Spotlight: Conductor Dima Slobodeniouk

The opening months of the 2024/25 season have already been filled with highlights. Fresh from his return from Japan, Dima Slobodeniouk is set to make his subscription series debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the coming days. He previously appeared with the orchestra in 2017 during the prestigious Ravinia Festival. Immediately following these Chicago concerts, he will appear with the Munich Philharmonic.

In Chicago, he will lead a programme featuring Rachmaninov's majestic Symphony No. 1 and Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, inspired by the legendary Norwegian hero. Cellist Johannes Moser will contribute his “remarkably visceral and vivid playing” (Gramophone) in Lutosławski’s wild and captivating Cello Concerto.

Afterward, Dima returns to the Munich Philharmonic conducting a programme that reflects his Nordic heritage, showcasing dreamlike imagery and wintry landscapes from Scandinavia and Russia. Einojuhani Rautavaara’s Piano Concerto No. 3, Gift of Dreams, radiates calm and mysticism, with Finnish pianist Olli Mustonen—a pupil of Rautavaara just like Salonen - performing as soloist. Salonen’s Insomnia, inspired by the dark, demonic facets of the night, will also be featured.

The programme concludes with Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 1, a poignant tribute to the Russian winter, vividly portraying scenes of sleigh rides, frost flowers, and pale winter sunlight. This symphony is Tchaikovsky’s atmospheric ode to the season’s beauty.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
December 5, 6, and 7, 2024
Chicago Symphony Center, Orchestra Hall
Conductor: Dima Slobodeniouk
Cello: Johannes Moser

Edvard Grieg: Suite No. 1 from Peer Gynt
Witold Lutosławski: Cello Concerto
Sergei Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 1

Munich Philharmonic
December 12 and 13, 2024
Isarphilharmonie, Munich
Conductor: Dima Slobodeniouk
Piano: Olli Mustonen

Einojuhani Rautavaara: Piano Concerto No. 3 Gift of Dreams
Esa-Pekka Salonen: Insomnia for Orchestra
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 1 Rêverie d’hiver (Winter Dreams)