Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born Americanconductor and violinist, best known for his association with the
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...
, as its music director. His 44-year association with the orchestra is one of the longest enjoyed by any conductor with any American orchestra. Ormandy made numerous recordings with the orchestra, and as guest conductor with European orchestras, and achieved three gold records and two
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
. His reputation was as a skilled technician and expert orchestral builder.
Early life
Ormandy was born in
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
,
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
, as Jenő Blau, the son of Jewish parents Benjamin Blau, a dentist and amateur violinist, and Rozália Berger.Birth Record of Jenő Blau (translated). Budapest, Kerület VII, Születtek, 1899, No. 3873: Reported November 22, 1899, born November 18, 1899, Jenő, male, Israelite, son of Benjamin Blau, Israelite, 29, occupation fogmüves (dentist), b. Pósaháza (Bereg county, now Pavshyno, Ukraine), and Rozálie Berger, Israelite, 23, b. Budapest, res. Budapest VII, Erszébet Körút 7. Signed, Benjamin Blau, Sándor Török, deputy registrar.
His musical talents emerged early. Blau received his first violin lessons from his father at the age of three and a half and was proficient enough as a violinist to enter the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five, being the youngest student to date.
From 1909 a student of
Jenő Hubay
Jenő Hubay von Szalatna ( ; 15 September 185812 March 1937), also known by his German name Eugen Huber (), was a Hungarian violinist, composer and music teacher.
Early life
Hubay was born into a German family of musicians in Pest, Hungary ...
, he passed the finals in chamber music and in violin in spring of 1915.
From 1917 Blau undertook first tours in Hungary and Germany; among other things as
concertmaster
The concertmaster (from the German language, German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the Conducting, conductor, the concertma ...
of the Berlin Blüthner Orchestra. In 1918 he became briefly professor for violin at his old university. From 1917 to 1920 he also completed a degree in philosophy.Bowen, José A "Ormandy, Eugene" ''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, 2001. Retrieved 2 July 2021
Motivated by promises made by a dubious impresario, he emigrated to the US in 1921.
Until 1918 Ormandy used the stage name "Eugen Blau" in public performances, "Eugen" being the German equivalent of "Jenő". About 1919, after the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he used "Jenő B. Ormándy". At the time of his arrival in America in 1921, he was using "Jeno Blau", but by 1925 he was going by "Eugene Ormandy". The origin of the surname "Ormandy" is uncertain. Speculation that it was either his middle name or that of his mother appears to be unfounded.Marriage Record of Benjámin Blau and Rozália Berger (translated): Budapest, Kerület VII, Házasultak, 1899, No. 123: Married at Budapest, February 5, 1899, Benjámin Blau, fogmüvesmester (master dentist), Israelite, b. Pósaháza (Bereg county), October 14, 1869, residing at Budapest VII, Erzsébet körút 7, son of Lipót Blau and Mina Weinberger, and Rozália Berger, Israelite, b. Budapest, June 17, 1876, residing at Budapest VI, Landen (?) utca 1, daughter of József Berger and Emilia Parnizsofsky, witnesses Sándor Fuchs, Budapest VII., Kerepesi út 14, Mór Fischer, Budapest VI, Király utca 14. Signed, Sándor Fuchs, witness, Mór Fischer, witness, Benjámin Blau, groom, Rozália Berger, bride, Dr. Gáspár Ormay, deputy registrar. Remarks: the groom's name was changed to "Ormándi", March 22, 1937. Signed, Dr. Király Kemere (?), deputy registrar. His father changed his surname to "Ormándi" on March 22, 1937, a few weeks before emigrating to the United States.Arthur Judson, the most powerful manager of American classical music during the 1930s, first heard Ormandy when he conducted (as a freelancer) for a dance recital at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
by
Isadora Duncan
Angela Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877, or May 27, 1878 – September 14, 1927) was an American-born dancer and choreographer, who was a pioneer of modern contemporary dance and performed to great acclaim throughout Europe and the United States. Bor ...
; Judson later said, "I came to see a dancer and instead heard a conductor."
Career
At Judson's instigation Ormandy substituted for the indisposed
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orche ...
with the
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...
in 1931. This led to an appointment as musical director of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, a post he held from 1931 to 1936. In this post he became nationally known in the US through his recordings, which included the first versions on disc of Kodály's '' Háry János'' suite and Schoenberg's '' Verklärte Nacht''. In 1936 he returned to Philadelphia as joint conductor with
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British-born American conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra. H ...
. After two years he became the orchestra's sole music director; he held the post for 42 years (1938–1980), before stepping down to be its conductor laureate. He took the Philadelphia Orchestra on several national and international tours, and appeared as a guest conductor with other orchestras in Europe, Australia, South America and East Asia.
Ormandy built on what ''
Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and th ...
'' calls "Stokowski's voluptuous 'Philadelphia Sound'" and added further polish and precision. Despite, or even because of, this, among many music critics and others, as Harold C. Schonberg opined in a 1967 study, "there was a singular reluctance in musical circles to admit him into the ranks of great conductors".Schonberg, p. 340 He was thought superficial; Toscanini dismissed him as "an ideal conductor of Johann Strauss" and a similar remark is attributed to
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...
. Donald Peck, principal flute of the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...
, reports that a fellow flutist was won over when Ormandy conducted the Chicago in
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
's Ninth Symphony; he told Peck that it was the greatest Ninth he had ever heard. The conductor Kenneth Woods ranked Ormandy 14th of the "Real Top 20 of Conducting," saying,
Schonberg called Ormandy "an excellent technician with a technicolored approach". ''Grove'' comments that Ormandy may have contributed to this image by concentrating on the late-Romantic and early 20th-century repertory that showed to advantage the lush sound he could command in works by composers such as
Debussy
Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...
,
Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...
,
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...
,
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...
, and
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...
. Schonberg commented that Ormandy programmed very little
Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...
or
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
and approached Beethoven "in a rather gingerly manner". He conducted much less new music than his predecessor, Stokowski, had done, but did not ignore it, and gave the premieres of works including
Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...
Webern
Anton Webern (; 3 December 1883 – 15 September 1945) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and musicologist. His music was among the most radical of its milieu in its lyric poetry, lyrical, poetic concision and use of then novel atonality, aton ...
. He did not neglect American composers, and among premieres he gave were works by
Samuel Barber
Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor (music), conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the mid-20th century. Principally influenced ...
Walter Piston
Walter Hamor Piston, Jr. (January 20, 1894 – November 12, 1976), was an American composer of classical music, music theorist, and professor of music at Harvard University.
Life
Piston was born in Rockland, Maine at 15 Ocean Street to Walter ...
,
Ned Rorem
Ned Miller Rorem (October 23, 1923 – November 18, 2022) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and a writer. Best known for his art songs, which number over 500, Rorem was considered the leading American of his time writing i ...
Roger Sessions
Roger Huntington Sessions (December 28, 1896March 16, 1985) was an American composer, teacher, and writer on music. He had started his career writing in a neoclassical style, but gradually moved towards complex harmonies and postromanticism, a ...
and Virgil Thomson.
Schonberg concluded his study of Ormandy with the words, "Ormandy does not conduct with the overwhelming personality of a Furtwängler, or with the ferocity and clarity of a Toscanini, or with the immense knowledge and classicism of a Szell. But he has carved out an area for himself, and within it he is secure, a perfect workman and a sensitive interpreter. And it is an area that takes in a great deal more than Strauss waltzes".
In 1980, aged 80, Ormandy retired as chief conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, but continued to appear as its conductor laureate. His last concert was with his Philadelphia colleagues at Carnegie Hall on January 10, 1984. His tenure, as chief conductor and then laureate was the longest unbroken association between a conductor and a major American orchestra.
He died of pneumonia at his home in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, on March 12, 1985, at the age of 85.
Awards and honors
In honor of Ormandy's vast influence on American music and the Philadelphia performing arts community, on December 15, 1972, he was awarded the University of Pennsylvania Glee Club Award of Merit. He was appointed by
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
as an honorary
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(KBE) in 1976, and received of
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
in 1977. After Ormandy's death the US Congress and President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
declared that November 18 would be "Eugene Ormandy Appreciation Day", with a recognition ceremony held on that date at the Academy of Music.
Ormandy's collection of 1,400 orchestral scores is now in the library of the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
, and he is also commemorated in the name of its Eugene Ormandy Music and Media Center at the Otto E. Albecht Music Library.
Marriages
On 8 August 1922 Ormandy married Stephanie Goldner (1896–1962). "Steffy" Goldner had come to New York in 1921 from her native Vienna, where she had attended the city's Academy of Music. Soon after arriving in New York she took a position at Capitol Theatre where Ormandy was a violinist. For more than a decade she was harpist for the New York Philharmonic, the only woman on its roster. The two later did broadcast performances on WABC radio, where Ormandy was one of the staff conductors.
In the fall of 1946, the couple parted. "There is no talk now of divorce ..It's just a separation," Mrs. Ormandy reported. However, she later filed for divorce, decreed 4 August 1947 "on grounds of extreme mental cruelty." Following the divorce she joined the faculty at the Philadelphia Music Academy while announcing plans to resume her performing.
On 15 May 1950 Ormandy married Margaret Frances Hiltsch (1909–1998) in a civil ceremony in Philadelphia. In a statement released by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, the two were described as "family friends for many years ..Mrs. Ormandy came to the United States about 12 years ago from Vienna ..shortly thereafter she became an American citizen. During the war years Mrs. Ormandy became a licensed pilot in preparation for the WASP training program. However, as the unit was then disbanded, she enlisted in the U.S. Navy and for two years was then stationed at Norfolk, VA., in operations work at the Naval Air Station."
The couple remained wed until his death in 1985.
Recordings
Ormandy's recording career began with the Minneapolis Symphony for
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...
in 1934 and included the first US recordings of symphonies by Anton Bruckner (No. 7) and Gustav Mahler (No. 2). He remained with RCA Victor after becoming music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1938. In 1944, Ormandy and the Philadelphians began a 23-year association with
. His many recordings for Columbia include the first US recording of the Fourth Symphony of Dmitri Shostakovich and the first ever recording of Mahler's Tenth Symphony in the performing version by Deryck Cooke. (Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra gave the first public performance of the Mahler/Cooke Symphony No. 10 at the express invitation of Mahler's widow Alma.) In 1968, conductor and orchestra returned to RCA Victor, recording for the label until 1981. His recordings of Saint-Saëns's Symphony No. 3, "Organ'" were considered the best ever produced by Fanfare Magazine which remarked of the 1974 RCA Red Seal recording with organist Virgil Fox: "This beautifully played performance outclasses all versions of this symphony." The
Telarc
Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long assoc ...
recording of the symphony with Michael Murray from 1980 is also highly praised.
Under Ormandy's baton, the Philadelphia Orchestra had three gold records and won two
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
.
Ormandy's first digital recording was a performance of
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...
RCA Red Seal
RCA Red Seal is a classical music label whose origin dates to 1902 and is currently owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment.
History
The first "Gramophone Record Red Seal" discs were issued in 1901.Night Song'' (1948)
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
* at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...