Chicago Symphony offers bouquet of music for 2013/14 season

 Pianist and guest conductor Mitsuko Uchida participates in the Celebration of Schubert series when she plays the piano and conducts Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 19 in F Major, as well as a solo work by Mozart. She will then join CSO musicians in Schubert’s Piano Quintet in A Major (The Trout), performed for the first time on a CSO subscription program.(March 13, 14, 15, and 18). Cello soloist Alisa Weilerstein will perform Prokofiev's Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 125 as part of the Truth to Power series. The program will also include Britten's Suite on English Folk Tunes: A time there was… and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 9 (May 29 and 30).  Soprano Tatiana Serjan performs in the role of Lady Macbeth in a concert version of Verdi's opera Macbeth (Sep. 28, Oct. 1, 4, and 6). She will also sing in a special one-time-only performance of Verdi's Requiem on the exact 200th anniversary of the composer's birth.View the list »
Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director Riccardo Muti in concert with the orchestra

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On Wednesday, Feb. 6, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra announced its programming for the 2013/14 season. CSO Music Director Riccardo Muti has designed a bouquet of concerts which feature world-renowned artists performing well-known works and less-familiar gems.

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The season's programming includes a celebration of Verdi's bicentennial; Schubert's symphonies and Mass No. 5 in A-flat Major; and the world premiere of a CSO-commissioned work by composer and cellist Giovanni Sollima featuring Sollima and Yo-Yo Ma as soloists in music for two cellos and orchestra.

Maestro Muti will also commemorate the events of September 11, 2001 with the CSO's first performance of Voices from the Silence by Muti's friend and colleague, Ennio Morricone.

Other highlights of the Orchestra’s 2013/14season include:

· Truth to Power, a three-week festival in May featuring music by Britten, Prokofiev and Shostakovich. "Speaking truth to power" is a phrase which comes from a 1955 Quaker treatise which outlined alternatives to violence and became a cornerstone of the pacifist movement. This philosophy fits the idealism of Britten, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich, whose mu off sic rallied optimism and hope in the turbulent years following World War II.

· A celebration of Britten’s centennial with performances of the War Requiem. Other works will include the Four Sea Interlude Passacaglia from Peter Grimes, the Suite on English Folk Tunes: A Time there was, and the Violin Concerto performed by Dutch violinist Simone Lamsma.

· Two weeks of programming by Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus Pierre Boulez will focus on his work as a composer, teacher and curator. Most of Boulez's programs feature large orchestral works by Debussy, Stravinsky, and Ravel interspersed with miniatures by Igor Stravinsky scored for small groups of instruments and voices. Young conductors, singers and instrumentalists from across the United States will be invited to observe and participate in rehearsals and performances during Boulez's two-week residency in February and March 2014.

· Riccardo Muti and the CSO have commissioned two new works to be given their world premieres by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra during the 2013/14 season. One of the world premieres will spotlight CSO Principal Flute Mathieu Dufour performing Guillaume Connesson’s CSO-commissioned Flute Concerto.

· Beyond the Score offers insights into three symphonies by Berlioz, Haydn and Ives as part of a season-long examination of the evolution of the symphonic form. Creative Director Gerard McBurney has created presentations which delve into the three masterworks through the seamless integration of historical narrative with live actors, visual illustrations and musical examples performed by the CSO. Each of the three programs is performed twice, on Fridays at the new time of 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m.

Please click on the list below to find even more information about the CSO's 2013/14 offerings. The CSO also offers a complete listing of all events here

View the list
  •  Soprano Tatiana Serjan performs in the role of Lady Macbeth in a concert version of Verdi's opera Macbeth (Sep. 28, Oct. 1, 4, and 6). She will also sing in a special one-time-only performance of Verdi's Requiem on the exact 200th anniversary of the composer's birth.
  •  Cello soloist Alisa Weilerstein will perform Prokofiev's Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 125 as part of the Truth to Power series. The program will also include Britten's Suite on English Folk Tunes: A time there was… and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 9 (May 29 and 30). 
  •  Pianist and guest conductor Mitsuko Uchida participates in the Celebration of Schubert series when she plays the piano and conducts Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 19 in F Major, as well as a solo work by Mozart. She will then join CSO musicians in Schubert’s Piano Quintet in A Major (The Trout), performed for the first time on a CSO subscription program.(March 13, 14, 15, and 18).
  •  Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus Pierre Boulez is renowned for his innovative programming as a conductor. He believes in the value of mixing works of contrasting textures by integrating ensemble pieces and works for large orchestra. Boulez's first concerts juxtapose Debussy’s Jeux and Ravel’s Trois poèmes de Mallarméwith with several of Stravinsky’s works: Three Japanese Lyrics, Two Poems of Balmont, Three Pieces for Clarinet Solo, Berceuses du Chat, Suite from Pulcinella and the Suite No. 1 for Small Orchestra.(Feb. 20, 21, 22 and 23). 
  •  Charles Dutoit(Principal Conductor, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Conductor Laureate, The Philadelphia Orchestra) returns to the CSO podium to lead two weeks of subscription concerts. For the first, Dutoit welcomes soprano Tatiana Pavlovskaya, tenor John Mark Ainsley and baritone Matthias Goerneas soloists in Britten’s War Requiem with the CSO,Chorus and Chicago Children’s Choir (Nov. 14,15 and 16).Dutoit’s second week of concerts features CSO Principal Flute Mathieu Dufour as soloist in the world premiere of the CSO-commissioned Flute Concerto by French composer Guillaume Connesson. He leads the CSO in an Afterwork Masterworks performance followed by three full performances of a program including works by Saint-Saëns and Dukas (March 5, 6, 7 and 8).
  •  Legendary film composer and conductor John Williams will lead the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in three CSO at the Movies programs.  The CSO will perform well-known film scores, often with feature films or film excerpts protected above the stage. The first two concerts are listed below; the programming for the third concert will be announced at a later date.·         John Williams and the CSO (Nov. 10). Legendary composer John Williams and renowned violinist Gil Shaham join the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to perform Williams’ lush and virtuosic Violin Concerto. The work is paired with selections from some of the composer's most memorable film scores, including Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. The Extra-terrestrial and Lincoln, a 2013 Academy Award nominee for which the CSO and Chorus recorded the original soundtrack. This presentation will also be seen on non-subscription special presentations on Nov. 8 and 9.·         Chaplin’s City Lights (March 21). April 16, 2014 marks the 125th anniversary of Charlie Chaplin’s birth, and CSO at the Movies salutes one of the giants of cinema with a presentation of City Lights. Considered one of the greatest accomplishments of Chaplin’s legendary career, City Lights tells the story of the Little Tramp’s romance with a blind flower girl. Conductor Richard Kaufman leads members of the CSO as they play Chaplin’s score to this classic silent film.
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, Chicago Classical Music Examiner

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