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The 2023-24 seasons of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Center Presents are just weeks away, and members of the Sales and Patron Experience team are here to help. Tickets and subscriptions for all series are now on sale and can be ordered online or over the phone.
Can’t decide which concerts to select? Over the next weeks, staff members will offer their own choices for the must-see performances of 2023-24.
Nicholas Bryan, Preferred Services supervisor, looks forward to the return of Riccardo Muti, the majesty of Holst’s The Planets and much more.
Here are his top choices for 2023-24:
1. Holst’s The Planets, Nov. 2-7: The Planets is such an epic piece, but I actually have not yet seen this work performed live. This composition appeals to a wide range of emotions, so I’m looking forward to this CSO experience. In addition, the Chicago Symphony Chorus is performing on Brahms’ Schicksalslied. Over all, very nice programming for this run.
2. Brad Mehldau Trio, SCP Jazz, Nov. 17: Mehldau is one of my favorite jazz musicians. When I started studying jazz, and still to this day, I would watch YouTube videos of this trio featuring Larry Grenadier (bass) and Jeff Ballard (drums). As a drummer, Ballard is one of my favorites on the jazz scene. I even went to the extent of writing him an email one day, asking what ride cymbal he was using, as it sounded so unbelievable. Surprisingly, he wrote me back and provided the details. This trio performs everything from jazz standards to originals to pop/rock songs. Perhaps we will hear some Radiohead or Beatles in a jazz style.
3. Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10, April 4-6: Shostakovich is one of my favorite composers. This symphony, by far one of his best, is both intense and somber. Also, this CSO run will feature Yuja Wang in Bartok’s Piano Concerto No. 2, another twisting, hypnotic piece. Should be quite the performance.
4. Stravinsky’s Suite from The Firebird and Brahms’ Symphony No. 2, Sept. 21-26: Maestro Muti returns with a bang in this first-week CSO program. They’re some huge pieces to start opening week, and I believe there will be a nice crowd on hand to see Muti back at the podium.
5. Brahms’ Violin Concerto and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 7, Dec. 7-9: Artist-in-Residence Hilary Hahn returns to the CSO for another strong December run. I’m sure this will be jaw-dropping as she works her way through over 40 minutes of the Brahms Violin Concerto. Wagner’s Prelude to Tristan und Isolde will spark memories of my undergraduate music history studies when my professor played a recording of this piece for our class for roughly one to two months straight (I think it’s still burned into my brain). Sibelius is one of my favorite composers, so that will be a nice way to round out the performance.
Symphony Center’s friendly and knowledgeable Sales and Patron Experience team members are here to help. For personalized assistance with your ticket order, call 312-294-3000 or chat with them on CSO.org.
