Hillis was the first woman to regularly conduct a major symphony orchestra, she was the founder of the Chicago Symphony Chorus and served for thirty-seven years as its first director, winning nine Grammy Awards.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s 2023 Ravinia residency features conductor Marin Alsop and a lineup of other leading conductors.

The season will be the first following the departure of Riccardo Muti as music director. But the maestro will be close at hand as he continues his association with the CSO.

The 17-year-old violinist claimed first prize with her performance of Ernest Chausson’s Poème for violin and orchestra.

As we reflect on the year gone by, WFMT salutes the contributions of members of the arts community who died this past year.

The holiday season welcomes a plethora of performances from near and far, leaving Chicago-area audiences with a myriad of spectacles… and choices

“I have lived all my life in and through music, and I will continue to do so as long as my health allows me to.”

WFMT spoke to the Chicago-born Lewis in 2015, when, at the age of 80, his music received its first CSO performance.

After a long bout with cancer, Tovey died on July 12. Tovey appeared as both a conductor and pianist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and other top orchestras.

“Every time I play a piece of music, I train my mind to look at a score fresh.”

“In 20 to 30 years, when everything will collapse, you will say maybe Muti was right,” the 80-year-old Italian conductor said.

“One of the great things about the orchestra is that it is always evolving…”

Lupu was renowned for his thoughtful interpretations of “19th-century German and Austrian piano works, especially those of Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms,” notes WFMT’s Candice Agree.

The CSO shares that the 80-year-old conductor is experiencing mild symptoms and is in high spirits.

Banner works by Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Prokofiev headline Muti’s three CSO residencies, ahead of the conclusion of his tenure with Beethoven’s Missa solemnis.

In addition to the annual CSO residency, Ravinia will play host to a spate of guest ensembles, including Music of the Baroque, The Knights, the Lincoln Trio, Chanticleer, the Chicago Philharmonic, and the Chicago Sinfonietta.

The first movement of Camille Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2 — with its “unique suspenseful opening” — secured the young artist the prize.

The season will feature four mainstage programs, including the company’s Chicago-centric take on The Nutcracker and the return of Anna Karenina.

“I’ve been very lucky. Not only did I get the world’s best job, but I also got to work closely with the world’s best conductors: Barenboim, Muti, Boulez, Haitink, you name it!”

In her role as chief conductor, Alsop curates and conducts a three-week stretch of programs with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Embedded within that residency will be the Breaking Barriers Festival.

We’re still soaring from our big day last week, when we welcomed some of Chicago’s leading artists to take part in a daylong celebration of WFMT and the music we’ve been presenting for the last 70 years!

How better to mark 70 years of WFMT than with a party!?

From the Composer’s Studio invites you to hear Missy Mazzoli and Jessie Montgomery, two of today’s most celebrated composers, provide a glimpse into their work. Enjoy this insightful, lively discussion co-produced by the CSOA and WFMT.

Haitink took the podium at many of the premiere concert halls in the world and forged, among others, a creative partnership with the CSO, where he served as principal conductor from 2006 to 2010.

Music director Riccardo Muti will conduct music by Beethoven, Price, Glass, and Montgomery while welcoming guest artists like Anne-Sophie Mutter, Leif Ove Andsnes, and Mitsuko Uchida.