The Chicago born and based Lewis was revered in jazz circles for hits like “The In Crowd” and “Hang on Sloopy.” He earned three Grammys and seven gold records.

WFMT spoke to the Chicago-born Lewis in 2015, when, at the age of 80, his music received its first CSO performance.

Banner works by Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Prokofiev headline Muti’s three CSO residencies, ahead of the conclusion of his tenure with Beethoven’s Missa solemnis.

The season will feature four mainstage programs, including the company’s Chicago-centric take on The Nutcracker and the return of Anna Karenina.

The production was scheduled to be performed at Lyric Opera House between February 16-27 and is now set to be performed in June.

A Verdi and bel canto expert, Lyric’s new music director Enrique Mazzola will open the season with Verdi’s Macbeth and Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love, while also conducting contemporary opera Proving Up by Missy Mazzoli later in the season.

From The Nutcracker to Don Quixote be the first to learn about what the Joffrey Ballet’s next season has in store!

Ravinia Festival is back for 2021 for its 85th concert season, offering up a signature blend of classical, jazz, folk, and rock music performances.

With this month’s Boléro, a digital-only world premiere set to the piece of the same name by Ravel, Joffrey dancers are finally back to performing together.

Today, the Joffrey Ballet announced cancellations through December 2020 in light of the COVID-19 crisis.

A year of milestones, the upcoming season marks Joffrey’s 65th season, its 25th in Chicago, the five-year anniversary of its reimagined Nutcracker, and its inaugural season at Lyric Opera House.

Culminating in “The Times Are Racing” by choreographer Justin Peck, Joffrey’s mixed-rep program features “ballet, contemporary, comic, and a ‘sneaker ballet,’” artistic director Ashley Wheater describes.

On Wednesday, February 12, Lyric Opera of Chicago general director Anthony Freud and music director Sir Andrew Davis announced the company’s 66th season. A North American premiere, a Midwest premiere, and a special opening night concert with Renée Fleming are among the highlights. The 2020-2021 season will also be Sir Andrew’s last as music director.

Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker isn’t just a popular holiday ballet. The composer grouped eight pieces in his Nutcracker Suite, which is often performed in concert. But, which movement of the “Nutcracker Suite” are you? Are you the “Spanish Dance?” “The Waltz of the Flowers?” Take the quiz and find out!

For many of us, just hearing the lyrics “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood,” is enough to transport us back to our childhoods.

To conceal that the book’s author was a woman, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre was first published in 1847 under a pen name. Choreographer Cathy Marston feels the book was revolutionary: “It truly was groundbreaking for a woman to write about her emotions and station in life with such honesty.”

We’re getting ready to share our Summer Music Guide (keep an eye out for it next week), but here are three events happening this weekend, each of which combine or reimagine classical music and dance, that we wanted to be sure to tell you about. The Rosina Project It’s Rossini like you’ve never heard him before. Chicago Fringe Opera teams …

“I believe that Karenina is a magical moment of looking at our beautiful art form and taking it a step forward,” says Ashley Wheater, Joffrey Ballet’s artistic director. One of the cornerstones of the production is 35-year-old composer Ilya Demutsky’s brand new, full-length orchestral score, the first such commission in Joffrey’s 62-year history.

Today, Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director Ashley Wheater announced Joffrey Ballet’s 2019-2020 season, which includes four Chicago premieres and the return of two reimagined staples: The Nutcracker and Don Quixote. Joffrey’s 64th season begins in October with the Chicago premiere of Cathy Marston’s Jane Eyre, an adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel. The production is a partnership with American Ballet …

Joffrey Ballet’s artistic director, Ashley Wheater, and music director, Scott Speck, discuss “Swan Lake,” Joffrey’s 2018-19 season, and ballet’s unique and rich creative relationship with music.

From the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to Lyric Opera of Chicago and much more, the Teen Arts Pass is making it easier for young people to have access to Chicago’s many great cultural institutions.

Today, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association announced programming for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Center Presents 2018/19 season.

Conductor Scott Speck, who leads the Chicago Philharmonic for performances of The Nutcracker with Joffrey Ballet, explained what makes Tchaikovsky’s score as addictive as your favorite holiday treats.

Giselle is one of the most beloved Romantic ballets today, though the composer, Adolphe Adam, was known during his lifetime primarily for the 39 operas he composed. (Today, Adam is perhaps best known for his Christmas classic, “O Holy Night.”) Scott Speck, music director of the Chicago Philharmonic, conducts Giselle in performances with the Joffrey Ballet, and he took WFMT inside Adam’s score. Speck, who co-authored Classical Music for …

Renowned choreographer Justin Peck took a break from his rehearsals with the Joffrey Ballet at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago to explain what he listens for when selecting music to choreograph.