Simone Young makes her CSO podium debut: Was this the stick that led a thousand firsts?

Review: Australian native Simone Young was the first woman to be appointed resident conductor of Opera Australia (1986), first to conduct the Vienna State Opera (1993) and the Vienna Philharmonic (2005) – as well as the first female conductor to record a complete cycle of Bruckner symphonies (2012) and a complete Wagner “Ring” cycle (2016). Her debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on June 6 at Orchestra Hall left a mixed impression.