Few mass settings pose more questions of listeners than Beethoven’s Missa solemnis. A fervent meditation on faith and doubt, the piece spans moments of ecstasy and angst, soaring beauty and near-operatic theatricality. Riccardo Muti leads this rarely performed score with a thrilling quartet of international singers and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
Missa solemnis
Explore the music in the free preconcert conversation featuring Stephen Alltop in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The conversation will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets are needed.
Chicago is hosting a NASCAR street race weekend this summer in Grant Park. As the city prepares for this event, patrons coming to concerts June 23 – July 1 are encouraged to review transit options, leave extra time for travel and plan to arrive early. Learn more about getting to Symphony Center June 23 – July 1.
A special shuttle service will be offered for patrons coming from the North Shore on Saturday, June 24. With this service, you will avoid the stress of driving downtown and instead sit back, relax and enjoy the company of other CSO patrons. The shuttle departs from Winnetka at 5:00 p.m. and will arrive early enough for you to either attend the preconcert conversation or dine at Symphony Center before the performance.
Ticket holders for concerts June 23 – July 1, 2023, must request ticket exchanges by June 20, 2023. No refunds or exchanges are permitted after June 20, 2023.
The appearance of the Chicago Symphony Chorus has been made possible by a generous gift from The Grainger Foundation.
These performances are generously sponsored by the Zell Family Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Dietrich M. Gross, William R. Jentes, Josef and Margot Lakonishok, the Randy L. and Melvin R. Berlin Family Fund for the Canon, an anonymous donor, Estate of Christopher L. Culp, the Sargent Family Foundation, Betty W. Smykal, Nelson D. Cornelius Endowed Concert Fund, the Julian Family Foundation, Ling Z. and Michael C. Markovitz, Nancy A. Abshire, Peter and Betsy Barrett, James and Sylvia Franklin, Martha C. Nussbaum, John and Suzanne Borland, Mr. and Mrs. James J. Glasser, Sue and Melvin Gray, Mark and Gale Kozloff, Dr. Michael Krco, Sharon L. Manuel, Ms. Britt Miller, Mr. and Mrs. Richard H. Schnadig, Gene and Jean Stark, and Mr. Michael Welsh and Ms. Linda Brummer-Welsh.
For the Vienna Philharmonic’s Ascension Day concert in 2021, Riccardo Muti took the podium to conduct Beethoven’s Missa solemnis — a work he had never conducted before. This momentous occasion was captured by Unitel Edition and is available now on DVD and Blu-ray at the Symphony Store.