The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: Here are the classical music nominees for the 2020 Grammy Awards. They make a useful holiday gift guide and highlight the trend toward more diversity
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By Jacob Stockinger
Today is Black Friday followed by Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday — all with special deals and sales.
With that in mind, here is a list of the recently announced nominees in classical music for the 2020 Grammy Awards.
Although it is a self-serving list for a competition sponsored by The Industry, it can also be good way to find holiday gifts to give to others or to receive for yourself.
The list can be useful for spotting trends and finding new releases you may not have heard of.
For example, this year seems especially good for new music or recent works and contemporary composers. You won’t find any Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky or Mahler although you will find Berlioz, Schumann, Wagner, Bruckner, Berg, Rachmaninoff and Copland.
Another favorite seems to be the rediscovery of older composers such as Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919-1996, below) whose centennial has become an occasion for bringing his neglected works to the forefront.
You can also see that like the Oscars, the Grammys seem to be paying more attention to women composers and conductors, artists of color and crossovers or mixed and hybrid genres.
For complete lists of all 84 categories, go to this site and click on the categories that interest you: https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/2020-grammy-awards-complete-nominees-list
The 62nd annual Grammy Awards will be presented on Sunday, Jan. 26, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on CBS television.
- Best Engineered Album, Classical
An Engineer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
- AEQUA – ANNA THORVALDSDÓTTIR
Daniel Shores, engineer; Daniel Shores, mastering engineer (International Contemporary Ensemble) - BRUCKNER: SYMPHONY NO. 9
Mark Donahue, engineer; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) - RACHMANINOFF – HERMITAGE PIANO TRIO
Keith O. Johnson & Sean Royce Martin, engineers; Keith O. Johnson, mastering engineer (Hermitage Piano Trio) - RILEY: SUN RINGS
Leslie Ann Jones, engineer; Robert C. Ludwig, mastering engineer (Kronos Quartet) - WOLFE: FIRE IN MY MOUTH
Bob Hanlon & Lawrence Rock, engineers; Ian Good & Lawrence Rock, mastering engineers (Jaap Van Zweden, Francisco J. Núñez, Donald Nally, The Crossing, Young People’s Chorus Of NY City & New York Philharmonic)
- Producer Of The Year, Classical
A Producer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.)
- BLANTON ALSPAUGH
- Artifacts – The Music Of Michael McGlynn (Charles Bruffy & Kansas City Chorale)
• Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique; Fantaisie Sur La Tempête De Shakespeare (Andrew Davis & Toronto Symphony Orchestra)
• Copland: Billy The Kid; Grohg (Leonard Slatkin & Detroit Symphony Orchestra)
• Duruflé: Complete Choral Works (Robert Simpson & Houston Chamber Choir)
• Glass: Symphony No. 5 (Julian Wachner, The Choir Of Trinity Wall Street, Trinity Youth Chorus, Downtown Voices & Novus NY)
• Sander: The Divine Liturgy Of St. John Chrysostom (Peter Jermihov & PaTRAM Institute Singers)
• Smith, K.: Canticle (Craig Hella Johnson & Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble)
• Visions Take Flight (Mei-Ann Chen & ROCO) - JAMES GINSBURG (below)
- Project W – Works By Diverse Women Composers (Mei-Ann Chen and Chicago Sinfonietta)
• Silenced Voices (Black Oak Ensemble)
• 20th Century Harpsichord Concertos (Jory Vinikour, Scott Speck and Chicago Philharmonic)
• Twentieth Century Oboe Sonatas (Alex Klein and Phillip Bush)
• Winged Creatures & Other Works For Flute, Clarinet, And Orchestra (Anthony McGill, Demarre McGill, Allen Tinkham and Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra) - MARINA A. LEDIN, VICTOR LEDIN
- Bates: Children Of Adam; Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem (Steven Smith, Erin R. Freeman, Richmond Symphony & Chorus)
• The Orchestral Organ (Jan Kraybill)
• The Poetry Of Places (Nadia Shpachenko)
• Rachmaninoff – Hermitage Piano Trio (Hermitage Piano Trio) - MORTEN LINDBERG
- Himmelborgen (Elisabeth Holte, Kare Nordstoga & Uranienborg Vokalensemble)
• Kleiberg: Do You Believe In Heather? (Various Artists)
• Ljos (Fauna Vokalkvintett)
• LUX (Anita Brevik, Trondheimsolistene & Nidarosdomens Jentekor)
• Trachea (Tone Bianca Sparre Dahl & Schola Cantorum)
• Veneliti (Hakon Daniel Nystedt & Oslo Kammerkor) - DIRK SOBOTKA
- Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
75. Best Orchestral Performance Award to the Conductor and to the Orchestra.
- BRUCKNER: SYMPHONY NO. 9
Manfred Honeck, conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) - COPLAND: BILLY THE KID; GROHG
Leonard Slatkin, conductor (Detroit Symphony Orchestra) - NORMAN: SUSTAIN
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic) - TRANSATLANTIC
Louis Langrée, conductor (Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra) - WEINBERG: SYMPHONIES NOS. 2 and 21
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, conductor (City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra & Kremerata Baltica)
- Best Opera Recording
Award to the Conductor, Album Producer(s) and Principal Soloists.
- BENJAMIN: LESSONS IN LOVE & VIOLENCE
George Benjamin, conductor; Stéphane Degout, Barbara Hannigan, Peter Hoare & Gyula Orendt; James Whitbourn, producer (Orchestra Of The Royal Opera House) - BERG: WOZZECK
Marc Albrecht, conductor; Christopher Maltman & Eva-Maria Westbroek; François Roussillon, producer (Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra; Chorus Of Dutch National Opera) - CHARPENTIER: LES ARTS FLORISSANTS; LES PLAISIRS DE VERSAILLES
Paul O’Dette & Stephen Stubbs, conductors; Jesse Blumberg, Teresa Wakim & Virginia Warnken; Renate Wolter-Seevers, producer (Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble; Boston Early Music Festival Vocal Ensemble) - PICKER: FANTASTIC MR. FOX
Gil Rose, conductor; John Brancy, Andrew Craig Brown, Gabriel Preisser, Krista River & Edwin Vega; Gil Rose, producer (Boston Modern Orchestra Project; Boston Children’s Chorus) - WAGNER: LOHENGRIN
Christian Thielemann, conductor; Piotr Beczała, Anja Harteros, Tomasz Konieczny, Waltraud Meier & Georg Zeppenfeld; Eckhard Glauche, producer (Festspielorchester Bayreuth; Festspielchor Bayreuth)
- Best Choral Performance
Award to the Conductor, and to the Choral Director and/or Chorus Master where applicable and to the Choral Organization/Ensemble.
- BOYLE: VOYAGES
Donald Nally, conductor (The Crossing) - DURUFLÉ: COMPLETE CHORAL WORKS
Robert Simpson, conductor (Ken Cowan; Houston Chamber Choir) - THE HOPE OF LOVING
Craig Hella Johnson, conductor (Conspirare) - SANDER: THE DIVINE LITURGY OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
Peter Jermihov, conductor (Evan Bravos, Vadim Gan, Kevin Keys, Glenn Miller & Daniel Shirley; PaTRAM Institute Singers) - SMITH, K.: THE ARC IN THE SKY
Donald Nally, conductor (The Crossing)
- Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
For new recordings of works with chamber or small ensemble (twenty-four or fewer members, not including the conductor). One Award to the ensemble and one Award to the conductor, if applicable.
- CERRONE: THE PIECES THAT FALL TO EARTH
Christopher Rountree and Wild Up - FREEDOM & FAITH
PUBLIQuartet - PERPETULUM
Third Coast Percussion - RACHMANINOFF – HERMITAGE PIANO TRIO
Hermitage Piano Trio - SHAW: ORANGE
Attacca Quartet
79. Best Classical Instrumental Solo Award to the Instrumental Soloist(s) and to the Conductor when applicable.
- THE BERLIN RECITAL
Yuja Wang - HIGDON: HARP CONCERTO
Yolanda Kondonassis; Ward Stare, conductor (The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra) - MARSALIS: VIOLIN CONCERTO; FIDDLE DANCE SUITE
Nicola Benedetti; Cristian Măcelaru, conductor (Philadelphia Orchestra) - THE ORCHESTRAL ORGAN
Jan Kraybill - TORKE: SKY, CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN
Tessa Lark; David Alan Miller, conductor (Albany Symphony)
80. Best Classical Solo Vocal Album Award to: Vocalist(s), Collaborative Artist(s) (Ex: pianists, conductors, chamber groups) Producer(s), Recording Engineers/Mixers with 51% or more playing time of new material.
