SYMPHONY CENTER PRESENTS 2018/19 SEASON

America’s oldest continuously active professional musical organization, “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band is known for its devoted musicianship and polished performances. Don’t miss this national treasure in what promises to be an inspiring performance at Symphony Center. 

Tickets are free, limited four per household.

Tickets available to reserve September 24.

All tickets are null and void 15 minutes prior to the performance. At that time, seats will be available to those without tickets on a first-come, first-served basis. For security purposes, items larger than a purse will not be permitted.

French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard and the brilliant Yugoslav-born pianist Tamara Stefanovich offer works by Bartók, Ravel and Messiaen, as well as Harrison Birtwistle’s Keyboard Engine, newly commissioned for them. “[Aimard and Stefanovich gave] a breathtaking performance of both profound musical and personal faith and love, and an extraordinary display of bravura pianism” (Bachtrack).

One of the most highly esteemed saxophonists performing today, NEA Jazz Master Branford Marsalis and his quartet play with a seemingly telepathic connection to one another. They return to Symphony Center with special guest trumpeter Roy Hargrove, whose bold and flexible tone has made him a star since his emergence in the early 1990s.

In an SCP commission commemorating the centennial of the World War I Armistice, Chicago contemporary ragtime pianist and composer Reginald R. Robinson will present a tribute to James Reese Europe, whose 369th Regiment “Hellfighters” first brought black American music to France during the war.

Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic bring their distinctive, celebrated sound to Symphony Center for a program of much-loved works by Dvorák. They are joined by acclaimed cellist Alisa Weilerstein, whose recording of Dvorák's Cello Concerto with the orchestra was called “an interpretation of passion, with a spine-tingling thrill and generosity of feeling that make it irresistible” (The Daily Telegraph).

Founder Daniel Barenboim brings his groundbreaking ensemble of young professional musicians from the Middle East to Symphony Center to perform their “high-voltage interpretation” of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, which “captures the work’s progression from darkness to light with remarkable vividness” (The Guardian).

Denis Matsuev, winner of the 1998 Tchaikovsky Competition, presents a program of varied and expressive works including Rachmaninov’s beguiling Variations on a Theme by Corelli. “Matsuev offered Chicagoans a performance both dreamily shaded and ferocious, gigantic in scale and exhilarating” (Chicago Tribune).

The Grammy Award®-winning Soweto Gospel Choir’s vibrant and infectiously joyful voices have inspired audiences across the globe for nearly two decades. These uplifting performers have shared the stage with some of the biggest names in music, including Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder. Enjoy the incomparable power of African gospel music in a two-part performance of songs that celebrate the centenary of Nelson Mandela's birth and international gospel classics, including the choir’s world-renowned interpretation of “Amazing Grace” and an unforgettable version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” With their soaring voices and rousing drumbeats, you’ll find it difficult to stay in your seat!

The Vienna Boys Choir brings its youthful spirit and marvelous talent to Symphony Center for a lively concert of popular folk songs, classical masterpieces and beloved holiday favorites.

Imaginative and probing French pianist Cédric Tiberghien makes a highly anticipated return to Symphony Center following his critically acclaimed recital debut in 2015. He performs a program of works composed between 1914 and 1918 that commemorates the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. “Tiberghien’s technique is formidable, but it’s his intensity and poetic impulsiveness that catch the ear” (The Boston Globe).

“The world’s reigning male chorus” (The New York Times) returns to Chicago’s beautiful Fourth Presbyterian Church for a heartwarming concert of beloved Christmas favorites. Performing music from medieval to modern, Chanticleer sings with a breathtaking clarity that is sure to put you in the holiday spirit.

“The world’s reigning male chorus” (The New York Times) returns to Chicago’s beautiful Fourth Presbyterian Church for a heartwarming concert of beloved Christmas favorites. Performing music from medieval to modern, Chanticleer sings with a breathtaking clarity that is sure to put you in the holiday spirit.

Witness the staggering power, amazing precision and brilliant virtuosity that make the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Brass the best in the world. Don't miss these acclaimed musicians in their annual showcase.

This concert is presented in collaboration with the Midwest Clinic, an international band and orchestra conference.

Live from Here, public radio’s most popular Saturday night destination, is coming to Chicago! Acclaimed musician and songwriter Chris Thile brings the beloved variety show, known for its signature combination of comedy, spoken word and musical performances, back to Symphony Center for a one-night-only live broadcast featuring special guests.

“Andsnes is not just a superb pianist, with one of the finest techniques one will witness, but is one of the most interesting musicians on the classical scene” (New York Classical Review). The celebrated Norwegian pianist performs a wide-ranging program of music by Bartók and Schumann, plus the first book of Janácek’s intimate, evocative cycle On an Overgrown Path.

Saxophonist Joshua Redman’s strong tone and fluid approach match his wide palette of styles. Since his first album in 1993, which was soon followed by his first Orchestra Hall appearance in 1995, he has collaborated with a diverse array of musicians on everything from hard bop to jazz standards.

Israel-born clarinetist Anat Cohen brings elements of swing to a musical vision that embraces sounds from Brazil, Africa and the Middle East. With a tentet of horns, strings and percussion, Cohen expands on this sound and her global musical journey. This performance will include a Symphony Center co-commission of a concerto for solo clarinet and ensemble by Cohen’s longtime colleague Oded Lev-Ari.

Join us for a celebration of the Chinese New Year featuring traditional Chinese music and instruments. This dazzling event is perfect for the whole family!

