
By Márcio Bezerra
The revered Chicago Symphony Orchestra returned to a packed Kravis Center for the Performing Arts for an enlightening Friday evening concert.
The first sold-out classical performance in a long time, it featured the Music Director Emeritus for Life Riccardo Muti, whose conducting was a veritable masterclass of technique and musicianship.
The somewhat unconventional program consisted of an overture and two symphonies. There was, however, a subtle, underlying thread: all three works were written by masters of melody. The program mirrored Muti’s approach to music making: a slightly different take on the celebrated works in order to illuminate overlooked aspects by other performers.
Take for instance his reading of the closing work, the Symphony No. 4 (in F minor, Op. 36) by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It was a very personal version, in which Muti emphasized the folk elements present in the four movements.
Written in 1876, it is Tchaikovsky’s earliest masterpiece in the genre. In the Fourth, the composer found his voice as a symphonic master: His handling of sonata form is less deferential to the Germanic tradition of motivic development and he innovates by giving texture and rhythm more prominent roles.
Muti’s choice of a slower-than-usual tempo for the opening movement allowed for more expressive playing and his handling of rubati was remarkable, especially since it was followed by the orchestra as if it were a single player.
Another memorable moment came in the third movement. Not only the pizzicato playing by the strings was technically flawless, but the melodic lines were shaped with remarkable finesse and even a touch of humor. In the finale the mighty brass section had a field day, providing a powerful basis without ever overpowering the other sections. Once again, Muti gave a lesson on balancing and pacing, building up to a riveting climax that prompted a standing ovation even before the orchestra had finished the last chords.
The first half of the program was even more remarkable, not only because of the high level of playing, but for the insights it brought to familiar standard works of the repertory.
The ever-popular Symphony no. 8 (in B minor, D. 759, Unfinished) by Franz Schubert received an introspective rendition. Muti’s choices of tempi allowed the musicians to savor each melodic line with finesse and a sense of ensemble that was truly unique. Additionally, the slower tempi brought forth sharper edges in the chordal moments of the Unfinished.
The opening number, the overture from Vincenzo Bellini’s opera Norma, was revelatory. Muti undertook it not as a program filler, but as a major symphonic work, shaping every melodic line with utmost care. The orchestra responded as a single player to his every gesture.
Perhaps, in an exceptional evening of exceptional playing, the woodwind section was the undisputable highlight; the playing of solos and chamber-like passages unrivaled by even the greatest orchestras.
It was a true honor to participate in this most revelatory evening of music making. May Maestro Muti continue to enlighten our musical understanding in his collaboration with this most august American orchestra.