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The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has performed Aaron Copland‘s Lincoln Portrait on several occasions and with a number of notable narrators. A complete list is below.
Carl Sandburg
Poet, writer, and editor Carl Sandburg was narrator for the Orchestra’s first performances of Lincoln Portrait on March 15 and 16, 1945, in Orchestra Hall; third music director Désiré Defauw conducted. At the time, Sandburg was the country’s leading authority on Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth U.S. president. He had written the two-volume Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years in 1926, and in 1940, he completed the four-volume Abraham Lincoln: The War Years, for which he won his second Pulitzer Prize.
Claude Rains
The composer himself conducted the first performance at the Ravinia Festival on July 21, 1956. Popular stage and screen character actor Claude Rains was narrator for the occasion. Winner of a Tony Award and nominated four times for an Academy Award (in the best supporting actor category), he appeared in such classic films as The Adventures of Robin Hood, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Casablanca, Notorious, and Lawrence of Arabia.
Illinois Governor Otto J. Kerner rubs the nose of Gutzon Borglum‘s Lincoln bust in 1964 (World Telegraph & Sun photo by Roger Higgins)
Copland was again on the podium at the Ravinia Festival on July 6, 1963, when Illinois Governor Otto Kerner, Jr. was narrator. Kerner was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and served as a judge in the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County before his election as the thirty-third governor of Illinois in 1960, winning re-election in 1964. He resigned as governor in 1968 when President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated him as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Kerner was later convicted of mail fraud, conspiracy, and perjury and sentenced to three years in federal prison; he was released early following his being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
The next three performances, all in Orchestra Hall, were narrated by voices quite familiar to Chicagoans. On March 28, 1970, Mel Zellman, an announcer for WFMT for forty years, shared the stage with conductor Irwin Hoffman. Jim Tilmon, a longtime television reporter for WTTW and NBC, narrated the work on February 25, 1976, with associate conductor Henry Mazer on the podium. On January 29, 1979, Bill Kurtis, then a news anchor with WBBM-TV, was narrator, again under Mazer’s direction.
For a special July 4 celebration in 1982 at the Ravinia Festival, Aaron Copland himself was narrator. Erich Kunzel conducted.
Jane Byrne (Associated Press photo by Fred Jewell)
Jane Byrne was the first woman to serve as Chicago’s mayor—the city’s fortieth—from 1979 until 1983. On October 1, 1982, in Orchestra Hall, she was narrator in Copland’s Lincoln Portrait with Reynald Giovaninetti on the podium. According to her obituary in the Chicago Tribune, “Over her single term in office, Byrne launched Taste of Chicago and crowd-pleasing celebrations like Blues Fest, inspired the redevelopment of Navy Pier and the Museum Campus and encouraged movie making here in a big way by luring production of box office hits like The Blues Brothers.”
Aaron Copland and William Warfield in 1963 (Library of Congress photo)
On October 4, 1997, Symphony Center officially opened its doors with a gala concert. The program included a performance of Lincoln Portrait with bass-baritone William Warfield as narrator and ninth music director Daniel Barenboim conducting. Warfield had become well known following a star turn as Joe—singing “Ol Man River“—in MGM‘s 1951 remake of Show Boat. He also recorded a highly acclaimed album of selections from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with soprano Leontyne Price in 1963. Long associated with Copland, Warfield had sung the premiere performances of the first set of Old American Songs (for soloist and orchestra) as well as the second set (for soloist and piano).
Steppenwolf Theatre Company actors Martha Lavey, Amy Morton, K. Todd Freeman, and Tracy Letts shared narrating duties at the Ravinia Festival on July 4, 2004. David Alan Miller conducted.
Senator Barack Obama narrates Copland’s Lincoln Portrait in Millennium Park on September 11, 2005. William Eddins conducts (Todd Rosenberg photo)
On September 11, 2005, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra gave a free concert at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. Guest conductor William Eddins led the Orchestra in The Star-Spangled Banner, William Schuman’s arrangement of Ives’s Variations on America, Rimsky- Korsakov’s Sheherazade, and Copland’s Lincoln Portrait with freshman U.S. Senator Barack Obama as narrator. In the Chicago Sun-Times, Wynne Delacoma wrote: “When September 11 comes around each year, the craving for a moment of proverbial silence—a chance to slow down, remember, and mourn—is strong. Sunday’s concert, led by former CSO resident conductor William Eddins and featuring Senator Barack Obama as narrator in Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, provided just that kind of beneficent moment. Despite the steamy weather, a large crowd filled the pavilion’s seats and lawn, giving the CSO in general, and Obama in particular, vociferous applause. . . . Obama brought an orator’s skill without an actor’s slick veneer to Copland’s Lincoln Portrait. The comforting quality of his voice gave added emotional resonance to Lincoln’s words. The CSO was a powerful surging force behind him, alternately sinking into meditation and swelling to majestic heights.”
Most recently, James Earl Jones was narrator at Orchestra Hall on February 21 and 24, 2009, under the baton of James Gaffigan, and on July 18, 2009, soprano Jessye Norman was narrator with James Conlon conducting at the Ravinia Festival.
Riccardo Muti leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Copland’s Lincoln Portrait on April 12, 13, 14, and 17, 2018. John Malkovich will be the narrator.
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Senator Barack Obama onstage with William Eddins and the Orchestra at Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, September 11, 2005 (Todd Rosenberg photo)
On September 11, 2005—the fourth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks and barely two weeks after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina—the Chicago Symphony Orchestra gave a free concert as part of Millennium Park’s Blockbuster Weekend, which also featured season-opening outdoor performances by Lyric Opera of Chicago and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
William Eddins led The Star-Spangled Banner, William Schuman’s arrangement of Ives’s Variations on America, Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, and Rimsky- Korsakov’s Sheherazade. The narrator for Lincoln Portrait was freshman U.S. Senator Barack Obama.
