The Well-Tempered Ear
Meet the medal winners of the 2023 Tchaikovsky Competition
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PS: Note that in the last blog post, originally The Ear mistakenly said the first session of the First Unitarian Society summer sings for the public is on Tuesday, July 10. The correct day is MONDAY, JULY 10. The Ear apologizes for the error and any inconvenience.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The 17th international Tchaikovsky Competition (*the official logo is below) was held in Moscow and St. Petersburg from June 19 to July 1, 2023.
As usual, Russian contestants completely dominated the various categories and various medal levels. No surprise there.
Contestants from the United Kingdom, the United States and France also took home medals.
But Asian musicians continued to demonstrate their competition-winning talents. Many came from China — but not from Taiwan, Japan, Taiwan and North Korea. Quite noticeable, however, were the many contestants and medal winners from non-communist South Korea.
You might recall that South Korean contestants also won the Van Cliburn Competition last year and the Cliburn Junior and Chopin competitions earlier this year.
Clearly, South Korea is doing something special that works when it comes to music education. Indeed, music education is Asia seems especially successful, as was discussed in a previous blog post:
For specific names of category winners with their placement and nationality, here are links:
PIANO: https://tchaikovskycompetition.com/en/news/595.htm
VIOLIN: https://tchaikovskycompetition.com/en/news/598.htm
CELLO: https://tchaikovskycompetition.com/en/news/599.htm
VOICE: https://tchaikovskycompetition.com/en/news/603.htm
BRASS: https://tchaikovskycompetition.com/en/news/597.htm
WOODWINDS: https://tchaikovskycompetition.com/en/news/602.htm
And the official website for the competition has lots of blogs and vlogs (video blogs); biographies of the contestants; repertoire; details about the competition including four orchestras and conductors (including Valery Gergiev, who supports Vladimir Putin and the Russian war in Ukraine); venues and history; and a photo gallery.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: https://tchaikovskycompetition.com/en/news/
If you would like to hear many recitals and concerts from various rounds of the competition and the Laureate Concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg, just go to YouTube and type Tchaikovsky Competition 2023 in the search engine.
In honor of Van Cliburn, the 23-year-old American who unexpectedly won the first Tchaikovsky Competition in 1958 during the Cold War and found lifelong international acclaim, is this year’s gold medalist in the piano, Sergei Davydchenko from Russia.
He is playing the second and third movements of Tchaikovsky’s famous and popular Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23.
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Should Ukrainian pianist Valentina Lisitsa be boycotted?
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has heard of many Russian musicians who — like major Russian politicians, military figures and business oligarchs — are being boycotted because they support Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian war in Ukraine.
But until I read the following story, I hadn’t heard that the banished group of artists — living under artistic sanctions, if you will — included the Ukrainian pianist Valentina Lisitsa (below), who last played a recital in Madison about 10 years ago at the Wisconsin Union Theater.
It’s a fall from grace that is too bad. For a while, Lisitsa seemed like a feminist role model of a self-made female musician who bucked the system and could inspire other women and would-be internet arts influencers and performers.
You may know her more from attending a live performance or because of the many YouTube videos that established her concert career while she lived in the southeast United States.
But after you read the following story, perhaps you will also agree that she deserves to be boycotted.
No concerts.
No recordings — at home or on the radio.
No streaming.
No YouTube videos.
Do you agree with boycotting Valentina Lisitsa?
Did you already know about her support of Putin and the Ukraine war?
Do you know of other Russian artists to boycott besides the well-known names you find the end of the story?
The Ear wants to hear.
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The famed International Tchaikovsky Competition has been expelled from the World Federation of International Music Competitions
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By Jacob Stockinger
One of the granddaddies of all international music competitions — probably the best known and most prestigious — has been disowned.
The International Tchaikovsky Competition — the one that catapulted the young American pianist and first winner Van Cliburn (below, during the competition) to worldwide fame during the height of the Cold War, for which he received the only ticker tape parade in New York City ever given to a musician — has been expelled from the World Federation of International Music Competitions, which was founded in 1957 and represents 110 music competitions and programs to help young musicians build a career.
The move comes in response to recent events in Ukraine — including alleged Russian war crimes during its brutal, deadly and unprovoked invasion.
The famed Tchaikovsky Competition — which started in 1958 and is now for pianists, violinists, cellists, vocalists as well as woodwind and brass players — is held in Moscow and St. Petersburg and is financed and organized by the Russian government. It has launched the careers on many great musicians.
