The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: On Saturday and Sunday, the Madison Savoyards and Central Wisconsin Ballet team up in Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Pineapple Poll” and “Trial by Jury.” Plus, the first Stoughton Chamber Music Festival starts Saturday
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ALERT: The two concerts of the first Stoughton Chamber Music Festival will take place on this Saturday afternoon, Aug. 17, at 3 p.m. and on Monday night, Aug. 19, at 7 p.m. at the Stoughton Opera House, 381 East Main Street. Admission is FREE with a suggested donation of $15.
Featured is music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Samuel Barber, Edvard Grieg, George Gershwin and Paul Schoenfield as well as Norwegian folk music. The Ear did not receive details, but here is more information from a story in Isthmus: https://isthmus.com/events/stoughton-chamber-music-festival/
By Jacob Stockinger
This weekend, the Madison Savoyards and Central Midwest Ballet Academy team up to present two of the less well-known works by Gilbert and Sullivan: the comic ballet Pineapple Poll and the operetta Trial by Jury (below, in a photo by Kat Stiennon).
The performances of the two one-acts are in the Mitby Theater at Madison College (formerly Madison Area Technical College), located at 1701 Wright Street on Madison’s east side, at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night, Aug. 17, and at 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 18.
Tickets are $30 for adults; $28 for seniors; and $15 for young people and students. Children 3 and under get in for free.
For more information, call the Mitby Theater Box Office at (608) 243-4000 or got to: www.TrialbyPineapple.com
The music director and conductor of the professional orchestra, who is making his debut with the Madison Savoyards, is Sergei Pavlov (below), who teaches at Edgewood College and directs the Festival Choir of Madison.
The “Pineapple Poll” choreography is by Marguerite Luksik (below) of the Central Midwest Ballet Academy.
The stage director of “Trial by Jury” is J. Adam Shelton (below).
PROGRAM NOTES
Here are some program notes provided by The Madison Savoyards:
In an age of international copyright and patent tension, Pineapple Poll ballet suite is an intriguing story. The composer, Arthur Sullivan, had died in 1900. The 50-year copyright moratorium on his music expired in 1950, but his librettist partner, W.S. Gilbert, died in 1911. So in 1950, the leading 20th-century conductor, the late Sir Charles Mackerras (below), could only use the work of the former to create a new work in their honor.
From this legal oddity came the only ballet based on the works of Gilbert and Sullivan (below) and, according to The Times of London, one of the best loved of English ballets. It was first performed in the United States in 1970 by the Joffrey Ballet in New York City; and, most recently, in El Paso, Tulsa, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Livermore, Sarasota and Northampton, Mass.
The music for Pineapple Poll,as a suite, has been played in numerous venues in the U.S., including a performance with band director Mike Leckrone at the UW-Madison in 2008 and at the UW-La Crosse in 2015, thus indicating a strong Wisconsin interest in the music alone.
From its opening notes leaping off the pages of Mikado, Pineapple Poll is a vigorous listen and a visual delight. Clement Crisp of the Financial Times called it, “that rarest of delights, a true balletic comedy.” The National Association for Music Education had identified it as a model piece for elementary school children. In 2003, Christopher Rawson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette observed that, in its pairing with Trial by Jury, “if there’s ever been a Gilbert and Sullivan show for people who don’t like Gilbert and Sullivan, this is it.”
Trial by Jury contrasts with the non-verbal Pineapple Poll, showcasing Gilbert’s lyric style in songs that tell the Victorian tale of marital promissory breach with the resulting farcical trial ending in marriage. It was Gilbert and Sullivan’s second collaboration and established their successful reputations. (In photos by Aimee Broman, below top shows Thore Dosdall playing the defendant Edwin (at left) getting the feeling that the jury is not on his side. Below bottom shows the plaintiff Angelina, played by Megan McCarthy).
The Central Midwest Ballet Academy’s Marguerite Luksik and Michael Knight have created original choreography for Pineapple Poll, and performances will feature students from the Academy’s pre-professional level.
In contrast to the tragic-dramatic plots of traditional ballets, the lighthearted nature of Pineapple Poll appeals to a broader audience. Pineapple Poll presents a combination of balanced spectacle and the challenge of experimental work.
Yoked to Trial by Jury, the two productions spark social and artistic novelty, critique and entertainment.
It is worth noting that the performances this weekend are a new collaboration between two homegrown Madison troupes. The Savoyards have been performing every summer since 1963, while Central Midwest Ballet has been active since 2015.
Here is an example of the Sullivan operetta tunes patched together in the Opening Dance of “Pineapple Poll.” (You can hear the Overture in the YouTube video at the bottom):
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- The Mikado, Opening Act 1.
- Trial By Jury, “Hark, the hour of Ten is sounding.”
- The Mikado, “So please you, sir, we much regret” (“But youth, of course, must have its fling. . .”
- Patience, “The Soldiers of our Queen.”
- Trial by Jury, “He will treat us with awe” (“Trial-la- law”).
- The Gondoliers, “Good Morrow, Pretty Maids” (orchestral accompaniment).
- Trial By Jury, “Hark, the hour of Ten is sounding.”
- The Mikado, “So please you, sir, we much regret.”
