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Sir George Solti | |||||||||||
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Music to accompany this page:
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Solti was invited by the American military government to conduct Fidelio in Munich, following the war in 1946. His performance was met with great success, and an offer as music director of the Bavarian State Opera was delivered. Over the next six years, Solti worked on developing the reputation and quality of the Opera. Sir Georg returned again to the Salzburg Festival, as well as performing in Berlin, Buenos Aires, Florence, Paris, Rome and Vienna. The Frankfurt City Opera, presented a position of artistic and musical director, to Sir Georg's relationship with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra would begin while he was still with the Royal Opera House. In 1954, her led the Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival. He would return again two years later to direct the Lyric Opera, and in 1965 for his debut in Orchestra Hall. It would not be until 1969, that he would debut as music director for the Chicago Symphony, and remain for the next twenty-two years. He single-handedly is credited with enhancing and widening the Orchestra's worldwide appeal and reputation, after directing it on it's first foreign tour, in 1971. In 1972, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain acknowledged his outstanding contribution to the world of music, by bestowing him with a knighthood. While serving with the Chicago Symphony, he also served as the principal conductor and artistic director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra for five years. He later served them as a conductor emeritus, after stepping down from his position in In 1996, Sir Georg was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Over the course of his career he had received thirty-two grammy awards - more than any other popular or classical recording artist. He had become best-known for as a specialist of late Romantic music, especially of German origin, yet his repertoire was varied and included older classics, blended with more modern pieces. Sir Georg led orchestras with an enthusiasm unmatched by any other conductor. His baton would slice through the air was his head bobbed. His body leaned into the orchestra, commanding perfection as he whipped them into a frenzied crescendo. While conducting the Paris Opera in 1976, he accidentally stabbed the baton over his right eye, opening a cut. He stepped down from the podium with blood streaming down his face. The performance continued, without missing a beat, as he applied cold water to the cut for a minute, and then returned to the podium to finish the performance. He was quoted years later in the Associated Press, stating "I don't want to retire because I would die, I most certainly would die. I love work and I love music. This is the point. I do it only because I love it. I really love it." This was evident each time he stepped before an orchestra. Sir Georg Solti passed away in his sleep on September 5, 1997, while taking a much needed | ||||||||||||
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Selected Pieces Sir Georg Solti had Performed:
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was
trained as a concert pianist, and the young prodigy began giving concerts by the time he was twelve years of age. His directorial debut came when he was twenty-four at the Budapest Opera with a performance of Figaro. He accepted an offer as assistant to Arturo Toscanini at the Salzburg Festival in 1937. As Hitler's army began taking on Austria, the Jewish born Solti fled for Switzerland, as a refugee. In order to make ends meet, he turned again to the piano. His talent won him first prize in the Concours International in Geneva in 1942, but he was still intoxicated with the desire to conduct.
Solti, in 1952. He accepted the position and remained there for nine years, before moving on to the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, as the music director. During his ten years there, his performances brought international fame. Most notable were the British premiere of Moses and Aron, and performance of Die Frau ohne Schatten and Wagner's Ring. He undertook the strenuous task of recording the entire Ring with the Vienna Philharmonic. This undertaking required seven years to complete, and resulted in the first complete studio recording. Later in his career, in 1992, he was named music director laureate for the Royal Opera House. In 1953, Solti made his conducting debut in the United States, when he led the San Francisco Opera.
1984. After his retirement in 1991, he continued working with the Orchestra as music director laureate for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, leading it in concerts for several weeks each year, and in recordings.
vacation in France. His ashes were returned to Budapest, and interred next to the grave of Bela Bartok, whom he had studied under, as a child. At the time of his death, he still maintained a full schedule, awaiting the release of an upcoming autobiography, scheduling concert and recording sessions years into the future, studying new scores, and preparing for his 1,000th performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