It is co-chaired by the discredited Russian conductor Valery Gergiev (below right, in 2014), a close friend and avid supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin (below left) and of the conflict in Ukraine.
The expulsion came about because the Tchaikovsky Competition refused to condemn the Russian invasion, as the federation requested.
Here is a link to the story that was published on the website Classical Music, an online publication of the BBC Music Magazine. It contains background on both the competition and the current state of affairs regarding Russian musicians and the Russian conflict in Ukraine. It has a lot of noteworthy links:
And here is the response from the organizers of the Russian competition, which takes place every four years. The 16th competition was held in 2019, and the 17th is still scheduled for 2023. (The announcement of the 2019 piano winners — by the Russian former piano winner Denis Matsuev, who has been boycotted because of Ukraine — is in the YouTube-Medici.TV video at the bottom.)
The response — which accuses the federation of “persecuting” Russian musicians and promises that it will be held as usual and remain open to contestants worldwide — is posted on the competition’s website:
https://tchaikovskycompetition.com/en/news/415.htm
It makes one wonder what the effects on the next Tchaikovsky competition will be.
Will potential jurors outside Russia boycott the competition?
Will non-Russian contestants — with the exception perhaps on Chinese and Belarusian performers — avoid participating?
And what will be the effect on the inaugural Rachmaninoff Competition for pianists, composers and conductors that is scheduled to take place this June in Moscow?
What do you think?
Is it the right call by the international federation?
Or the wrong call?
Why do you think so?
The Ear wants to hear.
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The New York Times names the top 25 classical recordings of 2020 and includes sample tracks
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By Jacob Stockinger
What did the holidays bring you?
Did Hanukkah, Christmas or Kwanzaa bring you a gift card?
A subscription to a streaming service?
Maybe some cash?
Or maybe you just want to hear some new music or new musicians or new interpretations of old classics?
Every year, the music critics of The New York Times list their top 25 recordings of the past year. Plus at the end of the story, the newspaper offers a sample track from each recording to give you even more guidance.
This year is no exception (below).
In fact, the listing might be even more welcome this year, given the coronavirus pandemic with the lack of live concerts and the isolation and self-quarantine that have ensued.
The Ear hasn’t heard all of the picks or even the majority of them. But the ones he has heard are indeed outstanding. (In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear a sample of the outstanding Rameau-Debussy recital by the acclaimed Icelandic pianist Vikingur Olafssen, who scored major successes with recent albums of Philip Glass and Johann Sebastian Bach.)
Here is a link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/17/arts/music/best-classical-music.html
Of course not all critics agree.
The Ear has already listed the nominations for the Grammy Awards (a link is below), and more critics’ picks will be featured in coming days.
You should also notice that a recording of Ethel Smyth’s “The Prison” — featuring soprano Sarah Brailey (below), a graduate student at the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music and a co-founder of Just Bach — is on the Times’ list as well as on the list of Grammy nominations.
What new recordings – or even old recordings — would you recommend?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Classical music: The Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society closes its 28th season this weekend by honoring three guest artists. Plus, here are all the winners of the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition
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ALERT: The Ear has been following two competitors in the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia who have local ties. (The only American to win Gold was cellist Zlatomir Fung.) The final results are in: trumpet player Ansel Norris took fifth place and received an artist’s diploma; pianist Kenneth Broberg shared the third prize with two other winners. For a complete list of winners in all the categories — piano, violin, cello, voice, brass and woodwinds — go to this page: https://tch16.com/en/news/
You can also watch and listen to, via live streaming, the two Gala Concerts for the winners today at 11 a.m. and on Saturday at 1 a.m. Valery Gergiev will conduct both. Go to https://tch16.medici.tv
By Jacob Stockinger
This Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society will close out its 28th annual summer chamber music season with concerts in Madison, Stoughton and Spring Green.
Judging by the first two weekends of concerts, The Ear expects it to be a memorable conclusion of the season with the punning theme of “Name Dropping.”
Here is the announcement he received.
“Our third week of concerts celebrates three great musicians, all of whom are audience favorites: cellist couple Anthony (“Tony”) Ross and Beth Rapier; and firebrand violinist Carmit Zori.
“And the Tony Award for Rapier Wit goes to…” is a program centered around cello duets. Rapier and Ross (below), principal and co-principal cellists with the Minnesota Orchestra, start the program with George Frideric Handel’s gorgeous Sonata in G minor for two cellos and piano. (You can hear the Handel sonata, payed by Amit Peled in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
They both display crazy virtuosity in Luigi Boccherini’s Quintet in B-flat Major for flute, violin, viola and two cellos.
