Hale, Philip. BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PROGRAMMES FOR THE 1917-1918 SEASON. Dr. Karl Muck, conductor, replaced by Ernst Schmidt. With Historical and Descriptive Notes by Philip Hale. (24 issues bound in one volume). Boston: C.A. Ellis, Manager, 1917-1918. Octavo, 8-1/2 inches high by 5-7/8 inches wide. 24 programs bound together without the original wraps into three-quarter black morocco & marbled boards. The joints are split and the leather is heavily rubbed, with the front cover nearly detached. The contents consist of 1,508 consecutively numbered pages. A number of pictorial black-and-white ads are included; however, the 14-16 pages of ads at the end of each program were not bound in. There is some soiling to the blank endpapers else the contents are clean and in very good condition.
Karl Muck was the music director until the end of March 1918. He was arrested around midnight on March 25. He was falsely accused of refusing to perform the Star Spangled Banner after the entry of the US into World War 1. He and his wife were imprisoned until August 21, 1919 and were then deported. When Karl Muck was arrested as an "enemy alien", Ernst Schmidt became the temporary conductor for the remainder of the season. Ernst Schmidt was a first violin of the Boston Symphony for four seasons 1914-1918 and he was conductor of the Boston Pops in the 1915 summer Pops season. He was also an active composer.
This volume includes the programs for 24 concerts from October 12, 1917 through May 4, 1918 with historical and descriptive notes throughout by Philip Hale. The volume includes 19 pages of highly useful indexes and summaries at the end. Among the soloists featured in these concerts were pianists Ethel Leginska, Frances Nash, Guiomar Novaes and Ossip Gabrilowitsch. Singers included Mabel Garrison, Nellie Melba and John McCormack. Violinists who performed as soloists included Irma Seydel,, Sylvain Noak, Anton Witek and Efrem Zimbalist. Other soloists included cellists Heinrich Warnke and Joseph Malkin, violist Emil Ferir and clarinetist Albert Sand.
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