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Among the composers whose works have been scheduled for the CSO's America 250 programming are (from top left) Wynton Marsalis, John Adams, Gabriella Smith, Carlos Simon, Anna Clyne and Jessie Montgomery.
The United States is preparing to observe a major milestone in 2026: the 250th anniversary or semiquincentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Joining hundreds of other organizations across the nation, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will mark this occasion with the presentation of more than 20 American works in 2025/26. The subscription season will culminate in three all-American programs led by top American conductors: Marin Alsop, James Gaffigan and Joshua Weilerstein. The seasonlong showcase is called America 250: A Musical Journey.
Some of these works are beloved classics like George Gershwin’s An American in Paris and Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring that have become part of the very musical fabric of this country, but others, like Samuel Barber’s First Essay for Orchestra (1938), are heard less often. Still others are new works like the world premiere of Matthew Aucoin’s Song of the Reappeared with soprano Julia Bullock as soloist.
Of particular note, Alsop, principal guest conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra and chief conductor of the Ravinia Festival, will lead a June 4-6 program that includes the CSO’s first performances of two co-commissions. They are The Rock You Stand On by John Adams, composer of the opera Nixon in China, and many other notable works, and trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis’ Liberty (Symphony No. 5), which also will feature the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
Here is a complete overview of the American works to be featured on CSO’s subscription series in 2025/26:
Oct. 3-4, Carlos Simon, Fate Now Conquers, Daniela Candillari, conductor: Inspired by an entry in Beethoven’s journal, the 2020 work draws on what Carlos Simon, composer-in-residence at the Kennedy Center, describes as the “beautifully fluid harmonic structure of the second movement of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.”
Oct. 3-4, Samuel Barber, Adagio for Strings, Daniela Candillari, conductor: Arranged in 1936 for string orchestra from the second movement of the composer’s String Quartet, Op. 11, this stirring work remains Barber’s best-known and most frequently played composition. It has been performed at moments of national mourning and is heard regularly on movie and television soundtracks.
Oct. 23-25, Igor Stravinsky, Fanfare for a New Theatre, Stefan Asbury, conductor: The Russian-born Stravinsky immigrated to this country shortly after the beginning of World War II and became a naturalized citizen in 1945. This 40-second miniature for two trumpets was written in 1964 for the opening of the New York State Theater at New York’s Lincoln Center.
Oct. 23-25, Igor Stravinsky, Septet, Stefan Asbury, conductor: Beethoven completed his popular septet in 1799-1800, and Stravinsky used nearly the same group of instruments for his work in the same form some 150 years later, substituting piano for the double bass. This piece was written in 1952-53, and had its debut at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., in 1954.
Dec. 4-7, Matthew Aucoin, Song of the Reappeared, Petr Popelka, conductor: Aucoin, who served as a Solti Conducting Apprentice at the CSO in 2013/15, also is a noted composer and a 2018 MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” winner. Set to the poetry of Chilean writer Raúl Zurita, Song of the Reappeared, a CSO commission, will receive its world premiere with soprano Julia Bullock as soloist.
Feb. 5-7, Gabriella Smith, Lost Coast, Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor: According to the composer’s accompanying notes, Lost Coast was inspired by a five-day solo backpacking trip on the Lost Coast Trail, a “surprisingly remote section” of the northern California coastline. The Los Angeles Philharmonic premiered the concerto in 2023.
Feb. 12-15, Joel Thompson, To See the Sky, Jaap van Zweden, conductor: This 20-minute work is the longest orchestral work to date by Thompson, composer-in-residence at the Houston Grand Opera. The New York Philharmonic, one of five co-commissioners, including the Aspen Music Festival and American Composers Forum, presented the world premiere in March 2024.
March 5-6, George Gershwin, An American in Paris, Klaus Mäkelä, conductor: Little needs to be said about this ever-popular, jazz-influenced work, which features the squawk of car horns and evokes the hustle and bustle of 1920s Paris. This set of concerts will be one of the first opportunities for CSO audiences to hear the ensemble’s music director designate take on an American classic.
May 7-9, Samuel Barber, First Essay for Orchestra, Edward Gardner, conductor: Famed conductor Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra presented the world premiere of this one-movement work in November 1938 as part of a radio broadcast. The eight-minute piece is the first of three Essays that Barber wrote, with the other two being completed in 1942 and 1978.
