History
Since the inception of the United States, the American orchestra has been predominantly local in scope. Before the Civil War, most American orchestras operated within the boundaries of a single city and its immediate vicinity. They were generally either standing orchestras in local theaters, ad hoc orchestras for special occasions, or concert orchestras that gave short subscription seasons of classical works. By 1865, this orchestral structure was well established in most American cities, including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Richmond, Cincinnati, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis, San Francisco, and more. Many cities had multiple resident theater orchestras, as this was the most predominant form of orchestral engagement at the time – Boston, for instance, had no fewer than four permanent theater orchestras. New York had anywhere from eight to ten standing theater orchestras!
The middle of the 19th Century saw touring orchestras (and touring musicians managed by the likes of P.T. Barnum) take center stage. These were less likely to be city-based orchestras and included groups like the Steyermark Musical Company (toured in 1847) and Joseph Gungl’s Orchestra (toured in 1848).
In the later parts of the 19th Century, the Theodore Thomas Orchestra became the most important orchestra working out of New York City. This orchestra toured extensively nationwide and was often hired for significant festivals in cities throughout the US, but rarely hired local musicians when they arrived. This conflict of national touring orchestras versus locally-based ones grew until the 1880s and 1890s, when several American cities managed to launch local orchestras that have endured until the present. The Boston Symphony Orchestra was first in 1881, followed by Chicago in 1891, St. Louis in 1893, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh in 1895, and Philadelphia in 1900.
You might be wondering why I’ve just given you this brief history lesson on American orchestra development in the 19th Century. It’s simple – the local orchestra has historically been the heart of orchestral music in the United States. Where The Philadelphia Orchestra was once the upstart group offering an alternative to the New York orchestral exports, it is now a well-established and renowned orchestra. Thinking has changed, as regional orchestras close to Philadelphia are now considered alternatives to the “real” or “big city” orchestra. I hope, through this series of reviews, to shine a spotlight on the great history of bringing orchestral music to local communities with great success. The integration of these orchestras into the fabric of their communities is at the heart of what it means to be an arts organization in the 21st century.
I will bring you all on a tour of Philadelphia/Pennsylvania’s regional orchestras this year. First, this review will take us to the Reading and Allentown Symphonies. As I continue in my Fellowship at The Presser Foundation, I’ll share my experiences with the Delaware County, Lancaster, Princeton, Delaware, Bay Atlantic, and Kennett Symphonies, as well as the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey. It is evident just by listing them that orchestral music is diverse, vibrant, and expansive in our area.
Reading Symphony Orchestra
Photo courtesy of Reading Symphony Orchestra
Reading Symphony Orchestra opened my personal tour with a dramatic and powerful program comprised of Verdi’s La Forza del Destino Overture, Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, and Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto, played by guest pianist Jon Kimura Parker. This wisely programmed sandwich of one of the great piano concertos in the repertoire positions Verdi and Beethoven as equals – which they very much were. Giuseppe Verdi was to Italian Opera what Beethoven was to the symphony. A foreboding and powerful program, La forza del destino (The Force of Destiny) leaves the audience with a sense of anticipation. The opening motive (three unison E notes for the brass followed by a repeated energetic phrase in the low strings) represents fate and recurs each time destiny deals yet another blow in the opera. This idea of brass heralding continues through both Tchaikovsky and Beethoven’s works on the program. Under the baton of Music Director Andrew Constantine, the Reading Symphony Orchestra was a laudable force that executed these masterworks with unyielding precision.
While this precision, at times, left the sound in Santander Performing Arts Center feeling dry and jagged, I’m happy to report that, with support from The Presser Foundation and others, the Reading Symphony Orchestra will soon be installing additional acoustic shells to their performance setup that will allow their intensely delicate and intentional articulation and sculpting to be heard as it should be.
As the program continued, Jon Kimura Parker’s rendition of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto brought with it all the power and grandeur that one hopes for from this magnanimous work. To my surprise, however, I was most enraptured by Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. I am not normally the greatest fan of Beethoven (discussion of my early days as a pianist haunted by Beethoven sonatas can take place elsewhere), Constantine and the RSO took such intimate care of this behemoth symphony. Where I would normally say something along the lines of “I was looking for more power/more volume/more intensity,” I found myself absolutely absorbed by Constantine’s intimate and needling approach to each movement, forcing the listener to lean forward and engage fully with the orchestra. I look forward to returning to this space post-acoustic enhancements to experience the full range of artistry this orchestra offers.
Allentown Symphony Orchestra
Photo courtesy of Allentown Symphony Association
The next stop in our orchestral journey is Allentown, PA to visit Diane Wittry and the Allentown Symphony Orchestra (ASO). While by no means a musical review, I immediately had the highest of hopes for the performance when I was seated next to a delightful woman who struck up a conversation with me, during which we discovered she earned her Ph.D. in Mathematics at the same school I earned my BFAs, The University of Kansas. The opportunity to say “Rock Chalk Jayhawk” and laugh with my seatmate shows how welcoming and inclusive the ASO community is – this sense was confirmed over and over again throughout the concert as Wittry engaged the audience and programmed in a profoundly educational and inclusive way.
Programming and performance aside, I’d like to focus for a moment specifically on Wittry. As a conducting student myself, I can count on less than one hand the number of times a conductor truly left me speechless with their performance – and Wittry easily claimed a spot on that list. The power, focus, precision, and intentionality she brought to her gesture were profoundly successful. There was a moment of dramatic and vivacious string playing in which the orchestra began to ever-so-slightly speed past Wittry’s intended tempo; with no more than a slight turn of her head and the lifting of her left index finger, dozens of musicians’ heads rose to meet her gaze, and they were instantly in sync. This type of power and communication comes from equally mastering your individual craft and developing a thoroughly trusting relationship with your orchestra, both of which Wittry has clearly done in spades.
ASO’s opening night concert included a new work to me (and most), Germaine Tailleferre’s Overture for Orchestra, composed in 1932. This was beautifully paired with the closing work on the program, Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances. Both pieces are vibrant, rhythmically diverse showpieces for the orchestra, and Wittry programmed well, ensuring that Tailleferre received the reception she deserved for this piece. I certainly left the hall feeling that her overture could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Symphonic Dances.
In between these orchestral showpieces was Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, played masterfully by pianist Eric Lu. Lu was an incredible get for the Allentown Symphony, and is a testament to Wittry’s stated passion for keeping an eye on the best and brightest young musicians. Lu won First Prize at the 2018 Leeds International Piano Competition, was signed with Warner Classics in 2019, and was a recipient of the 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant. He lived up to each of these accolades and more, bringing a masterful virtuosity to Beethoven’s equally bombastic and delicate Third Piano Concerto.
The evening concluded with Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, which almost universally wins audiences with its enigmatic and vivacious score. Wittry and the ASO certainly left no corners of that score unturned, and the speed at which the audience jumped to their feet at its conclusion confirmed the great success of the orchestra (and the great adoration of its fans).
These first two orchestras set the tone for an exciting year of music in and around the Greater Philadelphia area. I look forward to the next seven symphonic offerings this year. Stay tuned for A Tour of Regional Orchestras Parts II-IV in the coming months!
