The Well-Tempered Ear
Classical music: The eclectic fusion group Mr. Chair plays music by Stravinsky, Satie and others on Monday night in Spring Green
Leave a Comment
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
The Ear has received the following announcement from the Rural Musicians Forum:
Mr. Chair looks like a jazz quartet, sounds sometimes like a rock band, but in actuality is a contemporary classical music group in the guise of a modern band.
Classically trained musicians who are well versed in jazz, the players in Mr. Chair create a new sound using both acoustic and electric instruments.(You can hear Mr. Chair perform the original composition “Freed” in the the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The Rural Musicians Forum audience will have the chance to enjoy the soundscapes of this fascinating eclectic fusion group on this coming Monday night, Aug. 19, at 7:30 p.m. at Taliesin’s Hillside Theater (below) in Spring Green.
Members of Mr. Chair (below) are Professor Mark Hetzler, trombone and electronics; Jason Kutz, piano and keyboards; Ben Ferris, acoustic and electric bass; and Mike Koszewski, drums and percussion. All have close ties to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, where they also perform as an ensemble.
Mr. Chair’s compositions are long-form journeys, telling stories through sound by using and exploring the three pillars of music: melody, harmony and rhythm. Think cinematic, orchestral, surreal, romantic, emotional and gripping, and always equal parts dissonant and consonant. Their influences are far-reaching from classical, blues and rock to soul, funk, jazz and beyond.
For this concert, Mr. Chair will perform re-imagined excerpts from Igor Stravinsky’s Neo-Classical ballet masterpiece Pulcinella as well as music by Erik Satie and selections from their debut album, NEBULEBULA, which will be released on Thursday, Sept. 5, on vinyl, CD and digital streaming platforms.
The genre-bending quartet will perform in the beautiful Hillside Theater designed by Frank Lloyd Wright as part of his Taliesin compound. It is located at 6604 State Highway 23, about five miles south of Spring Green.
Admission is by free will offering, with a suggested donation of $15.
Tags: #BalletMusic, #BalletScore, #BenFerris, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BluesMusic, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberMusician, #CompactDisc, #ContemporaryMusic, #DrumMusic, #EqualParts, #ErikSatie, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FrankLloydWright, #FreewillOffering, #FunkMusic, #HillsideTheater, #IgorStravinsky, #JasonKutz, #JazzMusic, #MarkHetzler, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MikeKoszewski, #Mondaynight, #NewMusic, #PercussionMusic, #PulcinellaSuite, #RockandRoll, #RockBand, #RockMusic, #RuralMusiciansForum, #SoulMusic, #SpringGreen, #TheBlues, #TheEar, #TromboneMusic, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #YouTubevideo, acoustic, admission, Album, Arts, audience, ballet, band, Baroque, Ben Ferris, blog, blues, CD, Chamber music, chance, cinematic, Classical, Classical music, classicalmusic, close, Compact Disc, composer, Composition, compound, Concert, consonance, consonant, contemporary, create, debut, design, digital, dissonance, dissonant, drum, eclectic, electric, electronics, emotional, ensemble, equal, equal parts, Erik Satie, explore, Facebook, fascinating, forum, forward, Frank Lloyd Wright, freed, funk, fusion, gripping, group, guise, harmony, highway, Hillside Theater, Igor Stravinsky, imagine, influence, instrument, Jacob Stockinger, Jason Kutz, Jazz, Keyboard, like, link, long-form, Madison, Mark Hetzler, masterpiece, Mead Witter School of Music, melody, member, Mike Koszewski, modern, Monday, Mr Chair, Music, Musician, neo-Classical, new, New Music, night, offering, orchestral, original, part, percussion, performer, Pianist, Piano, pillar, platform, players, post, posting, Pulcinella, Pulcinella Suite, Quartet, rhythm, Rock, rock and roll, rock band, Romantic, rual, rural, Rural Musicians Forum, share, soul, Sound, soundscape, Spring Green, state, stories, story, streaming, subscriber, surreal, tag, Taliesin, The Ear, tie, Trombone, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, use, UW-Madison, vinyl, word, YouTube
Classical music: On Saturday and Sunday, the Madison Savoyards and Central Wisconsin Ballet team up in Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Pineapple Poll” and “Trial by Jury.” Plus, the first Stoughton Chamber Music Festival starts Saturday
Leave a Comment
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.
ALERT: The two concerts of the first Stoughton Chamber Music Festival will take place on this Saturday afternoon, Aug. 17, at 3 p.m. and on Monday night, Aug. 19, at 7 p.m. at the Stoughton Opera House, 381 East Main Street. Admission is FREE with a suggested donation of $15.
Featured is music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Samuel Barber, Edvard Grieg, George Gershwin and Paul Schoenfield as well as Norwegian folk music. The Ear did not receive details, but here is more information from a story in Isthmus: https://isthmus.com/events/stoughton-chamber-music-festival/
By Jacob Stockinger
This weekend, the Madison Savoyards and Central Midwest Ballet Academy team up to present two of the less well-known works by Gilbert and Sullivan: the comic ballet Pineapple Poll and the operetta Trial by Jury (below, in a photo by Kat Stiennon).
The performances of the two one-acts are in the Mitby Theater at Madison College (formerly Madison Area Technical College), located at 1701 Wright Street on Madison’s east side, at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night, Aug. 17, and at 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 18.
Tickets are $30 for adults; $28 for seniors; and $15 for young people and students. Children 3 and under get in for free.
For more information, call the Mitby Theater Box Office at (608) 243-4000 or got to: www.TrialbyPineapple.com
The music director and conductor of the professional orchestra, who is making his debut with the Madison Savoyards, is Sergei Pavlov (below), who teaches at Edgewood College and directs the Festival Choir of Madison.
The “Pineapple Poll” choreography is by Marguerite Luksik (below) of the Central Midwest Ballet Academy.
The stage director of “Trial by Jury” is J. Adam Shelton (below).
PROGRAM NOTES
Here are some program notes provided by The Madison Savoyards:
In an age of international copyright and patent tension, Pineapple Poll ballet suite is an intriguing story. The composer, Arthur Sullivan, had died in 1900. The 50-year copyright moratorium on his music expired in 1950, but his librettist partner, W.S. Gilbert, died in 1911. So in 1950, the leading 20th-century conductor, the late Sir Charles Mackerras (below), could only use the work of the former to create a new work in their honor.
