As the Chicago Symphony Orchestra enters its 125th anniversary season, the mind goes a bit sideways considering what tenacity, grit, and vision it must have taken for this world-class orchestra to weather a pair of world wars, a Great Depression, a Great Recession, and the closing of Hot Doug’s. It is an estimable feat, and the city’s prestige is hinged in no small way on its quality and longevity.

The mind does a full-on pretzel, though, when considering the programming in store—which is, um, less than adventurous. The music in question is no doubt deserving, and does include the odd contemporary score, but an opportunity to showcase new pieces not yet chiseled onto the obelisk of Classical Music has been forfeited…except for the recent knighting of two new Mead composers-in-residence, Elizabeth Ogonek and Samuel Adams. As stewards of the MusicNOW contemporary music series, the duo is reinvigorating the CSO with a fresh roster of forward-looking, weird, imaginative works.