The Well-Tempered Ear
Pianist Lang Lang gets a Hollywood star
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By Jacob Stockinger
He is not the first classical pianist to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
But the controversial Chinese superstar Lang Lang (below) — once referred to as Bang Bang and compared to Liberace for his flamboyance and showmanship — is certainly the most popular.
As a performer, educator and philanthropist, he is also the first Asian pianist to be so honored, although The Ear is betting that his fellow Chinese and highly respected pianist Yuja Wang is not far behind him.
Lang Lang received the 2,778th star (below, in a photo by Jesse Grant of Getty Images) from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. He received it last week, on April 10.
His alma mater — the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where Lang Lang studied with Gary Graffman and graduated in 2002 — is deservedly proud of him, issuing the following press release with links:
And if you missed any or all of the 49 minutes-long fluffy ceremony, in the YouTube video at the bottom is a 5-minute clip of the event, during which Lang Lang played the piano on the street.
Do you have an opinion about Lang Lang?
What do you think is his best recording?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Classical music: Madison Bach Musicians cancels its performances in late April of the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610. Here are details about ticket donations and refunds
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following note from founder and artistic director Trevor Stephenson (below top) and associate artistic director Kangwon Kim (below bottom) of the Madison Bach Musicians regarding the cancellation of the April performances of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610.
Dear Friends of Madison Bach Musicians,
We hope everyone is staying well and hanging in there during this global health crisis and massive shutdown. We’re all monitoring the news and looking for any indication that things might improve soon.
Unfortunately, the chances of improvement coming soon enough for public concerts scheduled even near the end of April are overwhelmingly remote.
Madison Bach Musicians (MBM) is very sorry to have to cancel the Vespers of 1610 by Claudio Monteverdi (below) on April 25 and 26. We were all greatly looking forward to it, and of course the piercing irony of having to cancel is that the joy this music brings is what we now, as a culture, need more than ever.
The global economic impact of the coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic is certainly catastrophic. And, in the music world we are feeling this directly. As a non-profit organization, cancelling a performance is one of the hardest decisions to make ― but the health and well-being of our audience, musicians and staff absolutely come first.
Madison Bach Musicians (below) has offered the Vespers musicians 40 percent of their fee ― we regret we are not a large enough organization to offer full payment.
Several of the players, however, in a show of great generosity, immediately requested that their portion be distributed among the other players. Considering the economic hardship that most freelance musicians will be facing in the coming months, every degree of financial support is deeply appreciated.
MBM is so very grateful to those of you who have purchased tickets to the Vespers. As MBM will feel the economic effects of the Vespers cancellation for a long time, we ask for your support and careful consideration as you decide what to do with your unused Vespers tickets.
If you have purchased tickets, please let us know by April 26, 2020 whether you would like to:
Make your Vespers tickets a tax-deductible donation to MBM. Thank you ― we appreciate it!
A. If you purchased tickets as part of a 2019-20 MBM season subscription or as individual tickets online, please email MBM manager Karen Rebholz at madisonbachmusicians.manager@gmail.com. She will email you your donation tax receipt.
B. If you purchased tickets at one of our outlet locations (Orange Tree Imports or Willy Street Co-op East and West), please mail your tickets to MBM by U.S. mail, provide us with your email address, and we will email you your donation tax receipt.
Request a refund. We’re happy to provide your money back, and look forward to seeing you again in 2020-21 season.
A. If you purchased tickets as part of a 2019-20 MBM season subscription or as individual tickets online, please email MBM manager Karen Rebholz at madisonbachmusicians.manager@gmail.com. MBM will mail you your refund check.
B. If you purchased tickets at one of our outlet locations (Orange Tree Imports or Willy Street Co-op East and West), please mail your tickets to MBM by the U.S. mail, provide us with your street address, and MBM will mail you your refund check.
Our mailing address is: Madison Bach Musicians, 5729 Forsythia Place, Madison WI 53705. If you have questions, please email Karen Rebholz, MBM manager, at madisonbachmusicians.manager@gmail.com or call us at (608) 238-6092
Thank you for your understanding. We look forward to seeing you in the 2020-21 season
Very best wishes―and please stay safe.
