(Samuel Victor Albert) Alberto Zelman (15 November 1874 – 3 March 1927) was an Australian musician and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

, and founder of one of the predecessors to the

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on fun ...

Life and career

Alberto Zelman was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia. His father, Alberto Zelman (senior), had come from Trieste via India as conductor of an opera company, and settled in Melbourne. Alberto jr. was educated at King's College, Melbourne, and showed early talent as a

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist, afterwards becoming a violin teacher. He was connected with the Melbourne Philharmonic Society for over 30 years, first as leader of the second violins in the orchestra, and from 1912 as conductor. He was leader of the British Musical Society's quartet, and after the death of George Marshall-Hall he founded (in 1906) and conducted the Albert Street Conservatorium Orchestra which, in 1927, combined with the Melbourne University Symphony Orchestra to form the

(MSO). The MUSO was mainly amateur with a core of professional players, and Alberto conducted it over the years, giving many memorable performances. Considering that the MUSO had no endowment, Zelman did remarkable work with it, and he was always hoping that all the musical interests in Melbourne would pool their resources so that his native city would have a permanent, properly supported orchestra. Alberto Zelman was also well known in the Spa Country region of Victoria, and he lived for a short period in a cottage on 7th Street in

Hepburn Springs Hepburn Springs is a resort town located in the middle of the largest concentration of mineral springs in Australia, situated in Victoria, 48 km northeast of Ballarat. In the , Hepburn had a population of 631, and Hepburn Springs had a po ...

that stands today and which features a frieze of the local bush painted by his artist brother Victor. In 1922 he visited Europe, and in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

was invited to conduct the

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

. He was enthusiastically received, and in November of the same year conducted the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, but was less successful than in Berlin. On returning to Australia, Zelman resumed his teaching and conducting, and his last appearance was to conduct ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

'' on Christmas night 1926; such world-famous singers as John McCormack and Dame

Clara Butt Dame Clara Ellen Butt (1 February 1872 – 23 January 1936) was an English dramatic contralto and one of the most popular singers from the 1890s through to the 1920s. She had an exceptionally fine contralto voice and an agile singing technique, ...

had been soloists in his ''Messiah''. He died in Melbourne after a short illness on 3 March 1927. He married Maude Harrington, a well-known singer, who survived him. He had no children. A brother, Victor Zelman, studied painting and became known as a capable painter of landscapes; an example of his work is in the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...

. The MSO continued to perform after his death until 1932 when it was taken over jointly by Professor (later Sir)

Bernard Heinze Sir Bernard Thomas Heinze, AC, FRCM (1 July 189410 June 1982) was an Australian conductor, academic, and Director of the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music. He conducted all the orchestras run by the ABC, most particularly the Melb ...

and

Fritz Hart Fritz Bennicke Hart (11 February 1874 – 9 July 1949) was an English composer, conductor, teacher and unpublished novelist, who spent considerable periods in Australia and Hawaii. Early life Hart was born in Brockley, originally in the English ...

, who converted it to an all-professional orchestra. In 1933 the amateur players formed their own orchestra, naming it the Zelman Memorial Symphony Orchestra after Alberto Zelman. It has given at least three concerts each year since that time and now, more than 80 years later, the Zelman Symphony continues to perform with at least four concerts each year in Melbourne and one or more in country Victoria. The Zelman Symphony owns Alberto Zelman Jnr's Mustel celeste (

celesta The celesta () or celeste (), also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music ...

), circa 1890.

Works

* (Contributor) Fortunatus and the magic purse and wishing cap, or, Little King Pippin: grand operatic Christmas pantomime. * 1866 Waltes on the Pipele Opera themes * 1905 Ave Maria in B Flat * 1910 Elegie * Crispino waltzes * Ariel valse * 1900 Gavotte * Sérénade Andalouse * The Bernhardt valse * La juive quadrilles * O salutaris : a motett * 1877 Emelie polka * Gloria tibi domine

References

* Radic, Thérèse (1990)
"Zelman, Samuel Victor Albert (Alberto) (1874–1927)"
'' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 12. Online version retrieved 22 January 2016. * Your Friend, Alberto Zelman, Don Fairweather, (1984)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zelman, Alberto 1874 births 1927 deaths Australian conductors (music) Musicians from Melbourne Australian male composers Australian musical theatre composers Male musical theatre composers Australian people of Italian descent Chief conductors of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra