Chicago Symphony Orchestra Kicks Off 125th Season With Music Director Riccardo Muti Tonight

Riccardo Muti's sixth season as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) begins with a multi-faceted celebration as the CSO kicks off its 125th anniversary season in 2015/16.

In 1891, Theodore Thomas took the stage to conduct the Orchestra's first concert nearly 125 years ago. Thomas could scarcely have imagined that this great ensemble would not only flourish, but would live on long after him. As the Orchestra looks back at its distinguished history this season, its programs reflect the CSO's heritage and legacy, with most weeks including at least one work that was given its world or U.S. premiere by the CSO. Many of these premieres featured the composer as conductor or soloist, and have since taken their place as cornerstones of the standard orchestral repertoire.

CSO Concerts
Muti leads a wide range of programs and events between tonight, September 17, through October 3, 2015, beginning with the season's first subscription concert at Symphony Center tonight, September 17, at 8 p.m., which includes Liszt's symphonic poem, From the Cradle to the Grave, Mozart's Symphony No. 40 and Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

Continuing Riccardo Muti's tradition of including a free community concert at the start of each season, which began in 2010 at the start of his tenure as music director with the CSO, Muti leads the CSO in a free Concert for Chicago in Millennium Park's Pritzker Pavilion on Friday night, September 18, at 6:30 p.m. The program features two orchestral favorites: Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3 and Mahler's Symphony No. 1, and marks the first of the CSOA's 125 concerts in the community during the anniversary season.

The CSO's annual fundraising gala, Symphony Ball, takes place on Saturday, September 19, at 7 p.m., with special 125th anniversary events that honor the CSO's legendary legacy. The evening begins with a pre-concert reception at Symphony Center for all concert attendees, followed by a performance by Muti and the CSO, and concludes with celebratory post-concert dinner and dancing at the historic Palmer House hotel. The concert features a special one-night-only program that begins with John Corigliano's Campane di Ravello, a piece that the CSO commissioned and gave the world premiere of in 1987, when Corigliano was serving as the Orchestra's first composer-in-residence. Edward Elgar's tone poem In the South (Alassio)-which received its U.S. premiere in 1904 by the CSO-follows, while Ravel's famous orchestration of Mussorgsky's showpiece, Pictures from an Exhibition, closes the concert program.

Subscription programs continue on September 24-26 and 29, with Muti leading the CSO and the debut of French harpist Xavier de Maistre as soloist in Ginastera's Concerto for Harp and Orchestra. Also included on this French and Spanish-inspired program are Chabrier's España, Ravel's Boléro, and Charpentier's Impressions of Italy, which received its U.S. premiere in 1893 by the CSO.

Muti's final week of CSO concerts during his Fall residency, on October 1-3, feature pianist Leif Ove Andsnes as soloist in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor. Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3 opens this program, which also includes Hindemith's Concert Music for String Orchestra and Brass. Prokofiev's Scythian Suite, which received its U.S. premiere by the CSO in 1918, closes the program.

This fall, Muti also leads a rehearsal for invited audiences of students and community groups on Thursday, October 1.

Other Activities
In addition to his subscription concert appearances with the Orchestra, Muti will appear as a special guest leading arrangements of Verdi's overtures to La forza del destino and Nabucco for brass, performed by the National Brass Ensemble (NBE). Four current CSO musicians-Principal Trumpet Chris Martin, Trombone Michael Mulcahy, Principal Tuba Gene Pokorny and Assistant Principal Timpani Vadim Karpinos-as well as former Associate Principal Horn Gail Williams, and other renowned brass players from the orchestras of Cleveland, Boston, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, comprise the National Brass Ensemble, which performs a Symphony Center Presents Special Concert at Symphony Center, on Sunday, September 20 at 3 p.m. The program features arrangements of works by Gabrieli and Verdi, as well as Music for Brass, which was written especially for the NBE by Academy Award-winning composer John Williams.

Riccardo Muti's dedication to nurturing and supporting young talent and to sharing the knowledge and experience that he has amassed throughout his distinguished career remains a priority for him, and each season he leads at least one open rehearsal with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. The first of these is on Monday evening, September 28, at 7:00 p.m., and is free and open to the public; tickets are required. Muti has selected Charpentier's Impressions d'Italie (Impressions of Italy) as repertoire for this session.

