The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: This Sunday brings three concerts of choral and orchestral music

April 13, 2019
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By Jacob Stockinger

This Sunday brings three chances to hear choral and orchestral music.

On this Sunday morning, April 14, at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., in the Atrium Auditorium (below in a photo by Zane Williams) the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, will host its spring All-Music Sunday. The public is invited to attend FREE of charge.

The performers are the Society Choir and Friends, a pickup orchestra, and vocal and instrumental soloists.

The program lasts about one hour and includes the Concerto for Two Trumpets by Antonio Vivaldi and the early Mass in G Major by Franz Schubert. (You can hear the Kyrie from the Schubert Mass in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

At 2:30 p.m., at Edgewood College in the St. Joseph Chapel (below, in a photo by Ann Boyer), 1000 Edgewood College Drive, the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra will give its spring concert.

Director Blake Walter (below) will conduct the performance.

Works to be performed are: the Overture to the opera Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven; St. Paul’s Suite for String Orchestra by Gustav Holst; and the Symphony No. 35, “Haffner,” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Admission is $5 for general admission, free with those with an Edgewood College ID.

Here are some program notes provided by Edgewood College.

“The Overture to Fidelio — Beethoven’s only opera — is the first of four overtures composed for the opera, but is perhaps the least often performed.

“In 1904, Gustav Holst was appointed Music Director of St. Paul’s School for Girls in London, and wrote the Suite for the small string orchestra and based it on popular English folk songs.

“Mozart completed his Haffner Symphony in 1785 and dedicated it to his patron, Sigmund Haffner the Elder, a wealthy businessman in Vienna.”


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Classical music: This Sunday afternoon brings percussion music from Clocks in Motion and a performance by the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra.

September 21, 2018
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IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR SHARE IT (not just “Like It”) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event.

By Jacob Stockinger

This Sunday afternoon brings two noteworthy concerts: a selection of percussion music from Clocks in Motion and a performance of classic composers by the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra.

Here are the details:

CLOCKS IN MOTION

This Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m., the local percussion group Clocks in Motion will perform at its Rehearsal Facility, located at 126 West Fulton Street in Edgerton, Wisconsin.

Members of Clocks in Motion (below, performing in 2017) are Matthew Coley, Chris Jones, Sean Kleve and Andrew Veit.

Admission to the limited seating is $10, with donations accepted.

For more information, tickets and driving directions, go to:

https://www.artful.ly/store/events/15960

Presenting music never before heard in Wisconsin, Clocks in Motion Percussion will be performing classic repertoire and local premieres in this special event.

Here is the complete program: *”Gravity” by Marc Melltis; *Atomic Atomic” by Andrew Rindfleisch (below and heard in the YouTube video at the bottom); “Third Construction” by John Cage; selections from “Threads” by Paul Lansky; “Mechanical Ballet” by Anders Koppel; “Fantezie” by Sergiu Cretu; and “Glitz!” Bejorn Berkhout

*Denotes this piece was written specifically for Clocks in Motion.

Hailed as “nothing short of remarkable” (ClevelandClassical.com) and “the most exciting addition to Madison’s classical music scene” (Isthmus), Clocks in Motion is a percussion quartet that performs new music, builds many of its own instruments, and breaks down the boundaries of the traditional concert program.

Formed in 2011, Clocks in Motion is quickly becoming a major artistic force in today’s contemporary music scene. Among its many recent and upcoming engagements, the group served as performers at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan; The Stone in New York City; The Overture Center for the Arts; Casper College in Wyoming; the University of Michigan;, Baldwin-Wallace University in Ohio; the University of North Carolina-Pembroke; and the Ewell Concert Series in Virginia.

EDGEWOOD CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

The Edgewood Chamber Orchestra will give a concert on this Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in the newly remodeled St. Joseph Chapel, 1000 Edgewood College Drive.

The orchestra will perform under the baton of Blake Walter (below).

The program features three arrangements of piano works by Claude Debussy; Arabesques 1 and2, arranged by Henri Mouton, and the seldom-performed Sarabande, arranged by Maurice Ravel.

Other works to be performed include Luigi Cherubini’s Overture to the opera Medea, and Symphony No. 59, subtitled “Fire,” by Franz Joseph Haydn.

