Year-Long Partnership Kicks Off With Dynamic Concert

This article is the first in a series describing Silk Road Chicago, the Silk Road Project’s yearlong partnership with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, the Chicago Office of Tourism, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Together, the partners offer a series of cross-cultural performances, exhibitions, demonstrations and events that celebrate the artistic legacy of the legendary trade route. Chicago is the first city in the world to collaborate with the Silk Road Project in this way.

Foreboding skies over Lake Michigan could not deter more than 13,000 fans who gathered in Chicago’s Millennium Park on June 26 for a free concert featuring the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma. The concert inaugurated Silk Road Chicago, a citywide celebration inspired by the art and culture of the historic Silk Road.

Performing before the largest audience ever to assemble at the outdoor Pritzker Pavilion, the Ensemble delivered a rousing concert showcasing their dynamic range, virtuosity and sheer infectious joy in celebrating the music of the Silk Road.

This whirlwind tour of the region began with mysterious and intriguing strains, and soon escalated to such a fever pitch that by evening’s end the audience was exhilarated, on their feet and cheering for more.

Ensemble members served as tour guides to the Silk Road, with various artists taking turns leading a leg of the journey and celebrating the distinct musical voice of a particular region.

Beijing-based Wu Tong’s stirring Silk Road Welcome, performed on the sheng, a traditional Chinese mouth organ, immediately set the tone for an evening filled with rich musicality. Symbolizing the connection to the western terminus of the historic Silk Road, the next stop was the Mediterranean as a Chicago Symphony Orchestra brass quartet performed Giovanni Gabrieli’s regal Venetian Canzoni.

The tempo quickened as the Ensemble performed the high-octane Gallop of a Thousand Horses by Iranian composer Kayhan Kalhor. Then, for Sandeep Das’ Tarang, percussion took center stage, providing an intricate and infectious foundation augmented by a melody of undulating strings.

To the crowd’s delight, Ma introduced several pieces with a brief lesson about their cultural and historical origin. A graceful performance by nine members of the Chicago-based Natya Dance Theatre enhanced the Ensemble’s rendition of Koyal. Wu returned to demonstrate his versatility with a vocal performance of the Chinese lyrical piece, Yanzi, accompanied only by Ma’s cello. Gypsy music was introduced through lively arrangements of Music of the Roma, reflecting the rich musical cross-pollination of a nomadic culture.

The concert was to have ended with a traditional Chinese piece, Ambush from
Ten Sides, written in honor of an epic battle that took place in 202 B.C.E. Alternating between quicksilver rhythms and tranquil melodic passages, Ambush brought the audience to its feet for a thunderous ovation, and the Ensemble
performed two encores.

Afterward, Sony BMG Masterworks hosted a reception where the musicians,
dancers and Silk Road Project staff were congratulated by Chicago Mayor Richard
M. Daley and his wife, Maggie Daley; Lois Weisberg, Chicago’s commissioner
of cultural affairs; and other guests. The Alphawood Foundation, Hyatt Hotels
and the City of Chicago sponsored the Millennium Park concert.

In the coming year, the Silk Road Chicago partners will host concerts and exhibits, many of them free, to explore cross-cultural discovery and celebrate the artistic legacy of the Silk Road. The Ensemble returns to Chicago at the end of September to conduct workshops with local musicians and students, and to perform at the Art Institute of Chicago’s opening of its exhibition of Silk Road art. After several more visits throughout the fall and winter, the Ensemble will perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in April 2007.

—Nick Harkin