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The Chicago Symphony Orchestra family joins the music world in mourning the passing of legendary pianist, conductor, and composer Sir André Previn, who died this morning at his home in Manhattan. He was 89.
A frequent visitor to Chicago from 1962 until 2006, Previn appeared with the Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival and in Orchestra Hall, in Milwaukee, in the television and recordings studios, as well as on a number of appearances in recital and with visiting orchestras. A complete list is below.
March 18, 1962, WGN Studios (Great Music from Chicago)
BERNSTEIN Overture to Candide
HINDEMITH Scherzo from Piano Sonata No. 3 in B-flat Major
PREVIN Portrait for Strings
PREVIN Jazz Sequence
GERSHWIN Piano Concerto in F
André Previn, piano and conductor
July 2, 1964, Ravinia Festival
MENDELSSOHN Ruy Blas Overture, Op. 95
LALO Symphonie espagnole for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 21
Ruggiero Ricci, violin
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47
July 4, 1964, Ravinia Festival
PREVIN Overture to a Comedy
COPLAND The Red Pony, Film Suite for Orchestra
GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue
GERSHWIN Piano Concerto in F
André Previn, piano and conductor
June 24, 1965, Ravinia Festival
BEETHOVEN Overture to Coriolanus, Op. 62
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto for Piano, No. 1, C Major, Op. 15
Daniel Barenboim, piano
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68
This concert was Daniel Barenboim’s debut as piano soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
June 26, 1965, Ravinia Festival
MOZART Symphony No. 31 in D Major, K. 297 (Paris)
MOZART Exsultate, jubilate, K. 165
Judith Raskin, soprano
BARBER Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24
Judith Raskin, soprano
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 17
January 13, 14, and 15, 1966, Orchestra Hall
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 (Emperor)
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, piano
February 19, 20, 21, and 22, 1975
February 24, 1975, Uihlein Hall, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
BERLIOZ Overture to Beatrice and Benedict
BARTÓK Concerto for Violin No. 2
Kyung-Wha Chung, violin
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 54
February 27, 28, and March 2, 1975
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Symphony No. 5 in D Major
RACHMANINOV Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 27
July 22, 1976, Ravinia Festival
PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25 (Classical)
PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 26
Gary Graffman, piano
PROKOFIEV Excerpts from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64
July 24, 1976, Ravinia Festival
BERLIOZ Le Corsaire Overture, Op. 21
RAVEL Mother Goose Suite
WALTON Belshazzar’s Feast
Sherrill Milnes, baritone
Scottish National Orchestra Chorus
John Currie, director
January 20, 21, and 22, 1977, Orchestra Hall
MESSIAEN Turangalîla-Symphonie
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano
Jeanne Loriod, ondès martenot
January 24, 1977, Orchestra Hall
MOZART Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major, K. 219
Mayumi Fujikawa, violin
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5 in D Minor, Op. 47
Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony was recorded in Medinah Temple on January 25, 1977. For EMI Records, Christopher Bishop was the producer, Christopher Parker was the balance engineer, and Simon Gibson remastered the recording at Abbey Road Studios.
January 27 and 30, 1977, Orchestra Hall
January 31, 1977, Uihlein Hall, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64
Mayumi Fujikawa, violin
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 4 in C Minor, Op. 43
Shostakovich’s Fourth Symphony was recorded in Medinah Temple on February 1, 1977. For EMI Records, Christopher Bishop was the producer, Christopher Parker was the balance engineer, and Simon Gibson remastered the recording at Abbey Road Studios.
April 19, 20, and 21, 1979, Orchestra Hall
April 23, 1979, Uihlein Hall, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
MAW Life Studies (No. VII and No. VIII)
PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26
Horacio Gutiérrez, piano
STRAUSS An Alpine Symphony, Op. 64
April 28, 1979, Orchestra Hall
RACHMANINOV Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 27
Concert celebrating the second inauguration of Illinois Governor James R. Thompson, rescheduled from January 13, 1979, due to inclement weather
April 26, 27, and 29, 1979, Orchestra Hall
PROKOFIEV Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 19
Viktor Tretyakov, violin
RACHMANINOV Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 27
March 11, 12, and 13, 1982, Orchestra Hall
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
WALTON Cello Concerto
Ralph Kirshbaum, cello
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 10 in E Minor, Op. 93
March 18, 19, and 20, 1982
RAVEL Piano Concerto in G Major
Cristina Ortiz, piano
RAVEL Daphnis and Chloe
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Previn also appeared on the CSO Presents and Symphony Center Presents series in Orchestra Hall, as follows:
September 30, 1996
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
MOZART Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major, K. 414
Leon Fleisher, piano
STRAUSS Domestic Symphony, Op. 53
April 28, 2004
BEETHOVEN Trio No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 1, No. 3
BRAHMS Trio No. 1 in B Major, Op. 8
MENDELSSOHN Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 49
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin
Lynn Harrell, cello
Sir André Previn, piano
March 6, 2005
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
DEBUSSY Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun
PREVIN Violin Concerto (Anne-Sophie)
Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin
STRAUSS An Alpine Symphony, Op. 64
Numerous tributes have appeared on The New York Times, BBC News, and NPR sites, among several others.