Offstage, Muti's activities continue to be varied. Muti will be honored by the Juvenile Justice Initiative (JJI) at an event on September 16 at the Union League Club of Chicago. JJI is an Evanston-based nonprofit working to transform the juvenile justice system in Illinois by reducing reliance on incarceration, ensuring fairness for all youth and creating a network of community-based resources throughout the state. Since coming to Chicago, Riccardo Muti has made sharing live classical music with incarcerated youth one of his signature issues. The award will recognize his time, effort and commitment to young people in conflict with the law. For more information, visit www.jjustice.org. In addition, Muti will visit the Illinois Youth Center in Warrenville for the fourth time on September 27 to perform with musicians from the CSO and singers from the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

On Monday, September 21, at 6 p.m., Muti participates in conversation with CSO program annotator Phillip Huscher, presented by the University of Chicago and its Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the Logan Center Performance Hall (915 E 60th St. at Drexel Ave). University President, Robert J. Zimmer, will deliver opening remarks. The event is free and reservations are recommended. The University will be commemorating its 125th anniversary from September through December 2015. The University's celebration, 125 Years of Inquiry and Impact, reflects on the intellectual history and evolution of the University's College, divisions, schools and other units, and aims to engage the University community as well as the general public. More details are available at 125.uchicago.edu.

For the third consecutive year, Muti will visit the Oak Park River Forest Symphony-whose music director is CSO Principal Trombone Jay Friedman-to lead a rehearsal of Verdi's Four Seasons from I vespri siciliani which is open to the public. Rehearsal takes place on Wednesday, September 23, at 7:30 p.m., at Dominican University Performing Arts Center, 7900 W. Division St. in River Forest.

New CSO Resound Release
As part of the CSO's 125th anniversary season celebration, the CSO releases a new recording with Riccardo Muti on its CSO Resound label on September 11: Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique and its seldom-heard sequel, Lélio, narrated by French actor Gérard Depardieu. Recorded live in September 2010 during Muti's first Orchestra Hall concerts as music director, the performances also included the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Duain Wolfe, director, as well as tenor Mario Zeffiri and bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen. cso.org/resound

Bank of America is the global sponsor of the CSO. The CSO gratefully acknowledges and celebrates the following Grand Patrons who have made the CSO's 125th anniversary season possible: Rosemarie and Dean L. Buntrock, Daniel Fischel and Sylvia Neil, Judson and Joyce Green, Kenneth C. Griffin, Verne and Judy Istock, Cathy and Bill Osborn, and Helen and Sam Zell. CSO Tuesday series concerts are sponsored by United Airlines.

# # #

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Thursday, September 17, 2015, 8:00 p.m.
Riccardo Muti, conductor

LISZT From the Cradle to the Grave
MOZART Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67

Tickets: $39-$287

This performance is generously sponsored by the Randy L. and Melvin R. Berlin Family Fund for the Canon.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Concert for Chicago
Pritzker Pavilion, Millenium Park

Friday, September 18, 2015, 6:30 p.m.
Riccardo Muti, conductor

BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No, 3, Op. 72b
MAHLER Symphony No. 1 in D Major

Tickets: Free and open to the public

Northern Trust is the Presenting Sponsor of the CSO's 125th Opening Weekend Celebration. The CSO's Concert for Chicago is generously sponsored by the Kenneth C. Girffin Fund.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Symphony Ball

Saturday, September 19, 2015, 7:00 p.m.
Riccardo Muti, conductor

CORIGLIANO Campane di Ravello
ELGAR In the South (Alassio), Op. 50
MUSSORGSKY
orch. RAVEL Pictures from an Exhibition

Tickets: $45-$235 (concert only)

Northern Trust is the Presenting Sponsor of Symphony Ball.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Special Concert

Sunday, September 20, 2015, 3:00 p.m.
National Brass Ensemble
Special Guest: Riccardo Muti, conductor

VERDI,
arr. HIGGINS Overture to La forza del destino

GABRIELI,
arr. HIGGINS Selections from Sacrae Symphoniae:
Canzon in echo duodecimi toni
Canzon duodecimi toni
Sonata pian e forte
Sancta Maria succurre miseris
Canzon noni toni
VERDI,
arr. HIGGINS Overture to Nabucco
GABRIELI,
arr. HIGGINS Selections from Sacrae Symphoniae:
Canzon septimi toni, No. 2
O magnum mysterium
Buccinate in neomenia
Canzon primi toni, No. 2
Exaudi me, domine
Canzon quarti toni
Magnificat a 12
WILLIAMS Music for Brass

Tickets: $33-$116

University of Chicago
Logan Center for the
Performing Arts
915 East 60th Street, Chicago

