100 years ago today, the New York Philharmonic gave its first live radio broadcast from Lewisohn Stadium over WJZ. The concert, part of the orchestra’s summer season, included works by Dvořák, Saint-Saëns, Mendelssohn, Rimsky-Korsakov, Brahms, and Gluck. The Philharmonic’s regular summer event director, Willem van Hoogstraten, was the conductor. While I have been unable to locate any audio from this particular historic broadcast, here is Hoogstraten conducting the NYP in Beethoven, from 1923.
Hoogstraten was a Dutch violinist and conductor, who was married for 16 years to the pianist Elly Ney. The couple formed a piano trio with cellist Fritz Reitz and together recorded Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos. 3, 4 & 5. Some of their concert broadcasts are also available on YouTube.
Hoogstraten led the New York Philharmonic’s summer series from 1922 to 1939. In 1925, he was appointed music director of the Oregon Symphony, where he served for 13 seasons. From 1939 to 1945, he was conductor of the Mozarteum Salzburg.
Here’s another Willem – Willem Mengelberg – conducting the orchestra in Liszt’s most famous symphonic poem, “Les Preludes.” The recording was made a few months earlier, April 18-20, 1922. Note the swooning portamento and generous rubato. It was a different age.
Sobering to contemplate that Mengelberg was 15 at the time of Liszt’s death!
Mengelberg was music director of the Philharmonic from 1922 to 1928. Beginning in 1926, he shared the podium with Arturo Toscanini. Naturally, the two men came to loathe one another (an orchestra can have only one dictator), which precipitated Mengelberg’s departure. Fortunately, he had a decent back-up band in the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam.
The New York Philharmonic began its regular weekly series of Sunday afternoon broadcasts over the Columbia Broadcasting System on October 5, 1930.
PHOTOS: 1931 program for concerts at Lewisohn Stadium, with inscribed photo of Willem van Hoogstraten from 1930
