Highlights
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1916 as a municipal orchestra, supported by taxpayer money. Gustave Strube served as the first conductor of the group of about 50 players. It became a private institution in 1942. The orchestra came into its own in the 1960s when philanthropist Joseph Meyerhoff became president. During his tenure, the BSO moved from the Lyric Opera House to its new permanent home at the 2,443-seat Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The orchestra also performs at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda. The BSO had many firsts under conductor Sergiu Comissiona, whom Meyerhoff appointed. Comissiona expanded the orchestra's season to 52 weeks. The BSO went o...
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1916 as a municipal orchestra, supported by taxpayer money. Gustave Strube served as the first conductor of the group of about 50 players. It became a private institution in 1942. The orchestra came into its own in the 1960s when philanthropist Joseph Meyerhoff became president. During his tenure, the BSO moved from the Lyric Opera House to its new permanent home at the 2,443-seat Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The orchestra also performs at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda. The BSO had many firsts under conductor Sergiu Comissiona, whom Meyerhoff appointed. Comissiona expanded the orchestra's season to 52 weeks. The BSO went on its first international tour in 1979 and became the first American orchestra to be invited to the Dresden Music Festival in 1981. Comissiona also led the BSO's first recordings. Under director David Zinman, the BSO was the first American orchestra to tour the Soviet Union after cultural relations were resumed at the end of the Afghanistan war. The BSO won several Grammys for its recordings with Yo-Yo Ma in the 1980s and '90s and received nominations for other works. In 2005, the BSO made history when it named Marin Alsop its 12th director, making her the first woman to be appointed music director of a major U.S. orchestra. Under Alsop, the orchestra released recordings on iTunes and was broadcast on XM Satellite Radio. For the 2007-2008 season, the orchestra unveiled a ticket sales plan intended to boost attendance. New and current BSO subscribers paid $25 per concert for seats anywhere in the hall.
Displaying items 1-12 of 73
» View baltimoresun.com items only
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
•
Next >
-
Recent book beckons to Hutzler's fans
It's hard to believe that Hutzler's, the legendary Howard Street department store that provided goods and memorable services to Baltimoreans for 132 years, rang up its final sales two decades ago. Just a decade earlier, according to Robert Hendrickson,...Tags: Fells Point, Sales, John Waters, Clothing and Textiles Industry, White Marsh
-
Doris M. Everett, secretary and WAVE
Doris M. Everett, a retired secretary who served as a Navy WAVE during World War II and the Korean War, died Nov. 12 of breast cancer at her Overlea home. She was 86. Doris Miles was born in Baltimore and raised in the Herring Run neighborhood. After...Tags: Death and Dying, Korean War, National Security, Armed Forces, Timonium
-
Ralph E. Marquiss Sr., engineer and singer
Ralph Edwin Marquiss Sr., a retired consulting engineer, former partner in the Baltimore engineering firm of Rummel, Klepper & Kahl, and a professional singer, died Saturday of prostate cancer at the Vermont Respite House in Williston, Vt.
The former...Tags: Music Theater, Opera (genre), Death and Dying, Technology, World War I (1914-1918)
-
BSO, Thibaudet play Gershwin with zestful authenticity
A big trend in classical music over the past several decades is historical authenticity, the attempt to re-create how works sounded when they were new. This usually involves repertoire from distant centuries, but pieces from relatively recent times can...Tags: Marin Alsop, Dining and Drinking, Wine, Beer, and Spirits, Classical Music (genre), Music Industry
-
Jean-Yves Thibaudet shows jazzy side in Gershwin
"He has such a flourish about him, doesn't he?"
That's Marin Alsop, speaking about Jean-Yves Thibaudet, the French pianist with the scintillant technique, refined musicality and really great clothes.
Thibaudet is the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's...Tags: Marin Alsop, Dining and Drinking, Wine, Beer, and Spirits, Classical Music (genre), Duke Ellington
-
BGE head led building of Calvert Cliffs
George Vincent McGowan, the retired chief executive officer of Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. whose civic roles included the chairmanship of the University of Maryland Board of Regents, died of heart failure Thursday at the Hospice of Queen Anne's County....Tags: Equestrian, Heads of State, National Government, Museum Dioramas, Nuclear Power
-
Joan S. Buck, teacher and businesswoman
Joan S. Buck, a former educator and businesswoman, died Friday evening at Maryland General Hospital after being stricken with a heart attack at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. She was 86.
Joan Stewart Elliott, the daughter of a stockbroker and a homemaker,...Tags: Chemistry, Anglican, Charlottesville (Charlottesville, Virginia), Wheaton College, Retirement
-
A young conductor with control beyond his years
Baltimore Sun reporterWhen he stands before an orchestra, his cues are precise, his tempos clear; his face takes on a wide variety of expressions, from fierce to cherubic, as he shapes the melodic phrases. The only outward sign that Ilyich Rivas is not a seasoned professional...Tags: Classical Music (genre), DVDs and Movies, Music Industry, Kurt Masur, Peabody Conservatory
-
Langrée, BSO bring power to dramatic work of Haydn
All orchestras need to get back to their roots periodically, putting aside the big-gun Tchaikovsky and Mahler works and exploring the more intimately scaled world of Haydn. He was, after all, the "father of the symphony," the composer who created the mold...Tags: Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Hospitals and Clinics, Classical Music (genre), Music Industry
-
Renowned pianist stirs emotions behind bars at Jessup
As a child, Heather Patterson played the piano. She's always loved opera and classical music. But that was a long time ago, before she wound up in prison on drug charges.
Yet those memories came back Friday as renowned classical pianist Simone...Tags: Classical Music (genre), Museum Dioramas, Drugs and Medicines, Long Term Care, Music Theater
-
Ultimate fight club
Baltimore Sun reporterThe movies are the movies, but what the Shaolin Warriors do up there on the stage is real. And when it comes to watching the impossible - like when a guy is balanced oh-so-precariously on the tips of a bunch of swords, or when men leap unbelievably high...Tags: Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, YouTube, Buddhism, Family, Academic Progress
Nov 22, 2009
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Nov 22, 2009
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Nov 19, 2009
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Nov 14, 2009
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Nov 9, 2009
|Resource Link| Baltimore Sun
Nov 12, 2009
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Nov 7, 2009
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Nov 7, 2009
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Oct 11, 2009
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Oct 24, 2009
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Oct 24, 2009
|Story| Baltimore Sun
Oct 15, 2009
|Story| Baltimore Sun
