Tag: cso

MTT

This abbreviation is how a famous conductor, Michael Tilson Thomas, is referred to (and I believe he introduced it:)). I heard him conduct many times, and I greatly enjoyed his spark and liveliness, and even his habit of talking between musical pieces.

Last year, MTT returned to conducting after an extremely difficult battle with brain cancer, and on Tuesday, I attended his concert for the first time after his return. He is very frail, and it is very difficult to recognize him. He was helped on the stage. Yet, his performance was spectacular, and the audience gave him a standing ovation. Most importantly, he was visibly happy being in the environment, which has been the essence of his life for a half-century.

Copying from his website (that’s not like he looks now, but I will always remember him this way)

Dear Friends,

My return to performing these last months has been very special. The 20 concerts with the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the San Francisco Symphony were heartwarming. Making music with these great artists and for so many friends in the audience felt like coming home, like coming back to life. I couldn’t have been happier.

It takes strength to meet the demands of the music and to collaborate on the highest level with the remarkable musicians who so generously welcomed me. I now see that it is time for me to consider what level of work and responsibilities I can sustain in the future.

I have not publicly discussed my medical diagnosis. I have Glioblastoma Multiforme, a type of aggressive brain cancer. I had an operation to remove what was visible and had radiation and chemotherapy. Currently the cancer is in check. But the future is uncertain as Glioblastoma is a stealthy adversary. Its recurrence is, unfortunately, the rule rather than the exception.

I’m taking stock of my life and will be reducing my administrative responsibilities. I have decided that, after 34 years, I will be stepping down as the Artistic Director of the New World Symphony. This organization, which I co-founded with Lin and Ted Arison, has been and will continue to be a vital and ever-growing resource for musicians. I’m proud of what we have accomplished and very proud of our 1,200 alumni. I will soon assume the role of Artistic Director Laureate and will dedicate myself to working with the NWS Fellows and Alumni on adventurous projects that have long been close to my heart.

I look forward to my work the remainder of this season with orchestras in the United States and Europe and to the many musical collaborations planned for next season. I intend to stick around for a bit. Creating and collaborating to make great music is what it’s all about for me. Every moment on stage with my colleagues is memorable. I want to thank all who have been supportive during this time, especially my husband Joshua Robison. He has always been by my side and is, as ever, my hero.

I will continue to compose, to write, and to mull over your thoughts and mine. I’m planning more time to wonder, wander, cook, and spend time with loved ones – two legged and four. Life is precious.

I send affection and gratitude.

Michael TT

CSO Concert

Last weekend, I ended up doing three different outings with my mom. I already wrote about two of them: the Aquarium Member’s Night and the visit to the Christkindle market. The third event – the CSO concert – was on Sunday.

I am glad that this season, there are some Sunday matinee orchestra concerts- last season, they only had piano concerts on Sundays (and that’s the only time I can take my mom to the concerts).

Philippe Jordan was a conductor. It was the first time I heard him, and now, that I read about him, I am wondering how this was even possible!

The program included the original score of Mussorgsky’s Saint John’s Night on the Bare Mountain, Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No 2, and Stravinski’s The Rite of Spring – all pieces very emotional and powerful.

After the concert, we attended the Subscriber’s appreciation coffee with musicians. That time, this event hosted the CSO librarian and one of the violas, and we learned quite a bit of interesting things! The librarian explained how they order notes for the whole orchestra for each new piece (it differed whether the music is in the public domain or is still copyrighted) and how they often need to make their own copies of the pages if there is no rest at the end of the page or at the beginning of the next page, and why the music publishers do not pay attention to that (saving paper). Somebody asked about using iPads and the pedal page turner, and both the librarian and the musician replied that it might be good for practicing but that the iPad is difficult to share on the music strand, and anyway, they will always perform in a traditional way.

