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Georg Solti—who would serve as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s eighth music director from 1969 until 1991—received his first Grammy at the Recording Academy’s fifth awards ceremony in May 1963, for the RCA recording of Verdi’s Aida with Leontyne Price in the title role. Over the next two decades, he steadily increased his count, and at the 26th ceremony in February 1984, Solti received four awards, bringing his total to twenty-three and surpassing Henry Mancini’s record of twenty awards. Ultimately, Sir Georg would receive thirty-one awards—twenty-four with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus—and he reigned as the all-time Grammy champ for nearly forty years.
At the the 65th Grammy Awards on February 5, 2023, Beyoncé received four statuettes, bringing her total to thirty-two and crowning her as the new champ. Quincy Jones follows Solti with twenty-eight awards, Alison Krauss and Chick Corea each has twenty-seven, and Pierre Boulez—former CSO conductor emeritus and principal guest conductor—is in fifth place, with twenty-six Grammy awards, including eight with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
In addition, Solti and producer John Culshaw received the Academy’s first Trustees’ Award in 1967 for their “efforts, ingenuity, and artistic contributions” in connection with the first complete recording of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen with the Vienna Philharmonic. Sir Georg also received the Academy’s 1995 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Following is a complete list of Sir Georg Solti’s thirty-one Grammy awards and seventy-four nominations.*
5th Annual Grammy Awards (1962)
Best Opera Recording (nom 1, win 1)
VERDI Aida
Georg Solti, conductor
Leontyne Price, Rita Gorr, Jon Vickers, Robert Merrill, Giorgio Tozzi
Rome Opera House Orchestra
Rome Opera House Chorus
Giuseppe Conca, director
RCA
STRAUSS Salome
Best Opera Recording (nom 2)
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Gerhard Stolze, Grace Hoffman, Eberhard Wächter, Waldemar Kmentt
Vienna Philharmonic
London
6th Annual Grammy Awards (1963)
Best Opera Recording (nom 3)
WAGNER Siegfried
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, Hans Hotter, Gerhard Stolze, Gustav Neidlinger, Joan Sutherland
Vienna Philharmonic
London
7th Annual Grammy Awards (1964)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 4)
Best Opera Recording (nom 5)
VERDI Falstaff
Georg Solti, conductor
Geraint Evans, Giulieta Simionato, Ilva Ligabue, Robert Merrill, Mirella Freni, Alfredo Kraus, Rosalind Elias
RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra
RCA Italiana Opera Chorus
Nino Antonellini, director
RCA
8th Annual Grammy Awards (1965)
Best Opera Recording (nom 6)
WAGNER Götterdämmerung
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, Gottlob Frick, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Christa Ludwig, Claire Watson, Gustav Neidlinger
Vienna Philharmonic
Men of the Vienna State Opera Chorus
Wilhelm Pitz, director
London
9th Annual Grammy Awards (1966)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 7)
Best Opera Recording (nom 8, win 2)
WAGNER Die Walküre
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Régine Crespin, Christa Ludwig, James King, Hans Hotter, Gottlob Frick
Vienna Philharmonic
London
10th Annual Grammy Awards (1967)
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 9)
MAHLER Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (Resurrection)
Georg Solti, conductor
Heather Harper, Helen Watts
London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra Chorus
John Alldis, director
London
11th Annual Grammy Awards (1968)
Best Opera Recording (nom 10)
STRAUSS Elektra
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Marie Collier, Regina Resnik, Gerhard Stolze, Tom Krause
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
London
13th Annual Grammy Awards (1970)
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 11)
MAHLER Symphony No. 6 in A Minor
Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 12)
STRAUSS Der Rosenkavalier
Georg Solti, conductor
Régine Crespin, Yvonne Minton, Helen Donath, Luciano Pavarotti, Manfred Jungwirth
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
London
14th Annual Grammy Awards
Best Opera Recording (nom 13)
MOZART The Magic Flute, K. 620
Georg Solti, conductor
Pilar Lorengar, Christina Deutekom, Stuart Burrows, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hermann Prey, Martti Talvela
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
London
15th Annual Grammy Awards (1972)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 14, win 3)
Best Choral Performance–Classical (other than opera) (nom 15, win 4)
MAHLER Symphony No. 8 in E-flat Major
Georg Solti, conductor
Heather Harper, Lucia Popp, Arleen Augér, Yvonne Minton, Helen Watts, René Kollo, John Shirley-Quirk, Martti Talvela
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Singverein Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
Vienna Boys’ Choir
Helmut Froschauer, director
London
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 16, win 5)
MAHLER Symphony No. 7 in E Minor
Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 17)
Best Opera Recording (nom 18)
WAGNER Tannhäuser
Georg Solti, conductor
René Kollo, Christa Ludwig, Hans Sotin, Helga Dernesch
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
Vienna Boys’ Choir
Wilhelm Pitz, director
London
16th Annual Grammy Awards (1973)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 19)
BEETHOVEN Piano Concertos
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 19
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 (Emperor)
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
London
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 20)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Pilar Lorengar, Yvonne Minton, Stuart Burrows, Martti Talvela
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 21)
WAGNER Parsifal
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
René Kollo, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hans Hotter, Gottlob Frick, Zoltán Kélémen, Christa Ludwig
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
Vienna Boys’ Choir
Anton Neyder, director
London
17th Annual Grammy Awards (1974)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 22, win 6)
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 23, win 7)
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 24, win 8)
PUCCINI La bohème
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Montserrat Caballé, Judith Blegen, Plácido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, Vicente Sardinero, Ruggero Raimondi
London Philharmonic Orchestra
John Alldis Choir
John Alldis, director
Wandsworth School Boys’ Choir
Russell Burgess, director
RCA
Best Opera Recording (nom 25)
MOZART Così fan tutte, K. 588
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Ryland Davies, Tom Krause, Gabriel Bacquier, Pilar Lorengar, Teresa Berganza, Jane Berbié
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Opera House Chorus
Douglas Robinson, director
London
18th Annual Grammy Awards (1975)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom, 26, win 9)
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 27)
Beethoven’s Symphonies
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 in E flat Major, Op. 55 (Eroica)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 4 in B flat Major, Op. 60
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 (Pastoral)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125
BEETHOVEN Overture to Egmont, Op. 84
BEETHOVEN Overture to Coriolan, Op. 62
BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72b
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Pilar Lorengar, Yvonne Minton, Stuart Burrows, Martti Talvela
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
19th Annual Grammy Awards (1976)
Best Classical Orchestral Performance (nom 28, win 10)
STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 29)
Best Opera Recording (nom 30)
BIZET Carmen
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Tatiana Troyanos, Kiri Te Kanawa, Plácido Domingo, José van Dam
London Philharmonic Orchestra
John Alldis Choir
John Alldis, director
Boys’ Chorus from Haberdashers’ Aske’s School, Elstree
Alan Taylor and Jean Povey, directors
London
Best Classical Orchestral Performance (nom 31)
ELGAR Symphony No. 2 in E-flat Major
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London
20th Annual Grammy Awards (1977)
Best Choral Performance (other than opera) (nom 32, win 11)
VERDI Messa da Requiem
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Leontyne Price, Janet Baker, Veriano Luchetti, José van Dam
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
