This Weekend's Choice Chamber Music
By Alexander Hough in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 1, 2009 5:40PM
With last weekend's Lyric Opera season opener, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's first concert and gala coming up this weekend (tickets are still available for both, by the way), the 2009-2010 classical season has hit the ground running. If there was any doubt about it, check out these great chamber music offerings over the weekend (and Monday) as the concert music year gets in full swing.
Friday, October 2
- dal niente
Speaking of swing, new music collective dal niente starts its season with a jazz-inspired show. Pieces include Franco Donatoni's "Hot" for saxophone and large ensemble, Jason Eckardt's "Rendition" for clarinet and piano, John Luther Adams's "Red Arc/Blue Veil" for piano and percussion, and the Chicago premieres of two works by Augusta Reed Thomas, who will be in attendance Friday night.
Columbia College Concert Hall, 1014 S. Michigan, 7:30 p.m., $10, $5 students
- dal niente
There's more to German culture than oom-pah bands and beer, and dal niente is celebrating Oktoberfest by looking beyond Bavaria and highlighting the centuries-long German dominance of Western music. The concert is a departure from dal niente's usual all-contemporary programs, with selections by long-dead composers like J.S. Bach (Cello Suite No. 2), C.P.E. Bach (Flute Sonata in D Major), Ludwig van Beethoven (Violin Sonata No. 7), and Robert Schumann (Fantasiestücke for clarinet and piano). Germany's still rocking today, so dal niente has also included a piece by recently-dead Karlheinz Stockhausen ("Knabenduett" for two saxophones) and yet-to-be-dead Helmut Lachenmann ("Guero" for solo piano).
Sherwood Conservatory of Music at Columbia College, 1312 S. Michigan, 3:00 p.m., $10, $5 students
- Chicago Chamber Musicians CCM boasts a lineup of long-résuméd musicians (most are current or former CSO members). While we all know that it's not the size of the boat but rather the motion of the ocean, if a 100-foot yacht can handle massive ocean swells, you should hop on board, you know what I'm saying? CCM will play a concert of chamber music hits: a trio of pieces by Igor Stravinsky, including his Octet for winds; Francis Poulenc's Sextet; and Samuel Barber's wind quintet "Summer Music" and String Quartet, the slow movement of which is the "Adagio for Strings," made pop-famous in the movie "Platoon." Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, 7:30 p.m., $20 - $40, $10 students
- Chicago Chamber Musicians See above. Gottlieb Hall at the Merit School of Music, 30 S. Peoria, 7:30 p.m., $20 - $40, $10 students
- CSO's MusicNOW MusicNOW, the CSO's new music series, kicks off its season, with members of the CSO performing two pieces each by Frederic Rzewski and György Kurtág. The concert costs money, but stick around afterward to rub elbows with musicians, beer, and food, all of which is free (although due to laws and social norms, you may not keep the musicians). Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph, 8:00 p.m., $20, $10 students