Remembering the concert we attended in Helsinki in the Church in the Rock, where most of musicians were using iPads with pedal page turner, I am wondering how long will it take until it become a common practice 🙂

CSO For Kids

One one-time participation in the discussion of the CSO youth programs and my readiness to be one of the CSO for Kids ambassadors keeps getting me unexpected benefits.

I had tickets for the “bigger kids concert” for last Saturday’s matinee, and about ten days before that, I received an invitation for the exclusive behind-the-scene tours, for which I happily signed us both. Since Anna is not exactly in a position to travel, on Friday, I took Haiawata to Milwaukee; Anna dropped Nadia off at the train station, and we got on the same train back to Chicago (as usual, the conductor said: hope to see you again soon! and I replied: you’ll see me very soon!

Saturday was the CSO day. We had this amazing backstage tour an hour before the concert:

We all went on stage!
A view form the stage
Continue reading “CSO For Kids” →

CSO Concert

Tuesday’s concert was indeed one of a kind! The program included

  • One composer unknown to me
  • A soloist unknown to me
  • Three pieces unknown to me

… and all of them were so good!

Each of the pieces was a gem, but Gershwin’s Piano Concerto stood out. I wish I would have the right words to describe it! The program said that Gershwin wanted to combine classical musical forms with jazz and blues, and that’s exactly what it was. The music was all around us and filling each corner of the space. I was bathing in the sounds of music, and each next phrase felt absolutely unexpected and at the same time perfectly in the right place.

OK, I just do not have enough words to describe it! The soloist told the audience how he was coming to CSO as a kid, and how happy he is now to perform on that stage. And again, I do not know how to describe how amazing he was!

My pe-concert Amorino 🙂

Muti

On Tuesday, I went to the CSO concert one more time, and this time, it was with my neighbor, and it was a long-awaited concert with Ricardo Muti!

We were sitting in the first row, and we heard and saw everything, and it was so astonishingly, incredibly good! Jessie Montgomery was present in the audience, and she came on stage after her piece was performed, and the audience exploded with applause!

I realized that I didn’t hear Ricardo Muti conducting for a while, and I realized that I had missed this experience. It continues to surprise me that even going to these concerts after long work days does not make me feel tired, but just the opposite!

Anne-Sophie Mutter

I went to her concert on Sunday – it was a matinee performance, so I took mom with me. It is always hit or miss (I never know whether she will enjoy a performance or start critiquing random things). This time, it was a miss – she said that the music didn’t engage her and then proceeded to criticize the musician’s clothes and other unrelated stuff. But enough about that.

Anne-Sophie Mutter is one of those artists who are so well-known that it feels like they “always were around,” and you might be unsure whether they are still alive. It was almost the case this time: I knew that she was the most famous violinist for the past twenty five years. The program mentioned her “forty seven years of performing.” So when you see her coming to stage in a bright pink strapless ball gown, it feels surreal :).

She is great. The concert lasted for two hours, and she was on stage all the time, and then did three encores!

The second part of the concert was “The Four Seasons,” and it was as great as on this video:

The Shostakovich’s Fifth

Yesterday, I took mom to the CSO – one of my subscription series was Sunday matinee so that I could take her. And after last week’s success with taking the L to the Atr Institute, she was excited to return to resume more cultural activities.

But that’s not about mom; it’s about the program. It was an all-Russian program, and I believe the hit of it was intended to be the “Dairy of a Madman” by Lera Auerbach. I liked the piece; however, the Shostakovich Fith Symphony was the one that impressed me the most.

Interestingly, I vividly remember when I hear it for the first time. It was in Leningrad State Philarmonic. I was fourteen or fifteen, and I even remember where approximately mom and I sat. I also remember that it was performed after the intermission and that I understood nothing about it! I remember thinking – what all these random parts could mean together?! 

After that first time, I listened to this symphony at different concerts at least three times, but it was yesterday that I felt I heard it for the first time. At first sounds, I thought: is it really the same piece?! I can’t remember it sounding like that! 