Obama’s autograph on a copy of Copland’s Lincoln Portrait
In the Chicago Sun-Times, Wynne Delacoma wrote: “When September 11 comes around each year, the craving for a moment of proverbial silence—a chance to slow down, remember, and mourn—is strong. Sunday’s concert, led by former CSO resident conductor William Eddins and featuring Senator Barack Obama as narrator in Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, provided just that kind of beneficent moment. Despite the steamy weather, a large crowd filled the pavilion’s seats and lawn, giving the CSO in general, and Obama in particular, vociferous applause. . . . Obama brought an orator’s skill without an actor’s slick veneer to Copland’s Lincoln Portrait. The comforting quality of his voice gave added emotional resonance to Lincoln’s words. The CSO was a powerful surging force behind him, alternately sinking into meditation and swelling to majestic heights.”
This article also appears here.
Congratulations to tenor George Shirley upon receiving a National Medal of Arts yesterday from President Barack Obama!
Shirley receiving the medal from President Obama at the White House on September 9, 2015 (image retrieved from this site)
The medal is the highest award given to artists by the United States government and is awarded by the president to individuals or organizations who “are deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support, and availability of the arts in the United States.”
George Shirley has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on multiple occasions—as tenor soloist and narrator—and a complete list of his performances is below (subscription concerts at Orchestra Hall, unless otherwise noted):
December 16, 18, and 19, 1970
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125
Georg Solti, conductor
Helen Donath, soprano
Huguette Tourangeau, mezzo-soprano
George Shirley, tenor
Martti Talvela, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
July 22, 1972 (Ravinia Festival)
BERLIOZ Romeo and Juliet, Op. 17
Seiji Ozawa, conductor
Mignon Dunn, mezzo-soprano
George Shirley, tenor
Justino Díaz, bass-baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
November 1, 2, and 3, 1973
BEETHOVEN Missa solemnis in D Major, Op. 123
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Wendy Fine, soprano (November 1)
Sarah Beatty, soprano (November 2 and 3)
Julia Hamari, mezzo-soprano
George Shirley, tenor
Theo Adam, bass-baritone (November 1 and 2)
Thomas Paul, bass (November 3)
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
December 18, 1974 (Carnegie Hall)
STRAUSS Salome
Salome Birgit Nilsson, soprano
Herodias Ruth Hesse, mezzo-soprano
Herod Antipas Ragnar Ulfung, tenor
Jokanaan Norman Bailey, baritone
Slave Sarah Beatty, soprano
The Page of Herodias Sandra Walker, mezzo-soprano
Narraboth George Shirley, tenor
Cappadocian Gershon Silins, bass
Two Nazarenes Cory Winter, tenor; Franz Mazura, bass-baritone
Four Jews Philip Creech, Jerry Jennings, John Lanigan, and William Wahman, tenors; Eugene Johnson, bass
Two Soldiers Curtis Dickson and Thomas Paul, basses
May 6, 7, 8, and 11, 1999
IVES Three Places in New England
John Adams, conductor
George Shirley, reader
(To set the stage for each section, Shirley read texts by Charles Ives and Henry David Thoreau.)
Congratulations!
Kennedy Center Honors recipients Billy Joel, Carlos Santana, Herbie Hancock, Shirley MacLaine, and Martina Arroyo in Washington, D.C. on December 8, 2013
Congratulations to two very special members of the extended CSO family—Martina Arroyo and Herbie Hancock—upon receiving Kennedy Center Honors at a ceremony held yesterday in Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama saluted the honorees saying, “The diverse group of extraordinary individuals we honor today haven’t just proven themselves to be the best of the best. Despite all their success, all their fame, they’ve remained true to themselves—and inspired the rest of us to do the same.” Also receiving Kennedy Center Honors were Billy Joel, Carlos Santana, and Shirley MacLaine. The gala will be broadcast on CBS on December 29, 2013.
Soprano Martina Arroyo first appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Orchestra Hall on November 14, 15, and 16, 1968, in Verdi’s Requiem. Music director Jean Martinon conducted and the vocal soloists included Carol Smith, Sándor Kónya, and Malcolm Smith. She again appeared in Verdi’s Requiem on March 25, 26, and 27, 1971, under the baton of principal guest conductor Carlo Maria Giulini. Soloists included Shirley Verrett, Carlo Cossutta, and Ezio Flagello. For both sets of performances, the Chicago Symphony Chorus was prepared by Margaret Hillis. At the Ravinia Festival, Arroyo appeared with the Orchestra in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly on July 31 and August 2, 1969, with Alain Lombard conducting; and on August 7 and 9, 1969, in Verdi’s Aida with Giuseppe Patanè conducting. On August 3, 1974, she joined tenor Richard Tucker in a concert of opera arias and duets by Giordano, Mascagni, Puccini, and Verdi with James Levine conducting; and she also was soloist in Strauss’s Four Last Songs on August 12, 1976, with Lawrence Foster conducting.
Eleven-year-old Herbie Hancock—a grade 7A student at the Forestville School, located in the Kenwood neighborhood on Chicago’s south side—was a CSO youth auditions winner and appeared with the Orchestra on a Young People’s Concert at Orchestra Hall on February 5, 1952. He performed the first movement (Allegro) from Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 26 in D major, K. 537 (Coronation). The conductor was George Schick, the CSO’s assistant conductor. In the years since, Hancock has appeared at Orchestra Hall on numerous occasions with a variety of artists as well as with his own quartet.
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