RCA
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 33)
DEBUSSY Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun and La mer
RAVEL Boléro
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Classical Orchestral Performance (nom 34)
RAVEL Boléro
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 35)
WAGNER The Flying Dutchman
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Norman Bailey, Martti Talvela, Janis Martin, René Kollo
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Men of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
21st Annual Grammy Awards (1978)
Best Choral Performance, Classical (other than opera) (nom 36, win 12)
BEETHOVEN Missa solemnis in D Major, Op. 123
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Lucia Popp, Yvonne Minton, Mallory Walker, Gwynne Howell
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Choral Performance, Classical (other than opera) (nom 37)
WALTON Belshazzar’s Feast
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Benjamin Luxon, baritone
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Philharmonic Choir
John Alldis, director
London
22nd Annual Grammy Awards (1979)
Best Classical Album (nom 38, win 13)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 39, win 14)
Brahms’s Symphonies
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68
BRAHMS Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98
BRAHMS Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
BRAHMS Tragic Overture, Op. 81
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Choral Performance, Classical (other than opera) (nom 40, win 15)
BRAHMS A German Requiem, Op. 45
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, Bernd Weikl
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 41)
HOLST The Planets
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Women of the London Philharmonic Choir
John Alldis, director
London
23rd Annual Grammy Awards (1980)
Best Classical Album (nom 42)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 43, win 16)
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 6 in A Major
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 44)
BARTÓK Bluebeard’s Castle
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kolos Kováts, Sylvia Sass, István Sztankay
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London
24th Annual Grammy Awards (1981)
Best Classical Album (nom 45, win 17)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 46, win 18)
MAHLER Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (Resurrection)
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Isobel Buchanan, Mira Zakai
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
25th Annual Grammy Awards (1982)
Best Classical Album (nom 47)
Best Choral Performance (other than opera) (nom 48, win 19)
BERLIOZ The Damnation of Faust, Op. 24
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Frederica von Stade, Kenneth Riegel, José van Dam, Malcolm King
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus
Doreen Rao, director
London
26th Annual Grammy Awards (1983)
Best Classical Album (nom 49, win 20)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 50, win 21)
MAHLER Symphony No. 9 in D Major
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 51, win 22)
MOZART The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, Lucia Popp, Frederica von Stade, Samuel Ramey, Thomas Allen, Kurt Moll
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Opera Chorus
London
This recording tied with the soundtrack for Verdi’s La traviata with James Levine conducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Teresa Stratas, Plácido Domingo, and Cornell MacNeil.
Best Choral Performance (other than opera) (nom 52, win 23)
HAYDN The Creation
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Norma Burrowes, Sylvia Greenberg, Rüdiger Wohlers, James Morris, Siegmund Nimsgern
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
27th Annual Grammy Awards (1984)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 53)
MAHLER Symphony No. 4 in G Minor
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, soprano
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
28th Annual Grammy Awards (1985)
Best Opera Recording (nom 54, win 24)
SCHOENBERG Moses und Aron
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Franz Mazura, Philip Langridge
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
29th Annual Grammy Awards (1986)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 55, win 25)
LISZT A Faust Symphony
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Siegfried Jerusalem, tenor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Men of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Classical Album (nom 56)
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 56 (Scottish)
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90 (Italian)
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 57)
VERDI Un ballo in maschera
Margaret Price, Kathleen Battle, Christa Ludwig, Luciano Pavarotti, Renato Bruson
National Philharmonic Orchestra
London Opera Chorus
Terry Edwards, director
Royal College of Music Junior Department Chorus
Vaughan Meakins, director
London
30th Annual Grammy Awards (1987)
Best Classical Album (nom 58)
Best Orchestral Recording (nom 59, win 26)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Jessye Norman, Reinhild Runkel, Robert Schunk, Hans Sotin
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 60)
MOZART The Abduction from the Seraglio, K. 384
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Edita Gruberová, Kathleen Battle, Gösta Winbergh, Heinz Zednik, Martti Talvela
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Concert Choir
Martha Heigl, director
London
31st Annual Grammy Awards (1988)
Best Classical Album (nom 61)
Best Opera Recording (nom 62, win 27)
WAGNER Lohengrin
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Jessye Norman, Eva Randová, Plácido Domingo, Siegmund Nimsgern, Hans Sotin, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Concert Choir
London
Best Chamber Music Performance (nom 63, win 28)
BARTÓK Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion
Sir Georg Solti and Murray Perahia, pianos
Evelyn Glennie and David Corkhill, percussion
CBS
Best Orchestral Recording (nom 64)
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 7 in E Major
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Choral Performance (other than opera) (nom 65)
BACH Saint Matthew Passion, BWV 244
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, Anne Sofie von Otter, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Hans Peter Blochwitz, Olaf Bär, Tom Krause
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
33rd Annual Grammy Awards
Best Orchestral Performance (nom 66)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
34th Annual Grammy Awards (1991)
Best Performance of a Choral Work (nom 67, win 29)
BACH Mass in B Minor, BWV 232
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Felicity Lott, Anne Sofie von Otter, Hans Peter Blochwitz, William Shimell, Gwynne Howell
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
35th Annual Grammy Awards (1992)
Best Classical Album (nom 68)
Best Opera Recording (nom 69, win 30)
STRAUSS Die Frau ohne Schatten
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Hildegard Behrens, Júlia Várady, Sumi Jo, Reinhild Runkel, Plácido Domingo, José van Dam
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Vienna Boys’ Choir
Helmuth Froschauer, director
40th Annual Grammy Awards (1997)
Best Classical Album (nom 70)
Best Opera Recording (nom 71, win 31)
WAGNER Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Karita Mattila, Iris Vermillion, Ben Heppner, Herbert Lippert, José van Dam, Alan Opie, René Pape
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 72)
MOZART Don Giovanni, K. 527
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Bryn Terfel, Renée Fleming, Ann Murray, Michele Pertusi, Herbert Lippert, Monica Groop, Robert Scaltriti, Mario Luperi
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Voices
Terry Edwards, director
London
41st Annual Grammy Awards (1998)
Best Classical Album (nom 73)
Best Choral Performance (nom 74)
BARTÓK Cantata profana
WEINER Serenade for Small Orchestra, Op. 3
KODÁLY Psalmus Hungaricus, Op. 13
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Tamás Daróczi, Alexandru Agache
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Choir of the Hungarian Radio and Television
Kálmán Strausz, director
Children’s Choir of Hungarian Radio and Television
Gabriella Thész, director
Schola Cantorum Budapestiensis
Tamás Bubnó, director
*A database of former Grammy Award winners can be found using the search function here; category titles have changed over the years. For opera recordings, only principal soloists are listed.
This article also appears here.
Georg Solti—who would serve as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s eighth music director from 1969 until 1991—received his first Grammy at the Recording Academy’s fifth awards ceremony in May 1963, for the RCA recording of Verdi’s Aida with Leontyne Price in the title role. Over the next two decades, he steadily increased his count, and at the 26th ceremony in February 1984, Solti received four awards, bringing his total to twenty-three and surpassing Henry Mancini’s record of twenty awards. Ultimately, Sir Georg would receive thirty-one awards—twenty-four with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus—and has continued to reign as the all-time Grammy champ for nearly forty years.
In addition, Solti and producer John Culshaw received the Academy’s first Trustees’ Award in 1967 for their “efforts, ingenuity, and artistic contributions” in connection with the first complete recording of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen with the Vienna Philharmonic. Sir Georg also received the Academy’s 1995 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Beyoncé and Quincy Jones currently tie for the number two slot with twenty-eight awards each, Alison Krauss has twenty-seven, and Pierre Boulez—former CSO conductor emeritus and principal guest conductor—is number four, with twenty-six Grammy awards, including eight with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
But keep an eye on Queen Bey . . . she goes into this Sunday’s Grammy Awards ceremony with nine nominations—including Album, Song, and Record of the year. If she receives three wins, she will tie with Sir Georg; if she takes home four or more, she will become the all-time champ. The 2023 Grammy Awards will air live on CBS on Sunday, February 5.
In the meantime, following is a complete list of Sir Georg Solti’s thirty-one Grammy awards and seventy-four nominations.*
5th Annual Grammy Awards (1962)
Best Opera Recording (nom 1, win 1)
VERDI Aida
Georg Solti, conductor
Leontyne Price, Rita Gorr, Jon Vickers, Robert Merrill, Giorgio Tozzi
Rome Opera House Orchestra
Rome Opera House Chorus
Giuseppe Conca, director
RCA
STRAUSS Salome
Best Opera Recording (nom 2)
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Gerhard Stolze, Grace Hoffman, Eberhard Wächter, Waldemar Kmentt
Vienna Philharmonic
London
6th Annual Grammy Awards (1963)
Best Opera Recording (nom 3)
WAGNER Siegfried
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, Hans Hotter, Gerhard Stolze, Gustav Neidlinger, Joan Sutherland
Vienna Philharmonic
London
7th Annual Grammy Awards (1964)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 4)
Best Opera Recording (nom 5)
VERDI Falstaff
Georg Solti, conductor
Geraint Evans, Giulieta Simionato, Ilva Ligabue, Robert Merrill, Mirella Freni, Alfredo Kraus, Rosalind Elias
RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra
RCA Italiana Opera Chorus
Nino Antonellini, director
RCA
8th Annual Grammy Awards (1965)
Best Opera Recording (nom 6)
WAGNER Götterdämmerung
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, Gottlob Frick, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Christa Ludwig, Claire Watson, Gustav Neidlinger
Vienna Philharmonic
Men of the Vienna State Opera Chorus
Wilhelm Pitz, director
London
9th Annual Grammy Awards (1966)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 7)
Best Opera Recording (nom 8, win 2)
WAGNER Die Walküre
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Régine Crespin, Christa Ludwig, James King, Hans Hotter, Gottlob Frick
Vienna Philharmonic
London
10th Annual Grammy Awards (1967)
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 9)
MAHLER Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (Resurrection)
Georg Solti, conductor
Heather Harper, Helen Watts
London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra Chorus
John Alldis, director
London
11th Annual Grammy Awards (1968)
Best Opera Recording (nom 10)
STRAUSS Elektra
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Marie Collier, Regina Resnik, Gerhard Stolze, Tom Krause
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
London
13th Annual Grammy Awards (1970)
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 11)
MAHLER Symphony No. 6 in A Minor
Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 12)
STRAUSS Der Rosenkavalier
Georg Solti, conductor
Régine Crespin, Yvonne Minton, Helen Donath, Luciano Pavarotti, Manfred Jungwirth
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
London
14th Annual Grammy Awards
Best Opera Recording (nom 13)
MOZART The Magic Flute, K. 620
Georg Solti, conductor
Pilar Lorengar, Christina Deutekom, Stuart Burrows, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hermann Prey, Martti Talvela
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
London
15th Annual Grammy Awards (1972)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 14, win 3)
Best Choral Performance–Classical (other than opera) (nom 15, win 4)
MAHLER Symphony No. 8 in E-flat Major
Georg Solti, conductor
Heather Harper, Lucia Popp, Arleen Augér, Yvonne Minton, Helen Watts, René Kollo, John Shirley-Quirk, Martti Talvela
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Singverein Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
Vienna Boys’ Choir
Helmut Froschauer, director
London
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 16, win 5)
MAHLER Symphony No. 7 in E Minor
Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 17)
Best Opera Recording (nom 18)
WAGNER Tannhäuser
Georg Solti, conductor
René Kollo, Christa Ludwig, Hans Sotin, Helga Dernesch
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
Vienna Boys’ Choir
Wilhelm Pitz, director
London
16th Annual Grammy Awards (1973)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 19)
BEETHOVEN Piano Concertos
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 19
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 (Emperor)
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
London
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 20)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Pilar Lorengar, Yvonne Minton, Stuart Burrows, Martti Talvela
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 21)
WAGNER Parsifal
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
