Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Sundays at 8pm
CSO_Muti-Photo-High-Res_credit-Todd-Rosenberg

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Hear live performances by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra alongside selections from the orchestra’s expansive catalog of recordings. Find out the fascinating stories found inside the music; get insights from the CSO musicians, guest artists, and composers themselves; and learn more about the music and programmatic themes highlighted during the CSO’s concert season. Hosted by Lisa Simeone.

Schedule
  • July 5
    Barenboim Conducts Bruckner 4

    This week, we hear Daniel Barenboim leading the CSO before his tenure as ninth music director. Opening the broadcast is Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio espagnol, followed by Tchaikovsky’s Francesca da Rimini and Bruckner’s Romantic Symphony.

    Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

    Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34
    Daniel Barenboim, conductor

    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32
    Daniel Barenboim, conductor

    Anton Bruckner

    Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major (Romantic)
    Daniel Barenboim, conductor

  • July 12
    2024 Ravinia Opening Night: Celebration of Americana

    Marin Alsop, chief conductor of the Ravinia Festival, leads the CSO in a program celebrating American composers. Opening the program is Copland’s Suite from Appalachian Spring, followed by Johnson’s Charleston. Next, Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha joins in Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915. Rounding out the program is Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, featuring Michelle Cann.

    John Stafford Smith
    (arr. Frederick Stock)

    The Star-Spangled Banner

    Aaron Copland

    Suite from Appalachian Spring (full orchestra version)

    James P. Johnson

    Charleston [abridged]
    (orch. Davind Rimelis, arr. Nicholas Hersh)

    Samuel Barber

    Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24
    Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, soprano

    James P. Johnson

    Victory Stride
    (ed. and arr. Nicholas Hersh)

    BONUS
    Charles Ives

    Variations on America
    (arr. William Schuman) Morton Gould, conductor

    Morton Gould

    Spirituals for Orchestra
    Morton Gould, conductor

  • July 19
    Kanneh-Mason Plays Elgar

    On this week’s broadcast, Paavo Järvi leads the CSO in Beethoven’s Leonore Overture no. 3, followed by Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor, featuring Sheku Kanneh-Mason. Rounding out the program is Nielsen’s Fifth Symphony.

    
Ludwig van Beethoven

    Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72b

    Edward Elgar

    Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85

    Sheku Kanneh-Mason

    Melody

    ENCORE

    Carl Nielsen

    Symphony No. 5, Op. 50

  • July 26
    Mahler Festival Broadcast: Mahler 7

    This week, Jaap van Zweden leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Mahler’s Seventh Symphony, recorded live at the 2025 Mahler Festival in Amsterdam. Opening the broadcast, Claudio Abbado conducts Mahler’s Rückert Lieder, featuring Hanna Schwarz. The program concludes with a 1930 RCA recording of Karl Goldmark’s Ballet Music from The Queen of Sheba, under the baton of second music director Frederick Stock.

    Gustav Mahler
    BONUS

    Rückert Lieder
    Hanna Schwarz, mezzo-soprano; Claudio Abbado, conductor

    Gustav Mahler

    Symphony No. 7
    Jaap van Zweden, conductor

    Karl Goldmark
    BONUS

    Ballet Music from The Queen of Sheba
    Frederick Stock, conductor