For Immediate Release: Press Contacts: Eileen Chambers, 312-294-3092 Photos Available By Request [email protected]
May 2016 Calendar of Events
Symphony Center Presents Sunday, May 1, 2016, 3:00 p.m. Piano Yefim Bronfman, piano
PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 82 PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 7 in B-flat Major, Op. 83 PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 8 in B-flat Major, Op. 84
Tickets: $29-$95
Prokofiev's ominous and emotional "War Sonatas" are tackled by Yefim Bronfman, one of the most talented virtuosos performing today. His combination of impressive technique and fiery passion is a perfect match for this collection of exciting, emotional works. "A marvel of digital dexterity, warmly romantic sentiment, and jaw-dropping bravura" (Chicago Tribune). ______
Civic Orchestra of Chicago Sunday, May 1, 2016 3:00 p.m. South Shore Cultural Center Civic Orchestra of Chicago 7059 S. South Shore Dr. Matthew Aucoin, conductor
Program to include: MOZART Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major, K. 543 SCHUBERT Symphony No. 3 in D Major, D.200
Free and open to the public; no tickets are required
The Civic Orchestra returns to the historic SSCC for the ninth consecutive season. Last season’s Solti Conducting Apprentice Matthew Aucoin makes his South Shore Cultural Center debut conducting the Civic Orchestra at this special event. No tickets are required for this free concert.
Offered in partnership with the Advisory Council of the South Shore Cultural Center and the Chicago Park District.
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Civic Orchestra of Chicago Tuesday, May 3, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Civic Orchestra of Chicago Matthew Aucoin, conductor
Program to include: MOZART Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major, K. 543 SCHUBERT Symphony No. 3 in D Major, D.200
Free and open to the public; tickets are required.
The CSO's second Sir Georg Solti Conducting Apprentice Matthew Aucoin returns to lead the Civic Orchestra in a cheerful program that features uplifting symphonies by Mozart and Schubert. "[Aucoin] is quickly making a name for himself in classical music's upper echelons…a natural conductor" (The Boston Globe).
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Chicago Symphony Orchestra Thursday, May 5, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, May 7, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 10, 2016, 7:30 p.m. Chicago Symphony Orchestra Donald Runnicles, conductor
BRITTEN Sinfonia da requiem, Op. 20 STRAUSS, R. Death and Transfiguration, Op. 24 ELGAR Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 (Enigma)
Tickets: $30-$217
Scottish conductor Donald Runnicles was praised for his "masterful leadership of the orchestra" (The News-Gazette) after concerts with the CSO in October 2014. He returns to Symphony Center to lead a program including Richard Strauss' spectacular and brilliant tone poem Death and Transfiguration. Benjamin Britten's Sinfonia da requiem paves the way for fellow Englishman Edward Elgar's popular Enigma Variations, 14 intriguing musical portraits of the composer's friends and family.
There is a Classic Encounter preconcert lecture on Thursday, May 5, 2016. Learn more and purchase tickets here.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Friday, May 6, 2016, 8:00 p.m. CSO at the Movies Chicago Symphony Orchestra Richard Kaufman, conductor
Silverado
Tickets: $50-$199
Take an exhilarating journey through cinema history as the world-renowned CSO performs soaring selections from such beloved movies as Citizen Kane, Gone with the Wind, The Yearling, King Kong (1933), Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and more! Witness breathtaking scenes from the greatest films to grace the silver screen as Richard Kaufman conducts scores by classic Hollywood composers including Jerry Goldsmith, Bernard Herrmann, Max Steiner and Herbert Stothart.
Once Upon a Symphony Saturday, May 7, 2016, 10:00 a.m. Saturday, May 7, 2016, 11:45 a.m. Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Megan Wells, storyteller
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Tickets: $17
The brazen young Goldilocks stumbles upon a quaint cottage, finds that the door is unlocked and goes inside to explore. Little does she know it belongs to three bears and they're on their way home! Through this story, children will experience the wide and wonderful world of the forest through Goldilocks' eyes and playfully explore some of the boundaries and responsibilities that come with growing older.
