Georg Solti & Wiener Philharmoniker

Sir Georg Solti 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997 Was A Hungarian-British Orchestral And Operatic Conductor. He Was A Major Classical Recording Artist Holding The Record For Having Received The Most Grammy Awards Having Personally Won 31 As A Conductor Including The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In Addition To His Recordings He Is Probably Best Known For Leading The Chicago Symphony Orchestra From 1969-91. He Is Widely Regarded As One Of The Greatest Conductors Of The Second Half Of The 20th Century. Solti Was Born György Stern Hungarian Stern György In Budapest Hungary To A Jewish Family His Parents Were Móric Z Stern And Teréz Rosenbaum. His Cousin Was László Moholy-Nagy The Jewish-Hungarian Painter And Photographer Who Taught At The Bauhaus In Dessau And Co-Founded The New Bauhaus In Chicago. His Father Germanized The Name György To Georg And Changed His Family Name To Solti To Shield Them From Antisemitism. He Learned The Piano But At Age 14 Heard Erich Kleiber Conduct Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 And He Decided Immediately He Wanted To Be A Conductor. He Studied At The Franz Liszt Academy Of Music Under Béla Bartók Zoltán Kodály Leo Weiner And Ernst Von Dohnanyi. In 1937 He Played The Glockenspiel In The Salzburg Festival Production Of "The Magic Flute" Under The Conductorship Of The Legendary Arturo Toscanini. By 1935 He Was Gaining Recognition As A Conductor And Made His Debut At The Budapest Opera On 11 March 1938 With "The Marriage Of Figaro" The First Time An Unconverted Jew Had Ever Conducted There. It Was Also Solti's Last Performance There. On That Very Day Hitler Annexed Austria And Anti-Semitism Became Rife In Hungary Under Admiral Miklós Horthy's Regime. In 1939 With German Invasion Imminent He Fled Hungary Because Of His Jewish Ancestry And Moved To Switzerland Where He Continued A Career As A Pianist And Won The Geneva International Piano Competition But He Had Limited Opportunities To Develop His Conducting. Unfortunately He Never Saw His Father Again. After The Second World War During Which His Father Died Of Natural Causes Solti Was Music Director Of The Bavarian State Orchestra In Munich Where He Gave The German Premiere Of Paul Hindemith's Opera "Mathis Der Maler" Which Had Been Banned Under The Nazi Regime And The Frankfurt Opera Where He Gave The German Premiere Of Alban Berg's "Lulu" . In 1951 He Conducted Mozart's "Idomeneo" At The Salzburg Festival For The First Time. In 1960 Solti Signed A Three-Year Contract Effective In 1962 To Be Music Director Of The Los Angeles Philharmonic Having Guest Conducted The Orchestra In Winter Concerts In Downtown Los Angeles During The Summer At The Hollywood Bowl And In Other Southern California Concerts. The Orchestra Had Hoped That Solti Would Lead The Orchestra When It Moved Into Its New Home At The Still-To-Be-Completed Dorothy Chandler Pavilion And He Even Began To Appoint Musicians To The Orchestra. However Solti Abruptly Resigned The Position In 1961 Without Officially Taking The Post After Learning That The Philharmonic Board Of Directors Failed To Consult Him Before Naming Then 26-Year-Old Zubin Mehta To Be Assistant Conductor Of The Orchestra. Mehta Was Subsequently Named As Music Director In Solti's Place. In 1961 Solti Became Music Director At The Royal Opera House Covent Garden Serving In That Capacity Until 1971. There Solti's Bald Head And Demanding Rehearsal Style Earned Him The Nickname "The Screaming Skull" After The Film Of The Same Name . He Thereafter Spent Much Of His Time In Britain And The United States. His First Marriage To Hedi Oechsli In 1946 Ended In Divorce. His Second Marriage Was To Valerie Pitts A British Television Presenter Whom He Met When She Was Sent To Interview Him. They Had Two Daughters Gabrielle And Claudia. In 1972 He Was Naturalized As A British Citizen. He Had Been Awarded An Honorary Knighthood In The Order Of The British Empire KBE In 1971 And Was Known As Sir Georg Solti After His Naturalization. Solti Was A Great Supporter And Mentor To Many Young Musicians Including The Hungarian Soprano Sylvia Sass With Whom He Recorded Mozart's Don Giovanni And Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle. In Addition In 1994 Solti Directed The "Solti Orchestral Project" At Carnegie Hall A Training Workshop For Young American Musicians. Solti Was Music Director Of The Chicago Symphony Orchestra CSO From 1969 Until 1991 When He Was Made The Only Music Director Laureate In That Orchestra's History. Before Solti Took Over As The CSO's Music Director CSO Violinist Victor Aitay Described Solti's Work Style As Follows "Usually Conductors Are Relaxed At Rehearsals And Tense At The Concerts. Solti Is The Reverse. He Is Very Tense At Rehearsals Which Makes Us