St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second oldest professional orchestra in the U.S.; only the New York Philharmonic was established earlier. Though its history has been turbulent at times, the quality and prestige of the St. Louis Symphony has shown through in performances and recordings, for which it has been nominated for 60 Grammy Awards, with nine wins.
The SLSO was founded in 1880 as the St. Louis Choral Society by its first music director, Joseph Otten. It originally focused on choral works, and in 1881-1882, was accompanied by a small orchestra. In 1890, the St. Louis Choral Society merged with the St. Louis Musical Union, a small orchestra that was founded in 1881 by August Waldauer. With the merger, the name was changed to the St. Louis Choral-Symphony Society. Otten remained as the music director until 1894 when he was succeeded by Alfred Ernst. Ernst expanded the group's concert schedule, and when the World's Fair was held in St. Louis in 1904, he led the orchestra in performances nearly every day of the fair. These appearances garnered new attention to the group from the city and state. Along with the arrival of its third music director in 1907, Max Zuch, the Society was renamed the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Zuch expanded the orchestra's concert schedule further and incorporated popular music concerts with classical to broaden the orchestra's audience. Following Zuch's death in 1921, Rudolf Genz was named the permanent conductor. Genz led the orchestra in children's concerts and on tours, but his programming choices of contemporary music by the likes of Stravinsky and Mahler were met disapprovingly by audiences, and he was forced to resign in 1927.
The SLSO was led by guest conductors for the next four seasons before hiring Vladimir Golschmann as its next music director in 1931. Under Golschmann, the SLSO attracted world-class soloists and higher quality principals. He led the SLSO until 1958, serving as conductor emeritus from 1955-1958 while the orchestra searched for its new director. Following Golschmann were Eduard van Remoortel (1958-1962) and Eleazar De Carvalho (1962-1968). Under De Carvalho, the SLSO moved to its current home at Powell Hall in 1968. De Carvalho's programming of contemporary music was met with a similar reaction from his audience as Genz years earlier. Walter Susskind (1968-1975) followed De Carvalho and returned the SLSO to a more standard repertoire. He expanded the roster further, raised the quality of the performances, and initiated several festivals with the orchestra, including the Mississippi River Festival. Susskind was succeeded by Jerzy Semkow (1975-1979). In 1976, Richard Hayman was brought on as the SLSO's pops conductor; he held this title until 2014.
In 1979, the SLSO hired Leonard Slatkin as its next music director; with this appointment, the SLSO cemented its role as a leader among orchestras in the U.S. and elsewhere. In 1970, Slatkin founded the St. Louis Youth Orchestra and accelerated the orchestra's recording output. He programmed a mix of standard and contemporary repertoire, with an emphasis on American music, commissioning and premiering many new works. Slatkin remained in this post until 1996 when he was named conductor laureate. Hans Vonk (1996-2002) followed Slatkin and was, in turn, followed by David Robertson (2005-2018). Under Robertson, the SLSO nurtured a long, fruitful relationship with composer John Adams: The SLSO, under Robertson, won a 2015 Grammy Award for John Adams: City Noir. In 2017, the SLSO announced Stéphane Denève as its next music director; he assumed this position in 2019.
The SLSO's recording history began in the 1930s under Golschmann. It has recorded for EMI, Nonesuch, its own label, Arch Media, and most notably, RCA, which signed Slatkin and the SLSO to a 30-release contract in the 1980s. Its recordings have been recognized by many organizations and with many awards. In 2019, the SLSO, led by Robertson and joined by soloist Orli Shaham, issued an album of Mozart piano concertos on Canary Classics.
© Keith Finke /TiVo
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Rachmaninoff: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 4 & Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 (Remastered 2023)
Abbey Simon, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin
Concertos - Released by Vox on 1 Jan 1978
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Smetana: Má vlast, JB 1:112 (Remastered 2024)
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Walter Susskind
Classical - Released by Vox on 1 Jan 1975
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dvorák: Violin Concerto & Piano Concerto (Remastered 2024)
Ruggiero Ricci, Rudolf Firkusny, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Walter Susskind
Concertos - Released by Vox on 1 Jan 1975
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B Minor, Silent Woods & Other Orchestral Works (Remastered 2024)
Zara Nelsova, Ruggiero Ricci, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Walter Susskind
Classical - Released by Vox on 1 Jan 1975
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky, Op 78 & Lieutenant Kijé Suite, Op. 60 (Version for Voice & Orchestra) (Remastered 2024)
Claudine Carlson, Arnold Voketaitis, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin
Classical - Released by Vox on 22 Nov 2005
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis - Barber: Adagio for Strings - Grainger: Irish Tune from County Derry - Satie: Gymnopédies Nos. 1 & 3 - Fauré: Pavane
Leonard Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Telarc on 1 Jan 1981
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C Minor "Resurrection"
Leonard Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony Chorus, Kathleen Battle, Maureen Forrester
Classical - Released by Telarc on 1 Jan 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gershwin: Orchestral Works
Leonard Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Vox on 1 Jan 1974
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: The Bells, Op. 35 (Sung in English), Spring, Op. 20 & 3 Russian Songs, Op. 41 (Remastered 2023)
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony Chorus
Choral Music (Choirs) - Released by Vox on 1 Jan 1982
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 1 & Prince Rostislav (2023 Remaster)
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin
Classical - Released by Vox on 1 Jan 1991
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Hanson: Symphony No. 2 - Barber: Violin Concerto
Leonard Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Elmar Oliveira
Classical - Released by Angel Records on 13 Dec 1986
Stereophile: Record To Die For16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3, Symphony in D Minor "Youth" & The Rock (2023 Remaster)
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin
Classical - Released by Vox on 1 Jan 1991
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Gershwin Moment (Live)
Kirill Gerstein, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, David Robertson, Gary Burton
Classical - Released by Myrios Classics on 16 Feb 2018
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bizet: Suites from Carmen - Grieg: Suites from Peer Gynt
Leonard Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Telarc on 1 Jan 1979
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D Major "Titan"
Leonard Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Telarc on 1 Jan 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Piano Concertos No. 17, K.453 & No. 24, K.491
Orli Shaham, David Robertson, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by Canary Classics on 23 Aug 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Adagio for Strings / 3 Essays for Orchestra
Leonard Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Angel Records on 1 Jan 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky's Marche slav & Other Russian Favorites
Leonard Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Telarc on 28 Jun 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pachelbel: Kanon in D Major - Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings in C Major - Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves - Borodin: String Quartet No. 2 in D Major
Leonard Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Telarc on 1 Sep 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy: La mer, L. 109; Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, L. 86; & Danses sacrée et profane, L. 103
Leonard Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Telarc on 1 Jan 1982
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Boléro, M. 81, Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2, M. 57b & Pavane pour une infante défunte, M. 19
Leonard Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Telarc on 1 Jan 1980
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo