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Duain Wolfe (center) is congratulated by Riccardo Muti as Josephine Lee looks on after the Italian Masterworks concert in June 2017.
Todd Rosenberg Photography
Duain Wolfe has prepared the Chicago Symphony Chorus for many commercial recordings; here is a complete list.
BARTÓK The Miraculous Mandarin, Op. 19
Pierre Boulez conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in December 1994 for Deutsche Grammophon, the album was executive produced by Roger Wright and produced by Karl-August Naegler. Rainer Maillard was the balance engineer, with Stephan Flock and Hans-Rudolf Müller, recording engineers, and Stephan Flock and Rainer Maillard, editors.
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 13 in B-flat Minor, Op. 113 (Babi Yar)
Sir Georg Solti conductor
Sergej Aleksashkin bass
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in February 1995 for London Records. The album was produced by Michael Woolcock, John Dunkerley and Andy Groves were the recording engineers, and Nigel Gayler was the recoding editor.
ROUGET DE L’ISLE/Berlioz La Marseillaise
Daniel Barenboim conductor
Plácido Domingo tenor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe director
The Orchestra and Chorus were recorded in Orchestra Hall in May 1995; Domingo was later recorded at the Hochschule für Musik Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. For Teldec, the album was executive produced by Nikolaus Deckenbrock and produced by Martin Fouqué, Ulrich Ruscher was the recording engineer, Jens Schünemann and Paul Nedel were assistant engineers, and Andreas Florcak and Stefan Witzel were digital editors.
WAGNER Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Sir Georg Solti conductor
Karita Mattila soprano (Eva)
Iris Vermillion mezzo-soprano (Magdalene)
Ben Heppner tenor (Walther von Stolzing)
David Herbert Lippert tenor (David)
José van Dam bass-baritone (Hans Sachs)
René Pape bass (Pogner)
Alan Opie baritone (Beckmesser)
Roberto Saccà tenor (Vogelgesang)
Gary Martin baritone (Nachtigall)
Albert Dohmen bass-baritone (Kothner)
John Horton Murray tenor (Zorn)
Richard Byrne baritone (Eisslinger)
Steven Tharp tenor (Moser)
Kevin Deas bass-baritone (Ortel)
Stephen Morscheck bass-baritone (Hans Schwarz)
Kelly Anderson baritone (Hans Foltz, Ein Nachtwächter)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in September 1995 for London Records, the disc was produced by Michael Woolcock. James Lock, John Pellowe, and Neil Hutchinson were the balance engineers, and Krzysztof Jarosz was the location engineer. The recording won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.
SCRIABIN Prometheus, Op. 60
Pierre Boulez conductor
Anatol Ugorski piano
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in December 1996 for Deutsche Grammophon, the album was executive produced by Roger Wright and Ewald Markl and produced by Karl-August Naegler. Ulrich Vette was the balance engineer; Jobst Eberhardt and Stephan Flock, recording engineers, and Karl-August Naegler and Ulrich Vette, editors.
STRAVINSKY Symphony of Psalms
Sir Georg Solti conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe director
Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus
Emily Ellsworth director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in March 1997 for London Records, the album was produced by Michael Woolcock. James Lock and Philip Siney were the balance engineers, with Duncan Mitchell as the location engineer and Sally Drew and Nigel Gayler, recording editors.
American Spirit
KELLEY/Davis Home on the Range
STEFFE/Davis Battle Hymn of the Republic
WARD/Davis America the Beautiful
Chip Davis conductor
Mannheim Steamroller
Members of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe director
Recorded at Saint Michael’s Catholic Church in Old Town, Chicago, in March 2003 for American Gramaphone, the album was produced by Chip Davis. Chris Sabold, Mike Konopka, and Dick Lewsey were the engineers; Mat Lejeune, Brian Pinke, Mike Scasiwicz and Darren Styles were the assistant engineers.
MAHLER Symphony No. 3 in D Minor
Bernard Haitink conductor
Michelle DeYoung mezzo-soprano
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe director
Chicago Children’s Choir
Josephine Lee director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in October 2006 for CSO Resound, the album was produced by James Mallinson, with Christopher Willis as the recording engineer.
MENOTTI Amahl and the Night Visitors
Alastair Willis conductor
Ike Hawkersmith treble (Amahl)
Kirsten Gunlogson mezzo-soprano (Mother)
Dean Anthony tenor (King Kaspar)
Todd Thomas baritone (King Melchior)
Kevin Short bass-baritone (King Balthazar)
Bart LeFan baritone (Page to the Kings)
Nashville Symphony Orchestra
Members of the Nashville Symphony Chorus
George Mabry director
Members of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe director
Recorded in Laura Turner Concert Hall, Nashville, Tennessee, in December 2006 for Naxos, the album was produced by Blanton Alspaugh, with John Hill and Mark Donahue as the engineers.
