For his Chicago podium debut, composer Thomas Adès reunites with a muse

A taste for the emotionally deep. A fondness for musical daring. These characteristics describe the musical preferences of British composer-conductor Thomas Adès.

Both attributes will be on display when Adès makes his Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducting debut April 6-8 and 11 in a smartly conceived program that includes Adès’ Piano Concerto, Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No. 1, Sibelius’ Prelude and Suite No. 1 from The Tempest and Janáček’s Taras Bulba. Each work mines bold musical ideas ranging from the late 19th to early 20th century, but it will likely be Adès Piano Concerto that will prove to be the standout. Adès will conduct the program, with the highly regarded Russian-American pianist Kirill Gerstein as soloist in the concerto.

(Note: Thomas Adès extends his CSO residency a week and steps in for Mikko Franck for concerts April 13-16.)

The Adès-Gerstein pairing is known for being one of the more fruitful among composer and soloist. Gerstein has assumed muse-like status in the evolution of Adès’ piano music. Gerstein originally suggested that Adès write a piano concerto.

“When Kirill said, ‘how about a piano concerto?’ I immediately saw that was something in my universe that needed to be done, it was sort of missing,” said Adès.

The 20-minute concerto demands that Gerstein wrestle with, and forcefully conquer, many strong and fast-moving musical ideas.

“Kirill is a virtuoso in the real sense. You’re not solely aware of how extraordinary the physical feats he’s achieving because it looks so effortless,” Adès said. “He completely and instinctually understands the ebb and flow of the music, whether it’s Bach, Beethoven or my music.”

The Piano Concerto is rapidly becoming a signature piece in Adès’ multi-faceted compositional career, which began in 1989 with Lover in Winter, Four Songs for Countertenor and Piano, and came to the fore with the large-scale orchestral work Asyla. His catalog now includes ambitious pieces like the three-part Dante, an evening-length ballet based on Dante’s The Divine Comedy, and three operas, including The Exterminating Angel.

“I love music to be moving and fun and outrageous. I like giving you something you cannot get anywhere else.” — Thomas Adès

His Piano Concerto is a rarity for a latter-day piano concerto: It has staying power, with more than 50 performances worldwide since its Boston Symphony Orchestra premiere in 2019. The three-movement work is so popular the BSO has already performed it twice.

Its popularity somewhat mystifies Adès. But he’s aware of why it may be making a big impression. The concerto is very much in keeping with Adès’ approach of mining well-known musical ideas and traditions. There is a definite through line from his concerto to past concertos. He has evolved familiar musical ideas into something hyper-dramatic and lightly outrageous.

Indeed, the concerto begins with a quick report from the timpani and wastes no time in bringing in the piano boldly. The concerto sounds familiar, but the ideas feel new.

“I love music to be moving and fun and outrageous,” Adès said. “I like giving you something you cannot get anywhere else, something you keep coming back to because it gives pleasure and makes you feel.”

In the spirit of making audiences feel the music, Adès is looking forward to conducting Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No.1. Adès, an avowed fan of Liszt, first heard the work at age 10. It left a lasting impression.

“That piece — it felt like an awakening. I thought it outrageous that you were allowed to do that with music, to be that visceral,” said Adès. “There is something so dangerous about it.”

The other two works, Janáček’s Taras Bulba and Sibelius’ Overture and Suite No. 1 from The Tempest, speak in similar ways. Adès described Taras Bulba as having an extreme “gothic” sensibility, and one of the more challenging works to conduct.

“You have to work much harder with Janáček than my pieces or anyone else’s to get the music to speak, because Janáček’s is really speaking through the orchestra,” he said. “It’s a wild man of a piece that really rewards a great orchestra.”