The Well-Tempered Ear
Meet and hear piano phenom Yunchan Lim
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
He is looks like a young, mop-topped Beatle, but he plays the piano with the lyricism of Arthur Rubinstein and the technical virtuosity of Vladimir Horowitz or Maurizio Pollini.
He is the South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim (seen below, during his winning performances at the last Van Cliburn Competition two years ago). If you haven’t yet heard of him or listened to him, you really should. Otherwise you are missing out of a phenomenal talent who is just 20 years old and offer sublimely beautiful interpretations.
Just listen to his superb and subtle performance of the “Aeolian Harp” etude, Op. 25, No. 1, by Chopin in the YouTube video at the bottom.
Recently, the British radio classical music radio station Classic FM offered a complete primer on Lim. It includes his personal and professional background and history as well as links to many of his special performances that have been acclaimed by his fellow musicians, the critics and the public.
Here is a link:
Do you know about Yunchan Lim?
Have you heard his playing?
What do you think of him?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ClassicFM, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #YouTubevideo, Aeolian Harp, ago, Akerican, alert, American, Android, Apple, Apple Music, Arthur Rubinstein, Arts, Artur Rubinstein, Asia, asian, audience, Autumn, Études, Bach, Baroque, beautiful, Beethoven, Bing, blog, Boston, British, Chamber music, Chopin, Classic FM, Classical music, composer, Concert, concerto, critics, Decca Records, duckduckgo, Early music, Europe, European, Facebook, fall, fame, famous, Google, Google Alert, Google Alerts, Google Search, harp, harp etude, hear, Horowitz, interpretations, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Dowland, K pop, Korea, Korean, Lim, link, listen, Liszt, London, Ludwig van Beethoven, lyrical, lyricism, Madison, Marin Alsop, Maurizio Pollini, Microsoft, Microsoft Bing, Minsoo Sohn, Mozart, Music, New England Conservatory, Orchestra, OS, performances, performer, personal, phenom, phenomenon, Pianist, Piano, Pollini, popular, primer, professional, public, Rachmaninoff, Radio, recital, Rubinstein, Safari, share, solo, Sonata, South Korea, South Korean, star, study, sublime, superb, symphony, tag, talent, techical, The Beatles, The Ear, The Well-Tempered Ear, Transcendental Etudes, Twitter, UK, United States, Universal Music Group, Universal Records, Van Cliburn, Van Cliburn competition, virtuosity, virtuoso, Vladimir Horowitz, Well-Tempered, Wigmore Hall, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, WordPress, Wordpress.com, X, year, you, young, youthful, YouTube, Yunchan Lim
Today is World Piano Day — so play, listen, watch, celebrate
1 Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
World Piano Day — established in 2015 — falls on the 88th day of the year because the standard piano keyboard has 88 keys.
Because 2024 is a Leap Year, World Piano Day is being celebrated a day later than usual — on today, March 28.
For more background and past playlists, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Day
There are lots of free celebrations online, to say nothing of just sitting down at a piano and playing or listening to someone else play or going to your library of CDs and LPs or using your streaming service.
Here is a list of live international events from March 12-April 7, complete with information links, to concerts and other events marking Piano Day around the world.
Some presenters have put together their own special celebrations. DG is offering a 30-day free trial to its Stage+ streaming site to mark the occasion.
Deutsche Grammophon, the world’s oldest classical record company, has a terrific stable of prize-winning, critically acclaimed pianists, includes Maurizio Pollini who died last Saturday, as well as Lang Lang, Yuja Wang, Vikingur Olaffson, Maria Joao Pires, Seong-Jin Cho, Grigory Sokolov, Alice Sara Ott, Daniil Trifonov, Hélène Grimaud and Bruce Liu.
Check it out. Here is a link to DG’s celebration:
You can also find many things to watch and hear — concerts, documentaries — for this year and from past year of YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=World+Piano+Day
And at the bottom, from World Piano Day 2023, is a YouTube video with 88 minutes of piano music from masters old and current — including Vladimir Horowitz and Arthur Rubinstein — to celebrate World Piano Day:
Will you celebrate World Piano Day?
