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Home , A Night in Vienna, George Daugherty, Julian Rachlin, Manfred Honeck, Marche slave, Paul Lewis (pianist)

THE COMPLETE MASCAGNI CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA HOLST VIVALDI THE FOUR SEASONS GERSHWIN RAVEL BOLÉRO CARMINA BURANA MOZART JUPITER BERLIOZ SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE MAHLER 6 B R A H M S CONCERTO HANDEL WATER MUSIC

FREE EXCHANGES CHICAGO SYMPHONY the best policy ZELL MUSIC DIRECTOR in Chicago! 2019/20 WELCOME

In a season that also marks his tenth as music director, Riccardo Muti conducts all nine Beethoven symphonies, as part of a season-long celebration of the 250th anniversary of the great composer’s birth. Join us for an unparalleled journey from the sparkling early symphonies to the staggering Fifth and dynamic Seventh, culminating in a performance of “the symphony to end all symphonies” (), the euphoric Ninth.

Also featured on the extraordinary 2019/20 season, Muti leads a concert performance of Mascagni’s impassioned opera Cavalleria rusticana. Celebrated guest conductors and artists head to Orchestra Hall to lead the world-renowned CSO in the electrifying Carmina burana, Holst’s thundering The Planets, Gershwin’s beloved Rhapsody in Blue, Ravel’s seductive Boléro and much more!

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2019/20 2 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CSO.ORG 312-294-3000 3 EXPERIENCE THE 2019/20 SEASON

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The BEST prices on the BEST seats Our Thursday H series (page 8) features Vivaldi’s captivating The Four Seasons, Same seats for each concert a night of Strauss waltzes and polkas led by Austrian conductor , Mozart’s joyous Jupiter Symphony and Riccardo Muti leading Beethoven’s staggering Exclusive pricing on additional concerts. Fifth Symphony. Flexible, FEE-FREE ticket exchanges* (curated) Subscribe to our Tuesday B series (page 29) and hear Riccardo Muti conduct Flexible ticket exchanges for just $10 (create your own) Beethoven’s dazzling with the renowned Leonidas Kavakos, Berlioz’s Single handling fee per order impassioned Symphonie fantastique and Tchaikovsky’s triumphant Fourth Symphony $7 CURATED; $10 CREATE YOUR OWN on a program that also features the remarkable violinist Ray Chen.

Access to exclusive offers, presales and events For a weekend option, try the Saturday C series (page 24) with Muti Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony and a concert presentation of Mascagni’s exquisite Preferred parking rate of just $17 at opera Cavalleria rusticana, plus performances of Holst’s powerful The Planets and Grant Park South Garage Shostakovich’s blistering Leningrad Symphony. 15% savings at The Symphony Store

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4 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CSO.ORG 312-294-3000 5 THURSDAY A 10 concerts at 8:00 / 5-concert series THU F or G 26 SEPT Muti Conducts Beethoven 1 & 3 A / F BEETHOVEN Consecration of the House BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 (Eroica) Riccardo Muti conductor SERIES HIGHLIGHT : FEBRUARY 6 10 OCT Mendelssohn & Lutosławski A / G PROKOFIEV Overture on Hebrew Themes MENDELSSOHN Concerto No. 1 Muti Conducts Mascagni MENDELSSOHN Capriccio brillant LUTOSŁAWSKI Concerto for Orchestra conductor Sunwook piano

CavalleriaCavalleria 19 DEC Stravinsky & Dvořák 8 A / F The Chairman STRAVINSKY Violin Concerto rusticanarusticana DVOŘÁK Carnival Overture DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8 Edo de Waart conductor Leila Josefowicz violin Beloved by opera audiences around the world, Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana is an impassioned FEB Muti Conducts Cavalleria rusticana story of tormented love wrapped in music of fervent 6 vibrancy. Riccardo Muti, whose command of A / F MASCAGNI Cavalleria rusticana 19th-century Italian opera is “virtually without peer” Riccardo Muti conductor (Bachtrack), leads concert performances of the Anita Rachvelishvili mezzo-soprano santuzza complete one-act opera with the Chicago Symphony Piero Pretti tenor turiddu Luca Salsi baritone alfio Orchestra and Chorus and an international cast. Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director 27 FEB Sibelius & Nielsen: A Nordic Celebration A / G SIBELIUS Finlandia NIELSEN Violin Concerto NIELSEN Helios Overture SIBELIUS Symphony No. 5 Hannu Lintu conductor Pekka Kuusisto violin NOTES ON THIS SERIES 2 APR Brahms 4 Sept 26 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 A / G ADÈS Dances from Powder Her Face symphonies this season, begins with the ebullient, classically scaled First. Unprecedented DVOŘÁK Piano Concerto BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 conductor piano in proportion and epic in scope, the groundbreaking Eroica Symphony demonstrates how Jakub Hrůša Martin Helmchen powerfully Beethoven redefined the musical language of his time, launching classical music into the romantic era. 16 APR Symphonie fantastique A / F R. STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks Feb 27 Fr om its expansive opening to its transcendent climax, Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony is one R. STRAUSS Burlesque BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique of the most vivid orchestral works of the 20th century. Finnish conductor Hannu Lintu, conductor Joseph Moog piano in his CSO debut, pairs this with the composer’s best-known work, Finlandia. Pekka Kuusisto performs Nielsen’s spirited Violin Concerto. “Nielsen was a folk fiddler and Kuusisto made 30 APR Muti Conducts Beethoven 4 & 7 it show in the gorgeous looseness of his rhythms and stripped-back grit of his sound” A / G MAZZOLI Orpheus Undone world premiere, cso commission (The Guardian). BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 4 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 Riccardo Muti conductor Apr 2 Jakub Hrůša leads the CSO in an eclectic program ranging from orchestral dances from Thomas Adès’ breakthrough opera, Powder Her Face, to Brahms’ transcendent final MAY All-Tchaikovsky symphony. Martin Helmchen, whose interpretations are “beautifully realized, revealing 14 a kaleidoscopic array of shapes and colors” (Chicago Tribune), performs Dvořák’s dramatic A / F TCHAIKOVSKY TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto and vividly melodic Piano Concerto. TCHAIKOVSKY TCHAIKOVSKY Selections from The Apr 16 Emmanuel Krivine conducts Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, which portrays an artist’s Jonathan Stockhammer conductor Robert Chen violin obsessive, self-destructive passion for his beloved. Two colorful works by Richard Strauss include the mischievous Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks and the delightful, rarely heard 4 JUN Burlesque, featuring rising German sensation Joseph Moog. A / G MENDELSSOHN The Hebrides Overture MOZART Piano Concerto No. 17 R. STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben May 14 Hear sparkling selections from and the dazzling Violin Concerto, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider conductor Piotr Anderszewski piano performed by CSO Concertmaster Robert Chen, in an all-Tchaikovsky program that exemplifies the Russian master’s multi-faceted music, from the warm and colorful Capriccio italien, inspired by a trip to Rome, to the characteristically Russian Marche slave.

