The Well-Tempered Ear
See and hear The Cliburn piano competition for FREE via streaming. It runs through June 18
5 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 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition got under way this past Thursday, June 2, and will run through Saturday, June 18, when the winners will be announced.
2022 marks the 60th anniversary year of the competition, which the American pianist Van Cliburn founded at Texas Christian University after his 1958 Cold War victory in the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow,.
You can follow it all online. The complete impressive competition is being broadcast on medici.tv and on YouTube.
But The Ear has used the competition’s own streaming website and finds the videos, sound quality, contestant biographies and background information very professional and helpful. So far, it has been a thoroughly satisfying, enjoyable and engaging experience. I highly recommendation it for students, amateur pianists and all music lovers.
For The Ear, one of the most impressive performances from yesterday was given by the 21-year-old Chinese pianist Yangrui Cai (below), heard in the YouTube video at the bottom. Such beautiful and subtly virtuosic but shaded Liszt and Brahms is not often heard.
Here is a link to the home page (below): https://cliburn.org
From there you can hear live performances, past performances and many facts , including the complete schedule, about The Cliburn, as it is now called. All times are Central Daylight.
Starting at 10 a.m. today — Saturday, June 4 — will see the final 10 performances (3 in the morning and night, four in the afternoon) of the preliminary round, which has featured 30 pianists in 40-minute solo recitals. Except for a specially commissioned “Fanfare Toccata” by Sir Stephen Hough, who is also on the jury, the choice of programs is entirely up to the individual contestants.
The road to the Cliburn is not easy.
It started with 388 applicants. That was trimmed down to 72 by preliminary judges. Out of 72, 30 were chosen by jurors to compete.
After today, it will be on to the quarter-finals with 18 contestants in 40-minute recitals with no repetition from the preliminary round; then the semi-final round with 12 contestants in a combination of 60-minute solo recital along with a Mozart piano concerto accompanied by the Fort Worth Symphony conducted by the Nicholas McGegan, who is famous for his interpretations of Baroque and Classical era music; and the final concerto round with each contestant play two concertos with Fort Worth Symphony under famed conductor Marin Alsop, who is also the head juror.
The Ear will be posting his own thoughts as he experiences the extensive competition, maybe after each round or even each day.
But The Ear also wants to hear from you.
Do you have thoughts about the various contestants?
Who are your favorites and why?
Thoughts about the programs and repertoire being played?
Other thoughts about the competition in general?
The Ear Wants to hear.
Tags: #AmateurMusician, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CentralDaylightTime, #ChinesePianist, #ClassicalMusician, #ColdWar, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FortWorthSymphony, #FranzLiszt, #FranzSchubert, #IgorStravinsky, #InGeneral, #JacobStockinger, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #LiveStreaming, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MarinAlsop, #MoscowConservatory, #MusicalInterpretation, #NicholasMcGegan, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PianoMusic, #PianoStudent, #RobertSchumann, #Semi-finals, #SergeiProkofiev, #SoloRecital, #SouthKorea, #SouthKorean, #StephenHough, #TexasChristianUniversity, #TheCliburn, #TheEar, #TheInternet, #TheU.S., #UnitedStates, #VanCliburn, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, accompaniment, accompany, afternoon, amateur, America, American, anniversary, announce, Arts, Asia, asian, audience, Bach, background, Baroque, beautiful, Beethoven, Belarus, Belarusian, biography, blog, Brahms, Central Daylight Time, China, Chinese, Christian, Classical, Classical music, classicalmusic, Cold War, commission, Competition, composer, Concert, concerto, contest, Dallas, Europe, European, experience, Facebook, Facebook post, fact, fame, Fanfare, final, Fort Worth, Fort Worth Symphony, found, founded, Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, general, great, Handel, hear, home ]poage, idea, Igor Stravinsky, impressive, in general, individual, information, Internet, interpretation, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Japan, Japanese, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, juror, jury, Korea, Korean, like, link, Liszt, live, lover, Ludwig van Beethoven, Marin Alsop, medici.tv, minute, morning, Moscow, Mozart, Music, Nicholas McGegan, night, online, Orchestra, past, performance, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, piano music, post, professional, program, programming, Prokofiev, quality, quarter-finals, recital, repertoire, repertory, Robert Schumann, Russia, Russian, satisfying, Saturday, schedule, Schubert, Schumann, Sergei Prokofiev, shade, share, solo recital, Sonata, Sound, South Korea, South Korean, start, Stephen Hough, Stravinsky, stream, streaming, Student, subtle, symphony, tag, Tchaikovsky, TCU, Texas, Texas Christian University, The Cliburn, The Ear, thought, Thursday, time, toccata, today, U.S., Ukraine, Ukrainian, United States, university, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, victory, video, virtuosic, virtuosity, web, winner, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, yesterday, you, YouTube
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
The New York Times music critics pick 10 online concerts and operas to watch through the month of November
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
Classical music critics for The New York Times have again listed their picks of virtual and online concerts that will be streamed during the month of November, starting this Sunday, Nov. 1, and running right through Nov. 30. In September, they did the same for the month of October.
The list of 10 highlights includes chamber music, orchestral music and operas as well as lots of new music, world premieres of commissions and even the Cliburn International Piano Competition, now known simply as The Cliburn.
Most of the events are posted and available for quite a while.
Note that all times are Eastern and that on this Sunday, Nov. 1, daylight saving ends.
As the critics point out, the list may be especially helpful and enjoyable now that the weather is turning colder, people are isolating at home during the nationwide spikes in coronavirus cases, and concert halls remain closed to the public.
Well-known institutions such as The Metropolitan Opera (below) and the Los Angeles Opera are featured. (You can sample an earlier Met production of Philip Glass’ “Satyagraha” – about the early life of Gandhi — in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
So are symphony orchestras from Detroit, Seattle, San Francisco and Cincinnati.
And pianist Igor Levit (below top), who this past year released the highly praised, award-winning complete cycle of 32 piano sonatas by Beethoven and who was named Artist of the Year by Gramophone magazine, is also featured, as is the outstanding Chicago-based violinist Jennifer Koh (below bottom, in a photo by the Los Angeles Times).
