The Well-Tempered Ear

Here are the Top 10 online concerts to stream in March, according to critics for the New York Times

March 2, 2021
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ALERT: The online live-streamed concert by the UW-Madison’s Pro Arte Quartet — scheduled for this Friday night, March 5 — in the all-Beethoven cycle of string quartets has been canceled and postponed until next year. The Friday, April 9 installment of the Beethoven cycle will be held as Installment 7 instead of 8.  

By Jacob Stockinger

Classical music critics of The New York Times have once again picked their Top 10 online concerts for the month of March.

The Ear has found such lists helpful for watching and hearing, but also informative to read, if you don’t actually “attend” the concert.

If you have read these lists before, you will see that this one is typical.

It offers lots of links with background about the works and performers; concert times (Eastern); and how long the online version is accessible.

Many of the performers will not be familiar to you but others – such as pianist Mitsuko Uchida (below, in a photo by Hiroyuki Ito for the Times), who will perform an all-Schubert recital, will be very familiar.

But the critics once again emphasize new music and even several world premieres – including one by Richard Danielpour — and a path-breaking but only recently recorded live performance of the 1920 opera “Die Tote Stadt” (The Dead City) by long-neglected composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold (below), who is best known for his Hollywood movie scores but who also wrote compelling classical concert hall music. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear soprano Renée Fleming sing “Marietta’s Song.’)

But some works that are more familiar by more standard composers – including Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Ravel and Copland – are also included.

The Times critics have also successfully tried to shine a spotlight on Black composers and Black performers, such as the clarinetist and music educator Anthony McGill (below top), who will perform a clarinet quintet by composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (below) and music in the setting of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

No purists, the critics also suggest famous oboe and clarinet works in transcriptions for the saxophone by composer-saxophonist Steven Banks (below).

Also featured is a mixed media performance of words and music coordinated by the award-winning Nigerian-American novelist, essayist and photographer Teju Cole (below), whose writings and photos are irresistible to The Ear.

Here is a link to the story in the Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/25/arts/music/classical-music-streaming-concerts.html

Are there other online concerts in March – local, regional, national or international – that you recommend in addition to the events listed in the Times?

The Ear wants to hear.

 


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Classical music: Here is a year-long list of concerts at the University of Wisconsin Mead Witter School of Music. They start Tuesday night with the 40th annual Karp Family Labor Day Concert

September 1, 2019
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By Jacob Stockinger

Get out your datebooks and calendars.

Here is a complete listing for major concerts and events at the University of Wisconsin Mead Witter School of Music during the new 2019-20 season.

The calendar starts with the FREE season-opening 40th annual Karp Family Labor Day Concert this coming Tuesday night, Sept. 3, at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall. The program features chamber music by Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Dvorak. For more information about the program and performers, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/40th-karp-family-concert/

Using the search engine on this blog, you could also consult whenever individual or group you want. You could print it out and have it in hand instead of the usual brochure, which will not be printed this year. See a previous blog post: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2019/08/19/classical-music-the-uw-madison-school-of-music-will-not-have-a-complete-brochure-for-the-new-season-go-to-the-website-and-sign-up-for-an-email-newsletter-the-30th-karp-family-labor-day-concert-is-s/

Most concerts this season will take place in the new Hamel Music Center (below), which has a three-day opening celebration Oct. 25-27.

Please note that just a few programs are listed. For other programs, and for information about any admission charge, you can go to the School of Music’s home website closer to the event and click on Concerts and Events: https://www.music.wisc.edu/events/

Tuesday, Sep 3, 2019

Karp Family Concert

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7:30 PM

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Mills Hall

Sunday, September 29, 2019,

Jessica Martin & John O’Brien – Nordic song recital

4:00 PM

Morphy Hall

Monday, Sept. 30, 2019

Beth Wiese, Tuba, Guest Artist Recital

7:30 PM

Morphy Hall

Friday, October 4, 2019

Pro Arte Quartet

8:00 PM

Mills Hall

Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019

Chanticleer

7:30 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019

Wind Ensemble

7:30 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Friday, October 11, 2019

UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra

8:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Sunday, October 13, 2019

University Bands

2:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Contemporary Jazz & Blue Note Ensemble

