Alexander Hough

Beyond the cost factor, I believe the most common reason people avoid the orchestra (those who would otherwise be interested in it, anyway) is that they're worried they won't "get" the music, which is...

Ack, I forgot to mention that, yes, Time Out is a great resource for classical music listings. But also check out Chicago Classical Review, which lists all the classical music events for the month (th...

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. And thanks for mentioning university orchestras. One of the things I didn't mention in this piece is the fact that the cost of seeing classical music is a major obsta...

Hahahaha - ah yes, the dialogue between the wind and the sea....

What'd you think?...

And don't forget, your ticket also gets you in to the pre-concert performance and lecture. Also, if you remember/feel like checking in, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the show....

At the risk of stomping on the joke, I'd like to point out that the CSO has two composers-in-residence whose music the CSO (or CSO musicians in their contemporary series MusicNOW) occasionally perform...

This issue came up when the Sox won the World Series and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra put up a congratulatory banner (the Art Institute went the head gear route back then, too). Drew McManus looked ...

I wish I had a prize to give you. If I reach just one person, I feel like I've done my job....

Anecdotally, I agree with you, Ingrid. There do seem to be a good number of under 50 folks, as well as a representation from the under 30 set. Statistically, though, classical music has a demographic ...

In case you were looking for a gigantic sign that you should pursue your interest in Shostakovich......

Thanks for the heads up on the link (now fixed) and the additional locations!...

Speaking of NFC North and DEs, I just heard that Lions coach Jim Schwartz and Kyle Vanden Bosch stayed up late last night drinking wine, leading to a $26 million deal. It's not really related to this ...

Your Beethoven comparison is interesting, for two reasons. First, I've always considered those two guys to be similar - they're both masters as writing symphonies (although they wrote other great musi...

My hunch is that you'll like the Eleventh. I love the Fifth as an introduction to Shostakovich's music (it served as my intro to both his music and, in fact, classical music, in general). It's so Sho...