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From 1993 until 2000, recordings by Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra were recorded and released by Teldec, following the acquisition of Erato by Warner Music in 1992. A complete list of Barenboim’s catalog with the CSO on Teldec is below (all recordings were made in Orchestra Hall, unless otherwise noted).

Cover image: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s apartment buildings at 860-880 North Lake Shore Drive*

BERIO Continuo
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded January 9, 1993

BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded May 11, 12, and 13, 1995

BERNSTEIN Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded in Medinah Temple May 23, 1997

BOULEZ Notations For Orchestra VII
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded January 28, 2000

BRAHMS Concerto for Violin in D Major, Op. 77
Maxim Vengerov, violin
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded October 15, 16, 17, 18, and 21, 1997

BRAHMS Concerto for Violin and Cello in A Minor, Op. 102 (Double)
Itzhak Perlman, violin
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 26, 27, and 28, 1996

CARTER Partita
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded at the Philharmonie in Cologne, Germany on June 1, 1994

DEBUSSY La mer
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded January 28 and 29, 2000

FALLA Nights in the Gardens of Spain
Daniel Barenboim, piano
Plácido Domingo, conductor
Recorded in Medinah Temple on May 13, 15, 16 and 17, 1997

FALLA The Three-Cornered Hat
Jennifer Larmore, mezzo-soprano
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded in Medinah Temple on May 22, 23, 24, and 25, 1997

Cover image: an aerial view of Chicago in 1945*

FURTWÄNGLER Symphony No. 2 in E Minor
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded December 12, 13, 14 and 15, 2001

GERSHWIN Cuban Overture
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded in Medinah Temple May 23, 1997

HANNIBAL African Portraits
Alhaji “Papa” Bunka Susso, griot
Eye Plus One Drummers (Paul A. Cotton, Mesha’ch Silas, Enoch Williamson; Clifton Robinson, director)
Jevetta Steele, gospel singer
David “Honeyboy” Edwards, vocal
Hannibal Lokumbe Quartet (Hannibal Lokumbe, Ron Burton, Cecil McBee, Cecil Brooks III)
Barton Green, tenor
David van Abbema, baritone
Theodore Jones, baritone
Brian Smith, boy soprano
Morgan State University Choir
Nathan Carter, director
Kennedy-King College Community Chorus
Randall Johnson, director
Doris Ward Workshop Chorale
Lucius Robinson, director
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded May 4, 5, and 9, 1995

MAHLER Symphony No. 5
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded at the Philharmonie in Cologne, Germany on June 4 and 5, 1997

NIELSEN Concerto for Violin, Op. 33
Maxim Vengerov, violin
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded January 8 and 9, 1996

ROUGET DE L’ISLE/Berlioz La Marseillaise
Plácido Domingo, tenor (recorded at the Hochschule für Musik Mozarteum, Salzburg, Austria)
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded May 15, 1995

SCHOENBERG Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 16
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded October 3 and 7, 1994

SCHOENBERG Transfigured Night, Op. 4
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded October 3 and 7, 1994

SIBELIUS Concerto for Violin in D Minor, Op. 47
Maxim Vengerov, violin
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded January 8 and 9, 1996

STRAUSS Concerto for Horn No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 11
Dale Clevenger, horn
Recorded October 2 and 5, 1998
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
2001 Grammy Award: Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra)

Cover image: Marina City Building*

STRAUSS Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra in D Major
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Alex Klein, oboe
Recorded October 2, 5, and 6, 1998
2001 Grammy Award: Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra)

STRAUSS Duet-Concertino in F Major
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Larry Combs, clarinet
David McGill, bassoon
Recorded October 2 and 5, 1998
2001 Grammy Award: Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra)

STRAVINSKY Concerto for Violin in D Major
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Itzhak Perlman, violin
Recorded September 22, 23, and 24, 1994

STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded January 28 and 29, 2000

TAKEMITSU Visions
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded January 9, 1993

Cover image: Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building (now Sullivan Center)*

TCHAIKOVSKY 1812 Overture, Op. 49
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded October 30, 1995

TCHAIKOVSKY Romeo and Juliet
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded October 20, 1995

TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded January 30, 31, February 1, and 4, 1997

TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded October 26, 27, 28, and 30, 1995

Cover image: Old Colony Building*

TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 (Pathéthique)
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded February 5, 6, 7, and 10, 1998

WAGNER Overture to The Flying Dutchman
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded May 7, 1994

WAGNER Prelude to Act 1 of Lohengrin
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded May 7, 1994

WAGNER Prelude to Act 3 of Lohengrin
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded May 7, 1994

WAGNER Prelude to Act 1 of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 26, 1992

WAGNER Prelude to Act 3 of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded January 6 and 8, 1999

WAGNER Prize Song from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (arranged for horn)
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Dale Clevenger, horn
Recorded January 6 and 8, 1999

WAGNER Prelude and Good Friday Spell from Parsifal
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded January 8 and 13, 1999

WAGNER Overture to Rienzi
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded January 6 and 13, 1999

WAGNER Siegfried Idyll
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded January 13, 1999

WAGNER Overture to Tannhäuser
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded May 7, 1994

WAGNER Prelude to Act 3 of Tannhäuser
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded January 8, 1999

WAGNER Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded January 16, 1993

*Historic photographs of iconic Chicago buildings were provided to Teldec by David R. Phillips of the Chicago Architectural Photographing Company

Illustration by Pam Rossi

After more than three years of planning, building, testing, and fine-tuning, Symphony Center—a $120 million project that included a facility expansion and extensive renovation of Orchestra Hall—opened its doors twenty years ago today, on October 4, 1997, with an opening night gala concert.

Led by acousticians Kirkegaard Associates and architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the project encompassed additions and improvements to Orchestra Hall, including raising the roof line for increased sound reverberation, replacing plaster walls, decreasing the width and increasing the depth of the stage, adding an extensive riser system, replacing all seats and adding terrace seating behind the stage, installing an acoustic canopy (to improve onstage ensemble conditions and sound reflection to the audience), and increasing patron amenity spaces. In addition, the project included new administrative offices in the former Chapin & Gore building; Buntrock Hall, a multipurpose rehearsal and performance space; renovation of a private club (formerly the home of the Cliff Dwellers); and a multistory arcade and rotunda. The following year brought the opening of a new restaurant (originally Rhapsody and now tesori) and an education center.

Opening a three-week inaugural festival, the October 4 gala concert featured Daniel Barenboim leading the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the complete program was as follows:

Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center (Jim Steere photo)

ELGAR Nimrod from the Enigma Variations, Op. 36 (performed in memory of Sir Georg Solti)
VERDI Già nella notte densa from Otello, Act 1
Soile Isokoski, soprano
Plácido Domingo, tenor
VERDI Niun mi tema from Otello, Act 4
Plácido Domingo, tenor
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat Major, K. 595
Daniel Barenboim, piano
COPLAND Lincoln Portrait
William Warfield, narrator
BRUCKNER Te Deum
Soile Isokoski, soprano
Rosemarie Lang, mezzo-soprano
Thomas Moser, tenor
Matthias Hölle, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, chorus director

Natyakalalayam Dance Company performing in Symphony Center’s rotunda on October 5, 1997 (Jeff Meacham photo)

Natyakalalayam Dance Company performing in Symphony Center’s rotunda on October 5, 1997 (Jeff Meacham photo)

Midnight marked the beginning of the first Marshall Field’s Day of Music: twenty-four hours of free, live performances of music across all genres in multiple Symphony Center venues, attended by more than 20,000 people. The festival also launched the newly renamed Symphony Center Presents series (formerly Allied Arts, begun by Harry Zelzer in the 1930s), with concerts by Barenboim, Itzhak PerlmanPinchas Zukerman, Maurizio Pollini, and the Emerson String Quartet, along with the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Joe WilliamsOscar Peterson, Marcus Roberts Trio, and a tribute celebrating the eightieth-birthday anniversary of Thelonious Monk (led by his son Thelonious Monk, Jr.).

October 22, 1997 (Jim Steere photo)

October 22, 1997 (Jim Steere photo)

Sadly, the many celebrations were bittersweet. Music director laureate Sir Georg Solti—who, during the festival would have celebrated not only his eighty-fifth birthday but also his 1,000th concert with the Orchestra—had unexpectedly died on September 5, 1997. A special, free memorial concert was added on October 22 that included Wagner’s Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and the Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde, followed by Mozart’s Requiem with Emily Magee, Anna Larsson, John Aler, René Pape, and the Chicago Symphony Chorus. A celebration concert was given on October 25, with Barenboim conducting Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto (from the keyboard) and the Seventh Symphony.