Concentrate But Relaxed During The Performance Which Is A Great Asset To The Orchestra." In Total Solti Conducted 999 Performances With The CSO. His 1 000th Performance Was Scheduled To Be In October 1997 Around The Time Of His 85th Birthday. The City Of Chicago Renamed The Block Of East Adams Street Adjacent To Symphony Center As "Sir Georg Solti Place" In His Memory. Solti Consolidated The Reputation Of The CSO As One Of The Great Orchestras Of The World While Reiteratively Reminding Everyone How Much He Owed To The Pioneering Work Of Fritz Reiner Who Never Toured The Orchestra Abroad. Solti Took The CSO On Its First Tour To Europe In 1971. Solti's Recordings With The CSO Included The Complete Symphonies Of Beethoven Johannes Brahms Anton Bruckner And Gustav Mahler. Solti Recorded Complete Operas With The CSO As Well Including "Moses Und Aron" By Arnold Schoenberg
"Otello" By Giuseppe Verdi Also Performed Live At Carnegie Hall "Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg" By Richard Wagner In Addition To His Tenure In Chicago Solti Was Music Director Of The Orchestre De Paris From 1972 Until 1975. From 1979 Until 1983 He Was Principal Conductor Of The London Philharmonic Orchestra. During This Time With The London Philharmonic He Performed And Recorded Many Works By Elgar Including The Two Symphonies The Violin Concerto With Kyung Wha Chung And The Cello Concerto With Julian Lloyd Webber. In 1983 He Conducted Wagner's Ring Cycle At Bayreuth For The Only Time. For The 50th Anniversary Of The United Nations Solti Formed The World Orchestra For Peace Which Consisted Of Musicians From 47 Orchestras Around The World. Solti Continued To Add New Works To His Repertoire In The Latter Days Of His Career Voicing Particular Enthusiasm For The Music Of Dmitri Shostakovich Whom He Admitted He Failed To Appreciate Fully During The Composer's Lifetime. His Commercial Recordings Of Shostakovich Symphonies Included Nos. 1 Concertgebouw Orchestra 5 VPO 8 9 Twice VPO & Carnegie Hall Project 10 13 And 15 All CSO . Solti Never Truly Retired And His Sudden Death Of A Heart Attack On 5 September 1997 In Antibes France Meant That Several Years Of Planned Performances And Recording Projects Would Never Be Realized. According To His Last Wish Solti Rests In Hungarian Soil. After A State Funeral He Was Placed Beside The Remains Of Bartók His One-Time Tutor And Mentor. After Solti's Death His Widow And Daughters Began The Solti Foundation To Assist Young Musicians. In 2002 A Website Dedicated To Solti Was Launched Under The Instigation Of Lady Solti. Solti Co-Wrote His Memoirs With Harvey Sachs Published In The UK Under The Title "Solti On Solti" "Memoirs" In The USA And Emlékeim In Hungary And The Book Appeared In The Month After His Death. His Life Has Also Been Documented In A Film By Peter Maniura Entitled "Sir Georg Solti The Making Of A Maestro". In September 2007 As A Tribute On The 10th Anniversary Of Solti's Death A Recording Of His Last Concert Was Released On Decca A Performance With The Tonhalle Orchester Zurich Of Mahler's Symphony No. 5. Recordings Solti Was As Enthusiastic Making Music In The Recording Studio As In The Opera House Or Concert Hall. He Developed A Long And Productive Partnership With The Legendary Producer John Culshaw At Decca. Products Of This Partnership Included The First Ever Complete Studio Recording Of Wagner's Der Ring Des Nibelungen With The Vienna Philharmonic VPO . No Less Distinguished And Equally Groundbreaking Were His Studio Recordings Of The Operas Of Richard Strauss Which Like His Wagner Recordings Have Been Remastered And Released On CD Where They Are Still Praised For Their Musicianship And Expert Production Values. His Performances And Recordings Of Works By Giuseppe Verdi Gustav Mahler And Béla Bartók Were Also Widely Admired. In Addition To His Recordings With The CSO Solti Recorded Other Repertoire With Orchestras Such As The London Philharmonic Orchestra And The Vienna Philharmonic Such As The Two Symphonies Of Edward Elgar Selected Symphonies Of Tchaikovsky William Walton's Belshazzar's Feast Michael Tippett's Symphony No. 4 And Byzantium And The Da Ponte/Mozart Operas. In Addition Solti Collaborated With Dudley Moore To Create A 1991 Television Series Orchestra! Which Was Designed To Introduce Audiences To The Symphony Orchestra. He Also Conducted The London Symphony Orchestra In Performances Of Music By Beethoven For The 1994 Film "Immortal Beloved" About The Composer. Awards And Recognition - Sonning Award 1992 Denmark - Sir Georg Solti Holds The Record For Having Received The Most Grammy Awards. He Personally Won 31 Grammys Including The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award And Is Listed For 38 Grammys 6 Went To The Engineer And 1 To A Soloist He Was Nominated An Additional 74 Times Before His Death In 1997.
