For Immediate Release:
January 4, 2017
Press Contacts:
Eileen Chambers, 312-294-3092
Photos Available By Request
[email protected]
February 2017 Calendar of Events
Symphony Center Presents
Chamber Music
Wednesday, February 1, 2017, 8:00 p.m.
Kremerata Baltica
Gidon Kremer, violin
PÄRT
Fratres
WEINBERG
Chamber Symphony No. 4, Op. 153
TCHAIKOVSKY
Serenade melancolique, Op. 26
ARR. DESYATNIKOV
MUSSORGSKY
Pictures from an Exhibition
ARR. PUSHKAREV & COHEN
SILVESTROV
Serenade
Tickets: $22-$88
In 1997, Gidon Kremer introduced the Kremerata Baltica, an energetic chamber orchestra made up of
talented young musicians from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The renowned violinist and his ensemble
celebrate the 20th anniversary of its inception and Kremer’s 70th birthday with an exciting collection of
contemporary music.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Friday, February 3, 2017, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 4, 2017, 8:00 p.m.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Bramwell Tovey, conductor
WALTON
Orb and Sceptre
BRITTEN
The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
TCHAIKOVSKY Act 2 from The Sleeping Beauty
Tickets: $34-$222
Bramwell Tovey, “one of the most versatile and charismatic musicians in the world”
(MusicalAmerica.com), makes his CSO subscription series debut with a program featuring Britten’s The
Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, the composer’s famous theme and variations that spotlight each
section of the ensemble. Tchaikovsky’s music from Act 2 of Sleeping Beauty contains one of his most
beloved waltzes.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Once Upon a Symphony
Saturday, February 4, 2017, 10:00 a.m.
Saturday, February 4, 2017, 11:45 a.m.
Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Three Little Pigs
Tickets: $17
Start your child’s engaging journey into the world of music with Once Upon a Symphony featuring smallensemble performances by members of the CSO accompanied by vivid storytelling, sets, costumes and
images. Three pigs build houses of straw, wood, and brick. Meanwhile, a hungry wolf threatens to blow
down each of the pigs’ houses. The wolf’s plan would have succeeded, if it were not for the courageous
thinking of the third pig. This story emphasizes the importance of caring for others, particularly in the face
of challenging circumstances.
Preconcert activities begin 45 minutes before the performance in the Symphony Center Rotunda. Free to
all ticketholders!
Recommended for 3-5 year olds.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Symphony Center Presents
Orchestras
Wednesday, February 8, 2017, 8:00 p.m.
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Iván Fischer, conductor
Richard Goode, piano
BEETHOVEN
BEETHOVEN
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21
Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 19
Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67
Tickets: $23-$170
Richard Goode’s recording of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos with Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival
Orchestra was praised as “truly revolutionary” by The New Yorker. This all-Beethoven program includes
his famous Fifth Symphony and his Second Piano Concerto, part of Symphony Center’s complete cycle
of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos in 2016/17.
This performance is generously supported by the Randy L. and Melvin R. Family Fund for the Canon.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Thursday, February 9, 2017, 8:00 p.m.
Friday, February 10, 2017, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday. February 11. 2017, 8:00 p.m.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Fabio Biondi, conductor and violin
Vivica Genaux, mezzo-soprano
CORELLI
GIACOMELLI
VERACINI
VIVALDI
VIVALDI
ARIOSTI
VIVALDI
VIVALDI
Concerto grosso in D Major, Op. 6, No. 4
Sposa son disprezzata from La Merope
Giá presso al termine from Adriano in Siria
Violin Concerto in D Major, RV 222
Violin Concerto in E Major, RV 271, (L’amoroso)
Questi ceppi from La fede ne’ tradimenti
Agitata da due venti from Griselda
Violin Concerto in F Major, RV 284
(La Stravaganza)
CORELLI
Concerto Grosso in B-flat Major, Op.6, No. 11
Tickets: $30-$218
Vivica Genaux brings her “astounding ability to wind her way through some of Vivaldi’s hair-raising
obstacle courses of notes at lightning-speed tempos” (Los Angeles Times) in this concert with violinist
and conductor Fabio Biondi in his CSO debut. Genaux will perform several show arias by Vivaldi and his
contemporaries, accompanied by a selection of Vivaldi’s violin concertos and two of Corelli’s Concerti
grossi.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Family Matinee
Saturday, February 11, 2017, 11:00 a.m. and 12:45 p.m.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Edwin Outwater, conductor
Erika Gary, viola
Oliver Herbert, cello
R. STRAUSS
Don Quixote, Op. 35
Tickets: $6-$57
How far would you go for the sake of honor and valor? Richard Strauss' symphonic poem uses the full
force of the orchestra to tell the hilarious story of a knight errant with the unshakable courage to pursue
his dreams. Little did he know, his dreams were crazy!
