Fine & Performing Arts

When the Chicago Symphony Orchestra returns to North Central College’s intimate Wentz Concert Hall on Oct. 21, renowned violinist Gil Shaham will be making his debut as guest conductor.

Who is Shaham, you might ask? The New York Times had this to say about Shaham’s performance during a recent “Mostly Mozart” program at New York’s Avery Fisher Hall:

The Mozart, with Gil Shaham as the soloist, deserved the enthusiasm. Mr. Shaham’s playing was both sweet-toned and trim, every phrase crisply articulated and, in the first two movements, thoughtfully shaped. In the finale, which includes the Turkish dance rhythms and modal figures that earned the work its nickname, the demand is for zest rather than thoughtfulness, and Mr. Shaham gave it all the vigor it wants with no sacrifice in clarity or shape. His choice of cadenzas — he played Joseph Joachim’s — suited the subtle virtuosity of his approach to the work as a whole.

For listeners inclined toward virtuosity of a less subtle kind, Mr. Shaham played an encore that he announced only as “a Turkish dance, not by Mozart.” The piece, a sizzler loaded with decorative display — slides, whistling harmonics, bent notes and jazzy variations — turned out to be Mr. Shaham’s own arrangement (complete with a rudimentary orchestral accompaniment) of “Nihavent Longa,” a piece he heard on a recent visit to Istanbul. Now that he runs his own record label, Canary Classics, he must find a place for this on a disc, sooner rather than later.

One of today’s leading orchestras both home and abroad, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will travel from its home at the Symphony Center on Michigan Avenue to give a premiere performance in the acoustically perfect Wentz Concert Hall in Naperville on the campus of North Central College.  

The Saturday, Nov. 15, concert will be conducted by Ludovic Morlot and feature classical compositions by Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky and Glinka. Tickets for the 8 p.m. performance are $150/person and include a dessert reception in Wentz Concert Hall and Fine Arts Center, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville. Call the North Central College Box Office at 630-637-SHOW (7460) or visit www.northcentralcollege.edu/show. 

After a brief welcome by North Central College Board of Trustee Chair Robert Wislow, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will perform “Overture to ‘Ruslan and Ludmila’” by Mikhail Glinka; “Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 44″ by Sergei Rachmaninov; and “Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23″ by Piotr Tchaikovsky featuring pianist Simon Trpceski. After the concert, a reception will be held in the grand foyer with a toast by College President Harold R. Wilde to recognize and thank Office Max, sponsor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert, and Sara Lee Foundation, sponsor of the Wentz Concert Hall inaugural season.  

In its second century, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is a musical force in Chicago and around the world with 107 talented musicians this season, performing more than 150 concerts and events. Throughout its history, the Orchestra has been led by nine renowned music directors.  

Known for his dynamic energy on the podium, guest conductor Ludovic Morlot has quickly established a reputation as one of the leading conductors of his generation. In the last two seasons, he’s conducted the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Baltimore, Cleveland, Dallas, Philadelphia Detroit and Houston symphony orchestras in North America. Highly regarded in Europe and the Far East, he’s conducted the Moscow National Philharmonic, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa in Japan, and orchestras in Stockholm, Israel, Rotterdam and the Netherlands, among others.  For its opening piece, the Orchestra will perform “Overture to ‘Ruslan and Ludmila,’” the second opera composed by Mikhail Glinka. The score is recognized as a landmark of Russian opera and is responsible for earning Glinka the title “Father of Russian Music.” Set in pagan Russia, “Ruslan and Ludmila” revolves around Ruslan’s attempt to rescue the abducted Ludmila and win her hand in marriage.  

Sergei Rachmaninov’s “Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 44″ is his third and final symphony and was on the program when the composer appeared with the Chicago Symphony in 1941. The most modern and compact of his three symphonies, it’s full of energy and brightness demonstrating Rachmaninov as one of the grand showmen of 20th century music. 

The “Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23″ by Piotr Tchaikovsky is the final composition of the evening. The concerto’s celebrated introduction leads to three movements that are filled with characteristic Tchaikovskian touches, like barrages of quadruple octaves in the piano solo and sometimes playful, nervous and majestic themes. Solo pianist Trpceski from Macedonia is one of the most remarkable young musicians in recent years, performing with many of the greatest orchestras and delighting audiences worldwide. He received the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artist Award in 2003 and both the Editor’s Choice and Debut Album Awards at the Gramophone Awards for his recital recordings.