Charles Ives, one of America’s most adventurous composers, pushed the boundaries of classical music with his polytonal chaos, dissonances and American echoes. Yet, despite these innovations, he remains underappreciated compared to figures like Aaron Copland. In celebration of Ives’ 150th birthday last year, historian Joseph Horowitz is leading a campaign to elevate his legacy. Through blog posts, a documentary film, a radio program, and curated festivals, Horowitz is championing Ives’ music near and far. For Chicago audiences, the effort culminates in a special concert at the University of Chicago this weekend.
Violinist Christian Tetzlaff and guest conductor David Afkham headlined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s concert series this weekend. The German duo presented a program of works by Richard Wagner, Jean Sibelius, and Arnold Schoenberg – three selections that highlight the shifting landscape of classical music at the turn of the 20th century.
Composed just a year apart, Sibelius’ Violin Concerto and Schoenberg’s Pelleas und Melisande reflect two distinct responses to the influence of Richard Wagner. A young Sibelius was deeply affected by Wagner’s music, particularly after experiencing Parsifal at Bayreuth. Although Sibelius initially attempted operatic composition, he shifted to orchestral works and initially retained traces of Wagner’s harmonic language and orchestration. But gradually, he developed a flourish-lite style focused on organic development and austere textures. Schoenberg, too, revered Wagner, particularly Tristan und Isolde. Pelleas und Melisande embodies both the height of late Romanticism and a pivot toward the composer’s more radical innovations. Schoenberg roots the piece with Wagnerian leitmotifs and expansive orchestration. Yet the work’s complex harmonic language hints at dissonances that would later become a staple of the composer’s music.
This week, Chicago audiences will have the chance to hear one of the world’s foremost violinists, Christian Tetzlaff, take on Sibelius’ haunting Violin Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Under the baton of David Afkham, the program also features Schoenberg’s Pelléas und Melisande, a lush, late-Romantic tone poem that offers a fascinating contrast to the modernist reputation Schoenberg would later cultivate. This performance also takes on added meaning—especially in the wake of the devastating Los Angeles fires that tragically destroyed portions of the Schoenberg archives.
Organist Iveta Apkalna makes her CSO debut in the CSO’s first performance of composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Sinfonia concertante for Organ and Orchestra. Photo Credit: Todd Rosenberg
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has returned home to Orchestra Hall after a successful tour through Florida, New York and Oklahoma, launching an anticipated two-week residency with conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. Salonen, a dynamic force in contemporary music, steps onto the Chicago podium at a transitional moment in his career, following his well-publicized decision to not seek a new contract as music director of the San Francisco Symphony over creative differences. In his current lineup in the Windy City, the Finnish maestro will guide the CSO through a compelling lineup, including Bartók staples, Beethoven’s buoyant Symphony No. 2, and a performance of Salonen’s own Sinfonia Concertante for organ and orchestra.
The first program of Salonen’s residency focused on three orchestral showpieces, with his own Sinfonia Concertante framed by Richard Strauss’ Don Juan and Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra. While Salonen’s work was a new addition to the orchestra’s repertoire, the Strauss and Bartók pieces have a storied history with the CSO, particularly through its landmark recordings with Fritz Reiner. The orchestra’s first RCA recording of the Concerto for Orchestra is widely regarded as one of the definitive interpretations. Reiner’s deep understanding of Bartók’s music—coupled with the orchestra’s balance, precision, and virtuosity in the recording—shaped Bartók’s popularity in America and contributed significantly to the CSO’s growing reputation as a world-class ensemble.
Gathering Note 