Chicago – A Tale Of Two Festivals

“Like a summer earthquake, Millennium Park has tilted the playing field of Chicago-area classical music festivals, and Ravinia is clearly feeling the shock waves. The city of Chicago’s stunning $475-million cultural playground and outdoor recreation center — home to the Grant Park Music Festival since its opening in July 2004 — has been pulling in capacity crowds to the Jay Pritzker Pavilion for most of the Grant Park Orchestra’s 30 concerts this season. At the same time, Ravinia continues to grapple with a decline in pavilion ticket sales to the 22 Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts it presented.”