Georg Solti (1912-1997) was an orchestral and operatic conductor, best known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-serving music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In the 1930s, he was a répétiteur at the Hungarian State Opera and worked at the Salzburg Festival for Arturo Toscanini. His career was interrupted by the rise of the Nazis. After conducting a season of Russian ballet in London at the Royal Opera House he found refuge in Switzerland, where he remained during the Second World War. After the war, he was appointed musical director of the Bavarian State Opera in 1946, the Frankfurt Opera in 1952, and the Covent Garden Opera Company in London in 1961. In 1969 Solti was appointed music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestr