Sergei Prokofiev | The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: This Sunday afternoon, the Madison Symphony Orchestra takes listeners “Behind the Score” of the Symphony No. 5 by Prokofiev

January 16, 2020
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By Jacob Stockinger

This Sunday afternoon, Jan. 19, at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall, the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below, in a photo by Peter Rodgers) and MSO music director John DeMain will present the story behind Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 with “Beyond the Score®: Sergei Prokofiev Symphony No. 5: Pure Propaganda?”

The one performance-only concert is a multimedia examination of the Russian composer’s musical celebration of the end of World War II. (You can hear the second movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

The presentation stars American Players Theatre actors James Ridge (below top), Colleen Madden (below second), Marcus Truschinski (below third) and Sarah Day (below bottom).

Along with MSO pianist Dan Lyons (below), the concert experience features visual projections, photos and musical excerpts.

Then in the second half comes a full and uninterrupted performance of the Symphony No. 5 by the orchestra conducted by John DeMain (below, in a photo by Prasad).

“This is one of the great offerings of Beyond the Score,” says DeMain. “Three generations of great Russian composers influenced Sergei Prokofiev (below) from childhood into his adult years, helping him create the most popular of his big symphonies, his fifth.

Adds DeMain: “I have so much fun working with the great actors from the American Players Theatre as they interweave the backstory with the orchestra. The visuals for this production are spectacular. After intermission, we play this wonderful symphony in its entirety.”

Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 was published in 1944. Taking inspiration from his experiences in America and his return to the Soviet homeland after the war, Prokofiev expresses the heroic, beautiful and strong nature of the music.

This Beyond the Score production joins Prokofiev at the end of World War II and discovers his inspiration for Symphony No. 5.

Incorporating war video footage and propaganda photos, the program presents the historical context behind the classical piece turned masterpiece.

CONCERT, TICKET AND EVENT DETAILS

The lobby opens 90 minutes prior to each concert. The symphony recommends concert attendees arrive early for each performance to make sure they have time to pass through Overture Center’s security stations.

Program notes are available online for viewing in advance of the concerts: http://bit.ly/msojan20programnotes

Single Tickets are $16-$70 each and are on sale now at: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/beyond-the-score-2020-prokofiev/through the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street, or by calling the Box Office at (608) 258-4141. Fees apply to online/phone sales.
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.
Seniors age 62 and up receive 20% savings on advance and day-of-concert ticket purchases in select areas of the hall.

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

ABOUT BEYOND THE SCORE®

For newcomers to classical music and longtime aficionados alike, each Beyond the Score® presentation is a dramatic exploration of a composer’s music.

Through live actors, stunning visual projections and virtuosic fragments of live music performed by members of the orchestra, the compelling story of the composer’s life and art unfolds, illuminating the world that shaped the music’s creation. Beyond the Score presentations weave together theater, music and design to draw audiences into the concert hall and into a work’s spirit.

The popular program seeks to open the door to the symphonic repertoire for first-time concertgoers as well as to encourage an active, more fulfilling way of listening for seasoned audiences.

At its core is the live format of musical extracts, spoken clarification, theatrical narrative, and hand-paced projections on large central surfaces, performed in close synchrony.

After each program, audiences return from intermission to experience the resulting work performed in a regular concert setting, equipped with a new understanding of its style and genesis.

Beyond the Score® is a production of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Gerard McBurney, Creative Director for Beyond the Score®

Exclusive funding for this concert is provided by the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: This Saturday night, Russian pianist Ilya Yakushev returns to the Salon Piano Series at Farley’s House of Pianos to perform popular works by Beethoven, Liszt and Gershwin

January 6, 2020
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By Jacob Stockinger

This coming Saturday night, Jan. 11, at 7:30 p.m., the acclaimed Russian-born pianist Ilya Yakushev (below) will make his fourth recital appearance at the Salon Piano Series.

The concert will be held at Farley’s House of Pianos, 6522 Seybold Road, on Madison’s far west side near West Towne Mall.

Yakushev — who studied in his native St. Petersburg and at the Mannes School of Music in New York City — has also performed several times with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.

