Music and Maestros

Music and Maestros was first published in 1952. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.

Music lovers all over the United States as well as in other countries have heard the music of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra under the direction of such noted conductors as Dimitri Mitropoulos and Eugene Ormandy. Now they can enjoy the story behind those concerts, records, and radio broadcasts through this intimate history of the men and music that have made the orchestra famous.

The story begins with the lively musical activities of a frontier town, the antecedents of the symphony orchestra that took shape at the turn of the century. From the early years of the organization under the batons of Emil Oberhoffer and Henri Verbrugghen, the chronicle rises to the period of the great contemporaries, Ormandy, Mitropoulos, and Antal Dorati. There is a wealth of detail on the career of Mitropoulos, the renowned New York Philharmonic conductor who reached his present stature during his leadership of the Minneapolis orchestra.The extensive concert tours that have earned for the Minneapolis symphony the nickname of "orchestra on wheels" are recalled in anecdotes that will evoke many a chuckle and plenty of amazement. Accounts of early recording sessions offer fascinating sidelights on this aspect of musical history. A complete list of the works performed by the orchestra during the past fifty years provides a significant record of changing trends in musical tastes. A roster of al the players who have been members of the orchestra is given, and the reference section also includes a complete list of out-of-town engagements and a list of the orchestra's recordings which are available.