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Wishing a very happy eightieth birthday to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s ninth music director, Daniel Barenboim!
Barenboim’s history in Chicago began on January 19, 1958, when the fifteen-year-old pianist first performed a solo recital in Orchestra Hall. When he returned that fall for a second engagement, he attended his first CSO concert, which included sixth music director Fritz Reiner leading Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben. In his autobiography A Life in Music, Barenboim recounted that, “nothing I had heard in Europe or elsewhere had prepared me for the shock of the precision, the volume, and the intensity of the Chicago orchestra. It was like a perfect machine with a beating human heart.”
In June 1965, Barenboim made his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival in Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto with André Previn, and in February 1969, he first appeared with the Orchestra in Orchestra Hall in Bartók’s First Piano Concerto with Pierre Boulez. He first conducted the Orchestra in November 1970 at Michigan State University, and the first work on the program was Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with Jacqueline du Pré; a week later, they recorded it in Medinah Temple. Over the next two decades, Barenboim regularly appeared with the Orchestra, as a guest conductor—in Orchestra Hall, on tour, and in the recording studio—and piano soloist.
In January 1989, it was announced that Daniel Barenboim would succeed Sir Georg Solti to become the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s ninth music director, beginning with the 1991-92 season. His music directorship was distinguished by the opening of Chicago’s new Symphony Center in 1997, operatic productions in Orchestra Hall, appearances with the Orchestra in the dual role of pianist and conductor, and numerous international tours (see here, here, here, and here). Barenboim continued the cultivation of the composer-in-residence program and led the CSO in more than 30 world and U.S. premieres. In 1994, he appointed Duain Wolfe as director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, succeeding founding director Margaret Hillis, and he collaborated with the Civic Orchestra, including leading the ensemble’s debut at Carnegie Hall in March 2000.
Barenboim amassed an extensive discography with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (see here, here, here, and here), including works by Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Falla, Mahler, Rimsky-Korsakov, Schumann, Richard Strauss, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner; and concertos with Jacqueline du Pré, Lang Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Maxim Vengerov, Pinchas Zukerman, and several members of the Orchestra.
As a piano recitalist and chamber musician, Barenboim collaborated with an extraordinary roster of instrumentalists and singers in Orchestra Hall. He performed a dizzying array of repertoire, including Albéniz’s Iberia; Bach’s Goldberg Variations and The Well-Tempered Clavier (books 1 and 2); Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion; Beethoven’s sonatas for violin and cello; Berg’s Chamber Concerto for Piano, Violin and Thirteen Wind Instruments; Brahms’ cello sonatas; Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time; Mozart’s violin sonatas; and song cycles by Mahler, Schubert, Schumann, Wagner, and Wolf; along with countless piano works by Chopin, Debussy, Liszt, Schoenberg, and Schubert, among others.
In May and June 2006, during his final residency as music director, Barenboim led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a number of valedictory works, including Carter’s Soundings; Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 27 (conducting from the keyboard); the final act of Wagner’s Parsifal; and the ninth symphonies of Beethoven, Bruckner, and Mahler. He most recently appeared with the Orchestra in November 2018, leading Smetana’s Má vlast.
Happy birthday, maestro!
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Wishing a very happy seventy-fifth birthday to legendary Israeli-American violinist, conductor, and teacher Itzhak Perlman!
A frequent and favorite guest artist in Chicago, Perlman has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as both violin soloist and conductor on numerous occasions.
Perlman made his Chicago debut as soloist with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra on July 24 and 25, 1965, in Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto under the baton of Irwin Hoffman, and he first appeared locally in recital later that year on November 27 at KAM Isaiah Israel, performing Bloch, Brahms, Chausson, Mozart, Paganini, Sarasate, and Vivaldi with David Garvey at the piano.
He first appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival on August 4, 1966 (a few weeks shy of his twenty-first birthday), in Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with Thomas Schippers conducting. In Orchestra Hall, he first appeared under the auspices of Allied Arts with members of the CSO on an all-Stravinsky concert, in the Violin Concerto in D under the baton of Robert Craft.
As a conductor, Perlman first led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival on July 25, 1999, in Bach’s Second Violin Concerto and Beethoven’s First Romance for Violin (also performing as soloist), along with Schubert’s Overture to Rosamunde and Brahms’s Fourth Symphony. He has led the Orchestra at Orchestra Hall on one occasion, on November 17, 2008, in Bach’s First Violin Concerto (also performing as soloist), Mozart’s Symphony no. 35, and Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. Most recently, he conducted the Orchestra in an all-Tchaikovsky program at the Ravinia Festival on August 18, 2019, leading the Fourth Symphony, Variations on a Rococo Theme with Kian Soltani, and the 1812 Overture.
