Preview: Inside Conrad Tao’s Expanding Musical World
There is an old home video of Conrad Tao that captures the modest beginnings of a prodigy. In the footage, a very young Tao sits at the piano, pawing out […]
Review: Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Concludes Their Season with Music from France and France Adjacent
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center ended their season at the Harris Theater on Wednesday evening with music from “France or France Adjacent,” as violist and Chicago native Matthew […]
Review: Evgeny Kissin Brings His Extraordinary Playing Back to Symphony Center
For the third time in a month, pianist extraordinaire Evgeny Kissin graced the stage at Symphony Center with his powerful and dramatic technique on Sunday. The first two times he […]
Review: Distance and Discovery Frame the Rembrandt Chamber Musicians Finale
For their final program of the 2025–26 season, the Rembrandt Chamber Musicians—drawn from the Lyric Opera Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra—offered a thoughtful look at how geographic displacement can […]
Interview: Chicago’s Stacy Garrop Does What She Was Destined to Do: Compose Excellent Music on Invictus, a New Release on Cedille Records
Some people are just born to do something surprising. They start out life in an everyday, normal way. Then, out of nowhere, a lightbulb or a spark goes off and […]
Review: Star of the Sea Is a Revelation of Music for the Virgin Mary from Colonial Guatemala
Bella Voce returned to St. Luke’s Episcopal in Evanston for Star of the Sea: Music for Mary from Colonial Guatemala on Sunday. This excellent program featured a Renaissance Mass by composer […]
Review: Multidisciplinary Future Arrives at Harris Theater With “Icons and Innovators”
The house lights at the Harris Theater rarely dimmed on an occasion as self-assured as “Icons and Innovators.” This program, held on May 2, was ostensibly a tribute to Joan […]
Preview: The Grossman Ensemble Will Perform in Washington DC, New York City, and Hyde Park
For the first time in its eight-year history, the Grossman Ensemble will be performing outside of the Chicago area. Its first out-of-town concert will be at the Library of Congress […]
Preview: Farewell to the Orion Ensemble after 35 Years
This and next weekend, the Orion Ensemble will be performing their last concerts together. For 35 years, this quartet of clarinetist Kathryne Pirtle, violinist Florentina Ramniceanu, cellist Judy Stone, and […]
Review: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Wind Ensemble Excels Under Duress at Mandel Hall
London-based chamber orchestra the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields performed at the University of Chicago’s stiflingly hot Mandel Hall rcently. The group was founded in 1958 by Sir […]
Review: The Elgin Master Chorale and Director/Conductor Andrew Lewis Produce a Masterful Performance of Stacy Garrop’s Terra Nostra in Elgin
I was first blown away by Stacy Garrop’s oratorio Terra Nostra when Cedille Records released it in 2024. In three parts, Garrop tells the story of our planet, starting with […]
Review: Pianist Evgeny Kissin Joins Andre Boreyko and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for an Excellent Concert at Symphony Center
Almost a year after his amazing solo recital in May 2025, and a month before his recital as a soloist, pianist Evgeny Kissin returned to Symphony Center on Thursday. Instead […]