From this legal oddity came the only ballet based on the works of Gilbert and Sullivan (below) and, according to The Times of London, one of the best loved of English ballets. It was first performed in the United States in 1970 by the Joffrey Ballet in New York City; and, most recently, in El Paso, Tulsa, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Livermore, Sarasota and Northampton, Mass.
The music for Pineapple Poll,as a suite, has been played in numerous venues in the U.S., including a performance with band director Mike Leckrone at the UW-Madison in 2008 and at the UW-La Crosse in 2015, thus indicating a strong Wisconsin interest in the music alone.
From its opening notes leaping off the pages of Mikado, Pineapple Poll is a vigorous listen and a visual delight. Clement Crisp of the Financial Times called it, “that rarest of delights, a true balletic comedy.” The National Association for Music Education had identified it as a model piece for elementary school children. In 2003, Christopher Rawson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette observed that, in its pairing with Trial by Jury, “if there’s ever been a Gilbert and Sullivan show for people who don’t like Gilbert and Sullivan, this is it.”
Trial by Jury contrasts with the non-verbal Pineapple Poll, showcasing Gilbert’s lyric style in songs that tell the Victorian tale of marital promissory breach with the resulting farcical trial ending in marriage. It was Gilbert and Sullivan’s second collaboration and established their successful reputations. (In photos by Aimee Broman, below top shows Thore Dosdall playing the defendant Edwin (at left) getting the feeling that the jury is not on his side. Below bottom shows the plaintiff Angelina, played by Megan McCarthy).
The Central Midwest Ballet Academy’s Marguerite Luksik and Michael Knight have created original choreography for Pineapple Poll, and performances will feature students from the Academy’s pre-professional level.
In contrast to the tragic-dramatic plots of traditional ballets, the lighthearted nature of Pineapple Poll appeals to a broader audience. Pineapple Poll presents a combination of balanced spectacle and the challenge of experimental work.
Yoked to Trial by Jury, the two productions spark social and artistic novelty, critique and entertainment.
It is worth noting that the performances this weekend are a new collaboration between two homegrown Madison troupes. The Savoyards have been performing every summer since 1963, while Central Midwest Ballet has been active since 2015.
Here is an example of the Sullivan operetta tunes patched together in the Opening Dance of “Pineapple Poll.” (You can hear the Overture in the YouTube video at the bottom):
-
- The Mikado, Opening Act 1.
- Trial By Jury, “Hark, the hour of Ten is sounding.”
- The Mikado, “So please you, sir, we much regret” (“But youth, of course, must have its fling. . .”
- Patience, “The Soldiers of our Queen.”
- Trial by Jury, “He will treat us with awe” (“Trial-la- law”).
- The Gondoliers, “Good Morrow, Pretty Maids” (orchestral accompaniment).
- Trial By Jury, “Hark, the hour of Ten is sounding.”
- The Mikado, “So please you, sir, we much regret.”
Tags: #ArthurSullivan, #BalletMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BoxOffice, #CentralMidwestBalletAcademy, #ChamberMusic, #CharlesMackerras, #ChoralMusic, #EastSide, #EdgewoodCollege, #EdvardGrieg, #ElementarySchool, #ElPaso, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FestivalChoirofMadison, #FinancialTimes, #FolkMusic, #GilbertandSullivan, #IsthmusNewspaper, #J.AdamShelton, #JoffreyBallet, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #LondonEngland, #MadisonAreaTechnicalCollege, #MadisonCollege, #MadisonSavoyards, #MargueriteLuksik, #MikeLeckrone, #MitbyTheater, #NationalAssociationforMusicEducation, #OperaMusic, #PaulSchoenfield, #PineapplePoll, #PittsburghPost-Gazette, #SamuelBarber, #SarasotaFlorida, #SaturdayNight, #SeattleWashington, #SergeiPavlov, #StageDirector, #StoughtonChamberMusicFestival, #StoughtonOperaHouse, #StoughtonWisconsin, #Sundayafternoon, #TheEar, #TheGondoliers, #TheMikado", #TheTimes, #TheU.S., #TrialbyJury, #TulsaOklahoma, #UnitedStates, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #UW-Lacrosse, #VictorianAge, #VocalMusic, #W.S.Gilbert, #YouTubevideo, active, afternoon, alert, Arthur Sullivan, artistic, Arts, audience, Bach, balance, ballet, balletic, band, blog, box office, Brahms, breach, Central Midwest Ballet Academy, challenge, Chamber music, Charles Mackerras, children, choral music, choreography, Classical music, collaboration, college, comedy, comic, composer, Concert, conductor, copyright, critique, dance, debut, delight, details, director, donation, dramatic, east side, Edgewood College, Edvard Grieg, El Paso, elementary, England, English, Entertainment, experimental, expire, expired, Facebook, farcical, Festival Choir of Madison, Financial TImes, first, Florida, Folk music, forward, free, George Gershwin, georgegershwin, Gilbert and Sullivan, Gilbert&Sullivan, Grieg, homegrown, honor, inaugural, information, interest, international, intriguing, Isthmus, J. Adam Shelton, Jacob Stockinger, Joffrey Ballet, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, jury, known, LaCrosse, librettist, libretto, lighthearted, like, link, Livermore, London, Madison, Madison Area Technical College, Madison College, Madison Savoyards, maid, Marguerite Luksik, marital, Marriage, Massachusetts, MATC, Mikado, Mike Leckrone, Mitby Theater, moratorium, Music, National Association for Music Education, nature, New York City, Newspaper, night, non-verbal, Northampton, Norway, Norwegian, novelty, Oklahoma, one-act, opera, Operetta, Orchestra, original, pages, partner, patent, patience, Paul Schoenfield, Pennsylvania, performer, Pineapple Poll, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, please, plot, post, posting, production, professional, promissory, protection, queen, reputation, Samuel Barber, Sarasota, Saturday, Saturday night, Seattle, Sergei Pavlov, share, sing, singer, Singing, social, soldier, songs, spectacle, stage, stage director, story, Stoughton, Stoughton Chamber Music Festival, Stoughton Opera House, students, subscriber, successful, suggested, Suite, summer, Sunday, tag, tale, technical, Texas, The Ear, The Gondoliers, The Times, Tragic, trial, Trial by Jury, troupe, Tulsa, tune, United States, University of Wisconsin–Madison, venue, Victorian, vigorous, vocal music, Washington, weekend, Wisconsin, word, work, Youth, YouTube
Classical music: The Token Creek Chamber Music Festival starts this Friday and marks 30 years with jazz plus music by Bach, Mozart, Liszt, Brahms, Ravel, Schoenberg and John Harbison
Leave a Comment
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
Starting this coming Friday, Aug. 16, and running through Sept. 1, the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival will mark its 30th anniversary with the theme of “Sanctuary.” (The festival takes place in a refurbished barn, below, at 4037 Highway 19 in DeForest.)
