The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: The UW Pro Arte Quartet and Wingra Wind Quintet prove exceptional partners in a joint all-Schubert concert
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By Jacob Stockinger
Here is a special posting, a review written by frequent guest critic and writer for this blog, John W. Barker. Barker (below) is an emeritus professor of Medieval history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also is a well-known classical music critic who writes for Isthmus and the American Record Guide, and who hosts an early music show once a month on Sunday morning on WORT FM 89.9 FM. For years, he served on the Board of Advisors for the Madison Early Music Festival and frequently gives pre-concert lectures in Madison. Barker also took the performance photos.
By John W. Barker
On Saturday night, in Mills Hall on the campus, two ensembles from the Mead Witter School of Music at the UW-Madison joined forces in an all-Schubert program.
The two groups were the Pro Arte Quartet (below, in a photo by Rick Langer) and the Wingra Wind Quintet (no group photo is available).
The music of Schubert (below) will, of course, guarantee a delightful evening, and that was certainly the case this time.
As a prologue, there was the set of variations for flute and piano, D. 802, on Schubert’s own song, Trockne Blumen from his Die schöne Müllerin song cycle. This was played with real flair by Timothy Hagen with pianist Daniel Fung (both are below). Hagen preceded the performance by explaining the relationship of the variations to the whole cycle. (You can hear the original song sung by the legendary Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
That choice of an opener had its point because the variations were composed just weeks before the major work on the program, Schubert’s Octet in F, D. 803.
There is much individuality in this Octet, scored for a combination of strings and winds. It is true that Schubert’s elder contemporary, Louis Spohr, had written such an octet, if with slightly different scoring, in 1817, while Schubert’s was composed in 1824. Still, Schubert’s hour-long score is more expansive, a work remarkable at its time and hardly equaled since.
In this broad, symphonically scaled six-movement work, Schubert just poured out one feast of melodic invention after another. One does not often have a chance to hear this work in concert, but this performance was a particularly memorable one.
The performers (below) were clarinetist Alicia Lee, bassoonist Mark Vallon, and hornist Joanna Schulz, along with bassist David Scholl, plus the usual four members of the Pro Arte Quartet.
Ah, but that last element gave the evening special meaning, for it involved the return to performing by cellist Parry Karp (below). A recent accident had damaged two fingers on his left hand; but here he was, all fingers flying with the spirited efficiency.
It proved a welcome moment in the quartet’s current life, and itself added a significant dimension to this concert.
Tags: accident, American, American Record Guide, Arts, bass, blog, Cello, Chamber music, clarinet, Classical music, composer, contemporary, cycle, Daniel Fung, delight, Die Schöne Müllerin, Die Schoene Muellerin, Early music, elder, emeritus, Finger, flute, Franz Schubert, guide, History, Horn, hour, injury, invention, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, Louis Spohr, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, Mead Witter School of Music, Medieval, melodic, melody, movement, Music, Octet, Orchestra, Parry Karp, partner, photo, Piano, Pro Arte Quartet, professor, Radio, record, review, score, song, symphony, theme and variations, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, Wingra Wind Quintet, Wingra Woodwind Quintet, Wisconsin, WORT-FM 89.9, YouTube
Classical music: The UW’s Pro Arte Quartet and Wingra Wind Quintet join forces this Saturday night in a FREE performance of the famous Octet by Franz Schubert. You can also hear a free concert of music by Brouwer, Nazareth and Rodrigo this Friday at noon.
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ALERT: This Friday’s FREE Noon Musicale at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, will feature guitarist Christopher Allen, violist Shannon Farley and flutist Iva Ugrcic. The program includes music by Leo Brouwer, Ernesto Nazareth and Joaquin Rodrigo. The concert runs from 12:15 to 1 p.m.
By Jacob Stockinger
It is one of the towering masterpieces of chamber music composed in the 19th century.
And the lyrical, dance-like and upbeat Octet for strings and winds by Franz Schubert (below top) will be performed in a FREE concert this Saturday night at 8 p.m. in Mills Hall. (The opening page of the autograph manuscript is below bottom.)
The program also features the “Introduction and Variations for flute and piano,” D. 802, by Schubert, with flutist Timothy Hagen (below top) and pianist Daniel Fung (below bottom).
Then comes the one-hour Octet in F Major, D. 803. (You can hear some of it in the YouTube video at the bottom.) For more about the Octet, which is Schubert’s largest chamber work and uses themes from a song and other vocal music by him, go to the Wikipedia entry:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octet_(Schubert)
Performers for the entire concert come from the combined UW faculty forces of the Pro Arte String Quartet (below, in a photo by Rick Langer) and the Wingra Wind Quintet.
In the Octet, the performers are: David Perry and Suzanne Beia, violin; Sally Chisholm, viola; Parry Karp, cello; Alicia Lee, clarinet (below top); Joanna Schulz, horn (below middle); Marc Vallon, bassoon (below bottom, in a photo by James Gill); and David Scholl, double bass.
