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Duain Wolfe in 2013 (Todd Rosenberg photo)
Wishing a very happy seventy-fifth birthday to Duain Wolfe, Grammy Award–winning chorus director and conductor of the Chicago Symphony Chorus!
In 1994, ninth music director Daniel Barenboim appointed Wolfe to succeed Margaret Hillis, founder and first director of the Chorus. Since then, he has prepared the ensemble for over 150 programs for concerts in Orchestra Hall and at the Ravinia Festival, as well as at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, Carnegie Hall, and Berlin’s Philharmonie. Wolfe’s activities have earned him an honorary doctorate and numerous awards, including the Bonfils Stanton Award in the Arts and Humanities, the Colorado Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, and Chorus America’s Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art.
Wolfe also has prepared the Chicago Symphony Chorus for numerous commercial recordings, and a complete list is below.
BARTÓK The Miraculous Mandarin, Op. 19
Pierre Boulez, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in December 1994 for Deutsche Grammophon. The album was executive produced by Roger Wright and produced by Karl-August Naegler, Rainer Maillard was the balance engineer, Stephan Flock and Hans-Rudolf Müller were the recording engineers, and Stephan Flock and Rainer Maillard were the editors.
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 13 in B-flat Minor, Op. 113 (Babi Yar)
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Sergej Aleksashkin, bass
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Men of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in February 1995 for London Records. The album was produced by Michael Woolcock, John Dunkerley and Andy Groves were the recording engineers, and Nigel Gayler was the recoding editor.
ROUGET DE L’ISLE/Berlioz La Marseillaise
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Plácido Domingo, tenor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
The Orchestra and Chorus were recorded in Orchestra Hall in May 1995; Domingo was later recorded at the Hochschule für Musik Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. For Teldec, the album was executive produced by Nikolaus Deckenbrock and produced by Martin Fouqué, Ulrich Ruscher was the recording engineer, Jens Schünemann and Paul Nedel were assistant engineers, and Andreas Florcak and Stefan Witzel were digital editors.
WAGNER Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Eva Karita Mattila, soprano
Magdalene Iris Vermillion, mezzo-soprano
Walther von Stolzing Ben Heppner, tenor
David Herbert Lippert, tenor
Hans Sachs José van Dam, bass-baritone
Veit Pogner René Pape, bass
Sixtus Beckmesser Alan Opie, baritone
Kunz Vogelgesang Roberto Saccà, tenor
Konrad Nachtigall Gary Martin, baritone
Fritz Kothner Albert Dohmen, bass-baritone
Balthasar Zorn John Horton Murray, tenor
Ulrich Eisslinger Richard Byrne, baritone
Augustin Moser Steven Tharp, tenor
Hermann Ortel Kevin Deas, bass-baritone
Hans Schwarz Stephen Morscheck, bass-baritone
Hans Foltz, Ein Nachtwächter Kelly Anderson, baritone
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in September 1995 for London Records. The recording was produced by Michael Woolcock; James Lock, John Pellowe, and Neil Hutchinson were the balance engineers; and Krzysztof Jarosz was the location engineer. The recording won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.
SCRIABIN Prometheus, Op. 60
Pierre Boulez, conductor
Anatol Ugorski, piano
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in December 1996 for Deutsche Grammophon. The album was executive produced by Roger Wright and Ewald Markl and produced by Karl-August Naegler; Ulrich Vette was the balance engineer; Jobst Eberhardt and Stephan Flock were the recording engineers; and Karl-August Naegler and Ulrich Vette were the editors.
STRAVINSKY Symphony of Psalms
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus
Emily Ellsworth, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in March 1997 for London Records. The album was produced by Michael Woolcock, and James Lock and Philip Siney were the balance engineers. Duncan Mitchell was the location engineer, and Sally Drew and Nigel Gayler were the recording editors.
American Spirit
KELLEY/Davis Home on the Range
STEFFE/Davis Battle Hymn of the Republic
WARD/Davis America the Beautiful
Chip Davis, conductor
Mannheim Steamroller Symphony
Members of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Recorded at Saint Michael’s Catholic Church in Old Town, Chicago in March 2003 for American Gramaphone. The album was produced by Chip Davis; Chris Sabold, Mike Konopka, and Dick Lewsey were the engineers; and Mat Lejeune, Brian Pinke, Mike Scasiwicz, Darren Styles were the assistant engineers.
MAHLER Symphony No. 3 in D Minor
Bernard Haitink, conductor
Michelle DeYoung, mezzo-soprano
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Chicago Children’s Choir
Josephine Lee, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in October 2006 for CSO Resound. The album was produced by James Mallinson, and Christopher Willis was the recording engineer.
MENOTTI Amahl and the Night Visitors
Alastair Willis, conductor
Amahl Ike Hawkersmith, treble
Mother Kirsten Gunlogson, mezzo-soprano
King Kaspar Dean Anthony, tenor
King Melchior Todd Thomas, baritone
King Balthazar Kevin Short, bass-baritone
Page to the Kings Bart LeFan, baritone
Nashville Symphony Orchestra
Members of the Nashville Symphony Chorus
George Mabry, director
Members of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Recorded in Laura Turner Concert Hall, Nashville, Tennessee, in December 2006 for Naxos. The album was produced by Blanton Alspaugh, and John Hill and Mark Donahue were the engineers.
RAVEL L’enfant et les sortilèges
Alastair Willis, conductor
L’enfant Julie Boulianne, mezzo-soprano
Maman, La libellule, L’écureuil Geneviève Després, mezzo-soprano
La tasse chinoise, Un pâtre, La chatte Kirsten Gunlogson, mezzo-soprano
La théière, Le petit viellard, La rainette Philippe Castagner, tenor
L’horloge comtoise, Le chat Ian Greenlaw, baritone
Le fauteuil, Un arbre Kevin Short, bass-baritone
La princesse, La chauve-souris Agathe Martel, soprano
Le feu, Le rossignol Cassandre Prévost, soprano
La bergère, Une pastourelle, La chouette Julie Cox, soprano
Nashville Symphony Orchestra
Members of the Nashville Symphony Chorus
George Mabry, director
Members of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Chattanooga Boys Choir
Vincent Oakes, director
Recorded in Laura Turner Concert Hall, Nashville, Tennessee, in December 2006 for Naxos. The album was produced by Blanton Alspaugh, and John Hill and Mark Donahue were the engineers.