Add the festival directors: “The term ‘sanctuary’ attempts to capture in a single word something essential about what the festival has meant to players and listeners over all these years. From the start it aspired to offer something of retreat, an oasis, a place of refreshment and nourishment in art, both for musician participants who find a welcoming environment to “re-charge” their work, and for audience attendees who engage in and become a part of it.”
“In our small country barn,” writes prize-winning composer John Harbison (below top, in a photo by Tom Artin) who co-directs the festival with his violinist wife Rose Mary Harbison (below bottom, in a photo by Tom Artin), “we have always remained devoted to the scale and address of much chamber music, which speaks as often in a whisper as in a shout.
“Where larger musical institutions have been habitually frustrated by trying to live in the business model of growth, we have remained devoted to the intensity of the experience, which explains why the music never goes away, rather than to claims of numbers, which begs the music itself to change its very nature.
“Our conviction is that today’s composers, just like Schubert and Mozart, are still striving to embody daily experience, to connect to the natural world, and to ask philosophically and spiritually unanswerable questions, surrounded and interrupting silence, asking only for our most precious commodity — time. We continue to look for valuable ways to offer this transaction to our listeners, and are grateful for their interest over so many years.”
The first two concerts, at 5 p.m., on Friday and Saturday nights, feature the return of a jazz cabaret featuring standard works in the Great American Songbook. For more information about the program and performers, as well as tickets, go to: www.tokencreekfestival.org or call (608) 241-2525.
Tickets for the two jazz concerts are $40 for the balcony and $45 for cafe seating. Tickets for the other concerts are $32 with a limited number of student tickets available for $12.
HERE IS THE LINEUP FOR THE REST OF THE FESTIVAL
Program 2: Music of Brahms at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24, and Sunday, Aug. 25
Johannes Brahms is the only composer whose complete catalogue of chamber music is still in constant use. This is due to his fastidious high standards, and to his ideal temperament for music played by smaller groups of players. His music is universally admired for the astounding combination of sheer craft and deep emotional impact.
The program includes the Regenlied (Rain Song), Op. 57 no. 3; Sonata for Violin and Piano in G major, Op. 78; the Sonata for Cello and Piano in E minor, Op. 38; and the Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 60. (The “Rain Song” is used as the theme of the last movement of the violin sonata. You can hear it performed by violinist Leonidas Kavakos and pianist Yuja Wang in the YouTube video at the bottom, which also features the score so that you can follow along.)
Performers are Edgewood College mezzo-soprano Kathleen Otterson (below top); violinist Rose Mary Harbison; violist Lila Brown (below second); cellist Rhonda Rider (below third, in a photo by Liz Linder); and pianist Janice Weber (below bottom).
Program 3: Then and Now, Words and Music – An 80th Birthday Tribute to John Harbison. Wednesday, Aug. 28, at 7:30 p.m.
Last February, when Madison launched a citywide celebration of co-artistic director John Harbison’s 80th birthday, bitter cold and deep snow made it impossible for the festival to open up The Barn and join in the festivities.
The Wednesday program – an intimate concert of words and music curated by the Harbisons — is the festival’s belated birthday tribute. Harbison will read from his new book about Johann Sebastian Bach, and Boston poet Lloyd Schwartz (below top) will offer a reading of his poems that are the basis of a song cycle to presented by baritone Simon Barrad (below bottom). The evening will include a discussion on setting text, “Poem to Song,” and the world premiere of new Harbison songs, still in progress, on poems of Gary Snyder.
The program includes: Selections from the Violin Sonata in B minor, with violinist Rose Mary Harbison, and “The Art of Fugue” by Johann Sebastian Bach; “Four Songs of Solitude” and “Nocturne” by John Harbison; the Violin Sonata in G Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; the “Phantasy” for violin and piano by Arnold Schoenberg; the “SchwartzSongs” and “Four Poems for Robin” by John Harbison.
Program 4: The Piano , at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 31, and Sunday, Sept. 1.
The closing program welcomes back husband-and-wife pianists Robert Levin and Ya-Fei Chuang, playing together and as soloists.
Chuang (below top) is acclaimed by critics in the U.S. and abroad for performances of stunning virtuosity, refinement and communicative power. Levin (below bottom, in a photo by Clive Barda), who teaches at Harvard University, is revered for his Mozart completions and classical period improvisations.
Their program explores the question of the composer-performer — that is, composers who were also formidable pianists: Mozart, Ravel and Liszt.
Beethoven’s fourth piano concerto, arranged by the composer for chamber ensemble, and excerpts of Harbison’s Piano Sonata No. 2, written for Levin, will be performed. Also on the program are Mozart’s Allegro in G Major, K. 357 (completion by Robert Levin); Maurice Ravel’s “Gaspard de la Nuit”; and Franz Liszt’s “Reminiscences of Don Juan.”
Other performers are: violinists Rose Mary Harbison and Laura Burns, of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Rhapsodie String Quartet; violists Jen Paulson and Kaleigh Acord; cellist Karl Lavine, who is principal cello of both the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra as well as the Chamber Music Director of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO); and double bassist Ross Gilliland.
