WORLD CLASS — The Weekly Opine

Entering this building was worth the 41 years wait. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Checked a big box.

Courtside seats to see Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Check. Midfield seats to see the Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears. Check. Catch a ballgame at Wrigley Field. Check. Weekend stroll along Maxwell Street. Check. Attend the Oprah Winfrey Show. Check. Visit the Art Institute of Chicago. Check. Marvel at Chicago’s incomparable architecture while sailing on Lake Michigan. Check. Attend the Chicago Auto Show. Check. Dance at renown Chicago blues clubs. Check. Explore Morton Arboretum. Check.

And now, after 41 years living in Chicagoland, including 22 years in the city, I can triumphantly say…Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Check!

The backdrop

To begin with, my knowledge of classical music is limited. When listening to the classics on the radio, I cannot distinguish Mozart from Bach, or Beethoven from Wagner. But the sound is soothing and soaring and relaxing.

Arriving in the Chicago area in 1980, although I knew nothing about classical music, I did read about the CSO, its conductor, and its stature as one of the world’s top symphony orchestras. Not quite bitten, I was nonetheless proud to know my city had a world-class orchestra.

I enjoyed reading about the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and its annual winter trip to Europe. The orchestra’s conductor, the esteemed Sir George Solti, knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1972 because of his contribution to musical life in England, was a compelling figure. The great Solti served as conductor and music director at the CSO for 22 years, beginning in 1969 and ending in 1991.

Two decades ago, when I commuted from the city to the suburbs, the relentless, bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic on the Eisenhower Expressway was bad enough to fray the most steeled nerves. My type-A driving style had me on edge twice each day; morning and afternoon. At the recommendation of a co-worker I decided to tune into the local classical station, to calm me. It worked. I became more mellow behind the wheel, not as agitated if someone cut in front of me without using their turn signal.

Excellent view from Box H heightened anticipation of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s 131st opening night. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

What a night

For years, something gnawed inside me, a feint yet persistent voice telling me to check out the CSO. Alas, for whatever reason, it did not happen. I saw Jordan. Floated on Lake Michigan, thanks to my friend A.J. Rubber-necked at Chicago’s famed architecture, riding the Chicago Architecture Foundation tour boat. And experienced many things that make city living special as you grow from young adult to middle-age.

But the CSO remained elusive. I made a point of catching James Brown at Chicago’s House of Blues, just months before soul music’s godfather passed away. The CSO? Oh, yeah, I’d get there someday.

Someday was last Thursday. And it was perfect.

Opening night of the 2021-22 season, the 131st season in the storied history of the CSO. The great Riccardo Muti conducting. The orchestra performing in front of a live audience for the first time since pre-pandemic. Perfect fall weather punctuated by Chicagohenge, when the sunset flawlessly aligns with Chicago’s street grid, illuminating skyscrapers as you look to the west.

Music director and conductor Riccardo Muti works his magic from the podium, on the left in this photo. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

I was accompanied by my significant significant other, Bethanny, who looked beautiful. I must have looked OK, too, because at the end of the night a stranger said we looked like a power couple. (Lol! Far from it, we’re just regular folk who enjoy a rich cultural outing.)

Symphony Center is a good place to be if you relish the company of intelligent people. Not snobs, just refined, smart people. Confidently civilized. During this bizarre era when stupidity is celebrated and ignorance used to divide us, we could all benefit from a dose of culture.

Last week, at the CSO concert, I was reminded how nice it is to socialize among believers of science and truth. To enter Symphony Hall, all patrons had to show proof of vaccination or proof of a negative covid test within the past 48 hours. Masks were required inside the building and during the performance. From what I could see, there was 100% cooperation.

During his remarks prior to the start of the concert, Muti nailed it, saying, “the world is going in a very tragic way because of a lack of culture.” Part of the culture at a CSO concert is most attendees dress up. It felt neat to polish up wearing a suit and tie.

When the “band” played the national anthem, their rendering may be what Francis Scott Key imagined, as he wrote lyrics that were then set to the tune of a British song. No glam or ham. Zippo histrionics. Just straightforward, in perfect pitch and tone. It was majestic.

Conductor Riccardo Muti and the CSO violin section. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Masterful and enchanting

The “it” factor that resides within the greats, regardless of profession, exudes in bunches from Riccardo Muti. The man is 80 years old, yet still performs with gusto and tenacity, stylishly inspiring his orchestra and the audience. Muti’s body language was captivating, full of vigor and stamina. Sometimes he momentarily broke into a lively jig. Muti strode on and off stage with purpose, enthusiastically in charge of one of the world’s greatest symphony orchestras.

Depending on the source, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is rated as a world Top 5 or Top 10 orchestra, standing alongside the likes of Vienna, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Muti, like a skilled jockey, sometimes asks his thoroughbred orchestra for more, and other times allows them to subtly, effortlessly glide along.

Almost comically, Muti occasionally turned toward his expressive violin section and gently swept his hand, gesturing as if politely inviting them to play their next sequence. It reminded me of seeing a head-of-state graciously motion for a visiting dignitary to proceed as they approach a lectern.

One regret

As orchestra members filed in before the program began, they took their seats and played warm-up notes. A lone trombonist appeared. He barely warmed up, took part in the national anthem, and then exited, not to be seen or heard from again.

Surprisingly, none of the wonderful pieces performed last Thursday included parts for the trombone (my favorite instrument, having played trombone in high school band).

(L) Trombones were left out of the action last Thursday night. (R) Just a couple enjoying a night of splendid music. (Photos credit The Weekly Opine)

The programs

Due to covid restrictions, the concert was limited to 90 minutes with no intermission. There were three programs.

First, the music of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier De Saint-Georges, born in 1745 in Guadeloupe, son of a French slaveholder and his African slave mistress. Saint-Georges was a prodigy, a teenage fencing master prior to taking up the violin and writing music. Before Mozart became famous, Saint-Georges was the toast of France. While Mozart’s music is performed by the CSO every season, last week was the first time the CSO performed music composed by Saint-Georges. Disney-owned Searchlight Pictures announced last year it is developing a movie biopic about Saint-Georges. Good.

Next up was music by Florence Price, a Black composer born in 1887 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Price’s music, inadvertently rediscovered when a small house she once owned in St. Anne, Illinois, was being renovated, had strong ties to Chicago. Her music potential was relegated to the background much of her life but finally she began composing in earnest around 1929. The CSO’s rendition of Price’s work was my favorite, the music comforting like crickets and fireflies on a sultry summer night. There was palpable poignancy as the CSO violins delved into Price’s work.

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat closed out the evening, with a rousing finish, followed by another standing ovation. Muti and his orchestra took much deserved bows, as the nearly full house luxuriated in the warmth of a satisfying performance by our world-class symphony.

Even without trombones the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was brilliant.