Ravinia 2024 Issue 3

KEVIN MILLER American pianist Kevin J. Miller is acclaimed for his dynamically artful performances. Recent collaborations include recitals with tenor Law- rence Brownlee at Carnegie Hall and Houston Grand Opera, countertenor John Holiday at the Kennedy Center and London’s Barbican, Joseph Calleja and Nadine Sierra at the Supreme Court of the United States, and an appearance with Calleja on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series. Mill- er also assisted soprano Jessye Norman in pre- paring performances of Laura Karpman’s Ask Your Mama at Carnegie Hall, and he collaborat- ed with countertenor David Daniels on a recital at the Glimmerglass Festival. He can be heard on piano on the recording Been in da Storm So Long featuring baritone Kenneth Overton. A New York native, Miller has been devoted to music since his days as a student at the Boys Choir of Harlem. Beginning his studies at the age of 8, Miller was often a featured soprano soloist, including in performances of Vivaldi’s Gloria and Lake George Opera’s production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream . While a Boys Choir of Harlem student, he studied pia- no with conductor and pianist Warren Wilson. During these years, Miller also began working as a collaborative pianist, having accompanied the choir on its tours of Europe, Israel, Austria, and Japan. Miller later studied at the Mannes College of Music, where he received a Bachelor of Music in piano, and continued at University of Michigan to complete both a Master of Music and the Artist Diploma in Collaborative Piano under the tutelage of Martin Katz. In addition to his formal studies, Miller has been a partic- ipant in such festivals and young artist appren- ticeships as the Tanglewood Institute, Aspen Music Festival, the Cleveland Art Song Festival, San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program, Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, and the Glimmerglass Festival. Upon completion of his apprenticeship, he was invited to serve as a vocal coach at the Glimmerglass Festival. Kevin Miller is making his Ravinia debut. PAVILION 7:30 PM FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2024 CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA VALENTINA PELEGGI, conductor JORGE FEDERICO OSORIO, piano BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, op. 73 (“Emperor”) Allegro Adagio un poco mosso [ attacca ] Rondo: Allegro Jorge Federico Osorio –Intermission– TCHAIKOVSKY Francesca da Rimini Symphonic Fantasy, op. 32 RESPIGHI The Pines of Rome The Pines of the Villa Borghese Pines Near a Catacomb The Pines of the Janiculum The Pines of the Appian Way LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, op. 73 (“Emperor”) Scored for two flutes, oboes, clarinets, horns, and trumpets, timpani, strings, and solo piano No nickname could less aptly portray circum- stances surrounding the Piano Concerto No. 5 than the present-day “Emperor.” Beethoven be- gan labors on his final concerto following Na- poleon’s second military incursion into Vienna in 1809. The people’s champion, to whom Bee- thoven once considered dedicating his Sympho- ny No. 3 (“Eroica,” 1803), had transformed into another brutal overlord by proclaiming himself emperor and launching an imperialistic con- quest of Europe. The French occupation of Vi- enna had a harmful effect on Beethoven and his circle. Many politically connected friends fled the city rather than suffer persecution. Econom- ic pressures brought about by the prolonged war effort ultimately jeopardized Beethoven’s annual salary, which was paid by three aristocratic mu- sic-lovers so the composer could remain in Vi- enna and “devote himself to a single department of activity and create works of magnitude which are exalted and which ennoble art.” Disillusioned by Napoleon’s betrayal of republi- can ideals, Beethoven experienced a stirring of patriotic feelings that he openly declared through the language of music. The first demon- stration of nationalistic sentiment occurred when Beethoven required German tempo markings and terminology (“Hammerklavier” for “piano”) in his published scores. Later, patri- otism flourished nearer to the surface in such works as the “battle symphony” Wellington’s Vic- tory (1813) and the cantata Der glorreiche RAVINIAMAGAZINE • JULY 22 – AUGUST 4, 2024 74 LARRYNXPHOTOGRAPHY