Tag: cso

Merry, Merry Chicago Concert

Yesterday, I was at the CSO holiday concert – what a delight! It was a last-minute decision; I was not sure I would fit it into my schedule comfortably. I decided just a couple of days before the concert, and I also invited one of my friends with her daughter. It was their first time for both of them in the CSO, and I like to take people to the CSO for the first time almost as much as I like to teach people to skate!

It was a very good concert, very festive, the one which helps to feel the holiday magic. I can recall a couple of more exciting shows, which would tell a story (like the one based on O’Henry’s The Gifts of the Magi or the one about the Christmas truce during WWI), but this one was still very good.

The best thing was that the CSO returned to the holiday tradition and presented “Christmas in Chicago” at the end (and as it ought to be, it was not on the program). I think it was in 2018 when they did not sing this song, and I was so upset with it that I ended up not going in 2019!

SO this year, the concert is back, and Christmas in Chicago is back! 

And for those who for some reason never heard this song, here ae official lyrics:

Christmas in Chicago – lyrics

Christmas in Chicago is my kind of Christmas

It’s just what Christmas ought to be

Snowflakes fill the frosty air, skaters frolic on the square

And on State Street dazzling windows are a beautiful sight to see

Christmas in Chicago, as hearts fill with wonder

Lights sparkle all along Magnificent Mile

I love Christmas in Chicago, that’s my kind of Christmas

At Christmas all Chicago wears a smile

The City of Big Shoulders wears a robe of winter white

The lion statues wear their wreaths of green

Picasso’s sculpture wears a cheerful multicolored glow

Reflected from the city’s Christmas tree

Christmas in Chicago is music and laughter

And singing carols here at Orchestra Hall

I love Christmas in Chicago, that’s my kind of Christmas

It’s like no other Christmas at all

Christmas in Chicago is my kind of Christmas

It’s just what Christmas ought to be

We’ll make a trip to carol at the zoo in Lincoln Park

We’ll sing for kangaroo and chimpanzee

We’ll warm up with hot chocolate there and then we’ll go downtown

To Marshall Field’s and sit on Santa’s knee

Christmas in Chicago is my kind of Christmas

It’s just what Christmas ought to be

Sleigh bells ring on horsedrawn cabs near Water Tower Place

Church bells peal from steeples ’round the town

Salvation Army Santas add a joyful ring-a-ling

The Loop is filled with happy Christmas sounds

Christmas in Chicago is music and laughter

And singing carols here at Orchestra Hall

I love Christmas in Chicago, that’s my kind of Christmas

It’s like no other Christmas at all

Chicago’s kind of Christmas is a magic kind of Christmas

It’s like no other Christmas at all

Yesterday, I was at the CSO holiday concert – what a delight! It was a last-minute decision; I was not sure I would fit it into my schedule comfortably. I decided just a couple of days before the concert, and I also invited one of my friends with her daughter. It was their first time for both of them in the CSO, and I like to take people to the CSO for the first time almost as much as I like to teach people to skate!

It was a very good concert, very festive, the one which helps to feel the holiday magic. I can recall a couple of more exciting shows, which would tell a story (like the one based on O’Henry’s The Gifts of the Magi or the one about the Christmas truce during WWI), but this one was still very good.

The best thing was that the CSO returned to the holiday tradition and presented “Christmas in Chicago” at the end (and as it ought to be, it was not on the program). I think it was in 2018 when they did not sing this song, and I was so upset with it that I ended up not going in 2019!

SO this year, the concert is back, and Christmas in Chicago is back! 

And for those who for some reason never heard this song, here are official lyrics:

Christmas in Chicago – lyrics

Christmas in Chicago is my kind of Christmas

It’s just what Christmas ought to be

Snowflakes fill the frosty air, skaters frolic on the square

And on State Street dazzling windows are a beautiful sight to see

Christmas in Chicago, as hearts fill with wonder

Lights sparkle all along Magnificent Mile

I love Christmas in Chicago, that’s my kind of Christmas

At Christmas all Chicago wears a smile

The City of Big Shoulders wears a robe of winter white

The lion statues wear their wreaths of green

Picasso’s sculpture wears a cheerful multicolored glow

Reflected from the city’s Christmas tree

Christmas in Chicago is music and laughter

And singing carols here at Orchestra Hall

I love Christmas in Chicago, that’s my kind of Christmas

It’s like no other Christmas at all

Christmas in Chicago is my kind of Christmas

It’s just what Christmas ought to be

We’ll make a trip to carol at the zoo in Lincoln Park

We’ll sing for kangaroo and chimpanzee

We’ll warm up with hot chocolate there and then we’ll go downtown

To Marshall Field’s and sit on Santa’s knee

Christmas in Chicago is my kind of Christmas

It’s just what Christmas ought to be

Sleigh bells ring on horsedrawn cabs near Water Tower Place

Church bells peal from steeples ’round the town

Salvation Army Santas add a joyful ring-a-ling

The Loop is filled with happy Christmas sounds

Christmas in Chicago is music and laughter

And singing carols here at Orchestra Hall

I love Christmas in Chicago, that’s my kind of Christmas

It’s like no other Christmas at all

Chicago’s kind of Christmas is a magic kind of Christmas

It’s like no other Christmas at all!

And that’s exactly how we felt!

Continue reading “Merry, Merry Chicago Concert” →

The Chicago Symphony Opens The Season

It’s late, and I should go to bed right away, but I have to say something about today’s concert. The whole week was a week of openings of the season: first the Lyric last Friday, then the Music of Baroque on Monday, and today, it was Chicago Symphony – maestro Muti reunited with his orchestra.

It was the best thing in this season so far. Even the way they played a National Anthem at the beginning of the concert, my friend Geri and I agreed that it was incredibly moving. Maestro Muti talked to the audience in the beginning. He said he had to prepare a celebratory speech, but he couldn’t find the right words “because English was not his native language.” In reality, he was very emotional, and his hands trembled when he was holding a mike. He talked about the past pandemic and how musicians suffered because they could not talk to the world. He said that we all were there not just to listen to the music but also to interact with the orchestra. And also, he said that music is inclusive, there is a place for everybody, and “those how is saying all this garbage … it’s just garbage!” Everybody laughed: he said in before conducting a piece by Florence Price 🙂

The pictures below were taken before people started to come in, and later there was a full house. I think my friend has more; if that’s the case, I will share them.