CSO Audio Program Notes

Muti Conducts Cavalleria rusticana by Chicago Symphony

Ozawa Conducts Beethoven and Bartók by Chicago Symphony

Mäkelä Conducts Rite of Spring by Chicago Symphony

Mahler Festival Broadcast: Mahler 7 by Chicago Symphony

Boulez Conducts Mahler, Bartók, & Stravinsky by Chicago Symphony

Celebrating Frederick Stock by Chicago Symphony

Szeps-Znaider & Carpenter by CSO Association

Mäkelä Conducts Mahler 3 by Chicago Symphony

Beethoven, Mozart & Tchaikovsky by Chicago Symphony

Rakitina, Weilerstein & Tchaikovsky by CSO Association

Hrůša Conducts Mahler 9 by Chicago Symphony

The Song of the Earth by Chicago Symphony

Hrůša Conducts Má vlast by Chicago Symphony

Mäkelä Conducts Symphonie fantastique by Chicago Symphony

Mäkelä & Trifonov by Chicago Symphony

Sokhiev & Avdeeva by Chicago Symphony

Haitink Conducts Mahler 2 by Chicago Symphony

Solti Conducts Beethoven and Liszt by Chicago Symphony

Salonen & Apkalna by Chicago Symphony

Contemporary American Composers by Chicago Symphony

Great Guest Soloists by Chicago Symphony

A Chicago Symphony Chorus Spotlight by Chicago Symphony

Handel Messiah & Tchaikovsky Nutcracker by Chicago Symphony

Mahler Festival Broadcast: Mahler 7 by Chicago Symphony

Solti Conducts Del Tredici by Chicago Symphony

Rakitina, Weilerstein & Tchaikovsky by Chicago Symphony

Guests in the House by Chicago Symphony

Barenboim Conducts Bruckner 8 by Chicago Symphony

Afkham & Gluzman by Chicago Symphony

Opera Without Words by Chicago Symphony

Ravinia Opening Night 2025 by Chicago Symphony

Carmina burana by Chicago Symphony

Mahler Festival Broadcast: Mahler 6 by Chicago Symphony

Mäkelä Conducts Mahler 3 by Chicago Symphony

Harding Conducts The Planets by Chicago Symphony

Reiner Rarities by Chicago Symphony

Musicians of the Orchestra by Chicago Symphony

Janáček; J. Strauss, Jr. & Mussorgsky by Chicago Symphony

Chicago Symphony Orchestra Daniel Barenboim, conductor

Salonen & Apkalna - Broadcast by Chicago Symphony

Verdi’s Requiem Mass, in its fervent quest for eternal rest, stands as a powerful demonstration of the composer’s ability to harness the human voice. Hailed by NPR as “simply magnificent” for their two-time Grammy Award-winning CSO Resound recording of this work, Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus are joined by a thrilling quartet of international singers to once again deliver a masterful blend of passion and precision. Please note: This program replaces Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust. Learn more: cso.org/performances/24-25/cso-classical/muti-verdi-requiem

Esteban Batallán, the CSO’s principal trumpet since 2019, makes his much-anticipated debut as a soloist with the Orchestra in a pair of brilliant, high-flying concertos. Riccardo Muti frames the program with Joseph Haydn’s tempestuous Symphony No. 48 and Schubert’s Haydn-inspired Tragic Symphony. Learn more: cso.org/performances/24-25/cso-classical/muti-and-esteban-batallan

2024 Ravinia Festival Opening Night: Celebration of Americana - Broadcast by Chicago Symphony

In Randall Goosby, the pioneering American composer Florence Price “has her ideal champion,” writes The Guardian, “his playing full of old-school warmth and breadth but never schmaltzy.” Price’s beguiling violin concerto shares a program with Prokofiev’s enchanting Seventh Symphony, composed for a children’s radio broadcast. The suite from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg gathers stirring moments from Wagner’s opera. Learn more: cso.org/performances/24-25/cso-classical/elder-goosby-and-price

Dvořák’s radiant salute to the New World kicks off an American road trip with James Gaffigan at the wheel. Take in poignant selections from Gershwin’s landmark opera — sung by Janai Brugger — and the composer’s urbane and nostalgic love letter to Paris. Chicago native Florence Price sets two American poems to song, and a pair of symphonic showstoppers by Bernstein transports audiences to “New York, New York” and beyond. Learn more: cso.org/performances/24-25/cso-classical/an-american-suite

Haitink Conducts Mahler 2 - Broadcast by Chicago Symphony

Giulini Conducts Mahler 9 - Broadcast by Chicago Symphony

Giulini Conducts Mahler 9 - Broadcast by Chicago Symphony

The CSO brings the soaring emotional peaks and valleys of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony to Chicago audiences before performing it on Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw stage. The “hammer blows of fate” in the finale seem to foreshadow the tragedies in Mahler’s life, including his own fatal illness. But the symphony brims with life’s pleasures, too, from memories of mountain pastures (listen for the cowbells) to a rapturous portrait of the composer’s wife, Alma. Learn more: cso.org/performances/24-25/cso-classical/mahler-6-with-jaap-van-zweden