Ravinia 2019, Issue 6, Week 11

ITZHAK PERLMAN, violin (August 17) / conductor (August 18) Violin superstar Itzhak Perlman completed his initial training at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. Immigrating to New York, he was pro- pelled to the international stage following a per- formance on the Ed Sullivan Show at the age of 13. Following continued studies at The Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy De- Lay, Perlman won the Leventritt Competition in 1964, launching a career that would include appearances with all the major orchestras and music festivals around the world. Not only a renowned soloist, he has conducted the Los Angeles and New York Philharmonics; the San Francisco, Houston, and Seattle Symphonies; the Saint Paul Chamber and Philadelphia Or- chestras; and the Pittsburgh, Dallas, Montreal, Toronto, National, Baltimore, and Boston Sym- phony Orchestras, additionally raising his baton to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at both Symphony Center and Ravinia. Overseas he has led the English Chamber and Royal Concertge- bouw Orchestras, as well as the Berlin, London, and Israel Philharmonics. Perlman’s storied re- lationship with the Israel Philharmonic includes the orchestra’s first appearances in China, India, Eastern bloc countries, and Russia, a visit cap- tured in the Emmy-winning documentary Per- lman in Russia . His extensive discography has won 15 Grammy Awards, and he was bestowed the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. Perlman has collaborated with film com- poser John Williams on scores for Schindler’s List and Memoirs of a Geisha , and on the 2006 Academy Awards telecast he performed a med- ley of the five nominated film scores. Perlman has received honorary doctorates fromHarvard, Yale, Brandeis, Roosevelt, Yeshiva, and Hebrew Universities, and was awarded an honorary doc- torate and a centennial medal fromThe Juilliard School. He has also been bestowed the Medal of Liberty (1986), National Medal of the Arts (2000), and Kennedy Center Honors (2003). Itzhak Perlman made his simultaneous Ravinia and CSO debuts in 1966, and tonight marks his 38th season on the festival’s main stage. 5:00 PM SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 2019 PAVILION CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ITZHAK PERLMAN, conductor KIAN SOLTANI, cello † TCHAIKOVSKY SPECTACULAR Symphony No. 4 Andante sostenuto—Moderato con anima Andantino in modo di canzona Scherzo. Pizzicato ostinato: Allegro Finale: Allegro con fuoco –Intermission– Variations on a Rococo Theme Kian Soltani 1812 Overture (with cannons) † Ravinia debut Ravinia expresses its appreciation for the generous support of Featured Sponsor The Negaunee Foundation and The Tchaikovsky Consortium . The Tchaikovsky Consortium comprises an anonymous donor, Paul and Jackie Baker, Carol and Douglas Cohen, Mr. Stanley M. Freehling, Larry A. Gerber, Jack and Donna Greenberg, Becky and Lester Knight, Patty and Mark McGrath, Richard H. Robb and Rebecca E. Crown, The Rosenberg-Frazer Families, Ellen Rudnick and Paul Earle, The Sedge and Henry Plitt Charitable Trusts, The Prussian Family, Judy and David Schiffman, Paul and Virginia Uhlenhop, Betsy and Andrew Weil, and Nancy Zadek. Ravinia is proud to feature “Charlie’s Cannons” in tonight’s performance of the 1812 Overture. PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840–93) Symphony No. 4 in F minor, op. 36 Scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets and two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings Terrible crises often provoke uncommonly hero- ic and majestic responses. The Symphony No. 4 revealed the depth of Tchaikovsky’s character in the face of the greatest crisis in his life. In 1877, an infatuated young student at the Moscow Con- servatory, Antonina Milyukova, began to flaunt amorous feelings for her distinguished professor. Tchaikovsky found her a “rather pretty girl of spotless reputation,” but did not share her senti- ment. Nonetheless, he soon felt “as though some power of fate was drawing me to this girl.” An- tonina and Peter married on July 6, 1877. The union suffered a disastrous start from which it never recovered. On his wedding day, Tchaikovsky confessed great shame to his pa- tron Nadezhda von Meck, the wealthy widow of a railroad baron. “But as soon as the ceremony was over, as soon as I found myself alone with my wife and realized that it was now our desti- ny to live together, inseparable, I suddenly felt that not only did she not inspire in me even simple friendship but that she was detestable in the fullest sense of the word.” A quick, but pain- ful, dissolution was arranged. The despondent composer found consolation and security in his distant relationship with Meck. In gratitude AUGUST 12 – AUGUST 18, 2019 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE 101