CSO Audio Program Notes
152 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★★ - 19 ratingsFounded in 1891, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is consistently hailed as one of the greatest orchestras in the world. In collaboration with the best conductors and guest artists on the international music scene, the CSO performs well over one hundred concerts each year at its downtown home, Symphony Center, and at the Ravinia Festival on Chicago’s North Shore, where it is in residency each summer. Music lovers outside Chicago enjoy the sounds of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra through best-selling recordings and frequent sold-out tour performances in the United States and around the globe.
Visit cso.org for tickets and information.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
CSO Program Notes: CSO x Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
April 19, 2024 20:14 - 15 minutes - 36.1 MBTwo mighty orchestras present a rousing, jazz-meets-classical event. Discover selections from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, alternating between the original orchestral version performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and imaginative new jazz arrangements presented by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Both ensembles join forces for a selection from Wynton Marsalis’ Swing Symphony, which The Telegraph calls “a journey through jazz history and the sounds of America itself.” Learn more: c...
CSO Program Notes: Chopin & Tchaikovsky
April 15, 2024 15:54 - 25 minutes - 57.5 MBTugan Sokhiev conducts Tchaikovsky’s youthful First Symphony, nicknamed Winter Dreams for its cozy evocation of Russian winters. Chopin’s exuberant Piano Concerto No. 1 features Russian pianist Yulianna Avdeeva, described by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as “a one-woman powerhouse” who “stole the show.” Andrzej Panufnik’s Heroic Overture, composed in 1952, is a tribute to the courageous spirit of the Polish people. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/chopin-and-tchaikovsky
CSO Program Notes: Mendelssohn Elijah
April 04, 2024 19:04 - 9 minutes - 22.8 MBThe 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: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/mendelssohn-elijah
CSO Program Notes: Klaus Mäkelä & Sol Gabetta
April 02, 2024 16:24 - 17 minutes - 39.4 MBSol 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 Stalinist Russia, and the U.S. premiere of Sauli Zinovjev’s vibrant Batteria. Please note: Pianist ...
CSO Program Notes: The Music of Bach
March 20, 2024 20:19 - 15 minutes - 34.6 MBBe 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 more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/music-of-bach
CSO Program Notes: Mahler 4
March 20, 2024 20:15 - 18 minutes - 41.3 MBSusanna 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 the esteemed Lowell Liebermann. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/mahler-4
CSO Program Notes: Also sprach Zarathustra
March 06, 2024 19:59 - 23 minutes - 55 MBStrauss’ 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/23-24/cso-classical/also-sprach-zarathustra
CSO Program Notes: Gil Shaham Plays Mendelssohn
February 21, 2024 22:21 - 20 minutes - 47 MBExperience 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/cso-classical/gil-shaham-plays-mendelssohn
CSO Program Notes: Schubert & Beethoven
February 14, 2024 15:55 - 15 minutes - 34.7 MBBeethoven’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 withdrawn from these concerts due to health reasons. Please note: the originally scheduled perf...
CSO Program Notes: Tchaikovsky & Shostakovich
February 14, 2024 15:40 - 20 minutes - 45.9 MBWith 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/tchaikovsky-and-shostakovich
CSO Program Notes: Sheku Kanneh-Mason Plays Elgar
February 05, 2024 17:48 - 12 minutes - 28.9 MBSheku 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-classical/sheku-kanneh-mason-plays-elgar
CSO Program Notes: Seong-Jin Cho Plays Beethoven
January 30, 2024 21:55 - 25 minutes - 58.8 MBBeethoven’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 clans and long-lost folk dances. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/seong-jin-cho-...
