RSMI in Havana Part I

Friends of Ravinia's Steans Music Institute, Diane Karzas and Madeleine Plonsker, joined the ensemble on their trip to Cuba and took time out of their busy schedule to send us this story about the beginning of their trip to Havana.

After a short delay while the plane was weighed we took off on our less than one hour flight down to Havana. Matt, Miriam and Madeleine suitcases had to be left behind, but at least we have all the instruments. We are hoping to see them today, but we are having issues with internet.

The weather is glorious and our first day began in the grand casino room of a pre-Revolutionary club for Spaniards. Miriam first worked with a piano trio playing the Haydn Piano Trio No. 4 in F Major. The students listened intently to Miriam's instructive comments and their playing soon began to reflect her words. The second group to perform was a piano and violin playing Beethoven"s Spring Sonata, Movements 1 & 3. The room rang clear with the interchange between the duo and Miriam. Each group received an hour's instruction.

Now for the social side: last night we were all invited for dinner at the newly restored mansion of one of Cuba's most important artists. Esterio Segura, known internationally for his sculpture, painting and photography, gave us a tour of his new studio and gallery space before sitting us down to a three course dinner prepared by his own private chef. The evening was spent in lively conversation about how the arts in Cuba relate to its politics.

This afternoon will be spent in practice by the quartet. Tonight the group will attend the opening concert of the Frank Fernandez Music Festival where the Steans Institute Quartet is on the program for Friday night.

Your Girls In Havana,  

Diane & Madeleine

(pictured above: Basílica Menor del Convento de San Francisco de Asís where RSMI will perform on March 28)

[UPDATE 11:00 AM: Everyone has arrived safe and sound in Cuba, luggage included.]

Steans Alumni Duo Release Album To N.Y. Times Rave

Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute (RSMI) alumni pianist Reiko Uchida and baritone Thomas Meglioranza released their third album together, The Good Song, a collection of French songs, to rave reviews. The New York Times says, “Sublime is the first word that comes to mind when confronted with this new recital disc by the skillful, intelligent baritone Thomas Meglioranza, whose knack for French songs by Fauré, Debussy, Poulenc and Ravel matches the distinction he has shown previously in recordings of canonical Schubert and contemporary music. Reiko Uchida, playing an 1890 Pleyel piano, supports his light, handsome voice with insight, subtlety and pearly luminosity.” 

Musicians From Ravinia's Conservatory Go To Havana

Musicians from Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute (RSMI) will become one of the first U.S. chamber ensembles to perform in Cuba at 6 p.m. Friday, March 28, at Basílica Menor del Convento de San Francisco de Asís in Havana as part of Festival de Música de Cámara. Ensemble members are selected annually from past participants in RSMI, which each year awards about 70 of the best young professionals from around the world full fellowships to study and perform with Ravinia’s headliners and top-notch educators. Violinist Miriam Fried, director of the RSMI Piano and Strings Program, will lead the ensemble that features violinist Alexi Kenney of San Francisco, CA; cellist SuJin Lee of Boston, MA; violist Matthew Lipman of Chicago, IL; and pianist Henry Kramer of Cape Elizabeth, ME. Along with David Ludwig’s Aria Fantasy, which was commissioned by Ravinia to celebrate the 25th anniversary of RSMI and was premiered at the festival last summer, the program will include Haydn’s Piano Trio in E-flat Major and Schubert’s String Quartet No. 15 in G Major.

The performance marks the first international appearance of the ensemble, which kicked off its annual spring tour on its home turf at this past Saturday in Bennett Gordon Hall.

Don't Miss Houston Ballet's Aladdin At Auditorium Theatre

Tickets are still available for Ravinia's co-presentation of Houston Ballet's magical take on the ageless Aladdin at Auditorium Theatre on Saturday, March 22 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 23. at 2 p.m.! The full-length production, originally created for the New National Ballet of Tokyo in 2008 with scenery by Dick Bird and original score by Carl Davis, will be performed at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre as part of the annual Ruth Page Festival of Dance. The Daily Telegraph says, “Aladdin is a full-blown piece of three-act splendor and looks absolutely astonishing... a delightful family show and an ideal first outing to the ballet. Don't miss out on this magical performance."

