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Home Beginner Friendly 10 important lessons about Magic and life – Wisdom Fae Under the...
10 important lessons about Magic and life – Wisdom Fae Under the Bridge by Graeme McIntyre
Graeme McIntyre
Image by Anna Przywecka
"Friendship…is not something you learn in school.
But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship,
you haven't really learned anything."
– Muhammad Ali
I recently played a Modern PPTQ in Wolverhampton, in which I got crushed and David Inglis won this event. When we were heading back to our car to get home, we became aware that the multistory carpark in which our car was located was already closed – until Monday. Sheila Whysall offered to drive from Nottingham to Wolverhampton to take us home, but by this time we were already in Andy Quinn's car. Andy, who was the head judge for this event, elected to drive a 2.5 hour round trip after judging all day to get us home, rather than see us stuck. This is one of the coolest things I've seen in Magic in recent times, and made me feel really good about our community. So today, I thought I'd write an article about the people in Magic who have had a big impact on me, helping me out and teaching me over the years, along with what they've taught me.
1. Stand your ground
Craig Mason was the original owner of Highlander Games in Dundee. I used to go into the shop after school, as did a couple of my friends, and he was like a big brother to us. I was a pretty messed up kid (worse as a young adult), and he talked me through my problems instead of just banning me for some of the totally unreasonable things I said and did in the shop. He even gave me a job some years down the line.
Craig taught me to stand my ground, when I knew what I was talking about, even if other more experienced players were shouting me down. Often discussion in Magic can be a popularity contest rather than a rational debate. As I developed in ability, I would often put myself at a disadvantage in these "discussions" through my aggressive approach, meaning that the weaker argument prevailed at times. Craig helped me understand that it's one thing to sell people on an idea, and another one – to be sold on one myself.
2. Appreciate the depth
Oli Bird is a level three judge from Dublin and has been around forever. We've known each other for over 10 years now, having got to know each other at GPs across Europe and then various weekends when I went to the Irish PTQ to play, or he went to a Scottish PTQ to play. In my early twenties I was frequently short of both cash and cards, and Oli was quick with both. He's had my back when others have condemned me plenty of times, too.
Oli plays more Sealed than anyone I know, apart from Neil Rigby. He wins a lot too. Every time a new set comes out, I try and have a reasonably long conversation about the format with Oli, as he doesn't just play – he thinks loads about the format, too. A well-informed perspective formed in isolation is a really useful thing in Limited. Often I have tried a card based on Oli's appraisal and been better for it.
3. Community is important
Gary Campbell is the grandfather of Scottish Magic. 19 years ago, he was a guy who came into the shop who was widely considered to be one of the best in the country, and he had all the cards (Power 9, working on second playsets of dual lands… all the cards), but friendly and happy made time for me. 17 years ago, he was teaching me how to be a reasonable card player as he might have an apprentice (e.g. scolding and hazing, but well-meant), always quick to loan cards and generous in trade. 16 years ago, he was driving me to PTQs all over the country. 12 years ago, he was my boss in Highlander Games after he bought it from Craig Mason. 8 years ago, he was telling new people "watch Fod; he's good, you'll learn." (for new readers: that's me).
After I left Dundee for University in Glasgow he got the unit next to the shop to expand, followed by the one on the other side a few years later. Back in the day, Magic was much less successful and card shops were rarely profitable. Highlander Games and the community for which it is responsible is an impressive thing, especially if you know the story of how it got there.
I once won a PTQ when I was super skint, and back then they used to give you money instead of paying for the flight. The guy I split the final with was hasting me for the cash (which I didn't have – they didn't pay you quickly). Gary just paid him whatever it was – close to £200 I think.
It's hard to think of something in particular that Gary taught me because I would say that he was the most important person in my fundamental development (although, many others contributed in part). Some things that stick out beyond "FFS, Fod! Don't block like that, you dozy mare!" are to ask how many cards people have regularly (to make them think twice about drawing extra, but also because it's an often overlooked part of evaluating the game state) and not to play too fast (although, always faster than him…).
4. Creatures mean power
Jeremy Mansfield is a pretty interesting guy. A few years ago he would have been instantly recognizable as "that guy from Scotland who wears all the weird hats" to anyone in the north of England and Scotland. An incredibly decent human being who has driven me all over the place, loaned me cards for more events than I even remember playing, and been acting in my best interest on the internet for nearly two decades.
Jeremy doesn't play the cards that have a feel bad effect on the game – Plow Under or Armageddon, for instance – for moral reasons. Onto of this he likes to build his own decks/modify existing decks substantially. Discussing Constructed format with Jeremy has definitely helped me in lateral thinking about sideboard cards, and more importantly it's taught me to look for the powerful effects.
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While Jeremy will steer clear of wrecking your lands, or countering your spells, he will have no issue at all in pummelling you with some big monster. Sometimes the difference between an expensive EDH creature, and a total house like Thragtusk isn't immediately obvious, but Jeremy – who won't be reading the blue instants on the spoiler – will have thought a great deal about the rare and mythic creatures, which are often actually the good cards. He sacrifices some options, but gains heightened senses for other options. Like Daredevil.
Craig Jones is something of a hero of mine. The second and third Pro Tours I qualified for were PT LA, where I didn't have a place to stay, and Craig let me crash on his floor, even though we barely knew each other, and PT Honolulu, where Craig came second. Throughout the preparation for both these events which Craig headed up (email lists over a 6-month period, or so), he demonstrated a desire for the UK to be something more than it currently was (and still is). He wanted it to be comparable with other European countries of equal size, which have always outperformed the UK. He talked about this with genuine passion. That generation of successful UK Magic players were by and large a class act, but Craig seemed like the most obvious example, if for no other reason, than he once top decked Lightning Helix in the Top 8 of a Pro Tour.
Craig taught me to lead by example. I've been better and worse than I currently am at this, but I do try to be an exemplar for others. A combination of being easily frustrated and precious about my time hampers this effort, but I do try.
6. Put your ego away
Guy Southcott is a Glasgow player who rarely plays now. He was universally happy to loan me cards, and always up for driving me places, and did more than his share of organizing the particulars of events. He stuck his neck out for me when the occasion warranted it. Fair, reasonable, generous, and dependable. Exactly the sort of person you want around as a testing partner.
Guy was pretty successful around the time I moved to Glasgow, for a period of 4 years or so. I can't remember how many Pro Tours he has qualified for, but I have a suspicion that it's more than my own 5, and he only really played for 4 years, to my 15 of serious play. He worked hard, and basically never let his ego get in the way of anything. He listened far more than he spoke, and he learned as a result. I try and base the way I approach Magic largely on how Guy did, especially where ego is concerned. No pointless arguments for me, please!
7. Relax and relationships
Martin Cairns, a very long time ago, used to own a shop in Glasgow called Arena Games. He's in his mid-forties, from a rough area bit of the city, not university-educated – not the standard demographic for a Magic player, for sure. I'm the second person in my family to go to university, and loads of the people I grew up around were like Martin. My Father had passed 18 months before I moved to Glasgow, and I suppose both of these things contributed to our unlikely friendship. There were loads of things which I didn't like about Magic in Glasgow – and for the most part he and I were in agreement or at least he could see where I was coming from. He'd often given me a lift and showed concern over my safety – tournaments often finished up pretty late, and it wasn't difficult to get in trouble in the south side of Glasgow. He helped me a bunch of times with stuff that's a pain if you're short on cash and can't drive: like moving house, picking up furniture. If I ever got in any real trouble, I'd have called Martin.
On the last day of our move from Glasgow to Nottingham, it was just me and Martin. We'd stopped in the stair well, and he said – out of the blue – "@*~! sake mate, I'll probably never see you again." I nearly cried.
Martin didn't play Constructed but would often draft 2-3 times a week in real life, as well as a bunch online. We talked loads about Limited and were pretty competitive – there was a white board in the shop along the bottom of which was a score between him and me. He was also a massive wind up merchant, no matter what game we were playing, and in addition to various dubious combat tricks he convinced me could make the cut from time to time, my psychological game improved drastically due in equal parts to phasing out a lot of his antics, and in taking myself less seriously.
8. Tempo FTW
Bradley Barclay and I started testing together in 2002, and while he has taken time out of the game off and on, we have always been super tight. It's a strange thing to consider that he was 12 when we first met, now that I'm 30. We've slept in train stations together, travelled to a Pro Tour, been to countless events, tested 1000's of games, been right there for each other when people close to us have died, sought each other council on all the big choices. Needless to say he's fought my corner 100s of times, because he was a close friend of mine when I was 17-21.
I was better than Bradley when we first started testing, but it only took him 6 months to catch up, and 6 months later he was considerably better than me. The biggest thing I learned from Bradley was the importance of tempo in Limited, and how having a good curve would allow you to obliterate most people (before playing Magic he was a studious chess player). But I could just as easily attribute 10% of all knowledge I had about any Limited format he and I drafted together, the fundamentals of building a Control list, how to win Control mirrors, how to sideboard for Aggro mirrors… basically, everything that Gary Campbell hadn't taught me which Bradley and I were on a trajectory to learning, Bradley picked up before me – then he taught me. I doubt I would have accomplished much in Magic if it wasn't for this friendship.
9. Attention to details
Ross Jenkins is the only person who I feel like I "trained" to be a serious Magic player, who stuck it out. It's gutting that he's never been on the Pro Tour. I still play Magic with Ross on a regular basis, even though he lives miles away. There's so much to be said for a good testing arrangement, and if nothing else, Ross is now pretty isolated from people who are on his level. After I moved to Glasgow, it was me and Ross who tested loads, instead of Bradley and I (they both later ended up moving to Glasgow as well as it happens), and naturally this means that we have played loads and loads of Magic. We've travelled loads, too, and have a lot of mutual interests in respect to philosophy and social theory. We're super tight.
Ross and I learned a lot of things together, but three things strike me as particularly important. When I moved, it became apparent – in the face of fairies, and Cruel Control – that my Control game had stopped developing at some point, and we relearned Control to fix this (meaning I wasn't stuck just playing beat down when it was bad). Second, we learned how and when to stick on a deck, and when to drop it, even though this was mostly a result of learning from our mistakes (e.g. we stuck too often). Lastly, Ross is excellent at applying critical thought in an impartial way throughout a process, and to fairly minor details. I am generally a broad brush strokes sort of person. Back then I often lacked perspective and I was inattentive to details. I can still lose some details now, but I can normally see them coming and try to double check.
