Every summer, millions of Americans enjoy listening to musicconcerts at parks in the open air. They can hear some of thenation’s best performers. I’m Shirley Griffith.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Sarah Long. The story of two of America’s most famousopen-air music parks is our report today on the VOA Special Englishprogram, THIS IS AMERICA.
((MUSIC: “BRAHMS SYMPHONY NUMBER ONE”))
VOICE ONE:
It is summer at Ravinia Park, nearthe middle-western city of Chicago, Illinois. The night is hot. Butthe wind moves the branches of trees and cools the darkness. TheChicago Symphony Orchestra is performing Symphony Number One byJohannes Brahms. Thousands of people are in the park.
A husband and wife sit on the ground, far from where themusicians are playing. Their two little boys look at picture books.When the sky becomes dark, the boys sit close to their parents.Every so often, they all look at the stars. The sound of the Brahmsmusic surrounds them.
((CUT TWO: MORE BRAHMS SYMPHONY NUMBER ONE))
VOICE TWO:
These people are among the millions of Americans who attendoutdoor music concerts each summer. The concerts are performed atopen air music parks across the country. As someone once said,”Music played outside, especially after dark, is one of the greatpleasures of summer.”
Some American music parks serve as the summer home for a cityorchestra. At these parks, musicians may play well known classicalmusic, like the Brahms symphony. Or they may play folk music, jazzor popular music.
VOICE ONE:
Ravinia Festival park is aboutthirty kilometers north of Chicago. The park has a large area ofopen land where people sit on the ground. People also can sit insidein a building called a pavilion. The front and sides of the pavilionare open so everyone can see the performers.
The music of some of America’s most popular composers floats outfrom the pavilion into the summer darkness. Listen as Betty Buckleysings “How Long Has This Been Going On?” by George Gershwin.
((MUSIC: “HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON?”))
VOICE TWO:
People have been enjoying summer on this same land for almost acentury. During the early nineteen-hundreds the area had a baseballfield. There were rooms for eating and dancing. And there was anopen-air theater.
An early version of the present Ravinia Festival opened innineteen-eleven. By nineteen-nineteen, it had become a summer homefor some of the world’s great performers. Over the years visitorsheard performances by George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein. Forpeople who liked jazz, there were Benny Goodman, Harry James andLionel Hampton.
VOICE ONE:
The great economic Depression forced the Ravinia organization toclose in nineteen-thirty-one. But several years later, businessmenformed the Ravinia Festival Corporation. They brought the ChicagoSymphony Orchestra to the park in nineteen-thirty-six.
One of the most famous conductors to lead the symphony orchestraat Ravinia is James Levine (Leh-VINE). He was appointed musicdirector in nineteen-seventy-three. He was thirty years old. Hecontinued serving at Ravinia until nineteen-ninety-three.
Ravinia’s fame has now spread far beyond the city of Chicago.There is good reason to believe that Ravinia will be offering summermusic in the park for many years to come.
((MUSIC: “BRAHMS SYMPHONY NUMBER ONE”))
VOICE TWO:
Another of America’s most famousmusic parks is called Tanglewood. The Berkshire Music Festival atTanglewood is in the Berkshire Mountains in the eastern state ofMassachusetts. It is the summer home of the Boston symphonyorchestra. The Boston Pops Orchestra also performs at Tanglewood.
Listen as John Williams leads the Boston Pops Orchestra and theTanglewood Festival Chorus singers in the traditional spiritual,”Deep River.”
((MUSIC: “DEEP RIVER”))
VOICE ONE:
Tanglewood exists mainly because of Serge Koussevitsky (sairzhkoo-suh-VIHT-skee), who was born in Russia. He earned great successin Europe as a musician. He also formed his own orchestra. Then hecame to the United States.
Koussevitsky began leading theBoston Symphony Orchestra in nineteen-twenty-four. His dream ofpresenting music in a beautiful mountain area came true in themiddle nineteen-thirties. That is when he led the Boston orchestrain its first concerts at Tanglewood.
Koussevitsky also helped open theBerkshire Music Center at Tanglewood in nineteen-forty. The centerhas provided classes for some of America’s most promising musicstudents, including American composer and conductor LeonardBernstein. Bernstein later directed students at the music center.
VOICE TWO:
Another famous American composer, Aaron Copland, served asKoussevitsky’s first assistant director at Tanglewood. The two menprepared programs of music written by composers hundreds of yearsearlier. They also prepared programs by modern composers paid towrite for the Boston Symphony. The orchestra also played the worksof two composers Koussevitsky had helped make famous in Europe:Maurice Ravel and Igor Stravinsky.
Over the years, Tanglewood has won praise for presenting operas,traditional musical dramas that are sung. Here is music from”Falstaff”, an opera by Giuseppe Verdi.
((MUSIC: FROM “FALSTAFF”))
VOICE ONE:
Classical, jazz and folk music all are popular at Tanglewood. Weleave you now with the music of Bill Crofut of the United States andBenjamin Luxon of England. They sing a combined folk song: theAmerican “Simple Gifts” and the British “Lord of the Dance.”
((MUSIC: “SIMPLE GIFTS/LORD OF THE DANCE”))
VOICE TWO:
This program was written by Jerilyn Watson. It was produced byCaty Weaver. Our studio engineers were John Ellison and Tony Harris.I’m Sarah Long.
VOICE ONE:
And I’m Shirley Griffith. Join us again next week for anotherreport about life in the United States on the VOA Special Englishprogram, THIS IS AMERICA.