Tags: #ArthurSullivan, #BalletMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #CentralMidwestBalletAcademy, #ChamberMusic, #CharlesMackerras, #ChoralMusic, #EastSide, #EdgewoodCollege, #EdvardGrieg, #ElementarySchool, #ElPaso, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FestivalChoirofMadison, #FinancialTimes, #FolkMusic, #GilbertandSullivan, #IsthmusNewspaper, #J.AdamShelton, #JoffreyBallet, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #LondonEngland, #MadisonAreaTechnicalCollege, #MadisonCollege, #MadisonSavoyards, #MargueriteLuksik, #MikeLeckrone, #MitbyTheater, #NationalAssociationforMusicEducation, #OperaMusic, #PaulSchoenfield, #PineapplePoll, #PittsburghPost-Gazette, #SamuelBarber, #SarasotaFlorida, #SaturdayNight, #SeattleWashington, #SergeiPavlov, #StageDirector, #StoughtonChamberMusicFestival, #StoughtonOperaHouse, #StoughtonWisconsin, #Sundayafternoon, #TheEar, #TheGondoliers, #TheMikado", #TheTimes, #TheU.S., #TrialbyJury, #TulsaOklahoma, #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UW-Lacrosse, #VictorianAge, #VocalMusic, #W.S.Gilbert, #YouTubevideo, active, afternoon, alert, Arthur Sullivan, artistic, Arts, audience, Bach, balance, ballet, balletic, band, blog, box office, Brahms, breach, Central Midwest Ballet Academy, challenge, Chamber music, Charles Mackerras, children, choral music, choreography, Classical music, collaboration, college, comedy, comic, composer, Concert, conductor, copyright, critique, dance, debut, delight, details, director, donation, dramatic, east side, Edgewood College, Edvard Grieg, El Paso, elementary, England, English, Entertainment, experimental, expire, expired, Facebook, farcical, Festival Choir of Madison, Financial TImes, first, Florida, Folk music, forward, free, George Gershwin, georgegershwin, Gilbert and Sullivan, Gilbert&Sullivan, Grieg, homegrown, honor, inaugural, information, interest, international, intriguing, Isthmus, J. Adam Shelton, Jacob Stockinger, Joffrey Ballet, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, jury, known, LaCrosse, librettist, libretto, lighthearted, like, link, Livermore, London, Madison, Madison Area Technical College, Madison College, Madison Savoyards, maid, Marguerite Luksik, marital, Marriage, Massachusetts, MATC, Mikado, Mike Leckrone, Mitby Theater, moratorium, Music, National Association for Music Education, nature, New York City, Newspaper, night, non-verbal, Northampton, Norway, Norwegian, novelty, Oklahoma, one-act, opera, Operetta, Orchestra, original, pages, partner, patent, patience, Paul Schoenfield, Pennsylvania, performer, Pineapple Poll, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, please, plot, post, posting, production, professional, promissory, protection, queen, reputation, Samuel Barber, Sarasota, Saturday, Saturday night, Seattle, Sergei Pavlov, share, sing, singer, Singing, social, soldier, songs, spectacle, stage, stage director, story, Stoughton, Stoughton Chamber Music Festival, Stoughton Opera House, students, subscriber, successful, suggested, Suite, summer, Sunday, tag, tale, technical, Texas, The Ear, The Gondoliers, The Times, Tragic, trial, Trial by Jury, troupe, Tulsa, tune, United States, University of Wisconsin–Madison, venue, Victorian, vigorous, vocal music, Washington, weekend, Wisconsin, word, work, Youth, YouTube
Classical music: The Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society closes its 28th season this weekend by honoring three guest artists. Plus, here are all the winners of the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition
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ALERT: The Ear has been following two competitors in the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia who have local ties. (The only American to win Gold was cellist Zlatomir Fung.) The final results are in: trumpet player Ansel Norris took fifth place and received an artist’s diploma; pianist Kenneth Broberg shared the third prize with two other winners. For a complete list of winners in all the categories — piano, violin, cello, voice, brass and woodwinds — go to this page: https://tch16.com/en/news/
You can also watch and listen to, via live streaming, the two Gala Concerts for the winners today at 11 a.m. and on Saturday at 1 a.m. Valery Gergiev will conduct both. Go to https://tch16.medici.tv
By Jacob Stockinger
This Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society will close out its 28th annual summer chamber music season with concerts in Madison, Stoughton and Spring Green.
Judging by the first two weekends of concerts, The Ear expects it to be a memorable conclusion of the season with the punning theme of “Name Dropping.”
Here is the announcement he received.
“Our third week of concerts celebrates three great musicians, all of whom are audience favorites: cellist couple Anthony (“Tony”) Ross and Beth Rapier; and firebrand violinist Carmit Zori.
“And the Tony Award for Rapier Wit goes to…” is a program centered around cello duets. Rapier and Ross (below), principal and co-principal cellists with the Minnesota Orchestra, start the program with George Frideric Handel’s gorgeous Sonata in G minor for two cellos and piano. (You can hear the Handel sonata, payed by Amit Peled in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
They both display crazy virtuosity in Luigi Boccherini’s Quintet in B-flat Major for flute, violin, viola and two cellos.
The first half ends with Gian Carlo Menotti’s Suite for two cellos and piano, a work that they have performed to acclaim around the world.
The second half of the program is given over to one of Brahms’ greatest works, the Sextet in G Major, Op. 36, for two violins, two violas and two cellos.
Ross and Rapier are joined by violinists Carmit Zori and Leanne League (assistant concertmaster of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra) and violists Toby Appel (below, a faculty member at the Juilliard School who plays in the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center) and Katrin Talbot (a Madisonian who performs with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra) in this spectacular piece.
“And the Tony Award for Rapier Wit goes to…” will be performed at the Stoughton Opera House on Friday, June 28, at 7:30 p.m.; and in Spring Green at the Hillside Theater at Taliesin on Sunday, June 30, at 2:30 p.m.
Firebrand violinist Carmit Zori (below), founder and artistic director of the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society in New York City, will sizzle her way through the second program, entitled “The Legend of Zori.”
The program will open with Johannes Brahms’ Sonata in G Major for violin and piano. Viaje, by living Chinese composer Zhou Tian, is a fun and exciting new piece featuring flute and string quartet.
Zori will bring the program home with the torridly passionate Piano Quintet in F minor by Cesar Franck (below), a work written while Franck was in the throes of a love affair with one of his young students.
“The Legend of Zori” will be performed at The Playhouse at the Overture Center for the Arts on Saturday, June 29, at 7:30 p.m.; and in Spring Green at the Hillside Theater at Taliesin, on Sunday, June 30, at 6:30 p.m.
Venue Locations: the Stoughton Opera House is at 381 East Main Street; the Overture Center in Madison is at 201 State Street; Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin Hillside Theater in on County Highway 23 in Spring Green.
Single admission tickets start are $43 and $49. Student tickets are always $10. All single tickets must now be purchased from Overture Center for the Arts, www.overturecenter.org or (608) 258-4141 (additional fees apply) or at the box office. Tickets are available at the door at all locations.
You can also enjoy a pre-ordered picnic at the Hillside Theater made with love from Pasture and Plenty, using ingredients from local farmers and producers. They are available for pick up at the Hillside Theater after the 2:30 p.m. concert or before the 6:30 p.m. concert, for $18.
Spread a blanket on the beautiful Hillside Theater grounds or eat in the Taliesin Architecture School Dining Room, which will be open exclusively to BDDS concert-goers.
Choose from Green Goddess Chicken Salad, Market Veggie Quiche with Greens, or Hearty Greens and Grains with Seasonal Veggie Bowl (gluten-free/vegan). Seasonal sweet treat and beverage included. See the BDDS order form or call BDDS at 608 255-9866.
