Riccardo Muti and Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed Verdi's rare ballet music, The Four Seasons, from I vespri siciliani at Carnegie Hall. It was a heartwarming performance played in the cold winter of New York. Italian maestro Muti has been the music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 2010, succeeding Barenboim, and has taken up various repertoires, but Verdi is exceptional. The Italian maestro conveyed Verdi to the musicians with a vivid touch and beautifully depicted the world. After the winter dance, the trembling strings reminded me of the melting snow, and the flute was like the dazzling sunlight shining through. The sad longing of the clarinet as summer continues and the autumn oboe solo was nostalgic, reminiscent of the old castle in Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. The skills and spirit that Muti and the orchestra have nurtured and inherited over time were vividly unfolded. The theme shifts from the solo to the tutti, then the percussion and brass come in, and each frame is irreplaceable and touches the heart. It was the same with Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 that followed. Like the final scene of a movie, everything blends, is depicted beautifully, and most realistically, disappears, and then ends. The moments were precious and will never come back. The encore was Giuseppe Martucci's Notturno. It was a gentle, sad, and heartfelt performance by 83-year-old Riccardo Muti. In introducing the encore, Muti said that at the time, Toscanini's concert was canceled because he refused to play for fascists. Muti said, "Dictators have no interest in music at all." He continued, "Because culture is the most effective weapon,” Muti and Chicago's cultural struggle continues.
"That lyrical fluency, coupled with a smoothly blended sound, is now a hallmark of the orchestra as it awaits the arrival of Klaus Mäkelä, its designated new music director, in 2027."
1.21.2025
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Muti, Conductor
Program
BELLINI Overture to Norma
VERDI "The Four Seasons" from I vespri siciliani
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4
Encore:
Giuseppe Martucci Notturno
ムーティがシカゴ交響楽団とカーネギーでベルディのシチリアの晩鐘の3幕からバレエ音楽、四季を演奏した。それは寒い冬のニューヨークで奏でられた心に染みる演奏だった。イタリアのマエストロ、ムーティはバレンボイムの後に2010年からシカゴ交響楽団の音楽監督として、さまざまなレパートリーを取り上げてきたが、ベルディは格別だ。イタリアのマエストロは鮮やかなタッチでヴェルディを楽員たちに伝え、その世界を見事に描いて見せる。冬のダンスが終わり、震える弦楽器が雪解けを思わせ、フルートはまばゆい陽光が差し込むようだった。夏が続く中でのクラリネットの切ない憧れと秋のオーボエソロはムソルグスキーの「展覧会の絵」の古城を思わせる郷愁を誘うものだった。ムーティとオーケストラが長い年月をかけて培い、受け継いできた技と精神が鮮やかに展開された。ソロからトゥッティへと主題が移り、打楽器と金管楽器が入り、一コマ一コマがかけがえのない感動を呼ぶ。それはその後のチャイコフスキーの交響曲４番でもそうだった。映画のラストシーンのように、すべては溶け合い、美しくそしてもっともリアリスティックに描かれは消え、やがて終わる。その一瞬が二度と戻ってこない大切な時間だと強く感じた。アンコールはマルトゥッチのノットゥルノ。83歳のリッカルド・ムーティの優しく悲しげで心のこもった演奏だった。アンコールの紹介でムーティは当時、トスカニーニの演奏会が、ファシストの演奏を拒否したためキャンセルされたと話、独裁者は音楽に全く興味がない。文化こそが最も効果的な武器だからだと語った。ムーティとシカゴの文化的闘争は続く。
Muti and Chicago Symphony