The musicians of the CSO were joined by members of the Chicago Children’s Choir in a performance of Leonard Bernstein’s “Symphony No. A mesmerizing mix.Īnd to top it all off, amid the thunderous applause that greeted the performance of this piece, Golijov (who was named Ravinia’s first composer-in-residence in 2002, and was the CSO’s Mead Composer-in-Residence from 2006-2008), arrived on stage to take his much-deserved bows. Quite the enthralling musical hybrid, Golijov’s piece moved thrillingly from a wild klezmer dance, to a lyrical riff on the harp, to a rousing bagpipe interlude, to a brief xylophone sequence, to a murmuring, prayer-like chant, to wild drumming, to the rich use of strings, winds and horns, and more. And clearly Golijov, the son of Romanian Jewish immigrants who settled in the predominantly Catholic (and tango-infused) country of Argentina, studied in Israel and the U.S., and possesses a knowledge of Middle Eastern tonalities, can magically weave all these influences into classical music forms as well. I cannot think of another score that so brilliantly interweaves religious and cultural themes. Joining them from Highland Park and the nearby Glencoe community were players of several different shofars, the instrument made from rams’ horns that is traditionally sounded on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. They included virtuosic turns by David Krakauer on klezmer clarinet, Cristina Pato on gaita (Galician bagpipes), Kayhan Kalhour on the kamanchen (an Iranian bowed instrument), and Michael Ward-Bergeman on accordion. Just consider the range of guest instrumentalists who joined the CSO for Golijov’s thrilling 2007 work with its five distinctive yet intriguingly hybrid movements.
And in many ways it was a remarkable synthesis of a great spectrum of international influences and stories of religious faith and pain. Performed to breathtaking effect by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, along with the Chicago Children’s Choir, and a brilliant assemblage of instrumental and vocal soloists, the concert was superbly led by Marin Alsop, Ravinia’s chief conductor.
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