For information about the Pro Arte Quartet, go to:
http://www.music.wisc.edu/pro-arte-quartet/
For information about the Wingra Wind Quintet, go to:
http://www.music.wisc.edu/wingra-woodwind-quintet/
Tags: Arts, audience, autograph, bass, Bassoon, Cello, Chamber music, clarinet, Classical music, composer, Concert, dance, double bass, First Unitarian Society of Madison, flute, Franz Schubert, free, Friday, friend, guitar, Horn, introduction, Jacob Stockinger, Leo Brouwer, listener, lyrical, Madison, manuscript, Marc Vallon, masterpiece, Music, musicale, Nazareth, noon, Octet, Piano, Pro Arte Quartet, Rodrigo, Saturday, Schubert, singer, song, String quartet, theme and variations, Unitarian, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, Wikipedia, Wind, Wind quintet, winds, Wingra Wind Quintet, Wingra Woodwind Quintet, Wisconsin, woodwind, YouTube
Classical music: UW oboist Aaron Hill performs world premieres and little known composers in a FREE recital Sunday afternoon
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By Jacob Stockinger
This is Homecoming weekend at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and it is busy on many counts, including several classical music concerts in the city on Sunday afternoon.
But one of the more intriguing is a FREE recital at 3 p.m. in Mills Hall by UW-Madison Professor Aaron Hill (below), who teaches oboe and also performs in the Wingra Woodwind Quintet.
Hill will be joined by collaborative pianist Daniel Fung (below), who is also a vocal coach at the Mead Witter School of Music at the UW-Madison.
Particularly noteworthy is the number of world premieres and relatively unknown contemporary composers on the program.
Here is the program:
“Poem,” for oboe and piano (1953) by Marina Dranishnikova (1929-1994, below). (You can hear it in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Oboe Sonata (1947) by Jean Coulthard (1908-2000)
- Gently Flowing
- Sicilienne
- Allegro
Intermission
* Soliloquies (2013) by Andre Myers (b. 1973)
- To be or not to be
- There’s Rosemary, that’s for remembrance
- In the Month of May
- Spring Discourse
* world premiere performance
* After Manchester (2017) Aaron Hill and Michael Slon (b. 1982 and 1970, respectively) * world premiere performance
Four Personalities (2007) Alyssa Morris (b. 1984)
- Yellow
- White
- Blue
- Red
Here are some program notes by Aaron Hill:
“This program highlights five different ways to program previously unfamiliar music, as explained below.
“Poem” by Marina Dranishnikova came to me through our local community. Oliver Cardona, currently a junior music major at UW-Madison, initially brought it to my attention. The work was discovered and edited by my predecessor, Professor Marc Fink (below), during his travels in Russia.
I first heard the Oboe Sonata by Jean Coulthard (below) at the 2017 International Double Reed Society conference at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis.
Charles Hamann, the principal oboist of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, edited and recorded it as part of a large project to bring international attention to masterpieces by Canadian composers.
Andre Myers (below) attended the University of Michigan with me and we first became acquainted when I performed one of his orchestral works. His beautiful writing for English horn started our friendship and 15 years later, he wrote his Soliloquies for me.
The first two are based on famous scenes from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” The third is based on a poem by Minnesota’s first poet laureate, Robert Bly, which will be read aloud from the stage. The final movement is inspired by a dream vision he had of centaurs playing in a meadow.
“After Manchester” was originally a free improvisation I recorded and posted to social media in the wake of the terror attack at Ariana Grande’s concert on June 4, 2017.
Later in the summer, Professor Michael Slon (below), the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Virginia, transcribed my improvisation and wrote a piano part to transform it into a piece of chamber music. The work was completed just days before the violent events in Charlottesville.
Professor Alyssa Morris (below) currently teaches oboe at Kansas State University and her compositions have become widely performed as standard literature for oboists in recent years.
She wrote “Four Personalities” to perform in her own undergraduate recital at Brigham Young University and I first heard it while searching for oboe music on YouTube. The piece is based on the Hartmann Personality Test.
In her words, the colors correspond to the following types:
Yellow: Yellow is fun-loving. The joy that comes from doing something just for the sake of doing it is what motivates and drives yellow.
White: White is a peacekeeper. White is kind, adaptable, and a good listener. Though motivated by peace, white struggles with indecisiveness.
Blue: Blue brings great gifts of service, loyalty, sincerity, and thoughtfulness. Intimacy, creating relationships, and having purpose is what motivates and drives blue.
Red: Motivated by power. Red is aggressive and assertive. Red is visionary, confident, and proactive.
Tags: Aaron Hill, adapt, afternoon, aggressive, allegro, aloud, Andre Myers, Appleton, Ariana Grande, Arts, assertive, beautiful, beauty, blue, Brigham Young University, busy, Canada, Canadian, centaur], Chamber music, Charlottesville, city, Classical music, colors, community, composer, Composition, Concert, confident, Creation, Daniel Fung, discourse, dream, England, English horn, famous, flowing, Folger Shakespeare Library, friend, friendship, fun, fun-loving, gentle, Hamlet, Hartmann Personality Test, Homecoming, improvisation, improvise, internaitonal, International Double Reed Society, intimacy, Jacob Stockinger, Jean Coulthard, Joy, Kansas, Kansas State University, laureate, Lawrence University, Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, listener, Love, loving, loyalty, Madison, Manchester, Marc Fink, Marina Dranishnikova, masterpiece, May, Mead Witter School of Music, meadow, media, Michael Slon, Michigan, Minnesota, motivation, Music, National Arts Centre Orchestra, New Music, notes, Oboe, Orchestra, orchestral, Ottawa, peace, personality, personality type, Piano, poem, poet, Poet laureate, Poetry, power, premiere, proactive, professor, program notes, purpose, read, recent, recital, red, relationship, Robert Bly, Russia, scene, service, Shakespeare, Sicilienne, sincerity, social media, soliloquy, Sonata, Spring, stage, summer, Sunday, teach, terror, terrorist, terrorist attack, thought, thoughtfulness, transcribe, transcription, travel, type, UK, undergraduate, United Kingdom, United States, University of Michigan, University of Virginia, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, video, violence, Virginia, vision, visionary, white, Wingra Woodwind Quintet, Wisconsin, world, world premiere, years, yellow, YouTube
Classical music: Five alumni composers return to UW-Madison for two FREE concerts of their work this Thursday and Friday nights. On Tuesday night, UW trombonist Mark Hetzler and friends premiere four new works.