René Kollo, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hans Hotter, Gottlob Frick, Zoltán Kélémen, Christa Ludwig
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
Vienna Boys’ Choir
Anton Neyder, director
London
17th Annual Grammy Awards (1974)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 22, win 6)
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 23, win 7)
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 24, win 8)
PUCCINI La bohème
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Montserrat Caballé, Judith Blegen, Plácido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, Vicente Sardinero, Ruggero Raimondi
London Philharmonic Orchestra
John Alldis Choir
John Alldis, director
Wandsworth School Boys’ Choir
Russell Burgess, director
RCA
Best Opera Recording (nom 25)
MOZART Così fan tutte, K. 588
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Ryland Davies, Tom Krause, Gabriel Bacquier, Pilar Lorengar, Teresa Berganza, Jane Berbié
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Opera House Chorus
Douglas Robinson, director
London
18th Annual Grammy Awards (1975)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom, 26, win 9)
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 27)
Beethoven’s Symphonies
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 in E flat Major, Op. 55 (Eroica)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 4 in B flat Major, Op. 60
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 (Pastoral)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125
BEETHOVEN Overture to Egmont, Op. 84
BEETHOVEN Overture to Coriolan, Op. 62
BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72b
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Pilar Lorengar, Yvonne Minton, Stuart Burrows, Martti Talvela
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
19th Annual Grammy Awards (1976)
Best Classical Orchestral Performance (nom 28, win 10)
STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 29)
Best Opera Recording (nom 30)
BIZET Carmen
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Tatiana Troyanos, Kiri Te Kanawa, Plácido Domingo, José van Dam
London Philharmonic Orchestra
John Alldis Choir
John Alldis, director
Boys’ Chorus from Haberdashers’ Aske’s School, Elstree
Alan Taylor and Jean Povey, directors
London
Best Classical Orchestral Performance (nom 31)
ELGAR Symphony No. 2 in E-flat Major
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London
20th Annual Grammy Awards (1977)
Best Choral Performance (other than opera) (nom 32, win 11)
VERDI Messa da Requiem
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Leontyne Price, Janet Baker, Veriano Luchetti, José van Dam
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
RCA
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 33)
DEBUSSY Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun and La mer
RAVEL Boléro
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Classical Orchestral Performance (nom 34)
RAVEL Boléro
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 35)
WAGNER The Flying Dutchman
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Norman Bailey, Martti Talvela, Janis Martin, René Kollo
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Men of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
21st Annual Grammy Awards (1978)
Best Choral Performance, Classical (other than opera) (nom 36, win 12)
BEETHOVEN Missa solemnis in D Major, Op. 123
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Lucia Popp, Yvonne Minton, Mallory Walker, Gwynne Howell
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Choral Performance, Classical (other than opera) (nom 37)
WALTON Belshazzar’s Feast
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Benjamin Luxon, baritone
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Philharmonic Choir
John Alldis, director
London
22nd Annual Grammy Awards (1979)
Best Classical Album (nom 38, win 13)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 39, win 14)
Brahms’s Symphonies
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68
BRAHMS Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98
BRAHMS Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
BRAHMS Tragic Overture, Op. 81
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Choral Performance, Classical (other than opera) (nom 40, win 15)
BRAHMS A German Requiem, Op. 45
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, Bernd Weikl
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 41)
HOLST The Planets
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Women of the London Philharmonic Choir
John Alldis, director
London
23rd Annual Grammy Awards (1980)
Best Classical Album (nom 42)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 43, win 16)
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 6 in A Major
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 44)
BARTÓK Bluebeard’s Castle
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kolos Kováts, Sylvia Sass, István Sztankay
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London
24th Annual Grammy Awards (1981)
Best Classical Album (nom 45, win 17)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 46, win 18)
MAHLER Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (Resurrection)
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Isobel Buchanan, Mira Zakai
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
25th Annual Grammy Awards (1982)
Best Classical Album (nom 47)
Best Choral Performance (other than opera) (nom 48, win 19)
BERLIOZ The Damnation of Faust, Op. 24
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Frederica von Stade, Kenneth Riegel, José van Dam, Malcolm King
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus
Doreen Rao, director
London
26th Annual Grammy Awards (1983)
Best Classical Album (nom 49, win 20)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 50, win 21)
MAHLER Symphony No. 9 in D Major
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 51, win 22)
MOZART The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, Lucia Popp, Frederica von Stade, Samuel Ramey, Thomas Allen, Kurt Moll
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Opera Chorus
London
This recording tied with the soundtrack for Verdi’s La traviata with James Levine conducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Teresa Stratas, Plácido Domingo, and Cornell MacNeil.
