On June 6, 2026, we celebrate the centennial of the marvelous German conductor Klaus Tennstedt (1926–1998), who led the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on several occasions over the course of two decades.
“Tennstedt shone with a clear, illuminating inner light,” according to Thomas Willis in the Chicago Tribune, following the conductor’s debut with the Orchestra in December 1976. “Each delicate insertion of a motive, each singing melody was underscored with lightness, flexibility, and an infallibly musical instinct . . . a performance which danced in the air.”
During his final residency in May and June of 1990, Tennstedt led two weeks of concerts to close out the Orchestra’s 1989-90 season, and the first set of performances included Mahler’s First Symphony. “Tennstedt is one of the best Mahler conductors around,” wrote Robert C. Marsh in the Chicago Sun-Times. “He knows the idiom thoroughly and he easily finds the tempos, the textures, and the sounds that bring it to life. Give him the CSO to work with and you can expect remarkable things, and they happened.” The performances were captured by EMI for audio and video commercial release.
“The final program of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s 99th season, heard Thursday at Orchestra Hall, came as close to perfection as musicmaking can get in a sorely imperfect world,” wrote John von Rhein in the Tribune on June 8, 1990. “Tennstedt’s way with [Haydn and Mahler’s] music is identifiably his own, and the kinds of responses he is able to draw from the Chicagoans in this music [was] warm, mellow, finely molded.”
A complete list of Klaus Tennstedt’s appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is below.
December 8, 9, 10, and 11, 1976, Orchestra Hall December 13, 1976, Uihlein Hall, Milwaukee, Wisconsin BLACHER Concertante Musik, Op. 10 TCHAIKOVSKY Concerto for Violin in D Major, Op. 35 Henryk Szeryng, violin BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67
December 3, 4, and 5, 1981, Orchestra Hall BRUCKNER Symphony No. 8 in C Minor
May 31, June 1, and 2, 1984, Orchestra Hall MOZART Symphony No. 36 in C Major, K. 425 (Linz) BRUCKNER Symphony No. 7 in E Major
June 4, 1984, Uihlein Hall, Milwaukee, Wisconsin MENDELSSOHN Concerto for Violin in E Minor, Op. 64 Edith Peinemann, violin BRUCKNER Symphony No. 7 in E Major
June 7, 8, and 9, 1984, Orchestra Hall WEBER Overture to Oberon MENDELSSOHN Concerto for Violin in E Minor, Op. 64 Edith Peinemann, violin STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30
October 24, 25, and 27, 1985, Orchestra Hall SHOSTAKOVICH Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 99 Samuel Magad, violin MAHLER Symphony No. 1 in D Major
October 31, November 1, and 2, 1985, Orchestra Hall November 4, 1985, Uihlein Hall, Milwaukee, Wisconsin BEETHOVEN Concerto for Violin in D Major, Op. 61 Kyung-Wha Chung, violin BRUCKNER Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major
April 14, 15, 16, and 19, 1988, Orchestra Hall BRAHMS Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77 Kyung-Wha Chung, violin SCHUBERT Symphony in C Major, D. 944 (Great)
May 31, June 1, 2, and 5, 1990, Orchestra Hall STRAUSS Oboe Concerto Ray Still, oboe MAHLER Symphony No. 1 in D Major
June 7, 8, and 9, 1990, Orchestra Hall HAYDN Symphony No. 100 in G Major (Military) MAHLER Symphony No. 4 Arleen Augér, soprano
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra family mourns the loss of Samuel Magad, who served as a member of the first violin section from 1958 until 2007, including thirty-five years as concertmaster, the position he held longer than any other player in the CSO’s history. He died on May 25, 2026, in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Magad was ninety-four.
Samuel Magad was born in Chicago on May 14, 1932. He made his debut with the Chicago Symphony in Orchestra Hall at the age of eleven, as the winner of the CSO Youth Auditions. Magad performed the first movement of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto on March 1 and 15, 1944, under the baton of third music director Désiré Defauw. He later attended DePaul University as a student of Paul Stassevitch, and after graduating with his bachelor’s degree, he served in the U.S. Army Orchestra in Washington, D.C.
At the invitation of Fritz Reiner, Magad joined the Orchestra’s first violin section in 1958, and he was promoted to assistant concertmaster by Jean Martinon in 1966. In 1972 Sir Georg Solti appointed him concertmaster, the position he held until his retirement in 2007.
In addition to his work as concertmaster, Magad made regular appearances as soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the batons of numerous conductors, including Daniel Barenboim, Solti, Claudio Abbado, Rafael Kubelík, Erich Leinsdorf and James Levine. He made his CSO subscription debut as soloist during his first season as concertmaster in November 1972, performing Mozart’s Fifth Violin Concerto with Solti conducting. During his tenure, he also performed concertos by Bartók, Beethoven, Berg, Brahms, Bruch, Haydn, Korngold, Mendelssohn, Panufnik, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, and Vivaldi, among others.
Itzhak Perlman, Samuel Magad, Daniel Barenboim, John Sharp, and Pinchas Zukerman onstage at Orchestra Hall on October 9, 1997 (Jim Steere)
Magad also performed in countless chamber music concerts, appearing with his CSO colleagues as well as Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Barenboim, Maxim Vengerov and Mstislav Rostropovich. As concertmaster, Magad can be heard as soloist on several CSO recordings, including Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben and Also sprach Zarathustra, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade, and Beethoven’s Missa solemnis.
The founder of the Northbrook Symphony, Magad served as the ensemble’s music director and conductor for twenty years. During his tenure, the orchestra was named 1997 Orchestra of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras. Magad also was the concertmaster of the Grant Park Orchestra and Aspen Festival Orchestra, where he performed for more than a dozen seasons as soloist, chamber musician, and conductor.
Among Magad’s numerous awards were a Distinguished Alumni Award for achievement in the arts from DePaul University and the Governor’s Award from the Recording Academy for a lifetime of outstanding service to the art of music. In 1998 he received the Conductor of the Year award from the Illinois Council of Orchestras, and he was inducted into the 2000 North Shore Walk of Fame in recognition of his accomplishments as a violinist and conductor. In June 2010, he received a Doctor of Humane Letters from DePaul University, and in May 2017, he was awarded DePaul’s Pro Musica Award, “in recognition of extraordinary contributions to music and the arts.”
In his retirement, Magad was an active member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Alumni Association, serving as a board member and officer for many years. He also served on the DePaul University School of Music Advisory Board and was a regular student at Northwestern University’s School of Continuing Studies.
