The Well-Tempered Ear
The Madison Bach Musicians host a virtual online Baroque Tour starting this Saturday, April 24, and lasting through May 8
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following notice from Trevor Stephenson, the founder and artistic director of the Madison Bach Musicians (MBM), who will debut their season-closing concert live and online this coming Saturday night, April 24:
Stephenson (below) writes:
Since travel has been so very limited during the pandemic, Madison Bach Musicians is elated to conclude its 2020-21 season with a musical journey through both space and time, and invites you to join us from the intimacy and safety of your own home.
A Baroque Tour is a musical travelogue of instrumental masterworks from 17th- and 18th-century Europe. Luminaries like Handel, Vivaldi, Purcell and Buxtehude are in the mix on this program with their brilliant though lesser-known contemporaries such as Louis-Gabriel Guillemain (below top), Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Andrea Falconieri (below bottom) and Francisco Jose de Castro.
A Baroque Tour will explore the glorious sonic landscapes of Italy, Spain, France, England and Germany.
Our ensemble for this program consists of five strings plus harpsichord, and we are thrilled that baroque bassoon virtuoso Marc Vallon (below, in a photo by James Gill), who teaches at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, will join us for Vivaldi’s exuberant Bassoon Concerto in B-Flat Major. (You can hear the opening movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
A Baroque Tour will be broadcast via live-streaming from the acoustically spectacular sanctuary of Grace Episcopal Church on this Saturday evening, April 24. (Rebroadcasts will be available on demand through May 8.)
Tickets are $15 and available online at: https://madison-bach-musicians.square.site/product/a-baroque-tour-april-24-2021-livestream-on-demand-until-may-8/57?cs=true&cst=custom
If you wish to purchase tickets through the mail, use this downloadable form: https://madisonbachmusicians.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/MBM-2020-21-Live-Stream-Ticket-Form-A-Baroque-Tour.pdf
Here is the schedule for the concert and related events:
From 7:30-8 p.m., in a pre-concert lecture, MBM artistic director Trevor Stephenson will discuss the composers, the repertoire and the historical instruments.
The performance will run from 8 p.m. until approximately 9:15 p.m.
The evening will then conclude with a live Question-and-Answer session with the musicians who will be socially distanced on the concert platform.
Listeners should submit their questions—in advance or during the broadcast—via email to Karen Rebholz at madisonbachmusicians.manager@gmail.com.
THE MUSICIANS are:
Marc Vallon – baroque bassoon soloist
Kangwon Kim (below) – baroque violin
Emily Dupere – baroque violin
Micah Behr – baroque viola and baroque guitar
Martha Vallon – baroque cello and viola da gamba
James Waldo – baroque cello (and tambourine)
Trevor Stephenson – harpsichord
THE PROGRAM is:
HANDEL – Sonata in A major for Violin and Continuo, HWV 361
CHARPENTIER – Concerto for Four Viols, H 545
PURCELL – Trio Sonata in C major, Z 795
VIVALDI – Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major, RV 503
GUILLEMAIN – Sonata in A minor for Two Violins, Op. 5, No.1
BUXTEHUDE – Trio Sonata in G major, BuxWV 271
DE CASTRO – Trio Sonata in C major, Op. 1, No. 6
FALCONIERI – La Folia (Folías de España)
Here is a link to some brief biographies and interesting facts about these remarkable composers: https://madisonbachmusicians.org/april-24-a-baroque-tour-a-livestream-event/
Tags: #AndreaFalconieri, #AntonioVivaldi, #ArtisticDirector, #BaroqueBassoon, #BaroqueContinuo, #BaroqueMusic, #BassoonConcerto, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChristianChurch, #CoronavirusPandemic, #DietrichBuxtehude, #EmailAddress, #EmilyDupere, #EnglishComposer, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FranciscoJosedeCastro, #Frenchcomposer, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GermanComposer, #GermanComposers, #GraceEpiscopalChurch, #HarpsichordContinuo, #HenryPurcell, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #HomeWebsite, #InstrumentalMusic, #italianComposer, #JacobStockinger, #JamesWaldo, #JohannSebastaianBach, #KangwonKim, #KeyboardMusic, #LaFolia, #LiveStreaming, #Louis-GabrielGuillemain, #MadisonBachMusicians, #Marc-AntoineCharpentier, #MarcVallon, #MarthaVallon, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MicahBehr, #Musicfaculty, #OnlineConcert, #PeriodInstruments, #Pre-concertLecture, #RelatedEvent, #SaturdayNight, #SocialDistance, #SpanishComposer, #StringMusic, #TheEar, #TheUW, #TrevorStephenson, #TrioSonata, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VioladaGamba, #VirtualConcert, #WoodwindInstruments, #YouTubevideo, acoustics, Andrea Falconieri, Antonio Vivaldi, April, April Fool, Artistic director, Arts, audience, Bach, Baroque, bassoon concerto, biography, blog, brief, brilliant, Britain, Broadcast, Buxtehude, Castro, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Charpentier, Christian, church, Classical music, composer, Concert, concerto, conclude, contemporary, continuo, coronavirus, cost, demand, Dietrich Buxtehude, downloadable, Dupere, Early music, elate, email, Emily Dupere, England, English, evening, event, exuberant, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, fact, Falconieri, form, forward, founder, Francisco Jose de Castro, French, George Frideric Handel, German, Germany, glorious, Grace Episcopal Church, Guillemain, guitar, Handel, harpsichord, help, Henry Purcell, historically informed performance practices, Home, home website, instrumental, intimacy, invite, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, James Walso, Johann Sebastian Bach, journey, Kangwon Kim, Keyboard, keyboard music, La Folia, landscape, like, limited, link, livestream, Louis-Gabriel Guillemain, luminary, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, mail, Marc Vallon, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Martha Vallon, masterpiece, MBM, Mead Witter School of Music, Micah Behr, mix, Music, music faculty, musical, Musician, notice, online, pandemic, performer, period instruments, post, posting, pre-concert lecture, professor, Purcell, Q&A, question-and-answer, related, remarkable, repertoire, repertory, safety, sanctuary, Saturday, Season, session, share, social distance, Sonata, sonic, space, Spain, Spanish, spectacular, string, string music, tag, tambourine, The Ear, thrill, ticket, time, tour, travel, travelogue, Trevor Stephenson, trio, trio sonata, UK, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, video, Viol, Viola, viola da gamba, Violin, violinist, virtual, virtuoso, Vivaldi, Website, Wisconsin, woodwind, write, YouTube
Classical music: Trevor Stephenson announces the new season of the Madison Bach Musicians on YouTube. It features smaller concerts and familiar comfort music
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
At a time when so many concerts are being canceled, it is especially welcome when a local ensemble announces plans for the 2020-21 season.
To announce the 17th season of the Madison Bach Musicians — a period-instrument group that uses historically informed performance practices — the founder and artistic director Trevor Stephenson (below), who also plays the harpsichord, fortepiano and piano, has made and posted a 13-1/2 minute YouTube video.
The season will also be posted on the MBM website in early June, and will also be announced with more details about times and ticket prices via email and postal mailings.
In the video, Stephenson plays the harpsichord. He opens the video with the familiar Aria from the “Goldberg” Variations and closes with two contrasting Gavottes from the English Suite in G minor.
As usual, Stephenson offers insights in the programs that feature some very well-known and appealing works that are sure to attract audiences anxious to once again experience the comfort of hearing familiar music performed live.
One thing Stephenson does not say is that there seems to be fewer ambitious programs and fewer imported guest artists. It’s only a guess, but The Ear suspects that that is because it is less expensive to stage smaller concerts and it also allows for easier cancellation, should that be required by a continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
If the speculation proves true, such an adaptive move is smart and makes great sense artistically, financially and socially given the coronavirus public health crisis.
