CSO Audio Program Notes

James Gaffigan, praised for his "exemplary, full-blooded conducting" (Chicago Classical Review), leads the CSO in Shostakovich's rarely heard Eighth Symphony, a profound work that represents the composer's yearning for peace. The CSO's own Cynthia Yeh gives the U.S. premiere of Israeli-born composer Avner Dorman's percussion concerto, which he calls "a celebration of life, energy and an ever-present and eternal rhythm."

The season-long celebration of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth opens with a program dedicated entirely to his music. Riccardo Muti, who conducts all nine Beethoven symphonies this season, begins with the ebullient, classically scaled First. Unprecedented in proportion and epic in scope, the groundbreaking Eroica Symphony demonstrates how powerfully Beethoven redefined the musical language of his time, launching classical music into the romantic era.

Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO Sep 26-28. The season-long celebration of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth opens with a program dedicated entirely to his music. Riccardo Muti, who conducts all nine Beethoven symphonies this season, begins with the ebullient, classically scaled First. Unprecedented in proportion and epic in scope, the groundbreaking Eroica Symphony demonstrates how powerfully Beethoven redefined the musical language of his time, launching classical music into the romantic era.

Riccardo Muti opens his 10th season as music director with two dramatic Russian works—Alexander Scriabin's haunting first orchestral composition and Shostakovich's pensive Sixth Symphony, written during a time of prewar tension. The brilliant Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, hailed by the Wall Street Journal as "one of the most gifted musicians of his generation," performs Edvard Grieg's treasured Piano Concerto.

Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO Sep 19-20. Riccardo Muti opens his 10th season as music director with two dramatic Russian works—Alexander Scriabin's haunting first orchestral composition and Shostakovich's pensive Sixth Symphony, written during a time of prewar tension. The brilliant Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, hailed by the Wall Street Journal as "one of the most gifted musicians of his generation," performs Edvard Grieg's treasured Piano Concerto.

“For more than 40 years, Riccardo Muti has been the king of Verdi conductors, the one who most makes you feel you are hearing the composer’s operas for the very first time” (The New York Times). Through his tenure as music director, Muti has conducted highly acclaimed CSO performances of Verdi operas, including a landmark presentation of Falstaff in 2016. The maestro now leads a concert performance of Verdi’s grandest opera, the triumphant Aida, featuring a spectacular cast of international singers and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO Jun 21-25. "For more than 40 years, Riccardo Muti has been the king of Verdi conductors, the one who most makes you feel you are hearing the composer's operas for the very first time" (The New York Times). Through his tenure as music director, Muti has conducted highly acclaimed CSO performances of Verdi operas, including a landmark presentation of Falstaff in 2016. The maestro now leads a concert performance of Verdi's grandest opera, the triumphant Aida, featuring a spectacular cast of international singers and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

Riccardo Muti leads Gershwin's cinematic An American in Paris and two piccolo concertos featuring the CSO's own Jennifer Gunn. Also on the program is the world premiere of a bass trombone concerto by James Stephenson, a composer of "straightforward, unabashedly beautiful sounds" (The Boston Herald), featuring Charles Vernon of the world-famous Chicago Symphony Orchestra brass.

Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO Jun 13-15. Riccardo Muti leads Gershwin's cinematic An American in Paris and two piccolo concertos featuring the CSO's own Jennifer Gunn. Also on the program is the world premiere of a bass trombone concerto by James Stephenson, a composer of "straightforward, unabashedly beautiful sounds" (The Boston Herald), featuring Charles Vernon of the world-famous Chicago Symphony Orchestra brass.

Welcome to this digital edition of Phillip Huscher's Program Notes for upcoming concerts by the CSO Jun 6-11. In her CSO debut, Australian conductor Simone Young, renowned for her interpretations of both opera and symphonic music, leads a radiantly romantic program that includes excerpts from the final opera of Wagner's Ring Cycle and Schoenberg's rich orchestration of one of Brahms' greatest chamber music compositions.