From the CSO’s Archives: The First 130 Years

Invitation to the Dance

January 19, 2021 — 1 hr 45 min listen

Cover of first violin part to Carl Maria von Weber's Invitation to the Dance, arranged by Hector Berlioz

Theodore Thomas collection, Rosenthal Archives of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association

Former music directors Frederick Stock, Fritz Reiner, Sir Georg Solti, and Daniel Barenboim, along with Ravinia Festival music director Seiji Ozawa and frequent guest conductor Morton Gould, lead the Orchestra in music for the dance. From Dance of the Hours from La Gioconda and Salome’s Dance of the Seven Veils to the Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor and the Mephisto Waltz, this program culminates with Falla’s ballet The Three-Cornered Hat.

Weber/Berlioz Invitation to the Dance, Op. 65
Fritz Reiner conductor
April 1957 (RCA)

Borodin Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor
Seiji Ozawa conductor
July 1969 (Angel)

Copland Dance Symphony
Morton Gould conductor
February 1965 (RCA)

Strauss Dance of the Seven Veils from Salome
Fritz Reiner conductor
March 1954 (RCA)

Liszt Mephisto Waltz No. 1 (The Dance at the Village Inn)
Sir Georg Solti conductor
November 1993 (London)

Ponchielli Dance of the Hours from La Gioconda
Frederick Stock conductor
April 1941 (Columbia)

Falla The Three-Cornered Hat
Daniel Barenboim conductor
Jennifer Larmore mezzo-soprano
May 1997 (Teldec)

From the CSO’s Archives: The First 130 Years—featuring recordings from the CSO’s vast discography, including releases on CSO Resound—is a cultural and community partnership between the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association and WFMT, Chicago’s Classical Music Station.

FTA130-18