A complete list of Perlman’s appearances is below:
August 4, 1966, Ravinia Festival
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35
Thomas Schippers, conductor
May 11 and 12, 1967, Orchestra Hall
PROKOFIEV Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 63
Jean Martinon, conductor
Itzhak Perlman (Lisa Marie Mazzucco photo)
July 6, 1967, Ravinia Festival
WIENIAWSKI Violin Concerto No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 22
Sir Malcolm Sargent, conductor
July 30, 1968, Ravinia Festival
PAGANINI Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 6
Moshe Atzmon, conductor
July 24, 1969, Ravinia Festival
BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61
István Kertész, conductor
April 16, 17, and 18, 1970, Orchestra Hall
BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, conductor
July 30, 1970, Ravinia Festival
BRAHMS Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77
Lawrence Foster, conductor
July 27, 1971, Ravinia Festival
DVOŘÁK Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 53
István Kertész, conductor
July 25, 1972, Ravinia Festial
LALO Symphonie espagnole in D Minor, Op. 21
Lawrence Foster, conductor
July 13, 1973, Ravinia Festival
BERG Violin Concerto
SAINT-SAËNS Introduction and Rondo capriccioso in A Minor, Op. 28
James Levine, conductor
May 8, 9, and 10, 1975, Orchestra Hall
BACH Concerto for Oboe and Violin in C Minor, BWV 1060
Ray Still, oboe
BRAHMS Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
November 24, 26, and 28, 1976, Orchestra Hall
MOZART Violin Concerto No. 4 in D Major, K. 218
Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
November 29, 1976, Mandel Hall, University of Chicago
BRAHMS Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77
Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
Recorded in Medinah Temple on November 30 and December 1, 1976. For Angel, Christopher Bishop was the producer and and Christopher Parker was the balance engineer. The recording won the 1978 Grammy Award for Best Classical Album from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
July 28, 1977, Ravinia Festival
BRAHMS Concerto for Violin and Cello in A Minor, Op. 102 (Double)
Lynn Harrell, cello
MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64
James Levine, conductor
November 16, 17, and 18, 1978, Orchestra Hall
BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61
Edo de Waart, conductor
March 23, and 24, 1981, Orchestra Hall (recording sessions only)
ELGAR Violin Concerto in B Minor, Op. 61
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
For Deutsche Grammophon, Steven Paul was the producer, Werner Mayer was the recording supervisor, Klaus Scheibe was the recording engineer, and Christopher Adler and Joachim Niss were editors. The recording won the 1982 Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance–Instrumental Soloist or Soloists (with orchestra).
October 29, 30, and 31, 1981, Orchestra Hall
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
March 1, 2, and 3, 1984, Orchestra Hall
ELGAR Violin Concerto in B Minor, Op. 61
Leonard Slatkin, conductor
August 7, 1986, Ravinia Festival
BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26
SARASATE Carmen Fantasy, Op. 25
David Zinman, conductor
August 9, 1986, Ravinia Festival
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35
David Zinman, conductor
January 15, 16, 17, and 20, 1987, Orchestra Hall
DVOŘÁK Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 53
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
August 8, 1987, Ravinia Festival
BRAHMS Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77
Edo de Waart, conductor
December 6, 1988, Orchestra Hall
MOZART Rondo in C Major, K. 373
MOZART Rondeau: Allegro from Duet No. 1 for Violin and Viola in G Major, K. 423
MOZART Sinfonia concertante for Violin and Viola in E-flat Major, K. 364
Pinchas Zukerman, conductor and viola
July 15, 1989, Ravinia Festival
SIBELIUS Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47
James Conlon, conductor
October 3, 5, and 6, and 7, 1989, Orchestra Hall
BRAHMS Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
June 23, 1990, Ravinia Festival
MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64
James Levine, conductor
June 30, 1991, Ravinia Festival
BACH Violin Concerto in E Major, BWV 1042
BRAHMS Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77
James Levine, conductor
June 20, 1992, Ravinia Festival
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35
James Levine, conductor
May 13, 14, 15, and 18, 1993, Orchestra Hall
MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64
PROKOFIEV Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 63
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded live by Erato. Victor Muenzer was the recording supervisor; Lawrence Rock and Konrad Strauss were sound engineers, assisted by Christopher Willis.
June 26, 1993, Ravinia Festival
BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26
BRAHMS Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77
Mariss Jansons, conductor
July 30, 1994, Ravinia Festival
KHACHATURIAN Violin Concerto in D Minor
Hugh Wolff, conductor
September 22, 23, and 24, 1994, Orchestra Hall
STRAVINSKY Violin Concerto in D
BEETHOVEN Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano in C Major, Op. 56 (Triple)
John Sharp, cello
Daniel Barenboim, conductor and piano
Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto was recorded live by Teldec. Nikolaus Deckenbrock was the executive producer, Martin Fouqué was the recording producer and editor, Michael Brammann was the recording engineer, and Wolfram Nehls and Philipp Nedel were the assistant engineers.
November 14, 1994, Orchestra Hall
BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61
Lawrence Foster, conductor
July 15, 1995, Ravinia Festival
BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61
Semyon Bychkov, conductor
July 18, 1996, Ravinia Festival
BRAHMS Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
September 26, 27, and 28, 1996, Orchestra Hall
BRAHMS Concerto in A Minor for Violin and Cello, Op. 102 (Double)
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded live by Teldec. Renate Kupfer was the executive producer, Martin Sauer was the recording producer, Michael Brammann was the recording engineer, Philipp Nedel and John Newton were assistant engineers, and Stefan Witzel was the digital editor.
