Carnegie Hall

Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is consistently hailed as one of the world’s great orchestras. Riccardo Muti, the orchestra’s distinguished 10th music director from 2010 until 2023, was recently named Music Director Emeritus for Life beginning with the 2023–2024 season. Jessie Montgomery is Mead Composer-in-Residence, and Hilary Hahn is CSO Artist-in-Residence.

The CSO commands a vast repertoire, from Baroque through contemporary music. Its renowned musicians perform more than 150 concerts annually, in Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center in downtown Chicago and each summer at the Ravinia Festival in suburban Highland Park. The ensemble regularly tours nationally and, since 1892, has made 63 international tours, performing in 29 countries on five continents.

Patrons around the globe enjoy weekly radio broadcasts of CSO concerts and recordings via the WFMT Radio Network and online at cso.org/radio. Launched in 2007, CSO Resound is the ensemble’s Grammy Award–winning independent record label, featuring live performances with world-class conductors and guest artists. Since 1916, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus have amassed an extensive discography that has earned 64 Grammy Awards from the Recording Academy.

The CSO is part of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association (CSOA), which also includes the Chicago Symphony Chorus, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Symphony Center Presents, and the Negaunee Music Institute. The Negaunee Music Institute offers community and educational programs that annually engage more than 200,000 people of diverse ages and backgrounds throughout the Chicagoland area. Through the Institute and numerous other activities—including annual free community concerts in Chicago neighborhoods—the CSO is committed to using the power of music to strengthen bonds with its longtime patrons and create connections with new audiences.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association is supported by thousands of patrons, volunteers, and institutional and individual donors. The Zell Music Director position is endowed in perpetuity through a generous gift from Zell Family Foundation. The Negaunee Foundation provides generous support in perpetuity for the work of the Negaunee Music Institute.

Born in Naples, Italy, Riccardo Muti is one of the preeminent conductors of our day. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s (CSO) distinguished 10th music director from 2010 until 2023, Mr. Muti was recently named Music Director Emeritus for Life beginning with the 2023–2024 season.

His leadership has been distinguished by the strength of his artistic partnership with the orchestra; his dedication to performing great works of the past and present, including 17 world premieres to date; the enthusiastic reception he and the CSO have received on national and international tours; and 12 recordings on the CSO Resound label, with three Grammy Awards among them. In addition, Mr. Muti’s contributions to the cultural life of Chicago—with performances throughout its many neighborhoods and at Orchestra Hall—have made a lasting impact on the city.

Before becoming the CSO’s music director, Mr. Muti had more than 40 years of experience at the helm of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (1968–1980), the Philharmonia Orchestra (1972–1982), The Philadelphia Orchestra (1980–1992), and Teatro alla Scala (1986–2005). Over the course of his career, Mr. Muti has conducted the most important orchestras in the world. He is linked by particularly close and important ties to the Vienna Philharmonic, with which he has appeared at the Salzburg Festival since 1971.

Mr. Muti has received innumerable international honors. He is a Cavaliere di Gran Croce of the Italian Republic, Knight Commander of the British Empire, Officer of the French Legion of Honor, Knight of the Grand Cross First Class of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, and a recipient of the German Verdienstkreuz. Mr. Muti has also received Israel’s Wolf Prize for the Arts, Sweden’s Birgit Nilsson Prize, Spain’s Prince of Asturias Award, Ukraine’s State Award, Japan’s Praemium Imperiale and Order of the Rising Sun Gold and Silver Star, and Austria’s Great Golden Decoration of Honor, as well as the gold medal from Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the “Presidente della Repubblica” award from the Italian government.

For more information, visit riccardomuti.com, riccardomutioperacademy.com, and riccardomutimusic.com.

Leonidas Kavakos is recognized around the world as a violinist and artist of rare quality, acclaimed for his matchless technique, his captivating artistry and superb musicianship, and the integrity of his playing. He works regularly with the world’s greatest orchestras and conductors and plays as recitalist in the world’s premier recital halls and festivals.

Mr. Kavakos has developed close relationships with major orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, Berliner Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. He also works closely with the Staatskapelle Dresden, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala.

In recent years, Mr. Kavakos has built a strong profile as a conductor and has conducted the New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Houston and Vienna symphonies, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Filarmonica Teatro La Fenice, and Danish National Symphony Orchestra. Most recently, he had great success conducting the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

In addition to concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra this season, his US engagements include performances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony, and a series of recitals with his regular partners, pianist Emanuel Ax and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Mr. Kavakos also performs throughout Europe with ensembles that include the Vienna Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Staatskapelle Berlin, Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, and Gothenburg Symphony; play-conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall and the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France; and conducts the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.

Mr. Kavakos is an exclusive recording artist with Sony Classics. In 2022, he released Beethoven for Three: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 5 arranged for trio, with Mr. Ax and Mr. Ma. The second album from this series included Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral,” and was released in November 2022, with further recordings planned for the 2023–2024 season.

Born into a musical family in Athens, Mr. Kavakos curates an annual violin and chamber music master class there, which attracts violinists and ensembles from all over the world. He plays the “Willemotte” Stradivarius violin of 1734. Visit leonidaskavakos.com or facebook.com/leonidas.kavakos.violin for more information.