More Chicago.

There's a certain valor in concision, but I wish I'd had twice as much ink to spill on the particulars of David McVicar's Giulio Cesare, which I reviewed on Friday night. I've admired the Opus Arte DVD of the original Glyndebourne debut run, but this production done live was revelatory. If you're in Chicago -- or have cash for airfare and a friend or relative to crash with -- this is urgently recommended. Sadly, even though this production is right in line with the Met's current agenda, I'm not sure that it would work in that particular space. (I'd love to see Peter Gelb try it, though.)

I lingered in Chicago on Saturday and caught a strangely unsettled concert by Christoph von Dohnányi and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra that pretty much conformed to Marc Geelhoed's detailed description of their Thursday night performance. Andrew Patner, in a characterful review for the Chicago Sun-Times, took a different descriptive tack but reached exactly the same conclusions.

I'd long wanted to hear the CSO in its own hall, and got my wish. It was a treat to encounter violinist Arabella Steinbacher, whose take on the Sibelius Violin Concerto was more deeply pondered than the virile performance Nikolaj Znaider gave with Dohnányi and the New York Philharmonic last week. Steinbacher's spooky introversion in the first movement and her tenderness in the second were gripping. The finale was ferociously driven, but often at the cost of precision from both soloist and ensemble. (Some notes that were played certainly did not appear in the score.) Still, this is a violinist who certainly bears watching.

Regarding the Bruckner "Romantic," I can only second Marc's admiration for French horn soloist Dale Clevenger, and add that CSO principal flutist Mathieu Dufour was just as sensational. The brass chorales in the first movement ran roughshod over anything approaching balance. As for the rest, Dohnányi's guidance seemed perhaps slightly less micro-managed than what Marc and Andrew described, and the finale did earn a rousing response here. But overall, the performance seemed patchy, distracted and far less imposing than I expected from this combination of conductor and orchestra. As Andrew put it, the chemistry was most certainly out of balance.

My thanks to Marc for the hospitality. I regret not crossing paths with Andrew on Friday night, but it was a pleasure to briefly meet Time Out Chicago music editor Antonia Simigis.

Playlist:

Imani Coppola - Chupacabra (Columbia); Afrodite (Mental); The Black & White Album (Ipecac)

Franz Schubert - Sonatas for Violin and Piano - Andrew Manze and Richard Egarr (Harmonia Mundi)

George Frideric Handel - Giulio Cesare - Marijana Mijanovič, Magdelena Kožená, Anne Sofie von Otter, Charlotte Hellekant, Bejun Mehta, Les Musiciens du Louvre/Marc Minkowski (Archiv)

Alfred Schnittke - Symphony No. 9 (orch. Raskatov); Alexander Raskatov - Nunc dimittis * - Elena Vassilieva*, the Hilliard Ensemble *, Dresden Philharmonic/Dennis Russell Davies (demo CD-R)

The Bad Plus - "Every Breath You Take", "What Love Is This?", "Narc", "Immigrant Song", "We Are the Champions", "Human Behavior", "Knowing Me, Knowing You", "Stacks of Cash" (iTunes exclusive downloads)

Bennie Maupin - The Jewel in the Lotus (ECM)

Dewey Redman Quartet - The Struggle Continues (ECM)

Comments

[asoio]

Any chance to get a demo CD-R with Raskatov's 'Nunc dimittis' anywhere? ;)

[Steve Smith]

Dennis Russell Davies will be recording the Schnittke and Raskatov pieces with the Dresden Philharmonic in January.

[asoio]

This I know, of course. Anyway thanks for your response.