Published on April 3rd, 2023
1987: Sir Georg Solti conducts the Eastman Philharmonia
Thirty-six years ago this week, on the afternoon of Tuesday, April 7th, 1987, the Eastman Philharmonia performed under the direction of renowned conductor Sir Georg Solti. Maestro Solti’s guest appearance was confined to that one day; he arrived in Rochester by air in the early afternoon and, after stopping for a quick lunch, met the Philharmonia at 2 PM for a two-hour rehearsal in the Eastman Theater. The rehearsal was followed by a break, after which the concert commenced at 5 PM, featuring one single work, Beethoven’s Symphony no. 5 in C minor. The Beethoven was preceded by the conferral of an honorary degree, with University President Dennis O’Brien presiding.[1]
Mr. Solti (1912-1997), Hungarian-born conductor and pianist who held British citizenship from 1972 onwards, was a veteran of both orchestral and operatic conducting. In his operatic work, his appointments included the Bavarian State Opera, Oper Frankfurt, and Covent Garden Opera Company. He served as Generalmusikdirector for the city of Frankfurt (1952-61), conducting both operas and orchestral concerts. He is much celebrated for his tenure as Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1969-1991), of which he remained conductor laureate until his death. In addition, he held shorter-term appointments the Orchestre de Paris (1972-75) and the London Philharmonic Orchestra (1979-81). Mr. Solti won a total of 31 Grammy Awards during his career, which stood as a record that was broken only this year when Beyoncé won the Grammy for her recording Renaissance (2022) in the Best Dance/Electronic Music Album category.[2]
The April, 1987 collaboration with Maestro Solti marked the Eastman Philharmonia’s second opportunity in the 1986-87 academic year to work with a distinguished guest artist. In the previous November, the orchestra had made a tour of West Germany with renowned concert pianist Shura Cherkassky (1909-1995) joining the orchestra as featured guest soloist. On tour the orchestra gave concerts in the cities of Nürnberg, Friedrichschafen, Mannheim, Leverkusen, Witten, Viersen, and Stuttgart.[3]
► Photos by Louis Ouzer
[1] Maestro Solti’s appearance at Eastman was reported in Eastman Notes, volume 20, no. 1, pages 3-4.
[2] Beyoncé’s record-breaking Grammy was reported on the websites of many reputable news organizations, all currently accessible.
[3] The Eastman Philharmonia’s West German tour was reported in Eastman Notes, volume 20, no. 1, page 9.
May 16th – 22nd: Howard Hanson’s Merry Mount
On Monday and Tuesday, May 16th and 17th, 1955, Howard Hanson’s opera Merry Mount was produced at the Eastman School’s annual Festival of American Music.
May 9th – 15th: Eastman String Quartet & the “new” Sibley Music Library
On May 9th, 1960, the members of the Eastman String Quartet returned from their nine-week tour that had taken them to Southern Europe, the Near East, and Northern Africa.
May 2nd – 8th: Thad Jones, Bob Brookmeyer & Ruth Watanabe
On Saturday, May 5th, 1973, the renowned Thad Jones appeared as guest conductor and soloist with the Eastman Jazz Ensemble
April 25th-May 1st: The first American Composers’ Concert
On May 1st, 1925, a “Concert of New Works by American Composers” took place in the Eastman Theater, marking the first of what would be named the American Composers’ Concerts at the Eastman School