2021-22 Classical Series

In the Classical Series this season, there's much to celebrate! The Orchestra will mark its 90th birthday in March with a triumphant concert featuring Vaughan Williams's Dona Nobis Pacem. We'll also celebrate Christopher Warren-Green who, after twelve extraordinary seasons, will conclude his tenure as Music Director and assume the titles of Conductor Laureate and Music Adviser. Maestro has packed this season with favorites like Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, and will continue our epic journey through Mahler works with the powerful Ninth Symphony.

OPENING NIGHT: RUSSIAN MASTERS

Oct. 15 & 16 | 7:30 pm | Knight Theater
Oct. 17 | 3 pm | Knight Theater

Christopher Warren-Green opens the CSO's celebratory 90th season with a program of Russian masterworks. Violinist Paul Huang returns to Charlotte for Tchaikovsky's exuberant Violin Concerto.

Christopher Warren-Green, conductor
Paul Huang, violin

GLINKA Ruslan & Ludmila Overture
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 9

BRAHMS SYMPHONY NO. 3

Oct. 29 & 30 | 7:30 pm | Knight Theater

"Trailblazing" (Minnesota Star Tribune) conductor
Roderick Cox takes the baton to lead a program
anchored by Brahms's richly romantic Symphony No. 3.

Roderick Cox, conductor
Benjamin Beilman, violin

BRAHMS Symphony No. 3
COLERIDGE-TAYLOR Violin Concerto
KODÁLY Dances of Galánta

BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY NO. 4

Nov. 19 & 20 | 7:30 pm | Knight Theater

Beethoven's Symphony No. 4 is a lighthearted
masterpiece, full of mischievous musical jokes.
Principal Clarinetist Taylor Marino takes the stage to
perform Mozart's popular Clarinet Concerto.

Christopher Warren-Green, conductor
Taylor Marino, clarinet

PROKOFIEV Classical Symphony 
MOZART Clarinet Concerto
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 4

HANDEL MESSIAH

Dec. 3 & 4 | 7:30 | Knight Theater
Dec. 5 | 3 pm | Knight Theater

Handel's stunning masterpiece is back by popular
demand. Join your CSO, Charlotte Master Chorale,
and four soloists for this enduring oratorio full of
passion and exquisite beauty. "Hallelujah!"

Ian Watson, conductor
Charlotte Master Chorale

HANDEL Messiah

MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 9

Jan. 14 & 15, 2022 | 7:30 pm | Belk Theater

A powerful meditation on the human condition,
Mahler's Ninth Symphony was his final completed
work. Devastating and fearlessly introspective, this
profound work explores ideas about life and death.

Christopher Warren-Green, conductor

MAHLER Symphony No. 9 in D Major

RAVEL PIANO CONCERTO

Jan. 28 & 29, 2022 | 7:30 pm | Knight Theater

"Engaging" (The Scotsman) conductor Jessica Cottis leads Ravel's bright, jazz-infused Piano Concerto in G, Stravinsky's Circus Polka, and works by modern composers Jessie Montgomery and Kurt Weill.

Jessica Cottis, conductor
Stewart Goodyear, piano
Lindsay Kesselman, soprano

MONTGOMERY Strum
RAVEL Piano Concerto in G major
STRAVINSKY Circus Polka
WEILL The Seven Deadly Sins

TCHAIKOVSKY PATHÉTIQUE

Feb. 11 & 12, 2022 | 7:30 pm | Belk Theater

"Intelligent and agile" (Bachtrack) conductor Kensho Watanabe leads Tchaikovsky's boisterous and melancholic Symphony No. 6, "Pathétique."

Kensho Watanabe, conductor

CLYNE Within Her Arms
C. SCHUMANN Piano Concerto
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6 "Pathétique"

KABALEVSKY CELLO CONCERTO NO. 1

Feb. 25 & 26, 2022 | 7:30 pm | Belk Theater

"Eloquent" (Los Angeles Times) conductor Paolo
Bortolameolli - Associate Conductor of the Los
Angeles Philharmonic comes to Charlotte to lead
Kabalevsky's evocative Cello Concerto No 1.

Paolo Bortolameolli, conductor
Christine Lamprea, cello

ORTIZ Téenek Invenciones de Territorio
KABALEVSKY Cello Concerto No. 1
CORIGLIANO Symphony No. 1

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS DONA NOBIS PACEM

March 11 & 12, 2022 | 7:30 pm | Belk Theater

Celebrating the CSO's 90th birthday, Music Director Christopher Warren-Green leads an all-English program culminating with Vaughan Williams's beautifully lush Dona Nobis Pacem.

Christopher Warren-Green, conductor
Sharleen Joynt, soprano
Daniel Okulitch, bass-baritone
Charlotte Master Chorale

HOLST Walt Whitman Overture
ARNOLD Four Scottish Dances
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Dona Nobis Pacem

BARBER VIOLIN CONCERTO

March 25 & 26, 2022 | 7:30 pm | Knight Theater

Canadian-Trinidadian conductor Kwamé Ryan leads a program anchored by the haunting and poetic Violin Concerto by American composer Samuel Barber.

Kwamé Ryan, conductor
Jinjoo Cho, violin

WALLEN Mighty River 
BARBER Violin Concerto
FRANCK Symphony in D minor

SIBELIUS SYMPHONY NO. 2

April 22 & 23, 2022 | 7:30 pm | Knight Theater

Operatic and symphonic conductor Karen Kamensek takes the baton to lead Sibelius' majestic Symphony No. 2. Concertmaster Calin Ovidiu Lupanu performs Shostakovich's monumental Violin Concerto No. 1.

Karen Kamensek, conductor
Calin Ovidiu Lupanu, violin

BORISOVA-OLLAS Angelus 
SHOSTAKOVICH Violin Concerto No. 1
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2

BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY NO. 9

May 20 & 21, 2022 | 7:30 pm | Belk Theater
May 22, 2022 | 3 pm | Belk Theater

In his final performance as Music Director before becoming Conductor Laureate, Christopher Warren-Green conducts one of the greatest works of all time: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Experience the epic power and unparalleled expression of joy, culminating with the uplifting "Ode to Joy" finale.

Christopher Warren-Green, conductor
Charlotte Master Chorale

BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9, "Choral"