CSO Audio Program Notes

Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes brings his “effortless command and penetrating clarity” (The New York Times) to Britten’s Piano Concerto, a glittering score composed during the lead-up to World War II. Riccardo Muti frames the program with Richard Strauss’ contemplative “Dreaming by the Fireside,” from his opera Intermezzo, and Schumann’s triumphant Fourth Symphony. Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Laura Prichard in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets required. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/muti-andsnes-britten

Riccardo Muti leads the world premiere of Orpheus Undone by the CSO’s former Mead Composer-in-Residence Missy Mazzoli, whose works are celebrated for their raw emotional authenticity. Also on the program are works by two late-Romantic titans. Bruckner’s awe-inspiring Second Symphony is a perfect companion piece to Mahler’s intimate Rückert-Lieder, sung by Elīna Garanča, whose voice “is one in a million, allying grace and power to a commanding authority” (The Independent). Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Tim Munro in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets required. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/muti-conducts-mazzoli-mahler-with-elina-garanca

Anna Rakitina, in her CSO debut, leads a Tchaikovsky celebration. The dynamic Alisa Weilerstein is the soloist in the Rococo Variations, Tchaikovsky’s graceful homage to the 18th century, and the Pezzo capriccioso, a mercurial, one-movement gem. Capriccio italien is a bustling portrait of Italian life, while selections from The Nutcracker highlight the composer’s gift for creating wondrous dance themes. Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Daniel Schlosberg in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets required. Note: Due to unforeseen scheduling complications, Edo de Waart, originally set to conduct, has had to withdraw from this engagement in Chicago. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/all-tchaikovsky

Jane Glover leads an enchanting program of Baroque and Classical masterpieces. “Dazzling virtuoso” (The New York Times) Paul Jacobs performs one of Handel’s sparkling organ concertos, and the CSO’s Principal Oboe William Welter makes his first CSO solo appearance with Mozart’s expressive Oboe Concerto. Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Laura Prichard in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets required. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/glover-conducts-mozart-haydn-handel

Distinguished conductor Herbert Blomstedt conducts Bruckner’s most popular symphony, with its allusions to the peaceful countryside, hunting horns and a boisterous Austrian folk dance. Martin Helmchen, whose “pliant, quicksilver touch seemed to illuminate every solo passage” (Chicago Classical Review), is the soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17. The graceful score stems from one of the happiest periods in the composer’s career. Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Laura Prichard in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets required. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/blomstedt-conducts-bruckner-4

Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi leads a program of passionate and colorful works featuring Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, a five-movement portrait of romantic obsession, replete with a witches’ sabbath, a guillotine and opium-induced hallucinations. Chopin’s dazzling Second Piano Concerto features Benjamin Grosvenor, hailed by Gramophone magazine as possibly “the most remarkable young pianist of our time.” Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Max Raimi in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets required. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/symphonie-fantastique

Riccardo Muti assembles the combined forces of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chorus and internationally renowned soloists for “the symphony to end all symphonies” (The Guardian), Beethoven’s euphoric Ninth. A masterpiece whose staggering influence can be heard throughout classical music, it concludes with the famous Ode to Joy, which powerfully calls for understanding, peace and universal goodwill. Note: There will be no intermission. Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Johann Buis in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets required. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/muti-conducts-beethoven-9

One of Beethoven’s most reflective and serene creations, the Fourth Piano Concerto is an ideal vehicle for Mitsuko Uchida, who conveys “a sense of intimacy and directness in her playing, as well as a certain quiet grace” (San Francisco Chronicle). Riccardo Muti also conducts Glass’ Symphony No. 11, a colorful, exuberant score that the composer wrote for his own 80th birthday celebration. Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Daniel Schlosberg in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets required. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/muti-uchida-philip-glass SCORED BY GLASS: These concerts are presented in collaboration with the Gene Siskel Film Center. Round out your Glass listening experience with the following film presentations, and celebrate the influence and impact of composer Philip Glass with some favorite Glass scores: Friday, February 11 and Saturday, February 12 at 9:30 p.m., CANDYMAN (1992) Wednesday, February 16 at 8 p.m., INQUIRING NUNS (1968) Saturday, February 19 at 3 p.m., KOYAANISQATSI: LIFE OUT OF BALANCE (1982) Sunday, February 20 at 3 p.m., GLASS: A PORTRAIT OF PHILIP IN 12 PARTS (2007) Details: https://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/glass

A program of rich, Romantic intensity features Rachmaninov’s ravishing Second Piano Concerto, performed by the brilliant Czech pianist Lukáš Vondráček. Elgar’s Enigma Variations are miniature portraits of friends, family members and the composer himself, alternately noble, yearning and blustery in character. Barber’s First Symphony is a mid-century gem, alive with soaring lyricism, bold colors and majestic climaxes. Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Steven Rings in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets required. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/alsop-rachmaninov-piano-concerto-no-2

Riccardo Muti conducts a program of Baroque masterpieces by Vivaldi and Handel. CSO musicians are prominently featured in three defining examples of Vivaldi’s mastery of the concerto form. Concluding the program is Handel’s grand and celebrated Water Music. Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Daniel Schlosberg in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets required. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/muti-conducts-vivaldi-handel-water-music

Muti leads the CSO in suites from two of Tchaikovsky’s most popular ballets, the timeless and romantic Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. Also included in the program are Emil von Reznicek’s delightful overture to his comic opera Donna Diana and Johann Strauss’ regal Emperor Waltz. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/muti-conducts-sleeping-beauty-swan-lake

Riccardo Muti returns to lead the CSO in an all-Beethoven program featuring the composer’s Fifth Symphony, which opens with the most famous theme in classical music. Combined with this iconic work are the light and humorous Eighth Symphony and the stormy Coriolan Overture. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/muti-conducts-beethoven-5-8

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. Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Larry Rapchak in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets required. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/rhapsody-in-blue-bolero

From the awe-inspiring “Hallelujah” chorus to the many thrilling and intimate arias, Handel’s landmark oratorio is an unmissable CSO holiday tradition. Nicholas McGegan, “one of the finest Baroque conductors of his generation” (The Independent), leads a glorious reunion of the assembled forces of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Laura Prichard in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets required. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/handel-messiah

Intrepid superstar and CSO Artist-in-Residence Hilary Hahn returns to perform Dvořák’s Violin Concerto, a work laced with the vibrant colors and dance rhythms of the composer’s native Bohemia, which was given its U.S. premiere by the Orchestra in 1891. Andrés Orozco-Estrada leads a world premiere by Gabriela Lena Frank, named by the Washington Post as one of the 35 most significant female composers in history, and Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, a work that embodies the struggle of triumph over adversity. All ticket holders are invited to a free 30-minute Preconcert Conversation on the Armour Stage, which will start 75 minutes before the scheduled performance time. Learn more: cso.org/performances/21-22/cso-classical/hilary-hahn-dvorak-violin-concerto-tchaikovsky-5/