The CSO and Chorus Take On Brahms' German Requiem at Orchestra Hall

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Brahms' A German Requiem, paired with Mozart's "Linz," Thursday through Saturday on Michigan Avenue.

Halloween weekend on Michigan Avenue usually means costumes on the Art Institute steps. Across the street this year there is something quieter and much bigger: the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Chorus filling Orchestra Hall with Brahms' *A German Requiem*.

The program opens Thursday, Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. at Symphony Center, with repeats on Friday, Oct. 30 at 1:30 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 31 at 7:30 p.m. Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider conducts. Soprano Louise Alder and baritone Konstantin Krimmel are the soloists. The first half is Mozart's Symphony No. 36, the "Linz," and the Requiem takes the second. The CSO lists the evening at about two hours and ten minutes, with tickets from $45 including fees.

It is a well-built pairing. The "Linz" is Mozart at his most sociable, quick and bright and over before you've settled into your seat. Brahms' Requiem works the other way. It is not a Latin mass for the dead but a setting of German scripture chosen by Brahms himself, and it is written for the people left behind. Its comfort builds slowly across seven movements, and it needs a large chorus that can sing almost in a whisper and then open up to full volume. A Chicago Symphony Chorus spotlight on cso.org names these October performances among the season's showcase dates.

The two soloists have short, crucial parts. The baritone sings early on, in the passage that asks how long a life lasts. The soprano has a single movement near the end, one of the most tender pages Brahms wrote. Krimmel is a young German baritone who has built his name in song recital, and in a recent CSO interview he said he is "waiting to see what his voice does next." That kind of singer tends to suit this piece, which rewards clear words over volume.

Thursday comes with an extra for anyone who arrives early. The CSO lists a preconcert multimedia discussion before the Oct. 29 performance, hosted by Terri Hemmert with a guest CSO musician. Check the event page for the start time and location before you go.

This is a homecoming in the plainest sense: the orchestra playing its own room. The CSO plays Chicago more than anywhere else in our records, nearly 700 shows, and Orchestra Hall is where you can hear why. The 2026/27 season is still early, and this is one of the fall programs where the orchestra, chorus and hall all get their full say together.

If you've only heard the CSO in a big-ticket symphony, this weekend is a different way in. Book the Friday matinee for a quiet afternoon downtown, or take Saturday night and walk out onto Michigan Avenue at Halloween with Brahms still in your head.

Tickets and full program details are on the CSO's Brahms Requiem page.

Sources: CSO — Brahms Requiem (performance page) (cso.org); CSO — Konstantin Krimmel admits he's 'waiting to see what his voice does next' (cso.org); CSO — A Chicago Symphony Chorus Spotlight (cso.org); CSO — Programming Announced for 2026/27 Season (cso.org); Wikimedia Commons — Orchestra Hall, Chicago Symphony Center (commons.wikimedia.org); Konstantin Krimmel admits he's waiting to see - Chicago Symphony Orchestra (chicagosymphony.org)