Critic Jennifer Wood attended Riccardo Muti’s festival rollout of Osvaldo Golijov’s long-delayed new work.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra returned this weekend to Symphony Center where Music Director Emeritus for Life Riccardo Muti presented a commissioned world premiere from the 2024 film Megalopolis.
Frances Ford Coppola, Muti’s 2nd cousin (pictured), attended both nights for the world premiere of Megalopolis Suite. To match a post-modern setting with ancient Rome, the composer created a Roman Tone Poem with themes from the film. Ripping brass, hammered chimes and timpani glissandi are reminiscent of the glories of Ben Hur then dive into the strings for an amorphous love theme, evoking the fictional “Megalon” from the film, resolving into jazz harmonies like foggy memories of past generations. Doubling the melody with tenor sax, English horn, oboe and clarinet, the timbre transforms over time, echoing Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring.
The second movement opens with muted strings sneaking in for the movement’s name, Death Kiss Utopia. The piece moves from surprise attack into a wondrous development. A cacophonous ‘boom-chick’ turns into rich, unpredictable harmonies in the brass, recalling the opening love theme. Strings break out a Shostakovich run and the piece concludes with full symphonic fanfare and chimes solo. Muti welcomed Golijov to the stage, thanked Mr. Coppola and said, ‘It is a great film.’
Jennifer Wood/slippedisc.com
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