2010 Annual Report Cover photo: Music Director Designate Riccardo Muti leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Brahms’ A German Requiem, with soprano Elin Rombo and baritone Russell Braun as soloists, Symphony Center, October 2009. Photos throughout by Todd Rosenberg Photography and Dan Rest Photography. CONTENTS FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2010 119TH SEASON OF THE CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Chairman’s Message 2 President’s Message 4 Treasurer’s Report 6 Financial & Concert Highlights 7 Season Hallmarks: Bernard Haitink 8 Season Hallmarks: Pierre Boulez 9 Season Hallmarks: Riccardo Muti 10 Season Hallmarks: Beethoven Festival 11 Artistic Highlights 12 Innovative Minds: Mead Composers-in-Residence 15 Transforming Lives Through Music: 16 The Institute for Learning, Access and Training Reaching Beyond the Concert Hall: Media Initiatives 18 Development Highlights 20 Chicago Symphony Orchestra 22 Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association 23 CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE Over the years, Chicago has been called many things, but one of my favorites is Carl Sandburg’s “city of big shoulders.” It evokes images of fortitude—an ability to withstand adversity, to meet challenges squarely, tackle them resolutely and solve them with confidence and assurance. The CSO was built on a foundation of dynamic leadership, artistic excellence, civic pride and unflagging support from its patrons, donors, trustees, volunteers and staff. This is the legacy that we—as Chicagoans and music lovers—have inherited and which we must continue to support. I must say, with Bernard Haitink, Pierre Boulez and Riccardo Muti as our artistic leaders, we certainly had some singular advantages in the 2009/10 season! These three musical powerhouses led some of the most breathtaking concerts both here at home and on tour. Their special bonds with our musicians are to be treasured, not for the status they confer on our institution, but for the rare and glorious music they make possible. Throughout the season, the Orchestra performed magnificently under many more of the world’s leading conductors and alongside a stellar roster of guest soloists. Of particular note were those concerts that featured the Chicago Symphony Chorus, whose range runs from angelic beauty to roof-raising thunder. I also want to applaud the Orchestra’s innovative Beyond the Score, series which, due to popular demand, doubled its number of concert presentations this season and attracted still more internationally renowned orchestras to its growing list of licensees. I am so proud that our institution is recognized not only for its superlative music making but also for its groundbreaking audience development initiatives. It is evident that creative, engaging initiatives play a crucial role in ensuring future generations of concertgoers. That is why there was such a great deal of excitement over Maestro Muti’s appointment of Yo-Yo Ma as the first Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant. His new role in the CSO family promises a wealth of opportunities for cross-cultural collaborations and citywide engagement. Because not everyone is as fortunate as we are to be able to hear the Orchestra live, I am delighted that we are able to showcase its music through the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Radio Broadcast Series, which reached more than 400,000 weekly listeners nationwide thanks to the leadership support of The Grainger Foundation, and through CSO Resound recordings, thanks to the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Smykal. Through these media initiatives, many are able to experience the Orchestra for the first time. As CSO board chairman, I hear from many people who want to share their personal experiences with our Orchestra. It is truly heartwarming to know how fervently people care about the CSO— about its exceptional music making and its reputation as a world-class institution, which adds luster to our city’s international image. As chairman, I am also well aware of the costs of the concerts and programs that are presented virtually year-round at Symphony Center, not to mention the international tours, commissions, and educational and community engagement activities that keep the Orchestra on the forefront of the world stage and make it such an important resource here at home. While we remain committed to providing programming of the highest order, we also must exercise due diligence when it comes to the bottom line. With that in mind, I am particularly proud to report that we were able to maintain the Orchestra’s fiscal stability, posting a surplus for the fourth consecutive year. 2 CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE We continued to experience strong ticket sales, totaling nearly $21 million. In the weakened economy, subscription sales were more challenging, but single ticket sales finished 3 percent ahead of last year. The CSO Main Series still finished in excess of 82 percent paid capacity sold. These figures represents the heart, drive and willingness to sacrifice for the