7:30 PM

Collins Hall

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Wisconsin Brass Quintet – Faculty Concert Series

7:30 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Thursday, October 17

Jazz Faculty Quintet with special guest Michael Dudley, trumpet

7:30 PM

Collins Hall

Monday, October 21, 2019

Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble and UW Jazz Orchestra

7:30 PM

Play Circle

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Concert Band

7:30 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Wed, October 23, 2019

Jazz Composers Group & Jazz Standards

7:30 PM

Collins Hall

Thu, October 24, 2019

Parry Karp with Eli Kalman, piano

7:30 PM

Collins Hall

Friday, October 25, 2019

Opening Celebration Weekend: Hamel Music Center. Please check our website for details.

All Day

740 University Avenue

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Opening Celebration Weekend: Hamel Music Center. Please check our website for details.

All Day

740 University Avenue

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Opening Celebration Weekend: Hamel Music Center. Featured Event: Collins Fellows Concert

1:00 PM

Collins Recital Hall, Hamel Music Center

Wed, October 30, 2019

Master Class with Violist Nobuko Imai

6:30 PM

Collins Hall

Thu, October 31, 2019

Violist Nobuko Imai with Pro Arte Quartet

12:00 PM

Collins Hall

Fri, November 1, 2019

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Madrigal Singers

8:00 PM

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Mead Witter Hall

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Sat, November 2, 2019

Alicia Lee, faculty clarinet

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8:00 PM

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Collins Hall

Sun, November 3, 2019

Wind Ensemble

2:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Fri, November 8, 2019

Wingra Wind Quintet

8:00 PM

Collins Hall

Sat, November 9, 2019

UW Chorale

8:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Thu, November 14, 2019

UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra

7:30 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Fri, November 15, 2019

University Opera: Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

7:30 PM

Music Hall

Sun, November 17, 2019

University Opera: Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

2:00 PM

Music Hall

Tue, November 19, 2019

University Opera: Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

7:30 PM

Music Hall

Sat, November 16, 2019

Low Brass Ensemble

4:00 PM

Collins Hall

Sat, November 16, 2019

Combined Choirs

8:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Sat, November 16, 2019

Timothy Hagen, faculty flute

8:00 PM

Collins Hall

Fri, November 22, 2019

UW Concert Choir

8:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Fri, November 22, 2019

Pro Arte Quartet

8:00 PM

Collins Hall

Fri, November 22, 2019

UW Jazz Orchestra

5:00-7:00 PM

Rathskeller

Saturday, Nov 23, 2019

Undergrad Audition Day

All day

Sat, November 23, 2019

World Percussion Ensemble

12:00 PM

Music Hall

Sat, November 23, 2019

Brass Ensembles

1:00 PM

??

Sun, November 24, 2019

UW Concert Band with Winds of Wisconsin

5:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Mon, November 25, 2019

Chamber Percussion Ensemble

7:30 PM

Mills Hall

Tue, November 26, 2019

Opera Scenes

7:30 PM

Music Hall

Mon, December 2, 2019

Piano Studio Recital

6:30 PM

Collins Hall

Tue, December 3, 2019

Jazz Composers & Contemporary Jazz Ensembles

7:30 PM

Collins Hall

Wed, December 4, 2019

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Jazz Standards Ensemble & Afro-Cuban Jazz

7:30 PM

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Collins Hall

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Thu, December 5, 2019

UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra & UW Wind Ensemble

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7:30 PM

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Mead Witter Hall

Fri, December 6, 2019

Saxophonist Greg Ward with the Blue Note Ensemble and UW jazz faculty

8:00 PM

Collins Hall

Sat, December 7, 2019

UW & Madison Metropolitan Jazz Festival

Final Concert, 3:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Sat, December 7, 2019

Choral Union: Ralph Vaughan Williams’s “A Sea Symphony”

8:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Sun, December 8, 2019

University Bands

2:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Sun, December 8, 2019

Choral Concerts at Luther Memorial Church

2:00 PM

Luther Memorial Church

Sun, December 8, 2019

Choral Concerts at Luther Memorial Church

4:00 PM

Luther Memorial Church

Sun, December 8, 2019

All-University Strings

4:30 PM

Mead Witter Hall

BEGIN 2020

Sun, January 26, 2020

Annual Schubertiade

3:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Sat, February 1, 2020

Christopher Taylor and Friends — Beethoven Symphony Extravaganza

8:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Wed, February 5, 2020

Daniel Grabois, horn

7:30 PM

Collins Hall

Thu, February 6, 2020

UW Symphony Orchestra

7:30 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Sat, February 8, 2020

The Knights

8:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Sun, February 16, 2020

UW Wind Ensemble

2:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Monday, February 17, 2020

Chamber Percussion Ensemble

7:30 PM

Mills Hall

Tue, February 18, 2020

Concert Band

7:30 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Thu, February 20, 2020

Parry Karp, faculty recital

7:30 PM

Collins Hall

Fri, February 21, 2020

Marc Vallon & Friends

8:00 PM

Collins Hall

Sunday, Feb 23, 2020

Les Thimmig, faculty recital

2:00 PM

Collins Hall

Sat, April 18, 2020

Low Brass Ensemble

4:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Fri, February 28, 2020

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Pro Arte Quartet

8:00 PM

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Collins Hall

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Sat, February 29, 2020

Wingra Wind Quintet

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8:00 PM

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Collins Hall

Fri, February 28, 2020,

University Opera – Mozart’s Così fan tutte

7:30 PM

Music Hall

Sun, March 1, 2020

University Opera – Mozart’s Così fan tutte

2:00 PM

Music Hall

Tue, March 3, 2020

University Opera – Mozart’s Così fan tutte

7:30 PM

Music Hall

Sun, March 1, 2020

Winds of Wisconsin

5:30 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Wed, March 4, 2020

Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble & Jazz Composers Group

7:30

Collins Hall

Thu, March 5, 2020

Blue Note Ensemble & Jazz Standards Ensemble

7:30 PM

Collins Hall

Sat, March 7, 2020

UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra with guest pianist Wu Han

8:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Sun, March 8, 2020

University Bands

2:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Tue, March 10, 2020

Percussion Department Recital

7:30 PM

Collins Hall

Weds March 11, 2020

UW Jazz Orchestra

7:30 PM

Play Circle

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Wisconsin Brass Quintet – Faculty Concert Series

8:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Thu, March 12, 2020

UW Wind Ensemble

7:30 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Fri, March 27, 2020

Le Domaine Musicale with Marc Vallon and Friends

8:00 PM

Collins Hall

Sun, March 29, 2020

Concert Band

2:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Sun, April 5, 2020

Beethoven Competition Winners’ Recital

3:30 PM

Collins Hall

Sun, April 5, 2020

“Symphony Showcase” Concerto Winners’ Solo Concert

7:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Sat, April 11, 2020

Chorale

8:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Fri, April 12, 2019

Perlman Trio Chamber Concert

3:00 PM

Collins Hall

Tue, April 14, 2020

Opera Scenes

7:30 PM

Music Hall

Wed, April 15, 2020

Contested Homes: Migrant Liberation Movement Suite

7:30 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Thu, April 16, 2020

Pro Arte Quartet

7:30 PM

Collins Hall

Fri, April 17, 2020

Combined Choirs

8:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Sat, April 18, 2020

Low Brass Ensemble

4:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Sat, April 18, 2020

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UW-Madison Choral Reunion concert featuring Concert Choir, Madrigals and alumni

8:00 PM

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Mead Witter Hall

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Mon, April 20, 2020

Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble & Blue Note Ensemble

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7:30 PM

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Collins Hall

Tue, April 21, 2020

Jazz Standards Ensemble & Jazz Composers Group

7:30 PM

Collins Hall

Wed, April 22, 2020

Chamber Percussion Ensemble

7:30 PM

Mills Hall

Thu, April 23, 2020

UW Jazz Orchestra with the UW Honors Jazz Band

7:30 PM

Music Hall

Fri, April 24, 2020

Concert Band and Wind Ensemble

7:30 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Sat, April 25, 2020

All-University Strings

2:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Sat, April 25, 2020

Choral Union: Giuseppe Verdi’s “Requiem”

