Cso Audio Program Notes

"Superstar mandolinist" (The New York Times) Avi Avital and Italian conductor Giovanni Antonini make their CSO debuts with an exceptional program featuring rarely heard Baroque masterpieces, including the first CSO performances of mandolin concertos by Bach and Vivaldi. "Avital's mandolin breathes captivating new life into Vivaldi's music, giving it a luminous performance with a lovely lyrical jeu d'esprit" (The Daily Telegraph). Haydn's Drumroll Symphony brings the concert to an enchanting close.

Conductor Marek Janowski and the CSO, both great masters of music from the Austro-German tradition, perform a program of works by Weber, Beethoven and Wagner. Janowski, in his subscription series debut, leads the CSO in glorious orchestral excerpts from two of Wagner's grandest operas. Also on the program is Beethoven's sunny Fourth Symphony, a work imbued with romantic pathos.

Esa-Pekka Salonen leads a program that pairs Brahms' captivating Variations on a Theme by Haydn with Schoenberg's hauntingly beautiful Transfigured Night and Bartók's serene and expressive Third Piano Concerto, featuring Mitsuko Uchida. “It was in the otherworldly slow movement that Uchida's profound poetic sensibility rose to the fore, building to an eloquent emotional climax from the simple, hushed chords of the opening bars—atmospheric yet as clear as ice water” (Chicago Tribune).

Emmanuel Krivine leads the CSO in the shimmering and majestic Organ Symphony. After completing his third and final symphony, Saint-Saëns declared: "I gave everything to it I was able to give. What I have here accomplished, I will never achieve again." Also on the program is Brahms’ turbulent Tragic Overture and Schumann's heart-wrenching Violin Concerto with Isabelle Faust, an artist of "disarming warmth and sweetness who can unveil hidden strains of lyricism" (The New York Times).

Legendary composer John Williams returns to the Orchestra Hall podium to conduct the incomparable CSO in some of his most beloved and unforgettable works. Sharing the podium with longtime CSO at the Movies guest conductor, Richard Kaufman, John Williams has crafted a thrilling concert that will feature music from E.T., Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Lincoln, and more.

Muti caps a season-long celebration of the 125th anniversary of Tchaikovsky's death with two of his most celebrated and tragically romantic works: the symphonic poem Francesca da Rimini and his treasured ballet Swan Lake. In a rare treat, Muti pairs these works with two by French composer Claude Debussy, another master of vivid orchestral colors. His ethereal Sacred and Profane Dances will feature CSO Principal Harp Sarah Bullen as soloist.

Nikolaj Znaider has appeared as a virtuoso soloist of "fine technical control, deep musical understanding and even greater feeling" (Chicago Tribune) and a conductor with "no shortage of fireworks" (Bachtrack). He makes his Orchestra Hall podium debut performing and conducting Beethoven's lyrical Violin Concerto and Shostakovich's landmark Symphony No. 5. More info and tickets: https://cso.org/ticketsandevents/production-details-2017-18/chicago-symphony-orchestra/shostakovich5/