POULENC Gloria
RAVEL Daphnis and Chloe
Bernard Haitink, conductor
Jessica Rivera, soprano
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in November 2007 for CSO Resound. The album was produced by James Mallinson, and Christopher Willis was the recording engineer.
MAHLER Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (Resurrection)
Bernard Haitink, conductor
Miah Persson, soprano
Christianne Stotijn, mezzo-soprano
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in November 2008 for CSO Resound. The album was produced by James Mallinson, and Christopher Willis was the recording engineer.
VERDI Messa da Requiem
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Barbara Frittoli, soprano
Olga Borodina, mezzo-soprano
Mario Zeffiri, tenor
Ildar Abdrazakov, bass
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in January 2009 for CSO Resound. The album was produced by Christopher Alder, Christopher Willis was the recording engineer, and David Frost and Tom Lazarus were the mixing engineers.
The recording received 2010 Grammy awards for Best Classical Album and Best Choral Performance.
BERLIOZ Lélio ou le retour à la vie
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Gérard Depardieu, narrator
Mario Zeffiri, tenor
Kyle Ketelsen, bass-baritone
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in September 2010 for CSO Resound. The album was produced and mixed by David Frost, Christopher Willis was the recording engineer, and Silas Brown was the mixing and mastering engineer.
VERDI Otello
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Otello Aleksandrs Antonenko, tenor
Desdemona Krassimira Stoyanova, soprano
Iago Carlo Guelfi, baritone
Emilia Barbara di Castri, mezzo-soprano
Cassio Juan Francisco Gatell, tenor
Roderigo Michael Spyres, tenor
Montano Paolo Battaglia, bass
Lodovico Eric Owens, bass-baritone
A Herald David Govertsen, bass
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Chicago Children’s Choir
Josephine Lee, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in April 2011 for CSO Resound. The album was produced, edited, and mixed by David Frost; Christopher Willis was the recording engineer; and Tim Martyn, Silas Brown, and Richard King were the mixing engineers.
SCHOENBERG Kol Nidre, Op. 39
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Alberto Mizrahi, narrator
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in March 2012 for CSO Resound. The album was produced, edited, and mixed by David Frost; Christopher Willis was the recording engineer; and Silas Brown was the mastering engineer.
WILLIAMS Lincoln (original motion picture soundtrack)
John Williams, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in May 2012 for Sony. The recording was produced by John Williams, Ramiro Belgardt was the music editor, Shawn Murphy was the recording and mixing engineer, Robert Wolff was the recording editor, Brad Cobb was the technical engineer, and Patricia Sullivan Fourstar was the mastering engineer.
Riccardo Muti conducts Italian Masterworks
VERDI Gli arredi festivi from Nabucco
VERDI Patria oppressa! from Macbeth
BOITO Prologue to Mefistofele
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Riccardo Zanellato, bass
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Chicago Children’s Choir
Josephine Lee, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in June 2017 for CSO Resound. The album was produced, edited, and mixed by David Frost; Charlie Post was the recording engineer; and Silas Brown was the mastering engineer.
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 13, Op. 113 (Babi Yar)
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Alexey Tikhomirov, bass
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Men of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in September 2018 for CSO Resound. The album was produced, edited, and mastered by David Frost; Charlie Post was the recording engineer; and Silas Brown was the mastering engineer.
The recording received the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album–Classical.
Happy, happy birthday!
Duain Wolfe acknowledges the Chicago Symphony Chorus following a performance of Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe on April 5, 2018 (Todd Rosenberg photo)
Sherrill Milnes (Dario Acosta photo)
Wishing a very happy eighty-fifth birthday to the legendary American baritone Sherrill Milnes! A native of Downers Grove, Illinois, he also was a member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus in the beginning of his professional singing career.
Milnes auditioned for Margaret Hillis in 1958 and became a member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus in time for the beginning its second season. “I was knocked out by Margaret’s personality and musicality,” he said in a March 1976 interview with Winthrop Sargeant for The New Yorker. “Singing under Fritz Reiner could only be a great thrill for an amateur singer, and I was an amateur. It was pre-career. She had all the techniques of a modern choral conductor. For example, ‘staccato du.” It was the first time I had encountered it. To make sure you know the notes, you sing them ‘du-du-du’—each note very short. Also speaking the words to rhythm—in a monotone, with the rhythm of the music but without the melody. She was the first choral conductor I’d ever know who molded the sound of the chorus, making it change color, and so on. She had everybody sing the soprano part where there was a melody, and the same with the bass and other parts. She opened up a whole new world of musical ideas and rehearsal ideas. . . . I’m on the recording of Reiner’s Beethoven Ninth in the chorus [and] Alexander Nevsky with Reiner too. . . . I was hearing phrases thrown at me for the first time, and it was opening up a whole new world.”
Milnes has been a soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on a number of occasions, both in Orchestra Hall and at the Ravinia Festival, all listed below.
