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Georg Solti—who would serve as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s eighth music director from 1969 until 1991—received his first Grammy at the Recording Academy’s fifth awards ceremony in May 1963, for the RCA recording of Verdi’s Aida with Leontyne Price in the title role. Over the next two decades, he steadily increased his count, and at the 26th ceremony in February 1984, Solti received four awards, bringing his total to twenty-three and surpassing Henry Mancini’s record of twenty awards. Ultimately, Sir Georg would receive thirty-one awards—twenty-four with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus—and he reigned as the all-time Grammy champ for nearly forty years.
At the the 65th Grammy Awards on February 5, 2023, Beyoncé received four statuettes, bringing her total to thirty-two and crowning her as the new champ. Quincy Jones follows Solti with twenty-eight awards, Alison Krauss and Chick Corea each has twenty-seven, and Pierre Boulez—former CSO conductor emeritus and principal guest conductor—is in fifth place, with twenty-six Grammy awards, including eight with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
In addition, Solti and producer John Culshaw received the Academy’s first Trustees’ Award in 1967 for their “efforts, ingenuity, and artistic contributions” in connection with the first complete recording of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen with the Vienna Philharmonic. Sir Georg also received the Academy’s 1995 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Following is a complete list of Sir Georg Solti’s thirty-one Grammy awards and seventy-four nominations.*
5th Annual Grammy Awards (1962)
Best Opera Recording (nom 1, win 1)
VERDI Aida
Georg Solti, conductor
Leontyne Price, Rita Gorr, Jon Vickers, Robert Merrill, Giorgio Tozzi
Rome Opera House Orchestra
Rome Opera House Chorus
Giuseppe Conca, director
RCA
STRAUSS Salome
Best Opera Recording (nom 2)
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Gerhard Stolze, Grace Hoffman, Eberhard Wächter, Waldemar Kmentt
Vienna Philharmonic
London
6th Annual Grammy Awards (1963)
Best Opera Recording (nom 3)
WAGNER Siegfried
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, Hans Hotter, Gerhard Stolze, Gustav Neidlinger, Joan Sutherland
Vienna Philharmonic
London
7th Annual Grammy Awards (1964)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 4)
Best Opera Recording (nom 5)
VERDI Falstaff
Georg Solti, conductor
Geraint Evans, Giulieta Simionato, Ilva Ligabue, Robert Merrill, Mirella Freni, Alfredo Kraus, Rosalind Elias
RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra
RCA Italiana Opera Chorus
Nino Antonellini, director
RCA
8th Annual Grammy Awards (1965)
Best Opera Recording (nom 6)
WAGNER Götterdämmerung
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, Gottlob Frick, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Christa Ludwig, Claire Watson, Gustav Neidlinger
Vienna Philharmonic
Men of the Vienna State Opera Chorus
Wilhelm Pitz, director
London
9th Annual Grammy Awards (1966)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 7)
Best Opera Recording (nom 8, win 2)
WAGNER Die Walküre
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Régine Crespin, Christa Ludwig, James King, Hans Hotter, Gottlob Frick
Vienna Philharmonic
London
10th Annual Grammy Awards (1967)
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 9)
MAHLER Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (Resurrection)
Georg Solti, conductor
Heather Harper, Helen Watts
London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra Chorus
John Alldis, director
London
11th Annual Grammy Awards (1968)
Best Opera Recording (nom 10)
STRAUSS Elektra
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Marie Collier, Regina Resnik, Gerhard Stolze, Tom Krause
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
London
13th Annual Grammy Awards (1970)
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 11)
MAHLER Symphony No. 6 in A Minor
Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 12)
STRAUSS Der Rosenkavalier
Georg Solti, conductor
Régine Crespin, Yvonne Minton, Helen Donath, Luciano Pavarotti, Manfred Jungwirth
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
London
14th Annual Grammy Awards
Best Opera Recording (nom 13)
MOZART The Magic Flute, K. 620
Georg Solti, conductor
Pilar Lorengar, Christina Deutekom, Stuart Burrows, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hermann Prey, Martti Talvela
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
London
15th Annual Grammy Awards (1972)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 14, win 3)
Best Choral Performance–Classical (other than opera) (nom 15, win 4)
MAHLER Symphony No. 8 in E-flat Major
Georg Solti, conductor
Heather Harper, Lucia Popp, Arleen Augér, Yvonne Minton, Helen Watts, René Kollo, John Shirley-Quirk, Martti Talvela
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Singverein Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
Vienna Boys’ Choir
Helmut Froschauer, director
London
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 16, win 5)
MAHLER Symphony No. 7 in E Minor
Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 17)
Best Opera Recording (nom 18)
WAGNER Tannhäuser
Georg Solti, conductor
René Kollo, Christa Ludwig, Hans Sotin, Helga Dernesch
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
Vienna Boys’ Choir
Wilhelm Pitz, director
London
16th Annual Grammy Awards (1973)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 19)
BEETHOVEN Piano Concertos
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 19
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 (Emperor)
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
London
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 20)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Pilar Lorengar, Yvonne Minton, Stuart Burrows, Martti Talvela
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 21)
WAGNER Parsifal
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
René Kollo, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hans Hotter, Gottlob Frick, Zoltán Kélémen, Christa Ludwig
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
Vienna Boys’ Choir
Anton Neyder, director
London
17th Annual Grammy Awards (1974)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 22, win 6)
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 23, win 7)
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 24, win 8)
PUCCINI La bohème
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Montserrat Caballé, Judith Blegen, Plácido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, Vicente Sardinero, Ruggero Raimondi
London Philharmonic Orchestra
John Alldis Choir
John Alldis, director
Wandsworth School Boys’ Choir
Russell Burgess, director
RCA
Best Opera Recording (nom 25)
MOZART Così fan tutte, K. 588
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Ryland Davies, Tom Krause, Gabriel Bacquier, Pilar Lorengar, Teresa Berganza, Jane Berbié
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Opera House Chorus
Douglas Robinson, director
London
18th Annual Grammy Awards (1975)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom, 26, win 9)
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 27)
Beethoven’s Symphonies
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 in E flat Major, Op. 55 (Eroica)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 4 in B flat Major, Op. 60
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 (Pastoral)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125
BEETHOVEN Overture to Egmont, Op. 84
BEETHOVEN Overture to Coriolan, Op. 62
BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72b
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Pilar Lorengar, Yvonne Minton, Stuart Burrows, Martti Talvela
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
19th Annual Grammy Awards (1976)
Best Classical Orchestral Performance (nom 28, win 10)
STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 29)
Best Opera Recording (nom 30)
BIZET Carmen
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Tatiana Troyanos, Kiri Te Kanawa, Plácido Domingo, José van Dam
London Philharmonic Orchestra
John Alldis Choir
John Alldis, director
Boys’ Chorus from Haberdashers’ Aske’s School, Elstree
Alan Taylor and Jean Povey, directors
London
Best Classical Orchestral Performance (nom 31)
ELGAR Symphony No. 2 in E-flat Major
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London
20th Annual Grammy Awards (1977)
Best Choral Performance (other than opera) (nom 32, win 11)
VERDI Messa da Requiem
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Leontyne Price, Janet Baker, Veriano Luchetti, José van Dam
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
