The Chicago Symphony launches a new multimedia program. “Designed by Gerard McBurney, a British music historian and BBC program host, the introduction deftly mixed vintage photos projected onto a huge overhead screen, excerpts from Strauss’ letters, commentary from his contemporaries and short excerpts from the tone poem itself. The pacing was seamless, the information on Strauss and his era coming in easily digestible but never watered-down nuggets. When the CSO played the entire work straight through after intermission, the large audience couldn’t help but feel like newly minted connoisseurs.”