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GILBERT KALISH,
piano
Under the tutelage of Isabelle Vengerova, Leon-
ard Shure, and Julius Hereford, pianist Gilbert
Kalish earned a bachelor’s degree at Columbia
College and completed graduate studies at Co-
lumbia University. In a single year, he gave his
New York–debut recital at Carnegie Hall and
made his European debut at Wigmore Hall.
Kalish subsequently toured North America,
Europe, and Australia and became a founding
member of the Contemporary Chamber En-
semble, a new music group active during the
’ s and ’ s. He also regularly played with the
Boston Symphony Chamber Players during this
period, touring Europe, South America, and Ja-
pan. Kalish is frequently a guest of the Concord,
Emerson, and Juilliard String Quartets and
the New York Woodwind Quintet, and he re-
cently worked with the Talich Quartet. He has
long-standing partnerships with cellists Timo-
thy Eddy and Joel Krosnick, soprano Dawn Up-
shaw, and, most famously, mezzo-soprano Jan
DeGaetani, with whom he played for years.
Chamber music consumes most of Kalish’s
performing time, but he has also o en been a
soloist at such festivals as New York’s Mostly
Mozart and England’s Brighton and Aldeburgh.
He has premiered works by such composers as
Elliot Carter, George Crumb, Charles Ives, Leon
Kirchner, George Perle, Ralph Shapey, and Da-
vid Diamond. Kalish has appeared on a wide
range of recordings for the Columbia, Desto,
Folkways, Acoustic Research, Bridge, and None-
such labels, among many others. His discogra-
phy includes Haydn’s complete sonatas and a
reference recording of Ives’s “Concord” Sonata
on Nonesuch, with which he recorded works
by numerous American composers.
e
recipient of Chamber Music America’s National
Service Award, Kalish also holds a
honor-
ary doctorate from Swarthmore College and is
currently on the faculty of SUNY–Stony Brook.
Gilbert Kalish has been on the faculty of Ravin-
ia’s Steans Music Institute for seasons, dating
back to
. He rst performed at Ravinia in
, and tonight marks his th appearance on
the festival’s concert stage.
SŌ PERCUSSION
With innovative multi-genre original produc-
tions and sensational interpretations of mod-
ern classics, Sō Percussion has rede ned the
scope and vital role of the modern percussion
ensemble.
e quartet’s repertoire ranges from
“classics” of the
th century by John Cage,
Steve Reich, and Iannis Xenakis, among others,
to commissioned works by contemporary com-
posers such as David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Steve
Mackey, and Caroline Shaw, to distinctively
modern collaborations with artists who work
outside the classical concert hall, including Sha-
ra Nova, the electronic duo Matmos, the chore-
ographer Susan Marshall, Wilco’s Glenn Kotche,
e National’s Bryce Dessner, and many others.
Sō Percussion also composes and performs its
own works, ranging from standard concert piec-
es to immersive multi-genre programs, includ-
ing “Imaginary City,” “Where (we) Live,” and “A
Gun Show,” which was presented in a multi-per-
formance presentation as part of BAM’s
Next Wave Festival. In these concert-length
programs, the quartet employs a distinctively
st-century synthesis of original music, artistic
collaboration, theatrical production values, and
visual art to present a powerful exploration of
its own unique and personal creative experi-
ence. Over the past year, Sō has performed the
New York premiere of David Lang’s
man made
with Louis Langrée and the Mostly Mozart Fes-
tival Orchestra; returned to Carnegie Hall with
the JACK Quartet in a program of new works
by Donnacha Dennehy and Dan Trueman; and
toured the United Kingdom with an original
production entitled “From Out a Darker Sea”
that explores the community and culture of
English coal mining country. Recent highlights
include appearances at Bonnaroo, the Eaux
Claires Festival, MassMoCA, and TED
; in-
ternational tours to Poland and Ireland; and per-
formances of
man made
with Gustavo Dudamel
and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Sō is an en-
semble-in-residence at Princeton University and
co-directors of the percussion department at the
Bard College-Conservatory of Music. Sō Percus-
sion is making its Ravinia debut.
Sō Percussion uses Vic Firth sticks, Zildjian cymbals, Remo
drumheads, Black Swamp accessories, Estey organs, and
Pearl/Adams instruments; the quartet thanks these compa-
nies for their generous support.
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RAVINIA.ORGRAVINIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 27 – SEPTEMBER 2, 2018
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