Elkan Naumburg
Encyclopedia
Elkan Naumburg was a New York City
merchant, banker, philanthropist
and musicologist, best remembered for his sponsorship of the arts in Manhattan
. From the last quarter of the nineteenth century, he used his wealth to promote public interest in symphonic and "semi-classical" music by founding the Oratorio Society of New York
and funding construction of the Naumburg Bandshell, which honors his name, on the Concert Ground of Central Park's Mall.
Naumburg was born in Treuchtlingen
, Bavaria in 1835, and emigrated to the United States at age 15. He settled first in Baltimore
, where he took a liking to chamber music
. An amateur pianist with no formal training, he was unable at that time to afford purchasing concert tickets for famous performers like Vieuxtemps and Thalberg
.
In 1853, at age 18, he moved to New York City, where he initiated a business career that was first highlighted as a successful merchant
and then a merchant banker. He founded E. Naumburg & Co. in 1893 - one of the largest 'commercial paper
' banks on Wall Street. Their chief rival was Goldman Sachs. The parlor of his Manhattan townhouse
hosted pianists, opera
singers and string quartet
s, and soon became a forum for celebrities of the music field. With his success he chose to make access to fine music available to a broader public in New York, as one of his principal legacies. In 1873, Naumburg and Leopold Damrosch founded the Oratorio Society of New York in the 'back parlor' of his 23rd Street home. His wife, Bertha Wehle Naumburg (1843-97) gave it that name. Richard Arnold
, Leopold Damrosch
, Marcella Sembrich
, Theodore Thomas and others performed weekly in the Naumburg family parlor during the 1870s, 80s and 90s, entertaining such Gilded Age
critics and artists as Henry Theophilus Finck
and Albert Henry Krehbiel
.
In 1890, Elkan Naumburg founded the New York Philharmonic
's first pension fund
, and later helped introduce renowned conductors like Vasily Ilyich Safonov
and Willem Mengelberg
to that orchestra.
He soon got the idea of presenting free symphonic concerts in Central Park
. Patterned after concerts conducted by Theodore Thomas in Central Park Garden, the Naumburg Concerts commenced in 1905, and have continued without interruption ever since, almost always in Central Park. Originally performed on Central Park's Mall in an octagonal, pagoda
-shaped bandstand
designed by Jacob Wrey Mould
, the programs featured popular waltz
es, abbreviated operas, one or two movements of a symphony, or short aria
s, performed for audiences of strolling or picnicking Manhattanites, many of whom took to dancing as dusk fell and the gas lights came on.
In 1912, the old wood and cast iron
bandstand was deemed inadequate, so Naumburg offered the city $125,000 to build a new bandshell of cast and Indiana limestone
details. His nephew, the architect William G. Tachau
(1875-1969), designed the structure -- an innovative half-dome on a high section of drum, which later came into frequent use -- in 1916. Building began in 1921, and it opened on September 29, 1923, with a 60-piece orchestra conducted by Franz Kaltenborn playing selections from "Aida
" and "Carmen
", the William Tell Overture
, the Blue Danube Waltz, and movements from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony
and Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture
. The concert closed with a new march
, "On the Mall," by Edwin Franko Goldman
, dedicated to 88-year-old Elkan Naumburg, who was in attendance.
Elkan Naumburg died the next year, in 1924, but his sons Walter W. and George W. continued the free concerts in Central Park. Walter W. Naumburg permanently endowed the concerts in 1959, through a provision in his will. Walter W. Naumburg also continued the family tradition of supporting classical music by establishing the Walter W. Naumburg Prize in 1926, and when he died in 1959, his will provided for the perpetuation of both the free Naumburg Orchestral Concerts in Central Park and the Prize. Elkan's grandniece, Eleanor Naumburg Sanger, later co-founded WQXR
, New York's classical music radio station, and Elkan's grandson Philip H. Naumburg helped found the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival
. A great-grandson of Elkan Naumburg, Christopher W. London, currently runs the concert series and foundation aided by a board of trustees, and with the public support of the 'Friends of the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts'.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
merchant, banker, philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
and musicologist, best remembered for his sponsorship of the arts in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. From the last quarter of the nineteenth century, he used his wealth to promote public interest in symphonic and "semi-classical" music by founding the Oratorio Society of New York
Oratorio Society of New York
The Oratorio Society of New York is a non-profit membership organization which performs choral music in the oratorio style. The Society was founded in 1873 by conductor Leopold Damrosch, and it is New York City's second oldest cultural organization...
and funding construction of the Naumburg Bandshell, which honors his name, on the Concert Ground of Central Park's Mall.