RCA
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 33)
DEBUSSY Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun and La mer
RAVEL Boléro
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Classical Orchestral Performance (nom 34)
RAVEL Boléro
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 35)
WAGNER The Flying Dutchman
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Norman Bailey, Martti Talvela, Janis Martin, René Kollo
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Men of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
21st Annual Grammy Awards (1978)
Best Choral Performance, Classical (other than opera) (nom 36, win 12)
BEETHOVEN Missa solemnis in D Major, Op. 123
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Lucia Popp, Yvonne Minton, Mallory Walker, Gwynne Howell
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Choral Performance, Classical (other than opera) (nom 37)
WALTON Belshazzar’s Feast
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Benjamin Luxon, baritone
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Philharmonic Choir
John Alldis, director
London
22nd Annual Grammy Awards (1979)
Best Classical Album (nom 38, win 13)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 39, win 14)
Brahms’s Symphonies
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68
BRAHMS Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98
BRAHMS Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
BRAHMS Tragic Overture, Op. 81
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Choral Performance, Classical (other than opera) (nom 40, win 15)
BRAHMS A German Requiem, Op. 45
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, Bernd Weikl
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 41)
HOLST The Planets
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Women of the London Philharmonic Choir
John Alldis, director
London
23rd Annual Grammy Awards (1980)
Best Classical Album (nom 42)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 43, win 16)
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 6 in A Major
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 44)
BARTÓK Bluebeard’s Castle
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kolos Kováts, Sylvia Sass, István Sztankay
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London
24th Annual Grammy Awards (1981)
Best Classical Album (nom 45, win 17)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 46, win 18)
MAHLER Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (Resurrection)
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Isobel Buchanan, Mira Zakai
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
25th Annual Grammy Awards (1982)
Best Classical Album (nom 47)
Best Choral Performance (other than opera) (nom 48, win 19)
BERLIOZ The Damnation of Faust, Op. 24
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Frederica von Stade, Kenneth Riegel, José van Dam, Malcolm King
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus
Doreen Rao, director
London
26th Annual Grammy Awards (1983)
Best Classical Album (nom 49, win 20)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 50, win 21)
MAHLER Symphony No. 9 in D Major
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 51, win 22)
MOZART The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, Lucia Popp, Frederica von Stade, Samuel Ramey, Thomas Allen, Kurt Moll
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Opera Chorus
London
This recording tied with the soundtrack for Verdi’s La traviata with James Levine conducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Teresa Stratas, Plácido Domingo, and Cornell MacNeil.
Best Choral Performance (other than opera) (nom 52, win 23)
HAYDN The Creation
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Norma Burrowes, Sylvia Greenberg, Rüdiger Wohlers, James Morris, Siegmund Nimsgern
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
27th Annual Grammy Awards (1984)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 53)
MAHLER Symphony No. 4 in G Minor
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, soprano
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
28th Annual Grammy Awards (1985)
Best Opera Recording (nom 54, win 24)
SCHOENBERG Moses und Aron
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Franz Mazura, Philip Langridge
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
29th Annual Grammy Awards (1986)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 55, win 25)
LISZT A Faust Symphony
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Siegfried Jerusalem, tenor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Men of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Classical Album (nom 56)
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 56 (Scottish)
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90 (Italian)
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 57)
VERDI Un ballo in maschera
Margaret Price, Kathleen Battle, Christa Ludwig, Luciano Pavarotti, Renato Bruson
National Philharmonic Orchestra
London Opera Chorus
Terry Edwards, director
Royal College of Music Junior Department Chorus
Vaughan Meakins, director
London
30th Annual Grammy Awards (1987)
Best Classical Album (nom 58)
Best Orchestral Recording (nom 59, win 26)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Jessye Norman, Reinhild Runkel, Robert Schunk, Hans Sotin
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 60)
MOZART The Abduction from the Seraglio, K. 384
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Edita Gruberová, Kathleen Battle, Gösta Winbergh, Heinz Zednik, Martti Talvela
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Concert Choir
Martha Heigl, director
London
31st Annual Grammy Awards (1988)
Best Classical Album (nom 61)
Best Opera Recording (nom 62, win 27)
WAGNER Lohengrin
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Jessye Norman, Eva Randová, Plácido Domingo, Siegmund Nimsgern, Hans Sotin, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Concert Choir
London
Best Chamber Music Performance (nom 63, win 28)
BARTÓK Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion
Sir Georg Solti and Murray Perahia, pianos
Evelyn Glennie and David Corkhill, percussion
CBS
Best Orchestral Recording (nom 64)
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 7 in E Major
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Choral Performance (other than opera) (nom 65)
BACH Saint Matthew Passion, BWV 244
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, Anne Sofie von Otter, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Hans Peter Blochwitz, Olaf Bär, Tom Krause
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
33rd Annual Grammy Awards
Best Orchestral Performance (nom 66)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
34th Annual Grammy Awards (1991)
Best Performance of a Choral Work (nom 67, win 29)
BACH Mass in B Minor, BWV 232
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Felicity Lott, Anne Sofie von Otter, Hans Peter Blochwitz, William Shimell, Gwynne Howell
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
35th Annual Grammy Awards (1992)
Best Classical Album (nom 68)
Best Opera Recording (nom 69, win 30)
STRAUSS Die Frau ohne Schatten
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Hildegard Behrens, Júlia Várady, Sumi Jo, Reinhild Runkel, Plácido Domingo, José van Dam
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Vienna Boys’ Choir
Helmuth Froschauer, director
40th Annual Grammy Awards (1997)
Best Classical Album (nom 70)
Best Opera Recording (nom 71, win 31)
WAGNER Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Karita Mattila, Iris Vermillion, Ben Heppner, Herbert Lippert, José van Dam, Alan Opie, René Pape
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 72)
MOZART Don Giovanni, K. 527
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Bryn Terfel, Renée Fleming, Ann Murray, Michele Pertusi, Herbert Lippert, Monica Groop, Robert Scaltriti, Mario Luperi
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Voices
Terry Edwards, director
London
41st Annual Grammy Awards (1998)
Best Classical Album (nom 73)
Best Choral Performance (nom 74)
BARTÓK Cantata profana
WEINER Serenade for Small Orchestra, Op. 3
KODÁLY Psalmus Hungaricus, Op. 13
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Tamás Daróczi, Alexandru Agache
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Choir of the Hungarian Radio and Television
Kálmán Strausz, director
Children’s Choir of Hungarian Radio and Television
Gabriella Thész, director
Schola Cantorum Budapestiensis
Tamás Bubnó, director
*A database of former Grammy Award winners can be found using the search function here; category titles have changed over the years. For opera recordings, only principal soloists are listed.