The first half ends with Gian Carlo Menotti’s Suite for two cellos and piano, a work that they have performed to acclaim around the world.
The second half of the program is given over to one of Brahms’ greatest works, the Sextet in G Major, Op. 36, for two violins, two violas and two cellos.
Ross and Rapier are joined by violinists Carmit Zori and Leanne League (assistant concertmaster of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra) and violists Toby Appel (below, a faculty member at the Juilliard School who plays in the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center) and Katrin Talbot (a Madisonian who performs with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra) in this spectacular piece.
“And the Tony Award for Rapier Wit goes to…” will be performed at the Stoughton Opera House on Friday, June 28, at 7:30 p.m.; and in Spring Green at the Hillside Theater at Taliesin on Sunday, June 30, at 2:30 p.m.
Firebrand violinist Carmit Zori (below), founder and artistic director of the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society in New York City, will sizzle her way through the second program, entitled “The Legend of Zori.”
The program will open with Johannes Brahms’ Sonata in G Major for violin and piano. Viaje, by living Chinese composer Zhou Tian, is a fun and exciting new piece featuring flute and string quartet.
Zori will bring the program home with the torridly passionate Piano Quintet in F minor by Cesar Franck (below), a work written while Franck was in the throes of a love affair with one of his young students.
“The Legend of Zori” will be performed at The Playhouse at the Overture Center for the Arts on Saturday, June 29, at 7:30 p.m.; and in Spring Green at the Hillside Theater at Taliesin, on Sunday, June 30, at 6:30 p.m.
Venue Locations: the Stoughton Opera House is at 381 East Main Street; the Overture Center in Madison is at 201 State Street; Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin Hillside Theater in on County Highway 23 in Spring Green.
Single admission tickets start are $43 and $49. Student tickets are always $10. All single tickets must now be purchased from Overture Center for the Arts, www.overturecenter.org or (608) 258-4141 (additional fees apply) or at the box office. Tickets are available at the door at all locations.
You can also enjoy a pre-ordered picnic at the Hillside Theater made with love from Pasture and Plenty, using ingredients from local farmers and producers. They are available for pick up at the Hillside Theater after the 2:30 p.m. concert or before the 6:30 p.m. concert, for $18.
Spread a blanket on the beautiful Hillside Theater grounds or eat in the Taliesin Architecture School Dining Room, which will be open exclusively to BDDS concert-goers.
Choose from Green Goddess Chicken Salad, Market Veggie Quiche with Greens, or Hearty Greens and Grains with Seasonal Veggie Bowl (gluten-free/vegan). Seasonal sweet treat and beverage included. See the BDDS order form or call BDDS at 608 255-9866.
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Classical music: Here are the classical music winners of the 2018 Grammy Awards.
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By Jacob Stockinger
This posting is both a news story and a gift guide of sorts about recordings you might like to give or get.
It features the classical music nominations for and winners of the Grammy Awards, which were just announced this past Sunday night.
Read them and in the COMMENT section what you think of the recordings that you know and which ones you think deserved to win. (The Ear got about half right.)
You can also encouraged to comment on the Grammys in general.