6 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CSO.ORG 312-294-3000 7 THURSDAY B 10 concerts at 8:00 / 5-concert series THU H or I 17 OCT Vivaldi The Four Seasons B / H MOZART Divertimento in D Major, K. 136 PIAZZOLLA, ARR. DESYATNIKOV The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires conductor and violin SERIES HIGHLIGHT : FEBRUARY 20 7 NOV Muti Conducts Brahms Double Concerto B / I WAGNER Overture to The Flying Dutchman BRAHMS Double Concerto SCHUMANN Symphony No. 3 (Rhenish) Riccardo Muti conductor Stephanie Jeong violin mutimutiConducts Kenneth Olsen 21 NOV Holst The Planets B / I LEE III Sukkot Through Orion’s Nebula BARBER Two Scenes from Antony and Cleopatra HOLST The Planets Juanjo Mena conductor Sally Matthews soprano & Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director Beethoven DEC A Night in : Honeck Conducts Mozart & Strauss 2 5 12 Opening with the most famous four notes in all of classical music, B / H BATES Resurrexit MOZART Piano Concerto No. 21 Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is a staggering masterwork that Works by JOHANN STRAUSS, JR. and JOSEF STRAUSS became a symphonic blueprint for all subsequent composers. Manfred Honeck conductor piano Riccardo Muti leads a program that also features the composer’s buoyant, humorous Second Symphony and a world premiere 20 FEB Muti Conducts Beethoven 2 & 5 concerto performed by CSO Bass J. Lawrie Bloom. B / H BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2 BACRI Ophelia’s Tears world premiere, cso commission BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 Riccardo Muti conductor J. Lawrie Bloom

NOTES ON THIS SERIES 5 MAR Blomstedt Conducts Brahms 2 Nov 21 Juanjo Mena conducts the CSO in a program featuring Holst’s powerful and haunting B / H MOZART Piano Concerto No. 23 BRAHMS Symphony No. 2 The Planets. Sally Matthews, a soprano of “incandescent verve” (The Times, ), Herbert Blomstedt conductor Bertrand Chamayou piano performs two scenes from Barber’s 1966 opera that opened the ’s new house at . Detroit-based composer James Lee III’s celebratory Sukkot Through 9 APR van Zweden Conducts Mahler 6 Orion’s Nebula illustrates an ancient Hebrew harvest festival refracted through the lens of B / I MAHLER Symphony No. 6 the Book of Revelation. conductor

Dec 12 Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck leads a program of richly melodic music 7 MAY Carmina burana by the Strauss family and Mozart’s virtuosic Piano Concerto No. 21 featuring Jan Lisiecki, B / I SAINT-SAËNS Danse macabre whose “pristine, lyrical and intelligent playing shows uncommon maturity” (The New ROUSSEL Suite No. 2 from Bacchus et Ariane ORFF Carmina burana York Times). Former Mead Composer-in-Residence calls his new work Alain Altinoglu conductor Elena Sancho-Pereg soprano Resurrexit, written in honor of Manfred Honeck’s 60th birthday, “a theatrical and fast- Benjamin Bliss tenor Elliot Madore baritone paced conjuring of the classic Resurrection narrative.” Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director Chicago Children’s Josephine Lee artistic director Mar 5 A fter leading a 2018 CSO performance of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony full of “tensile strength and spirited dynamism” (Chicago Classical Review), distinguished MAY Mozart Jupiter Symphony conductor Herbert Blomstedt returns to conduct Brahms’ soaring Second Symphony. 21 “Scintillating and incisive” (The Straits Times) French pianist Bertrand Chamayou B / H HAYDN Overture to L’isola disabitata makes his CSO debut with Mozart’s delightful Piano Concerto No. 23. BACH Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, BWV 1052 BACH Keyboard Concerto No. 5 in F Minor, BWV 1056 May 7 Opening with one of the most recognizable choruses in classical music, Carl Orff’s visceral MOZART Symphony No. 41 (Jupiter) oratorio Carmina burana is an exhilarating setting of medieval poems. Beginning a program Bernard Labadie conductor Beatrice Rana piano of spirited storytelling is Saint-Saëns’ Danse macabre, a chilling dance with Death on All Hallow’s Eve, followed by the sumptuous Second Suite from Roussel’s about the 11 JUN Muti Conducts Beethoven 6 & 8 legendary abduction and enchantment of Ariadne. B / I BEETHOVEN Overture to The Ruins of BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 8 May 21 A masterwork of unrestrained joy, Mozart’s last symphony is one of the greatest in the BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral) repertoire. Bernard Labadie conducts the Jupiter Symphony along with a dramatic overture Riccardo Muti conductor by Haydn and two early keyboard concertos by Bach featuring rising star pianist Beatrice Rana in her CSO debut.

8 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CSO.ORG 312-294-3000 9 THURSDAY C 10 concerts at 8:00 / 5-concert series THU D or E 19 SEPT Muti, Andsnes & Grieg Piano Concerto C / E MENDELSSOHN Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage Overture GRIEG Piano Concerto SCRIABIN Rêverie SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 6 SERIES HIGHLIGHT : MARCH 12 Riccardo Muti conductor piano

3 OCT Shostakovich 8 C / D DORMAN Eternal Rhythm united states premiere SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 8 Rhapsody James Gaffigan conductor Cynthia Yeh percussion 24 OCT Brahms 3 in Blue C / D HAYDN Symphony No. 44 (Mourning) R. STRAUSS Death and Transfiguration BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 David Afkham conductor & 5 DEC Higdon & Tchaikovsky 4 C / E HIGDON blue cathedral WIENIAWSKI Violin Concerto No. 1 TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 In aBoléro vibrant program of classical music inspired by the John Storgårds conductor Ray Chen violin revolution of the 20th century, two of George Gershwin’s iconic works are paired with one he undoubtedly influenced, 30 JAN Lewis Plays Beethoven Ravel’s jazzy Piano Concerto in G Major. Ravel’s mesmerizing C / D TIPPETT Little Music for String Orchestra Boléro brings the program to a rousing close. BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1 TIPPETT Praeludium for Brass, and Percussion BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 Sir Andrew Davis conductor piano