10. Patience and passage of time
The number of times I've argued with, then ultimately accepted, the advice of Joe Jackson doesn't reflect well on me. Maybe I should just skip that first step? We've been pretty good friends since he drove me and two others 11 hours each way to Minehead from Dundee for GenCon in Kamigawa Block Limited season. We played Warcraft together as well as playing loads of Magic in Dundee. We're really close friends, and he's been there during some of my darkest points. He's loaned me money, fixed my computer, looked over academic applications for me, and just generally had my back for years. I was pretty gutted when he moved back to Glasgow after his degree, and thought it was a pity that he was in Warwick by the time I have moved to Glasgow. As it happens he moved to Nottingham not a long time after I did, and now we're looking at buying houses in the same part of town, 10 years down the line.
Joe does well in complicated board situations, which has been a weakness of mine at times. To a large extent I've gotten away with it, because other people are even worse at them then me, and by simply waiting you can often reap great rewards from their impatience. That said, it's possible to work through things a lot of the time, because frequently half the permanents aren't especially relevant.
Apart from Joe, I don't really see these guys very often now, but just as I met new people in Glasgow when I moved from Dundee, I have met new people in Nottingham. I play loads of cards with Matt Light, Neil Rigby and David Inglis, and while those relationships are solid, there are other irons in the fire. There are loads of great people around in Magic, and plenty of opportunities to make meaningful and lasting friendships. I suppose it goes without saying, but I am exceptionally grateful for the opportunities which I have had, and the friends I have made.
That's it for this week, next week I'll have something to say about the testing process I used for the upcoming RPTQ, and a report on that event.
Community Question: What good is Magic if you don't have a Gathering?
Wisdom Fae Under The Bridge
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I've been playing magic since the end of Rath Block, and I've been a tournament regular since Invasion Block. I started studying for a PhD in Sociology at University of Leicester in 2017. I was born In Scotland, but moved to Nottingham three years ago, seeking new oppertunities both academic and magical. I play regularly with David Inglis, Alastair Rees and Neil Rigby. I've been on 5 Pro Tours the 2016 English World Cup Team, and Scottish 2003 European Championship Team, but what I really bring to the table is experience. I've played 136 Pro Tour Qualifiers, 18 Grand Prixs, 11 National Championships, 13 World Magic Cup Qualifers, 51 Preliminary Pro Tour Qualifiers and more little tournaments than I can remember. More than anything else, my articles are intended to convey the lessons of this lived experience. Likes - robust decks, be they control, midrange, beatdown or combo. Cryptic Commands, Kird Apes and Abzan Charms. Dislikes - decks that draw hot and cold. Urza's Tower, Life From the Loam and Taigam's Scheming.
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Classical music: The Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society closes its 28th season this weekend by honoring three guest artists. Plus, here are all the winners of the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition
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ALERT: The Ear has been following two competitors in the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia who have local ties. (The only American to win Gold was cellist Zlatomir Fung.) The final results are in: trumpet player Ansel Norris took fifth place and received an artist's diploma; pianist Kenneth Broberg shared the third prize with two other winners. For a complete list of winners in all the categories — piano, violin, cello, voice, brass and woodwinds — go to this page: https://tch16.com/en/news/
You can also watch and listen to, via live streaming, the two Gala Concerts for the winners today at 11 a.m. and on Saturday at 1 a.m. Valery Gergiev will conduct both. Go to https://tch16.medici.tv
This Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society will close out its 28th annual summer chamber music season with concerts in Madison, Stoughton and Spring Green.
Judging by the first two weekends of concerts, The Ear expects it to be a memorable conclusion of the season with the punning theme of "Name Dropping."
Here is the announcement he received.
"Our third week of concerts celebrates three great musicians, all of whom are audience favorites: cellist couple Anthony ("Tony") Ross and Beth Rapier; and firebrand violinist Carmit Zori.
"And the Tony Award for Rapier Wit goes to…" is a program centered around cello duets. Rapier and Ross (below), principal and co-principal cellists with the Minnesota Orchestra, start the program with George Frideric Handel's gorgeous Sonata in G minor for two cellos and piano. (You can hear the Handel sonata, payed by Amit Peled in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
They both display crazy virtuosity in Luigi Boccherini's Quintet in B-flat Major for flute, violin, viola and two cellos.
The first half ends with Gian Carlo Menotti's Suite for two cellos and piano, a work that they have performed to acclaim around the world.
The second half of the program is given over to one of Brahms' greatest works, the Sextet in G Major, Op. 36, for two violins, two violas and two cellos.
Ross and Rapier are joined by violinists Carmit Zori and Leanne League (assistant concertmaster of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra) and violists Toby Appel (below, a faculty member at the Juilliard School who plays in the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center) and Katrin Talbot (a Madisonian who performs with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra) in this spectacular piece.
"And the Tony Award for Rapier Wit goes to…" will be performed at the Stoughton Opera House on Friday, June 28, at 7:30 p.m.; and in Spring Green at the Hillside Theater at Taliesin on Sunday, June 30, at 2:30 p.m.
Firebrand violinist Carmit Zori (below), founder and artistic director of the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society in New York City, will sizzle her way through the second program, entitled "The Legend of Zori."
The program will open with Johannes Brahms' Sonata in G Major for violin and piano. Viaje, by living Chinese composer Zhou Tian, is a fun and exciting new piece featuring flute and string quartet.
Zori will bring the program home with the torridly passionate Piano Quintet in F minor by Cesar Franck (below), a work written while Franck was in the throes of a love affair with one of his young students.
"The Legend of Zori" will be performed at The Playhouse at the Overture Center for the Arts on Saturday, June 29, at 7:30 p.m.; and in Spring Green at the Hillside Theater at Taliesin, on Sunday, June 30, at 6:30 p.m.
Venue Locations: the Stoughton Opera House is at 381 East Main Street; the Overture Center in Madison is at 201 State Street; Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin Hillside Theater in on County Highway 23 in Spring Green.
Single admission tickets start are $43 and $49. Student tickets are always $10. All single tickets must now be purchased from Overture Center for the Arts, www.overturecenter.org or (608) 258-4141 (additional fees apply) or at the box office. Tickets are available at the door at all locations.
You can also enjoy a pre-ordered picnic at the Hillside Theater made with love from Pasture and Plenty, using ingredients from local farmers and producers. They are available for pick up at the Hillside Theater after the 2:30 p.m. concert or before the 6:30 p.m. concert, for $18.
Spread a blanket on the beautiful Hillside Theater grounds or eat in the Taliesin Architecture School Dining Room, which will be open exclusively to BDDS concert-goers.
Choose from Green Goddess Chicken Salad, Market Veggie Quiche with Greens, or Hearty Greens and Grains with Seasonal Veggie Bowl (gluten-free/vegan). Seasonal sweet treat and beverage included. See the BDDS order form or call BDDS at 608 255-9866.
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Classical music: Looking for serious fun? The thoroughly successful opening concerts by the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society bode well for the upcoming second weekend
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After 28 summers, going to a concert by the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society still feels like attending a family reunion – the best kind of family reunion where everyone is familiar and friendly, where everything is fun, and where you always leave glad that you went.
That's not by chance.
The first thing that co-founders and co-artistic directors Stephanie Jutt and Jeffrey Sykes did last Friday and Saturday nights was to thank the loyal audience. And the audience, full of longtime fans, returned the favor by being attentive to and appreciative of the first-rate music-making as well as responsive to the horseplay and antics – such as the surreal scene of virtuoso Axel Strauss playing "The Skater's Waltz" on his violin while rollerblading around the stage (below).
BDDS players really mean it when they say that their audiences are in for something different, something they won't find elsewhere and won't forget.
Last weekend that meant the return of two longtime guest performers: San Francisco cellist Jean-Michael Fonteneau and Montreal violinist Axel Strauss (below, with pianist Jeffrey Sykes). Neither disappointed as they performed very varied music by Franz Joseph Haydn, C.P.E. Bach, Johannes Brahms, Gabriel Faure, Lili Boulanger, Maurice Ravel and Ned Rorem. And as always, the amazing pianist Jeffrey Sykes proved a chameleon who blended masterfully into the style of each period and each composer.
But for The Ear, the unexpected standout last weekend was guest accordion player Stas Venglevski from Milwaukee. Born in Russia and trained at the Moscow Conservatory, he is a virtuoso player, a sensitive arranger and a convincing composer – all done with good humor and a charismatic stage presence.
The Ear never thought of the accordion – the Russian bayan, to be specific – as an instrument for chamber music. But he does now, after hearing Venglevski play serious Russian, French and Latin American music that ran the gamut from a graceful waltz and a sprightly polka to torchy tangos. And then there were his flying fingers punching out "The Flight of the Bumblebee," a real crowd-pleaser.
The large audience responded on both nights with wild applause and a standing ovation every time that Venglevski (below) played, and Jutt promised the audience that he will be back.
"As you can see, we have fun here," Jutt deadpanned.
She is not exaggerating.
Which bodes well for the second weekend of three that will happen this coming weekend.
The second weekend — two programs in three venues — celebrates Jutt and Sykes, plus two of BDDS' favorite guest artists: violinist Stephanie Sant'Ambrogio and Madison pianist Thomas Kasdorf.
Kasdorf (below) and Sykes are both featured in a program called "Rock the Sykes-o-delic Kas-bah." Kasdorf is featured in Brahms' Horn Trio with guest horn player Karl Kramer Johansen, and in the appealing and accessible Café Concertino by the contemporary Australian composer Carl Vine.
Sykes will perform another chamber transcription of a Classical-era symphonic work, which over the years has become a welcome specialty of BDDS. In this case it is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's snappy and appealing Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat Major, K. 271, the "Jeunehomme" concerto. (You can hear the irresistible last movement of the piano concerto, used in the film "Amadeus," in the YouTube video at the bottom.) Sykes will also perform in Robert Schumann's "Fairy Tales" for clarinet and viola.
A Madison native, cellist Alison Rowe (below) — an artist from the Dynamite Factory, which is BDDS' program for emerging talent — will be featured in the Sonata for Cello and Piano in D Major by Johann Sebastian Bach.
