Chicago Symphony Orchestra Final Concert Review

For the final concert review, I was able to attend the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s event that showcased Maurizio Pollini. Maurizio Pollini is an Italian world-renowned piano player who is a recording artist. Since this was the first time I attended the symphony, I was stunned by the gorgeous concert hall and the sheer size of the hall as well. The stage was empty except for a grand piano and Maurizio Pollini himself. The concert’s program included works from Chopin and Debussy. It is important to note that the musician did not have any scores or sheet music while playing these complex pieces that each were 10 minutes or more in length. The first piece that Pollini played was Prelude in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 45 by Chopin. This piece flowed with

2 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 35 (Funeral March). The first movement of the sonata was the “Grave”. This section was in a minor key, had flurries of notes and had a dark and melancholy theme. The section also had a varying tempo with sections that slowed down and ones that were much faster. Overall, this first movement had a wide range of tempos and dynamics which made it very captivating to listen. The piece also had many swells and climaxes within the piece which consisted of louder dynamics and faster flurries of notes and runs. The second movement was the “Scherzo”. The scherzo was more playful and the notes were much more agitated than the first part of the piece. In addition, the piece was more forte and there were a lot of fast flurries of notes. This piece seemed fiery and with a lot of energy. The third movement of the sonata is the “Marche Funebre”. This march emulated themes from the first movement and for the most part was piano or pianissimo. However, there were definitely moments of forte and musical tension. I enjoyed how this section was reminiscent of the first movement and recapitulated the iconic theme of the Funeral March. Finally, the “Presto” section of the piece was very quick with lots fo notes being played at once which almost sounded jumbled because the player kept doing series of runs of notes. While the section shows the speed and nimbleness of the musicians playing, the piece was not dynamically