2012/13 Season Catalog

World’s Best. Chicago’s Own. CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA RICCARDO MUTI Music Director

SYMPHONY CENTER PRESENTS 2012/13 Season

Global Sponsor of the CSO

2

R I C C A R D O M U T I Music Director

“The Chicago Symphony Orchestra amazed the audience in Dresden… they applauded, insisting that [Maestro Muti] return many times to the stage for ovation.”—DRESDNER NEUESTE NACHRICHTEN (DRESDEN) “It was a privilege, however, to hear this work performed in concert by this superb orchestra. The nuances of the playing came through vividly: the quartet of plush cello solos…the beautiful interplay of woodwinds…and much more.”—NEW YORK TIMES “An entire orchestra of virtuosi.”—AARGAUER ZEITUNG (SWITZERLAND)

W O R L D ’ S B E S T. C H I C A G O ’ S O W N .

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0 c s o . o r g

“Eagerly anticipated in Mozart’s city, the [CSO] was a triumphant success with an audience of connoisseurs who honored the CSO with a very special and never-ending ovation.”—IL MESSAGGERO (ROME) “Muti—leading one of the most nuanced and combustible performances I’ve ever heard—unleashed enough musical current to power a small city for a week.”—NEW YORK MAGAZINE “The maestro appeared in Olympic form.”—LE MONDE (PARIS)

3

4

CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA RICCARDO MUTI Music Director

SYMPHONY CENTER PRESENTS 2012/13 Season

TABLE OF CONTENTS RIVERS........................................................................ 6 CSO Series Main Series........................................................... 8 Beyond the Score ®................................................ 29 Afterwork Masterworks ®......................................... 30 Friday Night at the Movies .................................... 31 CSO Family Matinees / Once Upon a Symphony...... 40 Symphony Ball............................................................ 22 Symphony Center Presents Chamber Music....................................................

Orchestra ............................................................

Piano..................................................................

MusicNOW...........................................................

Jazz....................................................................

33 34 36 38 39

Special Concerts......................................................... 41 Season Grid & Calendar............................... Center fold-out Media ....................................................... Center fold-out

W O R L D ’ S B E S T. C H I C A G O ’ S O W N .

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0 c s o . o r g

THE PAGE

33

EFFECT CHANGING THE COURSE

Yo-Yo Ma peforms with Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

F

ew composers have created music that electrified an entire generation as Richard Wagner (18131883) did in the mid-nineteenth century. His mature operas—Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Tristan and Isolde, Die Meistersinger, The Ring of the Nibelung and Parsifal— tremendously altered the way his contemporaries and successors thought about drama, literature, the visual arts and, of course, music. This season, marking the bicentennial of Wagner’s birth, we examine works influenced by Wagner’s polarizing approach to music, from composers that deeply admired and embraced the reforms Wagner introduced to those who utterly rejected and rebelled against his ideas.

PAGE

15

Muti conducts Bach’s Mass in B Minor

CELEBRATING SIR GEORG SOLTI (1912-1997)

S

ir Georg Solti, whose Wagner interpretations and recordings have become legendary, was the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s eighth music director serving in that role from 1969 until 1991 and then as music director laureate from 1991 to 1997. He and the Orchestra developed a remarkable musical partnership, during which he led the triumphant first overseas tour to Europe in 1971, Japan, Russia and Australia and conducted numerous Grammy® Awardwinning recordings with the Orchestra and Chicago Symphony Chorus. This season, we celebrate the exact 100th anniversary of Sir Georg’s birth with a gala performance by the World Orchestra for Peace, which he founded in 1995, and throughout the year we pay tribute to the composers that Solti heralded in his lifetime: Bartók, Mahler and, of course, Wagner.

See page 34 for details.

5

R I C C A R D O M U T I Music Director

6

R

ivers have been linked with humanity from the dawn of time. They have flowed through our lives and our imagination.

Rivers function as boundaries, separating one nation from another and preventing migration. They are highways of communication, joining one nation to another, encouraging trade and the transportation of goods and ideas from one part of the globe to another.

Rivers provide food and a means of life: fish, animals, crops and, above all, water.

Civilizations grow up alongside rivers. Rivers become sacred or symbolic, embodying tribes, nations and entire cultures.

Rivers lead to exploration and discovery. Rivers overflow and create terrifying disasters. Rivers are enjoyed for play, sport, pleasure. Rivers ripple, creating sounds which have inspired musicians throughout history and civilizations.

During the 2012/13 season, we turn a lens on music that explores how rivers—forever intertwined with our past, present and future—reflect the full spectrum of the human experience.

W O R L D ’ S B E S T. C H I C A G O ’ S O W N .

THE GREAT FLOOD Film by Bill Morrison Music by Bill Frisell

Film and music exploring the tragic 1927 Mississippi flood, one of the most destructive in U.S. history. See page 39.

RACHMANINOV AND SIBELIUS Chicago Symphony Orchestra Sir Mark Elder conductor Garrick Ohlsson piano

Sir Mark Elder returns to lead Dvořák’s macabre tone poem, The Water Goblin.

See page 25.

BOULEZ AND BRONFMAN Chicago Symphony Orchestra Pierre Boulez conductor Yefim Bronfman piano

Pierre Boulez conducts Messiaen’s Chronochromie, which depicts bird calls and high mountain streams. See page 20.

THE SAINT PAUL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA An afternoon of water-inspired chamber music, including Copland’s Appalachian Spring, Cage’s Water Walk, Takemitsu’s Rain Coming, Knussen’s Coursing and more. See page 33.

FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE SEVEN SEAS Chicago Symphony Orchestra Mei-Ann Chen conductor

Featuring Florence Price’s Mississippi River, portraying the river’s history in music, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s vivid tone poem, Sheherazade. See page 27.

THE AMAZON AND THE RIVER LIFFEY Chicago Symphony Orchestra Juanjo Mena conductor Peter Serkin piano

A program filled with rivers, including Villa-Lobos’ Amazonas, Takemitsu’s riverrun and Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony.

See page 26.

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0 c s o . o r g

REVUELTAS LA NOCHE DE LOS MAYAS Chicago Symphony Orchestra Carlos Miguel Prieto conductor Jean-Yves Thibaudet piano

Central and South American rivers are the focus, from the first peoples of Mexico in La Noche de los Mayas to pre-Colombian Argentinians in the Panambí Suite.

See page 12.

MOZART AND BATES Chicago Symphony Orchestra Jaap van Zweden conductor David Fray piano

Mason Bates’ Liquid Interface explores water in its various states, from frozen to evaporated.

See page 21.

MUTI CONDUCTS SIEGFRIED’S RHINE JOURNEY Chicago Symphony Orchestra Riccardo Muti conductor Leif Ove Andsnes piano

Riccardo Muti leads this adventurous orchestral interlude from Wagner’s famed Ring cycle.

See page 10.

See the Season Grid and Calendar in the center fold-out for complete dates, times and series information.

7

R I C C A R D O M U T I Music Director

8

THURSDAY

A

October 25 F BEETHOVEN MISSA SOLEMNIS Bernard Haitink conductor Christine Brewer soprano Bernarda Fink mezzo-soprano Anthony Dean Griffey tenor Hanno Müller-Brachmann bass-baritone

5 concert series: THU F or THU G MAR

25

21

NOV

APR

15 DEC

6

JAN

17 MAR

APR

25 MAY

23 JUN

20 TUGAN SOKHIEV

7

4

BERNARD HAITINK

OCT

RICCARDO MUTI

10 concerts at 8:00

THURSDAY A SERIES HIGHLIGHTS: Beethoven regarded the Missa solemnis as his crowning achievement, a personal expression on the brotherhood of mankind and the fragility of peace. It remains an Everest in the choral repertory, demanding both passion and intensity from its singers, while also containing some of Beethoven’s most sublime music, not least its opening Kyrie. Internationally known for his Beethoven interpretations, former Principal Conductor Bernard Haitink joins the CSO for this thrilling work.

Riccardo Muti conducts Brahms’ beloved Fourth and final Symphony. The music shifts moods dramatically from a dark and tragic opening to a rousing dance in the third movement. The third movement was so popular in Brahms’ lifetime that audiences demanded it be repeated. Ferrucio Busoni’s sardonic incidental music for Turandot shows all the wit and exoticism of the Gozzi commedia dell’arte play on which it was based.

Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director Beethoven Missa solemnis

November 15 G THE RITE OF SPRING Charles Dutoit conductor Daniil Trifonov piano Mussorgsky A Night on Bald Mountain Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 Stravinsky The Rite of Spring December 6 G CHEN PLAYS BARBER Vasily Petrenko conductor Robert Chen violin Elgar Cockaigne Overture (In London Town) Barber Violin Concerto Shostakovich Symphony No. 10 January 17 F MUTI CONDUCTS BRAHMS Riccardo Muti conductor Stravinsky Divertimento Busoni Selections from Turandot Suite Brahms Symphony No. 4 March 7 G BOULEZ AND BRONFMAN Pierre Boulez conductor Yefim Bronfman piano Debussy Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun Messiaen Chronochromie Stravinsky The Song of the Nightingale Bartók Piano Concerto No. 2

ROBERT CHEN

MATHIEU DUFOUR

March 21 F TCHAIKOVSKY 4 Tugan Sokhiev conductor Mathieu Dufour flute Borodin In the Steppes of Central Asia Khachaturian Flute Concerto Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 April 4 F YUJA WANG PLAYS PROKOFIEV Sakari Oramo conductor Yuja Wang piano Dean Amphitheatre Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 Nielsen Symphony No. 5 April 25 G MUTI AND POLLINI Riccardo Muti conductor Maurizio Pollini piano Beethoven Consecration of the House Overture Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) Schumann Symphony No. 3 (Rhenish) May 23 F REVUELTAS LA NOCHE DE LOS MAYAS Carlos Miguel Prieto conductor Jean-Yves Thibaudet piano Ginastera Suite from Panambí Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 5 Revueltas La Noche de los Mayas June 20 G MUTI CONDUCTS VERDI Riccardo Muti conductor Alisa Kolosova mezzo-soprano Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director Mozart Ave verum corpus Vivaldi Magnificat Verdi Four Sacred Pieces

YUJA WANG

W O R L D ’ S B E S T. C H I C A G O ’ S O W N .

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0 c s o . o r g

THURSDAY

B

October 18 H HAITINK CONDUCTS BRAHMS Bernard Haitink conductor Renaud Capuçon violin Gautier Capuçon cello Brahms Double Concerto Brahms Symphony No. 1

5 concert series: THU H or THU I FEB

18

21

NOV

MAR

1

DEC

14 APR

13

18

JAN

MAY

10

PETER SERKIN

OCT

ANNA CLYNE

10 concerts at 8:00

2

MAY

JUN

6

PIERRE BOULEZ

16

THURSDAY B SERIES HIGHLIGHTS: The CSO’s former Principal Conductor Bernard Haitink begins his 2012/13 season residency with an all-Brahms program. The concert opens with brothers Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, whom the Los Angeles Times called “electrifying” after their recent performances of Brahms’ Double Concerto. Brahms spent 14 years composing his First Symphony, striving to match the daunting challenge posed by Beethoven’s mighty symphonic cycle. Haitink leads this powerful, triumphant masterpiece.

