Stories

Klaus Mäkelä stares into the distance in a green outdoor scene

Klaus Mäkelä: Wunderkind Conductor Career Timeline (so far)

Klaus Mäkelä, CSO music director designate, is just 28 and is one of the world’s most respected conductors. Here’s his career in a timeline.

The Grant Park Music Festival at Millennium Park

Keegan MorrisMay 5, 2021

Free Live Music Will Return To Grant Park Music Festival for 2021

A view of the empty auditorium of Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center

Keegan MorrisMay 4, 2021

In Return to Stage, CSO To Welcome Audiences for Concerts in May, June

Associated PressApril 29, 2021

Chicago stages drive-through Wagner in underground garage

NHL’s Kraken get original music from Oscar winner Zimmer

Associated PressOctober 20, 2022

An NHL team with a Hollywood connection gets a new musical score, and it's from Oscar and Grammy winner Hans Zimmer.

Janai Brugger as Glauce and Matthew Polenzani as Giasone in Cherubini's Medea

Chicago-born opera stars Janai Brugger & Matthew Polenzani trade tales, on-camera singing tips

Hannah EdgarOctober 19, 2022

Tenor Matthew Polenzani reflects that "there are definitely pieces where what’s required dramatically in a hall of 4,000 seats is different from what’s required dramatically on a screen."

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‘A rose for love and a book forever’: Literature for Music Lovers on World Book Day

Candice AgreeApril 22, 2021

WFMT host Candice Agree has selected some of her favorite works of literature that have inspired musical compositions for you to enjoy on World Book Day.

wearing a green necklace and a black sweater, Jessie Montgomery looks past the camera standing against a rich red wall

CSO Announces Next Mead Composer-in-Residence

Keegan MorrisApril 20, 2021

Riccardo Muti has appointed Jessie Montgomery as the Mead Composer-in-Residence. Montgomery will succeed the CSO's current composer-in-residence, Missy Mazzoli, in July of this year.

Playlist: Classical Music for the Earth and Environment

Daniel GoldbergApril 19, 2021

Composers like Terence Blanchard, Ludovico Einaudi, Rachel Portman, and Lei Liang have brought light to the ongoing climate catastrophe through their music.

Afternoon Music with Candice Agree