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Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Wagner, Bartók & Vaughan Williams
Nov 3-5, 2022
Overview
As Great Britain endured the Blitz in 1943, the 71-year-old Vaughan Williams produced his Fifth Symphony. To celebrate 150 years since the composer’s birth, Edward Gardner conducts this work of warmth and gentle contemplation. Christian Tetzlaff, “a meticulous and refined virtuoso” (The New York Times), presents Bartók’s rhapsodic Second Violin Concerto. Wagner’s serene and somber prelude to Act 3 of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg opens the program.
Ticket holders are invited to a free preconcert conversation featuring Steve Rings in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets required.
Classic Encounter
Thursday, November 3: Preconcert lecture hosted by Chicago’s favorite radio DJ, WXRT’s Terri Hemmert, with co-host and CSO viola Max Raimi.
You will have the opportunity to add Classic Encounter to your order after selecting your seats for the concert.
College Night
Saturday, November 5: College student ticket holders can enjoy a complimentary casual dinner, mingle with new friends and attend a Q & A with a CSO musician before the concert. Learn more »
Program
Wagner
Prelude to Act 3 of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Bartók
Violin Concerto No. 2
Vaughan Williams
Symphony No. 5
J.S. Bach
Sonata No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 1003: III. Andante [Encore Nov 3]
J.S. Bach
Violin Partita No. 1 in B minor, BMW 1002: I. Allemande [Encore Nov 5]
Performers
Sponsors & Partners
The appearance of Christian Tetzlaff is made possible by the Grainger Fund for Excellence.
Official Airline of the CSO
New Release from Christian Tetzlaff
Hailed by The Classic Review as “an emotional roller-coaster,” celebrated violinist Christian Tetzlaff performs a pair of two deeply dramatic and lyrical concertos — those of Johannes Brahms and Anton Berg — on this new release from Ondine. Available for a limited time at the Symphony Store.
Order now
Discover more on Experience CSO
Edward Gardner says of Vaughan Williams' Fifth Symphony: "The piece is very special because it was written in the shadow of war. I’m really fascinated to see how it goes over because it is not a huge, virtuosic statement."
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Beethoven's Fifth looms so large that it has inevitably influenced other composers who have reached this same milestone. The CSO will perform four of these Fifth symphonies — call them the “four Fives” — this season.
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Opera-related works move front and center this season as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performs five overtures, along with suites and excerpts by Cimarosa, Rameau, Strauss and Wagner.
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Of Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2, Christian Tetzlaff observes, “There is almost a comic feeling to the harmonies." In the opening movement, he says, "Bartók is mixing two themes, as if a film director is editing them in the wrong order.
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British classical music of the 20th century has been defined by the works of Benjamin Britten and Edward Elgar. But to Sir Andrew Davis, one other composer belongs in that pantheon: Ralph Vaughan Williams.
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