Perlman Shines Bright at Ravinia

Violinist Itzhak Perlman returned to Ravinia for the 33rd time in 47 years Wednesday and he got two standing ovations, one before he performed and another when he finished.

As good as Perlman played, it was but a part of an overall performance of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra led by Carlos Miguel Prieto which began with eight singers from Ravinia’s Steans Institute and concluded with Ravel’s Bolero.

The evening began with Vaughan Williams “Serenade to Music” as eight singers from Ravinia’s Steans institute joined the Chicago Symphony on stage to sing the vocal parts of the piece.

Perlman followed and, without using any music before him, played Felix Mendelssohn’s violin concerto in E minor to the delight of the audience. He showed an improving mastery to this writer, who remembers the first concert as a teenager in 1966.

Before a conclusion of Ravel’s Bolero, the orchestra performed Alberto Ginastera’s “Suite From the Ballet Estancia.”Though there were no dancers on stage, one could close their eyes and visualize dancers depicting scene from a South American gaucho ranch as the Argentine composer envisioned.

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