- THE EDGE OF SILENCE – WORKS FOR VOICE BY GYÖRGY KURTÁG
Susan Narucki (Donald Berman, Curtis Macomber, Kathryn Schulmeister & Nicholas Tolle) - HIMMELSMUSIK
Philippe Jaroussky & Céline Scheen; Christina Pluhar, conductor; L’Arpeggiata, ensemble (Jesús Rodil & Dingle Yandell) - SCHUMANN: LIEDERKREIS OP. 24, KERNER-LIEDER OP. 35
Matthias Goerne; Leif Ove Andsnes, accompanist - SONGPLAY
Joyce DiDonato; Chuck Israels, Jimmy Madison, Charlie Porter and Craig Terry, accompanists (Steve Barnett and Lautaro Greco) - A TE, O CARA
Stephen Costello; Constantine Orbelian, conductor (Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra)
- Best Classical Compendium
Award to the Artist(s) and to the Album Producer(s) and Engineer(s) of over 51% playing time of the album, if other than the artist.
- AMERICAN ORIGINALS 1918
John Morris Russell, conductor; Elaine Martone, producer - LESHNOFF: SYMPHONY NO. 4 ‘HEICHALOS’; GUITAR CONCERTO; STARBURST
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Tim Handley, producer - MELTZER: SONGS AND STRUCTURES
Paul Appleby & Natalia Katyukova; Silas Brown & Harold Meltzer, producers - THE POETRY OF PLACES
Nadia Shpachenko; Marina A. Ledin & Victor Ledin, producers - SAARIAHO: TRUE FIRE; TRANS; CIEL D’HIVER
Hannu Lintu, conductor; Laura Heikinheimo, producer
- Best Contemporary Classical Composition
A Composer’s Award. (For a contemporary classical composition composed within the last 25 years, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year.) Award to the librettist, if applicable.
- BERMEL: MIGRATION SERIES FOR JAZZ ENSEMBLE & ORCHESTRA
Derek Bermel, composer (Derek Bermel, Ted Nash, David Alan Miller, Juilliard Jazz Orchestra & Albany Symphony Orchestra) - HIGDON: HARP CONCERTO
Jennifer Higdon, composer (Yolanda Kondonassis, Ward Stare & The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra) - MARSALIS: VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D MAJOR
Wynton Marsalis, composer (Nicola Benedetti, Cristian Măcelaru & Philadelphia Orchestra) - NORMAN: SUSTAIN
Andrew Norman, composer (Gustavo Dudamel & Los Angeles Philharmonic) - SHAW: ORANGE
Caroline Shaw, composer (Attacca Quartet) - WOLFE: FIRE IN MY MOUTH
Julia Wolfe, composer (Jaap Van Zweden, Francisco J. Núñez, Donald Nally, The Crossing, Young People’s Chorus Of NY City & New York Philharmonic)
Tags: #20thCentury, #AaronCopland, #AlbanBerg, #AlbanySymphony, #AmericanJazz, #AndrewDavis, #AnnaThorvaldsdottir, #AntonBruckner, #AntoninDvorak, #ArtistsofColor, #AttaccaQuartet, #BaroqueMusic, #BerlinGermany, #BillytheKid, #BlackFriday, #BlackOakEnsemble, #BlantonAlspaugh, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BostonEarlyMusicFestival, #CarolineShaw, #ChamberMusic, #ChicagoPhilharmonic, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianThielemann, #CincinnatiPops, #CincinnatiSymphonyOrchetsra, #CityofBirminghamOrchestra, #ClarinetConcerto, #ClassicalGuitar, #ContemporaryComposers, #CyberMonday, #DerekBermel, #DetroitSymphony, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FluteConcerto, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FranzSchubert, #GidonKremer, #GrammyAwards, #GuitarConcerto, #GustavMahler, #GustavoDudamel, #HectorBerlioz, #HolidayGiftGuide, #HybridGenre, #InstrumentalMusic, #JamesGinsburg, #JappVanSweden, #JenniferHigdon, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JoyceDiDonato, #JulianWachner, #JuliaWolfe, #KaijaSaariaho, #KremerataBaltica, #KronosQuartet, #LeifOveAndsnes, #LeonardSlatkin, #LesArtsFlorissants, #LivingComposers, #LosAngeles, #LouisLangree, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #ManfredHoneck, #Marc-AntoineCharpentier, #MatthiasGoerner, #MauriceDuruflé, #MichaelTorke, #MieczyslawWeinberg, #MirgaGražinytė-Tyla, #MixedGenre, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #NicolaBenedetti, #OboeConcerto, #OboeSonata, #OrchestralMusic, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PhilipGlass, #PianoTrio, #PittsburghSymphony, #RalphVaughanWilliams, #RichardWagner, #RobertSchumann, #RochesterPhilharmonic, #RoyalOperaHouse, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #SmallBusinessSaturday, #SoundEngineer, #StaplesCenter, #StephenCostello, #StringQuartet, #SymphonicMusic, #TerryRiley, #TobiasPicker, #TorontoSymphonyOrchestra, #ViolinConcerto, #VocalMusic, #WilliamShakespeare, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WyntonMarsalis, #YolandaKondonassis, #YujaWang, 