Tristan and Isolde is an alluring legend of forbidden love between an Irish princess, pledged to marry an English king, and the knight who escorts her across the sea. Hear Esa-Pekka Salonen, Stefan Vinke, Evelyn Herlitzius, John Relyea and Michelle DeYoung perform Act 2 of Wagner’s exalted opera, which contains some of its most entrancing music as the lovers express their overwhelming passion for one another.

November 1 I MAHLER 3 Semyon Bychkov conductor Bernarda Fink mezzo-soprano Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director Anima–Young Singers of Greater Chicago Emily Ellsworth artistic director Mahler Symphony No. 3

December 13 H BACH CONCERTOS Harry Bicket conductor Jennifer Koh violin Jaime Laredo violin Scott Hostetler oboe d’amore Stravinsky Dumbarton Oaks Concerto Bach Concerto for Two Violins Clyne Double Concerto [CSO Co-Commission, World Premiere] Bach Concerto for Oboe d’amore, BWV 1055 Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 January 10 I MUTI CONDUCTS ALL-BEETHOVEN Riccardo Muti conductor Radu Lupu piano Beethoven Leonore Overture No. 3 Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 Beethoven Symphony No. 3 (Eroica)

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN

February 21 H TRISTAN AND ISOLDE Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Evelyn Herlitzius soprano (Isolde) Stefan Vinke tenor (Tristan) John Relyea bass (Marke) Michelle DeYoung mezzo-soprano (Brangäne) Wagner Tristan and Isolde, Act 2

March 14 I BOULEZ CONDUCTS WAGNER Pierre Boulez conductor Michael Barenboim violin Wagner Siegfried Idyll Schoenberg Violin Concerto Wagner Prelude to Parsifal Mahler Adagio from Symphony No. 10 April 18 H MUTI CONDUCTS BEETHOVEN 4 Riccardo Muti conductor Vivaldi Concerto for Strings in A Major, R. 158 Mozart Symphony No. 38 (Prague) Beethoven Symphony No. 4 May 2 I SPANISH PASSION Pablo Heras-Casado conductor Ravel Le tombeau de Couperin Debussy La boîte à joujoux Ravel Pavane pour une infante défunte Falla El amor brujo May 16 H THE AMAZON AND THE RIVER LIFFEY Juanjo Mena conductor Peter Serkin piano Smetana The Moldau Takemitsu riverrun Villa-Lobos Amazonas Beethoven Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral) June 6 I MUTI CONDUCTS SCRIABIN Riccardo Muti conductor Eugene Izotov oboe Haydn Symphony No. 48 (Maria Theresa) Martinů Oboe Concerto Scriabin The Divine Poem

9

R I C C A R D O M U T I Music Director

10

THURSDAY

C

September 20 D MUTI CONDUCTS RESPIGHI Riccardo Muti conductor Dvořák Symphony No. 5 Martucci Notturno Respighi Feste romane

5 concert series: THU D or THU E FEB

20

28

NOV

MAR

8

NOV

28 APR

29

11

DEC

MAY

20

DAVID FRAY

SEP

RICCARDO MUTI

10 concerts at 8:00

9

JUN

13

CHRISTOPHER MARTIN

MAY

30

November 8 D BEETHOVEN 7 Charles Dutoit conductor Gil Shaham violin Britten The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra Walton Violin Concerto Beethoven Symphony No. 7 November 29 E BERLIOZ AND SHOSTAKOVICH Sir Mark Elder conductor Alice Coote mezzo-soprano Dvořák The Golden Spinning Wheel Berlioz Les nuits d’été Shostakovich Symphony No. 1 December 20 E VAN ZWEDEN CONDUCTS TCHAIKOVSKY Jaap van Zweden conductor Christopher Martin trumpet Program to include: Rouse Trumpet Concerto [CSO Commission, World Premiere] Tchaikovsky Manfred Symphony

February 28 E YO-YO MA AND ESA-PEKKA SALONEN Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Yo-Yo Ma cello Sibelius Pohjola’s Daughter Sibelius Symphony No. 7 Lutosławski Cello Concerto Tchaikovsky Francesca da Rimini March 28 D UCHIDA PLAYS MOZART Mitsuko Uchida conductor and piano Mozart Piano Concerto No. 17 Mozart Eine kleine Nachtmusik Mozart Piano Concerto No. 22 April 11 D MUTI CONDUCTS BACH MASS IN B MINOR Riccardo Muti conductor Eleonora Buratto soprano Anna Malavasi mezzo-soprano Saimir Pirgu tenor Alessandro Luongo baritone Gianluca Buratto bass Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director Bach Mass in B Minor

May 9 E FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE SEVEN SEAS Mei-Ann Chen conductor Mendelssohn The Fair Melusina Overture Florence Price Mississippi River Rimsky-Korsakov Sheherazade

THURSDAY C SERIES HIGHLIGHTS: Wagner called Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony “the apotheosis of the dance,” an apt description given its exuberant rhythms and elegant, carefree lines.

Charles Dutoit pairs this symphony with two English masterpieces: Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, a spirited introduction to the various instruments of the modern symphony orchestra, and Walton’s lusciously orchestrated Violin Concerto, featuring soloist Gil Shaham.

Riccardo Muti takes on one of Wagner’s most exhilarating orchestral interludes, taken from the final opera of the Ring cycle, Götterdämmerung. Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes tames the furies in Beethoven’s poetic Fourth Piano Concerto. Muti and the CSO conclude this concert with the work that launched the symphonic career of an ardent admirer of Wagner, Anton Bruckner.

MITSUKO UCHIDA

May 30 D MOZART AND BATES Jaap van Zweden conductor David Fray piano Bates Liquid Interface Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25 Bartók Concerto for Orchestra June 13 E MUTI CONDUCTS SIEGFRIED’S RHINE JOURNEY Riccardo Muti conductor Leif Ove Andsnes piano Wagner Siegfried’s Rhine Journey from Götterdämmerung Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 Bruckner Symphony No. 1

W O R L D ’ S B E S T. C H I C A G O ’ S O W N .

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0 c s o . o r g

THE

WAGNER EFFECT OPPOSITION

Brahms 4

E

arly in his career, Johannes Brahms was pegged as the antithesis of the new Wagner camp— his works in the great classical forms stood in direct opposition to everything Wagner and his revolutionary music dramas represented. But Brahms quickly proved that he would make his mark by breathing new life into old forms. He was not interested in forging new paths, because he knew that there was still more to be said in the language at hand.

Brahms’ Fourth Symphony is his final statement in a form he had completely mastered—a form the mature Wagner completely ignored. And while it sums up everything Brahms knew about orchestral writing, it also points the symphony in a new direction. In this score, completed in 1885, Brahms has a wonderful time playing with the conventions of a standard four-movement layout and the textbook rules of sonata form. Throughout the symphony, there is music of enormous energy and invention, lightened by an unabashedly comic streak— unexpected from Brahms, reputedly the most sober of composers.

FRIEDRICH, CASPAR DAVID (1774–1840) THE WANDERER ABOVE THE SEA OF FOG 1818

The magnificent finale is Brahms’ masterstroke.

Throughout his life, Brahms collected old scores, studying their pages to see what history might teach him. Now, in this finale, Brahms writes a set of variations on a theme from a cantata by Bach.

No one before Brahms had thought of writing a strict passacaglia—a set of variations over a repeated bass line—to wrap up a symphony. And at the calm heart of this finale, with its echoes of the Pilgrims’ music from Tannhäuser, the worlds of Wagner and Brahms even converge. Convention and innovation, past and present all merge in a finale that is as dazzling as any movement in symphonic music.

Performed January 17–19

11

R I C C A R D O M U T I Music Director

12

FRIDAY

A

November 2 MAHLER 3

8 concerts at 1:30

2

DEC

14 JAN

APR

5

APR

19 MAY

18

24

MAR

JUN

14 LEIF OVE ANDSNES

22

RICCARDO MUTI

NOV

Semyon Bychkov conductor Bernarda Fink mezzo-soprano Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director Anima–Young Singers of Greater Chicago Emily Ellsworth artistic director Mahler Symphony No. 3

December 14 BACH CONCERTOS Harry Bicket conductor Jennifer Koh violin Jaime Laredo violin Scott Hostetler oboe d’amore Stravinsky Dumbarton Oaks Concerto Bach Concerto for Two Violins Clyne Double Concerto [CSO Co-Commission, World Premiere] Bach Concerto for Oboe d’amore, BWV 1055 Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 6

CHICAGO SYMPHONY CHORUS

January 18 MUTI CONDUCTS BRAHMS Riccardo Muti conductor Stravinsky Divertimento Busoni Selections from Turandot Suite Brahms Symphony No. 4

FRIDAY A SERIES HIGHLIGHTS:

March 22 TCHAIKOVSKY 4 Tugan Sokhiev conductor Mathieu Dufour flute Borodin In the Steppes of Central Asia Khachaturian Flute Concerto Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4

April 5 YUJA WANG PLAYS PROKOFIEV Sakari Oramo conductor Yuja Wang piano Dean Amphitheatre Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 Nielsen Symphony No. 5 April 19 MUTI CONDUCTS BEETHOVEN 4 Riccardo Muti conductor Vivaldi Concerto for Strings in A Major, R. 158 Mozart Symphony No. 38 (Prague) Beethoven Symphony No. 4 May 24 REVUELTAS LA NOCHE DE LOS MAYAS Carlos Miguel Prieto conductor Jean-Yves Thibaudet piano Ginastera Suite from Panambí Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 5 Revueltas La Noche de los Mayas June 14 MUTI CONDUCTS SIEGFRIED’S RHINE JOURNEY Riccardo Muti conductor Leif Ove Andsnes piano Wagner Siegfried’s Rhine Journey from Götterdämmerung Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 Bruckner Symphony No. 1

“A symphony must be like the world,” said Mahler, “it must contain everything.” No work better exemplifies this than his epic Third Symphony, scored for massive orchestra including an off-stage post horn and snare drums, women’s and children’s choirs and various bells. Our guide to Mahler’s universal piece is Semyon Bychkov, one of today’s most thoughtful and profound conductors.

Moved by the enthusiastic response to The Marriage of Figaro by Prague audiences, Mozart composed his 38th Symphony for presentation during one of his visits to the city. Riccardo Muti precedes this work with a spirited Vivaldi string showcase. Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony shows the composer at his most light-hearted, charming and mischievous.

French piano icon Jean-Yves Thibaudet draws out the subtleties and expressive colors of Saint-Saëns’ exotic Fifth Piano Concerto, written while the composer was visiting Cairo. Carlos Miguel Prieto imbues the program with Latin flavor: the richly orchestrated Panambí Suite tells a pre-Colombian saga of the north Argentinean Indians, and the film score La Noche de los Mayas is regarded as Revueltas’ masterpiece.

W O R L D ’ S B E S T. C H I C A G O ’ S O W N .

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0 c s o . o r g

FRIDAY

B

November 9 BEETHOVEN 7 Charles Dutoit conductor Gil Shaham violin Britten The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra Walton Violin Concerto Beethoven Symphony No. 7

8 concerts at 1:30

1

30

29

DEC

JUN

JAN

JUN

21 11

7

YO-YO MA

MAR

November 30 BERLIOZ AND SHOSTAKOVICH Sir Mark Elder conductor Alice Coote mezzo-soprano Dvořák The Golden Spinning Wheel Berlioz Les nuits d’été Shostakovich Symphony No. 1 December 21 VAN ZWEDEN CONDUCTS TCHAIKOVSKY Jaap van Zweden conductor Christopher Martin trumpet Program to include: Rouse Trumpet Concerto [CSO Commission, World Premiere] Tchaikovsky Manfred Symphony

21

JAAP VAN ZWEDEN

NOV

MAR

January 11 MUTI CONDUCTS ALL-BEETHOVEN Riccardo Muti conductor Radu Lupu piano Beethoven Leonore Overture No. 3 Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 Beethoven Symphony No. 3 (Eroica)

March 29 UCHIDA PLAYS MOZART Mitsuko Uchida conductor and piano Mozart Piano Concerto No. 17 Mozart Eine kleine Nachtmusik Mozart Piano Concerto No. 22 June 7 MUTI CONDUCTS SCRIABIN Riccardo Muti conductor Eugene Izotov oboe Haydn Symphony No. 48 (Maria Theresa) Martinů Oboe Concerto Scriabin The Divine Poem June 21 MUTI CONDUCTS VERDI Riccardo Muti conductor Alisa Kolosova mezzo-soprano Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director Mozart Ave verum corpus Vivaldi Magnificat Verdi Four Sacred Pieces

FRIDAY B SERIES HIGHLIGHTS: GIL SHAHAM

9

Beethoven made four attempts to write an overture for his lone opera Fidelio; Leonore No. 3, with its thrilling off-stage trumpet fanfare, is widely regarded as his greatest. Radu Lupu performs Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto, an early work clearly influenced by Mozart yet with flashes of surprising individuality heard in later compositions. We then return to the Beethoven of revolutionary, groundbreaking statements with his mighty Eroica Symphony, led by Music Director Riccardo Muti.

A distinguished pianist himself, Mozart composed much of his most exquisite music for his piano concertos. Japanese pianist Mitsuko Uchida performs and conducts two of his greatest concertos—the charming No. 17 in G Major and the noble No. 22 in E-flat Major. CSO Concertmaster Robert Chen leads the Orchestra in Mozart’s well-loved serenade, Eine kleine Nachtmusik.

EUGENE IZOTOV

NOV

March 1 YO-YO MA AND ESA-PEKKA SALONEN Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Yo-Yo Ma cello Sibelius Pohjola’s Daughter Sibelius Symphony No. 7 Lutosławski Cello Concerto Tchaikovsky Francesca da Rimini

CSO Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant Yo-Yo Ma performs Lutosławski’s emotionally fraught Cello Concerto, originally composed in the late-1960s for the legendary Rostropovich. Esa-Pekka Salonen returns to the podium to lead two works by his countryman Jean Sibelius, including the beautifully atmospheric tone poem Pohjola’s Daughter, based on a traditional Finnish folktale about the seductive and cruel Daugher of the Far North.

13

R I C C A R D O M U T I Music Director

14

FRIDAY

C

5 concerts at 8:00

15

PIERRE BOULEZ

MAR

MAY

31

October 26 BEETHOVEN MISSA SOLEMNIS Bernard Haitink conductor Christine Brewer soprano Bernarda Fink mezzo-soprano Anthony Dean Griffey tenor Hanno Müller-Brachmann bass-baritone Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director Beethoven Missa solemnis

RICCARDO MUTI

OCT

26

26

April 26 MUTI AND POLLINI Riccardo Muti conductor Maurizio Pollini piano Beethoven Consecration of the House Overture Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) Schumann Symphony No. 3 (Rhenish) May 31 MOZART AND BATES Jaap van Zweden conductor David Fray piano Bates Liquid Interface Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25 Bartók Concerto for Orchestra

March 15 BOULEZ CONDUCTS WAGNER Pierre Boulez conductor Michael Barenboim violin Wagner Siegfried Idyll Schoenberg Violin Concerto Wagner Prelude to Parsifal Mahler Adagio from Symphony No. 10

FRIDAY C SERIES HIGHLIGHTS:

CHRISTINE BREWER

28

September 28 MUTI CONDUCTS RESPIGHI Riccardo Muti conductor Dvořák Symphony No. 5 Martucci Notturno Respighi Feste romane

APR

MASON BATES

SEP

Beethoven regarded the Missa solemnis as his crowning achievement, a personal expression on the brotherhood of mankind and the fragility of peace. It remains an Everest in the choral repertory, demanding both passion and intensity from its singers, while also containing some of Beethoven’s most sublime music, not least its opening Kyrie. Internationally known for his Beethoven interpretations, former Principal Conductor Bernard Haitink joins the CSO for this thrilling work.

From the joy and hope of youth found in Wagner’s tender Siegfried Idyll to the despair and transfiguration at life’s end expressed in Mahler’s final symphonic work, CSO Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus Pierre Boulez’s program encompasses human experience from beginning to end. Schoenberg’s intensely expressive and technically challenging Violin Concerto is performed by rising young violinist Michael Barenboim.

Italian musical masters Riccardo Muti and Maurizio Pollini are contemporaries and long-time collaborators, both graduates of the Giuseppe Verdi Music Conservatory in Milan and pupils of the same composition teacher, Bruno Bettinelli.

They frequently perform together in the world’s greatest concert halls, and now join the CSO for Beethoven’s grand Emperor Concerto. Schumann’s Third Symphony, a musical postcard from the vistas of the Rhineland, follows intermission.

W O R L D ’ S B E S T. C H I C A G O ’ S O W N .

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0 c s o . o r g

FRIDAY

D

5 concerts at 8:00 OCT

19

12

DEC

MAY

7

October 19 HAITINK CONDUCTS BRAHMS Bernard Haitink conductor Renaud Capuçon violin Gautier Capuçon cello Brahms Double Concerto Brahms Symphony No. 1

APR

3

PABLO HERAS-CASADO BERNARD HAITINK CONDUCTS THE CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS DUAIN WOLFE

15

VASILY PETRENKO

FEB

December 7 CHEN PLAYS BARBER Vasily Petrenko conductor Robert Chen violin Elgar Cockaigne Overture (In London Town) Barber Violin Concerto Shostakovich Symphony No. 10 February 15 RACHMANINOV AND SIBELIUS Sir Mark Elder conductor Garrick Ohlsson piano Dvořák The Water Goblin Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 Sibelius Symphony No. 1

April 12 MUTI CONDUCTS BACH MASS IN B MINOR Riccardo Muti conductor Eleonora Buratto soprano Anna Malavasi mezzo-soprano Saimir Pirgu tenor Alessandro Luongo baritone Gianluca Buratto bass Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director Bach Mass in B Minor

May 3 SPANISH PASSION Pablo Heras-Casado conductor Ravel Le tombeau de Couperin Debussy La boîte à joujoux Ravel Pavane pour une infante défunte Falla El amor brujo

FRIDAY D SERIES HIGHLIGHTS: The CSO’s former Principal Conductor Bernard Haitink begins his 2012/13 season residency with an all-Brahms program. The concert opens with brothers Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, whom the Los Angeles Times called “electrifying” after their recent performances of Brahms’ Double Concerto. Brahms spent 14 years composing his First Symphony, striving to match the daunting challenge posed by Beethoven’s mighty symphonic cycle. Haitink leads this powerful, triumphant masterpiece.

“Few symphony choruses can deliver with such technical discipline, deep musical understanding and expressive conviction as the CSO Chorus,” states the Chicago Tribune. The Chorus joins Music Director Riccardo Muti and the CSO for Bach’s monumental Mass in B Minor. Completed just months before the composer’s death in 1750, it became Bach’s final summation of his art and is considered today a pinnacle of Western art music.

15

R I C C A R D O M U T I Music Director

16

SATURDAY

A

October 27 E BEETHOVEN MISSA SOLEMNIS Bernard Haitink conductor Christine Brewer soprano Bernarda Fink mezzo-soprano Anthony Dean Griffey tenor Hanno Müller-Brachmann bass-baritone

5 concert series: SAT E or SAT F MAR

27

16

NOV

MAR

17 DEC

1

JAN

30 APR

27 MAY

19

25

FEB

JUN

8

ALICE COOTE

23

HANNO MÜLLER-BRACHMANN

OCT

RICCARDO MUTI

10 concerts at 8:00

SATURDAY A SERIES HIGHLIGHTS: Winner of the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition, emerging pianist Daniil Trifonov joins Charles Dutoit to perform Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto. Dutoit also leads two vivid evocations of Russia’s pagan past: Mussorgsky’s phantasmagoric A Night on Bald Mountain and Stravinsky’s vigorous and electric ballet, The Rite of Spring, in which a virgin maiden dances herself to death.

Italian musical masters Riccardo Muti and Maurizio Pollini are contemporaries and long-time collaborators, both graduates of the Giuseppe Verdi Music Conservatory in Milan and pupils of the same composition teacher, Bruno Bettinelli. They frequently perform together in the world’s greatest concert halls, and now join the CSO for Beethoven’s grand Emperor Concerto. Schumann’s Third Symphony, a musical postcard from vistas of the Rhineland, is delivered after intermission.

Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director Beethoven Missa solemnis

November 17 F THE RITE OF SPRING Charles Dutoit conductor Daniil Trifonov piano Mussorgsky A Night on Bald Mountain Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 Stravinsky The Rite of Spring December 1 E BERLIOZ AND SHOSTAKOVICH Sir Mark Elder conductor Alice Coote mezzo-soprano Dvořák The Golden Spinning Wheel Berlioz Les nuits d’été Shostakovich Symphony No. 1 January 19 F MUTI CONDUCTS BRAHMS Riccardo Muti conductor Stravinsky Divertimento Busoni Selections from Turandot Suite Brahms Symphony No. 4 February 23 E TRISTAN AND ISOLDE Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Evelyn Herlitzius soprano (Isolde) Stefan Vinke tenor (Tristan) John Relyea bass (Marke) Michelle DeYoung mezzo-soprano (Brangäne) Wagner Tristan and Isolde, Act 2

DANIIL TRIFONOV

BERNARDA FINK

March 16 F BOULEZ CONDUCTS WAGNER Pierre Boulez conductor Michael Barenboim violin Wagner Siegfried Idyll Schoenberg Violin Concerto Wagner Prelude to Parsifal Mahler Adagio from Symphony No. 10 March 30 E UCHIDA PLAYS MOZART Mitsuko Uchida conductor and piano Mozart Piano Concerto No. 17 Mozart Eine kleine Nachtmusik Mozart Piano Concerto No. 22 April 27 F MUTI AND POLLINI Riccardo Muti conductor Maurizio Pollini piano Beethoven Consecration of the House Overture Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 (Emperor) Schumann Symphony No. 3 (Rhenish) May 25 F REVUELTAS LA NOCHE DE LOS MAYAS Carlos Miguel Prieto conductor Jean-Yves Thibaudet piano Ginastera Suite from Panambí Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 5 Revueltas La Noche de los Mayas June 8 E MUTI CONDUCTS SCRIABIN Riccardo Muti conductor Eugene Izotov oboe Haydn Symphony No. 48 (Maria Theresa) Martinů Oboe Concerto Scriabin The Divine Poem

MAURIZIO POLLINI

W O R L D ’ S B E S T. C H I C A G O ’ S O W N .

