Ravinia 2025 Issue 3

PAVILION 5:00 PM SUNDAY, JULY 20, 2025 One Score, One Chicago® CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA MARIN ALSOP, conductor HIMARI, violin † JANDALI Rhapsody for Orchestra ° KREISLER La gitana * Himari WAXMAN Carmen Fantasie Himari BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A major, op. 92 Poco sostenuto—Vivace Allegretto Presto Allegro con brio There is no intermission in this program. † Ravinia debut ° Premier performance, commissioned by Ravinia * First performance by the CSO This concert is performed in memory of Charles & Margery Barancik . Himari’s appearance is made possible in part by the Nancy & George Goldstein Memorial Guest Artist Fund . MALEK JANDALI (b. 1972) Rhapsody for Orchestra Scored for two flutes, two oboes and English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, tam-tam, Chinese cymbal, tom-toms, crash cymbal, cowbell, bass drum, harp, and strings Malek Jandali was born in Waldbröl, West Ger- many, to Syrian parents. His physician father dreamed of opening a private hospital in Syria and moved the family back when Malek was 5 years old. Growing up in Homs, an ancient city in the western part of the country, Malek came to share his father’s love of Western classical music. Over time, Jandali developed an equally deep passion for composition. His music pres- ents a distinctive fusion of Western classical structures and techniques with melodic shapes and scale patterns ( maqam ) derived from Mid- dle Eastern traditions. His rapidly expanding catalog includes eight symphonies; eight con- certos for oboes, clarinet, violin, viola, and cel- los; eleven chamber scores, including four string quartets; two piano sonatas; one opera; and one two-act musical, Man at the Airport , scheduled for completion in 2026. Beyond his performances and compositions, Jandali is a humanitarian and peace activist driven to address social injustice: “There’s a responsibility and duty to stand up and do the right thing at the right time and for the right reasons.” He became one of the first Syrian art- ists living abroad to speak out against Syria’s As- sad regime in 2011. Jandali received the Global Music Humanitarian Award in 2014, and he is the founder and CEO of Pianos for Peace, an At- lanta-based nonprofit organization established in 2015 that “transforms communities and up- lifts lives by engaging artists in volunteer service programs to make the arts accessible to all.” Today’s performance marks the premiere of Jan- dali’s Rhapsody for Orchestra , a work commis- sioned by the Ravinia for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Marin Alsop. The composer has provided the following essay on the Rhapsody : Malek Jandali RAVINIAMAGAZINE • JUNE 30 – JULY 20, 2025 76 DANCARMODY