This broadcast celebrates Margaret Hillis, founder and first director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, featuring three Grammy Award-winning recordings. Bartók’s Cantata profana led by Pierre Boulez is the centerpiece, bookended by an excerpt from Brahms’ German Requiem and Verdi’s monumental Requiem, both under the baton of eighth music director Sir Georg Solti.
Celebrating Margaret Hillis
Margaret Hillis onstage in Orchestra Hall in 1978 (Terry’s Photography)
Playlist
Johannes Brahms: “Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen” from A German Requiem, Op. 45
Chicago Symphony Chorus; Margaret Hillis, director; Sir Georg Solti, conductor
Béla Bartók: Cantata profana
John Aler, tenor; John Tomlinson, bass; Chicago Symphony Chorus; Margaret Hillis, director; Pierre Boulez, conductor
Giuseppe Verdi: Messa da Requiem
Leontyne Price, soprano; Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano; Veriano Luchetti, tenor; José van Dam, bass-baritone; Chicago Symphony Chorus; Margaret Hillis, director; Sir Georg Solti, conductor