May 7-9, Peter Lieberson, Neruda Songs, Edward Gardner, conductor: Lieberson (1946-2011) was a Pulitzer Prize in Music finalist for two of his song cycles, including this one, which also won a prestigious Grawemeyer Award. He wrote these five settings of sonnets by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda for his wife, famed mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, who performed them only a few times before dying in 2006 after a relapse of breast cancer.
May 21-12, Anna Clyne, Sound and Fury, Pekka Kuusisto, conductor: This work draws its inspiration from Haydn’s Symphony No. 60 (Il Distratto) and Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Kuusisto, making his CSO podium debut, is a champion of the music of Clyne, a former CSO Mead Composer-in-Residence, and led the 2019 world premiere with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
June 4-6, John Adams, The Rock You Stand On, Marin Alsop, conductor: Alsop, a longtime advocate of Adams’ music, returns to lead the CSO’s first performances of a new work that the acclaimed composer wrote for her. The CSO is a co-commissioner of the work, which Alsop and the Philadelphia Orchestra will debut in October.
June 4-6, Aaron Copland, Appalachian Spring, Marin Alsop, conductor: Again, little needs to be said about the music of this beloved ballet, which won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize in Music. The narrative work is set in an Appalachian village in 19th-century Pennsylvania, and incorporates Shaker themes, including variations on Simple Gifts.
June 4-6, Wynton Marsalis, Liberty (Symphony No. 5), Marin Alsop, conductor: Marsalis, who serves as managing and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, ranks as of the most celebrated jazz musicians of his era. He is also a highly respected and prolific composer, often melding jazz and classical styles in his works. Receiving its Midwest premiere in these performances, Marsalis’ new work is co-commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. The Philadelphia Orchestra is the lead commissioner. The program also follows a June 2 performance on the Symphony Center Presents Jazz series for Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
June 11-13, George Gershwin, Overture to Girl Crazy, James Gaffigan conductor: Although well known in the classical world for works like Concerto in F, Gershwin got his start on Tin Pan Alley and Broadway and enjoyed huge success in those realms. Girl Crazy, a 1930 musical, featured both Ethel Merman and Ginger Rogers and was adapted for the screen.
June 11-13, Kurt Weill (arranged by Robert Russell Bennett), Lady in the Dark, Symphonic Nocturne, James Gaffigan, conductor: Weill fled the Nazis in 1933, settling in New York two years later and becoming an American citizen in 1943. After his move, Weill switched styles, adapting to Broadway and this country’s popular music, as he did with the 1941 musical, Lady in the Dark, which features lyrics by Ira Gershwin.
June 11-13, Leonard Bernstein, Symphony No. 2 (The Age of Anxiety), James Gaffigan, conductor: Following in the footsteps of figures like Mahler and Mendelssohn, who were important conductors and composers, Bernstein balanced the two pursuits throughout his career. He wrote three symphonies, including this one from 1948-49, which was inspired by W.H. Auden’s poem of the same title.
June 18 and 20-21, Jessie Montgomery, Banner, Joshua Weilerstein conductor: Montgomery is familiar to CSO audiences after completing a three-year tenure as Mead Composer-in-Residence in June 2024. She wrote this eight-minute work in 2014 to mark the 200th anniversary of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
June 18 and 20-21, Bohuslav Martinů, The Rock, Joshua Weilerstein, conductor: Like Stravinsky and Weill, Martinů was forced to flee the Nazis, settling in the United States in 1941 and becoming an American citizen 11 years later. This 12-minute work, inspired by Plymouth Rock, was commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra to mark its 40th anniversary and had its premiere in 1958.
June 18 and 20-21, Aaron Copland, Lincoln Portrait, Joshua Weilerstein, conductor: This 1942 work for speaker and orchestra incorporates excepts from the Gettysburg Address and other important writings by Lincoln, the 16th president. In the decades since its premiere, many notable actors, government officials and others have served as the narrator in the decades since its premiere.
June 18 and 20-21, Charles Ives, Three Places in New England, Joshua Weilerstein, conductor: Ives was one of this country’s first great composers, and this 20-minute work, written mainly in 1911-14, is among his most frequently performed creations. It mixes avant-garde chromaticism with references to familiar American folk tunes.
June 18 and 20-21, Duke Ellington, Harlem, Joshua Weilerstein, conductor: Although best known as a jazz composer, Ellington often ventured into the world of classical music, as he did with this 14-minute work, which evokes the famed Manhattan neighborhood. The 1951 work exists in versions for jazz orchestra and symphony orchestra.
