Worcester Music Festival is a
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
festival held in
Worcester, Massachusetts since 1858, and it is claimed to be the oldest music festival in the United States.
History
The inaugural edition in 1858 was a four-day music convention organized by Edward Hamilton and Benjamin F. Baker.
In the same year, the Worcester Chorus was founded to sing at the festival, and it continues to perform every year.
Although the convention lasted four days, only one concert was held.
[ The Worcester County Musical Convention was formed in 1863, and Carl Zerrahn became its director in 1866. It changed its name to Worcester County Musical Association in 1877, and decided to call the events festivals instead of conventions.][ Victor Herbert was affiliated with the festival as assistant conductor and soloist for three years starting in 1889. ]Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...
performed at the festival in 1893.[ Wallace Goodrich was the conductor from 1902 to 1907.][ Van Cliburn performed in 1958. Arthur Fiedler, Peter Nero, ]Birgit Nilsson
Märta Birgit Nilsson (17 May 1918 – 25 December 2005) was a celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano. Although she sang a wide répertoire of operatic and vocal works, Nilsson was best known for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner a ...
, Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman ( he, יצחק פרלמן; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist widely considered one of the greatest violinists in the world. Perlman has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that hav ...
, Beverly Sills, Roberta Peters, Isaac Stern, Leontyne Price, Anna Moffo
Anna Moffo (June 27, 1932 – March 9, 2006) was an American opera singer, television personality, and actress. One of the leading lyric- coloratura sopranos of her generation, she possessed a warm and radiant voice of considerable range and agil ...
, Joan Sutherland
Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s.
She possessed ...
, Andre Watts, Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...
, and André Previn
André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...
also performed at the festival. The Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...
was associated with the festival for thirteen years beginning in 1944, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music d ...
was the resident orchestra from 1958 to 1974. In 1976, the festival changed from a week-long series of performances to a season-long series.[
In 1996, the Worcester County Music Association merged with the International Artists Series to form Music Worcester, Inc., which has organized the festival since then,][
]
References
External links
* {{URL, www.musicworcester.org, Music Worcester
Music festivals established in 1858
Classical music festivals in the United States
Music festivals in Massachusetts
Culture of Worcester, Massachusetts
1858 establishments in Massachusetts
Tourist attractions in Worcester, Massachusetts