Sibelius | The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: As superstar Itzhak Perlman turns 75, a critic assesses his virtues and shortcomings in playing both the violin and his audiences

September 6, 2020
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By Jacob Stockinger

Last Monday, Aug. 31, superstar violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman (below, in a photo by Yael Malka of The New York Times) turned 75.

To celebrate, Sony Classical released a boxed set of 18 CDs (below) with many performances by Perlman – solo, chamber music and concertos – recorded over many years.

On the occasion of Perlman’s birthday, critic Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim of The New York Times wrote a retrospective review of Perlman’s long career. (You can hear his most popular performance ever — with more than 6 million hits — in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

The Ear finds the opinion piece both brave and truthful, pointing out Perlman’s mastery of the Romantic repertory but also criticizing his stodgy treatment of Vivaldi and other Baroque music that has benefitted from the period-instrument movement and historically informed performance practices

Yet the essay, which also touches on ups and down of Perlman’s career, always remains respectful and appreciative even when discussing Perlman’s shortcomings.

Offering many historical details and photos as well as sample videos, the critical assessment of Perlman seems perfectly timed.

The Ear hopes you enjoy it as much as he did. Here is a link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/26/arts/music/itzhak-perlman-violin.html

If you have heard Itzhak Perlman either on recordings or live – at the Wisconsin Union Theater, the old Civic Center or Overture Hall — let us know what you think.

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: The Madison Symphony Orchestra announces its 2020-21 season to mark The Beethoven Year. Plus, this Sunday afternoon, the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra also celebrates The Beethoven Year

February 21, 2020
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ALERT: The Madison Symphony Orchestra has just announced its 2020-21 season, which is heavy on works from Beethoven’s mid-career “Heroic” period to mark the Beethoven Year celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of the composer (below).

Other composers to be featured include Haydn, Mozart, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Sibelius, Honegger, Grofé, Kabalevsky and the African-American composer George Walker.

Familiar soloists include pianists Olga Kern and Garrick Ohlsson; violinists James Ehnes and Gil Shaham. Also soloing are retired UW-Madison professor and MSO principal oboe Marc Fink and MSO concertmaster Naha Greenholtz.

The traditional Christmas Concert is in early December.

The “Beyond the Score” program in late January, with actors from American Players Theater in Spring Green, focuses on Stravinsky’s revolutionary “The Rite of Spring.” And the MSO Chorus will perform in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 “Choral” and “Missa Solemnis.”

All concerts will be conducted by John DeMain.

Here is a link to details about the season and how to subscribe: https://madisonsymphony.org/concerts-events/2020-2021-symphony-season-concerts/

Let The Ear know what you think of the new MSO season in the Comment section.

By Jacob Stockinger

This Sunday afternoon, Feb. 23, the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra of Edgewood College presents a special winter concert.

The performance is at 2:30 p.m. in McKinley Performing Arts Center of Edgewood High School, 2219 Monroe Street, on Madison’s near west side.

The conductor is Blake Walter (below, in a photo by John Maniaci) and the guest soloist is violinist David Huntsman.

The concert celebrates the 250th anniversary of the birth of the Ludwig van Beethoven.

The Chamber Orchestra will perform the Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36, by Beethoven, who seems influenced in this work by Mozart and especially his teacher Haydn but who moved beyond them in this symphony. (You can hear the innovative Scherzo movement, which replaced the traditional minuet, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

Also on the program are Handel’s Overture to the opera “Semele” and the virtuosic Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso by Camille Saint-Saens, which features soloist David Huntsman (below).

