Chicago Symphony Orchestra Assoc. Reviews

Beautiful concert tonight with my friend composing one of the pieces. This event is an absolute must watch and the Symphony Center is absolutely gorgeous with wonderful performances throughout the year, I highly recommend it!

Excellent venue, fairly intimate and of course the performances are world-class.

For being a Chicago venue, we always find the Chicago Symphony Orchestra a low stress evening of entertainment. Very easy to get to by parking directly underneath at South Michigan Ave. Park then walk up the escalator to the entrance. The coat check, ushers, and bar staff are always very courteous. Of course, the music is incredible. Ranked 5th in the World and 1st in the USA, the musicians fill the Symphony Center with beautiful sounds.

The CSO is a consistently exquisite performing ensemble. Their performance hall is somewhat cramped. That said, O will go to a CSO concert whenever I am in town. Makes for a great evening!

A beautiful orchestra in a beautiful venue. Thank you CSO for a wonderful concert! Would definitely recommend!!

Beautiful building with one of the world's greatest orchestras!

Just outstanding and beautiful! You'll never be disappointed in a performance

Beautiful Hall! The Christmas concert was beautiful, although a more traditional christmas concert would have been better. Box seats are definitely the best seats in the house - great views with adequate privacy. For the price of snacks and drinks, there could be better coffee creamers available. Overall, a great experience!

Amazing experience. Doesn't matter where you're sitting, the music us breathtaking!

Amazing concert at a beautiful venue. The orchestra did a stunning job of showcasing the complexity of the Final Fantasy music. If you get the chance to see a show here, take it.

Always been a fan of symphonic music but never seen it live. This was my first experience being at a live symphony. As far as I was concerned the music quality exceeded my expectations. It was a wonderful venue and the music was amazing. It was very memorizing to watch the talented musicians all playing in unison.

The venue is smaller than I expected but large enough. They do serve beer and wine and cocktails before and at intermission. The lobby is not large and the lines can get long.

Overall, I truly enjoyed the symphony and would return.

Everything was amazing! Extra kudos to the ushers, we were with a group of school children and they were so kind!!

For classic music lovers. I went there at some free showcase, which was held in smaller room. Music and atmosphere were great. Building has good location in the center of the city and is easily accessible with public transport

Great place for artistic performances, creativity and beauty. Conveniently located in the Chicago Downtown area.

The only real criticism of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra I ever hear is how it is too good. I love the space, the acoustics and the terrace seating is always a nice change. The last concert I heard featured Anne-Sophie Mutter and I was blown away.

Aida was so good. Muti, the Chorus, the fantastic soloists

Depending on where you sit, acoustics are wonderful. Don't sit at the back of the main floor, though. Usually high school classes sit there. Usually they are not good audience members.

Was ripped off with the ticket at the box office. They added $6 "facility fee" to the ticket. This is scam, sorry. There is no way to buy a ticket without this fee - so just add it to the price and don't rip people off. Th seat was terrible - I bought an inexpensive ticket to the gallery to hear a solo pianist, and the sound was total blur. Maybe it's okay for a big loud orchestra, but not for a piano. At least for my professional musician ears. Not going there again. I can get much better sound from my headphones at home.

Thanks to my dear friend Liz who invited me to experience Symphony...

Best orchestral venue in the city, if not the country. Wonderful to perform in too. Liked it better than Carnegie Hall. And the CSO is one of Chicago's most valuable cultural assets.

Great venue, continuously receive phone calls about coming back

This is yet another one of Chicago's beautiful and historic halls.

We liked Beethoven's 3rd. Lively as well as well played.

The CSO is a world renowned orchestra for good reason. Hearing a live concert is the best way to experience Classical music.

Great music experience, but only if seated close to a scene.

Beautiful, always maintained, great friendly staff!

The sound effect and vision is pretty good. Even it's for student tickets. Quite satisfied.

Gorgeous building and great sound, something g critical to enjoying the Symphony - which I did!

