Chicago classical musicians biography
Patricia Barber
Taylor Bennett.
Classical music can be a path to personal enrichment and accomplishment or a marker of social status. It can be a focus of research and historical study or a means of entertainment and source of personal pleasure. For the city as a whole, classical music has served as a signal of Chicago's cultural sophistication and economic strength.
Cultural events and institutions were one means of placing Chicago's civic vitality above that of rival cities and proclaiming its coming of age to the nation and the world.
Chicago classical musicians biography
In a city of superlatives, Chicago's musical culture could likewise excel. To combat pejorative labels such as “Porkopolis” or “Second City,” civic boosters strove to make Chicago a “First City” of the arts.