23/24 CSO Season

Case Scaglione, conductor
Randolph Bowman, flute
Henrik Heide, flute
Stefani Matsuo, violin

Two extremes of orchestral scale combine for a showcase of the CSO that’s both intimate and expansive. Conductor Case Scaglione makes his CSO debut with Bach’s beautifully playful Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, which highlights individual virtuosity within a smaller ensemble, alongside Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. First performed in the U.S. by the CSO, Mahler’s Fifth Symphony employs an orchestra of impressive proportions, from its iconic trumpet opening to the beloved, emotional Adagietto.

Sir Donald Runnicles, conductor

Daniil Trifonov, piano

Sir Donald Runnicles, celebrated for his interpretations of Romantic symphonic repertoire, leads an all-Brahms program, joining forces with powerhouse pianist Daniil Trifonov, following his stunning solo Music Hall performance in 2022. Together, they explore Brahms’ more brooding and emotional side in his Piano Concerto No. 1. Runnicles then conducts the CSO in Brahms’ Symphony No. 2, from its iconic “lullaby” to its cheerfully triumphant and brass-filled finale.

Kevin John Edusei, conductor
George Li, piano

Conductor Kevin John Edusei leads a program that invites you to explore the concept of harmony and its many forms, beginning with Elysium by Samy Moussa, a composer who has a “gleeful sense for…shocking harmony” (Los Angeles Times). John Adams describes his rhythmically and harmonically complex Harmonielehre as a parody “without the intent to ridicule”, with “shades of Mahler, Sibelius and Debussy.” Both pieces frame George Li's performance of the Second Piano Concerto from Rachmaninoff, arguably the hero of the lush, romantic style.

Dame Jane Glover, conductor
Stefani Matsuo, violin
Christian Colberg, viola

Dame Jane Glover is widely regarded as a preeminent conductor of Mozart’s music. She leads an “all-Amadeus” program, showcasing CSO Concertmaster Stefani Matsuo and Principal Viola Christian Colberg in Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat Major, K. 364. Their performance is folded between works illustrating Mozart’s evolution of the symphony from the lighter style of early composers such as Haydn to the more emotionally-infused music of Beethoven.

Cristian Mǎcelaru, conductor
Kian Soltani, cello

Grammy-winning conductor Cristian Măcelaru joins the CSO for music of two Slavic luminaries. Cellist Kian Soltani brings his expressive and charismatic presence to Lutosławski’s Cello Concerto, frequently interpreted as an escalating struggle between the seemingly heroic soloist and the orchestra representing totalitarian authority. The acclaim and popularity of his Symphony No. 11 helped Shostakovich, who had weathered criticism and persecution from the Soviet regime, win back State approval. It offers a depiction of the 1905 Russian Revolution, from the first shots of Bloody Sunday to funeral marches lamenting those who were lost.

Louis Langrée, conductor
Joélle Harvey, soprano 
Will Liverman, baritone
May Festival Chorus

With prayerful music for both the living and the dead, the source of comfort in Brahms’ German Requiem is as much human as it is the divine. Louis Langrée leads the CSO along with the May Festival Chorus in Brahms’ large-scale masterpiece. Though Brahms was often discreet in nature, this is a deeply personal work. Spurred by the loss of his mother, and influenced by lingering emotions of self-doubt, he turned to his true religion – music – as a way to console not only himself, but others as well.

Matthias Pintscher, conductor

Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano

Inspired by his visits to Utah's Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park, Messiaen's Des canyons aux étoiles ("From the Canyons to the Stars") depicts the birdsong and red rock hues he experienced during his time in the desert. Messiaen – who was also synesthetic – heard colors and saw sounds. Accompanied by immersive video-art, Springer Auditorium will be transformed, allowing listeners to escape into the southwestern landscape and experience a synesthesia of their own.

