Samuel R. and Marie Louise Rosenthal

Samuel R. and Marie Louise Rosenthal’s generosity and creativity brought about a lasting legacy for their love of music, books and study. In abundant love for her native city and its cultural institutions, Marie Louise honored the memory of her husband with a gift that formally named the Chicago Symphony Rosenthal Archives in January 1997.

A native of Manistique, then a bustling timber center on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Sam Rosenthal (1899–1994) served in the U.S. Army during World War I, and while stationed at Fort Sheridan, he was able to frequently hear the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and opera at Ravinia Park. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Michigan in 1921, completed a law degree from Harvard University in 1924, and shortly thereafter joined the Sonnenschein firm (later Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal), where he remained active for 68 years.

Marie Louise (1907–2003) grew up in Chicago, and her grandmother and mother brought her to Orchestra Hall for youth concerts conducted by Frederick Stock. She admitted that she and her brother did not always behave very well, but the music made a lasting impression. After attending the Latin School and the University of Chicago, Marie Louise worked as a nurse’s aide at Highland Park Hospital before marrying Sam in 1932.

The Rosenthals soon made the Chicago Symphony Orchestra a focus of their rich and varied cultural world. Faithful subscribers for over 50 years, they welcomed opportunities to invite featured soloists like Zino Francescatti and Alfred Brendel into their home. Adventurous and wide-ranging travelers, they were among the first to travel abroad with the CSO, beginning with the 1974 European tour to Austria, German, Switzerland, Italy, England, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Marie Louise found it difficult to choose her favorite conductors, and the names of Rodziński, Reiner, Solti and Barenboim came readily to mind. Among her favorite composers, Mahler figured most prominently. She remained open to the challenges and rewards of contemporary music, mindful that many classical greats were controversial in their lifetimes.

Along with expanding their musical horizons, Sam and Marie Louise developed together a love of fine books. Over the years they amassed several collections of fine printing and binding while also demonstrating an active interest in educational programs.

Music and books came together in a characteristically innovative way during a CSO endowment Fund for the Future campaign the 1980s, when the Rosenthals made one of the most remarkable gifts of that campaign, earmarking their endowment support for the conservation of music scores, programs, documents, manuscripts and memorabilia in what would become the Orchestra’s formal archives in 1989. At the time, few American orchestras had the resources necessary to safeguard a broad and substantial tradition of performance, repertoire and organizational development. By the beginning of the Orchestra’s centennial season in 1990–91, the Archives was up and running and continues to thrive today.

The Rosenthals also established rare book and conservation funds at the Newberry Library, University of Chicago and the University of Michigan, as well as endowment funds at the Art Institute of Chicago and a law chair at Harvard University. Sam was named a fellow of the Morgan Library and the American Antiquarian Society and was a trustee of the Ravinia Festival beginning in 1935. Marie Louise served on the women’s boards of the Field Museum and the University of Chicago in addition to being a life trustee of the Ravinia Festival.

Through their extraordinary patronship, Samuel R. and Marie Louise Rosenthal ensured that the Chicago Symphony’s rich cultural history would be preserved by transforming their philanthropy into a living, working legacy. Their devotion to preservation, learning and artistic excellence endures, continuing to enrich the lives of scholars, musicians and audiences.

Adapted from an article written by Edward Buckbee, former director of planned giving for the Chicago Symphony, in January 1997.