program notes

Manfred Honeck returns to Chicago to conduct three masterpieces from the Austro-German tradition. The lilting dance-rhythms of Haydn’s Symphony No. 93 and rambunctious rhythms of Beethoven’s Seventh, described by Wagner as “the apotheosis of the dance,” frame Richard Strauss’ Don Juan. In Strauss’ depiction of the legendary lover, a brazen horn call announces a swaggering Don Juan, whose numerous romantic conquests lead to a tragic finale.

CSO Program Notes: Beethoven 7

Royal Ballet’s Director Kevin O'Hare gives the inside track on a national dance scene with a plethora of young talent.

For decades, Britain has undoubtedly been one of the most exciting places to be a dancer and a choreographer. The British style is world-renowned, built on the rich heritage of Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan as well as iconic ballerinas like Margot Fonteyn and Darcey Bussell. But ballet training in Britain today looks forwards as well as backwards. For The Royal Ballet’s Director Kevin O’Hare, ‘British dance is having a renaissance.’

Kevin O'Hare on the UK ballet scene

In his Tchaikovsky symphonic series, Riccardo Muti reaches perhaps the most lively: Symphony No. 2, with its light-hearted opening, swaggering second movement processional and joyous finale. Beethoven's noble Triple Concerto artfully showcases the lyrical expressiveness of the violin and cello, beautifully played here by CSO members Stephanie Jeong and Kenneth Olsen and pianist Jonathan Biss.

CSO Program Notes: Muti Conducts Beethoven

Charles Dutoit leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a program brimming with Gallic charm, color and variety. Canadian pianist Louis Lortie is the soloist in Franck's beguiling Symphonic Variations and D'Indy's delightful Symphony on a French Mountain Air. Bookending these works are two of Ravel's most ravishing scores: the sensuous Rapsodie espagnole and the Second Suite from his ballet, Daphnis et Chloe, with its glorious opening dawn music.

CSO Program Notes: Dutoit Conducts Ravel

Revered cellist and CSO Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant Yo-Yo Ma joins Concertmaster Robert Chen for a touching and tender duet in Saint-Saens' La muse et le poete, then returns as soloist in Lalo's noble and lyrical Cello Concerto. In the first half of this program, Charles Dutoit conducts Debussy's otherworldly The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian and Ravel's poignant Valses nobles et sentimentales.

CSO Program Notes: Charles Dutoit and Yo-Yo Ma

"Mitsuko Uchida's annual visit to Orchestra Hall rank among the most life-affirming experiences granted to local concertgoers" (Chicago Tribune). The Japanese pianist, renowned for her Mozart interpretations, returns to play and conduct two of Mozart's most beautiful and uplifting concertos. Uchida also accompanies soprano Dorothea Röschmann in a Schumann song cycle, which movingly traces the intimate thoughts of a woman about her beloved.

CSO Program Notes: Uchida Plays Mozart

Herbert Blomstedt speaks on conducting and recounts two entertaining episodes from the life and career of Fritz Reiner.

Herbert Blomstedt: On Conducting and Fritz Reiner

Performers: Civic Orchestra of Chicago (Christy Kim – flute, Gordon Daole-Wellman – bass clarinet, Wai Chi Tang – Percussion, Pei-yeh Tsai – piano, Maria Arrua – violin, and Nicky Swett – cello)

Program Notes:
Kindling is a reflection on the spontaneous, yet repetitive motion of fire. From the outset of the piece, the ricochet bowing of the cello and the steady pulse of the kick drum stoke the flame, while the violin flickers and flares in response. As the piece builds, a flurry of tremolos and natural harmonics are used to express motion that is both active and static. Eventually, the ensemble, led by the piano and strings, conjures a steady orange glow with a series of phrases that quickly appear and dissipate. The rapid alternations between these distinct phrases coalesce to form a continuous, burning texture.

Kindling for pierrot plus percussion

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.

Visit cso.org for tickets and information.

CSO Program Notes: Beethoven 7

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