Notable moments in classical music from 1991:
Chicago Symphony heroes of the year: Former music director Rafael Kubelik, upstaging everyone at the centenary-ending gala with a fervent Dvorak ”Husitska” Overture; Georg Solti, leading stirring valedictory readings of the Mahler Symphony No. 5 (a signature piece for him and the CSO since their first season together) and Michael Tippett`s richly imagined
”Byzantium.”
Operatic discovery: John Adams` ”The Death of Klinghoffer,” which, in its U.S. premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, introduced a new form of ritualized music-theater that holds rejuvenating promise for American opera in the years ahead.
Best orchestral visitors: The National Symphony Orchestra, which delivered a harrowing and powerful Shostakovich Symphony No. 8 for Mstislav Rostropovich; the Oslo Philharmonic, sounding like a world heavyweight under Mariss Jansons; the Orchestre National de Lyon, which proved that the best French orchestras do not necessarily reside in Paris.
Best chamber opera: Dominick Argento`s ”Postcard from Morocco” as directed by the superinventive Frank Galati for Chicago Opera Theater.
Most confident orchestral debut: That of Symphony II, the reborn aboveground version of the Lyric Opera Orchestra.
Most exciting artist debut: That of a nine-year-old violin sensation named Sarah Chang, at Ravinia.
Most disappointing debut: That of pianist Alexei Sultanov, the young, overhyped, overexposed, underprepared Russian speed demon, also at Ravinia.
