For Immediate Release: Press Contacts: June 2, 2016 Eileen Chambers, 312-294-3092 Photos Available By Request [email protected] MUSIC DIRECTOR RICCARDO MUTI LEADS TWO PROGRAMS TO CONCLUDE THE CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA’S 125TH SEASON June 16–26, 2016 Muti Leads Brahms’ Serenade No. 1 and Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Julia Fischer as Soloist (June 16–21) Muti Leads an All-Bruckner Program including the Symphony No. 9 and Te Deum featuring the Chicago Symphony Chorus and Soloists (June 23–26) CHICAGO—Music Director Riccardo Muti returns in June to lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in two programs to conclude the 125th season (June 16–26). Throughout the 2015/16 season, Muti and the Orchestra have honored the ensemble’s distinguished history with performances of works that received either their world or U.S. premieres from the CSO. The final season program includes two of these works—Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9, which was given its U.S. premiere by the CSO in 1904, and his choral masterwork, Te Deum, which was given its U.S. premiere by the CSO in 1892. Both premieres were led by the CSO’s first music director, Theodore Thomas. Muti opens his June residency with the CSO with a program (June 16–21) that includes Brahms’ Serenade No. 1 and Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with Julia Fischer as soloist. Originally composed as chamber music, Brahms later adapted his Serenade No. 1 for full orchestra, offering a preview of the rich compositional style that would emerge in his four symphonies. The six-movement work is filled with lyrical wind and string passages, as well as exuberant writing in the allegro and scherzo movements. Internationally renowned violinist Julia Fischer joins Muti and the CSO for Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. Widely recognized as the first “Romantic” concerto, Beethoven’s lush and virtuosic writing in the work opened the traditional form to new possibilities for the composers who would follow him. Fischer, whose career was launched after winning the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition at age 11, has gone to be named a Gramophone Artist of the Year and make appearances with orchestras including the Vienna, Berlin and BBC philharmonics, the Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony and others. These concerts mark Fischer’s first CSO appearances since 2008. In the final subscription concerts of the CSO’s 125th season (June 23–26), Muti leads an all- Bruckner program that includes the composer’s unfinished Symphony No. 9 and his monumental hymn of faith, Te Deum. Bruckner, who openly referred to his Ninth Symphony as his last symphony, died while trying to complete the fourth and final movement. Sometimes suggested as a suitable finale for the incomplete work, Bruckner’s Te Deum completes this program. Written for massive orchestral and choral forces with passages of sheer choral power paired with soaring melodies for the soloists, the Te Deum was a personal favorite of Bruckner’s and offered a true expression of his Catholic faith. Muti leads the CSO and Chicago Symphony Chorus and a group of acclaimed soloists including soprano Erin Wall, mezzo-soprano Okka von der Damerau (CSO debut), tenor Steve Davislim and bass Christof Fischesser (CSO debut) in three performances of the Te Deum. The Chicago Symphony Chorus is prepared by its director, Duain Wolfe. On June 10, Muti’s new CSO Resound recording Mason Bates: Anthology of Fantastic Zoology becomes available as a digital release. The recording features a live performance of former CSO Mead Composer-in-Residence Mason Bates’ CSO-commissioned work captured during June 2015 subscription concerts at Orchestra Hall. Anthology of Fantastic Zoology is a 35- minute acoustic work that can be described as a concerto for orchestra, drawing its subject matter from the strange creatures found in Jorge Luis Borges’ book of magical realism by the same title. A June 14 dedication ceremony is planned to unveil a new bronze bust of Fritz Reiner—who served as the Orchestra’s sixth music director from 1953 until 1962—in Symphony Center’s Michigan Avenue lobby. Muti and CSOA President Jeff Alexander will offer remarks at the unveiling event which honors Reiner’s enduring contributions to the performing and recording legacy of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Reiner’s likeness has been cast in bronze by Hungarian sculptor Katalin Gerő, who is scheduled to attend the unveiling. Muti also leads a CSO rehearsal for invited senior and community groups on Wednesday, June 22. Riccardo Muti returns to Chicago after completing a critically acclaimed series of three Shakespeare-inspired programs with the CSO at Orchestra Hall in April 2016. The programs included a presentation of Verdi’s Falstaff featuring the CSO, Chicago Symphony Chorus and a cast of internationally celebrated soloists including today’s leading Falstaff, baritone Ambrogio Maestri. Details