Naumburg was born in Treuchtlingen
Treuchtlingen
Treuchtlingen is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany.-Geography:Treuchtlingen is situated on the river Altmühl, 9 km southwest of Weißenburg in Bayern, and 45 km northeast of Donauwörth...
, Bavaria in 1835, and emigrated to the United States at age 15. He settled first in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, where he took a liking to chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
. An amateur pianist with no formal training, he was unable at that time to afford purchasing concert tickets for famous performers like Vieuxtemps and Thalberg
Thalberg
Thalberg is a surname of Germanic origin; it can be literally translated as "valley hill":* Edith Norma Thalberg* Sigismond Thalberg , composer** List of compositions by Sigismond Thalberg* Irving Grant Thalberg , film producer...
.
In 1853, at age 18, he moved to New York City, where he initiated a business career that was first highlighted as a successful merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
and then a merchant banker. He founded E. Naumburg & Co. in 1893 - one of the largest 'commercial paper
Commercial paper
In the global money market, commercial paper is an unsecured promissory note with a fixed maturity of 1 to 270 days. Commercial Paper is a money-market security issued by large banks and corporations to get money to meet short term debt obligations , and is only backed by an issuing bank or...
' banks on Wall Street. Their chief rival was Goldman Sachs. The parlor of his Manhattan townhouse
Townhouse
A townhouse is the term historically used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and in many other countries to describe a residence of a peer or member of the aristocracy in the capital or major city. Most such figures owned one or more country houses in which they lived for much of the year...
hosted pianists, opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singers and string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
s, and soon became a forum for celebrities of the music field. With his success he chose to make access to fine music available to a broader public in New York, as one of his principal legacies. In 1873, Naumburg and Leopold Damrosch founded the Oratorio Society of New York in the 'back parlor' of his 23rd Street home. His wife, Bertha Wehle Naumburg (1843-97) gave it that name. Richard Arnold
Richard Arnold
Richard Arnold may refer to:*Richard Arnold * Richard Arnold , Major General in the American Civil War* Richard Arnold , former Star Trek Archivist for Paramount Studios...
, Leopold Damrosch
Leopold Damrosch
Leopold Damrosch was a German American orchestral conductor.- Biography :Damrosch was born in Posen , Kingdom of Prussia, and began his musical education at the age of nine, learning the violin against the wishes of his parents, who wanted him to become a doctor...
, Marcella Sembrich
Marcella Sembrich
Marcella Sembrich was the stage name of the Polish coloratura soprano, Prakseda Marcelina Kochańska...
, Theodore Thomas and others performed weekly in the Naumburg family parlor during the 1870s, 80s and 90s, entertaining such Gilded Age
Gilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age refers to the era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States during the post–Civil War and post-Reconstruction eras of the late 19th century. The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded...
critics and artists as Henry Theophilus Finck
Henry Theophilus Finck
Henry Theophilus Finck was an American musical critic, born at Bethel, Missouri, and raised in Portland, Oregon, where he was taught piano and violincello. He taught himself Latin and Greek so thoroughly that he was able to enter Harvard as a sophomore in 1872...
and Albert Henry Krehbiel
Albert Henry Krehbiel
Albert Henry Krehbiel , was an American artist who was born in Denmark, Iowa and who taught, lived and worked for many years in Chicago. Although educated as a realist in Paris, which is reflected in his neoclassical mural works, soon developed a strong appreciation for impressionism and is mainly...
.
In 1890, Elkan Naumburg founded the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
's first pension fund
Pension fund
A pension fund is any plan, fund, or scheme which provides retirement income.Pension funds are important shareholders of listed and private companies. They are especially important to the stock market where large institutional investors dominate. The largest 300 pension funds collectively hold...
, and later helped introduce renowned conductors like Vasily Ilyich Safonov
Vasily Ilyich Safonov
Vasily Ilyich Safonov was a Russian pianist, teacher, conductor and composer.Safonov, or Safonoff as he was known in the West during his lifetime, was born at Itschory, Russian Caucasus, the son of a Russian officer of Cossacks. He was educated at the Imperial Alexandra Lyceum, Saint Petersburg,...
and Willem Mengelberg
Willem Mengelberg
Joseph Willem Mengelberg was a Dutch conductor, famous for his performances of Mahler and Strauss with the Concertgebouw Orchestra.- Biography :...
to that orchestra.
