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For Immediate Release:
April 17, 2015
Press Contacts:
Rachelle Roe, 312-294-3090
Eileen Chambers, 312-294-3092
Photos Available By Request
PR@cso.org
CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PRESENTS
THREE-WEEK FRENCH REVERIES & PASSIONS FESTIVAL,
MAY 3–24, 2015
GUEST CONDUCTOR ESA-PEKKA SALONEN LEADS CSO IN THREE
PROGRAMS FEATURING MUSIC BY RAVEL, DEBUSSY AND
MESSIAEN
Debussy’s Landmark Opera Pelléas et Mélisande Performed for the First
Time by CSO; Narrated by Academy Award–winner Dianne Wiest
Festival also Includes Symphony Center Presents Piano Recitals, Jazz,
Chamber Music and More
CHICAGO—Guest conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
(CSO) in three weeks of programs that focus on symphonic and operatic repertoire by Ravel,
Debussy and Messiaen, as part of the French Reveries & Passions festival, which begins
May 3. In addition to three CSO programs, the three-week festival also includes recitals by two
young French pianists, an evening of jazz by French artists, chamber music performed by CSO
musicians and the CSO’s Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant Yo-Yo Ma, a
performance by the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and a public discussion between the CSO’s
Creative Director of Beyond The Score® Gerard McBurney and the Art Institute of Chicago’s
David and Mary Winton Green curator and Impressionist expert Gloria Groom.
As curator and guest conductor of the CSO programs, Esa-Pekka Salonen has selected works
from the 20th-century repertoire that evoke both the sensuality and emotion of Impressionism
and the repertoire’s trailblazing modernism, which are drawn together by themes of beauty,
fantasy and the darkness of the night.
On May 7, 8, 9 and 15, at 8 p.m., Salonen leads the CSO in a program inspired by youth and
childhood, beginning with Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, followed by Debussy’s La damoiselle
élue (The Blessed Damsel). Ravel’s one-act fantasy opera, L’enfant et les sortilèges, closes this
program. Soprano Chloé Briot is featured in the title role of the Child in her CSO debut.
Sopranos Marie-Eve Munger and Kate Royal, mezzo-soprano Marianna Crebassa, contralto
Elodie Méchain, and tenor Manuel Núñez Camelino also make their CSO debuts in this
program; baritone Stéphane Degout and bass-baritone Eric Owens round out the cast, along
with the Chicago Symphony Chorus, prepared by director Duain Wolfe and Anima: Young
Singers of Greater Chicago, under the direction of Emily Ellsworth.
On May 14, 16 and 19, Salonen leads a special production featuring the first-ever CSO
performances of Debussy’s landmark opera Pelléas et Mélisande, with narrations written by the
CSO’s Beyond the Score® Creative Director Gerard McBurney and performed by Academy
Award®–winning actress Dianne Wiest.
Salonen speaks of his admiration for the work: “If we think of the history of opera, this [Pelléas]
is totally new. This is about the only opera where there is no balance problem. It’s absolutely
expertly orchestrated.” He is highly appreciative of the musical language itself: “The way Pelléas
starts….he [Debussy] creates an atmosphere right away, with not that many notes…that kind of
evocative power is very rare in music.” Salonen has had great success with this work in London,
where he recently led the Philharmonia Orchestra in a similar production, which The Guardian
described as “…one of Salonen’s finest achievements.”
Baritone Stéphane Degout sings the role of Pélleas and mezzo-soprano Christine Rice sings
the role of Mélisande in her CSO debut. The cast also includes soprano Chloé Briot, contralto
Elodie Méchain, bass-baritones Eric Owens and Willard White, bass David Govertsen and the
Chicago Symphony Chorus, prepared by director Duain Wolfe. White also makes his CSO
debut in this production.
In the festival’s final week, on May 21, 22 and 23, Salonen conducts the Orchestra and guest
soloist Jean-Yves Thibaudet in Ravel’s Concerto in G Major, and in Messiaen’s exuberant
celebration of life and passion, Turangalîla-symphonie, with Valérie Hartmann-Claverie
performing the rarely heard electronic keyboard instrument, the ondes martenot. The program
begins with Debussy’s work for solo flute, Syrinx, performed by soloist Samuel Coles from the
Philharmonia Orchestra, who also will serve as the CSO’s guest principal flute for the three
weeks of the festival.
