Citizen Musician

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citizen musician

“Through music, we can bring together lots of people in one place. And, we move the emotions of the people. We can do things that governments can’t do, and we can change the world. We’re like superheroes!”—Student musician from the Carlos Chavez Youth Orchestra, while participating in the CSO’s 2011 Chicago Youth in Music Festival.

From its inception, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra has believed in the transformative power of music. We change lives and serve communities, both in Chicago and around the world, through music-making.

Citizen Musician serves as our guiding philosophy to sustain and enhance the role music plays in cultural and civic life. It encompasses a range of community-based programs, both in Chicagoland and internationally as the CSO travels throughout the year. These vital activities flow from the visionary leadership of Music Director Riccardo Muti and Yo-Yo Ma, our Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant.

In the coming season, the Citizen Musician movement will touch an even wider audience. We hope you can be part of it. Watch for more details soon!

facebook.com/citizenmusician

OPEN HERE FOR OUR COMPLETE CSO 2013/14 SEASON-AT-A-GLANCE GRID AND CALENDAR

Our Sponsors

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association is grateful for the generous support of these leading corporate and foundation sponsors for the 2013/14 season.

TUESDAY A

6 concerts at 7:30

OCT 1 7:00 DEC 10

FEB 25

MAR 18

APR 22

JUN 3

OCTOBER 1, 7:00 [NOTE SPECIAL TIME]

MUTI CONDUCTS VERDI’S MACBETH

Riccardo Muti conductor Dario Solari baritone (Macbeth) Tatiana Serjan soprano (Lady Macbeth) Dmitry Belosselskiy bass (Banco) Francesco Meli tenor (Macduff ) Antonello Ceron tenor (Malcolm) Anna Malavasi mezzo-soprano (Lady in Waiting) Gianluca Buratto bass (Doctor) Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director Verdi Macbeth Revering Shakespeare above all other playwrights, Giuseppe Verdi based three operas on the Bard’s works. His electrifying psychodrama Macbeth was the first, a bloodsoaked portrayal of ambition and guilt. Riccardo Muti, the “greatest Verdi conductor of our time” (Chicago Tribune), leads the incomparable Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in this dramatic concert.

PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM UPPER LEFT:

GABRIEL CABEZAS, RICCARDO MUTI CONDUCTS

THIS PAGE IS PART OF THE DECEMBER 10 APRIL 22 FOLD-OUT SECTION.

BERLIOZ GERSHWIN SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE AN AMERICAN IN PARIS

Stéphane Denève conductor Leonard Slatkin conductor Gabriel Cabezas cello Anne Akiko Meyers violin Weber The Ruler of the Spirits Overture Barber Medea’s Meditation and Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 Dance of Vengeance Berlioz Symphonie fantastique Bates Violin Concerto W. Schuman Symphony No. 6 FEBRUARY 25 Gershwin An American in Paris BOULEZ THE MASTER, Part I Capturing the glamourous excitement of 1920s Pierre Boulez conductor Paris, Gershwin’s An American in Paris is a Debussy Jeux modern American treasure. It is preceded by Ravel Trois poèmes de Mallarmé colorful, luxuriant masterpieces by his Stravinsky Three Japanese Lyrics successors Samuel Barber and William Stravinsky Two Poems of Balmont Schuman. American violinist Anne Akiko Stravinsky Three Pieces for Clarinet Solo Meyers, whose playing is “unspooled with Stravinsky Berceuses du Chat impressive refinement, emotional freedom and Stravinsky Suite from Pulcinella tonal depth” (New York Times) gives the Stravinsky Suite No. 1 for Small Orchestra Chicago premiere of the Violin Concerto by CSO Mead Composer-in-Residence Mason MARCH 18 Bates, one of today’s hottest young composers.

UCHIDA PLAYS SCHUBERT

Mitsuko Uchida conductor and piano JUNE 3 Mozart Adagio in B Minor VAN ZWEDEN CONDUCTS Mozart Piano Concerto No. 19 PROKOFIEV 5 Schubert Piano Quintet (The Trout) Jaap van Zweden conductor Shostakovich Five Fragments Britten Sinfonia da requiem Prokofiev Symphony No. 5

TUESDAY B

6 concerts at 7:30

OCT 8

OCT 22

DEC 17

FEB 18

APR 8

JUN 17

CSO Tuesday series concerts are sponsored by United Airlines.