Here is a link to the story: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/28/arts/music/classical-music-stream.html
What do you think of the choices?
Do you have other concerts or classical music events to add to the list?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #18thCentury, #African-AmericanComposer, #AnthonyDavis, #AnthonyMcGill, #BangonaCan, #BeethovenPianoSonatas, #BeethovenYear, #BerlinGermany, #BlackComposer, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BostonModernOrchestraProject, #BrettDean, #CarlVine, #CassieWieland, #CelloConcerto, #CelloSonata, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberOpera, #ChevalierdeSaint-Georges, #ChoralMusic, #CincinnatiOhio, #CincinnatiSymphonyOrchetsra, #ClaudeDebussy, #CommissionedMusic, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #DavidRobertson, #DaylightSaving, #DetroitMichigan, #DetroitSymphonyOrchestra, #ElectionDay, #EllenReid, #Esa-PekkaSalonen, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FerruccioBusoni, #FlorencePrice, #folksongs, #FranzSchubert, #FredericRzewski, #GramophoneMagazine, #IgorLevit, #JacobStockinger, #JamesConlon, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnAdams, #JordanNelson, #JosephBoulogne, #JuliaHagen, #JuliaPerry, #KevChoice, #LiveStreaming, #LosAngelesCalifornia, #LosAngelesOpera, #LouisLangree, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MeredithMonk, #MetropolitanOpera, #MinimalistMusic, #Mirandawarning, #MusicCritic, #MusicDirector, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #NewYorkTimes, #NicoMuhly, #OnlineConcert, #OrchestralMusic, #PhilipGlass, #PianoMusic, #PianoSonata, #PulitzerPrize, #RoscoeMitchell, #SanFranciscoSymphony, #SeattleSymphony, #SethParkerWoods, #SocialDistancing, #SouthAfrica, #SouthAsia, #SouthKorea, #StandardTime, #StevenLin, #SteveReich, #StringQuartet, #SymphonyOrchestra, #TheAnonymousLover, #TheCliburn, #TheEar, #TheMet, #ThomasKocheff, #TrackMusic, #TyshawnSorey, #UnfinishedSymphony, #VanCliburn, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #VickyChow, #ViolinConcerto, #ViolinMusic, #VirtualConcert, #VocalMusic, #WigmoreHall, #WorldPremiere, #XianZhang, #YouHavetheRighttoRemainSilent, #YouTubevideo, 18th century, acclaimed, African American, Anthony Davis, Anthony McGill, arrangement, Arts, asian, audience, available, award, Bach, Bang on a Can, Beethoven, Beethoven piano sonatas, Beethoven Year, Berlin, birthday, black, blog, Blog post, blog posting, Boston, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Brett Dean, Busoni, California, cancel, Carl Vine, Cassie Wieland, cellist, Cello, Cello Concerto, Chamber music, chamber opera, Chevalier de Saint Georges, China, Chinese, choral music, Cincinnati, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, clarinet, clarinetist, clarinettist, Classical music, classicalmusic, Claude Debussy, colder, commissions, company, Competition, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, coronavirus, counterpoint, David Robertson, Daylight Saving, Debussy, December, Detroit, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, early, Election Day, Ellen Reid, enjoyable, Esa-Pekka Salonen, event, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, Fantasia, Ferruccio Busoni, Florence Price, forward, Franz Schubert, Frederic Rzewski, Gandhi, Germany, Gramophone (magazine), helpful, highlight, Home, hymn, Igor Levit, improvisatory, India, institution, instrumentalist, insurrection, isolating, Jacob Stockinger, James Conlon, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Adams, Jordan Nelson, Joseph Boulogne, Julia Hagen, Julia Perry, Kev Choice, known, Korea, Korean, Korean musician, life, like, link, list, livestream, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Opera, Louis Langrée, Ludwig van Beethoven, masterpiece, Meredith Monk, Met, Metropolitan Opera, Michigan, minimalist music, Miranda warning, monk, month, music critic, Music director, nationwide, New Music, New York City, New York Philharmonic, Nico Muhly, October, Ohio, online, opera, option, Orchestra, orchestral music, pandemic, People, performer, Philip Glass, Pianist, Piano, piano music, Piano sonata, pick, Politics, postpone, production, program, Pulitzer Prize, resident, Roscoe Mitchell, running, San Francisco, San Francisco Symphony, Satyagraha, Schubert, Seattle, Seattle Symphony, Septemeber, Seth Parker Woods, share, singer, social distance, soloist, Sonata, song, South Africa, South Asia, spike, spriritual, standard time, starting, Steve Reich, Steven Lin, stream, String quartet, subscriber, symphony, symphony orchestra, tag, testament, The Anonymous Lover, The Cliburn, The Ear, the Met, The New York Times, Thomas Kocheff, time, track record, turn, Tyshawn Sorey, Unfinished Symphony, United States, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Vicky Chow, Violin, Violin concerto, violinist, virtual, vocal music, weather, well-known, Wigmore Hall, winner, world premiere, Xian Zhang, YouTube
Classical music: UW-Madison piano virtuoso Christopher Taylor performs a free virtual recital of impromptus by Schubert and Scriabin this Wednesday afternoon
5 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.
A note from The Ear: Thank you to the many blog followers who left a message of encouragement when I had computer troubles last week. The problem seems to be solved, at least temporarily. And I am healthy, despite the fears that some of you expressed that I was covering for coming down with the coronavirus virus or Covid-19.
By Jacob Stockinger
A friend has passed along the following note from Christopher Taylor, the piano virtuoso who won a bronze medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and who has been teaching for many years at the UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music.
Taylor (below) writes:
“Despite having my performance schedule ravaged, like everyone else, I do actually have one positive morsel of news to relay regarding a “recital” coming up in the near future, which I wanted to you know about.
“It is being hosted by the Chautauqua Institution, where I’ve performed a few times in the past. Unsurprisingly, they’ve had to switch to an online format this summer.