After all, this past spring the MBM had to cancel a much anticipated, expensive and very ambitious production, with many out-of-town guests artists, of the “Vespers of 1610” by Claudio Monteverdi. Nonetheless, MBM tried to pay as much as it could afford to the musicians, who are unsalaried “gig” workers who usually don’t qualify for unemployment payments.
“Hope and Joy” is a timely, welcome and much-needed theme of the new season.
The new season starts on Saturday night, Oct. 3, at Grace Episcopal Church downtown on the Capitol Square, and then Sunday afternoon, Oct. 4, at Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton.
The program is Haydn and Mozart: songs composed in English and German by Haydn plus songs by Mozart; the great violin sonata in E minor by Mozart; and two keyboard trios, one in C major by Haydn and one in G major by Mozart.
Only four players will be required. They include: Stephenson on the fortepiano; concertmaster Kangwon Kim on baroque violin; James Waldo on a Classical-era cello; and soprano Morgan Balfour (below), who won the 2019 Handel Aria Competition in Madison.
On Saturday night, Dec. 12, in the First Congregational United Church of Christ, near Camp Randall Stadium, MBM will perform its 10th annual holiday concert of seasonal music.
The program includes several selections from the “Christmas Oratorio” by Johann Sebastian Bach; a Vivaldi concerto for bassoon with UW-Madison professor Marc Vallon (below, in a photo by James Gill) as soloist; and the popular “Christmas Concerto” by Arcangelo Corelli.
On Saturday night, April 24, at Grace Episcopal Church and Sunday afternoon, April 25, at Holy Wisdom Monastery, the MBM will perform a concert of German Baroque masterworks with the internationally renowned baroque violinist Marc Destrubé (below).
The program features Handel and Bach but also composers who are not often played today but who were well known to and respected by Bach and his contemporaries.
Specifically, there will be a suite by Christoph Graupner (below top) and a work by Carl Heinrich Graun (below bottom).
There will also be a concerto grosso by George Frideric Handel and two very well-known concertos by Bach – the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 and the Concerto for Two Violins.
Here is the complete video:
What do you think of the Madison Bach Musicians’ new season?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: "Goldberg" Variations, #AntonioVivaldi, #ArcangeloCorelli, #ArtisticDirector, #BaroqueMusic, #BaroqueViolin, #BassoonConcerto, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrandenburgConcerto, #CampRandall, #CampRandallStadium, #CapitolSquare, #CarlHeinrichGraun, #ChamberMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ChristmasConcerto, #ChristmasOratorio, #ChristophGraupner, #CityofMadison, #Classicalera, #ClaudioMonteverdi, #ConcertoGrosso, #COVID-19, #EnglishLanguage, #EnglishSuite, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FirstCongregationalUnitedChurchofChrist, #FranzJosephHaydn, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GermanLanguage, #Goldberg"Variations, #GraceEpiscopalChurch, #GuestArtist, #HandelAriaCompetition, #HealthCrisis, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #HolyWisdomMonastery, #HomeWebsite, #JacobStockinger, #James Waldo, #JamesWaldo, #JohannSebastianBach, #KangwonKim, #KeyboardMusic, #LiveMusic, #MadisonBachMusicians, #MarcDestrubé, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiddletonWisconsin, #Musicfaculty, #MusicProfessors, #OrchestralMusic, #PandemicPlaylist, #PeriodInstrument, #PeriodInstruments, #PianoTrio, #PublicHealth, #SaturdayNight, #SeasonalMusic, #SopranoSinger, #Sundayafternoon, #TheEar, #TheFortepiano, #TicketPrice, #TrevorStephenson, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #Vespersof1610, #ViolinConcerto, #ViolinMusic, #ViolinSonata, #VocalMusic, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #World-Renowned, #YouTubevideo, 2019, 2020, 2021, 21, adaptive, afford, afternoon, ambition, ambitious, announcement, annual, Antonio Vivaldi, anxious, appealing, Arcangelo Corelli, aria, artist, artistic, Artistic director, Arts, attract \anxious, audience, Bach, Baroque, blog, Brandenburg Concerto, Camp Randall, Camp Randall Stadium, cancel, cancellation, Capitol Square, Carl Heinrich Graun, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Christmas, Christmas Concerto, Christmas Oratorio, Christoph Graupner, church, Classical era, Classical music, Claudio Monteverdi, close, comfort, composer, Concert, concertmaster, concerto, Concerto Grosso, contemporaries, contrast, Corelli, coronavirus, crisis, dance, December, detail, downtown, draw, Early music, easier, email, English, English language, English Suite, ensemble, expensive, Facebook, faculty, familiar, fewer, financial, First Congregational United Church of Christ, fortepiano, forward, founder, Franz Joseph Haydn, Gavotte, George Frideric Handel, German, Germany, gig, Grace Episcopal Church, great, guest, Handel, Handel Aria Competition, harpsichord, Haydn, hear, hearing, historically informed performance practices, Holiday, Holy Wisdom Monastery, home website, hope, import, inisght, international, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Joy, June, Kangwoo Kim, Keyboard, like, link, live music, local, long-distance, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, mail, mailing, Marc Destrubé, masterpiece, masterwork, MBM, Mead Witter School of Music, Middleton, Monteverdi, Morgan Balfour, MorganBalfour, move, Mozart, Music, Musician, new, night, offer, open, orchestral music, out-of-town, pandemic, pay, payment, performer, period instruments, period-instrument, Piano, Piano Trio, plans, play, popular, post, postal, posting, price, professor, program, public, Public health, renown, respect, salary, Saturday night, Season, seasonal, seasonal music, sense, share, singer, Singing, smart, social, Sonata, song, soprano, specific, speculation, Spring, stadium, start, Suite, Sunday afternoon, suspect, tag, The Ear, theme, ticket, time, timely, today, Trevor Stephenson, trio, unemployment, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, unsalaried, usual, UW, UW-Madison, vesper, video, Violin, Violin Sonata, violinist, Vivaldi, vocal music, Website, welcome, well-known, winner, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, worker, YouTube
Classical music: Here’s how to apply Madison Symphony Orchestra cancellation refunds to a subscription ticket for next season. Plus, the Oakwood Chamber Players cancel two concerts in May
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
ALERT: In accordance with the state’s Stay at Home order, concerts by the Oakwood Chamber Players (below) that were scheduled for Saturday night, May 16, and Sunday afternoon, May 17, at Oakwood Village University Woods, on the far west side, have been CANCELED.
By Jacob Stockinger
Now that the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below in a photo by Peter Rodgers) has canceled the rest of its current season, The Ear and others have wondered how to apply refunds to a subscription ticket for the MSO’s 2020-21 season, with the theme of “Ode to Joy: Beethoven and Beyond.” (See the YouTube promotional video at the bottom.)
The MSO recently announced cancellations because of the COVID-19 pandemic and closing of the Overture Center with detailed descriptions of how you could donate the tickets to benefit musicians or exchange them for vouchers to one concert in the next season.
But missing was the possibility of applying the cost of tickets to this season’s cancellations to a subscription ticket for next year.
So The Ear called Peter Rodgers, the marketing director for the MSO, to get a clarification.
It turns out that the MSO administrative staff met with representatives of the box office at the Overture Center to discuss various refund options.
Rodgers said the box office is very busy handling refunds from other events that have been canceled. That has made for complex mechanical or technical difficulties in applying one season’s subscription tickets to another.
It is true that you can apply this season’s ticket or tickets to one subscription concert next season, but there is no guarantee of securing your current seat preference, according to Rodgers.
If you want apply this season’s refunds and keep your seat for all the concerts or selected one next season, Rodgers said that the best solution is to ask for the refund and then pay in full for the next season’s subscription tickets.
Here is a link to more information about the MSO’s next season with performers and programs: https://madisonsymphony.org/concerts-events/2020-2021-symphony-season-concerts/
Single tickets go on sale Aug. 15.
