The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Here are the classical music winners of the 2018 Grammy Awards.
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By Jacob Stockinger
This posting is both a news story and a gift guide of sorts about recordings you might like to give or get.
It features the classical music nominations for and winners of the Grammy Awards, which were just announced this past Sunday night.
Read them and in the COMMENT section what you think of the recordings that you know and which ones you think deserved to win. (The Ear got about half right.)
You can also encouraged to comment on the Grammys in general.
NOTE: THE WINNERS HAVE AN ASTERISK AND A PHOTO, AND ARE BOLDFACED
HISTORICAL ALBUMS:
- “The Goldberg Variations — the Complete Unreleased Recording Sessions June 1955” — Robert Russ, compilation producer; Matthias Erb, Martin Kistner & Andreas K. Meyer, mastering engineers (Glenn Gould)
- *”Leonard Bernstein — the Composer” (below) — Robert Russ, compilation producer; Martin Kistner & Andreas K. Meyer, mastering engineers (Leonard Bernstein)
ENGINEERED ALBUM, CLASSICAL
- “Danielpour: Songs of Solitude & War Songs” — Gary Call, engineer (Thomas Hampson, Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)
- “Kleiberg: Mass for Modern Man” — Morten Lindberg, engineer (Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Trondheim Vokalensemble & Trondheim Symphony Orchestra)
- “Schoenberg, Adam: American Symphony; Finding Rothko; Picture Studies” — Keith O. Johnson & Sean Royce Martin, engineers (Michael Stern & Kansas City Symphony)
- *”Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber: Adagio” (below) — Mark Donahue, engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
- “Tyberg: Masses” — John Newton, engineer; Jesse Brayman, mastering engineer (Brian A. Schmidt, Christopher Jacobson & South Dakota Chorale)
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, CLASSICAL
- Blanton Alspaugh
- Manfred Eicher
- *David Frost (below)
- Morten Lindberg
- Judith Sherman
ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCE
- “Concertos for Orchestra” — Louis Langrée, conductor (Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)
- “Copland: Symphony No. 3; Three Latin American Sketches” — Leonard Slatkin, conductor (Detroit Symphony Orchestra)
- “Debussy: Images; Jeux & La Plus Que Lente” — Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)
- “Mahler: Symphony No. 5” — Osmo Vänskä, conductor (Minnesota Orchestra)
- *”Shostakovich (below): Symphony No. 5; Barber: Adagio” — Manfred Honeck, conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
OPERA RECORDING
- “Berg: Lulu” — Lothar Koenigs, conductor; Daniel Brenna, Marlis Petersen & Johan Reuter; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra)
- *”Berg: Wozzeck” (below) — Hans Graf, conductor; Anne Schwanewilms & Roman Trekel; Hans Graf, producer (Houston Symphony; Chorus of Students and Alumni, Shepherd School of Music, Rice University & Houston Grand Opera Children’s Chorus)
- “Bizet: Les Pêcheurs de Perles” — Gianandrea Noseda, conductor; Diana Damrau, Mariusz Kwiecień, Matthew Polenzani & Nicolas Testé; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
- “Handel: Ottone” — George Petrou, conductor; Max Emanuel Cencic & Lauren Snouffer; Jacob Händel, producer (Il Pomo D’Oro)
- “Rimsky-Korsakov: The Golden Cockerel” — Valery Gergiev, conductor; Vladimir Feliauer, Aida Garifullina & Kira Loginova; Ilya Petrov, producer (Mariinsky Orchestra; Mariinsky Chorus)
CHORAL PERFORMANCE
- *”Bryars: The Fifth Century” — Donald Nally, conductor (PRISM Quartet; The Crossing)
- “Handel: Messiah” — Andrew Davis, conductor; Noel Edison, chorus master (Elizabeth DeShong, John Relyea, Andrew Staples & Erin Wall; Toronto Symphony Orchestra; Toronto Mendelssohn Choir)
