Symphony Center

Symphony Center/orchestra: a classic combo

Chicago, home of the Blues and deep-dish pizza, also lays claim to having one of the world’s greatest symphony orchestras.

South Michigan Avenue’s Symphony Center is home to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and if you are a classical music buff, you'll want to catch a performance by this Grammy Award-winning group of musicians.

The 107-member CSO, as it is known in Chi-Town, was founded in 1891, making it one of the oldest orchestras in the United States. Riccardo Muti will become the CSO conductor in 2010.

A host of other events take place at Symphony Center including the Allied Arts Program that schedules well-known musicians from many genres, be it jazz, world music or rock performances. Check their website for the Event Listing and a complete calendar schedule.

Performances are held in Orchestra Hall, a stately and beautifully lit Beaux Arts auditorium within this building built in 1904 by Daniel Burnham, one of the city’s most historic architects.

The hall is painted white with the stage area a soft grey, making the tuxedo-clad musicians the main focal point. Names of great composers — Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Wagner — are inscribed on the limestone façade that's  complemented by deep rose-colored brick.

Chamber performances — some of them free to the public — are held in an ornate second-floor ballroom. The building was known as Orchestra Hall up until a complete renovation in 1997 transformed it into Symphony Center, replete with new performance space and an upscale restaurant.

Next door is the well-appointed Symphony Store where you can listen to and purchase recordings as well as find also almost anything referencing music, be it jewelry, scarves, books — or even your very own baton!