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ALERT: On Tuesday night at 7:30 in Mills Hall, UW-Madison trombone professor Mark Hetzler with be joined by Anthony DiSanza, drums/percussion; Vincent Fuh, piano; Ben Ferris, bass; Tom Ross-percussion; Garrett Mendelow, percussion.
Mark Hetzler and friends present a FREE concert titled “Mile of Ledges” with the premiere of four new works. Two new compositions (Falling and Mile of Ledges) by Mark Hetzler will feature lyrical and technical trombone passages, soulful and spirited piano writing, complex percussion playing and a heavy dose of electronics. In addition, the group will showcase new music by UW-Madison alum Ben Davis (his $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ for quartet and electronics) and Seattle composer David P. Jones (a chamber work for trombone, piano, bass and two percussionists).
Read a Wisconsin State Journal about Mark Hetzler. Download PDF here.
By Jacob Stockinger
If The Ear recalls correctly, alumni who return to the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music are generally performers or scholars.
All the more reason, then, to celebrate this week’s major UW event, which was organized by UW-Madison composer and teacher Stephen Dembski (below). It features five composers who trained at the UW-Madison and who are now out in the world practicing their art and teaching it to others.
Steve Dembski’s class
Dembski writes:
This week, the UW-Madison School of Music will welcome back five graduates of the composition studio who have developed creative, multi-dimensional careers in a range of fields: acoustic and electronic composition, musicology, theory, audio production, conducting, education, concert management and administration, performance, and other fields as well.
The two-day event is intended to show the breadth of talent at UW-Madison as well as demonstrating that music students focus on much more than performance as a way to shape successful careers.
The composers include: Jeffrey Stadelman (below), who is now associate professor of music composition at the University at Buffalo.
Paula Matthusen (below, BM, 2001), who is assistant professor of music at Wesleyan University.
William Rhoads (below, BM, 1996), who is vice-president of marketing and communications for Orchestra of St. Luke’s in New York City.
Andrew Rindfleisch (below, BM, 1987), who is a full-time composer living in Ohio. (You can hear his introspective and microtonal work “For Clarinet Alone” in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
Kevin Ernste (below, BM, 1997), who is professor of composition at Cornell University.
The UW-Madison School of Music will present two FREE concerts of their music, performed by the Wisconsin Brass Quintet (below top), the Wingra Woodwind Quintet (below bottom, in a photo by Michael Anderson), the UW Wind Ensemble, and other faculty members and students.
Wisconsin Brass Quintet
The FREE concerts are on this Thursday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall; and on this Friday, Nov. 6, 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall. There will be workshops and colloquia yet to be announced.
For complete composer biographies, along with comments about their works, and more information about the two-day event, visit this site:
http://www.music.wisc.edu/2015/10/08/uw-madison-composers-return/
Tags: acoustic, alumni, Andrew Rindfleisch, Arts Administration, Audio, Bachelor of Music, bachelor's, bass, Bassoon, brass, Brass quintet, Campus, careers, clarinet, communications, composer, composing, concert manager, Conducting, Cornell University, double bass, drum, electronic, electronic composition, Electronic music, flute, French horn, Horn, Jeffrey Stadelman, Kevin Ernste, Mark Hetzler, marketing, microtonality, microtones, Music education, music history, music theory, musicology, New Music, New York City, Oboe, Ohio, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Paula Matthusen, percussion, performance, Piano, reed, Seattle, Stephen Dembski, Teacher, teaching, theory, tonality, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba, Undergraduate education, University of Buffalo, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wesleyan University, William Rhoads, winds, Wingra Woodwind Quintet, Wisconsin Brass Quintet, Wisconsin State Journal, Woodwind quintet, woodwinds, YouTube
Classical music education: The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music has lined up its schedule of events for the 2015-16 season. Here it is in two parts. Today is Semester 1.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Get out your datebooks.
The final schedules for the upcoming season by most major classical music groups in the area are now available.
Last but not least is the biggest of them all: The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, which offers some 300 events in a season, most of them FREE to the public.
Some things are new. For example, you will note that the UW Choral Union has gone to just ONE performance instead of two, as in the past for many years.
Concert manager and public relations director Kathy Esposito (below) writes:
The UW-Madison School of Music is jazzed about its upcoming season and we’d like the world to know. Please make plans to attend!
