Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Lang Lang in Chicago

Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra founded in 1891 by conductor Theodore Thomas. Its extensive recording catalogue includes Fritz Reiner’s interpretations of Richard Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra and Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, as well as Gustav Mahler symphonies conducted by Georg Solti. The orchestra gave its first concert at the Auditorium Theatre in 1891 and moved into Orchestra Hall in 1904. It began its summer residency at the Ravinia Festival in 1936, adding open-air concerts to its annual season. In 1971, Georg Solti led its first European tour.

Lang Lang is a Chinese classical pianist, born in Shenyang in 1982. He is known for interpretations of concertos by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, as well as recordings including Piano Book and Bach’s Goldberg Variations. At the 1999 Ravinia Festival, he stepped in for André Watts to perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Christoph Eschenbach. He made his recital debut at Carnegie Hall in 2003, then appeared before a worldwide audience at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.