Tags: #ArtisticDirector, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChoralMusic, #ClassicalMusician, #ClaudioMonteverdi, #COVID-19, #EmailAddress, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FinancialSupport, #FullPayment, #GovernmentShutdown, #HealthCrisis, #JacobStockinger, #JohannSebastianBach, #KangwonKim, #MadisonBachMusicians, #MailingAddress, #MusicWorld, #OrangeTreeImports, #PostalService, #ProfessionalMusician, #RenaissanceMusic, #SeasonSubscription, #StreetAddress, #SubscriptionTicket, #TheEar, #TheU.S., #TheVespers, #TrevorStephenson, #U.S.PostalService, #Vespersof1610, #VocalMusic, #WillyStreetCo-op, #WillyStreetCoopEast, #WillyStreetCoopWest, 2020, 2021, address, appreciate, April, Artistic director, Arts, audience, Bach, Baroque, blog, cancel, cancellation, catastrophe, catastrophic, Cello, check, choral music, Classical, Classical music, Claudio Monteverdi, co-op, composer, Concert, conductor, coronavirus, crisis, cultural, culture, decision, degree, direct, distribute, donation, Early music, ecnomic, eco-friendly, economic, effect, email address, event, everyone, face, Facebook, fee, feel, feeling, financial, forward, founder, freelance, full, full payment, generosity, global, gmail, government shutdown, grateful, hard, hardship, Health, impact, improve, improvement, indication, individual, irony, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Joy, Kangwoo Kim, Kim, large, like, link, location, look, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, mail, mailing address, manager, massive, MBM, money, moning, monitor, Monteverdi, Music, music world, Musician, need, news, non-profit, note, online, Orange Tree Imports, Orchestra, outlet, overwhelming, pandemic, payment, performance, performer, pierce, players, portion, post, postal service, posting, provide, purchase, questions, receipt, refund, regret, remote, Renaissance, request, safe, Season, see, share, shutdown, sorry, staff\, street, subscription, support, tag, tax, tax-deductible, The Ear, ticket, time, Trevor Stephenson, U.S., U.S. Postal Service, understanding, unfortunately, United States, USPS, vespers, Vespers of 1610, Viola, Violin, vocal music, we, well, well-being, Willy Street Co-op, Willy Street Coop East, Willy Street Coop West, Wisconsin, wish, world
Classical music: This weekend, the Madison Symphony Orchestra spotlights three of its principal players in music by Prokofiev, Debussy and Vaughan Williams along with works by Schubert and Gershwin
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By Jacob Stockinger
This coming weekend, the Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO, below in a photo by Peter Rodgers) will once again perform a program that highlights its principal artists as soloists.
The program for “Orchestral Brilliance: Three Virtuosi” begins with Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 8, “Unfinished.”
Then the featured artists appear: concertmaster Naha Greenholtz performs Sergei Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 2 for Violin; principal clarinetist JJ Koh follows with Claude Debussy’s Rhapsody for Clarinet and Orchestra; and principal tubist Joshua Biere concludes with Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra. For more biographical information about the soloists, see below.
The program finishes with George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris.”
Performances will be held in Overture Hall, 201 State Street, on Friday, March 8, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, March 9, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, March 10, at 2:30 p.m.
Details about tickets ($18-$93) are below.
“Our March concerts shine the spotlight on our own brilliant musicians that make up the Madison Symphony Orchestra,” says music director and conductor John DeMain (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson). “It is important to me on the occasion of my 25th anniversary with the symphony to share this celebration in a special way with these artists, who make my musical life such a pleasure.”
Franz Schubert (below) began composing his “Unfinished Symphony” in 1822, but left the piece with only two movements despite living for six more years. For reasons that remain unclear, the score was shelved until 1860 when the owner finally realized he possessed a gem. He approached conductor Johann von Herbeck with assurances of a “treasure” on par “with any of Beethoven’s,” and Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony had its premiere in 1865.
The Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 63, by Sergei Prokofiev (below) is more conventional than the composer’s early bold compositions. It starts off with a simple violin melody and recalls traditional Russian folk music. The graceful violin melody flows throughout the entire second movement, and the third movement’s theme has a taste of Spain, complete with the clacking of castanets. (You can hear David Oistrakh play the gorgeous and entrancing slow second movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Composed between December 1909 and January 1910, the Rhapsody for Clarinet and Orchestra by Claude Debussy (below) was written as one of two test pieces for the clarinet examinations at the Paris Conservatory. The piece is described as dreamily slow at the start, followed by a duple meter section that moves the music along until the joyous final section.
The Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra by Ralph Vaughan Williams (below)
was written in 1953-54 to mark the 50th anniversary of the London Symphony Orchestra.
“An American in Paris” by George Gershwin (below) is one of the popular composer’s most well-known and most beloved compositions. Written in 1928, it evokes the sights and energy of the French capital in the 1920s. As Gershwin explains, the work’s purpose is to “portray the impressions of an American visitor in Paris as he strolls about the city, listens to the various street noises, and absorbs the French atmosphere.”
ABOUT THE SOLOISTS
Naha Greenholtz (below, in a photo by Chris Hynes) is concertmaster of both the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra. Additional performance highlights include guest concertmaster appearances with the Oregon Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, National Ballet of Canada, Omaha Symphony and Memphis Symphony, among many others. Additionally, she performs frequently with the Cleveland Orchestra both domestically and abroad. Greenholtz has also held positions with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, joining the latter as Associate Concertmaster at age 21.
JJ Koh (below) joined the Madison Symphony Orchestra as principal clarinetist in 2016. In addition, he holds a position with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. Prior to joining the MSO, Koh was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. He is a founding member of the Arundo Donax Reed Quintet, and a winner of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. As principal clarinetist of KammerMahler, Koh participated in a world premiere recording project, which featured chamber versions of Gustav Mahler’s Fourth and Ninth Symphonies.
Joshua Biere (below, in a photo by Peter Rodgers) joined the Madison Symphony Orchestra as principal tubist in 2013. He also holds the principal tuba chair with the Kenosha Symphony and regularly performs with the new Chicago Composers Orchestra. Biere has also performed at the Grant Park Music Festival (Chicago), and with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. An established chamber musician, Biere is also a highly sought-after clinician and teacher, maintaining a studio of well over 35 tuba and euphonium students.
CONCERT AND TICKET DETAILS
The lobby opens 90 minutes prior to each concert. One hour before each performance, maestro John DeMain will lead a 30-minute Prelude Discussion in Overture Hall to enhance concertgoers’ understanding and listening experience. It is free to ticketholders.
The MSO recommends concert attendees arrive early for each performance to make sure they have time to pass through Overture Center’s security stations, and so they can experience the Prelude Discussion.
Program notes for the concerts are available online: http://bit.ly/mar2019programnotes
- Single Tickets are $18-$93 each and are on sale now at: http://madisonsymphony.org/orchestral through the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street, or by calling the Box Office at (608) 258-4141. Fees apply to online/phone sales.
- Groups of 10 or more can save 25% by calling the MSO office at (608) 257-3734. For more information, visit, https://www.madisonsymphony.org/groups.
- Student rush tickets can be purchased in person on the day of the concert at the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street. Students must show a valid student ID and can receive up to two $15 or $20 tickets. More information is at: https://www.madisonsymphony.org/studentrush
- Seniors age 62 and up receive 20% savings on advance and day-of-concert ticket purchases in select areas of the hall.
- Flex-ticket booklets of 10 vouchers for 18-19 symphony subscription concerts are available. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/flex
Discounted seats are subject to availability, and discounts may not be combined.
