Symphony Hall

I love live concerts.  I just got back from a night with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and it reaffirmed my love for live symphony music.  From arrival at the hall to departure, I enjoy the experience.  Usually, I include the ride to and from Symphony Center in my enjoyment: people watching on the trains can be very interesting.  Tonight, a little less so.  Nothing terribly exciting or entertaining happened, with the exception of a gaggle of sorority girls who got on at Addison and off at Sheridan...  Don't people walk anywhere anymore?

Before the concert, as the players gradually arrive on stage and warm-up is in many ways my favourite part of the evening.  Attending to specific instruments as they warm up, instruments that you might not normally focus on... Listening for little glimpses of the melodies that will return throughout the evening... watching the players interact, tell jokes, check out the audience...  Then, the lights brighten on stage, and wane over the house.

I love the pomp and circumstance that reminds me of a gentler time.  One where standing as someone enters is a sign of respect - not snobbery, just respect.  The concertmaster, who sometimes seems almost embarrassed that all the attention is now on him (tonight was one of the assistant concertmasters, I guess Robert Chen had the night off).  And the tune-up...  largely not a necessity, and yet, a large number of players do make adjustments.  Very few in the woodwinds, who largely play a single note or in octaves; more adjustments in the brass as they check multiple valves and tubing combinations; more again among the strings, and the sound of the lowered string being tightened into tune... ahhh....  Then the conductor...

One of the greatest joys of a major orchestra like the CSO is in the fact that over 5-6 concerts, you're likely to see 4-5 conductors.  This season, we will have seen Maestro Muti twice, all others are guest conductors.  From young up-and-comers, to established war horses, there is an excitement in seeing which brand of conducting will arrive on stage.  Tonight, Leonard Slatkin brought a largely understated, albeit bouncy brand - one that always seemed to anticipate the orchestra, often by more than a beat...  On the whole, I felt Slatkin just seemed out of sync with the orchestra...  as for the closet conductors in the audience (myself often included) that is something different.  Tonight, there was a particularly active "armchair conductor" in one of the boxes that make up the second floor of Orchestra Hall, very eagerly directing Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra.

Speaking briefly of the program, I found it rare, and wonderful, that the program featured all 20th-century works (granted, one was the first decade, and two from the 40s... but still).  Elgar, Stravinsky, Bartok...  As the concert hall is largely a museum of music - in which you get to sample only the smallest gallery in each visit, it was nice to see a night where the gallery featured works of a more recent vintage, and I could not help to notice that the musical depictions of the war and post-war years continue to bear much relevance to today's grotesqueries...

If you're in the area, and have the chance, go see the CSO.  They are consistently considered among North America's best orchestras (often touted as the best), and among the best in the world.  The brass section is to die for, especially if seat N3 on the main floor has anything to say about it!

http://www.cso.org