JAMES CONLON CONDUCTS THE CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA IN ZEMLINSKY’S A FLORENTINE TRAGEDY

The week’s soloists include Christine Brewer, Misha Dichter, Anthony Dean Griffey, James Johnson, Olga Kern and Garrick Ohlsson
   
As part of this season’s Breaking the Silence series highlighting composers suppressed during the Holocaust, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will perform Alexander Zemlinsky’s A Florentine Tragedy, a one-act opera with libretto based on a story by Oscar Wilde, on Wednesday, July 11 at 8 p.m. in the pavilion. James Conlon will
lead the CSO in this performance which will also feature three outstanding vocalists including soprano Christine Brewer, who is described by Opera magazine as “the possessor of arguably the world's most beautiful and exciting soprano.”  Also joining them is tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, lauded by The New York Times as having a “beautifully lyric yet powerful and seemingly inexhaustible voice” and baritone James Johnson who has performed with many renowned orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. Pianist Misha Dichter, now in the fifth decade of an illustrious international career, will perform Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1.  There will also be a free preview concert featuring musicians from the Program for Piano and Strings of Ravinia’s Steans Institute for Young Artists at 5:45 p.m. in Bennett • Gordon Hall.
Continuing the second week of the CSO’s summer residency at Ravinia, Conlon
and the CSO will be joined by pianist Olga Kern in a program including pieces by Rachmaninoff and Rimsky-Korsakov. Kern’s career began in 2001 when she was awarded the Gold Medal at the Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition – the first woman to have achieved this distinction in more then 30 years. There will also be a piano and strings free preview concert featuring musicians from the Steans Institute at 5:45 p.m. in Bennett • Gordon Hall.

As part of Conlon’s exploration of Mozart concertos, he will lead the CSO with pianist Garrick Ohlsson in performances of Piano Concertos No. 16, K. 451 in D; No. 15, K450 in B-flat; and No. 26, K 537 in D (Coronation) on Sunday, July 15 at 5 p.m. Ohlsson is an accomplished pianist who was the first American win first prize in the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. There will be a chamber music concert
at 1 p.m. in Bennett • Gordon Hall which will not be broadcast on the lawn. The Family Space will also be open on the north lawn from 3-4:30 p.m. There, families can enjoy activities that include music-related crafts and storytelling and an instrument petting zoo where kids can try out many different instruments.

On Saturday, July 14 at 2 p.m. in Bennett • Gordon Hall there will be a special showcase featuring works by this season’s Breaking the Silence composer, Alexander Zemlinsky. Conlon will host the showcase which will explore Zemlinsky’s important works including pieces with artists from the Steans Institute for Young Artists.
On Tuesday, July 10 at 8 p.m. in the Martin Theatre the reigning master of the viola da gamba, Jordi Savall, and his ensemble Hespèrion XXI make their Ravinia debut. Credited for returning the viola da gamba to the concert stage, the two-time Grammy-nominated early-music expert also provided music for a variety of films, from Fight Club to the acclaimed All the Mornings in the World, which is the story of a viola da gamba maker. Earlier in the day Conlon will also be holding a free master class at 5:30 pm in Bennett • Gordon Hall.

In the second installment of Ravinia’s Martinis at the Martin series of four Broadway stars reinterpreting the great American songbook, Brian Stokes Mitchell will perform on Monday, July 9 at 8 p.m. in the Martin Theatre. Mitchell performed last year at Ravinia’s Gala Benefit Evening, “Gershwin at Ravinia,” and has been lauded by The New York Times as “The Last Leading Man.” After a sold-out debut last year and one of the groups that raised a generation of rock-lovers on such hits as “The Joker,” “Fly Like an Eagle” and “Jungle Love,” the Steve Miller Band returns on Friday, July 13 at 8 p.m. and Saturday,

July 14. These performances will be taped for the band’s very first live concert DVD.
Winner of the 2003 Parents’ Choice Gold Award for his album Not Naptime,
Justin Roberts will entertain children and parents with his zippy lyrics and musical arrangements on Saturday, July 14 at 11 a.m. in the pavilion.  An acclaimed folk-pop singer and songwriter, Roberts embarked on a career as a children’s musician when
he was a Montessori preschool teacher and music director. His 2004 family release, Way Out, was selected as one of Child Magazine and Amazon.com’s top 10 family recordings of the year.

