Beyond promotion

In about four months of working at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, I have been to over fifteen concerts. It is of course one of the major perks of working there; to be able to hear the orchestra under the baton of legendary conductors such as Daniel Barenboim and Bernard Haitink and conductors on their way to legendary status such as Esa-Pekka Salonen and Daniel Harding.

The absolute top picks from these concerts are the two Beyond the Score series performances of Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben with Daniel Harding and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 4 with Mark Elder. I’d like to stray from sounding too promotional as someone who works in the public relations department, but this new series is a complete artistic and commercial success. As a newcomer to the classical music environment I was enormously appealed by the accessible format of the series.

The first half of each program uses multimedia imagery, narration and acting to study the musical selection. The examination highlights the composition’s context in history, the influences, and the composer’s works and life. Musical excerpts performed by the orchestra illustrate the findings. After intermission, the audience experiences the entire score performed by the orchestra.

Knowing more about the background of the music makes it infinitely more interesting. It comes as no surprise that Ein Heldenleben and Symphony No. 4 are now my favorite works.

The series concludes on May 21, 2006 with a look at Mozart’s Requiem. Next season the orchestra examines Bartok’s The Miraculous Mandarin, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27.

Convinced? Go to www.cso.org for tickets. Hey, in high school I was one of those “I don’t do classical music” adolescents too. That changed quickly after a visit to Vienna’s Staatsoper and seeing Placido Domingo in my first and five-hour opera. Beyond the Score is an easier first than Wagner. Just give it a try.

24 March 2006 | All things Chicago, Arts Management, Classical Music, Cultural Affairs | Comments