Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra | |
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 Cincinnati Music Hall
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | CSO |
| Origin |  Cincinnati, Ohio, United States |
| Genre(s) | Classical |
| Occupation(s) | Symphony orchestra |
| Years active | 1895-1907 1909-present |
| Label(s) | Telarc |
| Associated acts | CSO Chamber Players |
| Members | |
| Music Director Paavo Järvi Pops Conductor Erich Kunzel Assistant Conductor Eric Dudley (August 2004-July 2008) Ken Lam (August 2008-) Music Director Emeritus Jesús López-Cobos |
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| Former members | |
| Founder Frank Van der Stucken |
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As the fifth-oldest orchestra in the United States, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) has a legacy of fine music making as reflected in its performances in historic Music Hall, recordings, and international tours. It represents the evolution of 200 years of music making in the city of Cincinnati, in southwestern Ohio.
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[edit] History
After the formation of several orchestras between 1825 and 1872, the Cincinnati Orchestra Association was founded by the wife of then future U.S. President William Howard Taft in 1893. The CSO gave its first concerts in 1895 at Pike's Opera house, and a year later moved to Music Hall. The first conductor was Frank Van der Stucken, a Texas-born musician of Dutch ancestry, who served until 1907. In the early years, the orchestra welcomed such notable international figures as Richard Strauss and Edward McDowell. The orchestra also performed the U.S. premiere of the Symphony No. 5 of Gustav Mahler.
For three years the orchestra disbanded due to labor disputes and financial problems, and upon its reorganization in 1909, a young organist from England, Leopold Stokowski, was named to lead the group. After Stokowski's three years the orchestra enjoyed an evolution which gained them national prominence under conductors such as Ernst Kunwald through 1918, the virtuoso Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe (1918-1922), Fritz Reiner (1922-1933), and Eugene Goossens (1933-1947). This period saw the orchestra move from Music Hall to Emery Auditorium in 1909, then back to Music Hall in 1936, the U.S. premiere of Mahler's Symphony No. 3 (1912), its first recordings (1917), first national tours, and the world premiere of Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man.
After Goossens came Thor Johnson in 1947, who led the orchestra in some of the first commercial stereo recordings for Remington Records, followed by Max Rudolf in 1958, whose mark of musicianship still reflects the orchestra. Then came Thomas Schippers who died abruptly in 1977. Under Schippers, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra was formed in 1977, with Erich Kunzel as its conductor. After Schippers' death, Walter Susskind served as artistic advisor of the orchestra for three years before his own death in 1980.
That same year, the Austrian conductor Michael Gielen became conductor in 1980 for a six year term to be succeeded by Spanish conductor Jesús López Cobos. López-Cobos led the orchestra on a very successful European tour in 1995, their first since 1969, and their first national television appearance on PBS. He retired in 2001 after the longest tenure of any CSO conductor, and was named emeritus music director in September of that year.
In addition to its many concerts given each year, the Cincinnati Symphony is the house orchestra for the Cincinnati May Festival, the oldest continuing choral festival in the Western Hemisphere.
[edit] The Orchestra today
Since 2001, the orchestra's music director is the Estonian-born Paavo Järvi, son of Neeme Järvi. In April 2007, the orchestra announced that Järvi had extended his Cincinnati contract through 2011. Upon completion of this new contract, Järvi and the CSO will enter into an 'evergreen' state which will continue the relationship by mutual agreement.[1][2]
In January 2007, the orchestra reported financial difficulties, projecting a monetary deficit of about US$2 million for the current fiscal year.[3]
In addition, the CSO serves as the official orchestra of the annual May Festival and Cincinnati Opera and, as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.
[edit] References
- ^ Mary Ellyn Hutton. "A conversation with Jarvi about CSO's future", Cincinnati Post, 22 April 2007. Retrieved on 2007-05-05.
- ^ Vivien Schweitzer. "Cincinnati Symphony Renews Paavo Järvi's Contract - And Adds Evergreen Clause", Playbill Arts, 3 May 2007. Retrieved on 2007-05-05.
- ^ Cliff Peale. "Symphony needs money", Cincinnati Enquirer, 5 Jan 2007. Retrieved on 2007-04-18.
[edit] External links
- Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra home page
- Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at Allmusic
- Music Hall: Cincinnati Finds Its Voice Music Hall documentary on WCET-TV
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