Tickets are $5 for general admission, and admission is free with an Edgewood High School or Edgewood College ID.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #African-AmericanComposer, #AmericanPlayersTheatre, #AntoninDvorak, #ArthurHonegger, #BaroqueComposer, #BaroqueOpera, #BeethovenYear, #BeyondTheScore, #BlakeWalter, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CamilleSaint-Saens, #ChoralMusic, #ChoralSymphony, #DavidHuntsman, #DmitryKabalevsky, #EdgewoodChamberOrchestra, #EdgewoodCollege, #EdgewoodHighSchool, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FerdeGrofe, #FranzJosephHaydn, #GarrickOhlsson, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GeorgeWalker, #GilShaham, #HandelOpera, #IgorStravinsky, #IntroductionandRondoCapriccioso, #JacobStockinger, #JamesEhnes, #JeanSibelius, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyChorus, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarcFink, #MauriceRavel, #McKinleyPerformingArtsCenter, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MissaSolemnis, #NahaGreenholtz, #NinthSymphony, #OboeConcerto, #OdetoJoy, #OlgaKern, #OperaMusic, #OperaOverture, #OrchestralMusic, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #SpringGreen, #TheEar, #TheRiteofSpring, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VocalMusic, #WestSide, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, actors, admission, African American, American Players Theatre, anniversary, Antonín Dvořák, Arthur Honegger, Arts, audience, Baroque, Beethoven, Beethoven Year, Beyond the Score, birth, Blake Walter, blog, Camille Saint-Saëns, Cello, choral music, Choral Symphony, Christmas, Classical music, comment, composer, Concert, concertmaster, concerto, conductor, David Huntsman, Dmirty Kabalevsky, Dmitri Kabalevsky, Dvorak, Early music, Edgewood Chamber Orchestra, Edgewood College, Edgewood College Chamber Orchestra, Edgewood High School, Facebook, Ferde Grofe, forward, Franz Joseph Haydn, free, Garrick Ohlsson, George Frideric Handel, George Walker, Gil Shaham, Grofe, Gruff, Handel, Handel opera, Haydn, heavy, heroic, Honegger, ID, Igor Stravinsky, innovation, innovative, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Jacob Stockinger, Jean Sibelius, Kabalevsky, like, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Chorus, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marc Fink, mark, Maurice Ravel, McKinley Performing Arts Center, Mead Witter School of Music, mid-career, minuet, Missa Solemnis, movement, Mozart, MSO, Music, Naha Greenholtz, new season, Ninth Symphony, Oboe, Ode to Joy, Olga Kern, opera, Orchestra, orchestral music, Overture, Overture Center, Overture Hall, performer, period, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, pincipal, post, posting, public, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Ravel, replace, revolution, revolutionary, rondo, Saint-Saens, Scherzo, Season, section, Semele, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, share, Sibelius, soloist, special, Spring Green, Stravinsky, symphony, tag, Tchaikovsky, The Ear, The Rite of Spring, tickets, traditional, United States, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, Violin concerto, violinist, virtuosic, virtuoso, vocal music, west side, winter, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, works, YouTube

Classical music: On Wednesday at noon, Just Bach turns to C.P.E. Bach. At night, the Middleton Community Orchestra, with soloist Paran Amirinazari, plays the Violin Concerto No. 1 by Bruch plus works by Janacek and Sibelius.

February 17, 2020
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By Jacob Stockinger

This coming Wednesday, Feb. 19, features two noteworthy concerts, one by Just Bach at noon and the other by the Middleton Community Orchestra at 7:30 p.m.

Here are details:

JUST BACH

For this month’s FREE one-hour Just Bach concert (below, in a photo by John W. Barker) on this Wednesday at noon in Luther Memorial Church, 1021 University Avenue, attention will turn from father to son.

The concert features music by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (below), the eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach.

The concert opens with a movement from the Sonata in A Minor, Wq. 70/4, H. 85, performed by organist Mark Brampton Smith.

The program continues with a recently rediscovered Cantata, “Ich bin vergnügt mit meinem Stande” (I Am Content with My Station), featuring bass-baritone Professor Paul Rowe, and the Just Bach period-instrument players led by Kangwon Kim.

Just Bach co-founder and soprano Sarah Brailey (below) will lead the chorale sing-along, a beloved audience-participation feature of these programs.

The program concludes with eight selections from the “Geistliche Oden und Lieder ‘Gellert Lieder’” (Sacred Odes and Songs ‘Gellert Songs’), performed by students of Paul Rowe (below, in a photo by Michael R. Anderson), accompanied by organist Mark Brampton Smith.

