THE EPICENTER OF MUSICAL BRILLIANCE

Here, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Center Presents bring the greatest musical artists to the heart of the city to inspire its residents and visitors.

Throughout the year, the CSO displays its musical gifts, performing repertoire from five different centuries and representing a broad range of compositional voices. From the great symphonists — Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, Nielsen, Shostakovich, Sibelius and Tchaikovsky — to musical storytellers such as Holst, Ravel, Rimsky-Korsakov, Strauss, Stravinsky and Wagner, the composers featured on the 2023/24 Season display the communicative range of this revered orchestra. Riccardo Muti returns to Chicago to open the season with two weeks of concerts and the annual Symphony Ball in September. His programs will include works that have been highlights of his tenure as the CSO’s 10th music director, as well as the world premiere of Philip Glass’ The Triumph of the Octagon in recognition of the relationship established with this famed American composer as part of the Orchestra’s ongoing commitment to contemporary music.

The awe-inspiring Chicago Symphony Chorus performs cherished works, including two of the most important oratorios in the repertoire: Handel’s Messiah and Mendelssohn’s dramatic Elijah. Not to be missed are the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus’ performances of Mahler’s transcendent Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection). Also included is one of Brahms’ most admired choral works, his Schicksalslied, or “Song of Destiny,” on a program that is capped by the sopranos and altos of the Chicago Symphony Chorus in the haunting “Neptune” movement of Holst’s The Planets

The Symphony Center Presents series offers ample opportunities to hear both solo and chamber recitals by some of today’s most distinguished artists. The Chamber Music series features two trio performances: one by pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, violinist Lisa Batiashvili and cellist Gautier Capuçon and the other with pianist Emanuel Ax, violinist Leonidas Kavakos and cellist Yo-Yo Ma — the latter unequivocally one of the most celebrated musical friendships of our time. In addition to the anticipated return of violinist Maxim Vengerov, who last performed in Orchestra Hall nearly 20 years ago, Mitsuko Uchida returns with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. The Piano series includes recitals by Sir András Schiff, Hélène Grimaud, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Benjamin Grosvenor, Yefim Bronfman and Evgeny Kissin, as well as the debuts of Bruce Liu and the Jussen brothers in a duo recital. The Orchestra series presents the Staatskapelle Berlin, conducted by the CSO’s ninth music director, Daniel Barenboim, and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.