Monday, September 21, 2015, 6:00 p.m.
Riccardo Muti, CSO Music Director
Phillip Huscher, CSO Program Annotator

Conversation with Riccardo Muti

Free and open to the public. Reservations recommended.
Oak Park River Forest Symphony
Open Rehearsal

Dominican University Performing
Arts Center
7900 W. Division St in River Forest

Wednesday, September 23, 2015, 7:30 p.m.
Riccardo Muti, conductor

Free and open to the public.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Thursday. September 24, 2015, 8:00 p.m.
Friday, September 25, 2015, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 26, 2015, 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015, 7:30 p.m.
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Xavier de Maistre, harp

CHABRIER España
GINASTERA Concerto for Harp and Orchestra, Op. 25
CHARPENTIER Impressions d'Italie
RAVEL Boléro

Tickets: $34-$221

The CSO Tuesday series concerts are sponsored by United.

Civic Orchestra of Chicago

Monday, September 28, 2015, 7:00 p.m.
Civic Orchestra of Chicago
Riccardo Muti, conductor

CHARPENTIER Impressions d'Italie (Impressions of Italy)

These performances are generously sponsored by the Randy L. and Melvin R. Berlin Family Fund for the Canon.

OCTOBER

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Thursday, October 1, 2015, 8:00 p.m.
Friday, October 2, 2015, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 3, 2015, 8:00 p.m.
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Leif Ove Andsnes, piano

BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72b
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466
HINDEMITH Concert Music for String Orchestra and Brass, Op. 50
PROKOFIEV Scythian Suite, Op. 20

Tickets: $34-$221

These performances are generously sponsored by the Randy L. and Melvin R. Berlin Family Fund for the Canon.

TICKETS for all 2015/16 season 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 atcso.org, or by visiting the Symphony Center box office at 220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60604. Discounted student tickets for select concerts 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.

Tickets for the Symphony Ball concert are available for purchase at the box office or online at cso.org. For gala package information, please call 312-294-3185.

Artists, programs, and prices are subject to change.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Riccardo Muti
Riccardo Muti, born in Naples, Italy, is one of the preeminent conductors of our day. In 2010, when he became the tenth music director of the world-renowned Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), he had more than forty years of experience at the helm of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence (1968-1980), the Philharmonia Orchestra in London (1972-1982), the Philadelphia Orchestra (1980-1992), and Teatro alla Scala in Milan (1986-2005). He continues to be in demand as a guest conductor for other great orchestras and opera houses: the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic; the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich, the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera House in London, the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, and many others. Muti is an honorary member of the Vienna Philharmonic, which gave him its Golden Ring as a special sign of esteem and affection.

Muti has received innumerable honors from Italy, the United States, France, Germany, Austria, Great Britain, Israel, Spain, Russia, Sweden, and the Vatican as well as more than twenty honorary degrees from universities around the world.

Passionate about teaching young musicians, Muti founded the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra in 2004. Through Le vie dell'Amicizia (The paths of friendship), a project of the Ravenna Festival in Italy, he has conducted in many of the world's most troubled areas in order to bring attention to and advocate for civic and social issues. In Chicago and around the globe, Muti demonstrates his strong commitment to sharing classical music broadly by regularly offering free concerts and rehearsals to the public and by performing in schools, prisons, and other community venues.

Riccardo Muti's vast catalog of recordings, numbering in the hundreds, ranges from the traditional symphonic and operatic repertoires to contemporary works. He also has written two books, Verdi, l'italiano (published in Italian and German) and Riccardo Muti: An Autobiography: First the Music, Then the Words, which has been published in several languages.

www.riccardomutimusic.com

Leif Ove Andsnes
The New York Times has called Leif Ove Andsnes "a pianist of magisterial elegance, power, and insight." With his commanding technique and searching interpretations, the celebrated Norwegian pianist has won acclaim worldwide; theWall Street Journal named him "one of the most gifted musicians of his generation." In addition to giving recitals and performing concertos with the world's foremost orchestras and being an active recording artist, he is also an avid chamber musician. He served as co-artistic director of the Risør Festival of Chamber Music for nearly two decades, and was music director of California's 2012 Ojai Music Festival. He was inducted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame in July 2013.

Andsnes now records exclusively for Sony Classical. His previous discography comprises more than 30 discs for EMI Classics - solo, chamber, and concerto releases, many of them bestsellers - spanning repertoire from the time of Bach to the present day. He has been nominated for eight Grammys and awarded many international prizes, including six Gramophone Awards.