- “Mansurian: Requiem” — Alexander Liebreich, conductor; Florian Helgath, chorus master (Anja Petersen & Andrew Redmond; Münchener Kammerorchester; RIAS Kammerchor)
- “Music of the Spheres” — Nigel Short, conductor (Tenebrae)
- “Tyberg: Masses” — Brian A. Schmidt, conductor (Christopher Jacobson; South Dakota Chorale)
CHAMBER MUSIC/SMALL ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
- “Buxtehude: Trio Sonatas, Op. 1” — Arcangelo
- *”Death & the Maiden” — Patricia Kopatchinskaja & the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
- “Divine Theatre — Sacred Motets by Giaches De Wert” — Stile Antico
- “Franck, Kurtág, Previn & Schumann” — Joyce Yang & Augustin Hadelich
- “Martha Argerich & Friends — Live From Lugano 2016” — Martha Argerich & Various Artists
CLASSICAL INSTRUMENTAL SOLO
- “Bach: The French Suites” — Murray Perahia
- “Haydn: Cello Concertos” — Steven Isserlis; Florian Donderer, conductor (The Deutsch Kammerphilharmonie Bremen)
- “Levina: The Piano Concertos” — Maria Lettberg; Ariane Matiakh, conductor (Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin)
- “Shostakovich: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2” — Frank Peter Zimmermann; Alan Gilbert, conductor (NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester)
- *”Transcendental” – Daniil Trifonov (below)
CLASSICAL SOLO VOCAL ALBUM
- “Bach & Telemann: Sacred Cantatas” — Philippe Jaroussky; Petra Müllejans, conductor (Ann-Kathrin Brüggemann & Juan de la Rubia; Freiburger Barockorchester)
- *”Crazy Girl Crazy — Music by Gershwin, Berg & Berio” — Barbara Hannigan (Orchestra Ludwig)
- “Gods & Monsters” — Nicholas Phan; Myra Huang, accompanist
- “In War & Peace — Harmony Through Music” — Joyce DiDonato; Maxim Emelyanychev, conductor (Il Pomo D’Oro)
- “Sviridov: Russia Cast Adrift” — Dmitri Hvorostovsky; Constantine Orbelian, conductor (St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra & Style of Five Ensemble)
CLASSICAL COMPENDIUM
- “Barbara” — Alexandre Tharaud; Cécile Lenoir, producer
- *”Higdon: All Things Majestic, Viola Concerto & Oboe Concerto” (below with the first movement of the Viola Concerto in the YouTube video at the bottom) — Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Tim Handley, producer
- “Kurtág: Complete Works for Ensemble & Choir” — Reinbert de Leeuw, conductor; Guido Tichelman, producer
- “Les Routes de l’Esclavage” — Jordi Savall, conductor; Benjamin Bleton, producer
- “Mademoiselle: Première Audience — Unknown Music of Nadia Boulanger” — Lucy Mauro; Lucy Mauro, producer
CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL COMPOSITION
- “Danielpour: Songs of Solitude” — Richard Danielpour, composer (Thomas Hampson, Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)
- *”Higdon: Viola Concerto” — Jennifer Higdon, composer (below)(Roberto Díaz, Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)
- “Mansurian: Requiem” — Tigran Mansurian, composer (Alexander Liebreich, Florian Helgath, RIAS Kammerchor & Münchener Kammerorchester)
- “Schoenberg, Adam: Picture Studies” — Adam Schoenberg, composer (Michael Stern & Kansas City Symphony)
- “Zhou Tian: Concerto for Orchestra” — Zhou Tian, composer (Louis Langrée & Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)
