Cincinnati Business Courier Review: REVIEW: CSO’s first-ever reading of Shostakovich’s Fourth rivets under Giancarlo

By Janelle Gelfand – Courier contributor, Cincinnati Business Courier

(Photo Mark Lyons for Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra)

October 25, 2025

You can listen to a recording of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 4, but nothing matches the sheer visceral impact of hearing it live in Music Hall.

Guest conductor Giancarlo Guerrero led the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in a gripping, hour-long journey through Shostakovich’s Fourth Symphony on Oct. 24, a first in the orchestra’s 130-year history. In the end, we were left with only a few bleak sounds in the strings, the solitary ringing of a celeste and a muted trumpet motif. It was as if the composer had exhausted every resource he could imagine through this symphony’s myriad emotions.

The expanded orchestra played magnificently through its cataclysmic peaks and mournful valleys, and there were opportunities for many orchestral soloists to shine. Guerrero was a commanding and utterly convincing leader from beginning to end.

The orchestra attacked the opening bars sharply as Guerrero led them through a brutal march. His deliberate, clear tempos never wavered. The first movement – about a half hour alone – included grotesque little tunes, meandering winds and shrill piccolos. Harmonies were unsettling. An outbursts of pounding timpani and crashing cymbals startled, followed by a melancholy theme in bassoon, the first of several extraordinary moments for principal bassoonist Christopher Sales. There was a frenzied fugue for the strings, tackled by the players with bite, followed by massive drumming across the whole percussion section.

The end of this movement seemed to come directly from Mahler. It included a theme for English horn (Christopher Philpotts), a bit of Mahler-like birdsong and then a solitary, glowing theme for solo violin (concertmaster Stefani Matsuo).

The second (and shortest) movement was a scherzo, that featured a cynical waltz tune for the E-flat clarinet (Kamalia Freyling), while the violins bowed their phrases with intensity. The movement wound down to the eerie sounds of castanets, wood block and snare drum.

The extensive finale began with a funeral march featuring bassoon (Sales) accompanied by basses and timpani. The movement was another full universe that included stunning writing for the winds, a bold trombone solo, galloping rhythms and frequent changes of meter. Suddenly, there was a delicate waltz. But even in the more cheerful moments, there was an uneasy quality. Again, the timpani and bass drum led to a glorious hymn in the brass. But what appeared to be headed for a blazing finish in C Major, ended in the desolate C Minor.

The orchestra’s playing was supercharged throughout. Guerrero led with driving intensity. He was an animated presence in every moment, all the way to the final, delicate sounds in the celeste, allowing its ringing sound to die away in the hall before the audience erupted in cheers.

In a stark contrast, the program’s first half was devoted to Samuel Barber’s sublime Violin Concerto of 1940. Making her Cincinnati Symphony debut, Chen is winner of the prestigious 2019 Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition. She was recently appointed to the college division string faculty of the Juilliard School, where she received her doctorate.

The violinist communicated Barber’s neo-romantic themes with a luxuriant, golden tone on her “General Kyd” 1720 Stradivarius. Her phrasing was deeply felt, and her technical artistry was flawless. The heart of this concerto is its lyrical second movement. Principal oboist Dwight Parry performed his lengthy solo in the introduction with sensitivity, the ideal prelude to Chen’s serene interpretation.

Sparks flew in the finale, a “perpetuum mobile.” Chen’s playing was fiery, and she made it look easy. Guerrero was a fine partner throughout, providing lush support and sweeping up the orchestra with impassioned playing in the tutti sections.

For an encore, Chen surprised listeners when concertmaster Matsuo stood to play a duet with her, “Por Una Cabeza” by Carlos Cardel. The two have been friends since they were 18, Chen told the audience.

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