Pierre Boulez: Chicago Symphony Orchestra's lyrics & chords

Stravinsky’s Firebird has been a Boulez touchstone in Chicago, memorably recorded with the CSO in 1992 for Deutsche Grammophon, and Thursday night’s performance of the complete ballet brought an even deeper, multi-hued experience. Granted, the opening depiction of the Enchanted Garden was rather fleet and literal, but once flutist Mathieu Dufour stole in with the Firebird’s theme, the performance began to unfold in all its iridescent splendor. The benefit of presenting the entire ballet rather than just the greatest-hits suites is that on...read more