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Articles tagged with: Ravinia Festival

Knights, Dawn Upshaw celebrate folk influence on classical music with ranging fare at Ravinia

Jul 7, 2015 – 10:40 am | 996 views
Feature 2

Review: Composers have long been fascinated by folk music. From Josquin des Prez’s late 15th-century “Missa L’homme armé,” based on a popular French tune, to Donnacha Dennehy’s Irish music-inspired “Grá agus bás” from 2007, folk songs have often made their mark on classical music, either through direct transcription or simple inspiration. On July 5 at Ravinia’s Martin Theatre, the iconoclastic chamber orchestra the Knights, joined by the likewise singular soprano Dawn Upshaw, gamboled through some of the vibrant repertoire that has emerged from composers’ attraction to folk music.

CD Review: Guitarist Karadaglić trumpets his Ravinia concerts with desert-isle Rodrigo disc

Jul 10, 2014 – 12:35 am | 1,913 views
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Review: When I chatted with the young Montenegrin classical guitar virtuoso Miloš Karadaglić last November, about an impending solo appearance at City Winery, he made a brief digression to a major project then in progress – a recordng with conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the London Philharmonic Orchestra that would pair Joaquin Rodrigo’s popular “Concierto de Aranjuez” and “Fantasía para un gentilhombre.” The CD has just been released, and it is a multifaceted beauty. ★★★★★

Ravinia Fest 2014 runs gamut from enduring stars to first twinkles, with 3-pack of opera

Feb 27, 2014 – 5:33 pm | 7,538 views
Festival entrance

Report: Ravinia Festival music director James Conlon leads Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” and “Don Giovanni,” soprano Patricia Racette stars in Strauss’ grisly “Salome” and Finnish conductor Susanna Mälkki makes her festival debut in the 2014 summer series announced Thursday.

2013 Summer Season: Ravinia will come out swinging with jazz tribute to Benny Goodman

Mar 12, 2013 – 2:55 pm | 16,691 views
Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia Festival James Conlon conducting summer 2012

Ravinia Festival Best Bets: If you want to branch out a bit musically, the summertime Ravinia Festival in Highland Park is a good place for it. There, classical music lovers sample niche-expanding novelties of the sort that gave Brooklyn Academy of Music its must-see reputation. College students picnic on the lawn for free when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performs. And family friendly movie prices rule for recitals featuring the latest contest winners and stars on the rise.

Ravinia favorite Misha Dichter’s double life revealed: The pianist’s a serious cartoonist

Jul 28, 2012 – 3:13 pm | 7,385 views
Misha Dichter drawing from A Pianist's World in Drawings credit Rosetta Books

Report: Pianist Misha Dichter, who celebrates his 45th consecutive season with the Ravinia Festival on July 29, shares his passion for sketching in a new e-book.

With a winning smile and no visible effort, violinist heats Glass like a modern Paganini

Jun 25, 2012 – 1:56 pm | 4,193 views
Tim Fain feature image credit Briana Blasko

Review: No doubt the large crowd gathered June 23 at the Ravinia Festival’s Martin Recital Hall was drawn mainly by the prospect of seeing 75-year-old composer-pianist Philip Glass perform a program of his own music. And no doubt they came away delighted by the 90-minute sampler of Glass’ music through the decades and his affable flair for story-telling. But the brightest light on this evening was cast by the youthful, California-born violinist Tim Fain, who played – among other things — one prodigious movement from an unaccompanied suite that Glass has written for him. *****