Orquesta Sinfónica de Oregón

La Orquesta Sinfónica de Oregón es una orquesta sinfónica estadounidense con sede en Portland, Oregón , Estados Unidos. Fundada como la "Sociedad Sinfónica de Portland" en 1896, es la sexta orquesta más antigua de Estados Unidos y la más antigua del oeste del país. Su sede es la Sala de Conciertos Arlene Schnitzer, ubicada en el Distrito Cultural del centro de Portland.

El conjunto precursor de la orquesta ofreció su primer concierto en el Teatro Marquam Grand el 30 de octubre de 1896, bajo la dirección de W. H. Kinross, con 33 intérpretes. El programa inicial incluía la Sinfonía Sorpresa de Joseph Haydn . Para 1899, la orquesta ya ofrecía una serie anual de conciertos (con algunas pausas ocasionales). En 1902, realizó su primera gira por el estado. Los miembros de la orquesta compartían los ingresos de las entradas como una cooperativa y elegían a sus directores en los primeros años.

El músico Carl Denton, formado en la Real Academia de Música, fue una figura clave para que la Sociedad Sinfónica de Portland entrara en una nueva era. Se eligió la junta directiva y se contrató a un gerente. Los miembros de la orquesta continuaron eligiendo a sus directores para la temporada 1911/1912. El orden de rotación del director y el concertino se determinó por sorteo. Los músicos provenían de las orquestas de danza y teatro de Portland. Tras catorce ensayos, el primer concierto de esta nueva Orquesta Sinfónica de Portland tuvo lugar a las 14:30  del 12 de noviembre de 1911 en el recién inaugurado Teatro Heilig, en la esquina de SW Broadway y Taylor Street. Mose Christensen dirigió a 54 intérpretes en la Novena Sinfonía en mi menor de Dvořák y otras obras. Carl Denton dirigió el segundo concierto el 17 de diciembre de 1911, seguido por John Bayley el 21 de enero de 1912 y Harold C. Bayley (hijo de John Bayley) el 3 de marzo de 1912. Mose Christensen concluyó la temporada con el quinto concierto el 14 de abril de 1912. Harold Bayley, Carl Denton y Mose Christensen también se turnaban como concertinos cuando no dirigían. El presupuesto completo provenía de la recaudación de taquilla, que se dividía a partes iguales, excepto que el director recibía dos partes. Por el primer concierto, cada músico recibió 1,45 dólares.

La orquesta continuó eligiendo directores rotativos hasta que la junta directiva nombró a Carl Denton como su primer director permanente el 18 de agosto de 1918. La orquesta comenzó a ofrecer sus conciertos en el Auditorio Municipal , posteriormente rebautizado como Auditorio Cívico. Bajo la dirección de Denton, la venta de entradas aumentó y, por consiguiente, también el número de músicos.

Theodore Spiering, who had guest conducted the orchestra, was the next appointed conductor. Spiering was unable to begin his first season as conductor because of his untimely death in Munich (where he was searching for new scores for the orchestra). At the suggestion of artist manager Arthur Judson, the symphony board next appointed Dutch conductor Willem van Hoogstraten. Hoogstraten's first concert, on November 9, 1925, included Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4, performed by 69 musicians. Some of van Hoogstraten's concerts were nationally broadcast on the radio. The orchestra was now recognized as one of the fifteen largest in the nation.

During the Great Depression, the Portland Symphony Society nearly closed in 1931.^[1] A mimeographed letter to society members pleading for donations by Isabella Gauld kept the society open.^[1] The threat of war and a budget deficit of nearly $20,000 caused the board to suspend operations in 1938. A farewell concert on February 28, 1938, featured van Hoogstraten conducting the symphony and chorus in Brahms' German Requiem.

There was no regular symphony season between 1938 and 1947, except for occasional concerts.b There was also a WPA Portland Federal Symphony Orchestra for one season of concerts held at the Neighbors of Woodcraft auditorium, beginning in January 1939. Misha Pelz, who had conducted the Portland Federal Symphony Band, was the regular conductor and Leslie Hodge guest conducted for two concerts.

An orchestra billed as the Portland Philharmonic, with 40 musicians provided by the federal music project, held its debut concert on January 16, 1940, with Hodge conducting. Hodge announced his resignation in September 1940 and Charles Lautrop succeeded him as conductor. Directors suspended operation of this orchestra on December 30, 1940.

The Portland Symphony orchestra was reorganized in 1947 as a permanent professional group. Werner Janssen was engaged for two seasons as principal conductor, from 1947 to 1949, followed by James Sample (1949–1953). Guest conductors were engaged for the 1953–1955 seasons (in lieu of a principal conductor), including Carlos Chávez, Enrique Jordá, Dimitri MitropoulosThomas Schippers, Boris Sirpo, Russell Stanger, and Igor Stravinsky. Theodore Bloomfield was one of these guest conductors, and he also became the next regular conductor (1955–1959). The Italian conductor Piero Bellugi (1959–1961) became only the second non-American principal conductor since Hoogstraten. Each of these early principal conductors in the reorganized symphony era left after only a few years because the orchestra lacked financial backing. Bellugi also refused to return for a scheduled guest conductor engagement in the spring of 1962, citing the programs lacked sufficient scope for his talents.

Jacques Singer was music director of the orchestra from 1962 to 1972.^[2][3] During 1965–1967, the orchestra performed in a leased 1927 movie house, the Oriental Theatre on SE Grand Avenue between Morrison and Belmont Streets, while the Civic Auditorium was being rebuilt. In July 1966, a $1.25 million Ford Foundation grant was announced. In August 1967, the name was changed to the Oregon Symphony Society (and Orchestra) to reflect the wider scope of the orchestra.^[4] In the fall of 1970, the symphony board and musicians' union successfully negotiated the first two-year contract. The musicians, seeking better wages, joined the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) in 1971.

