San Francisco Symphony Orchestra Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids San Francisco Symphony

Background information
Also known as	SFS
Origin	San Francisco, California, United States
Genres	Classical
Occupation(s)	Symphony Orchestra
Years active	1911–present
Labels	BMG, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Philips, RCA Victor, SFS Media
Associated acts	SFS Chorus SFS Youth Orchestra

Members	Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas Conductor Laureate Herbert Blomstedt Associate Conductor James Gaffigan Resident Conductor Benjamin Schwartz SFS Chorus Conductor Ragnar Bohlin

Past members	Founder Henry Hadley

The San Francisco Symphony (SFS) is a world-famous orchestra located in San Francisco, California. They play classical music. Michael Tilson Thomas has been their main conductor (also called "musical director") since 1995.

History of the San Francisco Symphony
Music Directors
Images for kids
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History of the San Francisco Symphony

The orchestra started in 1911. It was founded by a conductor named Henry Hadley. Back then, they only had sixty musicians. They played both pop concerts and classical music.

Early Years and Challenges

In 1915, Alfred Hertz became the conductor. He made the orchestra play much better. He even did some radio broadcasts in the late 1920s. Hertz retired in 1930. After him, Basil Cameron and Issay Dobrowen led the orchestra.

During the Great Depression, the orchestra had very little money. They could not play at all during the 1934-35 season. But the people of San Francisco worked hard to find money for the orchestra. This helped them to keep going.

New Beginnings and Famous Conductors

The famous French conductor Pierre Monteux was asked to help the orchestra. He made them sound great again. Soon, the orchestra was asked to make more recordings. In 1949, Monteux invited Arthur Fiedler to lead summer "pops" concerts. Fiedler worked with the orchestra until the mid-1970s.

When Monteux left in 1952, many conductors led the orchestra. These included Leopold Stokowski, Georg Solti, and Bruno Walter.

Two years later, the young Spanish conductor Enrique Jordá became the music director. He had a lot of energy. Sometimes, his baton would even fly out of his hand! But over time, the orchestra was not happy with Jordá. They felt he could not control them well. He also did not rehearse them enough. After some strong comments from George Szell, another conductor, Jordá left the orchestra.

Strict Training and Exciting Performances

In 1963, the Austrian conductor Josef Krips became the music director. He was very strict. He rehearsed the musicians in great detail. He started a fun tradition: a special concert every New Year's Eve. It was called "A Night in Old Vienna." It featured music by Johann Strauss and other composers from 19th century Vienna.

The Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa was next. His concerts were very exciting. They always sold out! The orchestra made many recordings with him. He sometimes conducted operas and ballets. He also used university choirs for big choral pieces.

Ozawa was followed by Edo de Waart, a young Dutch conductor. He was not as flashy as Ozawa. But he kept the orchestra's quality very high. He led the orchestra's first performances in the new Davies Symphony Hall. The orchestra used the hall's huge new organ. They played works like Saint-Saëns' Third Symphony. In de Waart's last season, 1984-85, they performed Mahler's huge Eighth Symphony. It included many choirs and was sold out four times!

World Tours and Modern Excellence

The orchestra started doing world tours under their next conductor, Herbert Blomstedt. He made the orchestra's sound even better. He is still an honorary conductor today. He is called the Conductor Laureate.

Michael Tilson Thomas became the music director in 1995. He had conducted the London Symphony Orchestra before. He also guest-conducted the San Francisco Symphony in 1974. He made sure the orchestra played more American music. They also played a lot of Russian music. The orchestra's playing is still excellent today.