James Conlon Discusses Tagore and Zemlinsky on Oct. 28

Join Ravinia Music Director James Conlon as he explores composers Rabindranath Tagore and Alexander Zemlinsky in a lecture entitled “A Lyric Symphony: Tagore and Zemlinsky,” at 2 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28, at the University of Chicago’s Fulton Hall. This lecture is part of a two-day conference titled The Many Worlds of Rabindranath Tagore, which brings together leading scholars from around the world to discuss the different aspects of this extraordinary writer’s life and works. Tagore was a writer of fiction, essays, poetry, plays, critical commentaries and music and is the only person whose songs are the national anthems of two countries, India and Bangladesh. Translated into many languages, his works received much adulation and criticism during his lifetime and across India and abroad, and he has been a critical figure in the history of education in South Asia. For more information, please click here.

Q&A with Ray Chen

In order for our audiences to get to know our artists better, we’ve asked those appearing at Ravinia this summer to answer some lighthearted questions. Violinist Ray Chen shares his answers below. 

Q: What is your favorite movie of all time?

A: That’s like asking what is my favorite composer of all time—there are too many to choose from!  But to name a few: Inception, Iron Man, 300 . . . I’m an action movie fan!

Q: What would be the most difficult thing for you to give up?

A: Eating. O.K., that would be pretty hard for anyone to give up, but I am such a foodie that the concept of giving up eating gives me the chills just thinking about it.  Here's something to put things in perspective: The only reason I exercise is so I can eat more.

Q: If you could have dinner with any three famous people (living or dead), who would they be?

A: Steve Carell, because I love him in The Office; Scarlett Johansson, because I think she’s the most beautiful girl in the world; and Keira Knightley, because she's the second most beautiful girl in the world.

Q: Is there anything you miss from before you were famous?

A: Ha ha! I wouldn’t say I’m famous enough to miss the “normal life”!

Q: What will you hope to be doing a year from now?

A: Still improving.

Q: Do you have an annoying habit?

A: Yes—checking my Facebook 10 times a day.  Any less and I start having withdrawal symptoms.

Q: What do you do to wind down after a performance?

A: Enjoy a gin and tonic with a dash of lemon and sprite.

For more of these fun Q&As, please pick up a free copy of Ravinia's Magazine at kiosks around the park!

Composer Nico Muhly Comes to Ravinia for World Premiere

Called one of the greatest young composers of the day, Nico Muhly has confirmed that he will be attendance when his new work, The Edge of the World, receives its world premiere at Ravinia on Aug. 9. Muhly’s concerto for five pianos and orchestra was commissioned by Ravinia and written for The 5 Browns, who will perform it here with the CSO.  Five grand pianos will dominate the stage as the musical siblings will also perform other works for multiple piano.

Later that week, a second Ravinia commission, Rufus Wainwright’s Five Shakespeare Sonnets, will be performed by the singer/songwriter in his CSO debut on Aug. 14.

Sights and Sounds of Ravinia

Gustav MahlerRavinia Festival offers some of the most talented and interesting classical artists, musicians and composers throughout the summer, but some of what Ravinia offers might be unnoticed aurally. The unique atmosphere at Ravinia Festival provides sights and sounds of nature that are often missed in the city life of Chicago.  But why is this important to notice? They’re just birds, bugs and critters that some might find less than favorable as they chime in during the soft moments of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major (“Eroica”).  The reason these sounds should be appreciated is because many composers have used the sounds of nature as inspiration for some of the most influential pieces of music of all time. 

Take, for example, Gustav Mahler, a favorite Austrian composer of the late Romantic era.  Mahler would often leave the city life of Vienna to compose in the countryside and would draw bundles of inspiration from the natural sounds of the outdoors inside a composition hut (Komponierhäuschen) in Steinbach am Attersee and later in Maiernigg on the shores of Wörthersee in Carinthia.  The natural symphony of sounds that the countryside offered Mahler helped him produce some of his most memorable work, including Symphony No. 2 in C minor (“Resurrection”).

The aesthetic of the countryside and forests also helped Mahler paint images with his thick orchestral layering which is signature of his style. In fact, one of Mahler’s most memorable quotes is, “Don't bother looking at the view - I have already composed it.”  Ravinia Festival seems like a fitting place for composers like Mahler. 

James Conlon’s Mahler series will end Thursday, August 4, during the 2011 season.  Take the opportunity to enjoy Gustav Mahler's music in a setting that he spent the majority of his mature composing life enjoying—the sights and sounds of mother earth at Ravinia Festival.