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CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA RICCARDO MUTI ZELL MUSIC DIRECTOR
Celebrating the legacy of Riccardo Muti and the CSO Save up to 40% when you subscribe
2022/23 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS Riccardo Muti’s final year as Zell Music Director pays tribute to his remarkable bond with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and demonstrates his unique passion for communicating the solace and joy that music alone can deliver.
Amadeus Live Beethoven Missa solemnis Carmina burana CSO & The Joffrey Ballet Debussy La mer Dvořák Symphony No. 9 (From the New World) Mahler Symphony No. 9 Mussorgsky Pictures from an Exhibition Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances Respighi Pines of Rome Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 Vivaldi Gloria
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September
October
22 23 27
6 7 8
THU A | G 7:30 FRI B 1:30 TUE A 7:30
Muti & Bronfman Chicago Symphony Orchestra Riccardo Muti conductor Yefim Bronfman piano COLERIDGE-TAYLOR Solemn Prelude UNITED STATES PREMIERE BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1 TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 2
(Little Russian)
THU B | H 7:30 FRI A 1:30 SAT A | F 8:00
Muti Conducts Mozart & Prokofiev Chicago Symphony Orchestra Riccardo Muti conductor ROSSINI Overture to Il viaggio a Reims MOZART Symphony No. 39 PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5
The 2022/23 Season will mark 70 years since Sergei Prokofiev’s death. Riccardo Muti conducts Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony, composed in 1944, which ranks among his greatest achievements. Mozart’s Symphony No. 39 has grandeur and intensity that foreshadows the mature symphonies of Beethoven. The overture to Rossini’s Journey to Reims gathers several of the composer’s buoyant and picturesque themes.
YEFIM BRONFMAN
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Muti, Pollini & Pictures from an Exhibition Chicago Symphony Orchestra Riccardo Muti conductor Maurizio Pollini piano FRANCK Le chasseur maudit MOZART Piano Concerto No. 27 MUSSORGSKY (ORCH. RAVEL)
Pictures from an Exhibition
A new season begins as dazzling pianist Yefim Bronfman joins Riccardo Muti and the CSO in Brahms’ unabashedly vigorous and stirring First Piano Concerto. Tchaikovsky’s joyful Second Symphony quotes folk melodies from Ukraine. The program opens with the U.S. premiere of a long-lost and recently discovered score by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, a British composer of African descent.
29 30 Oct 1
THU C | E 7:30 FRI C 8:00 SAT D 8:00
Mussorgsky, shaken by the passing of his friend, the artist Victor Hartmann, turned his grief into music, composing his lavishly evocative 10-movement suite inspired by Hartmann’s sketches. Riccardo Muti leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Ravel’s iconic orchestration of Mussorgsky’s Pictures from an Exhibition. Renowned pianist Maurizio Pollini makes his longawaited return to the stage with the CSO in Mozart’s dark-hued final piano concerto. The program opens with Franck’s supernatural thriller The Accursed Huntsman.
13 14 15 16
THU A | F 7:30 FRI 7:30 NOTE START TIME SAT C 7:30 NOTE START TIME SUN 3:00
Amadeus Chicago Symphony Orchestra Constantine Kitsopoulos conductor Chicago Symphony Chorus Experience the Academy Award®-winning 1984 film on screen while Mozart’s celebrated works are performed live by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. This riveting film classic tells a story of envy between Vienna court composer Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) and the raffish but gifted young Mozart (Tom Hulce). AMADEUS LIVE IS A PRODUCTION OF AVEX CLASSICS INTERNATIONAL.
November
November
20 21 22 25
3 4 5
THU C | D 7:30 FRI D 8:00 SAT B | G 8:00 TUE B 7:30
Thielemann Conducts Bruckner 8
THU A | F 7:30 FRI D 8:00 SAT A | E 8:00
Wagner, Bartók & Vaughan Williams
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Christian Thielemann conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Edward Gardner conductor Christian Tetzlaff violin
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 8
WAGNER Prelude to Act 3 of
Bruckner’s last completed symphony is a majestic statement in which every theme feels like a sacred offering. Bruckner signed the score “Hallelujah,” and eagerly declared “The finale is the most important movement of my life.” Christian Thielemann, “the most admired of today’s German conductors” (Los Angeles Times), leads the CSO on this sweeping journey.
