Klaus Mäkelä, who becomes the new music director of the CSO with the 2027–28 season, returned to Chicago last week to lead an invigorating program of music on Thursday and Friday nights. At first glance, it was difficult to see how the three pieces he selected fit together. They were Darius Milhaud’s “Le Boeuf sur le Toit,” George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris,” and Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring.” My first thought was that they each offered a different kind of boisterousness with strongly rhythmically-oriented music. But a simpler explanation is that they all have Paris connections.
“Le Boeuf sur le Toit” (The Ox on the Roof) opened the evening. This frisky ballet celebrates nightlife with musical hijinks that suggest boozing, dancing, and lots of general frolicking. Mäkelä leaned into the raucous sections with enthusiasm, and the contrasts between these high-energy moments and the dreamy slower sections were nicely drawn. Mäkelä’s physicality on the podium made the dance music all the more charming, notably during the tango.
“An American in Paris” is a crowd-pleaser and Gershwin’s bluesy and jazzy score sparkled under Mäkelä’s baton. You could feel the bustle of the crowds on the street, the frustration of the drivers in a traffic jam, and the lazy — almost drowsy — blues music that rises into the air. Concertmaster Robert Chen’s solo was elegant, and Esteban Batallán’s trumpet was bright and engaging. There was swinging syncopation and a beautiful sense of spaciousness.
The program concluded with Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring,” famous for the riot that ensued at its premiere in Paris in 1913. Mäkelä ascended the podium and held his head lowered for several seconds before starting, and bassoonist Keith Buncke then offered gorgeous and mysterious music to get things rolling. There was always a commanding pulse to the music and Mäkelä knew how to intensify the taut elements. Commanding brass and earthy winds were superb in drawing the “Scenes of Pagan Russia in Two Parts,” as the score is subtitled. The music exuded primordial urgency and left you musing over the remarkable power that the renewal brought by spring has had over mankind’s entire history.
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