''The Longines Symphonette'' was a pre-recorded classical music program broadcast nightly on many

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...

stations from 1943 to 1949. It then moved to

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

where it was heard Sundays at 2 pm from 1949 to 1957. The initial conductor was Macklin Marrow, followed for most of the run by , one-time

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

. Frank Knight was the program's announcer. The introductory theme was the final movement of '' Beethoven's 5th Symphony''. The series was sponsored by the

Longines Compagnie des Montres Longines, Francillon S.A., or simply Longines (), is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Saint-Imier, Switzerland. Founded by Auguste Agassiz in 1832, the company has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Swatch Group and its predec ...

Wittnauer Wittnauer is a watch and clock company, founded in New Rochelle, New York in 1885 by Swiss immigrant Albert Wittnauer, that is now a brand of the Bulova company, which is owned by Japanese conglomerate Citizen Watch Co. History Albert Wittnaue ...

watch company. A spin-off program was ''The Wittnauer Choraliers'' which aired on CBS from March 13, 1949, to April 22, 1955.

Uses of the name

The Longines Symphonette Society was a record label that specialized in releasing classic radio programs and multiple-record boxed sets. Evolution Records, a popular music subsidiary, had a US hit single with "One Fine Morning" by Lighthouse in 1971. The Longines watch company sold its record business to

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

; reissues of the Longines recordings since the 1990s have been credited to the "Symphonette Society" and no longer have any reference to the watch company. Longines Symphonette is also the trade name of some electronic devices, including

transistor radio A transistor radio is a small portable radio receiver that uses transistor-based circuitry. Following the invention of the transistor in 1947—which revolutionized the field of consumer electronics by introducing small but powerful, convenient ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

s, and electronic calculators produced by

Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globa ...

.Larry Gilbert (January 22, 2003
Longines Symphonette Electronic Calculator Version 1
Datamath (2001-12-05). Retrieved on 2013-04-26. Longines Symphonette was referenced in the lyrics of "

Birdhouse in Your Soul "Birdhouse in Your Soul" is a song by American alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. It was released in late 1989 through Elektra Records as the lead single from the album ''Flood'', making the single the band's first release on a major labe ...

", the 1989 single by US alternative rock band

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Longines Symphonette 1940s American radio programs 1950s American radio programs 1943 radio programme debuts 1957 radio programme endings American music radio programs CBS Radio programs Classical music radio programs Mutual Broadcasting System programs Easy listening record labels Easy listening music