Georg Solti

British conductor
Also known as: György Solti, György Stern, György Stern Solti

Georg Solti (born October 21, 1912, Budapest, Hungary—died September 5, 1997, Antibes, France) was a Hungarian-born British conductor and pianist, one of the most highly regarded conductors of the second half of the 20th century. He was especially noted for his interpretations of Romantic orchestral and operatic works.

Solti studied at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest with Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály. At 18 he joined the coaching staff of the Budapest Opera and made his conducting debut there in 1938. A Jew, he found safety in Zürich at the outbreak of World War II, but his alien status prevented him from conducting professionally. He won the Geneva International Piano Competition in 1942. After the war he became music director of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich (1946–52), the Frankfurt Opera (1952–60), and the Royal Opera at Covent Garden (1961–71). He assumed British citizenship in 1972 and was knighted that same year.

From 1969 to 1991 he was music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, reestablishing that orchestra’s international reputation. He was chief conductor of the Orchestra of Paris (1972–75) and acted as musical adviser to the Paris Opéra from 1971 to 1973. He served as the principal conductor and artistic director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 1979 to 1983.

As a conductor Solti was best known for his dynamic and deeply felt interpretations of operas, symphonies, and other large-scale works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss, and Gustav Mahler. He was particularly notable for his sharp attention to musical detail and his ability to evoke a wide range of tonal colours from an orchestra. He made many highly praised recordings from the late 1940s as both conductor and solo performer. In 1958–65 Solti made the highly acclaimed first complete set of recordings of Richard Wagner’s opera cycle, The Ring of the Nibelung (Der Ring des Nibelungen), which was released in 1966. During his career Solti won 31 Grammy Awards, a record number that was broken by Beyoncé in 2023. His Memoirs (also published as Solti on Solti; written with Harvey Sachs) appeared in 1997 shortly after his death.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

American orchestra
Also known as: CSO, Chicago Orchestra, Theodore Thomas Orchestra
Quick Facts
Date:
1891 - present
Headquarters:
Chicago

Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Ill., renowned for its distinctive tone and its recordings under such conductors as Fritz Reiner and Sir Georg Solti. It was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891 as the Chicago Orchestra and operated as the Theodore Thomas Orchestra from 1905 to 1913, when it was named the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Its music directors have been Fredrick Stock (1905–42), Désiré Defauw (1943–47), Artur Rodzinski (1947–48), Rafael Kubelík (1950–53), Fritz Reiner (1953–62; musical adviser, 1961–63), Jean Martinon (1963–68), Irwin Hoffman (acting music director; 1968–69), Sir Georg Solti (1969–91; music director laureate, 1991–97), and Daniel Barenboim (1991–2006). From 2006 Bernard Haitink served as principal conductor until Riccardo Muti took the podium as musical director in 2010. Principal guest conductors have included Carlo Maria Giulini (1969–72), Claudio Abbado (1982–85), and Pierre Boulez (1995–2006; conductor emeritus from 2006).

The CSO is known for its emphasis on the central European repertoire. Reiner was credited with building the orchestra into a precise, world-class ensemble. Under Solti and Giulini, the CSO made a triumphant European tour in 1971. The orchestra made frequent subsequent European tours and tours of Japan, Hong Kong, and Australia. During summers, the CSO is the principal orchestra at the Ravinia Festival in suburban Highland Park, Ill.

In 1957, at Reiner’s request, Margaret Hillis created and became director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, the first such ensemble in the United States to be permanently affiliated with a major symphony orchestra. Duain Wolfe succeeded Hillis as director in 1994. CSO composers in residence have included John Corigliano (1987–91) and Shulamit Ran (1990–97), among others. In 2010 cellist Yo-Yo Ma became the orchestra’s first creative consultant.

The CSO has premiered works by Franz Liszt, Aleksandr Glazunov, Ernest Bloch, Zoltán Kodály, Igor Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud, Roy Harris, Samuel Barber, Ned Rorem, Gunther Schuller, Hans Werner Henze, Witold Lutosławski, and Easley Blackwood.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Virginia Gorlinski.