He never fails to impress with both his virtuosic technique and his insightful interpretations, whether he is playing Russian repertoire by Mussorgsky, Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev or jazzy American classics like Gershwin.

“Yakushev is one of the very best young pianists before the public today,” said the American Record Guide about Yakushev who has also won major international competitions.

For more information about Yakushev, including critics’ reviews, a biography, concert dates and a discography, go to his website: http://www.ilyayakushev.com

The Madison program includes:

Beethoven – Sonata “Pathetique,” Op. 13

Liszt – “Six Consolations” (You can hear the famous Consolation No. 3, often learned by students and played as an encore by concert artists, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

Gershwin – music from the opera “Porgy and Bess” in an arrangement for solo piano

An artist’s reception will follow the concert.

Tickets are $45 in advance ($10 for students) or $50 at the door. Service fees may apply. Student tickets can only be purchased online and are not available the day of the event.

You can purchase tickets on line at: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/706809

For more information, go to: https://salonpianoseries.org/concerts.html

This concert is supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Salon Piano Series is a nonprofit founded to continue the tradition of intimate salon concerts featuring exceptional artists. For more information about the series, including upcoming concerts and how to support it, call (608) 271-2626 or go to: https://salonpianoseries.org.

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: Famed radio station WQXR names the best 100 recordings of 2019. Listen to samples of them here

December 28, 2019
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By Jacob Stockinger

Did you get a gift card for the holidays?

Are you looking how to spend it by either purchasing CDs or subscribing to a streaming service?

Help and guidance are available.

Few names in the airing of classical music carry more prestige than the famed radio station WQXR in New York City.

To check out the radio station’s choice of the best recordings of 2019 is also to see where the worlds of recording and concertizing are heading.

Such trends include rediscovering neglected composers and championing new music as well as women composers, such as Clara Schumann, and composers of color, such as the American composer Florence Price (below), who has often been featured on Wisconsin Public Radio this past year.

But you will also find noteworthy recordings of such classics as Johann Sebastian Bach – and two of his rarely heard cousins instead of his sons – and well as outstanding recordings of symphonies and piano sonatas (below, the set by Igor Levit) for the upcoming Beethoven Year to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of the composer.

And you will also find names of outstanding performers you may not have heard of — such as the exceptional Chinese pianist Haochen Zhang (below), a Van Cliburn Competition gold medalist whom The Ear would like to see perform here.

Here is a link to 25 picks with commentaries– plus another 75 titles and samples, without commentary, to round out a Top 100.

Happy listening!

https://www.wqxr.org/story/best-classical-recordings-2019/

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: Award-winning prodigy pianist Maxim Lando performs a recital at Farley’s on Sunday afternoon and gives a free public master class on Saturday afternoon

November 15, 2019
4 Comments

ALERT: At noon this Saturday, Nov. 16, Grace Presents offers a FREE one-hour concert by Lawren Brianna Ware and friends. The concert is at Grace Episcopal Church, 116 West Washington Avenue, downtown on the Capitol Square.

Pianist and composer Ware, the 2017 Grand Prize Winner of the Overture Rising Stars Competition, will perform a program of original, contemporary and classical solo and chamber works entitled “These Are a Few of My Favorite Things.” Featured are works by Aram Khachaturian, Fazil Say, Frederic Chopin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert W. Smith, Martin Ellerby and Eric Ewazen.

By Jacob Stockinger

You have to hand it to Farley’s House of Pianos and its Salon Piano Series: They sure know how to book young up-and-coming performers to stay ahead of the curve.

Last season, they presented Kenneth Broberg, a silver medalist at the last Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, before he was accepted into the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, where he won a bronze medal.

This weekend, the Salon Piano Series presents another timely choice.

This Sunday afternoon, Nov. 17, at 4 p.m., the 17-year-old American piano prodigy Maxim Lando (below, in a photo by Matt Dine) will perform a solo recital at Farley’s showroom, 6522 Seybold Road, on Madison’s far west side near West Towne Mall.

Once again, Lando was booked just before winning a big award and honor.