NOTES ON THIS SERIES 12 MAR Rhapsody in Blue & Boléro C / E GERSHWIN, ARR. BENNETT Porgy and Bess, A Symphonic Picture Sept 19 Riccar do 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 GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue Symphony, written during a time of prewar tension. Hailed by the Wall Street Journal as “one RAVEL Piano Concerto in G Major RAVEL Boléro conductor piano of the most gifted musicians of his generation,” the brilliant Leif Ove Andsnes performs André de Ridder Inon Barnatan Edvard Grieg’s treasured Piano Concerto. 26 MAR Bach & Handel Oct 3 James Gaffigan, praised for his “exemplary, full-blooded conducting” (Chicago Classical C / D BACH Orchestral Suite No. 3 HANDEL Selected Arias Review), leads the CSO in Shostakovich’s rarely heard Eighth Symphony, a profound work PURCELL Chacony in G Minor that represents the composer’s yearning for peace. The CSO’s own Cynthia Yeh gives the PURCELL Dido’s Lament from Dido and Aeneas U.S. premiere of Israeli-born composer Avner Dorman’s percussion concerto, which he calls HANDEL Suite No. 2 from Water Music “a celebration of life, energy and an ever-present and eternal rhythm.” Nicholas Kraemer conductor and harpsichord Amanda Forsythe soprano Iestyn Davies countertenor Oct 24 Following a “blistering” (Chicago Tribune) CSO podium debut, David Afkham returns to lead a diverse program featuring Haydn’s emotionally charged Mourning Symphony, Strauss’ 23 APR Muti, Fischer & Brahms Violin Concerto tone poem portraying a man’s journey through death and Brahms’ radiant Third Symphony, C / E BRAHMS Violin Concerto STILL Mother and Child which Clara Schumann described as “one beat of the heart, every movement a jewel!” PRICE Symphony No. 3 Riccardo Muti conductor violin Dec 5 Taking inspiration from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Tchaikovsky’s Fourth explores fate, progressing from dark despair to defiant triumph. John Storgårds leads this powerfully 28 MAY Mälkki Conducts Beethoven & Mahler 4 expressive work, along with the first CSO performance of the deeply moving blue cathedral C / E BEETHOVEN Namensfeier Overture BEETHOVEN Ah! perfido by Jennifer Higdon, winner of the 2018 Nemmers Prize in Music Composition. The dazzling MAHLER Symphony No. 4 Ray Chen, making his CSO subscription series debut, brings his “liquid tone that carries Susanna Mälkki conductor Camilla Tilling soprano with it emotional depth of great intimacy” (The Huffington Post) to the youthful bravura of Wieniawski’s First Violin Concerto. 18 JUN Muti Conducts Beethoven 9 C / D BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 March 26 An evening of baroque masterpieces, led by conductor Nicholas Kraemer from the Riccardo Muti conductor Elena Stikhina soprano harpsichord, features excerpts from operas and oratorios by Handel and Purcell, including Jennifer Johnson Cano mezzo-soprano Daniel Johansson tenor the ever-popular Water Music. Opening the program is Bach’s best-known orchestral suite, Franz-Josef Selig bass which includes the much-loved “Air on the G String.” Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director

10 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CSO.ORG 312-294-3000 11 FRIDAY A 8 concerts at 1:30 20 SEPT Muti, Andsnes & Grieg Piano Concerto MENDELSSOHN Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage Overture GRIEG Piano Concerto SCRIABIN Rêverie SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 6 SERIES HIGHLIGHT : JUNE 12 Riccardo Muti conductor Leif Ove Andsnes piano

11 OCT Mendelssohn & Lutosławski PROKOFIEV Overture on Hebrew Themes MENDELSSOHN Piano Concerto No. 1 MENDELSSOHN Capriccio brillant LUTOSŁAWSKI Concerto for Orchestra Muti Conducts Kirill Karabits conductor Sunwook Kim piano 6 DEC Higdon & Tchaikovsky 4 Beethoven 6 8 HIGDON blue cathedral WIENIAWSKI Violin Concerto No. 1 Riccardo Muti’s complete Beethoven symphonic TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 cycle continues with the charming Sixth and John Storgårds conductor Ray Chen violin light-hearted Eighth. The Eighth, which Beethoven called his “little” symphony, is also one of his most DEC Stravinsky & Dvořák 8 inventive and enigmatic. Composed at the same time 20 as his blazing Fifth Symphony, the bucolic Pastoral JOHN ADAMS Symphony shows another side of Beethoven, replete STRAVINSKY Violin Concerto with sounds of the countryside and a passing storm. DVOŘÁK Carnival Overture DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8 Edo de Waart conductor Leila Josefowicz violin

31 JAN Lewis Plays Beethoven TIPPETT Little Music for String Orchestra BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1 NOTES ON THIS SERIES TIPPETT Praeludium for Brass, Bells and Percussion BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 Oct The sensational young Korean pianist Sunwook Kim, acclaimed for his “ability to shift from 11 Sir Andrew Davis conductor Paul Lewis piano fantasy to fireworks and back in a gasp” (The News, Portsmouth), makes his CSO debut with two vivacious works by Mendelssohn—the glittering Piano Concerto No. 1 and virtuosic 10 APR van Zweden Conducts Mahler 6 Capriccio brillant. Ukrainian conductor Kirill Karabits, in his CSO subscription series debut, leads Lutosławski’s melodic, folklore-inspired Concerto for Orchestra. MAHLER Symphony No. 6 Jaap van Zweden conductor Dec 6 Taking inspiration from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Tchaikovsky’s Fourth explores fate, progressing from dark despair to defiant triumph. John Storgårds leads this powerfully 22 MAY Mozart Jupiter Symphony expressive work, along with the first CSO performance of the deeply moving blue cathedral HAYDN Overture to L’isola disabitata by Jennifer Higdon, winner of the 2018 Nemmers Prize in Music Composition. The dazzling BACH Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, BWV 1052 Ray Chen, making his CSO subscription series debut, brings his “liquid tone that carries BACH Keyboard Concerto No. 5 in F Minor, BWV 1056 with it emotional depth of great intimacy” (The Huffington Post) to the youthful bravura of MOZART Symphony No. 41 (Jupiter) Wieniawski’s First Violin Concerto. Bernard Labadie conductor Beatrice Rana piano

Dec 20 Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony is a lyrical masterpiece that The Guardian calls “35 minutes 12 JUN Muti Conducts Beethoven 6 & 8 of life-enhancing joy.” Edo de Waart conducts this profound work, along with John Adams’ BEETHOVEN Overture to The Ruins of Athens exuberant “foxtrot for orchestra,” an outtake from his opera . The phenomenally BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 8 gifted Leila Josefowicz returns to perform Stravinsky’s brilliant neoclassical Violin Concerto. BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral) Jan 31 Renowned English pianist Paul Lewis returns to perform two of Beethoven’s extraordinary Riccardo Muti conductor piano concertos—the good-humored First and the intricate Fourth. Sir Andrew Davis, music director of Lyric Opera of Chicago and “a Tippett conductor of proven pedigree and insight” (Gramophone), leads two fascinating works by the 20th-century English composer.

Apr 10 Featuring some of the most passionate and heart-wrenching music he ever composed, Mahler’s Sixth Symphony is famous for the thunderous hammer blows of fate in its finale. Jaap van Zweden, music director of the , returns to conduct this tour de force with the CSO, whose “musical DNA is closely intertwined with Mahler” (Chicago Tribune).