This article also appears here.
Georg Solti—who would serve as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s eighth music director from 1969 until 1991—received his first Grammy at the Recording Academy’s fifth awards ceremony in May 1963, for the RCA recording of Verdi’s Aida with Leontyne Price in the title role. Over the next two decades, he steadily increased his count, and at the 26th ceremony in February 1984, Solti received four awards, bringing his total to twenty-three and surpassing Henry Mancini’s record of twenty awards. Ultimately, Sir Georg would receive thirty-one awards—twenty-four with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus—and has continued to reign as the all-time Grammy champ for nearly forty years.
In addition, Solti and producer John Culshaw received the Academy’s first Trustees’ Award in 1967 for their “efforts, ingenuity, and artistic contributions” in connection with the first complete recording of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen with the Vienna Philharmonic. Sir Georg also received the Academy’s 1995 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Beyoncé and Quincy Jones currently tie for the number two slot with twenty-eight awards each, Alison Krauss has twenty-seven, and Pierre Boulez—former CSO conductor emeritus and principal guest conductor—is number four, with twenty-six Grammy awards, including eight with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
But keep an eye on Queen Bey . . . she goes into this Sunday’s Grammy Awards ceremony with nine nominations—including Album, Song, and Record of the year. If she receives three wins, she will tie with Sir Georg; if she takes home four or more, she will become the all-time champ. The 2023 Grammy Awards will air live on CBS on Sunday, February 5.
In the meantime, following is a complete list of Sir Georg Solti’s thirty-one Grammy awards and seventy-four nominations.*
5th Annual Grammy Awards (1962)
Best Opera Recording (nom 1, win 1)
VERDI Aida
Georg Solti, conductor
Leontyne Price, Rita Gorr, Jon Vickers, Robert Merrill, Giorgio Tozzi
Rome Opera House Orchestra
Rome Opera House Chorus
Giuseppe Conca, director
RCA
STRAUSS Salome
Best Opera Recording (nom 2)
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Gerhard Stolze, Grace Hoffman, Eberhard Wächter, Waldemar Kmentt
Vienna Philharmonic
London
6th Annual Grammy Awards (1963)
Best Opera Recording (nom 3)
WAGNER Siegfried
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, Hans Hotter, Gerhard Stolze, Gustav Neidlinger, Joan Sutherland
Vienna Philharmonic
London
7th Annual Grammy Awards (1964)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 4)
Best Opera Recording (nom 5)
VERDI Falstaff
Georg Solti, conductor
Geraint Evans, Giulieta Simionato, Ilva Ligabue, Robert Merrill, Mirella Freni, Alfredo Kraus, Rosalind Elias
RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra
RCA Italiana Opera Chorus
Nino Antonellini, director
RCA
8th Annual Grammy Awards (1965)
Best Opera Recording (nom 6)
WAGNER Götterdämmerung
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, Gottlob Frick, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Christa Ludwig, Claire Watson, Gustav Neidlinger
Vienna Philharmonic
Men of the Vienna State Opera Chorus
Wilhelm Pitz, director
London
9th Annual Grammy Awards (1966)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 7)
Best Opera Recording (nom 8, win 2)
WAGNER Die Walküre
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Régine Crespin, Christa Ludwig, James King, Hans Hotter, Gottlob Frick
Vienna Philharmonic
London
10th Annual Grammy Awards (1967)
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 9)
MAHLER Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (Resurrection)
Georg Solti, conductor
Heather Harper, Helen Watts
London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra Chorus
John Alldis, director
London
11th Annual Grammy Awards (1968)
Best Opera Recording (nom 10)
STRAUSS Elektra
Georg Solti, conductor
Birgit Nilsson, Marie Collier, Regina Resnik, Gerhard Stolze, Tom Krause
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
London
13th Annual Grammy Awards (1970)
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 11)
MAHLER Symphony No. 6 in A Minor
Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 12)
STRAUSS Der Rosenkavalier
Georg Solti, conductor
Régine Crespin, Yvonne Minton, Helen Donath, Luciano Pavarotti, Manfred Jungwirth
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
London
14th Annual Grammy Awards
Best Opera Recording (nom 13)
MOZART The Magic Flute, K. 620
Georg Solti, conductor
Pilar Lorengar, Christina Deutekom, Stuart Burrows, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hermann Prey, Martti Talvela
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
London
15th Annual Grammy Awards (1972)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 14, win 3)
Best Choral Performance–Classical (other than opera) (nom 15, win 4)
MAHLER Symphony No. 8 in E-flat Major
Georg Solti, conductor
Heather Harper, Lucia Popp, Arleen Augér, Yvonne Minton, Helen Watts, René Kollo, John Shirley-Quirk, Martti Talvela
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Singverein Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
Vienna Boys’ Choir
Helmut Froschauer, director
London
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 16, win 5)
MAHLER Symphony No. 7 in E Minor
Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 17)
Best Opera Recording (nom 18)
WAGNER Tannhäuser
Georg Solti, conductor
René Kollo, Christa Ludwig, Hans Sotin, Helga Dernesch
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
Vienna Boys’ Choir
Wilhelm Pitz, director
London
16th Annual Grammy Awards (1973)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 19)
BEETHOVEN Piano Concertos
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 19
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 (Emperor)
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
London
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 20)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Pilar Lorengar, Yvonne Minton, Stuart Burrows, Martti Talvela
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 21)
WAGNER Parsifal
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