"Rock the Sykes-o-delic Kas-bah" will be performed at the Stoughton Opera House on Friday, June 21, at 7:30 p.m. Braisin' Hussies Food Cart will be parked outside the Opera House prior to the performance. The program will also be performed in Spring Green at the Hillside Theater, Sunday, June 23, at 2:30 p.m.
Jutt (below top) and Sant'Ambrogio (below bottom, in a photo by Stephanie Ann Boyd) worm their musical way into the most unexpected places in the other program, "Steph Infection." The Nocturne for flute, violin, horn and piano of Franz Doppler opens the program, which continues with Jutt's own arrangement of Antonin Dvorak's popular "American" String Quartet, with a flute substituting for one of the two violins.
Dmitri Shostakovich's Five Pieces for flute, clarinet and piano add spice to the program, and the evening concludes with Ernst von Dohnanyi's epic Sextet for clarinet, horn, violin, viola, cello and piano. A work that ranges from stormy and turbulent to tender and funny, it features an all-star cast including audience favorite clarinetist Alan Kay, horn player Karl Kramer Johansen, violist Carol Cook (principal at the Lyric Opera of Chicago), and Madison's own cellist of the UW-Madison's Pro Arte Quartet, Parry Karp (below).
"Steph Infection" will be performed at The Playhouse, Overture Center for the Arts, Saturday, June 22, at 7:30 p.m.; and in Spring Green at the Hillside Theater, Sunday, June 23, at 6:30 p.m.
And of course there could also be some unannounced surprises – more door prizes, perhaps a mystery guest, or more shenanigans and antics that correspond to the "Name Dropping" pun theme of the programs.
For tickets ($43-$49) and more information, go to: https://bachdancing.org
Tags: "Amadeus", #AlanKay, #AlisonRowe, #AmadeusFilm, #AntoninDvorak, #ArtisticDirector, #AustralianComposer, #AxelStrauss, #BachDancingandDynamiteSociety, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BlogReview, #CarlVine, #CarolCook, #CastList, #CelloSonata, #ChamberMusic, #Classicalera, #ContemporaryComposer, #CPEBach, #DmitriShostakovich, #ErnstvonDohnanyi, #FamilyReunion, #FilmSoundtrack, #FlightoftheBumblebee, #FluteMusic, #FoodCart, #FrankLloydWright, #FranzDoppler, #FranzJosephHaydn, #FrenchMusic, #Fridaynight, #GabrielFaure, #HillsideTheater, #HornTrio, #Jean-MichelFonteneau, #JeffreySykes, #JeunehommeConcerto, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #KarlKramerJohansen, #LatinAmerica, #LatinAmerican, #LatinAmericanmusic, #LiliBoulanger, #LivingComposer, #LyricOperaofChicago, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MauriceRavel, #MilwaukeeWisconsin, #MontrealCanada, #MoscowConservatory, #MoscowRussia, #MovieSoundtrack, #Music-Making, #MusicReview, #NedRorem, #NewTango, #NuevoTango, #OvertureCenter, #ParryKarp, #PianoConcerto, #ProArteQuartet, #RobertSchumann, #RussianMusic, #SanFrancisco, #SaturdayNight, #SpringGreen, #StagePresence, #StandingOvation, #StasVenglevski, #StephanieJutt, #StephanieSant'Ambrogio, #StoughtonOperaHouse, #StoughtonWisconsin, #StringQuartet, #Sundayafternoon, #SymphonicMusic, #Taliesincompound, #TheEar, #ThePlayhouse, #TheSkater'sWaltz, #ThomasKasdorf, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolaMusic, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouTubevideo, accordion, afternoon, Alan Kay, Alison Rowe, all-star, American, Antonín Dvořák, applause, appreciative, arrangement, arranger, Artistic director, Arts, attentive, audience, Australia, Axel Stauss, Bach, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Baroque, BDDS, blend, blog, born, cafe, California, Canada, Carl Vine, Carol Cook, cart, cast, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, chameleon, charismatic, clarinet, clarinetist, Classical, Classical music, composer, Concert, concertino, contemporary, CPE Bach, critic, Dmitri Shostakovich, Dvorak, dynamite, Early music, era, Ernst von Dohnanyi, everyone, everything, factory, familiar, Family, favor, fi ger, film, first-rate, Flight of the Bumblebee, flute, flutist, food, forward, Frank Lloyd Wright, Franz Doppler, Franz Joseph Haydn, French, Friday, friendly, fun, Gabriel Fauré, graceful, guest, Hillside Theater, Horn, horseplay, House, Humor, infection, irresistible, Jacob Stockinger, Jean-Michel Fonteneau, Jeffrey Sykes, Jeunehomme, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Karl Kramer Johansen, Latin America, Latin American music, like, Lili Boulanger, link, Living composer, longtime, loyal, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, masterful, masterfully, Maurice Ravel, Milwaukee, Montreal, Moscow, Moscow Conservatory, movie, Mozart, Music, name, native, New Rorem, new tango, night, nocturne, opening, opera, Orchestra, ovation, Overture Center, Parry Karp, performer, period, Pianist, Piano, Piano concerto, player, please, polka, popular, presence, principal, Pro Arte Quartet, program, promise, psychedelic, pun, reunion, review, Robert Schumann, rollerblading, Russia, Russian, San Francisco, Saturday, sensitive, serious, sextet, share, Sonata, soundtrack, spectacular, spice, sprightly, Spring Green, Spring Green Wisconsin, stage, standout, Stas Venglevski, Stephanie Jutt, Stephanie Sant'Ambrogio, stormy, Stoughton, Stoughton Opera House, String quartet, style, successful, summer, Sunday, surreal, symphonic, tag, talent, Taliesin, tango, tender, The Ear, The Playhouse, The Skater's Waltz, Thomas Kasdorf, torch, torchy, trained, transcription, trio, turbulent, unexpected, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, Viola, Violin, violinist, violist, virtuoso, Waltz, weekend, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, work, YouTube
Classical music: The Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society again brings its surefire summery approach to serious classical chamber music when it starts its 28th annual series this weekend
It's not just the calendar that makes the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society the official start of the increasingly busy summer classical musical season in Madison.
The real reason is that the summer chamber music series, about to start its 28th annual summer this Friday night, June 14, is downright summery in its approach.
Say "summer," and you think of lightness, of fun, of playfulness. And those are the very same qualities – along with serious, first-rate performances of great music by outstanding musicians – that BDDS brings to its six programs spread out in 12 concerts over three weekends and three venues during the month of June.
By now both the performers (below, in a photo by Dick Ainsworth for BDDS) and the audiences know that the formula works, however finely tuned or slightly changed it is from one summer to the next.
WHAT'S THE SAME
This year much remains.
There are still door prizes, spoken introductions and stories, mystery guests and a colorful art installation by UW-Madison designer Carolyn Kallenborn.
The titles of the six programs for 12 concerts over three weekends still have groan-inducing puns — "Name Dropping" in the theme for this summer — that are based on the musicians' names like "Founteneau of Youth" after the San Francisco cellist Jean-Michel Fonteneau (below top) and "Quadruple Axel" after the Montreal-based violin virtuoso Axel Strauss (below bottom).
There are still the usual venues: the Playhouse in the Overture Center (below top); the Stoughton Opera House (below middle); and the Hillside Theater at Taliesin, the Frank Lloyd Wright compound in Spring Green.
There are still the many distinguished and accomplished musicians among the many imported guest artists and the many local musicians, including the co-founders and co-artistic directors flutist Stephanie Jutt and pianist Jeffrey Sykes (below). The Ear can't recall ever hearing a bad BDDS performance, even of music he didn't like.
And there is a mix of older well-known and classic repertoire along with newer and neglected composers and works.
But some things are different too.
The first concert this Friday will have a post-concert reception with free champagne and dessert to celebrate the 28th season.
This summer, unlike recent ones, there is no vocal music. All music is instrumental.
At both Stoughton and Spring Green, you can get food. Go to the home website for details.
Especially new and noteworthy is that the Russian virtuoso accordion player Stas Venglevski (below), from Milwaukee, will also perform on programs. Venglevski performs on the bayan, a Russian-style accordion noted for its deep bass sound and range and purity of tone.
Venglevski will be featured in works that range from polkas and heart-on-the-sleeve tangos by Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla, Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona and Russian composer Igor Stravinsky; down-and-dirty original works by Russian master Tatyana Sergeyeva and arrangements of favorite pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach and others.
This Wednesday night, June 12, from 7 to 9 p.m., Venglevski and Jutt will perform "Bayan-o-rama" at the Arts and Literature Lab, 2021 Winnebago Street. Tickets are $10 at the door. Refreshments will be served.
Here is a summary of the first weekend:
The elegance, charm, and finesse of French cellist Jean-Michel Fonteneau is displayed in a program called "Fonteneau of Youth."
It includes music written by great composers in their youth, including the ravishing Elegy for cello and piano of French composer Gabriel Fauré; the rhythmically exciting Trio for flute, cello and piano of living American composer Ned Rorem; and the astonishing D'un soir triste (One Sad Evening) and D'un matin de printemps (One Spring Morning), both for piano trio, of 21-year old Lili Boulanger (below), who was the Prix de Rome-winning composer sister of famed teacher Nadia Boulanger and who died very young. (You can hear both pieces by Lili Boulanger in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The great Franz Joseph Haydn—always the most youthful of composers, even into his late years—is represented by the masterful Piano Trio no. 28 in E major, in honor of BDDS' 28th season.
"Fonteneau of Youth" will be performed at The Playhouse in the Overture Center for the Arts on this Friday, June 14, at 7:30 p.m. A free champagne and dessert reception will be held following the performance to celebrate the 28th season opener. It will also be performed in Spring Green at the Hillside Theater on Sunday, June 16, at 2:30 p.m.
Audience favorite Axel Strauss—not just a virtuoso violinist, but a virtuoso musician and artist of the highest distinction—will brave gravity-defying musical heights in "Quadruple Axel." Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Trio Sonata in D minor for violin, flute, cello and piano starts the program on an elegant note. Johannes Brahms' fiery Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101, raises the temperature significantly. And all sorts of hijinks are on display in Maurice Ravel's extraordinary and ravishing Sonata for Violin and Piano.
