Conductor Manfred Honeck leads the CSO in two captivating works. Principal Percussion Cynthia Yeh takes the spotlight in the premiere of a new concerto by Jessie Montgomery, the CSO’s Mead Composer-in-Residence. Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony awes with its breadth, drama and rapturous intensity. This enthralling score includes a radiant tribute to Bruckner’s idol, Richard Wagner, and a boisterous Austrian country dance. The June 1 performance of Montgomery & Bruckner 7 is a part of the 2023/24 Season of CSO MusicNOW. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/montgomery-and-bruckner-7

In his Second Symphony, Mahler constructs a universe all his own, exploring themes of death and afterlife using a massive orchestra, offstage brass and percussion, chorus and vocal soloists. Estonian conductor Neeme Järvi — whose music-making is “as dynamic and exhilarating as ever” (Chicago Classical Review) — guides the CSO from the great, tragic opening march, through pastoral dances and gentle songs to a final tableau of trumpet calls, percussive thunderbolts and the hymn of resurrection. Conductor Neeme Järvi replaces Esa-Pekka Salonen, who has withdrawn from these performances for personal reasons. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/mahler-resurrection

Martin Helmchen, “who brings both freshness and expressive depth to everything he plays” (Chicago Classical Review), takes on Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto, a work of youthful bravura and pensive elegance. To open the program, Kazuki Yamada conducts Takemitsu’s shimmering How slow the Wind and Franck’s D Minor Symphony, featuring a mix of soaring lyricism and brooding intensity. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/helmchen-plays-beethoven

The versatile Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider leads the CSO as soloist in Mozart’s richly melodic Violin Concerto No. 2 and Kreisler’s wistful Liebesleid. Trading violin bow for baton, Szeps-Znaider conducts Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite, a neoclassical gem that shines a spotlight on the orchestra’s principal players, and Mozart’s Prague Symphony, a work of grand gestures and profound, melodious depth. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/mozart-and-stravinsky

Elim Chan leads Rimsky-Korsakov’s sumptuous symphonic suite Sheherazade, inspired by the legendary heroine and tales of One Thousand and One Nights. Paul Jacobs, “a virtuoso of dazzling technical acumen” (The New York Times), performs Barber’s Toccata festiva, an exuberant showcase for organ containing echoes of J.S. Bach. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/sheherazade

Two mighty orchestras present a rousing, jazz-meets-classical event. Discover selections from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, alternating between the original orchestral version performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and imaginative new jazz arrangements presented by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Both ensembles join forces for a selection from Wynton Marsalis’ Swing Symphony, which The Telegraph calls “a journey through jazz history and the sounds of America itself.” Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/cso-x-jazz-at-lincoln-center-orchestra

Tugan Sokhiev conducts Tchaikovsky’s youthful First Symphony, nicknamed Winter Dreams for its cozy evocation of Russian winters. Chopin’s exuberant Piano Concerto No. 1 features Russian pianist Yulianna Avdeeva, described by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as “a one-woman powerhouse” who “stole the show.” Andrzej Panufnik’s Heroic Overture, composed in 1952, is a tribute to the courageous spirit of the Polish people. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/chopin-and-tchaikovsky

The 19th century’s most enduring oratorio, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, sung here in English, depicts the story of the biblical prophet Elijah, complete with his ascent to heaven on a flaming chariot. James Conlon leads the assembled forces, including Chicago favorite Lucas Meachem in the mighty title role and the Chicago Symphony Chorus performing the work’s pensive and ecstatic ensembles. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/mendelssohn-elijah

Sol Gabetta, whose “enthusiastic music-making and animated style are completely infectious” (Classical Voice), makes her CSO debut in Shostakovich’s captivating Cello Concerto No. 1 — a riveting journey through themes of defiance, sorrow and triumph. Electrifying conductor Klaus Mäkelä frames the program with Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony, a searing portrait of the composer’s tormented life in Stalinist Russia, and the U.S. premiere of Sauli Zinovjev’s vibrant Batteria. Please note: Pianist Yuja Wang, who was scheduled to perform Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 2 on this program, has withdrawn from these concerts. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/klaus-makela-and-sol-gabetta

Be transported to Zimmermann’s Coffee House, the Leipzig café where J.S. Bach introduced many of his instrumental works. CSO Concertmaster Robert Chen leads the dazzling Third Brandenburg Concerto, kaleidoscopic Violin Concerto in E Major and buoyant and graceful Orchestral Suite No. 1. Chen also teams up with Principal Oboe William Welter in Bach’s exquisite Concerto for Oboe and Violin. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/music-of-bach

Susanna Mälkki conducts a thought-provoking program anchored by Gustav Mahler’s Fourth Symphony. This celestial score, which includes a cryptic dance of death, is announced with sleigh bells and a rustic melody that ends with a child’s view of heaven, delivered here by soprano Ying Fang. Principal Flute Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson is the soloist in a newly commissioned concerto written for him by the esteemed Lowell Liebermann. Learn more: cso.org/performances/23-24/cso-classical/mahler-4