René Kollo, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hans Hotter, Gottlob Frick, Zoltán Kélémen, Christa Ludwig
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Norbert Balatsch, director
Vienna Boys’ Choir
Anton Neyder, director
London
17th Annual Grammy Awards (1974)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 22, win 6)
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 23, win 7)
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 24, win 8)
PUCCINI La bohème
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Montserrat Caballé, Judith Blegen, Plácido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, Vicente Sardinero, Ruggero Raimondi
London Philharmonic Orchestra
John Alldis Choir
John Alldis, director
Wandsworth School Boys’ Choir
Russell Burgess, director
RCA
Best Opera Recording (nom 25)
MOZART Così fan tutte, K. 588
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Ryland Davies, Tom Krause, Gabriel Bacquier, Pilar Lorengar, Teresa Berganza, Jane Berbié
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Opera House Chorus
Douglas Robinson, director
London
18th Annual Grammy Awards (1975)
Album of the Year–Classical (nom, 26, win 9)
Best Classical Performance–Orchestra (nom 27)
Beethoven’s Symphonies
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 in E flat Major, Op. 55 (Eroica)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 4 in B flat Major, Op. 60
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 (Pastoral)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125
BEETHOVEN Overture to Egmont, Op. 84
BEETHOVEN Overture to Coriolan, Op. 62
BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72b
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Pilar Lorengar, Yvonne Minton, Stuart Burrows, Martti Talvela
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
19th Annual Grammy Awards (1976)
Best Classical Orchestral Performance (nom 28, win 10)
STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 29)
Best Opera Recording (nom 30)
BIZET Carmen
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Tatiana Troyanos, Kiri Te Kanawa, Plácido Domingo, José van Dam
London Philharmonic Orchestra
John Alldis Choir
John Alldis, director
Boys’ Chorus from Haberdashers’ Aske’s School, Elstree
Alan Taylor and Jean Povey, directors
London
Best Classical Orchestral Performance (nom 31)
ELGAR Symphony No. 2 in E-flat Major
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London
20th Annual Grammy Awards (1977)
Best Choral Performance (other than opera) (nom 32, win 11)
VERDI Messa da Requiem
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Leontyne Price, Janet Baker, Veriano Luchetti, José van Dam
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
RCA
Album of the Year–Classical (nom 33)
DEBUSSY Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun and La mer
RAVEL Boléro
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Classical Orchestral Performance (nom 34)
RAVEL Boléro
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 35)
WAGNER The Flying Dutchman
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Norman Bailey, Martti Talvela, Janis Martin, René Kollo
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Men of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
21st Annual Grammy Awards (1978)
Best Choral Performance, Classical (other than opera) (nom 36, win 12)
BEETHOVEN Missa solemnis in D Major, Op. 123
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Lucia Popp, Yvonne Minton, Mallory Walker, Gwynne Howell
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Choral Performance, Classical (other than opera) (nom 37)
WALTON Belshazzar’s Feast
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Benjamin Luxon, baritone
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Philharmonic Choir
John Alldis, director
London
22nd Annual Grammy Awards (1979)
Best Classical Album (nom 38, win 13)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 39, win 14)
Brahms’s Symphonies
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68
BRAHMS Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98
BRAHMS Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
BRAHMS Tragic Overture, Op. 81
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Choral Performance, Classical (other than opera) (nom 40, win 15)
BRAHMS A German Requiem, Op. 45
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, Bernd Weikl
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 41)
HOLST The Planets
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Women of the London Philharmonic Choir
John Alldis, director
London
23rd Annual Grammy Awards (1980)
Best Classical Album (nom 42)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 43, win 16)
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 6 in A Major
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 44)
BARTÓK Bluebeard’s Castle
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kolos Kováts, Sylvia Sass, István Sztankay
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London
24th Annual Grammy Awards (1981)
Best Classical Album (nom 45, win 17)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 46, win 18)
MAHLER Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (Resurrection)
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Isobel Buchanan, Mira Zakai
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
25th Annual Grammy Awards (1982)
Best Classical Album (nom 47)
Best Choral Performance (other than opera) (nom 48, win 19)
BERLIOZ The Damnation of Faust, Op. 24
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Frederica von Stade, Kenneth Riegel, José van Dam, Malcolm King
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus
Doreen Rao, director
London
26th Annual Grammy Awards (1983)
Best Classical Album (nom 49, win 20)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 50, win 21)
MAHLER Symphony No. 9 in D Major
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 51, win 22)
MOZART The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, Lucia Popp, Frederica von Stade, Samuel Ramey, Thomas Allen, Kurt Moll
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Opera Chorus
London
This recording tied with the soundtrack for Verdi’s La traviata with James Levine conducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Teresa Stratas, Plácido Domingo, and Cornell MacNeil.
