Gorecki Symphony Beat Out Rain

Timing is everything, and the rain which interrupted the GrantPark Symphony Orchestra's concert Saturday night came atnot-the-worst moment.

Rain has plagued this Grant Park season, and it set in duringSaturday's intermission, delaying the final work, Mussorgsky's"Pictures at an Exhibition." The evening's main event, however, wasits first number, the local premiere of Henryk Gorecki's popularThird Symphony. The symphony, conducted by Eije Oue with guestsoloist Benita Valente, and Mozart's "Exsultate jubilate" featuringValente were performed under dry skies.

Pairing Gorecki's "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" with Mozart'sexultant outpouring brought together religious works at opposite endsof the emotional scale. It would have been more effective had Ouereally explored the mysterious depths of the symphony's religiouslamentation. The first movement, which opens with barely audiblebass rumbles and rises to clear, anguished song before subsiding intosilence again, was disappointing. True, even on a quiet night suchas Saturday Grant Park has a lot of traffic noise, and Oue sensiblystarted the symphony at a slightly louder level. But his pacing wasrelatively brisk, and as a result, Gorecki's device of slowly addingmore and more players to a repeated chorale-like theme soundedprosaic rather than powerfully primeval.

In the second and third movements, however, the orchestra tookon an organ-like richness. Valente's soprano, the violins and highwoodwinds provided highlights in the otherwise dark, tightly wovenorchestral texture.

Valente brought an expressive, clear voice to the Gorecki buther singing was labored early in the "Exsultate." By the end,however, her voice radiated innocent purity and joy.

I didn't stick around for "Pictures at an Exhibition." Toparaphrase Richard Nixon, to leave a concert before the final work iscomplete is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. But the lengthyrain delay before a work heard often at Grant Park in recent seasonssent me scurrying toward Michigan Avenue. I caught the final fewsections on radio, thanks to WFMT-FM's live broadcast. Theperformance was full of vivid orchestral color.

A note to Grant Park management: It would be nice if, as theydebated whether or not to proceed on rainy nights, they acknowledgedthe discomfort of their loyal audience. Sitting in an open fieldunder an umbrella getting progressively more soaked while watchingpeople who are dry mill about onstage not playing music is mildlyridiculous.

Grant Park's core audience knows that canceling concerts isserious business. The orchestra and staff are concerned legitimatelyabout expensive instruments getting wet, the costs of payingmusicians not to perform and, on Saturday, disrupting a live radiobroadcast.

But when the rains start, most listeners want a speedy resumptionof the program so they can get indoors as soon as possible. A fewwords acknowledging that from the stage would be appreciated.