Ravinia's Summer Conservatory, RSMI, Send Alumni to the Festival's Stages

Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute awards 60–70 fully paid fellowships each summer to the world’s finest young professional musicians to immerse themselves in the festival and study with the stars.

Many of the alumni of this intensive and competitive program have gone onto illustrious careers, including four who are members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In fact, 17 alumni will perform at Ravinia this summer with the CSO, The Knights, the Juilliard String Quartet, in Ravinia’s operas and on the $10 BGH Classics series. Ten current RSMI faculty members will also perform, including violinists Miriam Fried and Midori, soprano Kiri Te Kanawa and pianist Kevin Murphy.

Just Announced: John Hiatt, Robert Cray, American Authors and More

A few more artists have been added to Ravinia’s already star-studded 110th anniversary season. John Hiatt and the Combo will share a June 29 bill with the Robert Cray Band, becoming the latest example of the unique pairings that define the summer.

American Authors has been added to the pairing of OneRepublic and The Script  on June 18 and 19, Daniel and the Lion and Toad the Wet Sprocket have been added to the Counting Crows show on July 14, and Andrew McMahon has been added to the July 21 show featuring Gavin DeGraw andMatt Nathanson.

Chicago legend Buddy Guy will be joined by a special guest artist whose name cannot yet be revealed. Other big-name double bills this summer include Willie Nelson and Alison Krauss, Cat Power and Rufus Wainwright, Bob Weir & RatDog and Dwight Yoakam, and Jeff Beck and ZZ Top. Tickets available to the public online starting April 24.

2014 "Summer of Love, Seasons of Stars" Lineup Released

Ravinia’s 2014 season, dubbed “Summer of Love/Season of Stars,” was announced today by Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman. Brimming with talent and romance, the festival’s 2014 schedule brings some the biggest names in the world of music as well as repertoire that explores the theme of great love in its various manifestations. No fewer than three musical incarnations of the most famous love story of all time, Romeo and Juliet, will be featured, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performing Tchaikovsky’s Overture-Fantasy (July 27), a suite from Prokofiev’s ballet setting of the story (July 16) and the score of West Side Story as the classic film is shown (July 17–18). In other examples of love, soprano Deborah Voigt describes it as “Something Wonderful” on a Broadway evening (July 13), the legendary Broadway team of Lerner and Loewe will be celebrated (July 20), and Chanticleer even jabs at the battle of the sexes in an evening titled “She Said/He Said” (July 6). In fact, love lurks, longs and lingers across genres in most of the more than 130 events that Ravinia will present in 2014, its 110th year and its 78th as the summer residence of the CSO.

            Most Pavilion tickets to all CSO concerts are only $25. Lawn tickets for most classical concerts are only $10. Children and students through college are admitted free to all classical performances. Tickets to all events go on sale to Ravinia donors on March 5 and to the general public on April 24, exclusively at Ravinia.org.

NPR Gives Early Listen To New St. Vincent Album

Less than 36 hours after getting home at the end of her 'Love This Giant' tour with the legendary David Byrne which came through Ravinia last summer, Annie Erin Clark better known by her stage name St. Vincent, starting penning her new album. Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton, co-hosts of NPR Music's All Songs Considered, have a special treat for us this week, as they give us a first listen and discuss the new album! St. Vincent's eponymous album comes out next week. Check it out and let us know what you think.

http://www.npr.org/2014/02/21/280528565/first-listen-st-vincents-latest-album

Pulitzer- and Grammy- Winner Caroline Shaw and Brad Wells Chat Live Feb 24

In advance of Ravinia’s March 29 concert by Roomful of Teeth, featuring a performance of the Pulitzer Prize- and Grammy-winning Partita for Eight Voices, director Brad Wells and composer-member Caroline Shaw will participate in a live video question-and-answer session. To make sure your question gets answered, tweet it in advance @RaviniaFestival with #RoomfulQA, then join the imaginative collaborators live at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, at Ravinia.org/RoomfulQA.aspx. Reserved tickets for the group’s Ravinia debut are only $10, or $40 inclusive of dinner. In addition to the much-lauded Partita, the program will include works by Rinde Eckert, Caleb Burhans, Judd Greenstein, Brad Wells and Merrill Garbus. 

