“It is a quirk of history that two of the world’s greatest orchestras, the Vienna Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic, were both founded 175 years ago this spring,” writes Michael Cooper in Friday’s (2/24) New York Times. “To mark their anniversaries, they are displaying treasures from their archives in a rare joint exhibition at the Austrian Cultural Forum in Manhattan” that opens March 10; it opens March 28 in Vienna. “Here are some of the highlights…. Founding Documents. ‘Damn and blast it! Confound it! Wake up!’ the conductor and composer Otto Nicolai wrote in his impassioned draft of the Vienna Philharmonic’s foundation charter … in the spring of 1842.… The ‘Constitution of the Philharmonic Society of New-York,’ adopted that same April … was a good deal more sober, calling the orchestra’s object ‘the advancement of Instrumental Music.’ … First Concerts: Guess Who? Both went with Beethoven. Vienna’s first … included his Symphony No. 7. New York … went with the Symphony No. 5.… Letters from Mahler. Vienna’s archive contains a fan letter of sorts that Gustav Mahler wrote in 1897 to the great conductor Hans Richter…. New York’s holdings include a 1909 letter … that Mahler wrote complaining that he had not gotten a suite on his steamship and discussing appointments to the orchestra.”
Posted February 27, 2017
