THE COMPLETE BEETHOVEN SYMPHONIES MASCAGNI CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA HOLST THE PLANETS VIVALDI THE FOUR SEASONS GERSHWIN RHAPSODY IN BLUE RAVEL BOLÉRO CARMINA BURANA MOZART JUPITER SYMPHONY BERLIOZ SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE MAHLER 6 B R A H M S VIOLIN CONCERTO HANDEL WATER MUSIC FREE EXCHANGES CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA the best policy RICCARDO MUTI 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 Guardian), 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! Tickets are in high demand for this incredible season. The only way to guarantee your seats and enjoy the best prices of the season is to subscribe. 2019/20 2 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CSO.ORG 312-294-3000 3 EXPERIENCE THE 2019/20 SEASON Subscribe to a Curated Series Save up to 39% and experience a specially selected blend of stirring live performances from your very own renewable seat. You’ll enjoy the best prices of the season on the best seats in the house. Rewards New to classical music or subscribing? As a subscriber, you’ll also enjoy these exclusive benefits: Series Curated Own Series Your Create Single Tickets Try one of our curated subscription series! 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 Manfred Honeck, 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 Violin Concerto 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 conducting 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 Exclusive savings at area restaurants We invite you to call us at 312-294-3000 or chat with us at cso.org for personalized service. Our Patron Services representatives are standing by to help FREE lost ticket replacement you find the series that matches your musical tastes. *day-of-concert exchanges: $10 (curated) or $15 (cyo). upgrade costs may apply. Subscribe to 10 or more concerts* and you’ll also receive: Table of Contents Subscriber-preferred prices on additional concerts all season long One FREE seat upgrade 6 CSO Series Listings A complimentary drink coupon to enjoy at Symphony Center concessions 18 A Beethoven Celebration Box Seat subscribers also receive: 30 Special Concerts NO FEES!** No handling, exchange or add-on fees 35 Seating and Pricing Guide No restricted dates for ticket exchanges Late access seating Dedicated beverage service on the Box level Browse the following pages to * Number includes any combination of packages and concerts adding up to 10 or more. Must be purchased explore the season and select the by renewal deadline of April 5, 2019, to count toward total. perfect subscription series for you. **Not valid for day-of-concert exchanges. Upgrade costs and payment plan fees still apply. 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 Overture 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 Piano Concerto No. 1 Muti Conducts Mascagni MENDELSSOHN Capriccio brillant LUTOSŁAWSKI Concerto for Orchestra Kirill Karabits conductor Sunwook Kim piano CavalleriaCavalleria 19 DEC Stravinsky & Dvořák 8 A / F JOHN ADAMS The Chairman Dances 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 From 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, Emmanuel Krivine 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 Capriccio italien TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto and vividly melodic Piano Concerto. TCHAIKOVSKY Marche slave TCHAIKOVSKY Selections from The Nutcracker 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 Ein Heldenleben 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 The Nutcracker 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 Julian Rachlin 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 cello 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 Vienna: 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 Jan Lisiecki 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 Clarinet J. Lawrie Bloom. B / H BEETHOVEN Symphony No.