Tags: "Goldberg" Variations, #DanielTrifonov, #DaniilTrifonov, #GlennGould, #GustavMahler, #JenniferHigdon, #JohannSebastianBach, #LeonardBernstein, #MetropolitanOpera, #TheMet, Adagio for Strings, Alan Gilbert, Alban Berg, American, Arts, Augustin Hadelich, Bach, Baroque, Berio, Berlin, Bernstein, Bizet, Bremen, Buxtehude, Cantata, Cello, Chamber music, China, Chinese, Choir, choral music, chorus, Cincinnati, Classical music, classics, Compact Disc, composer, concerto, conductor, Copland, crazy, death, Death and the Maiden, Debussy, Detroit, Deutsche Grammophon, Dietrich Buxtehude, divine, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Early music, ECM, engineer, etude, Franck, Franz Schubert, French, friend, Georg Philipp Telemann, George Frideric Handel, Germany, Gershwin, girl, Glenn Gould, Grammy, Grammy Award, Grammys, Haydn, Houston, Houston Grand Opera, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Jordi Savall, Joyce Yang, Kansas City, Kurtag, Liszt, Luciano Berio, Lulu, Madison, Mahler, maiden, man, Mansurian, Mariinsky Theatre, Martha Argerich, mas, Mendelssohn, Messiah, Michael Tilson Thomas, Minneapolis, Minnesota, modern, motet, Mozart, Munich, Music, Nadia Boulanger, Nashville, Naxos, New Music, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, nomination, nominee, Oboe, opera, Orchestra, Piano, Picture, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Previn, Requiem, Rice University, Richard Danielpour, Rothko, Russia, sacred, Saint Paul, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Samuel Barber, San Francisco, San Francisco Symphony, Schumann, Shostakovich, solitude, Sonata, song, SONY, Sony Classical, South Dakota, sphere, studies, Suite, symphony, theater, theme and variations, Toronto, Trifonov, trio, Trondheim, Tyberg, United States, Valery Gergiev, Viola, Violin, vocal music, war, winner, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wozzeck, YouTube, Zhou Tian
Classical music: Here are the classical music nominations for the 2018 Grammy Awards. They make a great holiday gift list of gives and gets
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By Jacob Stockinger
This posting is both a news story and a holiday gift guide of recordings you might like to give or get.
It features the classical music nominations for the Grammy Awards that were just announced this past week.
The winners will be announced on a live broadcast on Sunday night, Jan. 28, on CBS.
Read them and then in the COMMENT section tell us which title you think will win in a specific category and what you think of the recordings you know firsthand.
HISTORICAL ALBUMS:
- “The Goldberg Variations — the Complete Unreleased Recording Sessions June 1955” — Robert Russ, compilation producer; Matthias Erb, Martin Kistner & Andreas K. Meyer, mastering engineers (Glenn Gould)
- “Leonard Bernstein — the Composer” — Robert Russ, compilation producer; Martin Kistner & Andreas K. Meyer, mastering engineers (Leonard Bernstein)
ENGINEERED ALBUM, CLASSICAL
- “Danielpour: Songs of Solitude & War Songs” — Gary Call, engineer (Thomas Hampson, Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)
- “Kleiberg: Mass for Modern Man” — Morten Lindberg, engineer (Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Trondheim Vokalensemble & Trondheim Symphony Orchestra)
- “Schoenberg, Adam: American Symphony; Finding Rothko; Picture Studies” — Keith O. Johnson & Sean Royce Martin, engineers (Michael Stern & Kansas City Symphony)
- “Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber: Adagio” — Mark Donahue, engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
- “Tyberg: Masses” — John Newton, engineer; Jesse Brayman, mastering engineer (Brian A. Schmidt, Christopher Jacobson & South Dakota Chorale)
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, CLASSICAL
- Blanton Alspaugh
- Manfred Eicher
- David Frost
- Morten Lindberg
- Judith Sherman (below)
ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCE
- “Concertos for Orchestra” — Louis Langrée, conductor (Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)