Do you play the piano or did you take piano lessons?
Do you have a favorite pianist?
Do you have a favorite composer and favorite piece for the piano?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Prize-Winning, #YouTubevideo, 2023, 2024, 88, acclaim, Adfrica, African, Apple, Apple Music, Apple Music Classical, Arrau, Arts, Ashkenazy, asian, audience, Barenboim, Baroque, Beethoven, black, blog, Bruce Liu, CD, celebrate, celebration, Chamber music, China, Chinese, Cho, Chopin, Classical music, Columbia, composer, Concert, concerto, critic, critical, critically acclaimed, day, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, DG, documentary, Early music, establish, Europe, European'Asia, event, Facebook, favorite, Fujita, Gilels, globe, Google, Google Search, Grigory Sokolov, Grimaud, hear, Helene Grimaud, Horowtz, Hough, Iceland, Icelandic, international, Jacob Stockinger, Japan, Japanese, Johann Sebastian Bach, Keyboard, keys, Kissin, Korean, Lang Lang, Leap Year, Levit, liberty, library, Lim, link, listen, Liu, LP, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Mao, Mao Fujita, Maria Joao Pires, Maurizio Pollini, Mozart, Music, music students, Naxos, ok, Orchestra, OS, Ott, Perahia, Philips, Pianist, Piano, piano lessons, piano music, piece, Pires, play, playlist, Polish, Pollini, popular, RCA, repertoire, repertory, Richter, Rubinstein, Russia, Russian, Schiff, share, Sokolov, Sonata, SONY, Sony Classical, South America, South American, South Korea, South Korean, stage, standard, stream, streaming, streaming service, symphony, tag, The Ear, The Well-Tempered Ear, today, Trifonov, Uchida, United States, universal, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Van Cliburn, Vikingur Olafsson, Wang, Well-Tempered, white, Wikipedia, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wong, world, World Piano Day, year, YouTube, Yuja Wang, Yunchan Lim
Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra’s new CD and Friday night concert champion racial diversity
1 Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
“Musical Landscapes in Color” is a five-year initiative by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra with its award-winning, composer-in-residence Dr. William Banfield (below), who has produced a body of work in the past 25 years that includes music, books, teaching and creative work that contributes to contemporary arts leadership.
The cultural undertaking aims to elevate the voices of an array of living, diverse composers of color throughout the United States. The project represents a significant step towards diversifying the classical music landscape through compositions and audiences, according to the WCO.
The first of several installments (below) — “Harmony in Black” — has just been released by Albany Records.
The album is available in a physical format and for digital streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube, where you can sample it at the bottom.
Performed and recorded live on Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, it features excerpts from three compositions: one by four-time Grammy nominee Patrice Rushen entitled “Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory”; and two by renowned composer Banfield entitled “Testimony of Tone, Tune, and Time” and “Symphony No. 8: Here I Stand.”
Their three compositions do not quote spiritual melodies directly, but do embody the spirit of those songs by drawing either on direct quotations of speeches or writings.
Multi-Grammy-nominated artist Patrice Rushen (below) is admired by many for her groundbreaking achievements including serving as Musical Director for the 46th, 47th and 48th Annual Grammy Awards.
CONTENTS:
Patrice Rushen: Movement 1: ”Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory”
Dr. William Banfield: (starting at 8:10): “Testimony of Tone, Tune and Time” — Symphony No. 8
Performers are: retired City of Madison, Dane County and State of Wisconsin Judge Paul Higginbotham (below) as the narrator; saxophonist Matthew Sintchak; and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra under conductor and music director Andrew Sewell.
For more background, including a release reception, go to a story in Madison 365:
A WORLD PREMIERE THIS FRIDAY NIGHT
The project continues with a concert that takes place this Friday night, March 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center features the WORLD PREMIERE of Banfield’s Symphony No. 14 “Revelation.”
Guest artists include the Madison Youth Choirs, the Festival Choir of Madison and the Edgewood College Chamber Singers. Soloists include soprano Angela Brown, tenor Ben Johnson and baritone William Volmar.
