National Symphony Orchestra
Overview
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
that performs at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
For the first period of its history, the orchestra performed in Constitution Hall. During the tenure of the first music director, Hans Kindler
Hans Kindler
Johannes Hendrikus Philip "Hans" Kindler was an American cellist and conductor.Kindler was born in Rotterdam, The Netherlands where he attended the Rotterdams Conservatorium....
, the musicians received a salary of US$40.00 per week, for three rehearsals and one concert, for five months of the year.
Kindler and the orchestra made several 78-rpm recordings for RCA Victor, including the two Roumanian Rhapsodies by George Enescu
George Enescu
George Enescu was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher.-Biography:Enescu was born in the village of Liveni , Dorohoi County at the time, today Botoşani County. He showed musical talent from early in his childhood. A child prodigy, Enescu created his first musical...
; much later, in 1960, the orchestra would perform the first of these works under the baton of the visiting Romanian conductor George Georgescu
George Georgescu
George Georgescu was a Romanian conductor. The moving force behind the Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra for decades beginning shortly after World War I, a protégé of Artur Nikisch and a close associate of George Enescu, he received honors from the French and communist Romanian governments and...
, a close associate and favored exponent of the composer.
Unanswered Questions
