Classical Music

Great Performances is broadcasting a performance of Marin Alsop conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in her mentor Leonard Bernstein's "Kaddish" symphony at Ravinia, where she is chief conductor. The soprano soloist is a Chicago area native.

The Moorish Revival building in River North was initially built for the Shriners, but has seen a circus, demolition threats, the Dalai Lama, an early MLK Day celebration, a Bloomingdale's, and more over its more than century of existence. 

Take a look at Orchestra Hall's more than 100-year history and the prominent Chicago architects who have shaped and renovated the home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, at a time when the New York Philharmonic's newly redesigned hall is receiving all the attention.

In the third season of Now Hear This, Scott Yoo explores the idea of American classical music through several composers and their influences, which range from samba to spirituals to Hindustani music—with explanatory pit-stops for food along the way. 

Marin Alsop is currently the only woman who has ever led one of America's top 25 orchestras as music director. A new documentary on Great Performances follows her obstacle-filled rise. We talked to her about the obstacles women conductors continue to face.