The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: The Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society closes its 28th season this weekend by honoring three guest artists. Plus, here are all the winners of the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition
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ALERT: The Ear has been following two competitors in the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia who have local ties. (The only American to win Gold was cellist Zlatomir Fung.) The final results are in: trumpet player Ansel Norris took fifth place and received an artist’s diploma; pianist Kenneth Broberg shared the third prize with two other winners. For a complete list of winners in all the categories — piano, violin, cello, voice, brass and woodwinds — go to this page: https://tch16.com/en/news/
You can also watch and listen to, via live streaming, the two Gala Concerts for the winners today at 11 a.m. and on Saturday at 1 a.m. Valery Gergiev will conduct both. Go to https://tch16.medici.tv
By Jacob Stockinger
This Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society will close out its 28th annual summer chamber music season with concerts in Madison, Stoughton and Spring Green.
Judging by the first two weekends of concerts, The Ear expects it to be a memorable conclusion of the season with the punning theme of “Name Dropping.”
Here is the announcement he received.
“Our third week of concerts celebrates three great musicians, all of whom are audience favorites: cellist couple Anthony (“Tony”) Ross and Beth Rapier; and firebrand violinist Carmit Zori.
“And the Tony Award for Rapier Wit goes to…” is a program centered around cello duets. Rapier and Ross (below), principal and co-principal cellists with the Minnesota Orchestra, start the program with George Frideric Handel’s gorgeous Sonata in G minor for two cellos and piano. (You can hear the Handel sonata, payed by Amit Peled in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
They both display crazy virtuosity in Luigi Boccherini’s Quintet in B-flat Major for flute, violin, viola and two cellos.
The first half ends with Gian Carlo Menotti’s Suite for two cellos and piano, a work that they have performed to acclaim around the world.
The second half of the program is given over to one of Brahms’ greatest works, the Sextet in G Major, Op. 36, for two violins, two violas and two cellos.
Ross and Rapier are joined by violinists Carmit Zori and Leanne League (assistant concertmaster of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra) and violists Toby Appel (below, a faculty member at the Juilliard School who plays in the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center) and Katrin Talbot (a Madisonian who performs with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra) in this spectacular piece.
“And the Tony Award for Rapier Wit goes to…” will be performed at the Stoughton Opera House on Friday, June 28, at 7:30 p.m.; and in Spring Green at the Hillside Theater at Taliesin on Sunday, June 30, at 2:30 p.m.
Firebrand violinist Carmit Zori (below), founder and artistic director of the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society in New York City, will sizzle her way through the second program, entitled “The Legend of Zori.”
The program will open with Johannes Brahms’ Sonata in G Major for violin and piano. Viaje, by living Chinese composer Zhou Tian, is a fun and exciting new piece featuring flute and string quartet.
Zori will bring the program home with the torridly passionate Piano Quintet in F minor by Cesar Franck (below), a work written while Franck was in the throes of a love affair with one of his young students.
“The Legend of Zori” will be performed at The Playhouse at the Overture Center for the Arts on Saturday, June 29, at 7:30 p.m.; and in Spring Green at the Hillside Theater at Taliesin, on Sunday, June 30, at 6:30 p.m.
Venue Locations: the Stoughton Opera House is at 381 East Main Street; the Overture Center in Madison is at 201 State Street; Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin Hillside Theater in on County Highway 23 in Spring Green.
Single admission tickets start are $43 and $49. Student tickets are always $10. All single tickets must now be purchased from Overture Center for the Arts, www.overturecenter.org or (608) 258-4141 (additional fees apply) or at the box office. Tickets are available at the door at all locations.
You can also enjoy a pre-ordered picnic at the Hillside Theater made with love from Pasture and Plenty, using ingredients from local farmers and producers. They are available for pick up at the Hillside Theater after the 2:30 p.m. concert or before the 6:30 p.m. concert, for $18.
Spread a blanket on the beautiful Hillside Theater grounds or eat in the Taliesin Architecture School Dining Room, which will be open exclusively to BDDS concert-goers.
Choose from Green Goddess Chicken Salad, Market Veggie Quiche with Greens, or Hearty Greens and Grains with Seasonal Veggie Bowl (gluten-free/vegan). Seasonal sweet treat and beverage included. See the BDDS order form or call BDDS at 608 255-9866.
