The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has announced that Pierre Boulez will not be able to travel to Chicago to conduct in February 2014, due to health issues.
Maestro Boulez, 88, is the CSO's conductor emeritus. No further updates on his health are available at this time, a CSO spokesperson said.
Three young conductors hand-picked by Boulez will substitute for him, and the CSO will proceed with the two concert programs in late February. These programs highlight large orchestral scores such as Debussy's Jeux, and also take the audience on a journey through select miniatures by Igor Stravinsky for various-sized chamber ensembles.
More information about these programs is available at cso.org.
The decision to allow three young conductors to fill in for a conductor of Boulez's stature is an unusual one, suggesting that the CSO has a great deal of faith in them. Said replacements are CSO Solti Conducting Apprentice Matthew Aucoin, Marcelo Lehninger and Cristian Macelaru.
Aucoin will make his conducting debut this season, not just with the Chicago Symphony, but with the Juilliard Opera, the Rome Opera Orchestra and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, while also serving as a cover/assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera and Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Aucoin, 23, is the youngest composer to have been commissioned to write an opera for the Metropolitan Opera (for the company's New Works program) and the youngest assistant conductor in the Met's history.
Marcelo Lehninger, born in Brazil, was recently appointed music director of the New West Symphony Orchestra in Los Angeles. After three successful seasons as the Boston Symphony Orchestra's assistant conductor, Lehninger renewed his contract for two more seasons as the BSO's newest associate conductor.
Cristian Macelaru, winner of the 2012 Sir Georg Solti Emerging Conductor Award, recently made his subscription concert debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as a highly publicized return to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (the latter as a replacement, too, for Pierre Boulez). Macelaru was named assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra in September 2011. In November 2012, he was elevated to his current role of associate conductor.
Boulez had invited these three conductors to join him in Chicago during his residency, to work with him as he prepared the programs.
According to Martha Gilmer, vice president for artistic planning, Boulez has devised specific directions for how each program should be choreographed, and has pre-recorded his own thoughts and insights into the music.
"Video projections of Boulez's insights into the creative concept for each concert program, as well as his thoughts on individual works of music, will be an integral part of the programs," said Gilmer. "So, while Boulez is not able to come to Chicago, the spirit and soul of what he imagined these weeks to be will be very much present."
