Howard Reich – Page 21

Music reviews: Hypnotic Makaya McCraven and otherworldly George Crumb

February 2, 2020 at 9:21 a.m.

He calls himself a "beat scientist," but "creative thinker" would be a more accurate description, judging by the performance that Chicago drummer-bandleader Makaya McCraven gave Friday night in Orchestra Hall....

Pianist Paul Lewis performs as conductor Andrew Davis leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Center on Thursday, January 30, 2020.

CSO review: Pianist Paul Lewis illuminates Beethoven with Andrew Davis conducting

January 31, 2020 at 9:02 a.m.

The Beethoven piano concertos stand as pillars in the repertoire, having expanded the genre while setting an exalted standard for it. So to take on a Beethoven piano concerto is...

Celebrating the otherworldly music of George Crumb with festival at the Music Institute of Chicago

January 30, 2020 at 8:53 a.m.

The first time I encountered George Crumb's music, as a piano major at Northwestern University, I hardly could believe what I was hearing. Never had I encountered sounds as magical,...

Bryn Terfel in "The Flying Dutchman" the Royal Opera House in London.

Bryn Terfel cancels Sunday recital due to injury

January 29, 2020 at 2:53 p.m.

Bass-baritone Bryn Terfel has canceled the recital he was scheduled to perform Sunday afternoon at Lyric Opera. In Bilbao, Spain, to perform in Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman," Terfel "suffered a...

A group of Freedom Riders from Tennessee stands at the door of a Greyhound bus in Birmingham,Ala., waiting for a bus to leave for Montgomery on May 19, 1961.

‘Freedom Ride’: Can a world-premiere opera on the civil rights era change the world?

January 29, 2020 at 12:03 p.m.

Soprano Whitney Morrison steps to the center of the rehearsal room and tears into her aria: "Who really cares where you sit on the bus, "As long as you get...

Riccardo Muti will begin his 11th season as Chicago Symphony Music director in September.

CSO’s 2020-21 season: Muti takes on Beethoven’s ‘Missa Solemnis’ and more

January 28, 2020 at 11:25 a.m.

Music director Riccardo Muti will bring the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's ongoing celebration of Beethoven's 250th birthday to a peak during the 2020-21 season when he conducts the monumental "Missa Solemnis"...

Celebrating African American culture at Symphony Center with James Reese Europe’s music

January 23, 2020 at 8:57 a.m.

He was called "the Martin Luther King of music" by no less than ragtime piano giant Eubie Blake. But James Reese Europe's enormous contribution as composer, bandleader and champion of...

Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and pianist Lambert Orkis performed Beethoven sonatas in Orchestra Hall on Wednesday evening.

Review: Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis ardently salute Beethoven

January 23, 2020 at 9:24 a.m.

How fitting that violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and pianist Lambert Orkis devoted their Wednesday night program in Orchestra Hall to sonatas by Beethoven. For the composer will be front and center...

Vocal soloist Alexey Tikhomirov (center left) and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra perform Shostakovich's Symphony No. 13, "Babi Yar," with Riccardo Muti conducting.

A landmark recording of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13, ‘Babi Yar,’ from Riccardo Muti and the CSO

January 22, 2020 at 11:16 a.m.

It was one of the more striking moments of Riccardo Muti's tenure as Chicago Symphony Orchestra music director. Standing before a packed Orchestra Hall – and surrounded by a huge...

Composer Joel Thompson addresses the audience before the Chicago Sinfonietta performs his "Seven Last Words of the Unarmed" in Orchestra Hall.

Chicago Sinfonietta Review: In ‘Seven Last Words of the Unarmed,’ a sobering, potent tribute to Dr. King

January 21, 2020 at 10:53 a.m.

Trayvon Martin. Eric Garner. John Crawford. Three unarmed black men, among many, killed by police in notorious incidents that sparked nationwide debate and anguish. They were more than just headlines,...

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