Russian conductor adds CSO concerts as sub for Riccardo Muti

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has lined up the first substitute conductor to fill in for the laid-up Riccardo Muti.

Russia’s Gennady Rozhdestvensky, who is scheduled to lead performances of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 1 & 15 this weekend, has agreed to linger in Chicago and take Muti’s place on Feb. 11, 12, 13 and 16. The program — works for strings by Ligeti, Pärt and Tchaikovsky, as well as Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto featuring soloist Stephen Williamson — remains unchanged.

Still up for grabs are CSO concerts Feb. 18-20.

The CSO announced earlier this week that Muti, the orchestra’s music director, would miss his February concerts to recover from a hip operation.