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......

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......

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. On Monday, April 7 the CSO presents a special program consisting of music from Francis Ford......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Burlesque We don't know of many other "burlesque festivals" out there, but we're certain that Angela Eve's Twisted Burlesque Festival is the first one to take place in Chicago. We've known Angela Eve for years, and have always found the breadth of projects she could simultaneously tackle rather daunting, so we're not entirely surprised that......