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.

Ravinia Associates Underwrite a $5,000 Grant Towards Teen Attendance Contest

The Ravinia Associates will contribute a $5,000 grant to be received by Highland Park High School, the winning school of Ravinia Festival’s first high school attendance contest for Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts. The Ravinia Associates is a group of young professionals in the Chicago area who volunteer to support the festival by raising funds, increasing awareness of the festival’s programs and developing a younger audience for classical music through REACH*TEACH*PLAY education programs.

In an effort to bring awareness and opportunity of classical music performances to young people, Ravinia teamed with teens last year to create the Ravinia Student Advisory Board which collaborated on three main ideas to promote classical music to young listeners: free lawn attendance for high school students at all classical concerts; a summer-long CSO attendance contest in which students could gain points for their school to win a grant; and lastly a special high school night on July 31 entitled “Cannon Ball 2011,” which included a pre-concert tent event complete with free food, refreshments, games, prizes and the chance to gain double points for the attendance contest.

Pianist Joel Fan Joins the Rising Stars Concert Lineup

American pianist Joel Fan joins the 2011-2012 Rising Stars series with a concert on Saturday, Nov. 19. Fan has embraced traditional literature as well as an eclectic range of repertoire, including new music commissioned especially for him, world music and his own transcriptions. As a recording artist, he earned two consecutive Billboard top-10 debuts with his solo CDs, World Keys and West of the Sun. In collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma as a member of the Silk Road Ensemble, Fan has appeared in numerous venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and on television programs Good Morning America and Late Night with David Letterman. As a soloist he has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, London Sinfonietta, Singapore Symphony, and Odessa Philharmonic, among others. Fan’s program includes works by Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Gershwin, Kirchner (composed for Fan), Bolcom, Bonds and Succari. This Nov. 19 concert replaces the previously announced performance featuring pianist Daria Rabotkina.

Steinway Piano Sale at Ravinia

Each Year Steinway & Sons provides Ravinia with dozens of Steinway and Steinway Designed pianos for use throughout the year. Now that the 2011 season has closed, Steinway Piano Gallery of Northbrook and Ravinia Festival have partnered to provide you with a unique opportunity to purchase a piano from a large selection of Steinway, Boston, and Essex pianos while providing support for Ravinia Festival.  Most of the instruments available for sale were used at Ravinia and are now available to you at substantially reduced prices.

For three days only, October 7-9, Steinway Piano Gallery is offering an opportunity to choose from an impressive selection of new and used grand and upright pianos of all sizes.  Steinway-designed pianos are rarely discounted. However, through this special arrangement, they will be sold at prices far below retail value. Please click here to learn more about this event and make an appointment. The sale is open to the public on Sunday, October 9 from 12:00-5:00 p.m.

Ravinia Throwback: The Beach Boys

As part of a continuing Ravinia off-season series we bring you the next issue of Ravinia Throwback. We will feature galleries from previous Ravinia seasons that you may not be able to find anymore. Whether you happened to be a guest at this performance or not, Ravinia Throwbacks give you the opportunity to (re)live moments in Ravinia history.

In this issue we feature Beach Boys from September 2002. They put on a very energetic and entertaining show, even asking audience members to join them on stage. Enjoy this gallery and check back next week for our next featured artist in Ravinia Throwbacks.

See full galleries at: Picasa or Flickr

A Big Thank You to REACH*TEACH*PLAY

Hi Christine,

     My family and I attended Ravinia this past Sunday for the Family Place events and the CSO concert. We are new to the Chicago area this year and that was our first true experience & picnic and all. My daughter is 4 1/2 and has always loved music at whatever age/stage she has been in. This weekend provided an experience for her (and us) that will stay with us forever.

     The volunteers at the Instrument Petting Zoo were wonderful. They were patient, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and an inspiration to the children. I am attaching photos of Isabelle's (my daughter) violin interaction. You can see the progression in both the volunteer and Isabelle's face as she listened, learned and then produced sound from the violin. She was so excited to hear the music! This happened at each station as my daughter was successful in making sounds on the violin, bass, french horn, trombone, trumpet, saxophone and clarinet.

     I want to thank you and your staff for generously providing this type of opportunity for the children. Not only did Isabelle get to experience music in a way that is truly unique, her mommy (Me!) got to feel the joy as she watched Isabelle's excitement.

     Isabelle also loved hearing and seeing the CSO. We hung out behind the Pavilion for a little while and she danced around like only a child can do as she felt the beautiful music of the orchestra.

Thanks again!

Sincerely,
Karen, Ira and Isabelle Smith

Rising Star Spotlight: Gilles Vonsattel

Winner of a 2008 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Vonsattel displays a musical curiosity and sense of adventure that has gained him many admirers. He began touring after winning the top prize of the prestigious 2002 Naumburg International Piano Competition. He made his Alice Tully Hall debut that same year and has since performed at Zürich’s Tonhalle, Warsaw’s Chopin Festival and Tokyo’s Opera City Hall. He has performed in the U.S. with the Utah, Santa Fe, Nashville, and Grand Rapids symphonies as well as with the Boston Pops Orchestra. For the 2006-09 three-year appointment, Vonsattel was a member of Lincoln Center’s prestigious Chamber Music Society Two, with whom he performed extensively both in New York and on tour.

You can see him live on October 1 as part of our 2011/2012 Season of Rising Stars for only $10! Don't miss an opportunity to see this amazing artist.