Ravinia Jazz Scholars Play Showcase On March 6

The result of one of Ravinia’s earliest and highest-regarded education programs will be on display next month when the Ravinia Jazz Scholars perform at Chicago’s internationally renowned Jazz Showcase. Each year the best jazz musicians enrolled as juniors or seniors in Chicago Public Schools are handpicked to join the Jazz Scholars. They learn to play as a tight ensemble through hands-on training with such Chicago jazz titans as Willie Pickens and Ramsey Lewis and earn real gigs. The Jazz Scholars will open for the Bobby Lewis Quintet (featuring Ravinia Jazz Mentor Pat Mallinger on sax) at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 6, at the Jazz Showcase. Their portion of the performance is free. 

Just Announced: Willie Nelson & Alison Krauss Coming To Ravinia July 12

Grammy-winners Willie Nelson and Alison Krauss & Union Station Featuring Jerry Douglas kick off a 35-city tour together for the first time and make a stop at Ravinia set for July 12, 2014. They will be joined by special guest singer/songwriter Jason Isbell. Nelson performed to a sold-out audience at Ravinia last summer, and Krauss most recently performed here in a sold-out concert with Robert Plant. The complete Ravinia season will be announced on Feb. 27 at Ravinia.org.

'Such Sweet Thunder' Live From Ravinia in 1957

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.

Lincoln Trio Violinist Named Outstanding Studio Teacher

Desirée Ruhstrat, violinist of the Lincoln Trio, a favorite of Ravinia audiences, has just been named Outstanding Studio Teacher of 2014 by the American String Teachers Association Illinois. This award is presented to one individual who has demonstrated excellence in teaching one-on-one. The Lincoln Trio was nominated for a Grammy in 2013 for its recording of Annelies, the cantata based on the diary of Anne Frank that they premiered at Ravinia. Look for them on the schedule when Ravinia's 2014 season is announced next month.

Throwback Thursday: Seiji Ozawa & Igor Stravinsky

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.

Century and A Half Since Losing America's First Great Songwriter

Yesterday marked the 150^th anniversary of the death of American composer, Stephen Foster.  Known for such traditional American fare as  "Oh! Susanna" (1846),  "Camptown Races" (1850), "Nelly Bly" (1850), "Old Folks at Home" (also known as "Swanee River," 1851), "My Old Kentucky Home" (1853), "Old Dog Tray" (1853), "Hard Times Come Again No More" (1854), "Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair" (1854), and "Beautiful Dreamer" (1862).  He is considered to be America’s first great songwriter.

Stephen Foster — July 4, 1826 – January 13, 1864.

Local Skater Jason Brown Makes US Sochi 2014 Team

Congratulations to Highland Park, IL native Jason Brown on taking second place at this past Sunday's U.S. Figure Skating Championship, earning himself a spot on the US Team for 2014 Sochi Olympics. We'll be cheering for you!

Lang Lang to Join Metallica on Grammy Stage

Theres something new to look forward to at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards later this month. Metallica, celebrating the 25th anniversary of being the first hard rock band to ever take the Grammy stage, will perform alongside internationally renowned pianist (and Ravinia favorite) Lang Lang. Will we see a heavy metal Lang Lang, a classical Metallica, or something inbetween? We're already sitting on the edge of our seats waiting! The Grammys will air on January 26 on CBS. Check your local listings for times.

David Byrne Takes On Peter Gabriel's "I Don't Remember"

In 2010, Peter Gabriel released the first of a two part album collection, Scratch my Back. In this first album, Peter Gabriel lays an open invitation to his contemporaries David Bowie, Paul Simon, David Bryne and the Talking Heads, and Neil Young; and some of his successors Bon Iver, Arcade Fire, and Regina Spektor. Just over three years later the full-length second part to the collection, And I'll Scratch Yours, is released featuring many of the artists Gabriel covered in Scratch my Back. Recent 2013 artist David Bryne leads off the album with his unique take on Peter Gabriel's "I Dont Remember." NPR Music has a exclusive first listen of both albums available for a limited time here. What do you think of this experiment?