CSO Program Notes: Shostakovich 8

James Gaffigan, praised for his "exemplary, full-blooded conducting" (Chicago Classical Review), leads the CSO in Shostakovich's rarely heard Eighth Symphony, a profound work that represents the composer's yearning for peace. The CSO's own Cynthia Yeh gives the U.S. premiere of Israeli-born composer Avner Dorman's percussion concerto, which he calls "a celebration of life, energy and an ever-present and eternal rhythm."