Chicago classical review of Piccolo play at the cso

Last weekend (October 3-4) brought a fantastic performance of Thea’s Piccolo Play, performed by piccolo soloist Jennifer Gunn with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and their conductor Daniela Candillari. Read an exerpt from Tim Sawyier’s review for the Chicago Classical Review below, and find the full article here.

The first half closed with the first CSO performances of Thea Musgrave’s Piccolo Play. Originally composed in 1989 for piccolo and piano, Musgrave revised the work in 2022 with string accompaniment for the 50th anniversary of the National Flute Association. CSO piccolo Jennifer Gunn premiered this new version with the Chicago Philharmonic at the 50th NFA Convention in Chicago that year, and was again the soloist for its first CSO subscription performances.

Piccolo Play unfolds in seven brief movements, each named after a Couperin harpsichord piece. The solo piccolo weaves enchanting melodic minor lines in “L’Enchanteresse” (The Enchantress) and makes ranine bounds in “L’Amphibie” (The Frog). Each movement has an aphoristic quality, and a pointillist texture prevails in the central ones. Gunn’s stern piping vividly depicted “Le Bruit de Guerre” (The Noise of War) and she was unphased by the technical demands of the final breakneck “Le Turbulent” (The Turbulent One).

Gunn is a true virtuoso of her instrument, more at ease in a soloist role than many orchestral players. Her pure, well-projected tone was always in the service of Musgrave’s condensed expression and made a compelling case for the piccolo as a concertante instrument. 

- Tim Sawyier - October 4, 2025

Photo: Todd Rosenberg