And then I listened as if for the first time, and I could not believe what I was hearing. On my way back, I even looked it up to check what critics were saying and how this symphony is usually interpreted. Because the question I had was – how it was ever allowed to be performed in the Soviet Union?! 

Yes, Shostakovich is a hooligan in most of his works (and that’s what I love about his music). But how could anybody ever believe that this piece was “glorifying the Soviet achievements?! This bitter irony, these twists of the “heroic” themes, such a distinct picture of violence which follows “the hero” – how could it be possible that nobody noticed it?! Or is it that those who noticed were silent? When I asked Boris just this: how this piece was allowed to be performed in the Soviet Union, Boris told me that once he was present at the musical lecture at the Composers’ association, and the lecturer told them that “there is a lot of mystery in this piece.” Well… 🙂

One More CSO Concert

Yesterday’s concert was even better than last week’s. I know I am saying it for the third time in a row, but that’s true! 

I learned about this concert almost at the last minute and hurried to get tickets (my neighbor joined me). We still got very decent seats and had a great experience. 

Here is what the CSO website says about this concert:

Dancers from Chicago’s world-renowned Joffrey Ballet invigorate the Symphony Center stage with two newly commissioned choreographies set to Siegfried Idyll, Wagner’s glowing birthday gift to his wife, and Rameau’s vivid ballet, composed for a royal wedding at the Palace of Versailles. Ravel evokes Baroque dance in Le tombeau de Couperin, with each movement becoming a touching tribute to friends who died in World War I. The program opens with the beguiling elegance of Mozart’s Symphony No. 34. 

How could you describe a dance? Especially Joffrey Ballet! I sat all the time, holding my breath with my eyes wide open. I can’t say which one I liked better – both are gems. Probably, Rameau was more unexpected.

Unfortunately, there are no official videos, at least could not find them.

Actually, I take it back – I found one in the news, click here.

The First Work Week After

Since I barely blogged this week, it should be obvious that the first week after the conference was very intense. There are several projects which I both need and want to do, and each of them could easily take all the work time I have. I would be happy to have sixteen extra hours a day, because I really-really want to do it all.

On top of that: the program committee of PG Day Chicago started regular meetings, and I feel terrible that it’s not that much I can do at the moment. November PUG is less than two weeks away. Mom is having multiple health issues, mostly related to arthritis. When she feels better, she does not want any help, and when she feels worse, she does not ask, which does not help me to address the situation.

Also, I am still seeing too many shows (and I know it’s too many, but I can’t resist the post-pandemic luxury of ‘all is open.” Last night, I was at CSO with my neighbor, and we listened to the Bartok Second violin concerto with Christian Tetzlaff, and it was so amazing, I still can’t get over it! There are lots of his videos online, and if you watch just one, you’ll see what I am talking about!

So – today is Friday, and I want to do so many things during the weekend, that I am sure at least 30% of them will be not done!

CSO Last Night

The concert was absolutely amazing. But let me tell you first, what was before the concert:). The CSO resumed the Classic Encounter series – interactive multimedia presentations by Chicago’s radio DJ, WXRT’s Terri Hemmer. Each time, it is a meeting with one of the CSO musicians who participate in the concert on that night, so they talk both about the music and the instrument, and it is incredibly interesting. Oh, and also, there is wine and finger food, and sweets.

Yesterday, the guest was CSO trumpet John Hagstrom, and he was so cool, and witty, and everything, and the experience was truly amazing, and it definitely helped to feel more connected with the piece!

And the conductor…. I believe it was the first time that I heard ChristianThielemann conducting – I very unique, so passionate, and the orchestra is visibly enojing his leadership. John Hagstrom mentioned that he might be a candidate for replacing maestro Muti who’s last season with CSO we are currently celebrating. We’ll see…

Ohm and Thielemann was conducting Bruckner 8th symphony without the score – can you imagine it?!

And the final note – I went with my neighbor, we didn’t do anything together for a while, and now she is a subscriber, too! I am glad we can do things together.