CSO Audio Program Notes

Riccardo Muti leads the world premiere of Orpheus Undone by the CSO’s former Mead Composer-in-Residence Missy Mazzoli, whose works are celebrated for their raw emotional authenticity. Also on the program are works by two late-Romantic titans. Bruckner’s awe-inspiring Second Symphony is a perfect companion piece to Mahler’s intimate Rückert-Lieder, sung by Elīna Garanča, whose voice “is one in a mi...

Anna Rakitina, in her CSO debut, leads a Tchaikovsky celebration. The dynamic Alisa Weilerstein is the soloist in the Rococo Variations, Tchaikovsky’s graceful homage to the 18th century, and the Pezzo capriccioso, a mercurial, one-movement gem. Capriccio italien is a bustling portrait of Italian life, while selections from The Nutcracker highlight the composer’s gift for creating wondrous dance t...

Jane Glover leads an enchanting program of Baroque and Classical masterpieces. “Dazzling virtuoso” (The New York Times) Paul Jacobs performs one of Handel’s sparkling organ concertos, and the CSO’s Principal Oboe William Welter makes his first CSO solo appearance with Mozart’s expressive Oboe Concerto. Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Laura Prichard in Orchest...

Distinguished conductor Herbert Blomstedt conducts Bruckner’s most popular symphony, with its allusions to the peaceful countryside, hunting horns and a boisterous Austrian folk dance. Martin Helmchen, whose “pliant, quicksilver touch seemed to illuminate every solo passage” (Chicago Classical Review), is the soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17. The graceful score stems from one of the happi...

Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi leads a program of passionate and colorful works featuring Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, a five-movement portrait of romantic obsession, replete with a witches’ sabbath, a guillotine and opium-induced hallucinations. Chopin’s dazzling Second Piano Concerto features Benjamin Grosvenor, hailed by Gramophone magazine as possibly “the most remarkable young pianist of...

Riccardo Muti assembles the combined forces of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chorus and internationally renowned soloists for “the symphony to end all symphonies” (The Guardian), Beethoven’s euphoric Ninth. A masterpiece whose staggering influence can be heard throughout classical music, it concludes with the famous Ode to Joy, which powerfully calls for understanding, peace and universal goodwi...

One of Beethoven’s most reflective and serene creations, the Fourth Piano Concerto is an ideal vehicle for Mitsuko Uchida, who conveys “a sense of intimacy and directness in her playing, as well as a certain quiet grace” (San Francisco Chronicle). Riccardo Muti also conducts Glass’ Symphony No. 11, a colorful, exuberant score that the composer wrote for his own 80th birthday celebration. Ticket ho...

A program of rich, Romantic intensity features Rachmaninov’s ravishing Second Piano Concerto, performed by the brilliant Czech pianist Lukáš Vondráček. Elgar’s Enigma Variations are miniature portraits of friends, family members and the composer himself, alternately noble, yearning and blustery in character. Barber’s First Symphony is a mid-century gem, alive with soaring lyricism, bold colors and...

Riccardo Muti conducts a program of Baroque masterpieces by Vivaldi and Handel. CSO musicians are prominently featured in three defining examples of Vivaldi’s mastery of the concerto form. Concluding the program is Handel’s grand and celebrated Water Music. Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Daniel Schlosberg in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance....

Muti leads the CSO in suites from two of Tchaikovsky’s most popular ballets, the timeless and romantic Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. Also included in the program are Emil von Reznicek’s delightful overture to his comic opera Donna Diana and Johann Strauss’ regal Emperor Waltz. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/muti-conducts-sleeping-beauty-swan-lake

Riccardo Muti returns to lead the CSO in an all-Beethoven program featuring the composer’s Fifth Symphony, which opens with the most famous theme in classical music. Combined with this iconic work are the light and humorous Eighth Symphony and the stormy Coriolan Overture. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/muti-conducts-beethoven-5-8

In a vibrant program of classical music inspired by the jazz revolution of the 20th century, two of George Gershwin’s iconic works are paired with one he undoubtedly influenced, Ravel’s jazzy Piano Concerto in G Major. Ravel’s most famous work, the mesmerizing Boléro, brings the program to a rousing close. Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Larry Rapchak in Orch...

From the awe-inspiring “Hallelujah” chorus to the many thrilling and intimate arias, Handel’s landmark oratorio is an unmissable CSO holiday tradition. Nicholas McGegan, “one of the finest Baroque conductors of his generation” (The Independent), leads a glorious reunion of the assembled forces of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversatio...