12 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CSO.ORG 312-294-3000 13 FRIDAY B 8 concerts at 1:30 27 SEPT Muti Conducts Beethoven 1 & 3 BEETHOVEN Consecration of the House Overture BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 (Eroica) SERIES HIGHLIGHT : SEPTEMBER 27 Riccardo Muti conductor 18 OCT Vivaldi The Four Seasons MOZART Divertimento in D Major, K. 136 PIAZZOLLA, ARR. DESYATNIKOV The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires Muti Conducts Julian Rachlin conductor and violin 1 NOV Muti, Kavakos & Beethoven Violin Concerto BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto RANDS DREAM for Orchestra world premiere, cso commission 1&3 STRAVINSKY Divertimento from The Fairy’s Kiss Riccardo Muti conductor Leonidas Kavakos violin The season-long celebration of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth opens with a program dedicated entirely to 13 DEC A Night in Vienna: Honeck Conducts Mozart & Strauss his music. Riccardo Muti, who conducts all nine Beethoven BATES Resurrexit MOZART Piano Concerto No. 21 symphonies this season, begins with the ebullient, classically Works by JOHANN STRAUSS, JR. and JOSEF STRAUSS scaled First. Unprecedented in proportion and epic in scope, Manfred Honeck conductor Jan Lisiecki piano the groundbreaking Eroica Symphony demonstrates how powerfully Beethoven redefined the musical language of his 6 MAR Blomstedt Conducts Brahms 2 time, launching classical music into the romantic era. MOZART Piano Concerto No. 23 BRAHMS Symphony No. 2 Herbert Blomstedt conductor Bertrand Chamayou piano

3 APR Brahms 4 ADÈS Dances from Powder Her Face NOTES ON THIS SERIES DVOŘÁK Piano Concerto BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 Jakub Hrůša conductor Martin Helmchen piano Oct 18 A captivating program of music by Vivaldi, Mozart and Piazzolla features the CSO debut of Julian Rachlin, a violinist of “brilliant high-octane technique” (The New York Times). 17 APR Symphonie fantastique Rachlin conducts and performs on two vastly different incarnations of The Four Seasons— R. STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks Vivaldi’s pictorial baroque masterpiece and Piazzolla’s tango-inspired take. R. STRAUSS Burlesque BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique Emmanuel Krivine conductor Joseph Moog piano Nov 1 The celebration continues with Beethoven’s dazzling Violin Concerto performed by the renowned Leonidas Kavakos, “the most deeply satisfying violinist performing today” 5 JUN Ein Heldenleben (Philadelphia Inquirer). Riccardo Muti conducts this towering work alongside Stravinsky’s MENDELSSOHN The Hebrides Overture imaginative homage to Tchaikovsky and the world premiere of a work by Pulitzer Prize- MOZART Piano Concerto No. 17 R. STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben winning composer Bernard Rands. Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider conductor Piotr Anderszewski piano Dec 13 Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck leads a program of richly melodic dance music by the Strauss family and Mozart’s virtuosic Piano Concerto No. 21 featuring Jan Lisiecki, whose “pristine, lyrical and intelligent playing shows uncommon maturity” (The New York Times). Former Mead Composer-in-Residence Mason Bates calls his new work Resurrexit, written in honor of Manfred Honeck’s 60th birthday, “a theatrical and fast- paced conjuring of the classic Resurrection narrative.”

Mar 6 A fter leading a 2018 CSO performance of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony full of “tensile strength and spirited dynamism” (Chicago Classical Review), distinguished conductor Herbert Blomstedt returns to conduct Brahms’ soaring Second Symphony. “Scintillating and incisive” (The Straits Times) French pianist Bertrand Chamayou makes his CSO debut with Mozart’s delightful Piano Concerto No. 23.

Jun 5 Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider makes a welcome return to lead the CSO in one of its signature pieces, the exuberant Ein Heldenleben, which tells the heroic story of a man grappling with fate through music of sumptuous beauty and warmth. Piotr Anderszewski brings his “articulate, bold and beautiful” (Gramophone) rendition of Mozart’s spirited Piano Concerto No. 17.

14 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CSO.ORG 312-294-3000 15 FRIDAY C 5 concerts at 8:00 FRIDAY D 5 concerts at 8:00

SERIES HIGHLIGHT : MAY 29 SERIES HIGHLIGHT : MARCH 20

Russian conductor returns to the CSO in one of Shostakovich’s most celebrated symphonies. conducts Completed in 1941, while Leningrad was under siege MÄLKKI by the German army, it is a monumental work of shattering power and unwavering resistance. “Gergiev’s approach to Shostakovich’s symphony proved gripping, driving Beethoven & the big moments home thrillingly” (The New York Times). Mahler 4 GergievGergiev CONDUCTS Susanna Mälkki returns to the Orchestra Hall podium for Mahler’s magnificent Fourth Symphony, which portrays a journey toward innocence concluding with ShostakovichShostakovich “The Heavenly Life” sung by “luminous soprano” (The New York Times) Camilla Tilling. Two rarely heard Beethoven works—the dramatic concert aria Ah! perfido and the grand Namensfeier Overture—complete the program. LeningradLeningrad

4 OCT Shostakovich 8 25 OCT Brahms 3 DORMAN Eternal Rhythm united states premiere HAYDN Symphony No. 44 (Mourning) SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 8 R. STRAUSS Death and Transfiguration BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 James Gaffigan conductor Cynthia Yeh percussion David Afkham conductor

7 FEB Muti Conducts Cavalleria rusticana 21 FEB Muti Conducts Beethoven 2 & 5 MASCAGNI Cavalleria rusticana BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2 Riccardo Muti conductor BACRI Ophelia’s Tears world premiere, cso commission Anita Rachvelishvili mezzo-soprano santuzza BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 Piero Pretti tenor turiddu Luca Salsi baritone alfio Riccardo Muti conductor J. Lawrie Bloom bass clarinet Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director 20 MAR Gergiev Conducts Shostakovich Leningrad 27 MAR Bach & Handel SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 7 (Leningrad) BACH Orchestral Suite No. 3 HANDEL Selected Arias Valery Gergiev conductor PURCELL Chacony in G Minor PURCELL Dido’s Lament from Dido and Aeneas 24 APR Muti, Fischer & Brahms Violin Concerto HANDEL Suite No. 2 from Water Music BRAHMS Violin Concerto STILL Mother and Child Nicholas Kraemer conductor and harpsichord PRICE Symphony No. 3 Amanda Forsythe soprano Iestyn Davies countertenor Riccardo Muti conductor Julia Fischer violin

29 MAY Mälkki Conducts Beethoven & Mahler 4 8 MAY Carmina burana BEETHOVEN Namensfeier Overture BEETHOVEN Ah! perfido SAINT-SAËNS Danse macabre MAHLER Symphony No. 4 ROUSSEL Suite No. 2 from Bacchus et Ariane ORFF Carmina burana Susanna Mälkki conductor Camilla Tilling soprano Alain Altinoglu conductor Elena Sancho-Pereg soprano Benjamin Bliss tenor Elliot Madore baritone 19 JUN Muti Conducts Beethoven 9 Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 Chicago Children’s Choir Josephine Lee artistic director Riccardo Muti conductor Elena Stikhina soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano mezzo-soprano Daniel Johansson tenor Franz-Josef Selig bass Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director