8:00 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Sun, April 26, 2020

Choral Union: Giuseppe Verdi’s “Requiem”

7:30 PM

Mead Witter Hall

Sun, April 26, 2020

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University Bands 2 PM Mead Witter Hall

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Classical music: The Madison New Music Ensemble makes its debut this Friday night. A FREE harpsichord recital is Friday at noon

April 10, 2019
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ALERT: This Friday’s FREE Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features harpsichordist Faythe Vollrath (below). She has been hailed by the Wall Street Journal for her “subtly varied tempo and rhythm that sounds like breathing.” Her programs do not focus solely on early music, but also incorporate new music written for historic instruments. The concert runs from 12:15 to 1 p.m. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear and see her playing the 1993 “Toccata” by Emma Lou Diemer.)

By Jacob Stockinger

On this coming Friday night, April 12, at 7:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, the Madison New Music Ensemble will give its debut concert.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors. Only cash and personal checks will be accepted at the door.

The program features music by the group’s artistic director and Madison-based composer Joseph Koykkar — the director of music in the Dance Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison —  Robert Muczynski, Ed Martin, Lennon/McCartney and others.

Special guests are The Vine Street Trio, a faculty trio from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, playing works by contemporary composers and saxophonist Peterson Ross.

Members of the Madison New Music Ensemble (below, from left) are: Danielle Breisach; Joseph Koykkar; Monica Jiang; Joseph Ross; Amy Harr; Elena Ross; and Bethany Schultz

For more information about the performers and the group, go to the Madison New Music Ensemble page on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/madisonnewmusicensemble/


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Classical music: WQXR radio names 19 musicians to watch in ’19. What do you think of the choices? Who would you add?

January 28, 2019
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By Jacob Stockinger

What will 2019 bring in the way of classical music?

What and who should we be looking at and paying attention to?

WQXR — the famed classical radio station in New York City – recently published its list of 19 to watch in ‘19, with detailed reasons for and explanations of their picks.

It seems like a pretty good choice to The Ear, although there is always something of a parlor game aspect to such projects.

Nonetheless, the list covers a fine variety – instrumentalists and vocalists, young and old, American and international, the well-known and the up-and-coming such as the opera singer Devone Tines (below, in a photo by Nikolai Schukoff).

Some names will be familiar to Madison audiences – such as pianist Inon Barnatan, violinist Nicola Benedettti, the JACK Quartet and cellist Steven Isserlis — especially through their live appearances at the Wisconsin Union Theater, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music and the Madison Symphony Orchestra plus broadcasts on Wisconsin Public Radio.

Here is a link to the list: https://www.wqxr.org/story/wqxr-presents-19-19-artists-collaborations-upcoming-year/

The Ear can think of some other musicians that he would add to the list.

An especially deserving one of them is the young American virtuoso pianist George Li (below, in a photo by Simon Fowler).

Born in China and brought as a child to the United States by his parents, Li attended Harvard and just finished his master’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. (At the bottom, you can hear Li play virtuosic music by Liszt and Horowitz in the YouTube video of a Tiny Desk Concert at National Public Radio or NPR.)

Li won the silver medal in the 2015 at the 15th Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow and had a lot of people talking about the energy and excitement of his playing. He was praised for both outstanding technical prowess and deep expressiveness.

He then took first prize at a piano competition in Paris.

Ever since, he has been steadily booked. At 23, the amiable Li has already toured China, Japan and Russia and seems to have a very busy schedule ahead of him, judging by his posts on Instagram.

He has also released his first recording on the Warner Classics label, a fine CD that received many positive reviews from critics, including this one.

The program includes Haydn’s Sonata in B minor, Chopin’s Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor “Funeral March,” Rachmaninoff’s “Variations on a Theme of Corelli,” and Consolation No. 3 and the popular Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt.

Given all the concertos he is now performing, it would not surprise one to see his next recording be a concerto, possibly the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto N. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23, which brought him instant acclaim.

Here is a link to his website: http://www.georgelipianist.com

And here is a link to his entry in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Li

Keep your ears and eyes on George Li.

What do you think of the choices made by WQXR?

Who would you add to the list of musicians to watch in 2019, and why?

If possible, maybe you can include a YouTube link to a performance, live or recorded, in your comment.