Tags: #AmitPeled, #AnselNorris, #AnthonyRoss, #AsianComposer, #BachDancingandDynamiteSociety, #BaroqueMusic, #BethRapier, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #BrooklynChamberMusicSociety, #CarmitZori, #CelloMusic, #CelloSonata, #CesarFranck, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberMusicSocietyofLIncolnCenter, #Chinesecomposer, #ContemporaryMusic, #CriticalAcclaim, #DiningRoom, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FluteMusic, #FoodandDrink, #FrankLloydWright, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GianCarloMenotti, #Gluten-Free, #GraduateStudent, #HillsideTheater, #InternationalTchaikovskyCompetition, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JuilliardSchool, #KatrinTalbot, #KennethBroberg, #LeanneLeague, #LiveStreaming, #LivingComposer, #LoveAffair, #LuigiBoccherini, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MadisonWisconsin, #MediciTV, #MinnesotaOrchestra, #MoscowRussia, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #OvertureCenter, #PastureandPlenty, #PianoAccompaniment, #PianoQuintet, #PrincipalCellist, #SaintPetersburg, #SpringGreen, #StoughtonOperaHouse, #StoughtonWisconsin, #StringMusic, #StringQuartet, #SweetTreat, #Taliesincompound, #TheEar, #ThePlayhouse, #TheU.S., #TobyAppel, #TonyAward, #TrumpetMusic, #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ValeryGergiev, #ViolaMusic, #ViolinMusic, #ViolinSonata, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WoodwindInstruments, #WoodwindMusic, #YouTubevideo, #ZhouTian, #ZlatomirFung, acclaim, accompaniment, address, America, American, Amit Peled, annoucement, Ansel Norris, Anthony Ross, artist, Arts, Asia, assistant, Bach, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Baroque, Baroque music, Beth Rapier, beverage, blanket, blog, bowl, box office, Brooklyn Chamber Music Society, Carmit Zori, categories, catgeory, celebrate, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, chicken, China, Chinese, Classical music, co-principal, composer, Concert, concertmaster, conclusion, conduct, conductor, contemporary music, couple, critical, dining room, diploma, door, duo, Early music, Facebook, faculty member, farmers, fifth, firebrand, flute, food, founder, Frank Lloyd Wright, Friday, fun, gala, George Frideric Handel, Gian-Carlo Menotti, grain, great, greens, grounds, Hillside Theater, ingredients, International Tchaikovsky Competition, Jacob Stockinger, Japan, Japanese, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Juilliard School, Katrin Talbot, Kenneth Broberg, Leanne League, legend, listen, live streaming, living, Living composer, local, location, Love, Luigi Boccherini, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, medici.tv, Moscow, Music, Musician, name, New Music, New York City, Orchestra, Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts, Pasture and Plenty, Pianist, Piano, Piano Quintet, picnic, piece, principal, prize, producers, program, pun, quiche, reception, Russia, Saint Petersburg, salad, Saturday, Season, seasonal, sizzle, Sonata, spectacular, Spring Green, St. Petersburg, Stoughton, Stoughton Opera House, string music, String quartet, strings, Student, Suite, Sunday, sweet, sweet treat, Taliesin, The Ear, The Playhouse, theme, third, ticket, ties, Toby Appel, Tony Award, treat, Trumpet, U.S., United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Valery Gergiev, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, veggie, venue, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtuosity, vocal music, voice, watch, weekend, winner, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wit, woodwinds, world, young, YouTube, Zhou Tian, Zlatomir Fung
Classical music: Looking for serious fun? The thoroughly successful opening concerts by the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society bode well for the upcoming second weekend
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By Jacob Stockinger
After 28 summers, going to a concert by the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society still feels like attending a family reunion – the best kind of family reunion where everyone is familiar and friendly, where everything is fun, and where you always leave glad that you went.
That’s not by chance.
The first thing that co-founders and co-artistic directors Stephanie Jutt and Jeffrey Sykes did last Friday and Saturday nights was to thank the loyal audience. And the audience, full of longtime fans, returned the favor by being attentive to and appreciative of the first-rate music-making as well as responsive to the horseplay and antics – such as the surreal scene of virtuoso Axel Strauss playing “The Skater’s Waltz” on his violin while rollerblading around the stage (below).
BDDS players really mean it when they say that their audiences are in for something different, something they won’t find elsewhere and won’t forget.
Last weekend that meant the return of two longtime guest performers: San Francisco cellist Jean-Michael Fonteneau and Montreal violinist Axel Strauss (below, with pianist Jeffrey Sykes). Neither disappointed as they performed very varied music by Franz Joseph Haydn, C.P.E. Bach, Johannes Brahms, Gabriel Faure, Lili Boulanger, Maurice Ravel and Ned Rorem. And as always, the amazing pianist Jeffrey Sykes proved a chameleon who blended masterfully into the style of each period and each composer.
But for The Ear, the unexpected standout last weekend was guest accordion player Stas Venglevski from Milwaukee. Born in Russia and trained at the Moscow Conservatory, he is a virtuoso player, a sensitive arranger and a convincing composer – all done with good humor and a charismatic stage presence.
The Ear never thought of the accordion – the Russian bayan, to be specific – as an instrument for chamber music. But he does now, after hearing Venglevski play serious Russian, French and Latin American music that ran the gamut from a graceful waltz and a sprightly polka to torchy tangos. And then there were his flying fingers punching out “The Flight of the Bumblebee,” a real crowd-pleaser.
The large audience responded on both nights with wild applause and a standing ovation every time that Venglevski (below) played, and Jutt promised the audience that he will be back.
“As you can see, we have fun here,” Jutt deadpanned.
She is not exaggerating.
Which bodes well for the second weekend of three that will happen this coming weekend.
The second weekend — two programs in three venues — celebrates Jutt and Sykes, plus two of BDDS’ favorite guest artists: violinist Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio and Madison pianist Thomas Kasdorf.
Kasdorf (below) and Sykes are both featured in a program called “Rock the Sykes-o-delic Kas-bah.” Kasdorf is featured in Brahms’ Horn Trio with guest horn player Karl Kramer Johansen, and in the appealing and accessible Café Concertino by the contemporary Australian composer Carl Vine.
Sykes will perform another chamber transcription of a Classical-era symphonic work, which over the years has become a welcome specialty of BDDS. In this case it is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s snappy and appealing Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat Major, K. 271, the “Jeunehomme” concerto. (You can hear the irresistible last movement of the piano concerto, used in the film “Amadeus,” in the YouTube video at the bottom.) Sykes will also perform in Robert Schumann’s “Fairy Tales” for clarinet and viola.
A Madison native, cellist Alison Rowe (below) — an artist from the Dynamite Factory, which is BDDS’ program for emerging talent — will be featured in the Sonata for Cello and Piano in D Major by Johann Sebastian Bach.
“Rock the Sykes-o-delic Kas-bah” will be performed at the Stoughton Opera House on Friday, June 21, at 7:30 p.m. Braisin’ Hussies Food Cart will be parked outside the Opera House prior to the performance. The program will also be performed in Spring Green at the Hillside Theater, Sunday, June 23, at 2:30 p.m.
Jutt (below top) and Sant’Ambrogio (below bottom, in a photo by Stephanie Ann Boyd) worm their musical way into the most unexpected places in the other program, “Steph Infection.” The Nocturne for flute, violin, horn and piano of Franz Doppler opens the program, which continues with Jutt’s own arrangement of Antonin Dvorak’s popular “American” String Quartet, with a flute substituting for one of the two violins.
Dmitri Shostakovich’s Five Pieces for flute, clarinet and piano add spice to the program, and the evening concludes with Ernst von Dohnanyi’s epic Sextet for clarinet, horn, violin, viola, cello and piano. A work that ranges from stormy and turbulent to tender and funny, it features an all-star cast including audience favorite clarinetist Alan Kay, horn player Karl Kramer Johansen, violist Carol Cook (principal at the Lyric Opera of Chicago), and Madison’s own cellist of the UW-Madison’s Pro Arte Quartet, Parry Karp (below).
“Steph Infection” will be performed at The Playhouse, Overture Center for the Arts, Saturday, June 22, at 7:30 p.m.; and in Spring Green at the Hillside Theater, Sunday, June 23, at 6:30 p.m.
And of course there could also be some unannounced surprises – more door prizes, perhaps a mystery guest, or more shenanigans and antics that correspond to the “Name Dropping” pun theme of the programs.
For tickets ($43-$49) and more information, go to: https://bachdancing.org
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Classical music: The Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society again brings its surefire summery approach to serious classical chamber music when it starts its 28th annual series this weekend
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By Jacob Stockinger
It’s not just the calendar that makes the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society the official start of the increasingly busy summer classical musical season in Madison.
The real reason is that the summer chamber music series, about to start its 28th annual summer this Friday night, June 14, is downright summery in its approach.
Say “summer,” and you think of lightness, of fun, of playfulness. And those are the very same qualities – along with serious, first-rate performances of great music by outstanding musicians – that BDDS brings to its six programs spread out in 12 concerts over three weekends and three venues during the month of June.
By now both the performers (below, in a photo by Dick Ainsworth for BDDS) and the audiences know that the formula works, however finely tuned or slightly changed it is from one summer to the next.
WHAT’S THE SAME
This year much remains.
There are still door prizes, spoken introductions and stories, mystery guests and a colorful art installation by UW-Madison designer Carolyn Kallenborn.
The titles of the six programs for 12 concerts over three weekends still have groan-inducing puns — “Name Dropping” in the theme for this summer — that are based on the musicians’ names like “Founteneau of Youth” after the San Francisco cellist Jean-Michel Fonteneau (below top) and “Quadruple Axel” after the Montreal-based violin virtuoso Axel Strauss (below bottom).
There are still the usual venues: the Playhouse in the Overture Center (below top); the Stoughton Opera House (below middle); and the Hillside Theater at Taliesin, the Frank Lloyd Wright compound in Spring Green.
There are still the many distinguished and accomplished musicians among the many imported guest artists and the many local musicians, including the co-founders and co-artistic directors flutist Stephanie Jutt and pianist Jeffrey Sykes (below). The Ear can’t recall ever hearing a bad BDDS performance, even of music he didn’t like.
And there is a mix of older well-known and classic repertoire along with newer and neglected composers and works.
WHAT’S NEW
But some things are different too.
The first concert this Friday will have a post-concert reception with free champagne and dessert to celebrate the 28th season.
This summer, unlike recent ones, there is no vocal music. All music is instrumental.
At both Stoughton and Spring Green, you can get food. Go to the home website for details.
Especially new and noteworthy is that the Russian virtuoso accordion player Stas Venglevski (below), from Milwaukee, will also perform on programs. Venglevski performs on the bayan, a Russian-style accordion noted for its deep bass sound and range and purity of tone.
Venglevski will be featured in works that range from polkas and heart-on-the-sleeve tangos by Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla, Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona and Russian composer Igor Stravinsky; down-and-dirty original works by Russian master Tatyana Sergeyeva and arrangements of favorite pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach and others.
This Wednesday night, June 12, from 7 to 9 p.m., Venglevski and Jutt will perform “Bayan-o-rama” at the Arts and Literature Lab, 2021 Winnebago Street. Tickets are $10 at the door. Refreshments will be served.
Here is a summary of the first weekend:
WEEK ONE
The elegance, charm, and finesse of French cellist Jean-Michel Fonteneau is displayed in a program called “Fonteneau of Youth.”
It includes music written by great composers in their youth, including the ravishing Elegy for cello and piano of French composer Gabriel Fauré; the rhythmically exciting Trio for flute, cello and piano of living American composer Ned Rorem; and the astonishing D’un soir triste (One Sad Evening) and D’un matin de printemps (One Spring Morning), both for piano trio, of 21-year old Lili Boulanger (below), who was the Prix de Rome-winning composer sister of famed teacher Nadia Boulanger and who died very young. (You can hear both pieces by Lili Boulanger in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The great Franz Joseph Haydn—always the most youthful of composers, even into his late years—is represented by the masterful Piano Trio no. 28 in E major, in honor of BDDS’ 28th season.
“Fonteneau of Youth” will be performed at The Playhouse in the Overture Center for the Arts on this Friday, June 14, at 7:30 p.m. A free champagne and dessert reception will be held following the performance to celebrate the 28th season opener. It will also be performed in Spring Green at the Hillside Theater on Sunday, June 16, at 2:30 p.m.
Audience favorite Axel Strauss—not just a virtuoso violinist, but a virtuoso musician and artist of the highest distinction—will brave gravity-defying musical heights in “Quadruple Axel.” Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Trio Sonata in D minor for violin, flute, cello and piano starts the program on an elegant note. Johannes Brahms’ fiery Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101, raises the temperature significantly. And all sorts of hijinks are on display in Maurice Ravel’s extraordinary and ravishing Sonata for Violin and Piano.
“Quadruple Axel” will be performed at The Playhouse in the Overture Center for the Arts on Saturday, June 15, at 7:30 p.m. and in Spring Green at the Hillside Theater, Sunday, June 16, at 6:30 p.m.