This will also be the first concert with a mother and daughter performing, with violinist Leanne League in the Just Bach players, and soprano Cecilia League in the Paul Rowe studio.

Performers are: Sarah Brailey, soprano; Paul Rowe, baritone; Kangwon Kim, violin 1 (below); Leanne League, violin 2; Katrin Talbot, viola; Anton TenWolde, cello; Mark Brampton Smith, organ; Allyson Mills, Cecilia League, Carly Ochoa and Ella Anderson, sopranos; and Jack Innes, Jake Elfner, Nick Schinner and Chase Kozak, baritones.

The concert is free and open to the public, with a goodwill offering collected.

Other Just Bach concerts this spring, all Wednesdays at noon are on: March 25, April 15 and May 20.

MIDDLETON COMMUNITY ORCHESTRA

At 7:30 p.m., the mostly amateur and critically acclaimed Middleton Community Orchestra (below) will perform its winter concert as part of its 10th anniversary season.

The concert takes place in the comfortable and acoustically pleasing Middleton Performing Arts Center (below, in a photo by Brian Ruppert) that is attached to Middleton High School, 2100 Bristol Street.

The program, under conductor-composer Steve Kurr, includes the “Lachian Dances” by Leos Janacek; “Finlandia” by Jean Sibelius; and the Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor by Max Bruch with guest soloist Paran Amirinazari (below). (You can hear the finale of the violin concerto, played by Sarah Chang, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

Tickets are $15 for adults. Students are admitted free.

The box office opens at 6:30 p.m. and auditorium doors open at 7 p.m.

There will be a meet-and-greet reception (below) with the orchestra players and audience members after the concert.

For more information about upcoming concerts, how to join the orchestra and how to support it, call (608) 212-8690 or go to: http://middletoncommunityorchestra.org

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AmateurMusician, #AntonTenWolde, #BaroqueMusic, #BaroqueViolin, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #CarlPhilippEmanuelBach, #CelloSonata, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ConcertSeason, #CPEBach, #CriticalAcclaim, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Free-WillOffering, #GermanLanguage, #HighSchool, #JacobStockinger, #JeanSibelius, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnW.Barker, #JustBach, #KangwonKim, #LeanneLeague, #LeosJanacek, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MarkBramptonSmith, #MaxBruch, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #Meet-and-Greet, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #MiddletonHighSchool, #MiddletonPerformingArtsCenter, #MusicCritic, #OrchestralMusic, #OrganMusic, #OrganSonata, #ParanAmirinazari, #PaulRowe, #PeriodInstrument, #ReligiousMusic, #SacredMusic, #SarahBrailey, #SarahChang, #SopranoSinger, #SteveKurr, #TheEar, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolinConcerto, #VocalMusic, #YouTubevideo, accompany, acoustics, admit, amateur, anniversary, Anton TenWolde, April, Arts, audience, auditorium, Bach, Baroque, bass-baritone, blog, box office, Bruch, Cantata, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, Chorale, Christian, church, Classical music, comfortable, community, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, content, critic, dance, daughter, devotional, Early music, evening, Facebook, father, finale, Finlandia, forward, fre, free will offering, German, God, goodwill, high school, hour, hymn, Jacob Stockinger, Janacek, Jean Sibelius, Johann Sebastian Bach, John W. Barker, Just Bach, Kangwon Kim, Leanne League, Leos Janacek, lieder, like, link, Luther, Luther Memorial Church, Madison, march, Marika Fischer Hoyt, Mark Brampton Smith, Max Bruch, May, Mead Witter School of Music, Middleton Community Orchestra, Middleton High School, Middleton Performing Arts Center, month, Mother, movement, Music, Musician, night, noon, noteworthy, ode, offering, open, Orchestra, orchestral music, organ, organist, Paran Amirinazari, participation, Paul Rowe, period-instrument, players, post, posting, public, reception, religious, religious music, sacred, Sarah Brailey, Sarah Chang, Season, share, Sibelius, sing, sing-along, Singing, Sonata, song, songs, soprano, Spring, station, Steve Kurr, students, studio, support, tag, The Ear, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Viola, Violin, Violin concerto, vocal music, Wednesday, winter, Wisconsin, YouTube