“Just last week I made the actual recording, playing four impromptus by Scriabin, and Four Impromptus, Op. 142, by Schubert in the Mead-Witter Foundation Concert Hall (below, with the UW Choral Union and UW Symphony Orchestra), which seemed like a propitious setting. (Editor’s note: In the YouTube video at the bottom, you can hear the third impromptu in the set by Schubert performed by Vladimir Horowitz during his historic 1986 recital in Moscow.)
“Under the circumstances I think the video turned out pretty well. The actual streaming, which will include the 45 minutes of music plus a little live interview before and afterwards, takes place this Wednesday – Aug. 5 – at 3 p.m. CDT.
You can get there by way of the following link: https://porch.chq.org/ue/event/6518/
“Apparently there is a brief registration form one has to fill out prior to viewing the show, but basically getting in should be a free and painless process for all and sundry.
“Hope you get a chance to join in, and that you enjoy it!”
Tags: #AlexanderScriabin, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BronzeMedal, #ChautauquaInstitution, #ChristopherTaylor, #ClassicalRecording, #ConcertPianist, #CoronavirusPandemic, #COVID-19, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FillOut, #FranzSchubert, #HamelMusicCenter, #JacobStockinger, #MeadWitterFoundationConcertHall, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MoscowRussia, #Musicfaculty, #MusicTeacher, #OnlineConcert, #PerformingArts, #PianoMusic, #PianoVirtuoso, #RecordedMusic, #RegistrationForm, #StreamingService, #ThankYou, #TheCliburn, #TheEar, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UWChoralUnion, #UWSymphonyOrchestra, #VanCliburn, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #VirtualConcert, #VladimirHorowitz, #YouTubevideo, Alexander Scriabin, all, Arts, audience, basic, blog, bronze medal, bronze medalist, case, chance, Chautauqua Institution, Christopher Taylor, Classical music, composer, computer, coronavirus, encouragement, enjoy, everyone, express, Facebook, fear, fill out, follower, form, forward, Franz Schubert, free, friend, future, Hamel Music Center, healthy, historic, host, hosted, impromptu, interview, Jacob Stockinger, like, link, live, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mead Witter School of Music, message, morsel, Moscow, Music, music faculty, news, not, online, operformer, Orchestra, pandemic, past, perform, performance, Performing arts, Pianist, Piano, piano music, positive, posting, posy, prior, problem, process, propitious, recital, recorded music, recording, registration, relay, Russia, schedule, Schubert, Scriabin, setting, share, show, solve, stream, streaming, sundry, swith, symphony, tag, teach, temporarily, thank you, The Cliburn, The Ear, trouble, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW Choral Union, UW Symphony Orchestra, UW-Madison, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, video, view'viewing, virtual, virtuoso, Vladimir Horowitz, Wisconsin, YouTube
Classical music: Musical America offers an exhaustive and helpful guide to international FREE streaming of operas, concerts and recitals, complete with program notes and links for listening
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
During the COVID-19 pandemic, so much music is being streamed – through both live streaming and delayed pre-recorded streaming – that it can be hard to keep track of it all.
After all, the events are taking place locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
How do you know what operas, orchestral concerts, chamber music concerts and individual recitals will take place? Where and when they will take place? What time is it in your time zone? And where do you find links to the performances, such as those by the famed Berlin Philharmonic (below)?
Getting so much information can be daunting.
But one loyal reader has helped The Ear by sending word about the most exhaustive compilation or online guide to FREE streaming of classical music events he has seen so far.
It is done by Musical America, and The Ear highly recommends it.
The Musical America website advises users that the guide will be updated twice weekly, and that Central European Time (CET) is six hours ahead of Eastern Daylight time (EDT) — or seven hours ahead of Central Daylight Time (CDT).
It also tells you how long many of the streamed videos are available for. A full 23 or 24 hours after the initial airing seems pretty average. But many appealing events – by some of the most prestigious organizations and individual performers in the world — will be available for the entire duration of the coronavirus pandemic.
You also get concise notes about the performers and the programs.
Today and tonight, for example, you could take in productions by the Berlin State Opera, the Zurich Opera and Ballet, the Metropolitan Opera (below) and the Vienna State Opera.
You could also take in the historical performances from the ongoing Cliburn Watch Party from the Cliburn International Piano Competition, and the twice weekly concerts by the six musically talented children in the acclaimed Kanneh-Mason family in England, now dubbed “The Von Trapp’s of classical music.” (Below is cellist brother Sheku Kanneh-Mason performing at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.)
And you could listen to award-winning cellist Alisa Weilerstein (below) will also discuss and play all 36 movements of the six solo cello suites by Johann Sebastian Bach that she recently recorded and just released.
The guide lists some of the more outstanding paid websites such as Medici TV but also lists events that took place much earlier but are still available for free watching and listening.
The guide has a link so that organizations can submit their own events for listing or users can make suggestions.
In short, the Musical America guide is extremely useful. You should probably bookmark it if you are planning to listen to a lot of musical events online through streaming.
But don’t take The Ear’s word for it. Take a look and check it out for yourself.
Here is a link: https://www.musicalamerica.com/news/newsstory.cfm?storyid=44766&categoryid=1&archived=0
What do you think of it?
Do you find it useful and think you will?
Do you see any major shortcomings or overlooked events?
