Monthly Archives: June 2021

CSO PROOF: ANNO Vivaldi’s Four Seasons

• Thu Oct 7, 2021 | 8:00 pm
• Fri Oct 8, 2021 | 8:00 pm

Louis Langrée, conductor
Anna Meredith, electronics
Eleanor Meredith, video
Simon Hendry, sound design

At times haunting and achingly beautiful, at others punchy and bombastic, ANNO intertwines sections from Vivaldi’s hugely famous Four Seasons with newly composed electronic and acoustic music by Anna Meredith.

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FREEDOM & JOY

• Fri Oct 29, 2021 | 7:30 pm
• Sat Oct 30, 2021 | 7:30 pm

Louis Langrée, conductor
Stefani Matsuo, violin
Drew Petersen, piano

Our opening concerts symbolize the freedom and joy in being able to gather together to share live music. The program features Brahms’ blockbuster Third Symphony—an outburst of freedom and joy. Pianist Drew Petersen joins concertmaster Stefani Matsuo for Brahms’ Scherzo movement from the collaborative F-A-E Sonata and then performs Andrew Norman’s enigmatic Suspend, which explores melodic fragments from both of Brahms’ works.

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DANIIL TRIFONOV IN RECITAL

• Wed Nov 10, 2021 | 7:30 pm

Daniil Trifonov, piano

Daniil Trifonov wowed sold-out Music Hall audiences with his 2019 CSO debut. Now, Cincinnati will get a chance to experience a rare solo recital showcasing the remarkable talent of the famed Russian pianist—an artist The London Times calls “without question the most astounding pianist of our age.”

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GAFFIGAN CONDUCTS MAHLER 4

• Sat Nov 13, 2021 | 7:30 pm
• Sun Nov 14, 2021 | 2:00 pm

James Gaffigan, conductor
Robert Sullivan, trumpet
Catherine Trottmann, soprano

Conductor James Gaffigan returns with Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, a work depicting the stunning grace often found amid tragedy. Soprano Catherine Trottmann makes her CSO debut, and Principal Trumpet Robert Sullivan takes center stage with a rarely heard 18th-century gem by the little-known Czech composer Johann Baptist Georg Neruda.

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MANNY, HAYDN & BEETHOVEN 8

• Fri Nov 19, 2021 | 11:00 am
• Sat Nov 20, 2021 | 7:30 pm

Louis Langrée, conductor
Emanuel Ax, piano

Emanuel Ax, a perpetual audience favorite, performs Haydn’s shimmering Concerto in D. Composer Sebastian Currier took Louis Langrée’s CSO commission instructions literally: each of the four movements in Track 8 parallels a movement of Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony, in what Currier calls
“a Beethoven remix.”

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DEBUSSY, RAVEL & MENDELSSOHN

• Fri Nov 26, 2021 | 7:30 pm
• Sat Nov 27, 2021 | 7:30 pm

Roderick Cox, conductor
Conrad Tao, piano

Roderick Cox’s CSO debut takes us into the sound world of the imagination, with works by composers who used the full palette of orchestral colors to illustrate their vision. Mallarmé’s poem depicting a faun’s ephemeral fantasies inspired Debussy’s most famous work. Pianist Conrad Tao performs Ravel’s concerto inspired by jazz and Basque folk music, and Mendelssohn’s Scottish evokes the dramatic landscapes of the British Isles.

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DAWSON, BEETHOVEN & BERNSTEIN: A Shared Humanity

• Sat Jan 8, 2022 | 7:30 pm
• Sun Jan 9, 2022 | 2:00 pm

James Conlon, conductor

James Conlon, May Festival Music Director Laureate, returns with works by three composers who touch on universal themes of cultural identity and our shared humanity. Dawson, a pioneering composer in his time, expresses the Black American experience while Beethoven’s and Bernstein’s works illustrate the conflicts between cultures thrown together through circumstance.

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LA VALSE & SIMPSON PREMIERE

• Fri Jan 14, 2022 | 11:00 am
• Sat Jan 15, 2022 | 7:30 pm

Louis Langrée, conductor
Nicola Bendetti, violin

At the turn of the 20th century, there were no greater orchestrators than Ravel and Strauss, whose works unleash the full force of the orchestra in all of its innumerable colors. Grammy-winning violinist Nicola Benedetti gives the U.S. premiere of Mark Simpson’s dazzling new violin concerto. Finished during the pandemic, the work “explodes with all those feelings—frustration, anger, restlessness, confusion, uncertainty—that have had nowhere to go during the lockdowns” (The Times, London).

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PINTSCHER PREMIERE & RACHMANINOFF

• Fri Jan 28, 2022 | 7:30 pm
• Sat Jan 29, 2022 | 7:30 pm

Matthias Pintscher, conductor
Leila Josefowicz, violin

CSO Creative Partner Matthias Pintscher and close collaborator, violinist Leila Josefowicz, premiere Pintscher’s brand new concerto, written for the CSO. Completing the program is another composer who conducted his own works: Sergei Rachmaninoff, whose spirited Symphonic Dances are always an audience favorite.

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TANGO & CITY NOIR

• Sat Feb 12, 2022 | 7:30 pm
• Sun Feb 13, 2022 | 2:00 pm

John Storgårds, conductor
Ksenjia Sidorova, accordion

The versatility of Glass, Piazzolla and Adams shines as conductor John Storgårds leads a program conjuring missing lovers, misspent youth, intrigue, and the early hours of Los Angeles. Piazzolla’s steamy, sultry Latin tangos are mesmerizing as performed by accordionist Ksenija Sidorova in her CSO debut.

