Elling plays Symphony Center tomorrow night with a program of love songs called Passion World. Joining Elling are special guests violinist Regina Carter and saxophonis/clarinetist Anat Cohen. more ›

Fans of Mexican-American singer-songwriter Lila Downs can't help but notice her visual transformation over the years from a Frida Kahlo clone (but with good depilatory sense) to sultry ranchera goddess. But Downs has never had an identity crisis musically. She's long mined the ore of Mixtec, Zapotec, Maya and Nahuatl cultures for her original compositions, inspired choices for cover material and colorful stage costumes. Downs dives deep into the culture with the gusto of a young woman searching her heritage and the analytic mind of an anthropologist. more ›

We hope you like Dmitri Shostakovich as much as we do, folks, because Chicago's about to get a heavy dose of our favorite Russian composer. It will all be tied to the citywide festival "The Soviet Arts Experience," which got underway without much fanfare on October 1. You can forgive the quiet opening given that the inaugural event was a performance by the Tokyo String Quartet of music by Robert Schumann (German, died 61 years before the Bolshevik Revolution), Mozart (born in Salzburg, died almost 126 years before Soviet takeover), and the young Lera Auerbach (Russian! And she lived under Soviet rule until she was 18!). more ›

Yo-Yo Ma is the most famous living classical musician. That can't actually be proven, of course, but outside of fussy opera devotees or a stray Itzhak Perlman groupie, no one will argue it. When he was seven, Ma's talent brought him to the Kennedy White House. He firmly entered the classical world's awareness in his teens, and his many cross-genre collaborations have taken him into other music worlds. He's a United Nations Messenger of Peace and a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. Even if you're not a classical music fan, you know about him, if only because you heard his name as a punchline on "Seinfeld," saw his cartoon visage shooting cello bows at Homer Simpson, or watched him (sort of) perform at Obama's inauguration. He's talented, articulate, and, by all accounts, one of the nicest, most genuine famous people you'll ever care to meet. more ›

At one point in the not so distant past, there existed a primitive form of podcasting called "radio." Radio stations would broadcast programming at a specific frequency that you could tune in to. During the development of these stations, many added in-house symphony orchestras to provide music for their various shows, as well as to perform separate stand-alone concerts. more ›

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra released its schedule yesterday of all classical, jazz, and world music concerts happening at Symphony Center during the 2010-2011 season, as well as the general plans for Riccardo Muti's first season as the CSO's tenth music director. more ›

Our staycation continues Tuesday night when the Masters of Persian Music perform at Symphony Center. Persian classical music is ancient - some suggest it predates the 7th-century Muslim conquest - and for most of its history was only heard by the upper crust. The decline of royal power at the beginning of the 20th century, as well as the subsequent invention and development of recording and radio broadcast technology, led to a spreading of the music. Although its popularity ebbed during post-World War Two Westernization, the 1979 Islamic Revolution led to a renewed interest in a national cultural identity, and Persian classical music once against flourished, even in the face of the theocracy's stance against music and other fun things. more ›

Do you demand satisfaction? You'll be able to find it at either solo violin recital going on this weekend, as two accomplished musicians play works from opposite ends of the Western music spectrum. more ›

Late summer is here, which for many classical musicians is one of the few times of year without commitments. At the conclusion of last Saturday's concert at Ravinia, members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra were mercifully unchained from their endowed chairs and allowed a few weeks of freedom. more ›

Problem: You want to treat your mom to some classy tunes this Sunday, but you don't know which concert to see. more ›

If you're looking for a St. Patrick's Day celebration that won't end with you asleep before sundown or crying in a bar bathroom, head to Symphony Center tomorrow night for the 13th annual Siamsa na nGael. more ›

We're not objective when it comes to jazz: we believe Blue Note is still the best jazz label, and this year it's celebrating its 70th anniversary. Since 1939 they've pretty much recorded every major jazz figure (with notable exceptions, like Ken Vandermark). Not bad for a company founded by a pair of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. First recording in a series of rented studios, they later used engineer Rudy Van Gelder's genius to create the "Blue Note sound." more ›

Chicago and New York are swapping orchestras for the night, with the CSO playing at Carnegie Hall and Lorin Maazel leading the New York Philharmonic at Symphony Center at 7:30 p.m. more ›

File this under collaborations we really never saw coming. Chicago post-rock supergroup Tortoise has decided to team up with Nosferatu and ... Macy's ... at ... the Symphony Center?! Chuck this one up to the all-powerful clout of Metro's Joe Shinnyhan. more ›

