Wishing a very happy eightieth-fifth birthday to Zubin Mehta!
Zubin Mehta in 2016 (Wilfried Hösl photo)
A frequent and favorite guest conductor in Chicago, Mehta has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions, both at Orchestra Hall and the Ravinia Festival.
December 1, 1986, Orchestra Hall BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 15 BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83 Daniel Barenboim, piano
August 9, 1991, Ravinia Festival BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26 Midori, violin MAHLER Symphony No. 5
August 10, 1991, Ravinia Festival BEETHOVEN Overture to Egmont, Op. 84 BARBER Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24 Marvis Martin, soprano BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 Marvis Martin, soprano Gweneth Bean, contralto Ben Heppner, tenor Julien Robbins, baritone Chicago Symphony Chorus Margaret Hillis, director
February 19, 20, 21, and 22, 1992, Orchestra Hall BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90 FOSS Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrows) (world premiere) RAVEL Suite No. 2 from Daphnis and Chloe
February 26, 27, 28, and 29, 1992, Orchestra Hall MAHLER Symphony No. 3 in D Minor Florence Quivar, mezzo-soprano Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus Richard Garrin, director Chicago Children’s Choir Lucy Ding, director
February 2, 1993, Orchestra Hall BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 (Emperor) Daniel Barenboim, piano
Zubin Mehta at La Scala in 2010 (Marco Brescia photo)
January 26, 27, and 31, 1995, Orchestra Hall SCHUBERT Symphony No. 6 in C Major, D. 589 ORFF Carmina burana Janet Williams, soprano Frank Lopardo, tenor Bo Skovhus, baritone Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe, director Chicago Children’s Choir William Chin, director
February 2, 4, and 5, 1995 MOZART Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550 SCHOENBERG Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9 Richard Graef, flute Michael Henoch, oboe Grover Schiltz, English horn Larry Combs, clarinet John Bruce Yeh, clarinet J. Lawrie Bloom, bass clarinet Willard Elliot, bassoon Burl Lane, contrabassoon Dale Clevenger, horn Gail Williams, horn Rubén González, violin Joseph Golan, violin Charles Pikler, viola John Sharp, cello Joseph Guastafeste, bass WAGNER Siegfried Idyll Donald Peck, flute Michael Henoch, oboe Larry Combs, clarinet Gregory Smith, clarinet Bruce Grainger, bassoon Dale Clevenger, horn Gail Williams, horn Adolph Herseth, trumpet Rubén González, violin Joseph Golan, violin Charles Pikler, viola John Sharp, cello Joseph Guastafeste, bass MOZART Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 (Jupiter)
June 22 and 23, 1995, Ravinia Festival WAGNER Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3, C minor, Op. 37 Emanuel Ax, piano GERSHWIN An American in Paris RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34
June 24, 1995, Ravinia Festival PUCCINI Tosca Floria Tosca Elizabeth Holleque, soprano Mario Cavaradossi Richard Leech, tenor Baron Scarpia Sergei Leiferkus, baritone Angelotti Stephen Morscheck, bass-baritone Sacristan David Evitts, baritone Spoletta Matthew Polenzani, tenor Sciarrone Victor Benedetti, baritone Jailer Mark McCrory, bass-baritone A Young Shepherd Suzanne Shields, soprano Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe, director Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus Lisa Sirvatka, director
June 27, 1995, Ravinia Festival BRAHMS Tragic Overture, Opus 81 BRAHMS Concerto for Violin and Cello A Minor, Op. 102 (Double) Pinchas Zukerman, violin Ralph Kirshbaum, cello BRAHMS Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
January 18, 19, and 20, 1996, Orchestra Hall SCHUBERT Overture to Rosamunde, D. 644 SCHUBERT Symphony in B Minor, D. 759 (Unfinished) STRAUSS Domestic Symphony, Op. 53
Zubin Mehta in 2007 (Oded Antman photo)
February 20, 21, 22, and 25, 1997, Orchestra Hall LUTOSŁAWSKI Symphony No. 4 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 (Eroica)
February 27, 28, and March 1, 1997, Orchestra Hall KORNGOLD Suite from Much Ado About Nothing BARTÓK Piano Concerto No. 2 Yefim Bronfman, piano MENDELSSOHN Octet for Strings in E-flat Major, Op. 20
February 18, 20, and 22, 1998, Orchestra Hall WAGNER A Faust Overture HINDEMITH Symphony, Mathis der Maler BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 15 Daniel Barenboim, piano
