Tag: concert

2025. Part 2

Civic activities

Here, there are more negative than positive results. My biggest regret of 2025 is that I didn’t do enough during the election campaign. To be precise, I did zero canvassing and a very moderate amount of convincing people of what the right thing to do is. I knew it was wrong, but I kept telling myself that organizing Prairie Postgres is more important at that moment, and that I can’t do everything, and… I didn’t speak up enough, which I also regret. I post very little, if anything, political on LinkedIn, where I am most visible, and the list continues. I will never do it again!

I’ve done a little bit better at supporting DEI, regardless of the political climate, but I wasn’t consistent enough, so one of my goals for this year is to always keep this support on my radar.

Even with simple things like attending the rallies, I did way less than I did in previous years. Once again, my excuse was that I was twice as busy as before because of Prairie Postgres and my activities in the professional community. Still, I should always remember that if the country’s civic values are at risk, the interests of my professional community are at risk as well. I want to make an intentional effort to attend rallies when I really care about the cause. I know that society’s well-being depends on each individual’s actions, so I have no excuse. I know that each person matters. Earlier in 2025, I tried to become more involved in local initiatives, but I had to drop these activities because they looked like a very insignificant outcome for the time spent. I will try to get involved again in a couple of years, when I retire.

Cultural activities and reading

According to Goodreads, I read fewer books in 2025 than in 2024, but I believe that’s because I didn’t record books that ended up being a waste of time, and there were more of those in 2025. The majority of books were audiobooks, and that’s something I want to address. I switched to audiobooks because it is easier to listen while I am doing something else, and also because of my vision problems. Now that my vision is better, I am looking to find ways to read e-books again. Today, I realized I have a new option: I started taking the L more often, and when on the L, I can find a place to sit, but there isn’t enough space to open my computer, especially since I switched from Mac Air back to Mac Pro. This is the time when I can read e-books.

As for the other cultural activities, I attended many exhibits, concerts, operas, and different theatrical performances, but I didn’t keep track of them, and that’s something I want to do next year. I am still hungry for more cultural activities and want to see more performances than I have time to see, and oftentimes I feel disappointed because I do not like the show. Next year, I want to get more organized with all these activities, keep track of them, and what I like and what I don’t, so I can figure out how much I really want to see and what exactly.

To be continued

Monday,Tuesday, And Off I Go

So that I won’t leave a trail of stories-not-told, a quick recap of Monday and Tuesday.

On Monday morning, we went for breakfast to the Common Cup “to compare the breakfast sandwiches,” and the vote was that “both were good, but different.”

A coffee-cup decorated tree in the Common Cup

Shortly after, we left for Christkindl Market, planning to get there by its opening. The plan didn’t exactly work, since we had a couple of photo stops on the way (and a couple of fights), so we actually arrived at 11:20.

There was no wait, but the market was pretty crowded; besides, all three of us wanted food from three separate lines 😂, and it was really difficult to navigate. We got everything everyone wanted, and then we stood in a really long line for the best hot chocolate (Belgian, with a chocolate wrench on top).

Then, we went to the Sweet Castle store. As usual, there was a line to enter, but the girls were willing to stay in it. I told them they could get two small or one big thing each, and they ended up with gummy bears and hard candy (I hinted that there might be a lot of chocolate in the presents).
By the time we got out of the Sweet Castle, the crowd had subsided a little bit. There were still a lot of people, but as Nadis put it, fewer intimidating, so we happily continued our journey exploring the market, and stayed in another line to get into the Christmas Ornaments store.

Next stop was a manicure appointment. We started walking toward the DePaul campus (where the nail salon is located), but there was a bookstore on our way, and we couldn’t pass it without going in and starting to read off the shelves :).

… and then since we were by Harold Washington Library, one can guess what happened next :).

On Tuesday morning, we were waiting for Anna and John to come and have a pre-Christmas celebration together. They ordered the food from Honeybear cafe, and picked it up on the way. Once again, Igor escorted my mom to my place, and we had brunch, and exchanged presents.

Igor and my mom left, the girls packed, and all five of us went to the Merry Merry Chicago Concert. For Nadia, it was for either the third or fourth time, and she was looking forward to it. Kira was restless, and at the end, she said it was boring, and she didn’t like it. I think it was indeed too long of a concert for her, because before that, she only attended half-hour children’s concerts.

I went how and started to get my life in order. Actually, this time, the girls did a very decent job of keeping things in order, so it was not like I had a lot to clean up. However, I also had to pack for a short trip, catch up with work and other responsibilities, visit my mom, and finally talk to Boris for longer than ten minutes at a time. This took pretty much all the time starting with after the concert till 6 PM on the Christmas Eve, when I left the house with my luggage.

