Program Highlight

Violist turns composer on the Chicago Symphony, Thu 5/9 @ 8pm

Classical 91.5 WXXO-FM

Published April 24, 2024 at 3:02 PM EDT

In the viola world, people know the name Nokuthula Ngwenyama (or "Thula," pronounced "Toola") as a huge advocate for the viola. But at the moment, Thula's star is rising in a different but related musical field: as a composer.

5/2 Mahler: Totenfeier Smetana: Selections from Má vlast (Pierre Boulez and Jakub Hrůša, cond)

*Composer and Violist Nokuthula Ngwenyama.*

5/9 Ngwenyama: Primal Message Grieg: Piano Concerto Prokofiev: Symphony No. 6 (Simon Trpčeski p; Xian Zhang, cond)

Read an interview with Ngwenyama about this new work.

5/16 Dukas: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Poulenc: Concerto for Organ, Strings, and Timpani Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3, Organ (Cameron Carpenter, org; Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, cond)

5/23 Beethoven: Coriolan Overture, Symphony Nos. 8 and 5 Barber: Mutations from Bach J.S. Bach/Ralph Sauer: Selections from The Art of Fugue Thomas: Street Song for Symphonic Brass (CSO Brass; Riccardo Muti and Michael Mulcahy, cond)

5/30 Bruckner: Symphony No. 8 (Christian Telemann, cond)