Well the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is still on strike and another casualty, among many, is the concert with superstar violinist Midori Goto and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet that was set for this coming Sunday.  Michael and I have had tickets for a long time and have looked forward to the program.  This is the second event we’ll miss due to the strike, which also stymied Anne-Sophie Mutter’s scheduled appearance a few weeks back.  In fact, a month of programmed prime Chicago Symphony concerts, guest symphony visits, soloists, and ensembles from around the world have been scrapped.  I was considering a last-minute matinee ticket for the legendary pianist Pollini a couple of weeks back – also cancelled.

On a recent Friday night Michael and I went to Tesori, a restaurant adjacent to Symphony Center that’s associated with a good and convenient pre or post-concert meal, and it was nearly vacant.  The emptiness was a reminder that the servers and others in the hospitality and service industry who benefit from the well-heeled patrons of Symphony Center’s lively calendar are also casualties of the labor unrest.  I find it interesting that the only strong unions that exist in American Capitalism now represent workers in middle class professions – the workers in American Capitalism most in need of help have none.

As I’ve had some greater-than-usual work-related stress recently, I can say that I have greatly missed having my Symphony excursions to look forward to.  For me, one of the benefits to our downtown Chicago location is proximity to Symphony Center.

There is, sadly, no resolution in sight to the strike, which began on March 10.  I do have confidence the strike will be resolved eventually, but I’m not sure what the next steps are; symphony management presented their “best and final offer” over last weekend and the musicians turned it down.  I sure hope those musicians can get what they want by May 1, when we have tickets for Perlman and pianist Evgeny Kissin.  I don’t want any more credit for future concerts on my account.  I want to hear some music.

Power to the people.

Thanks for reading.

Ryan