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Classical music: Madison native and virtuoso trumpeter Ansel Norris has made it to the final round of the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition. You can hear him perform live on Thursday morning or in replay
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A REMINDER and CORRECTION: American pianist Kenneth Broberg, who performed last season in Madison on the Salon Piano Series at Farley’s House of Pianos, will be the last finalist – not the second-to-last – in the final concerto round of the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition. The pianist from China that was to play after him played yesterday instead.
Broberg will play the “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” by Sergei Rachmaninoff and the Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23, by Tchaikovsky. You can watch his performance live still on Thursday morning at 11:45 a.m. by going to https://tch16.medici.tv/en/ and clicking on PIANO LIVE or REPLAY after the performance.
By Jacob Stockinger
This news came to The Ear late or he would have passed along more information much earlier.
Ansel Norris (below), a 26-year-old Madison native and virtuoso trumpeter, has made it as one of the nine finalists — the contest started with 47 contestants in trombone, French horn, trumpet and tuba — in the first-ever Brass Competition at the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition.
You can hear Norris perform live on Thursday morning at 7:45 a.m. via live-streaming or afterwards via replay. Just go to https://tch16.medici.tv/en/
Then click on BRASS and choose WATCH or REPLAY.
You can also listen to his earlier performances.
Here is a link to his performance in the first round, when he played a concerto by Franz Joseph Haydn plus works by Allen Vizzutti and Georges Enescu:
https://tch16.medici.tv/en/replay/first-round-with-ansel-norris/
And here is a link to his performance in the semi-final round, where he played concertos by Johann Friedrich Fasch and Vladimir Peskin — you can hear a much younger Norris play the first movement with piano in the YouTube video at the bottom — as well as a solo competition piece by Théo Charlier:
https://tch16.medici.tv/en/replay/semi-final-with-ansel-norris/#filter?instrument=brass
His performance in the finals, with an orchestra in St. Petersburg instead of Moscow, will take place on Thursday, June 27, at 7:45 a.m.
He will play Lensky’s aria “Where, Where Have You Gone?” from the opera “Eugene Onegin” by Tchaikovsky and the Trumpet Concerto by Rodion Shchedrin. Playing opera arias and art songs on the trumpet is a Norris specialty.
Norris, a graduate of Northwestern University who was also a member of the well-known New World Symphony in Miami, studied with John Aley, University of Wisconsin-Madison Emeritus Professor and Principal Trumpet of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and played for many years in the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras.
Norris is the son of Katherine Esposito, the concert manager and publicity coordinator at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music.
Here is a link to the more complete and current biography posted by the Tchaikovsky Competition:
https://tch16.medici.tv/en/competitors/ansel-norris/
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Classical music: American pianist Kenneth Broberg survives into the final concerto round of the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Performances start being live-streamed on Tuesday morning
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By Jacob Stockinger
It started with 25.
Then there were 14.
And now there are seven.
And American pianist Kenneth Broberg (below), 26, is among the seven pianists who have survived into the concerto finals of the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. (Competitions, some in Saint Petersburg, are also taking place in violin, cello, voice, woodwinds and brass. You can see the official preview in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Broberg, the silver medalist at the 2017 Van Cliburn Competition performed a recital in Madison last season as part of the Salon Piano Series at Farley’s House of Pianos.
The other American, 32-year-old Sara Daneshpour (below), was eliminated during the semi-finals that finished yesterday.
Each finalist must perform a Tchaikovsky piano concerto, either the famous No. 1 or the much less familiar Piano Concerto No. 2, plus another concerto of their choice. Usually there is also a lot of Rachmaninoff and often Prokofiev.
So far, The Ear hasn’t seen what concertos Broberg will play or on what day he will perform. When he finds out, he will let you know. If you find out, please leave the information in the comment space.
The concerto concerts will be live-streamed for FREE on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 10 a.m. because of the eight-hour time difference with Moscow. (Below the logo is the historic Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, where the concerto performances, like the solo recitals, are held.)