Recommendations of your own?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BerlinPhilharmonic, #BerlinStateOpera, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CelloMusic, #CelloSuite, #CentralDaylightTime, #CentralEuropeanTime, #ChamberMusic, #CliburnWatchParty, #COVID-19, #EasternDaylightTime, #EnglishMusicians, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GreatBritain, #JacobStockinger, #JohannSebastianBach, #Kanneh-Mason, #LiveStreaming, #MediciTV, #MeghanMarkle, #MetropolitanOpera, #MusicalAmerica, #NewsProgram, #OrchestralMusic, #PandemicPlaylist, #PrinceHarry, #ProgramNotes, #RoyalWedding, #ShekuKanneh-Mason, #SoloCelloSuites, #TakePlace, #TheEar, #TheMet, #TheU.K., #TimeZone, #VanCliburn, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #ViennaStateOpera, #VonTrapp, #YouTubevideo, #ZurichBallet, #ZurichOpera, #ZurichSwitzerland, air, airing, appealing, audience, average, award, award-winning, Bach, Berlin Philharmonic, Berlin State Opera, blog, bookmark, brother, CDT, cellist, Cello, Central Daylight Time, Central European Time, CET, Chamber music, check, Cliburn Watch Party, compilation, Concert, concise, coronavirus, daunting, discuss, duration, Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, England, ensembles, entire, Europe, event, exhaustive, extreme, Facebook, Family, forward, free, Great Britain, groups, guide, individual, individuals, information, inital, initial, international, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, like, link, listing, livestream, local, look, loyal, medici.tv, Meghan Markle, Metropolitan Opera, movement, Music, Musical America, national, notes, online, opera, orchestral music, organizations, overlooked, pandemic, pandemic playlist, participant, party, paylist, performance, Pianist, Piano, play, post, posting, pre-recorded, prestigious, Prince Harry, program, program notes, reader, recital, recommendation, regional, royal, royalty, share, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, shortcoming, solo, Solo Cello Suites, stream, subscriber, suggestion, Suite, Switzerland, tag, take place, The Ear, the Met, time, time zone, tonight, TV, U.K., update, useful, user, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, video, Vienna, Vienna State Opera, von Trapp, watch, wedding, week, when, where, winning, word, world, YouTube, Zurich, Zurich Opera
Classical music: Famed radio station WQXR names the best 100 recordings of 2019. Listen to samples of them here
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
Did you get a gift card for the holidays?
Are you looking how to spend it by either purchasing CDs or subscribing to a streaming service?
Help and guidance are available.
Few names in the airing of classical music carry more prestige than the famed radio station WQXR in New York City.
To check out the radio station’s choice of the best recordings of 2019 is also to see where the worlds of recording and concertizing are heading.
Such trends include rediscovering neglected composers and championing new music as well as women composers, such as Clara Schumann, and composers of color, such as the American composer Florence Price (below), who has often been featured on Wisconsin Public Radio this past year.
But you will also find noteworthy recordings of such classics as Johann Sebastian Bach – and two of his rarely heard cousins instead of his sons – and well as outstanding recordings of symphonies and piano sonatas (below, the set by Igor Levit) for the upcoming Beethoven Year to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of the composer.
And you will also find names of outstanding performers you may not have heard of — such as the exceptional Chinese pianist Haochen Zhang (below), a Van Cliburn Competition gold medalist whom The Ear would like to see perform here.
Here is a link to 25 picks with commentaries– plus another 75 titles and samples, without commentary, to round out a Top 100.
Happy listening!
https://www.wqxr.org/story/best-classical-recordings-2019/
Tags: #AmericanComposer, #AmyBeach, #AndrewNorman, #Anne-SophieMutter, #AntoninDvorak, #AntonioVivaldi, #BarbaraStrozzi, #BaroqueMusic, #BeethovenPianoSonatas, #BeethovenYear, #BelaBartok, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CamilleSaint-Saens, #CarolineShaw, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ClaraSchumann, #ClassicalGuitar, #CompactDisc, #ComposersofColor, #DaniilTrifonov, #DanishStringQuartet, #DerekBermel, #DomenicoScarlatti, #EdvardGrieg, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FannyMendelssohn, #FilmMusic, #FlorencePrice, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FredericChopin, #GabrielFaure, #GeorgeFridricHandel, #GiacomoPuccini, #GiftCard, #GiftGuide, #GuitarMusic, #GustavMahler, #HaochenZhnag, #HectorBerlioz, #HolidayGift, #HolidayGiftGuide, #IgorLevit, #IsaacAlbeniz, #IsataKanneh-Mason, #JeanSibelius, #JenniferHigdon, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnTavener, #JohnWilliams, #JuliaWolfe, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #LuigiBoccherini, #MauriceRavel, #MieczyslawWeinberg, #ModestMussorgsky, #MovieMusic, #NeglectedComposers, #NeglectedMusic, #NewMusic, #NewYorkCity, #OperaMusic, #OrchestralMusic, #OrganMusic, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PianoConcerto, #PianoSonata, #RichardStrauss, #RobertSchumann, #SergeiProkofiev, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #VanCliburn, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #ViolinConcerto, #ViolinMusic, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WomenComposer, #WQXRradio, #WyntonMarsalis, 2019, Albeniz, American, American composer, Amy Beach, Andrew Norman, Anne-Sophie Mutter, anniversary, Antonín Dvořák, Antonio Vivaldi, Arts, Bach, Barbara Strozzi, Baroque, Baroque music, Bartok, Béla Bartók, Beethoven, Beethoven piano sonatas, Beethoven Year, Berlioz, best, birth, blog, Boccherini, Brahms, Caroline Shaw, CD, Chamber music, champion, China, Chinese, Chopin, choral music, Clara Schumann, Classical music, classicalmusic, classics, color, commentary, Compact Disc, composer, composers of color, concertizing, concerto, conductor, cousin, Daniil Trifonov, Danish String Quartet, Derek Bermel, discover, Domenico Scarlatti, Dvorak, Early music, Edvard Grieg, Facebook, fame, Fanny Mendelssohn, Faure, film, film music, Florence Price, forward, Franz Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin, George Frideric Handel, Giacomo Puccini, gift, gift card, gift guide, gold, Gold medal, Grieg, guidance, guitar, Gustav Mahler, Handel, Haochen Zhang, Haydn, Hector Berlioz, help, Holiday, holiday gift guide, Igor Levit, Isata Kanneh-Mason, Jacob Stockinger, Jean Sibelius, Jennifer Higdon, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Tavener, John Williams, Julia Wolfe, like, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Luigi Boccherini, Mahler, Maurice Ravel, medal, Mieczyslaw Weinberg, Modest Mussorgsky, Mompou, Mozart, Music, Mussorgsky, name, neglected, neglected composer, neglected music, new, New Music, New York City, noteworthy, opera, Orchestra, organ, perform, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, Piano sonata, post, posting, prestige, prize, Puccini, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Radio, radio station, Ravel, reader, recording, Richard Strauss, Robert Schumann, Saint-Saens, Scarlatti, Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Rachmaninoff, service, share, Shaw, Sibelius, son, Sonata, Strauss, streaming, String quartet, subscribe, subscription, symphonies, symphony, tag, Taiwan, Taiwanese, Tchaikovsky, The Ear, title, trend, United States, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Viola, Violin, Vivaldi, vocal music, winner, wisconsin public radio, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, women, word, world, WQXR, WQXR-FM, Wynton Marsalis, year, Zhang
Classical music: Award-winning prodigy pianist Maxim Lando performs a recital at Farley’s on Sunday afternoon and gives a free public master class on Saturday afternoon
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.
