Cso Audio Program Notes

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. Learn more: https://cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/mozart-jupiter-robert-chen-plays-bruch/

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. Learn more: https://cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/mozart-jupiter-robert-chen-plays-bruch/

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 evoke the experience of walking through a New York City neighborhood. Schubert’s Eighth Symphony bursts with memorable themes that surprise and delight at every turn. Michael Tilson Thomas has withdrawn from these performances due to health reasons. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cs…-piano-concerto-no-3/

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 evoke the experience of walking through a New York City neighborhood. Schubert’s Eighth Symphony bursts with memorable themes that surprise and delight at every turn. Michael Tilson Thomas has withdrawn from these performances due to health reasons. Learn more: https://cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/montgomery-schubert-8-prokofiev-piano-concerto-no-3/

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 Symphony No. 3, which shines with youthful vigor. Michael Tilson Thomas has withdrawn from these performances due to health reasons. Learn more: https://cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/shostakovich-schubert-3-prokofiev-piano-concerto-no-1/

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 Symphony No. 3, which shines with youthful vigor. Michael Tilson Thomas has withdrawn from these performances due to health reasons.

Composer Augusta Holmès broke gender barriers in 19th-century Paris, studying with Romantic master César Franck and writing symphonic works on a heroic scale. The sumptuous Night and Love offers a snapshot of her remarkable talents. Saint-Saëns’ richly melodic concerto highlights CSO Principal Cello John Sharp, and Schumann’s Second Symphony expresses triumph after his struggles with illness and depression. Learn more: https://cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/saint-saens-schumann/

Composer Augusta Holmès broke gender barriers in 19th-century Paris, studying with Romantic master César Franck and writing symphonic works on a heroic scale. The sumptuous Night and Love offers a snapshot of her remarkable talents. Saint-Saëns’ richly melodic concerto highlights CSO Principal Cello John Sharp, and Schumann’s Second Symphony expresses triumph after his struggles with illness and depression. Learn more: https://cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/saint-saens-schumann/

Tchaikovsky called his Pathétique Symphony “the best and especially the most open-hearted of my works.” Riccardo Muti leads this masterful and deeply tragic score, which was the last of Tchaikovsky’s works to be premiered during his lifetime. It is preceded by Liadov’s luminous nighttime scene and former Mead Composer-in-Residence Missy Mazzoli’s evocative meditation on her father's experiences as a soldier in Vietnam. Learn more: https://order.cso.org/21933/

Tchaikovsky called his Pathétique Symphony “the best and especially the most open-hearted of my works.” Riccardo Muti leads this masterful and deeply tragic score, which was the last of Tchaikovsky’s works to be premiered during his lifetime. It is preceded by Liadov’s luminous nighttime scene and former Mead Composer-in-Residence Missy Mazzoli’s evocative meditation on her father's experiences as a soldier in Vietnam. Learn more: https://order.cso.org/21933/

Greek virtuoso Leonidas Kavakos performs Brahms’ Violin Concerto, a work that he has recorded with a “wonderful poise and instinctive elegance” (The Guardian). A cornerstone of the violin repertoire, the concerto brims with orchestral drama, rapturous melodies and earthy folk-dance rhythms. Riccardo Muti concludes the program with Beethoven’s exhilarating Seventh Symphony. Learn more: https://order.cso.org/21924/

Greek virtuoso Leonidas Kavakos performs Brahms’ Violin Concerto, a work that he has recorded with a “wonderful poise and instinctive elegance” (The Guardian). A cornerstone of the violin repertoire, the concerto brims with orchestral drama, rapturous melodies and earthy folk-dance rhythms. Riccardo Muti concludes the program with Beethoven’s exhilarating Seventh Symphony. Learn more: https://order.cso.org/21924/

Virtual Preconcert Conversation for Muti Conducts Saint-Georges, Price & Beethoven 3 For tickets and more info: https://order.cso.org/21851/

Riccardo Muti and the CSO reunite! Their first performance together since February 2020 features Beethoven’s stirring Eroica Symphony. The program opens with music from the only surviving opera by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the Guadeloupe-born composer, violinist and champion fencer who dazzled 18th-century Parisian society. Also featured is an enchanting, lyrical gem from the String Quartet in G Major by Florence Price, the first African American woman to have her music played by a major American orchestra — the CSO in 1933. Learn more: https://order.cso.org/21851/

Join us for the Beethoven 9 Facebook Premiere! https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoSymphony/posts/10157359874958049 Riccardo Muti conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Beethoven’s most glorious and jubilant masterpiece. An exhilarating testament to the human spirit, Beethoven’s Ninth bursts with brooding power and kinetic energy and culminates in the exultant hymn, “Ode to Joy.” Learn more: cso.org/beethoven9

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. Learn more: https://order.cso.org/9954/

After leading a 2018 CSO performance of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony full of “tensile strength and spirited dynamism” (Chicago Classical Review), distinguished conductor Herbert Blomstedt returns to conduct Brahms’ radiant Second Symphony. “Scintillating and incisive” (The Straits Times) French pianist Bertrand Chamayou makes his CSO debut with Mozart’s delightful Piano Concerto No. 23. Learn more: https://order.cso.org/9953/

From its expansive opening to its transcendent climax, Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony is one of the most vivid orchestral works of the 20th century. Finnish conductor Hannu Lintu, in his CSO debut, pairs this with the composer’s best-known work, Finlandia. Pekka Kuusisto performs Nielsen’s spirited Violin Concerto. “Nielsen was a folk fiddler and Kuusisto made it show in the gorgeous looseness of his rhythms and stripped-back grit of his sound” (The Guardian). Tickets and more info: https://order.cso.org/9952/