Ravinia has treats for fans of film, film music
Yes, this summer's pairing of Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett at Ravinia is very exciting, but fans of films - and, more importantly, film music - have an even more exciting pairing to look forward to in Highland Park.
A great movie and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra make a wonderful pair indeed, as evidenced by past Ravinia concerts featuring the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and "West Side Story." This summer, the orchestra will once again perform film scores in their entirety as the audiences in both the pavilion and the lawn watch the action on Ravinia's giant screens - and the lineup is fabulous.
The series of four concerts begins Sunday, July 12, with a doubleheader: Walt Disney's 1940 classic, "Fantasia," and the underseen follow-up, "Fantasia/2000." This melding of Disney magic and musical magic just might be the perfect way to introduce your children to Beethoven, Bach, Dukas, Gershwin, Elgar and other great composers.
Two days later, on Tuesday, July 14, you'll have to settle for a movie medley instead of an entire film - but what a medley. Danny Elfman's music from the films of Tim Burton take the spotlight, and that means the iconic themes from "Batman," "Beetlejuice" and "Edward Scissorhands"; the whimsical melodies of "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" and "Alice in Wonderland"; and, best of all, the not-so-scary songs from "The Nightmare Before Christmas."
On Sunday, Aug. 2, the Oscar-winning epic "Gladiator," with its Holst-indebted score by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard, gets the CSO treatment. By turns thunderous and haunting, the "Gladiator" score features distinct vocals that become a virtual main character in the tale of a former Roman general (Russell Crowe) who seeks revenge against the emperor (Joaquin Phoenix) after the murder of his wife and son.
Two weeks later, on Sunday, Aug. 16, you can hear the CSO perform the rousing, anthemic score for J.J. Abrams' 2009 re-imagining of "Star Trek." Written by "Up" Oscar-winner Michael Giacchino, the score owes as much to John "Star Wars" Williams as it does to the great "Trek" composers of the past like Alexander Courage and Jerry Goldsmith. The opening sequence is an all-time classic for both sci-fi fans and film-score fans.
Each concert in the "CSO Goes to the Movies" series offers $25 lawn tickets and pavilion seats for $50 or $25. Tickets are on sale now for Ravinia donors at the "Friend" level and above, and go on sale April 28 to the general public at ravinia.org.
<h3 class="briefHead">The Force is with him</h3>
Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat let slip last week on a French radio program that he'll be writing the music for Disney and Lucasfilm's first "Star Wars" spinoff movie, "Rogue One." Coming to theaters Dec. 16, 2016, "Rogue One" is the first in a planned series of films with stories that take place outside of what Lucasfilm is calling "the core 'Star Wars' saga." (In simpler terms: No Luke, no Vader.)
John Williams, of course, has scored all previous live-action "Star Wars" movies, so Desplat's hiring is an intriguing departure from tradition. Highlights of his extensive filmography include the manic, delightful score for "The Grand Budapest Hotel," the mournful beauty of the series-ending "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II" and, my favorite, the stomping crescendos of last year's "Godzilla" from - well, what do you know? - "Rogue One" director Gareth Edwards.
Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald copy editor and a tireless consumer of pop culture. He thinks Michael Giacchino should inherit the "Star Wars" musical throne. You can follow Sean on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.