6/26 – A Summer Afternoon Tea

Thank all of you for braving the torrential downpour and [near] mass flooding to come to Rush Hour last Tuesday! We were configuring back-up plans on our way to the cathedral in case: 1) the artists are rained out (in which case RH Artistic Director Deborah Sobol would inevitably have to improvise something on the piano); 2) all RH guests are rained out (in which case we’d have to consume cases of strawberries and cream and bottles of wine ourselves); 3) we, the Rush Hour staff and artistic director, never make it off of the flooded Lake Shore Drive (we could not come up with a back-up plan for this one…).

Thankfully heavy storms never last [too] long. Approximately 250 people challenged Chicago’s tempestuous summer conditions and experienced charming, refreshing, and uplifting (not to mention funny and witty) folk songs by Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams, performed by Chicago Symphony principal clarinet Larry Combs, Lyric Opera baritone Levi Hernandez, and RH leader Deborah Sobol, who is also a founding member and pianist of the Chicago Chamber Musicians.

Crowd mingling and enjoying strawberries and cream during the pre-concert reception.

Lyric Opera soprano Lauren Curnow and baritone Levi Hernandez.

Reba (Fanfare Committee member) and Helen (Chicago Cultural Center) during the pre-concert reception.

Larry Combs and Deborah Sobol performing Vaughan Williams folk songs.

Levi Hernandez and Deborah Sobol performing songs by Benjamin Britten.

Crowd gathering around Rush Hour’s gift shop ENSEMBLE after the concert. We now carry specially-designed culturally curious? t-shirts, Rush Hour t-shirts,  and CDs!

Thoughts from the Artistic Director: British Folk Songs

Of all musical collaborations involving the piano, the art song is one of my favorites. The combination of “tunes and words” is arresting for me; and Benjamin Britten‘s Folksong Arrangements have kept me in captive bliss for several decades! I recently came across some of Britten’s observations on folk songs from his native land: “The chief attractions of English folksongs are the sweetness of the melodies, the close connection between words and music, and the quiet, uneventful charm of the atmosphere…. Like much of the English countryside, they creep into the affections rather than take them by storm.”

 Today’s program illustrates the collaborative roles of the voice (or instrument in the case of the Vaughan Williams) and the piano in the art song. In Vaughan Williams’s musings on the folk song, you will experience the overall atmosphere the composer creates with both the clarinet and piano. Note how the piano writing weaves around the song tunes in the clarinet, at times filling them out with harmony; at other moments, working in canon with melodies of its own; and at still others, creating a landscape sound-canvas. (I can almost smell the salt mists off the British coastline in Study no. 4!)

In Britten’s Folksong Arrangements, the singer combines the sentiment of the melody with the meaning of the word/text. The piano accompaniment complements the voice in setting the atmosphere of the song. Whether it be a tender melancholy created under the voice in “The Salley Gardens,” the broad, virile landscape of “The Bonny Earl o’Moray” or the whistling fancy of the blond-headed youth in “The Plough Boy,” the voice and piano work together to create a sound image that immediately draws the listener deep into the experience. (For more information on Britten’s use of the piano in these arrangements, please take a look at our Program Notes for June 26.)

People say the human voice was the very first instrument. The stories shared in the folk song are timeless in their common humanity, regardless of era or geography. They will always have a place in our shared human experience. Enjoy!

—Deborah Sobol

A Summer Afternoon Tea

Come see us this TUESDAY, for our special concert event, presented in partnership with the British Consulate General of Chicago – featuring the music of Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Get a taste of a leisure summer afternoon in England: drop by Rush Hour and enjoy strawberries and cream, scones, English tea and wine!

FACT:  Approximately 62,000 pounds of strawberries and 1,540 gallons of cream are consumed at London’s  annual Wimbledon tennis championship.

FACT: One “punnet” of  strawberries and cream will set you back quite a few bucks in London. Of course, you get as many “punnets” as you want at Rush Hour – for free!

Rush Hour Concert Manager Hannah is going all out British-style for this event – we hope you will too! Come enjoy British folk songs performed by Larry Combs, principal clarinet – Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Levi Hernandez, baritone – Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Deborah Sobol, Rush Hour artistic director and pianist of the Chicago Chamber Musicians!

Top 10 Reasons to Come to Rush Hour!

1. Rush Hour = FREE and open to everyone!
2. Live, world-class music-making all summer long.
3. There will always be food and wine – every Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. – from June to August – you can count on it!
4. Rare opportunities to meet world-renowned musicians before and after each performance.
5. Air conditioning (vital for Chicago summers)!
6. Maybe you can find Abraham Lincoln‘s seat when he frequented St. James Cathedral (many moons ago…), or learn a bit about how St. James survived the Chicago fire…
7. Come meet other culturally curious people! Don’t be shy – make new friends!
8. A no-cost happy hour vs. being stuck on Lake Shore Drive? You decide…
9. We smell better than the CTA … (seriously … any doubt about this one?)
10. Did we mention Rush Hour is FREE?!

6/19 – A Cello Celebration

Rush Hour’s A Cello Celebration on June 19 was a HUGE success! Thanks to all of you (more than 400!!!) who came to the concert! We hope each of you enjoyed the cello-fest , featuring six tremendous cellists – Stephen Balderston, Abe Feder, Micah Fusselman, Richard Hirschl, Ken Olsen and Brant Taylor – performing  Bryan Kelly‘s Spanish Pieces and Edvard Grieg‘s Holberg Suite.

Stay tuned for Rush Hour’s first ever podcast (to be posted soon) – recorded during a discussion between the cellists and Rush Hour Artistic Director Deborah Sobol before the concert – on debunking the stereotypes of classical music and its relevance in today’s fast-paced, iPod-obsessed culture.

Guests mingling during our pre-concert reception.

 What do a Korean composer, an English ethnomusicologist and a Chicago techie have in common? Free food, wine and music!

Cellists Micah Fusselman and Abe Feder meeting guests during the pre-concert reception.

 Brant Taylor, cellist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, talking briefly about Bryan Kelly’s Spanish Pieces.

 The Rush Hour crowd pushed St. James Cathedral’s maximum capacity today! Seats were filled by 5:45 p.m., and there was only standing room left!

A great big – well-deserved – ovation for our cellists!

Guests leaving Rush Hour – remember to keep your programs and coupons for the special Rush Hour discount at Argo Tea and Bijan’s Bistro!

 Rush Hour artists, staff and guests at Bijan’s Bistro after the concert. 20% off the total bill at Bijan’s with a Rush Hour coupon – we hope to see you there next week!

Thoughts from the Artistic Director: Listening objectives

I often hear the comment among Rush Hour audiences that things are “always different, yet the same” – they can rely on the user-friendly format to be the same level of excellence weekly, and yet, each week is somehow different from the next.

The June 19 program was born almost a year ago, over dinner after a Rush Hour concert. Brant Taylor, Ken Olsen and I talked about the possibility of doing a multiple cello concert – and here we are, with both the same user-friendly format and a program you would rarely hear elsewhere!

There are many ways to listen to live classical music in concert. As a graduate student in Vienna, I explored several on a weekly basis – often going to the same concert program three or four times with different objectives. I’ll suggest a few here today:

1. Focus on the performers as they bring the music to life – how they are playing their instruments, how they are getting sound from their instruments; how they play individually and how the group works together.

2. Focus on how the composer wrote for those particular instruments, as compared with other composers.

3. Focus on the particular piece of the composer being performed, as it fits in the that composer’s creative timeline, and/or the historical timeline of the era.

4. Or…finally, sit back, open yourself to the magic of the music and allow it to take you, your inner ear, your imagination, all of you – somewhere else, on a broader timeline!

There are many more ways to listen, and I’m sure you’ll discover them throughout the summer. Let me know if you find something interesting or discover something for the first-time in your listening experience.

– Deborah Sobol

6/12 – The New Romanticism

Rush Hour was thrilled to welcome Fulcrum Point New Music Project to our 2007 season! The innovative program – titled The New Romanticism - featured contemporary works by Eric Ewazen, Stefan Freund, and Frank Proto, which incorporated unique and exciting blends of classical, jazz, blues and rock sounds.

The audience listening intently to Fulcrum Point’s brass quintet performing Frank Proto’s Proto5.

Rush Hour Artistic Director Deborah Sobol and Fanfare Committee Members Kristin and Elizabeth waiting for guests to arrive.

Guests mingling at the pre-concert reception.

We are excited to unveil our new gift shop, ENSEMBLE, and our specially-designed culturally curious? t-shirts!

6/5 – French Impressionism

Thank you all so much for joining us at our season premiere concert on June 5! More than 300 guests came to our French Impressionism event, and we truly hope every one of you enjoyed our wines, foods and program that featured the music of Debussy, Ibert, and Saint-Saëns. If you were unable to visit us last week, please enjoy a few photos from the event, and we hope to see you soon!

Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp, with Chicago Symphony principal flutist Mathieu Dufour, Vermeer Quartet violist Richard Young, and CSO principal harpist Sarah Bullen – inside the gorgeous St. James Cathedral.

Guests arriving for Rush Hour’s 2007 season opener.

Rush Hour is pleased to announce our 2007 partnership with Argo Tea: In addition to enjoying Argo samples at concerts, Rush Hour guests will receive 10% off their Argo bills upon presentation of a Rush Hour program. Thanks, Argo!

Anouk and Ashley, savoring wine, cherries and French cheeses at our pre-concert reception.

Rush Hour Artistic Director Deborah Sobol conversing with Advisory Committee members Norm Goldring and cellist Clancy Newman.

Flutist Mathieu Dufour meeting a fan after the concert.

Harpist Sarah Bullen and violist Richard Young.

Thoughts from the Artistic Director: Orchestral Music vs. Chamber Music

It gives me great pleasure to welcome Stephen Burns and colleagues from Fulcrum Point New Music Project to Tuesday’s Rush Hour. “Fulcrum Point,” as it’s known among musicians in Chicago, has gifted our city with extraordinary concert productions featuring musicians and creators from around the world. Tuesday, we are in for a treat!

A program of brass quintet music brings several things to mind, beginning with a question I was asked in a recent television interview: “What is the difference between orchestral music and chamber music?” It’s a legitimate question, as both belong to the world of classical music. While there are many subtle differences, the principal ones, I think, are ones of “size” and “scope” from both the composer and listener perspective.

Orchestral music is meant to be large – it’s written for a group of people numbering anywhere from around 30 to 100, and sometimes even far beyond that. It is meant for large spaces and large audiences (numbering in the four digits, as opposed to the three digit count). For the most part, when a composer writes an orchestral piece, she or he has proportions in mind similar to a novel or epic in the literary world. Because of the size of an orchestra, one person is needed to organize the sound – all members of the orchestra are required to follow the direction and musical interpretation of the conductor.

Gustav Mahler‘s 8th Symphony received its American premiere in 1916, featuring the Philadelphia Orchestra, choruses, soloists and one fearless conductor Leopold Stokowski – totalling no less than 1,068 performers on stage at the same time. This symphony has since been aptly dubbed “Symphony of a Thousand”.

Chamber music, though its message can often be of epic proportions, is more in the novella or short story genre (check out Beethoven‘s passionate ninth sonata for violin and piano, which Leo Tolstoy uses as a dramatic catalyst in his novella Kreutzer Sonata, or Czech composer Leos Janacek‘s string quartets Kreutzer and Intimate Letters, the first of which was based on Tolstoy’s novella, and second based on episodes from Janacek’s own life).

Written for any combination of two up to about 15,chamber music has no boss, no one person directing the sound and shaping the piece. It is a shared responsibility among all the players, alternating in roles of leadership and support as the music requires. All of the basic decisions in music-making – tempo, shaping of phrases, direction, balance of sound, interpretation of the composer’s score – are made jointly by all members of the ensemble. In the world of professional music, it’s a very big responsibility and a great privilege.

Pacifica Quartet, winner of the 2006 Avery Fisher Grant, is one of many dynamic and youthful chamber ensembles whose members have chosen an intimate musical medium over larger-scale ensembles.

Most people are used to hearing brass players in bands (whether it be the local high school band or the U.S. Marine Corps band) or in large orchestral works (think of the great symphonies of Gustav Mahler or Anton Bruckner and our world-famous Chicago Symphony brass section!). There is, however, a great deal to discover in the world of chamber music involving brass instruments – both in brass quintet and in works of brass and other instruments. I’ll make some suggestions here on the blog later this week of interesting works for those of you who may be interested in exploring this. For those of you who might be experiencing a brass quintet as chamber music for the first time, I invite you to think of its organization along the lines of a string quartet or quintet: the trumpets playing the higher (often “melody-role”) of the violins; the French horn that of the viola; trombone, the cello; and tuba, the double bass.

Brass quintet family photo, dated 1865, from the Henry Meredith Collection. 

There’s much more which can be said about the brass quintet genre. One final thing I can say, though, is this: the genre was meant to be heard in a large, generous space… and the combination of brass music and a cathedral is unforgettable. It is the original “surround sound!” We will, collectively, be taken to a different place of pure, sensory pleasure.