“Listen to the birds,” composer Paul Dukas told his student Oliver Messiaen, who would become one of the most important and innovative composers of the twentieth century. Unlike Bela Bartok, who went around Transylvania a century ago with an early Edison cylinder machine that actually recorded peasants singing folk songs to make use of in his compositions, Messiaen never used a recorder, but only his ear and a pen to “transcribe” birds via musical notation in song around him. Messiaen became such an expert on the musical properties of various birds that he became globally renowned as an ornithologist. “Oiseaux exotiques” (“exotic birds”) features more than forty different bird calls and birdsongs for piano and small orchestra which will be performed by pianist Tamara Stefanovich with pianist and conductor Pierre-Laurent Aimard conducting this St. Paul Chamber Symphony Orchestra on a program which also includes Debussy’s “Petite” Suite and Aimard conducting the Beethoven Fourth Piano Concerto from the piano. A master Messiaen interpreter who worked closely with Messiaen, Aimard will be interviewed in a 6:15pm. pre-concert conversation. (Dennis Polkow)
October 3 at University of Chicago’s Mandel Hall, 1131 E. 57th, (773)702-8068. 7:30pm. $5-$35.
Jerusalem on Lake Michigan: Chicago’s Birthright Claim To Gospel Music Festival With the occasional exception of crossover artists like Sir the Baptist at Lollapalooza—gospel isn't going to make a significant showing at any festival that’s not exclusively gospel-dedicated. Fortunately for Chicago, the gold standard in that regard occurs annually on our lakefront.
Further, Deeper, Infinity: A Preview of The Church at Lincoln Hall The Church has embarked on several retrospective projects like its current “Starfish” thirtieth anniversary tour, taking the opportunity to explore its massive back catalog (twenty-five studio albums and counting), but the band has never been one to rest on its reputation.
Still Breathtaking: A Preview of Sting at Ravinia Festival Sting's solo catalog boasts more than a dozen studio albums. He may not rack up the hit singles like he once did, but he remains a compelling writer, musician and performer.
Walking the Walk: Thirsty Ears Festival Reinvents Itself The reorganization of the concert is just half of the reimagination of the festival. There’s also an entirely separate component: an audio walking tour of the Ravenswood neighborhood.
Factory Showcase: The Cold Waves Festival Returns for More Industrial Music The best known examples of the influence of industrial music can be found in what today could be considered “legacy alternative rock” acts like Depeche Mode, Ministry and Nine Inch Nails, although hardcore fans would (and should) take umbrage at such an attempt to lump these “pop” acts into the genre. Trent Reznor may have done more than anyone to…