December 16, 1961, Orchestra Hall
BACH Magnificat in D Major, BWV 243
HAYDN Mass in D Minor, Hob. XXII:11 (Lord Nelson)
Margaret Hillis, conductor
Maria Ferriero, soprano
Teresa Orantes, soprano
Lili Chookasian, contralto
David Paige, tenor
Sherrill Milnes, baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
February 15, 1964, Orchestra Hall
MENDELSSOHN Elijah, Op. 70
Margaret Hillis, conductor
Lillian Garabedian, soprano
Marion Vincent, soprano
Julia Diane Ragains, soprano
Robert Johnson, tenor
Sherrill Milnes, baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
December 19, 1964, Orchestra Hall
BERLIOZ L’enfance du Christ, Op. 25
Margaret Hillis, director
Jennie Tourel, mezzo-soprano
Seth McCoy, tenor
Sherrill Milnes, baritone
John West, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
HAYDN July 18, 1965, Ravinia Festival
ORFF Carmina burana
Seiji Ozawa, conductor
Julia Diane Ragains, soprano
Pierre Duval, tenor
Sherrill Milnes, baritone
Alfred Reichel, baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Chicago Children’s Choir
Christopher Moore, director
August 7 and 9, 1969, Ravinia Festival
VERDI Aida
Giuseppe Patanè, conductor
Sheldon Patinkin, stage director
Robert Hale, bass-baritone
Lili Chookasian, contralto
Martina Arroyo, soprano
Richard Tucker, tenor
Sherrill Milnes, baritone
Ara Berberian, bass
Herbert Kraus, tenor
Carolyn Smith-Meyer, soprano
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
July 15 and 17, 1971, Ravinia Festival
VERDI Rigoletto
István Kertész, conductor
Sherrill Milnes, baritone
Patricia Wise, soprano
John Alexander, tenor
Robert Hale, bass-baritone
John Walker, tenor
Bernard Izzo, baritone
Edna Garabedian, mezzo-soprano
Susan Lutz, mezzo-soprano
Eugene Johnson, bass
Phyllis Kirian, soprano
Julia Diane Ragains, soprano
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
July 1, 1972, Ravinia Festival
PUCCINI Tosca
James Levine, conductor
Teresa Kubiak, soprano
John Alexander, tenor
Sherrill Milnes, baritone
Bernard Izzo, baritone
Charles Anthony, tenor
Andrew Földi, bass
Eugene Johnson, bass
Joseph Caccamo, boy soprano
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Glen Ellyn Children’s Theatre Chorus
Doreen Rao, director
July 24, 1976, Ravinia Festival
WALTON Belshazzar’s Feast
André Previn, conductor
Sherrill Milnes, baritone
Royal Scottish National Orchestra Chorus
John Currie, director
July 9, 1978, Ravinia Festival
MENDELSSOHN Elijah, Op. 70
James Levine, conductor
Jessye Norman, soprano
Kathleen Battle, soprano
Beverly Wolff, mezzo-soprano
Isola Jones, mezzo-soprano
Philip Creech, tenor
Kirk Stuart, tenor
Sherrill Milnes, baritone
John Cheek, bass-baritone
Philip Kraus, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
June 26, 1981, Ravinia Festival
VERDI Macbeth
James Levine, conductor
Renata Scotto, soprano
Giuliano Ciannella, tenor
Sherrill Milnes, baritone
John Cheek, bass-baritone
Timothy Jenkins, tenor
Gene Marie Callahan, soprano
Michelle Harman-Gulick, soprano
Sharon Graham, mezzo-soprano
Duane Clenton Carter, baritone
Rush Tully, bass-baritone
Terry Cook, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis and James Winfied, directors
June 27, 1992, Ravinia Festival
SAINT-SAËNS Samson and Delilah
James Levine, conductor
Denyce Graves, mezzo-soprano
Plácido Domingo, tenor
Sherrill Milnes, baritone
Bryn Terfel, bass-baritone
Sergei Koptchak, bass
David Anderson, tenor
John Concepcion, tenor
Paul Grizzell, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Milnes also gave one recital under the auspices of Allied Arts (now Symphony Center Presents):
February 14, 1987, Orchestra Hall
Jon Spong, piano
MONDONVILLE Eole’s Aria from Titon et l’Aurore
LULLY Bois épais from Amadis
GRÉTRY O Richard, O mon roi from Richard Coeur-de-lion
SCHUBERT An die Leier, D. 737
SCHUBERT Die Liebe hat gelogen, D. 751
SCHUBERT Kriegers Ahnung from Schwanengesang, D. 957
SCHUBERT Die Allmacht, D. 852
SANTOLIQUIDO Le domandai
SANTOLIQUIDO Quando le domandai
SANTOLIQUIDO Io mi levai dal centro della terra
SANTOLIQUIDO Riflessi
MOZART Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo, K. 584
McGILL Duna
COPLAND The World Feels Dusty from Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson
TRADITIONAL/Copland At the River
arr. Dalway Love Trapped Me
arr. Dalway Killiney Strand
DUKE Luke Havergal
SAINT-SAËNS Qui donc commande from Henry VIII
Encores:
MOZART Fin ch’han dal vino calda la testa from Don Giovanni, K. 527
TRADITIONAL Shenandoah
TRADITIONAL/Britten Oliver Cromwell (sung by Spong with Milnes at the piano)
GIORDANO Nemico della patria from Andrea Chénier
Happy, happy birthday!
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa (IMG Artists photo)
Wishing a very happy seventy-fifth birthday to the celebrated New Zealand soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa!
With the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Te Kanawa has appeared in concert—in Orchestra Hall, at the Ravinia Festival, and in Carnegie Hall—and on recording on a number of notable occasions. The complete list is below.
May 4, 5, and 6, 1978, Orchestra Hall
May 12, 1978, Carnegie Hall
BRAHMS A German Requiem, Op. 45
Bernd Weikl, baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Recorded at Medinah Temple on May 15 and 16, 1978. For London Records, James Mallinson was the recording producer, and Kenneth Wilkinson and Colin Moorfoot were the balance engineers.
March 23, 24, 25, and 26, 1983, Orchestra Hall
DUPARC Melodies françaises
MAHLER Symphony No. 4 in G Major
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Mahler’s Fourth Symphony was recorded in Orchestra Hall on April 28 and 29, 1983. For London Records, James Mallinson was the recording producer, and James Lock and John Dunkerley were the balance engineers.
October 1, 2, and 9, 1984, Orchestra Hall (recording sessions only)
HANDEL Messiah
Anne Gjevang, contralto
Keith Lewis, tenor
Gwynne Howell, bass-baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis director
For London Records, Ray Minshull was the recording producer, and James Lock and Simon Eadon were the balance engineers.