To follow the concertos, go to: https://tch16.medici.tv/en/
If you hover the cursor over PIANO and then CONTESTANTS you can also find out a lot, and also hear the preliminary and semi-final recitals that Broberg performed. Here is a link to his biography and background plus his two performances in Moscow:
https://tch16.medici.tv/en/competitors/kenneth-broberg-/
There are suggestions that there was some disagreement among the international panel of judges. The original 25 contestants were supposed to be reduced to 12, but ended up being 14. Then there were supposed to be six finalists, but they named seven.
The other finalists are: Konstantin Emelyanov, 25, of Russia; Mao Fujita, 20, of Japan; Alexandre Kantorow, 22, of France; Alexey Melnikov, 29, of Russia; Dmitry Shishkin, 27, of Russia; and An Tianxu, 20, of China.
All were impressive during the first two solo rounds and received enthusiastic applause, but Mao Fujita received the only standing ovations over 39 solo recitals. The archived performances of all of them are also worth checking out.
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Classical music: Summer begins today with Make Music Madison. Plus, both American pianists have advanced in the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition
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By Jacob Stockinger
The summer solstice arrives this morning at 10:54 a.m.
That means today is when Make Music Madison takes place. Wisconsin’s capital city will join more than 1,000 other cities across the globe in celebrating live music-making of all kinds that is FREE and mostly outdoors.
Here is a link to the site with a map of various artists and venues – some 400 events in about 100 venues — and well as times around Madison:
http://www.makemusicmadison.org
Here is an earlier post with more details about the worldwide event:
But that’s not the only news today.
Last night, the 24 piano contestants in the preliminary round of the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and Saint Petersburg were trimmed down to 14 semi-finalists. (It was supposed to be 12, but the jury couldn’t agree on 12.)
And the good news is that both Americans — Sara Daneshpour (below top) and Kenneth Broberg (below bottom, in a photo by Jeremy Enlow), who performed a recital last season in Madison at the Salon Piano Series held at Farley’s House of Pianos — made the cut. The next round starts very early today, given the 8 hours ahead time difference between here and Moscow, and runs into the afternoon.
Here is the complete list of the piano semi-finalists:
https://tch16.medici.tv/en/news/piano-first-round-results/
Of course, pianists aren’t the only ones who might be interested in the competition that became well known in the West when Van Cliburn won the inaugural competition in 1958.
These days, competitions are also going on in violin, cello, voice, brass and woodwinds as well as piano.
What’s more, the entire competition is being live-streamed on Medici TV, and all the performances, from the preliminaries through the finals, are being streamed in real time and also archived. Plus, it’s all FREE. Thank you, Medici!
Here is a link. You’ll find archived performances, which go up pretty fast, under replays. The Ear has found that the sound is excellent and the website pretty self-explanatory and easy to navigate. Check out the preliminary recitals with music by Bach, Haydn. Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff and of course Tchaikovsky. Here is a link:
Today being the first day of summer, you’ll probably get to hear “Summer” from “The Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi.
But given other news, something by Tchaikovsky seems especially appropriate. So here is the “June” Barcarolle, or boat song, from the solo piano suite “The Four Seasons,” which features one piece for each of the 12 months in the year. You can hear “June” in the YouTube video at the bottom.
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Classical music: The Madison Symphony Orchestra performs “Scheherazade” in the dramatic Beyond the Score® mixed media format this Saturday night and Sunday afternoon
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By Jacob Stockinger
Here is an announcement from the Madison Symphony Orchestra about two performances of a special concert this coming weekend:
Join the Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO, below top) and Music Director John DeMain (below bottom, in a photo by Prasad) as they explore one of the most popular orchestral works ever written with Beyond the Score®: Scheherazade this coming weekend in Overture Hall.
The concerts are this Saturday, Jan. 14, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 15, at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall, 201 State Street.
Beyond the Score®: Scheherazade is an opportunity for concertgoers to discover Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s colorful and exotic Scheherazade in a whole new way.
The first half experience encompasses video, photos, musical excerpts, and actors Jim DeVita (below top) and Brenda DeVita (below bottom), of American Players Theatre in Spring Green, telling the story.
In the second half, Scheherazade will be performed from start to finish, by the Madison Symphony Orchestra with John DeMain conducting.
The captivating music of Scheherazade evokes images and passions with a solo violin representing the intoxicating storyteller, Scheherazade. Based on an ancient Persian legend, Scheherazade staves off her death at the hands of her cruel Sultan husband, by regaling him with stories for 1001 nights until he falls in love with her.