- “Copland: Symphony No. 3; Three Latin American Sketches” — Leonard Slatkin, conductor (Detroit Symphony Orchestra)
- “Debussy: Images; Jeux & La Plus Que Lente” — Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)
- “Mahler: Symphony No. 5” — Osmo Vänskä, conductor (Minnesota Orchestra)
- “Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber: Adagio” — Manfred Honeck, conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
OPERA RECORDING
- “Berg: Lulu” — Lothar Koenigs, conductor; Daniel Brenna, Marlis Petersen & Johan Reuter; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra)
- “Berg: Wozzeck” — Hans Graf, conductor; Anne Schwanewilms & Roman Trekel; Hans Graf, producer (Houston Symphony; Chorus of Students and Alumni, Shepherd School of Music, Rice University & Houston Grand Opera Children’s Chorus)
- “Bizet: Les Pêcheurs de Perles” — Gianandrea Noseda, conductor; Diana Damrau, Mariusz Kwiecień, Matthew Polenzani & Nicolas Testé; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
- “Handel: Ottone” — George Petrou, conductor; Max Emanuel Cencic & Lauren Snouffer; Jacob Händel, producer (Il Pomo D’Oro)
- “Rimsky-Korsakov: The Golden Cockerel” — Valery Gergiev, conductor; Vladimir Feliauer, Aida Garifullina & Kira Loginova; Ilya Petrov, producer (Mariinsky Orchestra; Mariinsky Chorus)
CHORAL PERFORMANCE
- “Bryars: The Fifth Century” — Donald Nally, conductor (PRISM Quartet; The Crossing)
- “Handel: Messiah” — Andrew Davis, conductor; Noel Edison, chorus master (Elizabeth DeShong, John Relyea, Andrew Staples & Erin Wall; Toronto Symphony Orchestra; Toronto Mendelssohn Choir)
- “Mansurian: Requiem” — Alexander Liebreich, conductor; Florian Helgath, chorus master (Anja Petersen & Andrew Redmond; Münchener Kammerorchester; RIAS Kammerchor)
- “Music of the Spheres” — Nigel Short, conductor (Tenebrae)
- “Tyberg: Masses” — Brian A. Schmidt, conductor (Christopher Jacobson; South Dakota Chorale)
CHAMBER MUSIC/SMALL ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
- “Buxtehude: Trio Sonatas, Op. 1” — Arcangelo
- “Death & the Maiden” — Patricia Kopatchinskaja & the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
- “Divine Theatre — Sacred Motets by Giaches De Wert” — Stile Antico
- “Franck, Kurtág, Previn & Schumann” — Joyce Yang & Augustin Hadelich
- “Martha Argerich & Friends — Live From Lugano 2016” — Martha Argerich & Various Artists
CLASSICAL INSTRUMENTAL SOLO
- “Bach: The French Suites” — Murray Perahia
- “Haydn: Cello Concertos” — Steven Isserlis; Florian Donderer, conductor (The Deutsch Kammerphilharmonie Bremen)
- “Levina: The Piano Concertos” — Maria Lettberg; Ariane Matiakh, conductor (Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin)
- “Shostakovich: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2” — Frank Peter Zimmermann; Alan Gilbert, conductor (NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester)
- “Transcendental” – Daniil Trifonov
CLASSICAL SOLO VOCAL ALBUM
- “Bach & Telemann: Sacred Cantatas” — Philippe Jaroussky; Petra Müllejans, conductor (Ann-Kathrin Brüggemann & Juan de la Rubia; Freiburger Barockorchester)
- “Crazy Girl Crazy — Music by Gershwin, Berg & Berio” — Barbara Hannigan (Orchestra Ludwig)
- “Gods & Monsters” — Nicholas Phan; Myra Huang, accompanist
- “In War & Peace — Harmony Through Music” — Joyce DiDonato; Maxim Emelyanychev, conductor (Il Pomo D’Oro)
- “Sviridov: Russia Cast Adrift” — Dmitri Hvorostovsky; Constantine Orbelian, conductor (St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra & Style of Five Ensemble)
CLASSICAL COMPENDIUM
- “Barbara” — Alexandre Tharaud; Cécile Lenoir, producer
- “Higdon: All Things Majestic, Viola Concerto & Oboe Concerto” — Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Tim Handley, producer