In addition, at his Salon Piano Series premiere, Lando will have grandparents in the audience, as well as an aunt, uncle and cousins, all from the Madison area.

The son of pianist Pippa Borisy, who grew up in Madison, and clarinetist Vadim Lando, Maxim was raised in Great Neck, Long Island, New York, and has a full-time career as a touring pianist while still finishing high school.

Lando first received national attention in 2017 when he performed with superstar Chinese pianist Lang Lang and jazz great Chick Corea with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall’s Gala Opening Night.

He won the 2018 Young Concert Artists auditions at the age of 16 and Susan Hall of Berkshire Fine Arts has described him as having “a very old musical soul.”

This fall he received a Gilmore 2020 Young Artist Award, which recognizes the most promising of the new generation of U.S.-based pianists, age 22 or younger. He will perform a series of concerts this season at the Gilmore Keyboard Festival as part of the recognition.

For this Salon Piano Series concert, Lando will perform the same program he performed for recent sold-out performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Lando’s program includes: Nikolai Kapustin’s Concert Etude “Toccatina”; Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109 (you can hear the opening movement in the YouTube video at the bottom); Alexander Scriabin’s Prelude in B major and Etude in D-sharp minor; and Franz Liszt’s “Transcendental Etudes.”

Tickets are $45 in advance (full-time students are $10) or $50 at the door (if any remain). Service fees may apply. Student tickets can only be purchased online and are not available the day of the concert.

Tickets can be purchased at: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4275212

An artist’s reception will follow the concert.

For more information, go to: https://salonpianoseries.org/concerts.html

MASTER CLASS

Also, on this Saturday, Nov. 16, at 4 p.m., Maxim Lando will teach a master class at Farley’s House of Pianos, where he will instruct four local students.

This is a free event that the public is invited to observe.

For a complete list of the music by Beethoven, Prokofiev and Clementi to be performed as well as the names of the local students and their teachers, go to: https://salonpianoseries.org/concerts.html

The master classes for the 2019-20 season are supported by the law firm of Boardman and Clark LLP.

This concert is supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: This afternoon is your last chance to hear rave-winning performances by pianist Joyce Yang and the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Here’s a review to read

November 10, 2019
5 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

This afternoon — Sunday, Nov. 10 — at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall is your last chance to hear South Korean pianist Joyce Yang and the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below, in a photo by Peter Rodgers) under the baton of music director John DeMain.

The program features the exciting, popular and beautiful Piano Concerto No. 3 by the Russian modernist composer Sergei Prokofiev as well as “Newly Drawn Sky” by contemporary American composer and Yale School of Music professor Aaron Jay Kernis (below) and the Symphony No. 2 by the German Romantic master Robert Schumann.

For more information about the performers, the program and tickets, go to: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2019/11/04/classical-music-this-weekend-prize-winning-pianist-joyce-yang-solos-in-prokofievs-most-popular-piano-concerto-with-the-madison-symphony-orchestra-works-by-schumann-and-aaron-jay-kernis-are/

The prize-winning Yang (below), who at 19 won the silver medal at the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, rewarded a standing ovation with the late Earl Wild’s virtuosic arrangement of George Gershwin’s song “The Man I Love,” which you can hear Yang play in the YouTube video at the bottom.

The reviews that have appeared so far agreed: It is a rave-winning concert with special attention going to Yang, who is making her MSO debut after performing a solo recital several years ago at the Wisconsin Union Theater.

The Ear cannot find a link to the rave review by Bill Wineke for Channel 3000.

But here is the rapturous review that Michael Muckian wrote for Isthmus:

https://isthmus.com/music/joyce-yang-triumphs-with-prokofiev/

But you be the critic.

What did you think of Joyce Yang and the MSO?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: This weekend, prize-winning pianist Joyce Yang solos in Prokofiev’s most popular piano concerto with the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Works by Schumann and Aaron Jay Kernis round out the program

November 4, 2019
1 Comment

PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.

By Jacob Stockinger

This weekend, prize-winning pianist Joyce Yang (below) will return to Madison to join the Madison Symphony Orchestra in her local concerto debut and perform Prokofiev’s brilliant, bravura and tuneful Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26.