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
Tags: #AmericanComposer, #AmyBeach, #AndrewNorman, #Anne-SophieMutter, #AntoninDvorak, #AntonioVivaldi, #BarbaraStrozzi, #BaroqueMusic, #BeethovenPianoSonatas, #BeethovenYear, #BelaBartok, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CamilleSaint-Saens, #CarolineShaw, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ClaraSchumann, #ClassicalGuitar, #CompactDisc, #ComposersofColor, #DaniilTrifonov, #DanishStringQuartet, #DerekBermel, #DomenicoScarlatti, #EdvardGrieg, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FannyMendelssohn, #FilmMusic, #FlorencePrice, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FredericChopin, #GabrielFaure, #GeorgeFridricHandel, #GiacomoPuccini, #GiftCard, #GiftGuide, #GuitarMusic, #GustavMahler, #HaochenZhnag, #HectorBerlioz, #HolidayGift, #HolidayGiftGuide, #IgorLevit, #IsaacAlbeniz, #IsataKanneh-Mason, #JeanSibelius, #JenniferHigdon, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnTavener, #JohnWilliams, #JuliaWolfe, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #LuigiBoccherini, #MauriceRavel, #MieczyslawWeinberg, #ModestMussorgsky, #MovieMusic, #NeglectedComposers, #NeglectedMusic, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #OperaMusic, #OrchestralMusic, #OrganMusic, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PianoConcerto, #PianoSonata, #RichardStrauss, #RobertSchumann, #SergeiProkofiev, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #VanCliburn, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #ViolinConcerto, #ViolinMusic, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WomenComposer, #WQXRradio, #WyntonMarsalis, 2019, Albeniz, American, American composer, Amy Beach, Andrew Norman, Anne-Sophie Mutter, anniversary, Antonín Dvořák, Antonio Vivaldi, Arts, Bach, Barbara Strozzi, Baroque, Baroque music, Bartok, Béla Bartók, Beethoven, Beethoven piano sonatas, Beethoven Year, Berlioz, best, birth, blog, Boccherini, Brahms, Caroline Shaw, CD, Chamber music, champion, China, Chinese, Chopin, choral music, Clara Schumann, Classical music, classicalmusic, classics, color, commentary, Compact Disc, composer, composers of color, concertizing, concerto, conductor, cousin, Daniil Trifonov, Danish String Quartet, Derek Bermel, discover, Domenico Scarlatti, Dvorak, Early music, Edvard Grieg, Facebook, fame, Fanny Mendelssohn, Faure, film, film music, Florence Price, forward, Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin, George Frideric Handel, Giacomo Puccini, gift, gift card, gift guide, gold, Gold medal, Grieg, guidance, guitar, Gustav Mahler, Handel, Haochen Zhang, Haydn, Hector Berlioz, help, Holiday, holiday gift guide, Igor Levit, Isata Kanneh-Mason, Jacob Stockinger, Jean Sibelius, Jennifer Higdon, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Tavener, John Williams, Julia Wolfe, like, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Luigi Boccherini, Mahler, Maurice Ravel, medal, Mieczyslaw Weinberg, Modest Mussorgsky, Mompou, Mozart, Music, Mussorgsky, name, neglected, neglected composer, neglected music, new, New Music, New York City, noteworthy, opera, Orchestra, organ, perform, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, Piano sonata, post, posting, prestige, prize, Puccini, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Radio, radio station, Ravel, reader, recording, Richard Strauss, Robert Schumann, Saint-Saens, Scarlatti, Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Rachmaninoff, service, share, Shaw, Sibelius, son, Sonata, Strauss, streaming, String quartet, subscribe, subscription, symphonies, symphony, tag, Taiwan, Taiwanese, Tchaikovsky, The Ear, title, trend, United States, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Viola, Violin, Vivaldi, vocal music, winner, wisconsin public radio, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, women, word, world, WQXR, WQXR-FM, Wynton Marsalis, year, Zhang

Classical music: Here are playlists of the best classical music for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. What music would you choose?

