The Vienna Philharmonic and American composers

Synopsis

In Beethoven’s day, there were no independent symphonic orchestras in Vienna, so when Ludwig van wanted to put on an orchestral concert, the way he did it was to hire a theater orchestra for a night or two. Now, Viennese theaters were usually pretty busy and well booked up, but in Catholic Austria, they would shut down for a few weeks each year during Lent, which explains why a number of his symphonies premiered in April when the orchestras were available for hire.

It wasn’t until today’s date in 1842 that Vienna’s most famous independent orchestra played its first concert, and even then, as it still does today, the Vienna Philharmonic also doubles as the orchestra of the Vienna Opera.

German composer and conductor Otto Nicolai led that first concert of the Vienna Philharmonic. The program included Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony and, not surprisingly, Beethoven remains core repertory for the Vienna Philharmonic, along with those other two Viennese “Bs” — Brahms and Bruckner. But in the 20th century, the Austrian orchestra presented important European premieres of works by Samuel Barber and Leonard Bernstein, two notable American “Bs.” And more recently, the Vienna Philharmonic premiered Diversions by the German-born, American composer and conductor, Andre Previn.

Music Played in Today's Program

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Symphony No. 7; Vienna Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, conductor; DG 419 434

André Previn (1930-2019): Diversions Vienna Philharmonic; André Previn, conductor; DG 471 028

On This Day

Births

• 1871 - Dutch conductor Willem Mengelberg, in Utecrht

• 1890 - American bandleader Paul Whiteman, in Denver, Colorado

• 1930 - American composer Robert Ashley, in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Deaths

• 1881 - Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky, 42, in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Mar. 16)

• 1911 - Lithuanian painter and composer Mikolajus Konstantinas Ciurlionis, 35, in Marki, Poland (Gregorian date: April 10)

• 1937 - Polish composer Karol Szymanowski, 54, in Lausanne, Switzerland

• 1943 - Russian-born composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, 69, in Beverly Hills, California. A few weeks before his death he became an American citizen.

• 1949 - Rumanian composer and violinist Grigoras Dinicu, 59, in Bucharest. He is best known for his virtuoso violin showpiece Hora Staccato (1906)

• 1958 - American composer and “father of the blues” William Christopher (W.C.) Handy, 84 in New York

Premieres

• 1733 - Handel: oratorio Deborah (Julian date: March 17)

• 1801 - Beethoven: ballet The Creatures of Prometheus, at the Burgtheater in Vienna

• 1871 - Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 1, in Moscow, by members of the Russian Musical Society (Julian date: Mar. 16)

• 1879 - Smetana: String Quartet (From My Life), in Prague, by Ferdinand Lachner, Jan Pelikán (violins), Josef Krehan (viola), and Alois Neruda (cello). This was the official premiere, although a private performance had taken place in Prague the previous year, with the young Antonin Dvořák performing on viola.

• 1896 - Giordano: opera Andrea Chénier, in Milan at the Teatro alla Scala

• 1940 - Britten: Violin Concerto, by the New York Philharmonic conducted by John Barbirolli, with Antonio Brosa the soloist

• 1951 - Douglas Moore: opera Giants in the Earth, in New York City; This work won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1951

• 1958 - Rochberg: Symphony No. 1, in Philadelphia

• 1960 - Cowell: Symphony No. 12, by the Houston Symphony, Leopold Stokowski conducting

• 1972 - Bernstein: Meditations Nos. 1 and 2 for Cello and Piano, in New York City, by cellist Stephen Katz and the composer at the piano

• 2003 - Ned Rorem: Cello Concerto, by the Kansas City Symphony with Michael Stern conducting and David Geringas the soloist

Others

• 1739 - London music publisher John Walsh the younger issues Handel’s Trio Sonatas, London (Gregorian date: April 8)

• 1842 - The Vienna Philharmonic plays its first concert (as the Vienna Court Orchestra) in the Redoutensaale under the director of composer Otto Nicolai, the director of the Vienna Court Opera. The program included Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, his concert aria “Ah, Perfido,” and the Leonore No. 3 and Consercration of the House Overtures, along with other vocal selections by Mozart and Cherubini.