You can renew online, by mail and by calling (608) 257-3734. The deadline for subscription renewals or new subscriptions, with a discount of up to 50 percent, is Thursday, May 7.
Here is a link to the page for online renewals or new subscriptions: https://madisonsymphony.org/concerts-events/subscribe-now/
Tags: #ArtisticDirector, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #COVID-19, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #JacobStockinger, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarketingDirector, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #OakwoodChamberPlayers, #OakwoodVillage, #OdetoJoy, #OrchestralMusic, #OvertureCenter, #PianoConcero, #SaturdayNight, #SeasonSubscription, #Self-Isolation, #Self-Quarantine, #SingleTickets, #Stayathome, #SubscriptionConcert, #SubscriptionTicket, #Sundayafternoon, #TheEar, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityWoods, #VocalMusic, #WestSide, #YouTubevideo, administrative, afternoon, Arts, August, Beethoven, benefit, best, blog, box office, call, cancel, canceled, cancellation, cancelled, Chamber music, choral music, clarification, Classical music, complex, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, coronavirus, cost, current, deadline, description, detail, difficulties, difficulty, discount, donate, exchange, Facebook, forward, guarantee, Jacob Stockinger, like, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, mail, marketing, marketing director, May, Mead Witter School of Music, mechanical, Music, musicians, new, night, Oakwood Chamber Players, Oakwood Village, Ode to Joy, online, option, Orchestra, orchestral music, order, Overture Center, pandemic, performer, phone, Piano, post, posting, preference, promotional, proomotion, refund, renewal, representative, Saturday, Season, seat, seating, share, single, solution, staff\, state, stay at home, subscription, Sunday, symphony, tag, technical, The Ear, ticket, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Woods, UW-Madison, various, video, Violin, vocal music, voucher, west side, Wisconsin, year, YouTube
Classical music: The Festival Choir of Madison performs Yiddish music Saturday night. The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra performs the child-friendly “Beethoven Lives Next Door” for FREE twice on Saturday morning
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
ALERT: Do you have children or grandchildren you want to introduce to classical music? This Saturday morning, March 14, at 9:15 and 11:15 a.m. in the Goodman Community Center, at 149 Waubesa Street on Madison’s near east side, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra will give two FREE public performances of “Beethoven Lives Next Door.” The interactive, multi-media event includes live music and story-telling, and is designed for children age 4-10 and their families. Because space is limited, advance registration is strongly recommended. You can register for one of the performances by going to: https://wisconsinchamberorchestra.org/performances
By Jacob Stockinger
The Festival Choir of Madison will present its second concert of the season, “Ner Tamid: Eternal Flame,” on this Saturday night, March 14, at 8 p.m. at the First Unitarian Society of Madison at 900 University Bay Drive.
The choir (below), under the artistic direction of Edgewood College professor Sergei Pavlov (below, front right) will perform songs drawing on Yiddish folklore, Klezmer innovations, the pain and cultural fusion of the diaspora, and the poignancy of love in the Holocaust.
Spanning geography and time, this array of Sephardic folk songs, Middle Eastern melodies, the high European tradition of the late 19th century, and contemporary settings of ancient texts paints a rich picture of the breadth of Jewish musical tradition.
The performance includes works by Gustav Mahler, Jacob Weinberg (below top) and Alberto Guidobaldi (below bottom) for classical composers, as well as Paul Ben Haim and Josef Hadar, who are more contemporary Israeli and Jewish composers, respectively.
The Festival Choir of Madison (FCM) is an auditioned, mixed-voice volunteer choir of over 50 experienced singers. FCM performs thematic concerts of artistically challenging choral music from around the world for listeners who enjoy traditional, modern, and eclectic works, and for singers who enjoy developing their talents with others.
The choir performs three thematic concerts annually in November, March and May. It also serves as the core choir for the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra’s annual “Messiah” concert. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear the Festival Choir of Madison perform “The West Lake” by Chinese composer Chen Yi in 2019.)
Concert admission — general seating — is $10 for students, $15 for senior citizens, and $20 for adults, with tickets available at the door the day of the concert. Tickets can also be purchased online at: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4383496
To learn more about the choir and see details about its May 16 performance of Mozart’s Requiem, visit: www.festivalchoirmadison.org
Tags: #19thCentury, #AlbertoGuidobaldi, #ArtisticDirector, #BeethovenLivesNextDoor, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrownPaperTickets, #ChenYi, #Chinesecomposer, #ChoralMusic, #ContemporaryMusic, #EclecticMusic, #EdgewoodCollege, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FamilyFriendly, #FestivalChoir, #FestivalChoirofMadison, #FirstUnitarianSocietyofMadison, #FolkMusic, #folksongs, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GoodmanCommunityCenter, #GustavMahle, #Handel'sMessiah, #IsraeliComposer, #IsraeliMusician, #JacobWeinberg, #JewishComposer, #JewishComposers, #JewishMusic, #Jewishmusician, #JewishReligion, #JosefHadar, #KlezmerMusic, #LiveConcert, #LiveMusic, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MessiahOratorio, #MIddleEast, #MiddleEastern, #Musicfaculty, #NerTermid, #PaulBenHaim, #SaturdayMorning, #SaturdayNight, #SeniorCitizen, #SergeiPavlov, #TheHolocaust, #TheWestLake, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YiddishMusic, #YouTubevideo, 19th century, 2019, 2020, Alberto Guidobaldi, alto, ancient, Artistic director, Arts, audience, audition, available, bass, Beethoven, Beethoven Lives Next Door, blog, Brown Paper Tickets, Chen Yi, Child, children, China, Chinese, Chinese composer, choral music, Classical music, classicalmusic, community, composer, Concert, conductor, contemporary music, core, cultural, culture, diaspora, door, eclectic, Edgewood College, eternal, eternal flame, Europe, European, event, experience, Facebook, faculty, families, Family, Festival Choir, Festival Choir of Madison, First Unitarian Society of Madison, flame, folk, folklore, forward, friend, friendly, fusion, future, geography, George Frideric Handel, Goodman, Goodman Community Center, Gustav Mahler, Handel, Holocaust, innovation, interactive, Israel, Israeli, Jacob Stockinger, Jacob Weinberg, Jewish, Jewish composer, Josef Hadar, klezmer, like, limited, link, live music, Love, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Mahler, march, May, melodies, melody, Messiah, Middle East, Middle Eastern, mixed, mixed-voice, modern, morning, Mozart, multi-media, Music, Ner Tamid, night, online, Orchestra, pain, paint, Paul Ben Haim, performance, performer, poignancy, post, posting, professor, recommend, registration, Religion, Requiem, rich, Saturday, Season, seating, senior, Sephardic, Sergei Pavlov, setting, share, sing, singer, song, songs, soprano, space, story-telling, Student, symphony, tag, tenor, texts, thematic, theme, time, tradition, traditional, Unitarian, United States, Viola, Violin, vocal music, voice, volunteer, Weinberg, west lake, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, works, Yiddish, Yiddish music, YouTube
Classical music: Members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will give two concerts this week as part of the centennial season of the Concert Series at the Wisconsin Union Theater
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
Think of it as one anniversary celebrating another anniversary.
This week, four members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York City will be giving two concerts as part of the Concert Series at the Wisconsin Union Theater (below).
The Chamber Music Society is marking its 50th anniversary and is in town this week to help the WUT’s Concert Series celebrate its 100th anniversary.
Here is a link with more background about the special programming for the anniversary season: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2019/03/30/classical-music-personal-experience-artistic-excellence-and-historical-importance-drew-pianist-wu-han-and-cellist-david-finckel-into-planning-next-years-centennial-season-at-the-wisconsin-u/
The first concert is tomorrow — Thursday night, March 5 — at 7:30 p.m. in Shannon Hall at the Memorial Union. The program features two piano quartets and a violin sonatina.