27 THU B | I 7:30 28 FRI A 1:30 Nov 1 TUE A 7:30
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
BARTÓK Violin Concerto No. 2 VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Symphony No. 5
As 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.
Grieg Piano Concerto & Prokofiev 6 Chicago Symphony Orchestra Xian Zhang conductor Simon Trpčeski piano
RICCARDO MUTI
NGWENYAMA Primal Message FIRST CSO PERFORMANCE GRIEG Piano Concerto PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 6
Prokofiev’s Sixth Symphony was a risky undertaking in post-World War II Russia: a personal meditation on suffering and loss that he described as agitated, lyrical and austere. Pianist Simon Trpčeski animates the romantic flourishes of Grieg’s Piano Concerto, while Nokuthula Ngwenyama’s Primal Message is a fantasia inspired by the 1974 Aricebo interstellar radio transmission.
CHRISTIAN TETZLAFF XIAN ZHANG
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November
December
10 11 12
1 2 3 6
THU C | D 7:30 FRI C 8:00 SAT B | H 8:00
CSO & The Joffrey Ballet
Stravinsky, Beethoven & Sibelius 2
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Harry Bicket conductor The Joffrey Ballet Ashley Wheater MBE
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Thomas Søndergård conductor Francesco Piemontesi piano CSO DEBUT Chicago Symphony Chorus
The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director MOZART Symphony No. 34 RAVEL Le tombeau de Couperin WAGNER Siegfried Idyll New Ballet WORLD PREMIERE
STRAVINSKY Symphony of Psalms BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 2 SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2
Cathy Marston choreography
RAMEAU Suite from Platée New Ballet WORLD PREMIERE
Annabelle Lopez Ochoa choreography Dancers from Chicago’s world-renowned Joffrey Ballet invigorate the Symphony Center stage with two newly commissioned choreographies set to Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll and Rameau’s Suite from Platée. 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.
17 18 19 20
THU B | I 7:30 FRI A 1:30 SAT D 8:00 TUE B 7:30
Sibelius’ 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).
THU B | H 7:30 FRI CSO AT WHEATON 7:30 EDMAN MEMORIAL CHAPEL SAT C 8:00 SUN A 3:00
Honeck, Capuçon & Shostakovich 5
THE JOFFREY BALLET DALIA STASEVSKA
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Manfred Honeck conductor Gautier Capuçon cello
HILARY HAHN
GLINKA Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila AUERBACH Diary of a Madman UNITED STATES PREMIERE, CSO CO-COMMISSION SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5
A 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 Gautier Capuçon.
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LAHAV SHANI
December
January
8 9 10
6 7
THU A | G 7:30 FRI B 1:30 SAT B | G 8:00
Hilary Hahn, Tchaikovsky & Bartók Chicago Symphony Orchestra Dalia Stasevska conductor CSO DEBUT Hilary Hahn violin TARRODI Birds of Paradise II FIRST CSO PERFORMANCE TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra
Dalia Stasevska surveys three concertos, from Bartók’s glittering late masterpiece — which shows off every section of the orchestra — to 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.
15 16 17 18
THU C | E 7:30 FRI A 1:30 SAT A | E 8:00 SUN A 3:00
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice & Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony Chicago Symphony Orchestra Bramwell Tovey conductor Cameron Carpenter organ CSO DEBUT DUKAS The Sorcerer’s Apprentice POULENC Concerto for Organ, Strings
FRI D 8:00 SAT A | F 8:00
Alsop Conducts Wolfe: Her Story Chicago Symphony Orchestra Marin Alsop conductor Lorelei Ensemble CSO DEBUT CLYNE This Midnight Hour MONTGOMERY Rounds WOLFE Her Story CSO CO-COMMISSION FIRST CSO PERFORMANCE
Conductor 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 Story, a CSO co-commission by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Julia Wolfe that captures the passion and perseverance of women who have led the fight for representation and gender equality. A 40-minute theatrical experience for orchestra and women’s vocal ensemble, the piece is the latest in a series of compositions by Wolfe that highlight monumental and turbulent moments in american history.
MARIN ALSOP
and Timpani SAINT-SAËNS Symphony No. 3 (Organ) Iconoclastic 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.