Rimsky-Korsakov evokes the moods of her various tales with memorable and haunting melodies. (You can hear “Scheherazade,” conducted by the Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Designed for classical music aficionados and newcomers looking to delve deeper into the world of classical music, Beyond the Score explores Scheherazade’s context in history, how it relates to the work of other composers, and the events of Rimsky-Korsakov’s life that influenced its creation. The Chicago Tribune said of the Beyond the Score series, “Seldom has enlightenment proved so entertaining.”
As a young man, Rimsky-Korsakov (below) spent almost three years at sea with the Russian Navy and was exposed to other cultures. With 19th-century readers fascinated by exotic settings and fairy tales, he first conceived of creating an orchestral work based on the tales known as The Thousand and One Nights in 1887, when he was the leading teacher at the St. Petersburg Conservatory.
Single Tickets are $15 to $60 each, available at madisonsymphony.org/beyondthescore, through the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street, or by calling the Box Office at (608) 258-4141.
Groups of 15 or more can save 25% by calling the MSO office at (608) 257-3734. For more information, visit madisonsymphony.org/groups.
Student rush tickets can be purchased in person on the day of the concert at the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street. Students must show a valid student ID and can receive up to two $12 or $15 tickets. More information is at: madisonsymphony.org/studentrush. Students receive 20% savings on advance ticket purchases for seats in select areas of the hall.
Seniors age 62 and up receive 20% savings on advance and day-of-concert ticket purchases in select areas of the hall.
Discounted seats are subject to availability, and discounts may NOT be combined.
Beyond the Score® is a production of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Gerard McBurney, Creative Director for Beyond the Score®.
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Classical music: A critic “unwraps” the holiday gift of Tchaikovsky’s music and other mysteries in “The Nutcracker.” The production by the Madison Ballet and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra opens this Friday and runs through Dec. 27.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Perhaps it is because it is so popular, especially at holiday time when it has become an annual tradition almost everywhere.
Perhaps it is because it is basically a story about children and the holidays, especially Christmas.
Whatever the reason, the ballet “The Nutcracker” by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky is usually seen as a largely naïve work, an innocent fairy tale or fantasy with some darker undertones.
But the truth is that, if you dig into it, “The Nutcracker” is far more complex than most people usually think.
Of course it was meant to be more about dance — classical ballet — than about the music.
Yet it is the beautiful music by one of history’s greatest melody writers that draws so many people to the work.
And according to one writer for The New York Times, of the many mysteries layered in “The Nutcracker,” the music remains one of the biggest mysteries. (In a YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear a 2012 performance by conductor Valery Gergiev at the Mariinsky Theatre in St, Petersburg, Russia.)
It is always especially relevant at this time of the year.
So The Ear is posting about the production by the Madison Ballet and Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, which opens this coming Friday night for nine performances in Overture Hall of the Overture Center.
It features the choreography of Madison Ballet’s artistic director W. Earle Smith (below top) and the live music by the WCO under the baton of its longtime music director Andrew Sewell (below bottom).
Here are performance dates:
December 12 | 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday
December 13 | 2 p.m. Sunday
December 19 | 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday
December 20 | 2 p.m. Sunday
December 24 | 1 p.m. Thursday
December 26 | 2 p.m. Saturday
December 27 | 2 p.m. Sunday
Here are links with detail of the performances and the production, including tickets, which start at $14:
http://www.wcoconcerts.org/performances/nutcracker/
http://www.madisonballet.org/nutcracker/
And here is a link to a story in The New York Times with some excellent background about various productions and their interpretations:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/arts/dance/the-nutcracker-and-its-many-mysteries.html?_r=0
If you go see and hear “The Nutcracker,” enjoy — and solve or at least appreciate — some of the mysteries in this evergreen holiday work!
Tags: Andrew Sewell, Artistic director, Arts, ballet, choral music, choreogrpahy, Christmas, Classical music, conduct, dance, Holiday, Holidays, Jacob Stockinger, Madison Ballet, Mariinsky Theatre, melody, Music, New York Times, Orchestra, Overture Center, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russia, Saint Petersburg, The Nutcracker, Valery Gergiev, vocal music, W. Earle Smith, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, YouTube
Classical music: Here are the winners of the 15th International Tchaikovsky Competition. You can stream the winners’ concerts LIVE tonight and Friday night for FREE with a link that is here.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The major event in the world of classical music for the past several weeks has been the 15th International Tchaikovsky Competition that was held in Moscow and St. Petersburg. (Below is American pianist Van Cliburn, who won the first competition and made history.)
