CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA RICCARDO MUTI zell music director SYMPHONY CENTER PRESENTS 17 cso.org1 312-294-30008 1 STIRRING welcome I have always believed that the arts embody our civilization’s highest ideals and have the power to change society. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is a leading example of this, for while it is made of the world’s most talented and experienced musicians— PERFORMANCES. each individually skilled in his or her instrument—we achieve the greatest impact working together as one: as an orchestra or, in other words, as a community. Our purpose is to create the utmost form of artistic expression and in so doing, to serve as an example of what we can achieve as a collective when guided by our principles. Your presence is vital to supporting that process as well as building a vibrant future for this great cultural institution. With that in mind, I invite you to deepen your relationship with THE music and with the CSO during the 2017/18 season. SOUL-RENEWING Riccardo Muti POWER table of contents 4 season highlight 36 Symphony Center Presents Series Riccardo Muti & the Chicago Symphony Orchestra OF MUSIC. 36 Chamber Music 8 season highlight 37 Visiting Orchestras Dazzling Stars 38 Piano 44 Jazz 10 season highlight Symphonic Masterworks 40 MusicNOW 20th anniversary season 12 Chicago Symphony Orchestra Series 41 season highlight 34 CSO at Wheaton College John Williams Returns 41 CSO at the Movies Holiday Concerts 42 CSO Family Matinees/Once Upon a Symphony® 43 Special Concerts 13 season highlight 44 Muti Conducts Rossini Stabat mater 47 CSO Media and Sponsors 17 season highlight Bernstein at 100 24 How to Renew Guide center insert 19 season highlight 24 Season Grid & Calendar center fold-out A Tchaikovsky Celebration 23 season highlight Mahler 5 & 9 24 season highlight Symphony Ball NIGHT 27 season highlight Riccardo Muti & Yo-Yo Ma 29 season highlight AFTER The CSO’s Own 35 season highlight NIGHT. Chicago Symphony Chorus 60th anniversary season cso.org 312-294-3000 3 The the brilliance of the chicago symphony orchestra under the baton of riccardo muti will be on MAGNIFICENT full display during the maestro’s 2017/18 residencies Witness the majesty of timeless classical works as Riccardo Muti leads the world- renowned Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and acclaimed guest artists. SOUND Program highlights include: September 22 March 22–24 of Symphony Ball: Schubert Mass in E-flat Major Mozart Turkish Concerto & thursday b & i, friday c, saturday c Tchaikovsky The Sleeping Beauty Anne-Sophie Mutter violin April 12–17 Dvořák New World Symphony & September 23 & 26 Copland Lincoln Portrait Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto & thursday a & g, friday d, saturday a & f, tuesday b RICCARDO Schumann Symphony No. 2 Anne-Sophie Mutter violin April 19–21 saturday c, tuesday a Tchaikovsky Swan Lake & Debussy Nocturnes September 28–October 1 Sarah Bullen harp MUTI Bruckner Symphony No. 4 (Romantic) Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus thursday a & f, friday a, sunday a Duain Wolfe chorus director and the thursday c & d, friday b, saturday d November 16–21 Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 & June 14–16 R. Strauss Suite from Le bourgeois Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 2 & gentilhomme Prokofiev Symphony No. 3 Kirill Gerstein piano Yo-Yo Ma cello thursday b & h, friday b, saturday a & e, thursday c & e, friday c, saturday b & h CSO tuesday b June 21–24 February 1–3 Rossini Stabat mater Britten Four Sea Interludes from Krassimira Stoyanova soprano Peter Grimes & Higdon Low Brass Ekaterina Gubanova mezzo-soprano Concerto Dmitry Korchak tenor cso debut thursday b & h, friday a, saturday b & g Eric Owens bass-baritone Chicago Symphony Chorus March 15–17 Duain Wolfe chorus director Haydn Symphony No. 89 & thursday a & f, friday d, saturday a & f, sunday a Mozart Sinfonia concertante Robert Chen violin Paul Neubauer viola cso debut thursday c & e, saturday b & g, cso at wheaton “Working in perfect synchrony, Muti and the CSO conjure the most luscious sound, punctuated by quicksilver emotional shifts and a technical polish that invariably generates heat.” —Chicago Sun-Times photos top to bottom: anne-sophie mutter, kirill gerstein, robert chen, krassimira stoyanova 4 chicago symphony orchestra symphony center presents cso.org 312-294-3000 5 muti Muti Conducts Dvořák conducts new world Schubert Mass in e-flat major symphony & Copland LINCOLN “The performance of Schubert’s Mass by Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus will likely figure on best-of lists. Muti and his PORTRAIT CSO forces put across the heaven-storming drama as much as the moments of consolation and spiritual introspection.”