RAVEL L’enfant et les sortilèges
Alastair Willis conductor
Julie Boulianne mezzo-soprano (L’enfant)
Geneviève Després mezzo-soprano (Maman, La libellule, L’écureuil)
Kirsten Gunlogson mezzo-soprano (La tasse chinoise, Un pâtre, La chatte)
Philippe Castagner tenor (La théière, Le petit viellard, La rainette)
Ian Greenlaw baritone (L’horloge comtoise, Le chat)
Kevin Short bass-baritone (Le fauteuil, Un arbre)
Agathe Martel soprano (La princesse, La chauve-souris)
Cassandre Prévost soprano (Le feu, Le rossignol)
Julie Cox soprano (La bergère, Une pastourelle, La chouette)
Nashville Symphony Orchestra
Members of the Nashville Symphony Chorus
George Mabry director
Members of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe director
Chattanooga Boys Choir
Vincent Oakes director
Recorded at Laura Turner Concert Hall, Nashville, Tennessee, in December 2006 for Naxos, the album was produced by Blanton Alspaugh. John Hill and Mark Donahue were the engineers.
POULENC Gloria
RAVEL Daphnis and Chloe
Bernard Haitink conductor
Jessica Rivera soprano
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in November 2007 for CSO Resound, the album was produced by James Mallinson. Christopher Willis was the recording engineer.
MAHLER Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (Resurrection)
Bernard Haitink conductor
Miah Persson soprano
Christianne Stotijn mezzo-soprano
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in November 2008 for CSO Resound, the album was produced by James Mallinson. Christopher Willis was the recording engineer.
VERDI Messa da Requiem
Riccardo Muti conductor
Barbara Frittoli soprano
Olga Borodina mezzo-soprano
Mario Zeffiri tenor
Ildar Abdrazakov bass
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in January 2009 for CSO Resound, the album was produced by Christopher Alder. Christopher Willis was the recording engineer, and David Frost and Tom Lazarus were the mixing engineers.
The recording received 2010 Grammys for Best Classical Album and Best Choral Performance.
BERLIOZ Lélio ou le retour à la vie
Riccardo Muti conductor
Gérard Depardieu narrator
Mario Zeffiri tenor
Kyle Ketelsen bass-baritone
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in September 2010 for CSO Resound, the album was produced and mixed by David Frost. Christopher Willis was the recording engineer, and Silas Brown, mixing and mastering engineer.
VERDI Otello
Riccardo Muti conductor
Aleksandrs Antonenko tenor (Otello)
Krassimira Stoyanova soprano (Desdemona)
Carlo Guelfi baritone (Iago)
Barbara di Castri mezzo-soprano (Emilia)
Juan Francisco Gatell tenor (Cassio)
Michael Spyres tenor (Roderigo)
Paolo Battaglia bass (Montano)
Eric Owens bass-baritone (Lodovico)
David Govertsen bass (A herald)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe director
Chicago Children’s Choir
Josephine Lee director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in April 2011 for CSO Resound, the album was produced, edited and mixed by David Frost. Christopher Willis was the recording engineer, with Tim Martyn, Silas Brown and Richard King as the mixing engineers.
SCHOENBERG Kol Nidre, Op. 39
Riccardo Muti conductor
Alberto Mizrahi narrator
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in March 2012 for CSO Resound. The album was produced, edited and mixed by David Frost. Christopher Willis was the recording engineer, and Silas Brown, mastering engineer.
WILLIAMS Lincoln (Original motion picture soundtrack)
John Williams conductor
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in May 2012 for Sony, the disc was produced by John Williams. Ramiro Belgardt was the music editor, with Shawn Murphy as recording and mixing engineer; Robert Wolff, recording editor; Brad Cobb, technical engineer, and Patricia Sullivan Fourstar, mastering engineer.
Riccardo Muti Conducts Italian Masterworks
VERDI Gli arredi festivi from Nabucco
VERDI Patria oppressa! from Macbeth
BOITO Prologue to Mefistofele
Riccardo Muti conductor
Riccardo Zanellato bass
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe director
Chicago Children’s Choir
Josephine Lee director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in June 2017 for CSO Resound, the album was produced, edited and mixed by David Frost. Charlie Post was the recording engineer, with Silas Brown, mastering engineer.
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 13, Op. 113 (Babi Yar)
Riccardo Muti conductor
Alexey Tikhomirov bass
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Men of the Chicago Symphony Chorus
Duain Wolfe director
Recorded in Orchestra Hall in September 2018 for CSO Resound, the album was produced, edited and mastered by David Frost. Charlie Post was the recording engineer, and Silas Brown, mastering engineer. The disc received the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album-Classical.
Portions of this article previously appeared here.