Handel’s Messiah also was performed on subscription concerts on September 27, 28, and 29, 1984. In addition to the cast above, Elizabeth Hynes was the soprano soloist.
June 29, 1985, Ravinia Festival
HANDEL Let the Bright Seraphim from Samson
MOZART Bella mia fiamma, K. 528
STRAUSS Four Last Songs
James Levine, conductor
March 19 and 21, 1987
BACH Saint Matthew Passion, BWV 244
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano
Anthony Rolfe Johnson, tenor
Tom Krause, bass
Hans Peter Blochwitz, tenor
Olaf Bär, baritone
Richard Cohn, baritone
Patrice Michaels, soprano
Debra Austin, mezzo-soprano
William Watson, tenor
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus
Doreen Rao, director
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Recorded in Orchestra Hall on March 23, 24, 28, 30, and 31, 1987. For London Records, Andrew Cornall was the recording producer, and Simon Eadon and John Pellowe were the balance engineers.
Sir Georg Solti leads the Orchestra along with Plácido Domingo and Kiri Te Kanawa in the final scene from act 1 of Verdi’s Otello on October 9, 1987 (Jim Steere photo)
June 28, 1987, Ravinia Festival
MOZART Così fan tutte, K. 588
Dawn Upshaw, soprano
Tatiana Troyanos, mezzo-soprano
Jerry Hadley, tenor
Håkan Hagegård, baritone
John Cheek, bass-baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Richard Garrin, director
James Levine, conductor
October 9, 1987, Orchestra Hall (A Concert in Honor of the 75th Birthday of Sir Georg Solti)
VERDI Excerpts from Act 1 of Otello
Plácido Domingo, tenor
Joseph Wolverton, tenor
Kurt R. Hansen, tenor
Richard Cohn, baritone
David Huneryager, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
The concert was recorded for radio broadcast, and for WFMT, Norman Pellegrini was the producer and Mitchell G. Heller was the engineer. The duet “Già nella notte densa” was released on Solti: The Legacy in 2012, and for London Records, Matthew Sohn was the restoration engineer.
April 8 and 12, 1991, Orchestra Hall
April 16 and 19, 1991, Carnegie Hall
VERDI Otello
Luciano Pavarotti, tenor
Leo Nucci, baritone
Elzbieta Ardam, mezzo-soprano
Anthony Rolfe Johnson, tenor
John Keyes, tenor
Dimitri Kavrakos, bass
Alan Opie, baritone
Richard Cohn, baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Terry Edwards, guest chorus master
Chicago Children’s Choir (April 8 and 12)
Leslie Britton, director
Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus (April 16 and 19)
Elena Doria, director
Recorded live in Orchestra Hall on April 8 and 12 and in Carnegie Hall on April 16 and 19, 1991. For London Records, Michael Haas was the recording producer, Christopher Pope was the assistant recording producer, and James Lock and John Pellowe were the balance engineers.
July 28, 2001, Ravinia Festival
STRAUSS Four Last Songs
LÉHAR “Lippen Schweigen” from Die lustige Witwe
LÉHAR “Vilja” from Die lustige Witwe
LÉHAR “Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiss” from Giuditta
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
July 19, 2008, Ravinia Festival
STRAUSS Morgen!, Op. 27, No. 4
STRAUSS Ständchen, Op. 17, No.2
STRAUSS Cäcilie, Op. 27, No. 2
CANTELOUBE Baïlèro, La delaïssádo, and Lo fiolairé from Chants d’Auvergne
PUCCINI Mi chiamano Mimì and Donde lieta uscì from La bohème
CILEA Io son l’umile ancella from Adriana Lecouvreur
James Conlon, conductor
Happy, happy birthday!
Kiri Te Kanawa and Luciano Pavarotti onstage at Orchestra Hall in April 1991 (Jim Steere photo)
Renée Fleming (Timothy White photo for Decca)
Wishing a very happy sixtieth birthday to the incomparable American soprano Renée Fleming!
For nearly thirty years, Fleming has been a regular guest with the Chicago Symphony, both in Orchestra Hall and at the Ravinia Festival, as follows:
January 16, 17, and 18, 1992, Orchestra Hall
MOZART Requiem in D Minor, K. 626
Waltraud Meier, mezzo-soprano
John Aler, tenor
Peter Rose, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
January 27, 28, 29, and 30, 1993, Orchestra Hall
FAURÉ Requiem in D Minor, Op. 48
Andreas Schmidt, baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Vance George, director
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
August 5, 1994, Ravinia Festival
VERDI Te Deum from Quattro pezzi sacri
ROSSINI Stabat mater
Denyce Graves, mezzo-soprano
Gregory Kunde, tenor
Dean Peterson, bass-baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Riccardo Chailly, conductor
January 15, 16, 17, and 20, 1998, Orchestra Hall
MOZART Exsultate, jubilate, K. 165
STRAUSS Moonlight Music and Morgen mittag um elf! from Capriccio
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
Plácido Domingo and Renée Fleming onstage at Orchestra Hall, January 26, 1998 (Dan Rest photo)
January 26, 1998, Orchestra Hall
BERNSTEIN Tonight from West Side Story
BERNSTEIN Somewhere from West Side Story
GOUNOD Il se fait tard . . . O nuit d’amour from Faust
VERDI Già nella notte densa from Otello
LEHÁR Lippen schweigen from The Merry Widow
ELLINGTON In a Sentimental Mood
Plácido Domingo, tenor
Daniel Barenboim, conductor and piano
This special concert—entitled Star-Crossed Lovers—featured Fleming with Plácido Domingo in songs, arias, and duets, along with narrators Lynn Redgrave and Timothy Dalton. The concert was recorded for a Great Performances telecast and a London Records release.