Here is a link to the online calendar, which is now complete except for specific pieces on programs and last-minute changes: http://www.music.wisc.edu/events/
Our events of 2015-2016 range from performances by a vocal dynamo (soprano Brenda Rae, Sept. 27) to a in-demand LA jazz woodwind musician (Bob Sheppard in April) plus an enterprising young brass quintet (Axiom Brass, October) and a dollop of world music in March (duoJalal). In addition, we offer ever-popular opera productions, faculty concerts and student ensembles ranging from classical to jazz to percussion.
Full concert calendar link: http://www.music.wisc.edu/events/
Other social media connections include:
https://www.facebook.com/UWMadisonSchoolOfMusic
Our Newsletter, A Tempo!
https://uwmadisonschoolofmusic.wordpress.com/
Hear our sound: https://soundcloud.com/uw-madisonsom
Here’s a partial list with highlights (Semester 1 is posted today; Semester 2 will be posted tomorrow):
SEMESTER 1
August 30: “Performing the Jewish Archive”: Shining a Spotlight on Forgotten Jewish Performance Works. Various venues and times; click link for details.
The U.S. component of an international research project led by the University of Leeds, England, with UW-Madison leadership provided by Teryl Dobbs, chair of music education. Featuring a Sound Salon with Sherry Mayrent and Henry Sapoznik (below) of the Mayrent Institute; Chamber Music with the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society; and a Cabaret Performance with Mark Nadler. Events continue in May, 2016. All events are free.
Link to event: http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/performing-the-jewish-archive/
September 7: 37th Annual Karp Family Concert. Mills Hall, 7:30 PM.
Chamber music of the 19th and 20th centuries for piano and strings. Pianist and patriarch Howard Karp (below center) passed away last summer, but the family continues with a long-standing tradition. With Suzanne Beia, Violin; Katrin Talbot, Viola; Parry Karp, Violoncello; Frances Karp, Piano; Christopher Karp, Piano. Free.
http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/37th-annual-karp-family-concert/
September 26: Soprano Brenda Rae with the UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra. Mills Hall, 7:30 PM.
On the program: Reinhold Gliere’s Concerto for Coloratura Soprano. A benefit for University Opera.
Brenda Rae (below) is a 2004 graduate of the School of Music, and has been impressing audiences and critics all over Europe for many years. Her 2013 U.S. debut as Violetta in Verdi’s “La Traviata” won her praise from James R. Oestreich of The New York Times: “Ms. Rae soared beautifully in the early going, but it was in her pianissimo singing that she really shone.”
Tickets $25.
Master class: Friday, September 25, Music Hall, 5-7 PM.
http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/soprano-brenda-rae-with-the-uw-symphony-orchestra/
October 7: Pro Arte Quartet (below top, in a photo by Rick Langer) with Violist Nobuko Imai (below bottom, in a photo by Marco Borggreve). Mills Hall, 7:30 PM.
Nobuko Imai is considered to be one of the most outstanding viola players of our time. After finishing her studies at the Toho School of Music, Yale University and the Juilliard School, she won the highest prizes at both the Munich and the Geneva international competitions.
http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/pro-arte-quartet-with-violist-nobuko-imai/
Master class: October 6, 7:30 PM, Mills Hall. Both events are free.
October 9-10-11: BRASS FEST II!
Last year’s Celebrate Brass festival was so much fun, we decided to program another. Three days of exhilarating music from leading brass players and ensembles, including the award-winning Axiom Brass Quintet (below, now in residence at the Tanglewood Music Festival) and trumpeter Adam Rapa. With the Wisconsin Brass Quintet and students from the UW-Madison School of Music.
October 9: Axiom Brass, Mills Hall, 8 PM. Tickets $15.
October 10: Festival Brass Choir with Axiom Brass, the Wisconsin Brass Quintet and trumpeter Adam Rapa. Tickets $15.
October 11: Trumpeter Adam Rapa and vocalist Elizabeth Vik. Classical and jazz. Free concert.
http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/brass-fest-2/
Buy tickets for both concerts for $25.
October 23-24-25-27: University Opera presents Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro.” Mozart and da Ponte’s masterpiece of comedy and intrigue, shows the two geniuses at the height of their powers. Directed by David Ronis (below, in a photo by Luke De Lalio); music conducted by James Smith.
Music Hall. Tickets $25/$20/$10.
http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/university-opera-the-marriage-of-figaro/
November 5-6: Celebrating Alumni Composers. UW-Madison prize-winning alumni composers of new music Andrew Rindfleisch (below), Paula Matthusen, Jeffrey Stadelman, Bill Rhoads and Kevin Ernste return for a two-day event featuring their acoustic and electronic music.
November 5, Mills Hall, 7:30 PM: Performances by the Wisconsin Brass Quintet, the Wingra Woodwind Quintet, and smaller ensembles of faculty and students.
November 6, 7:30 PM: Performance with the UW Wind Ensemble, Scott Teeple, conductor.
Both concerts are free.
http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/celebrating-alumni-composers-two-free-concerts/
November 13: Debut Faculty Concert with Violinist Soh-Hyun Park Altino (below in a photo by Caroline Bittencourt). Altino takes the stage as the newest member of the school’s string faculty. With pianist Martha Fischer.
Mills Hall, 8 PM.
Tickets $12. Students free
http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/debut-faculty-concert-soh-hyun-park-altino-violin/
December 10: Wingra Woodwind Quintet (below, in a photo by Michael Anderson). With Stephanie Jutt, flute; Marc Vallon, bassoon; Kostas Tiliakos, oboe; and welcoming new members Wesley Warnhoff, clarinet; and Joanna Schulz, horn.
