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.

Hibernate no more: Recounting the “Rush Hour Tasting”

As I desperately fight for a place to sit in my favorite neighborhood café with free wireless internet, I find myself once again shocked by the sudden insurgence of people, correlative to the gorgeous spring-time conditions of Chicago.

Having been spoiled by the breezy, spring-like Texas winters for most of my life, I give myself props for obstinately braving all the gray and ice that contribute to Chicago winters and seasonal depression, marveling at the deserted streets and noting that my favorite Chicago locales are suddenly my own private territory: the café with the free wireless internet, for example; the Museum of Contemporary Art; the 24-hour diner on my street with the awesomely-pink dishware; the Chicago Symphony Orchestra box office with oodles of last-minute (and discounted) rush tickets…

Imagine my concern, as a brand new Rush Hour staffer, when I found out that Rush Hour’s Fanfare Committee decided to produce a pre-season event, dubbed “Rush Hour Tasting,” on April 29. The Fanfare Committee, comprised of Chicago-area young professionals, planned the event to raise friends and funds for Rush Hour. The concept itself was lovely – a house concert akin to Parisian salon society with various wines and beverages, hors d’oeuvres, and of course, world-class chamber music.

But with our precarious winter season not quite past us, in the back of my mind were nagging thoughts of, “What if it snows in April and nobody shows up?”; or worse, “What if everyone shows up but the musicians are stranded in a fit of raging sleet?”; or even more horrifying, “What if everyone somehow makes it to the event but inadvertently trashes the home with black snow and dirty shoes?”

I maintain that the last concern, no matter how histrionic it may seem right now, was a logical one. Friends of Rush Hour graciously and generously donated their gorgeous private home specifically for this event, and not enough superlatives or photos would do this home justice. Personally designed and decorated, this Lakeview house was a sanctuary in the urban Chicago neighborhood, fully equipped with modern architectural details; beautifully eclectic and contemporary furnishings; a grassy backyard with a spacious patio, swing set, and a wine-colored Japanese maple; and two of the most well-behaved four- and seven-year-old boys you will ever meet.

At last, armed with an RSVP list of 50-plus guests and many more gift bags, we braced ourselves for Sunday, April 29. A good omen for Rush Hour’s 8th summer season, which launches on June 5, the sky was clear and the sun was bright, and it turned out to be a beautiful, 80-degree day. Guests showed up sun-kissed and warm, and we knew we had created something quite special for everyone’s enjoyment.

Mingling over various drinks and foods upon arrival, the crowd the Fanfare Committee attracted was a handsome mix of 20- and 30-somethings. Rush Hour was created by pianist Deborah Sobol to accommodate busy and modern lifestyles of the hyper-internet age – from iPods and declining CD sales to stressed out urbanites trapped on Lake Shore Drive – by affording everyone the luxury to experience world-class music performances in a casual, relaxing and free setting (a no-cost “happy hour” meets “Paris salon,” if you will). To our satisfaction and great relief, our pre-season house concert experiment turned out to be a great reflection of Deborah’s Rush Hour vision.

Settling into the living and dining rooms, the guests were treated to performances by violinist Lei Hou and cellists Brant Taylor and Ken Olsen. Typical of Rush Hour’s summer concert format, the musicians spoke a little bit about each of the pieces on the program and entertained questions from guests. To say they played beautifully would be an understatement, as they are all members of the world-class Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Our program featured:

Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
Selections from Forty-Four Duos

David Popper (1843 – 1913)
Suite for Two Cellos, Op. 16
IV. Largo espressivo

Jean Barrière (1705-1747)
Sonata in G Major for Two Cellos
III. Allegro prestissimo

Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967)
Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7
I. Allegro serioso, non troppo

G.F. Handel (1685-1759) -
Johan Halvorsen (1864-1935)
Passacaglia for Violin and Cello

With the late afternoon sun peeping through the windows and the spring currents streaming through the open doors and windows, our singular wish at the conclusion of the evening was for just a couple of the guests, many of whom are self-professed non-classical music listeners and newcomers to Rush Hour, to proudly wear their specially-designed, Rush Hour-branded American Apparel t-shirts, hibernate no more, and come see us again starting in June.