December 24, 2018
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IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.

REMINDER: A well-edited one-hour excerpt of the recent Christmas concert by the Madison Symphony Orchestra will air on Wisconsin Public Television at 9:30 p.m. this Tuesday, on Christmas Night. The Ear saw the first airing of the broadcast and highly recommends it. Both the programming and the performing are top-notch. It is a perfect way to wrap up your holiday.

By Jacob Stockinger

Today is Christmas Eve and tomorrow is Christmas Day.

Some people celebrate tonight and some people celebrate tomorrow.

But no matter when you mark the holiday with gifts, gathering and special food, great music has an integral place in the celebration.

Indeed, music seems nothing less than a great gift to the entire world. As the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “Without music, life would be a mistake.”

To help you celebrate, here are playlists of the best classical music, from Medieval times through Baroque music up to living composers, for marking Christmas.

Here are two playlists, with a total of two hours of music, already compiled and available on YouTube. Be sure to hit SHOW MORE at the top to see the complete title, composer’s name and timing of the selections:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrFCdi7apV8&list=PLcGkkXtask_cCaCLkrmuDUfukHct9eut-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voIrzsxeE6w

And perhaps best of all, here are several lists in the same place from famed classical radio station WQXR in New York City. They not only have generous sound samples, but also allow you to choose what genre of music you prefer — say, choral music or brass music or piano music to string quartet chamber music:

https://www.wqxr.org/story/essential-christmas-recordings/

What music would you choose as favorite Christmas fare?

The Ear wants to hear.

Enjoy! And Merry Christmas to all!

Posted in Classical music
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Classical music: Want to know how professional musicians practice? For the next 100 days on Instagram, violin virtuoso Hilary Hahn will show you

August 13, 2018
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By Jacob Stockinger

Many listeners and many amateur musicians often wonder: How do professionals do it? How do they practice to prepare for a performance? And what goes on in the practice rooms (below) of major conservatories and schools of music where tomorrow’s professionals study?

Of course the usual advice is to play slowly, to repeat difficult sections and to break a larger piece down into smaller parts.

But it is one thing to be told what to do, and another thing to see professionals follow their own advice and put it into practice. The Ear finds that it often inspires him to work harder and better, and more efficiently and satisfyingly.

Many performers seem reluctant to show up what goes into a career, to show the hard work of practicing that leads to apparently effortless performing.

Not Hilary Hahn (below, in a photo by Peter Miller), the outstanding violin virtuoso who has performed several times at the Wisconsin Union Theater in some of the finest programs The Ear has ever heard.

Recently Hahn, the thoughtful three-time Grammy Award winner, started a series called #100daysofpractice on her Instagram account called “Hilary Hahn’s Violincase.” It is worth subscribing to for the short one-minute videos.

It is fascinating to see such a gifted professional slowing down passages of concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach and Jean Sibelius – music Hahn already knows intimately and has recorded — and to hear and appreciate how she continues to practice making hard leaps, negotiating difficult transitions, adjusting bowing, correcting off-pitches and finding difficult fingering and hand positions.

If you haven’t seen and heard it for yourself, treat yourself. You will learn a lot that will help you to appreciate the physicality of making music and perhaps even help you to play it better yourself.

Here is a link: https://www.instagram.com/violincase/

And there is another sample in the YouTube video at the bottom:

What do you think?

Do you know of other sites on the web and social media that document professional musicians practicing? If so, please leave the address in the COMMENT section.

