After Dark preaches the gospel of Von Freeman
Chicago tenor saxophone giant Von Freeman died in 2012, at age 88, but he remains a significant figure in jazz here and beyond. The latest evidence comes in the form...
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Bobby Rush, Jimmy Johnson to headline Blues Fest
Bobby Rush, the Jimmy Johnson Blues Band and Bettye LaVette will headline the 36th annual Chicago Blues Festival, running June 7-9 on several stages in Millennium Park. The lineup will...
Beatrice Rana partly successful in Symphony Center debut
Surely the two composers who did more than anyone to redefine what a piano could achieve were Chopin and Ravel. Pianist Beatrice Rana, who made her Symphony Center debut on...
CSO review: Fervent accounts of Schuman’s Ninth and Mozart’s Requiem
For his first concert with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since the ensemble’s recent Asia tour, music director Riccardo Muti sent a message. It came in the form of two monumental...
Chopin in the City fest embraces classical and jazz
Chicago overflows with music soirees, but none quite like the Chopin in the City Festival. Though devoted to the music of Poland’s greatest composer, the event the stretches far beyond...
The sublime poetry of Michel Legrand’s film music
In 1964, a French television interviewer asked composer Michel Legrand if writing for film is “sort of like selling your soul.” The occasion was the release that year of director...
Lyric Opera review: One singer soars in Verdi’s ‘La Traviata’
If you have a formidable artist playing Violetta in “La Traviata,” you’re halfway there to a memorable version of Verdi’s classic. A superb singing actress indeed took on that pivotal...
CSO review: A thunderous homecoming in all-Russian program
Seven hours after announcing they would strike if contract negotiations have not succeeded by March 10, the musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra reminded listeners why they are admired around...
Chicago Symphony musicians vote to authorize a strike on March 10
Chicago Symphony Orchestra musicians voted on Wednesday evening to authorize a strike that would begin on March 10, if contract negotiations are not resolved. Those discussions have been ongoing for...
A bold, free concert series from New Music Chicago
Contemporary music abounds in Chicago, thanks to hot spots at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago and points between and beyond. Remarkably, another promising series launched in January: On the...