Goldilocks is presented in Collaboration with Chicago Children's Theatre.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Monday, May 9, 2016, 7:00 p.m. MusicNOW Musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Cliff Colnot, conductor Tony Arnold, soprano Samuel Adams, Mead composer-in-residence Elizabeth Ogonek, Mead composer-in-residence
...spring, or some such thing
IANNOTTA Intent on Resurrection — Spring or Some Such Thing ABRAHAMSEN Wald TRAPANI Waterlines
Tickets: $26
...spring, or some such thing is at once a celebration of renewal and a meditation on the anxieties that accompany the arrival of a new season. Clara Iannotta's hauntingly intimate and tactile sinfonietta Intent on Resurrection – Spring or Some Such Thing opens the evening with intense fragility. At the center of the program is Hans Abrahamsen's evocative masterwork Wald, a set of timbral variations that inhabits a world of mystery and danger. Tony Arnold joins musicians from the CSO for Waterlines, Christopher Trapani's beautiful and tragic song cycle about nature's indifference and power to destroy.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Thursday, May 12, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, May 14, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Chicago Symphony Orchestra Charles Dutoit, conductor Javier Perianes, piano Daniela Mack, mezzo-soprano
RAVEL Alborada del gracioso FALLA Nights in the Gardens of Spain DUKAS The Sorcerer’s Apprentice FALLA The Three-Cornered Hat (Complete Ballet)
Tickets: $34-$221
Charles Dutoit conducts two enchanting scores by Manuel de Falla. One of Spain's most exciting young artists, Javier Perianes is the soloist for the atmospheric Nights in the Gardens of Spain, and the concert ends with charming music from Falla's humorous ballet The Three-Cornered Hat. Ravel's zesty Alborada del gracioso and Dukas' ever-popular The Sorcerer's Apprentice complete this vibrant program. ______
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Friday, May 13, 2016, 7:30 p.m. Beyond The Score Sunday, May 15, 2016, 3:00 p.m. Chicago Symphony Orchestra Charles Dutoit, conductor Javier Perianes, piano
Falla in the South of Spain
FALLA Suite No. 1 from The Three-Cornered Hat (Scenes and Dances) FALLA Nights in the Gardens of Spain FALLA Suite No. 2 from The Three-Cornered Hat (Three Dances)
Tickets: $26-$132
Passionately loyal to his ancestral roots in the far south of Spain, Manuel de Falla spent nearly 20 of the most intense years of his composing life in the beautiful and historic city of Granada in Andalusia. What so powerfully drew him there was the richly diverse culture of this ancient world, with its exotic blend of Islamic, Christian, Jewish and Romany traditions; its fabulous architecture and landscapes; and most of all, the unforgettably heart-rending and world famous music of flamenco—its sensual dancing, strummed guitars and "deep song," the cante jondo, which Falla himself called the purest and oldest of all the different forms of gypsy music. From such stunningly beautiful material, Falla created his own timeless world, a dream-like Spain of hot and perfumed nights, tragic passions and dark incantations.
Civic Orchestra of Chicago Monday, May 16, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Civic Orchestra of Chicago Nicholas Kraemer, conductor
MENDELSSOHN Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night's Dream, Op. 21 and 61
Free and open to the public; tickets are required.
Enjoy a magical evening conducted by Nicholas Kraemer featuring Mendelssohn’s brilliant musical accompaniment to William Shakespeare's play about mischievous fairies who manipulate the lives of young lovers.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Thursday, May 19, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Friday, May 20, 2016, 1:30 p.m. Chicago Symphony Orchestra Charles Dutoit, conductor
STRAVINSKY Fireworks, Op. 4 STRAVINSKY Symphony in C STRAVINSKY The Firebird
Tickets: $36-$255
Charles Dutoit, renowned for his refined ear for orchestral color, conducts three of Stravinsky's most expressive works. Two of Stravinsky's early masterpieces, the brilliant Fireworks and magical The Firebird, frame one of his most powerful neoclassical scores, the Symphony in C.
Symphony Center Presents Friday, May 20, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Jazz The Chicago Jazz Orchestra Jeff Lindberg, director Dee Alexander, vocals Ann Hampton Callaway, vocals René Marie, vocals
A Tribute to Sarah Vaughan The Chicago Jazz Orchestra with Dee Alexander, Ann Hampton Callaway and René Marie
Tickets: $24-$76
Honoring the incomparable "Divine One," the stalwart Chicago Jazz Orchestra led by Jeff Lindberg brings a program of Sarah Vaughan's classic music to Symphony Center. Don't miss exquisite performances by Dee Alexander, Ann Hampton Callaway and René Marie, three outstanding vocalists who have been undeniably influenced by one of the most unforgettable voices in jazz. "Vaughan's operatic intonation and range coincided with an improvisatory brilliance and rhythmic drive that made the most casual performance an exercise in virtuosity" (The New York Times).
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Saturday, May 21, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Special Concert Chicago Symphony Orchestra Charles Dutoit, conductor Lang Lang, piano
STRAVINSKY Fireworks, Op. 4 PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26 STRAVINSKY The Firebird
Tickets: $39-$295
Charles Dutoit conducts two dazzling showpieces by Stravinsky: the explosive Fireworks and the electrifying Firebird. These frame Prokofiev's witty and atmospheric Third Piano Concerto, performed by the phenomenally popular Lang Lang, "a spellbinding performer with a flair for drama" (CBS News).
