My subscriptions keep me busy :). My neighbor and I went to the “Hell’s Kitchen,” which was a part of our Broadway in Chicago subscription. I never read any reviews before I go to see the show, and this time was not exception. I was not prepared to what I was going to see, but loved it. As it turned out, the reviews were mixed, so it’s good that I didn’t read them beforehand:).
I loved the show itself, but even more, I loved the reaction of the audience: everyone was so moved by what was going on on stage, aaahed and ooohed, and gasped when the mother slapped her daughter in the cheek, and burst into applauding after each musical number.
And on Friday, I went to Carmina Burana at the Lyric. That was a part of our Lyric subscription, but my neighbor told me from the very beginning that she won’t be interested, so I took my friend Y. with me. She loves music, but she never heard Carmina Burana, and it was a real treat to give her this experience. Also, she never sat that close to the stage in the Lyric Opera building, and she said that she would rather get one ticket that close instead of ten tickets on the very top. And I agree!
I am so glad we went to this concert! Boris was doubtful whether we should go, and with it’s been raining non-stop, it was very tempting to saty at home hybernating. I am so glad I changed my made and made an executive decision to get us tickets!
After the concert, when I was energized beyond the level any espresso drink can deliver, Boris told me he underestimated how new this experiense would be for me. And actually, I do not think I ever heard Bach in a church, believe it or not! The boys choir is absolutely out of this world! (That’s a different music, but I just can’t get over them!)
And on the way home back from the concert I saw that Helsinki is being decorated for Christmas – not the full regalia, but getting there, and I hope to catch a glimpse of it tonight!
Boris is a “lifetime supporter” of FIBO – Finnish Baroque Orchestra, so he receives all their advertisements and often attends their concerts. The concert last Monday was at St. Michael’s Church in Kirkkonummi, where one of my Finnish friends lives. It’s always a little bit of a project to meet with her in person, precisely because she lives at a distance from Helsinki, so when Boris saw this concert announcement, he suggested we could meet up there and attend the concert together.
I am really glad we did. The church looks amazing. The oldest parts of it date back to the 13th century. Unfortunately, all of the inside was destroyed during the Soviet occupation, but the space with its outstanding acoustics is still there.
Of course, I am not a specialist in baroque music, so all six composers were unknown to me (Boris knew at least two), but the most astonishing thing I learned was that there were women composers in the 17th century, and not only nuns, and their music and their authorship actually survived through centuries. I feel so inadequate not knowing about that!
Isabella Leonarda spent all her adult life in a convent, but Antonia Bembo was a singer and a noble person, and I was like: why didn’t I know anything about that?!
On Thursday, I had a very packed after-work schedule. First, I went to the Art Institute to finally see the Strange Realities exhibit. Usually, I am among the first to see a new exhibit, but this time, I have something going on each Thursday, and I didn’t have time to make a separate trip to the Loop on any weekend.
Upon entering the exhibit, I realized that symbolism as an art movement had completely dropped from my radar many years ago. In high school, we studied symbolism in literature, including Alexander Blok and Andrei Bely. We “obligatory loved” Balmont, Annensky, and other poets of the “Silver Century” of Russian poetry. I just tried to find (unsuccessfully) a blog post where I wrote about how an “intelligent person” in Soviet Russia was supposed to admire certain poets and writers, who were not explicitly banned, but were not praised by the official propaganda; loving symbolists was one of those “requirements.”
Now I realized that for many years, it was not obligatory anymore, and this artistic movement dropped from my sight, and it took me a while to realize: yea, I know what it is all about!
Kupka: The FoolsEnsor: The Entry of Christ into BrusselsHans Thoma: The DreamFelicent Rops: The Greates Love of Don JuanAlfred Kubin: Judith with the Head of HolofernesGrasset: Morthin Addict
I think I will go see this exhibit again; I didn’t have enough time because I also wanted to catch up on the Elizabeth Catlett exhibit (I saw it as a “second one” when we were at the Art Institute with Boris in August, and it was not enough).
Next stop was the CSO. A week before, they advertised the pickup dinners at the Rotunda. I think it was in response to the disappearance of the affordable “before the show” dining options, which I also complained about. So I tried it, and the answer is no :). I would rather stop at Lea!
As for the concert, it was absolutely amazing! It was an all-Berlioz program with Klaus Makela conducting, and now I have finally started to like him. I won’t say I disliked him when I heard him conducting for the first couple of times, but he is so different from Riccardo Muti that it was a difficult switch! This time, I sat with my mouth open throughout the whole concert 🙂
Oh, and the violist Antoine Tamestit was absolutely outstanding!!! Loved every moment of his performance in the Harold in Italy.
I learned about Guarneri Hall, one of Chicago’s “hidden gems”, earlier this year from one of the WBEZ shows, and when I went there for the first time, I was blown away by the uniqueness of this experience. When they announced the program for the new season, I reserved several single tickets, even though I was unsure whether I would be able to attend.
It so happened that a good friend of mine visited Chicago this week (to run a Chicago marathon), and she happened to have that very evening free. I got one more ticket to the concert, and we went together.
I was happy to share this experience with someone else (for the record, so far, there have been no concerts on any of the days when Boris was here).
Yesterday’s program was called “Sun/Moon,” and was dedicated to Hydrogen Day (yes, I also didn’t know such a day existed). The concert opening remarks were delivered by Dr. Andrew Johnston, Vice President of Museum Experience & Collections at the Adler Planetarium. He talked about the origin of the Universe, the role of hydrogen in it, and what the “music of the spheres” really means. The program featured absolutely extraordinary performers, soprano Kristina Bachrach and pianist Winston Choi.
