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THE DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Grace, Grit, and Glory LAURIE L. HARRIS with Paul Ganson the Detroit Symphony orcheStra the Detroit Symphony orcheStra Grace, Grit, and Glor y Laurie Lanzen Harris with Paul Ganson a Painted Turtle book Detroit, Michigan the Detroit Symphony orcheStra Grace, Grit, and Glor y Laurie Lanzen Harris with Paul Ganson a Painted Turtle book Detroit, Michigan © 2016 by Wayne state university Press, Detroit, Michigan 48201. all rights reserved. no part of this book may be reproduced without formal permission. Manufactured in the united states of america. 20 19 18 17 16 5 4 3 2 1 isBn 978-0-8143-3136-1 (jacketed cloth) isBn 978-0-8143-4062-2 (e-book) Library of Congress Control number: 2016932279 Designed and typeset by Bryce Schimanski Composed in Adobe Garamond Pro Painted Turtle is an imprint of Wayne state university Press Wayne state university Press Leonard n. simons Building 4809 Woodward avenue Detroit, Michigan 48201-1309 Visit us online at wsupress.wayne.edu We gratefully acknowledge Gwen and richard Bowlby, longtime patrons and tireless supporters of the Detroit symphony Orchestra and Wayne state university Press, whose generous gift has made possible both the publica- tion of this volume and a partial matching gift from the Community Foundation of southeast Michigan. Contents Preface ix 1. an emerging City and its Music, 1701–1887 1 2. The Founding and the Founders, 1887–1910: rudolph speil, Fritz and Hugo Kalsow, and the First DsO 17 3. a Glorious rebirth, 1914–36: Weston Gales, Ossip Gabrilowitsch, Orchestra Hall, and the First “Golden age” 36 4. a City and an Orchestra struggle, 1936–42: Victor Kolar, vii Franco Ghione, Depression, and War 71 5. The reichhold era, 1943–49: a One-Man Band 90 6. another rebirth, 1952–63: The “Detroit Plan,” Paul Paray, and a new Golden age 106 7. Changing Times, 1963–76: sixten ehrling and the Changing Fortunes of a City and its Orchestra 138 8. an Orchestra and a City in Flux, 1977–90: antal Dorati, Günther Herbig, and a City in Decline 161 9. The Orchestra and the City rebound, 1990–2005: neeme Järvi and another Golden age 191 10. Musical artistry in an era of uncertainty, 2005–Present: Leonard slatkin and the Future of the Modern symphony Orchestra 226 notes 255 appendix: Detroit symphony Orchestra Personnel, 1906–2015 275 index 293 Preface the detroit symphony orchestra began in 1887 as a rather ix small ensemble of around thirty-five players in a city that was just emerging as an industrial power. From that time to the present, the two entities—the city and its orchestra—have grown and prospered, making their mark on a national scale, in musical artistry for the symphony, and in economic might for the city. But they have each faced crises as well—financial, social, and cultural—that have forced the DsO out of existence three times, and the city to the brink of dissolution. Yet in the face of adversity, they have revived, and thrived. How did it hap- pen, and what does it mean for the future of the orchestra and the city? The Detroit Symphony Orchestra: Grace, Grit, and Glory offers a perspective on this shared story. it describes and documents the history of the DsO through the prism of the history of the city it has called home for nearly 130 years. it details the orchestra’s cycle of growth, glory, collapse, and renewal in light of the city’s own dynamic economic, demographic, and cultural changes. This book also provides a perspective on the DsO in the context of the history of the american symphony orchestra, from the nineteenth century to the present, from the “Make america Musical” movement and Theodore Thomas in the 1870s to the current economic and cultural crises that have threatened the viability of many modern symphony orchestras today, including the DsO. it is a story that builds on the work of others, most importantly the history of the symphony that was written in 1964 by edith rhetts Tilton. The former