Very nice space and concert experience. The lobby is large and spacious, able to accommodate multiple bars and a merchandise table. The theater is large and comfortable with good sound. The staff are friendly and helpful. We walked to the venue from a hotel, but there seemed to be parking nearby. read more

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra - Stage - Performing Arts Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

In my opinion, this organization doesn't have or care about the citizens of Cincinnati and Northern K.Y. I think they only care about the mighty dollar . They are going to ask for our taxpayer money which should have gone to Coney Island. Don't get me wrong, I am ok with growth, but the way they did was a low blow the people. In my opinion, they were sneaky and took a very special place away from our city. Coney Island was very special to many people and kids. It was like a painting in a museum and a national historic location with much history. I will never attend any of their events again... if we want to go see a concert I will travel out of the city. read more

They should rename as GCSO - GREEDY Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. These sheisters are nonprofit in name only. They tear down a historical landmark meant for families and are replacing it with a concert venue when they already own at least 6. And the fact that they're asking for state money is deplorable. I will boycott this organization's and their venues for life and you should too. read more

Top notch performers and entertainment! I've missed live shows this last year and my husband surprised me with tickets to the CSO for their Carnival concert. We always enjoy any show that we see from our orchestra. They are just amazing! And this show, while short, was awesome. Due to social distance guideline the shows are shortened to avoid intermission, the concessions are closed and the audience size is very limited. While I did miss the energy of a full audience - the show was great as always. read more

We bought tickets for the Death and Transfiguration Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and it did not disappoint! The Music Hall itself is gorgeous and has beautiful chandeliers. The acoustics are also so good that there is not a bad seat on the entire place. The ushers were also very helpful and showed us right to our seats. They had a snack stand and bar in the lobby, but we did not try anything from there because we got dinner before. The show itself was fantastic! The musicians were so talented and it was memorizing to watch. The first piece was changed due to an injury to one of the horn players,but you could not tell there was a last minute change to the program. The piece was dark and performed beautifully. The second piece was actually commissioned for CSO and the composer was there to talk about his inspiration and what to expect before they began. This was the showstopper of the night! Going to see the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is always a great experience and we plan on going to a few more shows this season! read more

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra - stage and auditorium - Performing Arts Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

HORRIBLE optics in their recent decision to purchase and level the Coney Island property. The symphony has pleaded poverty forever and many of us have donated significantly because of this. Not sure how they've now gone from desperately needing public and private support to a color-blind decision to level a significant historical structure that was essentially a public pool for the community, particularly the underserved and people of color. Not a great image for an institution that purports to want to serve the wider community and not just elitists. I was NOT one of the folks that signed the 25,000 signature petition and I'm guessing the broad public sentiment on this move, if the symphony bothered to do market research, would NOT be good. I won't be encouraging the CSO's bad behavior by continuing to attend. read more

The CSO bought and is currently destroying a Cincinnati landmark that up until the end of 2023, was a viable, loved, patronized, historical site. That site was Coney Island's Sunlite Pool. The executives and Board of the CSO had an opportunity to sell off the pool portion of the property to another entity to maintain and run it, but chose to destroy it instead. They have left hundreds, maybe a few thousand, people without anywhere to swim, socialize, and play this coming summer. All just to have a larger parking lot. read more

CSO is horrible. they say the stand for their property's and the history. they asked for donations to restore all their build and now they are destroying Coney Island to build a parking lot on top of where pool stands. On top, they wouldn't fill in the lake and take away all the wildlife. there is plenty of places to park without destroying the pool area. CSO should be a shame of themselves if they cannot keep the history of Coney Island alive and still build a new contest venue. I will never go to one events ever again. read more

Think twice before supporting this organization. If you are a band really consider if you want to play at a place that says one thing and then does another. People are upset with their plans to demolish Coney Island and they won't even have a conversation to discuss it. They want to pave over Sunlite pool that many Cincinnatians hold near and dear to their hearts to replace it with a brand new music venue that will probably be out of the price range for many families. It feels like a shady thing to do. The fact they won't even talk with anyone just says they are money hungry and don't really care how the community feels. read more

Spectacular venue. Saw an amazing pops show. Bought cheap seats in first row of second balcony, noted as partially obstructed, but barely. One of the best entertainment values around. Can't wait to go back. read more

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra - View from the upper upper deck - Performing Arts Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Tonight I will be seeing my second show here and I am very excited! The last time we came for a show I had managed to buy tickets for the wrong night, and their will call ticket staff very kindly assisted me in switching to tickets for the correct night. They were so kind and helpful, it meant a lot! They had wonderful drinks and snacks and we had a great view from our seats. I do always wish, and this goes for all symphonies, that they had popcorn or something more than candy to snack on-I'm definitely a big snack person! Their show was wonderful and we couldn't have asked for a better night. As a side note, it would be helpful if when you buy tickets directly through their website you were able to see a "view from seat" picture-Columbus does this on their site. Thanks for great events! read more

I have enjoyed several performances by the CSO. The music hall has been beautifully renovated, the conductor is charismatic, and the musicians are skilled artists. Lovely performances! read more