The Ear wants to hear.


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Classical music: Bach Around the Clock 2019 is looking for performers of all kinds to play on March 2

January 20, 2019
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By Jacob Stockinger

Do you like the music of Johann Sebastian Bach (below, followed by photos of performances from past years)?

Then attention individuals and groups!

Amateurs and professionals!

Students and teachers!

Young people and old!

Instrumentalists and singers!

Bach Around the Clock – the annual one-day festival to mark the birthday of composer Johann Sebastian Bach – is looking for performers for the 12 hours of celebration.

This year, the event takes place on Saturday, March 2.

Here is an official announcement with complete details about participating in and supporting the event:

Would YOU like to perform at Bach Around the Clock (BATC)?

Plan to join in the celebration of the 334th birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750).

Musicians — amateur and professional — are invited to perform their favorite piece by Bach.

To request a performance spot, go to the BATC website and click on “Contact Us” to find our online sign-up request form.

Tell us who you are, whether it’s you alone or in a group, what you would like to perform, what instrument(s) and the approximate amount of time you would like for your performance. We will get back in touch with you with complete details.

Here is a link: https://bachclock.com/

Performances will take place on Saturday, March 2, at St. Andrew’s Church, 1833 Regent St., Madison, from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. It will be live-streamed on local radio stations and websites.

P.S.  You can help keep this festival free and open to all! Bach Around the Clock welcomes donations to help meet the costs of offering this free community event. To make a secure online contribution, click below:

Donate

Bach Around the Clock is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

The Ear, who finds the event instructive and enjoyable, wants to add that although he loves and appreciates performances of Bach’s works as they were originally intended, he especially enjoys unusual arrangements that show the plasticity and genius of Bach’s music. He loves bluegrass Bach, roots Bach, jazz Bach, fell Bach and more.

From past years, he remembers hearing Two-Part Inventions written for keyboard played by a bassoon and flute duo. (You can hear it in the YouTube video at the bottom.) Similarly, he found it entrancing when one of the suites for solo cello was played on a saxophone and another on an electric bass guitar.

The Ear loves such unexpected variety – and is sure that Johann Sebastian himself, who often borrowed from and transcribed his own works, would approve.


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Classical music: Prize-winning UW-Madison conductor Chad Hutchinson talks about the FREE and unusual all-American, all-20th century concert he will perform with the UW Symphony Orchestra this Friday night

October 9, 2018
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By Jacob Stockinger

Chad Hutchinson (below) is starting his second season at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music by putting his own stamp on programming with an intriguing, all-American and all-20th-century concert that combines music for the concert hall with music for plays and films.

The FREE concert by the UW Symphony Orchestra is in Mills Hall this Friday night, Oct. 12, and starts at 8 p.m. with an informal pre-concert talk by Hutchinson (below) at 7:30 p.m.

Hutchison recently won one first prize and two second prizes from The American Prize for work he did – in opera conducting, orchestral conducting and orchestral programming — at the University of Minnesota and the University of South Dakota.

For more details, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/uw-madison-symphony-orchestra-3/

The Ear asked Hutchinson how, after his first year, he feels about the UW-Madison.

He answered: “What makes the UW-Madison special is the camaraderie and support of the students, faculty and staff across the numerous disciplines within the Mead Witter School of Music.

“I’m thrilled to be back working with the orchestra (below), opera and conducting students and collaborating with the amazing faculty here. Seeing the “light bulb” moments when students realize and achieve a new level of competency for themselves and the ensemble is the best part of the profession.”

Here are his thoughts about the program:

“The UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra opens the 2018-2019 season with a program of three influential American composers. This concert will highlight the juxtaposition of traditional classical music and compositions heavily influenced by folk, jazz and the blues.

“A common thread throughout the concert is the idea of firsts and exploring new ideas as a composer.

“The Overture to “The School for Scandal” (1931) of Samuel Barber (below) was the first piece that he composed for full orchestra and is based on the Restoration comedy by Richard Sheridan.

“This performance will be the debut of one of the Symphony Orchestra’s new doctoral conducting students Ji-Hyun Yim (below). Ji-Hyun (Jenny) comes to Madison after completing a Master’s Degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of North Texas.

