Ravinia 2022, Issue 2

MIKE MULLIS (ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT) ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT It’s been 30 years since the world of hip hop, then dominated by the rapid growth of gang- sta rap, was delivered an antidote of defiant lyrics of hope from the Southern style of Ar- rested Development and their landmark 1992 debut album, 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of… . Everything about the record seemingly struck a nerve, as the group be- came the first (and still only) hip hop artist to be awarded Best New Artist honors at the Grammys, additionally being named Band of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine, as well as recognized with an NAACP Image Award, a Soul Train Music Award, and two MTV awards. The four-times platinum album was a top-10 smash hit on multiple Billboard charts and internationally, also yielding three gold-selling, top-10 singles, including “People Everyday.” The anthemic “Tennessee” earned the Grammy Award for Best Rap Single and has since been named among the 500 songs that shaped rock music by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The group highlighted issues of homelessness with the single “Mr. Wendal” and ultimately donated half of their royalty earnings from the track to the National Co- alition for the Homeless. Just a few months after the album’s release, Spike Lee asked Ar- rested Development to write a song (“Revolu- tion”) for his biopic about Malcom X. In 1994, the group followed up with Zingalamaduni , which garnered another Grammy nomina- tion, but mainstream hip hop surged against their peaceful brand, and they went into hia- tus. Revitalized with a new lineup, Arrested Development returned in 2000 with Heroes of the Harvest and regularly expanded their discography with Among the Trees (2004), Since the Last Time (2006), Strong (2010), Standing at the Crossroads (2012), Changing the Narrative (2016), This Was Never Home (2016), and Craft & Optics (2018) until the passing of longtime member Baba Oje in 2018. That same year, group founder and lead vocalist Speech released two documenta- ries: the miniseries Hoodwinked ( The Ni#@a Factory ) and 16 Bars . Following Don’t Fight Your Demons (2020), Arrested Development returned last December with For The FKN Love , featuring Big Daddy Kane, The Sugar Hill Gang, and more in guest spots. Arrested Development is making its Ravinia debut. MARTIN THEATRE 1:00 PM SUNDAY, JULY 10, 2022 RAVINIA STEANS MUSIC INSTITUTE FACULTY CHAMBER PLAYERS MIRIAM FRIED, violin ATAR ARAD, viola PAUL BISS, violin and viola FRANS HELMERSON, cello SARA BITLLOCH, violin # CHRISTOPH RICHTER, cello ALESSIO BAX, piano † HAYDN Piano Trio in E-flat major, Hob. XV:29 * Poco allegretto Andantino ed innocentemente Finale. Allemande: Presto assai Miriam Fried; Christoph Richter; Alessio Bax WEBERN Langsamer Satz Sara Bitlloch; Miriam Fried; Paul Biss; Christoph Richter KUUSISTO String Quartet No. 1 * Andante Allegro vivace Andante sostenuto Miriam Fried; Paul Biss; Atar Arad; Frans Helmerson –Intermission– BRAHMS String Sextet No. 2 Allegro non troppo Scherzo: Allegro non troppo Adagio Poco allegro Sara Bitlloch; Miriam Fried; Atar Arad; Paul Biss; Frans Helmerson; Christoph Richter † Ravinia debut # Ravinia Steans Music Institute alum * First performance at Ravinia JOSEPH HAYDN (1732–1809) Piano Trio in E-flat major, Hob. XV:29 Many remember Haydn’s two London visits (1791–92 and 1794–95) for the dozen mag- nificent symphonies he produced for Johann Peter Salomon’s concert series. However, this grand Austrian master produced an equally important and plentiful group of piano trios with English connections. Ten or more “sona- tas for piano with an accompaniment for the violin and violoncello” cluster around these London trips and generally reflect the unique English tastes. These same works were first published by English firms, most often Long- man & Broderip. Piano trios assumed importance as Haydn’s private medium of expression as his string quartets made their way into public concerts. “Private” partly implied amateur domestic performance, often by women musicians. Haydn’s dedications corroborate this notion: all were directed toward female acquaintanc- es. As Mary Hunter has noted, private genres also allow greater improvisational opportuni- ties than public forms. Despite their private focus, these piano trios contain numerous stylistic allusions to the more public sym- phonic and string quartet worlds. The Piano Trio in E-flat major, Hob. XV:29, belongs to a set of three works published in 1797 by Longman & Broderip. There is no documentary evidence that accurately pin- points their dates of composition. Haydn dedicated the set to “Mrs. Bartolozzi”—the eminent London piano teacher Therese Jan- sen, who had married Gaetano Bartolozzi, an amateur violinist and son of the engraver Francesco Bartolozzi, in 1795. The Bartolozzis later moved to Vienna, where they again en- countered Haydn. Despite its lighthearted demeanor, this piano trio employs fairly intricate tonal and struc- tural ideas. Haydn created two motivically in- terrelated themes in the Poco allegretto , one in E-flat major and the other in E-flat minor. Af- ter a sustained E-flat major chord, the begin- ning of the first theme is signaled by melodic Joseph Haydn by Christian Ludwig Seehas (1785) RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JULY 4 – JULY 17, 2022 28