The winners – in the categories of piano, violin, cello and voice — were announced yesterday.
Here they are, along with a link to a way for you to stream the winners’ concerts, under competition head and conductor Valery Gergiev (below), live TONIGHT and Friday and for FREE.
Tags: Arts, Cello, Classical music, International Tchaikovsky Competition, Jacob Stockinger, Madison, Moscow, Music, Orchestra, Piano, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Saint Petersburg, Tchaikovsky, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Valery Gergiev, Van Cliburn, Violin, vocal music
Classical music: The 15th International Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow will be streamed LIVE and for FREE starting this Tuesday on medici.tv
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear received the following press release – with a lot of important information and excellent background – that he wants to share. He notes that Moscow is 8 hours ahead of Madison in time difference.
The XV International Tchaikovsky Competition and medici.tv Launch Tch15.medici.tv This Week – the Dedicated Website for Free Live Webcasts, Competition News, Interviews and More
The new relationship between the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition and medici.tv will produce 19 days of nonstop free live webcasts from Russia, June 15 to July 3, 2015. These webcasts will present the performances of 120 candidates from around the globe, available to a worldwide audience live from Moscow (piano and violin) and St. Petersburg (cello and voice). Below is a portrait of Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
The dedicated online platform for these competition webcasts – tch15.medici.tv – went live with scene-setting content this Wednesday, June 10. The eight hosts for the live tch15.medici.tv presentations – in both English and Russian – include Gramophone magazine editor-in-chief and BBC broadcaster James Jolly, longtime Libération critic Eric Dahan, violinist Sascha Maisky, and Radio Orpheus broadcaster Irina Tushintseva, among other European journalists and music personalities.
Five medici.tv Daily Journal video teams will be on hand to create exclusive content from Russia for tch15.medici.tv, which will feature the latest news from the competition and much more – including interviews with the prestigious jurors, many of whom are past winners of the Tchaikovsky Competition, such as Deborah Voigt (below) and Denis Matsuev (with complete jury listing below).
A brand name/hash tag for this year’s events – #TCH15 – will help galvanize the passionate social-media communities that follow this preeminent international classical music event in this 175th anniversary year of Tchaikovsky’s birth. The XV International Tchaikovsky Competition and medici.tv also have key partners, including TV Kanal Kultura, The Mariinsky Foundation of America, iTunes, WQXR, euronews, and Ross Telecom, among others to be announced.
The appointment of Valery Gergiev (below) as chairman in 2011 and the presence of exceptional jury members have resulted in the rebirth of the International Tchaikovsky Competition. This event’s unique international influence was underscored by the rocketing ascent of pianist Daniil Trifonov, winner of the 2011 Tchaikovsky Competition, a feat reminiscent of Van Cliburn’s dazzling success at the inaugural contest in 1958.
On June 15 at 7 p.m. Moscow time is the live webcast of the Opening Gala concert from Moscow. The complete competition rounds will be presented from June 16 to June 30, with the climactic Award Ceremony on July 1. Winners will then perform at Gala Concerts on July 2 in Moscow and July 3 in St. Petersburg, where a Grand Prix Winner may be declared.
The 120 candidates for the three rounds of this year’s Tchaikovsky Competition – in piano, violin, cello and voice – will be narrowed from 236 young musicians from 37 countries who made it to the preliminary auditions (after 623 initial applications from 45 countries). The list of competitors selected for the preliminary auditions has been published on the official site of the XV Tchaikovsky Competition: http://tchaikovskycompetition.com/en/contestants.
The XV International Tchaikovsky Competition will remain available for free on all devices on tch15.medici.tv until the next competition.
