Andreas delfs talks aobut the significance of the rpo's centennial
RPO Since 1922
The oldest photo of the rpo
RPO Yesterday
Earliest Photo
This is the earliest photo of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra to be found in the Sibley Music Library, which houses the lion’s share of the RPO’s archival material. “It is captioned ‘1923-24’ on the back,” Librarian and Archivist David Peter Coppen notes, adding that it depicts one of the three first-season conductors, Eugene Goossens.
RPO Today
Your Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra invites you to join us as we proudly step into our Centennial Season and celebrate 100 years of music that empowers, music that builds, music that cares, music that transforms, music that connects, and most of all—music that moves and inspires us all.
The origins of the Royal Danish Orchestra date back to 1448, making it the oldest professional symphony on the books — at nearly 575 years old. And other European orchestras, in relative terms, are not far behind it. The oldest orchestra in the US is the 180-year-old New York Philharmonic.
So, why is the RPO’s 100th such a big deal?
The Royal Danish Orchestra, 2018.
Photographer: Camilla Winther
Source: SlipppedDisc.com
DID YOU KNOW?
The Rochester Philharmonic wasn’t the first orchestra to perform in the Eastman Theatre?
That honor goes to the Eastman Theatre Orchestra, which marked its premiere – and the theater’s opening – in a gala for A-listers Sept. 2, 1922. On the program: the orchestra performing Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture as well as a symphonic underscore for the silent feature film The Prisoner of Zenda starring stage and screen actor Lewis Stone.
The public got its first look and listen two days later.
The orchestra quickly fulfilled George Eastman’s dreams of introducing symphonic music to the Rochester community, as well as raising the bar on music performed for silent movies. But just six months later came word that Eastman was thinking bigger. Literally.
THE WORLD’S OLDEST ORCHESTRAS
1. Copenhagen: Royal Danish Orchestra 1448
2. Weimar Hofkapelle 1491
3. Kassel Hofkapelle 1502
4. Stockholm: Kungliga Hovkapellet 1525
5. Dresden (or Saschsiche) Hofkapelle 1548
The March 18, 1923 Eastman Theatre Programme reported, “Of extreme importance to the musical public of Rochester is the announcement that a new symphony orchestra, to be known as the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, has been organized.”
The RPO would, essentially, be an augmented version of the approximately 70-piece ETO, with about 25 additional musicians recruited to be available as needed, and allow the orchestra to “rank with the best in the world.”
The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra debuted March 28, 1923, with a program including Tchaikovsky’s Symphony Pathetique, Grieg’s Concerto in A Minor and Wagner’s “Irish Rhapsody.”
The smashing debut proved to be a big tease. The RPO would not perform again for another six months, when its first full season opened Oct. 17, 1923.