February 26, 27, 28, and March 3, 1998, Orchestra Hall CRUMB Ancient Voices of Children Barbara Ann Martin, soprano R. Anton Briones, boy soprano Alex Klein, oboe and harmonica Frederic Chrislip, mandolin and musical saw Sarah Bullen, harp Mary Sauer, electric piano and toy piano Gordon Peters, percussion Patricia Dash, percussion Edward Atkatz, percussion BRUCKNER Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major (Romantic)
February 8, 9, and 10, 2001, Orchestra Hall BERLIOZ The Trojans, Op. 29, Part 1: The Fall of Troy Cassandra Deborah Voigt, soprano Chorebus Roman Trekel, baritone Aeneas Jon Villars, tenor Ascanius Nancy Pifer, soprano Hecuba Stacy Eckert, mezzo-soprano Helenus James Cornelison, tenor Panthus and A Soldier Timothy J. Quistorff, baritone Priam, Spirit of Hector, and Greek Captain Andrew Funk, bass Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe, director
April 4, 5, and 6, 2002, Orchestra Hall STRAVINSKY Fireworks, Op. 4 STRAVINSKY Circus Polka PROKOFIEV Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 63 Nikolaj Znaider, violin BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
April 11, 12, and 13, 2002, Orchestra Hall BERLIOZ The Trojans, Op. 29, Part 2: The Trojans at Carthage Dido Nadja Michael, mezzo-soprano Anna Nancy Maultsby, mezzo-soprano Ascanius Meredith Barber, soprano Spirit of Cassandra Stacy Eckert, mezzo-soprano Aeneas Jon Villars, tenor Iopas Nicholas Phan, tenor Hylas Michael Sommese, tenor Mercury and Spirit of Chorebus Michael Brauer, baritone First Sentinel and Spirit of Hector Timothy J. Quistorff, baritone Second Sentinel and Sprit of Priam Terry Cook, bass Narbal Stephen Milling, bass Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe, director
February 24, 2006, Orchestra Hall BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68 BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 15 Daniel Barenboim, piano
During January and February 1987, Sir Georg Solti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra embarked on a domestic tour with concerts in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Omaha, Nebraska; Bartlesville, Oklahoma; San Francisco, Costa Mesa, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles, California; Tempe, Arizona; and Austin, Houston, and Dallas, Texas.
Following the Wednesday evening (January 28) concert in Bartlesville, there were two free days before the next concert—an afternoon matinee—on Saturday at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. On Thursday afternoon, the Orchestra flew safely from Tulsa to San Francisco.
However, the majority of the cargo (including instruments, music, and clothing), traveling by trucks, did not arrive as planned. One truck was delayed due to a snowstorm as well as a flat tire, and a second truck was stopped by “agricultural inspectors at the Arizona-California border . . . for a routine check only to discover that the drivers didn’t have their paperwork in order.”
Clockwise from left: Samuel Magad, Solti, John Sharp, and Charles Pikler perform onstage at San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall on January 31, 1987
On Saturday afternoon (January 31) in hopes that the cargo would eventually arrive, an impromptu concert was arranged, with members of the Orchestra (who had traveled with their instruments) and Maestro Solti—making his U.S. concert debut as a pianist—performing chamber music. The concert began at about 3:15 p.m. and continued for nearly three hours. The program was as follows:
MOZART Clarinet Quartet in E-flat Major (after K. 380)
John Bruce Yeh, clarinet
Nisanne Graff, violin
Richard Ferrin, viola
John Sharp, cello
SCHUBERT Allegro moderato (first movement) from Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano in A Minor, D. 821
Charles Pikler, viola
Mary Sauer, piano
MOZART Allegretto (third movement) from Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat Major, K. 452
Michael Henoch, oboe
Larry Combs, clarinet
Bruce Grainger, bassoon
Gail Williams, horn Paul Hersh, piano
MOZART Rondo allegro (third movement) from Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, K. 478
Samuel Magad, violin
Charles Pikler, viola
John Sharp, cello
Sir Georg Solti, piano
By 6:00 p.m. the trucks still had not arrived. Borrowing instruments from the San Francisco Symphony, a local youth orchestra, and a violin shop, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra took the stage in their street clothes, using music borrowed from the SFS’s music library. The original program was to include John Corigliano’s recently composed Clarinet Concerto (with Larry Combs as soloist). But since the only copies of the music for the concerto were still stranded on one of the cargo trucks, Mozart’s Haffner Symphony (no. 35) was performed instead.
