Chicago Classical Review

Conductor Gregory Hughes created the volunteer Lakeview Orchestra essentially from scratch in 2013, serving as both its artistic director and general manager. 

On Sunday afternoon he took his final bow with the ensemble at their current home of the Athenaeum Center, leading accomplished performances of symphonies by Shostakovich and Beethoven that were a testament to what he has built over the last 13 years.

Pairing Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony with Beethoven’s Third was an inspired choice. The mocking, ersatz triumph of the former plays off the genuine valediction of the latter, with their shared key of E-flat Major making for a vivid contrast.

After an insecure start, the Allegro of the Shostakovich settled into its insistent jocularity. Stephen Todd was relentlessly chipper piping on the piccolo, while the eructing trombone section made sure nothing settled for long. Principal Richard Zili launched the Moderato with a desolate clarinet solo, then joined by his woodwind colleagues, as Hughes expertly sustained the movement’s uneasy tension.

Zili launched the Presto with an antic solo, while principal bassoon Victoria Long gave haunting treatment to the bleak soliloquy of the ensuing Largo. Hughes kept the Finale suitably subdued, disappointing expectations of a triumphal close, as Shostakovich intended, before letting go of the reins to let his charges dash to the double bar. While some moments could have been more polished, the overall impression was of the trust developed over years between Hughes and his colleagues.

The “Eroica” Symphony seemed like a fitting final work to honor Hughes’ own heroic efforts with the Lakeview Orchestra. They captured the Allegro con brio’s essential nobility under Hughes’ typically clear, understated direction, and he did not shy away from this music’s jagged edges. The volunteer orchestra’s nimble responsiveness to Hughes was a testament to the rapport they have built.

Hughes avoided the common pitfall of allowing the Adagio assai to become funereal, rather than a funeral march, aided by principal oboe Melanie Pozdol’s fine solos. There were notable ensemble lapses in the ensuing Scherzo, though Hughes projected the latter’s basic feel of tense, potential energy. Some horn bobbles bedeviled the Trio, but this was no different from what one gets at CSO performances these days.

The Eroica’s finale went best, with Hughes organically negotiating the contrasts in its variations. His direct, unfussy leadership culminated in the inward coda, where Pozdol and Zili shone, before dashing to the vigorous end of both the symphony and his own tenure. Hughes’ efforts, both Sunday afternoon and the previous decade-plus, were met with a vigorous ovation and flowers from the orchestra.

The afternoon began with the presentation of four awards the Lakeview Orchestra and its members garnered this year from the Illinois Council of Orchestras (ICO) in the Community Orchestra category. Hughes accepted both the Orchestra and Conductor of the Year Awards, Lindsay Brown (also principal horn) accepted Board President of the Year, and Zili received Orchestra Member of the Year.

The speeches delivered by ICO Board member Carlos Javier made clear that the Lakeview Orchestra under Hughes’ tenure has not only been a musically vibrant community ensemble, but a responsibly run organization, remaining in the black without charging its musicians dues or raising ticket prices. Given today’s precarious arts environment, this achievement was as much a testament of Hughes’ leadership as the afternoon’s musical rewards.

Hughes is leaving to focus on his role as executive director of the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra. Three finalists to succeed him as Lakeview’s artistic director—Nicholas Koo, Silas Huff, and Michael Lewanski—each led the orchestra this past season, with a selection expected to be announced in the near future.

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