August 8, 1998, Ravinia Festival
STRAUSS Four Last Songs
BARBER Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
July 31, 2004, Ravinia Festival
STRAUSS Marie Theres’! . . . Hab’ mir’s gelobt and Ist ein Traum from Der Rosenkavalier
Heidi Grant Murphy, soprano
Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
August 1, 2004, Ravinia Festival
HANDEL Morrai, sì l’empia tua testa and Ombre, piante from Rodelinda
MASSENET Adieu, notre petite table and Obéissons quand leur voix appellee from Manon
STRAUSS Moonlight Music and Morgen mittag um elf! from Capriccio
TRADITIONAL/Grusin Shenandoah
TRADITIONAL/Grusin The Water is Wide
PORTER So in Love from Kiss Me, Kate
RODGERS You’ll Never Walk Alone from Carousel
CATALANI Ebben, ne andrò lontana from La Wally
PUCCINI O mio babbino caro from Gianni Schicchi
VERDI Merci jeunes amies from Les vêpres siciliennes
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
August 5, 2006, Ravinia Festival
BARBER Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24
CILEA Poveri fiori from Adriana Lecouvreur
PUCCINI O mio babbino caro from Gianni Schicchi
PUCCINI Vissi d’arte from Tosca
Miguel Harth-Bedoya, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra opening night gala, October 3, 2009
October 3, 2009, Orchestra Hall
BARBER Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24
STRAUSS Freundliche Vision, Op. 48, No. 1
STRAUSS Zueignung, Op. 10, No. 1
STRAUSS Winterweihe, Op. 48, No. 4
STRAUSS Verführung, Op. 33, No. 1
Paavo Järvi, conductor
July 24, 2010, Ravinia Festival
STRAUSS Four Last Songs
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
In recital, Fleming also has appeared in Orchestra Hall on three occasions:
October 27, 1996
SCHUBERT Die Männer sind méchant, D. 866, No. 3
SCHUBERT Du bist die Ruh, D. 776
SCHUBERT Im Frühling, D. 882
SCHUBERT Der Tod und das Mädchen, D. 531
SCHUBERT Nacht und Träume, D. 827
SCHUBERT Gretchen am Spinnrade, D. 118
STRAUSS Befreit, Op. 39, No. 4
STRAUSS Muttertändelei, Op. 43, No. 2
STRAUSS Waldseligkeit, Op. 49, No. 1
STRAUSS Cäcilie, Op. 27, No. 2
WOLF Heiß’ mich nicht reden (Mignon I)
WOLF Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt (Mignon II)
WOLF So laßt mich scheinen (Mignon III)
WOLF Kennst du das Land (Mignon’s Song)
FAURÉ Lydia, Op. 4, No. 2
FAURÉ Clair de lune, Op. 46, No. 2
FAURÉ Chanson d’amour, Op. 27, No. 1
FAURÉ Les roses d’Ispahan, Op. 39, No. 4
FAURÉ Après un rêve, Op. 7, No. 1
ELLINGTON Prelude to a Kiss
ELLINGTON Do Nothin’ till You Hear from Me
ELLINGTON In a Sentimental Mood
ELLINGTON It Don’t Mean a Thing
Christoph Eschenbach, piano
January 24, 1999
SCHUBERT Suleika I, D. 720
SCHUBERT Scene from Faust, D. 126
SCHUBERT Gretchen am Spinnrade, D. 118
GLINKA Gretchen am Spinnrade
LISZT Kennst du das Land, S. 275/1
MENDELSSOHN Suleika, Op. 57, No. 3
WOLF Heiss mich nicht reden (Mignon I)
WOLF Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt (Mignon II)
WOLF So lasst mich scheinen (Mignon III)
WOLF Kennst du das Land (Mignon IV)
DEBUSSY Ariettes oubliée
STRAUSS Einerlei, Op. 69, No. 3
STRAUSS Ich trage meine Minne, Op. 32, No. 1
STRAUSS Efeu from Mädchenblumen, Op. 22, No. 3
STRAUSS All mein’ Gedanken, Op. 21, No. 1
STRAUSS Morgen!, Op. 27, No. 4
STRAUSS Ich liebe dich, Op. 37, No. 2
Steven Blier, piano
April 18, 2004
HANDEL Ritorna, o caro e dolce mio tesoro from Rodelinda
HANDEL Mio caro bene! from Rodelinda
SCHUBERT Lachen und Weinen, D. 777
SCHUBERT Die Männer sind méchant, D. 866, No. 3
SCHUBERT Du bist die Ruh, D. 776
SCHUBERT Seligkeit, D. 433
BERG Seven Early Songs
PREVIN The Giraffes Go to Hamburg
RAVEL Shéhérazade
Mary Stolper, flute and alto flute
Richard Bado, piano
And be sure to catch Fleming with Evgeny Kissin in recital next season at Symphony Center, on Sunday, April 19, 2020!
Happy, happy birthday!
In addition to releases with Deutsche Grammophon, Erato, and Teldec, Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra made commercial recordings on several other labels. A complete list is below (all recordings made in Orchestra Hall unless otherwise noted).
Barenboim and du Pré at Medinah Temple on November 11, 1970 (Robert M. Lightfoot III photo)
Barenboim made his conducting debut with the Orchestra on November 4, 1970, on a concert at Michigan State University. The first work on that first program was Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, and the soloist was Barenboim’s wife, Jacqueline du Pré. One week later, they recorded the work—along with the same composer’s Silent Woods—with the Orchestra at Medinah Temple.
DVOŘÁK Concerto for Cello in B Minor, Op. 104
DVOŘÁK Silent Woods for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 68
Jacqueline du Pré, cello
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded in Medinah Temple on November 11, 1970
Angel Records
On January 26, 1998, in Orchestra Hall, Barenboim led—from the podium and the keyboard—a special concert called Star-Crossed Lovers, featuring Renée Fleming and Plácido Domingo in songs, arias, and duets along with narrators Lynn Redgrave and Timothy Dalton. The concert was recorded for a Great Performances telecast and a London Records release.