The Ear has seen the Society players before in Madison and has never heard them give anything short of a first-rate performance.
The piano quartets are the Piano Quartet in A Minor, Op. 1, by Czech composer Josef Suk; the Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25, by Johannes Brahms; and the Violin Sonatina in G Major, Op. 100, by Antonin Dvorak. (You can hear Chopin Competition winner and South Korean pianist Song-Jin Cho, play the Gypsy Rondo finale from the Brahms piano quartet in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Personal ties link all three works. Brahms greatly admired Dvorak and helped launch his career. And Dvorak was both the teacher and father-in-law of Suk.
The performers (below, from left) are violinist Arnaud Sussmann, pianist Wu Han, violist Paul Neubauer; and cellist David Finckel.
The wife-and-husband team of Wu Han and David Finckel are the co-music directors of the Chamber Music Society and also the artistic advisors who helped the Wisconsin Union Theater put together its centennial season.
Says Han: Chamber music is a form of music that has the ability to provide comfort in difficult times, escape and inspiration for all. The Musical America’s Musician of the Year award winner adds that it’s those very things that drive her to continue to make music.
The performance is part of the new David and Kato Perlman Chamber Music Series. More information about the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center can be found on their website.
There will also be a pre-concert performance by students of the Suzuki method in Sonora Strings (below) beginning in Shannon Hall at 7 p.m.
For more background as well as how to purchase tickets ($10-$50), go to: https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/chamber-music-society-of-lincoln-center/
SATURDAY NIGHT
On Saturday night, March 7, at 7:30 p.m. in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall of the new Hamel Music Center, 740 University Ave., pianist Wu Han (below top) will perform with the UW Symphony Orchestra under the baton of its director and conductor Oriol Sans (below bottom).
The program is the Suite No. 1 from the chamber opera “Powder Her Face” by the contemporary British composer Thomas Adès; the Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37, by Beethoven; and the Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73, by Brahms.
Tickets are $30 for the public, $25 for Union members and UW faculty and staff; and $10 for UW students. For more information about Wu Han and to purchase tickets, go to: https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/wu-han-with-uw-symphony/
“Wu Han brings to the Wisconsin Union Theater not only a passion for music, but also authentic excitement about inspiring a love of music in others,” said Amanda Venske, Concert Series coordinator of the Wisconsin Union Directorate (WUD) Performing Arts Committee.
The students of the UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra (below, with the UW Choral Union in the background) will have the opportunity to learn from Han as they prepare for the Saturday performance.
Patrons can purchase tickets online or at the Memorial Union Box Office. The Wisconsin Union Theater team offers discounted tickets for University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty, staff and students as well as Wisconsin Union members.
Other upcoming Concert Series performances are by violinist Gil Shaham with Akira Eguchi on March 28, and superstar soprano Renée Fleming on May 2. The Concert Series is the longest running classical music series in the Midwest.
Tags: #AkiraEguchi, #AntoninDvorak, #ArnaudSussmann, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #BritishComposer, #CampusArtsTicketing, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberMusicSocietyofLIncolnCenter, #ChamberOpera, #ChopinInternationalPianoCompetition, #ChoralUnion, #ClassiclaMusic, #CommunityEvent, #ConcertSeries, #ContemporaryOpera, #DavidandKatoPerlmanChamberMusicSeries, #DavidFinckel, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Father-in-Law, #FredericChopin, #GilShaham, #GypsyRondo, #HamelMusicCenter, #HomeWebsite, #husband-and-wife, #JacobStockinger, #JohannesBrahms, #JosefSuk, #KatoPerlman, #LivingComposer, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MemorialUnion, #MusicalAmerica, #MusicianoftheYear, #NewYorkCity, #OriolSans, #PaulNeubauer, #PianoConcerto, #PianoQuartet, #PowderHerFace, #RenéeFleming, #SaturdayNight, #Seong-JinCho, #ShannonHall, #SouthKorea, #SouthKorean, #SuzukiMethod, #SuzukiStrings, #SuzukiStringsofMadison, #TheEar, #TheMidwest, #ThomasAdès, #Thursdaynight, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWChoralUnion, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #ViolinSonata, #Wife-and-Husband, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WuHan, #YouTubevideo, admire, adviser, Akira Eguchi, anniverary, anniversary, Antonín Dvořák, Arnaud Sussmann, artistic, Arts, audience, award, baton, Beethoven, blog, box office, Brahms, British, Campus Arts Ticketing, career, celebrate, cellist, Cello, centennial, Chamber music, Chamber Music Society, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Chopin, Chopin International Piano Competition, Choral Union, Classical music, classicalmusic, comfort, composer, Concert, concert series, concerto, conductor, contemporary, David and Kato Perlman Chamber Music Series, David Finckel, difficult, director, drive, Dvorak, escape, event, excitement, exposure, Facebook, faculty, finale, first-rate, form, forward, Frédéric Chopin, Gil Shaham, gypsy, gypsy rondo, Hamel Music Center, Han, hear, home website, husband, inspiration, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, Josef Suk, Kato Perlman, launch, learn, like, link, living, Love, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, member, Memorial Union, Midwest, Music, Musical American, Musician of the Year, New York City, night, opera, Orchestra, Oriol Sans, Passion, Paul Neubauer, performance, performer, personal, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, players, post, posting, Powder Her Face, prepare, program, provide, Quartet, Renée Fleming, Saturday, Season, see, Seong-Jin Cho, Shannon Hall, share, society, soloist, Sonata, sonatina, soprano, South Korea, South Korean, staff\, Student, Suite, Suk, superstar, Suzuki, Suzuki Method, Suzuki Strings of Madison, symphony, tag, Teacher, The Ear, Thomas Ades, Thursday, tickets, ties, times, town, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW Choral Union, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, Website, wife, winner, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wu, Wu Han, YouTube
Classical music: Acclaimed native son Kenneth Woods returns this weekend to conduct the Madison Symphony Orchestra. He talks to The Ear about what Madison meant to him and his international career
2 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 weekend, native Madisonian Kenneth Woods (below) returns from his home in the UK to conduct three performances of the Madison Symphony Orchestra.
The concerts feature two MSO debuts: the prize-winning young Canadian violinist Blake Pouliot performing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor; and the acclaimed guest conductor, Kenneth Woods, leading the orchestra for the MSO premiere of Haydn’s Symphony No. 96, “Miracle” plus Richard Strauss’ tone poem Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life).
Performances will be held in Overture Hall on Friday night, March 6, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday night, March 7, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday afternoon, March 8, at 2:30 p.m.
Single tickets are $19-$95 each and are on sale now, along with discounted tickets, at: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/the-miracle/; through the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street; or by calling the Box Office at (608) 258-4141. Fees apply to online and phone sales.
You can view program notes for this concert online at http://bit.ly/msomar2020programnotes
A Prelude Discussion by Randal Swiggum will take place one hour before each concert.
Guest conductor Kenneth Woods is a busy and versatile musician. He is the Principal Conductor of the English Symphony Orchestra and the artistic director of both the Colorado MahlerFest and the Elgar Festival in England. (You can hear Woods conducting Carl Maria von Weber’s “Oberon” Overture in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Woods has won accolades for rediscovering and recording the music of the Austrian-British composer Hans Gàl. Woods, who has played guitar in a rock band, is also a professional cellist who solos with orchestras and plays chamber music. He writes a respected blog. And he currently plays and records in the Briggs Piano Trio for Avie Records.
For much more information about Kenneth Woods, including his blog “A View From the Podium,” go to: https://kennethwoods.net/blog1/
Woods recently spoke via email to The Ear about what Madison has meant to him and to his international career.
How did living in Madison play a role in your decision to become a professional musician?
