Ravinia 2025 Issue 3

Louis Langrée , Music Director of Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mo- zart Festival for two decades in a tenure that was declared by the the New York Times to be “by any measure a triumph of ensem- ble-building and musical curiosity,” makes his CSO and Ravinia debuts with an all-Mozart program. The Overture to La clem- enza di Tito is paired on the first half with the Piano Concerto No. 22, featuring pianist Garrick Ohlsson as soloist. With an enormous repertoire encompassing more than 80 concertos, the pianist is also known for his especial way with the works of the Classical giants Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Langrée rounds out the program with Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony, perhaps the pinnacle of Classical-era symphonic composition ( August 10 ). Regarded as “the definition of virtuosity” ( Observer UK), pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii makes his CSO debut with Rachmaninoff ’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Conductor Peter Oundjian also leads the CSO in a newly crafted suite based on renowned Ameri- can composer Joan Tower’s Concerto for Orchestra , which was premiered in 1991 by the St. Louis Symphony. Closing out the concert is Brahms’s First Symphony, which the composer de- clared to be 21 years in the making, from early sketches to final completion ( August 16 ). Conductor David Robertson , who led the St. Louis Sympho- ny from 2005–18 and currently serves as Director of Orchestra Studies at Juilliard, leads an eclectic program featuring cellist Sheku-Kanneh Mason , who two years after winning the BBC Young Musician competition in 2016 performed at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at Windsor Castle for an enviable audience of two billion people worldwide. The cellist also performed as a soloist under Marin Alsop’s baton at the BBC Proms in 2023. The concert opens with Sarah Kirkland Snider’s evocative Something for the Dark , before Kanneh-Ma- son makes his Ravinia debut with Saint-Saëns’s Cello Concer- to No. 1. Chabrier’s folk-influenced and energetic España and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol complete the program ( August 17 ). Other collaborations with a variety of artists from across the spectrum of genres this summer include eight-time Grammy winner and alternative icon Beck , making both festival and CSO debuts and joined by whistler Molly Lewis under the direction of Edwin Outwater ( July 23 ); and Oscar winner Morgan Free- man , who live-narrates a transformative journey with the CSO through the music, culture, and legacy of the Mississippi Del- ta in the Symphonic Blues Experience. Led by conductor and Ground Zero Blues Club artist Martin Gellner , this program draws on cinematic storytelling and performances by authentic blues artists to celebrate the Delta’s lasting influence on global music ( August 1 ). Cellist Zlatomir Fung (left; Aug. 3) and violinist Ray Chen (right; Aug. 9) head up the CSO’s August stretch at Ravinia. Pianists Garrick Ohlsson (left; Aug. 10) and Nobuyuki Tsujii (right; Aug. 16) return to performpowerful concertos—Ohlsson in his 25th season at Ravinia and Tsujii making his CSO debut. Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason makes his long- awaited Ravinia debut closing out the CSO’s summer residency at the festival (Aug. 17). Singer-songwriter Beck (left; July 23) continues his orchestral tour with longtime fan favorites and deep cuts from his inimitable catalogue, and Oscar winner and blues devotee Morgan Freeman (right; Aug. 1) highlights the Mississippi Delta sound for a city itself steeped in blues. RAVINIA.ORG  • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 11 DARIOACOSTA(OHLSSON);GIORGIABERTAZZI(TSUJII); CHRISO’DONOVAN(KANNEH-MASON);BRENTGOLDMAN(BECK)