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: The Planets
    Daniel Harding leads Holst’s The Planets, the interstellar orchestral suite that has inspired generations of sci-fi film composers. Experience the ferocity of “Mars,” the golden song of “Jupiter,” the eerie calm of “Saturn” and the haunting off-stage vocals of the ethereal “Neptune.” The full Chicago Symphony Chorus delights in Brahms’ radiant Schicksalslied (“Song of Destiny”).
    Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/the-planets
    15 min
  • CSO Program Notes: Mahler 1
    Mahler’s First Symphony unfolds with the elemental sounds of nature, foot-stomping folk dances and a stormy but ultimately heroic finale. Conductor Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider opens with the symphony's original second movement, Blumine, notable for its gentle trumpet serenade. Distinguished cellist Jian Wang takes center stage for Bloch’s stirring “Hebraic Rhapsody.”
    Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/mahler-1
    17 min
  • CSO Program Notes: Gershwin & Bernstein
    An exuberant melding of jazz, blues and classical styles, Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F is an ideal vehicle for Illinois native Conrad Tao, “a personality-plus pianist with a fearless technique” (Chicago Classical Review). Bernstein’s beloved West Side Story dances include themes from the songs “Somewhere” and “Maria.” Barber’s soulful overture and Revueltas’ joyfully raucous Sensemayá frame the program.
    Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/gershwin-and-bernstein-west-side-story
    17 min
  • CSO Program Notes: Jaap van Zweden Conducts Beethoven 5
    From its commanding four-note opening to its blazing finish, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony remains the unrivaled expression of struggle and triumph in orchestral music. German baritone Christian Gerhaher, “the foremost art song singer of our time” (The New York Times), performs selections from Mahler’s The Youth’s Magic Horn. Inspired by Hindustani classical music, Nina Shekhar’s shimmering Lumina explores the contrast of light and dark.
    Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/jaap-van-zweden-conducts-beethoven-5
    24 min
  • CSO Program Notes: Muti, Glass & Mendelssohn Italian
    Join Riccardo Muti and the CSO for a sensuous journey to Italy. Richard Strauss’ Aus Italien whisks the listener through the sun-soaked countryside, past Roman ruins and on to sites in Sorrento and Naples. Mendelssohn’s sparkling Italian Symphony gathers impressions of Mediterranean warmth and traditional dances. A world premiere by the venerable American composer Philip Glass opens the program.
    Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/muti-glass-and-mendelssohn-italian
    22 min
  • CSO Program Notes: Muti Conducts The Firebird
    Riccardo Muti and the CSO open the 2023/24 Season with two pieces capturing the fairy-tale splendor of Russian music. Stravinsky’s suite from The Firebird uses a dynamic orchestral palette to depict infernal dances and a haunting lullaby. Liadov’s The Enchanted Lake is a softly iridescent portrait of a moonlit night. Composed at an Austrian lakeside resort, Brahms’ Second Symphony captivates with its warm, sunny melodies.
    Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/muti-conducts-the-firebird
    19 min
  • CSO Program Notes: Muti Conducts 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.
    Learn more: cso.org/performances/22-23/cso-classical/muti-conducts-beethoven-missa-solemnis
    22 min
  • CSO Program Notes: Muti, Pokorny & Schubert 9
    Schubert's magnificent final symphony and J. 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.
    Learn more: cso.org/performances/22-23/cso-classical/muti-pokorny-and-schubert-9
    18 min
  • CSO Program Notes: Hrůša Conducts Mahler 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.
    Learn more: cso.org/performances/22-23/cso-classical/hrusa-conducts-mahler-9
    13 min
  • CSO Program Notes: Debussy La mer & Ravel La valse
    David Afkham conducts landmarks of early 20th-century 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.
    Learn more: cso.org/performances/22-23/cso-classical/debussy-la-mer-and-ravel-la-valse
    13 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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