16 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CSO.ORG 312-294-3000 17 250th Birthday BEETHOVEN’S Celebration

Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra September 26–28 perform signature works by in honor Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3, of the approaching 250th anniversary of his birth. Consecration of the House Overture Riccardo Muti conductor At the center of the celebration is Riccardo Muti conducting THU A/F, FRI B, SAT D the nine iconic symphonies of Beethoven throughout the November 1–5 2019/20 season. Each symphony stands as a pillar of Violin Concerto the repertoire; collectively they represent the apex of artistic Riccardo Muti conductor achievement, synthesizing all musical development that Leonidas Kavakos violin FRI B, SAT A/F, TUE B preceded them and creating a wake that would influence all music to follow. January 30–February 4 Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 4 This season, immerse yourself in some of the most stirring, Sir Andrew Davis conductor dazzling and revolutionary music of all time. Paul Lewis piano THU C/D, FRI A, SAT A/F, TUE A

February 20–23 Symphonies Nos. 2 & 5 Riccardo Muti conductor THU B/H, FRI D, SAT A/E, SUN A

April 30–May 3 Symphonies Nos. 4 & 7 Riccardo Muti conductor THU A/G, SAT B/G, SUN A

May 28–30 Namensfeier Overture & Ah! perfido Susanna Mälkki conductor Camilla Tilling soprano THU C/E, FRI C, SAT B/G

June 11–13 Symphonies Nos. 6 & 8, Overture to The Ruins of Athens “ He himself is neither classic nor romantic; Riccardo Muti conductor “Music should strike fire THU B/I, FRI A, SAT C

he is Beethoven, and his figure towers June 18–21 from the heart of man.” like a colossus astride the two centuries.” Symphony No. 9 ludwig van beethoven Riccardo Muti conductor donald j. grout, history of western music Chicago Symphony Chorus Learn more and view all of the Symphony Duain Wolfe chorus director Center Beethoven celebration THU C/D, FRI C, SAT B/H, SUN A programming at cso.org/Beethoven250. landscape painting: view of vienna from the belvedere (detail) (1759–60) by bernardo belloto kunsthistorisches museum, vienna/©mondadori electa/bridgeman images

18 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CSO.ORG 312-294-3000 19 SATURDAY A 10 concerts at 8:00 / 5-concert series SAT E or F 12 OCT Mendelssohn & Lutosławski A / E PROKOFIEV Overture on Hebrew Themes MENDELSSOHN Piano Concerto No. 1 MENDELSSOHN Capriccio brillant SERIES HIGHLIGHT : MAY 9 LUTOSŁAWSKI Concerto for Orchestra Kirill Karabits conductor Sunwook Kim piano

2 NOV Muti, Kavakos & Beethoven Violin Concerto A / F BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto RANDS DREAM for Orchestra world premiere, cso commission Carmina STRAVINSKY Divertimento from The Fairy’s Kiss Riccardo Muti conductor Leonidas Kavakos violin

burana 7 DEC Higdon & Tchaikovsky 4 Opening with one of the most recognizable A / E HIGDON blue cathedral choruses in classical music, Carl Orff’s visceral WIENIAWSKI Violin Concerto No. 1 oratorio Carmina burana is an exhilarating TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 setting of medieval poems. Beginning a program John Storgårds conductor Ray Chen violin of spirited storytelling is Saint-Saëns’ Danse macabre, a chilling dance with Death on All 1 FEB Lewis Plays Beethoven Hallow’s Eve, followed by the sumptuous Second A / F TIPPETT Little Music for String Orchestra Suite from Roussel’s ballet about the legendary BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1 abduction and enchantment of Ariadne. TIPPETT Praeludium for Brass, Bells and Percussion BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 Sir Andrew Davis conductor Paul Lewis piano

22 FEB Muti Conducts Beethoven 2 & 5 A / E BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2 NOTES ON THIS SERIES BACRI Ophelia’s Tears world premiere, cso commission BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 Oct The sensational young Korean pianist Sunwook Kim, acclaimed for his “ability to shift from 12 Riccardo Muti conductor J. Lawrie Bloom bass clarinet fantasy to fireworks and back in a gasp” (The News, Portsmouth), makes his CSO debut with two vivacious works by Mendelssohn—the glittering Piano Concerto No. 1 and virtuosic 7 MAR Blomstedt Conducts Brahms 2 Capriccio brillant. Ukrainian conductor Kirill Karabits, in his CSO subscription series debut, leads Lutosławski’s melodic, folklore-inspired Concerto for Orchestra. A / F MOZART Piano Concerto No. 23 BRAHMS Symphony No. 2 Herbert Blomstedt conductor Bertrand Chamayou piano Nov 2 The 250th birthday celebration continues with Beethoven’s dazzling Violin Concerto performed by the renowned Leonidas Kavakos, “the most deeply satisfying violinist 4 APR Brahms 4 performing today” (Philadelphia Inquirer). Riccardo Muti conducts this towering work A / F ADÈS Dances from Powder Her Face alongside Stravinsky’s imaginative homage to Tchaikovsky and the world premiere DVOŘÁK Piano Concerto BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 of a work by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Bernard Rands. Jakub Hrůša conductor Martin Helmchen piano

Feb 1 R enowned English pianist Paul Lewis returns to perform two of Beethoven’s extraordinary 25 APR Muti, Fischer & Brahms Violin Concerto piano concertos—the good-humored First and the intricate Fourth. Sir Andrew Davis, A / E BRAHMS Violin Concerto STILL Mother and Child music director of Lyric Opera of Chicago and “a Tippett conductor of proven pedigree and PRICE Symphony No. 3 insight” (Gramophone), leads two fascinating works by the 20th-century English composer. Riccardo Muti conductor Julia Fischer violin Apr 25 Riccardo Muti presents two groundbreaking pieces by the first African Americans to have symphonic works performed by major . William Grant Still’s Mother and Child 9 MAY Carmina burana is a touching work based on a painting by Sargent Johnson. Florence Price’s expressive A / F SAINT-SAËNS Danse macabre Third Symphony gives a powerful voice to the African American experience. ROUSSEL Suite No. 2 from Bacchus et Ariane ORFF Carmina burana Julia Fischer brings her “burnished and splendid tone” () to Brahms’ Alain Altinoglu conductor Elena Sancho-Pereg soprano lyrical Violin Concerto. Benjamin Bliss tenor Elliot Madore baritone Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director Jun 6 Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider makes a welcome return to lead the CSO in one of its signature pieces, Chicago Children’s Choir Josephine Lee artistic director the exuberant Ein Heldenleben, which tells the heroic story of a man grappling with fate through music of sumptuous beauty and warmth. Piotr Anderszewski brings his “articulate, 6 JUN Ein Heldenleben bold and beautiful” (Gramophone) rendition of Mozart’s spirited Piano Concerto No. 17. A / E MENDELSSOHN The Hebrides Overture MOZART Piano Concerto No. 17 R. STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider conductor Piotr Anderszewski piano