Best Choral Performance (other than opera) (nom 52, win 23)
HAYDN The Creation
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Norma Burrowes, Sylvia Greenberg, Rüdiger Wohlers, James Morris, Siegmund Nimsgern
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
27th Annual Grammy Awards (1984)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 53)
MAHLER Symphony No. 4 in G Minor
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, soprano
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
28th Annual Grammy Awards (1985)
Best Opera Recording (nom 54, win 24)
SCHOENBERG Moses und Aron
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Franz Mazura, Philip Langridge
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
29th Annual Grammy Awards (1986)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 55, win 25)
LISZT A Faust Symphony
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Siegfried Jerusalem, tenor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Men of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Classical Album (nom 56)
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 56 (Scottish)
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90 (Italian)
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 57)
VERDI Un ballo in maschera
Margaret Price, Kathleen Battle, Christa Ludwig, Luciano Pavarotti, Renato Bruson
National Philharmonic Orchestra
London Opera Chorus
Terry Edwards, director
Royal College of Music Junior Department Chorus
Vaughan Meakins, director
London
30th Annual Grammy Awards (1987)
Best Classical Album (nom 58)
Best Orchestral Recording (nom 59, win 26)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Jessye Norman, Reinhild Runkel, Robert Schunk, Hans Sotin
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 60)
MOZART The Abduction from the Seraglio, K. 384
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Edita Gruberová, Kathleen Battle, Gösta Winbergh, Heinz Zednik, Martti Talvela
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Concert Choir
Martha Heigl, director
London
31st Annual Grammy Awards (1988)
Best Classical Album (nom 61)
Best Opera Recording (nom 62, win 27)
WAGNER Lohengrin
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Jessye Norman, Eva Randová, Plácido Domingo, Siegmund Nimsgern, Hans Sotin, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Concert Choir
London
Best Chamber Music Performance (nom 63, win 28)
BARTÓK Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion
Sir Georg Solti and Murray Perahia, pianos
Evelyn Glennie and David Corkhill, percussion
CBS
Best Orchestral Recording (nom 64)
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 7 in E Major
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Choral Performance (other than opera) (nom 65)
BACH Saint Matthew Passion, BWV 244
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, Anne Sofie von Otter, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Hans Peter Blochwitz, Olaf Bär, Tom Krause
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
33rd Annual Grammy Awards
Best Orchestral Performance (nom 66)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
34th Annual Grammy Awards (1991)
Best Performance of a Choral Work (nom 67, win 29)
BACH Mass in B Minor, BWV 232
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Felicity Lott, Anne Sofie von Otter, Hans Peter Blochwitz, William Shimell, Gwynne Howell
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
35th Annual Grammy Awards (1992)
Best Classical Album (nom 68)
Best Opera Recording (nom 69, win 30)
STRAUSS Die Frau ohne Schatten
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Hildegard Behrens, Júlia Várady, Sumi Jo, Reinhild Runkel, Plácido Domingo, José van Dam
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Vienna Boys’ Choir
Helmuth Froschauer, director
40th Annual Grammy Awards (1997)
Best Classical Album (nom 70)
Best Opera Recording (nom 71, win 31)
WAGNER Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Karita Mattila, Iris Vermillion, Ben Heppner, Herbert Lippert, José van Dam, Alan Opie, René Pape
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 72)
MOZART Don Giovanni, K. 527
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Bryn Terfel, Renée Fleming, Ann Murray, Michele Pertusi, Herbert Lippert, Monica Groop, Robert Scaltriti, Mario Luperi
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Voices
Terry Edwards, director
London
41st Annual Grammy Awards (1998)
Best Classical Album (nom 73)
Best Choral Performance (nom 74)
BARTÓK Cantata profana
WEINER Serenade for Small Orchestra, Op. 3
KODÁLY Psalmus Hungaricus, Op. 13
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Tamás Daróczi, Alexandru Agache
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Choir of the Hungarian Radio and Television
Kálmán Strausz, director
Children’s Choir of Hungarian Radio and Television
Gabriella Thész, director
Schola Cantorum Budapestiensis
Tamás Bubnó, director
*A database of former Grammy Award winners can be found using the search function here; category titles have changed over the years. For opera recordings, only principal soloists are listed.
This article also appears here.
Under the leadership of chorus directors Margaret Hillis and Duain Wolfe, the Chicago Symphony Chorus has won ten Grammy awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in the category of Best Choral Performance.*
Recordings have been led by music directors Sir Georg Solti and Riccardo Muti, principal guest conductor Pierre Boulez, and Ravinia Festival music director James Levine on RCA, London, Deutsche Grammophon, and CSO Resound.
1977 – Best Choral Performance–Classical
VERDI Requiem
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Leontyne Price, soprano
Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano
Veriano Luchetti, tenor
José van Dam, bass-baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Recorded in Medinah Temple on June 1 and 2, 1977, for RCA
Thomas Z. Shepard, producer
Paul Goodman, recording engineer
1978 – Best Choral Performance–Classical
BEETHOVEN Missa solemnis in D Major, Op. 123
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Victor Aitay, violin
Lucia Popp, soprano
Yvonne Minton, mezzo-soprano
Mallory Walker, tenor
Gwynne Howell, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Recorded in Medinah Temple on May 16, 17, and 18, 1977, for London
Ray Minshull, producer
Kenneth Wilkinson, John Dunkerley, and Michael Mailes, balance engineers
1979 – Best Choral Performance–Classical
BRAHMS A German Requiem, Op. 45
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, soprano
Bernd Weikl, baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Recorded in Medinah Temple on May 15 and 16, 1978, for London
James Mallinson, recording producer
Kenneth Wilkinson and Colin Moorfoot, balance engineers
1982 – Best Choral Performance–Classical
BERLIOZ The Damnation of Faust, Op. 24
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano
Kenneth Riegel, tenor
José van Dam, bass-baritone
Malcolm King, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Recorded in Medinah Temple on May 4, 5, 6, and 7, 1981, for London
James Mallinson, recording producer
James Lock and Simon Eadon, balance engineers
1983 – Best Choral Performance
HAYDN The Creation
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Sylvia Greenberg, soprano
Norma Burrowes, soprano
Rudiger Wohlers, tenor
James Morris, bass-baritone
Siegmund Nimsgern, bass
David Schrader, harpsichord
Frank Miller, cello
Joseph Guastafeste, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall on November 9, 10, and 11, 1981, for London
Paul Myers, recording producer
James Lock and John Dunkerley, balance engineers
1984 – Best Choral Performance
BRAHMS A German Requiem, Op. 45
James Levine, conductor
Kathleen Battle, soprano
Håkan Hagegård, baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall on July 5 and 6, 1983, for RCA
Thomas Z. Shepard, producer
Paul Goodman, recording engineer
John Newton and Thomas MacCluskey, engineers
1986 – Best Choral Performance
ORFF Carmina burana
James Levine, conductor
June Anderson, soprano
Philip Creech, tenor
Bernd Weikl, baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall on July 9 and 10, 1984, for Deutsche Grammophon
Steven Paul, producer
Cord Garben, recording supervisor
Klaus Scheibe, recording engineer
Jürgen Bulgrin, editing
1991 – Best Performance of a Choral Work
BACH Mass in B Minor, BWV 232
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Felicity Lott, soprano
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano
Hans Peter Blochwitz, tenor
William Shimmell, baritone
Gwynne Howell, bass
Richard Webster, organ
John Sharp, cello
Willard Elliot, bassoon
Joseph Guastafeste, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall on January 25, 26, and 28, 1990, for London
Michael Haas, recording producer
Stanley Goodall and Simon Eadon, balance engineers
1993 – Best Performance of a Choral Work
BARTÓK Cantata profana
Pierre Boulez, conductor
John Aler, tenor
John Tomlinson, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall on December 16, 1991, for Deutsche Grammophon
Alison Ames, executive producer
Karl-August Naegler, recording producer
Rainer Maillard, balance engineer
Oliver Rosalla, editing
2010 – Best Choral Performance
VERDI Messa da Requiem
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Barbara Frittoli, soprano
Olga Borodina, mezzo-soprano
Mario Zeffiri, tenor
Ildar Abdrazakov, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall on January 15, 16, and 17, 2009, for CSO Resound
Christopher Alder, producer
Christopher Willis, recording engineer
David Frost and Tom Lazarus, mixing
Silas Brown and David Frost, stereo mastering
*The name of the category has changed slightly over the years; see here for details.
