“Before 1957, when Fritz Reiner asked Margaret Hillis to assemble a choir … to perform choral masterpieces with his Chicago Symphony Orchestra, local choral performances were pretty much confined to whatever church, amateur and student groups could muster,” writes John von Rhein in Monday’s (3/20) Chicago Tribune. “All that changed with the public debut of the Chicago Symphony Chorus in March 1958. Bruno Walter conducted the Mozart Requiem…. Critics and audiences were unanimous in their praise of the splendid choral aggregation Hillis had prepared for the occasion…. For 24 seasons … Duain Wolfe, Hillis’ successor as director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus [has] put his own artistic stamp on the CSO’s remarkable in-house ensemble of 160 voices and carried it to an even higher plane of achievement. This week … Riccardo Muti will lead the choir, orchestra and soloists in Schubert’s sublime Mass No. 6 in E flat, as part of the season-long celebration of the ensemble’s 60th anniversary…. Past and present personnel include choral directors, voice teachers, freelance solo singers, doctors, a stockbroker and even a dog trainer. Choral repertory for the 60th anniversary season [includes] the upcoming Rossini ‘Stabat Mater,’ with which Muti will close the season in June.”
Posted March 22, 2018
