Zach Carstensen

Chicago Symphony Orchestra shines under Mäkelä’s baton in Brahms, Boulez and Dvořák

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United StatesUnited States Brahms, Boulez, Dvořák: Daniil Trifonov (piano), Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Klaus Mäkelä (conductor). Orchestra Hall, Chicago, 2.5.2025. (ZC)

Klaus Mäkelä conducts pianist Daniil Trifonov and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra © Todd Rosenberg Photography

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Stephen Williamson premieres Christopher Theofanidis’s clarinet concerto with the CSO on 6 March

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From friendship to music: Stephen Williamson premieres Christopher Theofanidis’s clarinet concerto at the CSO

Stephen Williamson © Todd Rosenberg

On a summer day in 2022, Stephen Williamson stood outside with his clarinet in Aspen, Colorado. Surrounded by an endless blue sky, mountains and the sun, Williamson – the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s principal clarinetist – worked through intricate passages of a new concerto. Its composer, Christopher Theofanidis, was there with Williamson, shaping the music in real time. ‘Playing it outside in the fresh air, with the mountains around us, brought a whole new dimension to the sound’, Williamson recalls.

After almost three years of anticipation – due in part to an unexpected health setback – Williamson is finally set to premiere the concerto, Indigo Heaven, which was written specifically for him.

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