"Quadruple Axel" will be performed at The Playhouse in the Overture Center for the Arts on Saturday, June 15, at 7:30 p.m. and in Spring Green at the Hillside Theater, Sunday, June 16, at 6:30 p.m.
For more information about the full BDDS season and how to purchase tickets ($43 and $49), go to: https://bachdancing.org
Tags: #AcademicFestivalOverture, #AmericanComposer, #ArgentineanComposer, #ArtisticDirector, #ArtsandLiteratureLaboratory, #AstorPiazzolla, #AudienceFavorite, #AxelStrauss, #BachDancingandDynamiteSociety, #BaroqueMusic, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CarlPhilippEmanuelBach, #CarolynKallenborn, #ChamberMusic, #ChamberMusicians, #Classicalera, #ContemporaryComposers, #ContemporaryMusic, #CPEBach, #Cubancomposer, #DoorPrize, #ErnestoLecuona, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FigureSkating, #FrankLloydWright, #FranzJosephHaydn, #Frenchcomposer, #FrenchMusic, #GabrielFaure, #HillsideTheater, #HomeWebsite, #IgorStravinsky, #InstrumentalMusic, #Jean-MichelFonteneau, #JeffreySykes, #JohannesBrahms, #JohannSebastianBach, #LiliBoulanger, #LivingComposer, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MauriceRavel, #McGillUniversity, #MeadWitterSchoolofMusic, #MilwaukeeWisconsin, #ModernComposers, #ModernMusic, #MontrealCanada, #MysteryGuest, #NadiaBoulanger, #Name-Dropping, #NameDropping, #NedRorem, #NeglectedComposers, #NeglectedRepertoire, #NewMusic, #OvertureCenter, #PianoTrio, #PrixdeRome, #Prize-Winning, #RussianComposer, #SanFrancisco, #SanFranciscoCalifornia, #SanFranciscoTrio, #SpringGreen, #StasVenglevski, #StephanieJutt, #StoughtonOperaHouse, #StoughtonWisconsin, #Taliesincompound, #TatyanaSergeyeva, #ThePlayhouse, #TrioSonata, #UniversityofCalifornia-Berkeley, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #ViolinistVirtuoso, #VirtuosoViolinist, #VocalMusic, #YouTubevideo, accordion, American, annual, Argentina, Argentinean, Argentinian, Art, Artistic director, Arts, Arts and Literature Laboratory, audience, axel, Axel Strauss, Ástor Piazzolla, Bach, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, bad, Baroque, Baroque music, bass, bayan, BDDS, blog, busy, calendar, California, Canada, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Carolyn Kallenborn, cellist, Cello, Chamber music, champagne, change, charm, classic, Classical era, Classical music, classicalmusic, composer, compound, Concert, contemporary, CPE Bach, Cuba, Cuban, dance, dancing, design, dessert, desserts, different, door prize, Early music, elegance, elegant, Elegy, Ernesto Lecuoña, evening, Facebook, Faure, favorite, festival, figure skating, finesse, first-rate, flute, flutist, food, formula, forward, founder, Frank Lloyd Wright, Franz Joseph Haydn, free, French, fun, Gabriel Fauré, great, groan, guest, heart, Hillside Theater, House, Igor Stravinsky, induce, installation, instrumental, introduction, introductions, Jacob Stockinger, Jean-Michel Fonteneau, Jeffrey Sykes, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, June, late, lightness, like, Lili Boulanger, link, literature, living, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maurice Ravel, McGill University, Mead Witter School of Music, Milwaukee, mix, modern, month, Montreal, morning, Music, Musician, mystery, Nadia Boulanger, name, Ned Rorem, neglected, new, New Music, official, opera, Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts, performance, performer, Pianist, Piano, Piano Trio, playfulness, polka, Prix de Rome, prize, program, purity, quadruple, qualities, range, recall, reception, refreshment, repertoire, Russian, San Francisco, San Francisco Trio, Season, serious, share, sister, sleeve, Sonata, Sound, spoken, Spring, Spring Green, Spring Green Wisconsin, start, Stas Venglevski, Stephanie Jutt, stories, story, Stoughton, Stoughton Opera House, summer, summery, tag, Taliesin, tango, Tatyana Sergeyeva, Teacher, The Playhouse, theme, ticket, tone, trio, trio sonata, tuned, United States, University of California-Berkeley, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW-Madison, venue, Violin, violinist, virtuoso, vocal music, Website, weekend, what, winning, Wisconsin, Wiscosnin, word, works, year, Youth, YouTube
Classical music: The third and final week of the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society's 26th season offers vocal music, four-hand piano music and instrumental chamber music of four centuries plus a Midwest premiere
Building on the success of the past two weekends and previous four programs, the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society chamber music festival, which features top local and guest performers, concludes its season this weekend with a typically eclectic mix of vocal and instrumental music that ranges from the late 18th century up to today, including a Midwest premiere.
As usual, the BDDS venues are suitably intimate for chamber music: The Playhouse (below top) at the Overture Center at 201 State St.; the jewel box historic Stoughton Opera House (below middle) at 381 East Main St.; and Frank Lloyd Wright's Hillside Theater (below bottom) at Taliesin on County Highway 23 in Spring Green.
Concerts are spiked with stories about the music, mystery guests and even door prizes.
This season's theme is Alphabet Soup, because it's BDDS' 26th year and there are 26 letters in the alphabet. Each program is named after a combination of letters used in everyday language. Sometimes the musical interpretation of those letters is literal and sometimes it's quite loose.
The final weekend of concerts welcomes back audience favorites Hye-Jin Kim, violin; Ara Gregorian, viola; Randall Hodgkinson, piano (below top); and Timothy Jones, bass-baritone (below bottom).
They are joined by the acclaimed local violinist Soh-Hyun Park Altino (below top), a new member of the UW-Madison music faculty, and by Madison Symphony Orchestra cellist Madeleine Kabat (below bottom, in a photo by Christian Steiner), who is filling in for UW-Madison professor and Pro Arte Quartet cellist Parry Karp, who has sustained a finger injury.
"Cs the Day" includes the Midwest premiere of "Cool Fire" for flute, string quartet and piano by Paul Moravec (below), and Mozart's "Coronation Piano Concerto" arranged for the entire ensemble.
Timothy Jones will be featured in the song cycle, "Let Us Garlands Bring" by Gerald Finzi. These are settings of carpe diem poems of Shakespeare. (Carpe diem is Latin for "seize the day" = "Cs the Day"— get it?) You can hear the songs in the YouTube video at the bottom.
At the center of this program is Carl Czerny's Sonata in C minor for piano four-hands. BDDS will suspend a camera over the keyboard so the audience can see how the hands of the pianists cross and interlock throughout this virtuosic masterpiece. (Below is a view of a similar set up six seasons ago.)
Cs the Day will be performed at The Playhouse, Overture Center for the Arts on Friday, June 23, at 7:30 p.m.; and Spring Green at the Hillside Theater, Sunday, June 25, at 2:30 p.m.
The final program of the season, "R&B," features "Rounds for Robin, a short work by Kevin Puts (below top) for flute and piano written in memory of comedian Robin Williams, and the Flute Quintet in G minor by Luigi Boccherini (below bottom).
The "Santa Fe Songs" for baritone and piano quartet by Ned Rorem (below, in a photo by Christian Steiner) features the mesmerizing voice of Timothy Jones in one of the great American song cycles.
The 26th season concludes with Johannes Brahms' towering Piano Quintet in F minor.
R&B will be performed at The Playhouse, Overture Center, Madison, on Saturday, June 24, at 7:30 p.m.; and Spring Green at the Hillside Theater, Sunday, June 25, and 6:30 p.m.
Photos by Dick Ainsworth of BDDS performances and behind-the-scenes will be on exhibit in The Playhouse through Sunday, July 9.
Single general admission tickets are $43. Student tickets are always $10.
For tickets visit: http://www.overture.org/events/bach-dancing
For more information about the programs, performers, performances and background, visit www.bachdancinganddynamite.org or call (608) 255-9866.
Tickets can also be purchased at Overture Center for the Arts, (608) 258-4141, www.overturecenter.org (additional fees apply).
Tickets are also available at the door at all locations.
Tags: admission, alphabet, alphabet soup, American, arrangement, Arts, Bach, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, background, Bard, baritone, bass, BDDS, Boccherini, Brahms, camera, Carl Czerny, carpe diem, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, comedian, comedy, concerto, coronation, Coronation Concerto, Dane County, day, door prize, eclectic, faculty, festival, Finger, Finzi, flute, four-hands, Frank Lloyd Wright, garland, guest, historic, History, House, injury, instrumental, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Kevin Puts, Keyboard, language, Latin, letters, local, Madeleine Kabat, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, masterpiece, Midwest, Mozart, Music, mystery, Ned Rorem, opera, Overture Center for the Arts, Paul Moravec, performers, Piano, Piano Quartet, Piano Quintet, Playhouse, poem, Poetry, premiere, Pro Arte Quartet, professor, program, quintet, Randall Hodgkinson, Robin Williams, round, rounds, Santa Fe, Season, Shakespeare, sing, singer, Singing, society, Soh-Hyun Park Altino, Sonata, song, song cycle, soup, Spring Green, story, Stoughton, Stoughton Opera House, String quartet, symphony, Taliesin, theater, ticket, Timothy Jones, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Viola, Violin, virtuosic, vocal, vocal music, weekend, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, YouTube
Classical music: The Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society opens its 26th season with a bang worthy of its name. Plus, TONIGHT the Willy Street Chamber Players open the summer season of the Rural Musicians Forum in Spring Green
A REMINDER: Tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Hillside Theater at Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin compound in Spring Green, six members of the Willy Street Chamber Players will open the summer season of the Rural Musicians Forum. The program features works by Johannes Brahms, American composer Charles Ives, and Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera. A free-will donation will be requested. The Hillside Theater is located at 6604 County Highway 23, Spring Green. For more information about the Rural Musicians Forum, go to: http://ruralmusiciansforum.org/home
This guest review is by a new contributor, Kyle Johnson (below). As a pianist since elementary school, Johnson has devoted most of his life to music. Born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, he is now a doctoral candidate in piano performance at the UW-Madison, where he studies with Christopher Taylor and specializes in modern and contemporary music. He participates in many festivals and events around the U.S. and Europe. Recently, he co-founded the Madison-based ensemble Sound Out Loud, an interactive contemporary music ensemble. For more information, visit: www.kyledjohnson.weebly.com
By Kyle Johnson
The Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society's 26th season — themed "Alphabet Soup" for 26 letters — began on Friday evening at the historic Stoughton Opera House (below bottom) with a program of underprogrammed French, German and Russian works.