20th-century, Aaron Copland, Alban Berg, Albany Symphony, American, Andrew Davis, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, annual, Anton Bruckner, Antonín Dvořák, artists of color, Attacca Quartet, award, Bach, Baroque music, Beethoven, Berg, Berlin, Berlioz, best, Billy the Kid, black, Black Friday, Black Oak Ensemble, Blanton Alspaugh, blog, Boston Early Music Festival, Brahms, Broadcast, Bruckner, Business, buying, California, canticle, Caroline Shaw, category, CBS, CBS-TV, Chamber music, Chicago, Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra, choral music, chorus, Christian Thielemann, Cincinnati Pops, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, clarinet, Classical music, classicalmusic, Competition, composer, concerto, contemporary composers, Copland, crossover, cyber, Cyber-Monday, dance, deal, Derek Bermel, Detroit, Detroit Symphony, divine, Dvorak, Early music, Earth, edge, engineer, ensemble, Facebook, faith, fiddle, fire, flute, forefront, forward, Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, freedom, genre, Germany, Gidon Kremer, give, good, Grammy Awards, Grammys, guide, guitar, Gustav Mahler, Gustavo Dudamel, harp, harpsichord, Haydn, Hector Berlioz, Higdon, Holiday, holiday gift guide, hope, hybrid genre, industry, instrumental, James Ginsburg, Japp Van Sweden, Jazz, Jennifer Higdon, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Joyce DiDonato, Julia Wolfe, Julian Wachner, Kaija Saariaho, Kremerata Baltica, Kronos Quartet, Kurtag, Leif Ove Andsnes, Leonard Slatkin, Les Arts Florissants, lessons, like, link, living, living composers, Lohengrin, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Louis Langrée, Love, loving, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mahler, Manfred Honeck, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Matthias Goerner, Maurice Durufle, Michael Torke, Mieczyslaw Weinberg, Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla, mixed, mixed genre, mouth, Mozart, neglected, new, New Music, New York City, New York Philharmonic, Nicola Benedetti, nomination, nominee, Oboe, oboe sonata, occasion, opera, orange, Orchestra, orchestral, organ, original, Oscars, percussion, performance, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Philip Glass, Pianist, Piano, Piano Trio, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, places, Poetry, pops, post, posting, producer, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Ralph Vaughan Williams, receive, recital, rediscovery, release, Retail, Richard Wagner, Robert Schumann, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Opera House, sale, Schubert, Schumann, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, Shakespeare, share, Shopping, silence, singer, site, sky, small, solo, Sonata, song, special, Staples Center, Stephen Costello, String quartet, Suite, sun, symphonic music, symphony, tag, Tchaikovsky, Tchakovsky, Television, Terry Riley, Tobias Picker, Torke, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, trend, Trinity, TV, Versailles, violence, Violin concerto, violinist, vision, vocal music, voices, voyage, Wagner, Wang, Weinberg, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, women, Wozzeck, Wynton Marsalis, year, Yolanda Kondonassis, young people, Yuja Wang
Classical music: The opera world starts 2015 with a loss. Promising American tenor Carlo Scibelli is dead at 50.