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0 c s o . o r g

THE

WAGNER EFFECT CHANGING THE COURSE

Tristan and Isolde

W

ith its very opening notes, Richard Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde initiated a new era.

Inspired by the unrequited, forbidden love of the protagonists, Wagner poured out long, chromatic lines and aching harmonic suspensions, changing forever the way music sounds.

Wagner frequently turned to medieval epics for his subject matter, and in 1854 he began sketching music for Tristan and Isolde, drawing on Arthurian legend. Heavily influenced by the philosopher Schopenhauer, who believed that human desire could never be satisfied, Wagner emphasized both the desperate yearning the lovers feel for one another and their inability to achieve true union.

Throughout the score, Wagner stretches unresolved harmonies nearly to their breaking point, sustaining the unbearable tension until the final moments of the last act, when a grief-stricken Isolde collapses, joining her beloved Tristan in death. Wagner declared that his work was “a monument to the loveliest of all dreams, in which, from the first to the last, love shall, for once, find utter redemption.”

BEARDSLEY, AUBREY (1872–1898) HOW SIR TRISTRAM DRANK OF THE LOVE DRINK

Wagner’s innovations drew astonishing responses.

Composers as different from one another as Bruckner and Berg, Mahler and Messiaen, Schoenberg and Strauss, all responded vigorously to this new world of sound and feeling. Even those whose music sounds utterly different to Wagner’s like his contemporaries Verdi, Tchaikovsky and Brahms, or later Debussy, Respighi and Shostakovich, still found their own distinct ways to respond to the example of Wagner’s genius.

1893

Performed February 21–23

17

R I C C A R D O M U T I Music Director

18

SATURDAY

B

September 22 G MUTI CONDUCTS RESPIGHI Riccardo Muti conductor Dvořák Symphony No. 5 Martucci Notturno Respighi Feste romane

5 concert series: SAT G or THU H

22 OCT

MAR

2

APR

20

13

DEC

MAY

DEC

MAY

8

22 FEB

18 JUN

15 GAUTIER CAPUÇON

16

4

RENAUD CAPUÇON

SEP

RICCARDO MUTI

10 concerts at 8:00

SATURDAY B SERIES HIGHLIGHTS: CSO Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant Yo-Yo Ma performs Lutosławski’s emotionally fraught Cello Concerto, originally composed in the late-1960s for the legendary Rostropovich. Esa-Pekka Salonen returns to the podium to lead two works by his countryman Jean Sibelius, including the beautifully atmospheric tone poem Pohjola’s Daughter, based on a traditional Finnish folktale about the seductive and cruel Daugher of the Far North.

“Few symphony choruses can deliver with such technical discipline, deep musical understanding and expressive conviction as the CSO Chorus,” states the Chicago Tribune. The Chorus joins Music Director Riccardo Muti and the CSO for Bach’s monumental Mass in B Minor. Completed just months before the composer’s death in 1750, it became Bach’s final summation of his art and is considered today a pinnacle of Western art music.

October 20 H HAITINK CONDUCTS BRAHMS Bernard Haitink conductor Renaud Capuçon violin Gautier Capuçon cello Brahms Double Concerto Brahms Symphony No. 1 December 8 G CHEN PLAYS BARBER Vasily Petrenko conductor Robert Chen violin Elgar Cockaigne Overture (In London Town) Barber Violin Concerto Shostakovich Symphony No. 10 December 22 H VAN ZWEDEN CONDUCTS TCHAIKOVSKY Jaap van Zweden conductor Christopher Martin trumpet Program to include: Rouse Trumpet Concerto [CSO Commission, World Premiere] Tchaikovsky Manfred Symphony February 16 G RACHMANINOV AND SIBELIUS Sir Mark Elder conductor Garrick Ohlsson piano Dvořák The Water Goblin Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 Sibelius Symphony No. 1 YO-YO MA

March 2 H YO-YO MA AND ESA-PEKKA SALONEN Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Yo-Yo Ma cello Sibelius Pohjola’s Daughter Sibelius Symphony No. 7 Lutosławski Cello Concerto Tchaikovsky Francesca da Rimini April 13 G MUTI CONDUCTS BACH MASS IN B MINOR Riccardo Muti conductor Eleonora Buratto soprano Anna Malavasi mezzo-soprano Saimir Pirgu tenor Alessandro Luongo baritone Gianluca Buratto bass Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director Bach Mass in B Minor

May 4 H SPANISH PASSION Pablo Heras-Casado conductor Ravel Le tombeau de Couperin Debussy La boîte à joujoux Ravel Pavane pour une infante défunte Falla El amor brujo May 18 G THE AMAZON AND THE RIVER LIFFEY Juanjo Mena conductor Peter Serkin piano Smetana The Moldau Takemitsu riverrun Villa-Lobos Amazonas Beethoven Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral) June 15 H MUTI CONDUCTS SIEGFRIED’S RHINE JOURNEY Riccardo Muti conductor Leif Ove Andsnes piano Wagner Siegfried’s Rhine Journey from Götterdämmerung Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 Bruckner Symphony No. 1

W O R L D ’ S B E S T. C H I C A G O ’ S O W N .

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0 c s o . o r g

SEASON

Highlight

BEETHOVEN MISSA SOLEMNIS

L

udwig van Beethoven began sketching his Missa solemnis in 1818, originally intending to have it performed at the appointment of his pupil and patron, the Archduke Rudolph, as Archbishop of Olmütz. However, he quickly became engrossed by the larger implications of the liturgical texts and the possibilities of expressing them through his music that it took over four years to complete the work.

Beethoven invested much of those four years in research, copying out entire portions of Mozart’s Requiem and studying monastic chant and early church compositions by Josquin des Prez, Johannes Ockeghem and Giovanni Pierluigi de Palestrina. British musicologist Donald Francis Tovey noted the striking influence of older choral styles on Beethoven’s mass: “Not even Bach or Handel can show a greater sense of space or sonority. There is no earlier choral writing that comes so near to recovering some of the lost secrets of the style of Palestrina.”

The result is one of Beethoven’s largest-scale works. At approximately 90 minutes long, with a large chorus, orchestra and four soloists, the mass is impractical for regular use in a Roman Catholic service. The music is extremely technically difficult and places great physical demands on the performers.

The vocalists must articulate some of the most involved yet exhilarating counterpoint to be found in the choral repertoire, often sung at a fearsomely high register.

Yet in spite of these obstacles to its regular use in church services, Beethoven regarded the Missa solemnis as his crowning achievement, a personal expression on the brotherhood of mankind and the fragility of peace. He pushes the chorus nearly to the point of shouting with an ecstatic and electrifying Gloria; the Benedictus that closes the Sanctus contains some of the mass’s most transcendantly beautiful strains. The mass concludes with an innovative and particularly somber Angus Dei, in which pleas for mercy (misere nobis—have mercy on us) are interspersed with martial drums and trumpets. Ultimately those pleas are left unanswered.

BEETHOVEN DEATH MASK PHOTO CREDIT: LEBRECHT MUSIC & ARTS

Performed October 25–27

19

R I C C A R D O M U T I Music Director

20

SATURDAY

C

5 concerts at 8:00 NOV

MAR

DEC

APR

6

JUN

December 15 BACH CONCERTOS Harry Bicket conductor Jennifer Koh violin Jaime Laredo violin Scott Hostetler oboe d’amore Stravinsky Dumbarton Oaks Concerto Bach Concerto for Two Violins Clyne Double Concerto [CSO Co-Commission, World Premiere] Bach Concerto for Oboe d’amore, BWV 1055 Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 6

March 9 BOULEZ AND BRONFMAN Pierre Boulez conductor Yefim Bronfman piano Debussy Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun Messiaen Chronochromie Stravinsky The Song of the Nightingale Bartók Piano Concerto No. 2 April 6 YUJA WANG PLAYS PROKOFIEV Sakari Oramo conductor Yuja Wang piano Dean Amphitheatre Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 Nielsen Symphony No. 5 June 22 MUTI CONDUCTS VERDI Riccardo Muti conductor Alisa Kolosova mezzo-soprano Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director Mozart Ave verum corpus Vivaldi Magnificat Verdi Four Sacred Pieces

HARRY BICKET

YUJA WANG

22

RICCARDO MUTI CONDUCTS THE CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS

15

9

SCOTT HOSTETLER

10

November 10 BEETHOVEN 7 Charles Dutoit conductor Gil Shaham violin Britten The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra Walton Violin Concerto Beethoven Symphony No. 7

SATURDAY C SERIES HIGHLIGHTS: Wagner called Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony “the apotheosis of the dance,” an apt description given its exuberant rhythms and elegant, carefree lines.

Charles Dutoit pairs this symphony with two English masterpieces: Britten’s spirited Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra and Walton’s lusciously orchestrated Violin Concerto, featuring soloist Gil Shaham.

Among England’s leading Baroque specialists, Harry Bicket conducts a program featuring the world premiere of the double concerto by CSO Mead Composerin-Residence Anna Clyne paired with the Bach Concerto for Two Violins, both performed by Jennifer Koh and Jaime Laredo. These are bookended by two concertos for orchestra—Stravinsky’s neo-classical Dumbarton Oaks and Bach’s exuberant Brandenburg No. 6. The CSO’s own Scott Hostetler plays the soothingly pastoral oboe d’amore.

Preeminent composer, musical maverick and CSO Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus Pierre Boulez joins legendary pianist Yefim Bronfman for Bartók’s toccata-like Second Piano Concerto, a work for which Bronfman earned a Grammy® Award in 1997. The concert opens with two pieces inspired by the beauty of nature: Debussy’s diaphanous Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun and Messiaen’s Chronochromie, which weaves together fragments of music depicting bird songs and high mountain streams.

W O R L D ’ S B E S T. C H I C A G O ’ S O W N .

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0 c s o . o r g

SATURDAY

D

5 concerts at 8:00

JAN

JUN

12 MAR

23

1

MEI-ANN CHEN

11

Semyon Bychkov conductor Bernarda Fink mezzo-soprano Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director Anima–Young Singers of Greater Chicago Emily Ellsworth artistic director Mahler Symphony No. 3

January 12 MUTI CONDUCTS ALL-BEETHOVEN Riccardo Muti conductor Radu Lupu piano Beethoven Leonore Overture No. 3 Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 Beethoven Symphony No. 3 (Eroica)

May 11 FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE SEVEN SEAS Mei-Ann Chen conductor Mendelssohn The Fair Melusina Overture Florence Price Mississippi River Rimsky-Korsakov Sheherazade

June 1 MOZART AND BATES Jaap van Zweden conductor David Fray piano Bates Liquid Interface Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25 Bartók Concerto for Orchestra

March 23 TCHAIKOVSKY 4 Tugan Sokhiev conductor Mathieu Dufour flute Borodin In the Steppes of Central Asia Khachaturian Flute Concerto Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4

SATURDAY D SERIES HIGHLIGHTS: SEMYON BYCHKOV

3

RICCARDO MUTI

MAY

“A symphony must be like the world,” said Mahler, “it must contain everything.”

No work better exemplifies this than his epic Third Symphony, scored for massive orchestra including an off-stage post horn and snare drums, women’s and children’s choirs and various bells. Our guide to Mahler’s universal piece is Semyon Bychkov, one of today’s most thoughtful and profound conductors.

