Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra

When I was about twelve years old my mother bought me a Hohner chromatic harmonica and an instruction book for it. All the music in the book was by J. S. Bach--no kidding! I spent one summer trying unsuccessfully to coax a decent rendition of the "Tocata and Fugue" from that mistreated instrument. I put the harp back in its box, put the box in my dresser, and decided that I would always hate classical music.

I did not hear any more classical music until I took a speech class at Lamar State College in Beaumont, Texas, in the Spring of 1962. During one class we had a show-and-tell exhibition. I can't remember what I brought to show the class and talk about, but I was smart enough not to attempt to play the "Tocata and Fugue" on my old harmonica, which still lay quietly in its box in my dresser collecting dust. One member of the class brought a record player and a stack of classical records. If you are under forty-five you have never heard of the record-player, or turntable, so go to Wikipedia and look it up. For the first time, I heard classical music played the way it is supposed to sound, and I have loved it ever since. During the past forty-years I have spent thousands of hours listening to classical music on the radio and on LPs, casette tapes, and CDs.

This evening in Madison the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra held one of its free Concerts on the Square (in front of the State Capitol). The concert featured the Queen of the Orchestra - the violin of course. A few people claim they prefer that ridiculous huge boxy thing that has 88 keys and makes those strange tinkling sounds, but their opinion does not count. True classical music fans are loyal subjects of the true daughter of Euterpe, the instrument God himself, in the guise of Andrea Amati, developed in Italy in the sixteenth century. Tonight's program featured these selections:

1. Overture from The Fair Melusina (Mendelssohn)

2. Hungarian Folk Dance Suite, Op. 18, I. Allegro risulto a ben marcato (Leo Weiner)

3. Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso ( Camille Saint-Saens)

4. Overture from Donna Diana ( Nicklaus von Reznicek- I am not familiar with him ahd Wikipedia does not have an article on him )

5. Violin Concerto No. 2 in B minor, Op. 7, "La Campanella" (Paganini
)

6. Finlandia (Sibelius)

For me, the highlight of the progam was Saint-Saens "Rondo and Capriccioso," one of my favorite classical works. The sensational American-Icelandic violinist Judith Ingolfsson was the soloist. This lovely young lady has "got game" and she really has her chops on the violin. Classical music lovers can look forward to enjoying her performances for the next several decades.