NOTE: THE WINNERS HAVE AN ASTERISK AND A PHOTO, AND ARE BOLDFACED
HISTORICAL ALBUMS:
- “The Goldberg Variations — the Complete Unreleased Recording Sessions June 1955” — Robert Russ, compilation producer; Matthias Erb, Martin Kistner & Andreas K. Meyer, mastering engineers (Glenn Gould)
- *”Leonard Bernstein — the Composer” (below) — Robert Russ, compilation producer; Martin Kistner & Andreas K. Meyer, mastering engineers (Leonard Bernstein)
ENGINEERED ALBUM, CLASSICAL
- “Danielpour: Songs of Solitude & War Songs” — Gary Call, engineer (Thomas Hampson, Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)
- “Kleiberg: Mass for Modern Man” — Morten Lindberg, engineer (Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Trondheim Vokalensemble & Trondheim Symphony Orchestra)
- “Schoenberg, Adam: American Symphony; Finding Rothko; Picture Studies” — Keith O. Johnson & Sean Royce Martin, engineers (Michael Stern & Kansas City Symphony)
- *”Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber: Adagio” (below) — Mark Donahue, engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
- “Tyberg: Masses” — John Newton, engineer; Jesse Brayman, mastering engineer (Brian A. Schmidt, Christopher Jacobson & South Dakota Chorale)
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, CLASSICAL
- Blanton Alspaugh
- Manfred Eicher
- *David Frost (below)
- Morten Lindberg
- Judith Sherman
ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCE
- “Concertos for Orchestra” — Louis Langrée, conductor (Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)
- “Copland: Symphony No. 3; Three Latin American Sketches” — Leonard Slatkin, conductor (Detroit Symphony Orchestra)
- “Debussy: Images; Jeux & La Plus Que Lente” — Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)
- “Mahler: Symphony No. 5” — Osmo Vänskä, conductor (Minnesota Orchestra)
- *”Shostakovich (below): Symphony No. 5; Barber: Adagio” — Manfred Honeck, conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
OPERA RECORDING
- “Berg: Lulu” — Lothar Koenigs, conductor; Daniel Brenna, Marlis Petersen & Johan Reuter; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra)
- *”Berg: Wozzeck” (below) — Hans Graf, conductor; Anne Schwanewilms & Roman Trekel; Hans Graf, producer (Houston Symphony; Chorus of Students and Alumni, Shepherd School of Music, Rice University & Houston Grand Opera Children’s Chorus)
- “Bizet: Les Pêcheurs de Perles” — Gianandrea Noseda, conductor; Diana Damrau, Mariusz Kwiecień, Matthew Polenzani & Nicolas Testé; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
- “Handel: Ottone” — George Petrou, conductor; Max Emanuel Cencic & Lauren Snouffer; Jacob Händel, producer (Il Pomo D’Oro)
- “Rimsky-Korsakov: The Golden Cockerel” — Valery Gergiev, conductor; Vladimir Feliauer, Aida Garifullina & Kira Loginova; Ilya Petrov, producer (Mariinsky Orchestra; Mariinsky Chorus)
CHORAL PERFORMANCE
- *”Bryars: The Fifth Century” — Donald Nally, conductor (PRISM Quartet; The Crossing)
- “Handel: Messiah” — Andrew Davis, conductor; Noel Edison, chorus master (Elizabeth DeShong, John Relyea, Andrew Staples & Erin Wall; Toronto Symphony Orchestra; Toronto Mendelssohn Choir)
- “Mansurian: Requiem” — Alexander Liebreich, conductor; Florian Helgath, chorus master (Anja Petersen & Andrew Redmond; Münchener Kammerorchester; RIAS Kammerchor)
- “Music of the Spheres” — Nigel Short, conductor (Tenebrae)
- “Tyberg: Masses” — Brian A. Schmidt, conductor (Christopher Jacobson; South Dakota Chorale)
CHAMBER MUSIC/SMALL ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
- “Buxtehude: Trio Sonatas, Op. 1” — Arcangelo
- *”Death & the Maiden” — Patricia Kopatchinskaja & the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
- “Divine Theatre — Sacred Motets by Giaches De Wert” — Stile Antico
- “Franck, Kurtág, Previn & Schumann” — Joyce Yang & Augustin Hadelich
- “Martha Argerich & Friends — Live From Lugano 2016” — Martha Argerich & Various Artists
CLASSICAL INSTRUMENTAL SOLO
- “Bach: The French Suites” — Murray Perahia
- “Haydn: Cello Concertos” — Steven Isserlis; Florian Donderer, conductor (The Deutsch Kammerphilharmonie Bremen)
- “Levina: The Piano Concertos” — Maria Lettberg; Ariane Matiakh, conductor (Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin)
- “Shostakovich: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2” — Frank Peter Zimmermann; Alan Gilbert, conductor (NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester)
- *”Transcendental” – Daniil Trifonov (below)
CLASSICAL SOLO VOCAL ALBUM