Presenting sponsorship provided by the Kelly Family Foundation. Major funding provided by Madison Magazine, Louise and Ernest Borden, Scott and Janet Cabot, and Elaine and Nicholas Mischler. Additional funding provided by von Briesen & Roper, S.C., and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Tags: #AnAmericaninParis, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CalgaryPhilharmonic, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberMusician, #ChicagoComposersOrchestra, #ChicagoIllinois, #CivicOrchestraofChicago, #ClarinetConcerto, #ClaudeDebussy, #ClevelandOrchestra, #DavidOistrakh, #EuphoniumMusic, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FischoffNationalChamberMusicCompetition, #FolkMelody, #FolkMusic, #FranzSchubert, #GrantParkChicago, #GrantParkMusicFestival, #GustavMahler, #JJKoh, #JohnDeMain, #JoshuaBiere, #KammerMahler, #KenoshaSymphony, #KenoshaWiscosnin, #LawFirm, #londonSymphonyOrchestra, #LouisianaPhilharmonicOrchestra, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonMagazine, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MemphisSymphony, #MilwaukeeSymphonyOrchestra, #MilwaukeeWisconsin, #MusicDirector, #NahaGreenholtz, #NationalBalletofCanada, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #OmahaSymphony, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #ParisConservatory, #ParisFrance, #PeterRodgers, #PrinicpalPlayer, #ProgramNotes, #QuadCities, #QuadCitySymphonyOrchestra, #RalphVaughanWilliams, #Russianfolkmusic, #SeniorCitizen, #SergeiProkofiev, #SlowMovement, #St.PaulChamberOrchestra, #St.PaulMinnesota, #StateOfWisconsin, #TubaConcerto, #TubaMusic, #UnfinishedSymphony, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolinConcerto, #ViolinistVirtuoso, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WorldPremiere, #YouTubevideo, 1920s, abroad, American, An American in Paris, anniversary, artist, Arts, atmosphere, audience, ballet, Beethoven, beloved, biographical, biography, blog, bold, Calgary, Canada, capital, castanets, Chamber music, chamber musician, Chicago, Chicago Composers Orchestra, city, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, clarinet, clarinet concerto, Classical music, Claude Debussy, Cleveland Orchestra, clinician, Composition, concertmaster, concerto, conductor, conservatory, conventional, David Oistrakh, Debussy, discount, discussion, domestic, dream, early, ebergy, Euphonium, examination, Facebook, final, Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Folk music, France, Franz Schubert, funding, gem, George Gershwin, georgegershwin, graceful, Grant Park, Grant Park Music Festival, Gustav Mahler, highlight, impression, information, Iowa, Jacob Stockinger, JJ Koh, John DeMain, Joshua Biere, Joy, joyous, Kammer Mahler, Kenosha, Kenosha Symphony, law firm, life, London Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Magazine, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maestro, Mahler, Mead Witter School of Music, melody, Memphis, Memphis Symphony, meter, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, movement, Music, Music director, Naha Greenholtz, National Ballet of Canada, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, noise, occasion, Omaha, Omaha Symphony, Orchestra, Oregon Symphony, originally, Overture Center, Overture Hall, Paris, performer, Peter Rodgers, pleasure, popular, portray, post, posting, Prelude, premiere, principal, program, program notes, purpose, Quad Cities, Quad City Symphony Orchestra, quintet, Ralph Vaughan Williams, recording, reed, rhapsody, Russian, score, section, security, senior, senior citizen, Sergei Prokofiev, sights, slow, soloist, Spain, sponsor, St. Paul, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, start, State of Wisconsin, street, students, studio, symhony, symphony, Teacher, test, ticket, tourism, tourist, tuba concerto, Unfinished Symphony, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Violin, Violin concerto, virtuosi, virtuosity, visitor, vituoso, winner, Wisconsin Arts Board, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, work, world premiere, YouTube
Classical music: Antonio Vivaldi and Joshua Bell evoke the summer storms that Wisconsin now waits for and fears for the next week
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By Jacob Stockinger
So much of Wisconsin is already so flooded after the past week or 10 days that an open-ended state of emergency has been officially declared for the entire state.
And now the weather predictions for the next week or so are for more rainstorms and thunderstorms every day — complete with watches, alerts and warnings from the National Weather Service.
Will those storms swell the rivers and lakes even more?
Will more streets be closed and bridges destroyed?
Will more basements and even whole homes and buildings be ruined?
Will more businesses be forced to close?
The Ear knows a lot of music about water, especially by Claude Debussy. But so much of the water music from Handel and Smetana to Wagner and Debussy seems restorative or calm or redemptive or simply descriptive.
But the water Wisconsin faces makes us edgy and nervous while we wait to see what happens because the weather could bring more devastation and destruction.
The closest music comes to the right mood is the frenetic and even violent quality of the summer storm in “The Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi and the energetic violin playing by Joshua Bell.
If you can think of a better piece, let The Ear know.
In the meantime, let’s all hope for the best and here is Vivaldi’s musical summer storm in a YouTube video:
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Classical music: The Willy Street Chamber Players conclude this summer season on such a high note that one already hungers for next summer
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By Jacob Stockinger
Here is a special posting, a review written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker. Barker (below) is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who writes for Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who hosts an early music show once a month on Sunday morning on WORT-FM 89.9 FM. For years, he served on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison.
By John W. Barker
At Immanuel Lutheran Church last Friday night, the Willy Street Chamber Players ended the 2018 summer season – their fourth — with a concert full of fascinating variety.
Four works were performed, each introduced by one of the players. Personnel shifted according to the scorings.