20 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CSO.ORG 312-294-3000 21 SATURDAY B 10 concerts at 8:00 / 5-concert series SAT G or H 5 OCT Shostakovich 8 B / H DORMAN Eternal Rhythm united states premiere SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 8 SERIES HIGHLIGHT : MAY 2 James Gaffigan conductor Cynthia Yeh percussion 9 NOV Muti Conducts Brahms Double Concerto B / G WAGNER Overture to The Flying Dutchman BRAHMS Double Concerto SCHUMANN Symphony No. 3 (Rhenish) Riccardo Muti conductor Stephanie Jeong violin conductsconducts Kenneth Olsen cello M M utiuti 14 DEC A Night in Vienna: Honeck Conducts Mozart & Strauss B / G BATES Resurrexit MOZART Piano Concerto No. 21 Works by JOHANN STRAUSS, JR. and JOSEF STRAUSS BeethovenBeethoven 44 && 77 Manfred Honeck conductor Jan Lisiecki piano 14 MAR Rhapsody in Blue & Boléro Continuing the celebration this season, Riccardo Muti conducts two more B / G GERSHWIN, ARR. BENNETT Porgy and Bess, A Symphonic Picture of Beethoven’s immortal symphonies—the graceful Fourth, described GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue as “a slender Greek maiden between two Norse giants” by composer RAVEL Piano Concerto in G Major RAVEL Boléro , and the mighty, driving Seventh, which many, including André de Ridder conductor Inon Barnatan piano Beethoven himself, considered one of his greatest works. A world premiere by Mead Composer-in-Residence Missy Mazzoli, “Brooklyn’s post- MAR Bach & Handel millennial Mozart” (Time Out New York), opens the program. 28 B / H BACH Orchestral Suite No. 3 HANDEL Selected Arias PURCELL Chacony in G Minor PURCELL Dido’s Lament from Dido and Aeneas HANDEL Suite No. 2 from Water Music Nicholas Kraemer conductor and harpsichord NOTES ON THIS SERIES Amanda Forsythe soprano Iestyn Davies countertenor

Oct 5 James Gaffigan, praised for his “exemplary, full-blooded conducting” (Chicago Classical 18 APR Symphonie fantastique 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 B / H R. STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks U.S. premiere of Israeli-born composer Avner Dorman’s percussion concerto, which he calls R. STRAUSS Burlesque BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique conductor piano “a celebration of life, energy and an ever-present and eternal rhythm.” Emmanuel Krivine Joseph Moog

Nov 9 Brahms’ final orchestral composition calls for deep lyricism and virtuosic technique 2 MAY Muti Conducts Beethoven 4 & 7 from its soloists to create the illusion of a single instrument. CSO Associate Concertmaster B / G MAZZOLI Orpheus Undone world premiere, cso commission Stephanie Jeong and Assistant Principal Cello Kenneth Olsen take center stage for this BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 4 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 exhilarating work. Riccardo Muti concludes the program with Schumann’s Third Symphony, Riccardo Muti conductor inspired by the composer’s journey to the Rhineland. 16 MAY All-Tchaikovsky Mar 14 In a vibrant program of classical music inspired by the jazz revolution of the 20th century, B / H TCHAIKOVSKY Capriccio italien TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto two of George Gershwin’s iconic works are paired with one he undoubtedly influenced, TCHAIKOVSKY Marche slave Ravel’s jazzy Piano Concerto in G Major. Ravel’s mesmerizing Boléro, brings the program TCHAIKOVSKY Selections from The Nutcracker to a rousing close. Jonathan Stockhammer conductor Robert Chen violin May 16 Hear sparkling selections from The Nutcracker and the dazzling Violin Concerto, performed by CSO Concertmaster Robert Chen, in an all-Tchaikovsky program that 30 MAY Mälkki Conducts Beethoven & Mahler 4 exemplifies the Russian master’s multi-faceted music, from the warm and colorful Capriccio B / G BEETHOVEN Namensfeier Overture BEETHOVEN Ah! perfido italien, inspired by a trip to Rome, to the characteristically Russian Marche slave. MAHLER Symphony No. 4 Susanna Mälkki conductor Camilla Tilling soprano May 30 Sus anna Mälkki returns to the Orchestra Hall podium for Mahler’s magnificent Fourth Symphony, which portrays a journey toward innocence concluding with “The Heavenly 20 JUN Muti Conducts Beethoven 9 Life” sung by “luminous soprano” (The New York Times) Camilla Tilling. Two rarely heard B / H BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 Beethoven works—the dramatic concert aria Ah! perfido and the grand Namensfeier Riccardo Muti conductor Elena Stikhina soprano Overture—complete the program. Jennifer Johnson Cano mezzo-soprano Daniel Johansson tenor Franz-Josef Selig bass Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director

22 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CSO.ORG 312-294-3000 23 SATURDAY C 5 concerts at 8:00 SATURDAY D 5 concerts at 8:00

SERIES HIGHLIGHT : NOVEMBER 23 SERIES HIGHLIGHT : APRIL 11

van Zweden Conducts HOLST MAHLER 6 The Planets Featuring some of the most passionate and heart- wrenching music he ever composed, Mahler’s Sixth Juanjo Mena conducts the CSO in a program featuring Holst’s powerful and haunting The Planets. Symphony is famous for the thunderous hammer blows Sally Matthews, a soprano of “incandescent verve” (The Times, London), performs two scenes of fate in its finale. Jaap van Zweden, music director from Barber’s 1966 opera that opened the Metropolitan Opera’s new house at Lincoln Center. of the New York Philharmonic, returns to conduct this Detroit-based composer James Lee III’s celebratory Sukkot Through Orion’s Nebula illustrates tour de force with the CSO, whose “musical DNA is an ancient Hebrew harvest festival refracted through the lens of the Book of Revelation. closely intertwined with Mahler” (Chicago Tribune).

