GET CLOSER TO THE MUSIC

2020 2021

This season is a celebration and a bit of a liberation.

As orchestras across the globe celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, we have his first and last concertos planned to open and close our Masterworks series. New and neglected works mix with familiar favorites – Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms – contributing to a stunning season. Often overlooked works by Cherubini, Blake, Kabalevsky, and Stravinsky round out our Masterworks series at the Capitol Theater.

New soloist, virtuoso Spanish guitarist Mabel Millán, makes her US debut in March performing Ponce’s Guitar Concerto. World-class soloists, pianist John O’Conor, cellist Amit Peled, violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky, and pianist Michael Mizrahi, return to perform with the WCO.

We are excited to take select Masterworks performances to Brookfield at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts. Concerts on the Square®, our signature summer concert series, kicks off on Tuesday, July 28, and will feature guests from the Ho-Chunk Nation and a return of Jeans ’n Classics.

Thank you for keeping the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra close as your go-to classical music experience.

Andrew SewellMusic Director

WE CREATE

SOMETHING SPECIAL

As we begin our 60th year and Andrew Sewell’s 20th as our music director, we enter invigorated. Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra is a rarity, an elite team of musicians nestled in one of the most creative, caring, and daring cities in the country. We are delighted to perform this season’s Masterworks series in our hometown and now in Brookfield, too. As a cellist for 25 years and as your new CEO, I know the impact that music can have on our lives. I am honored to be part of this extraordinary, musician-forward orchestra and invite you to come closer to the music of the WCO.

Joe LoehnisCEO

WELCOME TO MASTERWORKS 20/21

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20/21

MASTERWORKS SERIES

MADISON, WICapitol Theater7:30 PM

I: November 20, 2020John O’ConorPIANO

II: January 15, 2021Amit PeledCELLO

III: February 19, 2021Alexander SitkovetskyVIOLIN

IV: March 19, 2021Mabel MillánGUITAR V: April 9, 2021Michael MizrahiPIANO

BROOKFIELD, WISharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts 7:30 PM

February 20, 2021Alexander SitkovetskyVIOLIN

April 10, 2021Michael MizrahiPIANO

Subscribe at wcoconcerts.org/subscribe, by phone at 608.257.0638, or by mail.

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MADISON PRE-CONCERT DINNERS

Enjoy a delightful evening at Madison’s Overture Center beginning with a delicious dinner served buffet-style and a lively discussion held in the Wisconsin Studio. Maestro Andrew Sewell, Wisconsin Public Radio’s Norman Gill i land, and the concert guest artist will enlighten you with insights into the evening’s Masterworks concert repertoire.

Reservations for the intimate pre-concert dinners must be made at least one week prior to the concerts.

Pre-Concert Dinners are offered prior to Madison Masterworks performances only.

Dinners are $45. Cash bar is available.

To reserve your spot, call 608.257.0638.

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Doors open at 5:30 PM Dinner is served at 6:00 PM Discussion begins at 6:30 PM

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

Cellist Amit Peled is an audience favorite, proven to be a big player with a big sound and a big heart. He performs two works, the rarely performed concerto by Kabalevsky that requires some muscle, and Offenbach’s Andante. I heard Offenbach’s Andante on the radio, didn’t recognize it and was enthralled. It’s soulful and Romantic, showing a serious side to this composer otherwise known for writing the Can-Can.

In Dvořák’s Serenade for winds and Christopher Blake’s Pawarenga for strings, we hear both sections shine, concluding with Mozart’s Symphony No. 34 in C.

Dvořák’s Wind Serenade is a grand work without violins or violas, just cellos, basses, and woodwinds, and consequently unusual to program. Since the strings are engaged with the Blake piece, it gives plenty for the winds to do, and as such, makes a great pairing. Finally, Mozart’s Symphony No. 34 in C is a shorter symphony of only three movements, aligning this rather diverse repertoire combination onto familiar ground.

MASTERWORKS INovember 20, 2020 - Madison

John O’ConorPIANO

REPERTOIRE

Igor Stravinsky | Septet

Luigi Cherubini | Symphony in D major

Ludwig van Beethoven | Piano Concerto No. 5, Emperor

MASTERWORKS IIJanuary 15, 2021 – Madison

Amit PeledCELLO

REPERTOIRE

Christopher Blake | Night Journey to Pawarenga

Dmitry Kabalevsky | Cello Concerto No. 1

Antonín Dvořák | Serenade in D minor

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Symphony No. 34

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DIRECTOR’S NOTES

John O’Conor’s gift for Beethoven never disappoints. I can’t think of anyone else in my acquaintance with an instant rapport with the orchestra that makes the experience so musically rewarding and intimate. Loved by our orchestra and audience alike, O’Conor is a statesman and musical icon.