- “Kurtág: Complete Works for Ensemble & Choir” — Reinbert de Leeuw, conductor; Guido Tichelman, producer
- “Les Routes de l’Esclavage” — Jordi Savall, conductor; Benjamin Bleton, producer
- “Mademoiselle: Première Audience — Unknown Music of Nadia Boulanger” — Lucy Mauro; Lucy Mauro, producer
CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL COMPOSITION
- “Danielpour: Songs of Solitude” — Richard Danielpour, composer (Thomas Hampson, Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)
- “Higdon: Viola Concerto” — Jennifer Higdon, composer (Roberto Díaz, Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)
- “Mansurian: Requiem” — Tigran Mansurian, composer (Alexander Liebreich, Florian Helgath, RIAS Kammerchor & Münchener Kammerorchester)
- “Schoenberg, Adam: Picture Studies” — Adam Schoenberg, composer (Michael Stern & Kansas City Symphony)
- “Zhou Tian: Concerto for Orchestra” — Zhou Tian, composer (Louis Langrée & Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)
Tags: "Goldberg" Variations, adagio, Adam Schoenberg, Alan Gilbert, alumni, American, Arts, Augustin Hadelich, Bach, Barber, Baroque, Berg, Berio, Bernstein, Bizet, Cantata, CBS, Cello, century, Chamber music, choral music, chorus, Cincinnati, Classical music, Compact Disc, compilation, composer, concerto, contemporary, Copland, Daniil Trifonov, death, Debussy, Detroit, Dietrich Buxtehude, divine, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Early music, engineer, etude, France, Franck, French, friend, George Frideric Handel, Gershwin, gift, Glenn Gould, God, gold, golden, Grammy, guide, Handel, Haydn, Higdon, Holiday, Houston, Houston Grand Opera, instrumental, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, January, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Joyce DiDonato, Joyce Yang, Judith Sherman, Kansas City, Kleiberg, Kurtag, Latin American, Leonard Bernstein, Liszt, live, Louis Langrée, Ludwig van Beethoven, Lugano, Lulu, Madison, Mahler, maiden, man, Manfred Eicher, Mansurian, Mariinsky Theatre, mass, Mendelssohn, Messiah, Metropolitan Opera, Michael Tilson Thomas, Minnesota, modern, Monster, Mozart, Murray Perahia, Music, Nadia Boulanger, Nashville, New Music, New York City, news, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, nomination, Noseda, Oboe, opera, Orchestra, Osmo Vanska, peace, Pearl Fishers, Piano, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Previn, producer, recording, Requiem, Rice University, Richard Danielpour, Rothko, Russia, sacred, Saint Paul, San Francisco, San Francisco Symphony, Schumann, Shostakovich, sketch, Sklatkin, solitude, solo, Sonata, song, sphere, St. Petersburg, Student, Suite, symphony, Telemann, Television, theater, theatre, theme and variations, Thomas Hampson, Toronto, trio, Trondheim, TV, Tyberg, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Valery Gergiev, variations, Viola, Violin, vocal music, war, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wozzeck, year
Classical music: The Madison-based all-female Arbor Ensemble will play a FREE concert of all-women composers on Monday night
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following notice that he thinks will interest a lot of readers:
The Arbor Ensemble (below), a Madison-based chamber group, is thrilled to announce their spring program, “Women Composers: Past and Present.”
The concert will to take place on Monday night, March 21, at 7 p.m. at the Oakwood West Auditorium, 6201 Mineral Point Road, on Madison’s far west side near West Towne Mall.
Admission is FREE.
The performance will kick off the ensemble’s April 4-5 concert series in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where they will perform for The American Association of University Women.
