Stella Chen to Step in for Robert Chen as Violin Soloist in CSO February 20-22 Concerts
Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) Concertmaster Robert Chen must regrettably withdraw from his planned solo appearances with the Orchestra and conductor Dame Jane Glover in CSO subscription concerts February 20-22. Chen is suffering from symptoms due to rotator cuff tendinitis. During Chen’s ongoing recovery, he is returning to regular concertmaster duties for CSO programs in February.
Violinist Stella Chen, Gramophone 2023 Young Artist of the Year, has graciously agreed to step in for Chen as soloist in the upcoming performances of Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending and Ravel’s Tzigane. The balance of the program, including Elgar’s Serenade for Strings, Britten’s Suite on English Folk Tunes and Haydn’s Symphony No. 104 (London), remains the same.
Stella Chen first garnered international attention as the 2019 winner of the Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition, going on to win a 2020 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 2020 Lincoln Center Emerging Artists Award. Chen made her CSO debut at the Ravinia Festival in 2021 performing Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante with fellow Ravinia Steans Music Institute alum and violist Matthew Lipman. Since then, her concertizing has taken her to stages in North America, Europe and Asia. She has appeared as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Belgian National Orchestra, among others, and performed at Vienna’s Musikverein and the Berlin Philharmonie. She plays frequently with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York and on tour; has appeared in chamber music programs at festivals including Ravinia, Seattle Chamber Music and Music@Menlo, and is a regular chamber music partner of musicians including Itzhak Perlman and James Ehnes.Tickets for the CSO concerts February 20-22 are available with more information at cso.org or by calling Symphony Center Patron Services at 312-294-3000. Tickets already issued remain valid for the concert; no additional action is needed.
