CSO Audio Program Notes

The 19th century’s most enduring oratorio, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, sung here in English, depicts the story of the biblical prophet Elijah, complete with his ascent to heaven on a flaming chariot. James Conlon leads the assembled forces, including Chicago favorite Lucas Meachem in the mighty title role and the Chicago Symphony Chorus performing the work’s pensive and ecstatic ensembles. Learn more: c...

Sol Gabetta, whose “enthusiastic music-making and animated style are completely infectious” (Classical Voice), makes her CSO debut in Shostakovich’s captivating Cello Concerto No. 1 — a riveting journey through themes of defiance, sorrow and triumph. Electrifying conductor Klaus Mäkelä frames the program with Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony, a searing portrait of the composer’s tormented life in Sta...

Be transported to Zimmermann’s Coffee House, the Leipzig café where J.S. Bach introduced many of his instrumental works. CSO Concertmaster Robert Chen leads the dazzling Third Brandenburg Concerto, kaleidoscopic Violin Concerto in E Major and buoyant and graceful Orchestral Suite No. 1. Chen also teams up with Principal Oboe William Welter in Bach’s exquisite Concerto for Oboe and Violin. Learn mo...

Susanna Mälkki conducts a thought-provoking program anchored by Gustav Mahler’s Fourth Symphony. This celestial score, which includes a cryptic dance of death, is announced with sleigh bells and a rustic melody that ends with a child’s view of heaven, delivered here by soprano Ying Fang. Principal Flute Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson is the soloist in a newly commissioned concerto written for him by th...

Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra — with its iconic opening popularized in 2001: A Space Odyssey — sets the tone for a program of dazzling, otherworldly pieces. Bartók’s pantomime ballet, The Miraculous Mandarin, is a lurid, supernatural tale rendered in arresting colors. Czech violinist Josef Špaček takes on Martinů’s tuneful and vivacious Violin Concerto No. 1. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23...

Experience the “brilliant and incisive” (Chicago Tribune) Gil Shaham in Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, ever popular for its mix of vigor and finesse. Richard Strauss’ tone poem explores the ultimate mystery of death and what might lie beyond. Lutosławski’s 1954 Concerto for Orchestra is a symphonic showpiece that draws on Polish folk songs and Baroque forms. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/...

Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony is treasured by generations of music fans for its whirling dance rhythms and majestic Allegretto movement. It finds an admirable interpreter in Czech conductor Petr Popelka, who “lets the music glow without overshadowing details” (Der Standard). Composed in his youth, Schubert's exuberant Sixth Symphony draws inspiration from Beethoven. Conductor Herbert Blomstedt has...

With his Ninth Symphony, Shostakovich delivered a tragicomic work with nods to Haydn and circus tunes. Uzbek pianist Behzod Abduraimov makes his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Tchaikovsky’s thrilling First Piano Concerto. Mussorgsky’s radiant Khovanshchina prelude and Saariaho’s ethereal Winter Sky round out the program. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/tchaikovsk...

Sheku Kanneh-Mason, hailed by The New Yorker as “a cellist of blazing sensitivity,” makes his CSO debut in Elgar’s rhapsodic Cello Concerto. Paavo Järvi conducts Nielsen’s Fifth Symphony, a visceral, dramatic work exploring humanity’s potential for conflict, born in the aftermath of World War I. Beethoven’s jubilant hymn to liberty opens the program. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-clas...

Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto is a landmark of his dark and restless middle period, here featuring Seong-Jin Cho, whose 2018 Chicago debut offered “about as thrilling a display of sheer powerhouse keyboard bravura as one is ever likely to encounter” (Chicago Classical Review). Gemma New conducts the program, which closes with Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony, evoking highland mists, warring clan...

Experience the power of nearly 100 voices in magnificent harmony. From “The Trumpet Shall Sound” to the rousing “Hallelujah” Chorus, Handel’s Messiah is packed with regal choral passages, exultant arias and glittering instrumental fireworks. The award-winning Chicago Symphony Chorus and four world-class soloists join Sir Andrew Davis in this must-see holiday favorite. Learn more: cso.org/performan...

When Renaud Capuçon and Semyon Bychkov last appeared together with the CSO, sparks flew. The French violinist “made you aware of a searching musical intellect supported by a superb technical arsenal” (Chicago Tribune). The parties reunite in Saint-Saëns’ brilliant Third Violin Concerto. Framing the program are Dvořák’s boisterous portrait of a street carnival and Brahms’ noble and heart-rending Fo...

CSO Artist-in-Residence Hilary Hahn illuminates Brahms’ Violin Concerto, with its ardent beauty and fiery finale. Mikko Franck conducts Wagner’s ecstatic Prelude to Tristan und Isolde before concluding with Sibelius’ Seventh Symphony, an awesome, “time-bending journey” (The Guardian), and the Finnish composer’s crowning symphonic achievement. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/hi...