November 11, 1996, Orchestra Hall
MASSENET Meditation from Thaïs
KREISLER Schön Rosmarin
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
June 22, 1997, Ravinia Festival
MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
January 22, 23, and 24, 1998, Orchestra Hall
BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61
William Eddins, conductor
July 19, 1998, Ravinia Festival
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
July 24, 1999, Ravinia Festival
DVOŘÁK Romance in F Minor, Op. 11
KREISLER Liebesleid
KREISLER Liebesfreud
KREISLER Tambourin chinois
Eiji Oue, conductor
July 25, 1999, Ravinia Festival
BACH Violin Concerto in E Major, BWV 1042
BEETHOVEN Romance No. 1 in G major, Op. 40
SCHUBERT Overture to Rosamunde, D. 797
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98
Itzhak Perlman, conductor and violin
June 1, 2, and 3, 2000, Orchestra Hall
BARBER Violin Concerto, Op. 14
Charles Dutoit, conductor
July 22, 2000, Ravinia Festival
BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61
Bernhard Klee, conductor
Perlman and Daniel Barenboim rehearsing with the CSO in May 1993 (Jim Steere photo)
July 23, 2000, Ravinia Festival
BACH Concerto for Oboe and Violin in C Minor, BWV 1060
Alex Klein, oboe
MOZART Symphony No. 29 in A Major, K. 201
VIVALDI Violin Concerto in G Minor, Op. 8, No. 2 (Summer)
BIZET Symphony in C Major
Itzhak Perlman, conductor and violin
November 8, 2000, Orchestra Hall
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35
Markus Stenz, conductor
December 6, 7, and 8, 2001, Orchestra Hall
BACH Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D Major, BWV 1050
Mathieu Dufour, flute
Daniel Barenboim, piano
MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
June 21, 2002, Ravinia Festival
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35
William Eddins, conductor
June 22, 2002, Ravinia Festival
GLINKA Overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla
BACH Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, BWV 1041
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36
Itzhak Perlman, conductor and violin
June 23, 2002, Ravinia Festival
BEETHOVEN Overture to Egmont, Op. 84
BEETHOVEN Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano in C Major, Op. 56 (Triple)
Kurt Nikkanen, violin
Zuill Bailey, cello
Navah Perlman, piano
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
Itzhak Perlman, conductor
June 28, 2003, Ravinia Festival
MOZART Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major, K. 216
Robert Spano, conductor
June 29, 2003, Ravinia Festival
TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35
Giora Schmidt, violin
SCHUBERT Symphony No. 9 in C Major, D. 944 (Great)
Itzhak Perlman, conductor
June 27, 2004, Ravinia Festival
BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26
Peter Oundjian, conductor
July 9, 2005, Ravinia Festival
DVOŘÁK Romance in F Minor, Op. 11
KREISLER Liebesfreud
SAINT-SÄENS Introduction and Rondo capriccioso in A Minor, Op. 28
Marin Alsop, conductor
July 10, 2005, Ravinia Festival
BERLIOZ Roman Carnival Overture, Op. 9
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15
Lang Lang, piano
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98
Itzhak Perlman, conductor
October 1, 2005, Orchestra Hall
MOZART Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major, K. 216 (Strassburg)
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
July 12, 2006, Ravinia Festival
MOZART Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major, K. 219 (Turkish)
Yoel Levi, conductor
July 13, 2006, Ravinia Festival
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 (Emperor)
Emanuel Ax, piano
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 (Eroica)
Itzhak Perlman, conductor
Perlman and Daniel Barenboim rehearsing with the CSO in May 1993 (Jim Steere photo)
November 17, 2008, Orchestra Hall
BACH Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, BWV 1041
MOZART Symphony No. 35 in D Major, K. 385 (Haffner)
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64
Itzhak Perlman, conductor and violin
March 7, 2011, Orchestra Hall
MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64
KREISLER/McAlister Liebesfreud
James DePreist, conductor
August 4, 2011, Ravinia Festival
BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61
James Conlon, conductor
August 6, 2011, Ravinia Festival
TCHAIKOVSKY Capriccio italien, Op. 45
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major, K. 414
Gabriela Martinez, piano
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95 (From the New World)
Itzhak Perlman, conductor
August 7, 2013, Ravinia Festival
MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64
Carlos Miguel Prieto, conductor
August 8, 2013, Ravinia Festival
BRAHMS Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
HAYDN Cello Concerto No.2 in D Major
Alisa Weilerstein, cello
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64
Itzhak Perlman, conductor
August 20, 2016, Ravinia Festival
BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61
Bramwell Tovey, conductor
August 21, 2016, Ravinia Festival
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64
TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33
Lynn Harrell, cello
TCHAIKOVSKY 1812 Festival Overture, Op. 49
Itzhak Perlman, conductor
July 29, 2017, Ravinia Festival
HUPFELD/Williams As Time Goes By from Casablanca
MORRICONE/Williams Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso
WILLIAMS Theme from Far and Away
BARRY/Williams Main Title Theme from Out of Africa
KORNGOLD/Williams Marian and Robin Love Theme from The Adventures of Robin Hood
WILLIAMS Theme from Sabrina
WILLIAMS Theme from Schindler’s List
GARDEL/Williams Tango from Scent of a Woman
James Conlon, conductor
August 17, 2019, Ravinia Festival
BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26
Krzysztof Urbański, conductor
August 18, 2019, Ravinia Festival
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36
TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33
Kian Soltani, cello
TCHAIKOVSKY 1812 Festival Overture, Op. 49
Itzhak Perlman, conductor
Under the auspices of Allied Arts and Symphony Center Presents, Perlman also has appeared in Orchestra Hall on numerous times in recital, as follows:
Chicago Tribune, December 29, 1966
December 28, 1966, and January 1, 1967, Orchestra Hall
