Ravinia 2024 Issue 3

DESIRÉE RUHSTRAT Violinist Desirée Ruhstrat has earned renown across Europe and the Americas for her versa- tility as a soloist and chamber musician since she became the youngest prizewinner at Swit- zerland’s Tibor Varga International Competi- tion and made her professional debut at age 12 with Lukas Foss and the Milwaukee Symphony. She has since been a featured soloist with such ensembles as the Berlin Radio Symphony, Göt- tingen Symphony, Philharmonia Da Camera, Orquesta Sinfónica de Aguascalientes, Con- certo Soloists of Philadelphia, Debut Orchestra of Los Angeles, National Repertory Orchestra, and the Colorado, Oregon, and Utah Sympho- nies, as well as in Chicago’s Orchestra Hall by special invitation of Sir George Solti. Ruhstrat’s distinguished career as a chamber musician in- cludes numerous performances as a member of the Grammy-nominated Lincoln Trio, includ- ing at Carnegie’s Weill Hall, Lincoln Center, and New York’s Poisson Rouge, as well as a tour of South America performing Beethoven’s “Tri- ple” Concerto with the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia. She has also appeared as guest artist on the chamber music series of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Colorado Symphony, Apollo Cham- ber Ensemble, Colorado Chamber Players, and Pacifica Quartet, as well as Northwestern University’s Midwinter Series with Jorge Fed- erico Osorio and Ani Kavafian. In addition to the Lincoln Trio, in 2014 Ruhstrat founded the Black Oak Ensemble with cellist David Cun- liffe and violist Aurélien Fort Pederzoli, earn- ing numerous accolades with their 2019 debut album Silenced Voices and their latest, 2023’s Avant l’orage . Her discography also includes the Stamitz Duo for Violin and Viola for Centaur Records, the Ravel Duo for Violin and Cello for Albany Records, and the Grammy-nominated Lincoln Trio albums Annelies and Trios From Our Homelands , among others. A passionate teacher, Ruhstrat has been on faculty at Indiana University and is currently the Strings Cham- ber Music Coordinator and on the violin facul- ty at Northwestern. Desirée Ruhstrat has been a frequent Ravinia guest artist since 2008 as member of the Lincoln Trio and the Black Oak Ensemble, and tonight she makes her Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut. PAVILION 7:00 PMWEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2024 GIPSY KINGS featuring NICOLAS REYES with special guest CHOCO ORTA with CARIBE PROJECT † Choco Orta with Caribe Project –Intermission– Gipsy Kings featuring Nicolas Reyes † Ravinia debut GIPSY KINGS Comprising two families of Romani heritage, the Gipsy Kings have stood among the top world-al- bums artists since their eponymous debut album was released in 1986. The group plays the trade- mark “rumba flamenco” style of its Spanish Gi- tano background, combining the vigorous guitar work of Tonino Baliardo and the passionate vo- cals of Nicolas Reyes, sung entirely in their na- tive dialect. In fact, the Gipsy Kings are the next generation of a famed flamenco duo: singer José Reyes, father of Nicolas and the Reyes brothers; and guitarist Manitas de Plata, father of Tonino and the Baliardo brothers. Hailing fromArles and Montpelier in the south of France, the group got its start playing traditional music around their settlements and traveling to play weddings, festivals and parties. With its wanderlust, the Gipsy Kings took on elements of contemporary pop sounds, and soon found themselves with two international hit songs, “Bamboleo” and “Djobi Djoba,” and a platinum debut record. Further albums—including Mosaique (1989), Allegria (1989), Este Mundo (1991), Gipsy Kings Live (1992), Love & Liberté (1994), Tierra Gitana (1995), Cantos de Amor (1995), and Volare! The Very Best of the Gipsy Kings (2000)—have provided a steady stream of hits to Billboard ’s world albums, Latin, and pop charts and have sold over 14 million copies worldwide. Tierra Gitana was also the title of a 1996 PBS documentary that explored the band’s roots in the gypsy culture and its musical heritage, filming the group in concert in Arles, France. The Gipsy Kings’ 2004 Grammy-nominated album Roots marked an acoustic revitalization of their music, resonating closely with its flamenco roots, while the group’s most recent album, 2013 Grammy winner Savor Flamenco , married Brazilian folk and pop forms with its own fiery idiom. Thirty years after it first appeared, “Bamboleo” found further audiences on the soundtrack to the 2016 animated film Sing . The band has also been featured on the soundtracks of 2010’s Toy Story 3 , playing a Gipsy Kings version of the series’ there “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” and the 2019 Big Lebowski spinoff The Jesus Rolls . First appearing at Ravinia in 2005, the Gipsy Kings return tonight for their 11th season as the festival. RAVINIA.ORG  • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 67