Admission is $5 for the general public, free with Edgewood College ID.


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Classical music: Women composers and performers are featured in FREE choral and guitar music this Sunday afternoon at Edgewood College and in a FREE noontime concert of vocal and instrumental chamber music this Friday

October 19, 2017
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ALERT: The week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features “Kassia” with sopranos Rebekah Demaree and Susan Savage plus Sharon Jensen, piano, and Hsing-I Ho, flute, as well as “Aspects of Women” with music by composers Chaminade, Hairston, Laitman, Moore, Rodgers, Saint-Saens and Walker. The concert runs 12:15 to 1 p.m.

By Jacob Stockinger

This Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in the St. Joseph Chapel, 1000 Edgewood College Drive, the Edgewood College Choirs and Guitar Ensemble will perform a FREE concert.

The concert features performances by the Women’s Choir (below top), with conductor Kathleen Otterson (below top); the Guitar Ensemble with director Nathan Wysock (below middle); and the Edgewood Chorale and Chamber Singers, both conducted by Sergei Pavlov (below bottom).

The program features a performance of the Gloria in D major, RV 589, by baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi.  This performance features all choirs and student soloists Brandon Glock, baritone, and Summer Wluestenberg, soprano, as well as faculty soloist Kathleen Otterson, mezzo-soprano (below). (You can hear Vivaldi’s “Gloria” in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

Edgewood College’s Music Department has been recognized by the readers of Madison Magazine with the Best of Madison 2017 Silver Award.


Classical music: In a busy week, here are some other performances of violin, harpsichord, guitar and vocal music that merit your attention and attendance

April 28, 2017
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By Jacob Stockinger

It’s getting so that, more and more often, the week just isn’t long enough to cover the ever-increasing number of classical music events in the Madison area.

It is compounded by the fact that so many events mean more previews than reviews – which The Ear thinks benefits both the public and the performers.

But here are four more events that you might be interested in attending during the coming weekend:

SATURDAY

On Saturday night at 8 p.m. in Overture Hall, legendary superstar violinist Itzhak Perlman (below, in a photo by Lisa-Marie Mazzucco) will perform a recital with his longtime accompanist Rohan de Silva. (You can hear the two perform the Serenade by Franz Schubert in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

The program includes the Sonata in A Major, Op. 2, No. 2, by Antonio Vivaldi; Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 12, No. 1, by Ludwig van Beethoven; the “Fantasy Pieces,” Op. 73, by Robert Schumann; the Sonata No. 2 in G Major for Violin and Piano by Maurice Ravel; and selected works to be announced from the stage.

Tickets are $50 to $100. Here is a link for tickets and more information about the performers:

http://www.overture.org/events/itzhak-perlman

If you want to prepare for the concert and go behind the scenes with Perlman, here is a great interview with Perlman done by local writer Michael Muckian for the Wisconsin Gazette:

http://wisconsingazette.com/2017/04/20/itzhak-perlman-good-music-recipe-mix/

On Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in the Landmark Auditorium of the First Unitarian Society, 900 University Bay Drive, the Third Annual Mark Rosa Harpsichord Recital will take place. It features guest harpsichordist JungHae Kim (below top) and local baroque violinist Kangwon Kim (below bottom).

The program includes works by Arcangelo Corelli, Jean-Henri D’Anglebert, Jean-Marie Leclair, Gaspard LeRoux and Domenico Scarlatti.

Admission at the door is $15, $10 for seniors and students.

The harpsichord was built by Mark Rosa and is a faithful reproduction of the 1769 Pascal Taskin instrument at Edinburgh University. It has two keyboards, two 8-foot stops, one 4-foot stop, two buff stops and decorative painting by Julia Zwerts.

Korean born harpsichordist JungHae Kim earned her Bachelor’s degree in harpsichord at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore She then earned a Masters in Historical Performance in Harpsichord at the Oberlin Conservatory before completing her studies with Gustav Leonhardt in Amsterdam on a Haskell Scholarship. While in The Netherlands she also completed an Advanced Degree in Harpsichord Performance under Bob Van Asperen at the Sweelinck Conservatorium.

