Celebrating Chicago music critic Andrew Patner

Celebrating Chicago music critic Andrew Patner:

A discussion with Alex Ross, John R. Schmidt, and Douglas W. Shadle

 

Book Launch and Discussion on Friday, May 3rd, 2019, at 11 a.m.
Italian Cultural Institute
500 N Michigan Ave, Suite 1450, Chicago, IL 60611
FREE TO PUBLIC 

CHICAGO—On Friday, May 3rd, 2019, the University of Chicago Press and the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago will present a panel discussion celebrating the work of Andrew Patner and the publication of A Portrait in Four Movements: The Chicago Symphony under Barenboim, Boulez, Haitink, and Muti (May 2019).

Andrew Patner was a Chicago-based journalist, broadcaster, critic, and interviewer. Patner was the celebrated classical music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1991 until his death, at age 55, in 2015. On his weekly radio programs on WFMT, “Critical Thinking” and “Critic’s Choice,” Patner interviewed both renowned and up-and-coming conductors and composers.

This discussion of Patner’s life and work will feature the book’s three contributors, New Yorker music critic Alex Ross, attorney John R. Schmidt, and musicologist Douglas W. Shadle.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has been led by a storied group of conductors. And from 1994 to 2015, through the best work of Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Bernard Haitink, and Riccardo Muti, Andrew Patner was right there. In his career as critic, Patner was able to trace the arc of the CSO’s changing repertories, all while cultivating a deep rapport with its four principal conductors. This book assembles Patner’s reviews of the concerts given by the CSO during this time, as well as transcripts of his remarkable radio interviews with these colossal figures. Featuring a foreword by fellow critic Alex Ross on the ethos and humor that informed Patner’s writing, as well as an introduction and extensive historical commentary by Shadle, this book offers a rich portrait of the musical life of Chicago through the eyes and ears of one of its most beloved critics.

Please RSVP at your convenience. More details about the event can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/book-launch-and-discussion-celebrating-chicago-music-critic-andrew-patner-with-john-r-schmidt-tickets-60766205356

A Portrait in Four Movements: The Chicago Symphony under Barenboim, Boulez, Haitink, and Muti

By Andrew Patner, edited by John R. Schmidt and Douglas W. Shadle

With an Introduction by Douglas W. Shadle and a Foreword by Alex Ross

US Publication Date: May 15, 2019 | Cloth $27.50 | ISBN-13: 978-0-226-60991-1

 

Please contact Meredith Nini at (773)702-0279 or mnini@uchicago.edu to request a review copy.