The magisterial opening movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25 is one of the most unforgettable in the composer’s orchestral canon. Phenomenal French pianist David Fray joins lauded conductor Jaap Van Zweden for this work, which Beethoven chose for one of his first Viennese appearances as soloist. CSO Mead Composer-inResidence Mason Bates created Liquid Interface in 2006, inspired by the various states of water from frozen to evaporated.

FLORENCE PRICE

NOV

November 3 MAHLER 3

Photograph of Florence Price. Picture Collection, number 3062.

Special Collections, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville.

21

22

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29

The Women’s Board

7:00 Concert POST-CONCERT Dinner and Dancing CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA RICCARDO MUTI conductor ANNE-SOPHIE MUTTER violin

Wagner OVERTURE TO THE FLYING DUTCHMAN Mendelssohn VIOLIN CONCERTO Tchaikovsky 1812 OVERTURE tour-de-force awaits as we celebrate the start of the 2012/13 season at Symphony Ball. The Women’s Board of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra presents a festive evening of excitement and enchantment. Riccardo Muti and the CSO raise the curtain with the overture to Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, filled with sweeping, stormy strains that will carry you away on a wash of sound.

With its hauntingly beautiful melodies, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto is simply stunning; captivating violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter returns to the CSO to present this breathtaking work. Our jubilant evening comes to a close with the brass band and cannon fire of Tchaikovsky’s invigorating 1812 Overture, commemorating Russia’s defeat of Napoleon’s invading forces 200 years ago.

A

Gala package guests will enjoy postconcert cocktails, dinner and dancing the night away at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park.

Concert-only attendees are invited to join in the complimentary postconcert celebration in Symphony Center with light refreshments and a live band.

ORDER A SYMPHONY BALL GALA PACKAGE

BY APRIL 6 AND RECEIVE A 10% DISCOUNT!

23

December 14–23

Welcome Yule!

Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Duain Wolfe conductor

Add this holiday tradition to your order today!

Recommended for children ages 8 and up.



OPEN HERE FOR OUR COMPLETE CSO 2012/13 SEASON-AT-A-GLANCE GRID AND CALENDAR!

Our Sponsors The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association is grateful for the generous support of these leading corporate and foundation sponsors for the 2012/13 season.

R I C C A R D O M U T I Music Director

24

THE

WAGNER EFFECT DEFIANCE

Tchaikovsky 4

S

oulful, tender, brooding, forceful, heroic— Tchaikovsky’s great Fourth Symphony is all of these things and more. The Fourth Symphony was written around 1877, shortly after Tchaikovsky’s final stint as a music critic, reviewing the 1876 Bayreuth Festival for a Russian outlet. While he had earlier called Wagner “a great symphonist,” Tchaikovsky’s reaction to the operas he heard in Bayreuth was far more complex, almost paradoxical: I should like to say something about the overall impression which this performance of Der Ring des Nibelungen has left with me…It has left me with respectful admiration for [Wagner’s] tremendous talent and his incredibly rich technique…with misgivings as to whether Wagner’s view of opera is correct…

It has left me greatly exhausted, but at the same time it has also left me with the wish to continue my study of this most complicated work ever written.

It should come as no surprise then that the Fourth Symphony shares more in common stylistically with Bizet’s Carmen (premiered 1875) than any of Wagner’s operas. In these two works, both Tchaikovsky and Bizet sought a musical language that would be clear and direct, rich in meaning and creativity but still comprehensible to their audiences. No one would have accused them of following in Wagner’s artistic footsteps; indeed, Friedrich Nietzsche hailed Carmen as the “quintessential anti-Wagnerian model of operatic greatness.”

SURIKOV, VASILY (1848–1916) BOYARYNYA MOROZOVA, DETAIL 1887

Since the CSO’s first performance of this beloved piece in 1899 under the baton of founder Theodore Thomas, it has been performed numerous times in Orchestra Hall under several brilliant conductors. In 2012/13, young, Russian-born conductor Tugan Sokhiev leads the CSO in what is sure to be a fresh, poignant performance of this favorite, a true “unburdening of the soul in music,” as the composer intended.

Performed March 21–24

W O R L D ’ S B E S T. C H I C A G O ’ S O W N .

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0 c s o . o r g

SUNDAY

A

5 concerts at 3:00

FEB

17

JUN

23

CHARLES DUTOIT

9

RICCARDO MUTI

DEC

24

November 11 BEETHOVEN 7 Charles Dutoit conductor Gil Shaham violin Britten The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra Walton Violin Concerto Beethoven Symphony No. 7 December 9 CHEN PLAYS BARBER Vasily Petrenko conductor Robert Chen violin Elgar Cockaigne Overture (In London Town) Barber Violin Concerto Shostakovich Symphony No. 10

March 24 TCHAIKOVSKY 4 Tugan Sokhiev conductor Mathieu Dufour flute Borodin In the Steppes of Central Asia Khachaturian Flute Concerto Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 June 23 MUTI CONDUCTS VERDI Riccardo Muti conductor Alisa Kolosova mezzo-soprano Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director Mozart Ave verum corpus Vivaldi Magnificat Verdi Four Sacred Pieces

February 17 RACHMANINOV AND SIBELIUS Sir Mark Elder conductor Garrick Ohlsson piano Dvořák The Water Goblin Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 Sibelius Symphony No. 1

SUNDAY A SERIES HIGHLIGHTS: SIR MARK ELDER

11

MAR

GARRICK OHLSSON

NOV

Sir Mark Elder returns to lead one of Dvořák’s more macabre tone poems, The Water Goblin, in which the mythical creature wreaks brutal revenge against the maid who forsakes him. Garrick Ohlsson is an ideal artist to tackle Rachmaninov’s formidable Third Piano Concerto, premiered by the composer himself in New York in 1909. Sibelius’ impetuously romantic First Symphony brings the concert to a rousing conclusion.

Called “the greatest Verdi conductor of our time” by the Chicago Tribune, Riccardo Muti has led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in several epic performances of the master’s works, from their Grammy® Awardwinning recording of the Requiem on CSO Resound to the sold-out concerts of Otello in Chicago and at Carnegie Hall. The maestro, his Orchestra and Chorus close the 2012/13 season with Verdi’s expressive Four Sacred Pieces, plus Mozart’s beloved Ave verum corpus and Vivaldi’s dramatic Magnificat.

25

R I C C A R D O M U T I Music Director

26

TUESDAY

A

6 concerts at 7:30

21

MAR

JUN

12

4

RICCARDO MUTI

MAY

15

RADU LUPU

JAN

23

YEFIM BRONFMAN

18

APR

JUANJO MENA

DEC

December 18 BACH CONCERTOS Harry Bicket conductor Jennifer Koh violin Jaime Laredo violin Scott Hostetler oboe d’amore Stravinsky Dumbarton Oaks Concerto Bach Concerto for Two Violins Clyne Double Concerto [CSO Co-Commission, World Premiere] Bach Concerto for Oboe d’amore, BWV 1055 Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 January 15 MUTI CONDUCTS ALL-BEETHOVEN Riccardo Muti conductor Radu Lupu piano Beethoven Leonore Overture No. 3 Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 Beethoven Symphony No. 3 (Eroica) March 12 BOULEZ AND BRONFMAN Pierre Boulez conductor Yefim Bronfman piano Debussy Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun Messiaen Chronochromie Stravinsky The Song of the Nightingale Bartók Piano Concerto No. 2

April 23 MUTI CONDUCTS BEETHOVEN 4 Riccardo Muti conductor Vivaldi Concerto for Strings in A Major, R. 158 Mozart Symphony No. 38 (Prague) Beethoven Symphony No. 4 May 21 THE AMAZON AND THE RIVER LIFFEY Juanjo Mena conductor Peter Serkin piano Smetana The Moldau Takemitsu riverrun Villa-Lobos Amazonas Beethoven Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral) June 4 MOZART AND BATES Jaap van Zweden conductor David Fray piano Bates Liquid Interface Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25 Bartók Concerto for Orchestra

TUESDAY A SERIES HIGHLIGHTS: Beethoven made four attempts to write an overture for his lone opera, Fidelio; Leonore No. 3, with its thrilling off-stage trumpet fanfare, is widely regarded as his greatest. Radu Lupu performs Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto, an early work clearly influenced by Mozart yet with flashes of surprising individuality heard in later compositions. We return to the Beethoven of revolutionary, groundbreaking statements with his mighty Eroica Symphony, led by Music Director Riccardo Muti.

Takemitsu’s riverrun draws its title from the opening word of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake, and it explores a river’s flow as a metaphor for how great musical innovations of one composer may influence others. Brazilian composer Villa-Lobos plunged into a dark, primitive world with Amazonas, based on the story of a beautiful girl who wantonly bathes in the Amazon only to be swallowed by a monster. Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, called the Pastoral for its depictions of countryside scenes including a rambling walk along a stream, completes the program.

W O R L D ’ S B E S T. C H I C A G O ’ S O W N .

TUESDAY

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0 c s o . o r g

CSO Tuesday series concerts are sponsored by United Airlines.

B

6 concerts at 7:30

14

MUTI CONDUCTS RESPIGHI Riccardo Muti conductor Dvořák Symphony No. 5 Martucci Notturno Respighi Feste romane

MAY

28 JUN

11 CARLOS MIGUEL PRIETO

APR

16

PLEASE NOTE DAY AND TIME

CHICAGO SYMPHONY CHORUS

FEB

19

Wednesday, September 26, 8:00

MAY

February 19 RACHMANINOV AND SIBELIUS Sir Mark Elder conductor Garrick Ohlsson piano Dvořák The Water Goblin Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 Sibelius Symphony No. 1 April 16 MUTI CONDUCTS BACH MASS IN B MINOR Riccardo Muti conductor Eleonora Buratto soprano Anna Malavasi mezzo-soprano Saimir Pirgu tenor Alessandro Luongo baritone Gianluca Buratto bass

May 14 FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE SEVEN SEAS Mei-Ann Chen conductor Mendelssohn The Fair Melusina Overture Florence Price Mississippi River Rimsky-Korsakov Sheherazade

May 28 REVUELTAS LA NOCHE DE LOS MAYAS Carlos Miguel Prieto conductor Jean-Yves Thibaudet piano Ginastera Suite from Panambí Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 5 Revueltas La Noche de los Mayas June 11 MUTI CONDUCTS SCRIABIN Riccardo Muti conductor Eugene Izotov oboe Haydn Symphony No. 8 (Maria Theresa) Martinů Oboe Concerto Scriabin The Divine Poem

Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe chorus director Bach Mass in B Minor

TUESDAY B SERIES HIGHLIGHTS: Respighi’s high-spirited depiction of classic Italian festivals sets the CSO’s 2012/13 season in motion with Music Director Riccardo Muti at the helm.

The final work in a trilogy of “Roman” symphonic poems, Feste romane evokes the majestic glory of Rome’s past. Dvořák’s sunny Fifth Symphony and the rarely heard Notturno by Respighi’s teacher, Giuseppe Martucci, open the program.

JEAN-YVES THIBAUDET

WED SEP 26 8:00

Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade is one of his most richly evocative scores, his sense of orchestral color enlivened and refined by his encounter with Wagner’s musical dramas. The piece includes vivid portraits drawn from the legendary Sheherazade’s tales: a vibrant festival in Baghdad and Sinbad’s ship being wrecked by a storm.