Intrepid superstar and CSO Artist-in-Residence Hilary Hahn returns to perform Dvořák’s Violin Concerto, a work laced with the vibrant colors and dance rhythms of the composer’s native Bohemia, which was given its U.S. premiere by the Orchestra in 1891. Andrés Orozco-Estrada leads a world premiere by Gabriela Lena Frank, named by the Washington Post as one of the 35 most significant female composer...

In his 2019 CSO subscription debut, Ray Chen “conjured the archetypal 19th-century virtuoso” and “combined vivid rhetoric with impeccable technique” (Chicago Tribune). Chen returns to present Lalo’s salute to the vigorous and sultry dance rhythms of Spain. A new work by renowned Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg and Brahms' richly autumnal Fourth Symphony complete this program led by Finnish conduc...

Astor Piazzolla, born a century ago, revolutionized the Argentine tango with urbane sophistication. His Aconcagua — named for an Andean mountain — is alternately pensive and streetwise in spirit. Giancarlo Guerrero leads a program bookended by Buxtehude’s Chaconne, vibrantly orchestrated by Mexican composer Carlos Chávez, and Beethoven’s witty and confident First Symphony. Learn more: cso.org/perf...

Astor Piazzolla, born a century ago, revolutionized the Argentine tango with urbane sophistication. His Aconcagua — named for an Andean mountain — is alternately pensive and streetwise in spirit. Giancarlo Guerrero leads a program bookended by Buxtehude’s Chaconne, vibrantly orchestrated by Mexican composer Carlos Chávez, and Beethoven’s witty and confident First Symphony. Learn more: cso.org/perf...

Jakub Hrůša conducts a joyful portrait of his Czech homeland in Dvořák’s folk-infused Sixth Symphony. Radiant soprano Joélle Harvey makes her CSO debut in Barber’s nostalgic recollection of small-town America. Opening the program is Coleridge-Taylor’s 1898 breakthrough score, the rhapsodic Ballade. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/coleridge-taylor-barber-dvorak-6/

Jakub Hrůša conducts a joyful portrait of his Czech homeland in Dvořák’s folk-infused Sixth Symphony. Radiant soprano Joélle Harvey makes her CSO debut in Barber’s nostalgic recollection of small-town America. Opening the program is Coleridge-Taylor’s 1898 breakthrough score, the rhapsodic Ballade. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/coleridge-taylor-barber-dvorak-6/

A masterwork of unrestrained joy, Mozart’s final symphony is one of the greatest in the repertoire. Marek Janowski conducts the Jupiter Symphony, along with Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides Overture, a product of his trip to Scotland’s rugged west coast. CSO Concertmaster Robert Chen is soloist in Bruch’s beloved First Violin Concerto, noted for its rapturous melodies and crackling, dance-like finale. L...

A masterwork of unrestrained joy, Mozart’s final symphony is one of the greatest in the repertoire. Marek Janowski conducts the Jupiter Symphony, along with Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides Overture, a product of his trip to Scotland’s rugged west coast. CSO Concertmaster Robert Chen is soloist in Bruch’s beloved First Violin Concerto, noted for its rapturous melodies and crackling, dance-like finale. L...

A hundred years ago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra gave the world premiere of Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto with the composer as soloist. Denis Matsuev joins the CSO led by Manfred Honeck to celebrate this milestone with a performance of Prokofiev’s exuberant, poetic and witty score. Coincident Dances by Mead Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery weaves a multicultural sonic tapestry to evok...

A hundred years ago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra gave the world premiere of Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto with the composer as soloist. Denis Matsuev joins the CSO led by Manfred Honeck to celebrate this milestone with a performance of Prokofiev’s exuberant, poetic and witty score. Coincident Dances by Mead Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery weaves a multicultural sonic tapestry to evok...

Ukrainian-born piano powerhouse Alexander Gavrylyuk presents Prokofiev’s iridescent and rhythmically animated First Piano Concerto, the work with which the composer made his CSO performance debut, in 1918, as part of its U.S. premiere. James Conlon leads this program framed by Shostakovich’s steely Chamber Symphony, an adaptation of his elegiac Eighth String Quartet, and Schubert’s mercurial Symph...

Ukrainian-born piano powerhouse Alexander Gavrylyuk presents Prokofiev’s iridescent and rhythmically animated First Piano Concerto, the work with which the composer made his CSO performance debut, in 1918, as part of its U.S. premiere. James Conlon leads this program framed by Shostakovich’s steely Chamber Symphony, an adaptation of his elegiac Eighth String Quartet, and Schubert’s mercurial Symph...