Sunday Afternoons

Christian Reif, conductor

Clara-Jumi Kang, violin

The 1913 premiere of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring was perhaps the most famous opening-night scandal in history. Confronted with its primal and untamed nature, its first audience was ignited into a riot, instantly cementing its reputation as a work that, to this day, triggers visceral responses. Conductor Christian Reif sets the stage for our wild encounter with a light and airy dance by Manuel de Falla and violinist Clara-Jumi Kang, bringing her poise to Prokofiev's second violin concerto.

Dalia Stasevska, conductor
Davóne Tines, baritone

Dalia Stasevska returns to lead a Thanksgiving weekend of music that calls us home. Music drawn from the American heartland opens the program, with the beloved “Goin’ Home” theme from Dvořák’s New World Symphony, George Walker’s Lyric for Strings, and baritone Davóne Tines performing Saariaho’s True Fire, a work based on Native American texts and Emmerson’s Spiritual Laws. Sibelius’s Fifth Symphony provides a finale of sweeping and grand themes, evoking the spirit of Stasevska's own Finnish homeland.

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.

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.

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.

Louis Langrée, conductor
Latonia Moore, soprano

Janni Younge, director

This is a Firebird unlike any you’ve experienced before. Louis Langrée, in his final program as Music Director, leads the CSO in the premiere of a new song cycle by Anthony Davis, whose 2007 You Have the Right to Remain Silent made a poignant impression on CSO Livestream audiences in 2020. Then, Langrée concludes his tenure in collaboration with South African director Janni Younge of Janni Younge Productions, which is critically acclaimed for imaginative puppetry designs. The result is a visually stunning performance of Stravinsky’s complete ballet score with music of enchantment, infernal dance, and a finale featuring the Firebird making a glorious appearance inside Music Hall.