Tags: #AmericanJazz, #ArnoldSchoenberg, #BaritoneSinger, #BaroqueEra, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BostonMassachusetts, #BusinessModel, #CafeSeating, #CelloSonata, #ChamberMusic, #Classicalera, #CriticalAcclaimed, #DonJuan, #DoubleBass, #EdgewoodCollege, #EmotionalImpact, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FranzLiszt, #FranzSchubert, #GarySnyder, #GasparddelaNuit, #GreatAmericanSongbook, #HarvardUniversity, #HighStandard, #husband-and-wife, #JaniceWeber, #JazzMusic, #JenPaulson, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #JohnHarbison, #KaleighAcord, #KathleenOtterson, #LauraBurns, #LeonidasKavakos, #LilaBrown, #LivingComposers, #LloydSchwartz, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MauriceRavel, #Mezzo-sopranoSinger, #MusicCritic, #MusicScore, #NaturalWorld, #NewMusic, #PianoConcerto, #PianoQuartet, #Prize-Winning, #RainSong, #RhapsodieQuartet, #RhapsodieStringQuartet, #RhondaRider, #RobertLevin, #RoseMaryHarbison, #RossGilliland, #SimonBarrad, #SongCycle, #StringQuartet, #TheArtofFugue, #TheU.S., #TokenCreek, #TokenCreekChamberMusicFestival, #TokenCreekFestival, #ViolinSonata, #VocalMusic, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #WisconsinYouthSymphonyOrchestras, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #WorldPremiere, #Ya-FeiChuang, #YouTubevideo, #YujaWang, abroad, acclaimed, American, anniversary, Arnold Schoenberg, Art, Arts, aspire, astounding, audience, Bach, balcony, baritone, barn, Baroque, Beethoven, birthday, bitter, blog, Book, Boston, Brahms, Business, Business model, cabaret, cafe, cafe seating, capture, catalogue, cellist, Cello, Cello Sonata, Chamber music, Classical era, Classical music, cold, combination, commodity, communicative, completion, composer, composer-performer, Concert, concerto, connection, constant, conviction, counterpoint, country, Craft, critic, daily, deep, DeForest, director, Don JUan, double bass, Early music, Edgewood College, emotional, emotional impact, environment, essential, evening, experience, Facebook, faculty, Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, frustrated, fugue, Gary Snyder, Gaspard de la Nuit, grateful, Great American Songbook, growth, Harvard, Harvard University, high standard, husband, ideal, impact, improvisation, information, institution, intensity, interest, international, intimate, Jacob Stockinger, Janice Weber, Jazz, Jen Paulson, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Harbison, Kaleigh Acord, Karl Lavine, KarlLavine, Kathleen Otterson, larger, last, Laura Burns, Leonidas Kavakos, like, Lila Brown, limited, lineup, link, listeners, live, living composers, Lloyd Schwartz, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maurice Ravel, Mezzo-soprano, movement, Mozart, Music, Musician, natural world, nature, new, New Music, nocturne, nourishment, now, number, numbers, oasis, participant, performer, phantasy, philosophical, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, Piano Quartet, players, poem, Poetry, post, posting, power, precious, prinicpal, program, progress, Quartet, questions, rain, reader, refinement, refreshment, refurbished, reminiscences, retreat, revere, Rhonda Rider, Robert Levin, Rose Mary Harbison, Ross Gilliland, sanctuary, scale, Schubert, score, share, shout, silence, Simon Barrad, singer, snow, solitude, Sonata, song, song cycle, songs, spiritual, String quartet, Student, stunning, subscriber, tag, teach, temperament, text, The Art of Fugue, theme, then, ticket, time, today, Token Creek, Token Creek Chamber Music Festival, Token Creek Festival, transaction, tribute, U.S., United States, universal, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, use, valuable, Viola, Violin, Violin Sonata, violinist, violist, virtuosity, vocal music, way, welcoming, whisper, wife, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Youth Symhony Orchestras, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, word, words, work, world premiere, Ya-Fei Chuang, years, YouTube, Yuja Wang
Classical music: The critically acclaimed Isthmus Vocal Ensemble performs a program of “Sanctuary” this Friday night and Sunday afternoon
Leave a Comment
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
The two performances by the critically acclaimed Isthmus Vocal Ensemble (below) have become an annual summer tradition over the past 17 years, first under the direction of founder Scott MacPherson and since last year under its new artistic director, Michael McGaghie.
This summer, as usual, McGaghie (below, rehearsing) returned to Madison for 2-1/2 weeks of intense rehearsals and two a cappella concerts on this Friday night and Sunday afternoon.
The program this year has the theme of “Sanctuary,” and focuses on refuge, salvation and hope.
The chorus will sing “Come to the Woods” by Jake Runestad, using texts taken from the journals of John Muir, the environmentalist who attended the UW-Madison (you can hear the work in the YouTube video at the bottom); and “Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing” by Herbert Howells. The concert also includes unspecified music by Stephen Paulus, Anton Bruckner, Dale Trumbore and Choi.
Admission is $20 for adults, $10 for students.
Here are more details:
Friday, August 2, at 7:30 p.m.
St. Luke’s Lutheran Church
7337 Hubbard Avenue
Middleton, WI 53562
Sunday, August 4, at 3 p.m.
Christ Presbyterian Church
944 East Gorham Street
Madison, WI 53703
For more information about the Isthmus Vocal Ensemble, including how to join it, how to support it, how to see a list of past concerts and hear excerpts, go to: https://www.isthmusvocalensemble.org
Tags: #ACappella, #AntonBruckner, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ChristPresbyterianChurch, #CometotheWoods, #CriticallyAcclaimed, #DaleTrumbore, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Fridaynight, #HerbertHowells, #IsthmusVocalEnsemble, #JakeRunestad, #JesusChrist, #JohnMuir, #MichaelMcGaghie, #MiddletonWisconsin, #ScottMacPherson, #St.Luke'sLutheranChurch, #StephenPaulus, #Sundayafternoon, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VocalMusic, #YouTubevideo, a cappella, annual, Anton Bruckner, Arts, audience, blog, Choi, choral music, Christ, Christ Presbyterian Church, Christian, church, Classical music, Come to the Woods, composer, Concert, conductor, critically acclaimed, Dale Trumbore, director, Earth, environment, environmental, environmentalist, event, excerpts, Facebook, Focus, forward, founder, Friday night, hear, Herbert Howells, hope, intense, Isthmus Vocal Ensemble, Jacob Stockinger, Jake Runestad, John Muir, join, journals, last year, like, link, listen, Madison, Michael McGaghie, Middleton, new, past, performance, performer, reader, refuge, rehearsal, salvation, sanctuary, Scott MacPherson, share, St. Luke's Lutheran Church, Stephen Paulus, subscriber, summer, Sunday afternoon, support, tag, text, theme, ticket, tradition, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, vocal music, Wisconsin, Woods, word, year, YouTube
Classical music: The Madison Early Music Festival announces the dates and theme of next year’s 21st annual festival
1 Comment
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
The Ear has received the following news update:
As things wind down after the 2019 Madison Early Music Festival (MEMF), we want to extend a big thank you to our visiting concert artists, lecturers and faculty, all participants enrolled in the workshops, those who volunteered, and the Friends of MEMF who provided coffee and treats every morning.
Thanks to the many concert and lecture attendees along with our promotional and financial supporters. We were pleased to welcome 103 registrants and over 2,800 people in attendance at our Concert Series, lectures, fringe concerts, and our dance event, Grand Tour Excursions.
Thank you to everyone who helped bring the Grand Tour to life during the 20th annual celebration of the Madison Early Music Festival! We look forward to seeing you July 11-18, 2020 for Music at the Burgundian Court. (You can sample some of the Burgundian court music in the YouTube video below.)