Today we send all best wishes for a very happy ninetieth birthday to the legendary soprano, Leontyne Price! Several excellent tributes have been written (here, here, and here, among many others) to recognize her extraordinary and groundbreaking career as an artist—in opera, concert, and on recording.
Price has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions, at Orchestra Hall, the Ravinia Festival, Carnegie Hall, and the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, as follows:
February 28 and March 1, 1963 (Orchestra Hall)
BERLIOZ Les nuits d’été, Op. 7
FALLA El amor brujo
Fritz Reiner, conductor
March 13, 1971 (Orchestra Hall)
March 15, 1971 (Pabst Theater)
BARBER “Give me my robe” from Antony and Cleopatra
MOZART “Dove sono” from Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492
STRAUSS Four Last Songs
Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
April 24 and 26, 1975 (Orchestra Hall)
April 30, 1975 (Carnegie Hall)
VERDI Requiem
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Leontyne Price, soprano
Yvonne Minton, mezzo-soprano
Luciano Pavarotti, tenor
Gwynne Howell, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
July 11, 1975 (Ravinia Festival)
PUCCINI “Un bel di vedremo” from Madama Butterfly
VERDI “Ernani! Ernani, involami” from Ernani
MOZART “D’Oreste, d’Ajace” from Idomeneo, K. 366
STRAUSS “Zweite Brautnacht” from Die ägyptische Helena
James Levine, conductor
Proof sheet detail from recording sessions for Verdi’s Requiem at Medinah Temple in June 1977 (Robert M. Lightfoot III photo)
July 2, 1976 (Ravinia Festival)
PUCCINI “Senza mamma” from Suor Angelica
PUCCINI “Vissi d’arte” from Tosca
VERDI “Pace, pace, mio Dio” from La forza del destino
MOZART “Come scoglio” from Così fan tutte, K. 588
WAGNER “Dich, teure Halle” from Tannhäuser
James Levine, conductor
May 31, 1977 (Orchestra Hall)
VERDI Requiem
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Leontyne Price, soprano
Dame Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano
Veriano Luchetti, tenor
José van Dam, bass-baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
June 22, 1979 (Ravinia Festival)
VERDI La forza del destino
James Levine, conductor
Leontyne Price, soprano
Isola Jones, mezzo-soprano
Sharon Graham, mezzo-soprano
Giuseppe Giacomini, tenor
Andrea Velis, tenor
Cornell MacNeil, baritone
Renato Capecchi, baritone
Carl Glaum, baritone
Bonaldo Giaiotti, bass
Julien Robbins, bass
Daniel McConnell, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Price onstage with Solti and the Orchestra at Carnegie Hall on April 29, 1980 (Robert M. Lightfoot III photo)
April 29, 1980 (Carnegie Hall)
WAGNER “Dich, teure Halle” from Tannhäuser
WAGNER Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
July 13, 1985 (Ravinia Festival)
PUCCINI “Vissi d’arte” from Tosca
PUCCINI “Chi il bel sogno di Doretta” from La rondine
VERDI “Ernani! Ernani, involami” from Ernani
VERDI “D’amor sull’ali rosee” from Il trovatore
WAGNER Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
STRAUSS Final Scene from Salome
James Levine, conductor
Advance notice for Price’s 1963 debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Price also recorded with the Orchestra—including two Grammy Award winners—as follows:
BERLIOZ Les nuits d’été, Op. 7
FALLA El amor brujo
Fritz Reiner, conductor
Recorded on March 2 and 3, 1963 in Orchestra Hall by RCA
Richard Mohr produced the recording, and Lewis Layton was the engineer. The recording won the 1964 Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance–Vocal Soloist (with or without orchestra) from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
VERDI Requiem
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Leontyne Price, soprano
Dame Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano
Veriano Luchetti, tenor
José van Dam, bass-baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Recorded on June 1 and 2, 1977, in Medinah Temple by RCA
Thomas Z. Shepard produced the recording, and Paul Goodman was the engineer. The recording won the 1977 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance (other than opera).
WAGNER “Dich teure Halle” from Tannhäuser
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Recorded by WFMT on April 29, 1980, in Carnegie Hall
Released on Chicago Symphony Orchestra: The First 100 Years during the Orchestra’s centennial season in April 1991
Under the auspices of Allied Arts and CSO Presents, Price also gave numerous recitals in Orchestra Hall on the following dates:
- May 6, 1956
- April 7, 1957
- December 6, 1958
- May 30, 1962
- February 3, 1963
- February 1, 1970
- February 27, 1972
- April 4, 1976
- January 29, 1984
- November 11, 1990
- April 24, 1994
- February 16, 1997
Happy, happy birthday!
