The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra will present Live from Music Hall, the first physically distanced live performance from the stage of Music Hall, 8 p.m. Saturday, May 16. The performance will be streamed on the CSO’s Facebook page, YouTube channel and website.

It is the first live performance in Music Hall since the Covid-19 pandemic closed all theaters in mid-March. The small ensemble of musicians will be following social distancing procedures onstage. There will be no audience in the hall.

The concert is dedicated “to the people of Cincinnati and beyond, to lift their spirits, and to thank those who have been at risk for their contributions to our continued safety and well-being,” said music director Louis Langrée.

Langrée will host the live-streamed, chamber music performance from the house of Springer Auditorium. CSO musicians will be playing Gustav Mahler’s Piano Quartet and the world premiere of the first piece for The Fanfare Project, a work written for principal oboist Dwight Parry by CSO Creative Partner Matthias Pintscher.

“This is a deeply meaningful moment, signaling the beginning of our return to Music Hall. Of course we would love all the musicians of the orchestra to be able to perform, but we understand that we must be patient until it is possible again,” said Langrée, in a statement. “In the meantime, we want people to know that the heart of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is still beating. Though it is a bonsai version of what we normally do, the streaming program honors the CSO’s legacy and continuum of tradition and innovation.”

This weekend would have been the season finale concert of the CSO’s 125th anniversary season, a program that was to have featured Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 and a new CSO commission by Julia Adolphe.

Langrée noted the CSO has special connections to Mahler, through the U.S. premieres of his
Symphonies Nos. 3 and 5 and to Aaron Copland, through world premieres of his “Lincoln Portrait” and “Fanfare for the Common Man,” as well as to numerous other important composers. That legacy continues with Pintscher, he said.

Adolphe’s work, written for the full orchestra, is replaced by the world premiere of Pintscher’s “vitres (fragment…)” for solo oboe, performed by principal oboist Parry.

Mahler’s Piano Quartet in A Minor replaces Mahler’s Third Symphony, which was given its U.S. premiere by the CSO in 1914 as part of the annual Cincinnati May Festival. The Piano Quartet will be performed by concertmaster Stefani Matsuo, principal viola Christian Colberg, principal cello Ilya Finkelshteyn, and pianist Michael Chertock.

Because of the ongoing challenge of health risks associated with the coronavirus, CSO musicians, staff and crew are strictly following the State of Ohio’s regulations for safe practices in the workplace.

In addition to observing recommended health and sanitization practices for rehearsals and the live performance, the musicians will use separate dressing rooms and will observe social distancing protocols by sitting at least six feet from one another on stage.

The event coincides with the gradual reopening of businesses across the state of Ohio.