  |
| |||||||
 |
||||||||
| |||||||||||||
|
A Brief History Founded in 1900, The Philadelphia Orchestra has distinguished itself as one of the leading orchestras in the world through a century of brilliant performances, historic international tours, and best-selling recordings. Led by Music Director Wolfgang Sawallisch, the Orchestra marks its 100th Birthday on November 16, 2000, culminating a Centennial Celebration shared with audiences at home and around the world. In addition to the 100th Birthday Concert and Gala, the 2000-01 Season includes premieres of Centennial Commissions by Richard Danielpour and Roberto Sierra, a focus on Russian composers and performers, and a much-anticipated performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis conducted by Mr. Sawallisch, acknowledged as one of the greatest living exponents of the German tradition. Mr. Sawallisch also leads a "Whistle-Stop" tour of the Southeastern United States in November, four of the Orchestra's seven programs at New York's Carnegie Hall, and a concert tour of Asia at the end of the season in May 2001.
In addition to the many important premieres it has presented during the past century, The Philadelphia Orchestra boasts an extraordinary record of media firsts. It was the first symphonic orchestra to make electrical recordings (in 1925), the first to perform its own commercially sponsored radio broadcast (in 1929, on NBC), the first to perform on the soundtrack of a feature film (Paramount's The Big Broadcast of 1937), the first to appear on a national television broadcast (in 1948, on CBS), the first American orchestra to record the complete Beethoven symphonies on compact disc (in 1988), and the first major orchestra to give a live cybercast of a concert on the Internet (in 1997). In other firsts, the Orchestra made film history in 1939 when it recorded the soundtrack for Walt Disney's 1940 Fantasia, the landmark animated feature film that did much to popularize symphonic music in the United States. In 1973, the Orchestra made diplomatic history when it became the first American orchestra to tour the People's Republic of China, performing in Beijing's Great Hall of the People. In 1999, under Wolfgang Sawallisch, it became the first American orchestra to visit Vietnam. The Philadelphia Orchestra has achieved prominence in part through an impressive and unbroken chain of visionary musical leadership. Only six conductors have served as music director during the ensemble's first century, giving Philadelphia a unity of performance and musical guidance unprecedented among American symphony orchestras. Two Germans, Fritz Scheel (1900-07) and Carl Pohlig (1909-12), served as its first music directors, forming the ensemble and carrying it through its first twelve seasons. British-born Leopold Stokowski was appointed conductor in 1912 and quickly began leading the Orchestra toward new visions of musical excellence and excitement. Leading a series of major world and U.S. premieres, including works by Berg, Mahler, Rachmaninoff, Schoenberg, Scriabin, Sibelius, and Stravinsky, Stokowski firmly established Philadelphia's prominence in American classical music. In addition to making widely-acclaimed recordings with his ensemble, he instituted many other Philadelphia Orchestra traditions, including concerts created especially for children and symphonic tours throughout the country. Hungarian-born Eugene Ormandy assumed the music directorship in 1936. For the next 44 years, he first maintained and then expanded upon the Orchestra's unique artistry and musical excellence. Under Ormandy's skilled hands, the Orchestra refined its famed "Phila-delphia Sound" and travelled widely, touring throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, Japan, Korea, and China. Perhaps Ormandy's most lasting legacy is a Philadelphia discography of nearly 400 recordings (including three best-selling Gold Records), many of which have been reissued on compact disc and are considered classics of the LP era. Ormandy turned over the Orchestra's leadership in 1980 to Riccardo Muti. The Italian-born conductor built upon the Orchestra's tradition of versatility by introducing new and unfamiliar music from all periods. An advocate of contemporary music, Muti commis-sioned works by a wide range of composers and appointed the Orchestra's first composer-in-residence. Muti also revived the Orchestra's operatic tradition, presenting concert performances of operas by Verdi, Puccini, Wagner, and others. In 1993, the Munich-born conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch took the reins as the Orchestra's sixth music director, after serving 21 years as music director and general director of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. His Philadelphia tenure has featured renewed recognition of Philadelphia's unique standing as an ensemble, eight overseas tours, a year of special activities and concerts to celebrate the ensemble's 100th anniversary, and construc-tion of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the Orchestra's new home set to open in December 2001. The Philadelphia Orchestra performs more than 130 concerts during its winter subscription season from September to May. Its summer season begins at Philadelphia's outdoor Mann Center for the Performing Arts and also includes an intense three-week residency in August at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in upstate New York. |
|
At Mr. Sawallisch's suggestion, The Philadelphia Orchestra devoted all of its 1999-2000 subscription concerts to music written during the past 100 years in honor of its own Centennial. The Centennial Season's critical acclaim and box office success featured encore performances of many important and popular 20th-century works introduced by the Orchestra as world or American premieres. These included Barber's Violin Concerto, Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances, Schoenberg's Gurrelieder, and Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. The season also featured the world premieres of the first two of the Orchestra's eight Centennial Commissions - Hannibal's One Heart Beating and Einojuhani Rautavaara's Symphony No. 8 ("The Journey"). The Orchestra's 100th anniversary was also com-memorated through two special publications: a 12-CD set issued by the Orchestra and featuring live performances recorded from 1917-98, and a special new coffee-table-sized history of the ensemble published by Temple University (The Philadelphia Orchestra: A Century of Music).