In 1970, the Oregon Symphony Pops began a longstanding working relationship with conductor Norman Leyden, who was appointed associate conductor in January 1974. Leyden, who retired in May 2004, was honored with the lifetime title Laureate Associate Conductor.

In 1973, Lawrence Leighton Smith was selected as music director, the first conductor born in Portland to lead the orchestra. He led the orchestra until 1980.^[2]

James DePreist, one of the first African-American conductors,^[5] became the orchestra's conductor in 1980. In 1984, the orchestra went from part-time to full-time status. Also in 1984, the orchestra moved from Civic (now Keller) Auditorium to the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. The orchestra was now able to rehearse in the same space where they performed their concerts. James DePreist's arrangement of the theme for The Cosby Show was recorded by the orchestra in May 1988 for use in the fifth season of that television program. The first out-of-state tour outside of the Pacific Northwest was made in September 1992, to the Hollywood Bowl at the invitation of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Although there were labor disagreements and brief lockouts by management in 1986 and 1989, in September 1996, the 86 musicians voted unanimously to strike for the first time. Money was the issue in negotiating a new contract. Five rehearsals and six concerts were canceled before a new four-year contract was negotiated before the end of September.^[6][7]

The orchestra's first Grammy nomination came in 2003. Principal percussionist Niel DePonte was nominated for best instrumental soloist performance with orchestra for Oregon composer Tomas Svoboda's "Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra", recorded by Albany Records in January 2000.

A 90-minute television special from CBS affiliate KOIN Channel 6, produced by John Ray and directed by Richard Hammerstrom, in honor of the Symphony's centennial featured DePreist and the orchestra in a performance of Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2, and was awarded a Northwest Regional Emmy in June 1997.

DePreist remained as music director for 23 years, until 2003. His tenure saw the growth of the orchestra from a small, part-time group into a full-time nationally recognized orchestra.^[5] During his tenure, the orchestra released 17 recordings. After the end of his tenure, DePriest held the title of music director laureate until his death in 2013.^[2]

Carlos Kalmar became the orchestra's music director in 2003. In April 2008, the orchestra announced the extension of Kalmar's contract as music director to the 2012–2013 season.^[2] Kalmar concluded his Oregon Symphony tenure at the close of the 2020–2021 season.^[8][9]

En 2018, David Danzmayr dirigió la orquesta como director invitado por primera vez. Regresó en 2019 para una segunda aparición como director invitado. En febrero de 2021, la orquesta anunció el nombramiento de Danzmayr como su próximo director musical, efectivo a partir de la temporada 2021-2022. ^{[ 10 ]} En octubre de 2025, la orquesta anunció la extensión del contrato de Danzmayr como su director musical hasta la temporada 2028-2029. ^{[ 11 ]}

La Orquesta Sinfónica de Oregón comenzó a grabar para el sello Delos en 1987. Una colección titulada Bravura incluye obras de Witold Lutosławski , Ottorino Respighi y Richard Strauss . Las grabaciones han continuado, con lanzamientos también en los sellos Koch y Albany. Se publicaron dieciséis discos compactos hasta 2005.

En noviembre de 2011, la orquesta lanzó Music for a Time of War , bajo el sello Pentatone . Grabado en el Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall de Portland, Oregón, con Carlos Kalmar como director, el álbum incluye el programa interpretado en el concierto del Spring into Music Festival de mayo de 2011 de la orquesta en el Carnegie Hall . El 5 de diciembre de 2012, este álbum recibió dos nominaciones a los premios Grammy: una a Mejor Álbum de Ingeniería de Sonido, Clásico; y otra a Mejor Interpretación Orquestal. ^{[ 12 ]} Las grabaciones posteriores fueron This England (2012), Spirit of the American Range (2015), Haydn Symphonies (2017) y Aspects of America (2018).

• Jno FN Colburn (1922–1924)
• Alf Keller (1924–1927)
• Ed Hurlimann (1927–1938)
• John Copin (1947–1948)
• Tibor Zelig (1948–1949)
• Hugh Ewart (1950–1973) ^{[ 13 ]}
• Michael Foxman (1973–2003) ^{[ 14 ]}
• Amy Schwartz Moretti (2004–2007) ^{[ 15 ]}
• Jun Iwasaki (2007-2011) ^{[ 16 ]}
• Sarah Kwak (2012–presente) ^{[ 17 ]}

• «El director de orquesta se retira de su participación como invitado en el programa 'Más allá de su dignidad'», Oregonian, 11 de abril de 1962 (Bellugi es el director de orquesta).
• Goodrich, Frederick W. "Casi 70 años llenos de acontecimientos en la música orquestal". The Oregonian , 3 de noviembre de 1935, página 11.
• Goodrich, Frederick W. "Música de la Orquesta de Oregón, 1868–1932" Oregon Historical Quarterly, junio de 1932, páginas 136–142.
• Millard, Robert E. "El nacimiento de la Orquesta Sinfónica de Portland". Emitido por la emisora ​​de radio KPAM el 30 de septiembre de 1962.
• Noles, BJ "Donación de la Biblioteca Musical Bayley para uso universitario". The Oregonian , 12 de junio de 1968, sección II, página 7.
• Programas de la Orquesta Sinfónica Federal de Portland de la WPA, 1938-1939
• Programas de la Orquesta Sinfónica de Portland y la Orquesta Sinfónica de Oregón 1896–
• Wallin, JL. "Medio siglo de la Sinfónica de Portland". The Oregonian , 20 de octubre de 1935.

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