Two young French pianists make their recital debuts at Symphony Center on the Symphony
Center Presents (SCP) Piano series as part of the festival: Cédric Tiberghien and Alexandre
Tharaud. On Sunday, May 3 at 3 p.m., Tiberghien offers a program of music by Debussy and
Ravel, as well as Szymanowski’s homage to the two French composers, Masques, Op. 34;
Tharaud juxtaposes French works from the Baroque and the 20th century—Couperin, Rameau,
Satie and Ravel—on his program on Sunday, May 10, at 3 p.m.
On Friday, May 15, at 8 p.m., the SCP Jazz series presents an evening of French and Frenchinspired jazz during the festival. Trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf headlines a program titled
Kalthoum influenced by Maalouf’s deep appreciation for the late Arabic vocalist Oum Kalthoum
and her epic hit “Alf Leila wa Leila” (1001 Nights). Maalouf assembles a stellar jazz combo
including Mark Turner, saxophone; Frank Woeste, piano; Ira Coleman, bass; and Clarence
Penn, drums, with special guest Jacky Terrasson, piano, to explore the confluence of classical
Arabic music and jazz. French pianist Jean-Michel Pilc opens the evening with a solo set.
Composer, scholar and Beyond the Score® Creative Director at the CSO Gerard McBurney and
Gloria Groom, Art Institute of Chicago’s David and Mary Winton Green curator and French
Impressionist expert, offer a free public conversation about French art and music on Sunday,
May 17, at 1 p.m. at Fullerton Hall at the Art Institute of Chicago. At 3 p.m. at Symphony
Center, the SCP Chamber Music series presents the CSO’s Judson and Joyce Green Creative
Consultant and cellist Yo-Yo Ma with musicians from the CSO, in an afternoon of festivalinspired chamber music including Ravel’s Chansons madécasses and Sonata for Violin and
Cello, and Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. Featured on the program is the world
premiere of an SCP-commissioned work for bass and cello, Dual, by Matthew Aucoin, which is
based on the famous French song, “Frère Jacques”. Mezzo-soprano J’nai Bridges and pianists
Matthew Aucoin and Orion Weiss also perform with CSO Associate Concertmaster Stephanie
Jeong, CSO Principal Second Violin Baird Dodge, CSO Principal Bass Alexander Hanna, CSO
flute Jennifer Gunn and CSO clarinet J. Lawrie Bloom.
The Civic Orchestra of Chicago, led by guest conductor Cristian Măcelaru, performs Debussy’s
orchestral masterpiece La mer, on Wednesday, May 20, at 8 p.m. as part of a program
inspired by the festival. Jacques Ibert’s Bacchanale and Pierre Jalbert’s In Aeternam round out
the program.
Wrapping up the festival, on Sunday, May 24, at 2 p.m., the CSO Chamber series at the Art
Institute of Chicago continues with musicians from the CSO performing string quartets by
Debussy and Fauré, part of the CSO’s regular chamber music series at the Art Institute. The
quartet includes CSO violins So Young Bae and Sylvia Kilcullen, viola Weijing Wang and cello
Daniel Katz.
Preconcert conversations take place prior to each CSO and Civic Orchestra performance.
Further details are available at cso.org/french.
Bank of America is the Global Sponsor of the CSO. The CSO thanks Julie and Roger Baskes,
lead sponsors of the French Reveries & Passions festival concert programming. Additional
sponsorship support for the French Reveries & Passions festival has been provided by: The
Jacob and Rosaline Cohn Foundation; Mr. and Mrs. Richard J. Franke; The Gilchrist
Foundation; and Burton X. and Sheli Rosenberg. The appearance of the Chicago Symphony
Chorus is made possible by a generous gift from Jim and Kay Mabie. The Yo-Yo Ma with
Musicians of the CSO performance is made possible by a generous gift from Marian Edelstein.
The SCP Piano series is generously sponsored by Judy and Verne Istock. This project is
supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. CSO Tuesdays series
concerts are sponsored by United. The SCP Jazz series is sponsored by Exelon. Civic
Orchestra performances are sponsored in part by a generous grant from the Elizabeth F.
Cheney Foundation. Festival partners: Art Institute of Chicago, Alliance Française of Chicago,
Choose Chicago. Festival Media Support: WBEZ 91.5 FM.
