THE CHICAGO PHILHARMONIC DEBUT AT CARNEGIE HALL – First Rate

Chicago Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall
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By Charles E. Gerber

On Thursday night, Oct 24th, at America’s most esteemed concert hall The Chicago Philharmonic, first created from members of that city’s famed Lyric Opera Orchestra in 1989, finally made its debut at New York’s most treasured music venue.  

I, a native of Chicago, but happily a resident of the Big Apple for more than 40 years, had shamefacedly not been even remotely aware of this ensemble’s existence. That ignorance has now been redressed and I shall endeavor to report my findings.  

I’d always thought that America’s chief Midwest metropolis warranted more than ONE first rate orchestra. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, more than a century in existence, is nothing less than legendary throughout the music loving globe. 

Chicago Phil Signature

 Lord knows, London has at least 4 or five depending how you count and rate the likes of The London Symphony Orchestra, The Philharmonia, The London Philharmonic, The Royal Philharmonic, and Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, all of which I’ve discovered over decades of assiduous record collecting. New York can boast of at least 3 esteemed orchestras besides The New York Philharmonic which is our nation’s most venerable large music ensemble.  

I remember well, years ago when the ill-fated Chicago Festival Orchestra made a stab at garnering that city’s attention, but barely lasted a season. Grant Park Orchestra was always a decent Pickup group for summers only. So, it is more than refreshing to belatedly learn that that other esteemed source of musical heritage, Chicago’s world respected, Lyric Opera, spawned some 35 years ago this symphonic entity and was able to nurture with significant success, not necessarily a rival to the CSO, but a respectable companion to be sure! 

Maestro Scott Speck leads Chicago Philharmonic in Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet for their Carnegie Hall debut. Photo by Fadi Kheir

And so, The Chicago Philharmonic, on a national tour of an eclectic program, led by its Artistic Director and Chief Principal Conductor, SCOTT SPECK, provided a musical display of its more than fifty highly proficient musicians with works new, old, and newly hatched by their chief orchestrator of a popular hometown artist with a significant following, to the immense delight of the near capacity crowd. 

Maestro Speck, bounded on the stage that was first visited by Tchaikovsky himself when Andrew C’s most famous endowment first opened in the late 19th century. Thursday night’s conductor was not in the least intimidated by his historical predecessors. Indeed, he even programmed a popular piece by the aforementioned immortal Russian. But the initial test of this reviewer’s ears of what sound, at the age of 35, could make under Speck’s baton was a commissioned fanfare by one Nicholas Hubbell. This work, which had won a nationwide competition for this orchestra premiered in Chicago 5 years ago and is aging nicely. It was somewhat reminiscent, but not in a mere derivative manner of John Williams, with a seasoning of Copland, perhaps, yet quite appropriately so. It certainly was designed to sonically display this ensemble’s chops and did so quite handsomely.  

Chicago Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall. Photo by Fadi Kheir

The next piece that was sure to give the orchestra a fuller test of its power and this maestro’s musicality was nothing less than that warhorse from St. Petersburg, FANTASY OVERTURE OF ROMEO AND JULIET by, of course, the composer who first conducted on this stage while he held his head for fear that it might fall off when doing so. It’s TRUE! Tchaikovsky was THAT neurotic!  This is a piece that first enveloped my ears as a teenager with the Bernstein recording of the NY Phil. This Philharmonic from the Second City held its own with confidence and the proper distinction of sentiment from sentimentality. 

And so, with the clear establishment that this is an orchestra to be reckoned with, came the Guest Artist who apparently was responsible for these evenings near sellout crowd, the gentleman who’s been the lead singer/songwriter for a group known as SLEEPING AT LAST. This fellow must not be confused with the late film actor who starred as Barry Lyndon and co-starred with his Oscar winning progeny, Tatum in “Paper Moon”. No. 

Ryan O’Neal of Sleeping At Last. Photo by Fadi Kheir

This is a still relatively young artist who has beguiled listeners around the world with more than 3.3 billion streams of his selections on Spotify and such films and television episodes as “The Twilight Saga, and over 40 presentations of “Grey’s Anatomy”. I can understand why in terms of their deceptive simplicity and unassuming assail on the listener’s ears. 

Sleeping At Last receives applause and a standing ovation after performing ‘Mother,’ a song dedicated to his late mom. Photo by Fadi Kheir

My companion seated next to me was as enthralled as was the Carnegie crowd and the orchestration arrangements of the hour-long contributions of O’Neal’s ballads by Michael Moricz filled the venerable hall to the enthusiastic reception of virtually all in attendance. You may suspect that THIS attendee was not as persuaded by Mr. O’Neal’s oeuvre as those surrounding me, but such is the distinction of taste in such matters. 

A packed house at Carnegie Hall for Chicago Philharmonic’s debut performance with Sleeping At Last. Photo by Fadi Kheir

 I DO recognize that in the clear mission of THE CHICAGO PHILHARMONIC, such pairings of talents is designed to significantly augment the concept of attending orchestral concerts to those who’ve yet to be initiated to the glories of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Barber for that matter and I APPLAUD that mission and declare that on this Thursday evening, in America’s greatest concert venue, that mission was seriously accomplished!  

Sleeping At Last surprises the audience with special guest Rita Wilson to perform their song “Thin Air.” Photo by Fadi Kheir

A Postscript: an unexpected special guest, RITA WILSON, the accomplished actress and otherwise famed as the spouse of Tom Hanks, appeared onstage with O’Neal and sang, beautifully I might add, in sweet harmony with him merely accompanying on his acoustic guitar, a lovely duet that they co-wrote. I found it to be completely charming! 

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