For more information about the full BDDS season and how to purchase tickets ($43 and $49), go to: https://bachdancing.org
Tags: #AcademicFestivalOverture, #AmericanComposer, #ArgentineanComposer, #ArtisticDirector, #ArtsandLiteratureLaboratory, #AstorPiazzolla, #AudienceFavorite, #AxelStrauss, #BachDancingandDynamiteSociety, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CarlPhilippEmanuelBach, #CarolynKallenborn, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberMusicians, #Classicalera, #ContemporaryComposers, #ContemporaryMusic, #CPEBach, #Cubancomposer, #DoorPrize, #ErnestoLecuona, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FigureSkating, #FrankLloydWright, #FranzJosephHaydn, #Frenchcomposer, #FrenchMusic, #GabrielFaure, #HillsideTheater, #HomeWebsite, #IgorStravinsky, #InstrumentalMusic, #Jean-MichelFonteneau, #JeffreySykes, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #LiliBoulanger, #LivingComposer, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MauriceRavel, #McGillUniversity, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MilwaukeeWisconsin, #ModernComposers, #ModernMusic, #MontrealCanada, #MysteryGuest, #NadiaBoulanger, #Name-Dropping, #NameDropping, #NedRorem, #NeglectedComposers, #NeglectedRepertoire, #NewMusic, #OvertureCenter, #PianoTrio, #PrixdeRome, #Prize-Winning, #RussianComposer, #SanFrancisco, #SanFranciscoCalifornia, #SanFranciscoTrio, #SpringGreen, #StasVenglevski, #StephanieJutt, #StoughtonOperaHouse, #StoughtonWisconsin, #Taliesincompound, #TatyanaSergeyeva, #ThePlayhouse, #TrioSonata, #UniversityofCalifornia-Berkeley, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolinistVirtuoso, #VirtuosoViolinist, #VocalMusic, #YouTubevideo, accordion, American, annual, Argentina, Argentinean, Argentinian, Art, Artistic director, Arts, Arts and Literature Laboratory, audience, axel, Axel Strauss, Ástor Piazzolla, Bach, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, bad, Baroque, Baroque music, bass, bayan, BDDS, blog, busy, calendar, California, Canada, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Carolyn Kallenborn, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, champagne, change, charm, classic, Classical era, Classical music, classicalmusic, composer, compound, Concert, contemporary, CPE Bach, Cuba, Cuban, dance, dancing, design, dessert, desserts, different, door prize, Early music, elegance, elegant, Elegy, Ernesto Lecuoña, evening, Facebook, Faure, favorite, festival, figure skating, finesse, first-rate, flute, flutist, food, formula, forward, founder, Frank Lloyd Wright, Franz Joseph Haydn, free, French, fun, Gabriel Fauré, great, groan, guest, heart, Hillside Theater, House, Igor Stravinsky, induce, installation, instrumental, introduction, introductions, Jacob Stockinger, Jean-Michel Fonteneau, Jeffrey Sykes, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, June, late, lightness, like, Lili Boulanger, link, literature, living, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maurice Ravel, McGill University, Mead Witter School of Music, Milwaukee, mix, modern, month, Montreal, morning, Music, Musician, mystery, Nadia Boulanger, name, Ned Rorem, neglected, new, New Music, official, opera, Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts, performance, performer, Pianist, Piano, Piano Trio, playfulness, polka, Prix de Rome, prize, program, purity, quadruple, qualities, range, recall, reception, refreshment, repertoire, Russian, San Francisco, San Francisco Trio, Season, serious, share, sister, sleeve, Sonata, Sound, spoken, Spring, Spring Green, Spring Green Wisconsin, start, Stas Venglevski, Stephanie Jutt, stories, story, Stoughton, Stoughton Opera House, summer, summery, tag, Taliesin, tango, Tatyana Sergeyeva, Teacher, The Playhouse, theme, ticket, tone, trio, trio sonata, tuned, United States, University of California-Berkeley, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, venue, Violin, violinist, virtuoso, vocal music, Website, weekend, what, winning, Wisconsin, Wiscosnin, word, works, year, Youth, YouTube
Classical music: The Ancora String Quartet closes its 18th season with three upcoming local concerts of music by Mendelssohn, Beethoven and Caroline Shaw
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ancora String Quartet closes its 18th season with a trio of concerts, and a program featuring two quartets from the early 19th century, juxtaposed with a shorter piece of much more recent date.
The program is the String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 13, by Felix Mendelssohn; “Entr’acte” (Minuet and Trio) by Caroline Shaw; and String Quartet No. 6 in B-Flat Major, Op. 18, No. 6, by Ludwig van Beethoven.
The schedule of concert dates, times and venues is below.
Members of the Ancora String Quartet (below, from left, in a photo by Barry Lewis), who also perform with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and the Madison Bach Musicians among other groups, are: Wes Luke and Robin Ryan, violins; Marika Fischer Hoyt, viola; and Benjamin Whitcomb, who teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Whtewater.
Here are some program notes provided by violist Marika Fischer Hoyt:
“Mendelssohn’s Op. 13 was written in 1827 when he was 18 years old. He’d written the Octet two years earlier, but this was his first mature string quartet. It expresses his youthful passion and includes one of his signature bubbly scherzos.
“Between our two more-established works, we insert a short piece entitled (appropriately enough) “Entr’acte” (“Intermission,” heard in the YouTube video at the bottom), composed by the American Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw (below, in a photo by Dashing Burton) in 2011. (It is one of The Ear’s favorite contemporary works.)
The 12-minute piece, subtitled “a minuet and trio,” takes haunting fragments and memes from Baroque and Classical styles and treats them with 21st-century audacity. With an ABA structure, the opening and closing sighing motif seems dolorous, but takes its own sadness in a philosophical spirit.
“While both the Mendelssohn and Shaw end quietly, we conclude the program with Beethoven’s exuberant Quartet No. 6, the final quartet in the composer’s set of six early quartets, his Opus 18. This delightful work, completed in 1800, is full of energy and drive; the melancholy mood of the brief fourth movement “La malinconia” (Melancholy) is banished by a cheerful Allegretto, ending with a flourish in the final Prestissimo.”
SCHEDULE
Monday, May 13, at 3 p.m. in the Stoughton Opera House‘s Music Appreciation Series, 381 East Main Street, Stoughton. Free and open to the public
Tuesday, May 14, 7:30 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 1833 Regent Street, Madison. Ticketed event — $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $6 for young people. There will be a reception following the concert.
Saturday, June 15, at noon in Grace Episcopal Church for “Grace Presents,” 116 West Washington Avenue, on the Capitol Square in downtown Madison. Free and open to the public.
Tags: #21stCentury, #AmericanComposer, #AncoraStringQuartet, #BaroqueEra, #BaroqueMusic, #BaroqueStyle, #BenjaminWhitcomb, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CapitolSquare, #CarolineShaw, #ChamberMusic, #ChristianChurch, #Classicalera, #ContemporaryMusic, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FelixMendelssohn, #GraceEpiscopalChurch, #GracePresents, #LivingComposer, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonBachMusicians, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MarikaFischerHoyt, #MusicAppreciation, #NewMusic, #ProgramNotes, #PulitzerPrize, #RobinRyan, #St.Andrew'sEpiscopalChurch, #StoughtonOperaHouse, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #UniversityofWisconsin-Whitewater, #WesLuke, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, 21st century, adult, American, Ancora String Quartet, Arts, ASQ, audacity, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Benjamin Whitcomb, blog, Capitol Square, Caroline Shaw, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Christian church, Classical, Classical music, classicalmusic, closing, composer, Concert, contemporary, dates, downtown, entr'acte, express, Facebook, favorite, Felix Mendelssohn, forward, fragment, free, Grace Episcopal Church, Grace Presents, group, haunting, House, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, like, link, Living composer, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marika Fischer Hoyt, mature, melancholy, meme, minuet, mood, motif, movement, Music, music appreciation, New Music, Octet, open, opening, opera, Passion, perform, philosophical, piece, program, program notes, public, Pulitzer Prize, reception, recpeiton, Robin Ryan, sadness, schedule, Scherzo, Season, senior, share, sigh, signature, spirit, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Stoughton Opera House, String quartet, structure, style, tag, The Ear, ticket, time, trio, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, University of Wisconsin–Madison, venue, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, Wes Luke, winner, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, works, written, years, young people, youthful, YouTube
Classical music: The third and final week of the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society’s 26th season offers vocal music, four-hand piano music and instrumental chamber music of four centuries plus a Midwest premiere
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By Jacob Stockinger
Building on the success of the past two weekends and previous four programs, the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society chamber music festival, which features top local and guest performers, concludes its season this weekend with a typically eclectic mix of vocal and instrumental music that ranges from the late 18th century up to today, including a Midwest premiere.
As usual, the BDDS venues are suitably intimate for chamber music: The Playhouse (below top) at the Overture Center at 201 State St.; the jewel box historic Stoughton Opera House (below middle) at 381 East Main St.; and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hillside Theater (below bottom) at Taliesin on County Highway 23 in Spring Green.
Concerts are spiked with stories about the music, mystery guests and even door prizes.
This season’s theme is Alphabet Soup, because it’s BDDS’ 26th year and there are 26 letters in the alphabet. Each program is named after a combination of letters used in everyday language. Sometimes the musical interpretation of those letters is literal and sometimes it’s quite loose.
The final weekend of concerts welcomes back audience favorites Hye-Jin Kim, violin; Ara Gregorian, viola; Randall Hodgkinson, piano (below top); and Timothy Jones, bass-baritone (below bottom).
They are joined by the acclaimed local violinist Soh-Hyun Park Altino (below top), a new member of the UW-Madison music faculty, and by Madison Symphony Orchestra cellist Madeleine Kabat (below bottom, in a photo by Christian Steiner), who is filling in for UW-Madison professor and Pro Arte Quartet cellist Parry Karp, who has sustained a finger injury.
“Cs the Day” includes the Midwest premiere of “Cool Fire” for flute, string quartet and piano by Paul Moravec (below), and Mozart’s “Coronation Piano Concerto” arranged for the entire ensemble.
Timothy Jones will be featured in the song cycle, “Let Us Garlands Bring” by Gerald Finzi. These are settings of carpe diem poems of Shakespeare. (Carpe diem is Latin for “seize the day” = “Cs the Day”— get it?) You can hear the songs in the YouTube video at the bottom.
At the center of this program is Carl Czerny’s Sonata in C minor for piano four-hands. BDDS will suspend a camera over the keyboard so the audience can see how the hands of the pianists cross and interlock throughout this virtuosic masterpiece. (Below is a view of a similar set up six seasons ago.)
Cs the Day will be performed at The Playhouse, Overture Center for the Arts on Friday, June 23, at 7:30 p.m.; and Spring Green at the Hillside Theater, Sunday, June 25, at 2:30 p.m.
The final program of the season, “R&B,” features “Rounds for Robin, a short work by Kevin Puts (below top) for flute and piano written in memory of comedian Robin Williams, and the Flute Quintet in G minor by Luigi Boccherini (below bottom).
The “Santa Fe Songs” for baritone and piano quartet by Ned Rorem (below, in a photo by Christian Steiner) features the mesmerizing voice of Timothy Jones in one of the great American song cycles.
The 26th season concludes with Johannes Brahms’ towering Piano Quintet in F minor.
R&B will be performed at The Playhouse, Overture Center, Madison, on Saturday, June 24, at 7:30 p.m.; and Spring Green at the Hillside Theater, Sunday, June 25, and 6:30 p.m.
Photos by Dick Ainsworth of BDDS performances and behind-the-scenes will be on exhibit in The Playhouse through Sunday, July 9.
Single general admission tickets are $43. Student tickets are always $10.
For tickets visit: http://www.overture.org/events/bach-dancing
For more information about the programs, performers, performances and background, visit www.bachdancinganddynamite.org or call (608) 255-9866.
Tickets can also be purchased at Overture Center for the Arts, (608) 258-4141, www.overturecenter.org (additional fees apply).
Tickets are also available at the door at all locations.
Tags: admission, alphabet, alphabet soup, American, arrangement, Arts, Bach, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, background, Bard, baritone, bass, BDDS, Boccherini, Brahms, camera, Carl Czerny, carpe diem, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, comedian, comedy, concerto, coronation, Coronation Concerto, Dane County, day, door prize, eclectic, faculty, festival, Finger, Finzi, flute, four-hands, Frank Lloyd Wright, garland, guest, historic, History, House, injury, instrumental, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Kevin Puts, Keyboard, language, Latin, letters, local, Madeleine Kabat, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, masterpiece, Midwest, Mozart, Music, mystery, Ned Rorem, opera, Overture Center for the Arts, Paul Moravec, performers, Piano, Piano Quartet, Piano Quintet, Playhouse, poem, Poetry, premiere, Pro Arte Quartet, professor, program, quintet, Randall Hodgkinson, Robin Williams, round, rounds, Santa Fe, Season, Shakespeare, sing, singer, Singing, society, Soh-Hyun Park Altino, Sonata, song, song cycle, soup, Spring Green, story, Stoughton, Stoughton Opera House, String quartet, symphony, Taliesin, theater, ticket, Timothy Jones, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, virtuosic, vocal, vocal music, weekend, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: The second week of programs by the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society offers vocal and instrumental music that spans four centuries and includes a world premiere
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By Jacob Stockinger
Last weekend, the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society opened its 26th season with two programs in three venues that all proved highly successful.
Building on that success, the chamber music festival with top local and guest performers, now turns to vocal and instrumental music that ranges from the late 18th century up to today, including a world premiere.
As usual, the BDDS venues are suitably intimate for chamber music: The Playhouse (below top) at the Overture Center at 201 State St.; the jewel box historic Stoughton Opera House (below middle) at 381 East Main St.; and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hillside Theater (below bottom) at Taliesin on County Highway 23 in Spring Green.
Concerts are spiked with stories about the music, mystery guests and even door prizes.
This season’s theme is Alphabet Soup, because it’s BDDS’ 26th year and there are 26 letters in the alphabet. Each program is named after a combination of letters used in everyday language. Sometimes the musical interpretation of those letters is literal and sometimes it’s quite loose.
The second weekend of concerts features the San Francisco Piano Trio (below) Axel Strauss, violin; Jean-Michel Fonteneau, cello; and Jeffrey Sykes, piano).
They are joined by UW-Madison’s pianist Christopher Taylor, soprano Emily Birsan (another Madison favorite and a graduate of the UW-Madison and Lyric Opera of Chicago) and internationally acclaimed clarinetist Alan Kay.
TWO PROGRAMS
Two Bs or not Two Bs includes evocative songs by Maurice Ravel for soprano, flute, cello and piano and an entertaining bouquet of earthy cabaret songs by composers Benjamin Britten, William Bolcom and Arnold Schoenberg, sung by Emily Birsan.
The program also features Bela Bartok’s “Contrasts” for clarinet, violin and piano, a work commissioned by the legendary jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman (below), and Johannes Brahms’ epic Piano Trio in C Major, Op. 87. (You can hear a historic recording of Benny Goodman performing the Bartok work, with the composer playing the piano, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Two Bs or not Two Bs will be performed at The Playhouse, Overture Center for the Arts, on Friday, June 16, 7:30 p.m., and at the Hillside Theater, Taliesin, Spring Green, on Sunday, June 18, 2:30 p.m.
Special K is a showcase for Alan Kay, principal clarinetist of the renowned Orpheus Chamber Ensemble.
It includes “The Shepherd on the Rock” for soprano, clarinet and piano by Franz Schubert; the hip tour-de-force “Techno Parade” by Guillaume Conneson (below) for flute, clarinet and piano; and the Midwest premiere of “Living Frescoes” for clarinet, violin, cello and piano by American composer Kevin Puts.
Many will remember that Kevin Puts (below) was the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer BDDS commissioned for the song cycle “In At The Eye” in its 25th season last summer.