The concert opens with Kernis’ Newly Drawn Sky and concludes with Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 in C Major, Op. 61.

Performances will be held in Overture Hall, 201 State Street, on Friday night, Nov. 8, at 7:30 p.m.; on Saturday night, Nov. 9, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday afternoon, Nov. 10, at 2:30 p.m.

Tickets are $19-$95 with discounts available. See below for details.

Speaking about the program, music director and maestro John DeMain (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson) says: “November brings us another Madison Symphony debut, that of the amazing pianist Joyce Yang. She will perform the Prokofiev’s dazzling Piano Concerto No. 3, one of the great and most popular concertos, and certainly a favorite of mine.”

Adds DeMain: “I can’t wait for audiences to experience the hauntingly beautiful Newly Drawn Sky by Aaron Jay Kernis. And of the four symphonies by Robert Schumann, many regard his second as the greatest of them all.”

According to Aaron Jay Kernis (below), who has won the Pulitzer Prize and a Grammy Award and who teaches at the Yale School of Music, “Newly Drawn Sky” is “a lyrical, reflective piece for orchestra, a reminiscence of the first summer night by the ocean spent with my young twins, and of the summer sky at dusk.”

The chromatically shifting three-note chords that begin in the strings and transfer to the winds are a central element in the creation of this work. The works last approximately 17 minutes and was premiered at the Ravinia Festival in 2005 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

To read more about Kernis and his successful career, go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Jay_Kernis

Sergei Prokofiev (below) himself played the solo part at the world premiere of his Piano Concerto No. 3 on Dec. 16, 1921 in Chicago with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Although he started work on the composition as early as 1913, the majority of it was completed in 1921 and the piece didn’t gain popularity until 1922 when it was confirmed in the 20th-century canon. (You can hear Prokofiev play the first movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.) The Ear thinks that the work has much Russian Romanticism in it and if you like Rachmaninoff, you will probably like this Prokofiev.

Originally a composer for keyboard, Robert Schumann (below with wife Clara) began writing symphonies around the time of his marriage to his virtuoso pianist and composer wife Clara Wieck, who encouraged his compositional expansions.

The uplifting Symphony in C major was created while the composer was troubled with depression and hearing loss; a Beethovenian triumph over pessimism and despair, the creation of this symphony served as a healing process for Schumann.

ABOUT JOYCE YANG

Blessed with “poetic and sensitive pianism” (The Washington Post) and a “wondrous sense of color” (San Francisco Classical Voice), Grammy-nominated pianist Joyce Yang, who years ago played a recital at the Wisconsin Union Theater, captivates audiences with her virtuosity, lyricism and interpretive sensitivity.

Yang first came to international attention in 2005 when she won the silver medal at the 12th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The youngest contestant at 19 years old, she took home two additional awards: Best Performance of Chamber Music (with the Takacs Quartet), and Best Performance of a New Work.

In 2006 Yang (below) made her celebrated New York Philharmonic debut alongside conductor Lorin Maazel at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center along with the orchestra’s tour of Asia, making a triumphant return to her hometown of Seoul, South Korea.

CONCERT, TICKET AND EVENT DETAILS

The lobby opens 90 minutes prior to each concert.

One hour before each performance, Wisconsin Public Radio host Anders Yocom (below, in a photo by James Gill )will lead a 30-minute Prelude Discussion in Overture Hall to enhance concertgoers’ understanding and listening experience. It is free to ticket holders.

The MSO recommends 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.

Program notes for the concerts are available online: http://bit.ly/msonov19programnotes.

Single Tickets are $19-$95 each and are on sale now at: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/joyce-yang-plays-prokofiev/through the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street, or by calling the Box Office at (608) 258-4141. Fees apply to online/phone sales.
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.
Flex-ticket booklets of 8-10 vouchers for 2019-20 symphony subscription concerts are available. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/flex
Subscriptions for the 2019–2020 season are available now. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/19-20

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

Major funding for this concert is provided by Madison Magazine, Stephen D. Morton, National Guardian Life Insurance Company, Scott and Janet Cabot, and Peggy and Tom Pyle. Additional funding provided by Foley & Lardner LLP, Howard Kidd and Margaret Murphy, 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: This afternoon is your last chance to hear the all-Russian program by violinist Rachel Barton Pine and the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Here are two very positive reviews and a more critical one

October 20, 2019
9 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

This afternoon, at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall, is your last chance to hear the highly praised all-Russian program by the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below, in a photo by Peter Rodgers), conducted by music director John DeMain.