The Ear wants to hear.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #100daysofpractice, #AmateurMusicians, #GrammyAward, #HandPosition, #HilaryHahn, #HilaryHahn'sViolincase, #InstagramVideo, #JeanSibelius, #JohannSebastianBach, #PracticeRoom, #PracticingMusic, #SchoolofMusic, #ShortVideo, #ViolinCase, #ViolinConcerto, #ViolinistVirtuoso, #ViolinMusic, #WisconsinUnionTheater, amateur, Arts, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, bowing, Chamber music, Classical music, Compact Disc, composer, concerto, conservatories, conservatory, fingering, Grammy Award, hand, Hilary Hahn, Hilary Hahn's violincase, Instagram, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, leap, listener, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, performance, Piano, pitch, practice, practicing, professional, program, record, satisfying, Sibelius, Sonata, subscription, transition, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, video, Violin, violin case, violin music, violinist, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube

Classical music: The Final Forte teenage concerto competition by the Madison Symphony Orchestra is this Wednesday night. Attend it, watch it on TV or listen to it on the radio

March 11, 2018
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By Jacob Stockinger

It doesn’t seem a typical year for The Final Forte, the final round after two preliminary rounds of the Bolz Young Artist Competition that is held each year by the Madison Symphony Orchestra.

For one, all four finalists are young women — in a year when sisterhood and achievements by women are looming large.

For another, three of the four are violinists.

The young performers are (below, from the left): Jessica Jiang, piano; Arianna Brusubardis, violin; Hannah White, violin; and Isabelle Krier, violin.

The concert is this Wednesday night and features the MSO under conductor John DeMain. It starts at 7 p.m. in Overture Hall of the Overture Center, 201 State Street.

The popular concert will be broadcast statewide LIVE, starting at 7 p.m., by Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Public Television.

If you want to attend the concert, admission is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

But you MUST register and get tickets. You can do that online or by telephone. And you must be in your seats by 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday night.

For more information and ways to register, here is a link to a web site for the Final Forte:

https://www.madisonsymphony.org/finalforte

And here is a link to an informative YouTube preview video that gives you some background about Arianna Brusubardis and Jessica Jiang.

The remaining two preview profiles have not been posted yet, but The Ear expects they will be posted shortly and he will add them to this blog post as they become available.

May the best woman win!

Classical music: Here are the performers, programs and schedule for Saturday’s concerts by the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras

March 8, 2018
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By Jacob Stockinger

The Ear has received the following announcement from the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras to post:

Join us for our second concert series of the season, the Diane Ballweg Winterfest Concerts on this Saturday, March 10, in Mills Concert Hall, 455 North Park Street, on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

Programmed pieces include works from Brian Balmages, Ludwig van Beethoven, Ralph Matesky, Gustav Holst, Samuel Barber, and more.

For the full concert repertoire, go to: https://www.wysomusic.org/2018-winterfest-repertoire/

“Every one of these concerts is jam-packed with great music—the kind of classics that have endured,” said interim WYSO artistic director Randal Swiggum (below).

“These concerts will inspire audiences, guaranteed, not just with masterworks like Holst’s ‘Jupiter’ from The Planets, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, but with the energy and freshness that young musicians bring to this music.” (You can hear the dramatic and well-known opening of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, with an engaging graphic display of its structure, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

Additional highlights from the concerts include an Opus One collaboration with the WYSO Music Makers Honors Ensemble on the traditional piece Goin’ To Boston; a guest appearance from NBC-15 TV News Anchor/Reporter John Stofflet (below top) who will narrate Sinfonietta’s performance of Lincoln at Gettysburg; and concerto performances from the 2017-2018 Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition winners, violist Maureen Sheehan (below middle) of Middleton and violinist Dexter Mott (below bottom) of Madison.

“Both Maureen with the Walton Viola Concerto, and Dexter with the Sibelius Violin Concerto, have tackled mature pieces that demand not just technical prowess, but thoughtful, nuanced interpretation,” Swiggum said. “I know audiences will be truly moved by their playing.”

Tickets are available at the door the day of the concerts, and are $10 for adults and $5 for youth 18 and under.

Diane Ballweg Winterfest Concerts Schedule

11:30 a.m. – Opus One with WYSO Music Makers (below, playing at the Wisconsin Union Theater) and Sinfonietta with NBC-15 News Anchor/Reporter John Stofflet narrating Lincoln at Gettysburg.

