The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) was founded in 1914. It performed the world's first
radio broadcast of a symphonic concert on February 10, 1922
with pianist Artur Schnabel, and became the first nationally broadcast radio orchestra on
the Ford Sunday Evening Hour, later Ford Symphony Hour from 1934 to 1942 on the
Columbia Broadcast System. The DSO is currently heard by one million listeners a week on the
nationwide broadcast, the General Motors' "Mark of Excellence" radio series. Its live
concert series is attended by 450,000 people a year and includes a series of free educational concerts for children begun in
1926. The symphony has produced many recordings on the Victor, London, Decca, Mercury, RCA, Chandos and DSO labels. The DSO
recording of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of
Spring was the first CD to win the prestigious Grand Prix du Disque of
the Charles Cros Academy. A fine arts high school on part of the symphony's property opened in 2005.
History
Until 1919, the DSO performed at the old Detroit Opera House. Upon the
appointment of Ossip Gabrilowitsch as music director in 1918, he demanded a new
auditorium be built as a condition of his accepting the position, leading to the construction of Orchestra Hall. In 1956, the Orchestra moved to Ford Auditorium on the waterfront of the Detroit River. The DSO
remained in that venue for 33 years,[1] but later returned
to a renovated Orchestra Hall, which was said to feature better acoustics. The
DSO has suffered financial challenges and setbacks for much of the past twenty five years struggling to find support in a
rust-belt city. In 2003, the DSO renovated Orchestra Hall again and added a $60 million addition, including a recital hall and
education wing, called The Max M. Fisher Music Center.
After a five-year search, the DSO announced on October 7, 2007, that Leonard Slatkin,
music director of the National Symphony Orchestra, would
become its twelfth music director, succeeding Neeme Järvi.[2] Peter Oundjian, currently Music Director
of the Toronto Symphony, is the DSO's current Artistic Advisor and Principal Guest Conductor. The current Resident Conductor is
Thomas Wilkins. See below for a complete list of DSO Music Directors.
Since 1988, Emmanuelle Boisvert has been the concertmaster of the DSO.[3] She was
the first female to hold the position in the United States, and in 2007 she was also named
one of four rotating concertmasters of the Seattle Symphony.[4]
Music directors
Notes
References
-
Bargreen, Melinda (September 25, 2007), "Symphony
plays musical chairs", The Seattle Times, <http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thearts/2003900131_concertmaster25.html>
-
Detroit Symphony Orchestra (a), Orchestra Musicians & Staff: Emmanuelle Boisvert, <http://www.detroitsymphony.com/main.taf?erube_fh=dso&dso.submit.getOrchMember=1&dso.memberId=110>.
Retrieved on 2007-10-09
-
Detroit Symphony Orchestra (b), About the DSO: History, <http://www.detroitsymphony.com/main.taf?p=1,6>. Retrieved on 2007-10-09
-
Stryker, Mark (October 7, 2007), "World-class maestro is
heading to Detroit", Detroit Free Press, <http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071007/ENT04/71007040>
External links
See also
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Detroit Symphony Orchestra Music Directors |
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