Jump to content

NBC Symphony Orchestra

From Alfawiki
NBC Symphony Orchestra
Company typeRadio orchestra
IndustryMusic, Broadcasting
Founded1937
FounderDavid Sarnoff
Defunct1954
FateDisbanded; members formed Symphony of the Air
Headquarters
New York City
,
United States
Key people
Arturo Toscanini (conductor), Leopold Stokowski (principal conductor 1941–1944), Pierre Monteux (assistant conductor)
ProductsRadio performances, recordings, televised concerts
ParentNational Broadcasting Company (NBC)

The NBC Symphony Orchestra was established as a radio orchestra by David Sarnoff, then-president of the Radio Corporation of America, which owned the National Broadcasting Company. This ensemble was created explicitly for conductor Arturo Toscanini. The orchestra delivered weekly radio performances under Toscanini's leadership and that of other conductors, with several musicians also participating in NBC Radio Network’s house orchestra. Despite NBC's public portrayal of the group as a dedicated full-time unit exclusively for Toscanini, a 1938 report by Fortune disclosed that the players were engaged in various other radio and television projects, with Toscanini concerts occupying only about half their scheduled hours.

The orchestra's inaugural concert occurred on November 13, 1937, and it remained active until April 1954. Following its disbandment, former members organized the independent Symphony of the Air, which operated from 1954 until 1963, gaining particular recognition under the baton of Leopold Stokowski.

History

In an article for the Organization of American Historians Magazine of History, Tom Lewis outlined NBC’s approach to cultural programming and the circumstances surrounding the orchestra’s formation: Since 1916, David Sarnoff had envisioned radio as a platform for concerts and lectures. By 1937, as RCA recovered from the Great Depression, he seized the opportunity to elevate cultural offerings by creating a radio orchestra led by Toscanini, who had recently stepped down from the New York Philharmonic at age 69 and was contemplating retirement. Sarnoff sent Samuel Chotzinoff to Italy to secure Toscanini’s agreement. The NBC Symphony Orchestra’s first performance took place on Christmas night in 1937 within a refurbished NBC studio located in the RCA Building, encapsulating Sarnoff’s belief that serving public interest could coincide with commercial success.

Sarnoff committed substantial resources to assemble an elite orchestra for Toscanini and NBC. He enlisted conductor and orchestra developer Artur Rodziński to prepare the musicians before Toscanini’s arrival. Offering unprecedented salaries and year-round contracts, NBC attracted leading instrumentalists nationwide and appointed conductor Pierre Monteux to assist with initial rehearsals. A large broadcast facility, Studio 8-H at NBC’s Radio City Studios in Rockefeller Center, was specially constructed to house this ensemble. Beyond prestige, some analysts suggest that NBC also aimed to deflect congressional criticism regarding broadcasting content through this initiative.

The first broadcast concert on November 13, 1937, was led by Monteux; Toscanini made his debut with NBC on December 25, 1937. Besides weekly broadcasts across NBC’s Red and Blue networks, the orchestra produced numerous recordings for RCA Victor. Televised concerts commenced in March 1948 and continued until March 1952. In mid-1950, Studio 8-H was converted into a television studio (later known for hosting Saturday Night Live), prompting the relocation of concert broadcasts to Carnegie Hall, a venue frequently used for recordings and special events.

When forming the successor group, many NBC musicians were retained after auditions conducted by Rodziński and Chotzinoff alongside approximately 700 candidates from other orchestras; ultimately, 31 musicians from NBC were selected. Although union minimum wages stood at $105 per week, many players earned substantially more. According to Fortune, NBC’s additional expenditures for higher-than-scale salaries plus Toscanini’s compensation surpassed typical staff conductor costs by roughly $250,000.

Leopold Stokowski served as principal conductor between 1941 and 1944 during a dispute between Toscanini and NBC; during this interval, Toscanini continued conducting war relief benefit concerts. Both conductors shared leadership in the 1942–43 and 1943–44 seasons before Toscanini resumed full control. Upon his retirement in spring 1954, NBC dissolved the orchestra—much to Toscanini's dismay—although it persisted independently as the Symphony of the Air. Toscanini’s final broadcast with the ensemble was an all-Wagner program at Carnegie Hall on April 4, 1954; his last conducting engagement took place during RCA Victor recording sessions in June of that year.

Musicians

Among the distinguished performers in the orchestra were violinists such as Samuel Antek, Leonid Bolotine, Felix Galimir, Josef Gingold, Daniel Guilet (concertmaster from 1952 to 1954), Mischa Mischakoff (concertmaster between 1937 and 1952), Oscar Shumsky, and Herman Spielberg. The viola section featured players like Carlton Cooley, Milton Katims, William Primrose, and Tibor Serly. Cellists included Frank Miller, Leonard Rose, Harvey Shapiro, and David Soyer. Double bassists such as Homer Mensch and Oscar G. Zimmerman contributed to the ensemble. Flutists included Carmine Coppola and Paul Renzi; clarinetists were Augustin Duques, Al Gallodoro, and David Weber. The brass and woodwind sections featured trombonist Norberto Paolucci; saxophonist Frankie Trumbauer; oboists Robert Bloom and Chauncey Vernon Kelley, Jr.; bassoonists Benjamin Kohon, William Polisi, and Leonard Sharrow; French horn players Arthur Berv, Harry Berv, Jack Berv, and Albert Stagliano; trumpeters Harry Glantz and Bernard Baker; along with tuba player William Bell.