Morphy Hall, 7:30 PM. Free.
http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/wingra-woodwind-quintet/
December 12: UW Choral Union & UW Symphony Orchestra with Beverly Taylor, conductor. Presenting “Gloria” of Francis Poulenc and “Symphony of Psalms” by Igor Stravinsky.
Mills Hall, 8 PM.
Tickets $15/$8.
http://www.music.wisc.edu/event/uw-choral-union1/
Tomorrow: Highlights of Semester 2
Tags: Arts, Axion Brass Quintet, Bach, Baroque, Bassoon, Beethoven, brass, Brass quintet, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, clarinet, Classical music, England, flute, Geneva, Giuseppe Verdi, Gloria, Horn, Jazz, Jewish, Jewish music, Johann Sebastian Bach, Juilliard School, La Traviata, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Mozart, Munich, Music, New Music, New York, New York Times, Oboe, opera, Orchestra, Piano, Poulenc, Pro Arte Quartet, Sonata, Stravinsky, symphony, Symphony of Psalms, Too School of Music, UK, United Kingdom, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, violoncello, vocal music, Wind quintet, Wingra Woodwind Quintet, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Brass Quintet, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, woodwind, Yale University
Classical music: Even as the school year winds down, there are several noteworthy events and concerts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music this weekend.
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By Jacob Stockinger
Even as the school year winds down, there are several noteworthy events and concerts at the University of Wisconsin this weekend.
FRIDAY
At 7:30 p.m. in Mills Hall, the UW Wind Ensemble will perform a FREE concert under director Scott Teeple.
The Wind Ensemble is the premier wind/percussion ensemble in the UW-Madison School of Music. Repertoire varies from classical wind compositions to contemporary works.
The Wind Ensemble actively commissions new works from world-renowned composers, often performing with internationally acclaimed soloists and guest conductors.
Jacob Klingbeil will assist as graduate student guest conductor.
YOUniversity Band will be side-by-side with community musicians
The program includes:
Gvorkna Fanfare by Jack Stamp
Baron Cimetieres Mambo by Donald Grantham
Irish Tune from County Derry by Percy Grainger
Starwars Trilogy, by John Williams/arr. Donald Hunsberger
SATURDAY
At 1:30 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall, a FREE Doctoral Recital: Russian Literature and the Music Salon. It is a multimedia concert with narration.
This doctoral project, organized by pianist Oxana Khramova, involves several students and faculty members from various departments.
It will be devoted to writers and composers who were connected to St. Petersburg in their lives and works: Nikolai V. Gogol, Anna A. Akhmatova, Joseph A. Brodsky, Sergei Prokofiev and Alfred Schnittke.
Listeners will experience their masterpieces through the prism of Russian music, language and visual images. By attempting to combine literature, music and art. participants hope to recreate the atmosphere of St. Petersburg’s culture (as recreated in the museum photo below).
Participants include:
Oxana Khramova, piano, DMA candidate, School of Music, where she is a student of Christopher Taylor
with
Yana Groves, piano, DMA candidate, School of Music
Nicole Heinen, soprano, MM candidate, School of Music
Ilona Sotnikova, visual images and literature, PhD candidate, Department of Slavic Languages and Literature
Conor Ryan, narrator, Undergraduate Student, Department of Slavic Languages and Literature
At 4 p.m., in Mills Hall, the All-University String Orchestra will give a FREE concert under the baton of director Janet Jensen (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot). Sorry, no word on the program.
From 4 to 6 p.m. the Wingra Woodwind Quintet will hold its 50th Anniversary Party at the University Club (below), 803 State St., next to the Humanities Building.
Embodying the Wisconsin Idea and serving as role models to our students, the Wingra Quintet has a rich tradition and will honor current and former members.
Former members who plan to attend are Robert Cole, flute, Marc Fink, oboe, Glenn Bowen, clarinet, Richard Lottridge, bassoon, Douglas Hill, horn, and Nancy Becknell, horn. (Below are photos from 1990 and 2010.)
A short program of 20 minutes is planned and then we will celebrate with hors d’oeuvres and beverages catered by the University Club. Everyone is invited to enjoy the food, music, and good company of current and former members of the Wingra Quintet.
Please RSVP to news@music.wisc.edu
Learn about the rich history of the WWQ here: http://www.music.wisc.edu/wingra-woodwind-quintet/
SUNDAY
At 1 p.m. in Mills Hall, the UW Women’s Chorus (below) and University Chorus will give a FREE concert. Anna Volodarskaya and Sarah Guttenberg will conduct.
This event is FREE. Registration is encouraged, but not required.
No program has been announced.
Tags: Akhmatova, Alfred Schnittke, Arts, Bassoon, Brodsky, Chamber music, choral music, chorus, clarinet, Classical music, flute, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Gogol, Horn, Jacob Stockinger, Madison, Percy Grainger, Prokofiev, Russia, Russian literature, Russian music, salon, Schnittke, string music, strings, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Violin, vocal music, wind instruments, winds, Wingra Woodwind Quintet, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Idea, women's chorus
Classical music: The UW-Madison’s Wingra Woodwind Quintet performs a FREE concert this Friday night and will mark its 50th anniversary with a party and mini-concert on April 25. Plus, the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Rhapsodie String Quartet and soprano Nancy Vedder-Shults perform concerts on Friday.