“The second piece on the program is one that I have wanted to program for quite some time. The “Afro-American” Symphony (1930) of William Grant Still (below, in a photo by Carl Van Vechten), his first symphony, is widely regarded as the first large-scale piece of symphonic repertoire composed by an African-American and performed by a major symphony orchestra.

Each movement’s title is influenced by short poems by the 20th-century African-American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar (below, in 1890).

“Since the Barber and Still were composed within one year of each other in 1930-1931, I wanted to show the dichotomy of the straight-ahead classical world and the other side of classical music in the late 1920s and 1930s that was being heavily influenced by the more popular music of the time.

“Lastly, we feature the first and only film music that Bernstein composed. “On the Waterfront” (1954), an Oscar-winning film directed by Elia Kazan that starred Marlon Brando (below) and Eva Marie Saint, shows Bernstein writing simultaneously for the symphonic hall and the big screen.

“This work will feature UW-Madison professor of saxophone and composition Les Thimmig (below) and will showcase many soloists within the orchestra. While not programmed as often as his music from West Side Story or On the Town, I believe that Bernstein’s unique use of color, rhythm and melody in this work – heard in the YouTube video at the bottom — speak for themselves.”


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Classical music: This weekend pianist Emanuel Ax helps conductor John DeMain celebrate his 25th anniversary season with the Madison Symphony Orchestra

September 26, 2018
4 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

This weekend the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below top, in a photo by Peter Rodgers) will open its season by celebrating the 25th anniversary of its music director and conductor John DeMain, who will collaborate with renowned pianist Emanuel Ax (below bottom, in a photo by Lisa-Marie Mazzucco).

The program opens with the “Fanfare Ritmico” by Jennifer Higdon, the contemporary American composer and Pulitzer Prize winner. Then comes a special suite of favorite movements, cobbled together by DeMain, from the ballet score for “Romeo and Juliet” by Sergei Prokofiev. The grand finale is the monumental Piano Concerto No. 2 by Johannes Brahms.

Performances will be held in Overture Hall, 201 State Street, on Friday night, Sept. 28, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday night, Sept. 29, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday afternoon, Sept. 30, at 2:30 p.m.

Jennifer Higdon’s “Fanfare Ritmico” celebrates the rhythm and speed of life. Written on the eve of the new millennium, the work reflects on the quickening pace of life as time progresses.

Higdon (below) herself notes, “Our lives now move at speeds much greater than what I believe anyone would have imagined in years past. As we move along day-to-day, rhythm plays an integral part of our lives — from the individual heartbeat to the lightning speed of our computers. This fanfare celebrates that rhythmic motion, of man and machine, and the energy which permeates every moment of our being in the new century.”

Soviet composer Sergei Prokofiev (below) originally wrote the Romeo and Juliet Suite in 1935 for the titular ballet produced by the Kirov (now Mariinsky) Theatre. In addition to the somewhat standard instrumentation, the ballet orchestration also requires the use of tenor saxophone, a voice that adds a unique sound and contributes to the sense of drama prevalent in Shakespeare’s original tragedy.

For this performance, John DeMain (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson) has hand-picked the best excerpts from across the work to create one orchestra piece.

The epic Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 83, is separated by 22 years from Johannes Brahms’ first piano concerto and is dedicated to Brahms’ teacher Eduard Marxsen. It was premiered in 1881 in Budapest, Hungary, with Brahms (below) playing the piano solo.

The work was an immediate success and demonstrates Brahms’ ability to blend beauty with fire, tenderness with drama. (You can hear the unusual and fiery Scherzo movement, played by Krystian Zimmerman and Leonard Bernstein with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

Emanuel Ax (below) is considered one of the best-known concert pianists of the 21st century. As the Seattle Times reports, “[Ax’s] touch is amazing. The keys are not so much struck as sighed upon — moved as if by breath. There is no sense of fingers or hammers or material mechanisms…[it] simply materializes and floats in the air.”

Ax captured public attention in 1974 when he won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv. In 1975 he won the Michaels Award of Young Concert Artists, followed by the coveted Avery Fisher Prize four years later. In 1975, he made his Madison solo recital debut at the Wisconsin Union Theater and he has frequently performed here since then.