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ALERT: This week’s FREE Friday Noon Musicale, held from 12:15 to 1 p.m. in the Landmark Auditorium (below) of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features sopranos Susan Day and Rebekah Demaree with clarinetist Corey Mackey and pianist Sharon Jensen in music by Barbara Harbach, Lori Laitmen, Libby Larsen, Gioachino Rossini and Franz Schubert.
By Jacob Stockinger
The New Year is still young, but already the list of losses has begun.
Here is a link to the list of classical musicians, performers and composers, that we lost in 2014:
The promising American tenor Carlo Scibello, who was born in California but lived in New York City, has died at the age of 50, a few days after his birthday. He died in New York City on Jan. 9 of complications from pancreatitis.
It is enough to make The Ear ask: Is there a curse on promising tenors, the most high-profile male singers?
Remember the “new Pavarotti” –- Italian tenor Salvatore Licitra (below)? He died in a motor scooter accident in Sicily in 2011.
Then the promising Mexican tenor Rolando Villazon – another candidate to be the “new Pavarotti” saw his meteoric career interrupted when he had surgery for throat problems, especially a congenital cyst on a vocal chord. He seems on the mend now, but it is hard on a career to lose momentum and then try to recapture it. The opera world is a very competitive one.
And now the tenor Carlo Scibelli is dead at the age of 50 – an age that is younger than it sounds given how long it takes for the human voice to mature and for a world-class operatic career to develop. He had a big voice, as you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom.
Of course, some other tenors, including the promising Stephen Costello (below, in a photo by Dario Acosta) who has performed at the Madison Opera as well as the Metropolitan Opera, seems to be doing fine. He just keeps getting bigger and bigger gigs with more and more visibility and critical acclaim.
Here is a link, with a good sound sample, to the news report about Carlo Scibelli by famed British critic Norman Lebrecht (below), who has the reputation of being cranky and sometimes mean but who is unquestionably well-connected, often gets major scoops and writes a well-known blog called “Slipped Disc”:
http://slippedisc.com/2015/01/tragic-death-of-international-tenor-aged-50/
Tags: 2014, 2015, America, American, Arts, Barbra Harbach, California, Carlo Scibelli, clarinet, curse, Frank Lloyd Wright, Gioachino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Britain, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Libby Larsen, Lori Laitman, Luciano Pavarotti, Madison Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Mexico, motor bike, motor scooter, New Year, New York City, Norman Lebrecht, opera, pancreatitis, Piano, Rolando Villazon, Salavtore Licitra, Schubert, Sicily, Slipped Disc, soprano, Stephen Costello, tenor, United States, vocal music, YouTube
Classical music: Court victories favoring same-sex marriage equality and an extended Valentine’s Day weekend add up to a magical and loving mix for musical partners, including opera star Patricia Racette, who comes out as a lesbian.
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ALERT: If you are undecided about going to this afternoon’s concert at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall by the Madison Symphony Orchestra with Norwegian trumpet soloist Tine Thing Helseth (below), here are links to positive reviews by John W. Barker for Isthmus and by Greg Hettmansberger for Madison Magazine’s blog “Classically Speaking”:
http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=42078&sid=4d977189e5be9d039af0d641c547219f
By Jacob Stockinger
Well, when a holiday falls on a Friday – like Valentine’s Day this year — one can be forgiven for prolonging it over the weekend, don’t you think?
But it seems a good chance to blend two recent stories and trend lines that are increasingly coming together.
And coming out.
One is the recent various court victories for marriage equality, or same-sex marriage, or gay marriage. Whatever you want to call it, it seems to becoming more and more a legal and social reality with every week that passes.
And those legal victories lead to more and more gays and lesbians coming out, including the star football player and top NFL draft possibility star Michael Sam (below top) and “Juno” actress Ellen Page (below bottom).
Here is a link to a New York Times story about Michael Sam:
And here is a link to a Washington Post story about Ellen Page:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/juno-actress-ellen-page-comes-out-as-gay/2014/02/15/f3327800-9627-11e3-ae45-458927ccedb6_story.html
As for Valentine’s Day, imagine what how rewarding it could be to work cooperatively in the performing arts with your life partner and love.
That is exactly what was documented in a recent story on NPR’s great blog “Deceptive Cadence.”
