Welcome to the website of the Musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
photo by Todd Rosenberg/CSO
We hope you find this an interesting and informative look into the music, musicians, history and culture of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Our focus is on us, the musicians, and the music we play; not only in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, but as active and committed members of our musical and social communities.
First, a little about our organization and why we have this website. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the CSO as we are here (with due respect to our wonderful colleagues at the other “CSOs,” the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, etc), will be 125 years old next season. An orchestra rich in tradition, we have had the opportunity to make music with many of the leading conductors, soloists, and orchestral musicians of our time. Stretching back to the beginning, the CSO benefited from outstanding musical leadership. Our past Music Directors: Theodore Thomas, Frederick Stock, Desire Defauw, Artur Rodzinski, Rafael Kubelik, Fritz Reiner, Georg Solti, Daniel Barenboim, and our Principal Guest conductors, Carlo Maria Giulini, Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez and Principal Conductor, Bernard Haitink, have all added their contributions to our history and our sound. This tradition of excellence continues with our current Music Director, Riccardo Muti.
When we sit on the stage of Orchestra Hall in Chicago, as well as when we tour our favorite halls in the world, we are constantly reminded of this history. But more than just history of leadership, we are given, by the example of the many colleagues who preceded us, the deeply held value of excellence. Besides exacting leadership from Maestro Muti, the “ghosts” of our colleagues past push us, inspire us, to always do better. Our orchestra has developed slowly, carefully over these past 125 years. Our accomplishments rest squarely on the shoulders of those that preceded us.
One of the reasons we created this website is to help inform our audience, and any interested music lover, about us. As musicians of the CSO we understand this legacy; that we must not just protect it but expand upon it, build on it, for the future of music and culture. We hope that by understanding who we are, you can understand why we think this is so important. We also hope you can get to know us as people, with families, friends, activities and commitments. We live and are engaged in our community of Chicago, and, though we frequently travel to far away places, we have a belief in the value of our neighbors, and a desire to share our joy of music here in Chicago, as well as the world.
First, a little about our organization and why we have this website. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the CSO as we are here (with due respect to our wonderful colleagues at the other “CSOs,” the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, etc), will be 125 years old next season. An orchestra rich in tradition, we have had the opportunity to make music with many of the leading conductors, soloists, and orchestral musicians of our time. Stretching back to the beginning, the CSO benefited from outstanding musical leadership. Our past Music Directors: Theodore Thomas, Frederick Stock, Desire Defauw, Artur Rodzinski, Rafael Kubelik, Fritz Reiner, Georg Solti, Daniel Barenboim, and our Principal Guest conductors, Carlo Maria Giulini, Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez and Principal Conductor, Bernard Haitink, have all added their contributions to our history and our sound. This tradition of excellence continues with our current Music Director, Riccardo Muti.
When we sit on the stage of Orchestra Hall in Chicago, as well as when we tour our favorite halls in the world, we are constantly reminded of this history. But more than just history of leadership, we are given, by the example of the many colleagues who preceded us, the deeply held value of excellence. Besides exacting leadership from Maestro Muti, the “ghosts” of our colleagues past push us, inspire us, to always do better. Our orchestra has developed slowly, carefully over these past 125 years. Our accomplishments rest squarely on the shoulders of those that preceded us.
One of the reasons we created this website is to help inform our audience, and any interested music lover, about us. As musicians of the CSO we understand this legacy; that we must not just protect it but expand upon it, build on it, for the future of music and culture. We hope that by understanding who we are, you can understand why we think this is so important. We also hope you can get to know us as people, with families, friends, activities and commitments. We live and are engaged in our community of Chicago, and, though we frequently travel to far away places, we have a belief in the value of our neighbors, and a desire to share our joy of music here in Chicago, as well as the world.
photo by David Taylor/Assistant Concertmaster/CSO
|
About UsNow performing our 125th season, the Musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra are consistently hailed as among the greatest in the world. Our music director since 2010 is Riccardo Muti, one of the preeminent conductors of our day. Pierre Boulez was appointed principal guest conductor in 1995 and was named Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus in 2006. Yo-Yo Ma was appointed the CSO's Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant in 2010. Our new composers-in-residence are Samuel Adams and Elizabeth Ogonek.
The Musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra annually perform more than 150 concerts, most at Symphony Center in Chicago and, each summer, at the suburban Ravinia Festival. We frequently tour internationally and perform in other U.S. cities, having made fifty-eight international tours to twenty-nine countries on five continents. |
Awards
|
The Musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra have earned sixty-two Grammy Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the largest number of Grammys awarded to any recording artist in the Academy's history. Read more: http://goo.gl/mCKKS
In 2008, a panel of music critics from publications based in London, New York, Los Angeles, Vienna, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Beijing and Seoul ranked the Musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in first place among U.S. orchestras in an article published by London-based Gramophone Magazine, one of the world's most respected music publications since its founding in 1923. Read more: http://goo.gl/IhwDjU |