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ALERTS:
1) The master class by the Takacs String Quartet on Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. has been moved from Room 1341 of the UW-Madison Humanities Building to MOPRHY RECITAL HALL. The string quartet is in town to perform a concert of works by Schubert, Haydn and Beethoven at 8 p.m. on Saturday at the Wisconsin Union Theater.
2) The free Friday Noon Musicale, to be held 12:15 to 1 p.m. in the Landmark Auditorium of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive, features soprano Nancy Vedder-Shults and pianist Dan Broner, who is also the FUS music director, in art songs by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Mary Howe and Seymour Barab.
3) The Madison Symphony Orchestra‘s Rhapsodie String Quartet (below, in a photo by Greg Anderson) will perform a concert this Friday night at 7 p.m. in St. Andrew’s Church, 1833 Regent Street, near Randall Elementary school on Madison’s near west side. The program is the Quartet No. 22 in B-flat Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the Quartet No. 2 in A Minor by Felix Mendelssohn. Admission is open to the public, with a free-will donation requested.
By Jacob Stockinger
There are two reasons to pay attention to the Wingra Woodwind Quintet, one of the major performing artists ensembles at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music.
The first reason is that this Friday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m. in Morphy Hall, the group will perform a FREE concert. The program is “Tradition and Innovation: Music from the Old Country — Austria, Hungary and Bohemia, 1892-1969.”
Then on Saturday, April 25, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the University Club, the Wingra (below, in a photo by Michael R. Anderson) will celebrate its 50th year as an ensemble. The public is asked to RSVP by April 20 by sending an email to news@music.wisc.edu
Here is a link to an extensive biography, member list and history of the Wingra Woodwind Quintet, done by Sarah Schaffer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, along with more details about the 50th anniversary part.
http://www.music.wisc.edu/wingra-woodwind-quintet/
And here is the program for the concert on Friday:
Humoreske (1939) by Alexander Zemlinsky (1871-1942)
Woodwind Quintet No. 1 (1953) by Endre Szervánsky (1911-1977). You can hear this tuneful and dance-like work in a YouTube video at the bottom.
Nine Short Pieces for Children (1909) by Béla Bartók (1881–1945), arranged by UW-Madison bassoonist Marc Vallon (2014), who is a member of the Wingra Woodwind Quintet.
Intermission
Three Songs from “Das Knaben Wunderhorn” by Gustav Mahler ) (1860-1911), arranged by Trevor Cramer (1983)
Rheinlegendchen (1893)
Wer hat dies Liedl erdacht? (1892)
Lob des Hohes Vertandes (1896)
Wind Quintet No. 2 (1969) by Frigyes Hidas (1928–2007)
Tags: Arts, Austria, Bartok, Bassoon, Bohemia, Chamber music, clarinet, Classical music, Das Knaben Wunderhorn, duo-piano, Endre Szervansky, flute, Frank Lloyd Wright, Franz Schubert, Frigyes Hidas, Gustav Mahler, Haydn, Horn, Humoresque, Hungary, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mary Howe, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Music, Oboe, Piano, Rhapsodie String Quartet, Robert Schumann, Schubert, Seymour Barab, singer, Singing, songs, soprano, String quartet, Takacs Quartet, University of Wisconsin System, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, Wind quintet, Wingra Woodwind Quintet, Wisconsin, woodwind, YouTube, Zemlinsky
Classical music: The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music will open its new season Saturday night with a FREE recital of Latin American and German music by flutist Stephanie Jutt.
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear likes that a new season at the University of Wisconsin School of Music will officially open in an intimate rather than grand manner with a chamber music concert.
At 8 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall on this Saturday, Sept. 6, flutist Stephanie Jutt (below) will perform Latin American music plus a classic masterpiece sonata by Johannes Brahms. The concert is FREE and OPEN to the public.
Jutt, who is a longtime professor the UW-Madison School of Music, is also the principal flute of the Madison Symphony Orchestra as well as a co-founder and co-artistic director of the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, which performs each summer in June. She also performs in the Wingra Woodwind Quintet (below, in a photo by Michael Anderson) at the UW-Madison.
On this program, Jutt and Venezuelan pianist Elena Abend will offer audiences a look at some of the beautiful and spicy music written by Latin American composers, including Argentinean composers Carlos Guastavino (below top), Astor Piazzolla (below middle) and Angel Lasala (below bottom).
Jutt recently traveled to Argentina to research this repertoire, and will be recording it with Elena Abend later this year in New York City.
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, pianist Elena Abend (below) has performed with all the major orchestras of her country. Receiving her Bachelor and Master degrees from the Juilliard School, she has performed at venues such as the Purcell Room in London’s Royal Festival Hall, Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Academy of Music with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as the Wigmore Hall in London, Toulouse Conservatoire, Theatre Luxembourg, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C., Chicago Cultural Center and the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee.
More performances include Ravinia and Marlboro Music Festivals, live broadcasts on Philadelphia’s WFLN, The Dame Myra Hess Concert Series on Chicago’s WFMT and Wisconsin Public Radio at the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison. She has recorded for the Avie label and numerous recording and editing projects for Hal Leonard’s G. Schirmer Instrumental Library and Schirmer Performance Editions.