During the early 1950s, approximately 55 musicians held full-time contracts with NBC, while additional players were engaged on a per-performance basis to achieve the orchestra’s full complement of 85 to 100 members. Even those on salary devoted only about half of their NBC commitments to the Symphony itself, frequently performing with other NBC radio and television orchestras or with the Cities Service "Band of America" under Paul Lavalle.

Sponsorship

At its inception, NBC Symphony broadcasts operated as "sustaining" programs financially supported by NBC. Subsequently, commercial sponsorship predominantly came from General Motors, with broadcasts branded as General Motors Symphony of the Air—distinct from a later group bearing the same name. Additional sponsors included House of Squibb (Bristol-Myers Squibb), Reynolds Metals Company, and Socony Vacuum Oil Company (Mobil).

Recordings

Starting in early 1938, RCA Victor began studio sessions featuring Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Early recordings encompassed works such as Mozart's Symphony No. 40, Haydn's Symphony No. 88, the William Tell Overture by Rossini, and movements from Beethoven’s String Quartet, Op. 135. Initially recorded in Studio 8-H, sessions transitioned mainly to Carnegie Hall due to superior acoustics, although some recordings continued intermittently in Studio 8-H until its conversion for television use in 1950. From late 1950 until June 1954, all broadcasts and recording activities were conducted at Carnegie Hall.

These recordings were issued by RCA Victor on its prestigious Red Seal label in the standard 78-rpm format. The orchestra’s inaugural LP was a recording of Ferde Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite from 1945, released in 1950 (LM-1004). Throughout the 1950s, Toscanini’s performances with the NBC Symphony were a mainstay of RCA Victor’s Red Seal catalog and later reissued on the budget RCA Victrola label for Toscanini’s centennial celebration in 1967. In the 1980s, RCA undertook digital remastering of these sessions for compact disc release, with comprehensive reissues appearing between 1990–1992 and again in 2012. RCA (currently under Sony Music) asserts improved sound fidelity through advancements in digital technology; however, critical opinion remains varied. Only recordings personally authorized by Toscanini—including seven complete operas conducted at NBC between 1944 and 1954—have received official reissue by RCA Victor; other labels have distributed off-air broadcast recordings.

In spring 1954, Toscanini’s last two broadcast programs were recorded experimentally in stereo but were not approved for commercial release; these surfaced unofficially years later. Despite their rudimentary nature, these stereo recordings exhibit a remarkable antiphonal effect. Notably, the March 21, 1954 rendition of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 ("Pathetique") was incomplete in stereo until a missing third movement tape was located and restored.

The orchestra’s ten NBC Symphony television broadcasts were issued on VHS and LaserDisc by RCA in 1990 and subsequently on DVD by Testament in 2006. These releases utilize kinescope footage paired with carefully synchronized high-quality audio tracks.

A significant undertaking was recording the nearly thirteen-hour score for NBC Television's Victory at Sea (1952–53). Conducted by Robert Russell Bennett at Rockefeller Center's Center Theatre, this score incorporated themes by Richard Rodgers for all twenty-six episodes of the documentary series and is available on DVD. The initial RCA Victor LP excerpts were recorded in July 1953; Bennett later led stereo recordings of volume two (1957), a remake of volume one (1959), and volume three (1961) with the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra—comprising members of the Symphony of the Air. RCA has reissued all volumes on CD.

Following Toscanini’s final concerts in 1954, Leopold Stokowski recorded stereo excerpts for RCA Victor featuring Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet and Menotti's Sebastian. Originally released monophonically as "Leopold Stokowski and his orchestra," these recordings were later rebranded as performances by "members of the NBC Symphony Orchestra." On April 6, 1954—two days after Toscanini’s last concert—Guido Cantelli conducted a stereo recording of César Franck’s Symphony in D minor at Carnegie Hall; although initially issued only in mono, RCA released its stereo version in 1978.

Symphony of the Air

After the NBC Symphony Orchestra was dissolved, numerous musicians from the ensemble aimed to maintain their collaboration, leading to the creation of the "Symphony of the Air." Their initial recording session took place on September 21, 1954, followed by their first public performance during the United Nations' 9th Anniversary Celebration on October 24. On November 14, they featured on the television program Omnibus, marking Leonard Bernstein's debut as a conductor on TV with a rendition of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Bernstein directed the orchestra throughout its prosperous inaugural season, which included an Asian tour sponsored by the U.S. State Department and concerts in the Catskills that drew crowds totaling 60,000.

By 1957, over 80% of the Symphony of the Air’s members were former NBC Symphony players. Approximately 70 out of 75 musicians had fixed contracts, with additional artists engaged on a freelance basis as necessary.

In 1960, CBS Television broadcast a prime-time special titled Spring Festival of Music, featuring Alfredo Antonini as conductor. The event showcased pianist John Browning performing Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto in a live production overseen by Robert Herridge and directed by Roger Englander.

Leopold Stokowski served as music director from 1955, guiding the Symphony of the Air through nearly ten years of extensive performances and recordings with major labels such as RCA Victor, Columbia, Vanguard, and United Artists. The orchestra worked alongside distinguished conductors including Bernstein, Pierre Monteux, Fritz Reiner, Bruno Walter, Kirill Kondrashin, Sir Thomas Beecham, Alfred Wallenstein, and Josef Krips. In 1963, they briefly revived the NBC Symphony Orchestra name for a television presentation of Gian Carlo Menotti's opera Amahl and the Night Visitors before officially disbanding later that year.

External links

Retrieved from "https://www.alfawiki.org/index.php?title=NBC_Symphony_Orchestra&oldid=78655"