CHICAGO SYMPHONY CENTER

Brimming with wry wit and affectionate warmth, Shostakovich’s Second Piano Concerto was a gift for his teenage son. Here, it’s a showcase for the brilliant ...

Embark on a seafaring journey as Tchaikovsky summons Shakespeare’s magical island and storm-tossed seas in *The Tempest*. Korngold evokes the swashbuckling sailors of the 1940 ...

Spanning ethereal chant to buoyant gospel music, Chanticleer’s annual holiday programs have been a treasured part of the season for decades. For one night only ...

Rachmaninov’s majestic First Symphony churns with youthful romantic fervor and ethereal mystery — perfect for a December outing. Grieg’s *Peer Gynt* Suite No. 1, inspired ...

When you hear Judy Garland singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” accompanied by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, you might find yourself tapping your heels together three ...

From the opening chorus’s joyful, exuberant trumpets and timpani, the Christmas story unfolds in dramatic narrative, moving arias, and stirring chorales. Dame Jane Glover brings ...

*Swan Lake* is the quintessential ballet score — a resplendent fable of dreamlike transformation. Tchaikovsky’s ballet suite caps a program of musical storytelling that includes ...

Experiencing a Bruckner symphony is often compared to walking around inside a massive gothic cathedral. Step inside this sacred space and experience its awed silences, ...

Celebrate Día de los Muertos, Mexico’s Day of the Dead, with the Grammy-winning, Mexican-American singer Lila Downs. Joined by folklórico dancers and stunning visual projections, ...

This storybook program opens with Beethoven’s incisive take on the Prometheus myth and musical highlights from Humperdinck’s fairy-tale adventure, Hansel and Gretel. Strauss’ fantastical, symphonic ...

Join Nicholas Kraemer and four preeminent singers for a selection of Handel's brilliant and soul-stirring vocal numbers, which explore the full spectrum of human emotions ...

Animated film meets virtuosic concerto! Follow a magical sprite as it takes audiences inside musical instruments and shows how they work together as an orchestra. ...

With his Fifth Symphony, Shostakovich outwitted Soviet authorities with the finesse of a double agent. Threatened by Stalin’s regime, the composer skillfully appeased Soviet officials ...

Lose yourself in the idyllic landscapes of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony. Inspired by the composer’s country hikes, the piece summons rippling streams, a raging thunderstorm and ...

Starting with a ferocious fanfare representing fate, Tchaikovsky pours his soul into his Fourth Symphony, a fearless musical autobiography packed with surging melodies and dazzling ...

Chicago Opera Theater Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya leads musicians from the CSO in a program dedicated to composer-performers: four-time Grammy Award-nominated violinist and composer Curtis ...

Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony is treasured by generations of music fans for its whirling dance rhythms and majestic Allegretto movement. It finds an admirable interpreter in ...

With his Ninth Symphony, Shostakovich delivered a tragicomic work with nods to Haydn and circus tunes. Uzbek pianist Behzod Abduraimov makes his debut with the ...

Pierre-Laurent Aimard, “a brilliant musician and an extraordinary visionary” (The Wall Street Journal), presents an enthralling exploration of the keyboard fantasy. Anchored by two of ...

Sheku Kanneh-Mason, hailed by The New Yorker as “a cellist of blazing sensitivity,” makes his CSO debut in Elgar’s rhapsodic Cello Concerto. Paavo Järvi conducts ...

Lina González-Granados leads members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Saint-Saëns’ playful . Guided by narration from master storyteller Charlotte Blake Alston, the orchestra depicts ...

The Blue Note Quintet, led by six-time Grammy-nominated pianist Gerald Clayton, honors Blue Note Records’ rich history and paves the way for the eclectic artists ...

Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto is a landmark of his dark and restless middle period, here featuring Seong-Jin Cho, whose 2018 Chicago debut offered “about as ...

Prodigious pianist Hélène Grimaud, whose “performances attempt, whenever possible, to shake up conventional pianistic wisdom” (The New Yorker), climbs four summits of the piano literature. ...

Eight-time Grammy Award-winning bassist, bandleader and host of NPR’s “Jazz Night in America,” Christian McBride brings his monumental musical tribute inspired by the words of ...

Symphony Center’s beloved tradition continues with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performing familiar carols and festive holiday songs, including I’ll Be Home for Christmas, ...

When Renaud Capuçon and Semyon Bychkov last appeared together with the CSO, sparks flew. The French violinist “made you aware of a searching musical intellect ...

Relive John Hughes’ hilarious and heartwarming tale about 8-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin), who is left to defend his home against a pair of dimwitted ...

CSO Artist-in-Residence Hilary Hahn illuminates Brahms’ Violin Concerto, with its ardent beauty and fiery finale. Mikko Franck conducts Wagner’s ecstatic Prelude to Tristan und Isolde ...

Michael Tilson Thomas lends his fresh insights to a compelling Austro-Germanic program. It includes Mozart’s whirling Six German Dances as well as his expressive and ...

Experience the power of nearly 100 voices in magnificent harmony. From “The Trumpet Shall Sound” to the rousing “Hallelujah” Chorus, Handel’s Messiah is packed with ...

The Vienna Boys Choir rings in the holiday season with a program drawn from its repertoire of Austrian folk songs, classical masterpieces and yuletide favorites. ...

Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist Brad Mehldau and his trio have a nearly 20-year history, touring around the world — often performing on stage at Symphony ...

Longtime Chicago favorite Sir András Schiff performs works from his extensive repertoire in a program introduced from the stage. An engaging and informative host, Schiff ...

Daniel Harding leads Holst’s The Planets, the interstellar orchestral suite that has inspired generations of sci-fi film composers. Experience the ferocity of “Mars,” the golden ...

Together with guest conductor François López-Ferrer, members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra embark on a musical journey around the world. Experience how orchestral music celebrates ...

Mahler’s First Symphony unfolds with the elemental sounds of nature, foot-stomping folk dances and a stormy but ultimately heroic finale. Conductor Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider opens with ...

An exuberant melding of jazz, blues and classical styles, Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F is an ideal vehicle for Illinois native Conrad Tao, “a personality-plus ...

Three superstar virtuosos team up to perform piano trios spanning three centuries. Delight in the wit and virtuosity of Haydn, the exquisite colors and Basque ...

From its commanding four-note opening to its blazing finish, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony remains the unrivaled expression of struggle and triumph in orchestral music. German baritone ...

Sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar — the first Indian woman and youngest-ever Grammy nominee in the world music category — brings her new quintet to Symphony ...

Riccardo Muti and the CSO open the 2023/24 Season with two pieces capturing the fairy-tale splendor of Russian music. Stravinsky’s suite from The Firebird uses ...

Celebrate the start of a new season with Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Ball, an unforgettable red-carpet evening complete with a ...

Accentuating the beauty of ancient Chinese instruments amidst the grandeur of a Western symphony, the Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra draws on cherished ancient melodies and ...