Edgar and Nancy Muenzer, Jacques Israelievitch, and Samuel and Miriam Magad at the June 3, 2011, CSO Alumni Association reunion (Dan Rest)
At the time of his retirement in 2007, Magad said, “I was very lucky to have had this position and to have held it for so long. It’s been a wonderful ride.”
Samuel Magad’s beloved wife Miriam preceded him in death on February 25, 2026. He is survived by his daughters Debra Magad (Daniel Kaplan) and Carlen (Jonathan) Mines; grandchildren Jared, Michael, Greg and Kayla; and great grandchildren Leo, Devon, Layla and Blair.
Shiva and services will be held at Chicago Jewish Funerals in Skokie, beginning at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, May 29. Interment will be private. Memorial gifts may be made to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra here and the DePaul University School of Music here.
Carl Sandburg in 1947 (Bettmann Archive via Getty Images)
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has performed Aaron Copland‘s Lincoln Portrait on several occasions and with a number of notable narrators.
Poet, writer, and editor Carl Sandburg was narrator for the Orchestra’s first performances of Lincoln Portrait on March 15 and 16, 1945, in Orchestra Hall conducted by Désiré Defauw. At the time, Sandburg was the country’s leading authority on Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth U.S. president. He had written the two-volume Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years in 1926, and in 1940 he completed the four-volume Abraham Lincoln: The War Years, for which he won his second Pulitzer Prize.
The composer himself conducted the first performance at the Ravinia Festival on July 21, 1956, and popular stage and screen actor Claude Rains was narrator for the occasion. Winner of a Tony Award and nominated four times for an Academy Award (in the best supporting actor category), Rains appeared in such classic films as The Adventures of Robin Hood, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Casablanca, Notorious, and Lawrence of Arabia.
Illinois Governor Otto J. Kerner rubs the nose of Gutzon Borglum’s Lincoln bust in 1964 (World Telegraph & Sun photo by Roger Higgins)
Copland was again on the podium at the Ravinia Festival on July 6, 1963, when Illinois Governor Otto Kerner, Jr., was narrator. He was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and served as a judge in the Illinois Circuit Court of Cook County before his election as the thirty-third governor of Illinois in 1960, winning reelection in 1964. Kerner resigned in 1968 when President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated him as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He was later convicted of mail fraud, conspiracy, and perjury and sentenced to three years in federal prison; he was released early following a terminal cancer diagnosis.
The next three performances, all in Orchestra Hall, were narrated by voices quite familiar to Chicagoans. On March 28, 1970, Mel Zellman, an announcer for WFMT, shared the stage with conductor Irwin Hoffman. Jim Tilmon, a longtime television reporter for WTTW and NBC, narrated the work on February 25, 1976, with associate conductor Henry Mazer on the podium. On January 29, 1979, Bill Kurtis, then a news anchor with WBBM-TV, was narrator, again under Mazer’s direction.
For a special July 4 celebration in 1982 at the Ravinia Festival, Aaron Copland himself was narrator. Erich Kunzel conducted.
Mayor Jane Byrne in 1979 (Fred Jewell, Associated Press)
Jane Byrne was the first woman to serve as Chicago’s mayor—the city’s fortieth—from 1979 until 1983. On October 1, 1982, in Orchestra Hall, she was narrator with Reynald Giovaninetti on the podium. According to her obituary in the Chicago Tribune, “Over her single term in office, Byrne launched Taste of Chicago and crowd-pleasing celebrations like Blues Fest, inspired the redevelopment of Navy Pier and the Museum Campus, and encouraged movie making here in a big way by luring production of box office hits like The Blues Brothers.”
On October 4, 1997, Symphony Center officially opened its doors with a gala concert. The program included a performance of Lincoln Portrait with bass-baritone William Warfield as narrator and ninth music director Daniel Barenboim conducting. Warfield had become well known following a star turn as Joe—singing “Ol’ Man River”—in MGM‘s 1951 remake of Show Boat. He also recorded a highly acclaimed album of selections from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with soprano Leontyne Price in 1963. Long associated with Copland, Warfield had sung the premiere performances of the first set of Old American Songs (for soloist and orchestra) as well as the second set (for soloist and piano).
Steppenwolf Theatre Company actors Martha Lavey, Amy Morton, K. Todd Freeman, and Tracy Letts shared narrating duties at the Ravinia Festival on July 4, 2004. David Alan Miller conducted.
Senator Barack Obama onstage with William Eddins and the Orchestra at Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park on September 11, 2005 (Todd Rosenberg Photography)
On September 11, 2005, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra gave a free concert at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. Guest conductor William Eddins led the Orchestra in The Star-Spangled Banner, William Schuman’s arrangement of Ives’s Variations on America, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade, and Copland’s Lincoln Portrait with freshman U.S. Senator Barack Obama as narrator. In the Chicago Sun-Times, Wynne Delacoma wrote: “When September 11 comes around each year, the craving for a moment of proverbial silence—a chance to slow down, remember, and mourn—is strong. Sunday’s concert, led by former CSO resident conductor William Eddins and featuring Senator Barack Obama as narrator in Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait, provided just that kind of beneficent moment. Despite the steamy weather, a large crowd filled the pavilion’s seats and lawn, giving the CSO in general, and Obama in particular, vociferous applause. . . . Obama brought an orator’s skill without an actor’s slick veneer to Copland’s Lincoln Portrait. The comforting quality of his voice gave added emotional resonance to Lincoln’s words. The CSO was a powerful surging force behind him, alternately sinking into meditation and swelling to majestic heights.”
In 2009 American actor James Earl Jones was narrator at Orchestra Hall on February 21 and 24 under the baton of James Gaffigan, and on July 18 soprano Jessye Norman was narrator with James Conlon conducting at the Ravinia Festival. Most recently, actor—and charter member of Chicago’s Steppenwolf—John Malkovich was onstage with Riccardo Muti for Lincoln Portrait for four performances in April 2018 in Orchestra Hall.
Portions of this article previously appeared here. This article also appears here.
Leonard Bernstein onstage with the Orchestra in June 1988 (Jim Steere)
In September 1943 Artur Rodziński, music director of the New York Philharmonic, invited Leonard Bernstein to be his assistant conductor. Barely two months later, on November 14, the twenty-five-year-old conductor was a last-minute substitute for an ailing Bruno Walter, leading the ensemble in Carnegie Hall without a rehearsal. The next day, he was the front-page story in the New York Times.