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is a world class orchestra located right in our lovely city. Not many people know how skilled and world renowned they are! The CSO has professionally recorded many pieces. If fact the concert I attended this weekend was recorded! The CSO doubles as the Pops under the direction of Eric Kunzel at Riverbend each summer. They can really easily switch from classical to many different kinds of music in the summer. It seems like they have a good time when they are swinging it up! I've had the privilege of singing with them in both capacities. The CSO just returned a few weeks ago from a five country European tour. They do these tours every once and a while. It takes a lot of man power and organization to move a symphony like that! The season runs from September through early May each year. Each season features around 35 or musical selections. The 2008-2009 season features many guest artists and conductors and some varied programs to satisfy all! You can check it out on their website. I attended a concert this past weekend. The first piece was written by a local composer and faculty member at CCM, Robert Johnson. It was a very interesting and wonderfully composed piece. The audience loved it! The last piece they played was really cool. It was Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. This piece is about human sacrifice and apparently sparked a lot of controversy in it's day. All I could think of the entire time was dinosaurs from it's debut in the movie Fantasia! The symphony received a standing ovation at the end of the concert! read more

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra - The symphony filing in and tuning up - Performing Arts Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

We came down last Friday to see the performance of Beethoven's 9th. It was magnificent! Our symphony here is truly amazing and it's such a great treasure for the city. It was such a treat to see the symphony perform with mayfest choir on such a treasured musical work. read more

I'm Loving the Cincinnati Symphony. The performance level as always excellent and there is always an attempt to bring in newcomers in some way or another! It is no longer a just a black tie affair, it's come as you are everything from Jeans to evening gowns. The Season is varied enough that there is always something different to hear and they bring in some of the best guest artists in the world. This year Yo-yo Ma & Itzhak Perlman. I reccomend getting season tickets because even at their lowest price ticket you'e getting a great deal! They have special programs for Children throughout the year so keep an eye out and be sure to bring the kids to those! read more

The CSO, and its home, Music Hall, are some of the finest arts assets within our city. Thanks to growing up in an arts-loving family, I've gone to a couple of symphony concerts every year as long as I've lived in Cincinnati. Recently, they've started doing things like showing a brief video about the composer and piece before the show starts. Growing up, going to the Symphony was always a pretty buttoned-up affair -- long lines at the coat check for people dropping off their fancy coats. But now, it's a much more diverse crowd -- I noticed a guy with face tattoos at the last concert I attended. I happen to think this is an awesome and positive development. Symphony concerts are also very affordable to attend (often cheaper than a sporting event!), and as my dad says "there isn't a bad seat in the house." read more

I volunteer rGreat concerts Great energy Very good

We attended one of the pops performances in the fall of 2007. We thought the performance itself was excellent and the venue is a place to behold! We had great seats within a few rows of the stage. The pops performs monthly September through May. You can buy individual tickets or a season ticket. Single event prices start at less than $25. In Feb. 2009 the pops will have a live orchestra performing during a showing of The Wizard of Oz! Should be a great family event! read more

We're at the CSO almost every weekend and it's always a great experience. This year especially has been interesting as they've been rotating through visiting conductors and have split the season up between a few different creative directors. The shows are always incredible and an educational experience. I highly suggest you get there early for the classical conversation before the show. You'l be given background on the conductor, guests and the pieces being performed that night and often the conductor will take time to answer an array of questions. If you have the chance participating in tweet seats brings an even broader appreciation for the pieces as you can read real time insights from the associate conductors back-stage. Whether it's a play by play of the story behind the music or historical notes about the piece and the composer, it add's a lot of interesting information to the performance. Think of it as real-time program notes. If you haven't been definitely go, Music Hall and the CSO are true local treasures. read more

Attended a recent performance while in town for a little R&R. The facilities and staff were amazing. Beautiful concert hall and very attentive staff. They were very helpful in walking us to the will call and showing us to our seats. This was my first time to the symphony and I really enjoyed it. I'm hooked! read more

This is a world class orchestra, and the newly renovated Music Hall looks and sounds splendid! Also, they have good craft beer now that you can take INTO the hall! We went to one of their chamber series concerts in the Corbett Tower and really enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next one! read more

We have one of the best symphony orchestra's in the nation - it's over 117 years old - and so it deserves some much needed praise. Last night was the CSO's sold out opening night with world renowned violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman both playing and conducting - this is something that doesn't happen every year or even every decade. And what can I say other than the concert was spectacular and as always the orchestra was at its best. I've been going to the symphony for years to hear specific soloist/composers, as CSO always brings in the best - this year I finally made a 10 concert committment so I'll be able to branch out and go to some performances I normally wouldn't. The cost varies greatly -anywhere from $10 for students and/or waiting for day of to $125 for box seats on certain occasions, but music hall has great acoustics so any seat in the house will have great sound, but sometimes if it's a pianist for example you may not be able to see their hands move from the nose bleed balcony section. Also people do complain about the small seats and tight spaces inbetween rows in the balconey sections being uncomfortable but Music hall will be renovated next year so hopefully they will work on that. This year CSO is also looking for a new conductor/music director, we had Paavo Jarvi for the past decade (he was superb, sorry to see him go). So this year they will bringing in a slew of guest conductors and the creative directors have put together an excellent variety of performances and list of soloist for this year so it should be a very interesting season. So if you've never gone before and you live in cincinnati it is definitely something to experience - especially since after this year CSO is moving to Taft threatre during the renovation - it should be interesting to see how much music hall changes. It is a great building in and of itself. read more

I would give ten stars if I could. Have been going for 30 years. We are so lucky to have this. Never been to a performance that was less than stellar. Louis is the very best. Love his work. read more