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Articles tagged with: Kenneth Olsen

In two iconic figures of classical music, Muti reveals more to treasure in concert with CSO

Mar 6, 2015 – 3:37 pm
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Review: Who knew that a big middle-period work by Beethoven and a Tchaikovsky symphony would add up to a completely new concert experience? But such was the exhilarating sum of a Chicago Symphony Orchestra program that paired Beethoven’s Concerto for Piano, Violin and Cello with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2 in C minor conducted by CSO music director Riccardo Muti.

From an exotic lark for cellos to MusicNOW, CSO ventures bring heat to frosty cityscape

Feb 7, 2014 – 9:56 am
Giovanni Sollima and  Yo-Yo Ma perform world premiere of Sollima's 'Antidotum Tarantula XXI' with Chicago Symphony Orchestra Jan. 30, 2014 (Todd Rosenberg)

Review: The Chicago Symphony Orchestra and its au courant offshoot MusicNOW introduced four contemporary works to Chicago in the space of a single week, including the world premiere of a double cello concerto featuring Yo-Yo Ma and cellist-composer Giovanni Sollima. It’s been cold in Chicago, but it feels like spring with a Riccardo Muti residency in full bloom.

Sparked by belief in music’s healing power, Civitas lights up hospital and concert hall

May 18, 2013 – 4:35 pm
Civitas members Yuan-Qing Wu (violin), Kenneth Olsen (cello) and J. Lawrie Bloom (clarinet) with their favorite audience, hospitalized children (credit Civitas)

Concerts by the chamber music ensemble Civitas are as likely to take place at Lurie Children’s Hospital as they are on a concert stage, and perhaps that focus helps to explain the particular warmth and humor of the group’s programming sensibility. Its performances radiate joyful vigor, a happy blend of virtuosity and camaraderie. ““The last thing we want to be is stodgy,” says founder Yuan-Qing Yu.