The trucks finally arrived around 9:00 p.m. on Saturday night. Solti and the Orchestra were able to rehearse as scheduled on Sunday afternoon and for the evening concert, Haydn’s Symphony no. 103 was replaced by the Corigliano concerto.
Several newspaper accounts documenting the incident are here and here.
During Sir Georg Solti’s tenure as music director, more than seventy musicians—many of whom are still members—joined the roster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra:
David Babcock, horn 1969–1971
Edwin Barker, bass 1976–1977
John Bartholomew, viola 1980–
J. Lawrie Bloom, clarinet and bass clarinet 1980–
Ella Braker, violin 1976–2003
Loren Brown, cello 1985–
Catherine Brubaker, viola 1989–
Li-Kuo Chang, viola 1988–
David Chickering, cello 1978–1986
Roger Cline, bass 1973–
Timothy Cobb, bass 1985–1986
Larry Combs, clarinet and E-flat clarinet 1974–2008
Alison Dalton, violin 1987–
Franklyn D’Antonio, violin 1981–1986
Patricia Dash, percussion 1986–
Joseph DiBello, bass 1976–
Louise Dixon, flute 1973–
Fox Fehling, violin 1979–
Jorja Fleezanis, violin 1975–1976
Barbara Fraser, violin 1975–1996
Daniel Gingrich, horn 1976–
Rachel Goldstein, violin 1989–
Rubén González, violin 1986–1996
Bruce Grainger, bassoon 1986–1996
Jerry Grossman, cello 1984–1986
Tom Hall, violin 1970–2006
Laura Hamilton, violin 1985–1986
Erik Harris, bass 1989–1993
Michael Henoch, oboe 1972–
Marilyn Herring, librarian 1982–1997
Russell Hershow, violin 1989–
Richard Hirschl, cello 1989–
Michael Hovnanian, bass 1989–
Thomas Howell, horn 1971–1991
Nisanne Howell, violin 1976–
Albert Igolnikov, violin 1979–
Mihaela Ionescu, violin 1987–
Jacques Israelievitch, violin 1972–1978
Timothy Kent, trumpet 1979–1996
Mark Kraemer, bass 1974–
Melanie Kupchynsky, violin 1989–
Lee Lane, viola 1971–2009–
Stephen Lester, bass 1978–
Kathryn Lukas, flute 1985–1986
Elizabeth Matesky, violin 1972–1973
Blair Milton, violin 1975–
Diane Mues, viola 1987–
Michael Mulcahy, trombone 1990–
Joyce Noh, violin 1979–
Bradley Opland, bass 1984–
Daniel Orbach, viola 1988–
Nancy Park, violin 1984–
Jonathan Pegis, cello 1986–
Paul Phillips, violin 1980–
Charles Pikler, violin and viola 1978–
Gene Pokorny, tuba 1989–
Max Raimi, viola 1984–
James Ross, percussion 1979–
David Sanders, cello 1974–
Ronald Satkiewicz, violin 1979–
Florence Schwartz, violin 1989–
Norman Schweikert, horn 1971–1997
John Sharp, cello 1986–
Sando Shia, violin 1989–
Philip Smith, trumpet 1975–1978
Gregory Smith, clarinet 1983–
Gary Stucka, cello 1986–
Robert Swan, viola 1972–2008
Susan Synnestvedt, violin 1986–
David Taylor, violin 1979–
Charles Vernon, trombone and bass trombone 1986–
George Vosburgh, trumpet 1979–1993
Jennie Wagner, volin 1974–
Gail Williams, horn 1978–1998
Thomas Wright, viola 1981–
John Bruce Yeh, clarinet and E-flat clarinet 1977–