The Wetzler Symphony Orchestra was founded in New York City by the

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

born conductor and composer

Hermann Hans Wetzler Hermann Hans Wetzler (8 September 1870 – 29 May 1943) was a German-American composer. Life Wetzler was born in Frankfurt, Germany. His father was from Bohemia, his mother was German. He grew up in Chicago in affluent circumstances and studie ...

(8 September, 1870 – 29 May, 1943). Wetzler, who studied at the

Hoch Conservatory Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium – Musikakademie was founded in Frankfurt am Main on 22 September 1878. Through the generosity of Frankfurter Joseph Hoch, who bequeathed the Conservatory one million German gold marks in his testament, a school for ...

in Frankfurt, settled in New York City for a time and formed the symphony orchestra in 1903. Wetzler invited

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

to the city to conduct his orchestra in a "Strauss Festival", which would include most of his symphonic works. Strauss and Wetzler conducted this orchestra in this concert series beginning on 27 February, 1904 in

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

. This series included Strauss conducting the premiere of his ''

Symphonia Domestica ''Symphonia Domestica'', Opus number, Op. 53, is a tone poem for large orchestra by Richard Strauss. The work is a musical reflection of the secure domestic life so valued by the composer himself and, as such, harmoniously conveys daily events an ...

'' on 21 March. Strauss required 15 rehearsals before he was satisfied with the orchestra's playing. On 19 March, the orchestra broke down in the middle of ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

''.Liner notes from the Turnabout recording of Strauss conducting ''Symphonia Domestica'' with the

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its ...

in 1944 Strauss also led the orchestra before a crowd of 6,000 in performances on 16 and 18 of April, 1904 in

Wanamaker's John Wanamaker Department Store was one of the first department stores in the United States. Founded by John Wanamaker in Philadelphia, it was influential in the development of the retail industry including as the first store to use price tags. ...

New York store. The orchestra was short-lived, as Wetzler returned to Germany in 1905.

References

Sources

*”Herman Wetzler, Composer, 72, Dies”

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

, May 30, 1943, page 26. *”Music in America”, The Musical Times, April 1, 1904, page 249. *Tyler, Linda L. “Commerce and Poetry Hand in Hand: Music in American Department Stores, 1880–1930, page 80-81. {{authority control Disbanded American orchestras Musical groups established in 1903 Musical groups disestablished in 1905 1903 establishments in New York City 1905 disestablishments in New York (state) Orchestras based in New York City