Ravinia 2024 Issue 5

CREATIVE LICENSE Samara Joy is turning blue notes red hot BYDONALD LIEBENSON RAVINIA HAS A PROUD [if not always intentional] tradition of wel- coming to its stages artists who are in the first blush of their distinguished careers. Bob Dylan, who appeared here in 1964 (more than 50 years before he would return), comes to mind, as does now–country superstar Kelsea Ballerini, who opened for Alan Jackson in 2015. Pianist Lang Lang’s Ravinia debut was particularly memorable: He stole the show at the 1999 gala, when he stepped in as a replacement for André Watts playing a movement of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto. In what could be tut-tutted as a gaffe in retrospect, when Van Cliburn vied for Ravinia’s Michaels Memorial Music Award in 1953, the pianist was named the runner-up to cellist Paul Olefsky; five years later, he would make history as the winner of the first International Tchaikovsky Compe- tition in Moscow, during the Cold War. R&B-turned-screen acting sensation Andra Day also lit up an opening set in 2015; her number came up before Lenny Kravitz hit the stage. And just last sum- mer, Yunchan Lim made his Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut here and more than lived up to the hype as what The Guardian hailed just last month as “the greatest pianist of our times.” RAVINIAMAGAZINE • AUGUST 19 – SEPTEMBER 1, 2024 6 AMBEJ.WILLIAMS