The Seattle Symphony is an American
orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
based in
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...
. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at
Benaroya Hall. The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the
Seattle Opera
Seattle Opera is an opera company based in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as its first general director until 1983. The company's season runs from August through late May, comprising five or six operas of ...
.
History
Beginnings
![Seattle Symphony, March 1908 (SEATTLE 268)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Seattle_Symphony%2C_March_1908_%28SEATTLE_268%29.jpg)
The orchestra gave its first performance on December 29, 1903, with Harry West conducting. Known from its founding as the Seattle Symphony, it was renamed in 1911 as the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1919, the orchestra was reorganized with new bylaws under the name Seattle Symphony Orchestra. The 1921–22 season was cancelled due to financial problems. The orchestra was revived in 1926 under the direction of Karl Krueger.
Pacific Northwest Symphony Orchestra
In 1947, the Seattle Symphony merged with the Tacoma Philharmonic to form the Pacific Northwest Symphony Orchestra. Performances were held in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
,
Tacoma, and
Olympia, with conducting duties split between Carl Bricken and
Eugene Linden. This arrangement ceased after one season, when the Seattle Symphony decided to withdraw from it.
A feud between the musicians and the board surfaced in 1948, and a majority of the musicians divorced themselves from the board and created a new orchestra called the Seattle Orchestra, a partnership (collective) operated by the musicians themselves, who chose Linden as their conductor.
[
The Seattle Symphony announced a separate orchestra season with eighteen concerts at the old ]Meany Hall for the Performing Arts
Meany Hall has been the name of two buildings on the University of Washington Campus. The current Meany Hall is considered one of the region's premier performance facilities, highly acclaimed by artists and audience members alike for its outstandin ...
on the University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...
campus. The symphony was to be directed by Stanley Chapple, and a series of guest conductors: Artur Rodzinski
Artur is a cognate to the common male given name Arthur, meaning "bear-like," which is believed to possibly be descended from the Roman surname Artorius or the Celtic bear-goddess Artio or more probably from the Celtic word ''artos'' ("bear"). O ...
, Jacques Singer
Jacques Singer (May 9, 1910 – August 11, 1980) was an American virtuoso violinist, symphony orchestra conductor, and music educator who flourished from about 1925 until a few months before his death in 1980.
Career Education
Jakob Singer was ...
, and Erich Leinsdorf
Erich Leinsdorf (born Erich Landauer; February 4, 1912 – September 11, 1993) was an Austrian-born American conductor. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a ...
. Personnel for the Seattle Symphony were announced in the press on October 24, 1948, and included a few musicians who had chosen not to defect to the Seattle Orchestra and some new faces as well. The Seattle Symphony season was then postponed and eventually cancelled. The Seattle Orchestra, meanwhile, gave its first performance on November 23, 1948. An accommodation was reached between the Seattle Symphony and the Seattle Orchestra, and the two organizations merged, and the name "Seattle Symphony Orchestra" was retained. The partnership system was also retained, and musicians gained access onto the board. The partnership system was eventually dissolved at the request of Milton Katims in 1955. Even so, for most of its 100-year history, and especially today, the ensemble is known by the two-word name "Seattle Symphony".
Gerard Schwarz
Gerard Schwarz
Gerard Schwarz (born August 19, 1947), also known as Gerry Schwarz or Jerry Schwarz, is an American symphony conductor and trumpeter. As of 2019, Schwarz serves as the Artistic and Music Director of Palm Beach Symphony and the Director of Orche ...
became music advisor of the orchestra in 1983 and principal conductor in 1984, before being named music director in 1985. Under Schwarz's leadership, the orchestra became particularly known for performing works of twentieth-century composers, especially neglected American composers. Together, Schwarz and the orchestra have made more than 100 commercial recordings, including the major orchestral works of Howard Hanson
Howard Harold Hanson (October 28, 1896 – February 26, 1981)''The New York Times'' – Obituaries. Harold C. Schonberg. February 28, 1981 p. 1011/ref> was an American composer, conductor, educator, music theorist, and champion of American class ...
and David Diamond as well as works by Charles Tomlinson Griffes
Charles Tomlinson Griffes ( ; September 17, 1884 – April 8, 1920) was an American composer for piano, chamber ensembles and voice. His initial works are influenced by German Romanticism, but after he relinquished the German style, his lat ...
