Carnegie Hall

Renowned for its full-bodied and sonorous tone, The Philadelphia Orchestra is one of the world’s foremost music makers. It’s also one of America’s most innovative ensembles, with a reputation for changing the game around concert performance and inventing new rules. For a closer look at what makes the ensemble so celebrated, here are five facts worth knowing about the trailblazing orchestra.

Only the Few

Unlike many orchestras that change hands every few years, The Philadelphia Orchestra has had only a handful of music directors in its history: Since its founding in 1900, only eight conductors have held the coveted title. The first, a German maestro named Fritz Scheel, had recently emigrated when he took command of the ensemble and insisted on conducting rehearsals in his native tongue. Adding to the confusion, he dismissed half his musicians after the first season and replaced them with European players—a controversial move punctuated by his insistence on programming martial music into his concerts and leading in his preferred military regalia. Not all of Scheel’s initiatives were quite so contentious, however: In 1902, he led the orchestra in its first-ever appearance at Carnegie Hall.

Carnegie Hall Connection

Since that first performance, Carnegie Hall and The Philadelphia Orchestra have enjoyed a close and fabled partnership, one that extends into the present with subscription concerts, opening night galas, and special events. To date, The Philadelphia Orchestra has made more than 750 appearances at the Hall, including several musical milestones. In 1906, legendary pianist Arthur Rubinstein made his US debut with the Philadelphians at Carnegie Hall; three decades later, another venerable pianist—Sergei Rachmaninoff—joined the orchestra at the Hall to perform a cycle of his works, one of which he conducted. This close bond was further cemented when The Philadelphia Orchestra’s longest tenured music director, Eugene Ormandy, appeared at the Hall for the final concert of his career in 1984. The historic program included Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 (“Pastoral”), and Bártok's Concerto for Orchestra, all of which Ormandy conducted from memory.

Groundbreaking from its earliest years, The Philadelphia Orchestra is responsible for many firsts in the classical music world, including the first commercial orchestral recording that used electrical technology, the first long-playing orchestral recording, the first commercially sponsored orchestral radio broadcast, the first national television appearance by an orchestra, the first American orchestra to record the complete symphonies of Beethoven on compact disc, the first to appear in an IMAX film, and the first to present a live simulcast of a concert on the internet. On October 6, 2021, the orchestra made history once again, becoming the first orchestra to perform at Carnegie Hall following the longest closure in the venue’s 130-year history with a wide-ranging program led by current Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Starring Stokowski

Leading the orchestra from 1912 to 1941—famously without a baton—conductor Leopold Stokowski, who appeared at Carnegie Hall more than 30 times, had boundless talent and an equally vast appetite for publicity. The London-born son of an English cabinetmaker, the maestro played up his Polish heritage, adopted a continental accent, and obscured his birth date. He also had a penchant for the theatrical, peppering his performances with grand gestures, such as tossing his sheet music to the floor and experimenting with new presentation styles in the concert arena. One such experiment stands out: To this day, Stokowski is perhaps best remembered by generations of young music lovers for his silver-screen appearance in Disney’s Fantasia, for which The Philadelphia Orchestra recorded the soundtrack and in which Stokowski shook the hand of another remarkable maestro from the podium—Mickey Mouse.

Roving Band

Based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, where it performs more than 130 concerts annually, the orchestra also maintains a rich tradition of touring. The orchestra’s summer home is The Mann Center for the Performing Arts, which it alternates with summer residencies in Saratoga Springs, New York, and Vail, Colorado. Further afield, the Philadelphians one-upped years of American diplomatic efforts by becoming the first American orchestra to perform in the People’s Republic of China in 1973, kicking off a five-decade tradition of transnational exchange. Today, the orchestra’s work in China continues in concert halls, educational institutions, and civic settings. In performances on stage, its musicians provide free cultural exchange opportunities through pop-up concerts, side-by-side performances with local ensembles, master classes, teaching and training, and arts administration lectures.

With so many iconic performances and remarkable “firsts” to its name, The Philadelphia Orchestra could easily rest on its laurels. Yet the orchestra continues to assert its relevance and vibrancy in the world of classical music. Under the baton of current Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the orchestra champions the work of diverse and up-and-coming composers, highlights contemporary works and sounds that reflect our world today, and continues to envision an orchestral future where innovation and change expand the meaning of symphonic excellence.

Photography: The Philadelphia Orchestra by Pete Checchia, Fritz Scheel courtesy of The Philadelphia Orchestra, additional images courtesy of the Carnegie Hall Rose Archives.