No matter how many times you’ve sat through director Frank Capra’s 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life, you’ve probably never seen it as it was intended. That’s because the original music by major Hollywood composer Dimitri Tiomkin—whose name is still prominent in the credits—was all but totally dumped before the movie was released, ostensibly to lighten the mood for holiday consumption. While recognizable non-Tiomkin songs like “Buffalo Gals” and “Auld Lang Syne” remained, 40 minutes’ worth of his material was excised, leaving the film with long stretches devoid of any musical component, including some of its most dramatic scenes. This weekend members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the CSO Chorus rectify that. Under the baton of conductor Justin Freer, they’ll perform the full Tiomkin score as the movie screens.

Deanna Isaacs

Price: $45-$145