Elena Abend currently serves on the Piano and Chamber Music Faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Program:
Milonga en Re (at bottom in a YouTube video) Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Tanguano Astor Piazzolla (1912-1992)
Introduccion y Allegro Carlos Guastavino (1912-2000)
With ELENA ABEND, PIANO
Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 120 Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) as arranged for flute by Stephanie Jutt
With UW Piano Professor CHRISTOPHER TAYLOR (below)
INTERMISSION
Poema del Pastor Coya Angel Lasala (1914-2000)
Con la Chola y el Changuito Carlos Guastavino (1912-2000)
Fuga e Misterio Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Tags: Angel Lasala, Argentina, Arts, Avery Fisher, Avery Fisher Hall, Avie Records, Ástor Piazzolla, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Brahms, Carlos Guastavino, Carnegie Hall, Chamber music, Chazen Museum of Art, Chicago, Christopher Taylor, D.C., ELENA ABEND, flute, France, G. Schirmer, Hal Leonard, Jacob Stockinger, Johannes Brahms, Juilliard School, Juilliard School of Music, LIncoln Center, London, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Marlboro Festival, Music, Myra Hess, New York City, Orchestra, Paris, Piano, Ravinia, Royal Festival Hall, Sonata, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Venezuela, Washington, Weil Hall, Weill Hall, WFMT, Wigmore Hall, winds, Wingra Woodwind Quintet, wisconsin public radio, YouTube
Classical music: Guitar, woodwind and trombone music is featured at the UW-Madison this week, while cello and piano music will be performed at the Unitarian Society’s Friday Noon Musicale.
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By Jacob Stockinger
There are some big events this week, including two performances by the UW Choral Union and UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. That event will be featured tomorrow.
But other music on a smaller scale is also available for FREE in the next several days.
WEDNESDAY
The FREE Guitar Departmental Recital by Student Ensembles at the UW-Madison School of Music will take place tonight at 8:30 p.m. in Morphy Recital Hall under faculty director and guitar department head Javier Calderon (below).
Sorry, no word yet on the program.
THURSDAY
Then on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. in Morphy Hall, the Wingra Woodwind Quintet (below, in a photo by Michael Anderson) will perform a FREE concert on the UW Faculty Concert Series.
The program includes the Quintet in C by Claude Arrieu (Louise-Marie Simon, 1903-1990, below top) — heard in a YouTube video at the bottom — and the Wind Quintet by György Orban (below bottom, born 1947).
After intermission will be the “Little Musical Offering” by Nino Rota (below top, 1911-1979), famous for his soundtracks to films by Federico Fellini; and the String Quartet Op. 12, No. 1 , by Felix Mendelssohn (below bottom, 1809-1847) in a transcription by David Walter.
Founded in 1965, the Wingra Woodwind Quintet is ensemble-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music. Since its formation, the quintet has established a tradition of artistic and teaching excellence. The ensemble has been featured in performance at national conferences of MENC (Miami), MTNA (Kansas City) and the International Double Reed Society (Minneapolis).
In addition to its regular statewide touring, the quintet has been invited to perform at such college campuses as the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Cornell University, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, the University of Nebraska, Western Michigan University and Florida State University.
New York Times critic Peter Davis, in reviewing the ensemble’s Carnegie Hall concert, wrote: “The performances were consistently sophisticated, sensitive, and thoroughly vital.” The Wingra Woodwind Quintet has recorded for Golden Crest, Spectrum, and the School of Music recording series, and has released an educational video entitled “Developing Woodwind Ensembles.”
Currents members of the Wingra Woodwind Quintet are: Linda Kimball, horn; Stephanie Jutt, flute; Marc Vallon, bassoon; and Linda Bartley, clarinet. Replacing the retired oboist Marc Fink is oboist Kostas Tiliakos (below, in a photo by Kathy Esposito).
FRIDAY
The FREE Friday Noon Musicale from 12:15 to 1 p.m. at the First Unitarian Society, 900 University Bay Drive, will feature cellist Ben Solomonow – seen below performing on the NPR show about young talent “From the Too” — and pianist Claire Mallory in the music of J.S. Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven.
SUNDAY
The Trombone Choir will perform on Sunday afternoon at at 5 p.m. in Luther Memorial Church, 1021 University Ave. (A photo of the church’s interior is below.)
Members of the Trombone Choir are Alan Carr, Michael Donatello, Joseph Greer, Dan Joosten, Tom Kelly, Ty Peterson, Toby Shucha, Brittany Sperberg and Holly Wilinski.
The group will perform under director and UW trombonist Mark Hetzler (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot).
The program includes: “O Mille Volte” by Luca Marenzio (1553-1599) as arranged by Jay Lichtmann; “Beati Estis” by Peter Philips (1560-1633) as arranged by Jay Lichtman; “Sweet Suffolk Owl” by Thomas Vautor (1579-1620) arranged by Jay Lichtmann; Two Movements (”Kyrie” and “Agnus Dei”) from the Mass in G minor by Ralph Vaughn-Williams (1872-1958) as arranged by Mark Hetzler; Fantasia in C Major by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750); “Elegy for a Lion” by David P. Jones (b. 1958); and Concerto for 4 by Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) as arranged by Alan Lumsden
Tags: Cello, Claude Arrieu, Cornell University, Florida State University, Georg Philipp Telemann, guitar, International Double Reed Society, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mark Hetzler, Trombone, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Western Michigan University, Wind quintet, Wingra Woodwind Quintet, Woodwind quintet, YouTube
Classical music: The University Club hosts a performance-dinner by the Wisconsin Brass Quintet dinner this coming Wednesday, Sept. 18. Later this season, dinners for the Pro Arte String Quartet and the Wingra Woodwind Quintet will be held. Plus, the Ancora Quartet performs tonight at 7:30 p.m. on Regent Street and Edgewood College singer Kathleen Otterson performs at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday — NOT Saturday.