Less than a year later, Bernstein made his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival for a four-concert residency beginning on July 4, 1944. “A fascinating fellow, this Bernstein, dynamic, emotional, yet under complete control,” wrote Claudia Cassidy in the Chicago Tribune, with “hands that gyrate so convulsively they scarcely could hold a baton if they tried, and eyes that somehow manage to be agonized, supplicant, and truculent without losing their place in the score.” For the final concert of his inaugural residency, Bernstein led his Jeremiah Symphony, described by Cassidy as “undeniably impressive [and] a sound piece of work.”
Chicago Tribune, July 5, 1944
Bernstein would continue to appear with the Chicago Symphony until 1956, including his debut in Orchestra Hall in 1951. After more than thirty years, he returned to Chicago in June 1988 to act as artistic advisor for the American Conductors Program, a joint project of the American Symphony Orchestra League and selected major American orchestras. For the program, he coached three young conductors—Kate Tamarkin, Leif Bjaland, and John Fiore, all chosen following a nationwide competition—in works by Richard Strauss.
On the June 16 and 17 concerts with the Orchestra, Fiore conducted Death and Transfiguration, Tamarkin led Don Juan, and Bjaland conducted Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks. After intermission, Bernstein took the podium for Shostakovich’s Symphony no. 1. The following week, he closed the Orchestra’s ninety-seventh season with Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony (Leningrad) on June 21 and 22 in Orchestra Hall and June 24 in Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall in New York.
“I cannot recall a season finale of recent years, in fact, that sent the audience home on such a tidal wave of euphoria, and for so many of the right reasons,” wrote John von Rhein in the Chicago Tribune, following the first performance of the Leningrad Symphony. “Indeed, the conductor was constantly pushing the music beyond the rhetorical brink, then drawing back when things threatened to go over the top. Of course, he had the world’s greatest Shostakovich brass section at his ready command. The augmented brasses blared with magnificent menace, the violins sounded their unison recitatives with vehement intensity. And the woodwinds, with their always crisp and characterful playing, reminded us of the many poetic, soft sections that separate the bombastic outbursts.”
Both of Shostakovich’s symphonies were recorded live by Deutsche Grammophon and the subsequent release received the 1990 Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance.
Portions of this article previously appeared here. This article also appears here.
Aaron Copland in November 1960 (Ben Martin via Getty Images)
“The world’s gone topsy turvy and let no one tell you otherwise,” began Roger Dettmer in the July 22, 1956, Chicago American. “Hailstorms in the afternoon and 5,000 persons at Ravinia in the evening [for] an entire concert of Aaron Copland’s music conducted by Mr. Copland.” For the composer’s Chicago Symphony Orchestra podium debut, he had programmed his An Outdoor Overture, suites from Our Town and Billy the Kid, the first two movements from the Third Symphony, and Lincoln Portrait with actor Claude Rains as narrator.
During his second residency at the Ravinia Festival, on July 10, 1962, Copland led the Orchestra in a program that began with Haydn’s Symphony no. 95, Stravinsky’s Ode for Orchestra and Chávez’s Sinfonia india. After intermission, the composer returned to lead his Orchestral Variations and Old American Songs. Copland’s appearance drew “the largest Tuesday crowd in many a Ravinia summer [and] everything added up to the best program given summer audiences here in a decade of concerts,” wrote Dettmer in the American. “The strongest music was Mr. Copland’s Variations, tense and unrelenting, splendorously scored, and in design, memorable.”
American bass-baritone William Warfield—who had given the premiere of the orchestral arrangement of the first set of songs as well as the first performance of the original version of the second set with the composer at the piano—was soloist for the occasion. Robert C. Marsh in the Chicago Sun-Times commented, “In the two sets of American songs, William Warfield showed us that the acoustically revamped pavilion is now a fit place for a vocal soloist, for his big, warm baritone came to us as no singer had before.”
Aaron Copland and William Warfield in 1963 (Library of Congress)
For his debut at Orchestra Hall, the composer was soloist in his Piano Concerto on December 5, 1964, led by assistant conductor Irwin Hoffman. In the Chicago Tribune, Thomas Willis observed that Copland “obviously enjoyed himself, pounding out syncopations, nodding to the reeds as they lipped ’blue’ notes, and elbowing assistance to offbeats, false accents, and throwaway endings.”
He returned to the podium in early April 1970—both in Orchestra Hall and in Milwaukee’s Uihlein Hall—to lead works by Berlioz, Carter, and Tippett, along with his Symphonic Ode and a suite from Appalachian Spring. In the Sun-Times, Marsh speculated that the Orchestra might have been fatigued “from a heavy recording schedule with Georg Solti early in the week.* The result was a concert both pleasing and instructive [showing that] a good work of music does not need to be dramatized by a conductor and, in a clear and accurate statement, will have no difficulty speaking for itself.”
For Copland’s final appearance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, he was again a soloist, this time as narrator in his Lincoln Portrait for a July 4 concert during Ravinia’s 1982 season. The all-American program included his Fanfare for the Common Man and selections from Rodeo, along with works by Anderson, Cohan, Cowell, Herbert, Ives, and Sousa. Erich Kunzel was on the podium.
*Between March 26 and April 8, 1970, in Medinah Temple, Georg Solti—in his inaugural season as eighth music director—led his first recording sessions with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra: Mahler’s Fifth and Sixth symphonies along with the Songs of a Wayfarer with mezzo-soprano Yvonne Minton.
Portions of this article previously appeared here. This article also appears here.
Zubin Mehta onstage with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Orchestra Hall on February 24, 2006 (Todd Rosenberg Photography)
Wishing a very happy ninetieth birthday to the legendary Indian conductor Zubin Mehta!
Born in 1936 in Bombay, Mehta first studied music with his father Mehli Mehta, a violinist and the founder of the Bombay Symphony Orchestra. He entered the the conducting program at the Akademie für Musik in Vienna in 1954, and within a few years he had won the Liverpool International Conducting Competition and was a prizewinner of the Tanglewood Music Center. Mehta has served as music director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic, as well as chief conductor of the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.
A frequent and favorite guest conductor in Chicago, Mehta has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus on numerous occasions, both at Orchestra Hall and the Ravinia Festival. A complete list is below.