ALERT: At noon this Saturday, Nov. 16, Grace Presents offers a FREE one-hour concert by Lawren Brianna Ware and friends. The concert is at Grace Episcopal Church, 116 West Washington Avenue, downtown on the Capitol Square.
Pianist and composer Ware, the 2017 Grand Prize Winner of the Overture Rising Stars Competition, will perform a program of original, contemporary and classical solo and chamber works entitled “These Are a Few of My Favorite Things.” Featured are works by Aram Khachaturian, Fazil Say, Frederic Chopin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert W. Smith, Martin Ellerby and Eric Ewazen.
By Jacob Stockinger
You have to hand it to Farley’s House of Pianos and its Salon Piano Series: They sure know how to book young up-and-coming performers to stay ahead of the curve.
Last season, they presented Kenneth Broberg, a silver medalist at the last Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, before he was accepted into the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, where he won a bronze medal.
This weekend, the Salon Piano Series presents another timely choice.
This Sunday afternoon, Nov. 17, at 4 p.m., the 17-year-old American piano prodigy Maxim Lando (below, in a photo by Matt Dine) will perform a solo recital at Farley’s showroom, 6522 Seybold Road, on Madison’s far west side near West Towne Mall.
Once again, Lando was booked just before winning a big award and honor.
In addition, at his Salon Piano Series premiere, Lando will have grandparents in the audience, as well as an aunt, uncle and cousins, all from the Madison area.
The son of pianist Pippa Borisy, who grew up in Madison, and clarinetist Vadim Lando, Maxim was raised in Great Neck, Long Island, New York, and has a full-time career as a touring pianist while still finishing high school.
Lando first received national attention in 2017 when he performed with superstar Chinese pianist Lang Lang and jazz great Chick Corea with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall’s Gala Opening Night.
He won the 2018 Young Concert Artists auditions at the age of 16 and Susan Hall of Berkshire Fine Arts has described him as having “a very old musical soul.”
This fall he received a Gilmore 2020 Young Artist Award, which recognizes the most promising of the new generation of U.S.-based pianists, age 22 or younger. He will perform a series of concerts this season at the Gilmore Keyboard Festival as part of the recognition.
For this Salon Piano Series concert, Lando will perform the same program he performed for recent sold-out performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Lando’s program includes: Nikolai Kapustin’s Concert Etude “Toccatina”; Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109 (you can hear the opening movement in the YouTube video at the bottom); Alexander Scriabin’s Prelude in B major and Etude in D-sharp minor; and Franz Liszt’s “Transcendental Etudes.”
Tickets are $45 in advance (full-time students are $10) or $50 at the door (if any remain). Service fees may apply. Student tickets can only be purchased online and are not available the day of the concert.
Tickets can be purchased at: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4275212
An artist’s reception will follow the concert.
For more information, go to: https://salonpianoseries.org/concerts.html
MASTER CLASS
Also, on this Saturday, Nov. 16, at 4 p.m., Maxim Lando will teach a master class at Farley’s House of Pianos, where he will instruct four local students.
This is a free event that the public is invited to observe.
For a complete list of the music by Beethoven, Prokofiev and Clementi to be performed as well as the names of the local students and their teachers, go to: https://salonpianoseries.org/concerts.html
The master classes for the 2019-20 season are supported by the law firm of Boardman and Clark LLP.
This concert is supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Tags: #AlexanderScriabin, #AramKhachaturian, #BerkshireFineArts, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoardmanandClark, #BrownPaperTickets, #CapitolSquare, #CarnegieHall, #ChamberMusic, #ChickCorea, #ChineseMusicians, #ChinesePianist, #ClarinetMusic, #ContemporaryComposer, #ContemporaryMusic, #EricEwazen, #FacebookPosting, #Farley'sHouseofPianos, #FazilSay, #FineArts, #FranzLiszt, #GermanComposer, #GilmoreCompetition, #GraceEpiscopalChurch, #GracePresents, #GrandPrize, #GreatNeck, #HighSchool, #HomeWebsite, #KennedyCenter, #KennethBroberg, #LangLang, #LawFirm, #LawrenBriannaWare, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MartinEllerby, #MaximLando, #MuzioClementi, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #NewMusic, #NewYork, #NewYorkCity, #NikolaiKapustin, #OpeningNight, #OvertureCenter, #PhiladelphiaOrchestra, #PianoSonata, #RobertW.Smith, #RussianComposer, #SalonPIanoSeries, #SergeiProkofiev, #SoldOut, #StateOfWisconsin, #SuperstarPianist, #TchaikovskyCompetition, #TchaikovskyInternationalCompetition, #TheEar, #TranscendentalEtudes, #UnitedStates, #Up-and-Coming, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #WashingtonD.C., #WestTowneMall, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #YoungArtist, #YoungConcertArtists, #YouTubevideo, ahead, Alexander Scriabin, American, Aram Khachaturian, artist, Arts, attention, audience, award, Beethoven, Berkshire, blog, Boardman and Clark, bronze, Brown Paper Tickets, Capitol Square, career, Carnegie Hall, Chamber music, Chick Corea, Chinese, choice, Chopin, Christian, Christianity, Chunese, church, clarinet, Classical music, Competition, composer, Concert, concerts, cousin, cousins, curve, D.C., donor, downtown, Eric Ewazen, etude, Facebook, Facebook post, Farley's House of Pianos, Fazıl Say, fee, festival, fine arts, forward, Franz Liszt, free, friends, fund, funds, gala, generation, German, Germany, Gilmore Compeititon, Gilmore Keyboard Festival, Grace Episcopal Church, Grace Presents, grand prize, grandparents, grant, great, Great Neck, haunting, help, high school, home website, honor, information, International Tchaikovsky Competition, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Jazz, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Kennedy Center, Kenneth Broberg, Keyboard, Lang Lang, Lauren Brianna Ware, law firm, like, link, local, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Martin Ellerby, master class, masterclass, Maxim Lando, medal, Moscow, Music, Muzio Clementi, name, national, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, new, New York City, Nikolai Kapustin, NPR, online, opening night, original, Overture Center, Pennsylvania, performer, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pianist, Piano, Piano sonata, Prelude, premiere, prize, prodigy, program, promising, public, purchase, reception, recital, recognition, Robert W. Smith, Russia, Russian, Salon Piano Series, Scriabin, Season, Sergei Prokofiev, series, service, share, showroom, silver, sold-out, solo, Sonata, soul, star, State of Wisconsin, Student, superstar, support, tag, Teacher, The Ear, ticket, time, timely, toccata, tour, touring, Transcendental Etudes, U.S., uncle, United States, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Washington, Washington D.C., Website, West Towne Mall, winner, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, works, young, young artist, Young Concert Artists, YouTube
Classical music: This afternoon is your last chance to hear rave-winning performances by pianist Joyce Yang and the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Here’s a review to read
5 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 afternoon — Sunday, Nov. 10 — at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall is your last chance to hear South Korean pianist Joyce Yang and the Madison Symphony Orchestra (below, in a photo by Peter Rodgers) under the baton of music director John DeMain.
