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RAVINIA’S STEANS MUSIC INSTITUTE 21
RSMI
PIANO AND STRINGS EVENTS
Events in Bennett Gordon Hall
PIANO AND STRINGS FACULTY
Miriam Fried, Program Director and violin
The Marie-Louise and Samuel R. Rosenthal
Chair for Violin
Miriam Fried has been recognized for years
as one of the world’s preeminent violinists. A
consummate musician—equally accomplished
as recitalist, concerto soloist or chamber
musician—she has been heralded for her
“fiery intensity and emotional depth” (Musical
America) as well as for her technical mastery.
Fried has played with virtually every major
orchestra in the United States and Europe and
has been a frequent guest with the principal
orchestras of Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New
York, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, as well as
with the Israel Philharmonic, the London Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic,
and the Vienna Symphony. Recital tours have taken her to all of the major
music centers in North America and to Brussels, London, Milan, Munich,
Rome, Paris, Salzburg, Stockholm, and Zurich. Since 1993, she has been the
Director of the Program for Piano and Strings at the Steans Music Institute
at the Ravinia Festival, one of the country’s leading summer programs for
young musicians. Her involvement there has included regular performances,
including recitals and concerts with the Chicago Symphony. Fried’s highly
praised 1985 New York recitals of the complete Bach Sonatas and Partitas for
Solo Violin were the culmination of three years of international performances.
She returned to this music with a recording made in France for the Lyrinx
label. She has also made a prize-winning, best-selling recording of the Sibelius
Concerto for the Finlandia label with the Helsinki Philharmonic under the
direction of Okko Kamu. Chamber music plays an important role in Fried’s
musical life. She was first violinist of the Mendelssohn String Quartet until it
disbanded after 30 years, and has collaborated with such distinguished artists
as Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zukerman, Garrick Ohlsson, Nathaniel Rosen, her son,
pianist Jonathan Biss, and her husband, violinist/violist Paul Biss. She has been
featured guest artist at Chamber Music East in Boston, the La Jolla Chamber
Music Society SummerFest, the Lockenhaus Festival, and the Naantali Festival
in Finland. Miriam Fried’s successful solo career was launched in 1968 after
she was awarded First Prize in Genoa’s Paganini International Competition.
Three years later she claimed top honors in the Queen Elisabeth International
Competition, where she gained further world attention by becoming the first
woman ever to win the prestigious award. Her early childhood included
lessons with Alice Fenyves in Tel Aviv, as well as the opportunity to meet and
play for the many great violinists who visited Israel, including Isaac Stern,
Nathan Milstein, Yehudi Menuhin, Henryk Szeryng, Zino Francescatti, and
Erica Morini. She came to the United States as a protégée of Isaac Stern, and
continued her studies with Ivan Galamian at the Juilliard School and with Josef
Gingold at Indiana University. Ms. Fried devoted her sabbatical leave during
the 2015-2016 season to the solo sonatas and partitas of Bach. This immersion
resulted in a series of lectures on Bach’s solo violin works, and companion
master classes which are available on the iclassical-academy website. After
a series of performances of the sonatas and partitas she recorded them for
Nimbus.
Concerts
Saturday, June 30, 2:00 p.m. – free and unticketed
Saturday, July 7, 2:00 p.m. – free and unticketed
Sunday, July 8, 2:00 p.m. – free and unticketed
Monday, July 9, 6:00 p.m. - $10 BGH Classics Series
Brahms and More
Wednesday, July 10, 2:00 p.m. – free and unticketed
Friday, July 13, 2:00 p.m. – free and unticketed
Saturday, July 14, 2:00 p.m. – free and unticketed
Monday, July 16, 6:00 p.m. – $10 BGH Classics series
Premiere of Timo Andres Commission
in honor of RSMI’s 30th anniversary
Tuesday, July 17, 2:00 p.m. – free and unticketed
Thursday, July 19, 6:00 p.m. – $10 BGH Classics series
Brahms and More
Friday, July 20, 2:00 p.m. – free and unticketed
Saturday, July 21, 2:00 p.m. – free and unticketed
Master Classes
All master classes are free and unticketed.
Friday, June 29, 2:00 p.m.
Miriam Fried, violin
Friday, July 6, 2:00 p.m.
Paul Katz, cello
Wednesday, July 11, 2:00 p.m.
Atar Arad, viola
Program Information
Repertoire and performers for these events will be announced online
in the days leading up to each event. Check
for the latest information. Sign up for the e-mail newsletter
at to receive program details in your inbox.
Live Streaming
Live video and audio of many of our free RSMI events will be
streamed online at Check the website for
the latest information.
Also, if you missed an RSMI concert or would like to hear a perfor-
mance again, you can listen to streaming audio recordings of most
concerts on Ravinia’s YouTube page. Our concerts will be posted
throughout the season.
RSMI
Max Tan, Hilda Huang, and
Chase Park perform in Bennett
Gordon Hall in 2017