Ravinia ’25 brings the CSO with Beck, Cynthia Erivo and Morgan Freeman

The Ravinia Festival has released details of its 2025 programming, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s annual residency from July 11 to Aug. 17. Two pop music superstars, singer-songwriter Beck and Broadway sensation Cynthia Erivo will be performing with the CSO this summer. In addition, Oscar winner Morgan Freeman appears with the CSO for a program titled “Morgan Freeman’s Blues Experience.”

Marin Alsop, Ravnia’s chief conductor and curator, will be on the podium from July 11 to July 27. Her engagement includes the third annual Breaking Barriers Festival, which promotes women conductors and composers, on July 25-27. 

Here is the lineup:

July 11: The 89th CSO Opening Night, with Carlos Simon’s Amen, Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (with pianist Bruce Liu in his CSO and Ravinia debuts) and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, conducted by Alsop.

July 12: Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, with Jean-Yves Thibaudet joining the CSO, conducted by Alsop. Also on the program are Jessie Montgomery’s Strum
and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 (Pathétique).

July 13: Annual Ravinia gala. Broadway stars Sutton Foster (in her CSO and Ravinia debuts) and Kelli O’Hara join the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alsop. Program details to be announced.

July 18: Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection) with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Alsop, and soprano Janai Brugger and mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke.

July 20: Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alsop. The program features the world premiere of an orchestral work, commissioned by Ravinia, from acclaimed Syrian-American composer Malek Jandali. Violin prodigy Himari appears as soloist in Fritz Kreisler’s La Gitana and Franz Waxman’s Carmen Fantasy. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92, closes the concert.

July 23: Beck with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Edwin Outwater. In his Ravinia debut, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Beck is joined onstage by longtime collaborators Jason Falkner, Roger Manning and Joey Waronker. Also appearing: Molly Lewis.

July 25: Breaking Barriers Festival, “Chef Sheherazade,” with CSO assistant timpani Vadim Karpinos, percussionist Ed Harrison and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alsop. They are joined by Breaking Bridges co-curator Molly Yeh, star of the Food Network show “Girl Meets Farm,” a Juilliard-trained percussionist and daughter of John Bruce Yeh, CSO assistant principal clarinet. The program consists of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade, Op. 35; Reena Esmail’s RE|Member; the third movement from Tim Corpus’ The Great Lake Concerto, and George Gershwin’s Cuban Overture.

July 26: Breaking Barriers Festival: Musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and guests perform French and pan-American chamber works.

July 27: Mendelssohn’s “Italian” Symphony, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alsop. Also on the program: Copland’s Clarinet Concerto with Stephen Williamson, CSO principal clarinet, and Elgar’s Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 (Enigma).

July 31: Lang Lang performs The Disney Book (an ode to the Disney soundtracks that sparked his early love for classical music), with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Edwin Outwater. Joining them will be Yimiao Chen on erhu, Plínio Fernandes on guitar and vocalists Celeste Morales and Edmond Rodriguez.

Aug. 1: Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Martin Gellner. Joined by blues musicians (to be announced), Freeman narrates a journey through the music, culture and legacy of the Mississippi Delta, the birthplace of the blues.

Aug. 3: The 46th annual Tchaikovsky Spectacular featuring the 1812 Overture with cannons and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Laura Jackson. Cellist Zlatomir Fung joins the CSO for Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, preceded by Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36.

Aug. 9: Debussy’s La mer, Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture, Bruch’s First Violin Concerto with Ray Chen and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Lidiya Yankovskaya, former music director of Chicago Opera Theater in her Ravinia debut.

Aug. 10: “A Night of Mozart” featuring pianist Garrick Ohlsson and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Louis Langrée. The program: overture to La clemenza di Tito; Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat Major, K. 482, and Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 (Jupiter).

Aug. 15: Vocalist Cynthia Erivo, Oscar-nominated for “Wicked” (2024), with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Conductor and program to be announced.

Aug. 16: Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2, with pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii (in his CSO debut) and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Peter Oundjian. Also on the program: Joan Tower’s Suite from Concerto for Orchestra and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68

Aug. 17: Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1, with Sheku Kanneh-Mason and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Roberston. Also on the program: Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Something for the Dark; Chabrier’s España, Rhapsody for Orchestra; Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34. The concert starts at 5 p.m. and will be performed without an intermission.

Tickets go on sale to the public on April 24.