The program is rounded out with Mozart’s Piano Trio in E Major and three songs by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (below) sung by Emily Birsan, accompanied by Jeffrey Sykes.
Special K will be performed at The Playhouse, Overture Center for the Arts, on Saturday, June 17, 7:30 p.m., and at the Hillside Theater, Taliesin, in Spring Green, on Sunday, June 18, 6:30 p.m.
Photos by Dick Ainsworth of BDDS performances and behind-the-scenes will be on exhibit in The Playhouse through Sunday, July 9.
Single general admission tickets are $43. Student tickets are always $10.
For tickets visit: http://www.overture.org/events/bach-dancing
For more information about the programs, performers, performances and background, visit www.bachdancinganddynamite.org or call (608) 255-9866.
Tickets can also be purchased at Overture Center for the Arts, (608) 258-4141, www.overturecenter.org (additional fees apply).
Tickets are also available at the door at all locations.
Tags: Alan Kay, alphabet, alphabet soup, America, American, Arnold Schoenberg, Arts, Axel Strauss, background, Bartok, Benny Goodman, Bolcom, Brahms, Britten, cabaret, Cello, century, Chamber music, Chicago, Christopher Taylor, clarinet, Classical music, commission, composer, contrast, cycle, door prize, earthy, Emily Birsan, epic, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, festival, flute, Frank Lloyd Wright, Franz Schubert, fresco, graduate, guest, Guillaume Conneson, highway, Hillside Theater, hip, historic, In At the Eye, instrumental, interpretation, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, Jean-Michel Fonteneau, Jeffrey Sykes, jewel, Johannes Brahms, Kevin Puts, language, legend, letters, literal, living, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Madison, Midwest, Mozart, Music, mystery, Orpheus Chamber Ensemble, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Overture, performance, performer, photo, photograph, Piano, Piano Trio, premiere, Pulitzer Prize, Ravel, San Francisco, San Francisco Piano Trio, Shepherd on the Rock, sing, singer, Sonata, song, song cycle, soprano, soup, Spring Green, Spring Green Wisconsin, Stephanie Jutt, Stoughton Opera House, summer, Taliesin, ticket, tour-de-force, trio, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, world premiere, YouTube
Classical music: The Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society opens its 26th season with a bang worthy of its name. Plus, TONIGHT the Willy Street Chamber Players open the summer season of the Rural Musicians Forum in Spring Green
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A REMINDER: Tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Hillside Theater at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin compound in Spring Green, six members of the Willy Street Chamber Players will open the summer season of the Rural Musicians Forum. The program features works by Johannes Brahms, American composer Charles Ives, and Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera. A free-will donation will be requested. The Hillside Theater is located at 6604 County Highway 23, Spring Green. For more information about the Rural Musicians Forum, go to: http://ruralmusiciansforum.org/home
By Jacob Stockinger
This guest review is by a new contributor, Kyle Johnson (below). As a pianist since elementary school, Johnson has devoted most of his life to music. Born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, he is now a doctoral candidate in piano performance at the UW-Madison, where he studies with Christopher Taylor and specializes in modern and contemporary music. He participates in many festivals and events around the U.S. and Europe. Recently, he co-founded the Madison-based ensemble Sound Out Loud, an interactive contemporary music ensemble. For more information, visit: www.kyledjohnson.weebly.com
By Kyle Johnson
The Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society’s 26th season — themed “Alphabet Soup” for 26 letters — began on Friday evening at the historic Stoughton Opera House (below bottom) with a program of underprogrammed French, German and Russian works.
BDDS is led by artistic directors (below) Stephanie Jutt, UW-Madison’s newly-retired flute professor and principal flute of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and Jeffrey Sykes, pianist of the San Francisco Piano Trio who studied at the UW-Madison. The two musicians assembled a “dynamite” group of musicians for their opening concert.
First on the program was Médailles antiques (Old Medals) for flute, violin and piano from 1916 by Philippe Gaubert (below). Like the weather throughout the day on Friday, the piece provided a sunny and spry start to the program in the centennial year of World War I.
At times, I wanted the ends of phrases to have a little more stretch and grace to them. However, the richness of sound from each musician, as well as the ensemble’s superb blend, made up for any small qualm I may have had.
The next piece, Gideon Klein’s String Trio (1944), featured three “apprentice” musicians from BDDS’s Dynamite Factory. Violinist Misha Vayman (below top), violist Jeremy Kienbaum (below middle) and cellist Trace Johnson (below bottom) are the program fellows for this year’s series.
Striking about the work was Klein’s musical optimism amid stark reality – the piece was written at the Auschwitz concentration camp just a few months before the death of the composer (below).
The Dynamite Factory artists gave a spirited rendition of the weighty work, which at times resembles the rollicking intensity of Bela Bartok’s folk dances.
Before the intermission, the audience was treated to Sergei Prokofiev’s chilling Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 80, for violin and piano. Like the preceding piece, Prokofiev’s sonata was written during the strife of World War II. (You can hear the first movement, played by Maxim Vengerov, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Prokofiev labeled one passage at the end of the first movement as “wind passing through a graveyard”; the passage (a series of quick violin scales) returns at the close of the piece. Under the hands of violinist Carmit Zori (below top) and pianist Jeffrey Sykes (below bottom), the sonata seemed both devastating and human.
A brief, unprogrammed presentation began the second half of the concert, which was a performance of “Arrival of the Queen of Sheba” from the oratorio Solomon by George Frideric Handel.
The work was lauded and produced by the Fourth Earl of Sandwich in the mid-1700s. Fittingly, during the music, characters clad in 18th-century attire roamed the Stoughton Opera House to hand out sandwiches.
Last on the program was Johannes Brahms’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 26, played by violinist Zori; Pro Arte Quartet violist Sally Chisholm (below top); Toronto Symphony principal cellist Joseph Johnson (below bottom); and pianist Sykes.
The quartet brimmed with musical swells and overlapping layers of sound. There are a number of memorable themes that allow the listener to simply ride the wave of sound throughout the 40-minute work.
All of the musicians were fully deserving of the ovation (below, in a photo by Kyle Johnson) they received in Stoughton, as all technical demands were met with superb musicality and passion.
Future BDDS concerts run through June 25 and are not to be missed! For more information about programs and about performers, performance dates, times and venues, go to www.bachdancing.org
Tags: 18th century, Adolf Hitler, Alberto Ginastera, alphabet, Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, Arts, Auschwitz, Auschwitz concentration camp, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Baroque, BDDS, Brahms, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, Christopher Taylor, Classical music, contemporary, county, date, doctoral, dynamite, Earl of Sandwich, Europe, Extermination camp, festival, flute, Frank Lloyd Wright, French, George Frideric Handel, German, Gideon Klein, highway, Hillside Theater, Ives, Jacob Stockinger, Jews, Johannes Brahms, Kentucky, Kyle Johnson, Lexington, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maxim Vengerov, modern, Music, New Music, oratorio, performance, performer, Philippe Gaubert, phrase, phrasing, Piano, Piano Quartet, Piano Trio, principal, professor, program, Prokofiev, rural, Russian, San Francisco, San Francisco Piano Trio, sandwich, Solomon, Sonata, Sound Out Loud, soup, Spring Green, Stoughton, Stoughton Opera House, Student, symphony, Taliesin, The Holocaust, time, Toronto, Toronto Symphony, U.S., United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, venue, Viola, Violin, Willy Street Chamber Players, Wisconsin, World War I, World War II, YouTube
Classical music: The 26th season of the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society chamber music festival opens this weekend with two programs in three locations
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society (BDDS) presents its 26th annual summer chamber music festival — Alphabet Soup — starting this weekend.