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BurgundyFrance, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #GrandTour, #MadisonEarlyMusicFestival, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #NewsUpdate, #RenaissanceMusic, #ThankYou, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #YouTubevideo, annaul, announce, antendees, artists, Arts, attract, audience, blog, bring, Burgundy, choral music, Classical music, coffee, composer, Concert, court, dance, dates, Early music, event, everyone, excusion, exposure, Facebook, facuty, financial, forward, France, French, friends, fringe, Grand Tour, Jacob Stockinger, lecturer, life, like, link, Madison, Madison Early Music Festival, Mead Witter School of Music, morning, Music, news, Orchestra, performer, promotion, reader, registrants, Renaissance, series, share, spread, subscriber, supporter, tag, thank you, theme, thing, treats, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, update, volunteer, word, YouTube
Classical music: Madison Opera’s Opera in the Park has been CANCELLED for tonight and RESCHEDULED for tomorrow at 8 p.m.
1 Comment
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 news is just in from Instagram and other social media:
The Madison Opera has cancelled Opera in the Park tonight and rescheduled it for tomorrow, Sunday night, July 21, at 8 p.m. in Garner Park.
Here is a statement from Madison Opera: “For the safety and health of everyone involved, based on the current forecast and dangerously unstable weather patterns, we are postponing Opera in the Park to tomorrow, Sunday, July 21, in Garner Park. Tomorrow’s forecast is cooler and much more pleasant, so we look forward to seeing everyone in the park!”
For more details about the concert and other issues relevant to the event, go to: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2019/07/15/classical-music-madison-operas-annual-free-opera-in-the-park-returns-this-saturday-night-july-20-in-garner-park-and-celebrates-18-years-in-madison-plus-a-glimpse-of-the-upcoming-season/
Pass the word on!
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GarnerPark, #InstagramPost, #OperaInThePark, #SocialMedia, #TheWell-TemperedEar, #TheWelltemperedEar, #WeatherForecast, 2019, audience, blog, cooler, dance, dangerous, detail, Facebook, forecast, forward, Garner Park, Health, Instagram, issues, like, link, Madison Opera, member, new, Opera in the Park, pass, pattern, performer, pleasant, postpone, reader, relevance, relevant, reschedule, safety, share, social media, subscriber, tag, The Well-Tempered Ear, tomorrow, unstable, weather, weather forecast, word
Classical music: Meet UW-Madison bassoonist Marc Vallon who performs with the Willy Street Chamber Players on Friday night
2 Comments
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
Who is Marc Vallon (below, in a photo by James Gill)?
This week, he is the bassoonist who will perform Franz Danzi’s Quartet for Bassoon and Strings in D minor, Op. 40, No. 2 (ca. 1820), this coming Friday night, July 19, with the acclaimed Willy Street Chamber Players (below), who will also be joined by pianist Jason Kutz and violist Sharon Tenhundfeld..
(The concert is at 6 p.m. in Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1021 Spaight Street. The program includes: the Allegretto for Piano Trio by Ludwig van Beethoven (1812); “Dark Wood” by American composer Jennifer Higdon (2001); and the rarely heard String Quartet No. 1 (1948) by Argentinean composer Alberto Ginastera. Admission is $15.)
A native of France, Vallon is one of the busiest musicians in Madison. He teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, where he also performs individually, with faculty and student colleagues, and as a member of the Wingra Wind Quintet. He also frequently performs and conducts Baroque music with the Madison Bach Musicians.
Vallon attended the Paris Conservatory, where he won first prizes in bassoon and chamber music, and also earned a philosopher degree at the Sorbonne or University of Paris.
A versatile musician, Vallon played with famed avant-garde French composer Pierre Boulez and for more than 20 years was the principal bassoon of the well-known Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. He has also performed with major modern orchestras and conductors as well as with many period-instrument groups.
He gives master classes worldwide and also composes.
For a more extended and detailed biography, go to: https://www.music.wisc.edu/faculty/marc-vallon/
Vallon recently did an email Q&A interview with The Ear:
What drew you to the bassoon (below) over, say, the piano or singing, over strings, brass or other woodwinds?
I played the piano as young kid but was not very interested in the mechanics of it, even if I had a strong passion for music. It was the day that my piano teacher brought to my lesson a friend of his to do a bassoon demo that I found the right medium for my passion.
I started practicing like a maniac and knew by the age of 14 that I was going to be a professional bassoonist.
What would you like the public to know about the bassoon, perhaps about the challenges of playing it and about the repertoire for it?
The bassoon does not offer more challenges than other wind instruments, but it is safe to say that an absolute perfectionist person should probably not play it.
It is an instrument capable of true beauties, yet it has its own character. You don’t conquer it, you work with it like you would work with a wonderful but temperamental colleague.
Bassoonists sometimes complain that our solo repertoire is not as rich in masterpieces as the clarinet’s or the flute’s. True, but in its 350 years of existence, the bassoon has amassed enough wonderful music to keep us busy for several lifetimes.
What would you like to tell the public about the specific Bassoon Quartet by Franz Danzi that you will perform, and about Danzi and his music in general?
The bassoon and strings quartet became popular in the last decades of the 18th century, a trend that lasted well into the Romantic era.
Sadly, many of these quartets are basically show-off pieces for the bassoonist while the strings players have to suffer through some often very dull accompaniment parts.
I like this one by Danzi (below) because it features the strings on the same musical level as the bassoon, creating an enjoyable musical conversation rather than a cocky bassoon monologue. (You can hear that musical conversation in the opening movement of the Bassoon Quartet by Danzi in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
As a performer and conductor, you are well–known for championing baroque music as well as modern and contemporary music. Do you have a preference? Do they feed each other in your experience?
What I always have enjoyed about playing contemporary music is the possibility to work with living composers because I often realized how flexible they are with their own music and how much they like the performer’s input. They’re often ready to compromise and veer away from the strict notation.
The approach when playing composers from the past is actually very similar in the sense that we have to remember how approximate music notation is. Baroque composers are not here anymore obviously, but the 17th and 18th centuries sources tell us clearly how much flexibility we, modern performers, have in our approach to their music.
When it comes to music pre-1800, we basically have a sketch on our music stands. I always want to remember this. (Below is a manuscript page of a cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach.)
Do you have big projects coming up next season?
Always! I am putting together a contemporary program on March 27 in our new concert hall on campus. It is called ”Opening Statements” and will feature early works from major 20th-century composers.
