Steeped deeply and nestled comfortably in the jazz tradition, Diana Krall is an elegant enigma. The lauded pianist-vocalist, who seemingly can’t help but strike a classy and graceful, yet playfully teasing persona, has creatively carved a unique career defined by meandering musically into a variety of genres with ease and originality.
She follows a sonic path that knows no bounds.
Lila Downs sings in many languages, but her listeners need only be fluent in the language of the heart to understand her.
You can hear it throughout her new release, Salón Lágrimas y Deseo (Room of Tears and Desire), just released at the end of May. “It’s also the most emotional album we’ve ever done,” Downs observes. “It’s not from the brain; it’s from the heart. And”—she adds with a modest chuckle—“from below.”
You can’t miss it. Nestled in the center of Ravinia and gazing upon the festival’s grand entrance is the Martin Theatre, the immaculate Arts and Crafts–style concert hall that has stood since the park first opened in 1904. But over Ravinia’s 113-year history, it hasn’t always been a stage for the premier chamber musicians—and even small orchestras—of the world. During the first decade of the park’s existence, it was largely used for motion pictures.
In today’s high-tech world of digital sampling and music streaming, the symphony orchestra is a wonderful if curious anachronism, with many of its instruments and much of its repertoire dating back centuries. Even for regular attendees of symphony concerts, the alchemy of how 80 to 100 or more diverse musicians come together under a conductor to produce one coordinated body of sound remains something of a mystery.
To borrow the name of one of his popular tunes: Something’s coming! In 2018 Ravinia will launch a two-season centennial tribute to one of the all-time legends of American music, conductor/composer Leonard Bernstein, and in 2019 will open the Ravinia Music Box experience center with an exhibit of important mementos from Bernstein’s life and storied career, including his personal piano.
With the technology surrounding it getting less and less expensive, virtual reality is quickly becoming the new trend for musicians and artists looking to create unique experiences both in their concerts and music videos.
If you’ve never experienced VR before, you can get a sense of what the experience is like by taking a look at the 360 degree videos available online on YouTube. A number of 2017 Ravinia Artists have created VR experiences and the 360 feature on YouTube allows you to click and drag the video to pan around in 360 degrees which simulates the VR experience. See how your favorite Ravinia artists are using this new medium:
From blues chords to bluegrass, Chris Thile takes listeners of his genre-bending quintet the Punch Brothers on as immersive an adventure as listeners of A Prairie Home Companion. “The question of genre becomes one of orchestration and texture,” Thile says of writing for and with his bandmates.
What Motown was to Detroit, Stax was to Memphis, developing a signature soul sound for the South, melding blues, jazz, and funk. But unlike its northern companion and competitor, Stax had a house band that became so intimately involved in recording that they began cutting their own tracks as Booker T.
The living legacy of some artists, however, is just as much in the sound as much as the songs. Few have achieved such universal recognition as Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, who were an early highlight of Ravinia’s 2016 season in their festival debut.
Before there was glam rock, there was “progressive rock,” that nebulous genre that saw the music of ’60s psychedelia taken to new, expansive dimensions of lyrical poetry and symphonic instrumentation. The groundwork was perhaps laid by the sweeping sonorities of Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, but if a single album were to have firmly established what “prog rock” was, that album was The Moody Blues’ Days of Future Passed.
In the 30 years since they fired up the world’s collective imagination with the vivacious flamenco spirit of “Bamboléo,” the Gipsy Kings have kept kindling the heated fervor for Spanish and South American rhythm, recently earning their first Grammy Award for Savor Flamenco. On the long-awaited album of all-original material, “the group’s trademark virtuosity and verve are as engaging as ever. …
On March 15, Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman announced the not-for-profit festival’s complete 2017 summer lineup—more than 140 events from June 3 through Sept. 17—including the 82nd annual residency of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as well as visits by the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela with conductor Gustavo Dudamel in his Ravinia debut. In addition to Dudamel, 58 artists make their Ravinia debuts, including Stevie Nicks, John Mellencamp, Pentatonix, Common, Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr., and Ryan Speedo Green. Tickets are available to donors beginning March 22 and go on sale to the general public on May 9, exclusively at Ravinia.org. See the complete 2017 lineup at Ravinia.org.
On Sunday evening, the world tuned in for music’s biggest night, with past Ravinia stars highlighting the winners’ list and performing center stage! Congratulations to Chucho Valdés, Dolly Parton, Fantastic Negrito, James Conlon, John Scofield, John Williams, Lalah Hathaway, Ted Nash, Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, Yo-Yo Ma & The Silk Road Ensemble, and Zuill Bailey on their monumental Grammy wins!
In 1966, LBJ was president, miniskirts were quickly gaining popularity, and Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" became a hit. This was also the year that WBKB aired The Sound of Ravinia, an hour-long television special that showcased the many sides of Ravinia including classical, jazz, opera, pop, and folk music. It aired on Thursday, August 11, and contains footage from four separate concert dates.
The covers of Ravinia's programs from its opening in 1904 through the 1930s were gorgeous “mini-posters” designed by well-known Chicago-area illustrators. I’d run across them in used bookstores and junk shops, where they were usually mixed in with old magazines and comic books. By the time I left for college, I’d been able to gather together most of the run. You’ll notice names like Hamilton King, James McCracken, Stark Davis, and intaglio artist Allan Weary. There’s also a 1930 program cover designed/illustrated by then Chicagoan Hal Foster, who was between Tarzan strip assignments.
There is something magical in viewing vintage advertisements, especially from the ’50s and ’60s. From the photographic/illustrative choices to the verbal style of the copy, it’s possible to get a small sense of what culture was like back then. Ravinia’s old program books contain a wealth of these vintage advertisements, with companies pitching such varied products as stereos, records, fashion, pianos, jewelry, and more. Some make overt references to Ravinia, many containing photographs or illustrations of the park itself to make the Ravinia connection that much stronger. The selections in this post focus on these very ads.