Women artists take center stage during the CSO and SCP seasons in 2023-24

Women conductors and soloists are very much in the spotlight during the 2023-24 seasons of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Center Presents. In addition, Mead Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery and Artist-in-Residence Hilary Hahn lead off lineups with a panorama of female guest artists. The latter range from star pianist Yuja Wang and conductor Susanna Mälkki to Broadway vocalist Capathia Jenkins and collaborative pianist Kathryn Stott.

The 23-24 seasons began with Anoushka Shankar headlining an SCP Special Concert on Oct. 13; violinist Lisa Batiashvili, along with cellist Gautier Capuçon and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, inaugurating the SCP Chamber Music series on Oct. 22, and Grammy winner Samara Joy on Oct. 27 launching the 30th anniversary of SCP Jazz series.

Here is an overview of the female artistry lighting up the Symphony Center stage in coming weeks: 

Karen Gomyo, Nov. 9-11: The Tokyo-born violinist premiered Samuel Adams’ Chamber Concerto as part of the 2017-18 MusicNOW series, and she returns to make her CSO subscription series debut in Philip Glass’ Violin Concerto No. 1, led by John Storgårds. The Glass work replaces a world premiere scheduled for Principal Clarinet Stephen Williamson, who had to withdraw as he recovers from a recent surgery.

Polina Osetinskaya with Maxim Vengerov, Nov. 10: As her debut this season with the Berlin Philharmonic makes clear, the Russian pianist has built a top-level career as a soloist. But Osetinskaya also devotes considerable time to chamber music. In that vein, she will perform a series of recitals in October and November with violinist Maxim Vengerov, including this Symphony Center Presents Chamber Music concert, as well as another two days later in New York’s Carnegie Hall.

Jasmine Barnes, Jessie Montgomery, Dec. 3: Jasime Barnes is an acclaimed vocalist and composer (she has written five operas, including one being workshopped by the American Lyric Theater). Those two talents will come together on this CSO MusicNOW program as she joins bass-baritone Damien Geter in presenting the world premiere of her MusicNOW commission, The United States Welcomes You. She will also perform Dave Ragland’s I Believe, with text based from words found on a Holocaust-era concentration camp wall.

Curator of the CSO’s MusicNOW series, Jessie Montgomery has enjoyed such acclaim in recent years for her composing that it’s easy to forget that she is also an accomplished violinist who was formerly a member of the Catalyst Quartet. She and organist Carlos Simon will provide what are being billed as “of-the-moment interludes” between each piece on this MusicNOW program. Montgomery returns for MusicNOW programs March 3, June 1 and June 15.

Hilary Hahn with the CSO, Dec. 7-9; Hilary Hahn & Friends, June 9: One of today’s most popular and innovative classical artists, violinist Hilary Hahn needs little introduction. Back for her third season as CSO Artist-in-Residence, she will perform Brahms’ Violin Concerto in concerts Dec. 7-9 with the CSO, under Mikko Franck, and then will return for an SCP Chamber Music program in the spring.

Ashley Brown, Merry, Merry Chicago!, Dec. 15-23: The American soprano originated the title role in the Broadway production of “Mary Poppins,” receiving Outer Critics, Drama League and Drama Desk nominations for best actress. She will be the featured vocalist in the annual, family-friendly holiday celebration, which brings together classic carols and other yuletide songs, performed by members of the CSO, conducted by Thomas Wilkins.

Joélle Harvey and Jennifer Johnson Cano, Dec. 21-23: Closely associated with Boston’s respected Handel & Haydn Society, soprano Joélle Harvey will serve as soloist for three sets of performances this season of Handel’s Messiah, including these with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, under Sir Andrew Davis. Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano’s 2023-24 season includes an appearance in Verdi’s Falstaff with the Houston Grand Opera and performances with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Hélène Grimaud, Feb. 4: A Deutsche Grammophon artist since 2002, the French pianist saw “For Clara,” her latest release on that label, come out in September. This SCP Piano recital will feature Brahms’ Op. 117 Intermezzi from that recording, as well as Beethoven’s Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109, and Busoni’s arrangement of J.S. Bach’s Chaconne from BWV 1004.

Gemma New, Feb. 8, 10: The New Zealand-born conductor, who took over in 2022 as artistic adviser and principal conductor of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, is appearing with the CSO for the first time. No stranger to Chicago, she guest-conducted at the Grant Park Music Festival in July and has been mentioned as a possible successor to Carlos Kalmar, Grant Park’s soon-to-depart music director.

Lina González-Granados, Feb. 17: After winning the fourth Sir Georg Solti International Conducting Competition, Lina González-Granados served as assistant to Music Director Riccardo Muti from February 2020 through June 2023 as the Solti Conducting Apprentice. When Muti came down with COVID-19 in April 2022, she substituted for him on some of the programs, becoming the first Latina to lead the CSO. Last season, she was appointed resident conductor of the Los Angeles Opera, a post she will hold through June 2025. At Symphony Center this winter, she returns to lead “Carnival of the Animals,” a CSO for Kids concert.

