In February, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Riccardo Muti embark on their second U.S. tour of the 2017-18 season, a five-city journey along the East Coast, Florida’s west coast and North Carolina. The tour will showcase new music, with performances of works by Pulitzer Prize winner Jennifer Higdon and CSO Mead Composer-in-Residence Samuel Adams.
The tour begins with a concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, followed by two nights at New York’s famed Carnegie Hall, then on to Naples and West Palm Beach, Fla., and two performances in Chapel Hill, N.C. In addition, the CSO’s Negaunee Music Institute will present master classes, open rehearsals and community activities in select cities on the tour.
The following is the complete itinerary:
Feb. 7, 8 p.m.: Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C.
Presented by Washington Performing Arts
Verdi Overture to I vespri siciliani
Samuel Adams many words of love (CSO commission)
Brahms Symphony No. 2
Performers:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Muti conductor
Feb. 9, 8 p.m.: Carnegie Hall, New York City
Stravinsky Scherzo fantastique
Higdon Low Brass Concerto (World premiere, CSO co-commission)
Chausson Poème de l’amour et de la mer (Poem of Love and the Sea), Op. 19
Britten Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
Performers:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Muti conductor
Clémentine Margaine mezzo-soprano
Jay Friedman trombone
Michael Mulcahy trombone
Charles Vernon bass trombone
Gene Pokorny tuba
Feb. 10, 7:30 p.m.: Carnegie Hall, New York City
Verdi Overture to I vespri siciliani
Samuel Adams many words of love (CSO commission)
Brahms Symphony No. 2
Performers:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Muti conductor
Feb. 12, 8 p.m.: Artis-Naples, Hayes Hall, Naples, Fla.
Presented by Artis-Naples
Verdi Overture to I vespri siciliani
Higdon Low Brass Concerto (World premiere, CSO co-commission)
Brahms Symphony No. 2
Performers:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Muti conductor
Jay Friedman trombone
Michael Mulcahy trombone
Charles Vernon bass trombone
Gene Pokorny tuba
Feb. 14, 8 p.m.: Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, Dreyfoos Concert Hall, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Presented by the Kravis Center
Stravinsky Scherzo fantastique
Higdon Low Brass Concerto (World premiere, CSO co-commission)
Brahms Symphony No. 2
Performers:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Muti conductor
Jay Friedman trombone
Michael Mulcahy trombone
Charles Vernon bass trombone
Gene Pokorny tuba
Feb. 15, 2 p.m.: Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, Dreyfoos Concert Hall, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Presented by the Kravis Center
Verdi Overture to I vespri siciliani
Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622
Chausson Poème de l’amour et de la mer, Op. 19
Britten Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, Op. 33a
Performers:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Muti conductor
Clémentine Margaine mezzo-soprano
Stephen Williamson clarinet
Feb. 16, 8 p.m.: UNC Memorial Hall, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Presented by Carolina Performing Arts
Stravinsky Scherzo fantastique
Higdon Low Brass Concerto (World premiere, CSO co-commission)
Chausson Poème de l’amour et de la mer, Op. 19
Britten Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
Performers:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Muti conductor
Clémentine Margaine mezzo-soprano
Jay Friedman trombone
Michael Mulcahy trombone
Charles Vernon bass trombone
Gene Pokorny tuba
Feb. 17. 8 p.m.: UNC Memorial Hall, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Presented by Carolina Performing Arts
Verdi Overture to I vespri siciliani
Samuel Adams many words of love (CSO commission)
Brahms Symphony No. 2
Performers:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Muti conductor
TOP: Riccardo Muti leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall during a tour performance in 2015. | ©Todd Rosenberg Photography 2015