, Walter Piston
Walter Hamor Piston, Jr. (January 20, 1894 – November 12, 1976), was an American composer of classical music, music theorist, and professor of music at Harvard University.
Life
Piston was born in Rockland, Maine at 15 Ocean Street to Walter Ha ...
, Paul Creston
Paul Creston (born Giuseppe Guttoveggio; October 10, 1906 – August 24, 1985) was an Italian American composer of classical music.
Biography
Born in New York City to Sicilian immigrants, Creston was self-taught as a composer. His work ten ...
, William Schuman
William Howard Schuman (August 4, 1910February 15, 1992) was an American composer and arts administrator.
Life
Schuman was born into a Jewish family in Manhattan, New York City, son of Samuel and Rachel Schuman. He was named after the 27th U.S. ...
, Alan Hovhaness
Alan Hovhaness (; March 8, 1911 – June 21, 2000) was an American- Armenian composer. He was one of the most prolific 20th-century composers, with his official catalog comprising 67 numbered symphonies (surviving manuscripts indicate over 70) a ...
, Morton Gould
Morton Gould (December 10, 1913February 21, 1996) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist.
Biography
Morton Gould was born in Richmond Hill, New York, United States. He was recognized early as a child prodigy with abilities i ...
, David Diamond, and others, for Delos International and Naxos Records. The orchestra received its first Grammy nomination in January 1990 for a 1989 recording of music of Howard Hanson. The orchestra also recorded a musical score to the SeaWorld, Orlando, stage show ''A'lure, The Call of the Ocean'' plus the score for the motion pictures '' Highlander II: The Quickening'' and ''Die Hard With a Vengeance
''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' is a 1995 American action thriller film directed by John McTiernan (who directed the first installment). It was written by Jonathan Hensleigh, based on the screenplay ''Simon Says'' by Hensleigh and on the chara ...
''.
Schwarz received praise for his championing of American composers and his skills in fund-raising. However, his tenure was also marked by controversies between him and several symphony musicians, which included several legal disputes. In September 2008, the orchestra announced the conclusion of Schwarz's music directorship after the 2010–2011 season, at which time Schwarz became the orchestra's conductor laureate.
Ludovic Morlot
Ludovic Morlot first guest-conducted the Seattle Symphony in October 2009. He returned in April 2010, as a substitute conductor in the wake of the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruptions. Based on these appearance, in June 2010, the orchestra announced the appointment of Morlot as its 15th music director, effective with the 2011–2012 season, with an initial contract of six years. During Morlot's tenure, the orchestra initiated its own recording label, 'Seattle Symphony Media'. In July 2015, the orchestra announced the extension of Morlot's contract through the 2018–2019 season. Morlot has taken particular interest in fostering music from Seattle-based composers, including composers within the orchestra itself. His work with the orchestra has included the commissioning and premiere of John Luther Adams
John Luther Adams (born January 23, 1953) is an American composer whose music is inspired by nature, especially the landscapes of Alaska, where he lived from 1978 to 2014. His orchestral work '' Become Ocean'' was awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize ...
' '' Become Ocean'', which went on to win the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Music and the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. The commercial recording of ''Become Ocean'', for Cantaloupe Music, led to a donation by Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
to the Seattle Symphony of US$50,000. Morlot and the orchestra have received additional Grammy Awards for their recordings of music of Henri Dutilleux
Henri Paul Julien Dutilleux (; 22 January 1916 – 22 May 2013) was a French composer active mainly in the second half of the 20th century. His small body of published work, which garnered international acclaim, followed in the tradition of ...
. In April 2017, the orchestra announced that Morlot is to conclude his tenure as music director at the end of the 2018–2019 season.
