The Chicago Symphony Orchestra's participation in the "Great Music from Chicago" TV series lasted four seasons, from 1959 to 1963. After 1963, the series continued for three more years but focused exclusively on popular artists and music. Of the 104 shows produced by WGN during the Orchestra's tenure, nearly 80 have been found. The collection, held by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Rosenthal Archives, comprises one of the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive symphony-based film and video archives in the United States.
Prominent guest conductors with the Orchestra included Hans Rosbaud, Alfred Wallenstein, Igor Markevitch, Sir John Barbirolli, Sir Thomas Beecham, André Cluytens, Morton Gould, Lukas Foss, Pierre Monteux, William Steinberg, George Szell, Leopold Stokowski, Jean Martinon, André Previn, Arthur Fiedler, Aaron Copland, Charles Munch, and Paul Hindemith. Among the many soloists were Byron Janis, Isaac Stern, Erica Morini, Dorothy Kirsten, William Warfield, Nathan Milstein, and Zino Francescatti. A number of pops concerts were added to the lineup each season, featuring jazz artists, such as Count Basie and Woody Herman, and singers Florence Henderson and Tony Bennett.