Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid (OSM)
Orchestra
Auditorio Nacional de Música (Madrid)
Founded	1903

The Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid (also known as the Madrid Symphony Orchestra) is a famous Spanish orchestra. It was started in 1903, making it the oldest orchestra in Spain that isn't owned by an opera house or theater. This orchestra has played a big role in bringing classical music to Madrid for over a hundred years!

How the Orchestra Started
Main Conductors
See Also

How the Orchestra Started

In 1903, an older orchestra called the Sociedad de Conciertos de Madrid was having problems. They didn't have enough money, and the musicians couldn't agree on things. Because of this, some of the musicians decided to create a new group. Their goal was to keep symphonic music alive in Madrid.

The idea for the new orchestra began at the home of a violin player named José del Hierro. He got support from his friends, Julio Francés (a violist) and Víctor Mirecki Larramat (a cellist). Two other musicians, Francisco González (a flautist) and Miguel Yuste (a clarinetist), also joined them.

They worked hard to convince other musicians from the old orchestra to join. About 80% of the original orchestra decided to be part of this new group! Many of the musicians were also teachers at the Madrid Royal Conservatory. This helped them find talented young players to fill any empty spots quickly.

The musicians had their first meeting in December 1903. They met in the rehearsal room of the Teatro Real. There, they decided to call themselves the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid. The orchestra was set up as a private group run by the musicians themselves. They used their own money to get started, buying furniture and renting rehearsal spaces. After that, they planned to earn money only from their concerts and recordings. They wanted to be independent and not rely on outside groups that might try to control them.

The First Concerts

José del Hierro and Víctor Mirecki Larramat helped the orchestra find a conductor. They got Alonso Cordelás, a Spanish conductor, to lead the group. Cordelás left his job in Munich and came to Madrid, bringing music for the orchestra's first concerts.

On February 7, 1904, the orchestra played its first public concert at the Teatro Real. Cordelás was the conductor. They played a program with famous pieces like:

Overture to Don Giovanni by Mozart
In the Steppes of Central Asia by Borodin
A special violin piece by August Wilhelmj (with José del Hierro as the solo violinist)
Faust Overture by Wagner
Romeo and Juliet by Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 4 by Schumann

At first, Cordelás tried to change how concerts were usually done in Madrid. He wanted two parts with one break, instead of three parts. He also wanted concerts to be in the afternoon, not at night. But the audience didn't like these changes. By the third concert, they had to bring back two breaks. By the sixth concert, the night schedule (8:45 p.m.) also returned.

Cordelás faced many challenges. He had disagreements with the musicians and with the theater owners. He also got bad reviews and the audience didn't always like his music choices. Because of these problems, he decided to leave at the end of the first season. José del Hierro, the first concertmaster, also left.

Even with these difficulties, the rest of the first season was a success. The orchestra played pieces that had never been heard in Madrid before, like Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony and Brahms' First Symphony. These concerts were popular and helped the new orchestra avoid money problems.

The Enrique Fernández Arbós Years

After Cordelás left, Enrique Fernández Arbós became the new conductor. He was a violinist and conductor. He completely reorganized the orchestra and showed its new style in a big concert on April 16, 1905.

Fernández Arbós led the orchestra for more than thirty years! During his time, the orchestra decided what kind of music they would focus on. They especially wanted to promote Spanish composers and solo artists. They also developed their own special sound.

The orchestra also worked to reach more people. They offered lower ticket prices, had more seats available, and went on many tours. They played music by almost all the Spanish composers who were popular in the early 20th century. Famous guest conductors like Igor Stravinsky and Richard Strauss even came to lead the orchestra.

The orchestra also performed two important world premieres:

Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain with pianist José Cubiles in 1916.
Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto with violinist Robert Soetens in 1935. The composer himself was in the audience!

Challenging Times

The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) stopped the orchestra's activities. The orchestra tried to play concerts in Madrid, but many musicians were gone. Those who stayed struggled to survive. After the war, the orchestra went through a long period of difficulty. This started with the death of Fernández Arbós in 1939. Many musicians had also died during the war or left Spain after General Francisco Franco won.

In 1940, the Spanish National Orchestra was formed in Madrid. This new orchestra offered good salaries, and many musicians left the Madrid Symphony to join it. Some musicians stayed because they were loyal or because Franco's government didn't trust them. The orchestra had a hard time finding new string players. This was because music education had suffered, many string players were lost in the war, and it was hard to find European teachers during World War II. However, Enrique Jordá became the conductor in 1940 and helped guide the orchestra until 1945.

The Orchestra in the Opera Pit

In 1958, the orchestra's role changed a lot. It became the main orchestra for the Teatro de la Zarzuela. This meant they played in the pit for operas and zarzuelas, as well as performing on stage. They were very busy in the late 1950s and early 1960s, going on many tours in Spain and to Portugal and Latin America.

In 1965, another new orchestra, the Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE, was formed in Madrid. Again, some musicians left the Madrid Symphony to join it. In the 1970s, the Madrid Symphony focused mostly on playing for the Teatro de la Zarzuela. They made many recordings of zarzuelas and Spanish operas with the company Hispavox. These recordings were very important because they helped share Spanish stage music with more people. The orchestra played in all the productions at the Teatro de la Zarzuela, including a TV series called Antología de la Zarzuela in 1971.

However, the number of symphonic concerts they played during these years went down a lot. These concerts often took place in smaller venues. Many older musicians, who were working hard for low pay, decided to retire. It was hard to find new musicians, and the orchestra's musical quality suffered.

A New Beginning

After Franco's death in 1975, Spain began its move towards democracy. The Minister of Culture, Soledad Becerril, offered the orchestra a special contract. This contract would make them the only orchestra to play for operas, ballets, and zarzuelas at the Teatro de la Zarzuela. The orchestra was chosen because it was stable, experienced, famous, and located in Madrid. The contract was signed in July 1981. To meet the needs of the Teatro de la Zarzuela, the orchestra slowly reorganized to improve its quality.

The opening of the Auditorio Nacional de Música (National Music Auditorium) in Madrid gave the orchestra new opportunities. They could now play more symphonic concerts. They signed a new contract with the Community of Madrid to perform annual concert series in the new Auditorium. In 1997, the orchestra moved from the Teatro de la Zarzuela to become the main orchestra at the Teatro Real, which had recently reopened.

In 1999, the orchestra made some important new appointments. Luis Antonio García Navarro became the principal conductor, Kurt Sanderling became the honorary conductor, and Cristóbal Halffter became the composer associate. A choir was also formed to work with the orchestra, led by Martin Merry.

The Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid is now a very important cultural group in Madrid. It has started an "Orchestra School" to help educate young musicians, led by Andrés Zarzo.

From 2002 to 2010, after García Navarro passed away, the orchestra was led by Jesús López-Cobos, who was also the musical conductor of the Teatro Real.

Main Conductors

Here are some of the main conductors who have led the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid:

Alonso Cordelás (1903–1904)
Enrique Fernández Arbós (1905–1939)
Enrique Jordá (1940–1945)
Conrado del Campo (1946–1950)
José María Franco Bordóns (1951–1958)
Vicente Spiteri (1958–1977)
Luis Antonio García Navarro (1999–2001)
Jesús López-Cobos (2002–2010)