- In 2007 His Widow Lady Valerie Solti Was Made A Cultural Ambassador Of Hungary An Honorary Title Granted By The Hungarian State.
- He Was A Recipient Of Yale University's Sanford Medal.
- In 1987 A Bronze Bust Of Solti By Dame Elisabeth Frink Was Dedicated In Chicago's Lincoln Park Outside The Lincoln Park Conservatory. It Was Moved To The Solti Garden In Grant Park In 2006 Near Orchestra Hall *** The Vienna Philharmonic In German Wiener Philharmoniker Is An Orchestra In Austria Regularly Considered One Of The Finest In The World. Its Home Base Is The Musikverein. The Members Of The Orchestra Are Chosen From The Orchestra Of The Vienna State Opera. This Process Is A Long One With Each Musician Having To Prove His Or Her Capability For A Minimum Of Three Years' Playing For The Opera And Ballet. Once This Is Achieved The Musician Can Then Ask The Board Of The Wiener Philharmoniker To Consider An Application For A Position In The Vienna Philharmonic. History The Orchestra Can Trace Its Origins To 1842 When Otto Nicolai Formed The Philharmonische Academie Which Was A Fully Independent Orchestra And Which Took All Its Decisions By A Democratic Vote Of All Its Members. These Are Principles The Orchestra Still Holds Today. With Nicolai's Departure In 1847 The Orchestra Nearly Folded And Was Not Very Active Until 1860 When Karl Anton Eckert Joined As Conductor. He Gave A Series Of Four Subscription Concerts And Since Then The Orchestra Has Given Concerts Continuously. From 1875 To 1898 Hans Richter Was Subscription Conductor Except For The Season 1882-1883 When He Was In Dispute With The Orchestral Committee. During Richter's Tenure The Orchestra Gave The Premieres Of The 2nd And 3rd Symphonies Of Johannes Brahms And The 8th Symphony Of Anton Bruckner. Gustav Mahler Held The Post From 1898 To 1901 And Under His Baton The Orchestra Played Abroad For The First Time At The 1900 Paris World Exposition. Subsequent Conductors Were Felix Weingartner Wilhelm Furtwängler And Clemens Krauss. Since 1933 The Orchestra Has Had No Single Subscription Conductor But Instead Has A Number Of Guest Conductors. These Have Included A Great Many Of The World's Best Known Conductors Including Richard Strauss Arturo Toscanini Hans Knappertsbusch Wilhelm Furtwängler John Barbirolli Carlo Maria Giulini Georg Solti Erich Kleiber James Levine Zubin Mehta Carlos Kleiber Claudio Abbado Riccardo Muti Nikolaus Harnoncourt Pierre Boulez Lorin Maazel Mariss Jansons Daniel Barenboim And Valery Gergiev. Three Conductors However Were Particularly Associated With The Post-War Era Herbert Von Karajan And Karl Böhm Who Were Made Honorary Conductors And Leonard Bernstein Who Was Made An Honorary Member Of The Orchestra. The Orchestra Made Their First US Tour In 1956 Under The Batons Of Carl Schuricht And Andre Cluytens. Each New Year's Day Since 1 January 1941 The VPO Has Sponsored The Vienna New Year's Concerts Dedicated To The Music Of The Strauss Family Composers And Particularly That Of Johann Strauss II. Popularity The Vienna Philharmonic Was Named As Europe's Finest In A Recent Survey By Seven Leading Trade Publications Two Radio Stations And A Daily Newspaper. Subscription Ticket Demand For The Vienna Philharmonic At Their Home Musikverein Is Currently Listed On The Orchestra's Website As Being On A Waiting List. The Waiting List For Weekday Concert Subscriptions Is Six Years And Thirteen Years For Weekend Subscriptions. Casual Tickets However Are Available In Small Numbers And Can Be Bought Via Links From The VPO Website To Various Ticket Resellers. It Is Also Possible To Book Package Deals Which Include Transport Hotel Accommodation And Meals And Tickets To Concerts. The Orchestra Is So Popular And Famous That It Has Been The Motive Of One Of The World's Most Famous Bullion Coins The Vienna Philharmonic Coin. The Coin Is Struck In Pure Gold 999.9 Fine 24 Carats . It Is Issued Every Year In Four Different Face Values Sizes And Weights. It Is Used As An Investment Product Although It Finishes Almost Always In The Hands Of Collectors. According To The World Gold Council This Coin Was The Best Selling Gold Coin In 1992 1995 And 1996 World Wide. In 2006 Austrian Airlines Was Outfitted With A Livery Featuring The Gold Coin And Logo Of The Wiener Philharmoniker. The Long-Range Airbus A340-300 Aircraft Was Flown Primarily Between Vienna And Tokyo For Approximately One Year Serving As Promotional Tool For The Orchestra And The Philharmoniker 24 Karat Gold Coin Issued By The Austrian Mint. Sound And Instruments The Characteristic Sound Of The Vienna Philharmonic Can Be Attributed In Part To The Use Of Instruments And Playing Styles That Are Fundamentally Different From Those Used By Other Major Orchestras - The Orchestra's Standard Tuning Pitch Is A443 Where The Pitch A Is Generally Considered At A Frequency Of 440 Hz.