Thomas Dausgaard
Thomas Dausgaard first guest-conducted the orchestra in 2013. In October 2013, the orchestra named Dausgaard its next principal guest conductor, effective with the 2014–2015 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. In March 2016, the orchestra announced the extension of Dausgaard's contract as principal guest conductor through the 2019–2020 season. In October 2017, the orchestra announced the appointment of Dausgaard as its next music director, effective with the 2019–2020 season, with an initial contract of 4 seasons. On 7 January 2022, Dausgaard resigned as music director by e-mail, with immediate effect.
Music directors
* Harry West (1903–1906)
* Michael Kegrize (1907–1909)
* Henry Hadley (1909–1911)
* John Spargur (1911–1921)
* Karl Krueger (1926–1932)
* Basil Cameron
Basil Cameron, CBE (18 August 1884 – 26 June 1975) was an English conductor.
Early career
He was born Basil George Cameron HindenbergW.L. Jacob, "Hindenburg v. Cameron" (Letter to the Editor) (1991). ''The Musical Times'', 132 (1782), p. ...
(1932–1938)
* Nikolai Sokoloff (1938–1941)
* Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic and the Roya ...
(1941–1944)
* Carl Bricken (1944–1948)
* Eugene Linden (1948–1950)
* Manuel Rosenthal
Manuel Rosenthal (18 June 1904 – 5 June 2003) was a French composer and conductor who held leading positions with musical organizations in France and America. He was friends with many contemporary composers, and despite a considerable list of c ...
(1950–1951)
* Milton Katims (1954–1976)
* Rainer Miedél (1976–1983)
* Gerard Schwarz
Gerard Schwarz (born August 19, 1947), also known as Gerry Schwarz or Jerry Schwarz, is an American symphony conductor and trumpeter. As of 2019, Schwarz serves as the Artistic and Music Director of Palm Beach Symphony and the Director of Orche ...
(1985–2011)
* Ludovic Morlot (2011–2019)
* Thomas Dausgaard (2019–2022)
Performance Venues
*1903–1905 Christensen Hall, Arcade Building
*1905–1906 Grand Opera House (Seattle, Washington)
*1907–1911 Moore Theatre
Moore Theatre is an 1,800-seat performing arts venue in Seattle, Washington, United States, located two blocks away from Pike Place Market at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Virginia Street. It opened in 1907 and is Seattle's oldest active theater ...
*1911–1919 Metropolitan Theatre
*1919–1921 Meany Hall for the Performing Arts
Meany Hall has been the name of two buildings on the University of Washington Campus. The current Meany Hall is considered one of the region's premier performance facilities, highly acclaimed by artists and audience members alike for its outstandin ...
*1926–1938 Metropolitan Theatre
*1938–1945 Music Hall
*1945–1949 Moore Theatre
Moore Theatre is an 1,800-seat performing arts venue in Seattle, Washington, United States, located two blocks away from Pike Place Market at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Virginia Street. It opened in 1907 and is Seattle's oldest active theater ...
*1949–1950 Meany Hall for the Performing Arts
Meany Hall has been the name of two buildings on the University of Washington Campus. The current Meany Hall is considered one of the region's premier performance facilities, highly acclaimed by artists and audience members alike for its outstandin ...
*1950–1953 Seattle Civic Auditorium
*1953–1955 Orpheum Theatre
*1955–1956 Moore Theatre
Moore Theatre is an 1,800-seat performing arts venue in Seattle, Washington, United States, located two blocks away from Pike Place Market at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Virginia Street. It opened in 1907 and is Seattle's oldest active theater ...
*1956–1962 Orpheum Theatre
*1962–1998 Seattle Opera House
*1998–present Benaroya Hall
References
Further reading
*
External links
Seattle Symphony official website
{{Authority control
American orchestras
Musical groups established in 1903
Non-profit organizations based in Seattle
Musical groups from Seattle
Wikipedia requested audio of orchestras
1903 establishments in Washington (state)
Performing arts in Washington (state)