Howard Reich

As this turbulent year draws to a close, Chicago music lovers, at least, have many reasons to give thanks. And that’s true whether you listen to jazz, classical, blues, gospel,...

There’s no more joyous sound in this world than the vocal flights of Ella Fitzgerald – except, of course, for Fitzgerald singing Christmas. So imagine the challenge of taking on...

Performing Russian repertoire with virtuosity and fire comes naturally to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as the ensemble reaffirmed Thursday night in Orchestra Hall. But under the baton of guest conductor...

It’s just possible that someday people will look back at what happened Friday night at the University of Chicago’s Logan Center and say: I was there. Surely a sense of...

One of the great mysteries of classical music concerns the Danish master Carl Nielsen, whose towering symphonic scores aren’t performed nearly as often or as widely in the United States...

The best jazz recordings of 2018: David Virelles: “Igbo Alakorin (The Singer’s Grove), Vol. I and II” (Pi Recordings). Pianist Virelles’ Cuban heritage always has been vital to him, but...

For the top classical recordings of the year, I conversed with John von Rhein, who retired as the newspaper’s classical music critic in July. What follows are five picks from...

Thirty years ago, a little-known pianist from Champaign-Urbana moved to Chicago and quickly aced a standing engagement in one of the city’s top jazz rooms, the Green Mill. Since then,...