CSO Program Notes: Sir Andrew Conducts Handel’s Messiah
December 15, 2023 19:50 - 21 minutes - 48.3 MBExperience 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/performances/23-24/cso-classical/sir-andrew-conducts-handel-messiah
CSO Program Notes: Bychkov Conducts Brahms
December 07, 2023 22:20 - 13 minutes - 31.2 MBWhen 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 Fourth Symphony. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/bychkov-conducts-brahms
CSO Program Notes: Hilary Hahn Plays Brahms
November 27, 2023 16:52 - 13 minutes - 31 MBCSO 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/hilary-hahn-plays-brahms
CSO Program Notes: MTT Conducts Mozart
November 27, 2023 16:41 - 13 minutes - 30 MBMichael 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 completes the program. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/mtt-conducts-mozart
CSO Program Notes: The Rite of Spring & Kavakos
November 09, 2023 17:41 - 17 minutes - 39.3 MBA 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 a witches’ sabbath opens the program. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/the-r...
CSO Program Notes: Glass & Rachmaninov
November 03, 2023 15:49 - 17 minutes - 39.3 MBRachmaninov’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 works is Sibelius’ atmospheric Pohjola’s Daughter. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classi...
CSO Program Notes: The Planets
October 25, 2023 21:09 - 14 minutes - 32.3 MBDaniel 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.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/the-planets
CSO Program Notes: Mahler 1
October 18, 2023 18:05 - 16 minutes - 37.9 MBMahler’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/23-24/cso-classical/mahler-1
CSO Program Notes: Gershwin & Bernstein
October 06, 2023 20:09 - 16 minutes - 38.8 MBAn 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 program. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/gershwin-and-bernstein-west-side-s...
CSO Program Notes: Jaap van Zweden Conducts Beethoven 5
October 02, 2023 21:21 - 23 minutes - 53.7 MBFrom 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 explores the contrast of light and dark. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/jaap...
CSO Program Notes: Muti, Glass & Mendelssohn Italian
September 11, 2023 18:25 - 21 minutes - 50.5 MBJoin 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. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/muti-glass-and-mendelssohn-italian
CSO Program Notes: Muti Conducts The Firebird
September 11, 2023 17:45 - 18 minutes - 43.2 MBRiccardo 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 its warm, sunny melodies. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/muti-conducts-the...
CSO Program Notes: Muti Conducts Beethoven Missa solemnis
June 08, 2023 15:33 - 21 minutes - 49.2 MBFew 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/22-23/cso-classical/muti-conducts-beethoven-missa-solemnis
CSO Program Notes: Muti, Pokorny & Schubert 9
June 06, 2023 21:24 - 17 minutes - 41.2 MBSchubert'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-classical/muti-pokorny-and-schubert-9
CSO Program Notes: Hrůša Conducts Mahler 9
May 31, 2023 16:09 - 12 minutes - 28.2 MBMahler “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/hrusa-conducts-mahler-9
CSO Program Notes: Debussy La mer & Ravel La valse
May 30, 2023 14:08 - 12 minutes - 29.2 MBDavid Afkham conducts landmarks of early 20th-century French music, including Debussy’s La mer, a shimmering depiction of the sea and its many moods, and Ravel’s La valse, in which a misty waltz morphs into a delirious portrait of a vanished age. Turning to Russia, Israeli violinist Vadim Gluzman takes on Shostakovich’s alternately biting and poignant First Violin Concerto. Learn more: cso.org/performances/22-23/cso-classical/debussy-la-mer-and-ravel-la-valse
CSO Program Notes: Muti, Herbert & Pines of Rome
May 19, 2023 15:33 - 19 minutes - 44.1 MBRiccardo Muti conducts two of Respighi’s vibrant orchestral tapestries: his sumptuous homage to Rome’s iconic neighborhoods and pine groves and his masterful evocation of Renaissance lute music. The program includes the vivid First Concerto for Timpani by American composer William Kraft, featuring CSO Principal Timpani David Herbert. Learn more: cso.org/performances/22-23/cso-classical/muti-herbert-and-pines-of-rome
CSO Program Notes: Muti, Chen & Mozart Gran Partita
May 12, 2023 17:11 - 15 minutes - 34.8 MBIn his Gran Partita for 13 instruments, Mozart achieves a sublime combination of grandeur, complexity and sunny charm. CSO Concertmaster Robert Chen presents the composer’s stately and rustic Violin Concerto No. 4, a product of his Salzburg years. Riccardo Muti opens the concert with Cimarosa’s overture, which echoes Mozart’s comic vein and abounds in freshness and invention. Learn more: cso.org/performances/22-23/cso-classical/muti-chen-and-mozart-gran-partita
CSO Program Notes: Muti, Montgomery & Rachmaninov 2
May 08, 2023 16:01 - 17 minutes - 39.9 MBRachmaninov’s Second Symphony marked a personal comeback after a debilitating crisis of confidence. In the spring of 2023, a century and a half after the composer’s birth, Riccardo Muti conducts this sumptuous score, along with the world premiere of Transfigure to Grace by Mead Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery, who writes with “a Technicolor brilliance and harmonic plushness perfect for the CSO’s own heart-on-its-sleeve proclivities” (Chicago Tribune). Learn more: cso.org/performances...
