Chicago Symphony Gives S.F. an Unexpected Treat

In this city, where the cultural and slightly bizarre happily coexist, a mis-clad group of gifted musicians Saturday performed a program that will long be remembered.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra was scheduled to perform an afternoon concert at Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. However, most of their instruments, their sheet music and their formal clothing were stranded, delayed by an Arizona snowstorm and a flat tire on one of two trucks hauling the gear.

In the grand tradition, the orchestra improvised. And the near sell-out audience of almost 3,000 was treated to the first public piano performance in the United States by Sir Georg Solti, the renowed Chicago maestro, who played a Mozart quartet.

Crowd Told of Crisis

Henry Fogel, the Chicago Symphony’s executive director, and Peter Pastreich, executive director of the San Francisco Symphony, stepped to the edge of the stage a few minutes after 3, and told the audience of the crisis.

“They didn’t prepare us for this in music school,” Fogel said. He told the audience that the orchestra was still hoping that the truck would arrive and that instruments had been borrowed from San Francisco musicians and a local violin store.

In introducing the Mozart G Minor Piano Quarter, Sir Georg, 74, told the audience: “This morning I was in your Union Square. A young man came up to me and said how much he was looking forward to the performance. He did not know, nor did I, that he would be seeing me playing the piano as well as conducting.”

Borrowed Instruments

During the impromptu chamber music recital, which lasted almost an hour, the other orchestra members were in the nearby rehearsal hall, practicing on their borrowed instruments. It was decided to go ahead with the concert although one of the scheduled pieces, Corigliano’s Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, had to be dropped because the music and special instruments had not arrived.

More than half of the 110 Chicago musicians were playing with borrowed instruments. “For those of you who are not professional musicians, I can not tell you how important it is to be able to play your own instrument, your own reed, your own mouthpiece,” Fogel told the audience. “Please take this into consideration as you listen to the music.”

Variety of Garb

Then, the full orchestra, clad in street clothes, took the stage and Sir Georg conducted the Wagner Prelude and Livestod from Tristan and Isolde, followed by Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 and, after an intermission, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor.

The orchestra members, usually clad in dark formal wear, wore a symphony of colors--gray, white, yellow, red, bright blues. Many of the older male members wore suits, while one young violinist wore a bright red sweater, denim pants and boots and several of the musicians wore jogging shoes.

At the conclusion of the concert, the orchestra received a standing ovation, lasting six minutes.

‘You Played Well’

Sir Georg declined to discuss the concert afterwards, but told his musicians, “You played well.”

In his 18th season as the symphony’s music director, Solti began his musical career as a concert pianist, orchestra spokeswoman Megan DePencier said. In the last year he has begun to do a limited number of piano performances, including one in London, but she said the San Francisco performance was his first in the United States.

The Chicago Symphony will play here tonight, in Costa Mesa Monday and at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.