Ravinia 2023 Issue 2

“ ITWAS A REMARKABLE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR ASMUCHMUSIC AS I WANTED, PLAYED AT THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE LEVEL, AND TO HAVE THIS CAMARADERIE AND COLLABORATIVE SPIRIT. ” The previous composer-in-residence, John Corigliano, introduced Ran’s Concerto for Orchestra (1986) to Daniel Barenboim, who would be- come the orchestra’s music director in 1991. He agreed to conduct it in 1988, performances that helped lead to her residency. In addition to getting some of her works performed, she served as an advocate for contemporary music and uncovered new music that she thought was significant and that meshed well with Barenboim’s taste and temperament. “It was a remark- able opportunity,” she said, “to hear as much music as I wanted, played at the highest possible level, and get to know the musicians and have this sense of ca- maraderie and collaborative spirit.” During the last three years of that residency, she also held the same po- sition at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, where she was tasked with writing a new opera for the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists (now the Ryan Opera Center), the company’s pro- fessional training program. She wrote a piece titled Between Two Worlds (The Dybbuk), which was rooted in a wandering, disembodied spirit from Jewish folklore that implants itself in a living person. After the premiere in 1997, the opera was revived three years later in Bielefeld, Germany, but not since. An impediment to further performances, which Ran is eager to see happen, has been the lack of a proper recording or video of the work. In March, Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music presented the world premiere of Anne Frank , Ran’s second opera and arguably one of the most important accomplishments of her career. The idea for the work, the first large-scale opera based on Frank’s account of her family’s harrowing attempt to elude the Nazis during the Holocaust, came from Dennis Han- thorn, general director of Atlanta Op- era from 2004 through 2012. He had seen Between Two Worlds and thought she would be ideal for the project. Ran jumped at the chance, joining forces with her previous librettist, Charles Kondek, to create what became a 2½- hour opera with nine principals and a large choir and orchestra. But by the time the long process to secure the rights to the story from the Anne Frank Foundation in Basel was completed, Hanthorn had left his position and Atlanta Opera was no longer interested. Hagen, the com- pany’s music director, stepped in and brought the opera to Indiana Univer- sity, where he serves as co-chair of the department of orchestral conducting. “I never have the feeling with Shu- lamit Ran, which I do with many other composers, that she super- imposes a particular style or particular language onto her composition,” Hagen said. “ Anne Frank inspired her to write in a certain way. It’s all motivated from in- side rather than coming from outside. I find that her writing has tremendous humanity, and she is in command of such a variety of styles and the use of the orchestra that she is able to adjust to whatever the situation is in a way that is very rare.” Thomas, a U of C professor whose preludial composition Sun Dance will be performed August 5 at Ravin- ia by the Chicago Symphony, cites several qualities that run through Ran’s music, starting with its natural, overt musicality: “You can hear her singing those notes or playing them at the piano, and I really admire that about it.” Second, Thomas called Ran a masterful colorist, who capitalizes on the intrinsic sound and charac- ter of each instrument. Third, Ran’s music often contains folk elements, what Thomas called “Hebrew twists of phrase.” “It’s like a thumbprint,” the younger composer said. One work that encapsulates all these elements is Grand Rounds (2018) for 13 players, which was commissioned by the U of C’s Center for Contemporary Com- position. “It’s just right there,” Thomas said. What will be Ran’s musical legacy? Thomas believes it’s too soon to know for sure. “It’s very hard to analyze a composer’s standing,” she said, “because history takes time.” But she believes that Ran’s music will be remembered and performed. “Over the long run,” she said, “when there is a body of work that has substantial meaning, emotion, craft, eloquence and personality, those pieces survive. They go on. People find them and continue to come back to them. I believe her work has already had that kind of ripple effect and will continue to for centuries.” Kyle MacMillan served as classical music critic for the Denver Post from 2000 through 2011. He currently freelances in Chicago, writing for such publications and websites as the Chicago Sun- Times , Early Music America , Opera News , and Classical Voice of North America . RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE 83