Uncomfortable Seats; Don't Trust the Box Office - ...

Uncomfortable Seats; Don't Trust the Box Office - A world-class symphony is only as good as those who represent them. And, so it is with CSO. I very much wanted to go to their 125th Anniversary concert, because they were going to play my favorite piece of all time, Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. So, I called their Box Office and specifically asked when single tickets were going to go on sale. I was told August 12. Since I am not good at trusting people, I periodically checked their website. And, guess what? Yep. The tickets were on sale by June 7. And, I ended up in Row B in what I call the "upper deck." It's actually the "Gallery." When I told one usher I was in the "upper deck," he laughed and asked if I mistakenly thought I was coming to a Cubs game. Well, I am certain the bleacher seats there are more comfortable! You know for sure at the CSO that you are indeed in the cheap seats. The gallery is sloped at quite an angle! You definitely want to make sure that you are holding onto the side rail at all times going up and coming down! Then, because of the high degree of slope, there are the same metal rails between each row. So, you have a pretty good chance of having one leg wedged against one of the rails. The symphony is very good. But, I was struck at how their conductor, Riccardo Muti, leapt into their program's Beethoven before the audience had quieted down from applauding. I said to someone during intermission that maybe Muti just wanted to get the program over with so he could get to the gala ball being held afterward. The music was great, but you are put through some hurdles unless you are willing to really lay your money down to get decent seats. Ours were $60/each. To me, it wasn't worth it, and I have no plan on returning to CSO.