- “Bach & Telemann: Sacred Cantatas” — Philippe Jaroussky; Petra Müllejans, conductor (Ann-Kathrin Brüggemann & Juan de la Rubia; Freiburger Barockorchester)
- *”Crazy Girl Crazy — Music by Gershwin, Berg & Berio” — Barbara Hannigan (Orchestra Ludwig)
- “Gods & Monsters” — Nicholas Phan; Myra Huang, accompanist
- “In War & Peace — Harmony Through Music” — Joyce DiDonato; Maxim Emelyanychev, conductor (Il Pomo D’Oro)
- “Sviridov: Russia Cast Adrift” — Dmitri Hvorostovsky; Constantine Orbelian, conductor (St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra & Style of Five Ensemble)
CLASSICAL COMPENDIUM
- “Barbara” — Alexandre Tharaud; Cécile Lenoir, producer
- *”Higdon: All Things Majestic, Viola Concerto & Oboe Concerto” (below with the first movement of the Viola Concerto in the YouTube video at the bottom) — Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Tim Handley, producer
- “Kurtág: Complete Works for Ensemble & Choir” — Reinbert de Leeuw, conductor; Guido Tichelman, producer
- “Les Routes de l’Esclavage” — Jordi Savall, conductor; Benjamin Bleton, producer
- “Mademoiselle: Première Audience — Unknown Music of Nadia Boulanger” — Lucy Mauro; Lucy Mauro, producer
CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL COMPOSITION
- “Danielpour: Songs of Solitude” — Richard Danielpour, composer (Thomas Hampson, Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)
- *”Higdon: Viola Concerto” — Jennifer Higdon, composer (below)(Roberto Díaz, Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)
- “Mansurian: Requiem” — Tigran Mansurian, composer (Alexander Liebreich, Florian Helgath, RIAS Kammerchor & Münchener Kammerorchester)
- “Schoenberg, Adam: Picture Studies” — Adam Schoenberg, composer (Michael Stern & Kansas City Symphony)
- “Zhou Tian: Concerto for Orchestra” — Zhou Tian, composer (Louis Langrée & Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)
Tags: "Goldberg" Variations, #DanielTrifonov, #DaniilTrifonov, #GlennGould, #GustavMahler, #JenniferHigdon, #JohannSebastianBach, #LeonardBernstein, #MetropolitanOpera, #TheMet, Adagio for Strings, Alan Gilbert, Alban Berg, American, Arts, Augustin Hadelich, Bach, Baroque, Berio, Berlin, Bernstein, Bizet, Bremen, Buxtehude, Cantata, Cello, Chamber music, China, Chinese, Choir, choral music, chorus, Cincinnati, Classical music, classics, Compact Disc, composer, concerto, conductor, Copland, crazy, death, Death and the Maiden, Debussy, Detroit, Deutsche Grammophon, Dietrich Buxtehude, divine, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Early music, ECM, engineer, etude, Franck, Franz Schubert, French, friend, Georg Philipp Telemann, George Frideric Handel, Germany, Gershwin, girl, Glenn Gould, Grammy, Grammy Award, Grammys, Haydn, Houston, Houston Grand Opera, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Jordi Savall, Joyce Yang, Kansas City, Kurtag, Liszt, Luciano Berio, Lulu, Madison, Mahler, maiden, man, Mansurian, Mariinsky Theatre, Martha Argerich, mas, Mendelssohn, Messiah, Michael Tilson Thomas, Minneapolis, Minnesota, modern, motet, Mozart, Munich, Music, Nadia Boulanger, Nashville, Naxos, New Music, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, nomination, nominee, Oboe, opera, Orchestra, Piano, Picture, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Previn, Requiem, Rice University, Richard Danielpour, Rothko, Russia, sacred, Saint Paul, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Samuel Barber, San Francisco, San Francisco Symphony, Schumann, Shostakovich, solitude, Sonata, song, SONY, Sony Classical, South Dakota, sphere, studies, Suite, symphony, theater, theme and variations, Toronto, Trifonov, trio, Trondheim, Tyberg, United States, Valery Gergiev, Viola, Violin, vocal music, war, winner, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wozzeck, YouTube, Zhou Tian
Classical music: Here are the classical music nominations for the 2018 Grammy Awards. They make a great holiday gift list of gives and gets
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By Jacob Stockinger
This posting is both a news story and a holiday gift guide of recordings you might like to give or get.
It features the classical music nominations for the Grammy Awards that were just announced this past week.
The winners will be announced on a live broadcast on Sunday night, Jan. 28, on CBS.
Read them and then in the COMMENT section tell us which title you think will win in a specific category and what you think of the recordings you know firsthand.
HISTORICAL ALBUMS:
- “The Goldberg Variations — the Complete Unreleased Recording Sessions June 1955” — Robert Russ, compilation producer; Matthias Erb, Martin Kistner & Andreas K. Meyer, mastering engineers (Glenn Gould)
- “Leonard Bernstein — the Composer” — Robert Russ, compilation producer; Martin Kistner & Andreas K. Meyer, mastering engineers (Leonard Bernstein)
ENGINEERED ALBUM, CLASSICAL
- “Danielpour: Songs of Solitude & War Songs” — Gary Call, engineer (Thomas Hampson, Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)
- “Kleiberg: Mass for Modern Man” — Morten Lindberg, engineer (Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Trondheim Vokalensemble & Trondheim Symphony Orchestra)
- “Schoenberg, Adam: American Symphony; Finding Rothko; Picture Studies” — Keith O. Johnson & Sean Royce Martin, engineers (Michael Stern & Kansas City Symphony)
- “Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber: Adagio” — Mark Donahue, engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
- “Tyberg: Masses” — John Newton, engineer; Jesse Brayman, mastering engineer (Brian A. Schmidt, Christopher Jacobson & South Dakota Chorale)
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, CLASSICAL
- Blanton Alspaugh
- Manfred Eicher
- David Frost
- Morten Lindberg
- Judith Sherman (below)
ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCE
- “Concertos for Orchestra” — Louis Langrée, conductor (Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)
- “Copland: Symphony No. 3; Three Latin American Sketches” — Leonard Slatkin, conductor (Detroit Symphony Orchestra)
- “Debussy: Images; Jeux & La Plus Que Lente” — Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)
- “Mahler: Symphony No. 5” — Osmo Vänskä, conductor (Minnesota Orchestra)
- “Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5; Barber: Adagio” — Manfred Honeck, conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
OPERA RECORDING
- “Berg: Lulu” — Lothar Koenigs, conductor; Daniel Brenna, Marlis Petersen & Johan Reuter; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra)
- “Berg: Wozzeck” — Hans Graf, conductor; Anne Schwanewilms & Roman Trekel; Hans Graf, producer (Houston Symphony; Chorus of Students and Alumni, Shepherd School of Music, Rice University & Houston Grand Opera Children’s Chorus)
- “Bizet: Les Pêcheurs de Perles” — Gianandrea Noseda, conductor; Diana Damrau, Mariusz Kwiecień, Matthew Polenzani & Nicolas Testé; Jay David Saks, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
- “Handel: Ottone” — George Petrou, conductor; Max Emanuel Cencic & Lauren Snouffer; Jacob Händel, producer (Il Pomo D’Oro)
- “Rimsky-Korsakov: The Golden Cockerel” — Valery Gergiev, conductor; Vladimir Feliauer, Aida Garifullina & Kira Loginova; Ilya Petrov, producer (Mariinsky Orchestra; Mariinsky Chorus)
CHORAL PERFORMANCE
- “Bryars: The Fifth Century” — Donald Nally, conductor (PRISM Quartet; The Crossing)
- “Handel: Messiah” — Andrew Davis, conductor; Noel Edison, chorus master (Elizabeth DeShong, John Relyea, Andrew Staples & Erin Wall; Toronto Symphony Orchestra; Toronto Mendelssohn Choir)
- “Mansurian: Requiem” — Alexander Liebreich, conductor; Florian Helgath, chorus master (Anja Petersen & Andrew Redmond; Münchener Kammerorchester; RIAS Kammerchor)
- “Music of the Spheres” — Nigel Short, conductor (Tenebrae)
- “Tyberg: Masses” — Brian A. Schmidt, conductor (Christopher Jacobson; South Dakota Chorale)
CHAMBER MUSIC/SMALL ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
- “Buxtehude: Trio Sonatas, Op. 1” — Arcangelo
- “Death & the Maiden” — Patricia Kopatchinskaja & the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
- “Divine Theatre — Sacred Motets by Giaches De Wert” — Stile Antico
- “Franck, Kurtág, Previn & Schumann” — Joyce Yang & Augustin Hadelich
- “Martha Argerich & Friends — Live From Lugano 2016” — Martha Argerich & Various Artists
CLASSICAL INSTRUMENTAL SOLO
- “Bach: The French Suites” — Murray Perahia
- “Haydn: Cello Concertos” — Steven Isserlis; Florian Donderer, conductor (The Deutsch Kammerphilharmonie Bremen)
- “Levina: The Piano Concertos” — Maria Lettberg; Ariane Matiakh, conductor (Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin)
- “Shostakovich: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2” — Frank Peter Zimmermann; Alan Gilbert, conductor (NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester)
- “Transcendental” – Daniil Trifonov
CLASSICAL SOLO VOCAL ALBUM
- “Bach & Telemann: Sacred Cantatas” — Philippe Jaroussky; Petra Müllejans, conductor (Ann-Kathrin Brüggemann & Juan de la Rubia; Freiburger Barockorchester)