—Chicago Classical Review The celebrated Chicago Symphony Chorus, marking Riccardo Muti presents an extraordinary its 60th anniversary in 2017/18, joins Riccardo celebration of music that embodies Muti, the CSO and international soloists for a moving the American spirit. Copland’s inspirational performance of Schubert’s exquisite final Mass, written Lincoln Portrait uses the words of Abraham at the end of the young composer’s life. Lincoln to punctuate the stories of both an individual life and a diverse nation. Chicago Symphony Orchestra Dvořák’s New World Symphony, one of his most Riccardo Muti conductor beloved works, was influenced by the sounds Amanda Forsythe soprano of American folk music. Elizabeth DeShong mezzo-soprano cso debut Paul Appleby tenor cso debut Chicago Symphony Orchestra Nicholas Phan tenor Riccardo Muti conductor Nahuel di Pierro bass cso debut Chicago Symphony Chorus Walker Lyric for Strings Duain Wolfe chorus director Copland Lincoln Portrait Dvořák Symphony No. 9 (From the New World) Weber Overture to Oberon Raimi Three Lisel Mueller Settings Performed April 12–17 world premiere, cso commission thursday a & g, friday d, saturday a & f, tuesday b Schubert Mass in E-flat Major Performed March 22–24 thursday b & i, friday c, saturday c photos top row: riccardo muti, amanda forsythe, elizabeth deshong middle row: chicago symphony chorus, duain wolfe bottom row: paul appleby, nicholas phan, nahuel di pierro 6 chicago symphony orchestra symphony center presents cso.org 312-294-3000 7 Dazzling Anne-Sophie Mutter Sir András Schiff Gil Shaham Stars The world’s greatest concert soloists head to Symphony Center this season. Hear returning favorites and CSO debuts in captivating performances, including pianists Daniil Trifonov and Mitsuko Uchida; violinists Anne-Sophie Mutter and Leonidas Kavakos; cellists Alisa Weilerstein and Yo-Yo Ma; and singers Ekaterina Gubanova and Eric Owens, among many other esteemed artists. Program highlights include: September 23 & 26 May 24–26 Alisa Weilerstein Daniil Trifonov Nikolaj Znaider Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto Bartók Piano Concerto No. 3 with Anne-Sophie Mutter with Mitsuko Uchida November 2–5 June 7–9 Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 Vivaldi, Bach & Haydn with Sir András Schiff conductor and piano with cso debuts by: Giovanni Antonini conductor and flautino November 30–December 3 Avi Avital mandolin Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with Gil Shaham June 14–16 Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 2 December 7–12 with Yo -Yo Ma Barber Cello Concerto with Alisa Weilerstein June 21–24 Stabat mater David Fray Leonidas Kavakos Jean-Yves Thibaudet Rossini December 14–19 Krassimira Stoyanova soprano Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 Ekaterina Gubanova mezzo-soprano with Daniil Trifonov Dmitry Korchak tenor cso debut Eric Owens bass-baritone December 21–23 Chicago Symphony Chorus Beethoven Violin Concerto Duain Wolfe chorus director with Nikolaj Znaider February 22–27 Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 with David Fray March 8–11 Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1 Mitsuko Uchida Avi Avital Yo-Yo Ma with Leonidas Kavakos April 5–10 Ravel Piano Concerto for the Left Hand with Jean-Yves Thibaudet cso.org 312-294-3000 9 Ekaterina Gubanova Dmitry Korchak Eric Owens the chicago symphony orchestra brings its matchless virtuosity and power to masterpieces that have enchanted generations Symphonic Masterworks riccardo muti jiŘi bĚlohlÁvek charles dutoit semyon bychkov September 22 March 15–17 Symphony Ball: Haydn Symphony No. 89 & Tchaikovsky The Sleeping Beauty Mozart Sinfonia concertante Riccardo Muti conductor Riccardo Muti conductor The music of October 26 & 27 April 5–10 Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances Ravel Daphnis and Chloe James Gaffigan conductor Charles Dutoit conductor November 2–5 April 19–21 Mozart Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 Tchaikovsky Swan Lake Sir András Schiff conductor and piano Riccardo Muti conductor November 9–11 May 3–5 Schubert Symphony No. 9 (Great) Tchaikovsky Manfred Symphony Beethoven Christoph von Dohnányi conductor Semyon Bychkov conductor December 7–12 May 11–15 Dvořák Symphony No. 5 Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 (Organ) Tchaikovsky Jiří Bělohlávek conductor cso debut Emmanuel Krivine conductor December 14–19 May 17–22 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 Mahler Symphony No. 9 Jaap van Zweden conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Mahler the randy l. and melvin r. berlin family January 25–30 May 31–June 3 and more fund for the canon provides support for Mahler Symphony No. 5 Beethoven Symphony No. 4 artistic excellence in the programming Manfred Honeck conductor Marek Janowski conductor of core classical orchestral repertoire, recognizing and demonstrating the March 1–3 June 14–16 impact of great masters on the legacy of Beethoven Symphony No. 3 (Eroica) Prokofiev Symphony No. 3 the chicago symphony orchestra. Herbert Blomstedt conductor Riccardo Muti conductor background image at left: handwritten fragment of the