SOLTI, SIR GEORG

orig. György Stern Solti

born Oct. 21, 1912, Budapest, Hung.

died Sept. 5, 1997, Antibes, France

Hungarian-born British conductor.

After making his piano debut at age 12, he studied piano with Béla Bartók and composition with Zoltán Kodály . He was Arturo Toscanini 's assistant at Salzburg (1936–37). In Switzerland when World War II broke out, he returned to piano, winning the 1942 Geneva International Competition. He led the Bavarian State Opera in Munich (1945–52), and then he moved to Frankfurt (1952–61). As director of Covent Garden (1961–71), he made the first complete recording of Richard Wagner 's Ring cycle (1958–65), which remains one of the celebrated recordings of all time. Under Solti (1969–91), the Chicago Symphony Orchestra won extraordinary praise and success.