On period instruments, I have Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio,” Mendelssohn’s “Elijah” and more Bach on my calendar.
Is there something else you would like to say?
A big Thank You to you, Jake, for being such a relentless and informed advocate of the Madison musical scene!
Tags: #17thCentury, #18thCentury, #19thCentury, #20thCentury, #AcademicCalendar, #AlbertoGinastera, #AmsterdamBaroqueOrchestra, #ArgentineanComposer, #BaroqueChamberMusic, #BaroqueMusic, #BassoonMusic, #BassoonQuartet, #BlogInterview, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BrassMusic, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ChristmasOratorio, #ClarinetMusic, #ConcertHall, #ContemporaryComposers, #ContemporaryMusic, #DarkWood, #EventsCalendar, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FacultyMember, #FelixMendelssohn, #FirstPrize, #FluteMusic, #FranzDanzi, #Fridaynight, #HistoricallyInformedPerformancePractices, #ImmanuelLutheranChurch, #JasonKutz, #JenniferHigdon, #JohannSebastianBach, #LivingComposers, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonBachMusicians, #MarcVallon, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #ModernMusic, #Musicfaculty, #MusicNotation, #OpeningStatement, #ParisConservatory, #PeriodInstrument, #PIanoTeacher, #PianoTrio, #PierreBoulez, #PopularMusic, #PracticingMusic, #PrincipalBassoon, #ProfessionalMusician, #RomanticEra, #RomanticMusic, #RomanticPeriod, #StringMusic, #StringQuartet, #ThankYou, #TheEar, #TheSorbonne, #UniversityofParis, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #WillyStreetChamberPlayers, #WingraWindQuintet, #YouTubevideo, 17th century, 18th century, 19th century, 20th-century, 20th-century music, accompaniment, admission, advocate, age, Alberto Ginastera, always, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, approach, approximate, Argentina, Argentinean, Arts, audience, away, Bach, Baroque, Baroque music, Bassoon, bassoonist, beauties, beauty, Beethoven, biography, blog, brass, calendar, Campus, Cello, challenge, challenges, Chamber music, champion, choral music, Christian, Christmas Oratorio, church, clarinet, Classical music, classicalmusic, cocky, colleague, composer, compromise, Concert, concert hall, conduct, conductor, conquer, contemporary composer, contemporary music, conversation, dark, Dark Wood, decades, degree, demo, dull, early, Early music, Elijah, email, era, existence, Facebook, faculty, Felix Mendelssohn, first prize, flexible, flute, France, Franz Danzi, French, Friday, friend, historically informed performance practices, Immanuel Lutheran Church, informed, input, instrument, interview, Jacob Stockinger, Jazon Kutz, Jennifer Higdon, Johann Sebastian Bach, kid, knew, know, level, lifetime, like, link, living composers, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, major, maniac, manuscript, Marc Vallon, masterpiece, Mead Witter School of Music, mechanics, medium, member, modern, modern music, monologue, Music, music notation, new, night, notation, opening statement, oratorio, Orchestra, page, Paris, Paris Conservatory, Passion, perfectionist, perform, performer, period instruments, person, philosophy, Pianist, Piano, piano teacher, Piano Trio, Pierre Boulez, play, popular, practicing, prinicipal, professional, professor, program, project, Q&A, reader, relentless, repertoire, right, Romantic, Romantic era, safe, same, say, share, Sharon Tenhundfeld, show-off, Singing, sketch, solo, Sorbonne, sources, spread, strict, string, String quartet, strings, Student, subscriber, suffer, symphony, tag, Teacher, temperamental, thank you, The Ear, trend, trio, true, United States, university, University of Paris, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, veer, versatile, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, way, week, Willy Street Chamber Players, Wingra Wind Quintet, Wisconsin, wonderful, wood, woodwind, word, work, young, YouTube
Classical music: YOU MUST HEAR THIS: Three piano pieces by the forgotten American composer William Mason that are worth rediscovering
2 Comments
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
As often happens, The Ear was listening to Wisconsin Public Radio and yesterday afternoon he made a discovery during The Midday program with Norman Gilliland.
It was piano piece called “Amourette” by the American 19th-century composer William Mason (below). Unfortunately, you won’t find that piece on YouTube. But here, in the YouTube video at the bottom, are three other fine works, probably from the same Naxos CD, that are also noteworthy discoveries of a forgotten, if minor, composer who had a knack for pleasing and melodic salon music.
Here are a brief biography and an introduction from YouTube and Wikipedia:
William Mason (below, 1829-1908) was an American pianist, composer and teacher. He was from a musical family, son of the famous and prolific hymn composer Lowell Mason, and brother of Henry Mason, co-founder of Mason and Hamlin pianos.
William studied in Europe and was the first American student of Franz Liszt. In his music, you can hear reflected some of the major piano composers of the 19th century.
Here is a link to his entry in Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Mason_(composer)
Although these William Mason pieces are largely forgotten now, his work is wonderfully melodic and certainly deserves to be heard more often.
These three pieces are from the Naxos CD “William Mason” (No. 8.559142) The CD contains 14 other Mason compositions – including his best known “Silver Spring.” (The CD is part of the American Classics Collection.)
For those tired of hearing the same classical music on the radio or the concert hall – the Naxos collection provides a wide spectrum of superb but rarely heard music.
The pianist on this album is Kenneth Boulton. On the third piece, “Badinage,” which is for piano four-hands, Kenneth Boulton is joined by his wife and pianist JoAnne Barry.
Track Listings: 0:00 “Improvisation”; 4:30 “Lullaby”; 7:35 “Badinage”
Do you like Mason’s music?
