Though internationally her career was somewhat overshadowed by the other lyric sopranos of her day, perhaps due to an often understated presentation, her silvery voice, not large but focused enough to carry through even a Verdi and light Wagner orchestra, and her charm, winsome but not overly kittenish, made her a favorite in many European houses, particularly in Germany.

She studied music at the Barcelona Conservatory, and like many Spanish singers, she began her career in zarzuela, making her stage debut (as a mezzo) in 1949. While she left the zarzuela stage fairly soon, she maintained her ties to that genre, and throughout her career often recorded or performed zarzuela music in recitals. Her classical debut was in Barcelona in 1952, as a soloist in Beethoven's Ninth. Her operatic debut was as Cherubino in 1955 at Aix-en-Provence. She also made her Covent Garden debut that year as Violetta in La traviata, and her Glyndebourne debut the next year as Pamina in The Magic Flute. In 1958, she first appeared at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, beginning an association that lasted over 30 years. She was one of the most beloved artists at that house, and was awarded the title of Kammersangerin after just five years there, in 1963. She made her Salzburg Festival debut in 1961, in Idomeneo, and her Metropolitan Opera debut not until 1966, as Donna Elvira.

Early in her career she focused on the lighter lyric roles, especially Mozart, but as she matured vocally, she was able to add considerably heavier roles, including Eva in Der Meistersinger and Elizabeth in Verdi's Don Carlo without taxing her voice beyond its resources. She made relatively few recordings, but among those, her Violetta in La traviata (London 443 000-2) is one of the few that captures the elegance and style of the famous courtesan as well as the feverishness of her doomed love affair.

This tall, comely and aristocratic mezzo-soprano from Australia achieved fame in the 1970s, propelled by the mentoring of Georg Solti (who engaged her for several important recordings) and her cool (but inwardly passionate) and dignified presence on-stage. Yvonne Minton was also a concert artist of the first order, appearing with many of the world's ranking orchestras under leading conductors. She was perhaps the finest Octavian of her time, that role serving as her calling card in several prominent houses. She was a dignified, consoling Angel in Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius, equaled only by Janet Baker.

After studying with Marjorie Walker at the Sydney Conservatory, Minton traveled to London in 1960, where she studied with baritone Henry Cummings and soprano Joan Cross (who had premiered several of Britten's stage works). Minton had already begun to make a name as a concert singer before she made her 1964 stage debut as Britten's Lucretia in a City Literary Institute production. That same year, she participated in the premiere of Nicholas Maw's comic opera, One Man Show, creating the role of Maggie Dempster. In 1965, Minton was engaged by Covent Garden and remained there for 12 seasons, during which she performed more than 30 leading roles. In 1970, she sang Thea in the world premiere of Tippett's The Knot Garden, a role she performed in the recording that followed soon after.

Apart from London, Minton achieved success elsewhere, beginning in Cologne when she sang Sesto in La clemenza di Tito in 1969. Her bold, yet touching Octavian was heard in Chicago in 1970, when critic Claudia Cassidy evoked the name of Kathleen Ferrier in describing her lustrous voice. Minton's Octavian was the only role of hers heard at the Metropolitan Opera; she made her debut there on March 16, 1973. Octavian was again the role for Minton's 1976 Paris debut. Having made her Bayreuth debut as Brangäne in 1974, Minton was engaged for Fricka and Waltraute in the controversial Bayreuth centenary Ring in 1976. London's Royal Opera House heard her Kundry in 1979. That same year, Minton took the part of the Countess Geschwitz in the premiere in Paris of the three-act edition of Berg's Lulu, completed by Friedrich Cerha. That landmark production was preserved on both audio recording and film, where Minton's tragic, beautifully sung Countess rewards both ear and eye. Following a brief retirement, Minton returned to the stage in such roles as Leokadja Begbick (a 1990 performance at Florence), Klytemnestra in 1991 in Elektra in Adelaide, Geneviève (for Chicago's Lyric Opera's Pelléas during the 1992 - 1993 season), and Countess Helfenstein (in a 1995 Mathis der Maler at Covent Garden).

Many of Minton's recordings have preserved her voice and art at their zenith. Her Octavian with Solti remains a treasurable realization, especially paired with the luxuriant Marschallin of Regine Crespin. Her Sesto with Colin Davis keeps impressive company with the likes of Stuart Burrows, Janet Baker, Lucia Popp, and Frederica Von Stade. Her quietly impressive Geneviève is buoyed by Pierre Boulez's clear conducting, while her attractive Dorabella is sunk by Klemperer's plodding pace. Two Elgar works, The Kingdom under Boult and The Dream of Gerontius with Britten conducting, are excellent, for both Minton's work and in toto.

Though his voice sometimes lacked individuality, Stuart Burrows was in many ways an ideal Mozart and French lyric tenor, flexible and with a seemingly seamless technique. He was also scrupulous musician, known for saying that a role can be memorized but never fully learned, that there is always more to add and rethink. While he occasionally and carefully sang some heavier roles, such as Lensky in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Alfredo in Verdi's La traviata, Gounod's Faust, and even the title role in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, he never, as many of his predecessors and successors did, forced and harmed his voice by choosing the wrong repertoire.

His only formal music schooling ended when he was 12, and though he continued to sing informally he began his career as a schoolteacher. However, in 1959, he entered for and won the tenor prize at the Royal National Eisteddfod (singing competition), which led to several concert engagements. He did not make his operatic debut until four years later, at the Welsh National Opera, singing the relatively insignificant (though not quite comprimario) role of Ismaele in Verdi's Nabucco. Soon he added more leading roles to his repertoire, including several more lyric Verdi roles. His big break came when he was invited by the composer to sing the title role of Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex in Athens, Greece. In 1967, he made his Covent Garden debut as Beppe in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, and remained with that company for 22 seasons. He made both his Vienna State Opera and Salzburg Festival debuts in 1970, as Tamino in Mozart's The Magic Flute and as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, respectively, following up this double-header with his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1971 (again as Ottavio). Burrows was the first singer from the United Kingdom to sing 12 consecutive seasons at that house. His La Scala debut was in 1978 in Berlioz's La damnation de Faust. He was also a favorite on BBC television, where he made an annual Stuart Burrows Sings program. He performed himself and joined with guest artists, in opera, songs, folk music, and musical theater; the program ran for eight years.

Martti Talvela had a Wagnerian bass voice of uncommon power and richness. He was noted for his expressive legato singing, and exceptional focus of tone. He also dominated the operatic stage by his sheer size: He was an immense man, standing 6 foot eight and weighing around 300 pounds. This suited him well for the most commanding roles in opera, such as Fasolt the Giant in Wagner's "Das Rheingold" and Hagen in "GštterdŠmmerung," Musorgsky's Boris Godunov, Sarastro in Mozart's "The Magic Flute," Verdi's Grand Inquisitor, and a role that was written for him, the revivalist preacher Paavo Ruotsalainen in Kokkonen's "The Last Temptations."

He began his adult life as a schoolteacher, but pursued vocal studies. After is Stockholm operatic debut (as Sparafucile in Verdi's "Rigoletto" he soon found himself in demand, singing all the Wagnerian bass roles, several Russian operas, and many Verdi parts. He also pursued a career as a recitalist, and was the greatest male champion of the songs of his countrymen Sibelius and Kilpinen. He regarded the condition of being granted artistic talent as carrying with it a God-given responsibility. In 1972, he accepted an invitation to become Artistic Director of the Savonlinna Opera Festival. This yearly event, little known then outside Finland, had been revived in 1967 after a festival that had been run by the great Finnish soprano A•no Ackté from 1912 to 1930. Talvela immediately transformed it into one of the top international music festivals, in which operas are staged in the impressive courtyard of the St. Olaf's Castle (or Olavonlinna).

Health problems forced Talvela's retirement from Savonlinna in 1979; he had been diagnosed with diabetes and he had other dangers to his health due to his weight. He restricted his operatic repertory to ten roles, cut back on his lucrative employment in that field, but expanded his schedule of recitals on the grounds that these were better "to bring my message." His sense of the artist's divine mission to bring something to the world was expressed in a 1986 interview. He accepted an appointment to become director of the Finnish National Opera commencing in 1992. But he was striken with a heart attack and dropped dead while dancing at the part after his daughter's wedding on July 22, 1989, one of the most shocking and regretted sudden deaths in recent operatic history. He left behind a rich legacy of recordings, including video productions, of many of his great roles. ~ Joseph Stevenson

The Chicago Symphony Chorus is among the best choruses attached to a world-class symphony orchestra. It was established in 1957, when the music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner, engaged Margaret Hillis to develop a permanent chorus of a quality fit to partner the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at its concerts. Hillis already had a record of achievement: she was a junior golf champion and a civilian flying instructor for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She studied music at Indiana University and the Juilliard School (she had been a tuba and string bass player in her high school band), became assistant to America's leading choral conductor, Robert Shaw, and was conductor of the chorus of the American Opera Society in New York. She quickly fulfilled the mission given her by Reiner, developing one of the world's greatest choral groups.

Recordings of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with its chorus have won a number of Grammy Awards. It also appears with visiting symphony orchestras when they wish to perform a choral/orchestral work. The chorus also tours with the orchestra and has been critically acclaimed for its performances in Europe, which include Berlioz's Damnation of Faust, Schoenberg's Moses und Aron, and Brahms' Requiem.

In 1994 Duain Wolfe succeeded Hillis as the chorus' director. He originated the orchestra and chorus' popular Welcome Yule! Christmas concert programs.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is one of the three most acclaimed orchestras in America and one of the few serious rivals the New York Philharmonic has had in its long history. Curiously, the histories of the two orchestras are somewhat intermingled.