December 1, 1986, Orchestra Hall BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 15 BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83 Daniel Barenboim, piano
November 17, 18, 19, and 22, 1988, Orchestra Hall MAHLER Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (Resurrection) Marvis Martin, soprano Maureen Forrester, contralto Chicago Symphony Chorus Margaret Hillis, director
November 23, 25, and 27, 1988, Orchestra Hall MESSIAEN Turangalîla-symphonie Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano Jeanne Loriod, ondès martenot
August 9, 1991, Ravinia Festival BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26 Midori, violin MAHLER Symphony No. 5
August 10, 1991, Ravinia Festival BEETHOVEN Overture to Egmont, Op. 84 BARBER Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24 Marvis Martin, soprano BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 Marvis Martin, soprano Gweneth Bean, contralto Ben Heppner, tenor Julien Robbins, baritone Chicago Symphony Chorus Margaret Hillis, director
February 19, 20, 21, and 22, 1992, Orchestra Hall BRAHMS Symphony No. 3 in F Major, Op. 90 FOSS Symphony No. 3 (Symphony of Sorrows) (world premiere) RAVEL Suite No. 2 from Daphnis and Chloe
February 26, 27, 28, and 29, 1992, Orchestra Hall MAHLER Symphony No. 3 in D Minor Florence Quivar, mezzo-soprano Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus Richard Garrin, director Chicago Children’s Choir Lucy Ding, director
February 2, 1993, Orchestra Hall BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 (Emperor) Daniel Barenboim, piano
December 16, 17, and 19, 1993, Orchestra Hall WEBERN Passacaglia for Orchestra, Op. 1 WEBERN Six Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6 WEBERN Concerto, Op. 24 SCHUBERT Symphony No. 9 in C Major, D. 944 (Great)
January 26, 27, and 31, 1995, Orchestra Hall SCHUBERT Symphony No. 6 in C Major, D. 589 ORFF Carmina burana Janet Williams, soprano Frank Lopardo, tenor Bo Skovhus, baritone Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe, director Chicago Children’s Choir William Chin, director
February 2, 4, and 5, 1995 MOZART Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K. 550 SCHOENBERG Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9 WAGNER Siegfried Idyll MOZART Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 (Jupiter)
Daniel Barenboim and Zubin Mehta acknowledge applause following a performance of Brahms’s First Piano Concerto on February 24, 2006 (Todd Rosenberg Photography)
June 22 and 23, 1995, Ravinia Festival WAGNER Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3, C minor, Op. 37 Emanuel Ax, piano GERSHWIN An American in Paris RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34
June 24, 1995, Ravinia Festival PUCCINI Tosca Elizabeth Holleque, soprano (Floria Tosca) Richard Leech, tenor (Mario Cavaradossi) Sergei Leiferkus, baritone (Baron Scarpia) Stephen Morscheck, bass-baritone (Angelotti) David Evitts, baritone (Sacristan) Matthew Polenzani, tenor (Spoletta) Victor Benedetti, baritone (Sciarrone) Mark McCrory, bass-baritone (Jailer) Suzanne Shields, soprano (A Young Shepherd) Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe, director Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus Lisa Sirvatka, director
June 27, 1995, Ravinia Festival BRAHMS Tragic Overture, Opus 81 BRAHMS Concerto for Violin and Cello A Minor, Op. 102 (Double) Pinchas Zukerman, violin Ralph Kirshbaum, cello BRAHMS Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
January 18, 19, and 20, 1996, Orchestra Hall SCHUBERT Overture to Rosamunde, D. 644 SCHUBERT Symphony in B Minor, D. 759 (Unfinished) STRAUSS Domestic Symphony, Op. 53
February 20, 21, 22, and 25, 1997, Orchestra Hall LUTOSŁAWSKI Symphony No. 4 BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 (Eroica)
February 27, 28, and March 1, 1997, Orchestra Hall KORNGOLD Suite from Much Ado About Nothing BARTÓK Piano Concerto No. 2 Yefim Bronfman, piano MENDELSSOHN Octet for Strings in E-flat Major, Op. 20
February 18, 20, and 22, 1998, Orchestra Hall WAGNER A Faust Overture HINDEMITH Symphony, Mathis der Maler BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 15 Daniel Barenboim, piano
February 26, 27, 28, and March 3, 1998, Orchestra Hall CRUMB Ancient Voices of Children Barbara Ann Martin, soprano R. Anton Briones, boy soprano BRUCKNER Symphony No. 4 in E-flat Major (Romantic)
February 8, 9, and 10, 2001, Orchestra Hall BERLIOZ The Trojans, Op. 29, Part 1: The Fall of Troy Deborah Voigt, soprano (Cassandra) Roman Trekel, baritone (Chorebus) Jon Villars, tenor (Aeneas) Nancy Pifer, soprano (Ascanius) Stacy Eckert, mezzo-soprano (Hecuba) James Cornelison, tenor (Helenus) Timothy J. Quistorff, baritone (Panthus and a Soldier) Andrew Funk, bass (Priam, Spirit of Hector and Greek Captain) Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe, director
April 4, 5, and 6, 2002, Orchestra Hall STRAVINSKY Fireworks, Op. 4 STRAVINSKY Circus Polka PROKOFIEV Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 63 Nikolaj Znaider, violin BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
April 11, 12, and 13, 2002, Orchestra Hall BERLIOZ The Trojans, Op. 29, Part 2: The Trojans at Carthage Nadja Michael, mezzo-soprano (Dido) Nancy Maultsby, mezzo-soprano (Anna) Meredith Barber, soprano (Ascanius) Stacy Eckert, mezzo-soprano (Spirit of Cassandra) Jon Villars, tenor (Aeneas) Nicholas Phan, tenor (Iopas) Michael Sommese, tenor (Hylas) Michael Brauer, baritone (Mercury and Spirit of Chorebus) Timothy J. Quistorff, baritone (First Sentinel and Spirit of Hector) Terry Cook, bass (Second Sentinel and Sprit of Priam) Stephen Milling, bass (Narbal) Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe, director
February 24, 2006, Orchestra Hall BRAHMS Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68 BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 15 Daniel Barenboim, piano
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra family joins the music world in mourning the loss of American conductor, pianist and composer Michael Tilson Thomas. He enjoyed a remarkable partnership with the Orchestra and Chorus, appearing on the podium—in Orchestra Hall, at the Ravinia Festival, in Milwaukee and on tour to Australia—over the course of more than fifty years. Tilson Thomas died in San Francisco on April 22, 2026, at the age of eighty-one, following a long illness.
For Tilson Thomas’s Orchestra Hall debut with the CSO in May 1981, John von Rhein in the Chicago Tribune wrote, “Normally, the presence of Schoenberg, Stravinsky and Charles Ives on a Chicago Symphony program would inspire a rush of ticket returns, but not on Thursday night. . . . Thomas’ interesting program achieved a welcome balance of the brainy and the accessible, the unusual and the familiar. . . . Thomas, who once was assistant to Pierre Boulez, retains some of that conductor’s ability to clarify line, texture and nuance without sacrificing a sensuous wash of vivid atmosphere.”