Let us know what you think.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #19thCentury, #AmericanClassics, #AmericanComposer, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CompactDisc, #ConcertHall, #Crowd-pleasing, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FranzLiszt, #HenryMason, #JoAnneBarry, #KennethBoulton, #LowellMason, #MasonandHamlin, #MinorComposer, #NaxosRecords, #NeglectedComposers, #NeglectedMusic, #NeglectedWorks, #NormanGilliland, #PianoMusic, #SalonMusic, #SilverSpring, #TheMidday, #Wikipediabiography, #Wikipediaentry, #WilliamMason, #WisconsinPublicRadio, #YouTubevideo, 19th century, afternoon, Album, American, Amourette, Arts, audience, badinage, Ballade, barcarolle, biography, blog, brief, classic, Classical music, collection, Compact Disc, composer, concert hall, deserve, discovery, Europe, Facebook, Family, famous, forgotten, forward, four-hand, four-hands, Franz Liszt, happen, Henry Mason, husband, hymn, improvisation, introduction, Jacob Stockinger, JoAnne Barry, like, link, Liszt, Lowell Mason, lullaby, Madison, Mason and Hamlin, melodic, melody, minor, Music, musical, Naxos, Naxos Records, neglected, Norman Gilliland, noteworthy, often, performer, Pianist, Piano, piece, please, pleasing, program, prolific, Radio, reader, salon, share, Silver Spring, spectrum, spread, Student, subscriber, superb, tag, Teacher, The Midday, United States, wife, Wikipedia, William Mason, Wisconsin, wisconsin public radio, word, yesterday, YouTube
Classical music: The critically acclaimed and popular Willy Street Chamber Players start their fifth summer series with a FREE community concert this Friday
2 Comments
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
The Ear has received the following announcement for a remarkable and must-hear summer series of chamber music concerts that from its very beginning seems to have found a successful formula that resonated with the public It relies on informality, affordable tickets, first-rate musicianship, short concerts, eclectic programs that mix classics with sure-fire new music, support for their local community.
Now in their fifth year, the Willy Street Chamber Players (WSCP, below) have become an established part of the Williamson Street neighborhood.
Recently awarded the silver medal in Madison Magazine’s prestigious “Best of Madison” reader poll in the category of “Best Classical Music Group,” WSCP has received numerous accolades for its accessible and exciting performances, intelligent and fun programming, and dedication to community partnerships.
The group has also been named “Musician of the Year”for 2016 by this blog.
The Summer Series concerts are on Friday evenings at 6 p.m. in the sanctuary of the beautiful Immanuel Lutheran Church (below) at 1021 Spaight St. The church is right on Lake Monona in the Williamson Street neighborhood. Enjoy 60-90 minutes of inspiring and unforgettable live music, then go explore the neighborhood with the remaining daylight hours.
Following the performance, enjoy a reception provided by one of our Willy Street restaurant partners. (Past contributors have been the Underground Butcher, Let It Ride Cold Brew Coffee, Madison Sourdough, the Willy Street Co-Op, Festival Foods, Roman Candle Pizza and more.)
While you enjoy your snacks, chat with the friendly musicians and ask them about the performance, the pieces and the group. We love interacting with our awesome audience.
A season pass is $40. Admission to individual concerts is $15. For tickets and more infomation, got to: http://www.willystreetchamberplayers.org/2019-summer-series.html
COMMUNITY CONNECT – This is a FREE and family-friendly concert with all ages welcome for music, interactive learning, conversation and connections.
It takes place this Friday, July 5, at 6 p.m. at the Goodman Community Center (149 Waubesa Street on the east side), as is posted on the home website — NOT at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center, which is listed in the printed brochure but is undergoing construction.
The program – “Growing Sound: A Sonic Exploration” – features music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, John Corigliano, Antonin Dvorak, Friedrich August Kummer and Alberto Ginastera.
SUMMER SERIES 1
Friday, July 12, at 6 p.m. – Mozart and Mendelssohn
Prize-winning UW-Madison graduate Danny Kim, viola (below)
PROGRAM:
Mendelssohn: String Quintet No. 1 in A major, Op. 18 (1826)
Simon Steen-Andersen: Study for String Instrument No. 1 (2007)
Mozart: String Quintet No. 2 in C minor, K. 406/516b (1787)
SUMMER SERIES 2
Friday, July 19, at 6 p.m. – Bassoon and Strings
UW-Madison Professor Marc Vallon, bassoon (below)
PROGRAM:
Beethoven: Allegretto for Piano Trio in B-flat major, WoO. 39 (1812)
Jennifer Higdon: “Dark Wood” (2001)
Franz Danzi: Bassoon Quartet in D minor, Op. 40, No. 2 (ca. 1820)
Alberto Ginastera: String Quartet No.1, Op. 20 (1948)
SUMMER SERIES 3
Friday, July 26, at 6 p.m. – Christopher Taylor, piano (below)
PROGRAM:
Ernest Bloch: Three Nocturnes (1924)
Jessie Montgomery: “Voodoo Dolls” (2008)
Dvorak: Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major, Op. 81 (1887) with UW-Madison pianist Christopher Taylor. (You can hear the first movement of Dvorak’s beautiful and melodic Piano Quintet in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
For more information, including background, biographies of the musicians, critics’ reviews, photos and how to support the Willy Street Chamber Players, go to:
http://www.willystreetchamberplayers.org
Tags: #AlbertoGinastera, #AntoninDvorak, #BassoonMusic, #BassoonQuartet, #BestofMadison, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ChristopherTaylor, #CriticalAcclaim, #DannyKim, #ErnestBloch, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FamilyFriendly, #FelixMendelssohn, #FestivalFoods, #FoodandDrink, #FranzDanzi, #FriedrichAugustKummer, #GoodmanCommunityCenter, #HomeWebsite, #ImmanuelLutheranChurch, #JenniferHigdon, #JessieMontgomery, #JohnCorigliano, #LakeMonona, #LetItRide, #LiveMusic, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonMagazine, #MadisonSourdough, #MarcVallon, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MelodicMusic, #MusicianoftheYear, #MusicReview, #NewMusic, #PianoQuintet, #PianoTrio, #Prize-Winning, #RomanCandlePizza, #SimonSteen-Andersen, #Steen-Andersen, #StringInstruments, #StringMusic, #StringQuartet, #StringQuintet, #TheEar, #UndergroundButcher, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VoodooDolls, #Wil-MarNeighborhoodCenter, #WilliamsonStreet, #WillyStreetChamberPlayers, #WillyStreetCo-op, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, accessible, accolade, admission, affordable, age, Alberto Ginastera, Antonín Dvořák, Arts, audience, awesome, background, Bassoon, beautiful, Beethoven, Best of Madison, blog, brochure, category, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, chat, Christian, Christopher Taylor, church, Classical music, classics, coffee, community, composer, Concert, connection, construction, contributor, cost, Danny Kim, dark, daylight, dolls, drink, east, eclectic, Ernest Bloch, established, event, exciting, explore, Facebook, Family, family-friendly, Festival Foods, first-rate, food, formula, forward, Franz Danzi, free, Friday, Friedrich August Kummer, friendly, fun, Goodman Community Center, group, grow, growing, home website, Immanuel Lutheran Church, informal, informality, inspiring, instrument, intelligent, interacting, Jacob Stockinger, Jennifer Higdon, Jessie Montgomery, John Corigliano, jours, Lake Monona, Let It Ride, link, live, live music, Love, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Madison Magazine, Madison Sourdough, Marc Vallon, Mead Witter School of Music, melodic, melody, member, Mendelssohn, Montgomery, movement, Mozart, Music, Musician, Musician of the Year, neigborhood, New Music, nocturne, numerous, part, partner, partnership, pass, performance, performer, photo, Pianist, Piano, Piano Quintet, Piano Trio, piece, pizza, poll, printed, prize, program, public, Quartet, reader, reception, repairs, restaurant, review, Roman Candle Pizza, sanctuary, series, share, short, Simon Steen-Andersen, snack, sonic, Sound, String quartet, string quintet, strings, study, subscriber, success, successful, summer, support, sure-fire, tag, The Ear, tickets, trash, Underground Butcher, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vibrant, video, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, Voodoo, we, Website, welcome, Wil-Mar, Williamson Street, Willy Street Chamber Players, Willy Street Co-op, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, wood, word, YouTube
Recent Comments
 | fflambeau on Classical music: After a year… |
 | Ginny Chiasson on Classical music: After a year… |
| fflambeau on Classical music: YOU MUST HEAR… |
 | Susan Fiore on Classical music: YOU MUST HEAR… |
| fflambeau on Classical music: The fourth an… |
Classical music: Is a local Dvorak revival in the making? This Friday night, Christopher Taylor joins the Willy Street Chamber Players to perform the famed Piano Quintet
6 Comments
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
Is a major local revival of music by Antonin Dvorak (below) in the making?
