137. MUSIC IN GRANT PARK

Chicago, Illinois

7/22/2015

Patricia assured us that the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in 1910 that the 319-acre Grant Park was to remain “forever open, free and clear of any… obstructions.” Music festivals run throughout the year in open-air pavilions, and admission is to be free for all. So, I was surprised when I went on the Grant Park Music Festival website and found a link to buy tickets – very expensive tickets. I bought the low-end of low-end tickets (which still set us back $50 – it was the most expensive part of our trip), but I gambled that since “Music in Grant Park” is also included in Patricia’s “1000 Places to See in the WORLD” book, it might be worth it. The book emphasizes jazz and blues concerts, but the performance for the evening we were in town was classical music performed by the Grant Park Orchestra, which seems to be a super-group of classical musicians from various orchestras around the world who get together for 10 weeks out of the summer.

Laura had her adventures while I worked. [I decided to hit three used bookstores, in different parts of Chicago.  It sounds easy, right?  But I decided to walk, instead of taking the L train anywhere, so it was a much longer adventure than I anticipated.  The first two bookstores were easy to reach, but the third had moved, and was quite a distance across the river.  I got lost a couple times, because everyone I asked seemed mystified on how to get there.  I was going to give up, but I’m glad that I didn’t.  The “Open Books” store is a non-profit organization designed to encourage literacy in schools.  I was happy to buy a few books there, knowing that the money was going for a good cause.  However, since it had taken me about 45 minutes to get there, I was loathed to take the hike back.  However, a young woman who volunteers there offered to walk me back to the L train so that I could get back to the Chicago stop to meet up with Oliver.  She was so nice, and I was grateful for her help.  So overall, it was a great end to my day, and I met a lot of nice people!]  She met me at 4:00 again, and we took another leisurely walk down the shoreline.  [Although, since I had just walked five hours with only a few breaks, I wasn’t too keen on walking some more.] This time we headed south along the coast, so we would make it to Grant Park with time to spare while enjoying the lakeside view. We stopped for a few minutes to watch the fortunate few in the Chicago Yacht Club putter about in the water. We had to cross a bridge at one point, which we shared with piled-up traffic and homicidal cyclists. One guy pointed at me and yelled out, “Hey! I like that guy’s hat!” [I want a boat.]

When we reached the Jay Pritzker Pavilion (the location of the concert) all my cheap genes began to cry out in rage. Dozens of people were lying on blankets on the lawn. The concert was free after all. Signs declaring the perpetual freeness of everything were put up in order to taunt me. What one can pay for is the opportunity to sit in chairs up front. So, we sat in the darned chairs. [He was so angry it was amusing.  I liked sitting in the chairs.  I was tired.]

When the concert began, a member of the Grant Park Music Board came out and emphasized how their vow to keep the festivals free is only possible because of patrons who give money to offset the cost. For the rest of the night, Laura kept calling me a “patron of the arts”, so I stopped complaining. Looking around, everyone else in the audience was about 20-40 years older than us. They didn’t have to pay either, but they were giving of themselves so others less fortunate could enjoy too. It’s a worthy cause. I’m glad now we contributed. [It did go to a good cause, so shut up.]

The concert was enjoyable. The emphasis was on modern classical music, and it was fairly eclectic. There were two arias from a new opera called Doubt, based on the controversial novel and film of the same name. The composer was in the audience, so he came up to take a bow and say a few words. The orchestra and two local singers also performed a forgotten one-act comedic opera from the 1940s called The Telephone: the premise of which was a young man trying to propose to his girlfriend, but he can’t get a word in since the girlfriend is constantly answering the phone. It was quite funny, and surprisingly prescient considering the cellphone culture of today. They finished the concert with a piece by Samuel Barber, for a touch of the mainstream.

The concert was really well put-together, with new music, a forgotten gem, and something classic. Sitting with the other “patrons” I could tell they had a genuine love of the music and were serious about exposing their city to some culture, but not in a snooty way.

When we were leaving, one of the old guys started talking to me. “I used to wear ties like that. You know why I stopped? I went into a Radio Shack and the salesman said, ‘I know why you’re here. You need batteries for that tie!’” It’s cool. We patrons of the arts razz each other like that.  [That’s going to be you in 50 years!]