Nothing can compare with this special feeling of presence just a few feet away from where the music is made, hearing the clearest possible sound, and following the artist’s facial expressions :). And after the concert, there was a Q&A with the performers, and a small reception (my friend and I used this time to catch up on life).
I intend to use every summer-y day that is left to the fullest. On Sunday, I went for a long bike ride, then I had breakfast on my balcony, went to the Glenwood Market to buy flowers, and then went to the beach. It was so lovely there that I lost track of time, and forgot for a moment that I had several things which I had to do (and as a result, I have a long list of what I was supposed to do but I didn’t).
And then, there was something new and special. I went to the concert at the new venue – they just opened on Saturday!
The venue is called The Checkout (so, if you forgot the website name, it’s close to impossible to Google it!) It is located in the old 7-Eleven building which was rehubed by Access Contemporary Music (and you can read all about their initiatives on their website).
The venue is naturally very small, and no wonder the event was sold out:
I didn’t know anything about Arvo Part, but Boris told me that he was super-avantguard, and the Soviet Estonia officials left him alone, because nobody could understand his music. I confess that I was very close to that “non-sophisticated listener,” and although the musiciants explained quite a bit about his music, I think I should do what they suggested: go to his website and see the graphical representation of his works :).
The future programming is very diverse in all senses of this work, and they do not publish a lot of details about what to expect, but I am definitely open to experiments! I like that this venue is close to my home (less than 40 minutes door-to-door, with all waits). I like that they have no amplifiers at all, and the audience is exposed to the live sound of the instruments and vocal.
On the way back, I saw one of the vocalists on the Red Line platform, and I thanked him for the music (he was the best!) and we talked about life and music all the way until I got off.
That was the last week of GPMF, and it was one of my favorite pieces (and to be honest, who doesn’t like Carmina Burana?!). I had two subscription tickets and an extra one, so my guests and I went. It was absolutely perfect, not to mention that I had a chance to showcase Chicago night lights! The photos are partially mine, partially my guests.
One more “first time” this week – I went to a concert at the Guarneri Hall. It’s a shame I didn’t know about its existence until I heard the story on WBEZ. Since then, I have tried to find a concert that I would love to attend, that I could attend, and one that is not sold out! Finally, all stars aligned, and I was there on Thursday!
It is a former recording studio in the heart of the city, with only forty people’s capacity, that delivers an unmatched experience for any music lover. I can’t even describe the difference in the quality of the sound it makes. I sat with my mouth open for the duration of the concert!
It turned out that they have a reception after each concert; I didn’t stay because I didn’t feel right staying for just fifteen minutes and leaving, but I will definitely plan to stay next time.
Thursday was the day when they announced the next season and opened the sales, and I already got two tickets, and now I’m torn between wanting to purchase each and every concert and not wanting to risk wasting money if I won’t be able to attend. I will do one more swap :).
We had a subscription for a series of three family matinees at the CSO, and due to the scheduling conflicts, we had to miss two of them. May 3 was not easier, but we all made an effort, even though Anna had to drive to the Loop and drop Nadia just in front of the Orchestra Hall, and had to leave immediately after the post-concert activities.
I was disappointed with a very low attendance, and I can’t even attribute it to anything except for general not-so-great people’s mood. it’s a pity because the concert was absolutely wonderful. Thomas WIlkings was absolutely magical – the way he spoke with the kids from the stage, how he introduced each piece, how he talked about building a community… As a CSO for Kids Ambassador, I (with the rest of the family) was invited to lunch in the Grainger Ballroom. that was a little bit overkill, because only two other families joined us, but as I said, the concert attendance was not great, so that was expected. I still think it’s a great idea to pre-order lunch for before or after the concert, and I hope that things will be better organized for the next season.
Then, there were the usual between-the-concerts activities, including “Mini Maestros” and the “instrument petting zoo,” which both Nadia and Kira thoroughly enjoyed. A new activity was creating some music with the large sticky notes:
The musicians actually played these two measures :).
***
On Sunday, I took my mom to another concert conducted by our Music Director Designate Klaus Makela (Brahms Piano Concerto No.2 and Dvorak’s 7th Symphony). That’s the second time I listen to him conducting; I didn’t hear him before his was appointed the CSO music director, so now I am just starting to get a “taste” of him. Both works are beautiful, and Brahms sounded very unusual, though in a good way.
Makela is so different from both Muti and Borenboim, the two Musical Directors I’ve experienced at the CSO that it will probably take me a while to take his style in.
Just to note that I had some life during the past two weeks, not just conferences, papers, submissions, and millions of other things.
The first one was on April 13, a joint CSO/Joffrey performance. The first part was just CSO, but both pieces were extra special. The first was Chevalier de Saint-George’s First Symphony (and I am all into him since I learned about his existence, which, I hate to admit, happened fairly recently). The second one was Hayden’s Farewell Symphony, which, again, I knew nothing about, and I just thought that all Haydn’s symphonies are the same. The musicians didn’t have the candles on their music stands as they technically should for this piece, but they were still walking away until the last two violins were left. Below is not the CSO performance, but just to show what it looks like:
Then, after the intermission, we had the Joffrey on stage! In fact, they were warming up during the intermission, and everyone in the audience started taking photos 🙂
I especially loved the last piece, Le Bouef sur le Toit, by Darius Milhaud. Of course, below is just the music, without the ballet, and trust me, that was something worth seeing!
The second concert was Mahler’s Seventh on April 17. My neighbor, with whom we usually go, didn’t know what it was going to be, and it was a surprise for her that we would be sitting for an hour and a half with no intermission. But then she was absolutely taken away by the music :). Some works sound especially good when you listen from up close, because you feel like you are surrounded by music, and Mahler’s Seventh is one of them.
Hettie's Reflections 