- The VPO Uses The German-System Clarinet. By Comparison The Boehm-System Clarinet Is Favored In Non-German Speaking Countries.
- Likewise While The Heckel German Bassoon Is Now The Norm For Most Orchestras Around The World In The VPO The Heckel Bassoon Is Played Almost Completely Without Vibrato.
- The Rotary-Valve Trumpet Is Used But This Is Also Popular In Other German And Austrian Orchestras.
- Like Its Counterparts Elsewhere In Austria Germany And Russia The VPO Favors The F Bass And BB-Flat Contrabass Rotary-Valve Tuba Whereas The CC Piston-Valve Tuba Is Preferred In Most American And Some British Orchestras.
- The Trombone Has A Somewhat Smaller Bore But This Is Also True Of The Trombone Used In Many German Orchestras.
- The Timpani Use Natural Goat Hide Instead Of Synthetic Hide.
- The Double-Bass Retains The Traditional Theater-Placement In A Row Behind The Brass. The VPO Uses 4- As Well As 5-String Double Basses With The Bow Always Being Held Underhand German Bow .
- The Wiener Oboe Is Along With The Vienna Horn See Below Perhaps The Most Distinctive Member Of The VPO Instrumentarium. It Has A Special Bore Reed And Fingering-System And Is Very Different From The Otherwise Internationally Used Conservatoire French Oboe.
- The Vienna Horn In F Uses A Pumpenventil Roughly Similar To A Piston Valve. Unlike The Rotary Valves Used On Most Other Orchestral Horns The Pumpenventil Contributes To The Liquid Legato That Is One Of The Trademarks Of The Viennese School. The Bore Of The Vienna Horn Is Also Smaller Than More Modern Horns—actually Very Close To That Of The Valveless Natural Horn. The Vienna Horn Has Remained Virtually Unchanged Since The Mid-Nineteenth Century—as A Result It Is Arguably Well-Suited To The Classical And Romantic Repertoire At The Core Of The VPO's Programming.
- The String Section Is Unique In That The Instruments Belong To The Orchestra Unlike Other Orchestras In Which Each String Player Uses His Or Her Own Instrument. Although Not Of A Particular Pedigree The Vienna Strings Have Been Carefully Chosen Over The Centuries And They Are Largely Responsible For The Orchestra's Well-Loved String Sound. They Are Meticulously Cared For And In Case One Is Worn Beyond Repair The Process Of Finding A Replacement Instrument Is Equally Painstaking. The Oesterreichische Nationalbank Currently Loans Four Violins Made By Antonio Stradivari To The VPO. These Instruments And Their Characteristic Tone-Colors Have Been The Subject Of Extensive Scientific Studies By The Associate Professor Magister Gregor Widholm Of The Institute For Viennese Tone-Culture At The Universität Für Musik Und Darstellende Kunst Wien. Subscription Conductors And Guest Conductors The Vienna Philharmonic Has Never Had Principal Conductors. Each Year They Chose An Artist To Conduct All Concerts Of The Respective Season At Vienna's Musikverein. These Conductors Were Called Abonnementdirigenten Subscription Conductors As They Were To Conduct All The Concerts Included In The Philharmonic's Subscription At The Musikverein. Some Of These Annual Hirings Were Renewed For Many Years Others Lasted Only For A Few Years. At The Same Time The Vienna Philharmonic Also Worked With Other Conductors E. G. At The Salzburg Festival For Recordings Or Special Occasions. With The Widening Of The Philharmonic's Activities The Orchestra Decided To Abandon This System In 1933. From Then On There Were Only Guest Conductors Hired For Each Concert Both In Vienna And Elsewhere. read less