Chicago Symphony Orchestra

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), recognized as one of the foremost orchestras in the world^[1], is based in Chicago, Illinois, and is currently in its 117th season.

In 1891 Charles Norman Fay, a Chicago businessman, invited Theodore Thomas to establish an orchestra in Chicago. Conducted by Theodore Thomas under the name "Chicago Orchestra," the orchestra played its first concert on October 16, 1891 at the Auditorium Theatre. It is one of the oldest orchestras in the United States, along with the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra.

Orchestra Hall, now a component of the Symphony Center complex, was designed by Chicago architect Daniel H. Burnham and completed in 1904. Maestro Thomas served as music director for thirteen years until his death shortly after the orchestra's newly built residence was dedicated on December 14, 1904. The orchestra was renamed "Theodore Thomas Orchestra" in 1905 and today, Orchestra Hall still has "Theodore Thomas Orchestra Hall" inscribed in its façade.

In 1905, Frederick Stock became music director, a post he held until his death in 1942. The orchestra was renamed "Chicago Symphony Orchestra" in 1913.

Other music directors have included Désiré Defauw, Artur Rodziński, Rafael Kubelík, Fritz Reiner, Jean Martinon, Sir Georg Solti and Daniel Barenboim. Barenboim resigned in order to focus on his activities with Staatskapelle Berlin, La Scala in Milan, and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which he co-founded with Edward Said. Maestro Barenboim's final concerts leading the Chicago Symphony Orchestra took place on June 15-17 2006. On 27 April 2006, the orchestra named Bernard Haitink to the role of principal conductor and Pierre Boulez to the role of conductor emeritus "while [the] music director search continues." The appointment begins in the 2006-2007 season. The season is scheduled to take place with all guest conductors, creating a unique schedule, the likes of which has not occurred in Chicago since the 1950s. Haitink will conduct the CSO in October 2006 and May 2007, and is scheduled for a further four to six weeks of performances beginning with the 2007-2008 season, as well as at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, at the Festival in Luzern, Switzerland, and at London’s BBC Proms. Pierre Boulez will conduct three to four weeks of CSO performances each season, including touring activities.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has long been associated with Ravinia, in Highland Park, Illinois, having first performed during Ravinia Park’s second season in November 1905 and appearing semiregularly through August 1931, after which the Park fell dark under the Great Depression. The Orchestra helped to inaugurate the first season of the Ravinia Festival in August 1936 and has been in residence at the Festival every summer since. Many conductors have made their debut with the Chicago Symphony at Ravinia, and several have gone on to become the artistic director, or primary summertime guest conductor at Ravinia, including Seiji Ozawa (1964-1968), James Levine (1973-1993), and Christoph Eschenbach (1995-2003). As of 2005, James Conlon holds the title of Ravinia music director.

The orchestra has also had distinguished guest conductors, including Richard Strauss, John Williams, Arnold Schoenberg, Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Rachmaninov, Maurice Ravel, Edward Elgar, Aaron Copland, Leonard Slatkin, André Previn, Michael Tilson Thomas, Leonard Bernstein, Leopold Stokowski, Morton Gould, Erich Leinsdorf, Walter Hendl, Eugene Ormandy, George Szell and Charles Munch. Many of these guests have also recorded with the orchestra.

There have also been designated principal guest conductors including Carlo Maria Giulini, Claudio Abbado, and Pierre Boulez. Beginning with the 2006-2007 season, Boulez will serve as conductor emeritus.^[2]

Music performed by the orchestra has been heard in movies, including Casino conducted by Sir Georg Solti, and Fantasia 2000 conducted by James Levine.

The Chicago Symphony holds an annual fundraiser, originally known as the Chicago Symphony Marathon, more recently as "Radiothon," and now "Symphonython," in conjunction with Chicago radio station WFMT. As part of the event, the Orchestra has, since 1986, released tracks from their broadcast archives on double LP/CD collections.