Kim has performed in concert throughout United States, Europe and in Asia as a soloist and with numerous historical instrument ensembles including the Pierce Baroque Dance Company, the Los Angeles Baroque Orchestra, Music’s ReCreation, and Agave Baroque. She performed at the Library of Congress with American Baroque and frequently performs with her Bay Area period instrument group; Ensemble Mirable.

As a soloist, Kim has performed with Musica Angelica, Brandywine Baroque, the New Century Chamber Orchestra, and with the San Francisco Symphony. Kim frequently teaches and performs at summer music

SUNDAY

On Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in the St. Joseph Chapel of Edgewood College, 1000 Edgewood College Drive, the Edgewood Chorale, along with the Guitar Ensemble, will give a spring concert.

The concert also features performances by students Johanna Novich on piano and Renee Lechner on alto saxophone.

The program includes music by Gabriel Fauré, John Rutter, Frederic Chopin, Bernhard Heiden and many others.

Admission is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

Edgewood College’s Music Department was recognized by the readers of Madison Magazine with the Best of Madison 2017 Silver Award.

On Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. at the West Middleton Lutheran Church, 3773 Pioneer Road, at Mineral Point Road in Verona, the internationally acclaimed and Grammy Award-winning tenor Dann Coakwell (below) will team up with keyboardist and MBM founder-director Trevor Stephenson to perform Robert Schumann’s masterpiece song cycle Dichterliebe (A Poet’s Loves).

Just last week Coakwell sang the role of the Evangelist John in the Madison Bach Musicians’ production of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. John Passion.

Stephenson will be playing his restored 1855 Bösendorfer concert grand piano (both are below).

Also on the program are four selections from Franz Schubert’s last song collection Schwanengesang (Swansong).

This concert will start off a three-day recording session of this repertoire ― with a CD due for release later this year.

Tickets are $30. Seating at the church is very limited. Email to reserve tickets: www.trevorstephenson.com


Classical music: Broadcasts of operas from the Met and string quartets by the UW-Madison’s Pro Arte Quartet are featured on old media and new media this Saturday and Sunday. Plus, the 89th Edgewood college Christmas Concert is tonight and tomorrow afternoon.

December 2, 2016
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ALERT: Edgewood College will present its 89th Annual Christmas Concerts tonight at 7 p.m. and Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in the St. Joseph Chapel, 1000 Edgewood College Drive.

Now expanded to two performances, the holiday concert features the Edgewood College choirs and Concert Band, along with audience sing-alongs, prelude music by the Guitar Ensemble, and a post-concert reception featuring the Jazz Ensemble.

Tickets are $10, and seating is limited for this very popular annual event. Tickets should be purchased online in advance.

By Jacob Stockinger

Classical music meets old media and new media this weekend through opera and chamber music.

SATURDAY

This Saturday marks the beginning of the LIVE RADIO broadcasts of operas from the Metropolitan Opera (below) in New York City. This will be the 86th season for the radio broadcasts, which educated and entertained generations of opera lovers before there were DVDs, streaming and the “Live in HD From the Met” broadcasts to movie theaters.

Metropolitan Opera outdoors use Victor J. Blue NYT

Met from stage over pit

The performances will be carried locally on Wisconsin Public Radio, WERN-FM 88.7. This Saturday, the starting time for Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut” with Russian superstar soprano Anna Netrebko (below, in a photo by Richard Termine for The New York Times), is 11:30 CST. Other operas will have different starting times, depending their length.

This season runs from Dec. 3-May 15.

Radio has certain strengths, The Ear thinks. For one, it allows the listeners to focus on the music, to be less distracted or less enriched – depending on your point of view – by sets, costumes, lighting, the physicality of the acting and other stagecraft that is left to the imagination.

This season, there will be lots of standard fare including: Verdi’s “La Traviata” and “Aida”; Puccini’s “La Boheme”; Bizet’s “Carmen”; Beethoven’s “Fidelio”; Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” and “The Flying Dutchman”; Richard Strauss’ “Der Rosenkavalier” and “Salome”; and Mozart’s “Idomeneo.”

But you can also hear the new music and less frequently staged operas. They include the 2000 opera “L’amour de loin” (Love From Afar) by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, which will receive its Metropolitan Opera premiere next week, on Dec. 10.

Here is a link to the complete season along with links to information about the various productions. Starting times are Eastern Standard Time, so deduct an hour for Central Standard Time or a different amount for your time zone:

http://www.metopera.org/Season/Radio/Saturday-Matinee-Broadcasts/

met-manon-lescaut-anna-netrebko-cr-richard-termine-nyt

SUNDAY

On this Sunday afternoon, the Pro Arte Quartet (below, in a photo by Rick Langer), longtime artists-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, will wrap up the first semester of “Sunday Afternoon Live From the Chazen,” which used to air weekly on Wisconsin Public Radio but now is presented once a month, on the first Sunday of the month, directly by the museum.

The program this Sunday features the “Italian Serenade” by Hugo Wolf; the String Quartet No. 3 in F Major by Dmitri Shostakovich; and the String Quartet in A-Flat Major, Op. 105, by Antonin Dvorak.

Pro Arte Quartet new 2 Rick Langer

The FREE concert takes place from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Brittingham Gallery No. 3 of the Chazen Museum of Art and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Donors to the museum can reserve seats. Concerts by the Pro Arte Quartet, kind of the house quartet of the museum, are usually “sold out.”

But the concert can also be streamed live via computer or smart phone by clicking on the arrow in the photo and using the portal on the following website:

https://www.chazen.wisc.edu/index.php?/events-calendar-demo/event/sunday-afternoon-live-at-the-chazen-12-4-16/

sal-pro-arte-12-4-16

You might also want to arrive early or stay late to see the historic and rare First Folio edition (below) of the plays by William Shakespeare that is on display at the Chazen Museum through Dec. 11 to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of the Bard.

First Folio


Classical music: Unitarian Society’s FREE Friday Noon Musicales start a new season this week. And the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra opens its new season with music by Handel, Haydn, Beethoven and Saint-Saens, this coming Sunday afternoon.

September 24, 2015
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ALERT: The weekly FREE Friday Noon Musicales at the historic  First Unitarian Society of Madison, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and located at 900 University Bay Drive, begin the new season this week. This coming Friday at 12:15-1 p.m. in the Landmark Auditorium, mezzo-soprano Consuelo Sanuda and pianist Jeff Gibbens will perform songs by Gustav Mahler, Gabriel Faure, Manuel de Falla and Jeff Gibbens.

By Jacob Stockinger

The Edgewood Chamber Orchestra (below, in a poster from 2012) will open its new season this coming Sunday afternoon.

Edgewood Chamber Orchestra poster Sept 12

Under the direction of conductor Blake Walter (below), the orchestra will perform works by Beethoven, Haydn, Handel and Saint-Saens on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 2:30 p.m. in the St. Joseph Chapel, 1000 Edgewood College Drive.

blake walter john maniaci

Included on the program are the Overture to The Ruins of Athens, Op. 113, by Ludwig van Beethoven; the Concerto a Due Cori, H. 332, in B-flat Major by George Frideric Handel; the Suite for Orchestra, Op. 49, by Camille Saint-Saens; and Symphony No. 69 in C major, “Laudon,” by Franz Joseph Haydn (heard at bottom in a YouTube video featuring the Grammy-winning performance by conductor Antal Dorati and the Philharmonia Hungarica.)

Admission is $5 to benefit music scholarships, or free with an Edgewood College ID.

 


Classical music: Edgewood College performs its Spring Choral Concert this Sunday afternoon.

March 21, 2014
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By Jacob Stockinger

This Sunday, March 23, at 2:30 p.m. in the St. Joseph Chapel, 1000 Edgewood College Drive, Edgewood College (below) will present its Spring Choral Concert.

Edgewood College 1000

Performing groups include The Edgewood College Chamber Singers (below top and in a YouTube video at the bottom) and Men’s Choir, under the direction of Albert Pinsonneault (below middle), will join the Edgewood College Women’s Choir, under the direction of Kathleen Otterson (below bottom), in a joint appearance.

Edgewood Chamber Singers

Albert Pinsonneault 2

Kathleen Otterson 2

The program includes works by Orlando di Lasso (below top), Gabriel Faure (below middle) and Richard Wagner (below bottom), along with gospel, folk and world music selections. Sorry, no word about specific pieces.

ADMISSION IS FREE.

Orlando di Lasso

faure

Richard Wagner

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