NPR highlighted various musical couples in classical music who met in a musical setting and fell in love while working, and who now get to work together.
And for good measure, they included the Metropolitan Opera star soprano Patricia Racette (below top, out of costume, and below bottom in the title role of Puccini’s “Tosca”), who openly talks about what a great marriage she has with her female partner. (You can hear Patricia Racette as the title character Cio-Cio-San sing the finale of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” at the Metropolitan Opera in a popular YouTube video at the bottom.)
Of course, most of the couples are heterosexual in the story just as they are in real life. And we have seen some of them – tenor Stephen Costello (below top) at the Madison Opera‘s Opera in the Park as well as cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han (below bottom) at the Wisconsin Union Theater, in Madison.
But it is both sensitive and brave of NPR, which is always under the gun and budget knife of the self-righteous and nutty right-wing extremists and homophobes, to do the story.
Here is a link:
One can only hope and imagine the chain reaction that is to happen as each coming out brings several more, as bravery and tolerance build, and as the visible becomes visible.
Saint Valentine -– at least my Saint Valentine — would be very pleased.
Tags: Arts, Chamber music, Classical music, David Finckel, Ellen Page, football draft, Friday, gay, Gay Lesbian and Bisexual, gay marriage, Giacomo Puccini, homophobia, Jacob Stockinger, lesbian, Madama Butterfly, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, marriage equality, Metropolitan Opera, National Football League, New York Times, NFL, NFL draft, NPR, opera, Patricia Racette, Puccini, right-wing, Saint Valentine, Same-sex marriage, Stephen Costello, Tine Thing Helseth, Tosca, Valentine's Day, Washington Post, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wu Han, YouTube
Classical music: Maestro John DeMain of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Madison Opera is The Ear’s “Musician of the Year” for 2013. Plus, “New Year’s Day From Vienna” will be broadcast Wednesday once on Wisconsin Public Radio and twice on Wisconsin Public Television.
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REMINDER: “New Year’s Day From Vienna,” with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performing waltzes, polkas and marches under Daniel Barenboim, will be broadcast live on Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. on Wisconsin Public Radio, and then air at 1:30-3 p.m. and again at 7-8:30 p.m. on Wisconsin Public Television.
By Jacob Stockinger
Today is the day last of the old year, New Year’s Eve — which means it is that time of the year again when The Ear looks back over the past year and decides who deserves to be named “Musician of the Year.”
That is never an easy decision, especially in a city with as much fine classical music and as many fine classical musicians as Madison has. There are so many talented individuals and so many outstanding groups or ensembles in the area that any number of them could qualify for the honor.
It was particularly difficult this year because, due to personal circumstances, The Ear didn’t get to attend a lot of live events he wanted to. Even so, this year the choice seemed somewhat obvious.
For example, here is a link to an insightful overview of the 2013 season offered in Isthmus by critic John W. Barker, who often is a guest writer on this blog. You just have to scroll down through the long story until you find Barker’s spot-on assessments of the year in classical music. It should make any classical music fans envious and proud to be in Madison:
http://www.thedailypage.com/scroll/2013/arts2013/index.html
So on to the man who happens to be the most common denominator among Barker’s Best Picks: John DeMain (below, in a photo by Prasad) is the Musician of the Year for 2013.
Let’s start at the beginning.
It has been 20 years since maestro John DeMain came to Madison as the Music Director of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Artistic Director of the Madison Opera. And he is a supremely articulate — he often does interviews on TV and radio — and cordial advocate of his own causes, as you can hear for yourself in a video at the bottom and in more than a dozen video on YouTube.)
Even before he arrived here, DeMain had a high profile as the artistic director of the Houston Grand Opera, where he commissioned and premiered John Adams’ “Nixon in China” and has a long history with the City Opera, where he conducted while still a student at the Juilliard School. He had also won a prestigious Grammy Award for his landmark recording of George Gershwin’s opera “Porgy and Bess.”
But coming to Madison, DeMain had a chance to show his strength as an organizational builder and planner -– with results that the Madison public could easily see, hear and be impressed by.
John DeMain inherited a fine organization for an amateur or semi-professional orchestra, one that had been built up especially by Roland Johnson during his long tenure.
