The Well-Tempered Ear
UW-Madison master bassist Richard Davis dies at 93
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
First I saw him — particularly standing out because he was one of the very few Black professors on campus at that time.
Then I heard about him.
He was a prize-winning, critically acclaimed jazz bassist who was nationally and internationally famous and freelanced even while at the university.
But the first time I actually heard Richard Davis (below and in the YouTube video of a Fox News feature at the bottom) perform live at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he taught for decades after his arrival in 1977, he was playing in a small chamber orchestra that accompanied a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach.
It was a memorable and outstanding performance perfectly suited to the Baroque style of the music, far from the top-notch jazz combos, rock bands, symphony orchestras, conductors and individual star singers that he usually played with.
I don’t think I ever saw or heard met a more complete musician, and I doubt I ever will. It is hard to think of a skill Davis hadn’t mastered — whether it was composing, improvising, performing, recording or teaching.
Davis died last Wednesday — ironically on the first day of classes of the fall semester at the UW-Madison— after spending two years in hospice care. He was 93.
He received a major obituary in The New York Times. Here is a link (you might have to register):
And here is a link to his extended biography, with a discography and an impressive list of awards and honors, in Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Davis_(bassist)
Did you ever hear Davis live or on a recording? In what kind of music?
Did you ever perform or study with him?
What was he like as a person and an artist?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #YouTubevideo, accompany, Ahmad Jamal, artist, Arts, audience, award, Bach, band, Baroque, bass, bassist, biography, black, blog, Bruce Springsteen, Campus, Cantata, Chamber music, Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, choral music, class, Classical music, combo, complete, compose, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, CSO, Dexter Gordon, discography, Early music, Education, Elvin Jones, Eric Dolphy, Facebook, faculty, famous, feature, Fox News, Frank Sinatra, freelance, freelancer, Gunter Schuller, honors, hospice, Igor Stravinsky, improvise, international, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, Jazz Master, Johann Sebastian Bach, Leonard Bernstein, Leopold Stokowski, link, Madison, Mead Witter School of Music, Miles Davis, muse, Muse Records, Music, Music education, Musician, national, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, New York City, New York Times, obituary, opera, Orchestra, perform, person, Pierre Boulez, professor, race, record, recording, rhythm section, Richard Davis, Rock, Sarah Vaughan, School of Music, semester, share, singer, Singing, skill, Sonata, star, symphony, tag, teach, Teacher, Television, The Ear, time, Tony Bennett, tough love, TV, United States, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Van Morrison, vocal music, Wikipedia, Wisconsin, YouTube
Here is complete information about the 10th international Handel Aria Competition on Aug. 18 in Madison
2 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
This year the annual Handel Aria Competition marks its 10th anniversary.
Founders Dean and Orange Schroeder write: “It’s interesting to note that the first-prize winners for the past three competitions have all been studying in the U.S., but were originally from the Philippines, England and Australia. We’ve truly become international in scope, with applications from around the world.”
The final round of this year’s competition will take place on Friday, Aug. 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the historic Grace Episcopal Church (below), 116 West Washington Ave. on the Capitol Square downtown. It will take place in-person and via live-streaming.
As usual, the singers will be accompanied by the outstanding local early music group Madison Bach Musicians (below), under founder, director, conductor and harpsichordist Trevor Stephenson.
Tickets are now available for both in-person attendance ($25) and live streaming (pay what you can afford — which The Ear thinks is an ideal and socially just way to allow access to the arts and to expand an audience). Details about ticket availability are on the very well organized, comprehensive and user-friendly website: https://handelariacompetition.org/
The website also offers detailed biographies of the contestants; repertoire that will be sung, much of which comes from “Messiah”; the jury members; past history; a live auction and fundraising; and an impressive downloadable program for the concert.
This year offers seven finalists (pictured below) selected from dozens of applicants around the world:
Clockwise, from upper left, they are:
• Cody Bowers, countertenor
• Olivia Doig, soprano
• Fran Daniel Laucerica, tenor
• Emily Donato, soprano
• Chea Young Kang, soprano
• Andrew Bearden Brown, tenor
• Matthew Reese, countertenor
The 2022 winners (below) were Joanne Evans, mezzo-soprano, first prize (center); Omar Najmi, tenor, second prize; and Emily Donato, soprano, third prize. Donato is returning this year for another try at the first prize.
(In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear past winner soprano Sarah Brailey singing in the 2015 competition. YouTube features performances from past competitors and competitions. Brailey has gone on to win a Grammy, become a guest faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music; and the artistic director of the Handel Aria Competition.)
Here is a list of the opera and oratorio arias by Baroque composer George Frederick Handel that will be featured in the competition concert:
Emily Donato: “With ravish’d ears” from “Alexander’s Feast” and “Dunque i lacci d’un volto…Ah! Crudel” from “Rinaldo”
Olivia Doig: “Mean as he was…Author of peace” from “Saul” and “Il primo ardor” from “Ariodante”
Chea Kang: “Rejoice greatly” from “Messiah” and “O Numi!…Ma chi punir desio” from “Flavio”
Cody Bowers: “But who may abide” from “Messiah” and “Inumano fratel…stille amare” from “Tolomeo”
Matthew Reese: “Inumano fratel…stille amare” from “Tolomeo” and “O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion” from “Messiah”
Andrew Bearden Brown: “Comfort Ye…Every Valley” from “Messiah” and “Alla offesa…È un folle” from “Alcina”
Fran Daniel Laucerica: “Comfort Ye…Every Valley” from “Messiah” and “Un momento di contento” from “Alcina”
For more information and to directly contact the Handel Aria Competition write to PO Box 5554, Madison, WI 53705 or go the home website www.HandelAriaCompetition.org
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #YouTubevideo, 2022, 2023, accompany, anniversary, aria, Artistic director, Arts, attendance, audience, Australia, Bach, Baroque, blog, Capitol Square, Chamber music, choral music, Classical music, Competition, composer, Concert, contact, countertenor, Dean Schroeder, Early music, England, Facebook, faculty, faculty member, final round, finalist, first, founder, Fundraising, George Frederic Handel, George Frideric Handel, Grace Episcopal Church, Grammy, Grammy Award, Great Britain, Handel, Handel Aria Competition, harpsichord, historically informed performance practices, History, in person, information, international, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Keyboard, link, live streaming, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Messiah, Mezzo-soprano, Music, opera, Orange Schroeder, oratorio, Orchestra, past, Philippines, prize, Sarah Brailey, School of Music, second, share, singer, social justice, Sonata, soprano, streaming, string music, symphony, tag, tenor, third, ticket, Trevor Stephenson, UK, United Kingdom, United States, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music, vocal music, Website, winner, Wisconsin, world, YouTube
What do current music and non-music students think about the UW-Madison killing off the Choral Union?
