The Chicago Symphony Orchestra family joins the music world in mourning the loss of American soprano Benita Valente, who died on October 24, 2025. She was 91. Born in Delano, California on October 19, 1934, Valente studied with Lotte Lehmann from an early age and later attended the Curtis Institute of Music as a student […]| from the archives
Title page of Theodore Thomas’s score for Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks “While in Europe [during the summer of 1883] Theodore Thomas had, as usual, been on …| from the archives
Wishing a very happy birth anniversary to our founder and first music director, Theodore Thomas, on the occasion of his 190th birthday! According to Andrea Friederici Ross—in her new book Sisters of Influence: A Biography of Zina, Amy and Rose Fay—Rose wrote a poem in memory of Theodore shortly after his death in early 1905, “titled […]| from the archives
Yo-Yo Ma in 2025 (Brantley Gutierrez) Wishing a very happy seventieth birthday to the incomparable American cellist Yo-Yo Ma! Born to Chinese parents living in Paris, Ma began studying the cello wi…| from the archives
Throughout his career, Theodore Thomas introduced hundreds of works to the American public as a conductor and music director of his own Theodore Thomas Orchestra, the New York and Brooklyn philharmonics, and ultimately the Chicago Orchestra, which he founded in 1891. In fact, the first orchestral concert under his own direction—given on May 13, 1862, in New York’s … … Continue reading →| from the archives
Theodore Thomas’ score to Dvořák’s Violin Concerto, likely used for the U.S. premiere in October 1891 On October 30, 1891, founder and first music director Theodore Thomas led the Chicago Orc…| from the archives
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra family joins the international music community in mourning the death of celebrated German conductor Christoph von Dohnányi. He died on September 6, 2025, in Munich at the age of ninety-five. Over the course of five decades, Dohnányi was a frequent guest conductor with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, both in Orchestra Hall and […]| from the archives
Wishing a very happy eightieth birthday to legendary Israeli-American violinist, conductor, and teacher Itzhak Perlman! Perlman made his Chicago debut as soloist with the Grant Park Symphony Orches…| from the archives
José van Dam in January 1979 (Santi Visalli photo via Getty Images)| from the archives
José van Dam in January 1979 (Santi Visalli photo via Getty Images) Wishing a very happy eighty-fifth birthday to the legendary Belgian bass-baritone José van Dam! Van Dam has appeared with the Chi…| from the archives
We have just received word that Rubén D’Artagnan González, a concertmaster with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1986 until 1996, died in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on August 13, 2018, after a long illness. He was 79.| from the archives
Cleo Laine in April 1974. Photo by David Redfern (Getty Images) The Chicago Symphony Orchestra family joins the music world in mourning the loss of English singer and actress Dame Cleo Laine. She d…| from the archives
We have just received word that Rubén D’Artagnan González, a concertmaster with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1986 until 1996, died in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on August 13, 2018, after…| from the archives
