The 79th Season of the Grant Park Music Festival included some of the most beloved music of all time. Highlights included a stunning performance of War Requiem in honor of Benjamin Britten's centenary, the return of the sensational pianist Valentina Lisitsa, an unforgettable night with Pink Martini, and a Closing Weekend celebration of the 100th anniversary of Stravinsky's landmark The Rite of Spring.
Opening Night
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Stefan Jackiw, Violin
Program
Andrew Norman: Drip
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5, Turkish
Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4
Alexander Nevsky
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra And Chorus
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Christopher Bell, Chorus Director
Emilia Boteva, Mezzo-Soprano
Program
Samuel Barber: Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance
Aaron Copland: Suite: Billy the Kid
Sergei Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky
Pink Martini
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Pink Martini
Program
Music by Pink Martini
Iris dévoilée
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Wu Yanyu, Soprano
Meng Meng, Soprano
Wei-Yang Andy Lin, Erhu
Yang Wei, Pipa
Yang Yi, Zheng
Program
Qigang Chen: Iris dévoilée
Gabriel Fauré: Pelléas and Mélisande: Suite
Maurice Ravel: La Valse
Nielsen Clarinet Concerto
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Martin Fröst, Clarinet
Program
Ralph Vaughan-Williams: Symphony No. 5
Carl Nielsen: Clarinet Concerto
Bohuslav Martinů: Thunderbolt P47
Britten War Requiem
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra And Chorus
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Christopher Bell, Chorus Director
Erin Wall, Soprano
Jeremy Ovenden, Tenor
Alan Held, Bass
Chicago Children’s Choir, Josephine Lee, Artistic Director
Program
Benjamin Britten: War Requiem
Independence Eve Celebration
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra
Christopher Bell, Conductor
Janai Brugger, Soprano
Program
A selection of traditional music to celebrate the holiday
Dvořák's New World Symphony
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra
Eugene Tzigane, Guest Conductor
Alessio Bax, Piano
Program
William Bolcom: Ragomania, A Classic Festival Overture
Samuel Barber: Piano Concerto
Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 9, From the New World
Grant Park Pops - Let's Dance
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra
Jeff Tyzik, Conductor
Helen Welch, Vocalist
Todd East, Vocalist
Dave Mancini, Drum Set
Arjay Centeno, Ted Louis Levy, Eva Lucero, Rachael McEnaney, Chandrae Rettig, Stephen Sayer, Patricio Touceda, Dancers
Program
A selection of favorite dance melodies
Caminos del Inka
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra
Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Guest Conductor
Mary Stolper, Flute
Walter Haman, Cello
Program
Daniel Alomía Robles: El Cóndor Pasa
Baltasar Martínez y Compañón: Colección de Música Virreinal
Diego Luzuriaga: Responsorio
Gabriela Lena Frank: Illapa, Tone Poem for Flute and Orchestra
Osvaldo Golijov: Mariel, for Cello and Orchestra
Enrique Soro: Danza Fantástica
Jimmy López: Fiesta!
A Rodgers and Hammerstein Celebration
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra And Chorus
Christopher Bell, Conductor
Rebecca Luker, Soprano
Doug LaBrecque, Tenor
William Michals, Baritone
Program
Songs from Carousel, The King & I, Oklahoma, Showboat, The Sound of Music, South Pacific, and more.
Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra
Thierry Fischer, Guest Conductor
Program
Hector Berlioz: Overture: King Lear
Frank Martin: Concerto for Seven Winds
Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3, Organ Symphony
Shostakovich 5th Symphony
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra
Hannu Lintu, Guest Conductor
Kirill Gerstein, Piano
Program
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1
Dimitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5
Sibelius Violin Concerto
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra
Hannu Lintu, Guest Conductor
Karen Gomyo, Violin
Program
Jean Sibelius: Pohjola’s Daughter
Alexander Glazunov: Symphony No. 4
Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto
Songs of Praise and Passion
Featuring
Grant Park Chorus
Christopher Bell, Chorus Director And Conductor
Program
Hubert Parry: My soul there is a country
Vytautas Miškinis: Dum Medium Silentium
Vytautas Miškinis: Pater Noster
Vytautas Miškinis: O Sacrum Convivium
Colin Mawby: Alleluia, Christus resurrexit
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Three movements from Vespers
Veljo Tormis: Two songs to words by Ernst Enno: Early summer's fairytale, Soundlessly somewhere
Stacy Garrop: Sonnets of Desire, Longing, and Whimsy
Steven Sametz: I have had singing
Kalmar Conducts Bruckner
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Program
Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 2
The Fiddler's Child
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Jeremy Black, Violin
Program
Edward Elgar: Nursery Suite
Leoš Janáček: The Fiddler's Child
Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Suite from The Nutcracker
Concerto for Saxophones
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
James Carter, Saxophones
Program
Astor Piazzolla: Milongón Festival
Alberto Ginastera: Pampeana No. 3
Roberto Sierra: Concerto for Saxophones
Heitor Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 7
Schubert Mass in E Flat
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra And Chorus
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Christopher Bell, Chorus Director
Artists From The Lyric Opera's Patrick G. And Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center
Program
Olivier Messiaen: Les offrandis oubliées
James MacMillan: Confessions of Isobel Gowdie
Franz Schubert: Mass in E Flat Major
Rachmaninov Second Piano Concerto
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Valentina Lisitsa, Piano
Program
Rodion Shchedrin: The Naughty Limericks
Alexander Borodin: Symphony No. 2
Sergei Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2
The Rite of Spring
Featuring
Grant Park Orchestra And Chorus
Carlos Kalmar, Conductor
Donald Nally, Guest Chorus Director
Program
John Adams: Black Gondola
John Adams: Harmonium
Igor Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring