Gennady Rozhdestvensky (Wladimir Polak photo)

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra family joins the classical music community in mourning the loss of Russian conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky, who passed away on June 16. He was 87.

Rozhdestvensky made his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on subscription concerts in Orchestra Hall in October 1974, leading Tchaikovsky’s Suite no. 3 in G major and Scriabin’s Symphony no. 3 (The Divine Poem). At the Ravinia Festival, he made his debut in July 1987, conducting Haydn’s Symphonies nos. 70 and 71, Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto no. 1 with Frank Peter Zimmermann, and Massenet’s Suite no. 4 (Scènes pittoresques).

Stephen Williamson solos in Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto on February 11, 2016, under Rozhdestvensky’s baton (Todd Rosenberg photo).

Most recently, Rozhdestvensky was in Chicago in February 2016 for two weeks of concerts with the Orchestra, first with Shostakovich’s Symphonies nos. 1 and 15, followed by Sibelius’s Rakastava, Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto with Stephen Williamson, Pärt’s Orient and Occident, and Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings in C major.

Numerous tributes have been posted online, including The New York Times, The Telegraph, and The Guardian, among many others.