STRAVINSKY Violin Concerto in D
Members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Robert Craft, conductor
April 2, 1967, Orchestra Hall
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Op 30, No. 3
FRANCK Sonata in A Major
STRAVINSKY Suite italienne
BLOCH Nigun from Baal shem
WIENIAWSKI Scherzo tarantelle, Op. 16
Samuel Sanders, piano
January 12, 1969, Orchestra Hall
VIVALDI Sonata in A Major, RV 31
BACH Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001
BRAHMS Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 108
STRAVINSKY Duo concertant
PAGANINI Three Caprices
SARASATE/Zimbalist Carmen Fantasy
Samuel Sanders, piano
April 27, 1991, Orchestra Hall
MOZART Sonata in G Major, K. 301
MOZART Sonata in E-flat Major, K. 302
MOZART Sonata in C Major, K. 303
MOZART Sonata in E Minor, K. 304
MOZART Sonata in A Major, K. 305
MOZART Sonata in D Major, K. 306
Daniel Barenboim, piano
May 6, 1991, Orchestra Hall
MOZART Sonata in F Major, K. 376
MOZART Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 378
MOZART Sonata in F Major, K. 377
MOZART Sonata in C Major, K. 296
Daniel Barenboim, piano
October 7, 1991, Orchestra Hall
MOZART Sonata in G Major, K. 379
MOZART Sonata in E-flat Major, K. 481
MOZART Sonata in E-flat Major, K. 380
MOZART Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 454
Daniel Barenboim, piano
October 16, 1991, Orchestra Hall
MOZART Twelve Variations in G Major on the French Song La bergère Cèlimène, K. 359
MOZART Sonata in F Major, K. 547
MOZART Six Variations in G Minor on the French Song Hélas! j’ai perdu mon amant, K. 360
MOZART Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major, K. 526
Daniel Barenboim, piano
May 10, 1993, Orchestra Hall
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 12, No. 1
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 12, No. 3
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 23
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 (Spring)
Daniel Barenboim, piano
May 16, 1993, Orchestra Hall
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 12, No. 2
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 7 in C Minor, Op. 30, No. 2
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96
Daniel Barenboim, piano
May 17, 1993, Orchestra Hall
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 30, No. 1
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Op. 30, No. 3
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47
Daniel Barenboim, piano
September 26, 1994, Orchestra Hall
BACH Sonata in G Major, BWV 1019
ELGAR Sonata in E Minor, Op. 82
STRAUSS Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 18
Daniel Barenboim, piano
February 2, 1997, Orchestra Hall
SCHUBERT Sonata in G Minor, D. 408
SCHUBERT Sonata in A Major, D. 574 (Grand Duo)
SCHUBERT Fantasy in C Major, D. 934
Daniel Barenboim, piano
Perlman, Samuel Magad, Daniel Barenboim, John Sharp, and Pinchas Zukerman performing Brahms’s F minor quintet on October 9, 1997 (Jim Steere photo)
October 9, 1997, Orchestra Hall
WAGNER Siegfried Idyll
Samuel Magad, violin
Pinchas Zukerman, viola
John Sharp, cello
Joseph Guastafeste, bass
Donald Peck, flute
Alex Klein, oboe
Larry Combs, clarinet
Gregory Smith, clarinet
David McGill, bassoon
Dale Clevenger, horn
Norman Schweikert, horn
Adolph Herseth, trumpet
Daniel Barenboim conductor
MOZART Duo No. 1 for Violin and Viola in G Major, K. 423
Itzhak Perlman, violin
Pinchas Zukerman, viola
HALVORSEN Passacaglia on a Theme of Handel for Violin and Viola
Itzhak Perlman, violin
Pinchas Zukerman, viola
BRAHMS Quintet for Piano and Strings in F Minor, Op. 34
Itzhak Perlman, violin
Samuel Magad, violin
Pinchas Zukerman, viola
John Sharp, cello
Daniel Barenboim, piano
December 1, 1997, Medinah Temple
Brave Old World
The Klezmatics
The Andy Statman Klezmer Orchestra
The Klezmer Conservatory Band
October 17, 1999, Orchestra Hall
MOZART Sonata in F Major, K. 377
MOZART Sonata in A Major, K. 526
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 (Kreutzer)
Daniel Barenboim, piano
November 19, 2000, Orchestra Hall
SCHUMANN Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44
BRAHMS Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34
Robert Chen, violin
Pinchas Zukerman, viola
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Daniel Barenboim, piano
December 9, 2001, Orchestra Hall
MOZART Sonata in G Major, K. 379
BRAHMS Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 7 in C Minor, Op. 30, No. 2
Daniel Barenboim, piano
May 3, 2006, Orchestra Hall
BACH/Goldberg Sonata for Two Violins and Keyboard in C Major, BWV 1037
MOZART Duo for Violin and Viola in G Major, K. 423
LECLAIR Sonata for Two Violins in F Major, Op. 3, No. 4
MOSZKOWSKI Suite for Two Violins and Piano in G Minor, Op. 71
Pinchas Zukerman, violin and viola
Rohan De Silva, piano
April 19, 2009, Orchestra Hall
MOZART Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major, K. 493
Itzhak Perlman, violin
Molly Carr, viola
Yves Dharamraj, cello
Kwan Yi, piano
MENDELSSOHN Octet for Strings in E-flat Major, Op. 20
Itzhak Perlman, violin
Erno Kallai, violin
Francesca Anderegg, violin
Wanzhen Li, violin
Kyle Armbrust, viola
Molly Carr, viola
Jia Kim, cello
Yves Dharamraj, cello
May 1, 2019, Orchestra Hall
MOZART Violin Sonata in D Major, K. 306
BRAHMS Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100
BEETHOVEN Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 (Kreutzer)
Evgeny Kissin, piano
Happy, happy birthday!
Christoph Eschenbach (Eric Brissaud photo)
Wishing a very happy eightieth birthday to German pianist and conductor Christoph Eschenbach!
Eschenbach’s association with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra began over fifty years ago, when he was piano soloist in the U.S. premiere of Hans Werner Henze’s Second Piano Concerto under the baton of the composer on January 30, 31, and February 1, 1969, in Orchestra Hall. “For all its integrated construction, the concerto depends greatly upon the soloist. So much, in fact, that it is difficult to imagine the work succeeding if Christoph Eschenbach were not at the keyboard,” wrote Thomas Willis in the Chicago Tribune. “The harder the passages, the more he seems to relish their challenge . . . he can drive a climax to its emotional peak and the next moment be spinning delicate filigree requiring the greatest control and concentration.”
