SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Muti's Haydn and Mozart : Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Riccardo Muti, principal conductor, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Center, Chicago 1.10.2010 (JLZ)

Haydn: Symphony no. 39 in G minor
Mozart: Symphony no. 25 in G minor, K. 183
Mozart: Symphony no. 34 in C major, K. 338
Haydn: Symphony no. 89 in F major

 

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra's debut season with its new conductor Riccardo Muti is indeed exciting, and it is encouraging to the public that the programming includes the range of orchestral literature, not only the traditional and the new, but also works from the eighteenth century, when symphonic music was taking shape. The concerts on the weekend of 1^st October 2010 included works by Haydn and Mozart, specifically Haydn's Symphonies 39 and 89 and Mozart's nos. 25 and 34. While theses pieces are not unfamiliar, they are played less often by modern orchestras, and yet fitted well together as a single program.

Muti paired the two works in G minor, starting the concert with Haydn’s no. 39, followed by Mozart's no. 25, the so-called "Little" G-minor Symphony, two pieces which Muti believes have a clear affinity with each other. The CSO performed Haydn's no. 39 extremely well, with the strings particularly effective for their solid intonation, uniform attack and cohesive sound. This music lends itself best to a smaller, period-style ensemble, and while the CSO handled the piece nicely, the intimate sonorities required in some passages somehow seemed over- accentuated because of Muti's dramatic attempts to elicit the softer sound. The interpretation of this rare Haydn work was markedly understated, in contrast to the lively manner with which Muti opened Mozart's G-minor Symphony. There, the string balance was initially tilted towards the cellos and basses, a situation which eventually corrected itself as the syncopated figure in the opening theme moved through the orchestra. The first and final movements, which bear the structural weight of this work came off nicely with impressive, even virtuosic execution by the CSO. Muti took care not to accentuate the content of the inner movements and allowed them to emerge organically without overemphasis. The final movement benefited from some exceptional woodwind playing, which evoked some of the gestures Mozart makes - though to other effects - in Così fan tutte.

The program's second half paired the other two works, Mozart's Symphony no. 34, and Haydn's no. 89. The first received a rather romantic interpretation from Muti, with sharp contrasts in tempi and with especially dynamic delineation between its themes and sub-sections. This was effective in the first movement, but the second movement lacked the sense of internal architecture present in the first. This is not to suggest any weaknesses in the playing, which was exemplary for its tight ensemble throughout helping Muti to end the Symphony with a particularly convincing reading of the finale.

 

Yet, to my mind, the concert’s strongest impression came with Haydn’s Symphony no. 89, a score that just predates the composer’s “Paris” symphonies. The sound was notably scintillating here because of the combined effects of the CSO's native ensemble and Muti's  expert leadership. The first movement’s sonata structure was marvelously clear in this performance, allowing all of the expressive quality in its remarkable content to emerge readily. Some of the success was the result of the orchestra’s fine woodwind timbres, particularly that of flutist Matthieu Dufour and the distinctive character of the work’s inner movements emerged from the orchestra’s almost chamber-music quality. As in Mozart’s No 34, Maestro Muti brought this work too, to a wholly satisfying conclusion with a nicely paced Finale.

As they had done with the concerts that opened the season, the audience greeted Muti enthusiastically, and the members of the CSO responded similarly. It is indeed good to have the stability of another eminent permanent Music Director leading the CSO, and it is also encouraging to see the repertoire expanded by the inclusion of pieces like those in this innovative program.

James L Zychowicz

Note: A news flash from the New York Times just in (October 4^th) announces that Maestro Muti has cancelled his next scheduled appearances with Chicago Symphony due to illness. He was forced to return to Milan after canceling his performance with the orchestra on Saturday last - during which the orchestra played without a conductor. Subsequent concerts in Maestro Muti’s four week Fall season will be conducted by Harry Bicket, Ascher Fisch and Pierre Boulez. Ed.