

The Bohemian Spirit of Piano & Strings
Featuring and curated by violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt with Fellows of the Piano & Strings Program
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DateJuly 12, 2025
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VenueBennett Gordon Hall
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Event Starts1:30 PM
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Public Gates12:30 PM
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Ticket Prices$15
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Know Before You Go
Getting to Ravinia: Parking, Rideshare & Train
Free Parking Onsite • Free Metra UP-N Train
Park in the South Parking Lot at 201 St. Johns Ave. The lot opens at the listed “Public Gates” time.
Park and Ride shuttles are not in service for this event, and the West Parking Lot is closed.
Alert your driver: Uber, Lyft, and other car services must use one of the following parking lots to drop off and pick up guests.
- South Parking Lot (201 St. Johns Ave)
- Braeside Train Station (10 N. St. Johns Ave) — ¼ mile walk from Ravinia
- No drop-offs or pick-ups are allowed on public streets. If Highland Park Police or Ravinia staff redirect traffic, please follow those instructions.
Ride the Metra Union Pacific North Line train to and from our main entrance for free with your Ravinia ticket.
More Train Info
Views of the Stage
Bennett Gordon Hall is an indoor venue. The stage is not visible from any location on the Lawn, nor is audio from the performance broadcast to the Lawn.
About the Performance
Steans faculty member and acclaimed violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt joins the Steans Piano & Strings Program Fellows for a captivating evening of chamber music that highlights the rich traditions of Bohemian composers.
Opening the concert is Dvořák’s Piano Quartet in D major, a work filled with the composer’s signature folk-inspired rhythms. Written in Dvořák’s early years, the quartet brims with exuberance, warmth, and a glowing sense of optimism. A striking contrast follows with Erwin Schulhoff’s String Sextet, a work of extraordinary intensity and modernist edge. Composed in the 1920s, it blends lush textures with bold harmonies, reflecting the composer’s unique synthesis of Czech traditions, jazz influences, and avant-garde experimentation.
The program concludes with Smetana’s Piano Trio in G minor, a work of profound emotional intensity, written in response to the loss of the composer’s young daughter. This work channels grief into a gripping musical narrative.
Performers
Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, curator and viola (faculty)
Karisa Chiu, violin
Hyun Jae Lim, violin
Aoi Saito, violin
Muyan Yang, violin
Wanxinyi Huang, viola
Yizilin Liang, viola
Andrew Ilhoon Byun, cello
Hun Choi, cello
Liav Kerbel, cello
Jakob Giovanni Taylor, cello
Saeyoon Chon, piano
Jialin Yao, piano
Program
Antonín Dvořák: Piano Quartet in D major, op. 23 Karisa Chiu, violin; Wanxinyi Huang, viola; Liav Kerbel, cello; Jialin Yao, piano Erwin Schulhoff: String Sextet Hyun Jae Lim, violin; Muyan Yang, violin; Yizilin Liang, viola; Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola; Andrew Ilhoon Byun, cello; Jakob Giovanni Taylor, cello –Intermission– Bedřich Smetana: Piano Trio in G minor, op. 15 Aoi Saito, violin; Hun Choi, cello; Saeyoon Chon, piano
Program and featured artists are subject to change.