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Edo de Waart will replace ailing Riccardo Muti in Chicago Symphony’s Beethoven fare

Jan 8, 2013 – 5:50 pm
Edo de Waart credit Edo de Waart

Report: Flu sidelines CSO maestro

Laughter storms the high C’s as Second City, Fleming and Stewart skewer opera at the Lyric

Jan 7, 2013 – 8:41 pm

Update: Show inspires June spin-off

Lyric Opera’s gingerly, droll ‘Hänsel & Gretel’ offers dreamy – and scary – fun for families

Dec 17, 2012 – 5:00 pm
Elizabeth DeShong as Hansel, Jill Grove as Witch and Maria Kanyova as Gretel in HANSEL & GRETEL Lyric Opera Chicago 2012 credit Dan Rest

Review: ★★★★

‘Rite of Spring’ and a young piano sensation sparkle in CSO concert ablaze with surprises

Nov 15, 2012 – 12:33 pm
Daniil Trifonov photo by Vadim Shults

Review: There was the ice-cracking shock of a sudden Russian spring at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall on Wednesday night, and I am not solely referring to Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring,” which was on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s program. Freshness abounded in the performance of 21-year-old Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov. ★★★★★

Conjuring ghosts and dreams, Lyric Opera’s new ‘Werther’ lifts the spirit of a melodrama

Nov 14, 2012 – 7:24 pm
Matthew Polenzani is Werther and Sophie Koch is Charlotte in Chicago Lyric production of Werther 2012 more credit Dan Rest

Review: One is so torn watching tenor Matthew Polenzani’s vocally resplendent performance in the title role of a new production of Massenet’s “Werther” at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. While you’re sitting there beguiled by Polenzani’s authoritative, richly modulated sound, something deep inside is spurring you to bolt from your seat, rush onto the stage and just shake that determinedly miserable character he’s playing. ★★★★

Decidedly duo recital by Weilerstein, Barnatan launches Symphony Center chamber series

Oct 27, 2012 – 4:12 pm
Alisa Weilerstein alt credit Gerardo Antonio Sanchez Torres

Preview: Ask cellist Alisa Weilerstein about the recital she plays Oct. 28 at Orchestra Hall, and she will quickly note that the best thing about the program is that it’s actually a duo recital for two equally important voices – and that she’s lucky to be teamed up with Israeli pianist and longtime collaborator Inon Barnatan. Their concert opens the chamber music portion of this season’s Symphony Center Presents series, which also offers four more chamber concerts, nine solo piano recitals and two performances by visiting orchestras.

Lyric to present first opera in mariachi style, tale of the Mexican experience in America

Oct 23, 2012 – 2:57 pm

“To Cross the Face of the Moon”

Orchestra for Peace honors Solti centenary; conductor left a prodigious recording legacy

Oct 20, 2012 – 2:00 pm
Sir Georg Solti conducting feature image credit Clive Barda London Records

An Appreciation: The birth centenary of any great contributor to human affairs gives us pause. But the Oct. 21 concert by the World Orchestra for Peace at Orchestra Hall, honoring the 100th anniversary of Sir Georg Solti’s birth, has personal relevance for me. At the same time Solti commenced his musical directorship of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, in September 1969, I began my professional career as a music critic, at The Milwaukee Sentinel. There’s more to that connection than mere coincidence.

Osmo Vänskä, subbing for Haitink, leads CSO in radiant Brahms symphony, Double Concerto

Oct 19, 2012 – 1:57 pm
Osmo Vanska feature image

Review: Orchestra Hall was packed for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s all-Brahms concert Thursday night, and one had to believe much of that audience had signed up because the scheduled conductor was favorite guest maestro Bernard Haitink. But when Haitink became “indisposed,” Minnesota Orchestra music director Osmo Vänskä stepped in – and, with two brilliant soloists and the CSO at peak form, delivered an evening of Brahms to remember. ★★★★★

CSO extends consultancy with Yo-Yo Ma; cites record gifts and ticket sales, but higher costs

Oct 18, 2012 – 1:27 am
Yo Yo Ma discusses finer points of music with fellow cellists who are members of the Civic Orchestra credit Todd Rosenberg

Report: Yo-Yo Ma’s high profile creative consultancy with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra has been extended another two years through 2015, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association (CSOA) announced Oct. 17 at the organization’s annual meeting at Symphony Center. In its financial tally for fiscal 2012, the CSOA reported that contributions rose a record 11.6 percent to $28.2 million, but total expenses outpaced that growth slightly.