The Emperor Concerto is gargantuan, so named for its grandeur and highly sophisticated form. This is Beethoven at his most intense, personal, and sublime. So much so that in this capacity we are treating it as the main course or the steak, putting it in the second half, more like a symphony, with Stravinsky and Cherubini as appetizers and a salad.

Stravinsky’s Septet and Cherubini’s Symphony No. 1 open the concert. Stravinsky, an early twentieth-century composer, is spicy and spiky; the dissonance and pared-down instrument combination adds curiosity and variety. While Cherubini, an early Classical composer, composed mainly operas in the grand French tradition, but broke away to compose in other forms. Surprisingly, the Symphony No. 1 is an excellent example of his symphonic literature, revealing much more about this often-overlooked composer.

MASTERWORKS IIIFebruary 19, 2021 – MadisonFebruary 20, 2021 – Brookfield

Alexander SitkovetskyVIOLIN

REPERTOIRE

Leoš Janáček | Suite for Strings

Astor Piazzolla | The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires

Antonio Vivaldi | The Four Seasons

MASTERWORKS IVMarch 19, 2021 – Madison

Mabel MillánGUITAR

REPERTOIRE

Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga | Los Esclavos Felices Overture

Manuel Ponce | Concierto del Sur

Ernesto Halffter | Sinfonietta in D major

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DIRECTOR’S NOTES

We cannot wait to hear the Vivaldi Four Seasons performed by London-based virtuoso Alexander (Sasha) Sitkovetsky, paired with Astor Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires in this all-strings program. Janáček’s Suite for strings, just as soulful as compatriot Antonin Dvořák, is rarely heard outside the Czech Republic and deserves a wider audience.

Sasha Sitkovetsky and I first worked together in Monterey in 2009 performing Paganini Violin Concerto No. 1, then performed Beethoven together in 2012 and Barber in 2015 with the WCO. When invited to play Vivaldi this season, Sasha, known for his gusto and stamina, immediately suggested the pairing with Piazzolla’s iconic The Four Seasons.

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

Spanish guitarist and rising star, Mabel Millán makes her US debut performing Manuel Ponce’s Guitar Concerto along with an all-Spanish program of early classical composer Arriaga’s Los Esclavos Felices Overture and Halffter’s Sinfonietta for chamber orchestra, a vibrant work akin to Stravinsky’s Pulcinella.

As fortune would have it, I was originally scheduled to conduct this in Hong Kong in November 2019, along with the Halffter Sinfonietta. However, the concerto was changed. The idea of an all-Spanish program intrigued me, especially with a Spanish guitarist. The Halffter was an incredible find. It has a Stravinskian influence yet is entirely unique. Halffter was Manuel de Falla’s protégé and catalogued all his works posthumously.

SPECIALPERFOMANCES

FAMILY SERIESOctober 10, 2020 at 9:30 AMGoodman Center-Ironworks, Madison

March 27, 2021 at 9:30 AMGoodman Center-Brassworks, Madison

VERONA AREA PERFORMING ARTS SOCIETYNovember 7, 2020 at 7:30 PMVerona Area Performing Arts Center

HANDEL’S MESSIAHDecember 9, 2020 at 7 PMBlackhawk Church, Middleton

December 12, 2020 at 2 PMHamel Music Center, Madison

MASTERWORKS VApril 9, 2021 – MadisonApril 10, 2021 – Brookfield

Michael MizrahiPIANO

REPERTOIRE

Ludwig van Beethoven | Piano Concerto No. 1

Johannes Brahms | Serenade No. 1THE NUTCRACKERWITH MADISON BALLETDecember 17-27, 2020Overture Hall, Madison

MASTERWORKS VI May 14, 2021 at 7:30 PMCapitol Theater, Madison

Yolanda Kondonassis | HARP

Prokofiev | Sinfonietta Ginastera | Harp ConcertoHaydn | Symphony No. 88

WYSO SIDE BY SIDE PROJECT PERFORMANCEMay 22, 2021Hamel Music Center, Madison

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DIRECTOR’S NOTES

Michael Mizrahi teaches at Lawrence Conservatory and has appeared twice with us on the Square. We wanted to introduce him to our Masterworks audience and asked which Beethoven Concerto he would enjoy – the No. 1. With the variety of repertoire and composers in Masterworks II, III, and IV, we want to close the 20/21 Masterworks series by reintroducing lesser-known masterpieces truly written for chamber orchestra.