To begin, a core group of the organization (below, from left) — violinists Eleanor Bartsch and Paran Amirinazari, cellists Lindsay Crabb and Mark Bridges, and violist Beth Larson — played Luigi Boccherini’s Cello Quintet in C major (G. 324), which has the Italian title translatable as “Night Music of the Streets of Madrid.” (The piece, which has military or martial aspects to it, was featured in the soundtrack to the popular film “Master and Commander,” which you can hear in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Typical of the composer’s prolific writing for string quintets, it is unique in offering in its seven movements a dusk-to-dawn evocation of Madrid’s street life in Boccherini’s day. This delightful work was performed with relish.
Next came a contemporary work by American composer Andrew Norman (below top). Written in his 20s, Night Screens (2002),for flute and string quartet, is a playful work inspired by the asymmetrical stained glass windows designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
The music is quite tonal, but very episodic in its succession of tempos and rhythms. For this work, Amirinazari, Larson and Crabb were joined by a friend of the composer, flutist Timothy Hagen (below), now a faculty member of the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music.
Rarely heard in concert, but a really fascinating novelty is Sergei Prokofiev’s Overture on Hebrew Themes, Op. 34. This was composed in 1919, during the composer’s stay in the U.S. It is based on two melodies whose actual Jewish origins are in doubt, but their juxtaposition and elaboration are fascinating to follow.
The colorful scoring is for clarinet, piano, and string quartet, so this drew other guest artists, Alicia Lee (below top) also of the UW faculty, and pianist Thomas Kasdorf (below bottom) to join Bartsch, Amirinazari, Larson and Bridges.
Finally came a rare opportunity to encounter Johann Strauss II collaborating with Arnold Schoenberg, or rather vice-versa. For a fund-raising concert on behalf of his radical atonal ensemble in Vienna in 1925, Schoenberg made a chamber arrangement of the great waltz master’s Kaiser-Walzer or “Emperor Waltz.”
He scored it for flute, clarinet, piano and string quartet — perfectly allowing seven of the eight performers (less Crabb) to offer a triumphant grand finale. Even in such a lean and reduced format, Schoenberg faithfully conveyed Strauss’s melodic genius, and brought the large audience enthusiastically to its feet.
The Willys continue to match great enterprise in programming with superb artistry in playing, all in a summer season that leaves us hungering for the next one.
Tags: #AliciaLee, #AmericanComposer, #AmericanRecordGuide, #AndrewNorman, #ArnoldSchoenberg, #AtonalMusic, #BethLarson, #BlogPosting, #CelloQuintet, #ChristianChurch, #ChristianReligion, #ContemporaryComposer, #ContemporaryMusic, #EleanorBartsch, #EmeritusProfessor, #FacultyMember, #FilmMusic, #FilmScore, #FilmSoundtrack, #FluteMusic, #FrankLloydWright, #Fridaynight, #GrandFinale, #ImmanuelLutheranChurch, #IsthmusNewspaper, #JohannStrauss, #JohnW.Barker, #LindsayCrabb, #LivingComposer, #LuigiBoccherini, #LutheranChurch, #LutheranReligion, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MadridSpain, #MarkBridges, #MartialMusic, #MasterandCommander, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MedievalHistory, #MilitaryMusic, #MovieMusic, #MovieScore, #MovieSoundtrack, #MusicReview, #NewMusic, #NightMusic, #OvertureonHebrewThemes, #ParanAmirinazari, #PianoMusic, #RadioHost, #RadioShow, #RussellCrowe, #SergeiProkofiev, #StainedGlass, #StreetLife, #StringQuartet, #StringQuintet, #SummerSeason, #TheWillys, #ThomasKasdorf, #TimothyHagen, #TonalMusic, #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViennaAustria, #WillyStreetChamberPlayers, #WORT-FM89.9, #YouTubevideo, American, American Record Guide, Andrew Norman, architect, artistry, asymmetrical, atonal, audience, Austria, Beth Larson, blog, Boccherini, cellist, Cello, clarinet, clarinetist, classicalmusic, Concert, critic, dawn, delightful, dusk, Early music, earlymusic, elaboration, Eleanor Bartsch, emeritus, Emperor, episode, episodic, faculty, fascinating, feet, film, flute, flutist, format, Frank Lloyd Wright, Friday, friend, genius, guest, Hebrew, History, Immanuel Lutheran Church, inspiration, inspired, Isthmus, Italian, Jewish, John W. Barker, juxtaposition, lecture, Lindsay Crabb, Luigi Boccherini, Madison Early Music Festival, Madrid, Mark