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Meet Lina González-Granados, the CSO’s New Solti Conducting Apprentice

Lina González-Granados is the winner of the Sir Georg Solti Conducting Apprenticeship, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra announced late Tuesday afternoon. Between February 2020 and June 2021, González-Granados will have the opportunity to study and work with Maestro Muti, conduct the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and participate in cultural activities and outreach throughout the greater Chicago area. Since its creation 10 …

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9 new concert halls that should be on every traveler’s bucket list

Concert halls today are so architecturally innovative that the buildings themselves draw visitors. The venues on this list are so spectacular, they’ll be sure to have you checking to see just how many more vacation days you have left.

Through a Farce Darkly: How a Glinka overture became the theme song for the sitcom Mom

Let’s pretend. Let’s pretend that one of the classical world’s most famous opera overtures is heard by some 12 million people, every week, on TV. More amazingly, it’s neither on a public television station nor the opening music for a roundtable news program. Instead, in this fantasy world it’s in a half-hour situation comedy created by the same man who’s brought to TV Big Bang Theory, Two and Half Men, Dharma and Greg, Cybil, Mike and Molly, and Young Sheldon, to name a few.

German town stops playing kids’ song after vegan complains

BERLIN (AP) — A town in Germany has stopped playing a popular children’s song about a fox who steals a goose after a complaint from a vegan. Limburg’s town spokesman Johannes Laubach told the dpa news agency Thursday a local woman had asked the mayor to remove the tune from the town hall’s mechanical carillon. Laubach said the mayor had …

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Opera is a “contact sport” in the lost 1963 documentary In the Mouth of the Wolf

Audiences will be irate this weekend at the Siskel Center. No, not the people in the theater, but the onscreen audiences portrayed in In the Mouth of the Wolf. The made-for-TV documentary depicts the infamously fanatical opera culture of Parma, Italy through the lens of a troubled production of Verdi’s Luisa Miller.

“Come as you are” — Ken-David Masur on building community with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago

For Ken-David Masur, artistry is just one aspect of a successful career in classical music; community engagement and outreach are of equal importance in building both a thriving artist and a flourishing orchestra.

Ravinia President and CEO to Step Down Following 2020 Season, His 20th

“I’ve decided that this milestone anniversary would be the right time to make way for someone new to shape the festival’s future,” Ravinia Festival president and CEO Welz Kauffman expressed in a press release.

22 Chicago music and arts buildings to add to your Open House Chicago 2019 itinerary

From downtown's soaring steel and glass skyscrapers to the iconic residential greystone, there are impressive, beautiful, and revolutionary buildings practically everywhere you look. Each fall, the Chicago Architecture Center celebrates the city's many architectural treasures both big and small with Open House Chicago, the two-day festival which lets opens many of these buildings for the public to explore for free!

Cellist Kian Soltani explains why classical musicians should stay curious [Video]

“I would not consider myself a composer at all,” says Kian Soltani, shortly after playing a piece of music that he composed called Persian Fire Dance. “I’m really a cellist first and foremost, but I try to be creative also.”

May the Scores be With You — Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter joins forces with John Williams

Imagine the scrolling main title of Star Wars or wizards taking flight in Harry Potter without triumphant brass and sweeping strings. These cinematic moments would lose their emotional resonance without the iconic music of John Williams.

Alicia Alonso, the grande dame of Cuban ballet, has died

HAVANA (AP) — Alicia Alonso, the revered ballerina and choreographer whose nearly 75-year career made her an icon of artistic loyalty to Cuba’s socialist system, died Thursday at age 98.

2020 is the Year of Chicago Music, Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events announces

DCASE Commissioner Mark Kelly stated that the year will highlight Chicago’s “big bold sounds” and show the world the city's “proudly undefined” music scene.

Enrique Mazzola on his appointment as Lyric’s music director designate and why Luisa Miller is essential Verdi

"You have to know that I am a very curious musician..." said Enrique Mazzola, wearing his trademark red glasses. In September, the Italian conductor was appointed Lyric Opera of Chicago's music director designate.

Merz Trio performs Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 1 from the Chicago Cultural Center [Video]

From under the Tiffany Dome of the Chicago Cultural Center, the Merz Trio, which features violinist Brigid Coleridge, cellist Julia Yang, and pianist Lee Dionne, performs Brahms' Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major. This performance was part of the trio's Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert on October 16, 2019.