The conductor John Storgårds has become something of a fixture on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra podium, returning regularly to lead the ensemble since his 2017 debut. Based on the strength of his most recent appearance this past weekend, it’s easy to understand why he’s quickly become a favored guest. The three works that formed the concert bill spanned nine decades of the 20th century and multiple musical modes, but under Storgårds’ precise yet expressive direction, copacetic ideas flowed freely from the stately epical writing of Sibelius to Philip Glass’ mesmerizing minimalism. Attention to detail characterized the conductor’s approach and, as a first-time visitor to Symphony Center, I never doubted that I was getting a representation of this orchestra at their level best.
The evening opened with Sibelius’ Pohjola’s Daughter, a signature piece for the Finnish-born Storgårds. The ten-minute tone poem presents a narrative episode from the Kalevala that involves the would-be hero Väinämöinen’s sudden infatuation with the title character. Storgårds offered a reading rich in detail and a gripping sense of storytelling, from the haunting cello solo that launches the composition (played beautifully by Principal John Sharp) to the explosive brass chorales that usher in the hushed conclusion. The many modulations in volume and tempo were handled masterfully, and Storgårds evoked the bucolic forest landscapes of Finland with the help of harpist Ellie Kirk, Principal Flute Stefán Ragnar Hӧskuldsson and clarinetist Todd Levy, a guest from the Milwaukee Symphony. The enveloping tone wrapped itself around the hall, but not at the expense of individual colors.
Owing to the indisposition of Principal Clarinet Stephen Williamson, the CSO swapped the planned world premiere of Indigo Heaven, a new concerto for that instrument by Christopher Theofanidis, with the subscription debut of Glass’ Violin Concerto no. 1. New music specialist Karen Gomyo proved an adept soloist here, varying her sound from the dark-hued arpeggiated lines of Movement I to the floating ethereality of Movement II, then taking on an almost theremin-like tone of high-pitched electricity in Movement III, as the violin wars with a battery of aggressive percussion. Storgårds occasionally allowed the orchestra to cover Gomyo’s somewhat modest playing, but he proved a supportive partner overall, infusing a steady rhythmic pulse into the composer’s signature repeated figures. A little bit of this music goes a long way – always the case with Glass – but you cannot argue with an interpretation this strong.
To bring the concert home, Storgårds leaned into the experimental weirdness of Rachmaninov’s Symphony no. 3 in A minor. The Lento was shorn of any Romantic character, with hard-charging tempos and underlying psychology to the music. The cello section sounded forlorn rather than noble. The Adagio bloomed from a tense interplay between Principal Horn Mark Almond, harpist Kirk and Concertmaster Robert Chen into the exciting Scherzo, which Storgårds reined back in for its melancholic conclusion. That balance of brooding contemplation and energy bursts was mirrored in Allegro finale, as Storgårds alternated between the maniacal central theme and the eerie introduction of the Dies irae, that Rachmaninov idée fixe. The total result was the effect of fresh eyes on a familiar work, with all the excitement of discovery that such an approach can bring.
