German composer and pianist Nils Frahm spent two years building a studio in a historic Berlin building to capture the intricate instrumental arrangements that populate his new album, All Melody. Straddling the line between contemporary classical music and the avant-garde electronica, Frahm uses a pipe organ, a piano and racks of vintage synthesizers to build layered, hypnotizing compositions. His concerts feature plenty of on-stage multi-tasking, as Frahm flits between instruments, rapidly reconstructing and improvising variations on his cinematic melodies.
Frahm was originally scheduled to perform at Symphony Center on April 5, but that show was canceled due to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra musicians' ongoing strike. Frahm will perform in the Art Institute of Chicago's Rubloff Auditorium instead, though fans will need to purchase new tickets to the show (the CSO is issuing refunds for its canceled performance).