Madison offered me a chance to hear music at an early age. I was taken to watch a rehearsal of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra as a very young kid, maybe three or four years old. That made a huge impression on me, especially seeing the rehearsal process. Later, my parents took us to all the UW Symphony Orchestra concerts for years.
There’s really no reason not to take young kids to concerts! For me, a love of live music led to a love of recorded music, listening to records at home, and from there, to an interest in playing music as a kid.
We were lucky to have a very strong music program in the Madison public schools when I was growing up here. The orchestras at Memorial High School played some really impressive repertoire under Tom Buchhauser (below top, in a photo by Jon Harlow). The UW Summer Music Clinic made being a musician social – it was a great immersion with one’s peers.
Most important, however, was probably the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO). Playing under Jim Smith (below bottom) was the most fantastic education in orchestral playing one could hope for. He and Tom are a big part of why I became a conductor.
Madison in those days wasn’t a super-pressurized scene, like one might encounter around the big pre-college programs in New York or LA. But what I might have missed in terms of conservatory-level instrumentalists in every corridor, one made up in terms of feeling like you could find your own path. By the time I was in high school, I pretty much knew music was that path.
How did your experiences in Madison help prepare you for that career?
I learned so much about rehearsing from Jim Smith. In his first year, we worked on Dvorak’s 8th Symphony pretty much all year. Every week, he opened our ears to new facets of the music. I’ve never forgotten that.
I went off to Indiana University to do my Bachelor’s degree, but returned to Madison for a Master’s, when I studied cello with UW-Madison professor Parry Karp (below top).
Those were wonderful years for me. I learned an enormous amount from Parry as both a cello teacher and chamber music coach (and especially as a person).
I played in fantastic chamber groups, did lots of wacky new music and had solo opportunities. UW Symphony Orchestra conductor David Becker (below bottom) even gave me my first meaningful chance to rehearse an orchestra when he had me take a couple of rehearsals on the Copland Clarinet Concerto.
And I played in both the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. I came away from that time with both new skills and new confidence.
What does returning to your hometown to conduct the Madison Symphony Orchestra mean to you?
It’s both very exciting and a little surreal. Under the leadership of John DeMain (below top, in a photo by Greg Anderson), the MSO (below bottom, in a photo by Peter Rodgers) has come so far since the time I was in it. And the new hall is such a treasure for all of Wisconsin – it’s practically a different orchestra.
I still have many friends and former mentors in the orchestra and it’s going to be wonderful to see them all and make music together again after so long.
But it’s more than a homecoming. It’s a chance to celebrate where we’ve all been and what we’ve all done the last 20 years or so. My musical life has mostly been in the UK for a long time, so to re-connect with my musical roots here is rather magical.
What are your major current and upcoming projects?
The English Symphony Orchestra (below) represents the biggest chunk of my musical life. This year we’re celebrating Beethoven’s 250th birthday and the orchestra’s 40th anniversary.
The ESO has a special commitment to new and unknown music, and right now we’re in the midst of something called the 21st Century Symphony Project, which involves commissioning, premiering and recording nine new symphonies by diverse composers. It’s one of the most ambitious commissioning projects I’ve ever heard of, let alone been involved in.
I’m also excited about this year’s Colorado MahlerFest in Boulder, where we’re focusing on Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection” this May, which will crown a week of music exploring themes of color and visual art with music by Wagner, Messiaen and British composer Philip Sawyers.
Is the MSO program special to you?
I must say that it was incredibly generous of John DeMain to offer me such a fantastic program. Not every music director is gentleman enough to let a guest have Ein Heldenleben.
What would you like the public to know about your approach to music and about the specific works by Haydn, Mendelssohn and Richard Strauss?
Haydn’s music is maybe the richest discovery of my adult life. I didn’t get it as a kid, largely because most performances I heard were so dull.
His music is so varied, and his personality so complex, one mustn’t try to reduce him down to a simplistic figure. The late symphonies, of which this is one of the finest, are inexhaustible sources of wisdom, beauty, humor and sanity.
The Mendelssohn is really an astonishing piece. I’ve probably conducted it as much as any piece of music, with so many different soloists, all of whom had hugely different temperaments, personalities, sounds and approaches.
I’ve played it with some of the greatest violinists in the world and with young students. Somehow, whoever is playing, it always leaves me, and the audience, smiling. I’m pretty sure we can continue that streak with Blake Pouliot (below, in a photo by Jeff Fasano).
The Strauss is a rich, personal, wise, funny and moving work. It’s always a challenge, particularly bringing out all the astonishing detail in the score, but it’s also a real joy to perform. If the Mendelssohn always leaves me smiling, the Strauss always leaves me smiling with a tear in my eye.
Tags: #21stCentury, #AaronCopland, #AntoninDvorak, #ArtisticDirector, #AvieRecords, #AViewFromthePodium, #Bachelor'sDegree, #BeethovenYear, #BlakePouliot, #BlogInterview, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BloomingtonIndiana, #BoxOffice, #BriggsPianoTrio, #BritishComposer, #CarlMariavonWeber, #ChamberMusic, #CityofMadison, #ClarinetConcerto, #ClarinetMusic, #ColoradoMahlerFest, #CommissionedMusic, #DavidBecker, #EdwardElgar, #EinHeldenleben, #EnglishSymphonyOrchestra, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FelixMendelssohn, #FranzJosephHaydn, #Fridaynight, #GreatBritain, #GrowingUp, #GuestArtist, #GustavMahler, #HansGàl, #HighNotes, #HighSchool, #HomeWebsite, #IndianaUniversity, #JacobStockinger, #JamesSmith, #JimSmith, #JohnDeMain, #KennethWoods, #LiveMusic, #LosAngeles, #LosAngelesCalifornia, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonMemorialHighSchool, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MadisonWisconsin, #MakeMusic, #Master'sDegree, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MemorialHighSchool, #MiracleSymphony, #MusicClinic, #MusicEducation, #NativeSon, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #OlivierMessiaen, #OrchestralMusic, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #ParryKarp, #PhilipSawyers, #PianoTrio, #PreludeDiscussion, #Prize-Winning, #ProfessionalMusician, #ProgramNotes, #PublicSchools, #RandalSwiggum, #RecordedMusic, #ResurrectionSymphony, #RichardStrauss, #RichardWagner, #RockBand, #SaturdayNight, #Sundayafternoon, #TheEar, #TheU.K., #TheUK, #ThomasBuchhauser, #TomBuchhauser, #TonePoem, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UnknownMusic, #UWProfessor, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #VirtuosoViolinist, #VisualArt, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WisconsinYouthSymphonyOrchestras, #YouTubevideo, 21st century, A View From the Podium, Aaron Copland, accolades, accomplished, adult, age, ambitious, anniversary, Antonín Dvořák, approach, Art, Artistic director, Arts, astonishing, audience, Austrian, Avie Records, Bachelor's degree, band, beauty, Beethoven, Beethoven Year, birthday, Blake Pouliot, blog, Bloomington, Boulder, box office, Briggs Piano Trio, British, busy, Canada, Canadian, career, Carl Maria von Weber, celebrate, cellist, Cello, challenging, Chamber music, chance, clarinet, clarinetist, Classical music, coach, college, color, Colorado, Colorado MahlerFest, commission, commitment, Compact Disc, complex, composer, Concert, concerto, conduct, conductor, confidence, conservatory, Copland, David Becker, debut, decision, detail, different, discount, discovery, discussion, dukk, Dvorak, early, ears, Education, Edward Elgar, Ein Heldenleben, Elgar, email, England, English, English Symphony Orchestra, enormous, event, excited, exciting, experience, eye, Facebook, facet, fantastic, fee, Felix Mendelssohn, festival, finest, forward, Franz Joseph Haydn, Friday, friend, funny, generous, gentleman, Great Britain, growing up, guest artist, guitar, Gustav Mahler, hall, Hans Gàl, Haydn, hear, hero, high school, Home, home website, Homecoming, huge, Humor, immersion, important, impression, impressive, Indiana, Indiana University, inexhaustible, information, instrumentalist, instrumentalists, interest, international, interview, Jacob Stockinger, James Madison Memorial High School, James Smith, Jim Smith, John DeMain, Kenneth Woods, kid, kids, know, LA, late, leadership, learn, life, like, link, listening, live music, living, Los Angeles, Love, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Memorial High School, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Madisonian, magical, Mahler, make, master's, masters degree, Mead Witter School of Music, Memorial High School, Mendelssohn, mentor, Messiaen, Miracle Symphony, moving, MSO, Music, music clinic, Music education, musical, Musician, native, new, New Music, New York City, night, notes, Oberon, Olivier Messiaen, online, Orchestra, orchestral music, Overture, Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts, Overture Hall, parents, Parry Karp, path, peers, perform, performance, performer, personal, personality, Philip Sawyers, Piano Trio, play, podium, poem, pre-college, premiere, prepare, pressure, principal, prize, process, professional, professor, program, program notes, project, public, public schools, Q&A, Randal Swiggum, re-connect, record, recorded music, records, rediscover, rehearsal, repertoire, respect, respected, Resurrection Symphony, return, rich, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, rock band, role, roots, sale, sanity, Saturday, scene, score, share, simplistic, skill, smile, smiling, social, soloist, son, Sound, Strauss, strong, study, Sunday, surreal, symphony, tag, talk, Teacher, tear, temperament, The Ear, theme, Thomas Buchhauser, tickets, Tom Buchhauser, tone, tone poem, treasure, U.K., UK, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, unknown, unknown music, UW, UW Symphony Orchestra, varied, versatile, view, Violin, violinist, visual art, Wagner, Website, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, wisdom, won, wonderful, works, write, WYSO, year, young, YouTube
Classical music: This Saturday night, the Con Vivo woodwind quintet makes its debut. Plus, the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble performs a variety of chamber music
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
Valentine’s Day weekend is turning out to be a popular time for concerts. Here are two more performances on this coming Saturday night:
CON VIVO
Con Vivo!, or “Music With Life,” continues its 18th season of chamber music concerts with the inaugural performance of CVQ, the Con Vivo woodwind quintet (below).