Held once every four years, the International Tchaikovsky Competition has helped launch the careers of an all-time who’s who of classical music, including such artists as pianists Van Cliburn (below), Vladimir Ashkenazy, Grigory Sokolov, Mikhail Pletnev, Boris Berezovsky, Nikolai Lugansky, Denis Matsuev and Daniil Trifonov; violinists Viktor Tretiakov, Gidon Kremer, Viktoria Mullova and Akiko Suwanai; cellists Natalia Gutman, Mischa Maisky, David Geringas, Boris Pergamenschikov, Antônio Meneses, Ivan Monighetti and Alexander Kniazev; and singers Deborah Voigt, Paata Burchuladze, Evgeny Nikitin, Mikhail Kazakov and Jong Min Park, among others.
“The International Tchaikovsky Competition is 57 years old – it’s a significant age with a remarkable history of introducing so many exceptional talents to the world – but we live in the Internet era,” says Valery Gergiev, artistic and general director of the Mariinsky Theatre and co-chair of the organizing committee of the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition. “Now, both amateurs and professionals of classical music are ready to join us via the Internet, TV broadcasts or any other form of media communication that one might only imagine – this truly international audience wishes to be part of our great musical adventure. We aim to expand this audience, to offer music lovers the world over the chance to become part of the digitally engaged virtual audience of the Tchaikovsky Competition. Our partners from medici.tv share this passion with us.”
Schedule and Jury members of the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition
June 15: Opening Concert of the Competition at the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory
June 16 to June 30: Competition rounds (see details below)
July 1: Awards Ceremony at the Moscow Philharmonic’s Tchaikovsky Concert Hall
July 2: Winners Concert at the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory
July 3: Winners Concert at Mariinsky II in St. Petersburg
Piano Rounds
Round I: June 16-20, Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory
Round II: June 21-25, Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory
Round III (Finals): June 28-30, Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory
Jury members: Dmitri Bashkirov, Michel Béroff, Boris Berezovsky, Peter Donohoe, Sergei Dorensky, Barry Douglas, Vladimir Feltsman, Klaus Hellwig, Denis Matsuev, Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Alexander Toradze; and Martin T. Son Engström.
Violin Rounds
Round I: June 17-20, Small Hall of Moscow Conservatory
Round II: June 21-25, Small Hall of Moscow Conservatory
Round III (Finals): June 28-30, Tchaikovsky Concert Hall of Moscow Philharmonic
Jury members: Salvatore Accardo, Yuri Bashmet, James Ehnes, Maxim Fedotov, Liana Isakadze, Ilya Kaler, Leonidas Kavakos, Boris Kuschnir, Vera Tsu Wei Ling, Mihaela Martin, Vadim Repin, Roman Simovic, Viktor Tretyakov, Maxim Vengerov, Nikolaj Znaider, and Michael Haefliger.
Cello Rounds
Round I: June 17-20,Small Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic
Round II: June 21-25, Small Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic
Round III (Finals): June 28-30, Great Hall of St. Petersburg Philharmonic
Jury members: Wolfgang Boettcher, Mario Brunello, Myung-wha Chung, David Geringas, Lynn Harrell, Alexander Kniazev, Mischa Maisky, Ivan Monighetti, Sergei Roldugin, Martti Rousi, Jan Vogler, Jian Wang, and Clive Gillinson.
Voice Rounds
Round I: June 23-25, Mussorgsky Chamber Hall at Mariinsky II, St. Petersburg
Round II: June 27-28,Mussorgsky Chamber Hall at Mariinsky II, St. Petersburg
Round III (Finals): June 30, Mariinsky Concert Hall, St. Petersburg
Jury members: Olga Borodina, Mikhail Kazakov, Dennis O’Neill, Mikhail Petrenko, Thomas Quasthoff, Deborah Voigt, Chen-Ye Yuan, Sarah Billinghurst, John Fisher, Larisa Gergieva, Tobias Richter, and Eva Wagner-Pasquier.
About the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition
June 15 to July 3, 2015 – Moscow (piano, violin), St. Petersburg (cello, voice)
This year’s competition attracted 623 applications from 45 countries: Russia, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Korea, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. In the qualifying round, the competition jury accepted a total of 236 musicians: 61 pianists, 48 violinists, 48 cellists and 79 vocalists (40 male, 39 female).