19 OCT Vivaldi The Four Seasons 28 SEPT Muti Conducts Beethoven 1 & 3 MOZART Divertimento in D Major, K. 136 BEETHOVEN Consecration of the House Overture PIAZZOLLA, ARR. DESYATNIKOV The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 (Eroica) Julian Rachlin conductor and violin Riccardo Muti conductor

23 NOV Holst The Planets 21 DEC Stravinsky & Dvořák 8 LEE III Sukkot Through Orion’s Nebula JOHN ADAMS The Chairman Dances STRAVINSKY Violin Concerto BARBER Two Scenes from Antony and Cleopatra HOLST The Planets DVOŘÁK Carnival Overture DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8 Juanjo Mena conductor Sally Matthews soprano Edo de Waart conductor Leila Josefowicz violin Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director 29 FEB Sibelius & Nielsen: A Nordic Celebration 8 FEB Muti Conducts Cavalleria rusticana SIBELIUS Finlandia NIELSEN Violin Concerto MASCAGNI Cavalleria rusticana NIELSEN Helios Overture SIBELIUS Symphony No. 5 Riccardo Muti conductor Hannu Lintu conductor Pekka Kuusisto violin Anita Rachvelishvili mezzo-soprano santuzza Piero Pretti tenor turiddu Luca Salsi baritone alfio 11 APR van Zweden Conducts Mahler 6 Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director MAHLER Symphony No. 6 Jaap van Zweden conductor 22* MAR Gergiev Conducts Shostakovich Leningrad *Note: SUN at 3:00 SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 7 (Leningrad) 23 MAY Mozart Jupiter Symphony Valery Gergiev conductor HAYDN Overture to L’isola disabitata BACH Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, BWV 1052 13 JUN Muti Conducts Beethoven 6 & 8 BACH Keyboard Concerto No. 5 in F Minor, BWV 1056 BEETHOVEN Overture to The Ruins of Athens MOZART Symphony No. 41 (Jupiter) BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 8 Bernard Labadie conductor Beatrice Rana piano BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral) Riccardo Muti conductor

24 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CSO.ORG 312-294-3000 25 SUNDAY A 6 concerts at 3:00 20 OCT Vivaldi The Four Seasons MOZART Divertimento in D Major, K. 136 PIAZZOLLA, ARR. DESYATNIKOV The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires SERIES HIGHLIGHT : JUNE 21 Julian Rachlin conductor and violin 24 NOV Holst The Planets LEE III Sukkot Through Orion’s Nebula BARBER Two Scenes from Antony and Cleopatra HOLST The Planets Muti Conducts Juanjo Mena conductor Sally Matthews soprano Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director

22 DEC Stravinsky & Dvořák 8 JOHN ADAMS The Chairman Dances STRAVINSKY Violin Concerto DVOŘÁK Carnival Overture DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8 Edo de Waart conductor Leila Josefowicz violin

23 FEB Muti Conducts Beethoven 2 & 5 In a triumphant finale to a season honoring the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2 Riccardo Muti assembles the combined forces of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, BACRI Ophelia’s Tears world premiere, cso commission Chorus and internationally renowned soloists for “the symphony to end all symphonies” BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 (The Guardian), the euphoric Ninth. A masterpiece whose staggering influence can Riccardo Muti conductor J. Lawrie Bloom bass clarinet be seen across classical music, it concludes with the famous Ode to Joy, which powerfully calls for understanding, peace and universal goodwill. 3 MAY Muti Conducts Beethoven 4 & 7 MAZZOLI Orpheus Undone world premiere, cso commission BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 4 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 9 Riccardo Muti conductor 21 JUN Muti Conducts Beethoven 9 NOTES ON THIS SERIES BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 Riccardo Muti conductor Elena Stikhina soprano Oct 20 A captivating program of music by Vivaldi, Mozart and Piazzolla features the CSO debut mezzo-soprano tenor of Julian Rachlin, a violinist of “brilliant high-octane technique” (The New York Times). Jennifer Johnson Cano Daniel Johansson bass Rachlin conducts and performs on two vastly different incarnations of The Four Seasons— Franz-Josef Selig chorus director Vivaldi’s pictorial baroque masterpiece and Piazzolla’s tango-inspired take. Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe

Nov 24 Juanjo Mena conducts the CSO in a program featuring Holst’s powerful and haunting The Planets. Sally Matthews, a soprano of “incandescent verve” (The Times, London), performs two scenes from Barber’s 1966 opera that opened the Metropolitan Opera’s new house at Lincoln Center. Detroit-based composer James Lee III’s celebratory Sukkot Through Orion’s Nebula illustrates an ancient Hebrew harvest festival refracted through the lens of the Book of Revelation.

Dec 22 Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony is a lyrical masterpiece that The Guardian calls “35 minutes of life-enhancing joy.” Edo de Waart conducts this profound work, along with John Adams’ exuberant “foxtrot for orchestra,” an outtake from his opera Nixon in China. The phenomenally gifted Leila Josefowicz returns to perform Stravinsky’s brilliant neoclassical Violin Concerto.

Feb 23 Opening with the most famous four notes in all of classical music, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is a staggering masterwork that became a symphonic blueprint for all subsequent composers. Riccardo Muti leads a program that also features the composer’s buoyant, humorous Second Symphony and a world premiere concerto performed by CSO Bass Clarinet J. Lawrie Bloom.

May 3 Continuing the celebration this season, Riccardo Muti conducts two more of Beethoven’s immortal symphonies—the graceful Fourth, described as “a slender Greek maiden between two Norse giants” by composer Robert Schumann, and the mighty, driving Seventh, which many, including Beethoven himself, considered one of his greatest works. A world premiere by Mead Composer-in-Residence Missy Mazzoli, “Brooklyn’s post-millennial Mozart” (Time Out New York), opens the program.

26 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CSO.ORG 312-294-3000 27 TUESDAY A 5 concerts at 7:30 TUESDAY B 5 concerts at 7:30

SERIES HIGHLIGHT : APRIL 28 SERIES HIGHLIGHT : APRIL 21 Muti,Muti, FischerFischer && BrahmsBrahms SymphonieSymphonie ViolinViolin ConcertoConcerto fantastiquefantastique Riccardo Muti presents two groundbreaking pieces by the first African Americans to have symphonic works performed by major orchestras. William Grant Still’s Mother and Child Emmanuel Krivine conducts Berlioz’s semi-autobiographical is a touching work based on a painting by Sargent epic that portrays an artist’s obsessive,self-destructive Johnson. Florence Price’s expressive Third Symphony passion for his beloved. Two colorful works by Richard Strauss gives a powerful voice to the African American experience. include the mischievous Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks Julia Fischer brings her “burnished and splendid tone” and the delightful, rarely heard Burlesque, featuring (The Daily Telegraph) to Brahms’ lyrical Violin Concerto. rising German sensation Joseph Moog.

