Here are five gift ideas that deal with classical music, the visual arts and the theater. Of course, all of them can be, and should be, customized to your financial resources as a giver and to the taste of the recipient.
All these suggestions have one thing in common: The notion, which grows deeper as I age, that the ultimate gift is companionship.
(The UW-Madison School of Music, Cinematheque, Memorial Union and Chazen Museum of Art are among several recommended sources of gifts involving the university.)