The program features the exciting, popular and beautiful Piano Concerto No. 3 by the Russian modernist composer Sergei Prokofiev as well as “Newly Drawn Sky” by contemporary American composer and Yale School of Music professor Aaron Jay Kernis (below) and the Symphony No. 2 by the German Romantic master Robert Schumann.
For more information about the performers, the program and tickets, go to: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2019/11/04/classical-music-this-weekend-prize-winning-pianist-joyce-yang-solos-in-prokofievs-most-popular-piano-concerto-with-the-madison-symphony-orchestra-works-by-schumann-and-aaron-jay-kernis-are/
The prize-winning Yang (below), who at 19 won the silver medal at the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, rewarded a standing ovation with the late Earl Wild’s virtuosic arrangement of George Gershwin’s song “The Man I Love,” which you can hear Yang play in the YouTube video at the bottom.
The reviews that have appeared so far agreed: It is a rave-winning concert with special attention going to Yang, who is making her MSO debut after performing a solo recital several years ago at the Wisconsin Union Theater.
The Ear cannot find a link to the rave review by Bill Wineke for Channel 3000.
But here is the rapturous review that Michael Muckian wrote for Isthmus:
https://isthmus.com/music/joyce-yang-triumphs-with-prokofiev/
But you be the critic.
What did you think of Joyce Yang and the MSO?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AaronJayKernis, #AmericanComposer, #AsianMusician, #BIllWineke, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #Channel3000, #EarlWild, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #GermanComposer, #GermanRomanticism, #HomeWebsite, #IsthmusMagazine, #IsthmusNewspaper, #JohnDeMain, #JoyceYang, #LastChance, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MedalWinner, #MichaelMuckian, #ModernMusic, #MusicCritic, #MusicDirector, #Musicfaculty, #MusicProfessors, #MusicReview, #NewMusic, #OvertureHall, #PianoConcerto, #PianoMusic, #Prize-Winning, #RobertSchumann, #RomanticComposer, #RomanticMusic, #RussianComposer, #SergeiProkofiev, #SilverMedal, #SouthKorea, #SouthKorean, #Sovietcomposer, #Sundayafternoon, #TheEar, #VanCliburn, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #YaleSchoolofMusic, #YaleUniversity, #YouTubevideo, Aaron Jay Kernis, afternoon, American, Asia, audience, baton, beautiful, Bill Wineke, blog, chance, Channel 3000, Channel 3000.com, Channel3000.com, composer, concerto, critic, Earl Wild, exciting, Facebook, forward, George Gershwin, georgegershwin, German, German Romanticism, Germany, hear, Home, home website, Isthmus, Joyce, Joyce Yang, Korea, Korean, last, like, link, Love, Madison Symphony Orchestra, man, medal, Michael Muckian, modern music, modernism, modernist, music critic, Music director, music review, New Music, online, Overture Hall, performer, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, play, popular, post, posting, prize, professor, program, read, recital, review, Robert Schumann, Romanticism, Sergei Prokofiev, share, silver, solo, soloist, song, Soviet, Sunday, symphony, tag, The Ear, ticket, tickets, USSR, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, virtuosic, vocal music, Website, win, winner, Wisconsin Union Theater, Yale, Yale School of Music, Yale University, Yang, YouTube, YouTube video
Classical music: This weekend, prize-winning pianist Joyce Yang solos in Prokofiev’s most popular piano concerto with the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Works by Schumann and Aaron Jay Kernis round out the program
1 Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, PLEASE 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 weekend, prize-winning pianist Joyce Yang (below) will return to Madison to join the Madison Symphony Orchestra in her local concerto debut and perform Prokofiev’s brilliant, bravura and tuneful Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26.
The concert opens with Kernis’ Newly Drawn Sky and concludes with Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 in C Major, Op. 61.
Performances will be held in Overture Hall, 201 State Street, on Friday night, Nov. 8, at 7:30 p.m.; on Saturday night, Nov. 9, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday afternoon, Nov. 10, at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets are $19-$95 with discounts available. See below for details.
Speaking about the program, music director and maestro John DeMain (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson) says: “November brings us another Madison Symphony debut, that of the amazing pianist Joyce Yang. She will perform the Prokofiev’s dazzling Piano Concerto No. 3, one of the great and most popular concertos, and certainly a favorite of mine.”
Adds DeMain: “I can’t wait for audiences to experience the hauntingly beautiful Newly Drawn Sky by Aaron Jay Kernis. And of the four symphonies by Robert Schumann, many regard his second as the greatest of them all.”
