 |
 |
|
Biography of Theodore Thomas
Name: Theodore Thomas
Birth Date: October 11, 1835
Death Date: January 4, 1905
Place of Birth: Essen, Germany
Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupations: conductor
Theodore Thomas
Theodore Thomas (1835-1905) was one of the foremost American orchestral conductors of his time and the original director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.Theodore Thomas was born in Germany, the son of the town musician of Esens. When Theodore was 10, the family moved to the United States, settling in New York City. The family suffered financial hardships, and Theodore was forced to earn money by playing his violin at dances, weddings, theaters, and public amusement halls. His formal musical training was slight. While still a teen-ager, he made a concert trip through the South, billing himself as a prodigy.In 1854 Thomas joined the New York Philharmonic and also began traveling with famous soloists as a violinist. He found conducting exciting and became dedicated to raising Americans' musical taste. He organized an orchestra which gave its first concert in 1862 in New York City and which later made a series of nationwide tours, …showed first 150 words…
You are viewing only a small portion of the biography.
Please login or register to access the full copy.
|
|
…showed last 150 words…returned to New York and to the Philharmonic, leading that orchestra to new artistic heights. In 1885 he conducted the American Opera Company, an insufficiently underwritten venture that failed after one season. Thomas was invited in 1891 to become conductor of the recently endowed Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He held that post for 14 years. In 1893 he was appointed director of music for the Chicago World's Fair but resigned when his elaborate program was jeopardized by public apathy and national financial reverses. He died on Jan. 4, 1905. Further Reading A primary source is Theodore Thomas: A Musical Autobiography (2 vols., 1905); the second volume contains a listing of Thomas's major programs. Thomas's role in the development of symphonic music in America is assessed in C. E. Russell, The American Orchestra and Theodore Thomas (1927), and David Ewen, Music Comes to America (1942; rev. ed. 1947).Schabas, Ezra, Theodore Thomas: America's conductor and builder of orchestras, 1835-1905, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1989.
Need a custom written paper?
|
|
 |
|