Bridges, martial, Master and Commander, Medieval, melodic, melody, member, MEMF, military, movie, Music, Music of Spain, New Music, night, night music, novelty, origin, Overture, Paran Amirinazari, perform, Piano, playful, playing, popular, post, posting, professor, programming, Prokofiev, prolific, quintet, relish, review, rhythm, Russell Crowe, score, Sergei Prokofiev, soundtrack, Spain, stained glass, street, String quartet, summer, superb, Tempo, The Willys, theme, tonal, translate, triumphant, U.S., United States, variety, video, Vienna, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, Waltz, Willy Street Chamber Players, window, work, WORT-FM 89.9, Writer
Classical music: Madison Youth Choirs will perform music of Madison’s nine sister cities this Sunday afternoon and evening
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post:
“This semester, Madison Youth Choirs singers (below) are embarking on a musical journey across the globe as they explore and perform compositions connected to the diverse cultures inhabiting Madison’s nine sister cities: Ainaro, East Timor; Arcatao, El Salvador; Camaguey, Cuba; Freiburg, Germany; Kanifing, The Gambia; Mantua, Italy; Obihiro, Japan; Tepatitlán, Mexico; and Vilnius, Lithuania.
“As we study the wide variety of musical forms that emerged from these nine regions and think about the reasons we’re drawn to establish sister city relationships, we’re examining both the common forces that drive the creative expression of artists from all cultures and the unique contributions that artists from our sister cities have made to the worldwide musical canon.
“We invite you to join us for a culminating winter concert series celebrating these international choral connections.
WHERE
Madison Youth Choirs Winter Concerts, “Sister Cities”
First Congregational United Church of Christ
1609 University Ave., Madison
WHEN
Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017
1:30 p.m. Girlchoirs
4:00 p.m. Boychoirs
7:00 p.m. High School Ensembles
Tickets available at the door: $10 for general admission, $5 for students 7-18, and free for children under 7. A separate ticket is required for each performance.
This concert is generously endowed by the Diane Ballweg Performance Fund with additional support from American Girl’s Fund for Children, BMO Harris Bank, and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the state of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
About the Madison Youth Choirs (MYC):
Recognized as an innovator in youth choral music education, Madison Youth Choirs (MYC) welcomes singers of all ability levels, annually serving more than 1,000 young people, ages 7-18, through a wide variety of choral programs in our community. Cultivating a comprehensive music education philosophy that inspires self-confidence, personal responsibility, and a spirit of inquiry leading students to become “expert noticers,” MYC creates accessible, meaningful opportunities for youth to thrive in the arts and beyond.
“SISTER CITIES” PROGRAMS
Sunday, December 10, 2017, First Congregational Church, Madison
1:30 p.m. Concert (Featuring MYC Girlchoirs)
Choraliers
“Now We Are Met” by Samuel Webbe
“Sakura” Traditional Japanese folk song
“Tecolote” Spanish lullaby, arr. Victoria Ebel-Sabo
“S’Vivon” Traditional Jewish folk song, arr. Valerie Shields
Con Gioia
“Peace Round” Traditional round, text by Jean Ritchie
“Shepherd’s Pipe Carol by John Rutter
“Murasame” by Victor C. Johnson, text: 11th-century Japanese poem
“Guantanamera” Cuban folk song, text by José Marti
Capriccio (below)
“A Circle is Cast” by Anna Dembska
“Ich will den Herrn loben alle Zeit” by Georg Philipp Telemann, arr. Wallace Depue
“Ma come bali bene bela bimba” Traditional Italian, arr. Mark Sirett
“Soran Bushi” Japanese folk song, arr. Wendy Stuart
“Yo Le Canto Todo El Dia” by David L. Brunner
4:00 p.m. Concert (Featuring MYC Boychoirs)
Combined Boychoirs
“Dance for the Nations” by John Krumm, arr. Randal Swiggum
Purcell (below)
“La Nanita Nana” by José Ramon Gomis, arr. David Eddlemann
“Es is Ein Ros entsprungen” by Melchior Vulpius
“Sakura” Traditional Japanese folksong, arranged by Purcell choir members
Britten (below)
Two Elegies by Benjamin Britten
- Old Abram Brown
- Tom Bowling
“No che non morira” (from Tito Manlio) by Antonio Vivaldi
Holst
“O Rosetta” by Claudio Monteverdi
“O là, o che bon echo” by Orlando di Lasso
“We Are” by Ysaye Barnwell
Combined Boychoirs
Chorus of Street Boys from Carmen by Georges Bizet
