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Feature Fri Oct 16 2015
Pulling Strings: For Classical Music in Chicago, You Got a Guy - October 2015
Fulcrum Point New Music Project: Brass Beer Bash
Seventeen of the brassiest brass players (and two percussionists, because why not?) hit the stage for a blowout led by Fulcrum Point Artistic Director Stephen Burns. Burns's own Fanfare for Freedom kicks off the program, followed by Timpani Symphony in Brass by the late jazz/classical fusion visionary Gunther Schuller. Eric Ewazen's Symphony for Brass and Michael Daugherty's Motown Metal complete a show of bells, spit valves, and suds. Oh, and your ticket includes a pint of Belgian Tongerlo. Tickets are $15/advance, $20/door. Tuesday, Oct. 6, 7:30pm. 1st Ward, 2033 W. North Ave.
Spektral Quartet: So Close, But So Far Away
The Spektrals are back at it, blowing away any preconceived ideas of what it means to be a string quartet in the 21st Century. SQ opens an unapologetically provocative season with a weekend of audience-centered performances. Featuring modular seating, the quartet spreads out across the room to create a surround-sound experience of recent works by Ryan Ingebritsen and Lee Weisert, along with a new commission by Morgan Krauss. SQ's treatment of older repertoire crackles with the same energy as modern works, and you'll be treated to John Cage's String Quartet in Four Parts, Schubert's Quartettsatz, and Beethoven's super-awesome Grosse Fuge. General Admission, $10. Saturday, Oct. 10, 7pm. Curtiss Hall, Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave. Sunday, Oct. 11, 3pm. Mana Contemporary, 2233 S. Throop St.
University of Chicago Presents: Everything.
Not really sure how to pick just one show from UCP's first month of its new season. The curtain-raiser features principal players from London's famed Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in music by Mozart and Strauss, along with Schubert's Octet for Winds and Strings (Friday, Oct. 16). You really shouldn't miss the Pacifica Quartet ever, but when pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin joins them for Ligeti, Debussy, and Dvorak's Piano Quintet (Sunday, Oct. 18), where else would you rather be? The Contempo season opens (Tuesday, Oct. 27) with a retrospective and celebration of Shulamit Ran, one of her generation's elite composers. Finally, Bach Collegium Japan comes to Rockefeller Chapel (Thursday, Oct. 29) for several works by its namesake, alongside selections by Vivaldi and Handel. Just go to Hyde Park -- it's not that far.
Civitas Ensemble: Inspiration
Loyal music-goers recognize the Civitas by its personnel: Chicago Symphony Assistant Concertmaster Yuan-Qing Yu; CSO Assistant Principal Cello Kenneth Olsen; CSO clarinetist J. Lawrie Bloom; and pianist Winston Choi, head of Roosevelt University's piano department. As an ensemble, their musical scope is vast, with an intriguing season-opener. Thomas Ades's The Catch (1991) is a playful musical game of tag. John Corigliano's Snapshots (2003) is a nostalgic remembrance of his father. Roger Zare's Geometries (2010) explores the relationship between music and math. Finally, Brahms's Clarinet Quintet is one of the most-loved pieces in the entire chamber canon. Tickets are $30/general, free/students. Friday, Oct. 16, 7pm. Merit School of Music, 38 S. Peoria St.
About the author: Elliot Mandel is a photographer specializing in classical concerts and you should hire him for your next show. He is also a sometime writer and an enthusiastically amateur cellist.