3 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
By now, the chances are good that you have heard about the University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music’s decision to kill off the campus-community Choral Union after 130 years. (The Choral Union and UW Symphony Orchestra, under recently retired choral activities director Beverly Taylor, are shown below in Mills Hall, where they performed with soloists for 50 years — in this case Johann Sebastian Bach’s “St Matthew Passion” — before moving to the Hamel Music Center.)
It has had many more hits and many more replies than any other blog post in a long time.
All of the reactions so far have been strongly negative, even outraged, with no one defending or endorsing the move.
But so far those replies, often lengthy, have been received with deafening silence and no replies or detailed explanations from either faculty members or administrators in the UW-Madison School of Music. In fact, The Ear understands that the School of Music has blocked its website and Facebook site from allowing anyone to reply:
See for yourself. Here is a link to the original blog post with its many comments and replies:
Most of the replies come from people who attend the UW Choral Union concerts or those who used to sing in it or who have been singing in it as alumni or community members and taxpayers. Some threaten withdrawing financial support. Others say it is yet another attack on the Wisconsin Idea.
But this time The Ear would like to hear from CURRENT STUDENTS — music students and other student — about what they think of the move.
Do they favor the decision to end the Choral Union? Or oppose it?
Do they think ending the Choral Union will hurt their education? Or be harmless?
What would the students like the UW-Madison School of Music to do? Continue with the plan or reverse the decision? Explain the specific reasons rather than citing generalities and banalities?
End censorship by allowing the public to reply on websites and social media?
Please spread the word to family and friends, to music and non-music students at the UW-Madison and at other schools.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #YouTubevideo, administrator, alumna, alumni, alumnus, Arts, assault, attack, audience, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, blog, Campus, censorship, Choral Union, comment, community, current, decision, faculty, faculty member, Hamel Music Center, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, kill, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Mead Witter School of Music, Mills Hall, Mozart, Music, music students, oratorio, Orchestra, outrage, public, reply, school, share, silence, social media, St Matthew Passion, students, symphony, tag, taxpayer, taxpayers, The Ear, United States, university, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW Choral Union, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, vocal music, Website, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Idea, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
15-year-old South Korean pianist wins the Cliburn Junior
2 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
NOTE: More on the unpopular move by the UW-Madison Mead Witter of Music to kill off the 130-year-old, campus-community Choral Union will be coming shortly. The Ear as received some very interesting replies and information.
By Jacob Stockinger
Boy, are the kids ever good — and getting better!
A 15-year-old Korean boy — Seokyoung Hong (below) — has won the 2023 Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition.
He won the demanding contest with an outstanding performance of “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,” the technically challenging concerto by Sergei Rachmaninoff.
When out comes to pianists, South Korea is on a roll.
Hong’s triumph follows the impressive win by his fellow South Korean Yunchan Lim, 18, in the senior competition last year. He is the youngest ever pianist to win the prestigious competition.
Here is a link to the story on the British website Classical FM, with a sample of his playing in the finale of the concerto performance with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra:
https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/instruments/piano/rachmaninov-2023-cliburn-junior-winner/
And in the YouTube video at the bottom you can hear Hong play his quarter-round solo recital of Rachmaninoff, Haydn, Chopin and Dutilleux.
The 14-year-old Chinese pianist Yufan Wu placed second. In third place was Jan Schulmeister, 16, of Czechs (Czech Republic).
And 21 of the 23 competitors, chosen out of 248 applicants from 44 countries, were Asian. Click on the profile to see their biographies and personal statements.
Asian players keep racking up wins in international music competitions. Here is a link to a recent blog post about why Asian musicians seem to dominate Western classical music right now:
You can hear other competitors in many rounds of recitals and concertos on YouTube if you put “Cliburn Junior 2023” in the search engine.
Check them out at all stages of the competition.
The Ear promises: You will be impressed.
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #YouTubevideo, America, American, Arts, Asia, asian, audience, Baroque, Beethoven, better, biography, blog, boy, British, Campus, Canada, Canadian, challenge, China, Chinese, Chopin, choral music, Choral Union, Classical FM, Classical music, Cliburn, Cliburn Junior, click, community, composer, Concert, concerto, contest, Czech Republic, Czechia, Dallas, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, demanding, dominate, Early music, England, Europe, Facebook, final, first, Franz Joseph Haydn, Frédéric Chopin, girl, good, Haydn, Hong, impress, impressed, information, interesting, Jacob Stockinger, Jan Schulmeister, Japan, Japanese, Johann Sebastian Bach, kill, Korea, Korean, Lim, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, minor, move, Mozart, Music, music school, old, Orchestra, Paganini, performance, personal, Pianist, Piano, player, popular, prestigious, profile, promise, quarter-final, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Radio, recital, reply, Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, round, search, search engine, second, semi-final, Seokyoung Hong, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, share, solo, Sonata, South Korea, South Korean, stage, statement, symphony, tag, Taiwan, Taiwanese, technical, Texas, The Ear, U.S., UK, United States, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, unpopular, UW, UW Choral Union, UW-Madison, UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, vocal music, Website, win, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wu, Yekwon Sunwoo, young, YouTube, Yufan Wu, Yunchan Lim
UW-Madison School of Music kills off the venerable campus-community Choral Union
22 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music will end the long-lived campus-community Choral Union (below at the top, with soloists and the UW Symphony Orchestra at the bottom) starting this fall. You can hear an excerpt from Handel’s “Elijah” performed in the old Mills Hall in the YouTube video at the bottom.
The news, dated June 1, was posted quietly and anonymously on the school’s website. As The Ear understands it, members of the Choral Union were not contacted directly. They just had to find it. Plus, the summer seems a suspicious and inauspicious time for the announcement. Student, faculty and community members are on vacation. In addition, the new director Dan Cavanagh (below) will take over the office from Susan C. Cook in a little over two weeks, on July 1. No word on how he stands about the move.
Here is the music school’s website posting: https://music.wisc.edu/choral-ensembles/
It doesn’t come as a complete surprise to The Ear, since performances were reduced from two semesters to one semester shortly after Mariana Farah (below) became the new Director of Choral Activities in 2021 after the retirement of Beverly Taylor, who continues to serve as the choral director of the Madison Symphony Orchestra.
Student, alumni and community protests are already coming in expressing the resolve to reverse the decision.
Little wonder since the Choral Union was founded in 1893 and is one of the oldest on-going organizations on campus. It is hard to think of a better embodiment of the Wisconsin Idea. That concept is that the public university is to serve the taxpaying public that funds it — and these days community engagement is still supposed to be a high priority.
The Choral Union also seems like an exemplary educational program that gets soloists, the choir of students and the public, and the symphony to work together on a major project that also raises money for the music school.
Over many years, the Choral Union performances have also provided much of the most memorable music-making The Ear has ever heard at the university — or in the city. Works by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Verdi, Faure and Benjamin Britten, among others, come to mind.
Here is the exact text, which is vague about any reasons for the cancellation of the 130-year-old Choral Union:
Choral Union Update (June 1, 2023)
“Starting Fall 2023, the Mead Witter School of Music will no longer offer Choral Union. This change will allow the School of Music to devote resources to our core mission of serving UW–Madison students as well as to focus our public programming around new goals.
“The School of Music and its choral program deeply value and appreciate the partnerships we have formed over the years with the Madison-area choral community. And we recognize that ending the Choral Union may be disappointing to some.
“We hope that community members who participated in the Choral Union will continue to partake of the many opportunities available to engage with the School of Music such as choral concerts and the multitude of performances, lectures, and workshops we offer every year.”
The negative reactions and feedback have already started. Here is one example:
The oldest organization at the UW-Madison has been canceled with an unsigned email and no public input?
This can’t be right.
The Choral Union is a beloved institution.
We won’t let it go like this. We need to know what the issues are and solve them.
Let the discussion begin.
–Janet Murphy, alto member of the Choral Union, 2008-present
Spread the word. Should you or others wish to express an opinion of support or opposition, here are some email addresses and phone numbers:
General office:music@music.wisc.edu; 608.263.1900
School director Susan C. Cook: director@music.wisc.edu; 608.263.1900
Director of Choral Activities: mariana.farah@wisc.edu; 608.263.1900
What do you think of the UW killing off the Choral Union?
What would you like to know about the decision?
Would you like the UW School of Music to reverse its decision?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CommunitySupport, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Music-Making, #YouTubevideo, 2023, address, alto, anonymous, Arts, audience, Bach, bass, Beethoven, beloved, Benjamin Britten, blog, Britten, Campus, cancel, cancellation, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, Choral Union, city, Classical music, community, composer, Concert, Dan Cavanagh, decide, decision, director, discussion, Early music, Education, Elijah, email, end, engagement, express, Facebook, faculty, fall, Faure, Faure Requiem, feedback, founded, Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, fund, Fundraising, George Frideric Handel, Giuseppe Verdi, Hamel Music Center, Handel, Haydn, inauspicious, instiotution, issue, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, kill, kill off, lectures, link, long-lived, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Mariana Farah, mass, Mead Witter School of Music, member, memorable, Mendelssohn, mission, money, Mozart, Music, new, news, number, offer, opinion, opportunity, Orchestra, outreach, partnership, performances, phone, player, project, protest, public, reaction, Requiem, resolve, resources, reverse, Schubert, serve, share, soprano, Student, support, Susan C. Cook, suspicious, symphony, tag, taxpayers, tenor, time, timing, United States, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin School of Music, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW Choral Union, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, vacation, venerable, Verdi, vocal music, Website, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Idea, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, workshop, YouTube
A jazz-pop composer is the new director of the UW School of Music
7 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
Dan Cavanagh (below) from Texas has been named the next director of the UW-Madison School of Music, effective July 1, 2023.
Cavanagh’s appointment concludes a national search led by Associate Dean Susan Zaeske of the College of Letters and Science; music professors Mimmi Fulmer, Christopher Taylor, Scott Teeple, Conor Nelson and Daniel Grabois; and School of Music Assistant Director Wendy Johnson.
The Ear can’t be the only person wondering what a jazz and pop musician — a performer, arranger and composer — means for the school that has always selected its leaders from classical music and music education as the top administrators.
But there is no doubt about Cavanagh’s impressive credentials.
Here is the official press release from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music.
“I am thrilled that Dan will bring to the directorship of the Mead Witter School of Music a cutting-edge vision of research and curricular excellence combined with the wherewithal to get things done thanks to his many years of experience as a music and liberal arts administrator,” Dean Zaeske said.
Cavanagh is a composer and pianist who has garnered numerous awards in both areas. As a composer he has written or arranged for Latin Grammy-winning AfroBop Alliance, the legendary Patti LaBelle, and a wide range of classical and jazz performers across North America and Europe. He has released five critically acclaimed jazz CDs as a leader.
His music can be heard on many other recordings both classical and jazz and he continues to be commissioned and programmed around the world. Cavanagh has also performed extensively in North America and internationally. He has been a finalist in the EuropaFest Jazz Contest in Bucharest, and in the Jacksonville Jazz Festival Piano Competition.
“I am very excited to join UW–Madison as the next Pamela O. Hamel/Music Board of Advisors Professor and Director of the Mead Witter School of Music,” Cavanagh said. “The school’s national reputation is bolstered by its amazing faculty, talented students, and accomplished staff.”
Cavanagh is currently the interim Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas at Arlington. Prior to serving as interim Dean, Cavanagh held various academic leadership roles, including program director, music department chair, and associate dean. He has also served in high-profile shared governance roles in the University of Texas System, including as Chair of the Faculty Advisory Council representing over 21,000 faculty members across the 14 institutions in the system.
From 2015-2020, he served as the Co-Chair of Region VI for the Society of Composers and currently serves on the executive board of a2ru (the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities). Cavanagh serves on the board of directors for Downtown Arlington Management Corporation (Arlington, TX), chairs Downtown Arlington’s Cultural Arts District Partners group and serves as the Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Dallas Winds, a five-time Grammy nominated professional Wind Symphony.
Cavanagh succeeds Director Susan C. Cook, who will be on sabbatical during the 2023-24 academic year after serving 10 years as director of the School of Music.
“I look forward to engaging with the Board of Advisors, colleagues across the University, and individuals throughout the community to continue growing the impact, reach and excellence the School of Music creates every day, and to advance the ideals of the Wisconsin Idea through the creative work and scholarship we will produce together,” Cavanagh said.
