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On August 28, 1989, in London’s Royal Albert Hall, Sir Georg Solti led the Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Chorus—in its European debut—in Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust. Soloists included mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, tenor Keith Lewis, bass-baritone José van Dam, and bass Peter Rose.
“I doubt that there will be a better Prom this year,” wrote Tom Sutcliffe in The Independent. “The sheer accuracy of the playing is astounding. . . . The crispness of the rhythms, the ability to switch mood in a phrase, ran throughout the ensemble— and of course when excitement or shock was needed, it sprang out instantly at Solti’s slightest indication, providing marvelous evidence of a long and deep relationship between instruments and conductor in which little needed to be said or shown for everything meant to be instantly understood. . . . And what a chorus the Chicago Symphony has, to comply with Solti’s needs, youthful, beautiful in tone and robust in attack, every word totally clear, understood and stylishly enunciated. Well, Solti’s chorus master is Margaret Hillis—simply the best.”
The Orchestra and Chorus also performed Berlioz’s Faust on August 30 in Salzburg’s Grosses Festspielhaus, and Solti and the Orchestra continued on through Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, France, and the Netherlands before returning to London’s Royal Albert Hall* for the final concert of the tour on September 18.
The August 28 concert was recorded for television broadcast and later released by London Records on video.
Also for London, Solti conducted the Orchestra, Chorus, and soloists (including mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, tenor Kenneth Riegel, bass-baritone José van Dam, and bass Malcolm King) in recording sessions of The Damnation of Faust in May 1981 at Medinah Temple. The recording was awarded the 1982 Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance–Choral.
*The September 18 concert originally had been scheduled for London’s Royal Festival Hall. As a result of a pay dispute earlier that month, there was the prospect of a strike between the unions representing the technicians and box office staff and management at South Bank Centre. The concert was moved to Royal Albert Hall to avoid the possibility of Orchestra musicians crossing picket lines.
This article also appears here.
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Sir Georg Solti led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s sixth trip to Europe in August and September 1989, including stops in Austria, Denmark, England, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. And for the first two concerts of the tour, the Chicago Symphony Chorus joined the Orchestra for the first time on an overseas tour.
August 28, 1989 – Royal Albert Hall, London, England
August 30, 1989 – Grosses Festspielhaus, Salzburg, Austria
BERLIOZ The Damnation of Faust
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano
Keith Lewis, tenor
José van Dam, bass-baritone
Peter Rose, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, chorus director
Westminster Cathedral Choir
James O’Donnell, chorus director
August 31, 1989 – Grosses Festspielhaus, Salzburg, Austria
September 3, 1989 – Kunsthaus, Lucerne, Switzerland
September 8, 1989 – Grosse Musikhalle, Hamburg, Germany
September 15, 1989 – Salle Pleyel, Paris, France
September 16, 1989 – Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
September 18, 1989 – Royal Albert Hall, London, England
SCHUBERT Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, D. 485
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 65
September 4, 1989 – Kunsthaus, Lucerne, Switzerland
September 5, 1989 – Philharmonie am Gasteig, Munich, Germany
September 7, 1989 – Tonhalle, Düsseldorf, Germany
September 9, 1989 – Tivoli, Copenhagen, Denmark
September 11, 1989 – Göteborgs Konserthus, Göteborg, Sweden
September 12, 1989 – Konserthuset, Stockholm, Sweden
ROSSINI Overture to The Barber of Seville
BARTÓK Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 (Eroica)
The August 28 performance of Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust was recorded for television broadcast and later released on VHS and DVD. Kenneth Corden was the executive producer and the film was directed by Rodney Greenberg. A couple of clips from the program are below.
The attached YouTube videos are not the property of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association. We just thought they were interesting.