Hear Amsterdam's legendary Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in a rare tour performance. One of the world’s finest orchestras, hailed for its “gloriously rich brass, gleaming strings and impeccably blended ensemble” (The Financial Times), makes a not-to-be-missed appearance.

Inspired by the musical life of the Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer Ralph Ellison, Jazz in the Key of Ellison is a multimedia concert featuring music by Ellison’s favorite artists including Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and Thelonious Monk. This star-led evening includes Grammy® Award-winning trumpeter Nicholas Payton, R&B and jazz vocalist Will Downing, iconic Labelle singer Nona Hendryx and 2017 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz vocal competition winner Quiana Lynell with the Andy Farber Jazz Orchestra.

Don’t miss the Symphony Center debut of rising performer Beatrice Rana, recent winner of Gramophone’s Young Artist of the Year Award. The Italian pianist performs Chopin’s brilliant Twelve Etudes, Ravel’s poetic Miroirs and Agosti’s virtuosic arrangement of Stravinsky’s The Firebird. “Rana’s playing has a kind of Orphic seductiveness, a transcendent lightness of touch” (The London Times).

Japanese taiko-drumming troupe Kodo returns to Symphony Center for a dramatic performance full of pulsing rhythms, athletic virtuosity and stirring passion. “Indeed, if there is such a thing as perfection in music, Kodo comes as near to it as any group in the world” (The New York Times).

Start your St. Patrick's Day celebration early at Symphony Center with the world's most popular Irish traditional music group, six-time Grammy® Award-winners The Chieftains. Celebrating 55 years together, The Chieftains continue to reinvent themselves, infusing traditional music with a refreshing modern sound.

Uzbekistan native Behzod Abduraimov is highly regarded for his captivating playing and brilliant technique. He makes his Symphony Center debut with a program of well-known works by Prokofiev and Liszt. “Jaw-dropping brilliance. Abduraimov showed his supreme skill with fingers flowing freely across the octaves, producing an exhilarating performance” (Bachtrack).

Enjoy a night of Latin jazz featuring two generations of Cuban masters. In his Symphony Center debut, 14-time Grammy® Award-winning clarinetist and saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera, a co-founder of the landmark ensemble Irakere, performs with his masterful quintet. 

World-class Afro-Cuban hand percussionist Pedrito Martinez and Alfredo Rodríguez, a classically trained pianist and protégé of producer Quincy Jones, form a lively duo, exploring Cuban dance through a modern jazz lens.

Returning to Symphony Center in a special performance featuring influential guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel and the group's new pianist Orrin Evans, The Bad Plus draws from a wide range of influences to create compelling original songs and reinventions of hits by artists such as Blondie, Nirvana and Black Sabbath. 

José James’ smooth baritone voice and coolly assertive delivery have made him “one of the suavest vocal improvisers on the scene” (Pitchfork). He makes his Symphony Center debut with a tribute to superstar R&B singer-songwriter Bill Withers.

Anne-Sophie Mutter, renowned for her “immense technical security, brilliance and tonal purity, overlaid with romanticized touches” (Chicago Tribune), returns with a program that pairs Ravel’s dreamlike Violin Sonata with Poulenc’s own passionate Violin Sonata, written in memory of Federico García Lorca. Also featured is Beethoven’s ethereal Ghost Trio, inspired by Shakespeare's Macbeth.

The playfully irreverent Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain offers up whimsical and expertly played covers of well-known songs, from Bach to Lady Gaga and anything in between. The internationally celebrated group makes its Symphony Center debut in what promises to be an evening of “superbly tuneful fun” (The New York Times).

Michael Tilson Thomas brings the San Francisco Symphony, renowned for its “precise technique, notable muscularity and the musical breadth to excel at everything” (New York Classical Review), for a program of dynamic works. Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity to see Tilson Thomas conduct the ensemble he has nurtured for nearly 25 years as they undertake their final domestic tour together.

With a long career of legendary performances, Maurizio Pollini returns to Symphony Center for a highly anticipated recital. “It’s the sense of being pulled forward that paradoxically gives Pollini’s famously tranced, beautiful sound its special quality. The back-and-forth between charm and something darker was riveting” (The Daily Telegraph).

Berlin-based keyboardist Nils Frahm moves effortlessly between producing spare, melancholic melodies on solo piano and dense rhythms from vintage synthesizers. For his 2018 disc, All Melody, Frahm spent two years crafting the ideal recording conditions in a 1950s-era East Berlin studio, resulting in an array of richly layered soundscapes. The L.A. Times declares, “Frahm is a polymath with few peers in music today.”

The 25th anniversary of the Symphony Center Presents Jazz series celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Monterey Jazz Festival by bringing this touring ensemble of today’s young all-stars to our stage. Two-time Grammy® Award-winner Cécile McLorin Salvant, called “the finest jazz singer to emerge in the last decade” by The New York Times, returns to Symphony Center to star alongside Chilean-born saxophonist Melissa Aldana, trumpeter and singer-songwriter Bria Skonberg, and drummer and vocalist Jamison Ross. Musical director and pianist Christian Sands leads this incredible ensemble from one of the world’s greatest jazz festivals.

Midori, whose “ethereal phrasing gives the audience a glimpse into her inner world” (Bachtrack), and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, celebrated as “commanding and precise, with a buoyant simplicity and charm” (Los Angeles Times), come together for a performance of music brimming with romanticism that ranges from the turbulent to the quirky to the intoxicatingly atmospheric.

The greatest living master of the tabla and one of the architects of modern world music, Zakir Hussain returns with his international ensemble of the world’s finest percussionists. Continually pushing boundaries and exploring new and old musical traditions, this world-class group makes each of its performances an entirely unforgettable experience.