Andsnes has received Norway's most distinguished honor, Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav. In 2007, he received the prestigious Peer Gynt Prize, awarded by members of parliament to honor prominent Norwegians for their achievements in politics, sports, and culture. He is the recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society's Instrumentalist Award and the Gilmore Artist Award, and, saluting his many achievements, Vanity Fair named Andsnes one of the "Best of the Best" in 2005.

Leif Ove Andsnes was born in Karmøy, Norway in 1970, and studied at the Bergen Music Conservatory under the renowned Czech professor Jirí Hlinka. A Professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, Andsnes currently lives in Copenhagen and Bergen, and spends much time at his mountain home in Norway's western Hardanger area. In June 2010 he achieved one of his proudest accomplishments to date, becoming a father for the first time, and his family expanded in May 2013 with the welcome arrival of twins.

Xavier de Maistre
Xavier de Maistre belongs to an elite category of soloists who are redefining what is possible with their instrument. Aside from commissions from composers such as Krzysztof Penderecki and Kaija Saariaho, he performs works like Smetana's "Ma Vlast" with breathtaking precision, presenting masterful arrangements of works that are usually played by an entire orchestra. The interpretation of these works, that few harpists before him have even considered playing, has contributed to his reputation as one of the most creative and extraordinary musicians of his generation.

Xavier de Maistre has appeared with major orchestras under the direction of the world's eminent conductors, and has appeared at many of Europe's leading festivals. He collaborates with such chamber music partners as Diana Damrau, Mojca Erdmann, Daniel Müller-Schott, Baiba Skride, Arabella Steinbacher and Magali Mosnier.

In 2008 Xavier de Maistre signed an exclusive contract with Sony Music. Releases so far have included music by Haydn, Rodrigo, Ginastera and Debussy - the latter for which he was awarded the Echo Klassik Award 2009 as "Instrumentalist of the Year". His latest releases include a DVD with Diana Damrau and a CD recording of Mozart piano concertos arranged for harp, with Mozarteum Salzburg and conductor Ivor Bolton.

Xavier de Maistre was born in Toulon and began studying harp at age nine. His studies culminated in Paris with Catherine Michel and Jacqueline Borot. In 1998 he was awarded the first prize at the International Harp Competition in Bloomington, Indiana. He immediately became the first French musician to join the ranks of the prestigious Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - a position which he left in summer 2010. Since 2001 Xavier de Maistre has taught at the Hamburg Academy of Music. He also gives regular master classes at New York's Juilliard School of Music, Tokyo's Toho University and London's Trinity College of Music. Xavier de Maistre plays a Lyon & Healy harp.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra: www.cso.org and www.csosoundsandstories.org
Founded in 1891, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is consistently hailed as one of the greatest orchestras in the world. Since 2010, the preeminent conductor Riccardo Muti has served as its 10th music director. Pierre Boulez is the CSO's Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus, Yo-Yo Ma is its Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant, and Samuel Adams and Elizabeth Ogonek are its Mead Composers-in-Residence.

From baroque through contemporary music, the CSO commands a vast repertoire. Its renowned musicians annually perform more than 150 concerts, most at Symphony Center in Chicago and, each summer, at the suburban Ravinia Festival. They regularly tour nationally and internationally. Since 1892, the CSO has made 58 international tours, performing in 29 countries on five continents.

People around the globe listen to weekly radio broadcasts of CSO concerts and recordings on the WFMT radio network and online at cso.org/radio. Recordings by the CSO have earned 62 Grammy Awards, including two in 2011 for Muti's recording with the CSO and Chorus of Verdi's Messa da Requiem (Muti's first of four releases with the CSO to date). Find details on these and many other CSO recordings at www.cso.org/resound.

The CSO is part of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, which also includes the Chicago Symphony Chorus (Duain Wolfe, Director and Conductor) and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, a training ensemble for emerging professionals. Through its prestigious Symphony Center Presents series, the CSOA presents guest artists and ensembles from a variety of genres-classical, jazz, world, and contemporary.

The Negaunee Music Institute at the CSO offers community and education programs that annually engage more than 200,000 people of diverse ages and backgrounds. Through the Institute and other activities, including a free annual concert with Muti and the CSO, the CSO is committed to using the power of music to create connections and build community.

The CSO is supported by thousands of patrons, volunteers and institutional and individual donors. Bank of America is the Global Sponsor of the CSO. The CSO's music director position is endowed in perpetuity by a generous gift from the Zell Family Foundation. The Negaunee Foundation provides generous support in perpetuity for the work of the Negaunee Music Institute.

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!