Pierre Boulez will definitely appear in Chicago, and maybe Cleveland, too. (Photo by yan.da) Here are a couple reasons to see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra this week: The special discount the CSO provided for our 2009 Gift Guide , which gets you two tickets for the price of one, is still available for tonight and Thursday ‘s concerts (some restrictions apply). Unlike the Pierre Boulez-led concert in Cleveland on February 4 , the CSO’s Pierre Boulez-led concerts will definitely happen. The Cleveland Orchestra , one of the world’s greatest ensembles despite being located in, well, not one of the world’s greatest cities, had a labor tussle, with the musicians going on strike yesterday to protest cuts in pay and benefits that are commensurate with the local economy but not the orchestra’s talent level (although it appears an agreement has been reached after all-night negotiations, and will be voted on by the musicians this afternoon). On the negative side, however, you’ll have to deal with the mental stress of dealing with an approach-approach conflict when having to choose between seeing David Robertson conduct Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” and Pierre Boulez conducting another early Stravinsky piece, “The Firebird.” Luckily, you can practice approach-approach avoidance, which is not to be confused with approach-avoidance and, in any case, is something we just made up, by just getting tickets to both concerts. Thursday’s program will be repeated 1:30 p.m. Friday and 8:00 p.m. Saturday, although the discount won’t be available for those shows. To get two tickets for the price of one, call or stop by the box office and mentioned “Special 2-for-1.” Symphony Center, 220 S Michigan, $22-$109, call (312) 294-3000 or stop by the box office for the discount

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2-for-1 CSO Tix Reminder, Now With More Superfluous Info