Boston Music Hall
Boston Music Hall in Boston was one of the first concert halls in the United States .
The structure was erected in 1852 and inaugurated in November of that year. It offered space for 2500 listeners. The construction was made possible by a donation of 100,000 dollars of the Harvard Musical Association . 1863 in was Eberhard Friedrich Walcker in Ludwigsburg built organ installed; from 1881 the Boston Music Hall was the home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra .
organ
Harper's Weekly reported on December 12, 1863 that Dr. J. Baxter Upham had made two trips to Europe to find the right company to build this organ , which was first heard in Boston on November 2, 1863. Walcker's organ had about 6,000 pipes , the longest of which were about 32 feet and, as Harper's Weekly vividly described, were thick enough for a full-grown person to crawl through. 89 registers , four manuals and two pedals belonged to the organ, the necessary wind was produced with water power . The author of the article counted them among the three to four most powerful instruments that were ever built.
He compared the dark walnut prospectus to a temple. In the center there is a niche for the organist. Above it, the mask of a singing woman symbolizes the voice of the organ and a bust of Johann Sebastian Bach represents the composer. The structure is crowned by a statue of St. Cecilia , the patroness of music, who holds a lyre in her arms. It is flanked on both sides by griffins . There is a tower on each side of the organ, each containing three huge pipes. These two towering towers are supported by semi- caryatids in the style of ancient herms , next to which there are lion herms . At the top, the two pipe towers are each flanked by cherub figures . Further ornamentation of the organ consists of carved images of musical instruments. The author of the description in Harper's Weekly was reminded of Madame de Staël's definition of architecture as “frozen music”.
This impressive organ brochure was made in America: although the Herter Brothers company did not exist as such at the time, the author of the report attributed the design of this organ brochure not only to Gustave Herter , but also to his brother Christian Herter .
In 1884 the organ was removed from the Boston Music Hall to make room for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It was later re-installed in the Serlo Organ Hall in Methuen . This structure was built especially for the large concert organ and is now called the Methuen Memorial Music Hall . The organ is still used there today.
Redesign and renaming
In 1900, the Boston Music Hall was converted into a vaudeville theater by its then owner William Morris ; The reasons for this were the expansion of the street and underground network. The Boston Symphony Orchestra then moved to the Symphony Hall and the Music Hall continued to be used under changing names such as Empire Theater (1904), Orpheum Theater (1906), American Music Hall (1909/10) and again Orpheum .
Around this time the house became the property of Marcus Loew, who ran Loews Cineplex Entertainment , was now called Loews Orpheum and was fundamentally redesigned in 1915 according to plans by Thomas W. Lamb . Among other things, the house was expanded and received a new roof structure. Loew used the building both as a vaudeville theater and as a cinema, from the 1930s only as a cinema. In 1972 Loew sold the building. It was reopened as Aquarius , but was given the name Orpheum back in 1974 . From 1975 to 1979 it was the home of the Opera Company of Boston, which then moved to the Boston Opera House . The former home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra was used for concerts of all kinds; Bruce Springsteen , Counting Crows , Grateful Dead , Kiss , Pink Floyd , Prince , Scissor Sisters , Trey Anastasio , U2 and Warren Zevon had performances here .
In 2009 the house was sold and temporarily closed for renovation.
The theater is currently owned by the Drucker Real Estate Company. The contract to operate the Orpheum was taken over in 2009 by the Boston concert promoter Don Law from the entertainment company Live Nation. Don Law announced a major renovation of the theater after which it reopened in late 2009.
The current entrance to the theater is the old alleyway entrance, replacing the original entrance on Washington Street, which has been converted into business premises.
Individual evidence
- ^ The History of the Symphony Hall , accessed November 9, 2014.
- ↑ http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1863/december/pipe-organ-boston.htm
- ↑ http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1863/december/reverend-turner.htm
- ↑ History of the Orpheum Theater ( Memento of the original from August 30, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed November 9, 2014.
- ↑ Live Nation sells halls. In: Boston Herald. Retrieved May 6, 2009, May 2, 2020 (American English).
- ↑ About Orpheum Theater - Boston Events, Boston Music, Boston Concerts. August 30, 2013, accessed May 2, 2020 .
Coordinates: 42 ° 21 '22.4 " N , 71 ° 3' 39" W.