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Archives Exhibit on Phil’s First Woman Honors Project 19

New York Philharmonic Archives Exhibit 'The Special Case of Steffy Goldner'

If you find yourself in or near David Geffen Hall this week, do not miss The Special Case of Steffy Goldner, a media installation by artist Nives Widauer and the New York Philharmonic Archives.

This 20th century harp case, used in the Philharmonic's first tour to Europe in 1930, belonged to Stephanie "Steffy" Goldner, the first woman member of the New York Philharmonic. As part of Project 19, the Philharmonic’s celebration of the centennial of the 19th amendment, the Archives teamed up with Widauer to put Steffy in the spotlight, using the harp case as a platform to tell her story.

New York Philharmonic Director, Archives and Exhibitions Gabryel Smith, President and CEO Deborah Borda, Doris Balant (Steffy Goldner's niece), Composer Nina C. Young, and Nives Wildauer pose in front of 'The Special Case of Steffy Goldner'

In the above photo, taken during the February 5 concert, are Gabryel Smith, Director, Archives and Exhibitions; President and CEO Deborah Borda; Doris Balant, Steffy Goldner's niece; composer Nina C. Young, whose Project 19 commission was receiving its World Premiere; and Nives Widauer. (Photo: Chris Lee)

You can see The Special Case of Steffy Goldner at David Geffen Hall on the Grand Promenade during Philharmonic concerts, now through February 22. The case will then go on tour, starting at the Austrian Cultural Forum in Washington, D.C. in March and April 2020.

Discover Steffy's story


Digital Archives Releases 250+ Press Clipping Scrapbooks, 1903–79

The New York Philharmonic Leon Levy Digital Archives has released more than 250 scrapbooks of press clippings from 1903 through 1979, available free online. The clippings are from publications around the world, including dozens of New York City papers not otherwise available online.

The clippings chronicle the history of the New York Philharmonic through the lens of the media, including coverage of Mahler’s appointment as Music Director by Mary Sheldon, the first woman President of the Philharmonic (December 1908); the 1930 European tour with Arturo Toscanini (May 1930); and extensive national and international coverage of Music Directors from Artur Rodziński and Dimitri Mitropoulos to Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, and Zubin Mehta.

Many of these scrapbooks have been previously unavailable to researchers, as they are too fragile to handle. They are now available to the public in high resolution. The “Search Inside” feature allows you to search any word within the scrapbooks.

Click here — and happy exploring!

New York Philharmonic Leon Levy Digital Archives Gives Scholars Fresh Understanding of Gilded Age

A team of sociologists has completed a study based on the New York Philharmonic Leon Levy Digital Archives that provides a new understanding of the cultural dynamics of Gilded Age society.

Headed by Fabien Accominotti of the London School of Economics and Shamus Khan of Columbia University, the study shows that in the late 19th century, Philharmonic audiences became more socioeconomically diverse than was previously thought. However, they remained segregated, with the elite sitting apart from middle class audience members. This reveals how in American society “elite cultural behaviors became a source of status by remaining distinctive while also acquiring currency with other social groups,” says Accominotti.

The team came to this conclusion by developing an online Philharmonic subscriber databasecontaining the names, addresses, and seat locations of Philharmonic subscribers dating back to the 19th century — using the New York Philharmonic Leon Levy Digital Archives.

The article, “How Cultural Capital Emerged in Gilded Age America: Musical Purification and Cross-Class Inclusion at the New York Philharmonic,” was published in the American Journal of Sociology 123, no. 6 (May 2018): 1743–1783. The study was funded in part by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Hear more about this fascinating project on the podcast Especially Big Data.

New York Philharmonic Launches a Time-Traveling Podcast

Can’t get enough of the 106 All-Stars of the New York Philharmonic? Neither can we. That’s why we’ve launched Listening Through Time, a new podcast featuring intimate conversations about how performances have evolved over generations of Philharmonic players.

In each episode, a Philharmonic musician (current or retired) and Philharmonic Archivist / Historian Barbara Haws listen to and compare the Orchestra’s performances from different eras. 

The inaugural episode features former Principal Trumpet Philip Smith assessing Philharmonic performances of the opening trumpet solo in Mahler’s Fifth Symphony (played on this season’s Opening Gala Concert and opening subscription program). The line-up includes former Principal Clarinet Stanley Drucker, Principal Cello Carter Brey, Principal Trombone Joseph Alessi, bassist Orin O’Brien, and Principal Librarian Lawrence Tarlow.