CSO Program Notes: Vivaldi Gloria
May 01, 2023 15:41 - 11 minutes - 26 MBExperience the uplifting power of Antonio Vivaldi’s joyous Gloria, with its gleaming vocal fireworks and richly embroidered orchestral passages. Early-music specialist Giovanni Antonini conducts this and other Vivaldi treasures, including the Magnificat, in all its variety and invention; the luminous nobility of La Senna festeggiante, and the poignant Kyrie. Learn more: cso.org/performances/22-23/cso-classical/vivaldi-gloria/
CSO Program Notes: Jurowski, Helmchen & Shostakovich 8
April 19, 2023 16:06 - 16 minutes - 38.8 MBVladimir Jurowski marks his return to Symphony Center with Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 8. In this immense wartime symphony, Shostakovich searches for hope and renewal beyond the anguish of violence and honors the ordinary people who contributed — and suffered — away from the frontlines. Celebrated pianist Martin Helmchen brings his “powerful yet refined approach” (The New York Times) to Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25. This late Mozart masterwork navigates a fascinating series of twists and tu...
CSO Program Notes: Trifonov Plays Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3
April 11, 2023 17:53 - 16 minutes - 38 MB“Peerless today as a Rachmaninov interpreter” (The Guardian) and in possession of “monstrous technique and lustrous tone” (The New Yorker), pianist Daniil Trifonov performs Rachmaninov’s electrifying Third Piano Concerto. Russian folklore animates Stravinsky's magical world of Petrushka and Liadov’s dark and fantastical Kikimora. Learn more: cso.org/performances/22-23/cso-classical/trifonov-plays-rachmaninov-piano-concerto-no-3
CSO Program Notes: Hilary Hahn Plays Carmen Fantasy
April 11, 2023 17:45 - 16 minutes - 38.5 MBCSO Artist-in-Residence Hilary Hahn returns for Sarasate’s brilliant and sultry arrangement of Bizet’s Carmen and two beguiling serenades by the late Finnish master Einojuhani Rautavaara. Returning conductor Thomas Adès frames the program with Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier Suite — a loving and graceful tribute to the Viennese waltz — and the profoundly stirring and vivid Night Ride and Sunrise by Sibelius. Please note: Conductor Thomas Adès will step in for Mikko Franck, who had to with...
CSO Program Notes: Adès Conducts Adès with Gerstein
April 03, 2023 15:30 - 16 minutes - 38.8 MBCome along for an engrossing program of musical storytelling as Thomas Adès conducts Liszt’s swirling treatment of the Faust legend, Janáček’s depiction of a 17th-century Cossack warrior and Sibelius’ incidental music to Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Kirill Gerstein presents Adès’ own Piano Concerto, “an affectionate, joyous, remarkably uncomplicated tribute to tradition” (The New York Times). Learn more: cso.org/performances/22-23/cso-classical/ades-conducts-ades-with-gerstein
CSO Program Notes: Boccherini, Vivaldi & Mozart 40
March 23, 2023 16:37 - 10 minutes - 24.9 MBIn his 2019 CSO debut, Spanish guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas thrilled with “the profundities of his art,” along with “the sheen of his tone and the nobility of his rhythms,” wrote the Chicago Tribune. Sáinz-Villegas joins the ensemble in two pieces with bright Mediterranean character. Bernard Labadie, making a welcome return to the CSO, conducts the program, which also features dark-hued symphonies by Mozart and Boccherini. Learn more: cso.org/performances/22-23/cso-classical/boccherini-viv...