Gary Graffman (Carol Rosegg photo)
Wishing a very happy (albeit slightly belated) ninetieth birthday to the great American pianist and teacher Gary Graffman!
Graffman appeared as soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on a number of occasions between 1951 and 1976, listed below:
January 13, 1951, Orchestra Hall
RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18
George Schick, conductor
April 7, 1956, Orchestra Hall
TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23
George Schick, conductor
February 10, 12, and 13, 1959, Orchestra Hall
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37
Walter Hendl, conductor
Recorded by RCA on May 5, 1959, in Orchestra Hall. Richard Bayne was the engineer and Richard Mohr was the producer.
February 18, 1961, Orchestra Hall
RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18
Walter Hendl, conductor
July 29, 1961, Ravinia Festival
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37
Paul Hindemith, conductor
August 5, 1961, Ravinia Festival
RACHMANINOV Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 43
Izler Solomon, conductor
January 10, 11, and 13, 1974, Orchestra Hall
RACHMANINOV Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Guido Ajmone-Marsan, conductor
July 22, 1976, Ravinia Festival
PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26
André Previn, conductor
October 14, 15, and 17, 1976, Orchestra Hall
MENDELSSOHN Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Happy, happy birthday!
During the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s 2012-13 season, anonymous donors endowed in perpetuity the principal viola chair but requested some time to decide on how they wanted the chair to be named. After quite a bit of thought, the donors have decided upon “The Paul Hindemith Principal Viola Chair, endowed by an anonymous benefactor.”
On March 3 and 4, 1938, Paul Hindemith debuted with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, appearing as composer, conductor, and viola soloist. The concert opened with associate conductor Hans Lange leading Mozart’s Symphony no. 39 followed by Hindemith’s Der Schwanendreher (subtitled Concerto on Old Folk Melodies) with the composer as soloist. After intermission, Lange returned to the podium for Hindemith’s Chamber Music no. 1, followed by the composer leading the U.S. premiere of his Symphonic Dances.
Hindemith’s March 1938 program biography
In the Journal of Commerce, Claudia Cassidy described Hindemith’s Chamber Music no. 1 as “brilliant, witty, and spectacularly scored. Mr. Lange conducted and the orchestra turned in a glittering job, particularly in the introduction to the finale which has that kinetic energy at a boil.” She described Der Schwandendreher as having “no compassion for the poor viola player, taking for granted that he can handle the instrument as Mr. Hindemith does, which is nothing short of amazing.”
Hindemith had conducted the first performance of the Symphonic Dances only three months earlier, on December 3, 1937, in London. Eugene Stinson in the Chicago Daily News described the work as having “more unity, and it seems to me there is more thoughtfulness, in the Symphonic Dances than in almost all the other music Hindemith’s Chicago knows. At a first hearing it struck me as one of the most impressive and most affecting contemporary scores I can recall.”
Hindemith’s complete performance history with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is as follows:
March 3 and 4, 1938
March 3 and 5, 1938, Orchestra Hall
HINDEMITH Der Schwanendreher
Paul Hindemith, viola
Hans Lange, conductor
HINDEMITH Symphonic Dances
Paul Hindemith, conductor
July 25, 1961, Ravinia Festival
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major
CHERUBINI Overture to Les Abencerages
HINDEMITH Concert Music for Strings and Brass, Op. 50
Paul Hindemith, conductor
July 27, 1961, Ravinia Festival
HINDEMITH Pittsburgh Symphony
MENDELSSOHN Fingal’s Cave Overture, Op. 26
SCHUBERT Symphony in C Major, D. 944
Paul Hindemith, conductor
July 29, 1961, Ravinia Festival
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37
Gary Graffman, piano
HINDEMITH Concerto for Orchestra, Op. 38
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 4 in D Minor, Op. 120
Paul Hindemith, conductor
March 28 and 29, 1963, Orchestra Hall
April 1, 1963, Pabst Theater, Milwaukee
BRAHMS Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
HINDEMITH Concert Music for Strings and Brass, Op. 50
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 7 in E Major
Paul Hindemith, conductor
April 4 and 5, 1963, Orchestra Hall
SCHUMANN Manfred Overture, Op. 115
REGER Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Beethoven, Op. 86
WAGNER Siegfried Idyll
HINDEMITH Sinfonietta in E
Paul Hindemith, conductor
April 6, 1963, Orchestra Hall
SCHUMANN Manfred Overture, Op. 115
REGER Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Beethoven, Op. 86
BEETHOVEN Grosse Fuge in B flat Major, Op. 133
HINDEMITH Nobilissima visione
Paul Hindemith, conductor
April 7, 1963, Orchestra Hall (television concert)
HINDEMITH Concert Music for Strings and Brass, Op. 50
BRUCKNER Allegro moderato (first movement) from Symphony No. 7 in E Major
BRAHMS Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
Originally broadcast on WGN and currently available on a VAI DVD release.
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Charles Pikler, principal viola (Todd Rosenberg photo)
The principal viola chair currently is held by Charles Pikler, who joined the Orchestra as a violinist in 1978; and in 1986, Sir Georg Solti named Pikler principal viola.
from the archives 