from ChicagoMusic.org/classical


Don’t miss these great classical happenings around Chicago this week.

Lyric Opera: La Boheme

Live the romantic, bohemian life with the new production of the San Francisco Opera and Lyric Opera’s production of La Boheme. At Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Dr.; Now through March 28; www.lyricopera.org

University of Chicago Presents: Steven Isserlis, cello & Kirill Gerstein, piano

from ChicagoMusic.org

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

from ChicagoMusic.org

Clarinetist and Chicago native Anthony McGill says it is always a pleasure to perform in his hometown. As a guest performer at Chicago Sinfonietta’s tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he says he looks forward to performing on of his favorite pieces, Clarinet Concerto by Aaron Copland, under the direction of Mei-Ann Chen, to commemorate the legacy of King.

“There’s nothing like playing in your hometown,” says McGill, principal clarinetist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, who performed at President Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2008. “The piece we are playing is really gorgeous. This is a small orchestra, so the sound is really intimate. It has a chamber music feel with a string orchestra.”

from ChicagoMusic.org

The beginning of awards season for the top names in music, movies and TV began on Sunday with the Golden Globe Awards. One of the top films of 2012, Lincoln, has an Illinois connection, and no, it's not just that the 16th president hails from the state. John Williams scored the film, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra recorded the music for the soundtrack.  Williams, nicknamed “America’s Composer”, has been in the movie business for nearly fifty years. Here are a few fun facts about Williams you may not know.