It has often been observed that some of the best music depicting Spain has been composed by the French. Bizet\u2019s opera \u201cCarmen\u201d and Ravel\u2019s \u201cBolero\u201d are probably the most famous examples, but there are loads of others, including \u201cSymphonie espagnole\u201d (by Lalo), \u201cLe Cid\u201d (Massenet\u2019s opera), \u201cEl desdichado\u201d (vocal duet by Saint-Sa\u00ebns), \u201cEspa\u00f1a\u201d (Chabrier\u2019s rhapsody for orchestra), and \u201cLe pas espagnol\u201d (a miniature by Faur\u00e9).<\/p>\n
Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, who has frequently collaborated with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra over many years, took the reins last week for concerts that opened with a Frenchman offering impressions of Spain.<\/p>\n
Debussy\u2019s \u201cImages\u201d for orchestra was the last thing the composer created except for \u201cJeux.\u201d It is in three parts, with the popular middle section \u201cIberia\u201d being the music that invokes Spain. In this performance, Salonen moved it from middle to end, with its own three sections each given a beautiful realization. He made sure the pert rhythm of \u201cIn the Streets and Byways\u201d was always present, even as the music moved from place to place with the sun lending the music a joyful warmth. \u201cThe Fragrance of the Night,\u201d a gorgeous nocturne, was plump in sound and utterly compelling. \u201cMorning of the Festival Day\u201d had effective detail that put you in the midst of carefree festival-goers of all ages.<\/p>\n
The opening movement, Gigues, began quietly and was charmingly episodic. The following Rondes de printemps was imbued with both shimmer and bounce.<\/p>\n
As engaging as this performance was, the highlight of the evening was Debussy\u2019s \u201cLa Mer.\u201d Phillip Huscher\u2019s program notes tell us that Debussy\u2019s parents had once thought to make their son a sailor, so an affinity for the sea is not surprising. This work, one of the most frequently performed of Debussy\u2019s compositions, is subtitled \u201cThree Symphonic Sketches.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom Dawn to Noon on the Sea\u201d opens with light banishing the night. The slow emergence of dawn comes along with the ocean\u2019s waves. Salonen was splendid in drawing out the contrasts in the music, which often mimicked lightness and darkness.<\/p>\n
The CSO was marvelously fluid in \u201cPlay of the Waves,\u201d where you imagine the sun sparkling on the water as the undulating waves blur and the sea creates splashes large and small.<\/p>\n
The concluding sketch, \u201cDialogue of the Wind and Sea,\u201d opened ominously. As the water and wind battled and then danced, the music\u2019s big sound created a vast sense of natural power.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sandwiched between these two works by Debussy, Salonen placed a new work by American composer Gabriella Smith (b. 1991). \u201cLost Coast,\u201d Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, featured soloist Gabriel Cabezas. Smith and Cabezas met at the Curtis School of Music in Philadelphia, and the cellist has been associated with \u201cLost Coast\u201d from its very inception. Originally the piece was for solo cello and electronics, with Cabezas as soloist. There have been many versions of the work, including one with Cabezas joined by the composer, who sings. Smith has said that Cabezas is actually a co-composer of the concerto.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLost Coast\u201d was inspired by a five-day solo backpacking trip made by Smith on the Lost Coast Trail on the northern California coastline. The composer describes the terrain as rugged and dangerous, and she notes that she was almost totally alone for the duration of the trip.<\/p>\n
This ferocious and jagged landscape has inspired spiky and angular music that features unusual sounds, extended techniques, and the use of non-musical objects as percussion instruments.<\/p>\n
The piece also represents the composer\u2019s devotion to fighting climate change. She appeared on stage just before the orchestra performed the work, speaking briefly about her composition. While her music celebrated the feral northern California coast, her dress was pure Hollywood: she was beautiful in a black, full-skirted evening gown that would not be out of place in the celebrity jungle of the Oscars.<\/p>\n
Smith told the audience that climate change action has been thus far \u201ccriminally inadequate,\u201d which was met by applause. I understand she lives in Seattle and I wondered if she had found a way to travel from there to Chicago in a manner that had a negligible carbon footprint.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLost Coast\u201d is packed with originality, including detailed instructions from the composer on how to create the many new and specific sounds she requires. The score even invites one of the percussionists to ask to use Smith\u2019s favorite water bottle because percussing it creates one of the sounds the work requires.<\/p>\n
The music is more moody than memorable, with lots of dissonance. Unsurprisingly, Cabezas, so familiar with the work, was magnificent in his performance, from offering hushed tremolos to poignant whale song, squeaky glissandos to microtonal splashes. Salonen drew a strong performance from the orchestra, and Cynthia Yeh was her usual fantastic self when, in the third movement, she had a prominent percussion section that was stylish and potent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The orchestra clearly leaned into the music and Salonen got a very enthusiastic performance from the musicians, which is not always the case with new music at Symphony Center.<\/p>\n
The audience loved the results and when the concert concluded and the final Debussy notes had washed away, patrons were on their feet applauding a fine evening of music.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.hpherald.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It has often been observed that some of the best music depicting Spain has been composed by the French. Bizet\u2019s opera \u201cCarmen\u201d and Ravel\u2019s \u201cBolero\u201d are probably the most famous examples, but there are loads of others, including \u201cSymphonie espagnole\u201d (by Lalo), \u201cLe Cid\u201d (Massenet\u2019s opera), \u201cEl desdichado\u201d (vocal duet by Saint-Sa\u00ebns), \u201cEspa\u00f1a\u201d (Chabrier\u2019s rhapsody […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2274833,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[349474,21800],"class_list":["post-2274832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-arts_and_entertainment","tag-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Esa-Pekka-Salonen-leads-potent-music-at-Symphony-Center-Arts.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2274832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2274832"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2274832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2274834,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2274832\/revisions\/2274834"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2274833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2274832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2274832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2274832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}