Chicago Symphony Chorus

The Chicago Symphony Chorus began on September 22, 1957, when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) announced that Margaret Hillis would organize and train a symphony chorus. The music director Fritz Reiner's original intent was to utilize the chorus for the two weeks of subscription concerts that season, performing George Frideric Handel's Messiah in December and Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem in April. When Bruno Walter informed the orchestra's management that his March 1958 appearances would be his last in Chicago, the board president, Eric Oldberg, insisted that Walter conduct Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem utilizing the new chorus. During that first season, it was logistically impossible for Hillis to audition and prepare a new Chorus for three major works within less than four months. As an interim fix, the Apollo Chorus of Chicago was used for the Christmas Messiah concerts.

Verdi: Otello - 2013-09-03T00:00:00.000000Z

Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg - 1997-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z

Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin - 1996-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z

Verdi: Otello - 1991-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z

Bach, J.S.: St. Matthew Passion BWV 244 - 1988-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z

Orff: Carmina Burana - 1985-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z

Berlioz: La Damnation de Faust - 1982-05-03T00:00:00.000000Z

Beethoven: Fidelio - 1980-04-22T00:00:00.000000Z

Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer - 1977-05-02T00:00:00.000000Z

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 113 "Babi Yar" (Live) - 2020-01-17T00:00:00.000000Z

Liszt: Faust Symphony; Dante Symphony; Les Prélludes; Prometheus - 2000-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z

Scriabin: Le Poème de l'extase; Piano Concerto; Prométhée - 1999-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z

Bach, J.S.: Mass in B minor - 1991-03-21T00:00:00.000000Z

Beethoven: Symphony No.9 - 1987-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z

Handel: Messiah - 1985-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z

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