Ravinia Throwback: Steve Martin

As part of a new Ravinia off-season series we bring you our first (official) Ravinia Throwback. We will feature galleries from previous Ravinia seasons that you may not be able to find anymore. Whether you happened to be a guest at this performance or not, Ravinia Throwbacks give you the opportunity to (re)live moments in Ravinia history.

In this issue we feature Steve Martin. He wowed the Ravinia audience during our 2010 season with his banjo virtuosity. Enjoy this gallery and check back next week for our next featured artist in Ravinia Throwbacks.

Click here to see the full gallery.

Ravinia in the Community: Floral Gardens

It is always flattering to see someone go above and beyond to show their support for Ravinia Festival. We recently came across a Ravinia inspired window installation at Floral Gardens in Highland Park, IL. The season has now ended so we are unsure of how much longer this installation will be up, but we did manage to get a beautiful nighttime shot of the setup. This inspiration for this installation came from our 2011 Ravinia Festival Poster seen in the window to the top left. Thank you Floral Gardens, we greatly appreciate your support of our 2011 season! This also got us thinking… In what unique way do you show your support for Ravinia?

Big Head Todd Featured on Ripley’s Believe It or Not

The band Big Head Todd & the Monsters, which opens for John Hiatt and the Combo on Sunday, Sept. 11, was recently featured on the popular show Ripley’s Believe It or Not. It was reported that in March, the group became the first band in history to perform a live song to awaken the crew of an orbiting spacecraft. Believe it or not! Pavilion and lawn tickets are available to this final concert of the 2011 Ravinia Festival season

Maroon 5 “Moves” to the Top Spot as Adam Levine Takes “Voice” Back to TV

Maroon 5, which made its Ravinia Festival debut with two of this summer’s most popular concerts, has moved to the top spot on the pop charts with the hit single Moves Like Jagger. The song features Christina Aguiilera, who will return to television with Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine to headline the second season of the competition show The Voice, which premieres on Feb. 5, following the Super Bowl.

Chicago Dancer Patti Eylar Receives Ruth Page Award at Momix’s Botanica

Cited for dedicating her talent and expertise to Chicago’s dance community, Patti Elyar will be given the 2011 Ruth Page Award at Ravinia on Saturday, Sept. 10, prior to the performance of Botanica by the Momic dance company. A member of the Joffrey Ballet Women’s Board, Elyar has also been affiliated with Dance For Life, Dance/USA 2011, Chicago Dance Coalition and many others. She danced with the Lyric Ballet and was a founding member of Chicago City Ballet.

Part of the annual Ruth Page Festival of Dance, the regional premiere of Botanica twists the athletic dancers from Momix into works of floral art. Pavilion tickets are available now for the Sept. 9 and 10 performances.

R.I.P. Salvatore Licitra

By now everyone has heard the tragic news that tenor Salvatore Licitra has died at age 43 following a motorbike accident in Italy. Salvatore’s final performance of his career occurred this summer at Ravinia when he starred with Patricia Racette and Bryn Terfel in Tosca with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton of James Conlon. As happy as we are that we got to experience his rare talent, we are sad to have gotten just a taste of what could have been.

Click Here to see a gallery of Salvatore's final performance.

Union League Club Honors Ravinia’s Welz Kauffman

Ravinia Festival President and CEO Welz Kauffman will be recognized, along with jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, as a Distinguished Musician by the Board of Directors of the Union League Club at a gala dinner on Friday, Sept. 30. The two men, honored for their outstanding contributions to the musical arts, will give a brief performance at the event.

A Good Man Documentary Set for Chicago Run

The award-winning documentary A Good Man will play for one week at the Gene Siskel Film Center, Sept. 23-29. The film from directors Gordon Quinn (Hoop Dreams) and Bob Hercules (Forgiving Dr. Mengele) follows Tony-winning choreographer Bill T. Jones on his creative journey to deliver Fondly Do We Hope … Fervently Do We Pray to the Ravinia stage. That full-evening dance work was part of Ravinia’s 2009 celebration of the Abraham Lincoln bicentennial. In addition to the film, there will be a Q & A discussion with the filmmakers on Sept. 23 and a panel discussion with dancers from the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company moderated by Ravinia Festival President and CEO Welz Kauffman on Sept. 27. A Good Man will have its television premiere Nov. 11 on American Masters on PBS stations, including WTTW Channel 11.

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!

Zuill Bailey’s CD of Bach’s Cello Suites Tops Charts

Widely considered one of the premier cellists in the world, Zuill Bailey has seen his recording Bach’s Cello Suites jump to the top of the Billboard classical music charts. Reviews said,  "The sound is rich, like dark chocolate ... his voice is distinctive—strong and direct. Bailey reaches from the soul of his instrument to our own." The charismatic performer (he even acted on HBO’s Oz) will play Bach’s Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello in a Bennett Gordon Hall recital at 6 p.m. Aug. 28. Reserved seats are only $10. Other upcoming concerts in Ravinia’s $10 Classics series include violinist Ray Chen on Aug. 26; Broadway star Laura Benanti on Aug. 27;  pianist Eldar Nebolsin on Sept. 4; pianist Dimitry Mayboroda on Sept. 7;  the Afiara String Quartet on Sept. 9; and violinist Giora Schmidt performing Liszt transcriptions on Sept. 10.