Florence Price, who settled in Chicago in 1927 and composed the Mississippi River Suite, tells the river’s history through sound paintings of the river’s natural life and songs drawn from Native American drumming and traditional black spirituals.

27

R I C C A R D O M U T I Music Director

28

SEASON

Highlight THE RITE OF SPRING 100th Anniversary

I

t is perhaps the most notorious scene from a classical music debut: as Stravinsky’s score for The Rite of Spring began, the audience whistled, rustled and crackled, the commotion growing louder and louder until it burst into a full-blown riot at the dancers’ first steps. Camille Saint-Saëns reportedly stormed out of the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in disgust (a fact Stravinsky subsequently disputed, saying that the famed French composer was not even present at the premiere). Only a year later, these same Parisian audiences heard the same score and responded by carrying the Russian composer out of the theater on their shoulders.

It is an oft-repeated tale, especially as we approach the 100th anniversary of these events. But to leave the music there— a complete hit with audiences across the world since 1914— misses a most important question: why does this work continue to capture listeners’ imaginations today?

Stravinsky collaborated on The Rite of Spring with Russian artist and anthropologist Nikolai Roerich, who also created the magnificent costumes and set designs for the original ballet production. Together they sought to celebrate Russia’s pagan roots, to glorify a culture that existed before Western influences arrived; a rural, pagan society closely linked to nature and the traditions of the East. On a spring morning, villagers in the meadow by the river revel in life and the pattern of yearly rituals. But by nightfall, they are on a shadowy hill engaged in a dark ceremony that ends in the sacrifice of a young girl.

The music that resulted is revolutionary. Stravinsky based his work on traditional folk music from Russia and Lithuania. But he transformed this simple ancient material to create a perfect storm of rhythm, harmony and melodies that were unlike any ever heard before. One hundred years later, this masterpiece still thrills and captures the imagination of audiences the world over.

Performed November 14–18

ROERICH, NIKOLAI (1874–1947) COSTUME OF A RUSSIAN PEASANT GIRL FROM STRAVINSKY’S BALLET RITE OF SPRING 1913

W O R L D ’ S B E S T. C H I C A G O ’ S O W N .

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0 c s o . o r g

A great addition to any subscription order!

BEYOND THE SCORE

®

3 FRIDAYS AT 1:30 OR 3 SUNDAYS AT 3:00 November 16 & 18 STRAVINSKY THE RITE OF SPRING Charles Dutoit conductor Gerard McBurney creative director February 22 & 24 WAGNER: THE TRISTAN EFFECT Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Gerard McBurney creative director May 10 & 12 RIMSKY-KORSAKOV SHEHERAZADE Mei-Ann Chen conductor Gerard McBurney creative director

Whether you’re encountering a piece of music for the very first time or rediscovering a beloved work, each concert in Beyond the Score, the CSO’s highly successful multimedia series, presents an orchestral masterwork as you’ve never heard it before. Beyond the Score Creative Director Gerard McBurney guides audiences through a masterpiece, exploring its history and meaning with musical examples played by the Orchestra, live dramatized commentary and audiovisual illustrations. In the second half, the Orchestra returns to perform the work in its entirety.

GERARD McBURNEY

CHARLES DUTOIT

HISTORICAL AND MUSICAL EXAMPLES

ESA-PEKKA SALONEN

LIVE DRAMA

ENHANCE YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH FREE POSTCONCERT FRIDAY AFTERNOON DISCUSSIONS!

Stay for a free Q&A with Gerard McBurney to learn about the creative process behind the development of each Beyond the Score program and discover details that never made it into the final cut!

Major support for Beyond the Score is provided by generous grants from The Davee Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

VISUAL ILLUSTRATION

MEI-ANN CHEN

29

R I C C A R D O M U T I Music Director

30

The music you love at the time you love.

AFTERWORK MASTERWORKS

®

4 WEDNESDAYS AT 6:30 November 28 BERLIOZ AND SHOSTAKOVICH Sir Mark Elder conductor Dvořák The Golden Spinning Wheel Shostakovich Symphony No. 1

Whether you are ending your day with music or just need an earlier evening, treat yourself to an unforgettable Afterwork Masterworks performance by the world-renowned Chicago Symphony Orchestra. This midweek series features four concerts with early start times and no intermission, so you can be on your way home by 8:00 p.m.

January 9 MUTI CONDUCTS ALL-BEETHOVEN Riccardo Muti conductor Beethoven Leonore Overture No. 3 Beethoven Symphony No. 3 (Eroica) April 3 YUJA WANG PLAYS PROKOFIEV Sakari Oramo conductor Yuja Wang piano Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 Nielsen Symphony No. 5

SIR MARK ELDER

POSTCONCERT Q&A, FEBRUARY 2011

May 1 SPANISH PASSION Pablo Heras-Casado conductor Debussy La boîte à joujoux Falla El amor brujo

ENHANCE YOUR EXPERIENCE! Stay after the concerts for meet-and-greet receptions with guest artists and complimentary wine in Grainger Ballroom.

Add this series to your order today!

RICCARDO MUTI

YUJA WANG

SAKARI ORAMO

W O R L D ’ S B E S T. C H I C A G O ’ S O W N .

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0 c s o . o r g

One of our most popular series!

3 FRIDAYS AT 8:00 Lights, camera, action! Friday Night at the Movies brings your favorite scores from the silver screen to life. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra provides the soundtrack while the films are shown on the big screen. With hits ranging from Hollywood’s Golden Age to today’s blockbusters, Friday Night at the Movies is the perfect series for film buffs and music lovers alike.

November 23 DISNEY FANTASIA— LIVE IN CONCERT Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Join us for a thrilling performance of Disney’s groundbreaking marriage of symphonic music and animation, Fantasia. Magnificent repertoire from the original 1940 version and Fantasia 2000, including The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and The Nutcracker Suite, will be performed by the CSO while Disney’s stunning footage is shown on the big screen. Experience iconic moments and childhood favorites as you never have before! Recommended for ages 8 and up.

March 8 HITCHCOCK AT THE MOVIES: A SYMPHONIC CELEBRATION Chicago Symphony Orchestra Richard Kaufman conductor

Alfred Hitchcock’s films feature some of the most mesmerizing movie scores of all time, and his use of music has influenced generations of filmmakers. The CSO takes you on a haunting journey through several of Hitchcock’s masterpieces, including To Catch a Thief, Strangers on a Train and Dial M for Murder, that will prove Hitchcock’s theory that film music can play a role all its own.

May 17 TO BE ANNOUNCED Chicago Symphony Orchestra Richard Kaufman conductor

Stay tuned for more details on our third concert in this popular series!

RICHARD KAUFMAN

31

R I C C A R D O M U T I Music Director

32

THE

WAGNER EFFECT ENDORSEMENT

Mahler 3

F

irst published in 1805, Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Youth’s Magic Horn) contained a collection of German folk poetry that tremendously influenced numerous composers, authors and artists of the nineteenth century. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, whose own writings were frequently the source of inspiration for composers ranging from Berlioz and Schumann to Wagner and Liszt, said the collection “has its place in every household.”

But perhaps no artist embraced Wunderhorn so deeply in his own work as Gustav Mahler. Mahler viewed these folk poems as a wellspring of culture, declaring them “essentially different from all kinds of ‘literary’ poetry, being more nature and life— that is, the sources of all poetry—than art.”

SCHWIND, MORITZ VON (1804–1871)

Elements of Mahler’s symphony certainly point to a Wagnerian influence, particularly in the transformation and evolution of small themes that emerge and reappear, peeking through like distant echoes. The opening horn theme strikes a call to awaken nature, and we hear reflections of it throughout the symphony: overtaking the orchestra in large, sweeping themes; soaring in transcendant chorales; dancing rhythmically through town-band marches. There is stark dramatic contrast, such as the juxtaposition of Nietzsche’s “Midnight Song” from Also sprach Zarathustra, with its speaker searching for redemption, against the angel choir’s promise of salvation. And if one misses these elements during the work, the Wagnerian influence becomes overt in the final movement, which quotes from Parsifal.

IN THE FOREST (DAS KNABEN WUNDERHORN) 1848 bpk BERLIN / ART RESOURCE, NY

In that final movement, the orchestra emerges alone in a movement Mahler described as the culmination of the universe’s expression, as if God himself enters the conversation. As Mahler’s disciple, the conductor Bruno Walter, eloquently explained, “In the last movement, words are stilled—for what language can utter heavenly love more powerfully and forcefully than music itself?”

Performed November 1–3

SHOWCASING THE WORLD’S FINEST MUSICIANS

SYMPHONY CENTER PRESENTS

CHAMBER Music

5-CONCERT SERIES

ALISA WEILERSTEIN

THE SAINT PAUL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

EMERSON STRING QUARTET

ANNE-SOPHIE MUTTER

YO-YO MA

Sunday, October 28, 3:00 ALISA WEILERSTEIN cello INON BARNATAN piano Beethoven Cello Sonata No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 5, No. 2 Britten Cello Sonata in C Major, Op. 65 Stravinsky Suite italienne Chopin Cello Sonata in G Minor, Op. 65

Following Alisa Weilerstein’s CSO debut at the Dvořák Festival in 2009, the Chicago Tribune praised the young American cellist for her “consistently lavish tone and remarkably assured technical facility…”

She returns to Symphony Center with her recital partner Inon Barnatan in a program featuring cello and piano works by Beethoven, Chopin, Stravinsky and Britten’s Cello Sonata, written for the legendary Mstislav Rostropovich.

Wednesday, April 10, 8:00 EMERSON STRING QUARTET with Paul Neubauer and Colin Carr Janáček String Quartet No. 2 (Intimate Letters) Berg Lyric Suite Schoenberg Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4

The Grammy® Award-winning Emerson String Quartet presents a program of works inspired by the overwhelming power of love and desire. The program, part of The Wagner Effect focus during the 2012/13 season, demonstrates how Janáček, Berg and Schoenberg musically responded to Wagner’s transformative and innovative Tristan and Isolde.

Sunday, March 10, 3:00 ANNE-SOPHIE MUTTER violin LAMBERT ORKIS piano Schoenberg Phantasy, Op. 47 Webern Four Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 7 Grieg Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 45 Previn Violin Sonata No. 2 Franck Violin Sonata in A Major

Sunday, April 21, 3:00 THE SAINT PAUL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Steve Schick conductor Cage Water Walk Cage Inlets Cage …sea, lake, and flowing water like rivers…

Takemitsu Rain Coming J.L. Adams New Work [World Premiere] Delius Summer Night on the River Knussen Coursing, Op. 17 Copland Appalachian Spring (complete ballet)

World-renowned violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter recently celebrated the 35th anniversary of her Lucerne Festival debut, an event that launched her exceptional career as a soloist, collaborator and champion of new works.

Witness her beautiful artistry with longtime recital partner Lambert Orkis in a program that includes Franck’s beloved Violin Sonata.

Hailing from the banks of the Upper Mississippi, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra embraces our RIVERS exploration in a unique program of works inspired by water, along with Copland’s much loved Appalachian Spring, the 1942 Pulitzer Prizewinning work that features the now iconic Shaker folk tune, Simple Gifts.

