Gapers Block has ceased publication.

Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
 Thank you for your readership and contributions. 

TODAY

Friday, March 29

Gapers Block
Search

Gapers Block on Facebook Gapers Block on Flickr Gapers Block on Twitter The Gapers Block Tumblr


Transmission
« Ten Ways to Keep the Night Alive: Pitchfork After-Party Guide Contest: Win a Pair of Pitchfork Festival Three Day Passes in the Gapers Block Music Scavenger Hunt »

Classical Mon Jul 08 2013

Pulling Strings: For classical music in Chicago, you got a guy - July 2013

By Elliot Mandel

Some of Chicago's longest running concert series are also the least expensive. Save your money this month and check out these free concerts in some architecturally and acoustically beautiful spaces.

Rush Hour Concerts - Summer Concert Series
The fourteenth season of Rush Hour Concerts continues with four performances that appeal to a variety of tastes. The Euclid Quartet and The Poetry Foundation team up for a performance of Béla Bartók's String Quartet No. 1, interspersed with a variety of poems from the composer's era and the 21st Century (July 9). Renowned pianists Joan DeVee Dixon and Alice Fiedlerová perform Antonín Dvořák's spirited Slovanic Dances in its original orchestration for piano duo (July 16). CSO trombonist Michael Mulcahy is joined by acclaimed trombone colleagues in music for trombone quartet that includes works by Gabrieli, Beethoven, and Shostakovich (July 23). To close the month, singers from Lyric Opera's Ryan Opera Center perform highlights from Rossini's The Barber of Seville (July 30). All concerts are 30 minutes in length and take place in St. James Cathedral, a building that still shows charring from the Chicago Fire of 1871. Refreshments at 5:15pm, concerts at 5:45pm. Tuesdays through August 27. Admission is free. St. James Cathedral, 65 E. Huron.

Listen to Bartók's String Quartet No. 1:


Grant Park Music Festival
The Grant Park Orchestra embraces bold music and remains a consistently adventurous organization. In July, guest conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya leads a multimedia exploration of the Inca Trail in a program that includes music by Lena Frank, Osvaldo Golijov, and Daniel Robles' "El condor pasa," which was popularized by Simon and Garfunkel. Other large-scale works throughout the month include Camille Saint-Saëns' Organ Symphony, Jean Sibelius' Violin Concerto, Dmitri Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, and Anton Bruckner's Second Symphony. Hear them all under the Pritzker Pavilion's superb sound system that never fails to impress. Admission is free. Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park.

Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts
Spend your lunch hour on Wednesdays under the stunning Tiffany dome of Preston Bradley Hall in the Chicago Cultural Center while listening to 45-minute recitals by a lineup of young soloists from Chicago and around the world. Named after Myra Hess, who set aside an international career during World War II to give free piano recitals for the people of London, the Hess Memorial Concerts in July feature music by Jennifer Higdon and Bedřich Smetana (July 10), Robert Schumann (July 17), and Dmitri Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev (July 24). Wednesdays, 12:15 pm. Admission is free. Preston Bradley Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington.

Programs, artists, and prices subject to change. Tickets subject to availability.

About the author: Elliot Mandel plays cello, attends lots of concerts, writes reviews, and takes pictures. He doesn't understand why people fight about classical music in YouTube comments.

 
GB store
GB store

Feature Thu Dec 31 2015

Our Final Transmission Days

By The Gapers Block Transmission Staff

Transmission staffers share their most cherished memories and moments while writing for Gapers Block.

Read this feature »

Blogroll

  Chicago Music Media

Alarm Magazine
BackStage
Big Rock Candy Mountain
Boxx Magazine
Brooklyn Vegan Chicago
Can You See The Sunset From The Southside
Chicago Reader Music
Chicagoist Arts & Events
ChicagoMusic.org
Chicago Music Guide
Chicago Singles Club
CHIRP
Country Music Chicago
Cream Team
Dark Jive
Daytrotter
The Deli Chicago
Jim DeRogatis
Do312
Fake Shore Drive
Gowhere Hip Hop
Gridface
The Hood Internet
Innerview
Jaded in Chicago
Largehearted Boy
Little White Earbuds
Live Fix Blog
Live Music Blog
Loud Loop Press
Oh My Rockness
Pop 'stache
Pitchfork
Pop Matters
Resident Advisor
Songs:Illinois
Sound Opinions
Sun-Times Music Blog
Theft Liable to Prosecution
Tribune Music
UR Chicago
Victim Of Time
WFMU's Beware of the Blog
Windy City Rock

  Venues:

Abbey Pub
Andy's Jazz Club
Aragon Ballroom
Auditorium Theatre
Beat Kitchen
B.L.U.E.S
Bottom Lounge
Buddy Guy's Legends
The Burlington
California Clipper
Concord Music Hall
Congress Theater
Constellation
Cubby Bear
Double Door
Elbo Room
Empty Bottle
FitzGerald's
Green Mill
The Hideout
Honky Tonk BBQ
House of Blues
Kingston Mines
Lincoln Hall
Logan Square Auditorium
Martyrs'
Mayne Stage
Metro
The Mutiny
Old Town School of Folk Music
Park West
The Promontory
Red Line Tap
Reggie's Rock Club & Music Joint
The Riviera
Rosa's
Schubas
Thalia Hall
The Shrine
Smartbar
Subterranean
Symphony Center
Tonic Room
Township
Uncommon Ground
The Vic
The Whistler

  Labels, Promoters
  & Shops:

Alligator Records
Atavistic
Beverly Records
Bloodshot Records
Dave's Records
Delmark Records
Drag City
Dusty Groove
Flameshovel Records
Groove Distribution
He Who Corrupts
Hozac
Jam Productions
Jazz Record Mart
Kranky Records
Laurie's Planet of Sound
Minty Fresh
Numero Group
mP Shows
Permanent Records
Reckless Records
Smog Veil Records
Southport & Northport Records
Thick Records
Thrill Jockey Records Touch & Go/Quarterstick Records
Victory Records

GB store

Events

Featured Series














 

Transmission on Flickr

Join the Transmission Flickr Pool.


About Transmission

Transmission is the music section of Gapers Block. It aims to highlight Chicago music in its many varied forms, as well as cover touring acts performing in the city. More...
Please see our submission guidelines.

Editor: Sarah Brooks, sarah@gapersblock.com
Transmission staff inbox: transmission@gapersblock.com

Archives

 

Transmission Flickr Pool
 Subscribe in a reader.

GB store

GB Store

GB Buttons $1.50

GB T-Shirt $12

I ✶ Chi T-Shirts $15