It will run from this Friday, June 9, through Sunday, June 25. The festival features 12 concerts over three weekends, and each weekend offers two different programs.
Concerts will be performed in The Playhouse at the Overture Center in Madison, the Stoughton Opera House in Stoughton and the Hillside Theater at Taliesin in Spring Green.
In the three-weekend festival, you can hear great classical masterpieces and fine contemporary works. A roster of musicians with national and international reputations will perform.
The venues are suitably intimate for chamber music: The Playhouse (below top) at the Overture Center at 201 State St.; the jewel box historic Stoughton Opera House (below middle) at 381 East Main St.; and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hillside Theater (below bottom) at Taliesin on County Highway 23 in Spring Green.
Added attractions include stories about the music, mystery guests and even door prizes. As BDDS puts it, “It’s chamber music with a bang!”
BDDS is led by co-artistic directors and performers flutist Stephanie Jutt (below right), who is principal flute with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and who just retired from the UW-Madison faculty; and pianist Jeffrey Sykes (below left), who graduated from the UW-Madison and teaches in Berkeley, California, where he is a member of the San Francisco Trio. Nineteen guest artists will also perform in the festival.
This season’s theme is Alphabet Soup, because it’s the 26th year and there are 26 letters in the alphabet. Each program is named after a combination of letters used in everyday language. Sometimes the musical interpretation of those letters is literal and sometimes it’s quite loose.
Musicians for Week One include three veteran string players: Naumberg Award-winning violinist Carmit Zori (below top); Madison’s very own violist Sally Chisholm (below middle) of the Pro Arte Quartet; and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s principal cellist Joseph Johnson (below bottom).
They will be joined by young artists who are participants in the newly formed Dynamite Factory, a BDDS program for nurturing and furthering the talents of three exceptional young musicians — violist Jeremy Kienbaum, violinist Misha Vayman and cellist Trace Johnson.
In one of two “sandwich” programs this weekend, PB&J, Carmit Zori will play the haunting Violin Sonata in F minor by Sergei Prokofiev and the program includes the heavenly Piano Quartet in A Major of Johannes Brahms.
The Dynamite Factory artists are featured in the emotional String Trio by Gideon Klein (below), a work he wrote at the Auschwitz concentration camp shortly before his death. (You can hear the trio by Gideon Klein in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
PB&J will be performed at the Stoughton Opera House on Friday, June 9, at 7:30 p.m.; and in Spring Green at the Hillside Theater, Sunday, June 11, at 2:30 p.m.
A second “sandwich” program, BLT, features the emotionally complex Cello Sonata (featuring Joseph Johnson) by Benjamin Britten (below top); all of the artists working together in the great “London” Symphony by Franz Joseph Haydn as arranged by Haydn’s contemporary and impresario Johann Peter Salomon (below bottom); and the beautiful string sextet “Souvenir de Florence” by Peter Tchaikovsky.
BLT will be performed at The Playhouse, Overture Center for the Arts, on Saturday, June 10, at 7:30 p.m. and at the Hillside Theater, Taliesin, Spring Green, on Sunday, June 11, at 6:30 p.m.
For the seventh year, BDDS will perform two FREE family concerts, interactive events intended for all ages.
One event takes place 11–11:45 AM, on Saturday, June 10, in The Playhouse of the Overture Center. The other will be at the Central Library Bubbler on this Thursday afternoon, June 8, from 4 to 5 p.m.
This is a performance for families with children of all ages and seating will be first come, first served. CUNA Mutual Group, Pat Powers and Thomas Wolfe and the Overture Center underwrite these performances.
Photos by Dick Ainsworth of BDDS performances and behind-the-scenes are on exhibit in The Playhouse Gallery through July 9.
Single general admission tickets are $43. Student tickets are always $10.
Tickets can also be purchased at Overture Center for the Arts, (608) 258-4141, www.overturecenter.org (additional fees apply). Tickets are available at the door at all locations.
For more information about the group, performers and programs, including audiovisual clips, go to: http://bachdancing.org
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Classical music: Next week, the Ancora String Quartet closes its 16th season with three concerts that contrast the German Romanticism of Beethoven and the French Impressionism of Saint-Saëns. This Saturday night, the Festival Choir of Madison sings about astrology and signs of the Zodiac
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ALERT: On this Saturday night, May 6, at 7:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Society of Madison 900 University Bay Drive, the Festival Choir of Madison will perform a spring program of choral music linked to signs of the Zodiac and astrology, Sorry, no word on the specific program. Tickets are $15, $12 for seniors and $6 for students. For more information go to: http://festivalchoirmadison.org/concerts/a-musical-zodiac
By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear received the following note to post from the Ancorans, who are among his favorite musicians:
You are invited to join the Ancora String Quartet (ASQ), below in a photo by Barry Lewis) for the closing concert program of our 16th season.
The performance takes place next Saturday night, May 13, at 7:30 p.m., at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church (below), 1833 regent Street. A champagne reception will follow.
French Impressionism and German Romanticism – Vive la difference! Whether you prefer Bordeaux or Riesling wine, you’ll enjoy our spring program.
On the program are the Quartet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 153, by Camille Saint-Saëns (below top) and the Quartet No. 12 in E-flat Major, Op. 127, by Ludwig van Beethoven (below bottom).
Saint-Saëns’ second quartet reveals the lyricism and witty invention that earned him the nickname “the French Mendelssohn.” (You can hear the quartet’s beautiful slow movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
We follow this up with the first of Beethoven’s late quartets, written shortly after he finished his Ninth Symphony. From its wistfully dreamy first movement to the ethereally mysterious coda in the last, Beethoven charts a new course.
Tickets will be available at the door, and are for general seating. Ticket prices are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students, and $6 for children under 12.
Other performances of this program will take place earlier.:
The first is on Monday, May 8, at 3 p.m. at the Stoughton Opera House (below) in Stoughton. Admission is a free-will donation.
The other performance is on Friday, May 12, at 7:30 p.m. in the MacDowell Music Club in Janesville. The concert is FREE and open to the public.
Members of the quartet (below, from left, in a photo by Barry Lewis) are Wes Luke and Robin Ryan, violins; Marika Fischer Hoyt, viola; and Benjamin Whitcomb, cello. They represent professional experience playing with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Madison Bach Musicians and many other groups plus teaching privately and in the University of Wisconsin System.
For more information, including individual biographies and concert schedules, go to:
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