Opening the 90-minute concert is Symphony No. 1 in G major, Op. 4 (1901) by British composer Edwin York Bowen, whose music shows influences of Rachmaninov, Chopin and Tchaikovsky.
Tickets are still available and cost $34.50, $75 and $95. For more information and tickets, go to: https://wcoconcerts.org/
Have you heard Banfield’s music?
What do you think of it?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #Composer-in-Residence, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #YouTubevideo, Abraham Lincoln, achievement, African, African American, African-American music, Albany Records, Album, Amazon, Amazon Music, American, Andrew Sewell, Android, Angela Brown, appellate, Apple Music, Apple Music Classical, Arts, asian, audience, award, baritone, Ben Johnson, black, Black composers, black music, blog, books, box office, British, Capitol Theater, CD, Cello, Chamber music, champion, Chopin, choral music, circuit court, city of Madison, civil rights, Classical music, color, Compact Disc, composer, composers of color, Composition, Concert, contemporary, contemporary composers, contemporary music, cost, court, creative, Dane County, digital, diversity, doctor, Dr., Edgewood College, Edgewood College Chamber Singers, Edwin York Bowen, England, English, enslaved, enslaved people, entitled, Europe, excerpts, Facebook, Festival Choir, format, Friday, Friday night, Google, Google Alert, Google Search, Grammy, groundbreaking, harmony, Harmony in Black, influence, information, initiative, IOS, it, Jacob Stockinger, judge, landscape, Latino, leadership, Lincoln, link, live, live music, Live Recording, living composers, Madison, Madison 365, Madison Youth Choirs, Madison365, Madison365.com, Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King Jr, Matthew Sintchak, melodies, melody, Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory, MLK, movement, Music, musical, narrator, nominee, online, opera, Orchestra, Overture Center, Patrice Rushen, Paul Higgenbotham, physical, Polish, Polish composer, post, posting, premiere, price, project, quotations, race, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, racism, recording, retired, Revelation, Russia, Russian, sample, Saxophone, saxophonist, share, sing, singer, Singing, slave, slavery, soloist, song, soprano, speech, speeches, spirit, spiritual, Spotify, State of Wisconsin, streamed music, streaming, streaming service, symphony, tag, Tchaikovsky, Teacher, teaching, tenor, testimony, The Ear, think hear, tickets, time, title, tone, tune, Twitter, U.S., UK, United States, Viola, Violin, vocal music, vocalist, WCO, Website, William Banfield, William Volmar, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, work, works, world, world premiere, writings, X, year, York Bowen, you, YouTube
Why did obituaries for pop star Eric Carmen omit Rachmaninoff?
Leave a Comment
By Jacob Stockinger
The American songwriter and pop singer Eric Carmen (below) died in his sleep at 74 last Sunday. The cause has still not been revealed.
I haven’t checked out all the obituaries for Carmen, who fronted as the lead singer for The Raspberries before striking out on his own prolific and profitable career.
In the obits I did sample, I heard how the 2001 movie “Bridget Jones’s Diary” used Carmen’s “All By Myself” (1975) — with Renée Zellwegger on drums in the staring role — at the beginning of the hit film.
I heard how Céline Dion scored a huge hit with her version of the same song.
I heard praise quoted from the American superstar horror author, and sometimes amateur rock band member, Stephen King.
But all the obituaries thatI read on the web, saw on TV and heard on the radio omitted a central element of Carmen’s career in soft rock: his “theft” or “borrowing” — depending on what you think of his justification and the results of the lawsuit he lost — of music by Sergei Rachmaninoff (below).
Indeed, Carmen’s two biggest hits owe their irresistible melodies and harmonies — their tunes, if you will — to the Russian late Romantic composer (1873-1943).
Carmen — who was a trained classical pianist — certainly had a good ear, as his year-to-year, back-to-back hits demonstrated.
And he wasn’t ashamed to use what that ear heard and what he liked.
“All By Myself” uses a theme from the second movement of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (1901). The main melody of the last movement also gave rise to the often recorded popular song “Full Moon and Empty Arms.”
Carmen’s “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again” (1976) uses the main theme from the slow movement of Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 (1907).
