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Marin Alsop has
curated the first of
Ravinia’s multiyear
centenary celebration
of her mentor, the
larger-than-life
composer, conductor,
and pianist Leonard
Bernstein.
Leonard Bernstein would have gotten a kick out of Ravinia’s
2018 season.
That’s not just because we’re celebrating the centenary of
this towering composer/conductor who’s remembered as
“America’s music teacher,” but it’s also because his generous
spirit and passionate approach to all aspects of life—from
parenting to social activism—spark and glow in the 10 events
on our three stages from June 1 through September 16.
Conductor Marin Alsop, Bernstein’s final protégé and
the only woman he mentored, presides over the multiyear
Bernstein celebration as Ravinia’s first musical curator. Her
carefully crafted programming features Bernstein’s own
symphonic and Broadway scores, his favorite party pieces
as pianist and conductor, and the works of composers he
considered mentors and friends. The celebration features a first
for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Ravinia, hundreds
of artists on stage for the music theater work
Mass
, originally
commissioned to open the Kennedy Center.
Bernstein’s adventurous desire for
discovery is alive and well at Ravinia, which
presents 55 premieres and welcomes a diverse
range of 80 artists in their festival debuts this
summer, including Mary J. Blige, Makoto Ozone, Jason
Mraz, Cent, David Foster, Jill Scott, Culture Club,
Whoopi Goldberg, Evanescence, Lindsey Stirling, Ozomatli,
Well-Strung, Roger Daltrey,
Trombone Shorty, and the much
sought-after conductor Gustavo
Dudamel, who has a few
Bernstein stories of his own—
including the time he broke
the maestro’s baton during
his New York Philharmonic
debut. One of Bernstein’s own
discoveries, folk legend Janis Ian,
will give an intimate performance
in the Martin Theatre to mark
a milestone of her own, her
50th anniversary as a
performing artist.
Certainly, Bernstein would have been at home in Ravinia’s
on-campus, summer conservatory. This summer marks the
30th anniversary of Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute. Each
summer RSMI awards fellowships to about 60 talented
professional musicians from around the world to hone their
performance skills with Ravinia artists. This year’s participants
will perform throughout the summer (including works by
Bernstein), and, befitting its anniversary, 30 alumni and faculty
of the program return to the festival, including pianists Yuja
Wang, Inon Barnatan, and Gilbert Kalish,
and singers Michelle DeYoung, Paul
Appleby, and Nadine Sierra.
Celebrating her 25th year
as director of the RSMI
Program for Piano
and Strings, violinist
Miriam Fried adds her
own pyrotechnics to the
cannon-fire of our annual
Tchaikovsky Spectacular,
which has expanded to two
dates by popular
demand.
A MESSAGE FROM RAVINIA’S
CHAIRMAN
and
PRESIDENT & CEO
6
RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 1 – JUNE 17, 2018