Best Choral Performance (other than opera) (nom 52, win 23)
HAYDN The Creation
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Norma Burrowes, Sylvia Greenberg, Rüdiger Wohlers, James Morris, Siegmund Nimsgern
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
27th Annual Grammy Awards (1984)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 53)
MAHLER Symphony No. 4 in G Minor
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, soprano
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
28th Annual Grammy Awards (1985)
Best Opera Recording (nom 54, win 24)
SCHOENBERG Moses und Aron
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Franz Mazura, Philip Langridge
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
29th Annual Grammy Awards (1986)
Best Classical Orchestral Recording (nom 55, win 25)
LISZT A Faust Symphony
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Siegfried Jerusalem, tenor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Men of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Classical Album (nom 56)
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 56 (Scottish)
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 4 in A Major, Op. 90 (Italian)
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 57)
VERDI Un ballo in maschera
Margaret Price, Kathleen Battle, Christa Ludwig, Luciano Pavarotti, Renato Bruson
National Philharmonic Orchestra
London Opera Chorus
Terry Edwards, director
Royal College of Music Junior Department Chorus
Vaughan Meakins, director
London
30th Annual Grammy Awards (1987)
Best Classical Album (nom 58)
Best Orchestral Recording (nom 59, win 26)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Jessye Norman, Reinhild Runkel, Robert Schunk, Hans Sotin
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 60)
MOZART The Abduction from the Seraglio, K. 384
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Edita Gruberová, Kathleen Battle, Gösta Winbergh, Heinz Zednik, Martti Talvela
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Concert Choir
Martha Heigl, director
London
31st Annual Grammy Awards (1988)
Best Classical Album (nom 61)
Best Opera Recording (nom 62, win 27)
WAGNER Lohengrin
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Jessye Norman, Eva Randová, Plácido Domingo, Siegmund Nimsgern, Hans Sotin, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Concert Choir
London
Best Chamber Music Performance (nom 63, win 28)
BARTÓK Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion
Sir Georg Solti and Murray Perahia, pianos
Evelyn Glennie and David Corkhill, percussion
CBS
Best Orchestral Recording (nom 64)
BRUCKNER Symphony No. 7 in E Major
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
Best Choral Performance (other than opera) (nom 65)
BACH Saint Matthew Passion, BWV 244
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, Anne Sofie von Otter, Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Hans Peter Blochwitz, Olaf Bär, Tom Krause
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
33rd Annual Grammy Awards
Best Orchestral Performance (nom 66)
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
London
34th Annual Grammy Awards (1991)
Best Performance of a Choral Work (nom 67, win 29)
BACH Mass in B Minor, BWV 232
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Felicity Lott, Anne Sofie von Otter, Hans Peter Blochwitz, William Shimell, Gwynne Howell
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
London
35th Annual Grammy Awards (1992)
Best Classical Album (nom 68)
Best Opera Recording (nom 69, win 30)
STRAUSS Die Frau ohne Schatten
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Hildegard Behrens, Júlia Várady, Sumi Jo, Reinhild Runkel, Plácido Domingo, José van Dam
Vienna Philharmonic
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Vienna Boys’ Choir
Helmuth Froschauer, director
40th Annual Grammy Awards (1997)
Best Classical Album (nom 70)
Best Opera Recording (nom 71, win 31)
WAGNER Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Karita Mattila, Iris Vermillion, Ben Heppner, Herbert Lippert, José van Dam, Alan Opie, René Pape
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe, director
London
Best Opera Recording (nom 72)
MOZART Don Giovanni, K. 527
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Bryn Terfel, Renée Fleming, Ann Murray, Michele Pertusi, Herbert Lippert, Monica Groop, Robert Scaltriti, Mario Luperi
London Philharmonic Orchestra
London Voices
Terry Edwards, director
London
41st Annual Grammy Awards (1998)
Best Classical Album (nom 73)
Best Choral Performance (nom 74)
BARTÓK Cantata profana
WEINER Serenade for Small Orchestra, Op. 3
KODÁLY Psalmus Hungaricus, Op. 13
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Tamás Daróczi, Alexandru Agache
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Choir of the Hungarian Radio and Television
Kálmán Strausz, director
Children’s Choir of Hungarian Radio and Television
Gabriella Thész, director
Schola Cantorum Budapestiensis
Tamás Bubnó, director
*A database of former Grammy Award winners can be found using the search function here; category titles have changed over the years. For opera recordings, only principal soloists are listed.
This article also appears here.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra family wishes the magnificent pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy a very happy eighty-fifth birthday!
Ashkenazy catapulted onto the world stage in 1955 after winning second prize in the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. He was awarded first prize in both the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels in 1956 and the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1962.
“Pound for pound, he may be the most pyrotechnic pianist in the whole world,” wrote Seymour Raven in the Chicago Tribune, following Ashkenazy’s Orchestra Hall recital debut, presented under the auspices of Allied Arts on October 19, 1958. Seven years later, after his Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut in Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto, Thomas Willis (also in the Tribune) commented, the “volcanic [pianist], whose two previous recitals here marked him as a man to watch, had everything it takes to get the locomotor going full speed and most of the qualities to sustain momentum. The big tone for melodies framed the structure in iron. The bravura technique took in stride the hammering octaves, scales which sweep the keyboard, and arpeggio lightning which galvanizes the Russian bear intermezzo into a furious climax. . . . This combination of work, soloist, and orchestra could lift you right out of your seat more than once.”
During the first tour to Europe in 1971, Ashkenazy joined the Orchestra on the first leg in Edinburgh on September 5, performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 20 under Georg Solti. In May 1971 and 1972, he recorded Beethoven’s five piano concertos with the CSO, again with Solti conducting. Recording sessions took place at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and for London Records, the recording was produced by David Harvey and Kenneth Wilkinson was the recording engineer. The set of all five concertos won the 1973 Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance—Instrumental Soloist or Soloists (with orchestra).
For nearly fifty years, Vladimir Ashkenazy was a regular visitor to the stage in Orchestra Hall. In January 2020, he announced that he would be retiring from public performance, capping a career that spanned nearly seventy years.
A complete list of his appearances—with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as a piano recitalist, and as a guest conductor with visiting orchestras—is below.