Prior to his November and December 2023 performances with the Orchestra, he reflected on his many decades leading the ensemble. “I very much love making music with the Chicago Symphony,” he said. “I always have. I find it a revitalizing experience. . . . I, of course, love the huge energy with which they approach everything, but I’m also a big fan of their great subtlety. . . . There’s no limit to how quickly and expertly and movingly they will take the music on; it’s incredible rapidity. I think that’s remarkable.”
For those final appearances, Tilson Thomas closed the program with Schoenberg’s arrangement of Brahms’s G minor piano quartet. “All night, one half-expected Tilson Thomas, among the most charismatic musical explainers since Bernstein, to address the audience, or somehow acknowledge the weight of this moment in ways only the torrents of applause dared to,” wrote Hannah Edgar in the Chicago Tribune. “But in the silence before the Brahms-Schoenberg, Tilson Thomas looked out over the orchestra for what felt like minutes, as though taking stock of each face. Later, lifting his baton for the third movement, he did something unusual: he spoke to the orchestra. ’Enjoy,’ he told them. ’Take it easy.’”
A complete list of Michael Tilson Thomas’s appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus is below.
July 12, 1970, Ravinia Festival J.C. BACH Sinfonia for Double Orchestra in E-flat Major HAYDN Symphony No. 60 in C Major VARÈSE Intégrales STRAVINSKY Suite from Pulcinella
August 1, 1970, Ravinia Festival BACH Suite No. 4 in D Major, BWV 1069 MOZART Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488 John Browning, piano RUGGLES Sun-Treader WAGNER Siegfried’s Rhine Journey, Siegfried’s Death and Funeral March, and Brünnhilde’s Immolation from Götterdämmerung
May 21, 22, and 24, 1981, Orchestra Hall BACH/Schoenberg Chorale Preludes (Schmücke dich, O liebe Seele and Komm, and Gott Schöpfer, heiliger Geist) IVES Symphony No. 2 STRAVINSKY The Firebird
July 22, 1982, Ravinia Festival HAYDN Symphony No. 81 in G Major BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26 Shlomo Mintz, violin STRAVINSKY Symphony in Three Movements RAVEL La valse
July 24, 1982, Ravinia Festival BERLIOZ Overture to Benvenuto Cellini BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58 Emanuel Ax, piano STRAUSS Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30
August 7, 1983, Ravinia Festival GERSHWIN An American in Paris GERSHWIN Summertime; It Ain’t Necessarily So; and I Loves You, Porgy from Porgy and Bess GERSHWIN Sweet and Low-Down GERSHWIN Medley: But Not for Me, Love is Here to Stay, Embraceable You, and Someone to Watch over Me GERSHWIN Fascinatin’ Rhythm GERSHWIN Second Rhapsody for Orchestra with Piano Miichael Tilson Thomas, piano GERSHWIN My Man’s Gone Now from Porgy and Bess GERSHWIN The Man I Love GERSHWIN Do It Again! GERSHWIN Medley: Nice Work If You Can Get It, They Can’t Take That Away from Me, ‘S Wonderful, Swanee, Strike Up the Band Sarah Vaughan, vocal George Gaffney, piano Andy Simpkins, bass Harold Jones, drums
August 11, 1983, Ravinia Festival JANÁČEK Suite from The Cunning Little Vixen DEBUSSY La mer TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23 Misha Dichter, piano
August 13, 1983, Ravinia Festival BRAHMS Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80 BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 Henryk Szeryng, violin BRAHMS Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73
November 10, 11, and 12, 1983, Orchestra Hall STRAVINSKY Symphonies of Wind Instruments STRAVINSKY Apollon musagète TCHAIKOVSKY Manfred, Op. 58
November 17, 18, and 19, 1983, Orchestra Hall November 21, 1983, Uihlein Hall, Milwaukee, Wisconsin IVES Symphony No. 3 (The Camp Meeting) GERSHWIN/Tilson Thomas Nocturne for Lily Pons Michael Tilson Thomas, piano VARÈSE Arcana BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 15 Misha Dichter, piano
August 9, 1984, Ravinia Festival GLINKA Overture to Ruslan and Ludmila RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30 Yefim Bronfman, piano STRAVINSKY The Firebird
August 11, 1984, Ravinia Festival DEBUSSY Incidental Music for King Lear DEBUSSY First Rhapsody for Clarinet and Orchestra Larry Combs, clarinet TCHAIKOVSKY Romeo and Juliet DVOŘÁK Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104 Yo-Yo Ma, cello
June 13, 14, and 15, 1985, Orchestra Hall GRAINGER Arrival Platform Humlet from In a Nutshell GRIFFES Clouds CHABRIER Joyeuse marche DEL TREDICI March to Tonality GERSHWIN Second Rhapsody for Orchestra with Piano Michael Tilson Thomas, piano DELIUS On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring RESPIGHI Feste romane SOUSA New Mexico March
August 8, 1985, Ravinia Festival RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Four Pieces from Mlada RACHMANINOV Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 Misha Dichter, piano STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring
August 10, 1985, Ravinia Festival BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72 BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37 Alicia de Larrocha, piano TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36
August 15, 1985, Ravinia Festival IVES Thanksgiving and Forefathers’ Day from Holidays Symphony Chicago Symphony Chorus Margaret Hillis, director MAHLER Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (Resurrection) Marvis Martin, soprano Florence Quivar, mezzo-soprano Chicago Symphony Chorus Margaret Hillis, director
August 17, 1985, Ravinia Festival MOZART Symphony No. 34 in C Major, K. 338 MOZART Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major, K. 219 Cho-Liang Lin, violin BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra
May 1, 2, and 3, 1986, Orchestra Hall May 5, 1986, Uihlein Hall, Milwaukee, Wisconsin IVES The Unanswered Question Adolph Herseth, trumpet IVES Central Park in the Dark MOZART Concerto for Violin No. 5 in A Major, K. 219 Young Uck Kim, violin TCHAIKOVSKY Suite No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 43 Ives’ The Unanswered Question (the original and revised versions) and Central Park in the Dark were recorded in Medinah Temple on May 10 and 12, 1986. For CBS Bud Graham was the recording engineer and Graham and Tim Geelan were the post-production engineers.
May 8, 9, and 10, 1986, Orchestra Hall IVES Symphony: New England Holidays Chicago Symphony Chorus Margaret Hillis, director BARTÓK Three Village Scenes Chicago Symphony Chorus Margaret Hillis, director SCHUMANN Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 97 (Rhenish) Ives’ New England Holidays Symphony was recorded in Medinah Temple on May 10 and 12, 1986. For CBS Bud Graham was the recording engineer and Graham and Tim Geelan were the post-production engineers.
