It’s no surprise to Cincinnati audiences that “the essence of Hadelich’s playing is beauty” (The Washington Post). Experience the inimitable violinist’s return in Britten's Violin Concerto along with esteemed Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård’s CSO debut. Themes of Sibelius’ Second Symphony coalesce into sparkling waves of sound for the work's breathtaking finale.

A Norwegian fairy tale comes to life in Music Hall with a concert staging of Grieg’s enchanting score to Ibsen’s play, created and directed by Bill Barclay, former Director of Music at Shakespeare's Globe. Louis Langrée leads the Orchestra and cast, including soprano Camilla Tilling and the May Festival Chorus. Bjarnason’s Violin Concerto opens the program with whimsical whistling by soloist Pekka Kuusisto, for whom the concerto was written.

Julia Perry’s Homunculus C.F. starts off whisper-quiet, tinkering in a laboratory of percussion. The program’s crescendo builds with Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto and acclaimed American soloist Randall Goosby—an artist with “exquisite tone and sheer virtuosity” (The New York Times). The concert reaches its zenith in Prokofiev’s Third Symphony as the muscle of the Orchestra is unleashed to its brassy and boisterous max.

Romantic themes that stand the test of time? Check. Epic moments so powerful they give you goosebumps? Oh, absolutely. Pops Principal Guest Conductor Damon Gupton leads a spectacular orchestral mixtape featuring some of Tchaikovsky’s greatest hits, including The Sleeping Beauty, selections from Swan Lake, and of course, the 1812 Overture.

Louis Langrée leads works inspired by a fusion of cultures. Qigang Chen and GRAMMY-nominated Chinese-American composer Zhou Tian discover new sounds through the combination of Eastern and Western styles. Ravel, who cherished Liszt’s music, pulls from his Basque heritage for Rapsodie espagnole. French Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, celebrated for playing with “both clarity and freedom” (The New York Times), returns for Liszt’s jubilant Second Concerto.

Richard Strauss conducted Death and Transfiguration at Music Hall in 1904. More than a century later, Louis Langrée and the CSO once again bring Strauss’ vivid musical image of the infinite to Music Hall. The program features Elizabeth Freimuth, the CSO’s Principal Horn, and an expansive world premiere by ascendant American composer Samuel Adams.

Mermaid tales inspired thrilling musical adventures from Mendelssohn and Zemlinsky. Mendelssohn’s work is brief but fiery, while Zemlinsky’s Die Seejungfrau takes us through the dramas of Hans Christian Andersen’s original Little Mermaid. Kevin John Edusei leads the CSO, and Simone Lamsma, whose playing is “absolutely stunning” (Chicago Tribune), returns to perform Korngold’s gorgeously cinematic Violin Concerto.

Russian conductor Anna Rakitina leads works by two composers who have lived with hearing loss—Beethoven, whose hearing struggle began a decade before the premiere of his Fifth Symphony, and British composer Richard Ayres, whose No. 52 explores, in the composer’s words, “one specific subject: Ludwig van Beethoven’s hearing loss and its effect on him.” Soloist Sterling Elliott, in his CSO debut, brings “impeccable technique and musicality” to Dvořák’s Cello Concerto.

If there is any symphony that operates like a “double agent,” it is Shostakovich's Fifth. Having found himself targeted by Stalin, Shostakovich composed himself out of a dangerous situation−with immensely gripping results. Stephen Hough returns for Rachmaninoff and Louis Langrée conducts the first part of a new multi-year work by Icelandic composer Daníel Bjarnason.

Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition is an epic musical stroll through an eclectic gallery of paintings, from a drawing of unhatched dancing chickens to an image of towering city gates. Originally for piano, Ravel’s version for orchestra adds a bursting palette of instrumental color. Saxophonist Steven Banks, who “has the potential to be one of the transformational musicians of the 21st century,” plays a new concerto by GRAMMY-winning pianist and composer Billy Childs.

If Mahler’s symphonies are like worlds, the Seventh is like the universe in a single night. Patterned in gigantic symmetry, the opening and closing movements are packed with enormous sounds, each like symphonies in themselves. The interior music is lighter by contrast, pivoting at the center with a ghostly dance. CSO Creative Partner Matthias Pintscher returns to conduct the huge orchestral forces needed for Mahler’s dusk-to-dawn universe, from clanging cowbells to titanic brass.

JMR and the Pops wrap up the 22/23 season with a Broadway musical reimagined for the concert hall! The brainchild of renowned writing team Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, Ragtime, which follows three pursuits of the American Dream, became an instant classic. Nominated for 13 Tony Awards and two GRAMMY Awards in 1998, the show beat out The Lion King for the Tony for Best Original Score. Now you can experience the celebrated smash hit in a whole new way—in concert with the Cincinnati Pops!

Louis Langrée and the CSO explore works that have sounds all their own. Berlioz's music from an unfinished opera adds voices in extreme ranges. Through darkest doubt and brightest love, the music expresses Saint-Saëns' entire being and his skill as an organist with moments that pull out all the stops. Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson, “an arresting artist who…creates unique aural landscapes” (LA Times), debuts with Ravel's Concerto in G Major for Piano and Orchestra.

Louis Langrée and the CSO end the 22/23 season with jazz-infused musical visions. New Orleans native Courtney Bryan, “a pianist and composer of panoramic interests” (The New York Times), premieres her new concerto. Milhaud's opening music evokes African folk mythology while Duke Ellington, who was both a prolific composer and famed jazz pianist, summons musical images of night creatures. Gershwin closes the program by dropping you into the sights and sounds of Parisian streets.