Domingo and Fleming on January 26, 1998 (Dan Rest photo)
BERNSTEIN Prologue, Tonight, Rumble, and Somewhere from West Side Story
ELLINGTON In a sentimental mood, Do nothin’ till you hear from me, and Prelude to a kiss
GARDEL El día que me quieras
GOUNOD Il se fait tard . . . Ô nuit d’amour! from Faust
LEHÁR Dein ist mein ganzes Herz from The Land of Smiles
LEHÁR Lippen schweigen from The Merry Widow
MORENO-TORROBA ¡Quisiera verte y no verte! and Jota castellana
VERDI Già nella notte densa from Otello
Renée Fleming, soprano
Plácido Domingo, tenor
Daniel Barenboim, piano and conductor
Recorded January 26, 1998
London Records
Barenboim led the Orchestra in the world premiere of composer-in-residence Shulamit Ran’s Legends in October 1993 and programmed the work again in June 2004. A recording of the second set of performances—along with Ran’s Violin Concerto, performed by Ittai Shapira with the BBC Concert Orchestra under Charles Hazlewood—was released by Albany Records in 2007.
RAN Legends
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded June 3, 4, 5, and 8, 2004
Albany Records
Three videos featuring the Orchestra and Barenboim, performing at the Philharmonie in Cologne, Germany, were also released, on the Arthaus Musik and EuroArts labels.
MAHLER Symphony No. 5
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded at the Philharmonie in Cologne, Germany on June 4 and 5, 1997
Arthaus Musik
SIBELIUS Concerto for Violin in D Minor, Op. 47
*BACH Sarabande from Partita No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004
*YSAŸE Ballad from Sonata No. 3 in D Minor
Maxim Vengerov, violin
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
FALLA Nights in the Gardens of Spain
Plácido Domingo, conductor
Recorded at the Philharmonie in Cologne, Germany on June 8 and 9, 1997
*Solo encores performed by Vengerov
Arthaus Musik
BOULEZ Notations for Orchestra I-IV
DEBUSSY La mer
FALLA The Three-Cornered Hat
*MORES/Carli El firulete
Elisabete Matos, mezzo-soprano
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded at the Philharmonie in Cologne, Germany on April 27 and 28, 2001
*Performed as an encore
EuroArts
In conjunction with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association’s annual Symphonython (previously Marathon and Radiothon) fundraiser, a themed collection of radio broadcasts was offered as a donation premium. Several works led by Barenboim were included on various sets, and one collection was dedicated solely to him.
Chicago Symphony Chorus: A Fortieth Anniversary Celebration
From the Archives, vol. 13 (1998)
BACH Singet dem Herr nein neues Lied, BWV 225
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded May 11 and 14, 1991
SCHUBERT Gesang der Geister über den Wassern, D. 714
Men of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded May 9, 1991
Beethoven
From the Archives, vol. 17 (2003)
BEETHOVEN Elegy, Op. 118
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe and Cheryl Frazes Hill, directors
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 17, 1994
A Tribute to Daniel Barenboim
From the Archives, vol. 20 (2006)
BERG Three Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded October 15, 1997
BERNSTEIN Symphony No. 1 (Jeremiah)
Birgitta Svendén, mezzo-soprano
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded February 15 and 16, 1996
FALLA El amor brujo
Jennifer Larmore, mezzo-soprano
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded May 22, 1997
HAYDN Symphony No. 48 in C Major (Maria Theresa)
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded May 20, 1993
MONIUSZKO Mazurka from Halka
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded at the Petrillo Music Shell in Grant Park, September 21, 1991
MORES/Carli El firulete
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded February 15, 2001
MOZART Finale Scene from The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492
Lella Cuberli, Joan Rodgers, Dawn Kotoski, sopranos
Cecilia Bartoli, Mimi Lerner, mezzo-sopranos
Graham Clark, tenor
Ferruccio Furlanetto, Michele Pertusi, Peter Rose, Günther von Kannen, basses
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded February 2, 7, and 12, 1992
SCHUBERT Psalm 23, D. 706
Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Daniel Barenboim, piano
Recorded October 3, 1996
THOMAS Ceremonial
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded January 6, 2000
WAGNER A Faust Overture
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded October 18, 1991
WOLF Der Feurreiter
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe and Cheryl Frazes Hill, directors
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 17, 1994
Soloists of the Orchestra III
From the Archives, vol. 21
FISHER/Gould Chicago
Larry Combs, clarinet
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Petrillo Music Shell, September 1991
BOULEZ Messagesquisse for Seven Cellos
John Sharp, solo cello
Stephen Balderston, Phillip Blum, Loren Brown, Richard Hirschl, Jonathan Pegis, and Gary Stucka, cellos
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
September 22, 1994
Additionally, two large collections of radio broadcast material were released as commercial recordings: a twelve-disc set to celebrate the the Orchestra’s centennial in 1990 and a ten-disc set as a retrospective of the twentieth century in 2000.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra: The First 100 Years (1990)
SCRIABIN Symphony No. 4, Op. 54 (The Poem of Ecstasy)
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded December 13, 14, and 16, 1984
BRAHMS Concerto for Piano No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83
Daniel Barenboim, piano
Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
Recorded November 28, 1977
RAN Concerto for Orchestra
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded October 20, 22, and 25, 1988
Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the Twentieth Century: Collector’s Choice (2000)
BUSONI Lustspiel Overture, Op. 38
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded January 4, 1996
MOZART/Busoni Overture to The Abduction from the Seraglio, K. 284
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded February 8, 1996
BEETHOVEN Christ on the Mount of Olives, Op. 85
Laura Aikin, soprano
Ben Heppner, tenor
René Pape, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded February 15 and 16, 1996
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
Cover image: Marshall Field and Company Building*
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
Daniel Barenboim in 1990 (Jim Steere photo for Erato)
On March 15, 1990—at the beginning of an open rehearsal for donors and patrons—the Orchestral Association announced that the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under its music director designate Daniel Barenboim would record exclusively for Erato Records. This would be the label’s first exclusive association with a major American orchestra, and it would begin with the world premiere of the Symphony no. 1 by John Corigliano, the Orchestra’s first composer-in-residence.
A complete list of Barenboim’s catalog with the CSO on Erato is below (all recordings were made in Orchestra Hall).
