Chicago Music

Created from the legendary Deutsche Grammophon Catalogue, The History of Classical Music in 24 Hours is a collection that can spark a life-long interest in classical music. Thematically arranged on 24 discs, The History weaves its way from Medieval Music to Minimalism, with many stops along the way: The Renaissance, Baroque (vocal and instrumental), the great Concertos, the Rise of the Virtuoso, a three disc focus on opera and more.

Created from the legendary Deutsche Grammophon Catalogue, The History of Classical Music in 24 Hours is a collection that can spark a life-long interest in classical music. Thematically arranged on 24 discs, The History weaves its way from Medieval Music to Minimalism, with many stops along the way: The Renaissance, Baroque (vocal and instrumental), the great Concertos, the Rise of the Virtuoso, a three disc focus on opera and more.

Recorded in 2000 at the world's most important festival for 20th century music, the Musik Triennale Cologne, this concert programme successfully set out to capture the great wealth and diversity of modern classical music.

Solti's interpretations held more than surface excitement. In conducting Beethoven, for example, he long held that the symphonies should be played with all their repeats to maintain their structural integrity, and he carefully rethought his approach to tempo, rhythm, and balance in those works toward the end of his life. Solti began as a pianist, commencing his studies at age six and making his first public appearance at 12. When he was 13 he enrolled at Budapest's Franz Liszt Academy of Music, studying piano mainly with Dohnányi and, for a very short time, Bartók. He also took composition courses with Kodály.