Orchestras

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Introduction

Louis Langrée, Music Director

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is a dynamic ensemble of some of the world’s finest musicians. The fifth oldest symphony orchestra in the US and the oldest orchestra in Ohio, the CSO has played a leading role in the cultural life of Greater Cincinnati and the Midwest since its founding in 1895.

Louis Langrée began his tenure as the CSO’s 13th Music Director in the 2013/2014 season.  A champion of new music, the Orchestra has given American premieres of works by such composers as Debussy, Ravel, Mahler and Bartók and has commissioned works that have since become mainstays of the classical repertoire.

The Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra is Cincinnati’s ambassador with over ten million units sold, many of which have received Grammy awards and nominations. In January of 2010, the CSO launched its own record label, now known as Fanfare Cincinnati, which currently boasts six releases.

The Orchestra also performs as the Cincinnati Pops under the direction of John Morris Russell, and the CSO is the official orchestra for the Cincinnati May Festival, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Ballet and the World Piano Competition.

The CSO was the first American orchestra to make a world tour sponsored by the US Department of State and continues to tour domestically and internationally, most recently to Europe in 2008, Japan in 2009 and a recent Asia tour in March 2017. Askonas Holt toured the CSO in summer 2017 throughout Europe.

Contact

Anis Barnat  
Associate Project Manager


cincinnatisymphony.org

Introduction

Louis Langrée, Music Director

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is a dynamic ensemble of some of the world’s finest musicians. The fifth oldest symphony orchestra in the US and the oldest orchestra in Ohio, the CSO has played a leading role in the cultural life of Greater Cincinnati and the Midwest since its founding in 1895.

Louis Langrée began his tenure as the CSO’s 13th Music Director in the 2013/2014 season.  A champion of new music, the Orchestra has given American premieres of works by such composers as Debussy, Ravel, Mahler and Bartók and has commissioned works that have since become mainstays of the classical repertoire.

The Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra is Cincinnati’s ambassador with over ten million units sold, many of which have received Grammy awards and nominations. In January of 2010, the CSO launched its own record label, now known as Fanfare Cincinnati, which currently boasts six releases.

The Orchestra also performs as the Cincinnati Pops under the direction of John Morris Russell, and the CSO is the official orchestra for the Cincinnati May Festival, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Ballet and the World Piano Competition.

The CSO was the first American orchestra to make a world tour sponsored by the US Department of State and continues to tour domestically and internationally, most recently to Europe in 2008, Japan in 2009 and a recent Asia tour in March 2017. Askonas Holt toured the CSO in summer 2017 throughout Europe.

Press

 
  • More info  
    01 Nov 13 INAUGURAL CONCERTS AS MUSIC DIRECTOR
    Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

    “For his inaugural program in Cincinnati, Louis Langrée deftly combined nods to the orchestra’s history, the city’s musical life and new music. Friday’s concert opened with Jennifer Higdon’s “On a Wire”, a sprightly chamber concerto composed in 2010 for the young sextet called eighth blackbird…

    “The muscle and emotion of Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, which was commissioned by the orchestra and had its premiere in 1942, highlighted the ensemble’s characteristic sound: the different sections adroitly balanced and focused yet never harsh, with bronzed, burnished brasses infusing a strings section that plays with warm, cohesive bite. Ms. Angelou brought her inimitable combination of majesty and folksiness to the speaking part, drawn from Lincoln’s writings, ferociously digging into the final words of the Gettysburg Address.

    “…Mr. Langrée’s brisk, tight interpretation [of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony] was reminiscent of many of his performances of the Classical repertory at Mostly Mozart: polished and impressively energetic if somehow weightless, with movements that propelled forward without accumulating intensity.

    “Mr. Langrée has thrown himself into life with the orchestra; buying a home in the city, as he has, is no longer a guarantee for globe-trotting music directors. In August, he and the ensemble drew 35,000 people over two performances to LumenoCity, an outdoor concert and light show in Washington Park.”
    Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 10 November 2013