Ravinia History
It happens all the time. A famous, beloved artist falls ill (or, as is sometimes the unpleasant case, gets what may be regarded as a better offer). It even happens at Ravinia. A famous, beloved artist cancels, and management scrambles for an appropriate replacement.
Some cases become memorable, star-making events. Other cases are quickly, even mercifully, forgotten.
Tito Puente, one of the most influential Latin artists in history, made his Ravinia debut 20 years ago with a plethora of his best Latin jazz contemporaries, including Eddie Palmieri, Poncho Sanchez, Arturo Sandoval, and David Sanchez.
Young Maya Lily Lubelfeld of Deerfield will be going to the Ravinia Festival for decades—totally for free. Thanks to being the first local baby born on Aug. 15, 2004—the date Ravinia celebrated the centennial of its 1904 founding—Maya received quite the special baby present.
The day she was born, conductor James Conlon visited Maya and her mother that morning at Rush North Shore Skokie to award the infant the one-and-only lifetime lawn pass ever issued at Ravinia.
After the Chicago Symphony Orchestra took residence at Ravinia on July 3, 1936, perhaps the next great highlight of that summer came just a few weeks later. Thousands descended upon the freshly reinaugurated festival in hopes of seeing—but most certainly for the chance to hear—the inimitable pianist, composer, and songwriter George Gershwin.
In 1936 Ravinia and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra began an enthusiastic partnership in presenting history’s greatest music in a uniquely lush and comfortable setting, and 80 years later that dedication is as strong as ever, forming the cornerstone of the festival’s classical mission, which also encompasses chamber music, recitals, kids concerts, Reach*Teach*Play, and Ravinia’s Stean’s Music Institute. Even before the relationship became official the CSO was a regular guest, dating back to 1905 as the Theodore Thomas Orchestra. Over the 17 concerts that compose its residency at Ravinia this summer, the CSO will play works that are just as powerful today as they were during that first season—from Beethoven’s Seventh, Brahms’s Second and Fourth, and Dvořák’s “New World” Symphonies to such orchestral delights as Respighi’s Pines of Rome and Strauss’s Don Juan to the playful swirl of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
Lionel Hampton made his final appearance at Ravinia 25 years ago, by which time he had long established himself as one of the greatest jazz bandleaders of the 20th century.
In October, distinguished local historian and author Art Miller gave a lecture on the history of Ravinia Festival and surrounding areas. He spoke on the beginnings of the festival, the people and culture of the area and the architecture of the park buildings.
Armstrong was the first great international star I ever saw in person. The press coverage of his Ravinia debut not only endorsed my choice, but befitted a larger occasion as well. Jazz was still very new to Ravinia then, and it still seemed utterly contradictory to mention the two words in the same sentence. When Benny Goodman had appeared at Ravinia in August 1938, fresh from his triumph at Carnegie Hall earlier that year, the young crowds seemed to frighten the park management, even as the dollars they brought in wiped away an entire season’s deficit in two hours. But it would be 17 years before jazz would be invited back to Ravinia.
I was surprised when I encountered a 1957 ad for the “Ravinia” Webcor turntable with very little information about its connection to Ravinia. At first I thought maybe it was just a coincidence that it shared the name of America’s oldest music festival, but further digging uncovered another ad from 1954 that gets as close as possible to referencing the festival itself without explicitly doing so. It states, “… you have the unmistakable impression that a ‘live’ orchestra is performing in your presence. That’s why the experts call the Ravinia’s performance—‘living presence.’” Coincidence? I think not.
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“I had the ominous feeling that this would be the last time dad would perform in Chicago,” Nancy Sinatra wrote later on. “And I believe he had the same feeling.”
When I learned that James Levine would return to conduct the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia for the first time since the end of a fabled tenure as music director, it made me think back to the first—and only—time I ever met him.
As winter approaches, we would like to shake up our version of a snow globe to reminisce about summer days. On August 23, 1974, patrons enjoy the warm summer breeze as The Joffrey Ballet dances Remembrances to music by Richard Wagner and choreographed by Robert Joffrey.