Ax is a particular supporter of contemporary composers and new music, and he has given three world premieres in the last few seasons: “Century Rolls” by John Adams; “Seeing” by Christopher Rouse; and “Red Silk Dance” by Bright Sheng. He has also received Grammy awards for the second and third volumes of his cycle of Haydn’s piano sonatas and has made a series of Grammy-winning recordings with cellist Yo-Yo Ma of the Beethoven and Brahms sonatas for cello and piano.

Emanuel Ax (below, in a photo by Lisa-Marie Mazzucco) is currently a faculty member of the Juilliard School of Music, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a recipient of Yale University’s Sanford Medal.

One hour before each performance, MSO retired trombonist and longtime program annotator J. Michael Allsen will lead a 30-minute Prelude Discussion in Overture Hall to enhance concertgoers’ understanding and listening experience. It is free to ticketholders.

Allsen’s program notes for the concerts are available online at this address: http://www.allsenmusic.com/NOTES/1819/1.Sep18.html

The MSO recommends that concert attendees arrive early for each performance to make sure they have time to pass through Overture Center’s security stations, and so they can experience the Prelude Discussion.

The lobby opens 90 minutes prior to each concert.

Tickets can be purchased in the following ways:

  • Single Tickets are $18-$93 each and are on sale now at: https://madisonsymphony.org/axthrough the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street, or by calling the Box Office at (608) 258-4141.
  • Groups of 10 or more can save 25% by calling the MSO office at (608) 257-3734. For more information, visit, https://www.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 $15 or $20 tickets. More information is at: https://www.madisonsymphony.org/studentrush
  • Seniors age 62 and up receive 20% savings on advance and day-of-concert ticket purchases in select areas of the hall.
  • Subscribers to 5 or more symphony subscription concerts can save up to 50% off single ticket prices. More information is available about the season at: https://madisonsymphony.org/18-19
  • Flex-ticket booklets of 10 vouchers for 18-19 symphony subscription concerts are available. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/flex

 NOTE: Discounted seats are subject to availability, and discounts may not be combined.

The Madison Symphony Orchestra is celebrating its 93rd season in 2018–2019 and its 25th season under the leadership of Music Director John DeMain. Find more information about the rest of the MSO season at madisonsymphony.org

The Presenting Sponsors for the September concerts are: Joel and Kathryn Belaire. Major funding is provided by: The Wisconsin State Journal and Madison.com; the Irving and Dorothy Levy Family Foundation, Inc.; the Kenneth A. Lattman Foundation, Inc.; Rosemarie and Fred Blancke; and David and Kato Perlman. Additional funding is provided by Jeffrey and Angela Bartell, Martin L. Conney and the Wisconsin Arts Board, with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.


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Classical music: You probably know Brahms, but who are Caroline Shaw, Colin Jacobsen and Michael Kelley? The Willy Street Chamber Players will show you this Friday night

July 5, 2018
2 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

The fourth annual concert series by the Willy Street Chamber Players (below) promises to be one of the high points of the summer season.

For more background about the Willys, go to:

https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2018/06/15/classical-music-the-willy-street-chamber-players-announce-their-five-impressive-july-concerts-three-with-admission-and-two-for-free-as-both-subscription-and-single-tickets-go-on-sale/

Three concerts in July – at 6 p.m. on July 6, 20 and 27 in the Immanuel Lutheran Church (below) at 1021 Spaight Street on the near east side – are all inviting. (A subscription to all three is $40, while admission is $15 for each one separately.)

Each concert lasts about 60 to 90 minutes with no intermission.

That’s something The Ear really likes and would like to see copied by other groups and presenters. Such a format leaves you plenty of time to do other things to start the weekend – including enjoying the post-concert reception (below) with snacks the Willys obtain from east-side providers.

The opening concert seems especially promising to The Ear.

That is because so far the Willys have had a knack for programming new music that The Ear really likes.

This time is no different.

Along with the regular members, who rotate in and out, a guest singer, mezzo-soprano Jazimina MacNeil (below), who sang a new work by John Harbison with the UW-Madison’s Pro Arte String Quartet this past winter, will team up to present new works.