BDDS is led by artistic directors (below) Stephanie Jutt, UW-Madison's newly-retired flute professor and principal flute of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and Jeffrey Sykes, pianist of the San Francisco Piano Trio who studied at the UW-Madison. The two musicians assembled a "dynamite" group of musicians for their opening concert.
First on the program was Médailles antiques (Old Medals) for flute, violin and piano from 1916 by Philippe Gaubert (below). Like the weather throughout the day on Friday, the piece provided a sunny and spry start to the program in the centennial year of World War I.
At times, I wanted the ends of phrases to have a little more stretch and grace to them. However, the richness of sound from each musician, as well as the ensemble's superb blend, made up for any small qualm I may have had.
The next piece, Gideon Klein's String Trio (1944), featured three "apprentice" musicians from BDDS's Dynamite Factory. Violinist Misha Vayman (below top), violist Jeremy Kienbaum (below middle) and cellist Trace Johnson (below bottom) are the program fellows for this year's series.
Striking about the work was Klein's musical optimism amid stark reality – the piece was written at the Auschwitz concentration camp just a few months before the death of the composer (below).
The Dynamite Factory artists gave a spirited rendition of the weighty work, which at times resembles the rollicking intensity of Bela Bartok's folk dances.
Before the intermission, the audience was treated to Sergei Prokofiev's chilling Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 80, for violin and piano. Like the preceding piece, Prokofiev's sonata was written during the strife of World War II. (You can hear the first movement, played by Maxim Vengerov, in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
Prokofiev labeled one passage at the end of the first movement as "wind passing through a graveyard"; the passage (a series of quick violin scales) returns at the close of the piece. Under the hands of violinist Carmit Zori (below top) and pianist Jeffrey Sykes (below bottom), the sonata seemed both devastating and human.
A brief, unprogrammed presentation began the second half of the concert, which was a performance of "Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" from the oratorio Solomon by George Frideric Handel.
The work was lauded and produced by the Fourth Earl of Sandwich in the mid-1700s. Fittingly, during the music, characters clad in 18th-century attire roamed the Stoughton Opera House to hand out sandwiches.
Last on the program was Johannes Brahms's Piano Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 26, played by violinist Zori; Pro Arte Quartet violist Sally Chisholm (below top); Toronto Symphony principal cellist Joseph Johnson (below bottom); and pianist Sykes.
The quartet brimmed with musical swells and overlapping layers of sound. There are a number of memorable themes that allow the listener to simply ride the wave of sound throughout the 40-minute work.
All of the musicians were fully deserving of the ovation (below, in a photo by Kyle Johnson) they received in Stoughton, as all technical demands were met with superb musicality and passion.
Future BDDS concerts run through June 25 and are not to be missed! For more information about programs and about performers, performance dates, times and venues, go to www.bachdancing.org
Tags: 18th century, Adolf Hitler, Alberto Ginastera, alphabet, Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, Arts, Auschwitz, Auschwitz concentration camp, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Baroque, BDDS, Brahms, Cello, Chamber music, choral music, Christopher Taylor, Classical music, contemporary, county, date, doctoral, dynamite, Earl of Sandwich, Europe, Extermination camp, festival, flute, Frank Lloyd Wright, French, George Frideric Handel, German, Gideon Klein, highway, Hillside Theater, Ives, Jacob Stockinger, Jews, Johannes Brahms, Kentucky, Kyle Johnson, Lexington, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Maxim Vengerov, modern, Music, New Music, oratorio, performance, performer, Philippe Gaubert, phrase, phrasing, Piano, Piano Quartet, Piano Trio, principal, professor, program, Prokofiev, rural, Russian, San Francisco, San Francisco Piano Trio, sandwich, Solomon, Sonata, Sound Out Loud, soup, Spring Green, Stoughton, Stoughton Opera House, Student, symphony, Taliesin, The Holocaust, time, Toronto, Toronto Symphony, U.S., United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, venue, Viola, Violin, Willy Street Chamber Players, Wisconsin, World War I, World War II, YouTube
Classical music: Next week, the Ancora String Quartet closes its 16th season with three concerts that contrast the German Romanticism of Beethoven and the French Impressionism of Saint-Saëns. This Saturday night, the Festival Choir of Madison sings about astrology and signs of the Zodiac
ALERT: On this Saturday night, May 6, at 7:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Society of Madison 900 University Bay Drive, the Festival Choir of Madison will perform a spring program of choral music linked to signs of the Zodiac and astrology, Sorry, no word on the specific program. Tickets are $15, $12 for seniors and $6 for students. For more information go to: http://festivalchoirmadison.org/concerts/a-musical-zodiac
The Ear received the following note to post from the Ancorans, who are among his favorite musicians:
You are invited to join the Ancora String Quartet (ASQ), below in a photo by Barry Lewis) for the closing concert program of our 16th season.
The performance takes place next Saturday night, May 13, at 7:30 p.m., at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church (below), 1833 regent Street. A champagne reception will follow.
French Impressionism and German Romanticism – Vive la difference! Whether you prefer Bordeaux or Riesling wine, you'll enjoy our spring program.
On the program are the Quartet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 153, by Camille Saint-Saëns (below top) and the Quartet No. 12 in E-flat Major, Op. 127, by Ludwig van Beethoven (below bottom).
Saint-Saëns' second quartet reveals the lyricism and witty invention that earned him the nickname "the French Mendelssohn." (You can hear the quartet's beautiful slow movement in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
We follow this up with the first of Beethoven's late quartets, written shortly after he finished his Ninth Symphony. From its wistfully dreamy first movement to the ethereally mysterious coda in the last, Beethoven charts a new course.
Tickets will be available at the door, and are for general seating. Ticket prices are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students, and $6 for children under 12.
Other performances of this program will take place earlier.:
The first is on Monday, May 8, at 3 p.m. at the Stoughton Opera House (below) in Stoughton. Admission is a free-will donation.
The other performance is on Friday, May 12, at 7:30 p.m. in the MacDowell Music Club in Janesville. The concert is FREE and open to the public.
Members of the quartet (below, from left, in a photo by Barry Lewis) are Wes Luke and Robin Ryan, violins; Marika Fischer Hoyt, viola; and Benjamin Whitcomb, cello. They represent professional experience playing with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Madison Bach Musicians and many other groups plus teaching privately and in the University of Wisconsin System.
For more information, including individual biographies and concert schedules, go to:
http://ancoraquartet.com
Tags: Ancora Quartet, Ancora String Quartet, Arts, astrology, beautiful, beauty, Beethoven, biography, Bordeaux, Camille Saint-Saëns, Cello, Chamber music, champagne, Classical music, club, cod, Concert, dream, Episcopal, Episcopal Church, ethereal, Festival Choir of Madison, French, French Impressionism, Friday, German Romanticism, Impressionism, invention, Jacob Stockinger, Janesville, late quartet, Ludwig van Beethoven, lyricism, MacDowell, Madison, Madison Bach Musicians, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mendelssohn, Monday, movement, Music, music club, Musician, mysterious, mystery, nickname, night, Ninth Symphony, opera, opus, Opus number, program, reception, Riesling, Romanticism, Saint-Saës, Saint-Saens, Saturday, schedule, Season, slow, Slow movement, Spring, St. Andrew's, Stoughton, Stoughton Opera House, String quartet, symphony, United States, University of Wisconsin System, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, video, Viola, Violin, Wine, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, wit, YouTube, Zodiac
Classical music: Black Marigold will mix beer and wind music, starting this Sunday afternoon on the "Sunday Live From the Chazen" concert and live webcast
Beer-inspired classical music may seem a stretch at first.
But then you haven't heard the Madison-based wind quintet Black Marigold.
And there is a historical precedent or two, including the "Coffee Cantata" by Johann Sebastian Bach and Classical Revolution Madison, which performs classic music in unusual venues such as cafes, coffee houses and bars.
In any case, Black Marigold (below) performed some of Beer Music in brew pubs and a church at the end of August.
Now the ensemble will begin its September concerts this Sunday afternoon at the Chazen Museum of Art on the UW-Madison campus.
The concert, which used to be carried live by Wisconsin Public Radio but was discontinued, is FREE at 12:30 p.m. in Brittingham Gallery No. 3 (below).
It will also be streamed live at this site:
http://www.chazen.wisc.edu/about/news/in-the-news/sunday-afternoon-at-the-chazen-with-black-marigold-sept.-4
Here are more details about the dates, venues and programs:
Music on Tap: 2016 Summer Concert Series
Upcoming Black Marigold Concerts:
Sunday, September 4, 12:30 p.m., Sunday Afternoon Live at the Chazen
Saturday, September 10, 3 p.m., The Malt House
Thursday, September 15, 7 p.m., Stoughton Public Library
All performances offer FREE admission, with free will donations accepted.
As many Madisonians geared up for this past week's Great Taste of the Midwest, the region's largest craft beer festival, Black Marigold logged time in the rehearsal hall instead of the beer hall, fermenting new music for the group's end-of-summer concert series.
All September programs will feature selections from Beer Music, an epic collection of short pieces inspired by 18 local craft beers, composed by Brian DuFord for Black Marigold.
Learn more about this unique commissioning collaboration in this recent feature in The Capital Times.
Here are details of individual programs:
Sunday, September 4, 12:30 p.m., Sunday Afternoon Live at the Chazen (live stream link)
Quintet in D Major, Op. 91 No. 3 by Anton Reicha
Partita for Wind Quintet by Irving Fine
Beer Music (selections) by Brian DuFord (below top)
Pub Concerts: relax and enjoy a pint with your performance!
Saturday, September 10, 3 pm, The Malt House (below bottom)
Beer Music selections
Additional wind quintet selections
Beer Music was made possible by a grant from Dane Arts and individual donations from many friends.
