The holidays remind patrons and novices of the glories of Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Center Presents concerts, offered at Orchestra Hall and at some of the city's most iconic spaces. There is no better time than the holidays to help a newcomer make the connection between traditions they love and the crucial part that great musicians can play.
"Home Alone," Nov. 26-28: A case in point is "Home Alone" (1990), the second highest-grossing holiday-themed movie of all time, according to Box Office Mojo. The film's Oscar-nominated score, by Hollywood legend John Williams, is a classic, of course. Now comes the chance to watch the movie on a huge screen at Orchestra Hall while the soundtrack comes to real life, courtesy of CSO musicians onstage, led by Richard Kaufman. That Williams' music makes such a delicious contribution to the thrill of this movie will be instantly apparent.
"Home Alone" was filmed entirely in Chicago area, and as a consequence, it featured many Chicago actors and extras, including Ann Whitney and Tracy J. Connor. Macaulay Culkin, who played the temporarily orphaned Kevin, is now 41, although he was instantly recognizable when he showed up recently on a Gucci fashion runway, decked out in a Hawaiian shirt, bomber jacket, studded clogs and flashing that trademark Kevin smirk.
If you do attend "Home Alone," make sure to arrive early for the free pre-concert talk, when Whitney and Connor will share their memories of making the film. In the movie, when Kevin encounters a store clerk (Connor) who asks if he's in the store all by himself, he answers: "Ma’am, I'm 8 years old. You think I'd be here alone? I don't think so."
Chanticleer, Dec. 7-8, Fourth Presbyterian Church: The clarion sound of the all-male, a cappella vocal ensemble Chanticleer is in demand everywhere during the holidays. This year, the annual Chanticleer holiday tour starts in Manassas, Va., and works its way north to New York City's Park Avenue Church for several performances before landing at a long-standing favorite spot on Chicago's Magnificent Mile.
The Fourth Presbyterian Church was designed in the Gothic Revival style by the same architect who created New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine. It is always profusely decked out for the holidays. What makes the Fourth Presbyterian acoustically ideal for this ensemble are its high-vaulted stone arches and its long rectangular form, which recalls the same sort of sanctuary in which the monks of the high Renaissance would have perfected their form of early sacred polyphony to be chanted by unaccompanied voices.
Formed in 1978, the San Francisco-based group rarely deviates from its practice of including examples of sacred music from all eras, modern carols, surprise charmers and sentimental favorites designed for wide appeal. The singers are constantly on the move, too. You may hear a cradle song, an intricate eight-part virtuoso stunt that only singers capable of Chanticleer's great range and precision can manage, some rapturous Bach, an Ave Maria perhaps or a soft chant that begins from an invisible distance and ends in a procession.
CSO Brass, Dec. 15: When the elite trumpets, horns, trombones and tuba of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra come front and center for their annual December concert, they will upload a long tradition that goes back to the mid-20th century. That's when recordings finally proved able to capture the vibrant CSO sound with enough dimensionality to deliver the sudden impact and sustained beauty of the glorious brass choir. Georg Solti reveled in that sound on their recordings together, and Daniel Barenboim once likened the CSO's brass to "the orchestra's great stomach." Riccardo Muti, the present music director, often recalls that he knew all about the famous Chicago brass when he was still a boy. Muti is responsible for the appointments of two key principal players in their 30s, with distinctive sounds that fit into in the tradition: horn David Cooper and trumpet Esteban Batallán, They'll join their colleagues in arrangements from the orchestra's repertoire, including the solemn processional music from Mozart's opera The Magic Flute and the gleefully majestic "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" from Holst's The Planets.
To whet your appetite, listen to the "CSO Brass Live" recording on CSO Resound. That sound represents a particular way of playing, with force but also great nuance. The players, including trombone Michael Mulcahy, took turns conducting this session. "All brass players have to catch up with that sound when they come first on board," he said. "You have to hear it from inside. It's really like no other."
Handel's Messiah, Dec. 16-19: Then it's back to Orchestra Hall for Handel's beloved oratorio, performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in what has become a holiday tradition. Soon after it was penned in 1741, Messiah became a favorite throughout Europe; today, scarcely a city in the English-speaking realm does not sponsor a performance during the holidays.
Handel started writing the work in the heat of late August, and by mid-September, it was completely finished. He created the oratorio for relatively modest forces — two trumpets, timpani, two oboes, two violins, viola, bass line and keyboard — but these days it is not unusual to see those numbers greatly expanded.
The oratorio's story proceeds in vivid scenes that follow the narrative of Jesus' life from the first Old Testament prophecies forward to the telling of Jesus' trials, death and resurrection. These musical numbers — arias, duets, choruses and orchestral interludes — are charted in deeply touching human terms. The choruses are some of the most cherished in music history; in these Orchestra Hall presentations, it is not at all unusual to see audience members silently mouthing the words as they follow along.
British-born Nicholas McGegan is known for his expertise in the performance styles and vintage instruments that would have been used in the early 18th century era of Handel. Although there is a crispness and elegance of his approach that is informed by that grounding in historic authenticity, McGegan has led orchestras of all sizes in halls and arenas of all kinds.
"Merry, Merry Chicago!," Dec. 17-23: The family-favorite holiday celebration, featuring members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alastair Willis, returns for a run of pre-Christmas concerts with the usually expected jolly guest in red, on one of his last stops before heading out for preparations at the North Pole.
But wait! There's also another guest, fresh from her Carnegie Hall debut. And her color is green. Jessica Vosk starred for two years on Broadway as Elphaba, the misunderstood Wicked Witch of the West in the hit musical "Wicked." Vosk also turned her terrific voice to channeling legends such as Streisand, Midler, and Dietrich at Carnegie Hall. What will she sing in Chicago? The word is that seasonal favorites are definitely in the mix, and the orchestra will add portions from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, as well as classic holiday songs such as "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."