The three contemporary composers and their works are: “Cant voi l’aube (composed in 2015 and heard in the YouTube video at the bottom) by Caroline Shaw (below top), a composer whose work the Willys have performed before with great success; “For Sixty Cents” (2015) by Colin Jacobsen (below middle, in a photo by Erin Baiano); and “Five Animal Stories” for string sextet and “Ashug” (2018) by Michael Kelley (below bottom).

Then to leaven newness with something more classic and familiar, the concert will close with the String Quintet No. 2, Op. 111, by Johannes Brahms. (The Willys have been working their way through the string quintets and sextets of Brahms with terrific performances.)

Other concerts will include:

On July 20, six arias from the opera “Porgy and Bess” by George Gershwin as transcribed and played by UW-Madison soprano saxophonist Les Thimmig (below) and the rarely performed String Quintet in A Major, Op. 39, by the Russian composer Alexander Glazunov ;

And on July 27, a program featuring wind music that includes “Night Music in the Streets of Madrid,” Op. 30, No. 6, by Luigi Boccherini; the Overture on Hebrew Themes by Sergei Prokofiev “Light Screens” (2002) by Andrew Norman (below); and the Kaiser Waltzes of Johann Strauss II, as arranged by Arnold Schoenberg.

The three local soloists for the final concert are: flutist Timothy Hagen (below top) and clarinetist Alicia Lee (below middle), who both teach at the UW-Madison and are members of the Wingra Wind Quintet, and pianist Thomas Kasdorf, who is finishing his doctorate at the UW-Madison and has often soloed with the Middleton Community Orchestra.

For more information about the Willy Street Chamber players—including a FREE community concert at the Goodman Community Center on Friday, July 13, at noon (with an instrument “petting zoo” for children at 11 a.m.) and at the Wisconsin Union Terrace — go to:

http://www.willystreetchamberplayers.org


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Classical music: UW choral groups and a jazz quintet join forces Saturday night for a FREE concert of world premieres to honor the bicycle

April 27, 2018
3 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

Here is an announcement from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music:

A FREE concert — called ”Free Wheeling: A Tribute to the Bicycle” – takes place this Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Mills Hall.

The UW Madrigal Singers (below) and Chorale, under the direction of Bruce Gladstone, will join forces with a jazz group.

The concert opens with five world premieres, written specifically for this concert.

“I was surprised, given the bicycle’s popularity, that there weren’t many choral works about bikes,” noted Gladstone (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot). “It seems to be more the domain of the solo popular ballad or rock bands. There are loads of poems about bikes though, so I just commissioned new works from composers I know.”

There are two works from John Stevens (below), veteran composer and UW-Madison emeritus professor. “Toasting Song” is a rollicking number about the pleasures of both cycling and wine. “A Bicycler’s Song” takes a poem in praise of bicycles and cycling and sets it in a vocal jazz idiom reminiscent of the Manhattan Transfer.

UW-Madison alumus and former Madrigal Singer Scott Gendel (below) also provided two new works for this event. “She Waits for Me” is a lush ballad that celebrates the joys of love and loyalty, while “Little Things” offers us a cautionary tale of a cyclist’s visit to church one Sunday morning.

Carl Buttke, a current graduate student, composed the fifth new work for this concert, a picturesque tale of a memorable day spent in the Austrian Alps, “Cycling the Rosental.”

The program will also include a fast and fun work for women’s voices, “The Bike Let Loose,” by composer Edie Hill.

This concert occurs at the end of the School of Music’s Jazz Week by design, since the major work in the concert is scored for massed choirs and jazz quintet.

The singers are joined by the UW’s Blue Note Ensemble (below top), directed by UW professor Johannes Wallmann (below middle), for a performance of “Song Cycle” by Alexander L’Estrange (below bottom and in the YouTube video at the bottom).

The work was written in 2014 for the grand start of the Tour de France in York, England. Comprised of 10 movements, the work looks at the invention of the bicycle, the social changes that it wrought, and the joys that cycling offers to all.

It’s a charming and witty trip that is fun for the whole family, even giving the audience an opportunity to sing along.

The concert is free and all are encouraged to wear their favorite biking togs and join in the fun!


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