Portions of this article previously appeared here.
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On February 28 and March 1, 1963, soprano Leontyne Price made her debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Berlioz’s Les nuits d’été and Falla’s El amor brujo with Fritz Reiner conducting. On March 4, both works were recorded by RCA and the subsequent release won a Grammy for Best Classical Performance–Vocal Soloist.
“The Reiner sound,” wrote Claudia Cassidy in the Chicago Tribune, “is not whetted merely to cut with a special clarity, but to set off a Berlioz sound somewhere between a shimmer and trill, a sound that can strike you right in the back of the neck and take possession of the spine. When the Orchestra is honed to peak performance, that is what happens in Reiner’s Berlioz. I had not realized in advance that precisely the same thing would happen to Miss Price’s Nuits d’été.”
For more than twenty years, Price returned and performed with the Orchestra on several occasions—at the Ravinia Festival, Carnegie Hall, and Orchestra Hall—with Carlo Maria Giulini, James Levine, and Sir Georg Solti.
February 28 and March 1, 1963
On May 31, 1977, Price was soloist with Solti and the Orchestra in Verdi’s Requiem on a special concert benefiting the musicians’ pension fund. The other soloists included Dame Janet Baker, Veriano Luchetti, and José van Dam, and the Chicago Symphony Chorus was prepared by Margaret Hillis. The following week, the work was recorded by RCA in Medinah Temple; the release received a Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance (other than opera), Hillis and the Chorus’s first win in that category.
With the Orchestra, Price also appeared at the Ravinia Festival under Levine in a complete performance of Verdi’s La forza del destino on June 22, 1979, and at Carnegie Hall with Solti in arias from Wagner’s Tannhäuser and Tristan and Isolde on April 29, 1980. She most recently was soloist with the Orchestra and Levine at Ravinia in a concert of opera arias by Puccini, Strauss, Verdi, and Wagner on July 13, 1985.
This article also appears here.
Wishing a very happy eightieth birthday to the remarkable mezzo-soprano, Dame Janet Baker. Several excellent tributes have been written (here and here, among many others) to recognize her extraordinary career as an artist—in opera, concert, and on recording.
Janet Baker recording Verdi’s Requiem with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Medinah Temple in June 1977
Dame Janet appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on four occasions, all at Orchestra Hall:
January 15, 16, and 18, 1976
BERLIOZ Les nuits d’été
Sir Georg Solti, conductor (January 15 and 16)
Henry Mazer, conductor (January 18)
May 31, 1977
VERDI Requiem
Leontyne Price, soprano
Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano
Veriano Luchetti, tenor
José van Dam, bass-baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
April 20, 21, and 22, 1978
RAVEL Shéhérazade
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
May 3, 4, and 6, 1984
ELGAR Sea Pictures, Op. 37
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Of course, the 1977 interpretation of Verdi’s Requiem was recorded by RCA in Medinah Temple on June 1 and 2. Thomas Z. Shepard produced the recording, and Paul Goodman was the engineer (this was one of the few records Solti made independent of London/Decca). The recording won the 1977 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance (other than opera) from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
One of Dame Janet’s signature works—and the vehicle for her CSO debut—was Berlioz’s Les nuits d’été. Here’s the second song from the cycle (“Le spectre de la rose”) from a March 1972 concert conducted by Herbert Blomstedt.
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Solti leading a Verdi Requiem recording session at Medinah Temple in June 1977
Sir Georg Solti twice led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Verdi’s Requiem, with concerts in Orchestra Hall and Carnegie Hall.
April 24 and 26, 1975, at Orchestra Hall (special non-subscription concerts)
April 30, 1975, at Carnegie Hall
Leontyne Price, soprano
Yvonne Minton, mezzo-soprano
Luciano Pavarotti, tenor
Gwynne Howell, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
May 31, 1977, at Orchestra Hall (Musicians’ Pension Fund concert)
Leontyne Price, soprano
Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano
Veriano Luchetti, tenor
José van Dam, bass-baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
The work was recorded in Medinah Temple on June 1 and 2, 1977.
John Warrack‘s review in Gramophone magazine noted: “Much credit for bringing four strong and distinctive artists into a unified performance, of distinctive character, clearly resides with Solti. Either he now takes a less hectic, more consolatory view of the work, or he has let the quality of his soloists make this the shaping element of the performance. He is fortunate in an outstanding choir and orchestra, and in a recording that encompasses all the vehemence of the ‘Dies irae’ and also the cool sound of the three flutes accompanying Dame Janet’s beautiful singing of the ‘Agnus Dei’, without any sense of a change of perspective.
“There are sections where he has allowed the choir to let vehemence do duty for real emphasis—a case in point is the ‘Te decet hymnus’—and the renewal of the main ‘Dies irae’ theme has a slight note of an automatic return to a sensational moment, rather than a re-intensification of the moment of Judgement.
“But this is a fine performance, and one which can stand beside any which has been recorded. To choose between this and the Giulini performance listed above is not really reasonable: Giulini has qualities which are unique, and close to the heart of the work; Solti has his own qualities, and is favoured with at least two incomparable performances among his soloists. We are fortunate to have both interpretations recorded.”
(Warrack refers to Carlo Maria Giulini‘s 1964 recording of Verdi’s Requiem on Angel with the Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra. The soloists were Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Christa Ludwig, Nicolai Gedda, and Nicolai Ghiaurov. Solti also recorded the Requiem in November 1967 for London Records with the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera Chorus. Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Luciano Pavarotti, and Martti Talvela were the soloists.)
Thomas Z. Shepard produced the recording, and Paul Goodman was the engineer for RCA (this was one of the few records Solti made independent of London/Decca). The recording won the 1977 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance (other than opera) from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
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Solti and Margaret Hillis show off their 1986 Grammy Awards for Liszt’s Faust Symphony and Orff’s Carmina burana.