Do you have any questions or comments you want to share?
The Ear wants too hear.
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #DanCavanagh, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyConcert, #TheEar, #YouTubevideo, Arlington, arranger, Arts, audience, award, blog, CD, Chamber music, Classical music, commission, composer, Concert, conclude, Dallas Winds, Dan Cavanagh, Europe, excellence, Facebook, Grammy, idea, ideal, impact, international, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, Latin, letters, link, Madison, Mead Witter School of Music, Music, music faculty, music school, music students, national, North America, Patti LaBelle, Piano, pop, program, recording, reputation, research, science, search, share, staff\, Student, symphony, tag, Texas, The Ear, The Wisconsin Idea, United States, University of Texas, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music, vocal music, wind music, winds, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Idea, wonder
Check out the 2022 classical music Grammys for trends and suggested listening
4 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
No doubt you have already heard about the 64th annual Grammy Awards, which were awarded last Sunday night.
But chances are you haven’t heard much about the classical music Grammys.
That’s just not where the money and publicity are for major record companies and for the music industry in general, compared to other, much more profitable genres such as hip-hop, rock and pop.
But the classical Grammy nominations and winners can be a good source about what composers, performers and music you might want to check out via streaming or by buying a CD.
You can also get a good idea of trends in classical music.
Contemporary or new music is big again this year, dominating the old standard classics.
Just like local, regional, national and international performers, both individuals and groups, the Grammys show an emphasis on female composers and performers, and a similar emphasis on rediscovering composers and performers of color from both the past and the present.
You might also notice that the New Orleans-born, Juilliard-trained jazz pianist and singer Jon Batiste (below) — who plays on CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and directs the house band Stay Human and who seems a one-man Mardi Gras — was nominated for a record 11 Grammys and won five in other categories, seems to be the new Wynton Marsalis. Like Marsalis, with whom Batiste worked, Batiste seems perfectly at home in classical music as well as jazz, soul, blues and pop. And his original classical work Movement 11 was nominated for a Grammy this year.
Social activism, in short, has finally brought diversity and inclusion into the Grammys in a way that seems permanent.
Below are the nominations and winners of the 2022 classical music Grammys. Winners are boldfaced. I have also offered a few examples of those musicians who have performed in Madison and for what venue, although there are many more connections than indicated.
If you want to see the nominations and winners in other categories, here is a link:
https://www.npr.org/2022/04/03/1090342877/2022-grammys-full-list-winners-nominees
75. Best Engineered Album, Classical
- Archetypes — Jonathan Lackey, Bill Maylone and Dan Nichols, engineers; Bill Maylone, mastering engineer (Sérgio Assad, Clarice Assad and Third Coast Percussion)
- Beethoven: Cello Sonatas – Hope Amid Tears — Richard King, engineer (Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax)
- Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 — Mark Donahue, engineer; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck, Mendelssohn Choir Of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
- Chanticleer Sings Christmas — Leslie Ann Jones, engineer (Chanticleer)
- Mahler: Symphony No. 8, ‘Symphony Of A Thousand’ — Alexander Lipay and Dmitriy Lipay, engineers; Alexander Lipay and Dmitriy Lipay, mastering engineers (Gustavo Dudamel, Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, Luke McEndarfer, Robert Istad, Grant Gershon, Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, National Children’s Chorus, Pacific Chorale and Los Angeles Philharmonic)
76. Producer Of The Year, Classical
- Blanton Alspaugh
- Steven Epstein
- David Frost
- Elaine Martone
- Judith Sherman (below, who also recorded the UW-Madison Pro Arte Quartet’s centennial commissions)
CLASSICAL
77. Best Orchestral Performance
- “Adams: My Father Knew Charles Ives; Harmonielehre” — Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor (Nashville Symphony Orchestra)
- “Beethoven: Symphony No. 9” — Manfred Honeck, conductor (Mendelssohn Choir Of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
- “Muhly: Throughline” — Nico Muhly, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)
- “Florence Price: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3″ — Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Philadelphia Orchestra (below)
- “Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra; Scriabin: The Poem Of Ecstasy” — Thomas Dausgaard, conductor (Seattle Symphony Orchestra)
78. Best Opera Recording
- “Bartók: Bluebeard’s Castle” — Susanna Mälkki, conductor; Mika Kares and Szilvia Vörös; Robert Suff, producer (Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra)
- “Glass: Akhnaten” — Karen Kamensek, conductor; J’Nai Bridges, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Zachary James and Dísella Lárusdóttir; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
- “Janáček: Cunning Little Vixen” — Simon Rattle, conductor; Sophia Burgos, Lucy Crowe, Gerald Finley, Peter Hoare, Anna Lapkovskaja, Paulina Malefane, Jan Martinik & Hanno Müller-Brachmann; Andrew Cornall, producer (London Symphony Orchestra; London Symphony Chorus and LSO Discovery Voices)
- “Little: Soldier Songs” — Corrado Rovaris, conductor; Johnathan McCullough; James Darrah and John Toia, producers (The Opera Philadelphia Orchestra)
- “Poulenc: Dialogues Des Carmélites” — Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Karen Cargill, Isabel Leonard, Karita Mattila, Erin Morley and Adrianne Pieczonka; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
79. Best Choral Performance