Come one hour early for free preconcert activities in the Rotunda.
CSO AIC Chamber
Fullerton Hall
Art Institute of Chicago
111 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60603
Sunday, February 12, 2017, 2:00 p.m.
Pressenda Trio
David Taylor, violin
Gary Stucka, cello (Group Leader)
Andrew Swan, piano
Our Kind of Town
MENDELSSOHN
MUCZYNSKI
BRAHMS
Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 49
Cello Sonata, Op. 25
Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major, Op. 8
Tickets: $31
Join a trio of musicians from the CSO as they collaborate with the Art Institute to pay homage to
Chicago's vibrant history. The Pressenda Trio performs a sonata for cello written by the city's own 20thcentury composer Robert Muczynski. Also on the program are Brahms' lushly romantic Piano Trio No. 1
and Mendelssohn's First Piano Trio, revered by Schumann who declared, "[Mendelssohn] is the Mozart of
the 19th century, the most brilliant of musicians." Postconcert, enjoy a gallery tour that includes Chicago
public art and architectural highlights from the Art Institute's permanent collection.
Youth in Music Festival Orchestra
Open Rehearsal
Monday, February 13, 2017. 7:30 p.m.
Youth in Music Festival Orchestra
Riccardo Muti, conductor
MUSSORGKSY, Pictures from an Exhibition
ORCH. RAVEL
The Chicago Youth in Music Festival is presented by the Negaunee Music Institute at the CSO in
partnership with Greater Chicago’s leading community music schools and youth orchestra programs.
More information about the Festival may be found here.
Tickets are FREE but required. To reserve tickets, call Patron Services, visit the Box Office or visit the
concert event detail page.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Thursday, February 16, 2017, 8:00 p.m.
Friday, February 17, 2017, 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 18, 2017, 8:00 p.m.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Yefim Bronfman, piano
ROSSINI
BEETHOVEN
MENDELSSOHN
Overture to Semiramide
Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op 58
Symphony No. 5 in D Major, Op 107,
(Reformation)
Tickets: $36-$261
Rossini’s Overture to Semiramide opens this performance featuring Yefim Bronfman in Beethoven’s
Fourth Piano Concerto. One of Mendelssohn’s grandest symphonic works, the Reformation Symphony
was written to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession, the creed of the Lutheran
Church.
This performance is generously supported by the Randy L. and Melvin R. Family Fund for the Canon.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Special Concert
Friday, February 17, 2017, 7:30 p.m.
Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Most Reverend Blasé J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago
HAYDN The Seven Last Words of Our Savior on the Cross
Tickets: $75
Join conductor Riccardo Muti and Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for an unforgettable
performance of Haydn's Seven Last Words of Our Savior on the Cross. More popular than his The
Creation and The Seasons during his lifetime and Haydn's personal favorite of his sacred works, The
Seven Last Words of Our Savior on the Cross tells the story of Jesus' final utterances before his death.
Experience Haydn's thrilling work brimming with heartache and triumph in Chicago's glorious Holy Name
Cathedral.
Symphony Center Presents
Special Concert
Friday, February 17, 2017, 8:00 p.m.
93XRT Presents Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples, vocalist
Tickets: $35-$75
Over her six-decade career, Chicagoan and vocal legend Mavis Staples has defined and evolved the
genres of gospel, soul, R&B, blues, rock, hip hop, pop and folk. From her early days as part of The
Staples Singers to her work as a singer for Civil Rights and extraordinary, trailblazing solo career, this
unstoppable voice comes to Symphony Center for one night only to celebrate her new album Livin’ on a
High Note and look back at her illustrious career. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear this living luminary
live and experience her “earthy, still-agile voice” (Rolling Stone) and “quiet yet fierce gospel spirit” (NPR).
Symphony Center Presents
Piano
Sunday, February 19, 2017, 3:00 p.m.