Portions of this article previously appeared here.

Page 3 of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony; note "Property of Theo Thomas" stamps

Page 3 of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony; note “Property of Theo Thomas” stamps

On October 16 and 17, 1891, founder and first music director Theodore Thomas led the Chicago Orchestra’s inaugural concerts at the Auditorium Theatre. A group of more than fifty businessmen—including Chicago pioneers Armour, Fay, Field, Glessner, McCormick, Potter, Pullman, Ryerson, Sprague, and Wacker—had agreed to serve as guarantors, each pledging their continued financial support.

At the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., this giving spirit is the focus of a long-term Philanthropy Initiative announced on #GivingTuesday that includes a new display, “Giving in America” unveiled on December 1, 2015, and on view through November 2016. Included in this display is a very special artifact from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Rosenthal Archives: the oldest of Thomas’s scores for Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, a work prominently featured on those inaugural concerts.

examing

CSO archivist Frank Villella and Newberry Library manuscripts and archives librarian Alison Hinderliter examine the score

In the Thomas collection, there are four copies of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony: three are held in the Rosenthal Archives and one at the Newberry Library. Several months ago, Newberry Library manuscripts and archives librarian Alison Hinderliter and I carefully evaluated all four copies. While it’s impossible to determine exactly which score was used for the October 1891 concerts, we decided the most likely candidate was the oldest of the four scores. That particular edition clearly bears Thomas’s markings—particularly bowings in the string parts—along with the conductor’s personal stamp on numerous pages. Several weeks ago, it was carefully packaged and shipped to Washington, D.C. for the exhibit.

preparing for shipment

Safely preparing the score for shipment from Chicago to Washington, D.C.

According to museum’s website, the preview cases for “Giving in America,” will “provide a look at how philanthropy has shaped American civic culture in two eras—the Gilded Age (1870s–1900) and the present day. The display showcases the role of philanthropy in creating some of the nation’s most enduring museums, libraries, orchestras, universities, and hospitals. It also examines the involvement of women in nineteenth-century philanthropy. Artifacts include a register book showing the 1,600 libraries financed by Andrew Carnegie, an 1881 gown designed by Charles Frederick Worth for philanthropist Mary Eno Pinchot . . . a nurse’s cap worn by a Johns Hopkins School of Nursing student (circa 1945), and current civic philanthropy stories.”

For more information, visit http://americanhistory.si.edu.

Page 35 of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony; note several markings in blue pencil, primarily indicating bowings in the string parts

Page 35 of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony; note several markings in blue pencil, primarily indicating bowings in the string parts

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Articles of Incorporation for The Orchestral Association

Articles of Incorporation for The Orchestral Association

The first meeting for the incorporation of The Orchestral Association was held at the Chicago Club on December 17, 1890, at which a board of five trustees was elected to serve: Adolphus Clay Bartlett, Nathaniel Kellogg Fairbank, Charles Norman Fay, Charles Davidson Hamill, and Ezra Butler McCagg. A group of fifty-one businessmen—including Chicago pioneers Armour, Field, Glessner, McCormick, Potter, Pullman, Ryerson, Sprague, and Wacker—volunteered to serve as guarantors, each pledging their financial support for three years.

Theodore Thomas, then the most popular conductor in America, would be, as specified in his first contract, engaged to “determine the character and standard of all performances given by the Association, and to that end make all programs, select all soloists, and take the initiative in arranging for choral and festival performances . . . [attaining] the highest standard of artistic excellence in all performances given by the Association.”

According to the Memoirs of Theodore Thomas, “I never expected to see the day when I would be told I would be ‘held responsible’ for maintaining the highest standard of artistic excellence in my musical work. All my life I have been told that my standard was too high, and urged to make it more popular. But now, I am not only to be given every facility to create the highest standard, but am even told that I will be held responsible for keeping it so! I have to shake myself to realize it!”

This article also appears here.

the vault

Theodore Thomas

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The opinions expressed here are mine and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.

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