Jazz legend Herbie Hancock has been stretching the boundaries of modern music composition for the past 50+ years, but he’s not content to rest on his past accomplishments. He’s currently touring to support River: The Joni Letters, a collection of vocal and instrumental arrangements either composed or influential on the venerable Joni Mitchell. Guest vocalists on the album include most of the right-now voices in modern jazz-pop, like Corinne Bailey Rae, Leonard Cohen, Norah Jones, Luciana Souza, Tina Turner, and Mitchell herself. It’s an interesting project to tackle for the nearly 70-year-old Chicago native, who made his mark with jazzbos and casual consumers of free form music alike as a member of Miles Davis’ “second great quintet” in the 1960’s, but Hancock has never shied away from pushing the envelop of composed music. more ›

In case you weren't paying attention earlier, the Chicago Humanities Festival begins tomorrow. Really, we’re not kidding. Judging by the long scroll of sold-out shows in the website’s festival updates section, advance ticket sales have been brisk. And at $5 a pop to see the likes of General Wesley Clark, Garry Trudeau, and Paul Krugman, are you honestly surprised? This year’s theme, Peace and War: Facing Human Conflict, speaks to growing apprehension about America's military... more ›

It’s that time of year -- leaves are falling, radiators are clunking, and the Chicago Humanities Festival is raring to go. We love the fest, we really do. Chicagoist even worked for them for a few years. We don't want to look in gift horses' mouths, but we can't help wishing they would un-stuffy it up a little bit. Maybe book some more fun guests and authors. (Neil Gaiman sold out in minutes a few... more ›

We’re resigned to the fact that cell phones have become ubiquitous at whatever entertainment venue we visit. We begrudgingly accept that someone is text messaging during a movie, so long as they’re not actually talking. If someone wants to play Galaga on their Treo during a laborious set piece in the middle of Act 2, then fine. Just dim the screen and mute it. But we always thought the symphony was sacrosanct. Apparently, that garrison has fallen. more ›

Marshall Fields’ loyalists still stewing at Macy’s takeover now have another reason to boycott or reluctantly patronize the newly rebranded stores. Macy’s has taken over sponsorship of Symphony Center’s Day of Music, and the results are rather dubious. more ›

If you work or live downtown and your Tuesday just can’t end soon enough, drop by St. James Cathedral tonight, or any Tuesday summer evening, for a free hour of munchies and classical music. Chicago is a fine destination for frugal music lovers. We’re crushing on the Grant Park Music Festival, the last free classical music fest in the nation. Ravinia offers students with ID (and occasionally graduates with newish looking IDs) free lawn seats... more ›

What do you get when one of the world’s most celebrated cellists and one of the world’s most entertaining city governments join forces? Answer: a year-long celebration driven by a truly remarkable cultural exchange. Named for a network of routes from Rome to Japan traversed by explorers for over a millennium, Silk Road Chicago is our hometown showcase of art, music, theater, dance, and delectable dishes from half a world away. As anxiety persists over... more ›

While we’ll miss the full Cloud Gate experience this summer, we can still look forward to spending nights inside the nearby Pritzker Pavilion cage. The Pritzker provides that upscale picnic feel without the commute to Ravinia. And once again, it will be the home of the Grant Park Music Festival, the country’s only remaining free classical music fest. This is its second year in Millennium Park, which seems confusing until you remember that such concerns don’t stop Maxwell Street Polish from going wherever they want. more ›

We may be suffering from a lingering hangover this morning (and woe to the Jenna Bush lookalike next to us who surrendered after the first act), but we’ll still be heading over to Symphony Center tonight to check out the one-night-only triple bill of Chicago Sinfonietta, Poi Dog Pondering, and Antonin Dvořák. more ›

We the people have been invited to a Chicago Symphony Orchestra town meeting Tuesday night to offer our input on the replacement for long-time music director Daniel Barenboim. You can join the official search committee at 5:30 in Buntrock Hall at Symphony Center for an update on their progress (Barenboim announced his departure a year ago, so we’ll assume it’s going, you know, s…l…o…w…l…y) and then share your personal likes/dislikes in an open-mic jam session. Afterwards, you’ll get the chance to chat up committee members and find out what they really think about that whole Paris Hilton Sidekick thing. more ›

Opera fans and diva fanatics rejoice: megastar Renée Fleming is scheduled to land for a meet, greet & dine on Monday, Dec. 13, at the Union League Club. Sponsored by the ULC Authors Group, America’s Favorite Soprano (we trust Ohio didn’t tally the votes on that one) will be on hand to promote her new autobiography “The Inner Voice: The Making of a Singer.” (We’d like to subtitle that subtitle with “And She’s Not Kidding”; this slim volume is deep on technique and way shallow on tantrums. You’ll have to try the new Pavarotti bio for bad behavior and backstage dirt.) more ›

Aida more ›

Yeh, we're actually sick of people saying "XXX is the new black" but like we said, we have Friday brain, so whatev! And it seems like striking is the new cool thing to do in Chicago. Recently there was the teachers' strike, then the threatened striking of Sun-Times workers, and now the Chicago Symphony Orchestra musicians have been told that a strike is imminent. Yesterday they were told to clean out their lockers at the Symphony Center in preperation. more ›