Belinda Lopez, Marie Pauls, Rebecca Riley and Stacy Fehr-Regehr will perform a vast array of rarely heard chamber works for flute, viola, cello and piano.
The program will feature Arbor’s commissioned work, Charlotte Howenstein’s “Whispers Through the Trees.”
The quartet will also play compositions by Amy Beach, Clara Schumann, Lili Boulanger, Rebecca Clarke, Hilary Tann, Pamela Harrison, Cherise D. Leiter and Belinda Lopez. Sorry, no word about specific works to be played.
For more information, visit: http://www.arborensemble.com
Tags: American Association of University Women, Amy Beach, arbor, Arbor Ensemble, Arts, Chamber music, Charlotte Howenstein, Clara Schumann, Classical music, composer, female, flute, Hilary Tann, Jacob Stockinger, Lili Boulanger, Madison, Marie Pauls, Minnesota, Music, Pamela Harrison, performer, Piano, Rebecca Clarke, Saint Paul, Sonata, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, Wisconsin, women
Classical music: Choral conductor Albert Pinsonneault is leaving Edgewood College and Madison for a new job at Northwestern University.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Last week, it was a critically acclaimed performance of music by Gian Carlo Menotti by the Madison Chamber Choir.
At the end of this month, it is two performances of a concert by the Madison Choral Project with guest conductor Dale Warland.
Now both appear to be farewell concerts to Albert Pinsonneault (below), a professor at Edgewood College who is the choral director of Madison Chamber Choir and the Madison Choral Project as well as assistant choral director for the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s chorus.
Pinsonneault (below) has been named Associate Director of Choral Organizations at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, near Chicago. He will take up his new post this fall.
Here is his how Pinsonneault posted the move on Facebook:
“I am so excited to announce that I will be joining the faculty of the Bienen School of Music as Associate Director of Choral Organizations at Northwestern University next fall!
I could not be more honored to work alongside Donald Nally NU, and the amazing student-musicians in the Northwestern University Choirs.”
And here is the official press release from the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University:
“The Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University announces the appointment of Dr. Albert Pinsonneault (PEN-son-oh) as Associate Director of Choral Organizations.
“Dr. Pinsonneault will join the faculty Fall 2015, conducting Northwestern’s University Singers and teaching choral literature at the graduate level, part-time. He will also assist in various musical activities of the expanding choral program at the Bienen School of Music, working closely with Director of Choral Organizations Dr. Donald Nally.
“Dr. Pinsonneault is founder and artistic director of the professional chamber choir Madison Choral Project, as well as assistant conductor of the Madison Symphony Chorus. From 2009 to 2015 he served as Associate Professor of Music at Edgewood College. A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, he attended St. Olaf College and the University of Minnesota before completing his doctoral study at the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) of the University of Cincinnati.
“Dr. Pinsonneault’s scholarship focuses on choral blend and intonation, the physical/kinesthetic act of conducting and the music of F. Melius Christiansen. His book, “Choral Intonation Exercises,” is published by Graphite Publishing.”
The Ear offers hearty Congratulations to Albert Pinsonneault, who has proven a tireless and gifted advocate for choral music. Madison’s loss is his gain and Northwestern University’s gain.
I am sure he will appreciate it if you leave word for Pinsonneault about his work in the COMMENTS column of this blog
Tags: Arts, Bienen School of Music, Chamber music, choral music, Classical music, Early music, Edgewood College, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Madison Chamber Choir, Madison Choral Project, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota, Music, Northwestern University, Saint Paul, St. Olaf College, St. Paul, United States, University of Cincinnati, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, YouTube
Classical music: The Ear likes very old Christmas music more than newer music. What do you prefer?
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By Jacob Stockinger
Each year in the Madison area there are so many wonderful concerts with holiday themes performed by the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the Madison Choral Project, the Madison Bach Musicians, Edgewood College and by many, many others that you just can’t get to all of them.
And it doesn’t help if you have a winter cold or aren’t feeling well, as happened this year to The Ear.