The guest soloist is the critically acclaimed, virtuoso violinist Rachel Barton Pine (below) from Chicago.

For more details about the program, the performers, program notes and tickets, go to: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2019/10/17/classical-music-this-weekend-guest-violinist-rachel-barton-pine-solos-in-an-all-russian-program-of-khachaturian-prokofiev-and-shostakovich-by-the-madison-symphony-orchestra/

The concert features the Violin Concerto in D Minor by Aram Khachaturian; the “Lieutenant Kijé Suite” film score by Sergei Prokofiev; and the Symphony No. 9 by Dmitri Shostakovich.

From the previews, the thematic program – all works were composed in the Soviet Union under the threatening shadow of the terrorist-dictator Josef Stalin (below) — sounded promising.

And it turns out that that the promise was, to varying degrees, fulfilled.

Here are two very positive reviews of the concert.

The first is by Michael Muckian (below), who has taken over reviewing duties at Isthmus for the now retired critic John W. Barker: https://isthmus.com/music/wildrussianride/

Here is a review by Greg Hettmansberger (below): https://whatgregsays.wordpress.com/2019/10/19/madison-symphony-triumphs-over-the-soviets/

And here is a somewhat more critical review by UW-Madison music graduate Matt Ambrosio (below) written for The Capital Times: https://madison.com/ct/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/review-rachel-barton-pine-gives-memorable-performance-with-the-mso/article_61f34b8d-8dd8-514d-8e75-576a47826a04.html

What did you think of the programs, the performers and the performance?

Which critic do you most agree with?

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #All-Russian, #AramKhachaturian, #BaltimoreSymphonyOrchestra, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CapTimes, #ClassicalMusician, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #DmitriShostakovich, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FilmScore, #FilmSoundtrack, #GregHettmansberger, #GuestArtist, #GuestSoloist, #IsthmusMagazine, #IsthmusNewspaper, #JohnDeMain, #JohnW.Barker, #JosefStalin, #LieutenantKijé, #MadisonMagazine, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MattAmbrosio, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MichaelMuckian, #ModernComposers, #ModernMusic, #MovieMusic, #MusicCritic, #MusicReview, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #ProgramNotes, #RachelBartonPine, #RussianMusic, #SergeiProkofiev, #Sovietcomposer, #SovietUnion, #StalinistTerror, #Sundayafternoon, #TheCapitalTimes, #TheEar, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolinConcerto, #WhatGregSays, acclaimed, afternoon, agree, Aram Khachaturian, audience, blog, Cap Times, chance, Chiacgo, Chicago, Classical music, classicalmusic, composer, critic, critical, critically acclaimed, criticism, details, dictator, Dmitri Shostakovich, duties, duty, event, exposure, Facebook, film, Film score, forward, fulfilled, Greg Hettmansberger, guest, Isthmus, John DeMain, John W. Barker, Josef Stalin, Khachaturian, Lieutenant Kijé, like, link, Madison Magazine, Madison Symphony Orchestra, magazine, Matt Ambrosio, Mead Witter School of Music, member, Michael Muckian, modern, movie, movie music, Music, music critic, music review, new, Newspaper, Overture Center, Overture Hall, performer, positive, post, posting, preview, program, program notes, Prokofiev, promise, promising, Rachel Parton Pine, reader, review, reviewer, Russia, Sergei Prokofiev, share, Shostakovich, solo, soloist, soundtrack, Soviet Union, spread, subscriber, Suite, Sunday, tag, terror, terrorist, The Capital Times, The Ear, thematic, theme, think, threat, threatening, ticket, tickets, University of Wisconsin–Madison, USSR, UW-Madison, Violin, Violin concerto, violinist, virtuoso, What Greg Says, word, you

Classical music: This weekend guest violinist Rachel Barton Pine solos with the Madison Symphony Orchestra in an all-Russian program

October 17, 2019
9 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

This weekend the acclaimed Chicago violinist Rachel Barton Pine (below) makes her debut with the Madison Symphony Orchestra playing Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto in D minor.

