ONLINE: Madison Bach Musicians

×

Expand

courtesy Madison Bach Musicians

Madison Bach Musicians members violinist Kangwon Kim, Trevor Stephenson and James Waldo (left to right) in rehearsal.

Madison Bach Musicians were a favorite of Isthmus' late classical music critic, John Barker, so we'd hate for folks to miss out on this special livestream performance from Grace Episcopal Church. The program features music by Vienna's Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). Top-shelf talent includes soprano Morgan Balfour (winner of the 2019 Handel Aria Competition), violinist Kangwon Kim, cellist James Waldo, and fortepianist (and MBM director) Trevor Stephenson. As always, Stephenson will provide a pre-show lecture at 7:30 pm, with the concert livestream at 8 pm on Saturday. On Sunday, the lecture and concert will be rebroadcast at 3 pm, followed by a live Q&A with musicians in their homes. Tickets are $15 per household and include a link to view the concert through Oct. 8.

press release: Madison Bach Musicians season-opening livestream from the acoustically fabulous sanctuary of Madison's Grace Episcopal Church on the Capitol Square, October 3 & 4, 2020.

Saturday, October 3, 7:30 pm lecture, 8 pm concert followed by a Q & A 

Sunday, October 4, 3:00 pm lecture, 3:30 concert rebroadcast of Saturdays stream followed by a new live Q & A with musicians in their homes

We’ll start our season with a livestream concert event that pays tribute to the poise, wit, and irrepressible joy of Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). Though the two composers came from very different musical and socio-economic backgrounds—Haydn, lower working class, rural, musical but untrained; Mozart, urban, solid middle class, musically trained, sophisticated, and ambitious―both managed to carve out successful careers in the fertile musical culture of Vienna and its environs. They certainly knew each other and even made music together on occasion, playing in string quartets—with Haydn on violin and Mozart on viola! In 1785 Mozart wrote a set of six string quartets dedicated to Haydn. The works were played for Haydn at Mozart’s apartment, and, according to Mozart’s father, Leopold (also in attendance that evening), Haydn said to him: “Before God, and as an honest man, I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name. He has taste, and, what is more, the most profound knowledge of composition.”

Soprano Morgan Balfour―who astonished the 2019 Handel Aria Competition audience with her first-prize performance―will return to Madison and join violinist Kangwon Kim, cellist James Waldo, and fortepianist Trevor Stephenson on a guided tour of sonatas, trios, and songs by these two unrivaled masters of the classical style. The program will cover a vast emotional range, from the opening violin & fortepiano dialogue—Mozart’s pensive and lyrical Sonata in E minor–to his ebullient Trio in G major, to his inimitable songs (Das Veilchen, Als Luise die Briefe …, Un moto di gioja, Dans un bois solitaire, An Chloe), through to Haydn’s ardent and sometimes naughty songs (The Mermaid, Fidelity, Die zu Späte Ankunft der Mutter), and concluding with his uproarious Trio in C major!

After purchasing tickets for $15 per household, you will be sent a link to access the performance.  In case you miss the Saturday and Sunday concerts, or if you just want to enjoy the broadcast again, on Sunday evening October 4, MBM will email all ticket holders a new link that will allow you to view the Saturday evening livestream as many times as you like up through Thursday evening October 8.