1:30 p.m. – Harp Ensemble (below) and Concert Orchestra.

4:00 p.m. – Philharmonia Orchestra (below), with a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, and Holst’s “Jupiter” from The Planets.

7:00 p.m. – Youth Orchestra, with performances from the 2017-2018 Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition winners, Dexter Mott and Maureen Sheehan.

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Tags: #AbrahamLincoln, #FifthSymphony, #FranzSchubert, #GeorgesBizet, #GustavHolst, #JayUngar, #JeanSibelius, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnStofflet, #LeonardBernstein, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MusicEducation, #MusicMakers, #NBCNews15, #PaulDukas, #SamuelBarber, #ThePlanets, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #WilliamWalton, #WisconsinYouthSymphonyOrchestras, anchor, Arts, audience, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Bernstein, Bizet, Boston, Brian Balmages, Campus, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, Competition, composer, Concert, concerto, display, Dukas, energy, freshness, Gettysburg, graphic, great, harp, highlight, honors, interpretation, Jay Ungar, Jay Unger, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Stofflet, Jupiter, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, mature, Middleton, Mozart, Music, Musician, narrate, news, nuance, Orchestra, playing, prowess, Ralph Matesky, reporter, Rossini, Samuel Barber, Schubert, Sibelius, solo, soloist, structure, symphony, technical, Television, thoughtful, TV, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, video, Viola, Violin, Walton, winner, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, WYSO, young, Youth, YouTube

Classical music: The Middleton Community Orchestra reveals a leaner Sibelius and violin soloist Tim Kamps proves masterful in a rarely heard concerto by Alexander Glazunov

March 2, 2018
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CORRECTION: The performances by the Madison Symphony Chorus that were incorrectly listed for this coming Sunday in yesterday’s post took place last Sunday. The Ear apologizes and regrets the error.

By Jacob Stockinger

Here is a special posting, a review written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker. Barker (below) is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who writes for Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who hosts an early music show once a month on Sunday morning on WORT FM 89.9 FM. For years, he served on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison. Barker also took the performance photos.

By John W. Barker

Under maestro Steve Kurr, the Middleton Community Orchestra (below) again showed its capacities for offering surprisingly excellent concerts with its latest one on Wednesday night at the Middleton Performing Arts Center.

The guest soloist was a fine young local violinist, Tim Kamps (below). His vehicle was an interesting venture off the beaten path. How often do we hear the Violin Concerto in A minor by Alexander Glazunov? Well, we were given a chance this time.

This is not your typical Romantic concerto. It is not long, and is essentially an entity in four sections—not distinct movements, but a steady continuity, with interconnecting thematic material. Glazunov did not always do the best by his themes, somewhat burying them in the total texture. Still, this is very listenable music, with a solo part that is full of virtuosic demands but avoids overstatements.

Kamps (below) did full justice to the florid parts, but used his sweet and suave tone to emphasize the lyrical side of the writing as much as he could. In all, he provided a worthwhile encounter with an underplayed work of individual quality. Kamps is an experienced member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, but he deserves more solo exposure like this.

The program opened with Rossini’s overture to his comic opera La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie). There is a lot of good fun in this piece, but a corrupt edition was used which reinforced the brass section to coarse effect. Moreover, Kurr gave the music a somewhat leisurely pace, rather diminishing its vitality and thrust. (You can hear the familiar Overture in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

The big work of the program was the Symphony No. 2 by Jean Sibelius. Here again, as so often before, conductor Kurr and his players bravely took on a workhorse piece of challenging familiarity. There were a few rough moments, especially some slight slurring here and there by the violin sections.

But Kurr (below) wisely chose not to seek polished sound for its own sake. Rather, he drove the orchestra to convey constant tension and drama, with a fine ear for the frequent exchanges and dialogues between instrumental groups, notably in the long and high-powered second movement.

By such means, we were able to hear less of the Late Romantic bombast usually stressed and more of the lean textures that Sibelius was to perfect in his subsequent symphonic and orchestral writing.

The orchestra played with steady devotion, once again demonstrating what an “amateur” orchestra could work itself up to achieving.

