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Chicago-area classical music picks
Published March 12, 2015 by Third Coast Percussion | Share this post! 
March 12, 2015
March 12, 2015
by John von Rhein
Third Coast Percussion: The Chicago group presents a concert showcasing newly commissioned works by emerging composers. Featured, along with music of Mark Applebaum, Adam Cuthbert, Robert Dillon and Tyshawn Sorey, will be the world premiere of Jonathan Pfeffer’s “Jonathan was killed in battle against the Philistines.” 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Constellation Chicago, 3111 N. Western Ave.; $20;thirdcoastpercussion.com
Pierre-Laurent Aimard: The brilliant French pianist is joined by pianist Tamara Stefanovich as they celebrate master composer and conductor Pierre Boulez’s 90th birthday with a concert containing virtually all his piano works. 3 p.m. Sunday, Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; $25-$50; 312-294-3000, cso.org
Chicago Men’s A Cappella: The choir is joined by the Golosa Russian Choir for a varied program that includes Jewish liturgical songs by modern composers, sea shanties and Russian folk songs. 7:30 p.m. Friday, Rockefeller Chapel, 5850 S. Woodlawn Ave.; $10; 773-702-2100, ticketsweb.uchicago.edu
Chicago Symphony Orchestra: Charles Dutoit returns for a two-week guest podium engagement. Pianist Louis Lortie will perform works by D’Indy and Franck, with Ravel’s “Rapsodie Espagnole” and “Daphnis and Chloe” Suite No. 2 completing the concerts; 8 p.m. Saturday and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday; $29-$216. The second all-French program of Dutoit’s residency holds more Ravel, along with works by Debussy, Saint-Saens and Lalo. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and concertmaster Robert Chen are the soloists; 8 p.m. Thursday (repeated March 20-21); $38-$280. Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; 312-294-3000, cso.org
CSO at the Movies: Andre de Ridder leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a live accompaniment to a screening of Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi masterpiece, “2001: A Space Odyssey.” 8 p.m. Friday, Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; $60-$205; 312-294-3000, cso.org
Civitas Ensemble: The Chicago chamber group presents music in honor of Chinese New Year, including two world premieres, by Chinese composers Zhou Long, Huang Ruo, Anthony Cheung and Yao Chen. 3 p.m. Sunday, Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston; $30; civitasensemble.org
DuPage Symphony Orchestra: Abraham Lincoln is honored in a program that holds Roy Harris’ Symphony No. 6 (“Gettysburg”) and Nolan Stolz’s “Lincoln Highway Suite.” Barbara Schubert conducts. 8 p.m. Saturday, Wentz Concert Hall, North Central College, 171 E. Chicago Ave., Naperville; $26-$35; 630-778-1003,dupagesymphony.org
Ensemble Dal Niente: The ever-venturesome Chicago contemporary group leads a festival of works by the little-known German composer Mathias Spahlinger, said to be the first major exposition of his music in the U.S. The composer will be in attendance. 8 p.m. Saturday, Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St.; free; dalniente.com
Haymarket Opera: Chicago’s specialists in early opera present another rarity: Georg Philipp Telemann’s comic swan song, “Don Quichotte auf der Hochzeit des Comacho” (“Don Quixote at Comacho’s Wedding”). Craig Trompeter conducts the instrumental ensemble, with stage direction by Sarah Edgar and a cast headed by Peter Van de Graaff as the knight-errant and Ryan de Ryke as Sancho Panza. Jory Vinikour is the harpsichord soloist. 7:30 p.m. Friday and 5 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Mayne Stage, 1328 W. Morse Ave.; $55-$60; haymarketopera.org
Kodo: The celebrated Japanese taiko ensemble brings its ferocious drumming to Orchestra Hall, part of its “One Earth Tour: Mystery.” 7:30 p.m. Monday, Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; $30-$80; 312-294-3000, cso.org
Laurie Anderson and Kronos Quartet: The experimental multimedia artist and the eclectic foursome collaborate on “Landfall,” a collection of works for hyper-violin and string quartet inspired by the events of Hurricane Sandy. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St.; 312-337-7777,harristheaterchicago.org
Lyric Opera of Chicago — “The Passenger”: Polish composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s powerful opera, about a former SS overseer at Auschwitz haunted by her past, receives a well-nigh flawless production. Andrew Davis conducts, David Pountney directs, with a cast headed by Amanda Majeski, Daveda Karanas and Brandon Jovanovich. Through Sunday,Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive; $34-$244; 312-827-5600, lyricopera.org
Lyric Opera of Chicago — “Tosca”: Heading the cast for Puccini’s durable melodrama are Hui He in the title role, Jorge de Leon as Cavaradossi and Mark Delavan as Scarpia. Dmitri Jurowski conducts. Through Saturday, Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive; $34-$244; 312-827-5600, lyricopera.org
Orion Ensemble: Chicago composer Stacy Garrop’s “Jubilation” highlights a program of chamber works mainly for violin, cello and piano that also holds Beethoven’s “Archduke” Trio. 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston; and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, PianoForte Studios, 1335 S. Michigan Ave.; $23-$26; 630-628-9591,orionensemble.org