October 28, 29, and 30, 1965, Orchestra Hall
November 1, 1965, Pabst Theater, Milwaukee
PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 16
Irwin Hoffman, conductor
March 27, 1967, Pabst Theater, Milwaukee
30 and 31, 1967, Orchestra Hall
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37
Jean Martinon, conductor
July 25, 1968, Ravinia Festival
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58
Alfred Wallenstein, conductor
December 5, 6, and 7, 1968, Orchestra Hall
December 9, 1968, Pabst Theater, Milwaukee
PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26
William Steinberg, conductor
October 30, 31, and November 1, 1969, Orchestra Hall
November 3, 1969, Pabst Theater, Milwaukee
MOZART Piano Concerto in D Minor, K. 466
Eliahu Inbal, conductor
July 16, 1970, Ravinia Festival
PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 16
István Kertész, conductor
May 7 and 8, 1971, Orchestra Hall
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 (Emperor)
Georg Solti, conductor
July 20, 1971, Ravinia Festival
RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30
István Kertész, conductor
September 5, 1971, Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland
MOZART Piano Concerto in D Minor, K. 466
Georg Solti, conductor
May 20, 1972, Orchestra Hall
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 19
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
May 21, 1972, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
March 1, 2, and 3, 1973, Orchestra Hall
RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30
Lorin Maazel, conductor
November 7, 8, and 9, 1974, Orchestra Hall
PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 5 in G Major, Op. 55
Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
January 18 and 20, 1980, Orchestra Hall
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Under the auspices of Allied Arts and Symphony Center Presents, Ashkenazy has appeared as piano recitalist, chamber musician, and guest conductor, as follows (*program book not on file; repertoire culled from advertisements and newspaper clippings).
October 19, 1958, Orchestra Hall
BRAHMS Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24
CHOPIN Nocturne in B Major, Op. 9, No. 3
CHOPIN Scherzo No. 4 in E Major, Op. 54
LISZT Mephisto Waltz No. 1
RACHMANINOV Variations on a Theme by Corelli, Op. 42
PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 7 in B-flat Major, Op. 83
*November 18, 1962, Orchestra Hall
MOZART Sonata No. 9 in D Major, K. 311
PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 82
CHOPIN Etudes, Op. 25
*May 16, 1971, Orchestra Hall
HAYDN Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:52
BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 (Appassionata)
CHOPIN Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 58
March 4, 1973, Orchestra Hall
DOHNÁNYI String Quartet No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 33
SHOSTAKOVICH String Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 68
SCHUMANN Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44
Chicago Symphony String Quartet
Victor Aitay, violin
Edgar Muenzer, violin
Milton Preves, viola
Frank Miller, cello
*February 17, 1974, Orchestra Hall
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 3 in C Major, Op. 2, No. 3
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109
CHOPIN Fantasy in F Minor, Op. 49
CHOPIN Impromptu in F-sharp Major, Op. 36
CHOPIN Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 52
CHOPIN Scherzo in E Major, Op. 54
*March 20, 1977, Orchestra Hall
SCRIABIN Sonata No. 2 in G-sharp Minor, Op. 19
SCRIABIN Two Poems, Op. 32
SCRIABIN Sonata No. 7, Op. 64 (White Mass)
SCRIABIN Sonata No. 10, Op. 70
SCRIABIN Four Pieces, Op. 56
RACHMANINOV Études-Tableaux, nos. 2 (Allegro in C major), 6 (Allegro con fuoco in E-flat major), 7 (Moderato in G minor), and 3 (Grave in C minor)
RACHMANINOV Selections from Ten Preludes, Op. 23 and Thirteen Preludes, Op. 32
*January 21, 1979, Orchestra Hall
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 16 in G Major, Op. 31, No. 1
SCHUMANN Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6
CHOPIN Fantasy in F Minor, Op. 49
CHOPIN Ballade in A-flat
CHOPIN Nocturne in F-sharp Minor, Op. 48, No. 2
CHOPIN Scherzo in C-sharp Minor
*February 20, 1981, Orchestra Hall
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major, Op. 110
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111
CHOPIN Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 58
CHOPIN Nocturne in D-flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2
*March 20, 1983, Orchestra Hall
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109
SCHUBERT Klavierstücke No. 1 in E-flat Minor and No. 2 in E-flat Major, D. 946
SCHUBERT Fantasy in C Major, D. 760 (Wanderer)
*April 29, 1984, Orchestra Hall
SCHUBERT Sonata in B-flat Major, D. 960
SCHUMANN Papillons, Op. 2
SCHUMANN Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13
December 9, 1990, Orchestra Hall
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major, Op. 110
BEETHOVEN Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111
BRAHMS Klavierstücke, Op. 119
BRAHMS Variations on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24
November 15, 1992, Orchestra Hall
MENDELSSOHN Selections from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 61
BAX Tintagel
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 10 in E Minor, Op. 93
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
November 10, 1997, Orchestra Hall
KODÁLY Dances of Galánta
MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64
Christian Tetzlaff, violin
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
March 31, 2000, Orchestra Hall
JANÁČEK Suite from The Cunning Little Vixen
DVOŘÁK Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 53
Kurt Nikkanen, violin
PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100
Czech Philharmonic
March 7, 2003, Orchestra Hall
SHOSTAKOVICH/Barshai Chamber Symphony for Strings in C Minor, Op. 110a
PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat Major, Op. 10
Lukáš Vondráček, piano
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 7 in D Minor, Op. 70
Czech Philharmonic
Happy, happy birthday!
This article also appears here.
On August 26, 1971, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra—plus family members, administrative staff, trustees, governing members, and several members of the press—departed Chicago for Vienna, embarking on the ensemble’s first overseas tour to Europe.
Georg Solti, beginning his third season as eighth music director, and Carlo Maria Giulini, the first principal guest conductor, would join the Orchestra on the road for nearly six weeks for a tour that included twenty-five concerts in fifteen venues in nine countries: Austria, Belgium, England, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Scotland, and Sweden. The repertoire varied from symphonies by Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, Haydn, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky; to piano concertos by Mozart and Prokofiev, featuring Vladimir Ashkenazy and Rafael Orozco; and orchestral works by Bartók, Berlioz, Carter, Ravel, and Stravinsky. No other international tour since has included more concerts or a wider variety of programming.