for the CSO’s 2017 European Tour (January 17–27) led by Muti have also recently been announced and include historic stops at the new Philharmonie de Paris, Hamburg’s new Elbphilharmonie, as well as at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala for performances that mark Muti and the CSO’s first appearance in the venue together. The Japanese government also recognized Muti in May 2016 with its prestigious Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star decoration, with plans to confer the award to be announced. Muti returns to Teatro alla Scala in June 2016 to participate in the opening of a special exhibit organized to commemorate and celebrate his exceptional artistic contributions to the organization in anticipation of his 75th birthday in July 2016. Bank of America is the global sponsor of the CSO. The CSO gratefully acknowledges and celebrates the following Grand Patrons who have made the CSO’s 125th anniversary season possible: Rosemarie and Dean L. Buntrock, Daniel Fischel and Sylvia Neil, Judson and Joyce Green, Kenneth C. Griffin, Verne and Judy Istock, Cathy and Bill Osborn, and Helen and Sam Zell. The CSO’s music director position is endowed in perpetuity by a generous gift from the Zell Family Foundation. The performances on June 16, 17, 18 and 21 are generously sponsored by the Randy L. and Melvin R. Berlin Family Fund for the Canon. CSO Tuesday series concerts are sponsored by United Airlines®. The appearance of Julia Fischer is endowed in part by the Nuveen Investments Emerging Artist Fund. Tickets for all CSOA-presented concerts can be purchased by phone at 800-223-7114 or 312- 294-3000; online at cso.org, or at the Symphony Center box office: 220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60604. Discounted student tickets for select concerts 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 prices are subject to change. Bank of America is the Global Sponsor of the CSO. # # # Chicago Symphony Orchestra Thursday, June 16, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Friday, June 17, 2016, 1:30 p.m. Saturday, June 18, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, June 21, 2016, 7:30 p.m. Chicago Symphony Orchestra Riccardo Muti, conductor Julia Fischer, violin BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 BRAHMS Serenade No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11 Tickets: $36-$260 Chicago Symphony Orchestra Thursday, June 23, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, June 25, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Sunday, June 26, 2016, 3:00 p.m. Chicago Symphony Orchestra Riccardo Muti, conductor Erin Wall, soprano Okka von der Damerau, mezzo-soprano Steve Davislim, tenor Christof Fischesser, bass Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe, chorus director BRUCKNER Symphony No. 9 in D Minor BRUCKNER Te Deum Tickets: $34-$221 ABOUT THE ARTISTS Riccardo Muti Born in Naples, Italy, Riccardo Muti is one of the preeminent conductors of our day. In 2010, when he became the tenth music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), he already had more than forty years of experience at the helm of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Philharmonia Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Teatro alla Scala. He is a guest conductor for orchestras and opera houses all over the world: the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera House, the Metropolitan Opera, and many others. Muti studied piano under Vincenzo Vitale at the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella in his hometown of Naples, graduating with distinction. He subsequently received a diploma in composition and conducting from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan, also graduating with distinction. His principal teachers were Bruno Bettinelli and Antonino Votto, principal assistant to Arturo Toscanini at La Scala. After he won the Guido Cantelli Conducting Competition—by unanimous vote of the jury—in Milan in 1967, Muti’s career developed quickly. In 1968, he became principal conductor of Florence’s Maggio Musicale, a position that he held until 1980. Herbert von Karajan invited him to conduct at the Salzburg Festival in Austria in 1971, and Muti has maintained a close relationship with the summer festival and with its great orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, now for forty-five consecutive years. When he conducted the philharmonic’s 150th anniversary concert in 1992, he was presented with the Golden Ring, a special sign of esteem and affection, and in 2001, his outstanding artistic contributions to the orchestra were further recognized with the Otto Nicolai Gold Medal. He is also a recipient of a silver medal from the Salzburg Mozarteum for his contribution to the music of W.A. Mozart. He is an honorary member of Vienna’s Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (Society of the Friends of Music), the Vienna Hofmusikkapelle, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Vienna State Opera.