CSO Performs Haydn Symphony no. 44 in E minor (Mourning), Richard Strauss tone-poem Death and Transfiguration, and Brahms Symphony no. 3
CSO’s program evoked an absorbing, musical and emotional look at a well-lived life, the inevitable death, and musings on the afterlife.
LIke the Mexican Celebration of the Day of the Dead’s focus on the afterlife, this concert was more hopeful than scary. Although only Strauss’ Death and Transfiguration focused on a man's life proceeding to death, all three works in this program shared a similar juxtaposition of major and minor chords, and repeated themes, to evoke contemplation of life, death, and the afterlife.
An inspired symphony
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), composer of 104 symphonies-- arguably the father of classical music as we know it-- told a friend he wanted the adagio (slow) movement of Symphony No. 44 to be played at his funeral. Thus, the title Mourning. The music however, is not really slow or mournful, but just in a minor key. As one expects from the Chicago Symphony, this was expressively performed. Unusual for the classical era, this adagio movement goes deeper in emotion than one would expect. Maybe that's why Haydn desired it to be played at his funeral.
Haydn's interspersing minor and major themes-- described in the pre-concert conversation by scholar Kyle Dzapo as "inspired"-- gives this work special interest.
A little Chicago Symphony history
Richard Strauss (1864-1949) composed ten exciting, evocative tone poems. These were often chosen for CSO performances by his friend Theodore Thomas, who became the CSO’s first conductor in 1892. Expressing poetry through music, Strauss gave them titles like Also Sprach Zarathustra, Til Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, Don Juan and Death and Transfiguration. Strauss himself guest conducted and performed his music with the Chicago Symphony in 1904 and 1921. In this October 24, 2019 performance the CSO and the music of Richard Strauss teamed up once again. Conductor David Afkham led the orchestra to express these profound themes clearly. Most, like this reviewer, would likely agree this was a particularly moving performance.
Major and Minor
The evening’s programming gave us a chance to see how composers can use alternations between major and minor chords to quickly communicate emotional ups and downs. Haydn had introduced this method over a century earlier than Strauss. Both Haydn’s and Strauss’ works in this performance featured such chord alternations to communicate emotions in their music. Strauss, like Haydn, was expert at choosing the appropriate major or minor chords to express great poetry. Applied to such weighty themes as life, death and the afterlife, we hear the major chords express a person's joys and loves during life. The dark minor chords and low tones in the cellos, basses, trombones and bassoons express the struggles in facing approaching death, and the fight against it to the end. And then, finally, the bright major chords--especially as played by the CSO high strings, flutes, oboes and clarinets --return to express eternal heavenly life. This is perhaps an unsurpassed musical device to express eternal peace, in this writer’s view.
Brahms 3rd
We learn that Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) took 20 years to write his first symphony. He believed that he had to reach the level of Beethoven's 9th, in order for his work to be regarded as sufficiently full of integrity. But, when he wrote his Third symphony he worked on it nonstop and finished it in about four months in 1883. This was an unusually short work for the Romantic era. This 3rd symphony is not extravagant, and is the shortest of his symphonies.
Most will agree with this writer that it is Brahms’ most cohesive symphony. The strings of the CSO especially connected phrases and made it lush. It felt so connected. There was a comfort of no awkward silences between phrases, as in a conversation. All four of the principal woodwinds had solo phrases and they shined with beauty. These solos emphasized the overarching beauty of the entire symphony. How strongly expressive and confident the principal horn player David Cooper played the famous third movement solo! It was heart-melting.
Though the symphony is definitely in F major, Brahms-- like the other composers represented in this concert--effectively balances between light and dark, major and minor, and even between major and diminished chords. These diminished chords, effectively used to help create drama from the beginning of the symphony are even more dramatic and expressive than minor chords, in this reviewer's opinion. Since there is no programmatic title besides simply Symphony no. 3, one is left to one's own imagination about what it all means. Maybe the great variety of feelings are enough? But after the two earlier pieces of this program that evoked contemplation of death and what comes after, Brahms’ 3rd symphony felt like a relief. Each of these four, glorious, well-loved movements of the 3rd symphony end softly, and at peace.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
This program was repeated by the Chicago Symphony at Symphony Center Friday, October 25 and will be repeated again on Tuesday, October 29 at 7:30.
For more information and tickets visit the Chicago Symphony Orchestra website.
Photos by Todd Rosenberg
About the Author:
Mark Lindeblad is a working pianist and bassoonist in Chicagoland. He received the Bachelor's of Music performance degree, bassoon major, piano minor from Wichita State University in 1978 and the Master's of Music performance degree in bassoon from Roosevelt University in 1983 in Chicago. While doing piano accompanying was always happening on the side from high school and college years, it stepped up to be Mark’s primary occupation in the 1990's. Today he is a piano accompanist at Glenbard South High School, and plays principal bassoon in the Southwest Symphony, and also finds time for about 20 private students studying either bassoon or piano. For more information, visit Mark Lindeblad’s website: www.markspianostudio.com
