Violinist Joshua Bell. (Phillip Knott)
Vivaldi composed “The Four Seasons,” Holst convened “The Planets,” and now we can experience “The Elements,” a themed orchestral suite courtesy of violinist Joshua Bell and five composers.
The world-renowned, Indiana-born musician returns to the Midwest to perform these elemental works with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The one-time child prodigy is now 56 years old, and he’s lived an amazing life in music.
At 14, Bell debuted with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Bell has collaborated with Renée Fleming, Wynton Marsalis, Sting and even Scarlett Johansson — they performed on the Oscar-nominated song “Before My Time,” composed by J. Ralph. In 2000, Bell won a Grammy for his performance of Nicholas Maw’s “Violin Concerto.”
On “Chicago Tonight” in 2015, Bell called himself a “wannabe composer.” Now he has commissioned works from American composers he admires, including CSO Mead composer-in-residence Jessie Montgomery.
The suite of five works is called “The Elements,” after earth, water, air, fire and space. WTTW News spoke with Bell about bringing “The Elements” to Orchestra Hall.
WTTW News: You travel quite a bit. Welcome back to the Midwest!
Joshua Bell: My family is driving up from Indianapolis and Bloomington, including my 88-year-old mother. That doesn’t always happen, so it’s great to be in the Midwest. And also to be with the Chicago Symphony. I’ve played at Ravinia many times, but it’s been decades since I’ve been with them downtown. They sound incredible, and this conductor (Juraj Valčuha) is absolutely fantastic.
Talk about ‘The Elements,’ the works you commissioned from Kevin Puts (earth), Edgar Meyer (water), Jennifer Higdon (air), Jake Heggie (fire) and Jessie Montgomery (space).
Bell: I enjoy thematic works and I thought: Wouldn’t it be cool to do a piece for violin that’s themed? It’s something concrete that audiences can grab onto because classical music can be so abstract, so having something thematic is fun. And I thought a different composer for each one would add another level of variety. Kevin Puts is someone who I’ve admired, and I think his ‘earth’ is incredibly beautiful. People tell me they get goosebumps when listening.
How did your instrument handle the challenges of ‘The Elements?’
Bell: The violin is of course a melodic instrument, but it can do so many things. Each of the composers knew they were writing for the violin, so in the end they chose the aspects of the elements they would interpret. One of the reasons I like the violin is that the range is vast, so it’s well suited for ‘The Elements.’
I’ve seen it on video. Very impressive and quite a workout for you.
Bell: I don’t know. What’s not a workout?! [laughs] I mean, Brahms’ concerto is a workout. This one is 40 minutes of music, but it somehow goes by fast for me. There’s so much variety, and each one is rather short, seven to nine minutes each, and you get a lot of change in tone throughout the pieces.
The work premiered in Germany last year, and now gets its Chicago debut. What are your long-range wishes for ‘The Elements?’
Bell: You always hope that it will become part of the repertoire. Twenty years ago I did the violin concerto by John Corigliano called ‘The Red Violin,’ which I commissioned after the film music. That piece became repertoire — dozens of violinists have played it. That doesn’t always happen. Often with new works you do the premiere and final performance on the same day. [laughs] You always hope that it gets some traction, so we’ll see.
“The Elements” will be performed with Joshua Bell and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from Thursday to Saturday. Conductor Juraj Valčuha frames the program with Weber’s “Oberon” overture and Shostakovich’s “Symphony No. 1.” For more information, visit cso.org.