Lidiya Yankovskaya, March 3: Stepping down after the 2023-24 season as music director of the Chicago Opera Theater, Yankovskaya is fast gaining prominence in the conducting world. For this MusicNOW concert, she will lead a program that includes premieres by Mead Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery and Curtis Stewart, who serves as soloist in his new violin concerto, Embrace.

Susanna Mälkki and Ying Fang, March 21-24: The Finnish-born conductor, who has been mentioned as a potential candidate for several top international posts, returns to lead the CSO for this program, featuring the world premiere of Lowell Liebermann’s Flute Concerto No. 2. Mälkki recently stepped down as chief conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic, and she left her post as principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2022.

World-renowned soprano Ying Fang will return to New York’s Metropolitan Opera in May-June 2024 to star as Euridice in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. She joins the CSO for Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, which was inspired by the composer’s earlier art song, The Heavenly Life. Fragments of it are heard in the first three movements, and it appears in its entirety in the finale.

Mitsuko Uchida, March 26: One of the world’s most lauded pianists, Mitsuko Uchida is a regular collaborator with the CSO, but she will be heard in a different context here. Since 2016, she has been an artistic partner of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and under the SCP Chamber Music series, she will appear as conductor-pianist with that Berlin-based ensemble as part of a three-city American tour ending in Carnegie Hall.

Yuja Wang, April 4-6: Her fiery, bravura performing style has made Wang one of the world’s most recognizable and sought-after classical-music artists. The pianist joins the CSO, under Klaus Mäkelä, in Béla Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (1930-31), considered among the most technically challenging such works in the repertoire.

Kathryn Stott, April 7: The British pianist has been the principal recital partner of cellist Yo-Yo Ma since 1985 in one of the longest and most productive such collaborations in classical-music history. For this SCP Chamber Music concert, the two will perform works by composers Gabriel Fauré, Sérgio Assad and Dmitry Kabalevsky.

Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha and Ashley Dixon, April 11-13: Rangwanasha, a South African soprano who got her start at the Cape Town Opera, will make her Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut in Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah, conducted by James Conlon. Dixon, winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2018, also is appearing for the first time on the orchestra’s subscription series.

Yulianna Avdeeva, April 18-21: The Russian pianist sprang to worldwide attention when she won first prize at the 2010 Chopin Competition in Warsaw. She has gone on to an international career, including her Carnegie Hall recital debut last season. Befitting her competition victory, she joins the CSO for the first time, serving as soloist in Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1, under Tugan Sokhiev.

Elim Chan, May 2, 4: In 2014, Elim Chan became the first female winner of the London-based Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, setting her on a fast-rising career. Since 2019, the Hong Kong native has served as principal conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. She makes several notable debuts in the 2023-24 season, including this first-time appearance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Tania Miller, May 11: Creating a children’s concert from scratch is “something I enjoy and something I believe in,” said conductor Tania Miller in an interview earlier this year with Experience CSO. This CSO for Kids program, titled Sound Waves,” explores the wonder and symbolism of water, with excerpts from works such as Sibelius’ Finlandia and Smetana’s The Moldau.

Dianne Reeves, May 17: An Orchestra Hall favorite, vocalist Dianne Reeves was named a 2018 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, a prestigious honor recognizing her lifetime achievement in the field. For this SCP Jazz concert, the Grammy Award winner will join two other acclaimed jazz veterans — Afro-Cuban jazz pianist Chucho Valdés and saxophonist Joe Lovano.

Mari Eriksmoen and Karen Cargill, May 23-25: These two internationally acclaimed singers will be featured soloists in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection), with the CSO under Esa-Pekka Salonen. Eriksmoen, a Norwegian soprano with ties to the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, is making her CSO debut, and mezzo-soprano Cargill, winner of the 2002 Kathleen Ferrier Award, also is appearing for the first time on the orchestra’s subscription series.

Cynthia Yeh, May 30-31: The CSO’s principal percussion since 2007, Cynthia Yeh will be the soloist in the world premiere of Jessie Montgomery’s Percussion Concerto with the CSO, under Manfred Honeck. Along with performing, she serves on the faculty of Chicago’s DePaul University and the Aspen Music Festival and School in Colorado.

Capathia Jenkins, June 4: The celebrated Broadway performer has appeared in musicals such as “Newsies” and “Fame Becomes Me.” With the CSO and conductor John Morris Russell, she will serve as vocalist in “Shaken, Not Stirred,” a CSO Special Concert featuring music from the James Bond movie franchise, including the title themes from “Goldfinger,” “Diamonds Are Forever” and “Skyfall.”