If you liked Carmen’s songs, you just might like the original Rachmaninoff works, if you don’t already know them.
Here is a link to a story by Cynthia Dickison for yourclassical.org that not only recounts what happened with the lawsuit but also — with YouTube videos — offers comparisons between the original Rachmaninoff and Carmen’s reworkings.
https://www.yourclassical.org/story/2024/03/12/eric-carmen-sergei-rachmaninoff
Chances are very good that you will also hear the complete Rachmaninoff works on radio stations and in live performance a lot sooner and certainly a lot longer than you will hear Eric Carmen’s music.
Did you know about Eric Carmen’s “use” of Rachmaninoff?
What do you think of it?
What do you think it was ignored in obituaries?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #SongWriter, #YouTubevideo, 2001, All By Myself, Amazon, America, American, Apple, Arts, audience, back, Berlin Philharmonic, blog, borrow, borrowing, Bridget Jones' Diary, Bridget Jones's Diary, Carmen, Céline Dion, certainly, Classical music, complete, composer, Concert, concerto, copyright, credit, Cynthia Dickison, Daniil Trifonov, dead, death, die, drums, ear, Eric Carmen, Facebook, film, fine, Full Moon and Empty Arms, Google, Google Alert, harmony, hear, hit, Hollywood, Horror, ignore, irresistible, Jacob Stockinger, justification, law, lawsuit, lead singer, link, live music, live performance, Lorin Maazel, Madison, melody, movement, movie, Music, Never Gonna Fall in Love Again, obit, obituary, online, Orchestra, OS, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pianist, Piano, piracy, plagiarism, pop, pop music, popular, power pop, Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninov, Radio, read, recorded music, reworking, Rock, rock music, royalities, royalty, Russia, Russian, sample, see, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Rachmaninov, share, Sleep, Slow movement, soft, star, station, steal, Stephen King, superstar, symphony, tag, The Ear, Theft, theme, tune, TV, U.S., United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, use, Website, Wisconsin, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, year, yourclassical.org, YouTube
Here are winners of major international music competitions in 2023. What’s next?
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
Which young, up-and-coming classical musicians should you keep an eye on during the coming year?
Which ones, if any, will be booked in coming years to performance locally, say, at the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and the Wisconsin Union Theater; or at the Salon Piano Series; or as a University of Wisconsin Mead Witter School of Music guest artist?
One guide to 2024 and beyond might be to review the winners of the international music competitions held in 2023.
Thanks to The Violin Channel, here is a list of many such winners who may go on to establish more prominent careers. If you click on the names of the competitions, posted in red, you will be linked to fuller stories about the competitions, many of which you have probably never heard of. The Ear follows many contests but had never heard of many of these.
Here is a link:
You can find out about histories of the competitions, other prize winners, places they are held and how often, jury members and contest rules and formats, and more. And you can hear excerpts from some prestigious competitions including the Bischoff Chamber Music competition and a competition for young child prodigy violinists in Italy.
At the bottom of the story, you can hear a YouTube video with the 19-year-old, Asian-American pianist Magdelena Ho in her contest-winning performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 at the Clara Haskil Competition in Switzerland. She looks to have a promising future.
The winners came all continents — Asian, Africa, North America, South America and Europe.
And the competitions were held in many different places and focused on many different kinds or genres of classical music: violin, viola, cello, double bass and guitar; piano; saxophone;mharp; percussion and drums; chamber music and symphonic music; conducting; singing; and early music.
At the bottom is a vibrant performance of a familiar Bach suite by Canadian cellist Luka Coetzee who won Finland’s Paulo Competition and also took first prize at the Pablo Casals Competition on 2022.
