It’s a little hole in the wall on Chicago Avenue. Easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. But it came to life last night. The Abraham Lincoln Bookshop – and its proprietor, Lincoln expert and memorabilia trader Daniel Weinberg, hosted Ravinia Festival in a panel discussion with some of the composers and musicians the festival commissioned to celebrate the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.  The discussion was webcast live, and that presentation will be available for viewing soon at Ravinia.org. Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman, who instigated the many Lincoln activities and commissions over the past three years joined the panel with Chicago composer Lita Grier, whose “Anne Rutledge” set to music the Edgar Lee Masters poem that told the story of Abraham Lincoln’s one true love; Elbio Rodríguez Barilari, whose “Lincolniana” fused classical, Latin rhythms and spoken word to flush out the relationship between Lincoln and Mexican president Benito Juarez; the Lincoln Trio, who toured the state with performances of Lawrence Dillon’s award-winning chamber piece “The Better Angels of Our Nature;” and Chicago's own Ramsey Lewis, who won rave reviews for his multi-media jazz tone poem “A Proclamation of Hope.” The live web discussion was held in the quaintly attractive Abraham Lincoln Book Shop at 357 Chicago Ave, Chicago. Each artist talked about the experience of turning history into art and their own personal thoughts on America’s first martyred president. Usually, I’m satisfied having the work speak for itself, but it was fascinating to hear the artists tell their tales.

Russell Jenkins
Manager of Graphics and Photography 

Having achieved world-wide acclaim, Maestro Kunzel had entertained classical audiences all over the world. The Chicago Tribune dubbed him as “The Prince of Pops” because he recorded extensively with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra throughout his career, and toured with the Boston Pops Orchestra. Maestro Kunzel made his first appearance at Ravinia in the summer of 1978. Since then he appeared at Ravinia more than any other artist in our history.

During Maestro Kunzel's time at Ravinia he led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Ravinia Festival Orchestra with a wide range of style, including famous film scores, Broadway tunes and American standards. Who can forget those nights of movie music with Maestro Kunzel dancing along with the characters from Star Wars on stage? You can see some of our favorite Maestro Kunzel moments in our photo gallery.

Ravinia friends and family will miss his lively performances, vibrant spirit and genuine warm heart. We will be thinking of him this Labor Day and remembering his many years at Ravinia Festival.

Ravinia General Manager Pat Sanders said, "Erich Kunzel and I started our 'Ravinia stage careers' in 1978 and together we produced 127 shows. He was a gentleman, a scholar and a musical visionary who holds the record for having four concerts on Ravinia’s Top 20 Best Attended Concerts list. He brought joy to tens of thousands of Festival patrons and I am honored to have been his friend. Farewell, my Prince of Pop!"

Heather Haigh
Marketing Assistant

Spinach Artichoke Dip

2 packages thawed, chopped frozen spinach 

1 can artichoke hearts in water, roughly chopped

6 ounces light cream cheese 

1/4 cup light sour cream 

1/4 cup light mayonnaise 

1 cup grated Parmesan (set aside 1/4 cup for topping)  

1-2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon garlic powder

Directions

Put spinach in bowl in microwave on high for 2 ½ minutes.  Let cool, then wrap in paper towels to wring out water.  Put spinach and cropped artichokes in large pot and saute for 5 minutes.  Add cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise and saute until cream cheese melts.  Mix in red pepper flakes, parmesan, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Put mixture in ceramic dish and top with extra Parmesan and put under oven broiler for 10 minutes (or until brown on top).  Serve with veggies, crusty bread or pita chips.

Onion Dip

 2 tablespoons olive oil 

5-6 diced onions 

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt  

2 gloves minced garlic into a paste (directions below)

2 cups light sour cream

3/4 cup light mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper  

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons chopped chives

Directions

In a large saute pan over medium heat add oil, onions and salt (stirring regularly). Cook the onions until they are transluscent and lightly browned, about 20 minutes. To make garlic paste, mince garlic and sprinkle with a little salt, use back of knife to mash it until it becomes paste-like. Add garlic paste and cook for five minutes. Remove from heat and mix the rest of the ingredients. Refrigerate and stir again before serving.  Best if made the night before so the flavors can become friends.  Serve with potato chips or as a topping for burgers, paninis, wraps, etc.

Germaine Maschoff

Communications Intern