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REMINDER: The FREE concert by the Ancora String Quartet (below top) with three guest wind players takes place tonight at 7:30 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 1833 Regent Street. Here is a link to my previous post, in which I originally, and embarrassingly, left out the starting time and had the wrong street:
ALSO: Edgewood College mezzo-soprano Kathleen Otterson (below bottom) performs her recital at 2:30 p.m. on SUNDAY — NOT Saturday as The Ear mistakenly posted originally.
Here is more about her program:
I apologize for both of the above errors and inaccuracies.
By Jacob Stockinger
A series of three $40 dinner-performances at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s University Club (below), at 803 State Street across from the Library Mall, will be held over the new concert season.
The first one is next Wednesday, Sept. 18, starting at 5:30 p.m. with cocktails, and will feature the Wisconsin Brass Quintet (below, in a photo by Katrin Talbot), which last year marked its 40th anniversary as artists-in-residence at the UW-Madison School of Music. It starts playing at 7:30 p.m. Members are UW faculty members and include: John Aley and Jessica Jensen, trumpets; Daniel Grabois, horn; Mark Hetzler, trombone; and John Stevens, tuba. (You can hear the quintet perform with the UW Brass Ensemble in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
Here is the music program: “Canzona Bergamasca” by Samuel Scheidt (1587-1653), arranged by Conrad De Jong; “Kyrie” from “Messe de Nostre Dame” by Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377), arranged by Daniel Grabois; “Mouse, pl. mice” by Raymond Dempsey (b. 1933); “Psalm 27” by Joseph Blaha (b. 1951); “Cinema Paradiso” by Ennio Morricone (b. 1928); and “Vuelta del Fuego” by Kevin McKee (b. 1980).
The WBQ event is the first of three presented during the academic year. The Pro Arte Quartet (below top, in a photo by Rick Langer) will perform on Jan. 30, 2014 and the Wingra Woodwind Quintet (below bottom) will perform on May 8, 2014.
A partnership between the UW School of Music, Arts Outreach and the University Club make these events possible, according to Art Outreach director Mary Perkinson. They are non-profit and designed solely to provide community outreach for the various music groups.
The Arts Outreach Program, established in 1979, works hand-in-hand with the School of Music to share the expertise of its three faculty ensembles-in-residence with young musicians and community audiences around the state.
The UW-Madison continues to commit resources to support the Pro Arte String Quartet, the Wingra Woodwind Quintet and the Wisconsin Brass Quintet, having been the first American public institution of its kind to have artists-in-residence. In addition to performing as part of the School of Music Faculty Concert Series, each ensemble travels to Wisconsin high schools and concert halls, working with young musicians and performing for local concert series patrons.
To learn more about Arts Outreach or to book a faculty clinic or concert visit artsoutreach.wisc.edu, email mperkinson@wisc.edu, or call 608-890-4560
Here are the gourmet menu details about the generous dinner-performance (the dinner is served at 6:30 p.m) at the University Club (below), which is open to the public for lunch and features terrific food, as The Ear knows from personal experience, with the Wisconsin Brass Quintet:
Wednesday, 9/18/13
University Club, 803 State St., Madison
5:30 Cocktails & hors d’oeuvres
6:30 Dinner (three courses – scroll down for menu)
7:30 Concert
– Reservations Required –
Make your reservation online!
Reservations ($40 each)
608-262-5023
MENU
FIRST COURSE
Golden Beet Salad
Lemon dressed field greens with roasted fennel toasted
almonds & poached golden beets
SECOND COURSE
Osso Bucco
Braised veal shank with demi-glace & fried leeks accompanied by
duchesse potatoes & honey garlic glazed carrots
Roasted Pheasant
MacFarlane Farms roasted pheasant, fresh herb roasted
fingerling potatoes & braised brussel sprouts
Pumpkin Ravioli
House made ravioli filled with roasted pumpkin, tossed in a sage pine nut
cream reduction & garnished with shaved black truffle
THIRD COURSE
German Chocolate Cake
Chocolate cake with coconut pecan filled layers &
a chocolate butter cream frosting
The WISCONSIN BRASS QUINTET has presented concerts and master classes throughout the U.S., including performances at Carnegie Hall, international brass conferences, and major universities and conservatories. Their performances and recordings have been acclaimed by nationally recognized musicians and critics. Barry Kilpatrick writes for the American Record Guide, “I’ve reviewed over 250 brass recordings in the past five years, and this is one of the very best. The WBQ is a remarkable ensemble that plays with more reckless abandon, warmth, stylistic variety, and interpretive interest than almost any quintet in memory.”
Tags: American Record Guide, Ancora String Quartet, Brass quintet, Edgewood College, Ennio Morricone, Madison, Mark Hetzler, Pro Arte Quartet, String quartet, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wingra Woodwind Quintet, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Brass Quintet, Woodwind quintet, YouTube
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