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February
February
9 10 11
23 24 25
THU C | D 7:30 FRI C 8:00 SAT B | H 8:00
THU B | H 7:30 FRI A 1:30 SAT C 8:00
Shani Conducts Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances
Muti, Fischer & Tchaikovsky Manfred
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Lahav Shani conductor CSO DEBUT Beatrice Rana piano CSO DEBUT
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Riccardo Muti conductor Julia Fischer violin
PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 1 (Classical) RACHMANINOV Rhapsody on a
SCHUMANN Violin Concerto TCHAIKOVSKY Manfred Symphony
Theme of Paganini
RACHMANINOV Symphonic Dances
In 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.
Tchaikovsky’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.
RICCARDO MUTI
16 17 18
THU A | F 7:30 FRI B 1:30 SAT D 8:00
Mäkelä Conducts López & Mahler 5 Chicago Symphony Orchestra Klaus Mäkelä conductor LÓPEZ Aino UNITED STATES PREMIERE, CSO CO-COMMISSION MAHLER Symphony No. 5
In his Fifth Symphony, Mahler embraces the whole panorama 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.
JULIA FISCHER
KLAUS MÄKELÄ
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March
March
9 11 12
23 25 26
THU B | I 7:30 SAT A | E 8:00 SUN A 3:00
Blomstedt Conducts Dvořák 8 Chicago Symphony Orchestra Herbert Blomstedt conductor Andrei Ioniță cello CSO DEBUT DVOŘÁK Cello Concerto DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8
Eminent 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).
16 17 18
THU A | G 7:30 FRI B 1:30 SAT B | G 8:00
Carmina burana Chicago Symphony Orchestra Osmo Vänskä conductor Joélle Harvey soprano Reginald Mobley countertenor Elliot Madore baritone CSO DEBUT Chicago Symphony Chorus Chicago Children’s Choir Josephine Lee artistic director
THU C | E 7:30 SAT A | F 8:00 SUN A 3:00
Coleridge-Taylor, Copland & Dvořák 9 Chicago Symphony Orchestra Thomas Wilkins conductor Stephen Williamson clarinet COLERIDGE-TAYLOR Hiawatha Suite FIRST CSO PERFORMANCE COPLAND Clarinet Concerto DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 9
(From the New World)
Thomas 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.
THOMAS WILKINS
MONTGOMERY Banner RAUTAVAARA Cantus Arcticus FIRST CSO PERFORMANCE ORFF Carmina burana
Carl 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 Composerin-Residence Jessie Montgomery, is a vibrant rhapsody on The Star-Spangled Banner.
ELLIOT MADORE
STEPHEN WILLIAMSON
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March/April
March/April
30 31
6 7 8 11
THU A | G 7:30 FRI CSO AT WHEATON 7:30 EDMAN MEMORIAL CHAPEL 1 SAT B | H 8:00 4 TUE A 7:30
Boccherini, Vivaldi & Mozart 40
THU B | H 7:30 FRI B 1:30 SAT C 8:00 TUE B 7:30
Adès Conducts Adès with Gerstein Chicago Symphony Orchestra Thomas Adès conductor CSO DEBUT Kirill Gerstein piano
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Bernard Labadie conductor Pablo Sáinz-Villegas guitar
VIVALDI Guitar Concerto in
LISZT Mephisto Waltz No. 1 ADÈS Piano Concerto FIRST CSO PERFORMANCE SIBELIUS Overture and Suite No. 1
BOCCHERINI Fandango from
JANÁČEK Taras Bulba
BOCCHERINI Symphony No. 26
in C Minor
D Major, RV 93
from The Tempest
Guitar Quintet No. 4 in D Major
FIRST CSO PERFORMANCE MOZART Symphony No. 40
In 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 returns 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.
Come 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).
13 14 15
THU C | D 7:30 FRI A 1:30 SAT B | G 8:00
Mikko Franck & Hilary Hahn
THOMAS ADÈS
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Mikko Franck conductor Hilary Hahn violin R. STRAUSS Don Juan RAUTAVAARA/AHO Deux Sérénades FIRST CSO PERFORMANCE SARASATE Carmen Fantasy R. STRAUSS Suite from Der Rosenkavalier
CSO 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. Mikko Franck frames the program with two works by Richard Strauss: his thrilling portrait of the notorious Spanish libertine and his loving and graceful tribute to the Viennese waltz.
