In Sunday’s (5/6) Chicago Tribune, Mark Caro writes, “Most of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra flew back to Chicago last weekend, and several of them had chamber concerts and other events scheduled for the following day. The rest between movements would come eventually. The two-week tour of Russia and Italy certainly didn’t involve a lot of down time. … Each leg had a distinct flavor, yet they came together to serve some larger purposes, particularly involving music director Riccardo Muti and the orchestra’s desire to thrust music into the greater cultural conversation. This was a different kind of tour for the orchestra, and one that may set the template for those that follow. … Amid the two concerts in Moscow and one in St. Petersburg for music lovers who paid as much as $400 for a ticket, the CSO scheduled numerous Citizen Musician activities, pursuing the initiative launched early last year to accentuate music’s importance in everyday lives. This took the form of orchestra members conducting master classes for music students and chamber ensembles performing for disabled kids and spinal-injury patients in Moscow and for abandoned children at a St. Petersburg orphanage. … The State Department invited the CSO to be the cornerstone of the American Seasons in Russia festival designed to forge cultural ties between the countries.”
Posted May 7, 2012