July 24, 1986, Ravinia Festival COPLAND Billy the Kid, Suite from the Ballet SCHUBERT/Liszt Fantasy in C Major, D. 760 (The Wanderer) Illana Vered, piano BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92
July 26, 1986, Ravinia Festival BERLIOZ Overture to Benveunto Cellini MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64 Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, violin BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14a
February 19, 20, 22, and 24, 1987, Orchestra Hall BRAHMS Tragic Overture, Op. 81 SIBELIUS Symphony No. 6 in D Minor, Op. 104 BRAHMS/Schoenberg Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25
February 26, 27, and 28, 1987, Orchestra Hall WAGNER Prelude to Act 3 of Lohengrin WUORINEN Piano Concerto No. 3 Garrick Ohlsson, piano BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra
December 3, 4, and 6, 1987, Orchestra Hall REICHA Musique pour célébrer la memoire des grands hommes de la République francaise HAYDN The Storm Chicago Symphony Chorus Margaret Hillis, director JANÁČEK Glagolitic Mass Linda Kelm, soprano Dolora Zajic, mezzo-soprano Gary Lakes, tenor Kevin Langan, bass Thomas Weisflog, organ Chicago Symphony Chorus Margaret Hillis, director
February 18, 19, 20, and 23, 1988, Orchestra Hall BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72 IVES Symphony No. 3 (The Camp Meeting) RACHMANINOV Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 27
Tilson Thomas and Solti at a press conference in Perth, Australia
March 5, 1988, Perth Concert Hall, Perth, Australia March 10, 1988, Adelaide Festival Center, Adelaide, Australia March 15, 1988, Melbourne Concert Hall, Melbourne, Australia March 18, 1988, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72b IVES Symphony No. 3 (The Camp Meeting) RACHMANINOV Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 27
April 6, 7, 8, and 11, 1989, Orchestra Hall HAYDN Symphony No. 81 in G Major HAYDN Horn Concerto in D Major, Hob. VIId:3 Dale Clevenger, horn IVES Symphony No. 1 Ives’ Symphony no. 1 was recorded in Medinah Temple on April 15 and 17, 1989. For Sony Stephen Epstein was the producer, Bud Graham was the recording engineer, and Graham and Kevin P. Boutote were the post-production engineers.
April 13, 14, 16, and 18, 1989, Orchestra Hall BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83 Emanuel Ax, piano American Hymns: Nearer, My God, to Thee; From Greenland’s Icy Mountains; Ye Christian Heralds; Jesus, Lover of My Soul; and Sweet By and By Richard Webster, organ Chicago Symphony Chorus Margaret Hillis, director IVES Symphony No. 4 Mary Sauer, piano Chicago Symphony Chorus Margaret Hillis, director The American hymns and Ives’ Symphony no. 4 were recorded in Medinah Temple on April 15 and 17, 1989. For Sony Stephen Epstein was the producer, Bud Graham was the recording engineer, and Graham and Kevin P. Boutote were the post-production engineers.
March 31, April 1, 2, and 5, 1994, Orchestra Hall J.C. BACH Symphony for Double Orchestra in E-flat Major, Op. 18, No. 1 REICH Three Movements Patricia Dash, Albert Payson, James Ross, and Michael Green, percussion MAHLER Symphony No. 1 in D Major
April 7, 8, and 9, 1994, Orchestra Hall BERNSTEIN Imaginary Coney Island Scene from On the Town BERNSTEIN Chichester Psalms Ryan Cox, boy soprano Chicago Symphony Chorus Cheryl Frazes Hill, director TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 (Pathétique)
March 16, 17, and 18, 2006, Orchestra Hall MAHLER Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (Resurrection) Celena Shafer, soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, mezzo-soprano Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe, director
May 29, 30, and 31, 2008, Orchestra Hall DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88 OLIVER Federal Street (Great God, we sing that mighty hand) HATTON Duke Street (God, beneath thy guiding hand) ROOT The Shining Shore TRADITIONAL Good Night, Ladies BISHOP Home, Sweet Home IVES Symphony: New England Holidays Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe, director
February 11, 12, and 13, 2010, Orchestra Hall CRAWFORD SEEGER Andante for Strings BERG Three Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6 BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 15 Yefim Bronfman, piano
Michael Tilson Thomas and Sir Patrick Stewart backstage before a performance of Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex on February 18, 2010 (Todd Rosenberg Photography)
February 18, 19, 20, and 21, 2010, Orchestra Hall STRAVINSKY Ode STRAVINSKY Apollon musagète STRAVINSKY Oedipus Rex Michelle DeYoung, mezzo-soprano William Burden, tenor Ryan McKinny, bass-baritone Stanford Olsen, tenor Sir Patrick Stewart, narrator Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe, director
November 4, 5, and 6, 2010, Orchestra Hall COPLAND Quiet City Scott Hostetler, english horn Christopher Martin, trumpet COPLAND Symphony for Organ and Orchestra Paul Jacobs, organ COPLAND Orchestral Variations COPLAND Appalachian Spring
December 8, 9, and 10, 2011, Orchestra Hall MAHLER Blumine BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37 Jeremy Denk, piano BRAHMS/Schoenberg Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25
November 21, 22, 23, and 24, 2013, Orchestra Hall STRAVINSKY Elegy for J.F.K. Kelley O’Connor, mezzo-soprano John Bruce Yeh, Gregory Smith, and J. Lawrie Bloom, clarinets MAHLER Symphony No. 9
March 17, 18, and 19, 2016, Orchestra Hall STRAVINSKY Scherzo à la Russe BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58 Emanuel Ax, piano SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43
December 15, 16, 17, and 18, 2016, Orchestra Hall STRAVINSKY Scènes de ballet SAINT-SAËNS Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33 Guatier Capuçon, cello PROKOFIEV Suite from Romeo and Juliet
December 13, 14, and 15, 2018, Orchestra Hall STRAVINSKY Concerto in D for String Orchestra PROKOFIEV Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 63 Nicola Benedetti, violin TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 (Pathétique)
November 30, December 1, 2, and 5, 2023, Orchestra Hall MOZART Six German Dances, K. 509 MOZART Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488 Orion Weiss, piano BRAHMS/Schoenberg Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25
Letter of recommendation for Hjalmar Rabe from Edvard Grieg (Hjalmar Rabe Collection)
On July 1, 1895, Edvard Grieg—by then revered as a national hero in Norway as well as one of the great romantic-era composers—wrote a letter of recommendation for his friend, colleague, and fellow native of Bergen, Hjalmar Rabe.