The concert by the orchestra (below, in a photo by Peter Rodgers) opens with Prokofiev’s Suite from Lieutenant Kijé and concludes with Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9.

Performances will be held in Overture Hall, 201 State St., on Friday night, Oct. 18, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday night, Oct. 19, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday afternoon, Oct. 20, at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall. Tickets are $19-$95. See below for details.

“There will be great discoveries in our all-Russian concert, starting with the MSO debut of virtuoso violinist Rachel Barton Pine playing the Khachaturian Violin Concerto, a big, bold and beautiful work in its MSO premiere,” said MSO music director and conductor John DeMain (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson). Lieutenant Kijé is sure to delight you with its wonderful melodies and infectious rhythms. Shostakovich has become a favorite with our audiences, and his ninth symphony is delightfully upbeat.”

Lieutenant Kijé is the fictional protagonist of an anecdote about the reign of Emperor Paul I of Russia. The story was used as the basis of a novella by Yury Tynyanov published in 1928 and filmed in 1934, with music by Sergei Prokofiev (below). The plot is a satire on bureaucracy and is often parodied in fictional works making fun of bureaucracies, most famously in the form of the M*A*S*H television episode “Tuttle,” featuring a fictional captain of similar provenance. (You can hear the popular “Troika” episode in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

Many of the themes in Violin Concerto in D minor are evocative of the native Armenia of Aram Khachaturian (below). Although the folk melodies aren’t played explicitly, one can hear the Armenian roots through the oriental essence of the scales and the rhythmic range of the featured dances. The piece won the Stalin Prize in 1941, becoming one of Khachaturian’s favorites.

Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 is entirely unlike his other symphonies. In fact, it completely disregards the expectations for its programmatic elements. Shostakovich’s prior two symphonies are thematically tied to the ongoing war, therefore the public presumed that the ninth symphony would be a grand culmination to Stalin and mark the end of World War II. Instead, the composer (below) produced a short, neo-classical work that generated an abundance of controversy.

ABOUT RACHEL BARTON PINE

In both art and life, violinist Rachel Barton Pine (below) – who has performed in Madison before with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra — has an extraordinary ability to connect with people.

Celebrated as a leading interpreter of great classic and contemporary works, her performances combine her innate gift for emotional communication and her scholarly fascination with historical research. She plays with passion and conviction, thrilling audiences worldwide with her dazzling technique, lustrous tone, and infectious joy in music-making.

A prolific recording artist, she has also championed the works of female composers and African-American composers.

Pine was also recently named the recipient of the Cedille Records Musical Partnership Award for her Rachel Barton Pine Foundation. The Foundation was recognized as an organization that has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to the classical music community in Chicago. Cedille noted the Foundation’s “support of the Chicago musical community’s most valuable asset — its musicians and composers.”

Pine was presented with the award by U.S Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg whose son, Jim Ginsburg, founded Cedille Records. Pine began her Foundation in 2001 to provide instruments and instruction to children who might not otherwise be able to afford them.

You can read the Artist Story online about how Rachel Barton Pine overcame severe injuries and her own personal adversity to achieve her goals: https://madisonsymphony.org/19-20-artist-story-rachel-barton-pine-overcomes-adversity/

CONCERT, TICKET AND EVENT DETAILS

The lobby opens 90 minutes prior to each concert.

One hour before each performance, retired MSO trombonist and UW-Whitewater professor Michael Allsen (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot) will lead a 30-minute Prelude Discussion in Overture Hall to enhance concertgoers’ understanding and listening experience. It is free to ticket holders.

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.

Program notes for the concerts are available online: http://bit.ly/msooct19programnotes.