CSO Program Notes: Coleridge-Taylor, Copland & Dvořák 9
March 17, 2023 15:40 - 23 minutes - 53.1 MBThomas Wilkins conducts three works featuring unique musical visions of America, capped with Dvořák’s majestic New World Symphony, which draws on African American and Native American source materials. Coleridge-Taylor’s ballet suite captures the spirit of Longfellow’s epic poem The Song of Hiawatha. CSO Principal Clarinet Stephen Williamson performs Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, premiered by Benny Goodman, which features a rollicking blend of jazz and classical sounds. Learn more: cso.org/per...
CSO Program Notes: Carmina burana
March 07, 2023 17:05 - 22 minutes - 51.3 MBCarl Orff’s choral celebration of love, lust and youthful excess in medieval times is as iconic as ever — at once gloriously bawdy and touchingly beautiful. Rautavaara’s ethereal “concerto for birds and orchestra” features bird calls recorded in arctic Finland. Banner, by CSO Mead Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery, is a vibrant rhapsody on The Star-Spangled Banner. Learn more: cso.org/performances/22-23/cso-classical/carmina-burana
CSO Program Notes: Blomstedt Conducts Dvořák 8
February 24, 2023 21:48 - 16 minutes - 37.4 MBEminent Swedish American conductor Herbert Blomstedt leads two Dvořák landmarks — the restless, bucolic Eighth Symphony and the impassioned Cello Concerto — each imbued with the composer’s hallmark warmth and Bohemian charm. Joining the CSO is the young Romanian Andrei Ioniţă, “one of the most exciting cellists to have emerged for a decade” (The Times of London). Explore the music in the free preconcert conversation featuring Carl Grapentine in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performanc...
CSO Program Notes: Muti, Fischer & Tchaikovsky Manfred
February 02, 2023 21:04 - 21 minutes - 49.7 MBTchaikovsky’s turbulent Manfred Symphony takes its inspiration from Lord Byron’s dramatic poem about a world-weary traveler who wanders the Alps and is bewitched by supernatural forces. German violinist Julia Fischer, acclaimed for her “pure and fine-spun tone” (Chicago Tribune), joins Riccardo Muti and the CSO for Schumann’s poetic and autumnal Violin Concerto. Explore the music in the free preconcert conversation featuring Daniel Schlosberg in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performan...
CSO Program Notes: Mäkelä Conducts López Bellido & Mahler 5
February 02, 2023 20:59 - 18 minutes - 42.1 MBIn his Fifth Symphony, Mahler embraces all aspects of life. After a tumultuous funeral march, the work’s five movements include folk-inspired dances, a tender love song and a boisterous finale. Noted for his "great affinity with Mahler" (Le Monde), Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä pairs the composer’s Fifth Symphony with the U.S. premiere of Aino by Peruvian American composer Jimmy López Bellido. Explore the music in the free preconcert conversation featuring Steve Rings in Orchestra Hall 75 m...
CSO Program Notes: Shani Conducts Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances
January 03, 2023 17:11 - 11 minutes - 25.7 MBIn a program celebrating the 150th anniversary of Sergei Rachmaninov’s birth, Lahav Shani conducts the composer’s Symphonic Dances, which marries diabolical, jazzy melodies with plush, old-world grandeur. Italian pianist Beatrice Rana is soloist in Rachmaninov's Paganini Rhapsody, a set of 24 variations that crackle with wit and furious energy. Prokofiev’s delightful Classical Symphony opens the program. Explore the music in the free preconcert conversation featuring Kyle Dzapo in Orchestra ...
