In his hands, the music was appealingly sprightly. This take was marked as much by what Muti did as what he didn’t do, an approach that was most evident in the second movement, which is marked allegretto, a tempo that is meant to be neither too fast nor too slow. The orchestra offered a nuanced, sensitive interpretation of this work that conveyed both its subtle complexities and inner contrasts. 93, which might be slightly under-recognized if that can be said about any Beethoven symphony. But this work has much more to offer than those first seconds, as this bold, full-bodied and, yes, sometimes suspenseful performance made abundantly clear, especially the big, resplendent finale with the glory of the CSO brass on view.Īn argument could be made, though, that the highlight of this concert was the Symphony No. 67, with its emphatic opening eight-note motif that is regularly heard on television commercials and everywhere else. The evening’s big draw was the Symphony No. To its credit, the CSO, unlike such fellow arts organizations as the Joffrey Ballet or Lyric Opera of Chicago, has not had to cancel or postpone any performances this season, even with the recent onslaught of the omicron variant. The playing was all the more impressive considering the musicians, like so many other workers, have had to undergo heightened COVID-19 testing protocols and must now wear masks during performances (all but the wind and brass sections). 5 to the note-perfect French horns that lit up both symphonies, especially principal David Cooper and associate principal Daniel Gingrich in the third movement of the No.
There were highlights aplenty from the dark, resonant low strings in the Symphony No. Of course, no such performance would be possible without a first-rate orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony was in particularly fine form. And that’s where Muti, who turned 80 in July, draws on a lifetime of confronting, performing and living with this music. On the other hand, it’s a matter of artistically transcending those elements.
On one hand, it means going back to the fundamentals and paying attention to the tiniest nuances when it comes to tempo, dynamics and articulation. How did he do it? It is, of course, impossible, to fully explain the alchemy that goes into, dare we say, a great performance like this. 8 - are part of the bedrock of the symphonic repertoire and are familiar to regular orchestral goers, he managed to inject a sense of interpretative suspense, and compelled listeners to sit up and listen anew. Even though the two main works on Thursday’s program - Beethoven’s Symphony No.
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