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Up-and-Coming, #YouTubevideo, 2023, 2024, Africa, African, America, American, Android, Ann Arbor, Apple, Arts, Asia, asian, audience, Bach, Baroque, Beethoven, Bischoff, blog, Bonn, Boston, brass, Canada, Canadian, Cello, Chamber music, Child, children, China, Chinese, choral music, Clara Haskil, Classical, Classical music, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, continent, contralto, double bass, drums, Early music, Europe, Facebook, Finland, Finnish, format, France, French, future, genre, geography, German, Germany, Google, guest artist, guitar, Hanover, harp, History, Ho, international, Italian, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Kim, kind, Korean, Leonid Kogan, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mac, MacBook, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Massachusetts, Mead Witter School of Music, Michigan, Mozart, Music, music competition, Musician, North America, opera, Orchestra, OS, Overture Center, PC, Penderecki, percussion, perform, performance, Pianist, Piano, Poland, Polisy, prize, prodigies, prodigy, Romania, Romanian, rules, Russia, Russian, Salon Piano Series, Saxophone, Serge Koussevitsky, share, singer, Singing, Sonata, song, soprano, South Africa, South African, South America, South Korea, South Korean, stream, strong, study, Suite, Swiss, Switzerland, symphony, tag, Teacher, The Ear, U.S., United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, Viola, Violin, Violin Channel, violinist, violist, vocal music, Wee, win, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, won, year, young, young artists, YouTube
Remembering the classical musicians who died in 2023
3 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
It remains an end-of-the-year ritual: remembering the dead who brought beauty to us through music.
Here are remembrances of the classical musicians we lost in 2023.
From Presto Music comes a list of world-known talents who died this past year — plus those who died in recent past years. It is relatively short and has links to the full obituaries, including the of American mezzo-soprano Grace Bumbry (below, in 2009, in the singing the famous Habanera from Bizet’s “Carmen” in the YouTube video at the bottom). A pioneer, she was the first Black singer to perform at the annual summer Wagner festival in Beyreuth, Germany, and she performed at the Wisconsin Union Theater during the 1978-79 season:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/articles/obituary/browse
Here is a longer, less renowned and more international list from The Violin Channel.
It includes many very well known musicians, including Menahem Pressler (below who co-founded and played for more than 50 years with the Beaux Arts Trio, which performed several times at the Wisconsin Union Theater. He also taught at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
It also includes the jazz and classical bassist Richard Davis (below), who spent decades teaching and performing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music.
The Ear especially likes this list because ordinary “house” musicians — and not just stars — are remembered. After all, the majority of musicians who add so much to our lives are not stars — but usually just mainstream workers in the arts.
Click on the names in red to see the full biographies, many of which are more touching than you might expect — for example, the Ukrainian conductor who died young while defending his country against Russia.
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #YouTubevideo, 2023, African American, America, American, André Watts, Android, Apple, aria, Arts, Asia, asian, audience, Austria, Bach, baritone, Baroque, bass, Bayreuth, beauty, Beaux Arts Trio, Beethoven, Belgium, Berlin Philharmonic, biographies, Bizet, black, blog, Britain, Carmen, Cello, Chamber music, Choir, choral music, Classical, Classical music, Colombia, composer, Concert, concerto, conductor, Czech, Czech Republic, dead, death, dying, Early music, end, England, English, Facebook, famous, festival, Finland, Finnish, France, Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, German, Germany, Google, Grace Bumbry, Greece, Greek, Habanera, Hong Kong, House, Hungary, I Musici, Indiana University, Ingrid Haebler, international, Israel, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Japan, Japanese, Jazz, Jewish, Johann Sebastian Bach, Kaija Saariaho, know, Korea, Korean, Latvia, life, link, Liszt, lives, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Mead Witter School of Music, meaning, Menahem Pressler, mezzo-sorpano, Mozart, Mozart in the Jungle, Music, Musician, Netherlands, New Year, obituaries, obituary, Oboe, opera, Orchestra, OS, Oscars, Overture Center, passed, passing, perform, performance, performer, performing, Pianist, Piano, Piano Trio, popular, Prague, Presto Music, remember, remembrance, Renata Scotto, Richard Davis, ritual, Romania, Russia, Russian, Sakamoto, Scotland, share, singer, Singing, Sonata, South Korea, South Korean, star, String quartet, strings, summer, symphony, tag, teach, Teacher, tenor, The Ear, Turkey, Turkish, U.S., UK, Ukraine, Ukrainian, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, Viola, Violin, Violin Channel, vocal music, Wagner, winds, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Union Theater, woodwinds, worker, working, year, YouTube
NPR names the Top 10 classical recordings of 2023
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
Every holiday season, The Ear used to post various lists of the top classical recordings of the year as a kind of gift guide for giving or receiving CDs.