Thomas Hampson’s regal turn sets tone for ‘Simon Boccanegra’ at Lyric Opera

Oct 17, 2012 – 3:24 pm
Thomas Hampson in the Council Chamber Scene of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra at Lyric Opera of Chicago 2012 credit Dan Rest

Review: ★★★★

Global opera fans, your elixir awaits: The Met launches seventh season of live HD

Oct 12, 2012 – 4:24 pm
Matthew Polenzani and Anna Netrebko in L'Elisir d'Amore at Metropolitan Opera credit Ken Howard

Preview: I’ll take mine with popcorn

BREAKING NEWS: Haitink cancels CSO concerts; Minnesota maestro Osmo Vänskä subs

Oct 10, 2012 – 12:41 pm
Osmo Vanska

Haitink “indisposed,” program same

Lyric Opera thriller: Christine Goerke probes the battered soul of Strauss’ vengeful Elektra

Oct 7, 2012 – 6:19 pm
Christine Goerke in title role of Richard Strauss Elektra at Lyric Opera Chicago 2012 credit Robert Kusel

Review: ★★★★

The New Season: With Logan Center opening and fresh vision, UC Presents spreads wings

Oct 4, 2012 – 3:59 pm
Turtle Island Quartet credit Bill Reitzel

16th in a series of season previews: It’s shaping up as a banner season for the University of Chicago Presents, with many of its 2012-13 concerts slated for the new Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts and the Chicago premiere of Andre Previn’s Piano Trio No. 2 coming up in a series strewn with ensemble debuts.

Opening Carnegie Hall season, Muti and CSO match the celebrity sparkle of a packed house

Oct 3, 2012 – 10:48 pm
Duaine Wolfe, director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, listens from the back of Carnegie Hall as the CSO rehearses for the evening concert. Chicago Symphony Orchestra NY Mexico Tour October 2012 credit Todd Rosenberg

Report from NYC: “Carmina Burana”

CSO and musicians reach tentative agreement; 3-year pact secures concerts, October tours

Sep 24, 2012 – 8:55 pm
Upcoming concerts and tours can be salvaged if the Chicago Symphony management and musicians ratify their tentative contract. File photo of the Chicago  Symphony and music director Riccardo Muti. Credit Todd Rosenberg

Report: CSO board’s approval due soon.

As CSO contract talks break down, musicians’ strike forces last-minute concert cancellation

Sep 23, 2012 – 1:23 am
Chicago Symphony musicians' strike signs

Update: Talks resume with mediator.

Muti and the CSO launch season with a bang sparked by off-beat, over-the-top mix of works

Sep 21, 2012 – 5:50 pm
9/20/12 8:50:14 PM -- Music Director Riccardo Muti conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Dvorák's  Symphony No. 5  during the opening of the CSO's 2012/13 season at Orchestra Hall. Credit Todd Rosenberg

Review: Symphony orchestra seasons typical open with some form of sizzle, maybe a mix of warhorse masterwork and superstar soloist. But music director Riccardo Muti went the opposite direction, kicking off the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s new season Thursday night with a complete sleeper of a program, an evening of little-known works and with no soloist at all. It was terrific. ****

Chicago Opera’s stage magic is a bit rough, but fine singing delivers a charming ‘Flute’

Sep 16, 2012 – 1:16 pm
Sean Panikkar as Tamino in Chicago Opera Theater The Magic Flute 2012 credit Liz Lauren

Review: The Chicago Opera Theater production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” leaves one with two distinct impressions. For the most part, its young cast sings with stylistic savvy, fetching beauty and engaging spirit – all shaped with unfailing sensibility by conductor Steuart Bedford.★★★

CSO resident composer Mason Bates receives $250,000 Heinz award in arts and humanities

Sep 12, 2012 – 10:39 am
5/14/11 7:45:35 PM : Chicago Symphony OrchestraRiccardo Muti Music DirectorYoYo Ma Cello* Bates  The B-Sides, Five Pieces for Orchestra and Electronica* Schumann  Cello Concerto* Strauss  Aus Italien © Todd Rosenberg Photography 2011

He receives prize Oct. 11 in Pittsburgh.