BEETHOVEN Missa solemnis in D Major, Op. 123
Tina Kiberg, soprano
Waltraud Meier, mezzo-soprano
John Aler, tenor
Robert Holl, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded April 29, 30, May 1, and 4, 1993
BRAHMS Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 19, 22, 24, and 28, 1993
BRAHMS A German Requiem, Op. 45
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Janet Williams, soprano*
Thomas Hampson, baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Recorded September 17, 18, 19, and 22, 1992
*The fifth movement was re-recorded in a studio session with Williams as soloist on January 16, 1993.
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded May 13, 14, and 18, 1993
BRAHMS Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded October 7, 8, and 9, 1993
BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded May 15 and 18, 1993
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 19, 22, 24, and 28, 1993
BRAHMS Tragic Overture, Op. 81
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 17, 18, 19, and 22, 1992
BRAHMS Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn, Op. 56a
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 19, 22, 24, and 28, 1993
CORIGLIANO Symphony No. 1
Stephen Hough, piano
John Sharp, cello
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 15, 16, and 17, 1990
1991 Grammy Awards: Best Orchestral Performance, Best Contemporary Composition
LUTOSŁAWSKI Concerto for Orchestra
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded October 1, 2, and 3, 1992
LUTOSŁAWSKI Symphony No. 3
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded 1, 2, and 3, 1992
MAHLER Das Lied von der Erde
Waltraud Meier, mezzo-soprano
Siegfried Jerusalem, tenor
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded April 25, 26, 28, May 2, and 7, 1991
MENDELSSOHN Concerto for Violin in E Minor, Op. 64
Itzhak Perlman, violin
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded May 13, 14, 15, and 18, 1993
PROKOFIEV Concerto for Violin No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 63
Itzhak Perlman, violin
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded May 13, 14, 15, and 18, 1993
Barenboim and Perlman recording with the Orchestra in May 1993 (Jim Steere photo)
RAVEL Alborada del gracioso
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded October 2 and 3, 1991
RAVEL Boléro
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded October 2 and 3, 1991, and March 16, 1992
RAVEL Daphnis and Chloe Orchestral Fragments (Second Series)
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded October 2 and 3, 1991
RAVEL Pavane pour une infant défunte
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded October 2 and 3, 1991
RAVEL Rapsodie espagnole
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded October 2 and 3, 1991
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Sheherazade, Op. 35
Samuel Magad, violin
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded February 4, 5, and 6, 1993
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV The Tale of Tsar Saltan Suite
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded January 21, 22, 23, and 24, 1993
J. STRAUSS, Jr. Annen Polka, Op. 117
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 16, 19, and 26, 1992
J. STRAUSS, Jr. Egyptian March, Op. 335
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 16, 19, and 26, 1992
J. STRAUSS, Jr. Emperor Waltz, Op. 437
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 16, September 16, 19, and 26, 1992
J. STRAUSS, Jr. On the Beautiful Blue Danube, Op. 314
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 16, 19, and 26, 1992
J. STRAUSS, Jr. Overture to Die Fledermaus
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 16, 19, and 26, 1992
J. STRAUSS, Jr. and J. STRAUSS Pizzicato Polka
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 16, 19, and 26, 1992
J. STRAUSS, Sr. Radetsky March, Op. 228
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 16, 19, and 26, 1992
J. STRAUSS, Jr. Tales from the Vienna Woods, Op, 325
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 16, 19, and 26, 1992
J. STRAUSS, Jr. Thunder and Lightning Polka, Op. 324
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 16, September 19, and 26, 1992
J. STRAUSS, Jr. Tritsch-Tratsch Polka, Op. 214
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded March 16, September 19, and 26, 1992
R. STRAUSS An Alpine Symphony, Op. 64
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 24, 25, 26, and 29, 1992
R. STRAUSS Don Juan, Op. 20
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded May 28, 1990
R. STRAUSS Don Quixote, Op. 35
John Sharp, cello
Charles Pickler, viola
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded May 28, 1991
R. STRAUSS Symphonic Fantasy on Die Frau ohne Schatten
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 24, 25, 26, and 28, 1992
R. STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40
Samuel Magad, violin
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 24 and 25, 1990
R. STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, Op. 28
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 24 and 25, 1990
VERDI Messa da Requiem
Alessandra Marc, soprano
Waltraud Meier, mezzo-soprano
Plácido Domingo, tenor
Ferruccio Furlanetto, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded September 20 and 21, 1993
WAGNER Dawn and Siegfried’s Rhine Journey, Siegfried’s Death and Funeral Procession, and Brünnhilde’s Immolation from Götterdämmerung
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Deborah Polaski, soprano
Recorded October 7 and 8, 1991
WAGNER Forest Murmurs from Siegfried
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded October 8, 1991
WAGNER The Ride of the Valkryies from Die Walküre
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded October 7 and 8, 1991
For the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s twelfth tour to Europe, Daniel Barenboim led three concerts at the Philharmonie in Berlin, in conjunction with the 1996 Easter Festival (Festtage).
Barenboim leads the Orchestra at the Philharmonie in Berlin on on April 3, 1996 (Monika Rittershaus photo)
April 3, 1996 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
LISZT Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major
Martha Argerich, piano
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
April 5, 1996 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
WAGNER Prelude to Act 1 and Good Friday Music from Parsifal*
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 8 in C Minor
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
*Argerich originally was scheduled to perform Liszt’s Totentanz, but she canceled due to illness.
April 6, 1996 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
LISZT Piano Concerto No. 2 in A Major
Martha Argerich, piano
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Barenboim and the Orchestra returned to Europe later that same year, for a five-concert tour to England and Ireland. Sir Georg Solti led the fourth concert of the tour on September 13—Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony as part of at The Proms.