Such lists can still be used that way — especially now that audiophiles have turned to vinyl LPs that are quite expensive as well as limited in choice.
But since so many of us now have streaming services, I view such lists more and a guide to exploring rather than purchasing.
For example I can listen to the first album in 12 years by Awadagin Pratt (below and in the YouTube video at the bottom). It is “Stillpoint” and it features six pieces commissioned by Pratt. By streaming I can decide if I like it without buying it – and getting stuck if I don’t, which is often the case with new music.
Indeed, I think one of the best and most economical gifts one can gift a classical music lover is a trial subscription to a streaming service. For what it is worth, I find Apple Music and Apple Music Classical to be extremely useful and comprehensive in their offerings, including countless out-of-print vintage and outstanding recordings.
But their are several others — including Spotify, Idaho, Presto Music and Qobuz.
Plus, my hunch is that the coming year will bring improvements in offerings and user-friendly listening to all of the streaming services.
In any case, here is the Top 10 list of new recordings from 2023 with numerous YouTube samples and helpful comparisons to other composers and styles of music. It has been compiled by the veteran critic and blogger Tom Huizenga (below) of National Public Radio (NPR):
https://www.npr.org/2023/12/13/1218517774/the-10-best-classical-albums-of-2023
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #YouTubevideo, Android, Apple, Apple Music, Apple Music Classical, Arts, Arvo Part, Asia, asian, audience, Audiophile, Awadagin Pratt, Azuri Quartet, Bartok, blog, buy, CDs, Chamber music, China, Chinese, choral music, Classical music, commision, commissioned music, comparison, composer, comprehensive, Concert, concerto, contemporary, contemporary composer, Dante, Debussy, Divine Comedy, Dudamel, economical, Europe, European, Facebook, Finland, Finnish, German, Germany, Google, guide, Gustavo Dudamel, Holiday, Idagio, Jacob Stockinger, Jean Sibelius, Jessie Montgomery, Jessye Norman, Joan Tower, Jonathan Tetelman, Kaija Saariaho, Ligeti, link, Liszt, Lotta Wennäkoski, LPs, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mahler, Missy Mazzoli, Monteverdi, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Music, National Public Radio, New Music, NPR, opera, OS, out-of-print, Piano, Presto Music, Puccini, purchase, Qobuz, Rafael Payare, Raphaël Pichon, Rautavara, recorded music, recording, Richard Wagner, rounds, Saariaho, Season, share, Singing, Sonata, song, soprano, Spotify, Stillpoint, Stravinsky, streaming, style, subscribe, subscription, symphony, T.S. Eliot, tag, tenor, The Ear, Tom Huizenga, United States, useful, user-friendly, vesper, Vespers of 1610, vintage, vinyl, vocal music, year, YouTube, Yuja Wang
Here are the 2023 Gramophone awards
1 Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
Gramophone Magazine, based in London, is one the most respected publications in the world of classical music — even if it often shows a bias towards British labels, composers and performers.
Each year the magazine gives out awards chosen from the many new classical recordings that its critics review.
The awards ceremony is broadcast and fesatuyres live performances. Highlights will be included in a YouTGube video at the bottom and will be available on tomorrow, Oct. 8.
The categories are: Chamber, Choral, Concerto, Contemporary, Early Music, Instrumental, Opera, Orchestral, Piano, Song, Voice and Ensemble.
Also recognized are: Lifetime Achievement; Label of the Year; Recording of the Year; Young Artist of the Year; Artist of the Year; and Orchestra of the Year.
Here is a link to the Violin Channel and the short-listed nominees:
https://www.theviolinchannel.com/gramophone-classical-music-awards-2023-announces-shortlist/
And here is the list of the winning recordings. If you click on the category you will see the short citation and a photo of the album cover. Each winner citation also contains a link to the full Gramophone review with details and comparison This link also features a shortlist and a list of past award-winners back to 2006.
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/awards/gramophone-classical-music-awards-2023
That’s a lot of recommendations for new classical recordings to buy or stream.