But I did get to two memorable performances.
The first was the terrific annual Choral Prism holiday concert (below) put on at Luther Memorial Church by various choirs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music. They performed under several conductors, including Beverly Taylor, Bruce Gladstone, Anna Volodarskaya and Sara Guttenberg.
The second was the satisfying “Welcome Yule” concert at Grace Episcopal Church by the Wisconsin Chamber Choir under conductor Robert Gehrenbeck, who also teaches at the UW-Whitewater.
Both events were excellent, and drew full and enthusiastic houses.
A lot of beautiful music in a wide variety of styles was offered by each of the two groups. That included homages to the St. Paul, Minnesota composer Stephen Paulus (below), who died at 64 this past year and who had close ties to Madison’s vocal groups that commissioned and performed his music. And because programs strive for ethnic diversity today, spirituals and jazz arrangements were also included. (I often cringe when I see something has been “arranged.”)
But when all was said and done, the “winners” so to speak –- for The Ear at least -– were the old ones. I mean the very old ones, generally those works dating from the Medieval period and Renaissance period over the Classical, Romantic, Modern and Contemporary eras with the Baroque falling somewhere in between.
Why did I like the old music so much?
One reason was the performances. The straight-ahead singing, mostly a cappella or unaccompanied but sometimes with a bit of percussive drum or lyrical harp added, was much more convincing than when I saw modern largely white singers stiffly swaying and awkwardly stomping their feet and clapping the hands to get into the swing of things and show some unconvincing imitation of gospel singing.
But I started thinking.
Maybe it goes back to the Bible and that old verse about “The Word made Flesh.”
That seems a much more successful formula for effective Christmas music than the modern approach, which I am starting to think of as “The Flesh made Word.”
That means that what gets to me is the very simplicity, the strength of the rhythms and melodies as well as the simpler harmonies and compositional techniques.
Simpler is simply better. No better proof was offered that a souped-up jazz arrangement of “Silent Night.” That venerable and quietly emotional carol cannot be improved upon by complicating it. Keep it simple. That seems to be the way to go. Another case of inferior “arranging,” I am afraid.
I think of the old Medieval hymns about a mother simply rocking her baby Jesus to sleep as she sings to him. Can there be anything more touching or poignant, more to the point or direct, especially at a historical period when there was no nighttime lighting and so many babies died.
More than nostalgia, such music offers the art of reducing things to the essential. And the essential, as the old composers seemed to know, is often the path to the universal.
Of course, the plain song or chant-like harmonies also add to the appeal.
But it still goes back to simplicity of the act and the simplicity of the metaphor.
That is why the great 20th-century modern English composer Benjamin Britten (below) used so many older carols in his “Ceremony of Carols” to such great effect.
That is also why 100 times out of 100 I will prefer the simple 16th-century German tune “Lo how a Rose Ere Blooming” (at bottom in a YouTube video) over, say, the long and tedious “Magnificat” No. 20 with its overworked harmonies and complexities for chorus and organ by another 20th-century English composer Herbert Howells (below).
What do you make of the old music versus new music debate when it comes to holiday music?
Do you agree or disagree with The Ear?
And what is your favorite local holiday concert to recommend for next year?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: A Ceremony of Carols, Adam lay ybounden, arragements, Arts, Bach, Baroque, Benjamin Britten, Carol, Chamber choir, Chamber music, Child of God, Christmas, Christmas music, Classical era, Classical music, England, English music, German music, Germany, Holiday, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lo How a Rose, Lo How a Rose Ere Blooming, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Madison Choral Project, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Medieval, Middle Ages, Minnesota, modern music, New Music, Romantic music, Saint Paul, Silent Night, Stephen Paulus, transcriptions, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, YouTube, Yule
Classical music: The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra will perform music by Rossini, Wieniawski and Tchaikovsky this Tuesday night in Edgerton.
