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Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, David Zinman(guest conductor), Julia Fischer, violin, Symphony Center, Chicago 12.12.2008 (JLZ)

Shostakovich, Violin Concerto no. 1 in A minor, Op. 99 (Op. 77)

Tchaikovsky, Symphony no. 1 in G minor, Op. 13 ("Winter Daydreams")


The program for Friday evening's concert of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was impressive and  satisfying all aroun for various reasons. Of the two works. the performance of Shostakovich's First Violin Concerto was powerful, because of the intense concentration of the soloist, orchestra, and conductor. From the start of this four-movement work, David Zinman established the appropriate tempo and Julia Fischer followed with a remarkable execution of this demanding work. As brilliant as it is, Shostakovich's First Violin Concerto  requires a soloist who is not only a brilliant player, but a virtuosic interpreter, and Fischer met those demands well. The dark, somber tone of the first movement makes use of the lower register of the violin, to which Fischer gave clear and incisive articulations in passages where other soloists might have blurred into the orchestra.

The intensity of this performance captured the audience immediately, which was particularly attentive to the details of the Scherzo that followed. In that movement, Fischer exploited the motivic development of Shostakovich's score in her masterful interpretation of the piece which  was memorable for the ironic tone pervading the movement. In the third movement, the music returns to a slow tempo, and its elegiac tone contrasted with the more reserved approach that Fischer had taken in the first. Here, emotional  expression found full voice, and the intensity of  the music emerged from the full sound of both orchestra and soloist. Reminiscent of the third movement of the composer's Fifth Symphony, the prominent unison statements of the thematic material were poignant. Fischer moved seamlessly through the cadenza, which led directly to the brilliant Finale. This  last movement demonstrated the virtuosity of both soloists and the CSO as well, with David Zinman not only supporting the solo part, but giving full expressivity to the passages for orchestra alone. With her undoubted command of the work, Fischer was able to add nuances to the performance revealing clearly the excitement she must feel for the work. This was a stunning performance of a work that requires a great soloist and an accomplished orchestra.

The second half of the program was devoted to Tchaikovsky's First Symphony, a work that dates from 1866. A program symphony, the work consists of four movements: 1. Dreams of a Winter Journey. Allegro tranquillo; 2.Land of Desolation, Land of Mists. Adagio cantabile ma non tanto; 3. Scherzo. Allegro scherzando giocoso; and 4. Finale, Adante lugubre-Allegro maestoso. In a season that celebrates various national winter traditions, this work complements the more cosmopolitan style of the composer's Fifth Symphony, which was performed earlier in the Fall. The First Symphony is  an evocative score, as denoted by the titles of the first two movements. In this reading, David Zinman drew out all of the work’s detail whilst exploiting the extremes of dynamic range and the varied timbres revealed in solo passages, like the exquisite oboe melody in the second movement, through to the full orchestral tutti of  the final movement. Known for his sensitivity to Romantic style, Zinman gave a solid reading of this important work by the youthful Tchaikovsky. Attentive listeners can hear ideas which Tchaikovsky would develop later in his career, like the gesture in the French horns anticipating the music of the famous "Waltz of the Flowers" in the ballet The Nutcracker. Without overplaying the dramatic gestures of this  symphony, Zinman's faithfulness to the score allowed the music to speak for itself.

A work like this shows off the fine ensemble work of the Chicago Symphony. With the low brass and expanded percussion reserved for the Finale, the first three movements  more than resemble the symphonic music of the earlier part of the nineteenth century, as found in Mendelssohn or Schumann. Only in the Finale does Tchaikovsky bring in the full orchestral palette associated with his later works. Under David Zinman’s direction, the Chicago Symphony made  the distinction between the Finale from the earlier movements elegantly. And with complete mastery of symphonic form, Zinman held the various sections of Finale together cleanly, including the fugal section that stands apart from some of Tchaikovsky's other orchestral music. Zinman deserves credit for this fine execution of this seldom performed score.

James L. Zychowicz


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