June 14, 2026

Principal Guest Conductor Pierre Boulez leads the CSO in Stravinsky’s The Firebird. Opening the broadcast is Mahler’s Totenfeier. In between, we hear Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta.

May 31, 2026

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider leads Poulenc’s Concerto in G Minor for Organ, Strings, and Timpani and SaintSaëns’s Symphony No. 3, featuring organ soloist Cameron Carpenter. The broadcast opens with Dukas’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice and rounds out with Daniel Barenboim leading Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe and Boléro.

May 17, 2026

This week, Julian Rachlin showcases his singular versatility as a violinist, violist, and conductor. He joins Associate Concertmaster Stephanie Jeong in Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante before leading a performance of Tchaikovsky’s “Meditation” from Souvenir d’un lieu cher. Taking the podium, Rachlin bookends the program by conducting works by Mozart.

May 3, 2026

This week, guest conductor Susanna Mälkki leads the world premiere of Lowell Liebermann’s Flute Concerto No. 2, a CSO-commissioned work featuring Principal Flute Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson. Opening the program is the Prelude to Act I of Wagner’s Lohengrin, and closing it is Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 featuring soprano Ying Fang.

April 19, 2026

Anna Rakitina makes her debut with the CSO leading an all-Tchaikovsky program. Bookending the concert are Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio italien and a suite from the Nutcracker ballet, while cellist Alisa Weilerstein is featured in the Rococo Variations and Pezzo capriccioso. Closing the broadcast, Sir Georg Solti conducts Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms showcasing the Chicago Symphony Chorus.

April 5, 2026

The CSO celebrates the spring with music by Schumann, Goldmark and Mahler. Opening the program, Daniel Barenboim conducts Schumann’s “Spring Symphony”, followed by Carl Goldmark’s In Springtime led by Frederick Stock. Rounding out the broadcast is Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde—with Maureen Forrester and Richard Lewis—under Fritz Reiner’s baton.

March 22, 2026

This week, Music Director Emeritus for Life Riccardo Muti leads concertos by Telemann and Michael Haydn—featuring Principal Trumpet Esteban Batallán in his CSO solo debut—along with Schubert’s Fourth Symphony. The program also includes historic RCA recordings of Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kijé Suite and R. Strauss’s Der Bürger als Edelmann under the baton of sixth music director Fritz Reiner.

March 8, 2026

This week, Zell Music Director Designate Klaus Mäkelä returns to Symphony Center with Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique and Harold in Italy with viola soloist Antoine Tamestit. The broadcast concludes with a London recording of Berlioz’s Les-francs-juges Overture led by eighth music director Sir Georg Solti.

February 22, 2026

This week, Zell Music Director Designate Klaus Mäkelä leads the CSO in Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony and Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto featuring Daniil Trifonov. Two historic RCA recordings open the broadcast: Dvořák’s Carnival Overture and Ravel’s Pavane for a Dead Princess, both under sixth music director Fritz Reiner.