- “Crazy Girl Crazy — Music by Gershwin, Berg & Berio” — Barbara Hannigan (Orchestra Ludwig)
- “Gods & Monsters” — Nicholas Phan; Myra Huang, accompanist
- “In War & Peace — Harmony Through Music” — Joyce DiDonato; Maxim Emelyanychev, conductor (Il Pomo D’Oro)
- “Sviridov: Russia Cast Adrift” — Dmitri Hvorostovsky; Constantine Orbelian, conductor (St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra & Style of Five Ensemble)
CLASSICAL COMPENDIUM
- “Barbara” — Alexandre Tharaud; Cécile Lenoir, producer
- “Higdon: All Things Majestic, Viola Concerto & Oboe Concerto” — Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor; Tim Handley, producer
- “Kurtág: Complete Works for Ensemble & Choir” — Reinbert de Leeuw, conductor; Guido Tichelman, producer
- “Les Routes de l’Esclavage” — Jordi Savall, conductor; Benjamin Bleton, producer
- “Mademoiselle: Première Audience — Unknown Music of Nadia Boulanger” — Lucy Mauro; Lucy Mauro, producer
CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL COMPOSITION
- “Danielpour: Songs of Solitude” — Richard Danielpour, composer (Thomas Hampson, Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)
- “Higdon: Viola Concerto” — Jennifer Higdon, composer (Roberto Díaz, Giancarlo Guerrero & Nashville Symphony)
- “Mansurian: Requiem” — Tigran Mansurian, composer (Alexander Liebreich, Florian Helgath, RIAS Kammerchor & Münchener Kammerorchester)
- “Schoenberg, Adam: Picture Studies” — Adam Schoenberg, composer (Michael Stern & Kansas City Symphony)
- “Zhou Tian: Concerto for Orchestra” — Zhou Tian, composer (Louis Langrée & Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)
Tags: "Goldberg" Variations, adagio, Adam Schoenberg, Alan Gilbert, alumni, American, Arts, Augustin Hadelich, Bach, Barber, Baroque, Berg, Berio, Bernstein, Bizet, Cantata, CBS, Cello, century, Chamber music, choral music, chorus, Cincinnati, Classical music, Compact Disc, compilation, composer, concerto, contemporary, Copland, Daniil Trifonov, death, Debussy, Detroit, Dietrich Buxtehude, divine, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Early music, engineer, etude, France, Franck, French, friend, George Frideric Handel, Gershwin, gift, Glenn Gould, God, gold, golden, Grammy, guide, Handel, Haydn, Higdon, Holiday, Houston, Houston Grand Opera, instrumental, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, January, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Joyce DiDonato, Joyce Yang, Judith Sherman, Kansas City, Kleiberg, Kurtag, Latin American, Leonard Bernstein, Liszt, live, Louis Langrée, Ludwig van Beethoven, Lugano, Lulu, Madison, Mahler, maiden, man, Manfred Eicher, Mansurian, Mariinsky Theatre, mass, Mendelssohn, Messiah, Metropolitan Opera, Michael Tilson Thomas, Minnesota, modern, Monster, Mozart, Murray Perahia, Music, Nadia Boulanger, Nashville, New Music, New York City, news, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, nomination, Noseda, Oboe, opera, Orchestra, Osmo Vanska, peace, Pearl Fishers, Piano, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Previn, producer, recording, Requiem, Rice University, Richard Danielpour, Rothko, Russia, sacred, Saint Paul, San Francisco, San Francisco Symphony, Schumann, Shostakovich, sketch, Sklatkin, solitude, solo, Sonata, song, sphere, St. Petersburg, Student, Suite, symphony, Telemann, Television, theater, theatre, theme and variations, Thomas Hampson, Toronto, trio, Trondheim, TV, Tyberg, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Valery Gergiev, variations, Viola, Violin, vocal music, war, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wozzeck, year
Classical music: A critic “unwraps” the holiday gift of Tchaikovsky’s music and other mysteries in “The Nutcracker.” The production by the Madison Ballet and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra opens this Friday and runs through Dec. 27.
2 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
Perhaps it is because it is so popular, especially at holiday time when it has become an annual tradition almost everywhere.
Perhaps it is because it is basically a story about children and the holidays, especially Christmas.
Whatever the reason, the ballet “The Nutcracker” by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky is usually seen as a largely naïve work, an innocent fairy tale or fantasy with some darker undertones.
But the truth is that, if you dig into it, “The Nutcracker” is far more complex than most people usually think.