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #AlexanderGlazunov, #AmericanRecordGuide, #JeanSibelius, #JohnWBarker, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MadisonSymphonyChorus, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MedievalHistory, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #MiddletonPerformingArtsCenter, #RomanticMusic, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, Alexander Glazunov, amateur, American Record Guide, Arts, bombast, Cello, challenge, Classical music, comedy, comic, composer, concerto, continuity, correction, corrupt, dialogue, drama, Early music, edition, emeritus, error, experience, exposure, familiar, familiarity, Gioachino Rossini, group, History, instrumental, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, John W. Barker, La Gazza Ladra, listenable, local, lyrical, lyricism, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maestro, member, Middleton, Middleton Community Orchestra, Middleton Performing Arts Center, movement, Music, night, opera, Orchestra, orchestral, overstatement, performance, photo, Polish, professor, Radio, Romantic, Rossini, section, Sibelius, solo, soloist, Sound, suave, Sunday, sweet, symphonic, symphony, tension, texture, The Thieving Magpie, theme, tone, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, venture, Violin, virtuosic, Wednesday, workhorse, WORT, writing, young, YouTube

Classical music: This week features FREE music for horn, violin, flute and voice at the UW-Madison

February 6, 2018
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By Jacob Stockinger

This will be a busy week at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, with a lot of FREE concerts and special events happening especially on SUNDAY.

Here is a schedule:

WEDNESDAY

This Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, Daniel Grabois — UW-Madison professor of horn and director of the Electro-Acoustic Research Space (EARS) – will be joined by several other faculty members for a FREE concert of trio music by Dana Wilson, Heinrich von Herzogenberg and John Harbison (his “Twilight Music,” which you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

For a complete list of performers and the full program, go to:

https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/faculty-recital-daniel-grabois-horn/

For information about Daniel Grabois (below, in a photo by James Gill), go to:

https://www.music.wisc.edu/faculty/daniel-grabois/

SUNDAY

Starting on Sunday at 11 a.m., the UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music will host Flute Day, in which middle school and high school students are invited to participate.

There will also be a FREE public concert at 5 p.m. with guest flutist George Pope (below top) and UW-Madison faculty flutist Timothy Hagen (below bottom), who is a member of the Wingra Wind Quintet. The UW-Madison Flute Ensemble will also perform. No word on the program, sorry.

To register and find out more information about workshops and master classes, go to:

https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/flute-day/

On Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall a FREE recital of songs by Jean Sibelius and Edvard Grieg will be performed by soprano Anna Hersey (below), who teaches at UW-Oshkosh and specializes in Scandinavian songs, and pianist Alan Johnson.

https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/guest-artists-anna-hersey-soprano-alan-johnson-piano/

On Sunday at 7:30 p.m. in Morphy Hall, guest violinist Blaise Magniere, who was a founding member of the Avalon String Quartet and who teaches at Northern Illinois University, (below) will perform a recital of solo violin music by Johann Sebastian Bach. He will also hold a free and open master class on MONDAY morning at 9 a.m. in Morphy Hall.

For the full program, go to:

https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/guest-recital-blaise-magniere-violin/

Posted in Classical music
Tags: #HighSchool, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnHarbison, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiddleSchool, #MusicEducation, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, Anna Hersey, Arts, Avalon String Quartet, Bach, Baroque, Blaise Magniere, Chamber music, Classical music, Concert, Dana Wilson, Daniel Grabois, day, director, Education, Edvard Grieg, faculty, flute, founder, free, George Pope, Grieg, guest, Heinrich von Herzogenberg, Horn, ILLINOIS, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Harbison, Madison, masterclass, Music, Music education, Northern Illinois University, Oboe, participate, performance, performer, Piano, program, public, quintet, recital, Saturday, Scandinavia, Sibelius, solo, Sonata, song, soprano, String quartet, teach, Timothy Hagen, trio, twilight, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Oshkosh, video, Violin, vocal music, Wednesday, winds, Wingra Wind Quintet, Wisconsin, workshop, YouTube

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