Shawn Werner
Performing Arts Committee Director
The 2011-2012 Concert Series season features three established artists, and an artist who is just starting out her own history--the Grammy nominated Caroline Goulding. At just 19 years old, she has already accomplished what most will not in a lifetime.
Performing Arts Committee Director
The 2011-2012 Concert Series season features three established artists, and an artist who is just starting out her own history--the Grammy nominated Caroline Goulding. At just 19 years old, she has already accomplished what most will not in a lifetime.
Goulding has performed at major venues in North America, including the Lincoln Center and Le Poisson Rouge in Manhattan, and the Kennedy Center in DC; she has performed with prestigious orchestras such as the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared on stage with well-known artists like Bela Fleck (who is a part of the 2011-2012 Jazz Series!). Oh, and did I mention she won the Avery Fischer Career Grant a couple of months ago? No big deal, right? WRONG. She's basically set for life -- at 19 years old! She'll definitely be one for the music history textbooks.
Here's a performance of the first movement of Tartini's G minor Sonata for piano and violin (aka the Devil's Trill), and I'd advise watching the whole 8:45 minutes because she truly does bring individuality and character to the piece.
There's a full,18 minutes long, performance of the piece on YouTube, which I strongly recommend too.
The other three featured artists/ensembles have already claimed their unique cornerstones and are definitely worth mentioning. First is the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble.
Now, ASMF (as commonly referred), an all string chamber ensemble founded by the Sir Neville Marriner, has an interesting history in that they never really were directed by a conductor. The closest thing they have to a conductor is a music director, who is now Joshua Bell. The ensemble's aim was to perform string chamber works and simultaneously boost baroque music's image in England. And thank goodness they did! They are now among the most recorded classical group anywhere. Have you ever seen the movies Amadeus, The English Patient, or Titanic? Do you remember hearing all of the classical music (strings, of course)? Yeah, that was them. And, interestingly, they also are responsible for the UEFA Champions League Anthem (for you soccer fans out there):
The point is, some of you have probably never heard of ASMF, but have definitely heard their music (it's a common syndrome in music -- I sometimes have it), and this is your chance to actually see them perform live!
The point is, some of you have probably never heard of ASMF, but have definitely heard their music (it's a common syndrome in music -- I sometimes have it), and this is your chance to actually see them perform live!
Secondly, the David Finckel, Wu Han, and Philip Setzer piano trio is comprised of two Emerson String Quartet members (who have performed at the Wisconsin Union Theater in the 2009-2010 Season), cellist David Finckel and violinist Philip Setzer, and the third member of the piano trio is pianist Wu Han. Wu Han has an extremely accomplished resume, being an in-demand concert pianist and soloist, performing around the world on a regular basis with esteemed orchestras in distinguished concert halls, serving as the co-artistic director (the other being her husband, David Finckel) of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Music@Menlo, founder of the online recording company ArtistLed , and the leader of many other classical music initiatives.
Last, but certainly not least, is pianist Peter Serkin.
Admittedly he is, often, associated with his father, Rudolf Serkin, also a very well known concert pianist. But Peter has clearly demonstrated his own classical music career, separate from his father',s and rightly so. He began playing at the age of 11 in 1958, studied and graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in 1965, won many esteemed classical music competitions, and received an honorary doctorate from the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) in Boston. What's interesting is that he soon stopped performing and playing for a while, and made the move to Mexico with his family. It wasn't until he heard music of JS Bach being played over the radio from a neighbor's home that he decided to again pick up playing and performing. Moving back to the US, his music career took instant fire, with him performing all around the globe with the world's most revered orchestras, in highly acclaimed music halls such as Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Though his repertoire expands over 400 years of music, Serkin is an adamant supporter of new music and has premiered many works by composers such as Wolpe and Takemitsu. He seems to be an experimentalist, too. You might've listened to some Beethoven sonatas being played on fortepianos (the pianos that Beethoven would've used) -- this practice was pioneered by Peter. And to think this was sparked by mere curiosity: "I wonder what his (Beethoven's) sonatas sounded like on the piano he composed them on?". They're really cool to listen to -- the fortepiano brings a whole new light to the sonatas that modern pianos just can't, unfortunately, do.
Going back to Peter and his father, they have performed together and, probably the most famous duet is Schubert's March in G Major, Op. 52, No. 2. Here's a performance of the piece hosted by Van Cliburn:
So there you have it -- the 2011-2012 Concert Series at the Wisconsin Union Theater. I must say that to have these performers grace us with their presence here at the Union Theater is a privilege for us. I'm incredibly excited about the upcoming season and I hope you are as well, especially about Caroline Goulding, simply because she's just starting her career. It will be awesome to say in the future something along the lines of, "I remember when Caroline was just a young tot, first starting out!". To be honest, I seriously can't wait until the Concert Series Season begins in September!