He soon got the idea of presenting free symphonic concerts in Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
. Patterned after concerts conducted by Theodore Thomas in Central Park Garden, the Naumburg Concerts commenced in 1905, and have continued without interruption ever since, almost always in Central Park. Originally performed on Central Park's Mall in an octagonal, pagoda
Pagoda
A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist,...
-shaped bandstand
Bandstand
A bandstand is a circular or semicircular structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts...
designed by Jacob Wrey Mould
Jacob Wrey Mould
Jacob Wrey Mould was an architect, illustrator, linguist and musician, noted for his contributions to the design and construction of New York City's Central Park...
, the programs featured popular waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
es, abbreviated operas, one or two movements of a symphony, or short aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
s, performed for audiences of strolling or picnicking Manhattanites, many of whom took to dancing as dusk fell and the gas lights came on.
In 1912, the old wood and cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
bandstand was deemed inadequate, so Naumburg offered the city $125,000 to build a new bandshell of cast and Indiana limestone
Indiana Limestone
Indiana Limestone, also known as Bedford Limestone is a common regional term for Salem limestone, a geological formation primarily quarried in south central Indiana between Bloomington and Bedford....
details. His nephew, the architect William G. Tachau
William G. Tachau
William G. Tachau, AIA, was an American architect active in early- to mid-twentieth-century New York City. With Lewis Pitcher, he was a partner in the architectural firm of Pitcher & Tachau from 1904 to 1919 when he established the firm of Tachau & Vought. Both firms from 1918 onward specialized...
(1875-1969), designed the structure -- an innovative half-dome on a high section of drum, which later came into frequent use -- in 1916. Building began in 1921, and it opened on September 29, 1923, with a 60-piece orchestra conducted by Franz Kaltenborn playing selections from "Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
" and "Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
", the William Tell Overture
William Tell Overture
The William Tell Overture is the instrumental introduction to the opera Guillaume Tell by Gioachino Rossini. William Tell premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini's 39 operas, after which he went into semi-retirement, although he continued to compose cantatas, sacred music and secular vocal...
, the Blue Danube Waltz, and movements from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony
Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)
The Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, was written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1804–08. This symphony is one of the most popular and best-known compositions in all of classical music, and one of the most often played symphonies. It comprises four movements: an opening sonata, an andante, and a fast...
and Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture
1812 Overture
The Year 1812, Festival Overture in E flat major, Op. 49, popularly known as the 1812 Overture or the Overture of 1812 is an overture written by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1880 to commemorate Russia's defense of Moscow against Napoleon's advancing Grande Armée at the Battle of...
. The concert closed with a new march
March (music)
A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
, "On the Mall," by Edwin Franko Goldman
Edwin Franko Goldman
Edwin Franko Goldman is one of America's prominent band composers of the early 20th century. He composed over 150 works, more notably his marches. He is known for founding the renowned Goldman Band of New York City and the American Bandmasters Association...
, dedicated to 88-year-old Elkan Naumburg, who was in attendance.
Elkan Naumburg died the next year, in 1924, but his sons Walter W. and George W. continued the free concerts in Central Park. Walter W. Naumburg permanently endowed the concerts in 1959, through a provision in his will. Walter W. Naumburg also continued the family tradition of supporting classical music by establishing the Walter W. Naumburg Prize in 1926, and when he died in 1959, his will provided for the perpetuation of both the free Naumburg Orchestral Concerts in Central Park and the Prize. Elkan's grandniece, Eleanor Naumburg Sanger, later co-founded WQXR
WQEW
WQEW is a Radio Disney affiliate licensed to New York City. Its transmitter is located in Maspeth, Queens. WQEW has a transmitter power of 50,000 watts and is listed as a Clear-channel station...
, New York's classical music radio station, and Elkan's grandson Philip H. Naumburg helped found the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival
Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival
The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival is a six week long summer Festival of chamber music held annually in July and August and located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was founded in 1972 and presented its first series of concerts in 1973. Well-known musicians and young performers appear each season in...
. A great-grandson of Elkan Naumburg, Christopher W. London, currently runs the concert series and foundation aided by a board of trustees, and with the public support of the 'Friends of the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts'.