Ravinia Festival is located at Lake-Cook and Green Bay roads in Highland Park. All Steans Institute preview concerts are free with admission to the mainstage performances, lawn and reserved seats. Master classes are free of charge, no park admission required. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit us
online at www.ravinia.org or call (847) 266-5100.
Monday, July 9, 8 p.m.—Martin Theatre
    Martinis at the Martin
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Sponsor: Diamond Management & Technology Consultants
Tickets: reserved seats $50/Lawn $10/Park opens at 5 p.m.

Tuesday, July 10, 5:30 p.m., Bennett • Gordon Hall
    Steans Institute Master Class
James Conlon

Tuesday, July 10, 8 p.m.—Martin Theatre
Hespèrion XXI
Jordi Savall, Director, Viola da gamba
    Anonymous:    Lamentacio-Sacto
            Dances araboandaluses
            Cants de Trobairitz
            Musiques cortesanes
    el Sabio:    Cantigas de Santa Maria
    Anonymous:    Sefardites Cants de la Diaspora
Sponsor: Joan and Jack Wing
Tickets: $40-$25/Lawn $10/Park opens at 5 p.m.


Wednesday, July 11, 5:45 p.m.—Bennett • Gordon Hall
    Preview Concert
Steans Institute for Young Artists

Wednesday, July 11, 8 p.m.—Pavilion
    Breaking the Silence
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
James Conlon, Conductor
Misha Dichter, Piano
Christine Brewer, Soprano
Anthony Griffey, Tenor
James Johnson, Baritone
    Tchaikovsky:    Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23
    Zemlinsky:    A Florentine Tragedy
            (with supertitles)
Sponsor: UBS
Tickets: $60-$40-$20/Lawn $10/Park opens at 5 p.m.

Thursday, July 12, 5:45 p.m.—Bennett • Gordon Hall
    Preview Concert
Steans Institute for Young Artists

Thursday, July 12, 8 p.m.—Pavilion
    Water Works
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
James Conlon, Conductor
Olga Kern, Piano
    Rachmaninoff:        Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18
    Rimsky-Korsakov:    Sheherazade, Op. 35
Phillip M. Goldstein Memorial Concert
Tickets: $60-$40-$20/Lawn $10/Park opens at 5 p.m.

Friday, July 13, 8 p.m.—Pavilion
Steve Miller Band
Sponsors: Camping World and FreedomRoads
Tickets: $75/Lawn $20/Park opens at 5 p.m.

Saturday, July 14, 11 a.m.—Pavilion
    Kraft Kids Concert
Justin Roberts
Sponsor: Kraft Foods
Tickets: $10/Lawn $3/Park opens at 10 a.m.

Saturday, July 14, 2 p.m. — Bennett • Gordon Hall
    Breaking the Silence
Zemlinsky Showcase
James Conlon
Tickets: $20/No Lawn Sales

Saturday, July 14, 7:30 p.m.—Pavilion
Steve Miller Band
Sponsors: Camping World and FreedomRoads
Tickets: $75/Lawn $20/Park opens at 5 p.m.

Sunday, July 15, 1 p.m.—Bennett • Gordon Hall
    Steans Chamber Music Concert
Steans Institute for Young Artists

Sunday, July 15, 5 p.m.—Pavilion
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
James Conlon, Conductor
Garrick Ohlsson, Piano
    Mozart:    Piano Concerto No. 15 in B-Flat Major, K. 450
            Piano Concerto No. 16 in D Major, K. 451
            Piano Concerto No. 26 in D Major, K. 537 (“Coronation”)
Edward Gordon Memorial Concert
Tickets: $50-$30-$20/Lawn $10/Park opens at 3 p.m.

"Ravinia is wonderful place to enjoy some of the world's best
entertainment.  You can relax on a blanket and gaze at the sky while
listening to wonderful tunes, ballads, or symphonic splendor brought
to you by one of the world's finest ensembles...the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  Enjoy a picnic, eat at one of the fine dining establishments
and then take your seat at the Pavilion or enjoy the show from the lawn.
The performances cover every taste imaginable and class is left out of
none.  Even the hot weather is better at Ravinia."  Suburban Journals
of  Chicago Inc. Oak Park Journal , Forest Park Journal