Single Tickets are $19-$95 each and are on sale now at: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/rachel-barton-pine-plays-khachaturian/through the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street, or by calling the Box Office at (608) 258-4141. Fees apply to online/phone sales.
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.
Flex-ticket booklets of 8-10 vouchers for 19-20 symphony subscription concerts are available. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/flex
Subscriptions for the 2019–2020 season are available now. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/19-20

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

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: The Mosaic Chamber Players open their new four-concert season this Saturday night with an all-Mozart program

October 10, 2019
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By Jacob Stockinger

The critically acclaimed Mosaic Chamber Players (below, in a photo by John W. Barker) will open their new season this coming Saturday night, Oct. 12, at 7:30 p.m. in the older and historic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Landmark Auditorium of the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive.

The program is all works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (below) and includes the following pieces:

The Sonata for Violin and Piano in C Major, K. 303, features violinist Laura Burns, of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Oakwood Chamber Players, and pianist Jess Salek, who is also the founder and artistic director of the chamber music ensemble.

The Sonata for Violin and Piano in B-Flat Major K. 454, will be performed by violinist Wes Luke, of the Ancora String Quartet and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and pianist Salek.

The energetic Piano Quartet in G minor, K. 478, features violinist Laura Burns, violist Wes Luke, pianist Salek and cellist Derek Handley (below), of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can see a graphic depiction of the first movement of the Piano Quartet.)

Tickets are $15 for general admission, $10 for seniors, and $5 for students. Only checks or cash will be accepted.

A reception will be held after the performance

Here are the concerts and programs – all take place at the First Unitarian Society — for the rest of four-concert season, including two-all Beethoven concerts to mark the Beethoven Year in which the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth will be celebrated.

Friday, Feb. 21, at noon (Free admission)

All-Beethoven (below) String Sonata Program:

Sonata in F Major for Piano and Cello, Op. 5, No. 1

Sonata in E-Flat Major for Piano and Violin, Op. 12, No. 3

Sonata in C minor for Piano and Violin, Op. 30, No. 2

Saturday March 21, at 7:30 p.m. (Tickets required)

All-Prokofiev (below) Program:

Sonata in F minor for Violin and Piano, Op. 80

Sonata in D Major for Violin and Piano, Op. 94a

Sonata in C Major for Cello and Piano, Op. 119

Saturday June 13, 2020 7:30 p.m. (Tickets required)

All-Beethoven Piano Trio Program:

Piano Trio in E-Flat Major, Op. 1, No. 1

Piano Trio in E-Flat Major, Op. 70, No. 2

Piano Trio in G Major, Op. 121a: “Kakadu” Variations

For more information about the group and biographies of the players, go to: http://www.mosaicchamberplayers.com

You can also follow the group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mosaicchamberplayers/

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Classical music: The Madison Symphony Orchestra is offering an unlimited, season-starting single ticket sale with 20 percent off, through this Saturday

August 28, 2019
8 Comments

By Jacob Stockinger

For the first time ever, the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below, in a photo by Peter Rodgers) is offering a sale on tickets to the first three concerts this season.

You will get 20 percent off if you buy tickets through the Overture Center box office in person, by phone (608 258-4141) or online at https://www.overture.org/events

The discount code to say or use is FIRST3SYMPHONY.

Be forewarned: You will NOT find the ticket sale on the MSO website.

There is no limit of how many tickets you can buy, says MSO marketing director Peter Rodgers who also said the traditional holiday ticket sale, with two-tiered discount pricing, will take place as usual from Dec. 16 through Dec. 31.

The season-starting sale runs through this coming Saturday, Aug. 31. You can get discounted single tickets to the concerts on Sept. 27-29, Oct. 18-20 and Nov. 8-10 with performances on Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 2:30 p.m.

Ticket prices range from $19-$95, up about 2 percent from last year to keep up with inflation, Rodgers added.

Why isn’t the sale on the MSO website?

“We did it digitally and in a printed brochure that we mailed out just to try and reach out to either season subscribers or people who have already bought single tickets before and have already been to the symphony,” says Rodgers. “We just wanted to give some people a little nudge. But anyone can take advantage of the sale.”