The concert will take place this Saturday night, Feb. 15, at 7:30 p.m. at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Ave., across from Camp Randall Stadium.
Tickets can be purchased at the door for $20 for adults and $15 for seniors and students.
Convenient free parking is only 2 blocks west at the University Foundation, 1848 University Ave.
The debut concert will include music — no specific titles have been named — by Aaron Copland, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Gyorgy Ligeti and Ludwig van Beethoven. The woodwind quintet comprises flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and French horn.
Says Con Vivo’s artistic director Robert Taylor: “We continue our season with our newest members joining forces to perform pieces for the woodwind quintet genre, providing new sounds for our audiences. We are excited to add these fabulous musicians to our group. This concert will be a great way to shake off those winter blues!”
Con Vivo (below) is a professional chamber music ensemble comprised of Madison area musicians assembled from the ranks of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and various other performing groups familiar to Madison audiences.
For more information, go to: convivomusicwithlife.org
WISCONSIN BAROQUE ENSEMBLE
The Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble (below) will perform a concert of baroque chamber music this Saturday night, Feb. 15, at 7:30 p.m. in St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 1833 Regent Street.
Players include: Eric Miller, viola da gamba; Sigrun Paust, recorder; Chelsie Propst, soprano; Charlie Rasmussen, baroque cello and viola da gamba; Daniel Sullivan, harpsichord; and Anton TenWolde, baroque cello and viola da gamba.
Tickets at the door only are: $20, $10 for students.
The program includes:
François Couperin – Pieces for viol, Suite No. 1 (You can hear the Prelude, played by Jordi Savall, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre – Cantata “Jacob and Rachel”
Pietro Castrucci – Sonata No. 3 for recorder and basso continuo
Jean-Baptiste Barriere – Adagio from Sonata No. 2 for cello and basso continuo, Book 1
Marin Marais – Chaconne 83 from Pieces for Viol, Book 5
Lucrezia Orsina Vizzana – “Veni dulcissime Domine” (Come, Sweet Lord)
Girolamo Frescobaldi – Toccata No. 8, Partita on the Aria of Monicha (1637)
Unico van Wassenaer – Sonata No. 2 for recorder and basso continuo
Johann Michael Nicolai –Sonata for Three Viola da Gambas in D major
For more information, go to: www.wisconsinbaroque.org
Tags: #AaronCopland, #AmericanBrassQuintet, #AntonTenWolde, #ArtisticDirector, #BaroqueMusic, #BaroqueRecorder, #BassoonMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CampRandallStadium, #ChamberMusic, #CharlieRasmussen, #ChelsiePropst, #ChristianChurch, #ClarinetMusic, #ClassicalMusician, #ConVivo, #DanielSullivan, #ElisabethJacquetdelaGuerre, #EricMiller, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FirstCongregationalUnitedChurchofChrist, #FluteMusic, #FrancoisCouperin, #GirolamoFrescobaldi, #GyorgyLigeti, #JacobStockinger, #Jean-BaptisteBarriere, #JesusChrist, #JohannMichaelNicolai, #JordiSavall, #LouisMoreauGottschalk, #LucreziaOrsinaVizzana, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarinMarais, #MusicWithLife, #OboeMusic, #PietroCastrucci, #ProfessionalMusician, #RobertTaylor, #SaintAndrew, #SaturdayNight, #SigrunPaust, #SopranoSinger, #St.Andrew'sEpiscopalChurch, #TheEar, #UnicovanWassenaer, #ValentinesDay, #VioladaGamba, #VocalMusic, #WinterBlues, #WisconsinBaroqueEnsemble, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WoodwindQuintet, Aaron Copland, adagio, adult, Anton TenWolde, aria, Artistic director, Arts, audience, Baroque, Bassoon, Beethoven, blog, blues, Camp Randall Stadium, Cantata, cellist, Cello, chaconne, Chamber music, Charlie Rasmussen, Chelsie Propst, Christ, Christian, church, clarinet, Classical, Classical music, classicalmusic, Con Vivo, Concert, Copland, Couperin, CVQ, Daniel Sullivan, dear, door, Early music, Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, ensemble, Eric Miller, Facebook, First Congregational United Church of Christ, flute, François Couperin, free, French horn, Frescobaldi, genre, Girolamo Frescobaldi, Gottschalk, group, György Ligeti, harpsichord, Horn, inaugural, Jacob, Jacob Stockinger, Jean Baptiste Barrière, Johann Michael Nicolai, Jordi Savall, Ligeti, like, link, Lord, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Lucrezia Orsina Vizzana, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marin Marais, member, msician, Music, Music With Life, new, newest, noght, Oboe, Orchestra, partita, performance, performer, Piano, pieces, Pietro Castrucci, popular, post, posting, Prelude, professional, program, purchase, quintet, Rachel, recorder, Robert Taylor, Saturday, Season, share, Sigrun Paust, singer, Sonata, soprano, Sound, specific, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Student, Suite, sweet, tag, The Ear, tickets, time, title, toccata, Unico van Wassenaer, United States, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Valentine's Day, viola da gamba, Violin, vocal music, weekend, winter, winter blues, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, woodwind, Woodwind quintet, YouTube
Classical music: The UW Choral Union, UW Symphony Orchestra and guest soloists took the audience on a memorable musical voyage in Ralph Vaughan Williams “A Sea Symphony”
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
It took a postponement of almost two months before the UW Choral Union (below) finally got to perform last Saturday night in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall in the new Hamel Music Center.
But the wait was worth it.
The combined forces – conducted by the retiring choral director Beverly Taylor – proved convincing and accomplished in the challenging score of “A Sea Symphony” by the early 20th-century British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.
