Dan Peck, who mans the tuba for the new-music group International Contemporary Ensemble, feels that tuba players have been living a lie. Solo tuba music has only been around for a little over a half-century, and like other instrumentalists new to the solo world, there's a pervasive insecurity that comes from comparing the worth of your chosen voice to instruments like the violin or piano that have centuries' worth of repertoire written by history's greatest composers. Try as tuba players might by playing technically-demanding music, often music written for other, more virtuosic instruments, their efforts to be taken seriously only bring the ridiculousness of their endeavor into greater focus. Peck wants tuba players to come to terms with the gigantic maze of metal tubes they bear hug in their laps: the tuba is a bass instrument. In his solo performances, like the one he'll give this Friday night at the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Peck digs in his heels and explores the tuba's neglected, extreme-low end range in all its muddled and often silly-sounding glory. more ›

There's a wide variety of classical music being written today. If you don't mind the use of the term "classical music" (which is more inaccurate but slightly less pretentious than the best alternative, "art music"), then you may also pardon the gross oversimplification that that music falls roughly into two camps: complicated, dissonant music from the 20th-century modernist tradition; and more minimalist work from the Steve Reich family tree branch. Composers of the latter group believe that music doesn't need to be harmonically or developmentally complicated, sensibilities that are aligned with other "simple" music. more ›

Maybe you don't like the world's greatest sport or consuming delicious food and drink. Or maybe you just aren't a Saints fan, a Colts fan, or a fan of hypocritical corporate decisions. more ›

We first listened to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's new Bernard Haitink-led recording of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 the day after the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra's mind-blowing performance at Symphony Center. Hearing the CSO's bursting-from-its-seams sound immediately following the BPO's seemingly-effortless control and brilliant warmth - would that we could bathe in it! - was a jarring experience. And we loved it. more ›

Hear ye, hear ye! The honorable Richard M. Daley has declared today Rush Hour Concerts Day in Chicago! All his subjects are required by law to submit to his will and attend the opening concert of the tenth Rush Hour season tonight! more ›

Honestly? Tuesday night we were totally stoked to see Titus Andronicus at Reggie's, but at the last minute we realized just how foolish we would be to pass up a chance to see what would probably be a one-time only event with Glenn Kotche joining forces with modern classicists eighth blackbird at The Harris theater. more ›

Glenn Kotche, drummer for Loose Fur and some other little local band named Wilco, plays percussion tonight with local avant-classical sextet eighth blackbird at The Harris Theater. Kotche's solo drumming is truly mind-blowing -- go on, watch one of his performances -- and we're told he will be debuting a brand new piece amongst some other familiar material. more ›

As Duke Ellington might have said, Arthur Russell was a musician and composer "beyond category." In his short life (he died of complications from AIDS at the age of 40) he composed and recorded music that could be classified as folk, disco, ambient, classical, pop and even country. He was born in Iowa and followed in his mother's footsteps by taking up the cello as a child. Later he moved to San Francisco (befriending Allan Ginsberg) and then eventually New York City, where he became a catalyst in the art scene of the 70's as musical director of The Kitchen. Ginsberg, who lived in the same apartment building as Arthur for many years, described his music as "Buddhist bubblegum," and it's that sly tension between childlike joy and a more cerebral experimentation that has posthumously made him a favorite of David Byrne, Jens Lekman and Pitchfork. more ›

Wunderkind composer Nico Muhly was the focus of a rather glowing New Yorker article a few months ago. Muhly was portrayed as a new kind of classicist; he is deeply respectful of traditionalism while still being completely open to experimentation with familiar form while still providing familiar musical touchstones to anchor the listener. His compositions have been performed by choirs, orchestras, and chamber ensembles; in concert halls, small theaters, and MTV2; nd to top it all off he's even provided orchestration for Björk. Yeah, we guess you could call him a classical composer. more ›

If you haven't yet seen a performance at Millennium Park's Harris Theater, you're missing out. It's a sleek space that has outstanding acoustics, and not only are the seats comfy but there's pretty much not a bad seat in the house. An upcoming concert of recent film music makes a great reason to give the Harris a try. more ›

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