In addition, the selection commission may invite applicants directly to Round I who have won First Prize in competitions of the World Federation of Music Competitions, the Alink-Argerich Foundation and the All-Russian Music Competition. For Round I, the XV Competition has accepted two pianists, one violinist, three cellists and two vocalists (one male, one female). After the preliminary auditions, the total number of contestants accepted by the competition will be 30 pianists, 25 violinists, 25 cellists and 40 vocalists (20 male, 20 female).
Of course, the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition welcomes musicians from any country in the world. The contestants in the piano, violin and cello competitions must be between 16 and 32 years old as of the June 15 opening of the competition. The voice contestants must be between 19 and 32 years old. Prior to the preliminary auditions, for which a schedule will be announced separately, the judges will arrive at a shortlist of applicants based on the video recordings submitted.
The XV International Tchaikovsky Competition will award six prizes for pianists, six for violinists, six for cellists, four for male singers and four for female singers. From among the First Prize winners, one will be singled out to receive the Grand Prix, a prize of $100,000 in addition to the winner’s First Prize. The XV International Tchaikovsky Competition will offer the following prizes in each category: First Prize of $30,000 USD and a Gold Medal, Second Prize of $20,000 and a Silver Medal; Third Prize of $10,000 and a Bronze Medal; Fourth Prize of $5,000 and a Diploma; Fifth Prize of $3,000 and a Diploma; Sixth Prize of $2,000 and a Diploma. There will be additional prizes of $2,000 and a Diploma for the best concerto performance with a chamber orchestra in Round II – one prize each for a pianist, a violinist and a cellist. The two best musicians in each category from Round II that are eliminated from Round III will receive a Diploma and a runner-up prize of $1,000. Depending on the outcomes of the competition and within the limits on the number of prizes, the judges may choose not to award all prizes or to divide them among the contestants (except for the Grand Prix). In addition, the jury may award Diplomas and a prize of $1,000 to the best accompanists in the Competition (no more than two awards in each category).
Follow the International Tchaikovsky Competition:
www.tchaikovskycompetition.com
www.facebook.com/InternationalTchaikovskyCompetition/timeline
Tags: Arts, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, Classical music, concerto, Gidon Kremer, International Tchaikovsky Competition, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, London, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mariinsky Theatre, medici.tv, Mischa Maisky, Moscow, Mozart, Music, Orchestra, Piano, Russia, Russian, Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Tchaikovsky, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Valery Gergiev, Van Cliburn, Violin, Vladimir Ashkenazy, vocal music, YouTube
Classical music: Is it payback time for Russian musicians at the Winter Olympics in Sochi? Conductor Valery Gergiev is the official maestro of Vladimir Putin’s big show that opens tonight with grand ceremony.
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By Jacob Stockinger
If you have been waiting for the start of the 2014 Winter Olympics (below is the official logo), tonight is the night it all begins for real –- at least officially because some preliminary rounds of sporting events like figure skating and snowboarding have already been held — even amid the terrorist threats, corruption, unfinished construction, dog roundups, authoritarianism and homophobia.
Many of us here in the U.S. will be tuning in at 8 p.m. EST to NBC-TV and streaming the games on-line. Here is a link to a schedule, to background stories and to other links.
For a complete schedule of events, check out:
And tonight is the opening ceremonies, the March of Nations, where all the athletes will march into the main stadium.
Could it also be payback time for Russian superstar musicians?
The maestro of music for the Olympics is the ever busy, often unshaven and always critically acclaimed conductor Valery Gergiev (below), who guest conducts around the world and holds his own podium at the Mariinsky Theatre in St.Petersburg.
But ironically, the maestro is a very close friend and political supporter – as is superstar soprano Anna Netrebko (below), who may or may not show up at Sochi — of the heavy-handed and thuggish Russian President, and former KGB agent, Vladimir Putin. (Below is a photo of Vladimir Putin pinning a state decoration on Valery Gergiev.)
The combination of the two V-Men — Vladimir and Valery — creates certain ironies and some wariness or even dissatisfaction.
Here is a link to a fine story about Gergiev, Putin and the Olympics that aired in NPR. It also has links to some music.
And The New York Times has also published a story about Gergiev that focuses on his role as an ambassador and defender of Russian culture’s rebirth under Putin, whom Gergiev endorsed in the last presidential election (both are below), despite the foreign political fallout.
So, will Anna Netrebko (seen below in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Tchaikovsky’s opera “Eugene Onegin”), who also endorsed Putin, show up to sing?
