As yet there was not sufficient interest in musical affairs in Pittsburgh to support a permanent orchestra worthy of the city, but there were a number of valuable musical organizations, such as the Gounod Club, the Symphonic Society, the Art Society, and the Mozart Club, which, singly or together, did excellent work in providing orchestral concerts. Then came the twenty-eighth National Saengerfest, which was held in Pittsburgh in 1896 and which inaugurated an epoch in the musical affairs of the city. This festival, to quote Mr. Adolph Foerster, 'aroused the first impulse of bringing order out of the chaos existing at that time. It was to create an orchestra for this great event and thus lay the foundation for a permanent organization to give concerts at Carnegie Hall, then nearing completion. Though concerts were begun a few months after the dedication of the hall, the orchestra was not, however, engaged, since the elaborate programs designed excluded the possibilities of adequate interpretations by the orchestra as then equipped. Perhaps to no other one man than to Charles W. Scovel is due the credit of solving the intricate problem of establishing the guarantee fund, bringing the different elements into harmony, and thus making the orchestra a possibility.' The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra gave its first concert on February 27, 1896, with Frederic Archer as conductor and with a program that included compositions of Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Rameau, Saint-Saëns, Massenet, Liszt, and Wagner. In 1898 Archer was succeeded in the conductorship by Victor Herbert, whose brilliance, verve, and tendency toward the picturesque in music appealed strongly to the Pittsburgh public and established for his orchestra of sixty-five men a popularity which a more severe and conservative leader might have failed to attract. Theodore Thomas always took his position firmly on the heights and compelled his audience to climb up to him; Herbert adopted the reverse method, starting in the pleasant, flower-decked plain and cheerfully leading his public by his hand to more stimulating altitudes. Possibly his plan was not the best sort of educational discipline, but it seems to have been productive of good results. Emil Paur, who succeeded him in 1910, paid more respect to the great gods on high Olympus, bowing down with especial reverence before the shrine of Brahms. 'It must be recorded,' says Mr. Foerster, 'that ever since Mr. Paur has conducted the orchestra the non-local financial as well as artistic successes have been much increased. The orchestra is a regular visitor each season to many large cities.... Each season the demand for the orchestra has increased, and thus it has become a national educator, a notable benefactor in the musical development of this country, probably traversing a larger area than any of the great symphony orchestras.' In addition to its regular conductors the orchestra has at various times played under the leadership of guest