Ravinia 2026 Issue 3

HUNTERPAVILION 7:30 PM THURSDAY, AUGUST 6 , 2026 CHICAGO SYMPHONYORCHESTRA KLAUS MÄKELÄ, conductor † DANIEL LOZAKOVICH, violin † SIBELIUS Violin Concerto in D minor, op. Allegro moderato Adagio di molto Allegro, ma non tanto DanielLozakovich – – STRAUSS An Alpine Symphony , op. ( e sections listed below are performed without interruption. ) Night Sunrise e Ascent Entry into the Forest Wandering by the Brook At the Waterfall Apparition On Flowering Meadows On the Alpine Pasture rough ickets and Undergrowth on the Wrong Path On the Glacier Dangerous Moments On the Summit Vision Mists Rise e Sun Gradually Becomes Obscured Elegy Calm before the Storm under and Tempest, Descent Sunset Quiet Settles Night † Ravinia debut Ravinia expresses its appreciation for the generous support of Mainstage Sponsor Megan P. & John L. Anderson . JEAN SIBELIUS (1865–1957) Violin Concerto in D minor, op. Scored for pairs of utes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, and strings As a boy, Sibelius ambled through the Finnish countryside, improvising “meandering concer- tos to the birds” on his violin. His eccentric un- cle Pehr—an able ddler—gave his -year-old nephew a Steiner violin. Sibelius began formal study the following year. “ e violin took me by storm, and for the next years it was my dear- est wish, my greatest ambition, to become a great virtuoso.” His late entry into the string world le Sibelius scrambling to match the won- ders of myriad child prodigies. Nonetheless, a concerto performance during his student years at the Helsinki Music Institute garnered positive comments from Karl Flodin, an eminent Finn- ish critic and composer (March ): “Jean Si- belius possesses a highly developed technique and in general played faultlessly.” Sibelius detached himself from the violin for ex- tended periods during the course of his career. Laboring through composition lessons with Robert Fuchs at the Vienna Conservatory and privately with Karl Goldmark in – , the expatriate Finn again took up his ddle, perhaps hoping for some teaching or orchestral income: “I have begun to play the violin again even if I am too nervous to be a really good player; be- sides, my gi s in that direction are limited, but it might be a useful accomplishment in the future.” Health worries and tenacious creditors soon forced Sibelius homeward. ere, a small violin studio supported his slow-developing activities as composer and conductor. Another decade passed before Sibelius consid- ered applying his knowledge of string technique to a major violin work. Axel Carpelan, an aspir- ing violinist and recent acquaintance of the com- poser, may have planted the notion of a concerto Portrait of Jean Sibelius playing the violin by Eero Järnefelt RAVINIAMAGAZINE • AUGUST 3 – AUGUST 16 , 2026 74