Sir Georg Solti won thirty-one Grammy Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences—more than any other recording artist. Twenty-four of those awards were with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. In addition, 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 Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen with the Vienna Philharmonic. Sir Georg also received the Academy’s 1995 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Alison Krauss and Quincy Jones tie for the number two slot with twenty-seven awards each, and Pierre Boulez—CSO conductor emeritus and former principal guest conductor—is number three, with twenty-six Grammy Awards, including eight with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
Following is a complete list of Sir Georg Solti’s Grammy Awards.*
1962
Best Opera Recording (1)
VERDI Aida
Georg Solti, conductor
Leontyne Price, Rita Gorr, Jon Vickers, Robert Merrill, Giorgio Tozzi
Rome Opera House Orchestra and Chorus
RCA
1966
Best Opera Recording (2)
WAGNER Die Walküre
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Régine Crespin, Christa Ludwig, James King, Hans Hotter, Gottlob Frick
Vienna Philharmonic
London
1972
Album of the Year—Classical (3)
Best Choral Performance—Classical (other than opera) (4)
MAHLER Symphony No. 8 in E-flat Major
Georg Solti, conductor
Heather Harper, Lucia Popp, Arleen Augér, Yvonne Minton, Helen Watts, René Kollo, John Shirley-Quirk, Martti Talvela
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chorus of the Vienna State Opera
Singverein Chorus
Vienna Boys’ Choir
Norbert Balatsch and Helmut Froschauer, chorus masters
David Harvey, producer
London
1972
Best Classical Performance—Orchestra (5)
MAHLER Symphony No. 7 in E Minor
Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
1974
Album of the Year—Classical (6)
Best Classical Performance—Orchestra (7)
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
David Harvey, producer
London
1974
Best Opera Recording (8)
PUCCINI La bohème
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Montserrat Caballé, Judith Blegen, Plácido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, Vicente Sardinero, Ruggero Raimondi
London Philharmonic Orchestra
John Alldis Choir
Wandsworth School Boys’ Choir
RCA
1975
Album of the Year—Classical (9)
Beethoven’s Complete Symphonies
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 in E flat Major, Op. 55 (Eroica)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 4 in B flat Major, Op. 60
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 (Pastoral)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125
BEETHOVEN Overture to Egmont, Op. 84
BEETHOVEN Overture to Coriolan, Op. 62
BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72b
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Pilar Lorengar, Yvonne Minton, Stuart Burrows, Martti Talvela
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Ray Minshull and David Harvey, producers
London
1976
Best Classical Orchestral Performance (10)
STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Ray Minshull, producer
London
1977
Best Choral Performance (other than opera) (11)
VERDI Requiem
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Leontyne Price, Janet Baker, Veriano Luchetti, José van Dam
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
RCA
1978
Best Choral Performance, Classical (other than opera) (12)
BEETHOVEN Missa solemnis in D Major, Op. 123
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Lucia Popp, Yvonne Minton, Mallory Walker, Gwynne Howell
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
1979
Best Classical Album (13)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (14)
Brahms’s Complete Symphonies
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68
BRAHMS Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98
BRAHMS Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
BRAHMS Tragic Overture, Op. 81
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
James Mallinson, producer
London
1979
Best Choral Performance, Classical (other than opera) (15)
BRAHMS Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, Bernd Weikl
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
1980
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (16)
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 6 in A Major
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Ray Minshull, producer
London
1981
Best Classical Album (17)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (18)
MAHLER Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (Resurrection)
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Isobel Buchanan, Mira Zakai
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
James Mallinson, producer
London
1982
Best Choral Performance (other than opera) (19)
BERLIOZ La Damnation de Faust, Op. 24
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Frederica von Stade, Kenneth Riegel, José van Dam, Malcolm King
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus
Doreen Rao, director
London
1983
Best Classical Album (20)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (21)
MAHLER Symphony No. 9 in D Major
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
James Mallinson, producer
London
1983
Best Opera Recording (22)
MOZART Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, Lucia Popp, Frederica von Stade, Samuel Ramey, Thomas Allen, Kurt Moll
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Opera Chorus
Christopher Raeburn, producer
London
This recording actually tied with the soundtrack for Verdi’s La traviata with James Levine conducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; principal soloists Teresa Stratas, Plácido Domingo, and Cornell MacNeil.
1983
Best Choral Performance (other than opera) (23)
HAYDN The Creation
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Norma Burrowes, Sylvia Greenberg, Rüdiger Wohlers, James Morris, Siegmund Nimsgern
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
1985
Best Opera Recording (24)
SCHOENBERG Moses und Aron
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Franz Mazura, Philip Langridge
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
James Mallinson, producer
London
1986
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (25)
LISZT A Faust Symphony
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Siegfried Jerusalem
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Men of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Michael Haas, producer
London
1987
Best Orchestral Recording (26)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Jessye Norman, Reinhild Runkel, Robert Schunk, Hans Sotin
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Michael Haas, producer
London
1988
Best Opera Recording (27)
WAGNER Lohengrin
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Jessye Norman, Eva Randová, Plácido Domingo, Siegmund Nimsgern, Hans Sotin, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Christopher Raeburn, producer
London
1988
Best Chamber Music Performance (28)
BARTÓK Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion
Sir Georg Solti and Murray Perahia, pianos
Evelyn Glennie and David Corkhill, percussion
CBS
1991
Best Performance of a Choral Work (29)
BACH Mass in B Minor, BWV 232
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Felicity Lott, Anne Sofie von Otter, Hans Peter Blochwitz, William Shimell, Gwynne Howell
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
1992
Best Opera Recording (30)
STRAUSS Die Frau ohne Schatten
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Hildegard Behrens, Júlia Várady, Sumi Jo, Reinhild Runkel, Plácido Domingo, José van Dam
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Vienna Boys’ Choir
Christopher Raeburn, Morten Winding, and Stephen Trainor, producers
1997
Best Opera Recording (31)
WAGNER Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Karita Mattila, Iris Vermillion, Ben Heppner, Herbert Lippert, José van Dam, Alan Opie, René Pape
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Michael Woolcock, producer
*A database of former Grammy Award winners can be found here; category titles have changed over the years. For opera recordings, only principal soloists are listed.
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