2019 in Review: Classical Music
As the year and the decade are winding down, it is hard to avoid thinking about the time that has passed. In this day and age, when events swirl around […]
Christmas Was a Blooming Rose at Two Classical Brass Concerts
The holiday concerts presented by Music of the Baroque and Chicago Philharmonic had a few things in common. Both performances were a pleasure to attend. They both featured brass […]
Review: Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Rendered the Brandenburgs Well
In the latest installment of what’s become an annual Yuletide tradition, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center gave a wonderful performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s six Brandenburg Concertos before […]
Review: Chicago Philharmonic and Marcus Roberts Gift-Wrap Gershwin
My wife is off the hook this holiday season. The Chicago Philharmonic’s presentation of George Gershwin’s Concerto in F, featuring great jazz pianist Marcus Roberts and his trio, is all the […]
Review: Grossman Ensemble Were Wonderful Friday Night
The Grossman Ensemble opened its second season on Friday night with a delightful program of world premiers conducted by Michael Lewanski at the Logan Center of Performing Arts in Hyde […]
Music of the Baroque Served Bach With Italian Seasoning, Peppered With Virtuoso Standouts
Music of the Baroque delivered an appropriately tasty concert to kick off Thanksgiving week. The November 25 performance at the Harris Theater had the self-explanatory title of Bach and the […]
The Lyric’s Don Giovanni Turns the Table on Opera’s Most Infamous Sex Abuser
It may seem odd that Don Giovanni, the opera premiered by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1787, has taken on new social relevance more than 230 years later. But the recently […]
Review: Rudolf Buchbinder Continued the Beethoven Celebration at Symphony Center
In the 2019-2020 season, Symphony Center Presents is marking Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday with, among things, performances of all 32 of that composer’s piano sonatas. That cycle continued on […]
Review: Music of the Baroque: No Animals—Or Music—Harmed in The Chase
The five pieces in Music of the Baroque’s latest concert, titled The Chase, highlighted the rise of hunting as an organized sport for the European upper class in the 18th century, […]
Review: Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Performed Immortal Schubert
Few things are more enjoyable than a stunning performance of an absolute masterpiece, which is how the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center opened their 2019-2020 season at the Harris […]
Symphony Center Tribute to Apollo 11 Was Teleporting
Usually, when I go to a concert, nothing can distract from the delight of live music. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s multi-media performance on October 14 at Symphony Center — […]
Review: Kirill Gerstein Opens Symphony Center’s Beethoven Sonata Celebration
In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven in the 2019-2020 season, Symphony Center Presents is bringing in leading performers to play all 32 of […]