Hallé orchestra
The Hallé Orchestra in Manchester is one of the oldest orchestras in the UK .
history
In 1857 a major art exhibition was held in Manchester and Charles Hallé was required to organize daily concerts. Hallé said there were only 24 musicians in Manchester who could play the music he needed. But since he wanted 60 musicians for his orchestra, he had to convince 40 more to come to Manchester. For this he recruited musicians from the mainland. The exhibition was opened by Prince Albert on May 5th and had 1.3 million visitors, including crowned heads.
To prevent the orchestra members from scattering in all four directions at the end of the exhibition in October 1857, Hallé decided to give weekly concerts through autumn and winter at his own risk. That was only possible if he could guarantee the musicians an income of £ 150 pa. In order to be able to meet this requirement, he had to give 20 concerts a year. It went so well that in 1858 he founded his own orchestra, the Hallé Orchestra. In addition to the orchestra, he also founded the Hallé Choir.
On January 30, 1858, the symphony orchestra had its first appearance in the " Free Trade Hall " of Manchester. After 30 years his orchestra consisted of 101 musicians and every instrument was represented. At the start of each season, he guaranteed a revenue of £ 7,168 p.p. a. and was still the best and cheapest orchestra in the United Kingdom.
In 1996 the orchestra moved to a new concert hall with modern equipment and acoustics, the " Bridgewater Hall ".
At the beginning of the 20th century it was led by well-known conductors such as Hans Richter (1900–1911), Michael Balling (1912–1919) and Hamilton Harty (1920–1933).
For many years it was conducted by John Barbirolli , who made it famous in the 20th century and with whom the orchestra has made numerous records. Mark Elder has directed the orchestra since September 2000 .
Orchestra leader
- Sir Charles Hallé 1858–1895
- Frederic Cowen 1896–1899 (with annual contract)
- Hans Richter 1899–1911
- Michael Balling 1912-1914
- Sir Thomas Beecham 1914–1920 and 1933–1939 (consultant)
- Sir Hamilton Harty 1920-1933
- Sir Malcolm Sargent 1933–1942 (guest conductor)
- Sir John Barbirolli 1943-1970
- James Loughran CBE 1971-1983
- Stanislaw Skrowaczewski 1982-1992
- Kent Nagano 1992-2000
- Sir Mark Elder CBE since 2000
Web links
- Website of the Hallé Orchestra (Engl.)
- The Bridgewater Hall (Engl.)
- Further information on the Hallé Orchestra ( Memento of July 7, 2001 in the Internet Archive )
- Photo Exterior, Free Trade Hall, Manchester, 1955 - from outside
- Photo of the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, 1955 - from the inside
Individual evidence
- ^ The Art Treasures Exhibition in Manchester 1857
- ^ The Hallé Choir
- ↑ Manchester Worthies - Reprinted from Manchester Faces & Places Vol. 1 No. 7 10 April 1890
- ↑ Conductors in the archive ( Memento from April 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive )