One of Fritz Reiner’s primary goals, early in his tenure as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s sixth music director, was to program major choral works. However, the repertory he wished to perform was too demanding for the amateur and student groups usually engaged. In 1957 he persuaded board president Eric Oldberg to organize a chorus permanently affiliated with the Orchestra in Chicago. On September 22, 1957 the Chicago Tribune reported, “From Orchestra Hall comes word that the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chorus is to be a new factor in the city’s musical life.” We'll hear a tribute to the CSO Chorus on the 12/31 broadcast.
12/3 Gershwin: Cuban Overture Gershwin/Tovey: A Foggy Day Ives: The Unanswered Question
Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story Ives/Schuman: Variations on America Williams: Selections from Lincoln Dvo?ák: Symphony No. 9, From the New World (Bramwell Tovey, p; Adolph Herseth, tr; Chicago Symphony Chorus, Duain Wolfe, dir; John Williams, Michael Tilson Thomas, Daniel Barenboim, Morton Gould and Carlo Maria Giulini, cond)
12/10 Handel: Messiah (Parts 1-3) (Amanda Forsythe, s; Sasha Cooke, ms; Nicholas Phan, t; Joshua Hopkins, bar; Chicago Symphony Chorus, Duain Wolfe, dir; Matthew Halls, cond)
12/17 Bizet: Roma Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana (Anita Rachvelishvili, ms; Piero Pretti, t; Luca Salsi, bar; Ronnita Miller, ms; Sasha Cooke, ms; Alessandra Visconti; Chicago Symphony Chorus, Duain Wolfe, dir; Riccardo Muti, cond)
12/24 Mozart: Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, Piano Concerto No. 20 Varèse: Déserts Stravinsky: Divertimento, Suite from The Fairy's Kiss, Suite from The Firebird (Mitsuko Uchida, p; Pierre Boulez, cond)
12/31 A Chicago Symphony Chorus Spotlight Bruckner: Psalm 150 Bartók: Cantata profana Brahms: A German Requiem (Ruth Welting and Kiri Te Kanawa, s; John Aler, t; John Tomlinson and Bernd Weikl, bar; Chicago Symphony Chorus, Margaret Hillis, dir; Daniel Barenboim, Sir Georg Solti and Pierre Boulez, cond)