Happy listening.
What do you think of the winning recordings?
Do you have any suggestions or Readers’ Choices?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #YouTubevideo, achievement, artist, Artist of the Year, Arts, audience, Bach, Baroque, Bartok, Beethoven, bias, Bloch, blog, Bolcom, British, buy, Cage, Cello, ceremony, Chamber music, choral music, citation, Classical music, comparison, composer, Concert, concerto, contemporary music, critic, Delius, details, Duparc, Dvorak, Early music, Elgar, England, English, ensemble, Facebook, Faure, Gramophone (magazine), Gramophone Award, Great Britain, History, Home, instrumental, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, label, lifetime, Ligeti, link, list, live music, London, Ludwig van Beethoven, magazine, media, Meyerbeer, Monteverdi, Mozart, Music, Nielsen, nominee, opera, Orchestra, performance, Piano, Puccini, rags, Ragtime, Ravel, Record label, recorded music, review, Schoenberg, Schubert, share, Sonata, song, stream, streaming, Streaming media, symphony, Szymanowski, tag, The Ear, The Violin Channel, Tippett, UK, United States, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Website, winner, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, year, young, YouTube
Opera Props merges with UW-Madison, becomes Friends of University Opera
Leave a Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
After more than 40 years of supporting the opera and voice programs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, Opera Props will become Friends of University Opera. (Below is a recent poster and at bottom is YouTube video of the production of Puccini’s popular “La Bohème”).
The new organization will be jointly administered.
Here is the official announcement:
Exciting news!
Change is coming!
Opera Props is now Friends of University Opera!
Opera Props Board members, working for two years with the Mead Witter School of Music and the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association, have laid the groundwork for a wonderful collaboration.
On July 1, Opera Props became Friends of University Opera!
The Friends group will continue to support the Voice and Opera program with newsletters and mailings, as well as hosting events to support our students, engage donors and encourage new audiences.
Friends will continue as advisors to Voice and Opera Faculty on use of funds for scholarships and production support.
This year we were able to award $35,000 in scholarships.
Cooperation with the Foundation will help us do even more!
Gifts to the University of Wisconsin Foundation will be designated for the Opera Program Fund (112625070).
Join, donate, show your support and meet the new singers at the Fall Showcase Concert ( in the beautiful Collins Recital Hall of the Hamel Music Center on campus.(Below are the participants of a past Fall Showcase concert at the First Unitarian Society in Madison)
Save the Date: Saturday, September 30, at 2 p.m.
A more detailed letter has been sent to the Opera Props mailing list under the signature of the current president Kathleen Harker. But The Ear cannot find the full version of it posted yet online at any website.
For more information about Opera Props, now Friends of University Opera, including past email newsletters, go to: https://www.uwoperaprops.org
For information about the prize-winning UW-Madison Opera program, go to: https://music.wisc.edu/university-opera/
Tags: #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #EmailNewsletter, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #Prize-Winning, #YouTubevideo, administer, advisor, alumni, Alumni association, announcement, Arts, audience, blog, change, choral music, Classical music, collaborative, Collins Recital Hall, composer, Concert, cooperation, David Ronis, donor, email, Facebook, faculty, fall, First Unitarian Society of Madison, foundation, friend, Friends of University Opera, fundraise, FUS, gift, Hamel Music Center, host, jointly, La bohème, letter, mailing, mailing list, Mead Witter School of Music, Music, music faculty, negotiations, news, newsletter, online, opera, Opera Props, Orchestra, Piano, popular, Poster, President, production, program, Puccini, scholarship, share, showcase, Student, students, support, tag, The Ear, Unitarian, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW Foundation, UW-Madison, vocal music, Website, Wisconsin, year, YouTube
Recent Comments
 | Brian Jefferies on Classical music: A major reass… |
 | welltemperedear on What made Beethoven sick and… |
 | rlhess5d5b7e5dff on What made Beethoven sick and… |
| welltemperedear on Beethoven’s Ninth turns 200… |
 | Robert Graebner on Beethoven’s Ninth turns 200… |
The Well-Tempered Ear 