A Concert At Kirkkonummi

Boris is a “lifetime supporter” of FIBO – Finnish Baroque Orchestra, so he receives all their advertisements and often attends their concerts. The concert last Monday was at St. Michael’s Church in Kirkkonummi, where one of my Finnish friends lives. It’s always a little bit of a project to meet with her in person, precisely because she lives at a distance from Helsinki, so when Boris saw this concert announcement, he suggested we could meet up there and attend the concert together.

I am really glad we did. The church looks amazing. The oldest parts of it date back to the 13th century. Unfortunately, all of the inside was destroyed during the Soviet occupation, but the space with its outstanding acoustics is still there.

Of course, I am not a specialist in baroque music, so all six composers were unknown to me (Boris knew at least two), but the most astonishing thing I learned was that there were women composers in the 17th century, and not only nuns, and their music and their authorship actually survived through centuries. I feel so inadequate not knowing about that!

The two women composers I learned about were Isabella Leonarda and Antonia Bembo.

Isabella Leonarda
Antonia Bembo

Isabella Leonarda spent all her adult life in a convent, but Antonia Bembo was a singer and a noble person, and I was like: why didn’t I know anything about that?!

The Sun/Moon Concert at Guarneri Hall

I learned about Guarneri Hall, one of Chicago’s “hidden gems”, earlier this year from one of the WBEZ shows, and when I went there for the first time, I was blown away by the uniqueness of this experience. When they announced the program for the new season, I reserved several single tickets, even though I was unsure whether I would be able to attend.

It so happened that a good friend of mine visited Chicago this week (to run a Chicago marathon), and she happened to have that very evening free. I got one more ticket to the concert, and we went together.

I was happy to share this experience with someone else (for the record, so far, there have been no concerts on any of the days when Boris was here).

Yesterday’s program was called “Sun/Moon,” and was dedicated to Hydrogen Day (yes, I also didn’t know such a day existed). The concert opening remarks were delivered by Dr. Andrew Johnston, Vice President of Museum Experience & Collections at the Adler Planetarium. He talked about the origin of the Universe, the role of hydrogen in it, and what the “music of the spheres” really means. The program featured absolutely extraordinary performers, soprano Kristina Bachrach and pianist Winston Choi.

The program notes for those who are interested.

Nothing can compare with this special feeling of presence just a few feet away from where the music is made, hearing the clearest possible sound, and following the artist’s facial expressions :). And after the concert, there was a Q&A with the performers, and a small reception (my friend and I used this time to catch up on life).

“The Magic of Rogers and Hammerstein”

It’s one of my favorite summer concerts, and for the past several years, I have been trying not only to attend this concert but also to get tickets closer to the stage.

Before the concert, my neighbor and I tried a new French cafe. Just a couple of days before, I noticed a new cafe on North Michicgan Avenue, and thought the it would be nice to check whether they are open in the evening:I constantly lament about the disappearance of the inexpensive food options in the early evening hours; the places I oculd have a dinner before a show ora concert without breaking the bank. Panera, Cosi and Pret – all of them are mostly gone, and those that are left, close at 3 PM. The place which I spotted, Lea, reminded me of Toni Patissery, that didn’t survive the pandemic. I noticed that they are open until 7 PM, and decided to give it a try before the Friday concert.

It was great, both the food and desserts, and reasonably priced ($32, including the tip) for the meal below.

The concert was great, and although it looked like it was about to rain, it didn’t rain except for a couple of drops during the intermission. The seats were great, and I could see everything what was going on on stage. After my most recent surgery I can see very well even without glasses or contacts (except for the reaing glasses), but it was a little bit problematic to see things on stage. However, in June, I got contacts for both eyes for a perfect long-distance vision. I do not wear them every day, because I am fine without any visial aid most of the time, and also, when I have them on, I need a stronger reading glasses (I can’t even see the phone without them).

But for the performance, it was perfect! Eve though we were not in the front row, I could see everything!

I have a ticket for one more concert, which I will probably skip, and then Carmina Burana with my French guests in August.

More Cultural Activities

Thursday at CSO. A very French concert 🙂 The legendary Jean-Yves Thibaudet (not as young as in the pictures, but magnificent!). Conductor Stephane Deneve. All-French program: Boulanger (a woman composer who died young, I never heard of her!), Saint-Saëns, Debussy, Ravel. It appears to be my last concert of this CSO season: the Sunday concert was unfortunately postponed, and I exchanged all the rest of my tickets for the. next season since I will be out for the second half of June).