Will some of the famous ballet dancers from the famed but beleaguered Bolshoi company in Moscow also perform?
Tune in and see.
But while we wait for the Winter Olympics to reveal themselves and for their many cultural contradictions to surface — and to help warm you up in this cold, cold Midwest winter -– here is some of the best music ever composed for the Olympics or sports events: A YouTube video of Milwaukee-born composer Michel Torke’s “Javelin” written for the 1996 Summer Olympics Games in Atlanta, Georgia:
Tags: 2014 Winter Olympics, Anna Netrebko, Arts, Atlanta, ballet, Bolshoi, Classical music, conductor, corruption, dog, figure skating, gay, Georgia, homophobia, Jacob Stockinger, Javelin, Madison Opera, Mariinsky Theatre, Metropolitan Opera, Michael Torke, Moscow, NBC, NBC-TV, New York Times, Olympics, Russia, Russian culture, Saint Petersburg, snowboarding, Sochi, Sports, Summer Olympics, terrorism, The New York Times, Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Putin, Winter Olympics, YouTube
Classical music: Let’s boycott them if music superstars Anna Netrebko and conductor Valery Gergiev don’t try to enlighten Vladimir Putin about gays and lesbians.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Like everybody else, I am pretty angry, disappointed and frustrated about Russia and the spoiler role it continues to play in defending Syria’s genocidal actions and in blocking justified moves by the United Nations against President Assad and his murderous regime.
But I am also very irritated, annoyed and angered by the way that Macho Man Russian President and former KGB agent Vladimir Putin (below) and the Russian right-wing politicians have stigmatized gays and lesbians and passed laws against the LGBT community.
Which is also why I was so proud of U.S. President Barack Obama for openly meeting with LGBT advocates in Saint Petersburg when he recently went there for the G-20 summit of economically powerful nations.
So why can’t other important figures speak out about gay rights, as I bet the famous late cellist, conductor and outspoken dissident and defender of human rights Mstislav Rostropovich (below) would have done.
How about the opera superstar soprano Anna Netrebko?
And how about the globe-trotting and critically acclaimed Russian orchestra conductor Valery Gergiev?
You may recall that in the Russian election both of those artists supported the strongman Vladimir Putin as their candidate. (Below top is a photo of Valery Gergiev, on the right, with Vladimir Putin, below bottom, Vladimir Putin greets Anna Netrebko with flowers)
Isn’t that special? as The Church Lady used to say on “Saturday Night Live.”
Well, The Ear wonders why the two world-renowned classical musicians don’t go to their favored candidate and enlighten him about gays and lesbians? About gay rights as human rights?
I mean is it is not as if they are personally ignorant of or uninvolved in the important role that gays and lesbians play in the world of classical music and opera, and in the performing arts in general.
It is impossible to believe that both Anna Netrebko and Valery Gergiev don’t count gays and lesbians among their closest friends and collaborators.
Why are they holding back?
What are they afraid of?
They are being hypocritical and should be ashamed. (Below is a YouTube video, with almost one million hits, of Anna Netrebko singing the famous aria “Sempre Libera” — Always Free — from Giuseppe Verdi‘s popular opera “La Traviata.)
Or could it possibly be that they actually support Putin’s oppressive and repressive policy – now official law – that makes it a crime even to speak about homosexuality openly for fear of spoiling and recruiting young people?
Why don’t they speak out against the violent and thuggish beatings that the intolerant Russians have inflicted on gays and lesbians? Why don’t they support gay rights protests and protesters in Russia? And if they have, who don’t we know about it?
It would sure be news, even if it meant bad box office in their native land.
And if it is the case that Netrebko and Gergiev have remained silence and uninvolved, then The Ear says: It is time to boycott their productions, concert appearances and their recordings. It would be similar to the boycott of Russian vodka that gay rights advocates have called for (below).
What do you say?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: Anna Netrebko, Barack Obama, Bashar al-Assad, boycott, Church Lady, conductor, gay, Gay Lesbian and Bisexual, gay rights, Giuseppe Verdi, human rights, Jacob Stockinger, lesbian, LGBT, opera, Orchestra, Russia, Saint Petersburg, soprano, Syria, United Nations, Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Putin, vodka, YouTube
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