Michael Tilson Thomas lends his fresh insights to a compelling Austro-Germanic program. It includes Mozart’s whirling Six German Dances as well as his expressive and intimate Piano Concerto No. 23, which features Orion Weiss, acclaimed for his “limpid touch, clean runs and purling legato phrasing” (Chicago Tribune). Schoenberg’s lavishly imaginative orchestration of Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 1 com...

A panorama of ancient pagan rituals, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring put modernism squarely on the map. Experience the swaggering and suspenseful ballet score that drove Parisian audiences to riot at its 1913 premiere. Leonidas Kavakos brings an “intense, silken, mercurial” sound (The Guardian) to his rendition of Szymanowski’s folk-inspired Second Violin Concerto. Mussorgsky’s fiery depiction of...

Rachmaninov’s poignant Third Symphony evokes the Russia he left behind. Violinist Karen Gomyo, hailed by the Chicago Tribune as “a first-rate artist of real musical command, vitality and brilliance,” joins the CSO for Philip Glass’ Violin Concerto No. 1. From its exciting first movement to its thrilling finale, this is one of Glass’ most powerful and captivating concertos. Complementing these work...

Daniel Harding leads Holst’s The Planets, the interstellar orchestral suite that has inspired generations of sci-fi film composers. Experience the ferocity of “Mars,” the golden song of “Jupiter,” the eerie calm of “Saturn” and the haunting off-stage vocals of the ethereal “Neptune.” The full Chicago Symphony Chorus delights in Brahms’ radiant Schicksalslied (“Song of Destiny”). Learn more: cso.or...

Mahler’s First Symphony unfolds with the elemental sounds of nature, foot-stomping folk dances and a stormy but ultimately heroic finale. Conductor Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider opens with the symphony's original second movement, Blumine, notable for its gentle trumpet serenade. Distinguished cellist Jian Wang takes center stage for Bloch’s stirring “Hebraic Rhapsody.” Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-...

An exuberant melding of jazz, blues and classical styles, Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F is an ideal vehicle for Illinois native Conrad Tao, “a personality-plus pianist with a fearless technique” (Chicago Classical Review). Bernstein’s beloved West Side Story dances include themes from the songs “Somewhere” and “Maria.” Barber’s soulful overture and Revueltas’ joyfully raucous Sensemayá frame the...

From its commanding four-note opening to its blazing finish, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony remains the unrivaled expression of struggle and triumph in orchestral music. German baritone Christian Gerhaher, “the foremost art song singer of our time” (The New York Times), performs selections from Mahler’s The Youth’s Magic Horn. Inspired by Hindustani classical music, Nina Shekhar’s shimmering Lumina ex...

Join Riccardo Muti and the CSO for a sensuous journey to Italy. Richard Strauss’ Aus Italien whisks the listener through the sun-soaked countryside, past Roman ruins and on to sites in Sorrento and Naples. Mendelssohn’s sparkling Italian Symphony gathers impressions of Mediterranean warmth and traditional dances. A world premiere by the venerable American composer Philip Glass opens the program. L...

Riccardo Muti and the CSO open the 2023/24 Season with two pieces capturing the fairy-tale splendor of Russian music. Stravinsky’s suite from The Firebird uses a dynamic orchestral palette to depict infernal dances and a haunting lullaby. Liadov’s The Enchanted Lake is a softly iridescent portrait of a moonlit night. Composed at an Austrian lakeside resort, Brahms’ Second Symphony captivates with...

Few mass settings pose more questions of listeners than Beethoven’s Missa solemnis. A fervent meditation on faith and doubt, the piece spans moments of ecstasy and angst, soaring beauty and near-operatic theatricality. Riccardo Muti leads this rarely performed score with a thrilling quartet of international singers and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Learn more: cso.org/performances/22-...

Schubert's magnificent final symphony and J. Strauss Jr.'s Overture to Indigo and the Forty Thieves bookend this program with distinctive Viennese touches. CSO Principal Tuba Gene Pokorny takes the spotlight in a concerto written for him by Lalo Schifrin (best known for his Mission: Impossible theme), which incorporates Baroque and jazz influences. Learn more: cso.org/performances/22-23/cso-classi...

Mahler “peacefully bids farewell to the world” is how the composer’s protégé Bruno Walter described the finale to his Ninth Symphony. This valedictory score contains the many hallmarks of Mahler’s symphonies — their grand scale, profound emotions and folk dance themes — capped by an ethereal finale that achieves a sense of transcendent rapture. Learn more: cso.org/performances/22-23/cso-classical/...