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History
A Historical Perspective
by Alfreda L. Irwin
While Chautauqua
Institution began in 1874 as a summer educational assembly for
Sunday School teachers, it was intended from the start to include
in due time scientific and broadly cultural subjects.
But the rate
of expansion surprised everyone. A home-reading program, the
Chautauqua
Literary and Scientific Circle (CLSC), launched in 1878, enrolled readers
throughout the country. Schools of Languages and Music were set
up in 1879 along with courses for public school teachers. A School
of Theology, almost totally a correspondence school, was chartered
in 1881 to be followed by Chautauqua University in 1883, and
a School of Liberal Arts in 1885. These were just some of the
19th century accomplishments of this popular mass educational
movement, called The Chautauqua Movement.
Since the basic
emphasis at Chautauqua was and is educational, the arts, including
music, have been pursued in the context of education. Professional
performances are presented by resident and guest artists, some
of whom are also involved with teaching or master classes. Performances
by younger professionals and by even younger talented students
in the various schools (Dance, Music, Theater) give another expression of the educational
work, while the overall music programming for Amphitheater concerts
is designed not only to be balanced for the sake of the resident
audience, but sufficiently expanded to offer new listening experiences.
Thus, there develops naturally at Chautauqua a creative arts
climate in which students find enhanced study conditions and
the audiences find added selective enjoyment of the arts.
An Institution
orchestra of 21 musicians had been organized in 1903 by Henry
B. Vincent, assistant music director at Chautauqua, and a swiftly
growing music program included School of Music artist-teacher
recitals and large choral works. Chautauquans welcomed the first
visit of Walter Damrosch and his New York Symphony Orchestra
in 1909, and a second, in 1910. Other visiting orchestras, including
Victor Herbert and his orchestra, the Russian Symphony and the
French Band, appeared at Chautauqua before 1919, when the New
York Symphony returned for a series of 12 concerts. In 1920 this
orchestra began a summer residency - the first for a major American
orchestra away from its winter home, according to L. Jeanette
Wells in her book A History of the Music Festival at Chautauqua
Institution from 1874 to 1957. Except for 1922, this residency
lasted until 1929, when, following the New York Symphony's amalgamation
with the Philharmonic Orchestra of New York, the Chautauqua Symphony
Orchestra was formed to take its place at the Institution.
Its first director
was Albert Stoessel, the young man who had conducted the New
York Symphony in most of its Chautauqua appearances. With the
opening of Norton Memorial Hall, a monolithic concrete structure,
Chautauqua now had the facilities for opera and dramatic presentations
as well as concerts and recitals. The Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra
could now provide a pit orchestra for the new Chautauqua Opera
Association. Stoessel made use of former New York State members,
some of whom now played with the Philharmonic; most still played
with Walter Damrosch for a nationally broadcast Music Appreciation
Series as well. Until his death in 1943, Stoessel directed the
life of the orchestra, the opera and the School of Music. Under
the directorship, despite the effects of the depression on the
newly formed group, the Chautauqua Orchestra grew in stature,
with children's concerts, chamber music affiliates, and national
radio broadcasts (21 in 1932) to its credit. In keeping with
Chautauqua's educational and cultural mission, Stoessel's aim
was to present the best of modern music, including American works,
as well as a liberal amount of the classic repertoire. This pattern
has continued.
Another program
innovation of the Stoessel years deserves mention, the use of
The Little Symphony, conducted by the Orchestra's associate conductor,
Georges Barrere. Consisting usually of 25 musicians from the
larger orchestra, this group most often provided the concerts
the first week of the orchestra season, and was greatly appreciated.
Upon Stoessel's
death Franco Autori became the second regular conductor of the
Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. In nearby Buffalo, Autori had
transformed a Federal Music Project into a community-supported
orchestra, and at Chautauqua, he continued Stoessel's policy
of programming American works along with the standard repertoire.
Autori was followed
in 1953 by Walter Hendl, music director of the Dallas Symphony.
Knowledgeable, painstaking, imaginative and alert to modern trends,
Hendl continued to program monumental works of the symphonic
repertoire and contemporary music. He remained with Chautauqua
until temporary ill health necessitated his resignation in 1972.
(In Chautauqua's
early years the Juilliard School of Music had exerted considerable
influence. Later a significant influence was felt from the Eastman
School of Music in Rochester.)
Following several
years of guest conductors and the brief tenure of Baltimore Symphony
Music Director Sergiu Comissiona, Varujan Kojian was selected
in late 1980 to become Chautauqua's fifth music director.
A rising young
conductor with an international reputation, Kojian was then music
director of the Utah Symphony. He had also served as conductor
of the Stockholm Radio Orchestra and principal guest conductor
of the Royal Swedish Opera. He remained at Chautauqua for four
years.
The orchestra's
concertmaster, Millard Taylor, was engaged to assist with programming
for the CSO during 1985 and 1986 before the appointment of Joseph
Silverstein as music director and principal conductor in the
fall of 1986. A widely recognized musician of international acclaim,
he was a strong leader and program builder for the orchestra.
His appearances as violin soloist are eagerly anticipated during
the summer by Chautauquans who also enjoy his pre-concert lectures.
From 1990 to
2007, Israeli conductor, Uriel Segal, was the seventh music director.
Under his guidance, the orchestra was increased from 74 to 76
musicians. He was instrumental in putting into place a more rigorous
audition process that resulted in a very high caliber of new
orchestra members. His leadership has seen a tremendous increase
in musical quality, while continuing the tradition of a commitment
to diverse repertoire. Segal's tenure is also recognized for
his identification and support of burgeoning artists, introducing
them as soloists to Chautauqua audiences.
In fall 2007,
German-born conductor Stefan Sanderling was appointed as the
eighth music director.
The orchestra
makes its home in the Amphitheater, Chautauqua's program center.
With its 1893 all-wood construction, good acoustics for music
are assured. Wooden benches provide seating for approximately
5,000, while its three open sides give a sense of informality
and spaciousness. |
