Highlights
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1916 as a municipal orchestra, supported by taxpayer money. Gustave Strube served as the first conductor of the group of about 50 players. It became a private institution in 1942. The orchestra came into its own in the 1960s when philanthropist Joseph Meyerhoff became president. During his tenure, the BSO moved from the Lyric Opera House to its new permanent home at the 2,443-seat Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The orchestra also performs at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda. The BSO had many firsts under conductor Sergiu Comissiona, whom Meyerhoff appointed. Comissiona expanded the orchestra's season to 52 weeks. The BSO went o...
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1916 as a municipal orchestra, supported by taxpayer money. Gustave Strube served as the first conductor of the group of about 50 players. It became a private institution in 1942. The orchestra came into its own in the 1960s when philanthropist Joseph Meyerhoff became president. During his tenure, the BSO moved from the Lyric Opera House to its new permanent home at the 2,443-seat Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The orchestra also performs at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda. The BSO had many firsts under conductor Sergiu Comissiona, whom Meyerhoff appointed. Comissiona expanded the orchestra's season to 52 weeks. The BSO went on its first international tour in 1979 and became the first American orchestra to be invited to the Dresden Music Festival in 1981. Comissiona also led the BSO's first recordings. Under director David Zinman, the BSO was the first American orchestra to tour the Soviet Union after cultural relations were resumed at the end of the Afghanistan war. The BSO won several Grammys for its recordings with Yo-Yo Ma in the 1980s and '90s and received nominations for other works. In 2005, the BSO made history when it named Marin Alsop its 12th director, making her the first woman to be appointed music director of a major U.S. orchestra. Under Alsop, the orchestra released recordings on iTunes and was broadcast on XM Satellite Radio. For the 2007-2008 season, the orchestra unveiled a ticket sales plan intended to boost attendance. New and current BSO subscribers paid $25 per concert for seats anywhere in the hall.
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Conductor Polochick's approach to 'Messiah'
Since 1982, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has presented Handel's Messiah note-complete each December (excepting one year when the musicians were on strike), and all of those performances have been conducted by Edward Polochick. His distinctive approach...Tags: Classical Music, Labor Disputes
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Handel with flair
Comfort ye who prefer Handel's Messiah just the way it was written in 1741. The version of the beloved oratorio being performed this weekend by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Morgan State University Choir may seem as if it has gone astray like sheep...Tags: Gary Anderson, Christmas, Rhythm and Blues, Morgan State University, David Letterman
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Arts calendar
fine art Museums American Visionary Art Museum 800 Key Highway. 410-244-1900. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays. Permanent exhibits: Rotating selections from museum archives. Baltimore Museum of Art Art Museum Drive at North Charles and 31st streets....Tags: Christmas, Anglican, Barnes & Noble Incorporated, College of Notre Dame, John F. Kennedy
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Correction
The Baltimore Sun is committed to providing fair and accurate coverage. Readers who have concerns or comments are encouraged to call the newspaper's comment line at 410-332-6364 or toll-free at 800-829-8000, ext. 6364. In the graphics accompanying...Tags: Baltimore Museum of Art, NAACP, Classical Music
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An old pro pushes, prods
Leaning against a stool with his conductor's baton at the ready, Raffaele Faraco is leading his musicians through their first reading of a complicated Beethoven symphony.
The 87-year-old former violinist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra interrupts...Tags: Music Industry, World War II, Long Island, Towson, Classical Music
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Many blessings in area's musical circles, but tough times are ahead
Music lovers have a lot to be grateful for in this area: An orchestra of international standing, along with several smaller ensembles, all producing remarkably effective performances on a regular basis. A fine, full-sized opera company, along with some of...Tags: Disasters, Opera, Andrea Bocelli, Music Industry, Thanksgiving
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Giving thanks for words well-delivered
"… The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - Franklin Delano Roosevelt Americans were scared, but they got it. In the midst of the Great Depression, struggling to feed their families, they kept hope alive with the help of FDR....Tags: John McCain, Music Industry, Democracy, Harriet Tubman, Marin Alsop
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A gift of art
The financial crisis that's affecting every sector of the economy, from home values to manufacturing to consumer spending, has taken its toll on the arts, too. Theaters, symphony orchestras, opera companies and museums have been hit by a triple whammy...Tags: Baltimore Museum of Art, Economic Policy
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Hard times for the arts
As the Baltimore Opera Company rehearsed last month for the production of Bellini's Norma, it faced a serious problem: Its available cash had dried up. With rumors spreading about the company folding, a board member ensured that the show would open - by...Tags: Orange County (California), Management Change, Opera, Great Depression, Walters Art Museum
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'How the Grinch Stole Christmas!' starts its run here
How do you pack up a Broadway musical and take it on the road?
You get a really, really big suitcase.
The first national tour of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! officially opens tonight at the Hippodrome Theatre (after two preview...Tags: 1st Mariner Arena, Fiction, Holidays, Boris Karloff, Labor Legislation
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BSO does justice to German masters
With the economy careening around us, there's nothing like an evening with the gold standard of rock-solid German musical stock to settle the nerves. Beethoven concertos and Schumann symphonies, at least, never lose their value, or their ability to...Tags: Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Classical Music
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Alsop goes off the cuff with Tchaikovsky program of music and a talk
Marin Alsop is back in town for her first Baltimore Symphony Orchestra concerts since last month's sensational production of Leonard Bernstein's Mass that won over audiences and quite a few critics in New York and Washington, as well as right here. The...Tags: Yo-Yo Ma, Towson University, Cher, Popular Music, Music Industry
Dec 4, 2008
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