Vladimir Jurowski conducts an impressive Shostakovich Eight in Chicago

For different reasons, both works selected by Vladimir Jurowski for his Chicago Symphony subscription series have gone through periods of neglect. Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 25 in C major was not performed for more than a century after the composer’s death. Conceived and first performed in 1943, Shostakovich’s Eighth Symphony was heavily criticised and practically banned after the composer headed the list of those condemned, in Zhdanov’s infamous 1948 decree, for “adhering to a formalist and anti-popular trend”. It was performed again only after Stalin’s death.

One could hypothesise that, arriving last in an amazing stretch of twelve piano concertos, composed during just three years, Mozart’s K503 was less successful because it is apparently more conventional, having fewer palpable sparks of inventiveness and fewer unexpected turns of phrase and harmony than some of its remarkable predecessors. Despite including a reference to a theme from Idomeneo in the finale, memorable, “operatic” melodies or playful interactions between piano and orchestra are rare, if not absent. At the same time, with its broad design, spaciousness and epic character, it looks forward to the “Jupiter” Symphony and to Beethoven, and that’s what Jurowski and Martin Helmchen attempted to underline, especially in the magisterial Allegro maestoso. 

Helmchen played the unaltered sonata form with assuredness and balance, but the cadenza, attributed to Martin Hecker, sounded a tad out of place with too many key traversals. The overlapping textures in the second movement were kept light by the pianist and the reduced-size ensemble, with just three cellos and two double basses. Helmchen displayed his impeccable articulation in the serious-minded Rondo, paying great attention to details including the unusual dialogue between piano, cellos and basses. Overall, it was a fine rendition of the concerto, but probably not one able to convince doubters to favour it more.

On the other side, the performance of Shostakovich’s Eighth was truly outstanding. From the initial dark statement by cellos and double basses to the last bars, depicting a barely surviving hero, Jurowski controlled an expansive arch anchored by three shrieking climaxes, occurring in each of the odd-numbered movements. He brought forward the composer’s wonderful craftsmanship in a score that, however chaotic it sounds at times, corresponds to Shostakovich’s rather bleak world view. Transitions between the last three movements, played without pause, were very smooth, while the individual character of each segment was well preserved. Jurowski brought forward numerous easy-to-overlook details such as the side-drum beats distorting the first movement’s meditative theme.

The level of understanding between conductor and orchestra was indeed amazing, considering that Jurowski has not conducted the CSO since 2010 and Thursday night’s performance was just the first in the subscription series. From sharp-edged to full-of-vulnerability phrases, the gamut of expressiveness was remarkable. Among the distinctive features of the score are multiple extensive instrumental solos and most of them – from Scott Hostetler’s plangent cor anglais melody in the first movement to Jennifer Gunn’s insane piccolo volutes in the second’s brief middle section to the sarcastic trumpet (Esteban Batallán) in the Toccata to the mournful horn (David Cooper) in the Largo – were exquisitely played.

Jurowski is a conductor of wide interests but this symphony, on one of his all too rare visits to the United States, seems to hold a special place in his repertoire.