What can I say!! This place is always a pleasure to visit, whether it's a high school or college graduation or you're actually attending an orchestra!! The staff is as always super friendly and helpful!! It's always immaculate and everything is always in working order!!

4 stars for venue, 5 for the music..... Obviously.

Amazing show and a glamorous backdrop. Will be visiting again soon.

Concession lines are ridiculous, but man, do those musicians know their stuff!

I was invited to a reading at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra some time ago. To be truthful, I was not sure what a reading was. I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. Just in case you don't know either, a reading is a rehearsal by the orchestra, I learned so much about how a piece is interpreted by a director. Now I know why a piece sounds very different whe play even by the same orchestra, it is how the director interpretes the work of any given composer. Very cool!

Whenever I visited this center was very pleased with the music and overall atmosphere.

A classic Chicago musical staple. Great, if aging, venue. Beautiful music performed by the best classical musicians in the city.

CSO IS ALWAYS AMAZING. Beethovens violin concerto was so much better than expected.

Nick Elder and Williams and Elgar. A great British night out.

I've never been to a concert here for actual adults but their December-ish kids concert (in this case partnering with Second City performers) was well done. The more exciting bits were front-loaded so our younger kids began to lose interest near the end, but overall a fun experience for everyone. They accommoted us well and managed to keep a large group together even though they were overloaded with school buses, so extra kudos for that.

Obviously the musicians are amazing. The facilities though could use some improvements. More elevators and bathrooms to start.

Great music beautiful room, it was a hassle to get out

Nice place to enjoy a great music perform. The seats behind the stage provide an unusual view of the performers.

An accoustic venue with an inspired variety of programming. Muti's history with Shostakovich's 13th Symphony made the experience feel more deeply connected.

Beautiful location! Great staff members that are always willing to help. The inside is beautiful and has great seating options available. Star Wars sounded amazing live!!

One of THE BEST in the world! We, as Chicagoans, should be very proud!

Just listened to a wonderful Beethoven violin Concerto in D Major with Muti conducting and Leonidas Kavakos on violin....great, great music. Muti & Kavakos were an extraordinary combination.

Really liked the orchestra, the pianist not so much, which was a bummer considering we went there for the Tchaikovsky piano concerto. Would go again though for a different performance. Liked the atmosphere over all very much.

My cousin invited me to the 30th Anniversary of the Warner Bros. Orchestra performance of Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes music. They orchestra plays live while the cartoons are shown on a large screen. It was amazing, nostalgic and hilarious all at the same time. Elmer Fudd's refrain of "Kill the Rabbit" sung to Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries " was too funny. "One Froggy Night" featured ragtime piano classics and it's plot forecasted the plot of Jumanji, made 50+ years later. It was just a fantastic time.

Do I really have to explain the 5 stars? :-)) great orchestra, great music performances. Recent highlight: AIDA

Saw distant worlds, amazing show in an amazing venue.

Fantastic venue, i saw Distant Worlds here and bought VIP seats, fantastic show and fantastic acoustics in the building. Highly recommend.

Talented musicians on an intimate stage in a beautiful hall.

One of the best symphony orchestras in the world... A true Chicago gem!!

I don't understand why they don't sell remaining seats at discount price. Half the seats were empty!

We went to see Common in conjunction with the Symphony Orchestra, it was like hip hop meets classical, he was very entertaining.

A bunch of newbies and I went to see Maestro Emanuele Andrizzi and Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts and pianist Adam Nieman. We were dazzled by the performances, the music, and the piano elevator right in the middle of the floor!!!!!

As a traveling Audio Engineer, this is one of my favorite rooms in N. America. The staff is friendly, sightlines are good, and the accoustics are excellent. Always a welcome sight on the itinerary.

Had an excellent experience at the Symphony Orchestra. Saw my friend's concert, who attends Roosevelt University, and I was amazed by the quality of music and performance.