The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has made its summer home at the Ravinia Festival outside of Chicago for 74 seasons. This season's residency began quietly in the pavilion on Monday June 28 with an all-Chopin program, conducted by its music director since 2005 James Conlon, who is also music director of the Los Angeles Opera. Actually it was so quiet as to be puzzling. Monday is certainly not a big concert night. Even more curious was the structure of the evening, which began with pianist Garrick Ohlsson playing a solo, followed by ...

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Listen to the music. It will snap you to attention, tell you where to cry, and when that long-awaited kiss is coming. The villains have their own dark motifs and the luminous sounds that accompany the hero are as clear as his white hat.. Movie music? Yes, but those words could apply to the opera as well. The two genres, so rigidly separated in public perception, have more in common that first meets the ear. In fact, when five-time Oscar-winning film composer John Williams was asked where he believed his music fit in the ...

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