Available on iTunes, Listening Through Time can also be found at archives.nyphil.org/podcast, where listeners can view related photographs and detailed background research, plus scores, parts, and printed programs from the New York Philharmonic Leon Levy Digital Archives.

New York Philharmonic Presents Leonard Bernstein’s Marked Mahler Score to Vienna Philharmonic

 

This morning in Vienna, the New York Philharmonic and the family of Leonard Bernstein presented the Vienna Philharmonic with Bernstein’s marked score of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, in celebration of the Austrian orchestra’s 175th birthday. Above: New York Philharmonic Archivist / Historian Barbara Haws; Andreas Grossbauer, President (and violin) of the Vienna Philharmonic; and Wolfgang Plank, Director of Archives (and oboe) of the Vienna Philharmonic, at the Vienna Philharmonic’s new Archives.

Following his 1966 Vienna Philharmonic debut, Bernstein kept the score, which he had obtained from the Vienna Philharmonic’s Archives. He treasured it for the rest of his life; on his death it was transferred to the New York Philharmonic Archives as part of the collection of his marked conducting scores.

The New York Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic are both celebrating their 175th anniversaries this season. The New York Philharmonic presented the gift at the Vienna opening of Vienna and New York: 175 Years of Two Philharmonics, a joint exhibit of archival material drawn from both orchestras’ histories that will be on display at Vienna’s Haus der Musik until January 2018 (having previously been displayed at the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York).

Explore a virtual tour of the exhibition from when it was on view in New York.

(Photo: Wiener Philharmoniker, Terry Linke)

New World Symphony Manuscript Parts Now Available in Digital Archives

NY Philharmonic Dvorak

On December 16, 1893, the New York Philharmonic gave the World Premiere of Dvořák's New World Symphony.

Here's another first: for the first time ever, you can see the manuscript parts used at the premiere, a 1917 recording of the Largo, an early first-edition marked score, the program from the premiere, and business documents relating to the premiere and Dvořák. They're just a click away, in the New York Philharmonic Leon Levy Digital Archives

It's all part of the Philharmonic's Dohnányi / Dvořák: A Philharmonic Festival, December 4–13, 2014, which culminates in performances of the New World Symphony, December 11–13, led by legendary conductor and Dvořák interpreter Christoph von Dohnányi.  

The notes and markings — in different colored pencils, some erased but legible — illuminate the rehearsal and revision process leading up to the World Premiere. The Philharmonic used the parts in subsequent performances until 1931, and markings reflect interpretive decisions from these performances as well.

The New York Times did a cool slideshow. Check it out:

 

Mahler Wundersingers: Des Knaben Wunderhorn Philharmonic Soloists

New York Philharmonic Archives Mahler 'Des Knaben Wunderhorn'

This week's concerts feature Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn, which the New York Philharmonic first performed in 1910, when Alma Gluck sang the American premiere of "Rheinlegendchen" (one of the songs in the collection) with the composer, who was the Philharmonic's Music Director at the time, at the podium.

The New York Philharmonic Archives created a digital exhibit of all Philharmonic Des Knaben Wunderhorn soloists, from 1910 to the present, interspersed with various "wunderhorns" found in the Archives' collection of glass lantern slides.

Enjoy!

Packed House 'Steps Inside Mahler's Sixth' at Free Insights

"Stepping Inside Mahler's 6th" New York Philharmonic

Last evening there was standing room only at the latest Insights at the Atrium. This installment of the free series, "Stepping Inside Mahler's Sixth," was for you Mahler fans. 

New York Philharmonic Archivist / Historian Barbara Haws; Prof. S. Alex Ruthmann, of the New York University Music Experience Design Lab; music historian Erik Ryding; and Philharmonic Audio Director Lawrence Rock used a new app developed by Ruthmann and his team, along with marked conducting scores from the New York Philharmonic Leon Levy Digital Archives, to compare in minute detail Philharmonic recordings of Mahler's Sixth as conducted by Mitropoulos, Bernstein, Maazel, and Gilbert. 

The app lets us explore interpretive, musicological, and historical questions, illuminating what specifically distinguishes each performance. Attendees got to "test drive" the app at iPad stations:

New York Philharmonic

The Philharmonic, conducted by Semyon Bychkov, performs Mahler's Sixth February 11–16.

Photos: Anne Ruthmann Photography