Eugene Ormandy

Eugene Ormandy conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra for 44 years, one of the longest tenures of a maestro and one orchestra. The Philadelphia under Ormandy's direction wad extremely popular, winning two Grammy Awards and being awarded three gold records for sales exceeding 500,000 units. The maestro was born Jeno Ormandy-Blau on November 18, 1899 in Budapest in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the son of Jewish parents. His father, Benjamin, was a dentist who was an amateur violinist. The five-year-old Jeno studied violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music and began performing at age seven. The prodigy graduated at the age of 14 from the Academy with a master's degree and got his teaching certificate at the age of 17. In addition to serving as concertmaster of Germany's Blüthner Orchestra, he performed as a soloist. He also found time to take a university degree in philosophy in 1920. In 1921, he emigrated to America with the promise of a tour. In America, he took the name "Eugene Ormandy", eventually becoming a citizen in 1927. He performed professionally in the 77-member orchestra of the Capitol Theatre in New York City, which provided the musical accompaniment to silent movies. He soon became the concertmaster and a conductor of the ensemble. As a violinist, Ormandy cut 16 recordings in the years 1923 through 1929. Ormandy first conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1931, filing in for Arturo Toscanini, was ill. His success with the Philadelphia led to his being awarded the baton to conduct the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra from 1931 through 1936. Ormandy and the Minneapolis recorded for RCA Victor. In 1936, he was appointed associate conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra under music director Leopold Stokowski, from whom he took over as principal conductor (music director) in 1938, a position he held until 1980. Ormandy achieved international renown in the City of Brotherly Love, creating the fabled "Philadelphia Sound." The Philadelphia Sound was rooted in lush string sonorities, legato phrasing and a rounded, voluptuous tone. The music he created was popular with audiences and the record-buying public, if not critics. Ormandy did not impose his personality on music, as did many great conductors. He sought to serve the work, approaching the music with intelligence, balance, and proper pacing. He created a sonic beauty comparable to Herbert von Karajan's work with the Berlin Philharmonic. Ormandy was noted for his performances of Romantic and post-Romantic music and particularly excelled at the music of Richard Strauss and Sergei Rachmaninov. In the 1930s, he and Rachmaninov developed a close relationship, and the Philadelphia premiered the composer's Symphonic Dances. Ormandy also conducted the American premieres of several of Dmitri Shostakovich's symphonies. The Philadelphia Orchestra, under his baton, became the first symphony to be broadcast on American TV in 1948. Ormandy received an honorary knighthood in 1976 as part of Queen Elizabeth II's observation of the American bicentennial. Eugene Ormandy retired as the Philadelphia Orchestra's music director in 1980. He died on March 12, 1985.