As if the Chicago Symphony didn’t have enough problems running rudderless without a music director for nearly two years now, the CSO rings in 2008 with a last-minute cancellation from conductor Myung-Whun Chung, who was to have directed this week’s subscription program along with a “Beyond the Score” presentation of the Tchaikovsky Fourth Symphony (Sunday afternoon) and a Civic Orchestra concert of the Mahler First Symphony (Monday evening). Citing “personal reasons” though not canceling his other January appearances, Chung is being replaced by Alexander Polianichko for his CSO concerts and Edwin Outwater for his Civic Orchestra concert. If you’re wondering who these guys are, you’re not alone: Polianichko is a former violinist of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic who has had a minor career in Russia, mostly conducting operas, and Outwater was an assistant to Michael Tilson Thomas in San Francisco. It boggles the mind that CSO management would think that mediocre conductors from afar would do a better job than numerous area conductors who would kill for a guest shot at the CSO. (Dennis Polkow) Thursday, January 10 at Symphony Center
Scenes From A Season: An Inside Look at a Year with Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony Walking out onto the stage last September, Muti was receiving his first applause at Orchestra Hall in over nineteen months. The celebrated Italian-born music director of the CSO, who had turned eighty two months earlier, was clearly moved. What made the acclamation unusual was that the hall was empty. The orchestra itself was providing heartfelt and sustained applause, greeting Muti…
A Positive Light: The Soul Children of Chicago Sing "O-o-h Child" at Chicago Live! The Chicago Live! concerts coincide with the last weekend of “State of Sound: A World of Music from Illinois” music exhibit. As a sendoff, the Soul Children of Chicago will sing “O-o-h Child” in tribute to this socially significant Chicago song. The thirty-piece choir has been rehearsing the song for a month and the pier audience will be encouraged to…
