Beethoven, Lutoslawski, Bruckner: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink, principal conductor, Robert Chen, violin, Symphony Center, Chicago, Illinois, 12.05. 2007 (JLZ)

 

Bernard Haitink made his auspicious debut as principal conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Fall 2006 with several concerts in which he conducted Gustav Mahler’s Third Symphony. The acclaim from the press and the public set the tone for a strong relationship, which has been borne out in his latest concerts, with a program that includes Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture (1807), Lutosławski’s Chain 2 (1986), and the Seventh Symphony (1883) of Anton Bruckner. The four concerts in this set (10, 11, 12, and 15 May 2007) have given the audiences the opportunity to experience further the fine leadership that Haitink brings to this impressive ensemble.

In opening the program with the Coriolan Overture, Haitink demonstrated his command of such a familiar piece in the standard repertoire. The precision he brought to this Overture was impressive, as he revealed details that are not always apparent in other performances of this piece. His economical gestures elicited the attention of the entire ensemble, which could be seen keenly directed at the podium. The more extroverted first theme was fully in character with the piece, with Orchestra Hall reverberating with the tutti chords. The second area, with its contrasting tone, was appropriately lyrical, and the entire piece was effective in execution, with its subdued ending as precise as the chords that opened the Overture.

The following work, Lutosławski’s Chain 2, a four-movement work for solo violin and orchestra, received its premiere with the Chicago Symphony in this set of concerts. Haitink deftly shaped this fine work, a piece that certainly deserves to be performed more often. While nominally not a concerto, the juxtaposition of the solo violin with various parts of the orchestra created some unusual textures and timbres. Within the structure of the work Lutosławski alternates between strictly notated sections and improvised ones, with the latter contributing a sense of freedom and indeterminacy to the piece. The rhythmic challenges themselves are impressive, and when executed as well as occurred in this concert, the music is stunning. Robert Chen, concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony, performed this work with an apparent ease and facility that made the music quite accessible. At the same time, the support from his fellow musicians contributed a sense of chamber music to the work, which Haitink shaped from beginning to end. A fine work in its own right, Lutosławski’s Chain 2 is served well by such a stellar ensemble as the Chicago Symphony, which contributed a sense of easy finesse to this virtuosic score.

The principal work in the program, Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony, was impressive for a number of reasons.  As familiar as this score is, Haitink brought out nuances that set this performance apart from others. His sense of direction was evident from the start of the performance, as Haitink worked with the orchestra to communicate an aural sense of the structure of this complex work. He attended to the details of the score, and paid attention not only to the contrasts between loud and soft or slow and fast, but to the many subtler gradations of dynamic and tempo that this music demands. The expansive first movement had an architecture that kept the audience riveted. In fact, the string textures of the opening section of the first movement were rich and inviting and, in a sense, stood apart from the Chicago Symphony’s well-known recording from the late 1970s by Daniel Barenboim (released by Deutsche Grammophon). While the latter is a fine interpretation of the score, the string timbres were somehow more inviting in this live performance led by Haitink. Likewise, the sometimes overwhelming sound that can emerge from the brass section was nuanced under Haitink’s direction, which brought out even more of the details in the score, as Bruckner used various choirs of the orchestra to reinforce his thematic content.

The second movement was as intensively led as the first, with some finely considered tempos underscoring the structure of the movement. The flexible beat that characterized this movement allowed Haitink to linger at times, over sonorities before proceeding, and this helped   bring out the character of various themes within the overall structure of the movement. This movement builds, in a sense, to the cymbal crash at its climax, a passage that is redolent of Wagner’s influence and yet wholly in Bruckner’s own spirit. Here the percussion demonstrated a sensitivity to tone that set  this performance apart from others. Likewise, the understated beginning of the third movement  Scherzo, was at once clean and precise, without venturing into caricature. The dynamic levels were fully in line with the acoustics of Orchestra Hall, and allowed for Hatink’s distinctive interpretation to emerge clearly.

Yet the Finale was also impressive for the way the intensity that was part of the first three movements continued with resilience. Capping the work, this movement required the full ensemble to be engaged its demanding structure. Within the various sequences that Bruckner uses to modulate, the chromatic lines were always distinct and clear, with Haitink never letting up on the focus he brought to this reading of the score. The movement built gradually to its impressive conclusion, which brought the audience to an enthusiastic response. This  was a memorable concert for various reasons, not the least being the facility that Haitink demonstrated in reading a work so well known to the Chicago Symphony. Yet he was gracious, too, in acknowledging the various sections of the orchestra, during the extended applause that brought him back to the stage several times.

All in all, the entire concert was noteworthy. The solid performance of the Coriolan Overture was impressive for conveying fresh perspectives on a familiar work, yet the less familiar Lutosławski piece demonstrated Haitink’s deep knowledge of recent music in a virtuosic performance. With Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony, the audience experienced a master conductor’s interpretation of the late nineteenth-century music with which Haitink is often associated.  This was an exemplary concert that certainly reflects the quality of the Chicago Symphony under the leadership of this fine conductor. While this set of concerts concludes Haitink’s appearances with the Chicago Symphony this season, further performances are planned for the 2007-8 season, which includes a program with Mahler’s Sixth and other works. For now, though, concertgoers have strong memories of Haitink’s compelling performance of Mahler’s Third Symphony earlier this season (now released on a CD issued by the CSO) and also this fine recent program.

James L. Zychowicz