Of course it was meant to be more about dance — classical ballet — than about the music.
Yet it is the beautiful music by one of history’s greatest melody writers that draws so many people to the work.
And according to one writer for The New York Times, of the many mysteries layered in “The Nutcracker,” the music remains one of the biggest mysteries. (In a YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear a 2012 performance by conductor Valery Gergiev at the Mariinsky Theatre in St, Petersburg, Russia.)
It is always especially relevant at this time of the year.
So The Ear is posting about the production by the Madison Ballet and Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, which opens this coming Friday night for nine performances in Overture Hall of the Overture Center.
It features the choreography of Madison Ballet’s artistic director W. Earle Smith (below top) and the live music by the WCO under the baton of its longtime music director Andrew Sewell (below bottom).
Here are performance dates:
December 12 | 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday
December 13 | 2 p.m. Sunday
December 19 | 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday
December 20 | 2 p.m. Sunday
December 24 | 1 p.m. Thursday
December 26 | 2 p.m. Saturday
December 27 | 2 p.m. Sunday
Here are links with detail of the performances and the production, including tickets, which start at $14:
http://www.wcoconcerts.org/performances/nutcracker/
http://www.madisonballet.org/nutcracker/
And here is a link to a story in The New York Times with some excellent background about various productions and their interpretations:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/arts/dance/the-nutcracker-and-its-many-mysteries.html?_r=0
If you go see and hear “The Nutcracker,” enjoy — and solve or at least appreciate — some of the mysteries in this evergreen holiday work!
Tags: Andrew Sewell, Artistic director, Arts, ballet, choral music, choreogrpahy, Christmas, Classical music, conduct, dance, Holiday, Holidays, Jacob Stockinger, Madison Ballet, Mariinsky Theatre, melody, Music, New York Times, Orchestra, Overture Center, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russia, Saint Petersburg, The Nutcracker, Valery Gergiev, vocal music, W. Earle Smith, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, YouTube
Classical music: Here are the winners of the 15th International Tchaikovsky Competition. You can stream the winners’ concerts LIVE tonight and Friday night for FREE with a link that is here.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The major event in the world of classical music for the past several weeks has been the 15th International Tchaikovsky Competition that was held in Moscow and St. Petersburg. (Below is American pianist Van Cliburn, who won the first competition and made history.)
The winners – in the categories of piano, violin, cello and voice — were announced yesterday.
Here they are, along with a link to a way for you to stream the winners’ concerts, under competition head and conductor Valery Gergiev (below), live TONIGHT and Friday and for FREE.
Tags: Arts, Cello, Classical music, International Tchaikovsky Competition, Jacob Stockinger, Madison, Moscow, Music, Orchestra, Piano, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Saint Petersburg, Tchaikovsky, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Valery Gergiev, Van Cliburn, Violin, vocal music
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A canceled Russian diva sues the Met. Who should win?
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By Jacob Stockinger
Soprano Anna Netrebko — singing in France in 2020 in the Getty Image below and singing the famous aria “Sempre libera” from Verdi’s “La Traviata” in the YouTube video at the bottom — is a world-famous Russian diva and longtime opera star.
But ever since Russia’s war on Ukraine started, she has defended the so-called “special military operation” — complete with war crimes and human right violations — and announced her continuing support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Like other nationalistic arts figures who have done the same — including the conductor Valery Gergiev and the pianist Denis Matsuev — her career has suffered as she has seen concert appearances disappear and canceled or withdrawn.
Now she has filed a suit against the Metropolitan Opera and its general director Peter Gelb — whose Canadian wife Keri-Lynn Wilson has conducted tours of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. Netrebko is seeking $360,000 in damages and restoration of her fees for her upcoming cancelled performances.
Here is a story with the basics: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66413874
And here is a blog column by lawyer and Georgetown University professor Jonathan Turley (below) — a well-known legal analyst with a large public reputation for television and radio commentaries.
He supports Netrebko’s lawsuit in the name of free speech and artistic expression. He argues against cancelling her appearances and withholding payment because contracts have already been signed. And he compares such sanctions to loyalty oaths.
What do you think about artistic performances being canceled because the artist supports Russia’s war on Ukraine and Vladimir Putin?
Should athletes who act similarly be barred from competition, including the upcoming summer Olympics?
Do such cancellations fall under the heading of justified sanctions or illegal broken contracts?
Who do you think should win the lawsuit?
The Eat wants to hear.
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