Evening star., 1933-01-29
Famed Boston Symphony
Once Students Dream
Great Orchestra Originated in Idea of Henry His.
sinson. Young Harvard Scholar, Who Founded
It and Later Contributed Million Dollars
Bv Alice Eversman.


ira under the direction of
~ Serge Koussevitzy will
pay it's only visit to Washington
this season. Orchestra patrons of
this city have had several jocca-
sions to hear and compare the
most celebrated orchestras in this
part of the country as well as en-
Joy the individuality OF several
famous conductors. The Boston
Symphony Orchestra stands for
stability and progressiveness and
with the added brilliancy of the
name of Koussevitzy it means
originality and, above all, the
quintessence of good musician
ship.
The Boston Symphony Orches-
ira is the second oldest in the
United States giving pre-emi-
nence only to the New York Phil
harmonic which is its senior by
80 years. The story of the orches-
tra's inception and growth is a
human story of benevolence and
farsightedress, mans dream
realized, conviction justified. 1t
is an example of the strength of
his belief in our ultimate reaction
to music provided the opportunity
was given us to hear it year by
year until its power had had time
to work upon us and we had
grown to love it.
Henry L. Higginson was young
Bostonian student who first
learned of cultural affairs at the
University of Harvard. His in
tentionS were to become a banker,
but before completely finishing
the course of studies, he left to
60 to Vienna to spend four years
In training his voice, practicing
the piano and trying his hand at
composition. Then the Civil War
claimed his services in America
and he did his duty to his coun-
try, rising from rank to rank until,
being seriously wounded, he was
forced from action. After the
war, when he took up the occu-
patton OF banker, which he had
first decided upon, he neverthe-
less continued to be a part Of
every movement that had any,
thing to do with music or any
other educational undertakings.
The impression Of those student
years when, day after day, he
listened to the best music the
great capital of Vienna had to
offer, was never effaced and
through the years of postwar re-
adjustment and his own struggle
to advance materially, he
dreamed and planned.
During this time there had
been many attempts to form an
orchestra. Although orchestra
musicians were scarce, the few
there were, were gathered to-
gether periodically and a concert
given. Theodore Thomas, at that
time domiciled in New York, was
the moving spirit in all things Or
clestral and with untiring zeal
he managed to hold together an
orchestra, and do some touring,
SO that various cities, including
Boston had an opportunity to
hear an orchestra and know
something of the fine compost
items that had been written for it.
With this as a foundation and
with personal prosperity aiding
him, Mr.. Higginson finally
reached the point where his
dreaming and his planning could
bear fruit. In 1881 he set aside
$1,000,000 by way OF endowment
and announced to the Boston
public that there would be estab-
1ished IAN orchestra which should
play the best music in the best
way and give concerts to all who
could pay a small price" He
called on Europe to obtain good
musicians and took the best
America had to offer at that time.
He formed an orchestra of so
men to give 20 concerts from the
middle of october to the middle
of March on Saturday evenings
In the Museum Hall of Boston. He
paid them for the concerts and
for their preliminary careful
training" and bought a substan-
tial library. The public was
charged from Is to rs cents for
a single ticket.
George Henschel was the first
conductor chosen. Born and edu-
Gated in Germany, Mr.. Henschel
achieved fame before he reached
Boston as a concert singer and,
after his American sojourn re-
turned to Europe to win further
renown as vocal teacher and
the founder of the London SYM
phony concerts. However, his
thorough training in all branches
of music made him eminently fit
ted to carry out Mr.. Higginson's
idea. For the first three years of
its existence Mr.. Henschel di-
rected the Boston Symphony Or
cheStra.
The second conductor, who sue
ceeded him, was Wilhelm Gericke.
Resembling Mr. Henschel, he, too,
had a Viennese education and
much practice as conductor of the
Gesellschaft's Concerto in Vienna.
When he took over the baton of
the orchestra, he used his energy
and knowledge to weed out the
unworthy and replace them with
experienced men and work for
the highest proficiency in the
public performances. His first i'm
portant step was to engage Franz
Kneisel, then with the Bilse Or
chestra of Berlin, as concertmas-
ter. During the five years that
Gericke remained in Boston and
for 13 years thereafter Kneisel
held this position. At the con-
certs which the Boston Symphony
gave at the Chicago Worlds Fair
1t was Kneisel who was called
upon to direct them during the
absence of the conductor.
III health compelled Mr.. Gericke
to pass on the baton to Arthur