Boston Symphony Orchestra

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The Boston Symphony Orchestra is one of the world's most renowned orchestras. Its home base is Boston's Symphony Hall, usually considered to be one of the three finest concert halls in the world.

The orchestra was founded in 1881 by Henry Lee Higginson in Boston, Massachusetts. It went on to have several notable conductors, including Arthur Nikisch from 1889 to 1893, and Pierre Monteux from 1919 to 1924 who gave the orchestra a reputation for a "French" sound which persists to some degree to this day. However, it was under the baton of Serge Koussevitzky that the orchestra became best known.

Under Koussevitzky, the orchestra gave regular radio broadcasts and established its summer home at Tanglewood, where Koussevitzky founded the Berkshire Music Center (now Tanglewood Music Center). Those network radio broadcasts ran from 1926 through 1951, and again from 1954 through 1956; the orchestra continues to make regular live radio broadcasts to the present day. The Boston Symphony was closely involved with the creation of WGBH Radio as an outlet for its concerts.

Koussevitzky also commissioned many new pieces from prominent composers, including the Fourth Symphony of Sergei Prokofiev and the Symphony of Psalms by Igor Stravinsky. They also gave the premiere of Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra, which had been commissioned by the Koussevitzky Foundation at the instigation of Fritz Reiner and Joseph Szigeti.

Koussevitzky started a tradition that was to be continued by the orchestra with commissions by Henri Dutilleux for its 75th anniversary, Roger Sessions, and Andrzej Panufnik, for the 100th, and lately for the 125th works by Leon Kirchner, Elliott Carter, and Peter Lieberson. On other occasions, they have commissioned works from various other composers, such as John Corigliano's 2nd symphony for the 100th anniversary of Symphony Hall.

In 1949, Charles Munch succeeded Koussevitzky. Under him, the orchestra played overseas for the first time. They also made their first stereo recording in February 1954 for RCA Victor. He was succeeded in 1962 by Erich Leinsdorf who in 1969 gave way to William Steinberg. In 1973, Seiji Ozawa took over the orchestra and remained the Music Director until 2002, the longest tenure of any Boston Symphony conductor.

He was succeeded by James Levine, the first American-born conductor to hold the post.

The Boston Symphony also benefits from its close association with the New England Conservatory, located one block from Symphony Hall. Many of the BSO's players are New England Conservatory graduates.

Famous violin virtuoso Willy Hess was concertmaster from 1904 to 1910.

An offshoot of the Boston Symphony Orchestra is the Boston Pops Orchestra, founded in 1885, which plays lighter, more popular classics, show tunes, and the like.

Performing with the BSO and Boston Pops for major choral works is the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Organized in 1970 by its founding director, John Oliver, the Chorus is comprised of two hundred fifty volunteer singers. Before the creation of the Chorus, and for some time after it, the BSO frequently employed the New England Conservatory Chorus (Lorna Cooke DeVaron, conductor), Chorus Pro Musica, Harvard Glee Club and Radcliffe Choral Society as its choirs of choice.