The performers did justice to the score’s vivid sound painting. You could hear the sea wind whistling through the rigging; you could feel the ship plowing through the swells and waves.
The American poet Walt Whitman (below) – whose epic-like poetry provided the text for this ambitious nautical and musical journey – would have been proud of the performance.
After all, like Whitman’s poetry, Vaughn Williams’ music — his first symphony — can be forceful and spacious at many moments, tender and reflective or even intimate at other times. The music matches the text, and the performers matched both.
The forces were precise under Taylor’s baton, with sharp attacks and no ragged stopping. True, there were a few moments when the balance seemed a bit off, when the UW Symphony Orchestra overpowered the large campus and community chorus, especially in the very brassy and thickly scored first movement. You just wanted to hear the words better and felt frustrated not to.
But for the most part, though, the student orchestra proved impressive. They were tight and crisp, accurate and transparent, allowing listeners to hear the inner part playing and even certain modernist harmonies of the generally conservative Vaughan Williams (below).
Moreover, the symphony, the chorus and the soloists blended especially well and movingly in the symphony’s quieter moments.
Those moments included the second movement, “On the Beach at Night, Alone”; and the quiet, understated ending where the idea of voyage and exploration becomes personal and metaphorical or spiritual as well as literal: “Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me … O my brave soul! O farther, farther sail!”
(You can hear a sample in the hymn-like opening of the fourth movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
In addition, the outstanding acoustics of the new hall – where the chorus sits above and behind the orchestra – brought the performance to life even more convincingly.
There were two soloists (below): soprano Chelsie Propst and baritone James Harrington.
Harrington possessed a pleasing tone, but he seemed to be holding back for some reason. He could have projected more confidence and been more energetic or assertive in his delivery. After all, neither Whitman nor Vaughan Williams is shy in this large-scale work.
Curiously, it was the woman soloist, Propst, who roared like the sea, whose big voice easily soared over the orchestra and chorus. Her singing was thoroughly beautiful and thoroughly engaging.
Unfortunately, the very successful concert was not sold out, but the audience proved attentive and very enthusiastic.
This debut performance in the new hall made one look forward all the more to another big piece and big performance by the UW Choral Union and UW Symphony Orchestra, one that will wrap up the season and end Taylor’s long tenure at the UW-Madison: the dramatic and operatic Requiem by Verdi on Saturday and Sunday, April 25 and 26.
Tags: #20thCentury, #AmericanBrassQuintet, #AmericanPoet, #ASeaSymphony, #BaritoneSinger, #BeverlyTaylor, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BritishComposer, #ChelsiePropst, #ChoralMusic, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GiuseppeVerdi, #HamelMusicCenter, #JacobStockinger, #JamesHarrington, #Large-scale, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #OrchestralMusic, #RalphVaughanWilliams, #SaturdayNight, #SopranoSinger, #SoundPainting, #SundayNight, #TheEar, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWChoralUnion, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #VerdiOpera, #VerdiRequiem, #VocalMusic, #WaltWhitman, #YouTubevideo, 20th-century, A Sea Symphony, accomplished, accurate, acoustics, alone, ambition, ambitious, American, Arts, assertive, attack, baritone, baton, beach, beautiful, Beverly Taylor, big, blend, blog, brass, brave, British, Campus, challenge, Chelsie Propst, Choir, choral music, chorus, Classical music, combined, community, composer, Concert, concert hall, conductor, confidence, conservative, crisp, delivery, director, dramatic, end, ending, enegetic, engaging, exploration, Facebook, first, forceful, forces, frustrated, Giuseppe Verdi, hall, Hamel Music Center, harmonies, harmony, hear, inner, intimate, Jacob Stockinger, James Harrington, journey, justice, like, link, literal, Madison, match, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, metaphorical, modernist, moment, movement, Music, musical, nautical, new, night, opera, operatic, Orchestra, orchestral music, outstanding, overpower, painting, part, performance, performer, personal, piece, pleasing, poet, Poetry, possess, post, posting, postponement, precise, quiet, ragged, Ralph Vaughan Williams, reader, reflective, Requiem, rigging, sample, Saturday night, score, sea, Season, share, sharp, shy, singer, Singing, soloists, soprano, soul, Sound, sound painting, space, spacious, spiritual, stopping, Student, Sunday, swell, symphony, tag, tender, tenure, text, The Ear, tight, tone, transparent, understated, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW Choral Union, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, vast, Verdi, Verdi Requiem, vivid, vocal music, voice, voyage, wait, Walt Whitman, wave, whistle, Wind, Wisconsin, words, work, wrap, YouTube
Classical music: This Saturday night brings both the Escher String Quartet to the Wisconsin Union Theater and the UW-Madison Choral Union and UW Symphony Orchestra to the Hamel Music Center
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.
CORRECTION: The Ear received the following correction to the story he posted yesterday about the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and apologizes for the error:
“There was a change to our rollout in Brookfield. We are only repeating the fifth Masterworks concert on Saturday, May 9, at 7:30 p.m. at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts. We are NOT repeating this Friday’s concert in Brookfield.
“We will perform a Family Series concert of “Beethoven Lives Next Door” on Sunday, March 29, at 3 p.m. at the same Brookfield venue.”
By Jacob Stockinger
The upcoming weekend is a busy one for classical music.
The busiest night is Saturday night when two major concerts will take place: a performance by the Escher String Quartet and the postponed concert by the UW Choral Union and UW Symphony Orchestra with soloists.
Here are details:
ESCHER STRING QUARTET and DAVID FINCKEL
The concert by the Escher String Quartet (below) with cellist David Finckel (below bottom. formerly of the critically acclaimed Emerson String Quartet) takes place on this Saturday night, Jan. 25, at 7:30 p.m. in Shannon Hall of the Wisconsin Union Theater.
The performance is part of the special season celebrating the centennial anniversary of the Concert Series.
The program includes the sublime Quintet in C Major, D. 956, with two cellos, by Franz Schubert and the String Quartet in A minor by the great early 20th-century Viennese violinist and composer Fritz Kreisler (below).
Tickets are $30-$50. For more information and to reserve tickets, go to: https://artsticketing.wisc.edu/Online/default.asp?doWork::WScontent::loadArticle=Load&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::article_id=CFC3765F-5F1D-4663-BCA0-985BE3049CF5
For more information about the Escher String Quartet, including a video performance and detailed background, go to: https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/escher-string-quartet-with-david-finckel/
UW CHORAL UNION
Also on this Saturday night at 8 p.m., in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall in the new Hamel Music Center at 740 University Avenue, the UW Choral Union and UW Symphony Orchestra (below top), along with two vocal soloists – soprano Chelsie Propst (below middle) and baritone James Harrington (below bottom) — will perform a concert originally scheduled for Dec. 7 and then postponed.
The program, without intermission, is one 80-minute work: the epic and influential “A Sea Symphony” by the great 20th-century British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (below).