The Chicago Symphony has amassed a discography numbering more than 900. Recordings by the Orchestra have earned fifty-eight Grammy Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. These include several Classical Album of the Year awards, awards in Best Classical Performance in vocal soloist, choral, instrumental, engineering and orchestral categories.

On May 1, 1916, Frederick Stock recorded the Wedding March from Felix Mendelssohn's music to A Midsummer Night's Dream for what was then known as the Columbia Graphophone Company. Stock and the orchestra made numerous recordings for Columbia Records and the Victor Talking Machine Company, renamed RCA Victor in 1929. The orchestra's first non-acoustic electrical recordings were made for Victor in 1925, including a performance of Karl Goldmark's In Springtime overture. These early electrical recordings were made in Victor's Chicago studios; within a couple of years Victor began recording the orchestra in Orchestra Hall. Stock continued recording until 1942, the year he died.

In 1951, Rafael Kubelik made the first modern high fidelity recordings with the orchestra, in Orchestra Hall, for Mercury. Like the very first electrical recordings, these performances were made with a single microphone. Philips has reissued these performances on compact disc with the original Mercury label and liner notes.

In March 1954, Fritz Reiner made the first stereophonic recordings with the orchestra, again in Orchestra Hall, for RCA Victor, including a performance of Richard Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra. Reiner and the orchestra continued to record for RCA through 1962. These were all part of RCA's triple-channel "Living Stereo" process. RCA has digitally remastered the recordings and released them on CD and SACD Jean Martinon also recorded with the orchestra for RCA Victor during the 1960s, producing performances that have been reissued on CD.

Sir Georg Solti recorded primarily for Decca in recordings that were issued in the U.S. on the London label, including a highly-acclaimed Mahler series, recorded in the historic Medinah Temple. Many of the recordings with Daniel Barenboim have been released on Teldec.

The Chicago Symphony first broadcast on the radio in 1925. There have been broadcasts ever since, except for a few years during World War II and a hiatus between October 2002 and April 2007. The reason for the latter break was a dispute between the musicians' union and CSO management over extra pay for musicians for radio broadcasts.^[3] The Orchestra offered to match the broadcast fees of the highest-paying US orchestra, but the union refused the offer. Henry Fogel, then president of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, told the Tribune, "I think the musicians' representatives believe we should find a way to fund payments at the levels they expect, and frankly we just cannot."^[4] With the resolution of the dispute, the Chicago Symphony radio syndication is to resume with a 52-week series. The broadcasts will be sponsored by BP and will air on 98.7 WFMT in Chicago and the WFMT Radio Network. It will consist of 39 weeks of recordings of live concerts, as well as highlights from the CSO's vast discography.^[5]

The CSO has also appeared on a series of telecasts on WGN-TV, beginning in 1953. The early 1960s saw the videotaped telecast series Music from Chicago, conducted by Fritz Reiner and guest conductors including Arthur Fiedler, George Szell, Pierre Monteux, and Charles Munch. Many of these televised concerts, from 1953 to 1963, have since been released to DVD by VAI Distribution.

Georg Solti also conducted a series of concerts with the Chicago Symphony that were broadcast in the 1970s on PBS.

In 2007, the Chicago Symphony formed its own recording label, CSO Resound. After an agreement was reached with the Orchestra's musicians, arrangements were made for new recordings to be released digitally at online outlets and on compact disc.^[5] The first CSO Resound CD, recording Bernard Haitink's rendition of Mahler's Third Symphony, was released in the spring of 2007. The second release, in October 2007, was Haitink conducting the Bruckner 7th.

Frederick Stock founded the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the first training orchestra in the United States affiliated with a major symphony orchestra, in 1919. Its goal is to recruit pre-professional musicians and train them as high-level orchestra players. Many alumni have gone on to play for the CSO or other major orchestras.

The Civic Orchestra performs half a dozen orchestral concerts and a chamber music series annually in Symphony Center and in other venues throughout the Chicago area free of charge to the public.