The detailed tour schedule is available here:
The first concert of the tour was given in Edinburgh’s Usher Hall on September 4, with Solti leading Mendelssohn’s Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Carter’s Variations for Orchestra, and Brahms’s First Symphony (a video of most of that performance is available from ICA Classics). The final concert was given on October 5 in London’s Royal Festival Hall, with the Orchestra performing Mozart’s Symphony no. 39, Ravel’s Rapsodie espagnole, and Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony under Giulini’s baton.
Consistently welcomed and cheered by capacity audiences, the Orchestra received overwhelmingly favorable critical response. Upon their return to Chicago, the musicians were welcomed as heroes with a tickertape parade down State and LaSalle streets on October 14, 1971.
Before the Orchestra performed a single concert, there were four recording sessions for Mahler’s Eighth Symphony at the Sofiensaal in Vienna beginning on August 30. The cast included sopranos Heather Harper, Lucia Popp, and Arleen Augér; mezzo-soprano Yvonne Minton; contralto Helen Watts; tenor René Kollo; baritone John Shirley-Quirk; bass Martti Talvela; and three choruses: the Chorus of the Vienna State Opera, the Singverein Chorus, and the Vienna Boys Choir.
London Records released the recording in October 1972. In Gramophone, Edward Greenfield wrote, “Now at last Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand can be heard on record at something approaching its full, expansive stature. Here is a version from Solti which far more clearly than any previous one conveys the feeling of a great occasion. Just as a great performance, live in the concert hall, takes off and soars from the very start, so the impact of the great opening on ‘Veni, creator spiritus’ tingles here with electricity . . . [with] playing from the Chicago orchestra that shows up all rivals in precision of ensemble, Solti’s performance sets standards beyond anything we have known before. . . . This is as near a live performance as the dynamic Solti can make it. At times, the sheer physical impact makes one gasp for breath, and I found myself at the thunderous end of the first movement shouting out in joyous sympathy, so overwhelming is the build-up of tension. . . . No doubt one day the achievement of this first really great recording of Mahler’s Eighth will be surpassed, but in the meantime I can only urge all Mahlerians—and others too—to share the great experience which Solti and his collaborators offer.”
The recording would win three 1972 Grammy awards for Album of the Year–Classical, Best Choral Performance–Classical (other than opera), and Best Engineered Recording–Classical.
This article also appears here. Portions of this article previously appeared here, here, and here.
Lorin Maazel (Ben Spiegel photo)
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra family joins the music world in mourning the loss of Lorin Maazel, a frequent and beloved guest conductor for forty years, from 1973 until 2013. Maazel died on July 13, 2014, at his Castleton Farms estate in Virginia. He was 84.
Maazel made his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in February and March 1973, leading two weeks of subscription concerts at Orchestra Hall as well as a run-out to Milwaukee:
February 22, 23 & 24, 1973
February 26, 1973 (Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43
BARTÓK Two Images, Op. 10
SCRIABIN The Poem of Ecstasy, Op. 54
March 1, 2 & 3, 1973
MARTIRANO Contrasts for Orchestra
RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 2 in C Major, Op. 61
Mstislav Rostropovich and Lorin Maazel, following their performance of the first movement of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto at the Centennial Gala on October 6, 1990
During his forty-year collaboration with the Orchestra, Maazel’s repertoire covered a wide range of composers, including Beethoven, Brahms, Hindemith, Holst, Kernis, Mahler, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Penderecki, Prokofiev, Respighi, Strauss, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, and Wagner. He was one of several conductors invited to share the podium for the CSO’s Centennial Gala on October 6, 1990, and a few weeks later he led the Orchestra in the world premiere of Shchedrin’s Old Russian Circus Music (commissioned to celebrate the CSO’s centennial season) on October 25, 1990. A noted composer, Maazel also led the Orchestra in the U.S. premiere of his own Farewells on December 14, 2000.
Maazel last led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Orchestra Hall for two weeks of subscription concerts—including a run-out to the Krannert Center at the University of Illinois—in February 2005:
February 10 & 12, 2005
February 11, 2005 (Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois)
BRAHMS Serenade No. 2 in A Major, Op. 16
BARTÓK Two Images, Op. 10
PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, Op. 100
February 17, 18, 19 & 20, 2005
THOMAS Gathering Paradise
Heidi Grant Murphy, soprano
SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No. 1
John Sharp, cello
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 39
His most recent appearance in Orchestra Hall was in March 2009 with the New York Philharmonic, during his final season as that ensemble’s music director:
March 9, 2009
BERLIOZ Roman Carnival Overture, Op. 9
TCHAIKOVSKY Suite No. 3 in G Major, Op. 55
STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring
Maazel’s last appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra were tour concerts in January and February 2013, including stops in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, and Seoul.
A statement from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on Lorin Maazel’s passing can be found here.
____________________________________________________
Music Director Georg Solti and Principal Guest Conductor Carlo Maria Giulini shared conducting duties during the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s first overseas tour to Europe in 1971.
The Orchestra was on the road for nearly six weeks, leaving Chicago on August 26 and not returning until October 6, and the tour included twenty-five concerts in fifteen venues in nine countries, with sixteen different works performed. No other CSO international tour since has included more concerts or a wider variety of programming.
Reviews from the tour were numerous, and a small sample are linked here, from Edinburgh, Brussels, Frankfurt, Berlin, Vienna, Milan, and Paris.
