Ravinia 2023 Issue 2

“ IT CAUGHTMY BREATH IN SUCH AWAY THAT I FELT THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT I HAD TOWRITEMUSIC TO. ” JIM STEERE of her string sextet Lyre of Orpheus (2008). At the top of the Chicago Symphony’s July 15 concert, at long last her larger-scale music receives its first airing at Ravinia, with the orchestra returning to a selection that it premiered in 1991. Chief Conductor Marin Alsop wanted a short work to open the evening, and Ran suggested Chicago Skyline . The 5–6 minute fanfare for brass and percussion was commissioned by WFMT-FM 98.7 to mark its 40th an- niversary. As inspiration, the compos- er chose to focus on the city’s spec- tacular skyline, a portion of which she could see from her E. Randolph St. apartment that overlooks what is now Millennium Park and Michigan Avenue. “I still remember the shock of excitement I had the first time when I arrived in Chicago from O’Hare, [riding] in a cab through the city and seeing this great skyline that opened for me,” she said. FOR MUCH OF HER EARLY LIFE in her native Israel, Ran seemed to be in a hurry, reaching milestones at a much younger age than most other children, starting with composing, which she began when she was just 7. Of course, at the time, she didn’t know she was “composing.” Many Israeli poets like Nathan Alterman and Hay- im Nahman Bialik wrote works for children, and when she learned some of them in school, the budding com- poser instinctively set them to music. “I would sing them,” she said. “That seemed like the thing to do.” One day, she was reading a story to her mother that included the text to a character’s song, and Ran sang the words. Her mother wanted to know if it was a song that she had learned in school, and the girl simply pointed to the words and said the music was there. “From my standpoint, the melody was associated with the words,” she said. “And it just had to be there.” Around the same time, Ran dis- covered a piano at a friend’s house. “It seemed like a most wonderful toy,” she said, “an amazing thing, and I loved it.” She came home and managed to talk to her parents into buying an upright piano, and she soon began lessons with a teach- er who lived on the same street. She performed some of her songs for him, and he transcribed them. Unbeknownst to her or her parents, the teacher sent some of those songs to the Israel Broadcasting Authority. One day, a letter came in the mail announcing that two of her songs would be performed by a children’s choir on a radio show called Children’s Corner . She was at a summer camp when the broadcast aired, and all the kids gathered around the radio and listened. “That really was an amazing turning point in my life,” Ran said. Before she was even 9 years old, the youngster realized what would be- come her life’s work: “I said to myself, This is what I want to do. This is how I want to spend my life, hearing my music performed by others.” Soon thereafter, her first piano teacher recommended she move on for more advanced studies, so she began lessons with Israeli composer Alexander Uriah Boskovich and his wife, Miriam, who was a pianist. A few years later, she for played Nadia Reisenberg during a visit by the noted pianist to Israel. Reisenberg urged Ran to come to New York’s Mannes School of Music, where she taught at the time, and arranged a scholarship for the upstart Israeli musician. So, again, considerably earlier than most other people would have made such life-changing journey, she traveled to the United States at 14. She studied pi- ano with Reisenberg and composition with Norman Dello Joio, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1957, earning an Artist’s Diploma in both fields in 1967. For a few years, she did a fair amount of concertizing, giving her less time for composing. But her focus switched more firmly in the direction of the latter in 1969 with the completion of O, the Chimneys , which culminated Ran’s 1992 Ravinia program . It consists of five settings for voice, chamber ensemble, and tape of During her residency with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Shulamit Ran composed Legends for Orchestra to commemorate the centennials of both the CSO and the University of Chicago. Conducted by Daniel Barenboim (standing left, applauding), whose advocacy and performances of her music helped lead to her appointment with the orchestra, the work received its premiere by the CSO in October 1993. RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE 81