The Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is one of the oldest orchestras in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. Founded by Alexander Lippay in 1926, the orchestra has played a major role in

Philippine The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

history, including acting as a symbol of resistance during the Second World War. Through the years, MSO has hosted artists

Montserrat Caballé María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch or Folc (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), also known as Montserrat Caballé (i Folch), was a Spanish operatic soprano from Catalonia. Widely considered to be one of the best sopranos ...

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

Igor Oistrakh Igor Davidovich Oistrakh (; April 1931 – 14 August 2021) was a Soviet and Russian violinist. He was described by ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' as "noted for his lean, modernist interpretations". Life and career Oistrakh was born in Odessa, to ...

Eugene Istomin Eugene George Istomin (November 26, 1925October 10, 2003) was an American pianist. He was a winner of the Leventritt Award and recorded extensively as a soloist and in a piano trio in which he collaborated with Isaac Stern and Leonard Rose. Care ...

Fou Ts'ong Fou Ts'ong (; 10 March 1934 – 28 December 2020) was a Chinese and British pianist who was the first pianist of his national origin to achieve international recognition. He came to prominence after winning third prize and the Polish Radio Prize ...

Barry Tuckwell Barry Emmanuel Tuckwell, (5 March 1931 – 16 January 2020) was an Australian French horn player who spent most of his professional life in the UK and the United States. He is generally considered to have been one of the world's leading horn p ...

Paul Badura-Skoda Paul Badura-Skoda (6 October 1927 – 25 September 2019) was an Austrian pianist. Career A student of Edwin Fischer, Badura-Skoda first rose to prominence by winning first prize in the Austrian Music Competition in 1947. In 1949, he performed w ...

and

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, as well as conductors

Andre Kostelanetz Andre Kostelanetz (; December 22, 1901 – January 13, 1980) was a Russian-American popular orchestral music conductor and arranger who was one of the major exponents of popular orchestra music. Biography Abram Naumovich Kostelyanetz was born ...

Arthur Fiedler Arthur Fiedler (December 17, 1894 – July 10, 1979) was an American Conductor (music), conductor known for his association with both the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestra, Boston Pops orchestras. With a combi ...

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, Robert Feist, Gareth Nair,

Helen Quach Helen Quach ( "quok"; 4 July 1940 – 31 July 2013) was a Vietnamese-born symphony conductor who founded the Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra in Sydney, served as the music director of the Manila Symphony Orchestra and guest conducted for sy ...

, and

Eduard Strauss II Eduard Leopold Maria Strauss (March 24, 1910 – April 6, 1969), commonly known as Eduard Strauss II to distinguish him from his grandfather, was an Austrian conducting, conductor whose grandfather was Eduard Strauss, Eduard Strauss I and whose un ...

. Today, the Manila Symphony Orchestra provides a showcase for young Filipino musical talent.

Origins

The Manila Symphony Orchestra was founded by Alexander Lippay, and held its first concert on 22 January 1926 at the

Manila Grand Opera House The Manila Grand Opera House ( Filipino: ''Marangal na Bahay-Opera ng Maynila'', abbreviated MGOH) was a theater and opera house located in the district of Santa Cruz in Manila on the intersection of Rizal Avenue and Doroteo Jose Street. It was ...

. They also played at the inauguration concert of the Metropolitan Theater on 10 December 1931. During this time the orchestra was plagued with financial difficulties. The introduction of the ''Popular Sunday Concerts'' in 1935 (with tickets as low as 30 centavos) proved to be a large success and greatly helped the orchestra financially. It proved so popular that it once filled the Metropolitan Theater during a signal no. 4 typhoon. Notable people such as President

Manuel Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina (, , , ; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier, and politician who was president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 until his d ...

and his wife were avid supporters of the orchestra. Alexander Lippay suddenly died on 3 May 1939, and was replaced by

Herbert Zipper Herbert Zipper (April 27, 1904 in Vienna, Austria – April 21, 1997 in Santa Monica, California) was a composer, conductor, and arts activist. As an inmate at Dachau concentration camp in the late 1930s, he arranged to have crude musical instrumen ...

as conductor the same year. Zipper was once a prisoner at

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then the

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concentration camp before getting liberated and journeyed to the Philippines in 1939. Zipper expanded the activities of the orchestra and formed the Manila Concert Chorus. Under his direction

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 9th Symphony was first performed in the country in 1940. The orchestra traveled to Baguio to host a music festival in 1940 and 1941.

War and post-war

During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in 1942, Zipper was briefly detained by the Japanese as a "political prisoner" and the Manila Symphony Orchestra refused to perform as a protest and hid their instruments. In retaliation, the Japanese formed the New Philippines Symphony Orchestra under the baton of

Francisco Santiago Francisco Santiago Santiago (January 29, 1889 – September 28, 1947) was a Filipino musician, sometimes called ''The Father of Kundiman Art Song''. Life Santiago was born in Santa Maria, Bulacan, Philippines, to musically minded peasan ...

. Following the liberation of the Philippines in 1945, the Manila Symphony Orchestra was reformed by

. Its first post-liberation concert was held in the ruins of Santa Cruz Church on May 9, 1945. Filipino musicians performed for the combined American and Filipino soldiers at the post-liberation army camps. Some of the musicians also toured the provinces and held special shows in hospital wards.

Young musicians

MSO has instituted two main programs intended to develop Filipino musical artistry and showcase Filipino musical talent, the "Young Artists' Competitions" and the Luneta Concerts (known as "Concert in the Park"). The Manila Symphony Orchestra today has young musicians who are trained by the Philippine Research for Developing International Soloists (PREDIS), which was founded in 1985 by Basilio Manalo and Sister Mary Placid Abejo at St. Scholastica's College. Filipino conductors have also taken the helm of the MSO, including

, Basilio Manalo, and later Arturo Molina. At present the MSO is composed of around 60 musicians under the music direction of Marlon Chen. Many members the orchestra are young music students who are also enrolled in the different colleges and conservatories of music in the Metro Manila area. Many of these have been winners in the National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) and have represented the Philippines in international music festivals and workshops.

Awards

In July 2024, MSO under conductor, Jeffrey Solares, bagged the Gold Prize and Grand Prix at the 13th

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

International Youth Music Festival in

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Notable members

References

External links

Manila Symphony Orchestra Official website
{{authority control Filipino orchestras Musical groups from Metro Manila Musical groups established in 1926 1926 establishments in the Philippines