Many signs point to: Yes!
At the end of the past season, maestro John DeMain of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, which has also performed the Symphony No. 9 “From the New World,” announced that he was on board as a fan when he told the audiences about the upcoming season, which features the MSO performing Dvorak’s dramatic Symphony No. 7 in D Minor and the large-scale Requiem.
In recent seasons, we have also seen the Madison Opera stage the opera “Rusalka”; the Middleton Community Orchestra perform the Symphony No. 6; the UW-Madison’s Pro Arte String Quartet and the Ancora String Quartet perform the miniatures “Cypresses”; the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra play some “Slavonic Dances”; and more.
What’s not to like about Dvorak? He was one of music’s greatest melodists, something that Johannes Brahms envied and a reason why Brahms helped promote his music. And his use of folk music – Czech, Native American and African-American – is captivating as well as multicultural.
Here is a link to more about Dvorak in his Wikipedia entry:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton%C3%ADn_Dvořák
As audience responses prove, there is so much Dvorak to be fond of.
But one of the greatest works will be performed this Friday night, July 26, at 6 p.m. in the Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1021 Spaight Street.
That is when the Willy Street Chamber Players, in the final concert of their fifth summer series, will perform the famed Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 81 (1887). (You can hear the engaging opening movement, played by pianist Evgeny Kissin and the Emerson String Quartet, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The Willys will team up with the acclaimed UW-Madison virtuoso pianist and Van Cliburn Competition bronze medalist Christopher Taylor, who is a gifted chamber musician as well as a superb soloist.
Filling out the program are Three Nocturnes (1924) by Ernest Bloch and “Voodoo Dolls” (2008) by Jessie Montgomery.
Admission is $15 with a reception afterwards.
Dvorak, who has never fallen out of favor but who seems to have sparked a new enthusiasm, composed a lot.
In addition to the nine symphonies, the string serenade and the piano quintet, there is a lot of chamber music, including string quartets, piano trios, piano quartets; concertos for the violin, cello and piano; and many miniatures, including the lovely “Songs My Mother Taught Me.” There is also some solo piano music that has largely been neglected.
Do you love Dvorak’s music?
What about it do you especially like?
Do you have a favorite Dvorak work?
Let us know what it is, with a YouTube link if possible, in the Comment section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Share this:
Like this:
Tags: #African-AmericanMusic, #AmericanComposer, #AncoraStringQuartet, #AntoninDvorak, #AudienceFavorite, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CelloConcerto, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberMusician, #ChoralMusic, #ChristianChurch, #ChristopherTaylor, #Czechcomposer, #EmersonStringQuartet, #ErnestBloch, #EvgenyKissin, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FolkMusic, #FromtheNewWorld, #ImmanuelLutheranChurch, #JessieMontgomery, #JohannesBrahms, #JohnDeMain, #Large-scale, #MadisonOpera, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MiddletonCommunityOrchestra, #MusicDirector, #NativeAmerican, #NewWorldSymphony, #OperaMusic, #PianoConcerto, #PianoQuartet, #PianoQuintet, #PianoTrio, #ProArteQuartet, #SlavonicDances, #SongsMyMotherTaughtMe, #StringMusic, #StringQuartet, #TheEar, #TheWillys, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VanCliburn, #VanCliburnInternationalPianoCompetition, #ViolinConcerto, #ViolinMusic, #VocalMusic, #VoodooDolls, #Wikipediabiography, #Wikipediaentry, #WillyStreetChamberPlayers, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #YouTubevideo, admission, African American, American, Ancora String Quartet, Antonín Dvořák, Arts, attract, audience, blog, bronze, bronze medalist, capivating, Cello, Cello Concerto, Chamber music, chamber musician, choral music, Christian, Christopher Taylor, church, Classical music, comment, Compact Disc, compose, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, cypresses, Czech, dance, dolls, Emerson String Quartet, enthusiasm, envy, Ernest Bloch, Evgeny Kissin, Facebook, fan, favor, favorite, Folk music, gifted, hear, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Jacob Stockinger, Jessie Montgomery, Johannes Brahms, John DeMain, like, link, local, lovely, Madison, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maestro, Mead Witter School of Music, medalist, melodist, melody, Middleton Community Orchestra, movement, multicultural, Music, Music director, Native American, neglected, new, New World Symphony, nocturne, opening, opera, Orchestra, Overture Center, performer, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, Piano Quartet, Piano Quintet, Piano Trio, post, posting, Pro Arte Quartet, promote, reader, reception, Requiem, response, revival, Rusalka, Season, Serenade, share, signs, Slavonic, Slavonic Dances, solo, solo piano, soloist, song, Songs My Mother Taught Me, spread, stage, string music, String quartet, subscriber, superb, symphonies, symphony, tag, The Ear, The Willys, tuneful, United States, University of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, use, UW-Madison, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Violin, Violin concerto, violin music, virtuoso, vocal music, Voodoo, Voodoo Dolls, Wikipedia, Willy Street Chamber Players, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, word, work, world, YouTube, YouTube video