At the Ravinia Festival, Eschenbach made his debut as piano soloist on July 25, 1973, in Schumann’s Piano Concerto with Riccardo Muti—in his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra—on the podium. As a conductor, Eschenbach first led the Orchestra at Ravinia on August 3, 1978, in an all-Beethoven program: the Second Piano Concerto (conducting from the keyboard) and the Third Symphony.
In Orchestra Hall, he first led the Orchestra (as a last-minute replacement for Klaus Tennstedt) in Mahler’s Sixth Symphony on December 20, 21, and 22, 1990. “His credentials as a Mahlerian are impressive,” wrote John von Rhein in the Chicago Tribune. “He has the force of imagination and perception to fuse the sprawling rhetoric of Mahler’s most tragic symphony into a statement at once structurally coherent and emotionally compelling. . . . In Eschenbach’s hands, the finale was a true culmination, breathing an air of desperate defiance from first to last. He balanced light and shade, serenity and strife, with a white-hot intensity and concentration not heard here since Georg Solti’s Mahler Sixth years ago.”
1969 publicity flyer for Christoph Eschenbach
To coincide with the Ravinia Festival’s sixtieth season, along with an $11.5 million renovation of the pavilion and grounds, executive director Zarin Mehta announced in September 1994 that Eschenbach would be the festival’s third music director beginning in the summer of 1995.
For his first concert in that capacity on June 29, 1995, Eschenbach led the Orchestra in Rouse’s Phaethon, Bruch’s First Violin Concerto with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. Regarding Mahler’s symphony, von Rhein wrote in the Chicago Tribune, “It was a highly individual interpretation, to be sure, but Eschenbach has the command, the control, to make our band share his convictions and carry out his ideas all the way.” In the Chicago Sun-Times, Wynne Delacoma added, “The audience was on its feet seconds after the Mahler ended, cheering and applauding, sending up waves of still louder cheers as Eschenbach motioned to CSO principals and soloists, especially brass and woodwinds, to take their bows.”
Eschenbach served the Ravinia Festival through the 2003 summer season. He gave his final concerts as music director with the Orchestra on August 10, leading Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 12 (from the keyboard), Bernstein’s Symphony no. 2 (The Age of Anxiety) with pianist Christopher Taylor, and Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto with Lang Lang.
Most recently, he led the Orchestra in Orchestra Hall on February 22, 23, 24, and 27, 2018, leading Weber’s Overture to Der Freischütz, Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto with David Fray, and Mendelssohn’s Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Fourth Symphony.
To celebrate his eightieth birthday, Eschenbach returns to the Ravinia Festival in the summer of 2020, to lead the Orchestra in three concerts:
August 7, 2020
KHACHATURIAN Flute Concerto
Stathis Karapanos, flute
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
August 8, 2020
THEODORAKIS (arr. Wastor and Karapanos) Zorbas Suite
Stathis Karapanos, flute
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125
Erin Wall, soprano
Michelle DeYoung, mezzo-soprano
Paul Appleby, tenor
Matthias Goerne, baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
August 9, 2020
KORNGOLD Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35
William Hagen, violin
MAHLER Symphony No. 1 in D Major
Happy, happy birthday!
Portions of this article previously appeared here.
Daniel Barenboim led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s first South American tour—the fortieth international tour—in October 2000, with stops in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Barenboim’s hometown of Buenos Aires.
Barenboim and the Orchestra onstage at the Sala São Paulo on October 5, 2000 (Greg Morton photo)
October 4, 2000 – Teatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
October 5, 2000 – Sala São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 25 in C Major, K. 503
MAHLER Symphony No. 1 in D Major
Daniel Barenboim, piano and conductor
October 6, 2000 – Sala São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
October 12, 2000 – Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, Argentina
MAHLER Symphony No. 7
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Program book for the three concerts at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires in October 2000
October 7, 2000 – Sala São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
October 11, 2000 – Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, Argentina
DEBUSSY Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun
DEBUSSY La mer
FALLA The Three-Cornered Hat
Alejandra Malvino, mezzo-soprano
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
October 10, 2000 – Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, Argentina
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 25 in C Major, K. 503
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major
Daniel Barenboim, piano and conductor
The Orchestra’s nineteenth European tour included concerts in London, Berlin, and Vienna, and one of the concerts in Lucerne featured the world premiere of Noesis, a new work by Swiss composer Hanspeter Kyburz.
September 7, 2001 – Royal Albert Hall, London, England
WAGNER Overture to Tannhäuser
CARTER Partita
MAHLER Symphony No. 1 in D Major
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Barenboim and the Orchestra onstage at the Philharmonie in Berlin on September 9, 2001
September 8, 2001 – Royal Albert Hall, London, England
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
THOMAS Aurora
Micaela Haslam, soprano
MAHLER Symphony No. 7
Daniel Barenboim, piano and conductor
September 9, 2001 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
September 15, 2001 – Musikverein, Vienna, Austria
September 16, 2001 – Musikverein, Vienna, Austria
MAHLER Symphony No. 7
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
September 11, 2001 – Kultur- & Kongresszentrum, Lucerne, Switzerland
SMITH/Stock The Star-Spangled Banner
MAHLER Symphony No. 7
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
September 12, 2001 – Kultur- & Kongresszentrum, Lucerne, Switzerland
CARTER Partita
MAHLER Symphony No. 5
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
September 13, 2001 – Kultur- & Kongresszentrum, Lucerne, Switzerland
KYBURZ Noesis for Large Orchestra
MAHLER Symphony No. 1 in D Major
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
During the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s twentieth European tour, Barenboim conducted Bruckner’s Fourth, Seventh, and Ninth symphonies on three concerts at the Lucerne Festival.
