CSO soloists dazzle in concerto premieres for piccolo, bass trombone

An eclectic program was highlighted by the world and regional premieres of concertos for instruments that are among the highest- and lowest-pitched in the orchestra.

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Chicago Symphony Orchestra piccolo Jennifer Gunn is soloist in Ken Benshoof’s Concerto in Three Movements with music director Riccardo Muti and the CSO on Thursday, June 13, 2019.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra piccolo Jennifer Gunn is the featured soloist in Ken Benshoof’s Concerto in Three Movements with music director Riccardo Muti and the CSO on Thursday, June 13, 2019.

© Todd Rosenberg

Don’t try finding this weekend’s Chicago Symphony Orchestra program in the ensemble’s pre-season publicity materials. While the dates remain the same, the line-up of works is significantly different.

So as not to lose some of the pieces that were supposed to be performed during a March set of concerts that had to be canceled because of the recent strike by CSO musicians, symphony officials combined three selections from that program with two that were originally supposed to be heard this weekend.

The slightly unwieldy, 2½-hour amalgamation, which debuted Thursday evening and runs two more times through Saturday, resulted in an intriguing coincidence – the world and regional premieres of concertos for instruments that are among the highest- and lowest-pitched in the orchestra.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Riccardo Muti, conductor

CSO June 13

Featuring: Jennifer Gunn, piccolo, Charles Vernon, bass trombone

When: 1:30 p.m. June 14; 8 p.m. June 15

Where: Orchestra Hall, 220 S. Michigan

Tickets: $52-$244

Info: cso.org


Each part of the concert concluded with an oft-heard orchestral favorite, and music director Riccardo Muti made sure each came off as anything but routine. He and the orchestra brought drama and drive to Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36, which closed the first half.

The concert ended with a rollicking, idiomatic take on George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris,” with no shortage of fine solo work, including acting principal trumpeter Mark Ridenour offering some appropriately jazzy, growly takes.

But as appealing as those selections were, this evening belonged to the concertos, starting with Antonio Vivaldi’s Piccolo Concerto in C major, RV 444 – the first of two works featuring the Chicago Symphony’s ace piccolo player Jennifer Gunn.

This compact, technically challenging baroque selection, which included just 17 members of the orchestra plus harpsichordist Mark Shuldiner, served as an ideal showpiece for Gunn’s light, dexterous playing and clear, round sound.

Bass Trombone Charles Vernon is the soloist in the world premiere performance of James Stephenson’s Chicago Symphony Orchestra-commissioned Bass Trombone Concerto, with the CSO conducted by Riccardo Muti, Thursday June 13, 2019.

Bass Trombone Charles Vernon is the soloist in the world premiere performance of James Stephenson’s Chicago Symphony Orchestra-commissioned Bass Trombone Concerto, with the CSO conducted by Riccardo Muti, Thursday June 13, 2019.

© Todd Rosenberg Photography

While she hit all of her marks in that work, Gunn seemed immediately more comfortable and really shined in the orchestra’s regional premiere of Ken Benshoof’s Concerto in Three Movements for Piccolo and Orchestra, with a still small, 30-member ensemble backing her.

This is the fourth work for piccolo by the 86-year-old Seattle composer, who clearly has an affinity for the instrument. It was commissioned by the National Flute Association, and Gunn premiered it in 2016 during the group’s annual convention in San Diego with the Pacific Coast Chamber Orchestra.

In this gently affecting, 17-minute work, Benshoof successfully sets aside any misguided notions of the piccolo as only a high-twittering instrument, highlighting its more expressive side and displaying its easily overlooked middle and lower registers. He often offsets the piccolo against the double bass, contrabassoon other lower voices for some fascinating and pleasing contrasts in tone and pitch.

A warm sense of nostalgia hangs over this solidly tonal piece, which follows very much in the rich American composing tradition of Aaron Copland and others in that vein and offers pitch intervals and a spatial sense that are very Coplandesque. 

Muti and the orchestra sensitively evoked the simplicity and reflective air that runs through the first two movements, with Gunn compellingly shaping the piccolo’s searching, inward-looking lines. The tempo speeds up in the pleasingly jazzy third movement, with its hints of Gershwin, and Benshoof caps it all with a humorous touch at the end.

Offering a marked contrast to this modest-sized work was the world premiere of Lake Forest composer James Stephenson’s Bass Trombone Concerto. It was commissioned for the Chicago Symphony and its longtime bass trombonist Charles Vernon by the Edward F. Schmidt Family Commissioning Fund.

It is a big, action-packed and, at times, almost disorienting work with a kind of cinematic sweep that was difficult to fully take in on first hearing. Indeed, so involved is the orchestral part, with its huge array of percussion, including the vibraphone playing a key role right from its sustained, atmospheric pulses in the opening, that this work almost comes across more as a symphony with a kind of lead role for the bass trombone.

Following Vernon’s requests, there are no mutes or unusual effects in the integrated solo part. Instead, it straightforwardly highlights the full range and versatility of the bass trombone, with a range of expressive slides, rhythmic scampers and basement rumbles. All were realized with ease, precision and a tight, pure tone by the veteran, top-flight brass musician.

Gunn and Vernon were greeted with cheers and partial standing ovations after their solo turns – the audience clearly eager to show support for these well-deserving resident players. At the same time, both Benshoof and Stephenson were present for their premieres, and they were warmly saluted as well.

Kyle MacMillan is a local freelance writer.


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