The most precious moment that day for me, after weeks of scrounging for funds, planning, and curling ribbons for the gift bags, was seeing four-year-old Jack Jack nestled in his father’s arms during the performances. (Have I mentioned how well-behaved the hosts’ two boys are?) It is immensely gratifying to meet a family so generous and supportive of the arts, and if a four-year-old can quietly sit through a performance of Kodály, then Rush Hour’s mission to integrate the arts into today’s world was promisingly and propitiously realized once again.

Thoughts from the Artistic Director: Welcoming Summer and the 2007 Season

The Rush Hour staff and I have been hard at work amidst the snow and cold of last winter putting together our most exciting season yet. I am excited to share some of the details of our 07 roster and programs with you… but first, humor me for a few moments as I join the multitude of Chicagoans who muse about the approaching summer months in our fair city:

Mid-May: Folks of all ages are planting their container gardens, washing down the patio/balcony furniture, cheering the Cubs or White Sox in the Cross-Town rivalry, and are reveling in the longer days and gentler breezes off Lake Michigan. Forgotten are the woes of winter in Chicago. And just ahead – on Tuesday, June 5 – Rush Hour Concerts at St. James Cathedral joins other unique-to-Chicago rituals that transform our great city into a Monte Carlo for three wonderful months of the year.

Chicago becomes a resort town with the added bonus of magnificent cultural offerings. Rush Hour Concerts is right there in the middle of it: a weekly open “salon” – a gathering place for the culturally curious, the seasoned veterans to classical music, and the newcomers alike. They come from all backgrounds and many places, but have this in common: the satisfaction of taking an hour at the end of a work day or beginning of a summer evening downtown to experience live the musical pillars of the Western canon presented by some of the best artists in their fields, in a format that is up-close and personal, engaging, and refreshing.

The setting – St. James Episcopal Cathedral – is two blocks west of N. Michigan Avenue at Wabash and Huron. It is a historical landmark: Abe Lincoln worshipped there after his nomination to the Presidency in 1860; its bell tower was the only structure north of the Chicago River to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. This magnificent building welcomes Rush Hour audiences weekly with a quiet and aesthetic beauty that is the antidote to the hubbub of our daily lives. The space, the 30-minute pre-concert reception with the artists and the half-hour of music-making are a wonderful island of calm.

I often hear this comment about Rush Hour: “I love the format – so accessible, so user-friendly, so relevant to people’s busy lifestyles… I can count on the same reception and concert routine every Tuesday throughout the summer… yet, each Tuesday is completely different from the next!” Our 07 season reflects this comment in spades!

A quick glance through the schedule reveals Schubert, Brahms, Bach, Debussy, Benjamin Britten, Ralph Vaughn Williams, music of today, music of 300+ years ago, an exploration of the wonders of the pipa – the ancient Chinese stringed instrument that makes the cello look like the new kid on the block. Did I say cello… ah yes… the “cello-fest” of June 19 – not the Three Tenors, but the Six Cellists! Poets writing to Bach’s Three-Part Inventions, a dynamic percussion quartet, and… let’s not forget the annual Rush Hour honoring of the whimsical: this year, music of P.D.Q. Bach, with vocal quartet and piano 5 hands!

More variety: multi-culturalism abounds in partnerships with the Consulates General of Brazil, China, France, Germany, and Great Britain … receptions highlighting their wonderful cuisine, programs highlighting their music. And, perhaps the most distinctive thing about Rush Hour: the wide diversity of our weekly audiences: all ages, all backgrounds, all levels of exposure to great classical music, all busy, all culturally curious, all engaged listeners. This engagement, this curiosity is palpable to the 40 distinguished artists who grace our 07 roster. It makes for very high-energy performances and memorable Tuesdays throughout the summer.

Speaking of high energy: the Rush Hour staff is now notorious for it. They can’t wait until the doors of St. James Cathedral open at 5:15 on Tuesday, June 5th. We all look forward to greeting you.

Cheers,

Deborah Sobol
Artistic Director