PABLO SÁINZ-VILLEGAS
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March/April
May
20 21
4 5 6 9
THU A | F 7:30 FRI CSO AT WHEATON 7:30 EDMAN MEMORIAL CHAPEL 22 SAT A | E 8:00 23 SUN A 3:00
Trifonov Plays Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 Chicago Symphony Orchestra Fabien Gabel conductor CSO DEBUT Daniil Trifonov piano LIADOV Kikimora STRAVINSKY Petrushka RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 3
“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.
27 28 29
THU B | I 7:30 FRI D 8:00 SAT B | H 8:00
THU C | E 7:30 FRI C 8:00 SAT A | F 8:00 TUE A 7:30
Vivaldi Gloria Chicago Symphony Orchestra Giovanni Antonini conductor Amanda Forsythe soprano Yulia Van Doren soprano Sasha Cooke mezzo-soprano Chicago Symphony Chorus VIVALDI Sinfonia from
La Senna festeggiante
FIRST CSO PERFORMANCE VIVALDI Magnificat VIVALDI Kyrie FIRST CSO PERFORMANCE VIVALDI Gloria
Experience 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.
Jurowski Conducts Shostakovich 7 Chicago Symphony Orchestra Vladimir Jurowski conductor
AMANDA FORSYTHE
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 7
(Leningrad)
Vladimir Jurowski marks his return to Symphony Center with Shostakovich’s monumental Leningrad Symphony, a loving hymn to the composer’s native city and its heroism amid the 900-day siege during World War II. The vivid Seventh Symphony reverberates with the echoes of war, from the relentless, mechanized rhythms of the first movement to the fragile, victorious strains of the finale.
DANIIL TRIFONOV
GIOVANNI ANTONINI
VLADIMIR JUROWSKI
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May 11 12 13 16
18 19 20 23
THU B | I 7:30 FRI A 1:30 SAT D 8:00 TUE B 7:30
THU C | D 7:30 FRI B 1:30 SAT A | E 8:00 TUE A 7:30
Muti, Montgomery & Rachmaninov 2
Muti, Chen & Mozart Gran Partita
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Riccardo Muti conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Riccardo Muti conductor Robert Chen violin
WAGNER Overture to Tannhäuser MONTGOMERY New Work CSO COMMISSION, WORLD PREMIERE
CIMAROSA Overture to
Il matrimonio segreto
MOZART Violin Concerto No. 4 MOZART Serenade No. 10 (Gran Partita)
RACHMANINOV Symphony No. 2
Rachmaninov’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 a world premiere 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). JESSIE MONTGOMERY
In 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.
25 26 27
THU A | F 7:30 FRI A 1:30 SAT B | G 8:00
Muti, Herbert & Pines of Rome Chicago Symphony Orchestra Riccardo Muti conductor David Herbert timpani CSO SOLO DEBUT MOZART Divertimento in F Major,
K. 138
KRAFT Timpani Concerto No. 1 FIRST CSO PERFORMANCE RESPIGHI Ancient Airs and Dances,
Suite I
RESPIGHI Pines of Rome
Riccardo 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.
ROBERT CHEN DAVID HERBERT
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June 1 2 3 6
15 16 17
THU C | E 7:30 FRI B 1:30 SAT A | F 8:00 TUE B 7:30
Muti, Pokorny & Schubert 9
Debussy La mer & Ravel La valse Chicago Symphony Orchestra David Afkham conductor Vadim Gluzman violin RAVEL Menuet antique SHOSTAKOVICH Violin Concerto No. 1 DEBUSSY La mer RAVEL La valse
David Afkham conducts landmarks of early 20thcentury 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.
8 9 10
THU A | G 7:30 FRI B 1:30 SAT C 8:00
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Riccardo Muti conductor Gene Pokorny tuba J. STRAUSS, JR. Overture to
Indigo and the Forty Thieves
SCHIFRIN Tuba Concerto FIRST CSO PERFORMANCE SCHUBERT Symphony No. 9 (Great)
Schubert’s magnificent final symphony and Johann 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.
23 24 25
THU B | H 7:30 FRI C 8:00 SAT D 8:00
Hrůša Conducts Mahler 9 Chicago Symphony Orchestra Jakub Hrůša conductor MAHLER Symphony No. 9
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.