- “It’s A Long Way” — Matthew Guard, conductor (Jonas Budris, Carrie Cheron, Fiona Gillespie, Nathan Hodgson, Helen Karloski, Enrico Lagasca, Megan Roth, Alissa Ruth Suver and Dana Whiteside; Skylark Vocal Ensemble)
- “Mahler: Symphony No. 8, ‘Symphony Of A Thousand'” — Gustavo Dudamel, conductor; Grant Gershon, Robert Istad, Fernando Malvar-Ruiz and Luke McEndarfer, chorus masters (Leah Crocetto, Mihoko Fujimura, Ryan McKinny, Erin Morley, Tamara Mumford, Simon O’Neill, Morris Robinson and Tamara Wilson; Los Angeles Philharmonic; Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, National Children’s Chorus and Pacific Chorale)
- “Rising w/The Crossing” — Donald Nally, conductor (International Contemporary Ensemble and Quicksilver; The Crossing)
- “Schnittke: Choir Concerto; Three Sacred Hymns; Pärt: Seven Magnificat-Antiphons” — Kaspars Putniņš, conductor; Heli Jürgenson, chorus master (Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir)
- “Sheehan: Liturgy Of Saint John Chrysostom” — Benedict Sheehan, conductor (Michael Hawes, Timothy Parsons and Jason Thoms; The Saint Tikhon Choir)
- “The Singing Guitar” — Craig Hella Johnson, conductor (Estelí Gomez; Austin Guitar Quartet, Douglas Harvey, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and Texas Guitar Quartet; Conspirare)
80. Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
- “Adams, John Luther: Lines Made By Walking” — JACK Quartet
- “Akiho: Seven Pillars” — Sandbox Percussion
- “Archetypes” —Sérgio Assad, Clarice Assad and Third Coast Percussion
- “Beethoven: Cello Sonatas – Hope Amid Tears” — Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax (who have frequently performed individually and together at the Wisconsin Union Theater)
- “Bruits” — Imani Winds
81. Best Classical Instrumental Solo
- “Alone Together” — Jennifer Koh (below, who has performed with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra)
- “An American Mosaic” — Simone Dinnerstein
- “Bach: Solo Violin Sonatas and Partitas” — Augustin Hadelich (a favorite of the Madison Symphony Orchestra)
- “Beethoven and Brahms: Violin Concertos” — Gil Shaham; Eric Jacobsen, conductor (The Knights)
- “Mak Bach” — Mak Grgić
- “Of Power” — Curtis Stewart
82. Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
- Confessions — Laura Strickling; Joy Schreier, pianist
- Dreams Of A New Day – Songs By Black Composers — Will Liverman (who has sung with the Madison Opera); Paul Sánchez, pianist (below at in the YouTube video at the bottom)
- Mythologies — Sangeeta Kaur and Hila Plitmann (Virginie D’Avezac De Castera, Lili Haydn, Wouter Kellerman, Nadeem Majdalany, Eru Matsumoto and Emilio D. Miler)
- Schubert: Winterreise — Joyce DiDonato; Yannick Nézet-Séguin, pianist
- Unexpected Shadows — Jamie Barton; Jake Heggie, pianist (Matt Haimovitz)
83. Best Classical Compendium
- American Originals – A New World, A New Canon — AGAVE and Reginald L. Mobley; Geoffrey Silver, producer
- Berg: Violin Concerto; Seven Early Songs and Three Pieces For Orchestra — Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Jack Vad, producer
- Cerrone: The Arching Path — Timo Andres and Ian Rosenbaum; Mike Tierney, producer
- Plays — Chick Corea; Chick Corea and Birnie Kirsh, producers
- Women Warriors – The Voices Of Change — Amy Andersson, conductor; Amy Andersson, Mark Mattson and Lolita Ritmanis, producers (below)
84. Best Contemporary Classical Composition
- “Akiho: Seven Pillars” — Andy Akiho, composer (Sandbox Percussion)
- “Andriessen: The Only One” — Louis Andriessen, composer (Esa-Pekka Salonen, Nora Fischer and Los Angeles Philharmonic)
- “Assad, Clarice and Sérgio, Connors, Dillon, Martin & Skidmore: Archetypes” — Clarice Assad, Sérgio Assad, Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin and David Skidmore, composers (Sérgio Assad, Clarice Assad and Third Coast Percussion)
- “Batiste: Movement 11′” — Jon Batiste, composer (Jon Batiste)
- “Shaw: Narrow Sea” — Caroline Shaw, composer (Dawn Upshaw, Gilbert Kalish and Sō Percussion)
Tags: #AlbanBerg, #AlexanderScriabin, #AlfredSchnittke, #AmericanSymphonyOrchestra, #ArtExhibition, #ArvoPärt, #AugustinHadelich, #BelaBartok, #BestPerformance, #BlackComposer, #BlackMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #Bluebeard'sCastle, #BluesMusic, #CarolineShaw, #CelloSonata, #CelloSuite, #ChamberChoir, #ChamberMusic, #CharlesIves, #ChickCorrea, #ChoralMusic, #ChristmasMusic, #ClassicalGuitar, #CompactDisc, #ComposersofColor, #ConcertHall, #ContemporaryComposer, #ContemporaryMusic, #CoronavirusPandemic, #CorradoRavaris, #COVID-19, #DavidFrost, #DialoguesoftheCarmelites, #EmanuelAx, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FemaleComposers, #FemaleMusicians, #FlorencePrice, #FrancisPoulenc, #FranzSchubert, #GasparCassado, #GilShaham, #GrammyAward, #GrammyAwards, #GrammyNominations, #GuitarMusic, #GustavMahler, #GustavoDudamel, #Hip-hopmusic, #HispanicMusic, #ImaniWinds, #J'NaiBridges, #JacobStockinger, #JakeHeggie, #JenniferKoh, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnAdams, #JonBatiste, #JoyceDiDonato, #JudithSherman, #LatinAmerican, #LeosJanacek, #LiveStreaming, #londonSymphonyOrchestra, #LosAngelesPhilharmonic, #LouisAndriessen, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #ManfredHoneck, #MardiGras, #MattHaimovitz, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MetropolitanOpera, #MichaelTilsonThomas, #NashvilleSymphony, #NashvilleTennessee, #NewOrleans, #NicoMuhly, #OfColor, #OperaMusic, #OrchestralMusic, #PacificChorale, #PercussionMusic, #PerformersofColor, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PhiladelphiaOrchestra, #PhilipGlass, #PianoAccompaniment, #PopMusic, #ProArteQuartet, #RacialJustice, #RichardStrauss, #RockMusic, #SaintJohn, #SandboxPercussion, #SanFranciscoSymphony, #SeattleSymphony, #SimoneDinnerstein, #SimonRattle, #SocialActivism, #SocialJustice, #SoulMusic, #SoundEngineer, #SouthKorea, #SouthKorean, #StayHuman, #StephenColbert, #StreamingService, #StringMusic, #SundayNight, #SusannaMalkki, #SymphonyofaThousand, #TexasGuitarQuartet, #TheEar, #TheGrammys, #TheKnights, #TheMet, #TheUW, #TheUW-Madison, #ThirdCoastPercussion, #ThomasDausgaard, #UniverstyofWisconsin, #ViolinMusic, #VocalMusic, #WillLivermore, #WindMusic, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WORT-FM89.9, #WyntonMarsalis, #YannickNezet-Seguin, #Yo-YoMa, #YouTubevideo, Activism, activity, African