Chicago Symphony Center tickets 17 June 2027 - Mäkelä Conducts Beethoven 9 | GoComGo.com

Mäkelä Conducts Beethoven 9

Chicago Symphony Center, Chicago, USA
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Select date and time
7:30 PM
From
US$ 195

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Important Info
Type: Classical Concert
City: Chicago, USA
Starts at: 19:30

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Cast
Performers
Conductor: Klaus Mäkelä
Soprano: Chen Reiss
Baritone: Gerald Finley
Ensemble: Musicians from the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Mezzo-Soprano: Sasha Cooke
Tenor: Siyabonga Maqungo
Creators
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Composer: Pierre Boulez
Chorus Master: Donald Palumbo
Programme
Ludwig van Beethoven : Elegy
Pierre Boulez: Le soleil des eaux
Ludwig van Beethoven : Symphony no. 9 in D minor "Choral", Op.125
Overview

Few works in the history of music have had the cultural and emotional impact of Ludwig van Beethoven’s final symphony. Composed nearly two centuries ago, the Symphony No. 9 remains a monumental expression of human unity, culminating in the universally celebrated “Ode to Joy”—a melody that has become a symbol of friendship, compassion, and shared humanity.

Led by Zell Music Director Designate Klaus Mäkelä, this performance highlights the enduring relevance of Beethoven’s vision in a contemporary world shaped by division and change. In its grand choral finale, the symphony gathers individual voices into a collective expression of triumph, reminding listeners of music’s power to transcend boundaries and speak to our common experience.

The program also features Beethoven’s Elegy, a deeply reflective work that explores themes of longing, memory, and human connection. Through its restrained emotional language, the piece offers a moment of introspection that contrasts with the symphony’s overwhelming expansiveness.

Completing the program is Pierre Boulez’s Le soleil des eaux (The Sun of Waters), an iridescent and atmospheric cantata that evokes renewal and transformation. With shimmering textures and fluid orchestral colors, Boulez creates a sonic landscape that feels both elemental and modern, suggesting a world continually awakening and evolving.

Together, these works form a journey from intimate reflection to radiant collective expression—uniting Beethoven’s timeless humanism with Boulez’s luminous modern sound world under the inspired direction of Klaus Mäkelä.

Venue Info

Chicago Symphony Center - Chicago
Location   220 South Michigan Avenue

Symphony Center is a music complex located at 220 South Michigan Avenue in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Chicago Symphony Chorus; Civic Orchestra of Chicago; and the Institute for Learning, Access, and Training; Symphony Center includes the 2,522-seat Orchestra Hall, which dates from 1904; Buntrock Hall, a rehearsal and performance space; Grainger Ballroom, an event space overlooking Michigan Avenue and the Art Institute of Chicago; a public multi-story rotunda; Forte restaurant and café; and administrative offices.

In June 1993, plans to significantly renovate and expand Orchestra Hall were approved and the $110 million project resulting in Symphony Center began in 1995 and was completed in 1997.

Designed by architect Daniel Burnham, Orchestra Hall was designated a National Historic Landmark on April 19, 1994. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978.

Built in 1904, Orchestra Hall was designed by renowned Chicago architect Daniel Burnham. The new hall was specifically designed as a home for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which had previously performed in the larger Auditorium Theater. Construction began on May 1, 1904, and the first concert was given on December 14, 1904. The building has "Theodore Thomas Orchestra Hall" inscribed in its façade, after the orchestra's first music director who died less than a month after his conducting debut there. The names Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Wagner are inscribed above the ballroom windows on the façade.

From 1907 through 1996 the ninth-floor penthouse of the building served as the home of the Cliff Dwellers Club, with interior architecture by Howard Van Doren Shaw and the first significant mural of John Warner Norton.

The administrative offices are located within the historic Chapin and Gore Building, which was built in 1904. The building was designed by architectural partners Richard E. Schmidt and Hugh M. G. Garden. The building was attached to the Symphony Center campus as part of the 1997 renovation.

Orchestra Hall was also used as a movie theater during the 1910s, to maintain income during the summer months, when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was playing at the Ravinia Festival. Lectures and other programs were held at Orchestra Hall in with speakers including Harry Houdini, Richard E. Byrd, Amelia Earhart, Bertrand Russell and Orson Welles.

In 2008 the venue hosted the 2008 Green National Convention alongside the Palmer House Hilton.

In 2012 the venue hosted the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates alongside the UIC Pavilion. This was held in Chicago simultaneous to the 2012 Chicago Summit.

Important Info
Type: Classical Concert
City: Chicago, USA
Starts at: 19:30
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