shared goal of artistic excellence and fiscal stability that we in the CSO family have proved we have in abundance. Our board is composed of a truly engaged group of men and women with remarkable acumen for business and sincere passion for this institution. Throughout the season, they collaborated diligently with a skilled and dedicated staff—led by the truly remarkable Deborah Rutter—to develop innovative ways to bring in new audiences and generate revenue. My respect for these individuals is enormous, and I consider myself incredibly fortunate to work in their company. Even in these challenging economic times, individual and corporate donors stepped up again and demonstrated their civic and cultural pride and the “can do” attitude that makes Chicago such a great city. Finally, our amazing group of volunteers—including two new organizations this season—continued to give generously of their time, talent and imagination, and our audiences acted as real partners as we rallied together to weather this storm. Not many can say all that, but then, not many have our legacy! We are a part of something truly extraordinary; it is now more important than ever to join together in support of this priceless institution so that future generations will look to us as we do those who came before us. William A. Osborn Chairman Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association 3 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Dear Friends, The 2009/10 season was full of both celebration and anticipation as we commemorated several significant milestones in the Orchestra’s history and the lives of its leaders. We were very proud to present a number of special concerts and events in celebration of the tenure of Principal Conductor Bernard Haitink and the 85th birthday of Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus Pierre Boulez—two of the world’s most illustrious and highly respected musicians, whose unparalleled artistry and guidance over the past four years have made the CSO esteemed on stages across the globe and the envy of orchestras everywhere. At the same time, we prepared to pass the baton (literally and figuratively) to Riccardo Muti, whose influence as music director designate could already be felt through the inspired appointments he made and the meaningful programs he outlined in this season. His enthusiasm for Chicago is obvious, and his vision will mark a new era for the CSO and the city of Chicago. That said, this report is to discuss the 2009/10 season, which offered many significant highlights, onstage and off! The schedule of activities surrounding our monthlong Pierre Boulez @ 85 celebrations would have exhausted much younger men, but Pierre took it on with gusto. Continuously fêted by adoring audiences in Chicago, New York City and Ann Arbor, Michigan, he conducted a wide range of concert programs and took part in extramusical activities as well. The same could be said for Bernard Haitink, who not only took the Orchestra on a tour of Europe, but also was the driving force behind our blockbuster, three-week Beethoven Festival, a fitting conclusion to an amazing four-year partnership. Maestro Muti also operated at full throttle, both in his dynamic concert performances and the passionate plans to extend the Orchestra’s involvement in the community. (You can see details of their activities in the pages that follow.) The 2009/10 season also marked the conclusion of Mark-Anthony Turnage and Osvaldo Golijov’s four-year tenure as Mead Composers-in-Residence. Their joint curatorship of the flourishing MusicNOW series brought well-deserved attention to some of the most exciting and innovative work being done today and created a welcoming environment in which audiences could engage casually with composers and musicians. I am incredibly proud of the success of this series as it has helped develop both a greater audience and wider acceptance for contemporary classical compositions. We thank both composers and look forward to presenting more of their works in the coming seasons. At the same time, we eagerly anticipate the tenure of our new Mead Composers-in-Residence, Mason Bates and Anna Clyne, who have already proven to be creative and enthusiastic champions of new music. I am particularly excited about Maestro Muti’s other major appointment. In January, our longtime friend Yo-Yo Ma assumed the newly created position of Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant. Through his superlative artistry and ability to connect with others, he is uniquely equipped to provide collaborative musical leadership and guidance on innovative program development for The Institute for Learning, Access and Training, as well as for CSO artistic initiatives. We are so grateful to Judson and trustee Joyce Green for their generous support. Throughout the season, our Orchestra continued to attract the world’s leading conductors and soloists, all eager to share the stage with musicians of such extraordinary caliber. We also found exciting new partnerships with innovative local theater and dance companies, resulting in a season full of thrilling concert programs and brilliant music making.