“His hands look like they’re possessed,” whispered a man sitting near me during the performance by piano virtuoso Aristo Sham at the Illinois Symphony Orchestra’s concert at the UIS Auditorium last Friday, Feb. 7. There was indeed something preternatural about Sham’s playing, with rapturous glissandos and indelible melodies emanating from fingers that seemed to dance unnaturally lightly over the keys, his relaxed posture and body language almost contradicting the force and beauty of the sounds filling the concert hall.
Friday’s concert marked the return of former ISO music director (2017-2022) Ken Lam as guest conductor, the second guest conducting spot by a former music director this season, following Alastair Willis’ (2012-2015) memorable appearance in November. Maestro Lam left his position here in 2022 to join the Juilliard school in Tianjin, China. He explained during his opening remarks Friday that when current music director Taichi Fukumura found himself unable to conduct this weekend’s concert, he jumped at the chance. “It’s Chinese New Year over there, so conveniently I decided to come back,” Lam said with a characteristic chuckle.
As a way of acknowledging the holiday underway overseas simultaneous with his return visit to the states, Lam opened the concert with a short, fanfare-like piece named “Gift” (2019) by contemporary American Chinese composer Zhou Tian. “I think it sounds more American than Chinese,” Lam said at the conclusion of Friday’s exciting rendition, which had changed the vibe in the room like a double shot of caffeine. “Lots of energy, lots of rhythm.”
Brahms’ Third Symphony (1883) followed, feeling almost like a study in contrast with Tian’s piece. The contemplative, achingly beautiful melodies spread across four largely quiet movements had an effect that, while not exactly equivalent to the composer’s famous lullaby, was practically soporific compared to the high-octane music on either side of it. “That is why this piece is almost never put on the second half of a program,” Lam said. “Maybe for the intermission you can be very happy about having listened to such beautiful melodies and that will be a nice way to enjoy a [refreshment].” For their parts, the musicians of the ISO seemed transported in their playing, passionately lost in the moment and bringing their all to Brahms’ music, while conserving energy for the sonic fireworks to come.
From the moment 28-year-old pianist Aristo Sham sat down on his bench at the start of the show’s second half, the energy level in the room began to spike. Friday’s rendition of Franz Liszt’s Piano Concert No. 1 (1855) was a barn-burner, with Sham’s alternately delicate and forceful notes seeming to float above the orchestra one moment, then swoop down to interact with the other musicians the next. At almost 30, the virtuoso has left the “child prodigy” label behind, but his youthful demeanor and energy were undeniable, down to black-and-white checkered socks in a style which might be more readily associated with a ska-punk band.
Following a frenzied and fully earned standing ovation from an audience galvanized by Sham’s mind-bending ivory-tickling, the concert concluded with more Liszt, but this time sans piano. Building on the energy of the concert so far, Lam led the ISO through a fully rousing performance of “Les Preludes” (1854). This finale, while not technically an anticlimax, could also not quite match the heights just witnessed with Sham. Still, the musicians leaned into Liszt’s frothing tone poem with vigor and admirable precision, bringing the audience to its feet once again.
Taichi Fukumura, ISO music director, will be back March 7 to conduct the orchestra at its next pops concert, Magical Music of Harry Potter, at the UIS Performing Arts Center. Visit ilsymphony.org for tickets.
This article appears in The Wedding Issue 2025.