But once he took over, DeMain vastly improved the playing and then programmed more ambitious pieces for the players, and developed his approach to them. His Brahms now is tighter and leaner and more exciting than when he arrived. John DeMain (below in a photo by Greg Anderson) is devoted to lifelong learning and improvement, and doesn’t take even the music he already knows and performs for granted.
Over his tenure, DeMain has discovered and booked exciting and affordable young guest soloists – pianist Philippe Bianconi, violinists Augustin Hadelich and Henning Kraggerud, cellist Alisa Weilerstein tenor Stephen Costello — although The Ear would also like to see some big and more expensive figures brought to town to allow us to hear these artists live. Plus, DeMain listens to dozens of auditions each year and unerringly picks great young up-and-coming singers for the Madison Opera’s season including the popular Opera in the Park each summer.
I also find it noteworthy and important. DeMain is in demand elsewhere and every season has many opportunities to guest conduct out of town — for the now defunct New York City Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the Glimmerglass Opera in upstate New York and many others.
No less important is his willing to expand out into the local scene. In addition to the opera, he has conducted the chamber groups Con Vivo the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society. He continues to play the piano — he was trained as a pianist before turning to conducting.
As an administrator and organizer, he has demonstrated great skills at putting together a team. True, the orchestra has suffered somewhat during the Great Recession and its aftermath – as did all artistic groups. It had to cut back its season by one concert, which DeMain says he hopes to restore to the subscription season.
But the same labor strife that has led to great damage to the Minnesota Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and so many others has not touched the MSO. DeMain’s contained the damage.
Having inherited double performances, DeMain took the MSO to three performances of each concert, reaching about 5,000 people or so with each “triple” performance. He continues to experiment with programming, and in late January will try out the “Behind the Score” series of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with the “New World” Symphony by Antonin Dvorak (below).
And while some listeners might complain about the lack of more adventurous contemporary music, DeMain has seats to fill and still manages to program contemporary works every season, even with many experimental offerings nearby at the University of Wisconsin School of Music.
DeMain attends concerts at the University of Wisconsin School of Music, and is a tireless promoter of music education from the televised “Final Forte” Bolz concerto competition to the matinée Young People’s concerts (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson).
And let’s not forget that DeMain was instrumental in getting the impressive Overture Center built and then programming concerts for the orchestra’s and opera’s home in Overture Hall (below).
I am sure there is more I am overlooking.
Do I have some disappointments? Sure.
I thought his 20th anniversary season would be a bit more ambitious and adventurous, and feature some big works by Gustav Mahler and Anton Bruckner. I would like to see few more big-name and hot young soloists, including pianists Joyce Yang, Daniil Trifonov and Jeremy Denk (below), who has done two recitals at the Wisconsin Union Theater but has yet to perform a concerto. And there are so many young talented soloists out there today, we should be hearing more of them live and while they are still affordable in our market.
I also get impatient with what I call “playing the Gershwin card” too often -– including again for this year’s season finale -– because the important and identifiable George Gershwin (bel0w) had such an easy-listening and crossover pop-like musical style that it unfailingly draws so many listeners. I loved DeMain’s last concert version of “Porgy and Bess,” but there must be other solutions.
But in the end I have to defer to his judgment. The excellence that John DeMain has brought to the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Madison Opera has extended to the entire city and to other groups. The rising tide he brought has lifted all boats.
If any one individual can take credit for the ever-increasing quality of the classical music that wehear in Madison, that person is John DeMain (below in a photo by Katrin Talbot).
Little wonder, then, that on this 20th anniversary of his arrival in Madison, maestro John DeMain is the Musician of the Year for 2013.
Thank you, John DeMain. We all – listeners and performers alike — are in your debt.
Cheers and good luck in the coming years!
Tags: Alisa Weilerstein, Augustin Hadelich, Cello, City Opera of New York, Daniel Barenboim, Daniil Trifonov, DeMain, George Gershwin, Glimmerglass Opera, Henning Kraggerud, Houston Grand Opera, Jacob Stockinger, Jeremy Denk, John Adams, John DeMain, Joyce Yang, Juilliard School, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Music education, New Year's Day, New Year's Eve, Nixon in China, opera, Orchestra, Overture Center, Philippe Bianconi, Piano, San Francisco, San Francisco Opera, Stephen Costello, tenor, Vienna, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Public Television, Wisconsin Union Theater, YouTube
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