Chicago Opera picks another Queen for ‘Flute’ after visa flap dethrones new Irish sensation

Aug 28, 2012 – 4:03 pm
Chicago Opera Theater's "Magic Flute" gets a star change

Even queens get caught in red tape.

Ravinia favorite Misha Dichter’s double life revealed: The pianist’s a serious cartoonist

Jul 28, 2012 – 3:13 pm
Misha Dichter drawing from A Pianist's World in Drawings credit Rosetta Books

Report: Pianist Misha Dichter, who celebrates his 45th consecutive season with the Ravinia Festival on July 29, shares his passion for sketching in a new e-book.

Free outdoor simulcast of Paris Opéra Ballet proves Harris Theater, Pritzker dynamic duo

Jun 30, 2012 – 1:19 pm

Review: The best antidote to Chicago temperatures in the nineties is this surpassingly cool prospect — free Millennium Park concerts at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, where the sound is superb and the ceiling’s a canopy of stars. Cooler still was the addition of big screen video to this outdoor mix that a huge crowd enjoyed June 27, when the Paris Opéra Ballet’s exquisite production of “Giselle” was projected live via the big screen, from inside the Harris Theater, to the traditional classical-loving audience of the Grant Park Orchestra. ****

With a winning smile and no visible effort, violinist heats Glass like a modern Paganini

Jun 25, 2012 – 1:56 pm
Tim Fain feature image credit Briana Blasko

Review: No doubt the large crowd gathered June 23 at the Ravinia Festival’s Martin Recital Hall was drawn mainly by the prospect of seeing 75-year-old composer-pianist Philip Glass perform a program of his own music. And no doubt they came away delighted by the 90-minute sampler of Glass’ music through the decades and his affable flair for story-telling. But the brightest light on this evening was cast by the youthful, California-born violinist Tim Fain, who played – among other things — one prodigious movement from an unaccompanied suite that Glass has written for him. *****

With Muti again managing the house, CSO’s Bruckner Sixth becomes one splendid edifice

Jun 24, 2012 – 11:30 am
10/3/07 9:59:04 PM-- Chicago Symphony Orchestra European Tour 2007.

Review: One of the fascinations of this Chicago Symphony Orchestra season — which drew toward its close Sunday with the final performance of Bruckner’s Sixth in its sumptuous glory — has been to hear various conductors come into the same acoustical space of Orchestra Hall, stand in the same spot where music director Riccardo Muti stands, and ply their art with the same band of a hundred-plus that Muti conducts. ****

Capping second CSO season with Bruckner, Muti pledges Austrian-accented 6th Symphony

Jun 19, 2012 – 9:07 am
Riccardo Muti closeup conducts Chicago credit_Todd_Rosenberg

Exclusive Interview: When conductor Riccardo Muti recorded Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6 in A Major with the Berlin Philharmonic 25 years ago, he came to the task steeped in the Bruckner tradition of the Vienna Philharmonic – a distinctively Austrian way of looking at this thoroughly Austrian Late-Romantic composer. Now, to close out his second season as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Muti says he will bring that perspective to the Bruckner Sixth on June 22-24.

Sir Andrew Davis, Lyric Opera music director, adds the Melbourne Symphony to duties

Jun 18, 2012 – 3:17 pm
SIR_ANDREW_DAVIS credit Dario Acosta Photography

Will shuttle between continents.

In lightning-quick Beethoven 7th Symphony, van Zweden and CSO deliver a poetic thriller

May 16, 2012 – 11:05 am
Jaap van Zweden credit Hans Vanderwoerd

Review: It’s one thing to hear a hair-raising orchestra performance on a CD, and quite another to experience it happening right in front of you, live, in the splendorous acoustics of a concert space. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s rocket-sled finale in Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony on May 15 at Orchestra Hall, with conductor Jaap van Zweden, was one to send a writer combing his thesaurus for a higher form of wow. *****

Chicago Symphony nabs key player from Detroit to helm bass

May 14, 2012 – 11:46 am
Alexander Hanna featured image

Alexander Hanna, 26, was groomed at Curtis, Tanglewood and Verbier.