OCTOBER 8

MUTI AND CHEN

Riccardo Muti conductor Robert Chen violin Mozart Divertimento in D Major, K. 136 Hindemith Violin Concerto Prokofiev Suite from Romeo and Juliet

OCTOBER 22

DEBUSSY LA MER

Susanna Mälkki conductor Leila Josefowicz violin Sibelius The Tempest, Suite No. 1 Stravinsky Violin Concerto Adès …but all shall be well Debussy La mer

DECEMBER 17

PICTURES FROM AN EXHIBITION

Miguel Harth-Bedoya conductor Jorge Federico Osorio piano Dvorˇák Husitská Overture Chávez Piano Concerto

Mussorgsky, orch. Ravel

Pictures from an Exhibition Ravel’s brilliant orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures from an Exhibition, from its stirring trumpet theme to the spine-tingling finale depicting the Great Gate of Kiev, anchors a colorful program celebrating the national identity of three composers. Dvorˇák’s Husitská Overture blends two traditional Czech tunes into a rousing opening work, and Chávez’s Piano Concerto, played by leading Mexican pianist Jorge Federico Osorio, features striking colors from an array of percussion instruments.

FEBRUARY 18

HAYDN MILITARY SYMPHONY

Nicholas McGegan conductor Vivica Genaux mezzo-soprano Handel Concerto grosso, Op. 6, No. 1 Vivaldi Alma oppressa from La fida ninfa Porpora Oh volesser gli Dei …

Dolci, freschi aurette from Polifemo Hasse Or la nube procellosa from Artaserse Broschi Qual guerriero in campo armato from Idaspe J.C. Bach Symphony Op. 6, No. 6 Haydn Symphony No. 100 (Military) Acclaimed American coloratura mezzosoprano Vivica Genaux joins Nicholas McGegan for a sparkling set of fiery arias which were favorites of the legendary castrato, Farinelli. Intriguing and colorful eighteenth century works complete the program, including Handel’s brilliant Concerto Grosso in G and Haydn’s Military Symphony, with its striking use of wind band and percussion.

APRIL 8

SALONEN CONDUCTS SIBELIUS

Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Clyne <<rewind<< Bartók Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin Sibelius Four Legends from the Kalevala

JUNE 17

MUTI CONDUCTS SCHUBERT 1 AND 6

Riccardo Muti conductor David McGill bassoon Schubert Symphony No. 1 Mozart Bassoon Concerto Schubert Symphony No. 6 Two of Schubert’s earliest symphonies reveal both his reverence for Mozart and his prodigious talent. The First Symphony opens majestically, recalling Mozart’s grandest symphonies, before sprinting off in a frolicking carefree style while the Sixth blends wit and light-hearted energy with melodic grace.

PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM:

SIBELIUS four legends

FROM THE KALEVALA

The youthful Jean Sibelius dreamed of writing an opera, a vast drama that would do for Finnish epic poetry what Wagner’s Ring cycle had done for Teutonic lore. He spent nearly two years sketching transitions and interludes, but he never found words strong enough to match his music. He abandoned the opera and transformed his creation into an achingly beautiful orchestral suite, the Four Legends.

Each movement of the suite depicts a decisive moment from the adventures of the mythological Finnish hero, Lemminkäinen. In the first, Lemminkäinen and the Maidens of Saari, the bold hero arrives on an island of surpassingly beautiful women. He begins to seduce them, only to be chased off when the native men of the island discover his presence. The music vividly suggests Lemminkäinen’s initial sighting of the island before shifting into a frenetic dance with passionate lyrical themes. Sibelius wrote of his second movement: “Tuonela, the land of death, the hell of Finnish mythology, is surrounded by a large river of black waters and a rapid current, in which the Swan of Tuonela glides magestically, singing.” The swan’s voice is heard in the famous and haunting English horn solo, which hovers above muted strings, grows to a powerful climax and ends in a sonorous death-march as Lemminkäinen drowns while attempting to capture the swan.

In the final two movements, Lemminkäinen’s mother receives news of her son’s death and travels to Tuonela to reassemble his body and restore him to life. Resurrected, the hero returns home riding a great steed. The suite concludes in a thrilling flourish of hoofbeats.

PERFORMED APRIL 3–8 ESA-PEKKA SALONEN conductor