American, Akhnaten, Alban Berg, Alexander Scriabin, Alfred Schnittke, alone, American, annual, arrt, art exhibition, Arts, Arvo Part, asian, Asian American, audience, Augustin Hadelich, Bach, band, Baroque, Bartok, Batiste, Béla Bartók, Beethoven, Berg, best, BIPOC, black, black music, blog, Bluebeard, Bluebeard's Castle, blues, Book, Brahms, Brahms Violin Concerto, brown, buy, Canon, Caroline Shaw, category, CBS, CBS-TV, CD, Cello, chamber, Chamber choir, Chamber music, change, Chanticleer, Charles Ives, checm, Chick Correa, children, China, Chinese, Choir, choral, choral music, chorus, Christmas, Classical, Classical music, classics, collaboration, color, commission, Compact Disc, compendium, compose, composer, composer of color, Composition, Concert, concert hall, concerto, conductor, contemporary, coronavirus, coronavirus pandemic, Corrado Ravaris, covid, David Frost, day, dialogue, Dialogues of the Carmelites, Dinnerstein, diversity, dominate, Dreams, Dudamel, Early music, ecstasy, Emanuel Ax, emphasis, engineer, Estonia, examples, Facebook, female, Florence Price, Franz Schubert, gender, genre, Gil Shaham, Glass, Grammy, Grammy Award for Best Classical Compendium, group, guitar, guitar music, Gustav Mahler, Gustavo Dudamel, Hadelich, hip-hop, Hispanic, Home, hope, House, hymn, idea, Imani Winds, inclusion, indicate, individual, industry, international, Ives, J'Nai Bridges, Jacob Stockinger, Jake Heggie, Janacek, Jazz, Jennifer Koh, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Adams, Jon Batiste, Joyce DiDonato, Judith Sherman, Juilliard, Juilliard School, justice, Koh, Korean, LA, LateShowwithStephenColbert, Latin, Leos Janacek, like, link, liturgy, Livermore, local, London, London Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Louis Andriessen, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Magnificat, Mahler, Manfred Honeck, Mardi Gras, Marsalis, Matt Haimovitz, Mead Witter School of Music, Mednelssohn, Met, Metropolitan Opera, Michael Tilson Thomas, mosaic, movement, Mozart, MSO, MTT, Music, Nashville, Nashville Symphony, national, new, New Orleans, Nico Muhly, nomination, nominee, of color, old, one-man, opera, Orchestra, orchestral music, original, Overture Center, Pacific, Pacific Chorale, pandemic, part, partita, pasrt, percussion, performance, performer, performers of color, permanent, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Philadelphia, Philip Glass, Pianist, Piano, piano accompaniment, piece, pillar, Pitssburgh, poem, Poem of Ecstasy, pop, Poulenc, power, present, price, Pro Arte Quartet, producer, profit, profitable, project, publisher, Publishing, racial justice, Radio, recording, rediscover, regional, Richard Strauss, Rock, sacred, Saint John, San Francisco, San Francisco Symphony, Sandbox Percussion, Schnittke, School of Music, Schubert, Scriabin, sea, Seattle, Seattle Symphony, sex, share, Shaw, show, Simon Rattle, Simone Dinnerstein, sing, singer, Singing, social, social activism, social justice, soldier, solo, solo violin, Sonata, song, soul, source, South Korea, standard, Stay Human, Stephen Colbert, Strauss, streaming, string, string music, subscriber, Sunday night, Susanna Malkki, symphony, Symphony of a Thousand, tag, Tchaikovsky, tears, Tennessee, Texas, Texas Guitar Quartet, The Ear, The Knights, Third Coast Percussion, Thomas Dausgaard, together, trend, TV, United States, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW School of Music, UW-Madison, venue, video, Violin, Violin concerto, violinist, vixen, vocal music, voice, warrior, way, WCO, Will Livermore, wind music, winner, Winterreise, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, women, work, world, WORT-FM 89.9, WPR, Wynton Marsalis, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, year, Yo-Yo Ma, YouTube
WORT-FM 89.9 now has a Monday morning show of modern and contemporary classical music with Paul Baker
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
The listener-sponsored, community radio station WORT-FM 89.9 — long a home for classical music from all eras, from the earliest to the newest — has a new program to join its many others about music in all genres and all periods as well as news and commentary about public affairs.
It airs on Monday mornings from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. with Paul Baker (below, in his WORT studio). He is well-known radio host, music critic and amateur musician.
Baker recently shared with The Ear some insights into his new show “Listen Adventurously”:
Are you still doing your show for WSUM, the student-run FM radio station at the University of Wisconsin-Madison?
I hosted Only Strings on WSUM-FM 91.7 to focus on chamber music at a time when I was taking cello lessons. I wanted to absorb as much chamber music as possible, and preparing for, and hosting, a radio program was one good way to do that. I ended the show in 2019 when I reached the five-year mark.
How did the new WORT show come about?
I’ve been a WORT fan for more than 30 years. I know many of the program hosts and have been in touch with the music director, Sybil Augustine, for some time.
I had hosted a WORT Sunday early morning show briefly about 20 years ago. The Monday morning classical slot recently became available when Christopher Delamarter stepped down, so I raised my hand.
What can you tell us about the content of the show?
The show has been billed as 20th-century classical music. I am extending that to include pieces from the 2000s as well — things written as recently as last year. There is just so much good material. Younger composers and performers deserve to be heard.
So the show will feature Bartok and Shostakovich and Samuel Barber, of course, but also Philip Glass and Arvo Pärt and Jennifer Higdon and Laura Schwendinger (below, who teaches at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music and whose music is widely performed) and Chicago’s Third Coast Percussion Ensemble. In my opinion, there’s a lack of local availability to hear this music.
I enjoy sharing music with people. When I worked on campus, I programmed three shows for WSUM-FM. Now that I’m retired, I’m happy to have this opportunity on WORT. The only drawback is that I must get up at 4 a.m. for the 5 a.m. air time. But I’m a morning person, so it’s not that bad.