CSO Program Notes: Alsop Conducts Wolfe: Her Story
December 13, 2022 17:25 - 16 minutes - 37.3 MBConductor Marin Alsop leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in three pivotal works by 21st-century women composers. This Midnight Hour, a single-movement orchestral composition by former Mead Composer-in-Residence Anna Clyne, evokes a visual journey for the listener. Mead Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery’s Rounds, commissioned for and performed by pianist Awadagin Pratt, is inspired by the constancy, rhythms and duality of life that impact all living things. Closing the program is Her S...
CSO Program Notes: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice & Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony
December 07, 2022 23:07 - 14 minutes - 32.3 MBIconoclastic organist Cameron Carpenter, “one of the rare musicians who changes the game of his instrument” (Los Angeles Times), takes on Poulenc’s sparkling, Baroque-infused concerto, followed by the elegance and floor-shaking grandeur of Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony. Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Carl Grapentine in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets required. C...
CSO Program Notes: Hilary Hahn, Tchaikovsky & Bartók
November 18, 2022 16:39 - 16 minutes - 38.2 MBDalia Stasevska leads the CSO in Bartók’s glittering late masterpiece — which shows off every section of the orchestra — and the scampering, playful sounds of Tarrodi’s Birds of Paradise II. CSO Artist-in-Residence Hilary Hahn joins the Orchestra for Tchaikovsky’s thrilling and tender Violin Concerto. Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Carl Grapentine in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. ...
CSO Program Notes: Stravinsky, Beethoven & Sibelius 2
November 18, 2022 16:34 - 20 minutes - 46.2 MBSibelius’ intense love of nature is mirrored in his Second Symphony, which inhabits a world of rugged, windswept beauty. In his kaleidoscopic choral masterpiece, Stravinsky creates an otherworldly aura. Beethoven’s ebullient concerto features pianist Francesco Piemontesi in his CSO debut. “Piemontesi made a wonderful impression… [He] drew out the reflective undercurrents even while playing with grace and élan” (The New York Times). Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation...
CSO Program Notes: Honeck, Capuçon & Shostakovich 5
November 07, 2022 20:51 - 16 minutes - 38.3 MBA journey from brooding despair to rousing triumph, Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony rescued him from the grips of official Soviet disfavor. But to many listeners, it’s a more subversive critique of life under Stalin. This program, led by Manfred Honeck, also showcases the U.S. premiere of Lera Auerbach’s Diary of a Madman, composed for and performed by Gautier Capuçon. Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Laura Sauer-Shah in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before th...
CSO Program Notes: CSO & The Joffrey Ballet
November 02, 2022 21:00 - 15 minutes - 36.4 MBDancers from Chicago’s world-renowned Joffrey Ballet invigorate the Symphony Center stage with two newly commissioned choreographies set to Siegfried Idyll, Wagner’s glowing birthday gift to his wife, and Rameau’s vivid ballet, composed for a royal wedding at the Palace of Versailles. Ravel evokes Baroque dance in Le tombeau de Couperin, with each movement becoming a touching tribute to friends who died in World War I. The program opens with the beguiling elegance of Mozart’s Symphony No. 34....
CSO Program Notes: Wagner, Bartók and Vaughan Williams
October 12, 2022 17:06 - 17 minutes - 40.9 MBAs Great Britain endured the Blitz in 1943, the 71-year-old Vaughan Williams produced his Fifth Symphony. To celebrate 150 years since the composer's birth, Edward Gardner conducts this work of warmth and gentle contemplation. Christian Tetzlaff, “a meticulous and refined virtuoso” (The New York Times), presents Bartók’s rhapsodic Second Violin Concerto. Wagner’s serene and somber prelude to Act 3 of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg opens the program. Ticket holders are invited to a free preco...