Alberto Zelman

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Alberto Zelman (November 15, 1874 – March 3, 1927) was an Australian musician and conductor.

Zelman was born in Melbourne, Australia. His father, Alberto Zelman (1832 – December 27, 1907), the elder, was born at Trieste, Austria (now part of Italy), of Italian parents. He was educated as a musician and made his mark as a conductor in Northern Italy. He then went to Calcutta, India, where he was successful for some years as a teacher and conductor, and about 1870 came to Australia as conductor of an opera company. He settled at Melbourne, was much esteemed as a man and as a musician, was for many years conductor of the Melbourne Liedertafel, and was a well-known teacher of the pianoforte. His compositions included orchestral works, masses and many solos for the violin. He died at Melbourne in 1907 leaving a widow; and four sons. Of his sons, Alberto also took up music.

Alberto was educated at King's College, Melbourne, and showed early talent as a violinist, afterwards becoming a teacher of the violin. He was connected with the Melbourne Philharmonic Society for over 30 years, first as leader of the second violins in the orchestra, and from 1912 as conductor. He was leader of the British Musical Society's quartet, and after the death of Marshall Hall he founded and conducted the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) in 1906. It was mainly amateur with a core of professional players, and Alberto conducted it over the years, giving many memorable performances.

Considering that the MSO had no endowment Zelman did remarkable work with it, and he was always hoping that all the musical interests in Melbourne would pool their resources so that his native city should have a permanent, properly supported orchestra. Alberto Zelman was also well known in the "Spa Country" region of Victoria, and he lived for a short period in a cottage on 7th Street in Hepburn Springs that stands today and which features a freize of the local bush painted by his artist brother Victor.

In 1922 he visited Europe, and at Berlin was invited to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. He was enthusiastically received, and in November of the same year conducted the London Symphony Orchestra at London, but was less successful than at Berlin. On returning to Australia Zelman resumed his teaching and conducting, and his last appearance was to conduct the Messiah on Christmas night 1926; such world famous singers as John McCormack and Dame Clara Butt had been soloists in his Messiah.

He died at Melbourne after a short illness on 3 March 1927. He married Maude Harrington, a well-known singer, who survived him. He had no children. A brother, Victor Zelman, studied painting and became known as a capable painter of landscapes; an example of his work is in the national gallery, Melbourne.

The MSO continued to perform after his death until 1932 when it was taken over by Professor (later Sir) Bernard Heinze who converted it to an all-professional orchestra. The amateur players then, in 1933, formed their own orchestra, naming it the Zelman Memorial Symphony Orchestra after their beloved Alberto Zelman. It has given at least three concerts each year since that time and now, more than seventy years later, the Zelman Symphony continues to perform with at least four concerts each year in Melbourne and one in the Daylesford Town Hall for the annual Hepburn Springs Swiss-Italian Festa.

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