Luggage sticker for the 2002 tour to Lucerne
September 13, 2002 – Kultur- & Kongresszentrum, Lucerne, Switzerland
BOULEZ Notations for Orchestra I-IV and VII
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
September 14, 2002 – Kultur- & Kongresszentrum, Lucerne, Switzerland
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, K. 491
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 7 in E Major
Daniel Barenboim, piano and conductor
September 15, 2002 – Kultur- & Kongresszentrum, Lucerne, Switzerland
BACH Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major, BWV 1048
BOULEZ Originel from . . . explosante-fixe . . .
Mathieu Dufour, flute
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 9 in D Minor
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
The Orchestra’s twenty-first European tour, to the annual Festtage in Berlin, featured Barenboim leading Mahler song cycles and Bruckner symphonies.
Program page for the April 17, 2003, concert in Berlin
April 17, 2003 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
MAHLER Kindertotenlieder
Thomas Quasthoff, bass-baritone
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
April 18, 2003 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
MAHLER Songs of a Wayfarer
Thomas Hampson, baritone
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 7 in E Major
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
April 19, 2003 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
MAHLER Rückert Lieder
Violeta Urmana, mezzo-soprano
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 9 in D Minor
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Returning again to the Lucerne Festival for the twenty-second European tour, the Orchestra performed several Strauss tone poems under Barenboim’s baton.
Program book for the three concerts in Lucerne in September 2003
September 13, 2003 – Kultur- & Kongresszentrum, Lucerne, Switzerland
STRAUSS Don Juan, Op. 20
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488
MUNDRY Panorama ciego
STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, Op. 28
Daniel Barenboim, piano and conductor
September 14, 2003 – Kultur- & Kongresszentrum, Lucerne, Switzerland
SCHOENBERG Transfigured Night, Op. 4
STRAUSS Death and Transfiguration, Op. 24
WAGNER Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
September 15, 2003 – Kultur- & Kongresszentrum, Lucerne, Switzerland
WAGNER Overture to Tannhäuser
SCHOENBERG Variations for Orchestra, Op. 31
STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40
Robert Chen, violin
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
The following month, Barenboim and the Orchestra traveled to Japan for the fifth Asian tour. The final concerts of the tour in Tokyo included works by Stravinsky and Ravel in a collaboration with the Tokyo Ballet, featuring Sylvie Guillem in Ravel’s Boléro.
Program book for the October 29, 2003, concert in Fukuoka
October 24, 2003 – Bunka Kaikan, Tokyo, Japan
October 27, 2003 – Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan
MAHLER Symphony No. 9 in D Major
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
October 26, 2003 – Bunka Kaikan, Tokyo, Japan
WAGNER Overture to Tannhäuser
SCHOENBERG Variations for Orchestra, Op. 31
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
October 26, 2003 – Bunka Kaikan, Tokyo, Japan
October 29, 2003 – Fukuoka Symphony Hall, Fukuoka, Japan
WAGNER Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 7 in E Major
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
November 1, 2003 – Bunka Kaikan, Tokyo, Japan
RAVEL Pavane pour une infante défunte
STRAUSS Death and Transfiguration, Op. 24
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 (Pathétique)
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Tokyo
November 2, 2003 – Bunka Kaikan, Tokyo, Japan
November 3, 2003 – Bunka Kaikan, Tokyo, Japan
STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring
STRAVINSKY The Firebird Suite
RAVEL Boléro
Tokyo Ballet
Sylvie Guillem, dancer
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
At the 2004 Festtage in Berlin, Barenboim led the Orchestra in works by Schoenberg—the Piano Concerto, Violin Concerto, and Variations for Orchestra—paired with Tchaikovsky’s final three symphonies.
April 7, 2004 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
BACH Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major, BWV 1048
SCHOENBERG Piano Concerto, Op. 42
Peter Serkin, piano
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
April 8, 2004 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
BACH Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B Minor, BWV 1067
SCHOENBERG Violin Concerto, Op. 36
Nikolaj Znaider, violin
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
April 9, 2004 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
BACH Concerto for Two Pianos in C Major, BWV 1061
Peter Serkin, piano
SCHOENBERG Variations for Orchestra, Op. 31
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 (Pathétique)
Daniel Barenboim, piano and conductor
Pierre Boulez joined Barenboim for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s twenty-fourth European tour that included performances in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and England. Concerts at the Berlin Festtage—entitled Hommage à Pierre Boulez—celebrated Boulez’s eightieth birthday.
Catalog for the Budapest Spring Festival in 2005
March 24, 2005 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
RAVEL Rapsodie espagnole
BARTÓK Piano Concerto No. 2
Lang Lang, piano
BOULEZ Originel from . . . explosante-fixe . . .
Mathieu Dufour, flute
RAVEL Mother Goose Suite
RAVEL Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
March 25, 2005 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
March 31, 2005 – National Philharmonic Hall, Budapest, Hungary
April 4, 2005 – Royal Festival Hall, London, England
BARTÓK Four Pieces for Orchestra
BARTÓK Piano Concerto No. 1
Daniel Barenboim, piano
BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra
Pierre Boulez, conductor
Catalog for the 2005 Festtage in Berlin—Hommage à Pierre Boulez
March 26, 2005 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
BARTÓK Piano Concerto No. 3
Mitsuko Uchida, piano
MAHLER Symphony No. 9
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
March 30, 2005 – Musikverein, Vienna, Austria
April 1, 2005 – National Philharmonic Hall, Budapest, Hungary
April 3, 2005 – Royal Festival Hall, London, England
April 5, 2005 – Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, England
April 6, 2005 – Symphony Hall, Birmingham, England
MAHLER Symphony No. 9
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Daniel Barenboim’s final tour—the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s twenty-fifth European and forty-eighth international tour—as ninth music director was a return to the Lucerne Festival.
