In a sense, the Chicago String Ensemble is looking to the future by celebrating its past. The always adventuresome group under Alan
Heatherington`s direction will begin its 15th anniversary season this autumn by re-creating the first program it presented in 1977.
The season opener will feature soprano soloist Maria Lagios and the agenda will hold works by Britten, Bach, Grieg, Barber and Hindemith. Highlighting the Nov. 15 and 16 concerts will be new works by Robert Lombardo and McNeil Robinson, the latter with David Schrader as organ soloist.
Chicago Symphony violinist Tom Hall will present the rarely heard Vaughan Williams ”Concerto Accademico” as part of the Jan. 17 and 18 concerts, which include music of Mozart, Sibelius and Bartok.
The ensemble`s major string presentation will be Bach`s St. Matthew Passion, April 4 and 10, with vocal soloists and the New Oratorio Singers. The evening will begin with a pre-concert lecture and include a dinner break.
Heatherington will conclude the season May 15 and 16 with a Shostakovich string symphony, Joan Tower`s ”Island Prelude” (Chicago premiere), Elgar`s Introduction and Allegro, and Bach`s Concerto for Violin and Oboe, with Robert Morgan as oboe soloist.
Concerts will be given on Friday nights at St. Paul`s Church, 655 W. Fullerton Pkwy.; and Saturday evenings at Hammerschmidt Chapel, Elmhurst College, 190 Prospect St., Elmhurst. Phone 312-332-0567 for ticket
information.
– After a successful inaugural season, the Rembrandt Chamber Players will add one concert to its two-concert subscription series and present its season in Evanston and Chicago.
On Dec. 12 and 15, the ensemble will offer works by Bach and Elliott Carter. The Feb. 16 and 20 concerts will include music of Haydn, Loeffler and M. William Karlins. An all-French program with harpist Elizabeth Cifani will conclude the series April 9 and 12.
The Rembrandt players will give their concerts at the De Paul University Concert Hall, 800 W. Belden Ave.; and at Lutkin Hall, Northwestern University, Evanston. For subscription details, call 708-328-2492 or 312-787-4125.
News from the CSO: Shulamit Ran, the Chicago Symphony`s composer-in-residen ce, was to be honored by Mayor Richard Daley at Wednesday`s meeting of the Chicago City Council. The recipient of the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for music, Ran was to receive a citation for her contributions to the city`s musical life.
The CSO has released details about Daniel Barenboim`s newly signed, 10-year contract (effective Aug. 1, 1992) to become artistic director and general music director of the Deutsche Staatsoper, Berlin.
Barenboim`s contract (the amount was not disclosed) calls for him to be in residence for four months a year and to conduct at least 25 performances. His new responsibilities will not interfere with his plans with the Chicago Symphony. He becomes the CSO`s ninth music director this fall, directing 12 weeks of subscription programs beginning with the season opener Sept. 12.
The Staatsoper is housed on the historic avenue Unter den Linden in what used to be East Berlin. Although the theater has existed for nearly 250 years, it has long been overshadowed by its innovative rival, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, founded in 1912. In recent seasons, the Staatsoper budget totaled the equivalent of about $25 million, roughly half that of the Deutsche Oper.
The Staatsoper director, Gunter Rimkus, was known to have been wooing Barenboim as early as last year. In an effort to boost the theater`s international standing, Rimkus has begun to lure more big-name singers and conductors from the West; that effort is expected to gather momentum once Barenboim begins his tenure.
Barenboim`s first assignment at the Staatsoper will be to conduct a Harry Kupfer-staged production of Wagner`s ”Parsifal” in October 1992, just before the opera celebrates its 250th anniversary.
Barenboim is presently in Bayreuth, Germany, where he is preparing to conduct Wagner`s ”Ring,” beginning Saturday. He has filmed two of the four
”Ring” operas for the German firm Unitel.