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CANELLAKIS & ELGAR CONCERTO

• Fri Mar 4, 2022 | 11:00 am
• Sat Mar 5, 2022 | 7:30 pm

Karina Canellakis, conductor
Alisa Weilerstein, cello

Audience favorite Alisa Weilerstein brings her trademark intensity to Elgar’s fiery and elegant Cello Concerto. Full of energy, Augusta Read Thomas’ Brio is a joyous opening to the program, and the artistry of conductor Karina Canellakis and the CSO is on display with Sibelius’ depiction of mythological dark Nordic waters, icy adventures and a sonorous swan song.

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MOZART & MAZZOLI PREMIERE

• Fri Mar 11, 2022 | 7:30 pm
• Sat Mar 12, 2022 | 7:30 pm

Louis Langrée, conductor
Jennifer Koh, violin
May Festival Chorus, Robert Porco, director

Jennifer Koh is a prolific champion of new works and stars in the premiere of a CSO co-commission by “Brooklyn’s post-millennial Mozart,” Missy Mazzoli. The May Festival Chorus makes a triumphant return to Music Hall for Mozart’s poignant Mass, taking us from anxiety and darkness to glorious transfiguration.

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SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE

• Fri Mar 25, 2022 | 7:30 pm
• Sat Mar 26, 2022 | 7:30 pm
• Sun Mar 27, 2022 | 2:00 pm

Louis Langrée, conductor
Eighth Blackbird

GRAMMY Award-winning Eighth Blackbird joins the CSO for a premiere from
Kinds of Kings, a U.S.-based composer collective amplifying and advocating for underrepresented voices. A new fanfare by Wynton Marsalis shows off the Orchestra’s brass, and Symphonie fantastique completes the concert with a delirious dream fueled by Berlioz’s obsessive passion and unrequited love.

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BARTÓK & PROKOFIEV 5

• Fri Apr 1, 2022 | 11:00 am
• Sat Apr 2, 2022 | 7:30 pm

Kazushi Ōno, conductor
Seong-Jin Cho, piano

Prokofiev’s powerful hymn to humanity anchors a program featuring the CSO debuts of conductor Kazushi Ōno and star pianist Seong-Jin Cho. The vivid musical imagery of Japanese composer Tōru Takemitsu sets the stage for Bartók’s airy and virtuosic Piano Concerto No. 3.

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BRONFMAN & LA MER

• Fri Apr 8, 2022 | 7:30 pm
• Sat Apr 9, 2022 | 7:30 pm

Louis Langrée, conductor
Yefim Bronfman, piano

Powerhouse pianist Yefim Bronfman returns to the CSO with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3. Julia Adolphe’s premiere evokes the power of nature and its malleable, playful, childlike qualities. With La Mer let your imagination soar—Debussy’s masterful use of orchestral colors makes this impressionistic work a perpetual audience favorite.

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ITZHAK PERLMAN IN RECITAL

• Sun Apr 10, 2022 | 7:30 pm

Itzhak Perlman, violin

When we say, “think of a famous violinist,” who comes to mind? For many, it’s Itzhak Perlman. The “reigning virtuoso” (The New York Times) returns for a solo violin recital, putting Perlman’s legendary sound center stage. When we think of Perlman, we think, “can’t miss.”

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CSO PROOF: Black Being

• Wed Apr 20, 2022 | 8:00 pm

Flutronix
Nathalie Joachim & Allison Loggins-Hull, composers and soloists
Jaki Shelton Green, poet
Co-Commissioned by The Arts Club of Chicago and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Black Being explores the African-American female experience through themes of fear, sacrifice, beauty, survival and strength in an immersive staged performance that provides a lens into black cultural realities and human conditions. 

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CLASSICAL ROOTS

• Fri Apr 22, 2022 | 7:30 pm

John Morris Russell, conductor

Shout for joy, Cincinnati! JMR and the CSO celebrate 20+ years of Classical Roots, one of The Queen City’s most inspiring musical traditions. Experience the voices of the Classical Roots Community Mass Choir and let the powerful presence of song and spirit in beautiful Music Hall lift up your heart.

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CONNESSON PREMIERE & RACHMANINOFF

• Fri May 6, 2022 | 11:00 am
• Sat May 7, 2022 | 7:30 pm
• Sun May 8, 2022 | 7:30 pm

Louis Langrée, conductor
Dwight Parry, oboe

Rachmaninoff’s lush and romantic Second Symphony uses the full force of the orchestra to deliver one of the most popular symphonic works. Opening the concert is a world premiere by French composer Guillaume Connesson, written for CSO Principal Oboe Dwight Parry.

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TRANSCENDENT BRUCKNER

• Sat May 14, 2022 | 7:30 pm
• Sun May 15, 2022 | 2:00 pm

Louis Langrée, conductor

Louis Langrée calls Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony “a cathedral of sound—spiritual, soaring and transcendent.” The concert opens with a new work by Gabriela Ortiz, identified by NPR as “one of Mexico’s most sought-after classical composers,” whose musical language stems from her heritage and yet is all her own.

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For more information visit https://www.cincinnatisymphony.org/tickets-and-events/buy-tickets/cso/2122-cso-season