Recordings by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra have won fifty-eight Grammy Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Pierre Boulez, conductor emeritus and former principal guest conductor, has won twenty-six Grammy Awards including eight with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Currently, Boulez is the third all-time Grammy winner, behind Sir Georg Solti (thirty-one) and Quincy Jones (twenty-seven).

The late Sir Georg Solti, former music director and music director laureate, won thirty-one Grammy Awards—more than any other recording artist. He received seven awards in addition to his twenty-four awards with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. In addition, Sir Georg Solti and producer John Culshaw received the first NARAS Trustees’ Award in 1967 for their “efforts, ingenuity, and artistic contributions” in connection with the first complete recording of Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen with the Vienna Philharmonic. Sir Georg Solti also received the Academy’s 1995 Lifetime Achievement Award.

The late Margaret Hillis, founder and longtime director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, won nine Grammy Awards for her collaborations with the Orchestra and Chorus.

Grammy Award for Best Classical Album

• 1966 Charles Ives: Symphony No. 1 in D Minor – Morton Gould, conductor; Howard Scott, producer (RCA)
• 1972 Gustav Mahler: Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 8 in E-flat Major – Sir Georg Solti, conductor; David Harvey, producer (London)
• 1974 Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14 – Sir Georg Solti, conductor; David Harvey, producer (London)
• 1975 Ludwig van Beethoven: The Nine Symphonies – Sir Georg Solti, conductor; Ray Minshull, producer (London)
• 1978 Johannes Brahms: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77 – Itzhak Perlman, violin; Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor; Christopher Bishop, producer (Angel)
• 1979 Johannes Brahms: The Four Symphonies – Sir Georg Solti, conductor; James Mallinson, producer (London)
• 1981 Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (Resurrection) – Sir Georg Solti, conductor; James Mallinson, producer (London)
• 1983 Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 9 in D Major – Sir Georg Solti, conductor; James Mallinson, producer (London)
• 1993 Béla Bartók: The Wooden Prince & Cantata profana – Pierre Boulez, conductor; John Aler & John Tomlinson, soloists; Karl-August Naegler, producer (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 1994 Béla Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra & Four Orchestral Pieces, Op. 12 – Pierre Boulez, conductor; Karl-August Naegler, producer (Deutsche Grammophon)

Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance

• 1960 Béla Bartók: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta – Fritz Reiner, conductor (RCA)
• 1971 Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D Major – Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor (Angel)
• 1972 Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 7 in E Minor – Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1974 Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14 – Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1976 Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 – Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1977 Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 9 in D Major – Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 1979 Johannes Brahms: The Four Symphonies – Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1980 Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 6 in A Major – Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1981 Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (Resurrection) – Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1982 Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 7 in E Minor – James Levine, conductor (RCA)
• 1983 Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 9 in D Major – Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1986 Franz Liszt: A Faust Symphony – Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1987 Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 – Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1990 Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphonies nos. 1 & 7 (Leningrad) – Leonard Bernstein, conductor (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 1991 John Corigliano: Symphony No. 1 – Daniel Barenboim, conductor (Erato)
• 1993 Béla Bartók: The Wooden Prince – Pierre Boulez, conductor (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 1994 Béla Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra & Four Orchestral Pieces, Op. 12 – Pierre Boulez, conductor (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 1998 Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 9 in D Major– Pierre Boulez, conductor (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 2001 Edgard Varèse: Amériques, Arcana, Déserts, & Ionisation – Pierre Boulez, conductor (Deutsche Grammophon)

Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance

• 1972 Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 8 in E-flat Major – Chorus of the Vienna State Opera, Singverein Chorus, & Vienna Boys’ Choir; Norbert Balatsch & Helmut Froschauer, chorus masters; Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1977 Giuseppe Verdi: Requiem Mass – Chicago Symphony Chorus; Margaret Hillis, director; Sir Georg Solti, conductor (RCA)
• 1978 Ludwig van Beethoven: Missa solemnis, in D Major, Op. 123 – Chicago Symphony Chorus; Margaret Hillis, director; Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1979 Johannes Brahms: A German Requiem, Op. 45 – Chicago Symphony Chorus; Margaret Hillis, director; Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1982 Hector Berlioz: The Damnation of Faust, Op. 24 – Chicago Symphony Chorus; Margaret Hillis, director; Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1982 Joseph Haydn: The Creation – Chicago Symphony Chorus; Margaret Hillis, director; Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1984 Johannes Brahms: A German Requiem, Op. 45 – Chicago Symphony Chorus; Margaret Hillis, director; James Levine, conductor (RCA)
• 1986 Carl Orff: Carmina burana – Chicago Symphony Chorus; Margaret Hillis, director; James Levine, conductor (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 1991 Johann Sebastian Bach: Mass in B Minor – Chicago Symphony Chorus; Margaret Hillis, director; Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1993 Béla Bartók: Cantata profana – Chicago Symphony Chorus; Margaret Hillis, director; Pierre Boulez, conductor (Deutsche Grammophon)

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist with Orchestra

• 1960 Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83 – Sviatoslav Richter, piano; Erich Leinsdorf, conductor (RCA)
• 1973 Ludwig van Beethoven: The Five Piano Concertos – Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano; Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1979 Béla Bartók: Concertos for Piano nos. 1 and 2 – Maurizio Pollini, piano; Claudio Abbado, conductor (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 1982 Edward Elgar: Violin Concerto in B Minor, Op. 61 – Sviatoslav Richter, piano; Erich Leinsdorf, conductor (RCA)
• 1993 Alban Berg: Violin Concerto & Wolfgang Rihm: Time Chant – Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin; James Levine, conductor (Deutsche Grammophon)
• 2001 Richard Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1, Duett-Concertino for Clarinet and Bassoon in F Major, & Oboe Concerto in D Major – Dale Clevenger, horn; Larry Combs, clarinet; David McGill, bassoon; Alex Klein, oboe; Daniel Barenboim, conductor (Teldec)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance

• 1964 Hector Berlioz: Les nuits d'été & Manuel de Falla El amor brujo – Leontyne Price, soprano; Fritz Reiner, conductor (RCA)

Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording

• 1985 Arnold Schoenberg: Moses und Aron – Franz Mazura & Philip Langridge, principal soloists; Sir Georg Solti, conductor; James Mallinson, producer (London)
• 1997 Richard Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg – Karita Mattila, Iris Vermillion, Ben Heppner, Herbert Lippert, Alan Opie, René Pape, & José van Dam, principal soloists; Sir Georg Solti, conductor; Michael Woolcock, producer (London)
• 1998 Béla Bartók: Bluebeard’s Castle – Jessye Norman & László Polgár, principal soloists; Pierre Boulez, conductor; Roger Wright, producer (Deutsche Grammophon)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition

• 1991 John Corigliano: Symphony No. 1 – John Corigliano, composer (Erato)
• 1992 Samuel Barber: The Lovers – Samuel Barber, composer (Koch)

Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Classical

• 1962 Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 – Lewis W. Layton, engineer; Fritz Reiner, conductor (RCA)
• 1972 Gustav Mahler: Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 8 in E-flat Major – Gordon Parry & Kenneth Wilkinson, engineers; Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1974 Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14 – Kenneth Wilkinson, engineer; Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1977 Maurice Ravel: Boléro – Kenneth Wilkinson, engineer; Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1982 Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 7 in E Minor – Jay Saks, engineer; James Levine, conductor (RCA)
• 1983 Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 9 in D Major – James Lock, engineer; Sir Georg Solti, conductor (London)
• 1993 Béla Bartók: The Wooden Prince & Cantata profana – Pierre Boulez, conductor; Rainer Maillard, engineer (Deutsche Grammophon)

• Chicago Symphony Orchestra official website
• Civic Orchestra of Chicago Official website
• Silk Road Project Official website