General admission tickets are $18 for the general public and faculty or staff; and $10 for UW students. To reserve tickets, go to Campus Arts Ticketing at: https://artsticketing.wisc.edu/Online/default.asp?doWork::WScontent::loadArticle=Load&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::article_id=412623A4-4FB9-40D6-BC23-A425360713EA
Beverly Taylor (below), the longtime director of choral activities at the UW who will retire this spring, sent the following note:
“The text by American poet Walt Whitman presents four symphonic scenes of great breadth and imagination, with lush harmonies and constantly varying tempos and dynamics.” (You can hear the Waves section, or third movement, from “A Sea Symphony” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Tags: #20thCentury, #ASeaSymphony, #BaritoneSinger, #BeverlyTaylor, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrookfieldWisconsin, #ChamberMusic, #ChelsiePropst, #ChoralMusic, #ConcertSeries, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #DavidFinckel, #EmersonStringQuartet, #EscherStringQuartet, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FritzKreisler, #HamelMusicCenter, #JacobStockinger, #JamesHarrington, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MusicReview, #RalphVaughanWilliams, #SaturdayNight, #ShannonHall, #SharonLynneWilsonCenterfortheArts, #SopranoSinger, #StringQuartet, #StringQuintet, #TheEar, #TheU.K., #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWChoralUnion, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #ViolinistVirtuoso, #VocalMusic, #WaltWhitman, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #YouTubevideo, 20th-century, A Sea Symphony, acclaimed, activity, American, American poetry, anniversary, Arts, audience, background, baritone, Beethoven, Beverly Taylor, blog, breadth, British, Brookfield, busy, celebrate, cellist, Cello, centennial, Chamber music, Chelsie Propst, choral, choral music, Classical music, classicalmusic, composer, Concert, concert hall, concert series, conductor, correction, critically acclaimed, David Finckel, details, director, dynamics, Emerson String Quartet, English, epic, error, Escher String Quartet, Facebook, Family, forward, Franz Schubert, Fritz Kreisler, great, Hamel Music Center, harmony, imagination, influence, influential, information, Jacob Stockinger, James Harrington, like, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, lush, Madison, major, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Music, music critic, music review, night, online, Orchestra, performer, poet, Poetry, post, posting, postpone, quintet, Ralph Vaughan Williams, retire, Retirement, Saturday night, scene, sea, Season, Second Viennese School, series, Shannon Hall, share, Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, soloist, soprano, Spring, String quartet, string quintet, sublime, symphonic, symphony, tag, Tempo, text, The Ear, ticket, U.K., United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW Choral Union, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, venue, Vienna, Viennese, Viola, Violin, violinist, vocal music, Walt Whitman, waves, Website, weekend, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Union Theater, YouTube
Classical music: The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra expands its Masterworks series this Friday night in Madison and Saturday night in Brookfield with piano soloist Orion Weiss and music by Mozart, Mendelssohn and Donald Fraser
3 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.
CORRECTION: The Ear received the following correction to the story about the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and apologizes for the error:
“There was a change to our rollout in Brookfield. We are only repeating the fifth Masterworks concert on Saturday, May 9. at 7:30 p.m. at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts. We are NOT repeating this Friday’s concert in Brookfield.
“We will perform a Family Series concert of “Beethoven Lives Next Door” on Sunday, March 29, at 3 p.m. at the same Brookfield venue.”
By Jacob Stockinger
The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (below, in a photo by Mike Gorski) is about to take a Great Leap Forward.
This weekend will see the WCO — now in its 60th year of existence and its 20th season under music director Andrew Sewell (below bottom, in a photo by Alex Cruz) – take a major step in its evolution as a statewide music ensemble. It is a development comparable to when John DeMain took the Madison Symphony Orchestra from single performances to “triples.”
That is because, for the first time ever, the WCO is going to “doubles.” It will perform Masterworks concerts in Madison on Friday nights at 7:30 p.m. in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center. Then the WCO will repeat the same concert on the following Saturday night in the Milwaukee suburb of Brookfield at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts.
For a full story with lots of background and quotes about future plans for the WCO, you can’t do better than read the story by Michael Muckian that appeared last week in Isthmus:
Here is a link: https://isthmus.com/music/wisconsin-chamber-orchestra-turns-60/
The opening program has a couple of points of special interest.
First, this concert will mark the Madison debut of pianist Orion Weiss, a former student of Emanuel Ax who is increasingly booked for concerts and recordings.
Weiss (below in a photo by Jacob Blickenstaff) will solo in perhaps the most popular and famous of Mozart’s 27 piano concertos: No. 21 in C Major, K. 467. It is also known as the “Elvira Madigan” concerto because the beautiful slow movement was used as the soundtrack to the movie of that same name. (You can hear the slow movement at the bottom in a YouTube video that has more than 59 million views.)
You can learn more about Weiss at his website: https://www.orionweiss.com
Another unique facet of the WCO concert is the U.S. premiere of “Sinfonietta for Strings” (2018) by the award-winning British composer Donald Fraser, now an American resident who lives in Illinois and is married to Bridget Fraser, the executive director of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO).
Fraser (below) – whose music is tonal and accessible — is especially well known, not only for his original compositions but also for his orchestral arrangements of chamber music by Brahms, Elgar, Marin Marais and others. His 2018 recording of “Songs for Strings” features many of those transcriptions.
For more about Fraser, go to his website: https://donaldfraser.com/index.html
The concert will conclude with the Symphony No. 4 – the “Italian” Symphony – by Felix Mendelssohn. It is a sunny, tuneful and energetic work that is the most popular and best-known symphony by Mendelssohn. It was also used in a movie as the soundtrack to the Italian bicycle race in the coming-of-age film “Breaking Away.”
Tickets are $10-$77. For more information about the program and the soloist, as well as about pre-concert dinners and how to buy single and season subscription tickets, go to: https://wisconsinchamberorchestra.org/performances/masterworks-i-5/
Tags: #AmericanPremiere, #AndrewSewell, #Beautifulmusic, #BicycleRace, #BicycleRiding, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BreakingAway, #BridgetFraser, #BritishComposer, #BrookfieldWisconsin, #CapitolTheater, #ChamberOrchestra, #Classicalera, #ClassicalRecording, #Coming-of-Age, #ConcertSeason, #ContemporaryMusic, #DonaldFraser, #EdwardElgar, #EmanuelAx, #EnglishComposer, #ExecutiveDirector, #FacebookPosting, #FelixMendelssohn, #FilmMusic, #Fridaynight, #GreatLeapForward, #GuestSoloist, #IsthmusMagazine, #IsthmusNewspaper, #ItalianSymphony, #JacobStockinger, #JohannesBrahms, #JohnDeMain, #LivingComposer, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarinMarais, #MichaelMuckian, #MovieSoundtrack, #NewMusic, #OrionWeiss, #OvertureCenter, #PianoConcerto, #SaturdayNight, #SharonLynneWilsonCenterfortheArts, #SingleTickets, #SlowMovement, #StringMusic, #SubscriptionTicket, #TheEar, #UnitedStates, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WisconsinYouthSymphonyOrchestras, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, accessible, Andrew Sewell, arrangement, Arts, background, Baroque, beautiful, bicycle, bicycle race, blog, Brahms, Breaking Away, Bridget Fraser, British, Brookfield, Capitol Theater, chamber orchestra, Classical era, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, contemporary music, debut, development, dinner, Donald Fraser, double, Early music, Edward Elgar, Elgar, Emanuel Ax, energetic, English, ensemble, evolution, Executive director, existence, Facebook, facet, famous, Felix Mendelssohn, film, forward, Friday night, future, Great Leap Forward, ILLINOIS, individual, interest, Isthmus, Italian, Italian Symphony, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, John DeMain, Kochel, KV, like, link, Living composer, lovely, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marin Marais, Marriage, marry, Mendelssohn, Michael Muckian, Milwaukee, movement, movie, Mozart, Music, New Music, Newspaper, online, Orchestra, Orion Weiss, Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts, perform, performance, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, plans, popular, post, posting, premiere, program, quote, recording, repeat, resident, Saturday night, Season, share, Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, Sinfonietta, single, Slow movement, solo, statewide, story, string music, strings, suburb, sun, sunny, symphony, tag, The Ear, ticket, tonal, transcription, triple, tuneful, U.S., unique, United States, view, WCO, Website, week, weekend, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, WYSO, YouTube
Recent Comments
| MARTIN LUTHER LUTE |… on Classical music: Who was the e… | |
 | Brian Jefferies on Classical music: A major reass… |
 | welltemperedear on What made Beethoven sick and… |
 | rlhess5d5b7e5dff on What made Beethoven sick and… |
| welltemperedear on Beethoven’s Ninth turns 200… |
The Well-Tempered Ear 