For more information, visit: www.blackmarigold.com
To contact the group, use this email address:
blackmarigoldwinds@gmail.com
Tags: Anton Reicha, Arts, Bach, bar, Baroque, Beer, Black Marigold, Brain Duford, brew pub, Brian DuFord, cafe, Chamber music, Chazen Museum of Art, church, Classical music, Classical Revolution, Classical Revolution Madison, Coffee Cantata, coffee house, commission, craft beer, Dane Arts, Dane County, Irving Fine, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, library, Madison, Malt House, Music, partita, pub, public library, quintet, Stoughton, Sunday Afternoon Live From the Chazen, The Capital Times, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, wind music, Wind quintet, wisconsin public radio
Classical music: What makes the 25th anniversary season of the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society special? The three-week annual summer season opens this Friday night and runs for the next three weekends in Madison, Stoughton and Spring Green.
The big classical music event this week is the opening of the 25th anniversary season of the Madison-based Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society.
It was co-founded and is still co-directed by pianist Jeffrey Sykes, who graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music and now teaches at the University of California-Berkeley; and by Stephanie Jutt, professor of flute at the UW-Madison School of Music who is also principal flute of the Madison Symphony Orchestra.
Here is a link to the BDDS website with information about tickets, programs, venues and performers:
http://www.bachdancinganddynamite.org
Recently, Jutt (below) spoke to The Ear about the upcoming season, which runs June 10-26:
"This silver anniversary season has something for everybody, and we've made it extra special in every way, with personnel, with repertoire and with audience favorites that we're bringing back.
"In the first week, we have two short pieces by our featured composer, Kevin Puts "Air for Flute and Piano" and "Air for Violin and Piano," and the world premiere of "In at the Eye: Six Love Songs on Yeats' Poetry," a piece we co-commissioned, with several other participating festivals, from the American composer Kevin Puts (below).
We commissioned him just before he won the Pulitzer Prize, luckily for us! We have performed several works by him in the past ("Einstein on Mercer Street," "Traveler" and "Seven Seascapes"), and he will be here for the premiere performances at the Overture Playhouse and the Hillside Theater at Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesen compound in Spring Green.
(NOTE: Composer Kevin Puts will speak about "How Did You Write That?" at the FREE family concert on this coming Saturday, to be held 11-11:45 a.m. in The Playhouse of the Overture Center.)
"In Week 2, we have three crazy, inspired works by Miguel del Aguila (below), a Uruguayan composer from Montevideo, who now lives in Los Angeles, that we commissioned and premiered. We'll be performing "Salon Buenos Aires," the piece that we commissioned, along with "Presto II" and "Charango Capriccioso."
During Week Two, we are also bringing back the amazing pianist, arranger and raconteur Pablo Zinger (below), also originally from Uruguay and a longtime New Yorker, to perform his arrangements of movie music by Nino Rota, Henry Mancini and others, as well as some of Pablo's brilliant arrangements of tangos by Astor Piazzolla.
"In Week 3, we are bringing back the "Four Seasons of Buenos Aires" by Astor Piazzolla and the "Four Seasons" by Antonio Vivaldi. People have begged us to repeat this program for years. It's one of the most thrilling programs we've done, and this seems like the perfect time to return to this beloved repertoire. (You can hear the Summer section of Piazzolla's Four Season of Buenos Aires in the youTube video at the bottom.)
"In the same Week Three, you will also hear some favorite works, the Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 by Johann Sebastian Bach and, in Week 1, Franz Schubert's final song cycle, "Schwanengesang" (Swan Songs") with one of our favorite artists, bass-baritone Timothy Jones (below top). That third week also features the Ravel Piano Trio with the San Francisco Trio (below bottom), comprised of Axel Strauss on violin, Jean-Michel Fontaneau on cello, and JeffreySykes on piano.
"We wanted to repeat special things and also do new pieces. Some of the music has links to the number 25 for our 25th anniversary – like Opus 25 for the Piano Quartet by Johannes Brahms or the Piano Concerto No. 25 by Mozart.
"We're spending a lot more on artist fees this summer – it increases our budget by a lot, but it makes for a very special 25th season. We will have special mystery guests and special door prizes, as we love to do, and some special audience participation activities. (Below is a standing ovation from the audience at The Playhouse.)
"Did we think we would reach 25 years when we started? Of course not! We didn't even think we'd reach two. It was started on such a lark.
"But the festival resonated with the summer audience and has every single year. I think we've been a success because listeners love to approach serious music with a light touch. You don't have to behave very seriously to play serious music in a serious way. Artists from all over the United States come to play with the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society and it's what draws them back year after year.
"We make a huge effort to make the music approachable, for ourselves as well as the audience. We talk about the music itself, about what it is like to learn it, and what it's like to be together in such an intense way during the festival.
"We try to share the whole experience with the audience, and it's something you just don't find anywhere else. The concert doesn't just go on in front of you, presented on a fancy plate. It surrounds you and you are a part of it."
Tags: Argentina, arranger, Arts, Bach, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, Baroque, BDDS, Brandenburg Concerto, Buenos Aires, Cello, Chamber music, Classical music, composer, Concert, concerto, Family, film, flute, Four Seasons, Frank Lloyd Wright, Franz Schubert, Henry Mancini, Jacob Stockinger, Jeffrey Sykes, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Kevin Puts, Los Angeles, Madison, Madison Symphony Orchestra, movie scores, Movies, Mozart, Music, Nino Rita, Orchestra, Overture Center, Pablo Zinger, Piano, Piano Trio, Piazzolla, poems, Poetry, professor, Pulitzer Prize, Quartet, Ravel, San Francisco Trio, Schwanengesang, Sonata, song cycle, Spring Green, Stephanie Jutt, Stoughton, Stoughton Opera House, summer, Swan Song, Taliesin, tango, Timothy Jones, trio, United States, University of California-Berkeley, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Uruguay, Viola, Violin, Vivaldi, vocal music, Wisconsin, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Yeats, YouTube
Classical music: The critically acclaimed vocal group Cantus sings about four kinds of love at the Stoughton Opera House this Saturday night. The Stoughton High School Concert Choir is a special guest performer.
The Ear has received word about an intriguing and appealing performance this weekend:
On this Saturday night at 7:30 p.m., Cantus (below top, in a photo by Curtis Johnson), the critically acclaimed, nine-voice men's vocal ensemble based in the Twin Cities, will perform at the Stoughton Opera House (below middle and bottom), known for its historical restoration and its fine acoustics.
Love has been the inspiration for artistic expression since the dawn of time. It is such a complex idea that the ancient Greeks broke it down into four different kinds: romantic, familial, friendly and unconditional or spiritual love.
Weaving together repertoire and interstitial remarks, Cantus regards this unquantifiable emotion from all sides.
The program spans multiple historical eras and cultural traditions.
It features music by Francis Poulenc, Edvard Grieg, Ludwig van Beethoven and Bobby McFerrin.
Each of those works is paired with newly commissioned works exploring each of the four loves (romantic, familial, friendly and spiritual) by Pulitzer Prize-winner David Lang (below top, in a photo by Peter Serling) as well as Roger Treece (second below), Joseph Gregorio (third below) and Ysaye Barnwell (below bottom).
The program brims with Cantus's trademark programming juxtaposition, including pairing the Beach Boys' "Their Hearts were Full of Spring" with "Wedding Qawwali" by the Grammy Award- and Academy Award-winning Indian composer A. R. Rahman (below) and Michael McGlynn's setting of the traditional Gaelic "Ceann Dubh Dilis (Her Sweet Dark Head)" in a set about romantic love.
While seemingly disjointed on its face, the variety of repertoire throughout blends seamlessly and highlights the universality of Love – our greatest and most fragile gift.
For more information about Cantus, including biographies, photos, videos and audio samples, visit this link:
http://www.allianceartistmanagement.com/artist.php?id=cantus&aview=dpk
Here is a YouTube video about the program, with musical samples, to be performed in Stoughton:
Tags: a cappella, Academy Award, Ancient Greece, Arts, Audio, Beach Boys, Beethoven, Bobby McFerrin, Cantus, Choir, choral music, Classical music, composer, culture, David Lang, diversity, Family, friend, Gaelic, Grammy, Greece, Greek, Grieg, high school, History, India, Indian, Irish, Jacob Stockinger, Joseph Gregorio, Lang, Love, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison, Minneapolis, multicultural, Music, opera, Opera house, Oscar, photo, popular music, Poulenc, Pulitzer Prize, Rock, Roger Treece, Romance, Romantic, spiritual, St. Paul, Stoughton, Stoughton High School, Stoughton Opera House, surf music, Twin Cities, unconditional, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, video, vocal music, Wisconsin, YouTube, Ysaye Barnwell
Classical music: Clocks in Motion will perform percussion works in Stoughton this Saturday night
The Ear has received the following invitation from the Madison-based percussion ensemble Clocks in Motion (below), which has released a CD, is building quite the reputation and is receiving a lot of critical acclaim:
I would like to cordially invite you to Clocks in Motion's upcoming concert at the historic Stoughton Opera House (below) at 7:30 p.m. on this coming Saturday, February 13.
We have a great program including music by Steve Reich, Marc Mellits, John Cage and James Tenney (below).
In addition, we will be joined by composer/guest artist Marc Mellits (below), in performing his mallet quintet "Gravity." (You can hear Clocks in Motion performing the Minimalist and hypnotic "Gravity" in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
You might also want to check out our all new concert TEASER video here: https://youtu.be/WYxMELVVQEg
Tickets are $15 and are available at the door or for advanced sales online HERE
Even if you can't make the concert, could you please help spread the word or just let your friends, family, students, and colleagues know about the event?
Sean Kleve, Clocks in Motion Percussion
Tags: Arts, Chamber music, Classical music, Compact Disc, Jacob Stockinger, James Tenney, John Cage, Madison, Marc Mellits, Music, opera, Percussion instrument, Stoughton, Stoughton Opera House, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin, YouTube

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
ARRA opens third camp in Tigray state for Eritrean refugees
Addis Ababa, April 15 (WIC) – As part of the effort to protect and assist the seemingly never ending inflow of refugees from Eritrea, the Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA) in close collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), on Wednesday opened the third refugee camp in the Tigray state.