29 OCT Brahms 3 5 NOV Muti, Kavakos & Beethoven Violin Concerto HAYDN Symphony No. 44 (Mourning) BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto R. STRAUSS Death and Transfiguration BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 RANDS DREAM for Orchestra world premiere, cso commission David Afkham conductor STRAVINSKY Divertimento from The Fairy’s Kiss Riccardo Muti conductor Leonidas Kavakos violin 12 NOV Muti Conducts Brahms Double Concerto WAGNER Overture to The Flying Dutchman 10 DEC Higdon & Tchaikovsky 4 BRAHMS Double Concerto SCHUMANN Symphony No. 3 (Rhenish) HIGDON blue cathedral Riccardo Muti conductor Stephanie Jeong violin WIENIAWSKI Violin Concerto No. 1 Kenneth Olsen cello TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 John Storgårds conductor Ray Chen violin 4 FEB Lewis Plays Beethoven TIPPETT Little Music for String Orchestra 21 APR Symphonie fantastique BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1 R. STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks TIPPETT Praeludium for Brass, Bells and Percussion R. STRAUSS Burlesque BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 Emmanuel Krivine conductor Joseph Moog piano Sir Andrew Davis conductor Paul Lewis piano 26 MAY Mozart Jupiter Symphony 17 MAR Rhapsody in Blue & Boléro HAYDN Overture to L’isola disabitata GERSHWIN, ARR. BENNETT Porgy and Bess, A Symphonic Picture BACH Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, BWV 1052 GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue BACH Keyboard Concerto No. 5 in F Minor, BWV 1056 RAVEL Piano Concerto in G Major RAVEL Boléro MOZART Symphony No. 41 (Jupiter) André de Ridder conductor Inon Barnatan piano Bernard Labadie conductor Beatrice Rana piano

28 APR Muti, Fischer & Brahms Violin Concerto 9 JUN Ein Heldenleben BRAHMS Violin Concerto STILL Mother and Child MENDELSSOHN The Hebrides Overture PRICE Symphony No. 3 MOZART Piano Concerto No. 17 R. STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben Riccardo Muti conductor Julia Fischer violin Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider conductor Piotr Anderszewski piano

28 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CSO.ORG 312-294-3000 29 A glamorous musical celebration! CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS AT SYMPHONY CENTER

Saturday, September 21, 7:00 SYMPHONY Tchaikovsky Make these festive musical celebrations BALLRomeo: and Juliet part of your family’s holiday traditions! VERDI from La battaglia di Legnano GRIEG Piano Concerto November 29–December 1 TCHAIKOVSKY Romeo and Juliet SUPPÉ Overture to Boccaccio Thanksgiving Harry Potter and weekend! Chicago Symphony Orchestra the Goblet of Fire™ in Concert Riccardo Muti conductor Leif Ove Andsnes piano Rediscover the magic of Harry Potter on the big screen with The Women’s Board of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association proudly presents a the score performed by the CSO. prestigious gala evening of music and celebration to open the 2019/20 season. Riccardo Muti conducts a rousing program featuring music by Verdi and Suppé, as well as Tchaikovsky’s November 30 sumptuous Romeo and Juliet. “A pianist of magisterial elegance, power and insight” Vienna Boys Choir: (The New York Times), Leif Ove Andsnes performs Grieg’s magnificent Piano Concerto. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Christmas in Vienna The enchanting ensemble returns to Symphony Center.

December 3 & 4 A Chanticleer Christmas fourth presbyterian church / 126 e. chestnut The Grammy-winning male chorus performs with awe-inspiring clarity.

Vienna Boys Choir December 6–8

Chanticleer Home Alone in Concert Experience this holiday classic with Members of the CSO performing ’ beloved score.

A festive preconcert champagne reception is open to all ticketholders. Symphony Ball gala December 14–23 patrons will continue their evening with postconcert dinner and dancing at the Four Seasons. Merry, Merry Chicago! Members of the CSO and the For further information, call 312-294-3185 or email [email protected]. Chicago Symphony Chorus perform holiday favorites!

HARRY POTTER characters, names and related indicia are ©️ & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Harry Potter Publishing Rights ©️ JKR. (s19) HOME ALONE ©️1990 Twentieth Century Fox

30 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CSO.ORG 312-294-3000 31 SPECIAL CONCERTS

Saturday, October 26, 8:00 Sunday, April 19, 3:00

FARRUQUITO RENÉE FLEMING AND IN RECITAL A Symphony Center Presents and Lyric Opera of Chicago Collaboration Named “one of the great flamenco dancers of this new century” (The New York Times), Farruquito mesmerizes audiences with his lightning-fast movements and intense drama. Experience Renée Fleming soprano Evgeny Kissin piano the entrancing rhythms and fiery passion of his authentic style of improvised flamenco. Two of the world’s most illustrious classical musicians join forces for an extraordinary one-night-only event. Legendary soprano and Lyric Opera of Chicago Creative Consultant Renée Fleming Wednesday, December 18, 8:00 has dazzled opera audiences in leading roles around the world. Pianist and Chicago favorite Evgeny Kissin is internationally renowned for his astonishing virtuosity. They make a rare appearance THE CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA BRASS together in recital at Symphony Center. Experience the staggering power and razor-sharp precision of the legendary of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a program of traditional favorites and symphonic masterworks arranged for brass ensemble. Sunday, May 17, 3:00 Saturday, January 18, 3:00 & 7:30 JURASSIC PARK IN CONCERT Warner Bros. presents Chicago Symphony Orchestra Richard Kaufman conductor BUGS BUNNY AT THE SYMPHONY 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION Relive the magic of Jurassic Park on the big screen together with a thrilling performance of John Williams’ iconic score by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The action-packed adventure pits Warner Bros. Symphony Orchestra conductor man against prehistoric predators in the ultimate battle for survival. Featuring visually stunning Bring the whole family to Symphony Center for the beloved cartoons and classical music of imagery and groundbreaking special effects, this epic film is sheer movie magic 65 million years in Bugs Bunny at the Symphony. Celebrating 30 years of Bugs Bunny on the concert stage, the making. Welcome… to Jurassic Park! TM & © Universal Studios this new edition of and live orchestra includes old favorites like What’s Opera, Doc? and The Rabbit of Seville plus new 3D animated shorts Coyote Falls and Rabid Rider. Created by George Daugherty and David Ka Lik Wong. TM & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (2019)

Sunday, February 9, 4:00

JORDI SAVALL: SPLENDOR OF THE IBERIAN BAROQUE In the Time of Lope de Vega & Calderón de la Barca Jordi Savall treble viol and director Hespèrion XXI La Capella Reial De Catalunya One of the most versatile musical personalities of his generation, Jordi Savall has been researching, teaching and performing early music for more than 50 years. With an ensemble of period instruments, he brings to Symphony Center a rich program of rediscovered baroque gems from the Iberian Peninsula. “Jordi Savall testifies to a common cultural inheritance of infinite variety. He is a man for our time” (The Guardian).

Sunday, March 15, 3:00

CASABLANCA IN CONCERT Chicago Symphony Orchestra Richard Kaufman conductor “Probably on more lists of the greatest films of all time than any other single title” (Roger Ebert), this romantic story of a man torn between love and virtue returns to Symphony Center. Don’t miss this timeless classic brought to life by the CSO performing Max Steiner’s evocative score together with the full feature film. Jurassic Park in Concert Farruquito

Add these thrilling concerts to your subscription and enjoy exclusive subscriber savings. Call 312-294-3000 or visit cso.org for prices.

32 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CSO.ORG 312-294-3000 33