Program book cover for the September 2005 concerts in Lucerne
September 16, 2005 – Kultur- & Kongresszentrum, Lucerne, Switzerland
MAHLER Symphony No. 9 in D Major
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
September 17, 2005 – Kultur- & Kongresszentrum, Lucerne, Switzerland
WAGNER Prelude to Parsifal
SCHOENBERG Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 16
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 9 in D Minor
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
September 18, 2005 – Kultur- & Kongresszentrum, Lucerne, Switzerland
FALLA Nights in the Gardens of Spain
ALBÉNIZ Evocación from Iberia
RAVEL Rapsodie espagnole
RAVEL Pavane pour une infante défunte
RAVEL Alborada del gracioso
RAVEL Boléro
Daniel Barenboim, piano and conductor
Orchestra Hall, January 19, 1958
On January 19, 1958, fifteen-year-old Daniel Barenboim made his piano recital debut at Orchestra Hall, with the following program:
BACH/Liszt Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 543
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 (Appassionata)
BRAHMS Sonata No. 1 in C Major, Op. 1
BEN-HAIM Intermezzo and Toccata, Op. 34
The next day in the American, Roger Dettmer wrote, “Only very occasionally some youngster will happen along who seems to have been born adult . . . The prodigy turned out yesterday afternoon to be Daniel Barenboim, born fifteen years ago in Argentina. The talent is huge, the technique already formidable and he applied both to a virtuoso program [with] secure musical training and uncommon sensitivity of touch.”
He returned in November of that year and again every couple of years after that for more solo piano recitals, including—over the course of a month between February 26 and March 27, 1986—a series of eight concerts, traversing Beethoven’s complete cycle of piano sonatas.
After becoming the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s ninth music director in September 1991, Barenboim made regular appearances as piano recitalist and chamber musician, collaborating with an extraordinary roster of instrumentalists and singers. He performed a dizzying array of repertoire, including Albéniz’s Iberia; Bach’s Goldberg Variations; Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion; Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations; Berg’s Chamber Concerto for Piano, Violin, and Thirteen Wind Instruments (with Pierre Boulez conducting); Brahms’s cello sonatas; Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Songs of a Wayfarer, and Rückert Lieder; Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time; Mozart’s complete violin sonatas; Schubert’s Winterreise; Schumann’s Frauenliebe und -leben; Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll and Wesendonk Lieder; and Wolf’s Italian Songbook; along with other piano works by Chopin, Debussy, Liszt, Schoenberg, and Schubert, among others.
Barenboim’s collaborators included instrumentalists Héctor Console, Lang Lang, Radu Lupu, Yo-Yo Ma, Rodolfo Mederos, Itzhak Perlman, András Schiff, Deborah Sobol, Maxim Vengerov, and Pinchas Zukerman, along with singers Kathleen Battle, Cecilia Bartoli, Angela Denoke, Plácido Domingo, Thomas Hampson, Robert Holl, Waltraud Meier, Thomas Quasthoff, Peter Schreier, and Bo Skovhus. He also invited countless members of the Orchestra to join him, including Stephen Balderston, Li-Kuo Chang, Robert Chen, Dale Clevenger, Larry Combs, Louise Dixon, Edward Druzinsky, Jay Friedman, Rubén González, Richard Graef, Joseph Guastafeste, John Hagstrom, Adolph Herseth, Richard Hirschl, Alex Klein, Donald Koss, Burl Lane, Samuel Magad, David McGill, Michael Mulcahy, Lawrence Neuman, Bradley Opland, Nancy Park, Donald Peck, Gene Pokorny, Mark Ridenour, James Ross, Norman Schweikert, John Sharp, Gregory Smith, Charles Vernon, Gail Williams, and members of the Chicago Symphony Chorus (prepared by Duain Wolfe), among many others.
June 4 and 11, 2006
During the final residency of his tenure as music director, Barenboim presented Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier in two piano recitals: the first book on June 4, 2006; and the second book a week later, on June 11.
Reviewing the June 4 concert, John von Rhein in the Chicago Tribune wrote that Barenboim, “brought the full color resources of a modern concert grand to bear on Bach’s pristinely ordered sound-world . . . Bach never intended for musicians to perform all the preludes and fugues in one gulp, but when they are executed at so exalted a level of thought, feeling, and spirituality, who’s to say they shouldn’t?”
Following the second installment, Wynne Delacoma in the Chicago Sun-Times added, “One of Barenboim’s gifts as a pianist is his ability to etch clear, long-lined, richly colored phrases with seemingly no effort [and in Bach’s music] we heard the foundation on which the rest of his music-making has been built. . . . The applause that brought Barenboim back for extra bows was fervent and heartfelt. Barenboim’s annual piano recitals have been high points of Chicago’s musical life for the past fifteen years. They are appreciated and will be deeply missed.”
Between 1972 and 1981, Daniel Barenboim made a number of recordings with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for Deutsche Grammophon, returning to the label in 2003 for a release of piano concertos with Lang Lang.
A complete list of Barenboim’s catalog with the CSO on Deutsche Grammophon is below (all recordings were made in Orchestra Hall unless otherwise noted).