According to a press release ARRA sent to WIC, on Wednesday morning, the first convoy moved a total of 356 refugees from the screening center at Endabaguna, near Shire, all the way to Adi-Harush, located 82 kms from shire.
Some 80 per cent of the first group is composed of mainly young people between the ages of 21 and 34 .They are part of predominantly young Eritreans arriving at a monthly average rate of nearly 2,000 and who invariably tell to registration officers on the ground that they crossed the border to avoid excessive repression, gross human rights violations and forced conscription into the army.
At the moment, the country hosts more than 49,000 Eritrean refugees in four refugee camps in Tigray and Afar states. There are two refugee camps in Tigray state, accommodating a total of 30,000 refugees. Shimelba camp was opened way back in 2004 and Mai-aini was established in 2008. In addition to those staying in Tigray state, some 19,000 Ethnic Afar Eritrean refugees are enjoying international protection in the Afar state.
As long as persecution and systematic rights abuse continue to be the way of life in Eritrea, we will continue to receive more and more refugees and to open more and more camps in Tigray and Afar states to accommodate them", said Ayalew Aweke, Deputy Director of the ARRA. He called for more international support in spirit of international burden sharing.
Before departing from the screening center, the refugees were provided with an assortment of non-food items, including jerry cans, sleeping mats, plastic sheeting and sanitary materials. Once in the camp, they will all be sheltered in a reception center for a maximum of three days until they are provided with tents. Some of the vulnerable, such as the girls, the elderly and the children will be provided with shelters made of stones and mud bricks. The refugees will be provided with cooked food while in the reception center.
The new camp was established on a plot at Adi-Harush, which was generously made available by the local authorities in Tselemti Wereda of north western Zone.
The ARRA deputy director reiterated the government's commitment to continue honoring its international commitments.
Currently, Ethiopia plays host to a total of close to 148,000 refugees mainly from Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan.
Short URL: https://english.farajat.net/?p=662
Posted by farajat on Apr 17 2010 Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry


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Everyone came out to see the Stars' first playoff game in Dallas since 2016.
Included in the bunch who filled American Airlines Center on Monday night -- Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki.
Nowitzki, whose final season as a Maverick came to an end almost a week ago, was back home at American Airlines Center to watch his building-mates take on the Nashville Predators in a pivotal Game 3.
Fans gave the Mavs legend a standing ovation when he was shown on the jumbotron at the end of the first period.
Nothing but love for Dirk in Dallas.


light open to the side and expose the entire intake surface. The aerodynamic side view gives the impression of the movement and compaction of the rising air. The mobility of the Lichtlüfter is of vital importance. Its position, hanging from two steel cables, can be adapted with very little effort. The Lichtlüfter can also be suspended directly over the dining table, responding to the individual needs of its user.


text:
Home Home A Real Man Isn't Afraid of a Little Demon A Real Man Chapters Real Man Chapter 49: Yu Feng
A Real Man Chapters A Real Man Isn't Afraid of a Little Demon
Real Man Chapter 49: Yu Feng
by exiledrebelsscanlationsupdated on November 30, 2021 December 25, 2021 2 Comments on Real Man Chapter 49: Yu Feng
Editor: KarateChopMonkey
After his late bedtime, Yu Chu went to take a shower then went to bed. Lying on the fluffy bed, he clicked on Xie XingMu's WeChat avatar and wanted to say something to him, but he didn't know what to say.
The phone was about to darken, when suddenly it showed that Xie XingMu was typing. Yu Chu's heart jolted, and he sat up from the bed.
Xie XingMu: [Are you asleep?]
Yu Chu: [Yes.]
Xie XingMu's second message followed immediately.
Xie XingMu: [Go to bed early, it's not good for your health if you sleep late.]
Yu Chu: [I can't sleep.]
Xie XingMu: [Why can't you sleep? Insomnia? If you have insomnia, go drink some milk, there's some in the fridge.]
Xie XingMu: [Don't drink cold milk, use a pot to heat it up and put some sugar in it.]
Xie XingMu: [The weird taste is also a little tolerable, or else mix some juice into it.]
Xie XingMu: [Remember to brush your teeth after drinking.]
Yu Chu read the constant messages, biting his lip, bursting into a rapid input and sending his message over.
Yu Chu: [I miss you.]
Xie XingMu was standing on the balcony smoking a cigarette when this message jumped into his eyes and he stared at his phone in silence. The light of the screen reflected his deep eyebrows, and the emotions in his eyes flashed, not knowing what he was thinking.
"Team Leader Xie, we're analyzing the case right now, and are waiting for you." Someone was shouting behind him.
Xie XingMu put out his cigarette, threw it into the trash can next to him, locked his phone and put it away, and said, "Coming."
He took a few steps towards the room and then stopped, took out his phone again and pressed the screen. The page was still on the conversation with Yu Chu, he sent a voice message: "Wait until I come home. I'll be back immediately after the meeting. Don't open your phone. I have to go first, go drink milk, and sleep."
Yu Chu sent that message and waited for Xie XingMu's reply, but until the light on the screen disappeared, he didn't see a new message. He still kept staring at the phone, his heart gradually began to be disappointed, but just when he was about to put the phone down, the screen lit up again, with a ding, as Xie XingMu's new message came through.
He listened to that voice over and over again several times before the phone lit up and the corners of his mouth held a smile as he went under the covers.
A few moments later, the light snapped back on.
He put on his slippers and went out of the bedroom, went to the kitchen fridge and took a bottle of milk. He poured it into a milk pot and put it on the stove to heat it up, then found the sugar jar and added a spoonful of sugar to it.
Two minutes later, he drank the hot, sweet milk and thought to himself that the milk was still quite good.
The next day was another busy morning. Since there was no more breakfast reserved by Xie XingMu, Yu Chu got up early and made his own eggs.
Sitting at the dining table with two dark objects on his plate, Chi DuoDuo asked curiously, "Xiao Chu, what is this?"
Yu Chu picked up the plate, poured the contents into the trash and said, "Come on, let's go out for breakfast."
There was a bun store not far from the neighborhood gate, and Yu Chu went to stand in line, and Chi DuoDuo stood next to him. The shopkeeper handed the food bag to Yu Chu who was in line, "Four buns with soy milk, twelve yuan."
Yu Chu lowered his head to scan the code and pay the bill, leading Chi DuoDuo to the car. He pulled open the door of the cab and carried Chi DouDuo inside, but he didn't get in, holding the door to look behind him. In that moment just now, he felt that somewhere, someone seemed to be peering at him.
The cab driver asked impatiently, "It's not good to stop here for too long, do you want to go or not?"
Yu Chu only had to close his eyes and get into the car, and sat down and was a little distracted. But Chi DuoDuo shook his legs, and ate the milky white bread and drank the soy milk. He also urged Yu Chu, "Xiao Chu, eat quickly."
"Mmm."
Forget it, don't think about it, whether there was someone spying on him or not, he just needed to keep an eye on it.
Yu Chu sent Chi DuoDuo into the kindergarten classroom, and then hailed a cab to prepare for home, but before giving the name of the place, remembering what had just happened, the address he gave changed to the HaiYun City Public Security Bureau. There was a cafe across the street from the Public Security Bureau, and he decided to stay there all day, not believing that anyone would dare to play any tricks. He sat at a window seat, his phone on the table, wearing headphones watching a TV show, diagonally across from the Public Security Bureau gate, where he could see every car leaving and entering.
As long as the retractable gate slowly closed in, he raised his head to stare, and after a glance at the car window, he continued to look at his phone screen.
Sitting in the cafe until noon, he ate a bowl of noodles from the adjacent noodle shop, then went to ask for a cup of coffee and continued to sit. In the afternoon, a police car from the street parked in front of the gate, and Yu Chu habitually glanced over. Through the open passenger window, he saw the person sitting inside was Xie XingMu.
Xie XingMu had his elbow on the car window and because the sun was shining on the department, he half squinted. The duty officer said something. Since he hadn't been home last night, Xie XingMu had a light layer of stubble on his chin that was just emerging to form a beard.
But this stubble didn't make him look haggard and instead added a mature charm.
Yu Chu stared at him for a moment, but his fingers moved on his phone and sent a Sky Rabbit twisting butt over.
The retractable gate slowly opened, and the moment the police car started to enter, he saw Xie XingMu look down at his phone, and a light but pleasant smile lit up his face.
Yu Chu also pursed his lips and smiled.
Then his phone beeped and he received a message from Xie XingMu.
It was a moving picture of a cat being stroked on the head, showing a very enjoyable look, with a phrase above the picture: Be good.
In the police car, Li SiMing, who was driving, asked curiously, "Team Leader Xie, what are you smiling at your phone for?"
Xie XingMu curbed his smile, "Am I smiling? Drive the car properly."
"Also, send me a few more pictures of cats, ones that move, not the ones that don't. The good ones, not the ugly ones."
Li SiMing answered decisively, "No problem, I'll find a bunch of pretty cats for you. But Team Leader Xie, why are you suddenly interested in cats? Are you going to get a cat?"
Xie XingMu put away his phone and tapped on the car door with his fingers on the window, "We already have a cat at home. It's mine, but not mine."
"Wow, what kind of cat is it?"
Xie XingMu gave him a look and said lightly, "I don't know what breed, all I know is that it's the best kind."
Seeing that it was about time, Yu Chu got up and went to the kindergarten to pick up Chi DuoDuo. He walked out of the cafe and looked around to make sure there were no problems before stopping a cab to go to the kindergarten.
When he picked up Chi DuoDuo, he couldn't move his feet from the ice cream store across the street and hugged Yu Chu's leg, begging, "Xiao Chu…"
Yu Chu didn't realize that he had become a doting parent these days and had never refused any of Chi DuoDuo's requests, let alone an ice cream, so he took Chi DuoDuo across the street and walked. There was a long line of adults picking up and dropping off their children, and while Yu Chu stood inside, Chi DuoDuo talked to a little girl behind him.
After standing in line for a while, Chi DuoDuo let go of Yu Chu's hand and got close to the little girl and talked to her. The little girl also let go of her mother, and the two squatted under a tree on the side of the street to watch the ants.
Yu Chu was a little uneasy and kept him in his sights, only turning his head to choose the ice cream inside when he reached the window.
