Twenty-five years of the Philadelphia Orchestra, 1900-1925

Name: Twenty-five years of the Philadelphia Orchestra, 1900-1925
Author: Wister, Frances Anne

Wister, Frances Anne

Philadelphia Orchestra

Strauss’s first American concert was in New York, where the practice of
sending substitutes to rehearsals was common. In the middle of “Don
Juan” the orchestra broke down and they had to stop and begin again.
Therefore, when Dr. Strauss reached Philadelphia, he was prepared for
another such occurrence. He arrived for rehearsal in a perturbed state
of mind, and proceeded brusquely to the conductor’s stand. Mr. Scheel,
however, had spared no pains in preparation for the great event. The
rehearsal was held at Odd Fellows Temple, in a small room, where the
reverberations in the fortissimo passages were tremendous. After simply
bowing to Mr. Scheel, Dr. Strauss began to lead. He had played but a
few measures before he discovered an orchestra thoroughly proficient
and well-rehearsed in his numbers. After playing a few bars he dropped
his arms and allowed the orchestra to play on. There was an entire
change in his manner. He turned to Scheel, and, throwing both arms in
the air, exclaimed, “Famos!” Every few moments he cried, “Wunderschön!”
“Ausgezeichnet!” After making one or two corrections in the parts, he
stopped the rehearsal and became highly enthusiastic over the playing
of the orchestra.

                      THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA

                       FRITZ SCHEEL, _Conductor_
            Increased to 100 Performers for these Occasions

                          DR. RICHARD STRAUSS
                 Conducting his own Compositions, and

                         FRAU STRAUSS-DE AHNA
             Dramatic Soprano, accompanied by DR. STRAUSS

                              PROGRAMMES
                    Friday Afternoon, March 4, 1904

    1. FRANZ LISZT      A Faust Symphony in Three Pictures
                                     (after Goethe)
                  I. Faust (Allegro)
                 II. Gretchen (Andante)
                III. Mephistopheles (Scherzo, Finale)

    2. RICHARD STRAUSS
           Songs with Orchestra:
                  a. “Das Rosenband”
                  b. “Liebes-Hymnus”
                  c. “Morgen”
                  d. “Cäcilie”

                         FRAU STRAUSS-DE AHNA
                       Conducted by the Composer

    3. RICHARD STRAUSS    “Tod und Verklärung,” Tone Poem, Op. 24

                       Conducted by the Composer
                   Saturday Evening, March 5th, 1904

    1. JOHANNES BRAHMS         Symphony No. 2, D. major, Op. 73
                  I. Allegro non troppo
                 II. Adagio non troppo
                III. Allegro grazioso (Quasi Andantino)
                 IV. Allegro con spirito

    2. RICHARD STRAUSS
          Songs with Orchestra:
            Three Mother-Songs
                 a. “Meinem Kinde”
                 b. “Muttertändelei”
                 c. “Wiegenlied”

                         FRAU STRAUSS-DE AHNA
                       Conducted by the Composer

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Twenty-five years of the Philadelphia Orchestra, 1900-1925

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