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R A V I N I A F A M I L Y F U N G U I D E
ORCHESTRA CONCERTS
5:00 p.m. Sunday, July 22
Pavilion
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Ken-David Masur,
conductor
Miriam Fried,
violin
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky:
Polonaise from
Eugene Onegin
Violin Concerto
Capriccio Italien
1812
Overture
When you think of dancing, you
might very well sometimes think of
ballets like Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s
Swan Lake
, but did you know that
operas like Tchaikovsky’s
Eugene
Onegin
can often include dances too?
It makes sense if you think about
it. Large groups of people come
together for dances, so that sets the
scene for a story to start happening.
And when it comes to dance music,
few people could write it as well as
Tchaikovsky. Before he wrote
Swan
Lake
, no one listened to ballet music
unless it was being danced to. He had
an almost unique ability to create a
theatrical atmosphere with only his
music, featuring themes and melodies
that captured the emotions of the
audience.
That’s why Ravinia has a special
concert for just his music every sum-
mer, but this year there are
two
of
them! No matter which one you go to,
you’ll hear some of that famous dance
music. And the highlight of every one
of these “Tchaikovsky Spectacular”
concerts is the performance at the
end of the
1812
Overture, which is a
truly unique piece because he wrote
cannon shots into the music! Most of
the time, orchestras will just hit a big