, university, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Vesuvius, Viola, Violin, Virginia Hamilton Adair, vocal music, von Weber, week, William Schuman, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Brass Quintet, woman, women, Writer, YouTube
Classical music: What classical music do you find necessary and why?
2 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has heard many themes for concerts and festivals.
But he really, really likes the title of this year’s Token Creek Chamber Music Festival (below, inside the refurbished barn that serves as a concert hall).
It runs from Aug. 26 through Sept. 3.
Here is a link to complete details about the performers, the three programs and the five concerts that focus especially on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and Franz Schubert, Maurice Ravel and Robert Schumann:
The theme or concept is NECESSARY MUSIC.
Of course, as the festival press release says, the Token Creek organizers recognize that the whole idea is subjective, so they refuse to be prescriptive:
“In what way, and for whom is a certain kind of music necessary?
“Certainly the presenters of a chamber music festival would be presumptuous to offer a program as a sort of prescription for listeners. And at Token Creek we won’t.
“So often the music we need arrives by chance, and we did not even know we needed it until it appears. And other times we know exactly what we are missing. And so we offer this year’s programs of pieces that feed the soul.”
The Ear likes that concept.
And he thinks it applies to all of us.
So today he wants to know: What music is NECESSARY FOR YOU and WHAT MAKES IT NECESSARY
Of course, the idea of necessary music changes over time and in different circumstances.
Do you need relief from the anxiety of political news?
Are you celebrating a happy event?
Are you recovering from some kind of personal sadness or misfortune?
But right now, what piece or pieces of music – or even what composer – do you find necessary and why?
In the COMMENT section, please tell us what it is and what makes it necessary?
And please include a link to a YouTube video performance, if possible.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: anxiety, Arts, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Cello, Chamber music, chance, choral music, circumstances, Classical music, concept, Concert, Early music, event, festival, Franz Schubert, George Crumb, George Frideric Handel, happy', idea, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, listener, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, misfortune, Mozart, Music, necessary, occasion, opera, Orchestra, performance, personal, Piano, pieces, political, Politics, prescriptive, presenter, program, Ravel, sadness, Schumann, Sonata, soul, subjective, symphony, theme, time, Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, video, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 
Classical music: The prize-winning critic Alex Ross grieves to Brahms. What composer and piece would you choose to mourn the tragedies of the past week?
6 Comments
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
This past week feels like a week that deserves mass grieving.
Of course, there was the life-changing, historic landmark of surpassing, in only a few months, more than 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic in the United States.
There were the spikes in new COVID-19 cases and deaths following the opening up from lockdowns and the mass gatherings over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, such as the party at the Lake of the Ozarks (below) in Missouri.
Then there was the tragic, racist death — an alleged murder — of George Floyd by the police and the ensuing rioting, violence and additional death in Minneapolis as well as the seven shootings among protesters in Louisville.
And depending of your political point of view, there were the incidents of White House threats against social media, especially Twitter, for simply telling the truth or at least directing viewers to it.
So what can one say about these sad events and sad times with music?
Well, not too long ago Alex Ross (below), the prize-winning and internationally respected music critic for The New Yorker magazine, wrote an engaging and moving essay about why he finds Brahms to be the perfect composer for grieving and mourning.
He mentions other composers as possibilities, including Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert.
But Ross still finds Brahms more suited for several reasons. He even cites a favorite performance of a Brahms short, late Intermezzo by the Romanian pianist Radu Lupu. (You can hear that performance in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Here is a link: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/grieving-with-brahms
What composers – and what pieces or performances – do you find best for grieving? For marking loss?
Read the essay, listen to the music.
Then let us know in the comment section what music – perhaps Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings? – that you would want to listen to during sad occasions.
The Ear wants to hear.
Share this:
Like this:
Tags: #AdagioforStrings, #AlexRoss, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ClassicalRecording, #COVID-19, #DonaldJ.Trump, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FranzSchubert, #HomeWebsite, #JacobStockinger, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #LakeoftheOzarks, #LouisvilleKentucky, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MassGathering, #MemorialDay, #MinneapolisMinnesota, #MusicCritic, #NewYorkCity, #OpeningUp, #PianoMusic, #PoliceOfficers, #PresidentDonaldTrump, #PresidentTrump, #Prize-Winning, #PublicHealth, #RaduLupu, #SamuelBarber, #SocialMedia, #StringMusic, #TheEar, #TheNewYorker, #TheNewYorkerMagazine, #TheU.S., #UnitedStates, #WhiteHouse, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, Adagio for Strings, Alex Ross, alleged, American, Arts, audience, Bach, Barber, Beethoven, blog, Brahms, Chamber music, Classical music, comment, composer, Concert, coronavirus, critic, death, engaging, essay, event, Facebook, favorite, Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, gathering, grief, grieve, grieving, Haydn, historic landmark, History, Holiday, intermezzo, internationally, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, lake, Lake of the Ozarks, landmark, late, life-changing, like, link, listen, lockdown, loss, Louisville, Ludwig van Beethoven, magazine, mass, mass gathering, Memorial Day, Minneapolis, mourning, moving, Mozart, murder, Music, music critic, New York City, New Yorker, occasion, opening up, Orchestra, Ozark, pandemic, party, past, performance, performer, Pianist, Piano, piano music, police, post, posting, President, protester, Public health, racist, Radu Lupu, reason, recording, respect, riot, sad, sadness, Samuel Barber, Schubert, share, shooting, shootings, simple, simply, social media, spike, string, strings, surpass, tag, tell, The Ear, The White House, threat, tragedy, Tragic, Trump, truth, Twitter, U.S., United States, violence, Website, week, weekend, White House, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube