The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: The Madison Symphony Orchestra opens its new season with a strong and memorable concert that had something for everyone — with no outside help from a guest artist
4 Comments
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.
ALERT: On this Saturday, Oct. 5, from 4 to 5 p.m., cellist Amit Peled will teach a master class at Farley’s House of Pianos, 6522 Seybold Road, near West Towne Mall, where he will instruct local students. This is a FREE event that the public is invited to observe, and is part of the two concerts by Peled and pianist Daniel del Pino. For more information, go to:
By Jacob Stockinger
Many orchestras, including the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below, in a photo by Peter Rodgers), often use the opening concert of a new season as a chance to lure audiences by wowing them with some big-name guest soloist.
But last weekend maestro John DeMain (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson) once again preferred to show off his own ensemble. And it worked, making for a memorable concert.
The MSO opener had something for everyone, and what you saw as the highlight probably depended more on your personal taste or preference than on the overall impressively tight playing and singing of the MSO, its principals and its chorus.
It seemed clear that, for most listeners the MSO’s young organist Greg Zelek (below, in a photo by Peter Rodgers) filled the role of the impressive imported star or guest artist.
The virtuosic Zelek is simply so good that he managed to turn a second-rate piece by Samuel Barber into a first-rate crowd-pleaser that brought huge applause and a long standing ovation, then an encore and another standing ovation.
As music, the concerto-like “Toccata Festiva” (1960) is simply not on par with Barber’s Violin Concerto or his Adagio for Strings or his Overture to “The School for Scandal.” It is 15 minutes of mostly loud and bombastic music meant to show off the new organ that it was commissioned for.
The King of Instruments seems to invite such bragging. And the boyish, vest-clad Zelek milked the score by Barber (below) for all it was worth, including an astounding three-minute cadenza played only with the feet. It’s hard to argue with such dramatic success.
If you preferred more serious fare, there was the Symphony No. 7 in D minor by Antonin Dvorak (below). Last spring, DeMain announced his fondness for Dvorak – in the spring the MSO will perform his Requiem.
DeMain’s feeling for Dvorak showed in a convincing and engaging performance of this darker, non-programmatic Brahmsian work that goes beyond the Czech folk dances, folk song-like melodies and nature mimicry of Dvorak’s other major symphonies and chamber music.
If you wanted exciting Romanticism, it would be hard to beat Wagner’s rhythmic strings soaring in the Overture to the opera “Tannhauser” by Richard Wagner (below). And that flowed into Wagner’s sensual “Venusberg” music that featured the MSO chorus singing offstage.
But The Ear thinks that the best measure of musicianship – orchestral, instrumental or vocal — is not how loudly they can play or sing, but how softly.
For that reason, he found the standout work at the concert to be “Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun” by Claude Debussy (below). The balance among various sections proved ideal at expressing subtlety. You could hear everything combining to make a distinctive and atmospheric tonal color.
For example, it is hard to imagine more sensual playing of the opening theme than how principal flutist Stephanie Jutt (below) did it. The performance and interpretation projected the exact kind of impressionistic seductiveness that the composer meant for it to have. For sheer beauty of sound, it took the top spot. (You can see a graphic depiction of Debussy’s score in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Still, there seemed to be more than the usual number of empty seats. Was it the rainy weather? The football weekend? Or do people still miss the thrill of hearing a well-known guest artist opening the season?
What do you think?
What was your favorite piece on the opening MSO program? And why?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AdagioforStrings, #AmitPeled, #AntoninDvorak, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BlogReview, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ClaudeDebussy, #CommissionedMusic, #Czechcomposer, #DanieldelPino, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Farley'sHouseofPianos, #FolkDance, #FolkMelody, #GregZelek, #GuestArtist, #GuestSoloist, #JohannesBrahms, #JohnDeMain, #KingofInstruments, #MadisonSymphonyChorus, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #OrchestralMusic, #PersonalTaste, #PopularSuccess, #PreludetotheAfternoonofaFaun, #RichardWagner, #SamuelBarber, #StandingOvation, #StephanieJutt, #SymphonyOrchestra, #TheEar, #TheSchoolforScandal, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VenusbergMusic, #ViolinConcerto, #VocalMusic, #WestTowneMall, #YouTubevideo, Adagio for Srtrings, Amit Peled, Antonín Dvořák, applause, Arts, astounding, atmosphere, audience, balance, blog, bombastic, Brahmsian, cadenza, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, chance, Choir, choral music, chorus, Classical music, classicalmusic, Claude Debussy, color, commission, commissioned music, composer, Concert, concerto, crowd, Daniel del Pino, dark, Debussy, depiction, drama, Dvorak, empty, encore, ensemble, event, express, Facebook, fare, Farley's House of Pianos, feet, flute, folk dance, folk song, folksong, fondness, football, free, graphic, Greg Zelek, guest artist, guest soloist, hear, highlight, impressive, instrument, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, John DeMain, King, king of instruments, loud, Madison, Madison Symphony Chorus, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maestro, master class, masterclass, Mead Witter School of Music, measure, melody, memorable, mimicry, minute, Music, musicianship, nature, new, offstage, opener, opera, orchestral music, organ, organist, Overture, personal, personal taste, Pianist, Piano, playing, pleaser, popular, post, posting, prefer, preference, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, principal, public, rain, Requiem, Richard Wagner, Romanticism, Samuel Barber, score, Season, seats, second-rate, sensual, serious, show-off, singer, Singing, song, Spring, standing ovation, Stephanie Jutt, strings, subtle, subtlety, success, symphony, symphony orchestra, Tannhauser, taste, test, The Ear, The School for Scandal, theme, thrill, tight, toccata, tonal, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music, Venusberg, Violin, Violin concerto, virtuosic, virtuoso, vocal, vocal music, Wagner, weather, weekend, West Towne Mall, Wisconsin, work, worked, worth, YouTube
Classical music: UW-Madison’s first countertenor Gerrod Pagenkopf returns to perform on Sunday night as a member of the acclaimed choral group Chanticleer. Here’s how he got from here to there. Part 1 of 2
1 Comment
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.
ALERT: Madison Symphony Orchestra organist Greg Zelek did not announce his encore after he received a standing ovation at the MSO concert Sunday afternoon. It was the final movement from the Organ Symphony No. 1 by Louis Vierne.
By Jacob Stockinger
This coming Sunday night, Oct. 6, at 7:30 p.m. in the inaugural concert in the new Hamel Music Center’s main concert hall, the critically acclaimed a cappella singing group Chanticleer (below) will kick off the centennial anniversary celebration of the Concert Series at the Wisconsin Union Theater.
Tickets are $45 for the public; $40 for faculty staff and Union members; and $10 for students. For more information about the performers and the “Trade Winds” program, go to: https://union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/event-calendar/event/chanticleer/
Among the 12 members of the San-Francisco-based Chanticleer is Gerrod Pagenkopf, who is in his fifth year with the group as both a countertenor and the assistant music director. (You can hear Pagenkopf singing music by Henry Purcell in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
For a biography of Gerrod Pagenkopf, go to: https://www.chanticleer.org/gerrod-pagenkopf
Pagenkopf (below) is a graduate of the UW-Madison. When he performed here as a student, his high, clear countertenor voice was a new experience and made those of us who heard him sit bolt upright and take notice. “He is going places,” we said to each other. And so he has.
But Pagenkopf’s story is not only about him. It is also about the rediscovery of countertenors, about the changing public acceptance of them, and about the challenges that young musicians often face in establishing a professional performing career. So today and tomorrow, The Ear is offering a longer-than-usual, two-part interview with Pagenkopf.
Here is Part 1:
When were you at the UW-Madison?
I was a student at the UW-Madison from the fall of 1997 until I graduated in May of 2002. Although I received a bachelor’s degree in music education, performing ended up being a huge part of my last few semesters.
Growing up in rural Wisconsin about 30 miles north of Green Bay, I always thought that if you liked music and were good at it, you were supposed to be a teacher. It wasn’t until I was a junior that my voice teacher, the late Ilona Kombrink, and I discovered that I had a viable solo voice. Although I received the music education degree, embarking on a solo career became more important to me.
What did you do and how well did your studies and performances here prepare you for the life of a professional musician?
I was very lucky to have ample opportunities for performing during my time at the UW. Singing in choirs was very important to me. For many years I sang in the Concert Choir under Beverly Taylor (below top) as well as in the Madrigal Singers under Bruce Gladstone (below bottom,, in a photo by Katrin Talbot). I think there was one semester where I sang in just about every auditioned choir.
Beverly Taylor also gave me a lot of solo opportunities in the large-scale works that the Choral Union performed: Bach’s “St. John” and “St. Matthew” Passions, and Handel’s “Israel in Egypt.” For a 23-year-old to have those masterworks, along with the B Minor Mass and “Messiah,” on his resume was very impressive.
I was also lucky enough to perform with University Opera, singing in the chorus at first, but then singing a solo role in Handel’s “Xerxes” my final semester, and then returning as an alumni artist to sing Public Opinion in Offenbach’s “Orpheus in the Underworld” and several years later Polinesso in Handel’s “Ariodante.” Director Bill Farlow took a lot of chances on my young, “raw” countertenor voice and gave me several opportunities to succeed.
I should also note the importance of the guidance and mentorship of Professor Mimmi Fulmer (below, performing at Frank Loyd Wright’s Hillside Theater at Taliesin in Spring Green) after I graduated from UW. She afforded me the opportunity to sing in recital with her numerous times — usually Brahms and Mendelssohn duets. But she also was a catalyst in bringing me back to Madison several years later to sing with the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble. Our continued relationship is actually the primary reason Chanticleer is singing in Madison this fall.
How do you feel about returning to perform at your alma mater with Chanticleer?
I’m over the moon about it. It still feels like a dream that I’m singing in Chanticleer. To be able to bring a group that I’m so proud to be a part of back to Madison feels like a great personal triumph. And to be the opening performance in the new Hamel Center (below) is such an honor!
Throughout my studies at UW-Madison, I was torn between the solo performance track and the choral career. I managed to straddle both, but my dream was always to make ensemble singing my career. Way back in the early 2000s, I heard Chanticleer sing at Luther Memorial Church, and I thought, “That’s what I want to do!”
I went down several other paths since that concert — mostly in the realm of solo, operatic singing — but it’s incredibly rewarding to be able to say I achieved my dream, and I’m coming back to place where the seed of that dream was planted almost 20 years ago.
Tomorrow: How countertenors re-emerged and were treated, the “Trade Winds” program and Pagenkopf’s future plans
Tags: #ACappella, #ACappellaMusic, #AlmaMater, #AppletonWisconsin, #Bachelor'sDegree, #BaroqueMusic, #BeverlyTaylor, #BillFarlow, #BlogInterview, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BMinorMass, #BruceGladstone, #ChoralMusic, #ChoralUnion, #ChristianChurch, #ConcertChoir, #CriticalAcclaim, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FelixMendelssohn, #FrankLloydWright, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GerrodPagenkopf, #GreenBay, #GregZelek, #GrowningUp, #HamelMusicCenter, #Handel'sMessiah, #HandelOpera, #HenryPurcell, #HillsideTheater, #IlonaKombrink, #IsraelinEgypt, #JacquesOffenbach, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #Large-scale, #LouisVierne, #LutherMemorialChurch, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MadrigalSingers, #MessiahOratorio, #MimmiFulmer, #MusicCritic, #MusicDirector, #MusicEducation, #OperaChorus, #OperaMusic, #OrpheusintheUnderworld, #PublicOpinion, #SanFrancisco, #SchoolofMusic, #SpringGreen, #St.JohnPassion, #St.MatthewPassion, #StandingOvation, #Sundayafternoon, #SundayNight, #Taliesincompound, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UniversityOpera, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinBaroqueEnsemble, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #YouTubevideo, a cappella, acceptance, acclaim, achieve, alma mater, alumni, alumnus, anniversary, artist, Arts, assistant, audience, audition, B Minor Mass, Bach, Bachelor's degree, Baroque, Beverly Taylor, Bill Farlow, biography, blog, Brahms, Bruce Gladstone, career, catalyst, celebration, centennial, cetennial, challenges, chance, chances, Chanticleer, Choir, choral music, Choral Union, chorus, Christian, church, Classical music, clear, composer, Concert, Concert Choir, concert series, countertenor, critically acclaimed, dream, duet, Early music, encore, experience, face, Facebook, faculty, fall, Felix Mendelssohn, final, forward, Frank Lloyd Wright, future, George Frideric Handel, Gerrod Pagenkopf, graduate, Green Bay, Greg Zelek, growing up, guidance, Hamel Music Center, Handel, Handel opera, Henry Purcell, high, Hillside Theater, Ilona Kombrink, impressive, interview, Israel in Egypt, Jacob Stockinger, Jacques Offenbach, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, like, link, Lord, Louis Vierne, luck, lucky, Luther Memorial Church, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, madrigal, Madrigal Singers, mass, masterwork, member, Mendelssohn, mentor, Messiah, Mimmi Fulmer, moon, movement, Music, music critic, Music director, Music education, new, night, Offenbach, opera, opinion, opportunities, oratorio, organ, organist, Orpheus in the Underworld, ovation, part, Passion, perform, performances, performer, performing, personal, plan, prepare, primary, program, public, public opinion, Purcell, raw, reason, reception, recital, rediscovery, relationship, resume, role, rural, Saint Matthew Passion, San Francisco, School of Music, seed, semester, share, sing, singer, Singing, solo, song, Spring Green, Spring Green Wisconsin, St Matthew Passion, St. John Passion, standing ovation, Student, studies, succeed, success, Sunday, Sunday afternoon, tag, Taliesin, Teacher, time, today, tomorrow, TradeWinds, triumph, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University Opera, UW Choral Union, UW-Madison, UW-Madison School of Music, viable, vocal music, voice, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Barque Ensemble, Wisconsin Union Theater, work, Xerxes, young, YouTube
Classical music: Is clapping between movements appropriate or inappropriate? Do performers like it or not?
4 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
Some classical music fans complain about there being too much applause and too many standing ovations these days.
And some of those fans are also really embarrassed by audience members who interrupt a performance to applaud.
Yet twice in the past week or so, The Ear heard musicians give the nod to the audience applauding or clapping between movements or pieces in a set.
One was the internationally renowned arranger and conductor of the All-Festival Concert that concluded the Madison Early Music Festival. The other was a member of the Willy Street Chamber Players.
Both musicians basically said that there is nothing to be embarrassed about.
Applauding between movements, it turns out, was a frequent event in history. Disapproval nowadays can seem a kind of misplaced snooty or elitist purism.
And both performers said that the musicians love hearing applause between movements. It’s a form of reward for the hard work they do and the beauty they create or express.
True, some works seem to lend themselves to such interruptions better than others do. Applauding between the movements of a symphony, concerto or opera seems less intrusive than doing so between sections of a requiem or a song cycle.
But here is a good story on the famed radio station WQXR-FM in New York City about applauding between movements. Read it and see what you think:
http://www.wqxr.org/story/why-dont-we-clap-between-movements-classical-concerts
What do you think of applause between movements or pieces?
Do you clap between movements?
If you don’t, will historical evidence and approval from the musicians themselves change your mind and behavior?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: applause, Arts, Baroque, Chamber music, choral music, clapping, Classical music, concerto, cycle, Early music, fan, Jacob Stockinger, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, movement, Music, New York City, opera, ovation, perform, Piano, piece, purism, set, Sonata, song cycle, standing ovation, symphony, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, WQXR-FM
Classical music: The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and piano soloist Ilya Yakushev excel in a varied program. But audience members should do better at observing concert etiquette. Plus, retired UW-Madison bass-baritone Sam Jones dies at 87.
4 Comments
ALERT: Sad news has reached The Ear. Samuel M. Jones, a bass-baritone who was an exceptional performer and teacher at the UW-Madison School of Music for 37 years and who also served as the cantor at Temple Beth El and the Choral Director at Grace Episcopal Church, has died at 87. Here is a link to the obituary in the Wisconsin State Journal:
By Jacob Stockinger
On Friday night, The Ear couldn’t be in two places at once.
Being in the mood for some solo piano playing – because The Ear himself is an avid amateur pianist – he attended the solo recital of works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Liszt, William Bolcom and Johannes Brahms performed by UW-Madison School of Music professor Christopher Taylor. But more about that will come in another post this week.
However, Larry Wells — a college classmate and good friend who is a longtime and very knowledgeable classical music follower and who has worked, lived and attended concerts in Rochester, San Francisco, Moscow, Tokyo and Seoul — went to the concert Friday night by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (below) in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center.
He filed this review:
By Larry Wells
The program opened with a short introduction by Maestro Andrew Sewell, the longtime music director and conductor of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, to the “English Suite” for string orchestra by the contemporary British composer Paul Lewis. (Sewell himself is a New Zealand native who also trained in England.)
Although the work was termed by Sewell as an obligatory form for British composers in the manner of Ralph Vaughan Williams, Edward Elgar and the like, I found the rhapsodic opening and closing of the second section, “Meditation,” reminiscent of VW’s “Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis.” But the remainder of the piece seemed trite and forgettable.
Following was the Concerto No. 1 in D Minor for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach. In this case, a concert grand piano was used featuring soloist Ilya Yakushev, a Russian native who now lives in the U.S., who was making his second appearance with the WCO.
This familiar piece was played bouncily in the first movement, sweetly in the second, and really fast in the third. I enjoyed Yakushev’s playing, although from my seat the piano seemed slightly muffled and occasionally unheard over the orchestra.
The second half of the evening opened with the Chamber Symphony No. 2 by Arnold Schoenberg, which Maestro Sewell claimed to be in the manner of Richard Strauss. If so, Strauss was much more expressive and engaging.
The evening ended with the Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor by Felix Mendelssohn, again featuring Yakushev. I was unfamiliar with the piece, and found it immediately engaging and enjoyable throughout. (You can hear Ilya Yakushev perform the Mendelssohn piano concerto in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
Altogether, it was a good evening of music.
But it was unfortunately marred early in the aforementioned “Meditation” movement when a woman two seats down from me decided to answer a text. The bright light from her cell phone was distracting, so I pointedly stared at her until her seat mate nudged her, and she put away the phone. The seat mate clearly felt that I was in the wrong and glared at me.
I noticed that there is no caution in the program about turning off cell phones, so I believe it would be a good idea for a brief announcement to be made at the beginning of the concert and at the end of the intermission for people to turn off their phones. That simple courtesy has still not become a part of all concertgoers’ routines.
And what is with the Madison tradition of giving everything a standing ovation? (Below is a standing ovation at a concert on the Playhouse by the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society.)
There have been perhaps a dozen times in my long concert-going life when I have been so moved by the moment that I’ve leapt to my feet. I think of a standing ovation as recognition of something extraordinary — not as a routine gesture that cheapens to the point of meaninglessness.
For purposes of comparison, here is a link to the review of the same concert by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and pianist Ilya Yakushev that veteran local music critic and retired UW-Madison medieval history professor John W. Barker wrote for Isthmus:
http://www.isthmus.com/daily/article.php?article=44422&sid=6243d3d1e78139b69884d31c5c1126e2
Tags: Andrew Sewell, Arts, Bach, baritone, Baroque, bass, Beethoven, cantor, cell phone, chamber orchestra, Chamber Symphony, choral director, church, Classical music, concerto, Edward Elgar, English, Episcopalian, Felix Mendelssohn, Grace Episcopal Church, Great Britain, Ilya Yakushev, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, Japan, Jewish, Johann Sebastian Bach, John W. Barker, Korea, Liszt, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Moscow, Music, New Zealand, ovation, Overture Center, Paul Lewis, Piano, Piano concerto, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Richard Strauss, Rochester, Russia, San Francisco, Schoenberg, Seoul, smart phone, standing ovation, Suite, temple, Temple Beth El, Tokyo, U.S., United Kingdom, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, WILLIAM BOLCOM, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin State Journal, YouTube
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 