Symphony Center Presents Sunday, May 22, 2016, 3:00 p.m. Piano Marc-André Hamelin, piano
MOZART Piano Sonata No. 18 in D Major, K. 576 DEBUSSY Images for Piano, Book 2 HAMELIN Pavane Variée HAMELIN Variations on a Theme by Paganini SCHUBERT Four Impromptus, D. 935
Tickets: $29-$95
"One-of-a-kind concert artist" (The Los Angeles Times) Marc-André Hamelin constantly breaks boundaries with his original interpretations of classic repertoire. Hamelin appears on the SCP Piano series in a program exemplifying his surreal technique and adventurous curiosity, featuring works by Mozart, Debussy, Schubert and Hamelin himself.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Thursday, May 26, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Friday, May 27, 2016, 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 28, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Sunday, May 29, 2016, 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 31, 2016, 7:30 p.m. Chicago Symphony Orchestra Cristian Măcelaru, conductor Alisa Weilerstein, cello Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe, chorus director
IBERT Bacchanale DUSAPIN Outscape for violoncello and orchestra [World Premiere, CSO Co-commission] HOLST The Planets, Op. 32
Tickets: $39-$287
Cristian Măcelaru is joined by internationally acclaimed American cellist Alisa Weilerstein for a specially commissioned concerto by Pascal Dusapin. Ibert's scintillating Bacchanale and Gustav Holst's stunning and spectacular The Planets complete what will be an exhilarating concert.
Symphony Center Presents Friday, May 27, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Jazz Wayne Shorter, saxophone Danilo Pérez, piano John Patitucci, bass Brian Blade, drums
Wayne Shorter Quartet Featuring Danilo Pérez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade
Tickets: $38-$135
Revered jazz saxophonist and one of the genre’s most influential composers, Wayne Shorter can stop time with his improvisational genius and the sheer sound of his playing. The Grammy® Lifetime Achievement Award winner brings his acclaimed quartet of all-stars to Symphony Center for what is sure to be "a magnificent and volatile performance that prizes the give and take of collective improvisation" (The New York Times).
Bank of America is the Global Sponsor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
The Symphony Center Presents PowerShares QQQ Piano and Orchestras Series are sponsored by PowerShares QQQ.
The Symphony Center Presents Jazz Series is sponsored by Exelon.
TICKETS for all 2015/16 Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Center Presents and Civic Orchestra of Chicago concerts can be purchased by calling CSO ticketing services at 312-294-3000 or 800-223-7114, online at cso.org, or by visiting the Symphony Center box office at 220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60604. Discounted student tickets can be purchased, subject to availability, online in advance or at the box office on the day of the concert. For group rates, please call 312-294-3040. Artists, programs and ticket prices are subject to change.
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Press Contact: [email protected]
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The Chicago Symphony Orchestra: www.cso.org and www.csosoundsandstories.org
Founded in 1891, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is consistently hailed as one of the greatest orchestras in the world. Since 2010, the preeminent conductor Riccardo Muti has served as its 10th music director. Yo-Yo Ma is the CSO’s Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant, and Samuel Adams and Elizabeth Ogonek are its Mead Composers-in-Residence. From baroque through contemporary music, the CSO commands a vast repertoire. Its renowned musicians annually perform more than 150 concerts, most at Symphony Center in Chicago and, each summer, at the suburban Ravinia Festival. They regularly tour nationally and internationally. Since 1892, the CSO has made 58 international tours, performing in 29 countries on five continents.
People around the globe listen to weekly radio broadcasts of CSO concerts and recordings on the WFMT radio network and online at cso.org/radio . Recordings by the CSO have earned 62 Grammy Awards, including two in 2011 for Muti’s recording with the CSO and Chorus of Verdi's Messa da Requiem (Muti’s first of four releases with the CSO to date). Find details on these and many other CSO recordings at www.cso.org/resound.
The CSO is part of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, which also includes the Chicago Symphony Chorus (Duain Wolfe, Director and Conductor) and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, a training ensemble for emerging professionals. Through its prestigious Symphony Center Presents series, the CSOA presents guest artists and ensembles from a variety of genres—classical, jazz, world, and contemporary.
The Negaunee Music Institute at the CSO offers community and education programs that annually engage more than 200,000 people of diverse ages and backgrounds. Through the Institute and other activities, including a free annual concert with Muti and the CSO, the CSO is committed to using the power of music to create connections and build community.
The CSO is supported by thousands of patrons, volunteers and institutional and individual donors. Bank of America is the Global Sponsor of the CSO. The CSO’s music director position is endowed in perpetuity by a generous gift from the Zell Family Foundation. The Negaunee Foundation provides generous support in perpetuity for the work of the Negaunee Music Institute.