Theodore Thomas had organized and led orchestras in New York during the 1870s and 1880s, competing with the Philharmonic Society of New York for audiences, soloists, and American premieres of works. His orchestra did very well as a major rival to the group that would become the New York Philharmonic. The orchestra visited Chicago during several seasons, and it was intended that he would be music director of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in that city. However, in 1891, he abandoned New York entirely in favor of Chicago and arrived as the first conductor of what was then called the Chicago Orchestra. Thomas held that position until his death in 1905. In his honor, the Chicago Orchestra changed its name to the Theodore Thomas Orchestra in 1906. Six years later, the group was renamed the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

It was under the leadership of Thomas' assistant, Frederick Stock, that the Chicago Symphony's modern reputation was formed. From 1905 until his death in 1942, Stock led the orchestra in decades of programs that featured not only the established classics but the American premieres of many post-romantic works. Additionally, Stock raised the level of performance and the financial status of his players and established the orchestra in a major teaching role for aspiring musicians in its home city. Its recordings were relatively few in number because the long-playing record -- central to the appreciation of classical music -- had not yet been invented, which means there is little evidence by which modern listeners can judge the work of the orchestra during this period, but some of the recordings from that era were among the best in the world at the time. Among the few available from the period on major labels are the Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos. 4 and 5 on the BMG label, featuring soloist Arthur Schnabel with Stock conducting.

Stock's death in 1942 precipitated a difficult decade for the orchestra. Apart from the general complications of World War II, it had a great deal of trouble finding acceptable leadership. Désiré Defauw lasted for only four years, from 1943 until 1947, and Artur Rodzinski (best known for his leadership of the New York Philharmonic) was in the job for only one year (1947-1948). Rafael Kubelik served three years as music director from 1950 until 1953, but his gentlemanly manner and decidedly modern, European-centered taste in music proved unsuited to the players, critics, and management -- although it was under Kubelik that the orchestra made its first successful modern recordings, for the Mercury label, many of which were reissued in the mid-'90s.

Fritz Reiner became the music director of the Chicago Symphony in 1953, beginning the modern renaissance and blossoming of the orchestra. Under Reiner, the orchestra's playing sharpened and tightened, achieving a clean, precise, yet rich sound that made it one of the most popular orchestras in the United States. The Chicago Symphony under Reiner became established once and for all as an international-level orchestra of the first order, rivaling the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Boston Symphony. Moreover, Reiner's arrival with the orchestra coincided with its move to RCA Victor, which, in 1954, was beginning to experiment with stereo recording. With Reiner as conductor, these "Living Stereo" recordings -- characterized by vivid textures, sharp stereo separation, and microphone placement that gave the impact of a live performance -- became some of the best-selling classical albums of all time and have since been reissued numerous times on compact disc to new acclaim from critics and listeners, more than a generation removed from their original era.

Reiner's death in 1963 led to another interregnum period, during which conductor Jean Martinon led the orchestra (1963-1968). In 1969, Sir Georg Solti joined the orchestra as its music director. Under Solti, the orchestra's national and international reputations soared, as did its record sales. Reiner had begun the process of cultivating the burgeoning audience for late-romantic composers such as Mahler, but it was with Solti that the works of Mahler and Bruckner became standard fare in the orchestra's programs, right alongside those of Beethoven and Mozart. The playing standard achieved during Solti's tenure, in concert and recordings, was the highest in the history of the orchestra. Additionally, the orchestra under Solti began a quarter-century relationship with London Records that resulted in some of the best-sounding recordings of the era. Solti's approach to performance was very flamboyant yet intensely serious -- even his performances of lighter opera and concert overtures strike a perfect balance between broad gestures and finely wrought detail, attributes that have made him perhaps the most admired conductor of a major American orchestra, if not the most famous (Leonard Bernstein inevitably got more headlines during the 1960s, especially with his knack for publicity). Solti was both popular and respected, and his tenure with the Chicago Symphony coincided with his becoming the winner of the greatest number of Grammy Awards of any musician in history (he also recorded with orchestras in London and Vienna). Daniel Barenboim succeeded Solti and served as music director from 1991 until 2006, with Solti transitioning to the post of music director emeritus. Bernard Haitink was named the orchestra's first principal conductor, holding this position from 2006 through 2010. Riccardo Muti was chosen as the tenth music director in the orchestra's history in 2010.

As with other major American orchestras, the Chicago Symphony found itself competing with its own history, especially where recordings are concerned. Reissues of its work under Reiner and Solti continue to sell well and are comparable or superior to the orchestra's current recordings in sound and interpretive detail. Even the early-'50s recordings under Kubelik were reissued by Mercury in the late '90s, while RCA-BMG and some specialty collector's labels have re-released the recordings under Stock. The recordings of Solti and Reiner leading the Chicago Symphony are uniformly excellent, and virtually all of them can be recommended. The orchestra also maintains composer-in-residence and artist-in-residence partnerships; in 2023, Jessie Montgomery occupied the former, and Hilary Hahn the latter. ~ Bruce Eder