Orchestra

• 1. Baroque Roots And Standardization

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  In 1705, Johann Sebastian Bach led an ensemble of eighteen musicians in Köthen. This small group played a Baroque orchestra where one player handled each musical part. Large-scale Baroque orchestras existed elsewhere, such as Arcangelo Corelli's group in Rome that ranged from thirty-five to eighty players for daily performances. Special occasions could swell this number to one hundred fifty musicians. The size and composition varied wildly between European regions during the era spanning 1600 to 1750. No standard instrumentation existed yet. A chord-playing musician often performed basso continuo parts on a harpsichord or pipe organ to lead the ensemble. By the late eighteenth century, Ludwig van Beethoven began expanding the forces required for symphonies. His works called for paired flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, and trumpets. Exceptions included his Symphony No. 4 which specified only a single flute. Beethoven calculated the expansion of this timbral palette in Symphonies three, five, six, and nine for innovative effects. The third horn in the Eroica Symphony arrived to provide harmonic flexibility and choral brass effects. Piccolo, contrabassoon, and trombones added triumphal finales to his Fifth Symphony. For several decades after his death, symphonic instrumentation remained faithful to Beethoven's model.

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• 2. Valves And Modern Timbres

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  Heinrich Stölzel and Friedrich Blühmel invented the piston and rotary valve in 1815. These Silesian innovators launched a series of changes that impacted the orchestra forever. Theobald Boehm developed modern keywork for the flute while Adolphe Sax created innovations in woodwinds including the saxophone. Hector Berlioz wrote a landmark book on instrumentation as the first systematic treatise using instrumental sound as an expressive element. Richard Wagner founded the Bayreuth orchestra to accompany his musical dramas with unprecedented scope and complexity. Das Rheingold calls for six harps within its score. Wagner envisioned an ever-more-demanding role for the conductor of the theatre orchestra. His theories re-examined tempo, dynamics, bowing of string instruments, and the role of principals. By the late Romantic era, orchestras could support enormous forms of symphonic expression. Huge string and brass sections appeared alongside expanded percussion ranges. Gustav Mahler pushed these boundaries further in his mammoth Eighth Symphony. Recording technologies eventually allowed critics to hear minor errors in intonation or ensemble that might not be noticeable live. Audio editing and overdubbing later fixed small errors in recordings. Standards of performance rose to new levels because recorded symphonies could be listened to closely.

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• 3. Conductors And Concertmasters

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  A short wooden rod known as a conductor's baton often makes movements easier for musicians to see. The conductor unifies the orchestra, sets the tempo, and shapes the sound of the ensemble. They prepare the orchestra by leading rehearsals before public concerts. Instructions regarding interpretation flow from the podium during these sessions. The leader of the first violin section carries the title concertmaster. This person plays an important role in leading the musicians beyond just playing their instrument. In Baroque music eras spanning 1600 to 1750, orchestras were often led by the concertmaster or a chord-playing musician performing basso continuo parts on harpsichord or pipe organ. Some twenty-first-century early music ensembles continue this tradition today. The concertmaster leads pre-concert tuning and handles musical aspects of management like determining bowings for violins. They sit to the conductor's left closest to the audience. There is also a principal second violin, a principal viola, a principal cello, and a principal bass. Most sections have assistant principals who play tutti parts while replacing the principal in absence. Section leaders lead entrances by lifting bows before the start to ensure unity. A professional musician hired for a single concert sometimes earns the title sub.

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• 4. Gender And Blind Auditions

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  Historically major professional orchestras remained mostly or entirely composed of men. Harpists became the first women members hired in professional orchestras. The Vienna Philharmonic did not accept women into permanent membership until 1997. This date arrived far later than comparable orchestras ranked among the world's top five by Gramophone in 2008. The last major orchestra to appoint a woman to a permanent position was the Berlin Philharmonic. Dieter Flury told Westdeutscher Rundfunk in February 1996 that accepting women would be gambling with emotional unity. An orchestra press secretary wrote in April 1996 that compensating for expected leaves of absence from maternity leave would be problematic. Protests occurred during a United States tour by the National Organization for Women and the International Alliance for Women in Music. Members gathered on the 28th of February 1997 in an extraordinary meeting to admit Anna Lelkes as harpist. As of 2013, six female members belonged to the orchestra. Violinist Albena Danailova became one of the orchestra's concertmasters in 2008. She stood as the first woman to hold that position there. In 2012, women made up only 6% of the orchestra's membership. A 2014 BBC article stated that blind auditions have seen gender balance gradually shift in traditionally male-dominated symphony orchestras.

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• 5. Bankruptcy And Funding Crises

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  The late twentieth century saw a crisis of funding and support for American orchestras. Few orchestras could fill auditoriums while the time-honored season-subscription system became increasingly anachronistic. Listeners began buying tickets on an ad-hoc basis for individual events instead. Orchestral endowments and donors saw investment portfolios shrink or produce lower yields. Donors found other social causes more compelling than supporting music institutions. Government funding cuts remained significant for American ensembles despite being less central than European models. The drastic drop in revenues from recording changed the landscape forever. Philadelphia Orchestra entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2011. Louisville Orchestra filed for Chapter 11 in December 2010. Northwest Chamber Orchestra ceased operations in 2006 after entering Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Honolulu Orchestra closed its doors in March 2011. New Mexico Symphony Orchestra shut down in April 2011. Syracuse Symphony ended operations in June 2011. The Festival of Orchestras in Orlando, Florida, ceased operations at the end of March 2011. High salaries for music directors received notice and criticism leading several conductors to take pay cuts. Michael Tilson Thomas and Esa-Pekka Salonen argued that new music and community relationships could revitalize the symphony orchestra.

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• 6. Venues And Repertoire Shifts

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  Orchestras performed in fine houses of aristocrats during the Baroque era. Opera halls and churches hosted performances alongside wealthy estates where orchestras resided. Composers increasingly sought financial support from the general public during the Classical era. Public concert halls became venues where music lovers bought tickets to hear orchestras play. Aristocratic patronage continued alongside these public concerts until modern times. Governments emerged as a new patron in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. National or regional governments provide subsidies making up part of orchestra revenue alongside ticket sales. Charitable donations and fundraising activities contribute further to income streams. Sound recording, radio broadcasting, television broadcasting, and Internet-based streaming created new revenue sources. Symphonies contain multiple movements providing contrasting keys and tempos. Overtures originally referred to instrumental introductions to operas. Franz Liszt devised the symphonic poem form in works beginning as dramatic overtures. The concert overture began to be supplanted by the symphonic poem in the 1850s. Orchestras perform with instrumental soloists in concertos while playing accompaniment roles. They accompany singers and dancers during operas and ballets. Film scores and video game music now utilize orchestral forces extensively.

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