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Articles tagged with: Winston Choi

Ear Taxi festival roars onto Chicago’s music scene, bringing six-day blitz of fresh sounds

Oct 6, 2016 – 5:25 pm
ear-taxi-feature-image

Review: An extraordinary six-day event celebrating the “now” side of classical music, Ear Taxi: Chicago Festival of New Music, opened Oct. 5, turning the spotlight on Chicago as a hotbed of musical creativity. The binge brings together 88 composers and more than 300 musicians and features a mind-blowing 54 world premieres.

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.