Tickets for all CSOA-presented concerts can be purchased by phone at 800-223-7114 or 312294-3000; online at cso.org, or at the Symphony Center box office: 220 S. Michigan Ave.,
Chicago, IL 60604. Special festival packages are available, including the May 15-17 weekend
that includes 2 CSO concerts, an SCP Jazz concert, the Art Institute conversation and the SCP
Chamber Music program with Yo-Yo Ma.
Discounted student tickets for select concerts can be purchased, subject to availability, online in
advance or at the box office on the day of the concert. For group rates, please call 312-2943040.
Artists, programs and prices are subject to change.
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Click Here to View Full Festival Program Listings
CSO Guest Artists
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor
Anima–Young Singers of Greater Chicago, Emily Ellsworth, director
*Chloé Briot, soprano
*Samuel Coles, flute
*Marianne Crebassa, mezzo-soprano
Stéphane Degout, baritone
David Govertsen, bass
*Valérie Hartmann-Claverie, ondes martenot
*Elodie Méchain, contralto
*Marie-Eve Munger, soprano
*Manuel Nuñez-Camelino, tenor
Eric Owens, bass-baritone
Christine Rice, mezzo-soprano
*Kate Royal, soprano
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
*Dianne Wiest, narrator
*Willard White, bass-baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe
* denotes CSO debut
SCP Piano
Alexandre Tharaud
Cédric Tiberghien
SCP Jazz
Ibrahim Maalouf, trumpet
Jacky Terrasson, piano
Jean-Michel Pilc, piano
SCP Chamber Music
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
J’nai Bridges, mezzo-soprano
Matthew Aucoin, piano
Orion Weiss, piano
Jennifer Gunn, flute
J. Lawrie Bloom, clarinet
Stephanie Jeong, violin
Baird Dodge, violin
Alexander Hanna, bass
CSO Chamber Music - Art Institute
So Young Bae, violin
Sylvia Kilcullen, violin
Weijing Wang, viola
Daniel Katz, cello
Civic Orchestra of Chicago
Cristian Măcelaru
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Riccardo Muti, Music Director
http://www.cso.org and http://www.csosoundsandstories.org/
Founded in 1891, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is consistently hailed as one of the greatest
orchestras in the world. Since 2010, the preeminent conductor Riccardo Muti has served as its 10th
music director. Pierre Boulez is the CSO’s Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus, Yo-Yo Ma is its Judson
and Joyce Green Creative Consultant, and Mason Bates and Anna Clyne are its Mead Composers-inResidence.
From Baroque through contemporary music, the CSO commands a vast repertoire. Its renowned
musicians annually perform more than 150 concerts, most at Symphony Center in Chicago and, each
summer, at the suburban Ravinia Festival. They regularly tour nationally and internationally. Since 1892,
the CSO has made 58 international tours, performing in 29 countries on five continents.
People around the globe listen to weekly radio broadcasts of CSO concerts and recordings on the WFMT
network and online at cso.org/radio. Recordings by the CSO have earned 62 Grammy Awards, including
two in 2011 for Muti’s recording with the CSO and Chorus of Verdi's Messa da Requiem (Muti’s first of
four releases with the CSO to date). Find details on these and many other CSO recordings at
www.cso.org/resound
The CSO is part of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, which includes the Chicago Symphony
Chorus (Duain Wolfe, Director and Conductor) and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, a preprofessional
training ensemble. Through its prestigious Symphony Center Presents series, the CSOA presents guest
artists and ensembles from a variety of genres—classical, jazz, world and contemporary.
The Negaunee Music Institute at the CSO offers community and education programs that annually
engage more than 200,000 people of diverse ages and backgrounds. Through the Institute and other
activities, including a free annual concert with Muti and the CSO, the CSO promotes the concept of
Citizen Musicianship™: using the power of music to create connections and build community.
The CSO is supported by tens of thousands of patrons, volunteers and institutional and individual donors.
Bank of America is the Global Sponsor of the CSO. The CSO’s music director position is endowed in
perpetuity by a generous gift from the Zell Family Foundation. The Negaunee Foundation provides
generous support in perpetuity for the work of the Negaunee Music Institute. CSO Tuesday series
concerts are sponsored by United Airlines.