A Chicago Symphony Chorus Spotlight

This week, we take a look back at Grammy-winning performances by the Chicago Symphony Chorus. Music directors Daniel Barenboim and Sir Georg Solti conduct Bruckner’s Psalm 150 and Brahms’s A German Requiem. Former principal guest conductor Pierre Boulez conducts Bartók’s Cantata profana.

Berg and Brahms for Strings

Both Alban Berg and Johannes Brahms hail from the Viennese school of classical composing and the works -featured on this program showcase the strength and musicality that came out of that period.

Trifonov Plays Brahms

Trifonov’s not-to-be-missed performance of Brahms’s well-loved concerto is paired with a late symphony by Prokofiev, filled with powerful atmospheric writing and dark, thrilling melodic lines.

Playlist: Music for Piano Four Hands

Any chamber music demands a deceptive level of coordination and mastery. But what about when two artists are playing the same instrument, side-by-side?

Harding Conducts The Planets

Daniel Harding conducts Schumann’s Overture to Manfred and Holst’s The Planets, and the Chicago Symphony Chorus joins for Brahms’s Schicksalslied. Plus, former Music Director Sir Georg Solti leads in a 1997 recording of Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms featuring the Chicago Symphony Chorus.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Simone Young

Sheku Kanneh-Mason, the first Black musician to win the BBC Young Musician Award, is the soloist in Dvořák’s Cello Concerto.

Nelson Freire: The Unreleased Recordings 1970-2019, Program 2

The Brazilian pianist — with the backing of the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra — in unreleased music by Brahms, Chopin, Bartók, and Liszt.

Waldbühne I: Muti and the Vienna Philharmonic

Situated in a wooded area just outside Berlin, the Waldbühne is one of Europe’s largest and most popular open-air concert venues.

Playlist: Art Songs for Autumn

An autumnal assortment of songs in German, French, English, and even Swedish, each with their own take on the fall season.

Thomas Beecham in Live Performance, 1

20th-century maestro Thomas Beecham leads works by Richard Strauss, Johannes Brahms, and Mily Balakirev.

Brahms’s Mighty Piano Quartet

Pianist Gilbert Kalish, violinist Nicolas Dautricourt, violist Yura Lee, and cellist Keith Robinson join forces for this landmark — and longform — chamber piece.

Mälkki Conducts Brahms

With pianist Daniil Trifonov, “without question the most astounding pianist of our age.”

Matthias Goerne on songs of Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms

The distinguished German baritone previews his upcoming recital at Ravinia Festival.

Brahms & Bruckner with Dudamel (with Anne-Sophie Mutter & Pablo Ferrández)

A journey through Bruckner’s compelling extremes.

Underrated Classical Music for Weddings (from a gigging musician)

Tired of Pachelbel’s Canon in D and Mendelssohn’s Wedding March? Here are other romantic selections to consider!

Lincoln Trio 20th Anniversary Concert

The renowned string group celebrates their 20th anniversary with a concert of works ranging from Astor Piazzolla to Stacy Garrop. This concert was recorded on November 10th, 2023 at Bennett Gordon Hall.

Emanuel Ax Plays Brahms

Alan Gilbert conducts Brahms and Beethoven.

Zhang & Trpčeski

Xian Zhang leads the CSO in Prokofiev’s Sixth Symphony and Nokuthula Ngwenyama’s Primal Message. In between, Simon Trpčeski joins her in Grieg’s Piano Concerto. Opening the program, Sir Georg Solti leads the CSO in Brahms’s Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn, Op. 56a from 1997 London recording.

The Art of Johanna Martzy

The renowned Hungarian violinist in music by Bach, Brahms, Schubert, and Mendelssohn.

Paul Paray and the Detroit Symphony, 3

Wrapping up a retrospective with highlights by Ernest Chausson and Johannes Brahms.

Alan Gilbert Conducts Lindberg, Brahms, and Berlioz

EXPO by Magnus Lindberg begins our broadcast and will be followed by the Brahms Violin Concerto in D performed by Frank Peter Zimmerman. The program concludes with the Symphonie fantastique by Berlioz.

Haitink Conducts Beethoven & Brahms

A 2007 broadcast from CSO’s archives: Bernard Haitink—the Orchestra’s principal conductor from 2006 until 2010—leads Beethoven’s Seventh and Brahms’s Second symphonies. The program opens with Weber’s Overture to Der Freischütz and includes Webern’s Passacaglia for Orchestra.

CSO Announces 2024–25 Season and New Artist-In-Residence

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association has announced its 2024–2025 season, a full year of concerts in its mainstage subscription series, as well as chamber, solo, family, and other programming.

Harding Conducts The Planets

Experience the ferocity of “Mars,” the golden song of “Jupiter,” the eerie calm of “Saturn” and the haunting off-stage vocals of the ethereal “Neptune.”

A Chicago Symphony Chorus Spotlight

Maestros Barenboim, Boulez, and Solti conduct the CSO with the Chicago Symphony Chorus under the direction of chorus founder Margaret Hillis.

1 2 3 4