FRI D 8:00 SAT B | H 8:00 SUN A 3:00
Muti Conducts Beethoven Missa solemnis Chicago Symphony Orchestra Riccardo Muti conductor Erin Morley soprano Alisa Kolosova mezzo-soprano Giovanni Sala tenor Ildar Abdrazakov bass Chicago Symphony Chorus BEETHOVEN Missa solemnis
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.
GENE POKORNY
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Create Your Own Series Choose any three or more concerts that work best for your schedule, taste and budget, and save 15%. Visit cso.org/subscribe or scan this code for a complete list of packages.
Evenings with the CSO Tuesday concerts start at 7:30. Save up to 30%. Tuesday A | 5-Concert Series
Tuesday B | 5-Concert Series
9/27 Muti & Bronfman
10/25 Thielemann Conducts Bruckner 8
11/1 Grieg Piano Concerto & Prokofiev 6
12/6 Stravinsky, Beethoven & Sibelius 2
4/4
Boccherini, Vivaldi & Mozart 40
4/11 Adès Conducts Adès with Gerstein
5/9
Vivaldi Gloria
5/16 Muti, Montgomery & Rachmaninov 2
5/23 Muti, Chen & Mozart Gran Partita
6/6
Debussy La mer & Ravel La valse
Thursday concerts start at 7:30. Save up to 30%. Thursday F | 5-Concert Series
Thursday G | 5-Concert Series
10/13.Amadeus Live
9/22 Muti & Bronfman
11/3. Wagner, Bartók & Vaughan Williams
12/8 Hilary Hahn, Tchaikovsky & Bartók
2/16. Mäkelä Conducts López & Mahler 5
3/16 Carmina burana
4/20. Trifonov Plays Rachmaninov .43.43 Piano Concerto No. 3
3/30 Boccherini, Vivaldi & Mozart 40
5/25. Muti, Herbert & Pines of Rome
6/15 Muti, Pokorny & Schubert 9
Combine F and G for the full 10-concert Thursday A package to save up to 40%!
Thursday H | 5-Concert Series
Thursday I | 5-Concert Series
9/29 Muti Conducts Mozart & Prokofiev
10/27 Grieg Piano Concerto and Prokofiev 6
11/17 Honeck, Capuçon & Shostakovich 5
12/1 Stravinsky, Beethoven & Sibelius 2
2/23 Muti, Fischer & Tchaikovsky Manfred 3/9
Blomstedt Conducts Dvořák 8
4/6
Adès Conducts Adès with Gerstein
4/27 Jurowski Conducts Shostakovich 7
6/8
Hrůša Conducts Mahler 9
5/11 Muti, Montgomery & Rachmaninov 2
Combine H and I for the complete 10-concert Thu B package and save up to 40%!
Thursday D | 5-Concert Series
Thursday E | 5-Concert Series
10/20 Thielemann Conducts Bruckner 8
10/6 Muti, Pollini & Pictures from an Exhibition
11/10 CSO & The Joffrey Ballet 2/9
Shani Conducts Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances
4/13 Mikko Franck & Hilary Hahn 5/18 Muti, Chen & Mozart Gran Partita
12/15 The Sorcerer’s Apprentice & Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony 3/23 Coleridge-Taylor, Copland & Dvořák 9 5/4
Vivaldi Gloria
6/1
Debussy La mer & Ravel La valse
Combine D and E for the complete 10-concert Thu C package and save up to 40%!