Although Ravinia Park originally served as an upscale destination for passengers of the new Chicago & Milwaukee Electric Railroad in 1904, within a few years it became apparent that the enterprise was not profitable, and the railroad company looked to unload the Highland Park property it owned. Fearing the site would devolve into a cheap amusement park, local residents purchased the land and in 1911 established The Ravinia Company, under whose supervision the park became primarily a summer venue for classical music. Performances of operatic music began to dominate the repertoire, and by the end of the decade Ravinia had established a reputation as summer opera capital of the world. From June 30 to September 3 of 1917, the year this photo was taken, Ravinia presented 54 performances featuring scenes and acts from no fewer than 20 different operas.
We ran across this clip unearthed by YouTube user 'Reminiscing in Tempo' of a world premiere radio performance of Such Sweet Thunder from the "Shakespearean Suite" with music by Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn* from July 1, 1957. While double checking to verify the recording we found a note buried in the archives is a letter from the booking agent confirming that it’s the first public performance, mentioning that he hopes one of the radio networks will pick it up for national broadcast, which given that we have this recording; CBS did! He also adds a jab at our weather: “Now if there was a way we could get a guarantee that it would not rain, I think we are in business.” Enjoy!
*unable to verify Billy Strayhorn's involvement via program notes.
In 1965 the legendary Igor Stravinsky sat down with then-Ravinia Music Director Seiji Ozawa to discuss his upcoming program. On the evening of July 8, Stravinsky, along with protégé Robert Craft, led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on a program including Handel’s Concerto Grosso in B-flat Major* (arranged by Schoenberg) and two of his own works: the Symphony in Three Movements and The Fairy’s Kiss (Le baiser de la fée). What a treat for the audience that evening!
*In the repetoire archive, Webern’s Six Pieces for Orchestra was supposedly performed in place of the Handel piece, but it has not been independently confirmed yet.
On October 4, WTTW's Chicago Tonight ran the second of a two part story on their ArtsBeat blog about the 43rd anniversary of Janis Joplin's untimely death at the age of 27. Chicago journalist Dorothy Andries recalls her first-hand experience of covering Joplin's last Chicago-area show for Pioneer Press on August 4, 1970 at Ravinia, just a mere two months before her passing. Just the day before her Ravinia performance she was a guest on The Dick Cavet show and put on one heck of a performance!
But which King are we talking about?
A.) The King of Rock—Elvis Presley
B.) The King of Pop—Michael Jackson
C.) The King of Soul—Sam Cooke
Sorry, but the correct answer is none of the above. On the Friday, June 14 we welcome you to join in commemorating the 75th anniversary of the King of Swing’s debut performance at Ravinia Festival. Benny Goodman single handedly influenced the modern programming style of Ravinia; the incorporation of jazz and popular music. In his spare time he also took the stage of the countries’ most famed venues with the first integrated big band. His legendary live performances at the Palomar Ballroom, the Congress Hotel, Carnegie Hall, and Ravinia Festival made him an ambassador for jazz music and its beloved fans.
Ravinia remembers and salutes the legendary trumpet player Adolph “Bud” Herseth, who died April 13 at 91 years old. In the Chicago Tribune obituary, John von Rhein called Herseth “the most respected and influential orchestral trumpeter of the last half-century, and very probably the greatest.” Hired by the CSO’s then-Music Director Artur Rodzinski in 1947, Herseth would serve as the orchestra’s principal trumpet for 53 years, retiring from that post on the Ravinia stage in 2001, but continuing in an emeritus role until his retirement in 2004. As demonstrated in this YouTube video, Herseth was seen by many as synonymous with the CSO’s legendary brass sound.
"For a man who made such a magnificent sound, Bud was reluctant to blow his own horn," said Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman. "But when I organized the New York Philharmonic tribute marking Bud's 50th anniversary in music, I witnessed firsthand the love and respect for him shared by audiences and other music-makers like fellow trumpet legend Wynton Marsalis. Bud never had to tell them who he was or what he brought. They knew."
Photo courtesy of csoarchives.wordpress.com