Sir George Solti Bust (in Grant Park)

Sir Georg Solti (1912-1997) was a world renowned orchestral conductor who served as director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for more than two decades. Born and trained in Budapest, Solti conducted in major cities in Europe and served as the music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic before becoming the first Music Director Laureate of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1969. Over the next twenty-two years, he conducted a total of 999 performances.  Solti was the recipient of thirty-two Grammy Awards.   Recognizing his importance to Chicago Solti once said “They should erect a statue to me.” This bust was sculpted in 1987, and dedicated in front of the Lincoln Park Conservatory on the maestro’s 75th birthday. Dame Elisabeth Frink (1930-1993) a British artist known for bronze figurative sculptures produced the bust. In 2006, when a new Solti garden was created in Grant Park, the Chicago Park District moved the  bust  there and placed it on a stately dark granite base. It distantly faces the Spirit of Music (which honors conductor Theodore Thomas). Chicago’s first lady Maggie Daley and Lady Valerie Solti were present at its rededication. The Grant Park Conservancy co-sponsored the new garden and relocation of the monument.