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Evenings with the CSO Friday concerts start at 8:00. Save up to 30%. Friday C | 5-Concert Series
Friday D | 5-Concert Series
10/7 Muti, Pollini & Pictures from an Exhibition
10/21 Thielemann Conducts Bruckner 8
11/11 CSO & The Joffrey Ballet
1/6
2/10 Shani Conducts Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances 5/5
Vivaldi Gloria
6/9
Hrůša Conducts Mahler 9
11/4 Wagner, Bartók and Vaughan Williams Alsop Conducts Wolfe: Her Story
4/28 Jurowski Conducts Shostakovich 7 6/23 Muti Conducts Beethoven Missa solemnis
Saturday concerts start at 8:00. Save up to 30%. Saturday C | 5-Concert Series
Saturday D | 5-Concert Series
10/15.Amadeus Live
11/19.Honeck, Capuçon & Shostakovich 5
10/8 Muti, Pollini & Pictures from an Exhibition
6/17. Muti, Pokorny & Schubert 9
5/13 Muti, Montgomery & Rachmaninov 2
Saturday E | 5-Concert Series
Saturday F | 5-Concert Series
7:30 NOTE START TIME
2/25. Muti, Fischer & Tchaikovsky Manfred 12/3 Stravinsky, Beethoven & Sibelius 2 2/18 Mäkelä Conducts López & Mahler 5 4/8. Adès Conducts Adès with Gerstein 6/10 Hrůša Conducts Mahler 9
11/5 Wagner, Bartók and Vaughan Williams 10/1 Muti, Mozart & Prokofiev 12/17 The Sorcerer’s Apprentice & Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony
1/7
3/11 Blomstedt Conducts Dvořák 8
5/6
Vivaldi Gloria
6/3
Debussy La mer & Ravel La valse
4/22 Trifonov Plays Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3
Alsop Conducts Wolfe: Her Story
3/25 Coleridge-Taylor, Copland & Dvořák 9
5/20 Muti, Chen & Mozart Gran Partita Combine E and F for the complete 10-concert Sat A package and save up to 40%!
Saturday G | 5-Concert Series
Saturday H | 5-Concert Series
10/22 Thielemann Conducts Bruckner 8
11/12 CSO & The Joffrey Ballet
12/10 Hilary Hahn, Tchaikovsky & Bartók
2/11 Shani Conducts Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances
3/18 Carmina burana 4/15 Mikko Franck & Hilary Hahn 5/27 Muti, Herbert & Pines of Rome
4/1
Boccherini, Vivaldi & Mozart 40
4/29 Jurowski Conducts Shostakovich 7 6/24 Muti Conducts Beethoven Missa solemnis
Combine G and H for the complete 10-concert Sat B package and save up to 40%! 16
Matinees with the CSO Friday concerts start at 1:30. Save up to 30%. Friday A | 8-Concert Series
Friday B | 8-Concert Series
9/30. Muti Conducts Mozart & Prokofiev
9/23 Muti & Bronfman
10/28.Grieg Piano Concerto & Prokofiev 6
12/9 Hilary Hahn, Tchaikovsky & Bartók
12/2. Stravinsky, Beethoven & Sibelius 2
2/17 Mäkelä Conducts López & Mahler 5
12/16.The Sorcerer’s Apprentice & .43.43 Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony
3/17 Carmina burana
4/7 Adès Conducts Adès with Gerstein 2/24. Muti, Fischer & Tchaikovsky Manfred 5/19 Muti, Chen & Mozart Gran Partita 4/14. Mikko Franck & Hilary Hahn 6/2 Debussy La mer & Ravel La valse 5/12. Muti, Montgomery & Rachmaninov 2 6/16 Muti, Pokorny & Schubert 9 5/26. Muti, Herbert & Pines of Rome
Sunday concerts start at 3:00. Save up to 30%. Sunday A | 6-Concert Series
Tuesday B | 5 Concert Series
11/20 Honeck, Capuçon & Shostakovich 5
3/26 Coleridge-Taylor, Copland & Dvořák 9
12/18 The Sorcerer’s Apprentice & Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony
4/23 Trifonov Plays Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3
3/12 Blomstedt Conducts Dvořák 8
6/25 Muti Conducts Beethoven Missa solemnis
Our Sponsors Maestro Residency Presenter
Zell Family Foundation
Julius N. Frankel Foundation
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association is grateful to these generous individuals, corporations and foundations for their leadership support. Official Airline of the CSO
The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation
Kenneth C. Griffin Charitable Fund Ling Z. and Michael C. Markovitz Anonymous Sargent Family Foundation Schmidt Family Fund The Artist in Residence at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is made possible through a generous gift from James and Brenda Grusecki. The 2022/23 Civic Orchestra of Chicago season is generously sponsored by The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation. Major support for CSO MusicNOW is generously provided by the Zell Family Foundation, Cindy Sargent, the Sally Mead Hands Foundation and the Julian Family Foundation.
