Chicago Sinfonietta West Meets East at Symphony Center: Live review

TimeOutChicago
By Mia Clarke
October 9, 2009
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The Chicago Sinfonietta kick-started its 23rd season on Monday evening, with a lovely program that paired Rachmaninoff and Ravel with the two exquisite pieces from China: Gang Chen and Zhan-Hao He’s “The Butterfly Lovers” and An-Lun Huang’s “Saibei Dance,” from Saibei Suite No.2, Op 21. Maestro Paul Freeman, affable as ever, introduced guest conductor Mei-Ann Chen with a little anecdote about how her dreams of being an orchestra conductor began at age 10. They shared a hug before Chen nimbly lept on the podium and proceeded to guide the Sinfonietta, on reliably stellar form, through the Chicago premiere of “Saibei Dance.” Chen’s conducting style is downright awe-inspiring. In a black suit topped with a neat black bob, she managed to be simultaneously graceful and playful as she dipped and ducked with strong, fluid movements. Her animated presence and distinctive style was clearly as much as pleasure for the orchestra as the audience.

Chen would have been the clear star of the evening, had the 20-year-old piano prodigy Jeremy Jordan not taken the stage. With a wonderful synthesis of youthful swagger and a stoicism that exceeded his years, Jordan settled at the keys, swept his coat tails over the bench, and enjoyed a tense swell of silence for a few seconds before embarking on Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto No.1, Op.1, in F-sharp minor.” Currently a student at Julliard, Chicagoan Jordan first started playing with the Sinfonietta at age 17 and his ease under Freeman’s baton was evident throughout the performance.

The final highlight of the evening came in the form of erhu player Betti Xiang, who took her place on a stool, dressed in a golden gown and little drop earrings, which quivered with her every movement. The erhu, a tiny traditional Chinese fiddle with two strings, is hardly common to the Sinfonietta, yet it merged with Xiang’s masterful, stinging, sweet tones with vitality and enthusiasm.

West Meets East was an inspired program, offering a kaleidoscopic range of compositional approaches that set the Sinfonietta up for a strong start to the season.