The concert schedule was as follows:
September 4, 1971 – Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland
Georg Solti, conductor
MENDELSSOHN Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 21
CARTER Variations for Orchestra
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68
September 5, 1971 – Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland
Georg Solti, conductor
MOZART Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
MAHLER Symphony No. 5
September 6, 1971 – Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland
Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
BERLIOZ Excerpts from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 17
MOZART Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major, K. 543
STRAVINSKY Suite from The Firebird
September 7, 1971 – Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland
Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
BRAHMS Tragic Overture, Op. 81
PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 16
Rafael Orozco, piano
HAYDN Symphony No. 94 in G Major (Surprise)
RAVEL Rapsodie espagnole
September 9, 1971 – Opera House, Ghent, Belgium
Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
MOZART Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major, K. 543
MAHLER Symphony No. 1 in D Major
September 10, 1971 – Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels, Belgium
Georg Solti, conductor
CARTER Variations for Orchestra
MAHLER Symphony No. 5
September 13, 1971 – Kulttuuritalo, Helsinki, Finland
Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
HAYDN Symphony No. 94 in G Major (Surprise)
STRAVINSKY Suite from The Firebird
MAHLER Symphony No. 1 in D Major
September 14, 1971 – Konserthuset, Göteborg, Sweden
Georg Solti, conductor
MENDELSSOHN Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 21
CARTER Variations for Orchestra
MAHLER Symphony No. 5
September 15, 1971 – Folkets Hus, Stockholm, Sweden
Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
MOZART Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major, K. 543
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
September 16, 1971 – Folkets Hus, Stockholm, Sweden
Georg Solti, conductor
MENDELSSOHN Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 21
BARTÓK Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68
When the musicians returned to Chicago at the end of the tour they received a hero’s welcome with a tickertape parade down State and LaSalle streets on October 14, 1971
September 18, 1971 – Jahrhunderthalle, Frankfurt, Germany
September 22, 1971 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
Georg Solti, conductor
MENDELSSOHN Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 21
BARTÓK Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 (Pathétique)
September 19, 1971 – Kuppelsaal der Stadthalle, Hannover, Germany
September 25, 1971 – Grosser Musikvereinsaal, Vienna, Austria
Georg Solti, conductor
BARTÓK Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta
MAHLER Symphony No. 5
September 21, 1971 – Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
MOZART Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major, K. 543
STRAVINSKY Suite from The Firebird
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
September 23, 1971 – Grosse Musikhalle, Hamburg, Germany
September 27, 28, and 29, 1971 – La Scala, Milan, Italy
October 1, 1971 – Kongress-Hall im Deutschen Museum, Munich, Germany
October 2, 1971 – Palais de Chaillot, Paris, France
October 4, 1971 – Royal Festival Hall, London, England
Georg Solti, conductor
MENDELSSOHN Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 21
BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra
BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68
September 26, 1971 – Grosser Musikvereinsaal, Vienna, Austria
Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
BERLIOZ Excerpts from Romeo and Juliet, Op. 17
HAYDN Symphony No. 94 in G Major (Surprise)
STRAVINSKY Suite from The Firebird
October 3, 1971 – Palais de Chaillot, Paris, France
Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
HAYDN Symphony No. 94 in G Major (Surprise)
BRAHMS Tragic Overture, Op. 81
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
October 5, 1971 – Royal Festival Hall, London, England
Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor
MOZART Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major, K. 543
RAVEL Rapsodie espagnole
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
NOTE: post updated on August 22 to clean up link to concert reviews.
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To honor Sir Georg Solti’s seventy-fifth birthday, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus gave a gala concert of the highest order on October 9, 1987.
Governor James R. Thompson opened the concert with welcoming remarks, and after the intermission, Mayor Harold Washington presented Sir Georg with the City of Chicago’s Medal of Merit. The concert program was as follows:
CORIGLIANO Campane di Ravello (world premiere)
Kenneth Jean, conductor
J. STRAUSS Overture to Die Fledermaus
Plácido Domingo, conductor
MOZART Concerto for Two Pianos in E-flat Major, K. 365
Sir Georg Solti, conductor and piano
Murray Perahia, piano
STRAUSS Don Juan, Op. 20
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Plácido Domingo and Kiri Te Kanawa perform a scene from Verdi’s Otello (Jim Steere photo)
VERDI Excerpts from Act 1 of Otello
Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Kiri Te Kanawa, soprano
Plácido Domingo, tenor
Kurt R. Hansen, tenor
Joseph Wolverton, tenor
Richard Cohn, baritone
David Huneryager, bass
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Margaret Hillis, director
The commemorative program contained letters and testimonials from numerous public officials, conductors, musicians, and industry professionals, including: Ronald Reagan, James R. Thompson, Harold Washington, Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Carlo Maria Giulini, Rafael Kubelík, John Corigliano, Christoph von Dohnányi, Rudolf Serkin, Henry Fogel, Michael Tilson Thomas, Christa Ludwig, Birgit Nilsson, Witold Lutosławski, Sir Charles Mackerras, Mstislav Rostropovich, Klaus Tennstedt, David Del Tredici, Leonard Bernstein, Leonard Slatkin, Werner Klemperer, José van Dam, Elliott Carter, Karel Husa, Isaac Stern, Morton Gould, Hans Werner Henze, Itzhak Perlman, Anja Silja, Erich Leinsdorf, Josef Suk, Plácido Domingo, Michael Tippett, Kiri Te Kanawa, Murray Perahia, Leontyne Price, András Schiff, Kenneth Jean, Andrzej Panufnik, Dame Janet Baker, Pierre Boulez, Yvonne Minton, Herbert Blomstedt, Mira Zakai, Margaret Hillis, Gunther Herbig, Ray Minshull, Ann Murray, Philip Langridge, Raymond Leppard, Vladimir Ashkenazy, George Rochberg, Gwynne Howell, Ardis Krainik, Michael Morgan, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Henry Mancini, and Barbara Hendricks.
Solti and Perahia as soloists in Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos (Jim Steere photo)
The concert was covered widely in the press, in the Chicago Tribune (here, here, and here) and Sun-Times (here and here), as well as Time, Newsweek, the Post-Tribune, and the San Francisco Chronicle, among many others.
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Solti conducting Beethoven in Krannert - May 1971
In May 1971 and 1972, Vladimir Ashkenazy recorded Beethoven’s five piano concertos with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Solti conducting. On May 10 and 11, 1971, the third and fifth concertos were recorded, and a year later on May 22 and 23, 1972, the cycle was completed with the first, second, and fourth concertos. All recording sessions took place at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
For London Records, the recording was produced by David Harvey; Kenneth Wilkinson was the recording engineer.
The set of all five concertos won the 1973 Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance—Instrumental Soloist or Soloists (with orchestra).
Ashkenazy, Solti, and David Harvey listening to playbacks - May 1971
from the archives 