According to Aaron Jay Kernis (below), who has won the Pulitzer Prize and a Grammy Award and who teaches at the Yale School of Music, “Newly Drawn Sky” is “a lyrical, reflective piece for orchestra, a reminiscence of the first summer night by the ocean spent with my young twins, and of the summer sky at dusk.”
The chromatically shifting three-note chords that begin in the strings and transfer to the winds are a central element in the creation of this work. The works last approximately 17 minutes and was premiered at the Ravinia Festival in 2005 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
To read more about Kernis and his successful career, go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Jay_Kernis
Sergei Prokofiev (below) himself played the solo part at the world premiere of his Piano Concerto No. 3 on Dec. 16, 1921 in Chicago with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Although he started work on the composition as early as 1913, the majority of it was completed in 1921 and the piece didn’t gain popularity until 1922 when it was confirmed in the 20th-century canon. (You can hear Prokofiev play the first movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.) The Ear thinks that the work has much Russian Romanticism in it and if you like Rachmaninoff, you will probably like this Prokofiev.
Originally a composer for keyboard, Robert Schumann (below with wife Clara) began writing symphonies around the time of his marriage to his virtuoso pianist and composer wife Clara Wieck, who encouraged his compositional expansions.
The uplifting Symphony in C major was created while the composer was troubled with depression and hearing loss; a Beethovenian triumph over pessimism and despair, the creation of this symphony served as a healing process for Schumann.
ABOUT JOYCE YANG
Blessed with “poetic and sensitive pianism” (The Washington Post) and a “wondrous sense of color” (San Francisco Classical Voice), Grammy-nominated pianist Joyce Yang, who years ago played a recital at the Wisconsin Union Theater, captivates audiences with her virtuosity, lyricism and interpretive sensitivity.
Yang first came to international attention in 2005 when she won the silver medal at the 12th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The youngest contestant at 19 years old, she took home two additional awards: Best Performance of Chamber Music (with the Takacs Quartet), and Best Performance of a New Work.
In 2006 Yang (below) made her celebrated New York Philharmonic debut alongside conductor Lorin Maazel at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center along with the orchestra’s tour of Asia, making a triumphant return to her hometown of Seoul, South Korea.
CONCERT, TICKET AND EVENT DETAILS
The lobby opens 90 minutes prior to each concert.
One hour before each performance, Wisconsin Public Radio host Anders Yocom (below, in a photo by James Gill )will lead a 30-minute Prelude Discussion in Overture Hall to enhance concertgoers’ understanding and listening experience. It is free to ticket holders.
The MSO recommends concert attendees arrive early for each performance to make sure they have time to pass through Overture Center’s security stations, and so they can experience the Prelude Discussion.
Program notes for the concerts are available online: http://bit.ly/msonov19programnotes.
- Single Tickets are $19-$95 each and are on sale now at: https://madisonsymphony.org/event/joyce-yang-plays-prokofiev/through the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street, or by calling the Box Office at (608) 258-4141. Fees apply to online/phone sales.
- Groups of 10 or more can save 25% by calling the MSO office at (608) 257-3734. For more information, visit, https://www.madisonsymphony.org/groups.
- Student rush tickets can be purchased in person on the day of the concert at the Overture Center Box Office at 201 State Street. Students must show a valid student ID and can receive up to two $15 or $20 tickets. More information is at: https://www.madisonsymphony.org/studentrush
- Seniors age 62 and up receive 20% savings on advance and day-of-concert ticket purchases in select areas of the hall.
- Flex-ticket booklets of 8-10 vouchers for 2019-20 symphony subscription concerts are available. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/flex
- Subscriptions for the 2019–2020 season are available now. Learn more at: https://madisonsymphony.org/19-20
Discounted seats are subject to availability, and discounts may not be combined.
Major funding for this concert is provided by Madison Magazine, Stephen D. Morton, National Guardian Life Insurance Company, Scott and Janet Cabot, and Peggy and Tom Pyle. Additional funding provided by Foley & Lardner LLP, Howard Kidd and Margaret Murphy, and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts
Tags: #20thCentury, #AaronJayKernis, #AcademicFestivalOverture, #AndersYocom, #AsianComposer, #AveryFisher, #BestPerformance, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #ChamberMusic, #ChicagoIllinois, #ChicagoSymphonyOrchestra, #ClaraSchumann, #ClaraWieck, #ContemporaryComposer, #ContemporaryMusic, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FoleyandLardner, #Fridaynight, #GrammyAward, #GrammyNominations, #HearingLoss, #husband-and-wife, #JohnDeMain, #JoyceYang, #KeyboardMusic, #LifeInsurance, #LincolnCenter, #LivingComposer, #LorinMaazel, #MadisonMagazine, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MelodicMusic, #MusicalInterpretation, #MusicDirector, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #NationalGuardianLifeInsurance, #NewMusic, #NewWork, #NewYorkCity, #NewYorkPhilharmonic, #OrchestralMusic, #OvertureCenter, #OvertureHall, #PianoCompetition, #PianoConcerto, #Pre-concertLecture, #PreludeDiscussion, #Prize-Winning, #ProgramNotes, #PulitzerPrize, #RadioHost, #RaviniaFestival, #RobertSchumann, #RomanticMusic, #RussianRomanticism, #SaturdayNight, #SeniorCitizen, #SeoulSouthKorea, #SergeiProkofiev, #SergeiRachmaninoff, #SergeiRachmaninov, #SilverMedal, #SouthKorea, #SouthKorean, #Sovietcomposer, #SovietUnion, #StateOfWisconsin, #StephenD.Morton, #StringQuartet, #StringSection, #StudentRush, #SubscriptionTicket, #SummerNight, #Sundayafternoon, #TakacsQuartet, #TheEar, #TheWashingtonPost, #TomPyle, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #Wikipediabiography, #Wikipediaentry, #WindSection, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #WisconsinUnionTheater, #WorldPremiere, #YaleSchoolofMusic, #YaleUniversity, #YouTubevideo, 20th-century, Aaron Jay Kernis, afternoon, Anders Yocom, Arts, Asia, audience, Avery Fisher, Avery Fisher Hall, award, beautiful, Beethoven, Beethovenian, best performance, biography, blog, box office, bravura, brilliant, Canon, career, central, Chamber music, Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, children, chord, chords, chromatic, Clara Schumann, Clara Wieck, Classical music, classicalmusic, color, composer, Composition, Concert, concerto, conclude, conductor, contemporary, contestant, Creation, debut, depressing, depression, despair, discount, discussion, donor, drawn, dusk, early, element, experience, Facebook, favorite, favorite