1.   Gilbert is the first out-of-town conductor to lead the ASO Chorus since Robert Shaw died in January.

2.   Toscanini was my first conductor, and I played with or knew virtually every significant conductor since.

3.   With Leonard Bernstein, Solti was one of the first great conductor whose entire career could be traced on recordings.

4.   British newspapers said he was the first conductor to reject the London Symphony for economic reasons.

5.   First woman conductor of Vienna Boys Choir quits.

6.   He also was the first German conductor to be invited to perform with the Israel Philharmonic.

7.   He was to conduct a Mahler Fifth as the first guest conductor the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra hired for a symphony in years.

8.   Masur, who was made the first honorary conductor of the Gewandhaus in the history of the orchestra, will continue to conduct occasional performances on a guest basis.