Michael Sanderling, chief conductor of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra since 2021, makes his Civic podium debut this season.
Marco Borggreve
Conductor Michael Sanderling will lead the Civic Orchestra of Chicago in performances of Shostakovich’s monumental Symphony No. 11, based on the unsuccessful 1905 revolt against the Russian Tsarist regime. Before the performances on Nov. 15-16, which mark his Civic debut, Sanderling talked about young musicians, community concerts and how he brings Shostakovich to life.
You had a notable career as a cellist before moving into conducting (he has been chief conductor Lucerne Symphony Orchestra since 2021). How did your experience performing in an orchestra help you on the podium?
Having spent many years inside an orchestra is still very important to me as a conductor. I know what it feels like to sit on the other side and what musicians need from a conductor — clarity, trust and a sense that everyone is working toward the same musical goal.
What do you find rewarding about working with younger musicians? Do you have different expectations depending on whether you are conducting teenagers, the Civic Orchestra or full-time professionals?
Young musicians bring an incredible curiosity and energy. I enjoy that very much. Of course, every orchestra is different, and you have to respond to the musicians in front of you, but I don’t adjust my musical expectations. However, with younger musicians, there is perhaps one additional responsibility: you want the concert to be good, but you also want them to take something from the experience that stays with them.
This program is also being performed at Lincoln-Way East High School in southwest suburban Frankfort. What are some of the challenges and rewards of performing in community venues?
I think it is very important that orchestras go to audiences and don’t expect audiences always to come to them. School concerts are always something special. You usually have a very mixed audience of young people — some are already interested in it, while for others it may be a completely new experience. That makes these concerts very direct and sometimes unpredictable, which I enjoy.
How does the Eleventh Symphony fit into Shostakovich’s career?
The Eleventh tells the story of the events of 1905, but Shostakovich wrote it in 1957, shortly after the events in Hungary in 1956. So for me, it is not only about one historical moment. It is also about oppression, fear, violence, grief and resistance — and about what happens to people when they are caught in these conflicts.
Is it fair to compare it to the 1812 Overture?
I understand the comparison. Both works are connected to historical events and both can have an enormous physical impact. But there is an important difference for me. The 1812 Overture commemorates a military victory. Shostakovich is much more ambiguous. There is always doubt, and there are always questions underneath the surface. And that is also what makes the piece so relevant beyond the events of 1905. It is not only telling us what happened, it makes us think about violence, power and the repetition of history.
What musical ideas will you try to bring out?
The most important thing for me is tension. The beginning is incredibly quiet, but it is not peaceful. You have to feel from the first moment that something is underneath the surface. And when the violence finally erupts, it should feel almost inevitable. Even at the end, with all its enormous power and the bells, I don’t hear a simple triumph. There is still a question left open.
Will you or the Civic musicians be thinking about the 1905 Revolution while you rehearse?
Not really. For me, 1905 is the historical setting Shostakovich uses to speak about something much more immediate and dangerous: the violence of a state against its own people. In the Soviet Union, such criticism could not be expressed openly. Shostakovich was officially telling the “right” story, but underneath that story, the music could say something very different. The Soviet audience understood how to read and hear between the lines. For audiences in the West, that second level can be much more difficult to recognize. So in rehearsal, we have to understand why Shostakovich chose 1905, and then listen to what the music is actually telling us about fear, violence, oppression and the relationship between power and the individual. That is what makes this symphony so powerful, and also why it reaches far beyond its historical subject.
When there is only one piece on the program, is there any difference in pacing or energy without an intermission?
Yes, definitely. And with this symphony I think it works especially well. The four movements continue without a break, so there is already a very strong sense of one long journey. The challenge for us is to keep the concentration and tension over the entire piece.
Why do you think the Eleventh isn’t better known, particularly in the United States? How did you and the Civic decide to program it?
That is an interesting question, because I think it is one of Shostakovich’s great symphonies. Perhaps one reason is simply practical: it needs a large orchestra, and it lasts about an hour without a break. And it is demanding not only for the orchestra, but also for the audience. There are long passages where very little seems to happen on the surface, but the tension must never disappear. Then suddenly you are confronted with an enormous intensity and violence. It is a piece that asks something from you as a listener.
For the musicians, that is also the great challenge. Of course there are technically demanding passages, but above all, they have to sustain this tension and the architecture of the piece over a very long period. And that is exactly why I think it is such a wonderful piece for the Civic to work on. Hopefully, that intensity will become a very special experience for the audience as well.