composers, Foley and Lardner, forward, Friday, funding, funds, Grammy Award, group, haunting, healing, hearing, hearing loss, hometown, husband, interpretation, interpretive, Jacob Stockinger, John DeMain, Joyce Yang, Keyboard, kids, Korean, lecture, life insurance, like, Lincoln, LIncoln Center, link, listening, living, Living composer, lobby, local, Lorin Maazel, loss, Love, Ludwig van Beethoven, lyrical, lyricism, Madison, Madison Magazine, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maestro, majority, Marriage, Mead Witter School of Music, melodic, modern, MSO, Music, Music director, musical, National Endowment for the Arts, National Guardian Life Insurance, NEA, New Music, new work, New York City, New York Philharmonic, newly, night, note, ocean, Orchestra, orchestral music, Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts, Overture Hall, perform, performance, performer, pessimism, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, piece, poetic, popular, post, posting, pre-concert, premiere, prize, process, program notes, Prokofiev, Pulitzer Prize, Rachmainoff, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Radio, radio host, Ravinia, Ravinia Festival, read, recital, reflective, reminiscence, Robert Schumann, Romantic, Romanticism, rush, Russia, Russian, San Francisco, Saturday night, Schumann, seats, security, senior, sense, sensitive, Seoul, Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, share, silver medal, sky, Soviet Union, speak, State of Wisconsin, Stephen D. Morton, string music, String quartet, strings, Student, subscription, summer, summer night, Sunday, support, symphonies, symphony, tag, Takacs Quartet, The Ear, The Washington Post, tickets, Tom Pyle, tour, transfer, triumph, trouble, tune, tuneful, twin, understanding, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, uplifting, USSR, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, video, virtuosity, virtuoso, voice, weekend, wife, Wikipedia, wind section, winds, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Arts Board, wisconsin public radio, Wisconsin Union Theater, work, world premiere, WPR, Yale, Yale School of Music, Yale University, Yang, young, YouTube, YouTube video
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 
Classical music: Weekends are a good time to explore music and listen to it. So today The Ear starts a “2020” series for the new year.
6 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’s a new year and the first weekend of the new year. And The Ear wanted to find some kind of organizing principle to explore recorded music in the coming weeks and months.
Turns out the year 2020 – with its symmetry of numerals and suggestions of excellent vision — held a certain appeal.
So he checked out musical works that were either Op. 20 or No. 20. They could even occur together, like, say, a Prelude that is Op. 20, No. 20.
What he found was more than he expected: Dozens of composers and works that qualify as interesting and of suitable quality.
Some are well known, but many are rarely performed live or are neglected in recordings.
They come from all periods and styles, from early music to contemporary music.
And they come in all kinds of genres from vocal and choral music to chamber music, solo instrumental music and symphonic music.
Some works are short, some are medium and some are long.
For the longer ones, which are often divided up into smaller movements or other sections, it seems better to post the whole piece and let the reader decide how long they want to listen at a time rather than to post one part at a time and limit or force the reader.
Anyway, here is the first installment.
It is a wonderful solo piano piece that is too often overlooked, even though it is by a great composer who wrote it in his prime when he was writing many of his other more popular piano works.
It is the Humoresque, Op. 20, by the German Romantic composer Robert Schumann (below). It lasts about 29 minutes but is divided into other sections.
And the performance, often praised as outstanding or even definitive, is by the Romanian pianist Radu Lupu (below, young and old, the latter by Roberto Serra), the 1966 first prize-winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition who recently retired because of ill health.
Here is a link to a detailed biography of the distinguished and somewhat reclusive and enigmatic 74-year-old pianist:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radu_Lupu
Here is YouTube video of Radu Lupu playing the Schumann Humoresque in a live recording from 1983:
Let The Ear know what you think of this piece and this idea for a 2020 series.
A long playlist for future 2020 postings – including works by Bach, Vivaldi, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Brahms and others — has already been compiled.
But if you have a favorite or suggested “2020” piece, leave word in the comment section.
Share this:
Like this:
Tags: #AntoninDvorak, #AntonioVivaldi, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FirstPrize, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FranzSchubert, #FredericChopin, #IllHealth, #InstrumentalMusic, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MusicalStyle, #NewMusic, #NewYear, #PeterIlyichTchaikovsky, #PianoMusic, #RaduLupu, #RobertSchumann, #RomanticEra, #RomanticMusic, #VanCliburn, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #VocalMusic, #Wikipediabiography, #Wikipediaentry, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, 2020, Antonín Dvořák, Antonio Vivaldi, appeal, Arts, audience, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, biography, blog, Brahms, certain, Chamber music, Chopin, choral music, Classical music, coming, comment, Compact Disc, compile, composer, composers, Concert, contemporary, distinguished, dozens, Dvorak, Early music, enigmatic, excellent, expect, Facebook, favorite, first prize, force, forward, Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin, future, genre, German, Germany, great, Haydn, Health, Humoresque, ill health, installment, instrumental, interesting, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, like, limit, link, live, long, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, medium, month, movement, Mozart, Music, musical style, New Music, New Year, number, numeral, opera, opus, Opus number, Orchestra, organize, others, outstanding, performer, period, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Pianist, Piano, piano music, playlist, popular, post, posting, Prelude, prime, qualify, quality, Rady Lupu, reader, reclusive, recording, retire, Robert Schumann, Romantic, Schubert, share, short, small, solo, Sonata, style, suggestion, symmetry, symphony, tag, Tchaikovsky, time, United States, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Viola, Violin, vision, Vivaldi, vocal music, week, weekend, whole, Wikipedia, winner, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, word, work, YouTube