“Kimigayao” (The National Anthem of Japan) Melody by Hiromori Hayashi
7:00 p.m. Concert (Featuring High School Ensembles)
Cantilena
“How Can I Keep From Singing?” by Gwyneth Walker
Liebeslieder Walzer by Johannes Brahms, text by Georg Friedrich Daumer
- Wie des Abends (from Opus 52) (You can hear it in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
- Vogelein durchrauscht die Luft (from Opus 52)
- Nein, geliebter, setze dich (from Opus 65)
Ragazzi
“Bar’chu” by Salamon Rossi
“The Pasture” (from Frostiana) by Randall Thompson
“Mogami Gawa Funa Uta” by Watanabe/Goto, based on folk materials, arr. Osamu
Shimizu
Cantabile
“Angelus ad pastores ait” (from Sacrae Cantiunculae, 1582) by Claudio Monteverdi
“Gamelan” by R. Murray Schafer
“Mata del Anima Sola” by Antonio Estévez
Cantabile and Ragazzi (below)
“The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy” Traditional carol from Trinidad, arr. Stephen
Hatfield
Combined Choirs
“Dance for the Nations” by John Krumm
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Classical music: You can mix beer and cello duets this Saturday afternoon for free
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement — with news of two composers he has never heard of — to post from The Malt House tavern (below) on the eastside of Madison at the corner of East Washington Avenue and Milwaukee Street:
This Saturday, Oct. 28, from 3 to 5 p.m., cellist Taralie Peterson (below top) joins frequent Malt House performer Karl von Huene (below bottom) to play some cello duets.
I’ve been told the duo will play works by composers Johann Sebastian Bach (below top), Friedrich August Kummer (below middle) and Jacques Féréol Mazas (below bottom).
You can hear Kummer’s Cello Duet No. 1 in the YouTube video at the bottom.
There is no charge.
Cheers,
Bill Rogers, The Malt House
For more information about The Malt House, go to:
Tags: Arts, avenue, Bach, bar, Baroque, Beer, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, composer, duet, duo, Friedrich August Kummer, Jacob Stockinger, Jacques Féréol Mazas, Johann Sebastian Bach, Karl von Huene, Madison, malt, Malt House, Milwaukee, Music, performer, street, Taralie Peterson, tavern, United States, University of Wisconsin–Madison, video, Washington, Wisconsin, work, YouTube
Classical music: Edgewood Chamber Orchestra opens its new season this coming Sunday afternoon with music by Handel, Haydn and Beethoven.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Edgewood Chamber Orchestra will present its first concert of the new season on this coming Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. in the St. Joseph Chapel, 1000 Edgewood College Drive.
Admission is free for persons with an Edgewood College ID, and $5 for others. Tickets will be available at the door.
The Edgewood Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of conductor Blake Walter (below), will perform the Overture to the oratorio “Samson” by George Frideric Handel, a rarely played masterpiece.
Also featured is the Symphony No. 82 in C major, “The Bear,” by Franz Joseph Haydn. In its last movement, Haydn imitates the music used in the 18th-century Austria to accompany dancing bears — a popular form of street entertainment. (You can hear the last movement of the symphony in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The central part of the program is the last movement Finale of the Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37, by Ludwig van Beethoven. It marks the orchestral debut of pianist Johanna Novice-Leonard (below), winner of the Edgewood College Concerto Competition, and a student of Dr. Beatriz Aguilar.
Founded in 1993 via a generous endowment established by benefactors William O. Hart and Vernon Sell, the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra fulfills a unique role in the Madison community, providing high-quality performances and unique educational opportunities. The ensemble is the permanent, in-house chamber orchestra of the college.
Tags: Arts, Austria, Baroque, Baroque music, Beethoven, Blake Walter, chamber orchestra, Classical music, Competition, concerto, conductor, Early music, Edgewood Chamber Orchestra, Edgewood College, Entertainment, George Frideric Handel, Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Music, oratorio, Orchestra, Overture, Piano concerto, Samson, street, symphony, The Bear, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin, YouTube
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