Editor’s note: If you want to see a sample playlist, as well as WORT’s daily show schedule, here a link to the one from this past Monday: https://www.wortfm.org/on-air-schedule/
Tags: #ArvoPärt, #BelaBartok, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ContemporaryComposer, #ContemporaryMusic, #DmitriShostakovich, #EarlyMorning, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #JacobStockinger, #JenniferHigdon, #LastYear, #LauraSchwendinger, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #ModernComposers, #ModernMusic, #MusicCritic, #MusicDirector, #NewMusic, #OnlyStrings, #PaulBaker, #PhilipGlass, #RadioHost, #SamuelBarber, #StringMusic, #SybilAugustine, #TheEar, #TheUW, #ThirdCoastPercussion, #UniversityofWisconsin, #WORT-FM89.9, #WSUM-FM 91.7, 20th-century, 20th-century classical music, adventure, alarm, amateur, Arts, Arvo Part, audience, availability, available, Barber, Bartok, Béla Bartók, billed, Campus, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, Chicago, choral music, Classical music, community, composer, Concert, concerto, contemporary, contemporary music, content, critic, Dmitri Shostakovich, drawback, Early music, Facebook, Glass, good, hand, hear, Higdon, host, Jacob Stockinger, Jennifer Higdon, lack, last year, Laura Schwendinger, lessons, link, listen, listener, local, Madison, material, Mead Witter School of Music, modern, modern composers, modern msuic, morning, Music, music critic, Music director, new, New Music, Only Strings, opinion, Orchestra, part, Paul Baker, performer, person, Philip Glass, Piano, playlist, post, postr, program, programmed, programming, Radio, raise, retired, Samuel Barber, schedule, Schwendinger, share, Shostakovich, slot, Sonata, string music, Student, Sunday, Sybil Augustine, symphony, tag, teach, tell, The Ear, Third Coast Percussion, time, United States, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, Violin, vocal music, Wisconsin, WORT-FM 89.9, WSUM, WSUM 91.7 FM, young, younger
Library of Congress streams UW pianist Christopher Taylor’s online Liszt-Beethoven symphony recital for free this Thursday night
1 Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
This Thursday night, Dec. 17, from 7 to 9 p.m. CST, University of Wisconsin-Madison virtuoso pianist Christopher Taylor (below) will close the celebration of the Beethoven Year, marking the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth, at the Library of Congress. After the concert’s premiere, it will stay posted online.
For the past several years, Taylor has been performing the solo piano transcriptions by Franz Liszt of Ludwig van Beethoven’s nine symphonies both in Russia and at the UW-Madison.
Here is more from the website of the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music:
“It takes extraordinary skill as an orchestrator to condense an entire symphony by Beethoven (below top) into a version for a solo instrument, but that is just what Franz Liszt (below bottom) accomplished in his piano transcriptions. (You can hear a sample, along with a visual representation, of the Fifth Symphony transcription in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
“Hear virtuoso pianist Christopher Taylor perform three of these transcendent symphony transcriptions, works he describes as a “new perspective on something familiar.” (The Ear, who has heard Taylor’s impressive performances of almost all nine symphonies, finds that comparing the two versions is like looking at the same photograph in color and then black-and-white. Color emphasizes details while black-and-white emphasizes structure. You hear new things by comparing the two.)
The performance was pre-recorded in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall of the Hamel Music Center.
The program is:
BEETHOVEN/LISZT
Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
You can find more details at: https://loc.gov/concerts/christopher-taylor.html
You can Register on Eventbrite
Hailed by critics as “frighteningly talented” (The New York Times) and “a great pianist” (The Los Angeles Times), Taylor has distinguished himself throughout his career as an innovative musician with a diverse array of talents and interests.
He is known for a passionate advocacy of music written in the past 100 years — Messiaen, Ligeti and Bolcom figure prominently in his performances — but his repertoire spans four centuries and includes the complete Beethoven sonatas, the Liszt Transcendental Etudes, Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and a multitude of other familiar masterworks.
Whatever the genre or era of the composition, Taylor brings to it an active imagination and intellect coupled with heartfelt intensity and grace.
Taylor has concertized around the globe, with international tours taking him to Russia, Western Europe, East Asia and the Caribbean.
At home in the U.S. he has appeared with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, the Madison Symphony and the Milwaukee Symphony. As a soloist he has performed in New York’s Carnegie and Alice Tully Halls, in Washington’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Ravinia and Aspen festivals, and dozens of other venues.
In chamber music settings, he has collaborated with many eminent musicians, including Robert McDuffie and the Borromeo, Shanghai, Pro Arte, and Ying Quartets.
His recordings have featured works by Liszt, Messiaen and present-day Americans William Bolcom and Derek Bermel.
Throughout his career, Taylor has become known for undertaking memorable and unusual projects. Examples include: an upcoming tour in which he will perform, from memory, the complete transcriptions of Beethoven symphonies by Liszt; performances and lectures on the complete etudes of Gyorgy Ligeti; and a series of performances of the Goldberg Variations on the unique double-manual Steinway piano (below) in the collection of the University of Wisconsin.
Numerous awards have confirmed Taylor’s high standing in the musical world. He was named an American Pianists’ Association Fellow for 2000, before which he received an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1996 and the Bronze Medal in the 1993 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. In 1990 he took first prize in the William Kapell International Piano Competition, and also became one of the first recipients of the Irving Gilmore Young Artists’ Award.
Taylor lives in Middleton, Wis., with his wife and two daughters. He is a Steinway artist.
