Eighteen forty-two was a good year for orchestras. As it happens, both the New York Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic were founded that year — about eight months, and 4,000 miles, apart.
Both celebrating their 175th anniversaries this season, the New York Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic will present a joint exhibit, Vienna and New York: 175 Years of Two Philharmonics, featuring archival material from both orchestras. You can catch it in New York February 23–March 10 at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York. The exhibit will then open in Vienna on March 28 at the Haus der Musik. (The New York Philharmonic performs at Vienna’s Konzerthaus the next day as part of its EUROPE / SPRING 2017 tour.)
Among the many treasures to be featured are documents written at the founding of each orchestra, including a call for musicians written by Vienna Philharmonic founder Otto Nicolai, and the New York Philharmonic’s “Constitution of the Philharmonic Society of New York,” establishing the Orchestra’s operating principles. Also on display: historic conducting scores, programs, photos from performances and tours, and letters from composers and conductors.