“Mr. Hjalmar Rabe is an excellent bassoonist, musical and energetic. On several occasions, people in his home have also learned to appreciate him as a skilled violinist both in quartets and solo playing. I therefore feel confident that he will find in America the recognition he deserves. Bergen, 1 July 1895. Edvard Grieg” (English translation from Danish courtesy of Leif Ove Andsnes).
Hjalmar Rabe in 1902 (Raymond Niwa Collection)
Hjalmar Rabe was born on January 30, 1872. He initially studied in Leipzig, despite “overcoming parental objections to having another musician in the family,” according to a profile in the Chicago Daily News in 1938 by Raymond H. Carroll. His father operated a concert bureau and music store in Bergen, where young Rabe was able to meet local and visiting artists, including Grieg; soprano Christina Nilsson (who sang the role of Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust for the inauguration of the Metropolitan Opera House); and violinist, conductor and composer Johan Halvorsen.
“Chamber music in his home was considered an indispensable part of the day,” Carroll continued. “His father, an able musician, did not want his son to become one, so Rabe was sent to business college where he reluctantly learned to keep a set of books. The urge to make music proved too strong and a family conference was called, the results of which saw the young aspirant on his way to Germany for study.”
After three years in Leipzig studying both the violin and bassoon, Rabe returned to Bergen. In 1894 he sailed to the United States and landed his first job in Milwaukee as a member of the Christian Bach Orchestra, bringing him, “$1.30 per concert, with free beer as an added consideration.”
First subscription concert program book roster for the 1896–97 season, on which Rabe’s name first appears in the second violin and bassoon sections
In 1895—at the invitation of founder and first music director Theodore Thomas—Rabe joined the Chicago Orchestra as a member of the violin section. (His initial salary was $30.00 per week, and was “enormous pay in those days,” according to Rabe.) The following season, his name also appeared on the roster in the bassoon section. By 1917, he was listed exclusively in the bassoons, where he later served as that section’s principal for the 1918–19 season as well as principal contrabassoon during 1944–45.
Rabe was the second musician in the Orchestra to reach fifty years of service, right behind his colleague and close friend Franz Esser (1868–1950), who had joined the Orchestra’s violin section at the beginning of the second season in 1892. Esser later served as principal viola from 1898 until 1926 and principal second violin from 1926 until 1939. Rabe and Esser both retired in 1945.
Rabe and his future wife Dagny briefly met in Norway shortly before she immigrated to the United States in 1893. They reunited in Chicago the following year and were married in 1895. On Christmas Eve 1955, the couple celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary, and the occasion drew recognition from Illinois Secretary of State Charles F. Carpentier, Illinois Governor William G. Stratton, and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
In his retirement, Rabe continued to practice both the violin and bassoon daily. “I’m using every minute of every day for something. Some old people don’t know what to do with themselves. I always have something to do.” Hjalmar Rabe died on August 2, 1958, at the age of eighty-six. He was survived by his beloved wife, two daughters, and four sons.
Hjalmar Rabe, second music director Frederick Stock, and Franz Esser in February 1938 (Russell V. Hamm photo, Chicago Daily News)
In October 1988, Rabe’s daughter Dagny Musaus (1911–1994) was interviewed for the CSO’s Oral History Project. She remembered, “My father was Norwegian and he studied in Germany, and Edvard Grieg recommended him to come to the United States. They were both born in Bergen, Norway, and they became very close friends.” Musaus frequently accompanied her father to rehearsals and concerts, both at Orchestra Hall and Ravinia Park, and she added that her father admired Theodore Thomas, that he was, “marvelous, absolutely marvelous,” and Frederick Stock, “was a fabulous musician, just wonderful.”
Most recently, Rabe’s granddaughter Lisbet (née Musaus) Przybylski made a generous donation of materials to the CSO Association, including the letter from Grieg and an original 1897 framed portrait of the Orchestra. Facilitated by Rabe’s great-granddaughter Dawn McAllister, the donation establishes the Hjalmar Rabe Collection in the Rosenthal Archives.
Dagny and Hjalmar Rabe in December 1955 (Chicago Tribune)
Theodore Thomas and the Chicago Orchestra at the Auditorium Theatre in November 1897 (Lawrence & Dinius photo, Hjalmar Rabe Collection)
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra family joins the music world in mourning the passing of British American composer Bernard Rands, who died in Chicago on March 4, 2026, at the age of ninety-two.
Born in Sheffield in the north of England on March 2, 1934, Rands studied English literature and music in Bangor, Wales. He later concentrated on composition in Darmstadt, Germany, with Pierre Boulez and Bruno Maderna and in Milan, Italy, with Luigi Dallapiccola and Luciano Berio.
In June 1983, his song cycle Canti del sole was given its world premiere with tenor Paul Sperry and the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Zubin Mehta; the work was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1984. Chanticleer’s album Colors of Love—which included selections from Rands’ Canti d’amor as well as Augusta Read Thomas’ The Rub of Love and selections from her Love Songs—won a Grammy Award for Best Small Ensemble Performance in 2000. Rands was honored by the American Academy and Institute of the Arts and Letters; Broadcast Music, Inc.; the Guggenheim Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts; Meet the Composer; and the Barlow, Fromm and Koussevitsky foundations, among several others.
From 1989 until 1995, Rands was composer-in-residence with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and he also served in the same position for the Aspen and Tanglewood music festivals. He held residencies at Princeton University, the University of Illinois and the University of York, in addition to serving on the faculties at the University of California, San Diego; the Juilliard School; Yale University; Boston University; and Harvard University.
“I am very saddened by the loss of Bernard Rands,” wrote Riccardo Muti, the CSO’s music director emeritus for life. “I remember with deep affection and great joy the years he worked with me as composer-in-residence with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the memorable concerts we shared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Chicago and on tour. My deepest condolences to his family, to whom I send my thoughts at this difficult time.”
Rands is survived by his beloved wife, Augusta Read Thomas, who served as the CSO’s Mead Composer-in-Residence from 1997 until 2006. Survivors also include his sons Siôn Philip and Stephen Jon from his first marriage, his second wife Susan and a previous partner Nele, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, and his brother John Rands.
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus have performed several of Rands’ compositions, on subscription concerts in Orchestra Hall as well as on tour to Europe. A complete list is below.
