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Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Adès Conducts Adès with Gerstein
Apr 6-11, 2023
Overview
Come along for an engrossing program of musical storytelling as Thomas Adès conducts Liszt’s swirling treatment of the Faust legend, Janáček’s depiction of a 17th-century Cossack warrior and Sibelius’ incidental music to Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Kirill Gerstein presents Adès’ own Piano Concerto, “an affectionate, joyous, remarkably uncomplicated tribute to tradition” (The New York Times).
Critical Acclaim
“This breathless, 20-minute concerto, structured in three essentially traditional movements (fast, slow, fast), comes across as zesty and accessible. But don’t be fooled. Just below the surface, the music sizzles with modernist harmonies, fractured phrases, gaggles of counterpoint and lyrical strands that keep breaking into skittish bits. The finale is a riotous, clattering, assaultive romp. I can’t wait to hear it again.” — The New York Times
Program
Liszt
Mephisto Waltz No. 1
Adès
Piano Concerto
Sibelius
Overture and Suite No. 1 from The Tempest
Janáček
Taras Bulba
Adès
Berceuse from The Exterminating Angel [April 8 Encore]
Ligeti
Étude No. 5 “Arc-en-ciel” [April 11 Encore]
Kirill Gerstein, piano
Performers
Extras
Enhance your concert experience with these additional events.
Preconcert Conversation
Explore the music in the free preconcert conversation featuring John Novak in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets are needed.
Preconcert Ensembles
Honors chamber ensembles from the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestras will perform in the Rotunda beginning 45 minutes prior to each concert.
Thursday, April 6: Brass quintet
Friday, April 7: Flute trio
Saturday, April 8: String quartet
Tuesday, April 11: String quartet
Classic Encounter
Thursday, April 6: Preconcert lecture hosted by Chicago’s favorite radio DJ, WXRT’s Terri Hemmert, with co-host Cynthia Yeh, CSO principal percussion.
You will have the opportunity to add Classic Encounter to your order after selecting your seats for the concert.
Sponsors & Partners
Official Airline of the CSO
Discover more on Experience CSO
When pianist Kirill Gerstein plays Beethoven, he makes a lot of decisions on the spur of the moment. For any given sonata, “perhaps there are four or five different ways to play this passage here, seven ways here,” he said. “And those decisions can be made rather spontaneously.”
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