Wednesday, May 15, 8:00 YO-YO MA cello with Musicians from the CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

CSO Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant Yo-Yo Ma returns to Symphony Center for a chamber collaboration with musicians from the CSO. The Chicago Tribune called their sold-out January 2011 chamber concert “wonderfully light and airy…an intimate conversation among colleagues.”

33

34

SHOWCASING THE WORLD’S FINEST MUSICIANS

SYMPHONY CENTER PRESENTS

ORCHESTRA

3-CONCERT SERIES

Sunday, October 21, 1:15 WORLD ORCHESTRA FOR PEACE A CELEBRATION IN HONOR OF SIR GEORG SOLTI’S 100th BIRTHDAY Valery Gergiev conductor Dame Kiri Te Kanawa soprano Plácido Domingo tenor René Pape bass Lady Solti host Alumni of the Solti Accademia and Solti Foundation US Past and Present Members of the CSO Mozart Overture to The Marriage of Figaro Strauss Don Juan Mozart and Verdi Select Arias and Ensembles Mahler Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 Bartók Concerto for Orchestra

The World Orchestra for Peace was founded in 1995 by Sir Georg Solti to reaffirm, in his words, “the unique strength of music as an ambassador for peace.” Led by Valery Gergiev, the orchestra is an ensemble of the finest musicians selected from the world’s greatest orchestras (most are concertmasters or section principals in their own orchestras), including several members of the CSO. Designated a UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2010, this all-star team is united with reigning royalty from the international opera stage and host Lady Solti for a spectacular celebration in honor of Sir Georg’s 100th birthday.

Wednesday, November 7, 8:00 PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor Program to include: Berlioz Symphonie fantastique

Acknowledged as one of the United Kingdom’s foremost musical pioneers and returning to Chicago for the first time since 1955, the Philharmonia Orchestra is famous for its quality of playing and extraordinary recording legacy. Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the Philharmonia in a program featuring Berlioz’s personal tale of love-turnedobsession.

Sunday, April 14, 3:00 STAATSKAPELLE DRESDEN Christian Thielemann conductor Lisa Batiashvili violin Brahms Academic Festival Overture Brahms Violin Concerto Brahms Symphony No. 2

Founded in 1548, the Staatskapelle Dresden is one of the oldest orchestras in the world and steeped in tradition. Stunning Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili joins the orchestra and its new Principal Conductor Christian Thielemann for an afternoon of Brahms.

STAATSKAPELLE DRESDEN

VALERY GERGIEV

DAME KIRI TE KANAWA

WORLD ORCHESTRA FOR PEACE

PLÁCIDO DOMINGO

PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA

CHRISTIAN THIELEMANN

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0 c s o . o r g

35

36

SHOWCASING THE WORLD’S FINEST MUSICIANS

SYMPHONY CENTER PRESENTS

PIANO

MURRAY PERAHIA

ANDRÁS SCHIFF

October 14 A MURRAY PERAHIA

In the more than 35 years he has been performing on the concert stage, American pianist Murray Perahia has become one of the most soughtafter and cherished pianists of our time. A two-time Grammy® Award-winner, Perahia returns to Symphony Center for what is certain to be a breathtaking recital.

November 4 B ANDRÁS SCHIFF Bach The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1

World-renowned Hungarian pianist András Schiff returns to Symphony Center to perform the first book of Bach’s beloved The Well-Tempered Clavier.

January 20 B LOUIS LORTIE Wagner Prelude to Tristan and Isolde (trans. Lortie) Liszt Isolde’s Liebestod from Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde Wolf Paraphrase on Wagner’s Die Walküre Liszt Réminiscences de Don Juan on themes from Mozart’s Don Giovanni Wagner Siegfried Idyll (trans. Josef Rubinstein) Liszt Recitative and Romance from Wagner’s Tannhäuser Liszt Overture to Wagner’s Tannhäuser

Wagner and Liszt stretched the boundaries of composition, demanding virtuosic skill from performers of their music. While Wagner composed very little for piano, Liszt transcriptions became the principle way audiences heard Wagner’s music outside opera houses for many years. Lauded Canadian pianist Louis Lortie explores the deep musical connection between these two bold contemporaries.

10 SUNDAYS AT 3:00 E

LOUIS LORTIE

5–Concert Series A or B

ANGELA HEWITT

February 10 A ANGELA HEWITT Bach Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659 Bach Siciliano in G Minor from Flute Sonata in E-flat Major, BWV 1031 Bach Sinfonia in D Major from Cantata No. 29, BWV 29 Beethoven Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101 Bach, Arr. Kempff The Art of Fugue (Contrapunctus I–X), BWV 1080

Angela Hewitt has ambitiously carved out her place on the international keyboard circuit as one of the foremost performers of the music of J.S. Bach. Her 11-year project to record all of Bach’s keyboard works has been described as “one of the record glories of our age.” (The Sunday Times) The Canadian pianist returns to Symphony Center with an entrancing program pairing rare Bach works with Beethoven’s Sonata, Op. 101.

March 3 B PAUL LEWIS Schubert Sonata in C Minor, D. 958 Schubert Sonata in A Major, D. 959 Schubert Sonata in B-flat Major, D. 960

British artist Paul Lewis completes his three-season retrospective of Schubert’s mature works for piano, a project with which he has toured the world’s most prestigious concert halls to much acclaim.

The journey ends with Schubert’s final sonatas, a trilogy of deeply personal, interconnected works composed in the last months of his life.

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0 c s o . o r g

PAUL LEWIS

MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN

PIERRE-LAURENT AIMARD

EVGENY KISSIN

April 7 A PIERRE-LAURENT AIMARD Debussy Preludes, Books 1 and 2

Widely acclaimed for his contributions to contemporary music, Pierre-Laurent Aimard is a uniquely significant interpreter of piano repertoire from every age. This appearance features all 24 preludes

by Debussy, each petite in length but saturated with impressionistic color and imaginative character.

April 28 B EVGENY KISSIN

Legendary Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin thrills listeners with his incredible dexterity, enormous power and palpable musicality in every performance. He added a second Grammy® Award to his vast collection of prizes and accolades in 2010, and just completed a successful tour of Liszt’s most challenging works in honor of the composer’s 200th birthday. Don’t miss his only Chicago appearance this season.

May 5 B JORGE FEDERICO OSORIO Program to include: Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition

Following his recent, wildly successful performances of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and his complete cycle of Beethoven concertos with the CSO at Ravinia in 2011, revered Mexican artist Jorge Federico Osorio brings his stellar interpretation of Mussorgsky’s rich and colorful Pictures at an Exhibition downtown to Symphony Center.

JORGE FEDERICO OSORIO

ALICE SARA OTT

May 19 A MARC-ANDRÉ HAMELIN Berg Sonata, Op. 1 Fauré Impromptu No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 31 Fauré Barcarolle No. 3 in G-flat Major, Op. 42 Ravel Gaspard de la nuit Hamelin Variations on a theme by Paganini Debussy Reflets dans l’eau from Images, Book 1 Ravel Jeux d’eau Rachmaninov Sonata No. 2, Op. 36

Pianist Marc-André Hamelin’s unique blend of musicianship and virtuosity brings forth remarkably free and masterful interpretations.

At his 2010 Symphony Center recital, Hamelin “wore his firebrand and poet hats with equal distinction.” (Chicago Tribune) June 2 A ALICE SARA OTT Mozart Duport Variations in D Major, K. 573 Schubert Sonata in D Major, D. 850 Liszt Grandes études de Paganini

Alice Sara Ott “gave the kind of gawp-inducing bravura performance of which legends are made,” raved The Guardian. Hear the 23-year-old German-Japanese pianist in her Symphony Center debut.

37

38

“ T H E P L A C E TO B E F O R B OT H M A K E R S O F N E W M U S I C A N D T H E I R FA N S . ” — C H I C AG O S U N - T I M E S

music

SYMPHONY CENTER PRESENTS

ANNA CLYNE AND MASON BATES

4 MONDAYS AT 7:00

October 29 • December 3 February 25 • June 3 Harris Theater for Music and Dance 205 E. Randolph Dr.

MusicNOW offers an astonishing variety of the most vibrant new music, encompassing both global perspectives and local sounds. Join Mead Composersin-Residence and MusicNOW curators Mason Bates and Anna Clyne with Principal Conductor Cliff Colnot for a thrilling overview of music from some of today’s hottest composers. Enjoy pre- and postconcert music, provided by illmeasures, plus free food and drink after the concert.

Subscribe Now! Regular: $68 Students: $24 cso.org/musicnow

CLIFF COLNOT

MusicNOW receives funding through a leadership challenge grant from IRVING HARRIS FOUNDATION, Joan W. Harris. Major support is also provided by Cindy Sargent and the Sally Mead Hands Foundation with additional funding from The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc.

SYMPHONY CENTER PRESENTS THE WORLD’S FINEST JAZZ

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0 c s o . o r g

JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA

With 10 spectacular performances each season from the world’s finest musicians, Symphony Center is the best place in Chicago to hear live jazz.

This year’s full season will be announced in Spring 2012, but select highlights on sale now include:

BILL FRISELL

Friday, October 12, 8:00 THE GREAT FLOOD Film by Bill Morrison Music by Bill Frisell Bill Frisell guitar Tony Scherr bass Ron Miles trumpet Kenny Wollesen drums

In 1927 heavy rains caused the mighty Mississippi to overtake its levees, causing one of the most destructive floods in the history of the United States. This poignant suite, with original live music by guitarist and composer Bill Frisell and accompanying film by Bill Morrison, reflects upon this tragic event, out of which came the “Great Migration” that brought the Delta Blues to Chicago.

The Great Flood was commissioned by Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (World Premiere); Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University; Carnegie Hall; Symphony Center Presents, Chicago and Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College.

DIANNE REEVES

Friday, January 18, 8:00 SING THE TRUTH! Dianne Reeves vocals Angelique Kidjo vocals Lizz Wright vocals

Dianne Reeves returns to Symphony Center in a program honoring the music and spirit of great female artists. Reeves, along with stellar vocalists Angelique Kidjo and Lizz Wright, will perform the music of three legends—Miriam Makeba, Abbey Lincoln and Odetta—along with songs made famous by Billie Holiday and other jazz greats.

Friday, February 1, 8:00 JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA with WYNTON MARSALIS trumpet

Returning for a special residency, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, led by Wynton Marsalis, celebrates jazz’s large ensemble tradition by performing masterpieces by legends of the genre. The orchestra is known worldwide for its stylistic authenticity and unmatchable sense of swing.

Friday, May 24, 8:00 CHICAGO JAZZ PHILHARMONIC Orbert Davis artistic director

Orbert Davis’ Chicago Jazz Philharmonic makes its Symphony Center Jazz debut as part of our 2012/13 RIVERS exploration in a newly commissioned work celebrating the Chicago river and the impact it has had in making our city a great American metropolis.

The Chicago Tribune wrote, “bristling innovation and mainstream melody-making, classical modernism and free jazz improvisation— all these elements, and others, converge when CJP takes the stage.”

The SCP Jazz Series is sponsored by:

39

R I C C A R D O M U T I Music Director

40

Play, Sing and Dance with the CSO!