That's when it happened.
It was just a few seconds, not even a cry of alarm, and there was no movement. When Yu Chu turned his head, only the little girl was left under the big tree.
"Chi DuoDuo…" Yu Chu looked around for no sign of Chi DuoDuo and asked the little girl, "Where is the child you were playing with?"
"He… he got in the car," the little girl said.
The little girl stammered and couldn't say, and Yu Chu's face became really fierce. But an old man next to her said, "A car just stopped and took the boy into the car and drove away."
"What kind of car?" Yu Chu asked sharply.
"It was a black car."
Yu Chu's heart instantly sank to the bottom, he took out the phone to dial Xie XingMu, but just as he pulled out the phone, it rang. The caller was an unfamiliar number. He didn't hesitate to press 'answer', "Hello."
Inside was a disguised hoarse male voice, "Yu Chu, if you want the child to live, don't call the police."
"Who are you? What are you doing?" Yu Chu heard the car horn in the background of the phone and asked in a stern voice.
"Don't care who I am, I will give you the address in 20 minutes, come alone to the address. If you don't come or bring others, the child will be dead. Also, if you dare to call the police, you can wait to collect his body."
Yu Chu was afraid that the other would hang up the phone and hurriedly said, "How can I believe that you have the child?"
Just as he was asking, he heard Chi DuoDuo's frightened voice from the other side, "Xiao Chu—"
Yu Chu didn't have time to answer, the phone was hung up.
Yu Chu shook his head with a serious face and said, "He was picked up by my family." He said he didn't care about their surprised eyes, and walked down the street to the front.
The sun was shining warmly on his body, but he couldn't feel a trace of temperature, his heart had frozen into ice. He walked forward in a daze, carrying the bag of ice cream in his hand, and was hit by someone head-on, and the bag fell to the ground, but he didn't look at it, and continued to walk forward.
It was his fault, it was his fault, he didn't do well, and it was because of him that the child was snatched away.
The time he lived in Xie XingMu's house was the safest time in his life. Surrounded by Xie XingMu's scent, security wrapped his entire being, which made him lazy, paralyzed him, made him let down his guard and put away his keen tentacles.
And now, how was he going to explain all this to Xie XingMu?
Yu Chu shivered uncontrollably at the thought that Xie XingMu would freeze him, blame him, and drive him away from that warm home.
Knowing what it was like to be warm, even a hint of icy cold could make a person freeze to the point of suffering. He felt that he could no longer bear to live alone, without Xie XingMu, without Chi DuoDuo in his life, made him feel like he was falling into an ice bank. His heart was like he had fallen down into a bottomless abyss.
No, I must bring Chi DuoDuo back intact. Yu Chu stood still, trembled, and his nails dug deep into his palm, his eyes becoming recklessly ruthless. Even if my life is at stake, I must bring Chi DuoDuo back whole.
Twenty minutes later, the phone in his pocket rang again. Yu Chu took out the phone, saw the same number. He closed his eyes and took two deep breaths to calm himself before pressing the answer button, "Hello."
"You have one hour to get to the quarry outside the West Side. If you dare to call the police or bring other people, the child will be dead."
This time, the caller hung up without waiting for Yu Chu to answer.
Ten minutes later, Yu Chu stopped a cab and went to the quarry in the west city.
West city was still under development, and the houses and vehicles were getting more and more scarce along the way, and gradually it had reached the outskirts. The cab driver pulled up in front of a dirt road and said, "The quarry is up ahead, but this section of the road is too bad for my car to pass, so just get off here and walk for ten minutes or so."
Yu Chu paid the bill and waited until the cab turned around before walking down the dirt road. There were no more households in this area, and the road was lined with piles of rocks, so the road wasn't wide enough to be potholed by heavy trucks, making it even worse to walk on. When the dirt road came to an end, a dilapidated factory appeared in front of him, which should be the quarry that person on the phone mentioned.
There was no one in the quarry, Yu Chu approached the factory and reached out to push the closed iron door. The door wasn't locked, it creaked open,and a warehouse-like room was behind it, with only a scrap of quarry machine in the middle.
He looked around, saw no one, and heard no movement, and asked in a loud voice, "Is anyone there?"
His voice echoed in the factory, which seemed more and more empty, but he didn't get any response. He was about to take out his cell phone and dial the number when a small door next to him was suddenly pulled open and someone came out.
"Yu Chu."
Yu Chu narrowed his eyes, put the phone back, and coldly called out, "Yu Feng."
Yu Feng looked thinner and his face was more sinister. He walked towards Yu Chu step by step, stopped half a meter away from him, and squeezed out a word from his teeth, "Bastard."
Yu Chu didn't get angry, his face didn't show any expression, nor did he ask Yu Feng why he wanted him to come here, but only asked, "Where's the child? What did you bring him here for?"
Yu Feng looked him up and down, his pair of narrow eyes full of resentment, "Looks like you've had a good time. Father went to jail, my mother and I have been displaced, and only you're getting more and more spirited. I never thought you would be in cahoots with that undercover cop. The Yu Family is in this situation because of you, you heartless bastard."
With a loud slap, Yu Chu's face was slapped to the side and a bright red spilled out of the corner of his mouth. He didn't wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, but turned his head and continued to ask loudly, "Where did you put the child?"
"You're still thinking about that son of a bitch at the end of your life, you'd better worry about yourself." Yu Feng finished, raised his hand and clapped, two more hired thugs came out of the small door next to him and stood behind Yu Feng.
One had a gun on Yu Chu, the other had a gun on the head of the little boy in his arms.
The little boy was none other than Chi DuoDuo.
Chi DuoDuo's face was streaked with tears, and when he saw Yu Chu, he started to struggle, crying louder, "Xiao Chu, Xiao Chu…"
Yu Feng turned his head and said viciously, "No crying! If you cry again, I'll have you killed."
When Yu Chu saw Chi DuoDuo his heart first felt relief, and then seized into a ball, after hearing his cries, so he said soothingly, "Don't cry. Don't be afraid, it will be okay. "
Chi DuoDuo choked on his words, but was obedient, "I-I won't cry. Won't cry."
"You like the bastard cop's kid a lot, a phone call and you're here." Yu Feng sneered viciously, "You want that son of a bitch to live? I'll strangle him to death in front of you later."
Seeing Yu Chu's face turn pale, Yu Feng narrowed his eyes cruelly, "That will be a good scene."
"If you have any grudge, just come at me and let the child go." Yu Chu pinched his palm, his tone still very calm.
Yu Feng scrutinized his face, before saying, "I used to tell my father that your obedient appearance was just a facade, but he didn't believe it. Yu Chu, you know what? I used to feel sick when I saw you. How come you don't pretend now? Why don't you cry and shake and curl up on the floor and pretend to be miserable? Is your fox tail finally caught?"
Yu Feng became more and more agitated and slapped Yu Chu again.
After the slap, Yu Chu stumbled two steps to the side, shook off his dizzy head, fought the buzzing in his ears, and whispered to Yu Feng, "If you have any grudge, just come at me, let the child go… Please…"
"Are you begging me? Begging me? Do you think this word 'please' is very valuable? Ugh." Yu Feng took a step back and asked in a cold tone, "Yu Chu, you broke my leg before, right? Huh?"
Yu Chu gasped and didn't answer, Yu Feng stepped forward again and grabbed his hair, forcing him over, "I asked you, did you break my leg?"
Yu Chu looked behind him and said, "Yes, I broke it."
Yu Feng let out a low roar of rage, and at Chi DuoDuo's screaming and howling, his fist struck Yu Chu hard in his abdomen, and knocked him to the ground with another elbow as he bent over in pain.
"You dared to break my foot, you fucking son of a bitch!" Yu Feng put his foot, which was wearing leather shoes, on the side of Yu Chu's face and gritted his teeth.
Yu Chu choked out fresh blood, gasping in pain, but still clenched his teeth and spoke out with difficulty, "Please, please let the child go…"
"Huh? Let the child go? That depends on my mood, you won't get in the way of the satisfaction in my revenge." Yu Feng gave a short laugh and extended his hand to the side, "Ah Shui, bring me that iron bar by the wall. I want to break both of his hands and feet."
The hired hand that held the gun to Yu Chu turned away to get the iron bar by the wall. Yu Feng proudly let go of his foot and towered over Yu Chu, his two eyes letting out an exuberant light, "Don't you want to let this son of a bitch live? Then you'll have to give me a good howl later…"
Yu Chu lay on his back, glancing at Ah Shui, who was walking towards the wall, and then at Chi, who was behind him.
Chi DuoDuo was in the other hired thug's arms, he was also full of tears, a pair of big eyes full of panic. Yu Chu showed him a reassuring smile, the fingers on the ground at the side of his waist moved and made an unnoticed clenching motion, and then he gently opened his mouth.
He was sure that Chi DuoDuo had seen and understood what he meant, because the child slowly stopped crying and looked less frightened. The hired hand leaned down to get the iron bar, but with a slip of his hand, the iron bar rolled to the ground with a jangle. Yu Feng subconsciously went over.
This opportunity couldn't be lost!
Yu Chu, who was still motionless, suddenly leaped up from the ground and rushed towards Chi DuoDuo like a bolt of lightning. At the moment when the hand that held him wasn't yet released, Yu Chu shoved the hand holding the gun upward.
The hand subconsciously pulled the trigger. Bang! Bang! Bang! A series of gunshots rang out, and the roof had a deep row of bullet holes.
Chi DuoDuo lowered his head, as Yu Chu taught him to do, viciously bit into the hand that grabbed his neck.
"Aaah!" The hired hand screamed at the sound of the gunshot, and as the arm let go, Chi DuoDuo slid down and fell to the ground.
"Run!" Yu Chu bellowed, "Run for the door!"
Related Tags: Chinese-EnglishLittle BaldyNovel
Mecha Chapter 304: If there Is No You (Extra 11) [END}
Carrying a Hoe to Cultivate Chapter 49: I am really a scum
OMG! I wondered what happened to Yu Feng. Will they both escape? Weren't the police tailing Yu Chu?
So need the next chapter!
Ahhhhh… I knew something might happen and it did!!! Yu Feng that snake! 🤬 Kick his arss Yu Chu kick it good and maybe break his other leg! Where is the tail when you need one?!