September 8, 1996 – Symphony Hall, Birmingham, England
September 14, 1996 – Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, England
VERDI Overture to La forza del destino
ELGAR Falstaff, Op. 68
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Program book for the September 12, 1996, concert at the Royal Albert Hall
September 9, 1996 – National Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland
September 12, 1996 – Royal Albert Hall, London, England
SCHOENBERG Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 16
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 8 in C Minor
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
The Orchestra’s fourteenth European tour included stops in Germany and France, with three Festtage concerts in Berlin.
June 4, 1997 – Kölner Philharmonie, Cologne, Germany
June 5, 1997 – Kölner Philharmonie, Cologne, Germany
REIMANN Violin Concerto
Gidon Kremer, violin
MAHLER Symphony No. 5
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
June 6, 1997 – Roncalliplatz, Cologne, Germany
GERSHWIN Cuban Overture
GERSHWIN Concerto in F for Piano and Orchestra
William Eddins, piano
GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue
William Eddins, piano
GERSHWIN An American in Paris
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Vengerov rehearses Sibelius’s Violin Concerto under Barenboim’s baton at the Philharmonie in Cologne on June 8, 1997 (Klaus Rudolph photo)
June 8, 1997 – Kölner Philharmonie, Cologne, Germany
June 9, 1997 – Kölner Philharmonie, Cologne, Germany
HÖLLER Aura
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
SIBELIUS Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47
Maxim Vengerov, violin
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
FALLA Nights in the Gardens of Spain
Daniel Barenboim, piano
Plácido Domingo, conductor
June 10, 1997 – Gewandhaus, Leipzig, Germany
MAHLER Symphony No. 5
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Domingo congratulates Barenboim following a performance of Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain at the Philharmonie in Cologne on June 8, 1997 (Astrid Kessler photo)
Barenboim and the Orchestra again returned to Berlin’s Festtage in the spring of 1998 for the fifteenth European tour
April 2, 1998 – Châtelet Théâtre Musical de Paris, Paris, France
WAGNER Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
BERG Three Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
April 3, 1998 – Châtelet Théâtre Musical de Paris, Paris, France
MAHLER Symphony No. 5
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
April 6, 1998 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
BRAHMS Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77
Maxim Vengerov, violin
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
April 7, 1998 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
BERG Three Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6
MAHLER Symphony No. 5
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
April 8, 1998 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
SCHUMANN Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54
Jonathan Gilad, piano
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 7 in E Major
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Program book for the September 5, 1998, concert in Birmingham’s Symphony Hall
The second trip to Europe in 1998 featured stops in England, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Austria, and the Orchestra’s first appearances in Romania.
September 3, 1998 – Royal Albert Hall, London, England
BIRTWISTLE Exody
MAHLER Symphony No. 5
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
September 4, 1998 – Royal Albert Hall, London, England
September 5, 1998 – Symphony Hall, Birmingham, England
September 11, 1998 – Kultur and Kongresszentrum, Lucerne, Switzerland
STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, Op. 28
BERG Three Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6 in E Minor, Op. 64 (Pathétique)
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
September 7, 1998 – Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels, Belgium
BERG Three Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6
MAHLER Symphony No. 5
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Program book for the September 16, 1998, concert at the Musikvereinsaal in Vienna
September 8, 1998 – Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels, Belgium
WAGNER Prelude to Lohengrin
SCHOENBERG Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 16
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6 in E Minor, Op. 64 (Pathétique)
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
September 9, 1998 – Festspielhaus, Baden-Baden, Germany
September 15, 1998 – Musikverein, Vienna, Austria
SCHOENBERG Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 16
MAHLER Symphony No. 5
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
September 12, 1998 – Kultur and Kongresszentrum, Lucerne, Switzerland
SCHOENBERG Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 16
WAGNER Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
September 14, 1998 – Philharmonie am Gasteig, Munich, Germany
WAGNER Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde
MAHLER Symphony No. 5
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Program book for the spring 1999 Festtage in Berlin
September 16, 1998 – Musikverein, Vienna, Austria
September 18, 1998 – Sala Mare a Palatului, Bucharest, Romania
WAGNER Prelude to Lohengrin
BERG Three Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6 in E Minor, Op. 64 (Pathétique)
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
September 19, 1998 – Sala Mare a Palatului, Bucharest, Romania
SCHUMANN Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54
Radu Lupu, piano
MAHLER Symphony No. 5
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
For the 1999 Festtage , Barenboim invited the Chicago Symphony Chorus to join the Orchestra for two concerts in Berlin, including Pierre Boulez leading Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron on April 1.
March 31, 1999 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
BRAHMS A German Requiem, Op. 45
Dorothea Röschmann, soprano
Thomas Quasthoff, baritone
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Program book for the April 27 and 28, 2000, concerts in Cologne’s Philharmonie
April 3, 1999 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
STRAUSS Don Juan, Op. 20
STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, Op. 28
STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
The Orchestra’s eighteenth European tour included Barenboim leading concerts in Germany, Spain, and Portugal, with Boulez taking the reins for two concerts in Cologne.
April 21, 2000 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83
Maurizio Pollini, piano
DEBUSSY La mer
BOULEZ Notations for Orchestra I-IV, VII
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
April 22, 2000 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 15
Radu Lupu, piano
STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Luggage sticker for the 2000 tour to Europe
April 27, 2000 – Philharmonie, Cologne, Germany
April 28, 2000 – Philharmonie, Cologne, Germany
BOULEZ Notations for Orchestra I-IV, VII
DEBUSSY La mer
FALLA The Three-Cornered Hat
Elisabete Matos, mezzo-soprano
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
April 30, 2000 – Palau de la Musica, Barcelona, Spain
May 1, 2000 – Auditoria Nacional de la Musica, Madrid, Spain
May 3, 2000 – Coliseu dos Recreios, Lisbon, Portugal
MAHLER Symphony No. 5
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
May 2, 2000 – Auditoria Nacional de la Musica, Madrid, Spain
DEBUSSY Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun
DEBUSSY La mer
FALLA The Three-Cornered Hat
Elisabete Matos, mezzo-soprano
Daniel Barenboim, 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.”
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)
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 Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Maurizio Pollini, and the Emerson String Quartet, along with the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Joe Williams, Oscar 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)
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.
from the archives 