Friday: “English” in Goodman Theater. Full house. The audience laughed and cried. The program said that there would be a play discussion after the show, but there was no announcement, so we left. There was still enough to process, even without a discussion.

From the Goodman website:

“English Only.” Four adult students in Karaj, Iran are studying for the Test of English as a Foreign Language—the key to their green card, medical school admission or family reunification. Chasing fluency through a maze of word games, listening exercises and show-and-tell sessions, they hope that one day, English will make them whole. But it might be splitting them each in half.

Saturday

On Saturday, I allowed myself to have a day of complete relaxation. I know that the description that will follow won’t sound like a relaxation to many people, but it definitely was for me.

For the first time that week, I had breakfast at home with Boris, and we took time, and talked, and I was not running anywhere. Then I took a train to the look to meet one of my peers with whom I wanted to talk but didn’t have time before or during the conference. I gave her a mini-tour of the Loop while we were walking to the CAC building, where her actual tour was about to start.

Then I returned home, and we had lunch. Then, we did a couple of small house projects and headed to the CSO. It was the first time that I booked a pre-concert dinner at the Thomas Club on the 9th floor of the Chicago Symphony Building -and we both loved it! Everything: the view, the ambiance, the food and drinks, and the service was just perfect!

As for the concert, it was something I never heard before! Both the CSO and the Jazz in Lincoln Center Orchestra were on stage, and the performance they gave together was smashing!

Both Shostakovich and Prokofiev’s pieces are more than well-known to us: most of them were often on the radio in the Soviet Union, but their interpretation was so unusual that we could hardly recognize them. Two hours of pure joy 🙂

Another Weather Disaster!

Today was the second time I attended the “American Salute” concert, and the first time ever I paid for the seat to be close to the stage, to avoid the crowds, and to be protected from the elements. And it was the first time that the concert I attended was interrupted because of severe weather! Also, I took my mom to the concert, and she was miserable because her feet were completely wet, and we had to stand for almost 30 minutes (it was so bad I could not even think of walking to the street to get an Uber), the water was everywhere!…

… I am so disappointed! It started great!

A Weekend Of Cultural Activities

I had my girls over this weekend, and that was the most cultural activities we ever had in one and a half days!

We went to the CSO for Kids concert, which was the first time for Kira. Straight from there, we went to the Art Institute and saw the Dali exhibit (Nadia actually liked it, and even Kira showed some interest). Fortunately, the Art Institute recently reopened its cafe, so we had lunch there and then headed to the Ryan educational center, where Nadia made a collage on the Salvador Dali theme. As always, we spent a really long time there and started to head out only when they were about to close.

We then walked to the Bean and then to the Chicago Cultural Center and stopped there to see a Tiffany Dome.

On Sunday, Nadia and I went to Joffrey Ballet to see “The Little Mermaid,” a ballet composed by Lera Auerbach. Everything about this piece is amazing: the music, the choreography, the instruments, the costumes, and most importantly, how the fairy tale is interpreted.

I read the synopsis to Nadia while we were waiting for the train, and while I was reading, I thought: well, this does not look like a ballet for kids. When I finished reading and said: so that’s a very sad story, Nadia asked: why is it sad? And then I thought that probably she is right because at the end, both the Poet and the Little Mermaid found new meaning in their lives.

I found a very interesting link where Lera Auerbach talks about the score and how she chose the instrument for the Mermaid’s voice.

Here are a couple of pictures I found. I do not think they convey how amazing this ballet is, but it is at least something!

This promotional video gives at least some impression of how it feels – imagine 2.5 hours of such intensity!

And imagine Nadia sitting through it, watching!

Anne-Sophie Mutter

I went to her concert on Sunday – it was a matinee performance, so I took mom with me. It is always hit or miss (I never know whether she will enjoy a performance or start critiquing random things). This time, it was a miss – she said that the music didn’t engage her and then proceeded to criticize the musician’s clothes and other unrelated stuff. But enough about that.

Anne-Sophie Mutter is one of those artists who are so well-known that it feels like they “always were around,” and you might be unsure whether they are still alive. It was almost the case this time: I knew that she was the most famous violinist for the past twenty five years. The program mentioned her “forty seven years of performing.” So when you see her coming to stage in a bright pink strapless ball gown, it feels surreal :).

She is great. The concert lasted for two hours, and she was on stage all the time, and then did three encores!

The second part of the concert was “The Four Seasons,” and it was as great as on this video: