Stories

Pharoah Sanders, influential jazz saxophonist, dies at 81

Sanders, who launched his career playing alongside John Coltrane in the 1960s, died in Los Angeles early Saturday.

Stephen RaskauskasJune 13, 2017

Video: This Is What It Sounds like When 100 Percussionists Play Together

Michael San GabinoJune 12, 2017

Yo-Yo Ma, CSO’s ‘Concert for Peace’ Takes a Stand against Violence at South Side’s St. Sabina Church

Stephen RaskauskasJune 8, 2017

10 Operas About Poisonous and Medicinal Plants

Joel Thompson, the composer of Seven Last Words of the Unarmed, in a suit and glasses

Composer Joel Thompson On Anti-Police Brutality, Racism Oratorio ‘Seven Last Words of the Unarmed’

Daniel GoldbergDecember 11, 2019

Thompson's 2015 piece brings to light an issue that hits close to home in Chicago and countrywide: the killing of unarmed African American men. Thompson parallels Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Christ; using the liturgy as a guide, he weaves a piece that prompts conversation about race and social injustice.

Playlist: Classical Recorder Pieces You Should Know

Cydne GillardDecember 10, 2019

The recorder may call to mind tortured performances of "Hot Cross Buns" or "Jingle Bells" from your elementary school days, but these pieces make use of the instrument's virtuosic potential.

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One of Conductor Manfred Honeck’s Favorite Quotes Might Change the Way You Think About Classical Music

Michael San GabinoJune 6, 2017

Conductor Manfred Honeck shared one of his favorite quotes that guides his artistic work, and it just might change the way you think about classical music.

Hear Music by Chiquinha Gonzaga, the Brazilian Composer Who Was 100 Years Ahead of Her Time

Angelica LasalaJune 5, 2017

Composer and musician Chiquinha Gonzaga, born Francisca Edwiges Neves Gonzaga When Brazilian pianist, conductor, and composer Chiquinha Gonzaga’s first husband told her to choose him or music, she replied, “Well, sir, my husband, I do not understand life without harmony.” Shortly after, they parted ways. The stigma of divorce, however, followed her. Shunned by her own family, Gonzaga was left ...

Playlist: 3 Latino “Mozarts” Classical Music Lovers Should Know

Daniel GoldbergJune 1, 2017

There are three Latino composers who have often been compared to Mozart. Two of them were called “Mozart” by their contemporaries: Chevalier de Saint Georges, born in the French-Caribbean island of Guadeloupe in the 18th century and the 19th-century composer Spanish-Basque Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga. The third is the 20th-century Brazilian composer Camargo Guarnieri whose first name was actually Mozart! Learn ...

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