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Classical Thu May 29 2014
Pulling Strings: For classical music in Chicago, you got a guy - June 2014
By Elliot Mandel
To the woman sitting behind me at the symphony who said, "No offense, but you're tall" - I'll try to be shorter next time. If you're sitting behind me at any of these concerts, I apologize in advance.
Chicago Q Ensemble: No Exit
Chicago Q Ensemble is emerging among a groundbreaking crop of chamber ensembles. With its second musical/dramatic production, NO EXIT, Q reimagines the traditional violin-viola-cello trio format as a theatrical concert beyond instruments. As Sartre's classic novel explores hell as other people, Q will examine what happens when Mozart's Divertimento in E-Flat comes in contact with Giacinto Scelsi's String Trio. Tickets are $10; admission is age 18 and older. Sunday, June 1, 8:30pm. Constellation, 3111 N. Western Ave.
NO EXIT from Chicago Q Ensemble on Vimeo.
Rush Hour Concerts
Rush Hour opens its 15th season of "Great Music for Busy Lives" on June 3 with a performance of Stravinsky's L'Histoire du soldat (The Soldier's Tale) featuring Fulcrum Point New Music Project and narrator Frank Babbitt. Other concerts this month include violinist Janet Sung and pianist Kuang-Hao Huang playing Brahms, and Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring with members of the Chicago Symphony and Lyric Opera orchestras. Admission is free. Tuesdays at 5:45pm through August. St. James Cathedral, 65 E. Huron at Wabash.
Grant Park Music Festival
GPMF celebrates 80 years of free, outdoor, downtown music this summer, kicking it all off on June 11 with Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 2 with Natasha Paremski. Other June highlights include Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5 with Stefan Jackiw and Dvorkak's Symphony No. 3 (June 18), and Janacek's Glagolitic Mass (June 27, 28). The Festival features free open rehearsals for all of its concerts and is a great excuse for a lunch break. Admission is free. Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park.
Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago: Summer Lieder Lounge
CAIC concludes its third season with songs, poetry, and paintings with "Fêtes Galantes." Soprano Juliet Petrus and pianist Matthew Gemmill perform songs by Debussy, and presenter Louise Smith explores artwork by Watteau and poetry by Verlaine. CAIC's casual Lieder Lounges have consistently provided relaxed atmosphere with top-quality performances in salon-style settings. The summer installment happens at PianoForte's studios on South Michigan Ave. Admission includes wine and a spread of some of the best homemade cookies ever. Advance tickets are $30, $15 students; $5 increase at the door. Friday, June 13, 6:30pm. PianoForte Chicago, 1335 S. Michigan Ave.
Programs, artists, and prices subject to change. Tickets subject to availability.
About the author: Elliot Mandel photographs classical concerts and you should hire him for your next show. He also writes reviews and plays cello.