Generous support for CSO concerts, guest artists and guest conductors has been provided by the Juli Plant Grainger Fund for Artistic Excellence and the Grainger Fund for Excellence. Generous support for the Chicago Symphony Chorus has been provided by The Grainger Foundation. Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Merry, Merry Chicago! and CSO Tuesday series media partner: CSO at Wheaton performances are generously sponsored by the JCS Arts, Health and Education Fund of DuPage Foundation.
cso.org 17
More Music at Symphony Center Symphony Ball | September 24 Chicago Symphony Orchestra Riccardo Muti conductor Yefim Bronfman piano COLERIDGE-TAYLOR Solemn Prelude MOZART Piano Concerto No. 22 TCHAIKOVSKY 1812 Overture
Riccardo Muti conducts a rousing start to the 2022/23 Season. After opening with Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s lush — and recently rediscovered — Solemn Prelude, the CSO is joined by the formidable Yefim Bronfman in Mozart’s joyous and richly scored piano concerto. The evening ends with a knockout finale: Tchaikovsky’s brilliant 1812 Overture. To enhance your experience with a gala package including a preconcert private reception in Buntrock Hall and postconcert dinner and dancing at The Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, email symphonyball@cso.org or call 312-294-3185.
Merry, Merry Chicago! | December 16-23 Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Alastair Willis conductor Chicago Symphony Chorus Symphony Center’s joyous musical celebration of the season is the perfect holiday tradition for the entire family. Join members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Chorus for a program of traditional carols and festive holiday songs.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Brass | December 18 Internationally recognized for its clarion power and gleaming brilliance, the legendary CSO brass section presents a virtuosic showcase of traditional favorites and symphonic masterworks arranged for brass ensemble.
Visit cso.org/addons or scan this code for a complete list of add-on pricing.
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CSO Classical Curated Series Prices Subscribe and save up to 40%! Choose your preferred concert series and
day of the week, and enjoy stirring Chicago Symphony Orchestra performances. Thursday Evenings A-C
Thursday Evenings D-I
Friday Matinees A&B
Friday Evenings C&D
Saturday Evenings A&B
Saturday Evenings C-H
Sunday Matinees A
Tuesday Evenings A&B
No. of Concerts
10
5
8
5
10
5
6
5
1M
970
530
808
545
980
630
756
485
2M
740
405
640
435
760
480
576
380
3M
630
335
536
345
640
380
456
315
4M
520
275
472
300
530
380
456
260
5M
380
230
448
250
390
290
348
195
1B
2,140
1,105
1,632
1,080
2,140
1,120
1,344
1,060
1L
1,360
715
1,056
715
1,350
795
954
680
2L
1,070
585
848
585
1,070
630
756
550
3L
950
520
776
540
960
565
678
485
4L
820
445
640
445
840
450
540
400
5L
600
340
464
340
620
340
408
310
1U
510
275
464
290
510
340
408
255
SERIES
2U
380
185
288
190
380
215
258
185
1G
380
185
288
190
380
215
258
190
2G
260
140
248
145
260
170
204
135
1T
740
380
624
390
750
430
516
370
2T
510
270
464
290
510
340
408
255
FLYNN GALLERY 1G Gallery 2G Gallery (Partial View) KREHBIEL UPPER BALCONY 1U Upper Balcony 2U Upper Balcony (Partial View) FADIM LOWER BALCONY 1L Lower Balcony 2L Lower Balcony 3L Lower Balcony 4L Lower Balcony 5L Lower Balcony BOX LEVEL
STAGE
MELK MAIN FLOOR 1M Main Floor 2M Main Floor 3M Main Floor 4M Main Floor 5M Main Floor GRAY TERRACE 1T Left and Right 2T Center Left and Center Right
ALL PRINTED PRICES ARE VALID UNTIL JULY 31, 2022, AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE BEGINNING ON THAT DATE. 2U-UPPER BALCONY AND 2G-GALLERY ARE PARTIAL VIEW. SEATING IS SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY AT THE TIME OF SALE. TERRACE SUBSCRIBER SEATS MAY BE RELOCATED IF A CONCERT INVOLVES A SCREEN OR CHORUS. ALL ARTISTS, PROGRAMS, DATES AND TIMES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
cso.org 19
CSO.ORG | 312-294-3000
Curated 5-concert packages start at just $135! Subscribe today for the best seats at the best prices.
Beethoven Missa solemnis | Orff Carmina burana Mussorgsky Pictures from an Exhibition | Vivaldi Gloria Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 | Respighi Pines of Rome
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