CSO Audio Program Notes

CSO Audio Program Notes

By Chicago Symphony Orchestra AssociationSociety & CultureMusicHistory
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CSO Audio Program Notes episodes

  • CSO Program Notes: Mozart & Stravinsky
    The versatile Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider leads the CSO as soloist in Mozart’s richly melodic Violin Concerto No. 2 and Kreisler’s wistful Liebesleid. Trading violin bow for baton, Szeps-Znaider conducts Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite, a neoclassical gem that shines a spotlight on the orchestra’s principal players, and Mozart’s Prague Symphony, a work of grand gestures and profound, melodious depth.
    Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/mozart-and-stravinsky
    19 min
  • CSO Program Notes: Sheherazade
    Elim Chan leads Rimsky-Korsakov’s sumptuous symphonic suite Sheherazade, inspired by the legendary heroine and tales of One Thousand and One Nights. Paul Jacobs, “a virtuoso of dazzling technical acumen” (The New York Times), performs Barber’s Toccata festiva, an exuberant showcase for organ containing echoes of J.S. Bach.
    Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/sheherazade
    14 min
  • CSO Program Notes: CSO x Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
    Two 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: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/cso-x-jazz-at-lincoln-center-orchestra
    16 min
  • CSO Program Notes: Chopin & Tchaikovsky
    Tugan 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
    26 min
  • CSO Program Notes: Mendelssohn Elijah
    The 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
    10 min
  • CSO Program Notes: Klaus Mäkelä & Sol Gabetta
    Sol 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 Yuja Wang, who was scheduled to perform Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 2 on this program, has withdrawn from these concerts.
    Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/klaus-makela-and-sol-gabetta
    18 min
  • CSO Program Notes: The Music of Bach
    Be 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
    16 min
  • CSO Program Notes: Mahler 4
    Susanna 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
    18 min
  • CSO Program Notes: Also sprach Zarathustra
    Strauss’ 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
    24 min
  • CSO Program Notes: Gil Shaham Plays Mendelssohn
    Experience 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
    21 min

About CSO Audio Program Notes

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Founded 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.

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