In Brahms’ case we see his development and transition to the eventual symphonic form. His two serenades were indeed orchestral studies. As a serenade, it was customary to vary the performance and orders of movements. In keeping with tradition we will open with the fifth movement Scherzo, treating it like an overture, then complete the serenade following the Beethoven Concerto. Serenades were considered to be an entire evening entertainment with self-contained movements. It is a glorious indulgence, well-balanced.

New Schedule for 2020

NOW TUESDAYS AT 6 PMKing Street Corner of the Capitol Square

2020

RESERVE YOUR TABLE

Contact: Ell iott Valentine at 608.257.0638 or ell iottvalentine@wcoconcerts.org

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Tuesday, July 28

TCHAIKOVSKY ROCKSMaxim Lando, piano, 2020 Gilmore Young Artist Award

Mussorgsky | Night on Bald MountainTchaikovsky | Piano Concerto No. 1Rimsky-Korsakov | Scheherazade

Tuesday, August 4

GOSPEL AND SYMPHONYLeotha Stanley & Friends Middleton High School Choir, dir. Jamie Pitt

Mechem | Blow Ye the Trumpet from Songs of the Slave suite O’Landa Draper | Praise the Lord Everybody Borodin | Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor

Tuesday, August 11

HO-CHUNK NATION AND THE PLANETSElliott Funmaker and Wisconsin Dells Singers and Dancers

Holst | Mars, the Bringer of War Traditional, arr. Funmaker | Flag Song, Dejope SongHolst | Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity

Tuesday, August 18

LIBERTYAntonio Wu, piano, 2020 Young Artist Concerto Competition Winner

Gershwin | Girl Crazy OvertureLowden | Armed Forces SaluteTchaikovsky | 1812 Overture

Tuesday, August 25

THAT’S MY JAMJeans ‘n Classics

Faith Evans | Love Like ThisGotye | Somebody that I Used to KnowPharrell Williams | Happy

Tuesday, September 1

FOR THE GREATER GROOVETracy Silverman, electric violin

Tchaikovsky | Sleeping Beauty WaltzSilverman | For the Greater Groove (world premiere)Ellington | Nutcracker Suite

*Programs subject to change

FAMILY SERIES

The WCO’s Family Series is a free program that offers an engaging exploration of music for families with children of all ages. The format is purposefully different from typical concert settings, so moving around or making noise during the show is welcomed and encouraged!

Beethoven Lives Next Door follows the story of the famous classical composer, Beethoven, who is struggling with his loss of hearing, love of music, and acceptance of his fate as he writes his Fifth Symphony. Excerpts from the symphony highlight the strong emotions Beethoven is feeling while he writes. The program teaches children about the orchestra and the musical concepts of melody and dynamics, all while exposing them to the sounds of live orchestral music and connecting music to their emotions.

SUPER STRINGS

Developed by Maestro Sewell in 2016, the Super Strings Program connects early-elementary school children at Madison’s Lussier Community Education Center with a WCO musician who provides the students with a music education curriculum and violin lessons.

The curriculum includes basic violin techniques, including care for the instrument and bow, learning how to hold the bow, practicing rhythm, and bow arm exercises.

WYSO SIDE BY SIDE PROJECT

Since 2006, the WCO has collaborated with Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra’s (WYSO) musicians in the Side by Side Project. The Side by Side Project launches with a day of rehearsals and mentoring activities. Musicians from WCO and WYSO participate in two full orchestra rehearsals with Maestro Andrew Sewell and hold instrument-based sectional work with WCO musicians. The project culminates with an afternoon dress rehearsal, mentor dinner, and free admission performance in Overture Hall for the community.

YOUTH &EDUCATION

YOUNG ARTIST CONCERTO COMPETITION

The Young Artist Concerto Competition is a highly regarded competition in which Wisconsin’s young musicians in piano, string, woodwind, brass, and percussion, grades 9-12, compete for scholarships and the opportunity to perform as a soloist with the WCO at Concerts on the Square. Auditions are adjudicated by a small panel composed of the WCO Music Director and musicians, providing valuable professional development for aspiring musicians.

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2020 YACC Winner, Antonio Wu, pianist,

and Runner-up, Ally Hansen, tubist

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