BEETHOVEN Concerto for Violin in D Major, Op. 61
Pinchas Zukerman, violin
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 26, 1977
BORODIN Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 27, 1977
BRAHMS Hungarian Dances Nos. 1, 3, and 10
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded December 17, 1977
BRUCKNER Helgoland
Men of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 3, 1979
Barenboim leads the Orchestra and Chorus in a recording session for Bruckner’s Psalm 150 in Orchestra Hall on March 3, 1979 (Robert M. Lightfoot III photo)
BRUCKNER Psalm 150
Ruth Welting, soprano
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 3, 1979
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 0 in D Minor
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 3, 1979
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 1 in C Minor
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded December 9, 10, and 13, 1980
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 2 in C Minor
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 21 and 22, 1981
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 3 in D Minor
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded December 13 and 15, 1980
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded in Medinah Temple, November 1, 1972
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded December 5, 1977
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 6 in A Major
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded December 13, 1977
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 7 in E Major
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 6 and 7, 1979
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 8 in C Minor
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded December 6 and 9, 1980
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 9 in D Minor
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded in Medinah Temple, May 27, 1975
BRUCKNER Te Deum
Jessye Norman, soprano
Yvonne Minton, mezzo-soprano
David Rendall, tenor
Samuel Ramey, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 28, 1981
DVOŘÁK Slavonic Dance No. 1 in C Major, Op. 46
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded December 17, 1977
DVOŘÁK Slavonic Dance No. 8 in G Minor, Op. 46
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded December 17, 1977
ELGAR Concerto for Violin in B Minor, Op. 61
Itzhak Perlman, violin
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 23 and 24, 1981
1982 Grammy Award: Best Classical Performance—Instrumental Soloist
LISZT Les préludes
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded December 5 and 17, 1977
MENDELSSOHN Concerto for Piano in G Minor, Op. 25
Lang Lang, piano
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded February 24 and 25, 2003
MENDELSSOHN Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 21
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 7 and 10, 1979
MOZART Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 10, 1979
MUSSORGSKY/Rimsky-Korsakov A Night on Bald Mountain
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 22, 1977
NICOLAI Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 10, 1979
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 28, 1977
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Russian Easter Overture, Op. 36
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 22, 1977
SAINT-SAËNS Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 78 (Organ)
Gaston Litaize, organ (recorded at the Cathédral Notre-Dame de Chartres, France)
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded in Medinah Temple, May 27, 1975
SCHUMANN Konzertstück for Four Horns in F Major, Op. 86
Dale Clevenger, Richard Oldberg, Thomas Howell, and Norman Schweikert, horns
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 21 and 22, 1977
Barenboim leads CSO horns Norman Schweikert, Thomas Howell, Richard Oldberg, and Dale Clevenger in a recording session for Schumann’s Konzertstück in Orchestra Hall in March 1977 (Christian Steiner photo)
SCHUMANN Manfred Overture, Op. 115
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 22, 1977
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 38
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 28, 1977
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 2 in C Major, Op 61
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 21 and 22, 1977
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 97
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 21 and 22, 1977
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 4 in D Minor, Op. 120
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded in Medinah Temple, May 28, 1975
SMETANA The Moldau from Má vlast
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded December 5 and 17, 1977
TCHAIKOVSKY 1812 Festival Overture, Op. 49
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 25, 1981
TCHAIKOVSKY Capriccio italien, Op. 45
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 27 and 28, 1981
TCHAIKOVSKY Concerto for Piano No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23
Lang Lang, piano
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded February 21 and 24, 2003
TCHAIKOVSKY Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 27, 1981
TCHAIKOVSKY Marche slav, Op. 31
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 25 and 27, 1981
TCHAIKOVSKY Romeo and Juliet
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 25, 1981
Arnold Jacobs, CSO principal tuba from 1944 until 1988
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Concerto for Bass Tuba in F Minor
Arnold Jacobs, tuba
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 22, 1977
WEBER/Berlioz Invitation to the Dance, Op, 65
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 10, 1979
WEBER Overture to Oberon
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 3 and 7, 1979
____________________________________________________
Christoph Eschenbach (Scott Kohn photo)
To coincide with the Ravinia Festival’s sixtieth season, along with an $11.5 million renovation of the pavilion and grounds, executive director Zarin Mehta announced in September 1994 that Christoph Eschenbach would be the festival’s third music director beginning in the summer of 1995.
For his first concert on June 29, 1995, Eschenbach led the Orchestra in Rouse’s Phaethon, Bruch’s First Violin Concerto with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. Regarding Mahler’s symphony, John von Rhein wrote in the Chicago Tribune, “It was a highly individual interpretation, to be sure, but Eschenbach has the command, the control, to make our band share his convictions and carry out his ideas all the way.” In the Chicago Sun-Times, Wynne Delacoma added, “The audience was on its feet seconds after the Mahler ended, cheering and applauding, sending up waves of still louder cheers as Eschenbach motioned to CSO principals and soloists, especially brass and woodwinds, to take their bows.”
Eschenbach’s extensive history with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra began on January 30, 31, and February 1, 1969, when he made his debut as piano soloist at Orchestra Hall in the U.S. premiere of Hans Werner Henze’s Piano Concerto no. 2 with the composer conducting.
Eschenbach leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival (photo courtesy of the Ravinia Festival)
At the Ravinia Festival, he first appeared with the Orchestra as soloist in Schumann’s Piano Concerto on July 25, 1973, with Riccardo Muti—in his debut with the Orchestra—conducting.
He first conducted the Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival on August 3, 1978, leading Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto (from the keyboard) and Third Symphony. For his conducting debut in Orchestra Hall, he led Mahler’s Sixth Symphony on December 20, 21, and 22, 1990.
Eschenbach served the Ravinia Festival through the 2003 summer season. He gave his final concerts as music director with the Orchestra on August 10, leading Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 12 (from the keyboard), Bernstein’s Symphony no. 2 (The Age of Anxiety) with pianist Christopher Taylor, and Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto with Lang Lang.
This article also appears here.
from the archives 