Matthias Pintscher, conductor

Conrad Tao, piano

As the winter winds quell and the flowers of spring begin to blossom, CSO Creative Partner Matthias Pintscher conducts the Orchestra in works capturing the feeling of life beginning anew. Copland’s Appalachian Spring shines with the “Simple Gifts” of the season. After wowing CSO audiences in 2021 and 2022, pianist Conrad Tao returns for the world premiere of a CSO commissioned work from composer inti figgis-vizueta, whose music “feels sprouted between structures” (The Washington Post). Then, Schumann's Symphony No. 1 triumphantly ushers in the spring season.

Sir Mark Elder, conductor

Pavel Kolesnikov, piano

Stories of glory, chivalry and adventure abound as conductor Sir Mark Elder joins the CSO. Wagner’s Tannhäuser is a musical story of lust, love, and deliverance, as the opera’s title character makes a pilgrimage from the magical realm of Venus to his final redemption in Rome. Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben is an epic portrayal of the hero that exists in all of us, along with the accompanying joys and struggles, depicted through battling brass and tender string melodies. Pianist Pavel Kolesnikov brings his “fluid, fine-toned” (Gramophone) playing to Mozart’s melodic Piano Concerto No. 17.

Ryan Bancroft, conductor

Inon Barnatan, piano

“Music is life, and like it, it is inextinguishable.” With this declaration written at the top of his score, Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4 pits the everlasting spirit of life against the horror of World War I with dramatic music leading to, what else, but a battle between two timpani! Making his CSO debut, conductor Ryan Bancroft opens this program with Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Ballade for Orchestra, and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, displaying the virtuosity of guest pianist Inon Barnatan, heralded by The New York Times as “one of the most admired pianists of his generation.”

John Morris Russell, conductor

Love and fellowship ring throughout Music Hall for one of Cincinnati's most anticipated musical traditions of each year! JMR leads the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Classical Roots Community Choir and Nouveau Players in an evening of powerful and inspirational music.

Louis Langrée, conductor

Augustin Hadelich, violin

Schoenberg's music, before he became known as a father of 20th-century 12-tone composition, developed from the harmonic bedrock of Romantics like Brahms, Mahler and Richard Strauss. His "Transfigured Night" was further heightened when Schoenberg met the love of his life and found inspiration in poetry of hope and acceptance. Led by Louis Langrée, the CSO performs this, along with Brahms' Violin Concerto, which features the return of Grammy-winning violinist Augustin Hadelich, and a co-commission from former CSO Composer-in-Residence Jonathan Bailey Holland.

Katharina Wincor, conductor
Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello

Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 is filled with optimistic and lyrical music, leading to a finale of fanfares and dances. Conductor Katharina Wincor, who led the May Festival's 2022 production of Candide, returns to Music Hall and welcomes cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason for Shostakovich's raw and rhythmic first Cello Concerto.

Louis Langrée, conductor

Lutosławski’s interpretation of music for a funeral, and Bryce Dessner's Réponse Lutoslawski, inspired by the Musique funèbre, open this enlightening and introspective program. 

Louis Langrée, conductor

Alice Sara Ott, piano

If Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is known as a musical embodiment of fate, his Seventh carries the spirit of freedom and liberation, with catchy, dance-like melodies woven throughout. Bryce Dessner, founder of Cincinnati’s MusicNOW Festival and a member of the Grammy-winning band The National, shares two of his works for orchestra.

Louis Langrée, conductor
Latonia Moore, soprano

In his final program as Music Director, Louis Langrée and the CSO share the stage one more time for a performance that will pay tribute to highlights of their time together over the past 11 years. Grammy Award-winning soprano Latonia Moore will join the CSO for the world premiere of a new orchestral song cycle by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis, whose piece You Have the Right to Remain Silent profoundly impacted Louis and left a poignant impression on livestream viewers at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The program also includes Ravel’s mythical and airy Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2, a work that Louis and the Orchestra performed on tour in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai in 2017; Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 2, which was last performed in 2015 as part of that season’s One City, One Symphony initiative; and Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, which was a part of an all-French program that opened the Orchestra’s 2018-19 season at the newly renovated Music Hall.

Expect moving music and memories, celebrating the final performances of the CSO’s beloved Music Director.