The Chicago Symphony's Beyond the Score series

Now in its sixth season, the Chicago Symphony's highly successful Beyond the Score series (subtitled, "Classical Music Exposed") has sought to engage its audiences more fully with outstanding pieces from the core orchestral repertoire.

The hour-long format consists of a first half that contextualizes a single composition with a combination of narration, musical examples, projections, and sometimes an actor portraying the composer. During the second half, the CSO launches into a complete, uninterrupted performance of the work presumably for an enlightened audience.

I have witnessed several of these presentations since they began, and they have never been anything short of excellent. It's easy to understand why they have become so wildly popular.

The current Beyond the Score focuses upon the Richard Strauss tone poem, Ein Heldenleben. If one of the purposes of a well-written review is to make one want to see the concert, I believe that Chicago critic Andrew Patner's The View from Here review achieves that purpose masterfully. Here is the review.

http://viewfromhere.typepad.com/the_view_from_here/2011/11/cso-beyond-the-score-re-visit-to-strausss-heldenleben-itself-heroic-bychkov-shows-elegant-hand.html

Although best experienced live, a number of past presentations are available for free from the beyondthescore.org website, and for a fuller accounting of the CSO's many activities visit their website at cso.org.