The Chicago Symphony gives Tüür’s accordion concerto a long-overdue US premiere
Seenandheard International 04/04/2026 by Zach Carstensen United States Various: Ksenija Sidorova (accordion), Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Paavo Järvi (conductor). Orchestra Hall, Chicago, 2.4.2026. (ZC) Paavo Järvi conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra © Todd Rosenberg Brahms – Variations on a Theme by Haydn Erkki-Sven Tüür – Prophecy Sibelius – Symphony No.2 in D major The Chicago Symphony is often described as a product of the great German and Viennese tradition. That reputation has been earned, but this concert suggested the CSO’s story is more complex and interesting than that tight refrain. The program opened with Brahms’s Variations on a Theme by Haydn and closed with Sibelius’s Symphony No.2. Sandwiched between them was the U.S. premiere of Prophecy , Erkki-Sven Tüür’s accordion concerto, nearly two decades after the work was first performed in 2007. It should be noted that in 1904 under Theodore Thomas,...