December 2, 3, 4, and 7, 1993, Orchestra Hall RANDS Le Tambourin, Suites 1 and 2 Pierre Boulez, conductor
May 8, 9, and 11, 2003, Orchestra Hall RANDS apókryphos Angela Denoke, soprano Chicago Symphony Chorus Duain Wolfe, director Daniel Barenboim, conductor World premiere. Composed in memory of Margaret Hillis, founder and first director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. Commissioned by the Edward F. Schmidt Family Commissioning Fund for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
March 10, 11, and 12, 2005, Orchestra Hall RANDS Cello Concerto Johannes Moser, cello Pierre Boulez, conductor
May 5, 6, 7, and 10, 2011, Orchestra Hall RANDS Danza Petrificada Riccardo Muti, conductor World premiere. Commissioned for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by the Edward F. Schmidt Family Commissioning Fund and written for Mexico in Chicago 2010, a citywide celebration of the bicentennial of Mexico’s independence and the centennial of the Mexican Revolution.
August 26, 2011, Grosses Festspielhaus, Salzburg, Austria August 28, 2011, Kultur- und Kongresszentrum, Lucerne, Switzerland August 31, 2011, Grand Auditorium, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Luxembourg September 2, 2011, Salle Pleyel, Paris, France September 5, 2011, Grosser Musikvereinsaal, Vienna, Austria RANDS Danza Petrificada Riccardo Muti, conductor
December 19, 20, and 21, 2013, Orchestra Hall RANDS . . . where the murmurs die . . . Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
November 1, 2, and 5, 2019, Orchestra Hall RANDS DREAM for Orchestra Riccardo Muti, conductor World premiere. Commissioned for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by the Edward F. Schmidt Family Commissioning Fund to celebrate the composer’s 85th birthday.
Compositions by Rands also have been performed on other series at Symphony Center, including:
February 16, 2000, MusicNOW RANDS Concertino Amy Mendillo, oboe Mathieu Dufour, flute Sean McNeely, clarinet Mihaela Ionescu, violin Jenny Gregoire, violin Clara Takarabe, viola Katinka Kleijn, cello Deanne von Rooyen, harp
May 16, 2002, Symphony Center Presents RANDS Well-a-day!, My dove, and Silently she’s combing from Canti d’amor Chicago Symphony Singers Duain Wolfe, conductor
March 19, 2003, MusicNOW RANDS Well-a-day!, My dove, and Silently she’s combing from Canti d’amor RANDS My Child from apókryphos Chicago Symphony Singers Duain Wolfe, conductor
Well into his eighties, Richard Strauss (1864–1949) continued to compose, and some of the major works during this period included his Second Horn Concerto, Metamorphosen (for twenty-three strings), Oboe Concerto, Duet-Concertino for clarinet and bassoon, and his Four Last Songs.
“Strauss didn’t live to hear these songs performed, although in a sense it didn’t matter, for the lovingly remembered, long-since-faded soprano of his wife Pauline was the only voice he would have wanted to hear singing this music. . . . In September [1949], Strauss died at home in his sleep. Pauline died the following May, just nine days before the premiere of her husband’s— and, in the deepest sense, her—four last songs. They were immediately acclaimed as among the very finest of Strauss’s achievements—music for which his entire career was preparation. Little in his output can match the beauty and depth of these songs—from the transparency of the orchestral writing, with its burnished horn solos and shimmering birdsong, to the radiant soprano lines—rising on Lüften (skies), taking off in breathless flight at Vogelsang (birdsong), and—in one of the most unforgettable moments in music—soaring in phrases of pure rapture, to match the violin’s lofty melody, at Seele (soul).” — Phillip Huscher, CSOA scholar-in-residence and program annotator
At the composer’s request, Kirsten Flagstad was the first to perform the songs. The concert was given on May 22, 1950, at the Royal Albert Hall in London with Wilhelm Furtwängler leading the Philharmonia Orchestra. In Orchestra Hall four years later, on October 28 and 29, 1954, soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf made her American and Chicago Symphony Orchestra debuts in Strauss’s Four Last Songs and the closing scene from his final opera, Capriccio. Fritz Reiner, in his second season as sixth music director, conducted.
October 28 and 29, 1954
Schwarzkopf “is both a soprano with a historically beautiful voice of its kind and a musician of transcendent intelligence. She knows most intimately what her texts are about, feels them deeply, and possesses the extraordinary vocal capacity to color with each word, each mood, each musical phrase,” raved Roger Dettmer in the Chicago American. “Here was artistry of the utmost fulfillment of an exquisite and cherished kind heard rarely in a lifetime of listening.”
“It has seemed to me that it took Miss Schwarzkopf a long time to come here,” commented Claudia Cassidy in the Chicago Tribune. “But exactly the right time, too. For it brought her here when Reiner, a kind of Straussian magician, had restored to the Orchestra its old, deep layered glow, and had added an immaculate polish strictly his own. Good things go together, and it is worthwhile to wait.”
The capacity crowd on October 28 included another legendary soprano—Maria Callas—also preparing to make her American debut, in town for the title role in Bellini’s Norma during Lyric Theatre of Chicago’s first season. (The company’s name was changed to Lyric Opera of Chicago for the 1955–56 season.)
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has performed Strauss’s song cycle on a number of occasions with a some of the most notable singers of our time. A complete list is below.
October 28 and 29, 1954, Orchestra Hall Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, soprano Fritz Reiner, conductor
December 4 and 5, 1958, Orchestra Hall Lisa Della Casa, soprano Fritz Reiner, conductor
January 9, 1965, Orchestra Hall Lois Marshall, soprano Irwin Hoffman, conductor
April 28 and 29, 1966, Orchestra Hall Montserrat Caballé, soprano Irwin Hoffman, conductor
August 12, 1976, Ravinia Festival Martina Arroyo, soprano Lawrence Foster, conductor
Lucia Popp in Strauss’s Four Last Songs at Orchestra Hall in October 1977. Sir Georg Solti conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. (Christina Burton)
October 17 and 19, 1977, Orchestra Hall November 1 and 2, 1977, Carnegie Hall Lucia Popp, soprano Sir Georg Solti, conductor (October 17, 19, and November 2) Henry Mazer, conductor (November 1) The October performances in Orchestra Hall were recorded for television broadcast by Unitel. It was released as part of a four-DVD set called Sir Georg Solti: The Maestro in 2007 by Decca.
October 1, 2, and 3, 1981, Orchestra Hall Margaret Price, soprano Claudio Abbado, conductor
June 29, 1985, Ravinia Festival Kiri Te Kanawa, soprano James Levine, conductor
June 25, 1993, Ravinia Festival Alessandra Marc, soprano Mariss Jansons, conductor
June 6, 1998, Orchestra Hall Jane Eaglen, soprano Daniel Barenboim, conductor
from the archives 