Rodgers also said that the inaugural sale is not being held because ticket sales are slow. “Ticket sales for this season are competitive with last season’s,” he said, adding that some buyers might use the sale to get tickets as birthday gifts or for other special occasions.

Although there is no limit to the number of single tickets an individual can buy, Rodgers said that once you get to 10, you are better off going with the usual 25 percent off group rate.

MSO music director John DeMain (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson) will conduct all performances of the first three concerts.

The September concerts open the season with MSO organ soloist Greg Zelek (below) and features the Overture to the opera “Tannhauser” by Richard Wagner; the “Toccata Festiva” by Samuel Barber; the tone poem “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun” by Claude Debussy; and the Symphony No. 7 by Antonin Dvorak.

The October concerts feature guest violinist Rachel Barton Pine. The all-Russian and all-20th century program includes the Violin Concerto by Aram Khachaturian; the Symphony No. 9 by Dmitri Shostakovich; and the Suite from “Lieutenant Kije,” for trumpet and orchestra, by Sergei Prokofiev.

The November concerts feature guest pianist Joyce Yang. The program is the Symphony No. 2 by Robert Schumann; the Piano Concerto No. 3 by Sergei Prokofiev; and “Newly Drawn Sky” by the Pulitzer Prize-winning and Grammy Award-winning contemporary American composer Aaron Jay Kernis, who teaches at the Yale University School of Music. (You can hear “Newly Drawn Sky” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

For more details about the three opening concerts and the entire 2019-20 season, including complete programs, go to: https://madisonsymphony.org/concerts-events/2019-2020-symphony-season-concerts/

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AaronJayKernis, #AmericanComposer, #AntoninDvorak, #AramKhachaturian, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #BrandenburgConcerto, #ChoralMusic, #ClarinetMusic, #ClaudeDebussy, #ContemporaryComposer, #DigitalMedia, #DmitriShostakovich, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GrammyAward, #GregZelek, #GuestArtist, #JohnDeMain, #JoyceYang, #LivingComposer, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MusicDirector, #Musicfaculty, #NewlyDrawnSky", #NewMusic, #OperaOverture, #OrganMusic, #OvertureCenter, #PianoConcerto, #PreludetotheAfternoonofaFaun, #PulitzerPrize, #RachelBartonPine, #RichardWagner, #RobertSchumann, #RussianComposer, #SamuelBarber, #SchoolofMusic, #SeasonBrochure, #SergeiProkofiev, #Sovietcomposer, #TicketSale, #TonePoem, #TrumpetMusic, #ViolinConcerto, #ViolinVirtuoso, #YaleSchoolofMusic, #YaleUniversity, #YouTubevideo, 20th-century, 20th-century classical music, Aaron Jay Kernis, advantage, afternoon, American, Antonín Dvořák, anyone, Aram Khachaturian, Arts, audience, Barber, birthday, blog, box office, brochure, buy, choral music, clarinet, Claude Debussy, code, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, contemporary music, Debussy, digital, digital media, discount, Dmitri Shostakovich, Dvorak, Facebook, faculty, faun, forward, gift, Grammy Award, Greg Zelek, group, guest artist, Holiday, inaugural, inflation, Jacob Stockinger, John DeMain, Joyce Yang, Khachaturian, Kije, last year, lieutenant, like, link, Living composer, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, mail, market, marketing, marketing director, MSO, Music, Music director, music faculty, New Music, Newly Drawn Sky, online, opera, opera overture, Orchestra, organ, organist, Overture, Overture Center, People, percent, performer, phone, photo, photograph, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, poem, post, posting, Prelude, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, price, pricing, print, professor, program, Pulitzer Prize, Rachel Barton Pine, range, rate, reader, Richard Wagner, Robert Schumann, Russia, Russian, sale, Samuel Barber, Saturday, School of Music, Schumann, Season, Sergei Prokofiev, share, single, soloist, subscription, Suite, symphony, tag, Tannhauser, teach, ticket, ticket sale, tier, toccata, tone, tone poem, Trumpet, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, USSR, Viola, Violin, Violin concerto, violinist, Wagner, Website, Yale, Yale School of Music, Yale University, year, YouTube

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