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By Jacob Stockinger
It has been a few years since the acclaimed and impressive Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO, below) –- still in the news (a link to a story on NPR, or National Public Radio, is below) because of the attempted theft of concertmaster Frank Almond’s $3-million Stradivarius violin — played an annual concert at the Wisconsin Union Theater. The Ear always looked forward to the top-flight playing and fine programs that the Milwaukee group brought to Madison.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2014/10/12/355623871/the-case-of-the-stolen-stradivarius
But this week, the MSO, playing under an assistant conductor, will perform in nearby Edgerton at the Edgerton Performing Arts Center.
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra – without its music director Edo de Waart — will perform at the Edgerton Performing Arts Center on this coming Tuesday, November 18, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door.
Here is some information from a press release: “The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, under the dynamic leadership of Music Director Edo de Waart, has embarked upon a new era of artistic excellence and critical acclaim. Now in his fifth season with the MSO, Maestro de Waart has led sold-out concerts, elicited rave reviews, and conducted an acclaimed performance at Carnegie Hall. The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra has four purposes: to comfort, educate, entertain and exhilarate the human soul.” For more information, visit www.mso.org
The concert will feature conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong and violin soloist Jeanyi Kim.
The program will include the Overture to the opera “Semiramide” by the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (below top); the Concerto for Violin No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 22, by the well-traveled Polish violin virtuoso and composer Henryk Wieniawski (below middle); and the popular Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Opus 64, by the Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (below bottom). You can hear the tuneful and melancholy Tchaikovsky symphony, played by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Bernstein, in a popular YouTube video at the bottom.
Jeanyi Kim (below) is the associate concertmaster (third chair) of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the concertmaster of the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra. In 2007, she served as a guest assistant concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Colin Davis and Valery Gergiev.
As an orchestral musician, the Toronto native has performed in illustrious venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, the Barbican Centre, Salle Pleyel, and the Concertgebouw. In addition to maintaining a private studio, she has served on the faculties at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, University of New Haven, and Neighborhood Music School, to name a few.
She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Yale University, from which she also earned her BA, MM, and MMA degrees.
Francesco Lecce-Chong (below), currently associate conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, has worked with the Atlanta, Indianapolis, and St. Louis Symphony Orchestras, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Hong Kong, Pitesti (Romania), and Ruse (Bulgaria) philharmonic orchestras. Equally at ease in the opera house, Maestro Lecce-Chong has served as principal conductor for the Brooklyn Repertory Opera and as staff conductor for the Santa Fe Opera.
He has earned national distinction, including the Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award and The Presser Foundation Music Award. In summer 2014, he served as the associate conductor at the Grand Tetons Music Festival and had guest appearances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Las Vegas Philharmonic and the Breckenridge Music Festival.
He is a graduate of the Mannes College of Music, where he received his Bachelor of Music degree with honors in piano and orchestral conducting. Lecce-Chong also holds a diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music.
Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door. They are available at the Edgerton Pharmacy and Edgerton Piggly Wiggly; and in Janesville at Knapton Musik Knotes and Voigt Music Center, and by calling (608) 561-6093. Online, go to at iTickets.com
All performances funded by the William and Joyce Wartmann Endowment for the Performing Arts. An additional sponsor is the Edgerton Piggly Wiggly.
Tags: Amsterdam, Antonio Stradivari, Arts, Associated Press, Atlanta, Carnegie Hall, Classical music, Colin Davis, Concertgebouw, concertmaster, concerto, conductor, Edgerton Performing Arts Center, Edo de Waart, Frank Almond, Henryk Wienawski, Hong Kong, Jacob Stockinger, Las Vegas, Leonard Bernstein, Mannes College of Music, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Music, Musician, opera, Orchestra, Rossini, Saint Paul, St. Louis, Stradivarius, symphony orchestra, Tchaikovsky, Theft, Toronto, Valery Gergiev, Violin, Violin concerto, Wisconsin Union Theater, Yale University, YouTube
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