FAMILY Matinees 3 SATURDAYS AT 11:00 A and 12:45 B Perfect for children ages 5–9!

Experience rich musical traditions in three family-friendly programs, featuring the world-renowned Chicago Symphony Orchestra! For the 2012/13 season, we invite you to Play, Sing and Dance with the CSO as we explore how an orchestra brings different forms of music to life.

COME EARLY FOR MORE FAMILY FUN! One hour before each concert, enjoy FREE preconcert activities in the rotunda, including colorful and engaging exhibits and interactive musical experiences.

December 8 IT’S TIME TO PLAY: The Orchestra Alone Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Edwin Outwater conductor Featuring music by Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky

Encounter the orchestra through one of the most enduring forms of music—the symphony. Members of the CSO and conductor Edwin Outwater demonstrate how individual instruments of the orchestra combine to capture the beauty, drama, energy and excitement of music that has dazzled and captivated audiences for hundreds of years!

March 16 NOW LET’S SING: The Orchestra + Voice Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Members of the Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe conductor Featuring music by Rossini and Verdi

The world of dramatic storytelling and spectacular fantasy open up when voices join the orchestra to make music.

Duain Wolfe leads members of the CSO and voices from the Chicago Symphony Chorus in this program, which features both instrumentalists and singers in exciting overtures, dramatic arias comedic turns and choral fantasies!

CSO ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL CLARINET JOHN BRUCE YEH AT A FAMILY MATINEE PERFORMANCE

Ideal for children ages 3–5!

Begin your child’s engaging journey into the world of music with Once Upon a Symphony. Be transported by musical performances and vivid storytelling along with sets, costumes and images created by Chicago Children’s Theatre.

6 Saturdays at 10:00 and 11:45 Buntrock Hall Visit cso.org for complete details.

Preconcert activities begin 45 minutes before each concert.

May 4 GET UP AND DANCE: The Orchestra + Movement Chicago Symphony Orchestra Alastair Willis conductor Featuring music by Copland, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky

Ballet combines music and dance to tell stories from around the world without using a single word.

Conductor Alastair Willis and the CSO reveal the amazing ability of music to ignite our imaginations, with excerpts from some of the most memorable ballets of all time, including The Firebird, The Nutcracker and Aaron Copland’s American classic, Appalachian Spring.

SYMPHONY CENTER PRESENTS

Receive subscriber-preferred prices when you add these special events to your subscription.

Call 312-294-3000 or visit cso.org for prices.

MARIACHI VARGAS de TECALITLÁN

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0 c s o . o r g

SPECIAL CONCERTS

DISNEY FANTASIA

YO-YO MA AND THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE

Sunday, October 7, 3:00 MARIACHI VARGAS de TECALITLÁN

Wednesday, November 14, 7:30 STRAVINSKY THE RITE OF SPRING

With a history that dates back to the late 1890s, Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán invented the modern mariachi and are still playing today, five generations later. Recognized as “el mejor mariachi del mundo,” (the greatest mariachi in the world), Mariachi Vargas are the masters of melding the old world style of mariachi music with innovative new pieces, appealing to audiences both young and old.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra Charles Dutoit conductor Daniil Trifonov piano Mussorgsky A Night on Bald Mountain Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 Stravinsky The Rite of Spring

Saturday, October 13, 8:00 SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE with YO-YO MA cello

Yo-Yo Ma’s celebrated Silk Road Ensemble brings together instruments and virtuoso artists from around the world in a concert featuring traditional and new works inspired by the 2012/13 RIVERS exploration. The second half of the concert will include a newly commissioned work by Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky celebrating the 100th anniversary of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.

Saturday, October 27, 3:00 HALLOWED HAUNTS Civic Orchestra of Chicago Alastair Willis conductor

Join us for a spine-chilling afternoon of Halloween fun at Symphony Center! Perfect for trick-or-treaters of all ages, our annual Hallowed Haunts concert features the Civic Orchestra of Chicago performing some of the most deliciously spooky music ever composed. Don your Halloween costume and come early for activities in the “Haunted Ballroom” from 1:30 to 2:30. Recommended for ages 5 and up.

Winner of the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition, emerging pianist Daniil Trifonov joins Charles Dutoit and the CSO to perform Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto. Dutoit also leads two vivid evocations of Russia’s pagan past: Mussorgsky’s phantasmagoric A Night on Bald Mountain and Stravinsky’s vigorous and electric ballet, The Rite of Spring, in which a virgin maiden dances herself to death.

Saturday, November 24, 8:00 Sunday, November 25, 3:00 DISNEY FANTASIA–LIVE IN CONCERT

Join us for a thrilling performance of Disney’s groundbreaking marriage of symphonic music and animation, Fantasia. Magnificent repertoire from the original 1940 version and Fantasia 2000, including The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and The Nutcracker Suite, will be performed by the CSO while Disney’s stunning footage is shown on the big screen. Experience iconic moments and childhood favorites as you never have before!

Recommended for ages 8 and up.

41

R I C C A R D O M U T I Music Director

42

More SPECIAL CONCERTS Saturday, November 24, 3:00 VIENNA BOYS CHOIR

Wednesday, December 19, 8:00 THE CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA BRASS

Ring in your holiday season with the angelic voices of one of the oldest boys’ choirs in the world! An Austrian treasure since 1498, this renowned group delivers soaring performances of everything from medieval to contemporary music. Join us for an unforgettable afternoon of old world charm from the beloved Vienna Boys Choir.

The incomparable CSO Brass returns for another performance showcasing the impressive spectrum of their power, versatility and delicacy. The acclaimed recording of their 2010 program, released on CSO Resound, was praised for its “consummate musicianship, revelatory sound and well-chosen music, idiomatically arranged.”

(SA-CD.net)

Sunday, December 2, 3:00 SIMÓN BOLÍVAR SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OF VENEZUELA Gustavo Dudamel conductor

Saturday, January 26, 3:00 & 7:30 Warner Bros. Studios presents

BUGS BUNNY AT THE SYMPHONY Conducted and Created by George Daugherty

What started as a government-funded program to teach music to at-risk Venezuelan youth over 35 years ago has become one of the greatest success stories in classical music. The Simón Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela is the premier touring ensemble of El Sistema, led by Gustavo Dudamel. “Mr. Dudamel was so palpably swept up that you wanted to take a leap with him as he tried to bring expressivity and character to every moment.” (The New York Times) Tuesday, December 4, 7:30 Wednesday, December 5, 7:30 A CHANTICLEER CHRISTMAS NOTE LOCATION

TM

Celebrating 20 years of Bugs Bunny on the concert stage, this brand new edition of Looney Tunes and live orchestra adds classics like Tweet and Lovely and A Scent of the Matterhorn, plus special guests Tom and Jerry in The Hollywood Bowl and The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo. Don’t miss these, plus old favorites like What’s Opera, Doc? and The Rabbit of Seville in this world premiere season and anniversary concert of Warner Bros. cartoons on the big screen with their exhilarating original scores played by a live symphony orchestra!

Recommended for ages 8 and up.

LOONEY TUNES: TM & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. THE FLINTSTONES, SCOOBY-DOO: TM & © Hanna-Barbera.

TOM AND JERRY: TM & © Turner Entertainment Co. (s12)

Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 E. Chestnut Street

Since Chanticleer first performed on our Symphony Center Presents series in 1995, the choir of male voices has become a hallmark of the holiday season. Be entranced by this Grammy® Award-winning a cappella ensemble as they perform traditional carols, revered sacred works and delightful holiday favorites.

Friday, December 14, 7:00 Saturday, December 15, 3:00 Sunday, December 16, 1:30 & 5:30 Friday, December 21, 7:00 Saturday, December 22, 3:00 Sunday, December 23, 1:30 & 5:30 WELCOME YULE! Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Duain Wolfe conductor and director Chicago Symphony Chorus Welcome Yule! Children’s Ensemble Welcome Yule! Dance Ensemble

The merry musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus promise a delightful program of new arrangements, cherished carols and some musical surprises. Recommended for children ages 8 and up.

Saturday, February 2, 1:00 JAZZ FOR YOUNG PEOPLETM Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Wynton Marsalis trumpet

Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will inspire children of all ages with their incredible dedication and enthusiasm for jazz, one of America’s most original art forms. Recommended for ages 5 and up.

Saturday, February 2, 8:00 JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA SPECIAL CONCERT Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Wynton Marsalis trumpet

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra caps off another thrilling residency with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis! Expect a swinging evening filled with JALC’s signature versatility and power. Stay tuned for more details.

SYMPHONY CENTER PRESENTS

BUGS BUNNY AT THE SYMPHONY KODO

RICCARDO MUTI

GUSTAVO DUDAMEL

WYNTON MARSALIS

WELCOME YULE!

Wednesday, February 13, 7:30 KODO

As the world’s premier taiko ensemble, Kodo is forging new directions for traditional Japanese drumming. Pounding out marvelous rhythms with thrilling ferocity, precision, dexterity and athleticism, these performers showcase absolute mastery of the drums—some as small as a saucer, others as massive as a tree trunk. “Nothing will prepare you for the 1,000-pound drum assault, the precise timing or the wall of sound.

An essential experience.” (Time Out London) Friday, March 1, 8:00 THE CHIEFTAINS with Paddy Moloney and Special Guests

Start your St. Patrick’s Day celebration early with six-time Grammy® Award-winners and the world’s most popular Irish traditional music group, The Chieftains, as they return for another rollicking evening of Irish folk music. Take a trip to the Emerald Isle without leaving Chicago!

Wednesday, April 3, 8:00 CHOIR OF KING’S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE Stephen Cleobury director NOTE LOCATION

Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 E. Chestnut Street

One of the world’s best-known choral groups, the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge is the preeminent representative of the great British church music tradition. While the choir exists primarily to sing the daily church services of King’s College Chapel, its worldwide fame and reputation have led to invitations to perform throughout the world.

Enjoy a program of traditional and innovative English choral repertoire.

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0 c s o . o r g

MAX RAABE

Friday, April 5, 8:00 MAX RAABE & PALAST ORCHESTER: I WON’T DANCE Music of Cole Porter and Irving Berlin

Max Raabe and his Palast Orchester return to Symphony Center after a sold-out performance in April 2011 to transport the audience to Weimar-era Berlin. Join the charismatic baritone and his virtuosic band for a nostalgic trip through time, one that evokes the humor, irony, romance and rebellion of the Golden Twenties.

Tuesday, June 18, 7:30 MUTI CONDUCTS MOZART AND BEETHOVEN Riccardo Muti conductor Leif Ove Andsnes piano Mozart Symphony No. 41 (Jupiter) Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 Wagner Siegfried’s Rhine Journey from Götterdämmerung

Riccardo Muti and the CSO open with Mozart’s final symphony, nicknamed Jupiter, which features a challenging five-voice fugato in its fourth movement. Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes tames the furies in Beethoven’s poetic Fourth Piano Concerto, and the concert closes with Wagner’s exhilarating interlude from Götterdämmerung.

43

W O R L D ’ S B E S T. C H I C A G O ’ S O W N .

2 2 0 S O U T H M I C H I G A N AV E N U E

C H I C A G O , I L L I N O I S 6 0 6 0 4

3 1 2 - 2 9 4 - 3 0 0 0

C S O . O R G