For more biographical information — including his piano teachers and his education as well as his interest in mathematics and engineering — go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/event/christopher-taylor-concerts-from-the-library-of-congress/
Tags: "Goldberg" Variations, #AliceTullyHall, #Americancomposers, #AmericanOrchestras, #AmericanPianistsAssociation, #AspenColorado, #AspenFestival, #AveryFisherCareerGrant, #BaroqueMusic, #BeethovenYear, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BronzeMedalist, #CarnegieHall, #ChamberMusic, #ChristopherTaylor, #Contrast-and-Compare, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DerekBermel, #DetroitMichigan, #DetroitSymphony, #DoubleManual, #EastAsia, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FifthSymphony, #FirstPrize, #FranzLiszt, #Goldberg"Variations, #GyorgyLigeti, #HamelMusicCenter, #HarvardUniversity, #HomeWebsite, #husband-and-wife, #InstrumentalMusic, #IrvingGilmoreYoungArtistsAward, #JacobStockinger, #JohannSebastianBach, #KennedyCenter, #LibraryofCongress, #LosAngelesPhilharmonic, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiddletonWisconsin, #MilwaukeeSymphonyOrchestra, #MilwaukeeWisconsin, #MusicCritic, #NewMusic, #NewThings, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #NewYorkTimes, #OlivierMessiaen, #OpusNumber, #PianoConcerto, #PianoSonata, #PIanoTeacher, #ProArteQuartet, #RaviniaFestival, #RobertMcDuffie, #RussellSherman, #ShanghaiChina, #ShanghaiStringQuartet, #SteinwayandSons, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #TheU.S., #TheUW, #TranscendentalEtudes, #U.S.Congress, #UniversityofWisconsin, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VanCliburn, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #VirtuosoPianist, #WesternEurope, #WilliamBolcom, #WilliamKapell, #WilliamKapellInternaitonalPianoCompetition, #YingQuartet, #YouTubeChannel, #YouTubevideo, 250, accomplish, active, advocacy, Alice Tully Hall, American, American Pianists Association, anniversary, array, artist, Arts, Asia, Aspen Festival, audience, Avery Fisher Career Grant, awards, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Beethoven Year, Bermel, biographical, biography, birth, birthday, black-and-white, blog, Bolcom, Borromeo, bronze medal, bronze medalist, California, career, Caribbean, Carnegie Hall, celebration, centuries, century, Chamber music, channel, China, Christopher Taylor, Classical music, close, collaborate, color, Colorado, complete, composer, Composition, Concert, concertize, concerto, condense, conductor, Congress, contrast, coronavirus, daughter, Derek Bermel, details, Detroit, Detroit Symphony, distinguish, diverse, double manual, dozens, Early music, East Asia, Education, eminent, emphasize, engineering, era, etude, Europe, Eventbrite, extraordinary, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, familiar, festival, Fifth Symphony, figure, find, first prize, Franz Liszt, free, frightening, genre, Georgy Ligeti, globe, grace, hailed, Hamel Music Center, hands, Harvard, Harvard University, hear, heartfelt, Home, home website, imagination, impressive, information, innovative, instrument, intellect, intensity, interests, international, Irving Gilmore Young Artists Award, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Kennedy Center, lecture, library, Library of Congress, Ligeti, Liszt, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, mark, Masterworks, mathematics, Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall, Mead Witter School of Music, memorable, memory, Messiaen, Middleton, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, multitude, Music, music critic, Music education, Musician, named, New Music, new things, New York City, New York Philharmonic, New York Times, Olivier Messiaen, opus, Opus number, Orchestra, orchestras, orchestrator, pandemic, passionate, performance, photograph, photography, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, Piano sonata, piano teacher, post, posting, pre-recorded, premiere, Pro Arte Quartet, program, projects, prominent, Ravinia Festival, recipient, register, repertoire, repertory, representation, Robert McDuffie, Russell Sherman, Russia, sample, setting, Shanghai, Shanghai String Quartet, skill, solo, soloist, Sonata, span, Steinway, stream, String quartet, structure, symphonies, symphony, talented, talents, Taylor, The Ear, tour, transcendent, Transcendental Etudes, transcription, U.S., United States, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, unusual, UW, UW-Madison, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, venue, venues, version, virtuoso, visual, Washington, Website, Western Europe, wife, WILLIAM BOLCOM, William Kapell, William Kapell International Piano Competition, Wisconsin, world, Ying Quartet, YouTube
Recent Comments
 | Brian Jefferies on Classical music: A major reass… |
 | welltemperedear on What made Beethoven sick and… |
 | rlhess5d5b7e5dff on What made Beethoven sick and… |
| welltemperedear on Beethoven’s Ninth turns 200… |
 | Robert Graebner on Beethoven’s Ninth turns 200… |
The Well-Tempered Ear 
Memorial Union cancels the popular Tudor holiday dinners
7 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
It looks like the University of Wisconsin-Madison has done it again.
In June, the Mead Witter School of Music quietly posted an announcement that the campus-and-community UW Choral Union, which dated back 130 years, would be permanently disbanded. It shut down the Choral Union site on Facebook to comments and has never replied to critics. It waited until the summer and it did not contact participants to announce the decision.
Now it seems a similar thing is being done with the 90-year-old Tudor Dinner celebrations of the year-end holidays held at the Memorial Union.
The dinner features entertainment by the community Philharmonic Chorus of Madison (below):
The feasts and festivities are a popular and long-standing tradition at many universities and colleges.
And it has been at the UW-Madison, where since 1938 it has filled the Great Hall of the Memorial Union, as you can see in the 2018 promotional video on YouTube at the bottom.
But apparently no longer.
No reason has been given — not even if it is a permanent cancellation or a one-time postponement,
The lack of public transparency and common courtesy seems ironic at a campus where the music school boasts, “THE WISCONSIN IDEA AT ITS MOST AUDIBLE.”
The Ear just heard about this matter yesterday, thanks to a comment by a surprised and disappointed reader of the blog.
Here is that comment:
“Have you heard that the Union Tudor Holiday Dinner Concerts have been cancelled? I just heard today via a friend of a friend. Philharmonic Chorus members heard earlier this year that the Union cancelled them.
“I’m on the email lists for both the Tudor Dinner Concerts and the Philharmonic Chorus, and neither sent an email about the cancellation.
“The Union’s website still has information about the 2022 dinner, and no mention of future ones being cancelled.
“I made travel plans that can’t be changed based on needing to be home in Madison to attend the 2023 dinner with my elderly parents, as we’ve done for 20 years.
“Given that the dinners have been held for something like 90 years, it seemed like a safe bet to plan my trip around the dinner.
“Between this and the demise of Choral Union with an even longer tradition, plus hiding both facts and not communicating them, I’m very angry at the university.”
Everything seems to confirm this reader’s story.
And if you want to see what transpired with the dissolution of the Choral Union — including more than 40 strongly worded comments from those who attended or participated in the Choral Union concerts — here are links to previous postings on this blog:
Share this:
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #YouTubevideo, a cappella, angry, Arts, attend, audience, blog, Campus, cancellation, Choir, choral music, Choral Union, chorus, Christmas, Classical music, comment, community, composer, Concert, confirm, courtesy, dinner, disappoint, Early music, elderly, email, Entertainment, Facebook, feasts, festivities, food, Great Hall, Holidays, Jacob Stockinger, link, Madison, Mead Witter School of Music, Memorial Union, Music, New Year, parents, participants, participate, Philharmonic Chorus, Piano, popular, promotion, promotional, reader, share, singer, Singing, story, summer, surprise, tag, transparency, Tudor, Tudor Dinners, university, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW Choral Union, vocal music, Website, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Idea, YouTube