Benjamin Grosvenor, piano
SCHUMANN
MOZART
BEETHOVEN
SCRIABIN
GRANADOS
LISZT
Arabesque in C Major, Op. 18
Piano Sonata No. 13 in B-flat Major, K. 333
Sonata in C-sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2
(Moonlight)
Piano Sonata No. 2 in G-sharp Minor, Op. 19
(Sonata-Fantasy)
Los requiebros and El fandango de candil
from Goyescas, Op. 11
Rhapsodie espagnole
Tickets: $21-$82
After winning the 2004 BBC Young Musician Competition at age eleven, British pianist Benjamin
Grosvenor has emerged as one of today’s leading piano virtuosos. “His technique is effortless and
flawless, his rhythmic energy and flexibility are a constant source of delight, the range of colors he
produces and his dynamic range are without parallel…he does not seek to amaze, and he does not need
to” (International Record Review).
Film Screening
Sunday, February 19, 2017, 7:30 p.m.
Ivan the Terrible
Ivan the Terrible, Sergei Eisenstein’s epic two-part 1945 film about the reign of Tsar Ivan IV in sixteenthcentury Russia, will be screened at Orchestra Hall in advance of the CSO’s performance of Prokofiev’s
score with Riccardo Muti conducting.
Free admission!
Tickets required. Film is not rated
Part one is 99 minutes. Part two is 85 minutes.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Thursday, February 23, 2017, 8:00 p.m.
Friday, February 24, 2017, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 25, 2017, 8:00 p.m.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Gérard Depardieu, narrator
Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano
Mikhail Petrenko, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, chorus director
Chicago Children’s Choir, childen’s chorus
Josephine Lee, artistic director
PROKOFIEV
Ivan the Terrible, Op. 116
Tickets: $34-$222
The collaboration between Sergei Prokofiev and director Sergei Eisenstein was one of the most brilliant in
20th-century art. Riccardo Muti leads the CSO and Chicago Symphony Chorus in Prokofiev’s music from
Eisenstein’s epic film Ivan the Terrible, the riveting story of a bloodthirsty tyrant, with narration by
internationally-renowned actor Gérard Depardieu.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Once Upon a Symphony
Saturday, February 25, 2017, 10:00 a.m..
Saturday, February 25, 2017, 11:45 a.m.
Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Three Little Pigs
Tickets: $17
Start your child’s engaging journey into the world of music with Once Upon a Symphony featuring smallensemble performances by members of the CSO accompanied by vivid storytelling, sets, costumes and
images. Three pigs build houses of straw, wood, and brick. Meanwhile, a hungry wolf threatens to blow
down each of the pigs’ houses. The wolf’s plan would have succeeded, if it were not for the courageous
thinking of the third pig. This story emphasizes the importance of caring for others, particularly in the face
of challenging circumstances.
Preconcert activities begin 45 minutes before the performance in the Symphony Center Rotunda. Free to
all ticketholders!
Recommended for 3-5 year olds.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Symphony Center Presents
Special Concert
Sunday, February 26, 2017, 3:00 p.m.
Kodo
DADAN: 2017
Tickets: $30-$80
The world’s foremost taiko ensemble Kodo returns to Symphony Center for a thunderous performance
that explores the limitless possibilities of traditional Japanese drumming with precision, dexterity and
speed. “Superlatives don’t really exist to convey the primal power and bravura beauty of Kodo” (Chicago
Tribune).
Civic Orchestra of Chicago
Tuesday, February 28, 2017, 8:00 p.m.
Civic Orchestra of Chicago
Jay Friedman, conductor
GLIÈRE
Symphony No. 3 (Ilya Muromets)
Free and open to the public; tickets are required.
All concerts take place at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL 60604 unless otherwise
indicated
TICKETS for all 2016/17 Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Center Presents and Civic
Orchestra of Chicago concerts can be purchased by calling CSO ticketing services at 312-294-3000 or
800-223-7114, online at cso.org, or by visiting the Symphony Center box office at 220 S. Michigan Ave.,
Chicago, IL 60604. Discounted student tickets can be purchased, subject to availability, online in advance
or at the box office on the day of the concert. For group rates, please call 312-294-3040. Artists, programs
and ticket prices are subject to change.
###
Press Contact: [email protected]
___________________________________________________________________________________