Orchestrette Classique
Encyclopedia
Orchestrette Classique, later called Orchestrette of New York
(1932–1943) was an American chamber orchestra in New York
made up of women musicians. Frédérique Petrides
(1903–1983), a pioneering woman conductor who led other orchestras in New York
, founded it in 1932 and served as its conductor until it ceased in 1943. Petrides also founded the West Side Orchestral Concerts.
lifted her baton to give the first downbeat to the all-women instrumentalists of her Orchestrette Classique, this was an anomaly. Petrides was a pioneer, one of the first women orchestral conductors at a time when the idea of a woman wielding a baton was almost unthinkable.
with the aim of becoming a conductor.
had learned that, in the 1930s
, the only avenue open to women conductors was to establish their own orchestras. And in 1933, she introduced the Orchestrette, an all-women chamber orchestra, which had, based on what was being played, thirty to forty players in the ensemble; and which gave five to six concerts annually in Carnegie Chamber Music Hall, now Weill Recital Hall.
composers.
Very little new music was being presented at the time and the Orchestrette premiered and played works by David Diamond
(Concerto for Chamber Orchestra), Commissioned Norman Dello Joio
, Aaron Copland
(Quiet City
), Samuel Barber
(Adagio for Strings), New York Premiere Paul Creston
(Partita for Flute and Violin with String Orchestra and Concerto for Marimba with Orchestra), Concerto Commissioned Julia Smith
(Episodic Suite), Commissioned Ulric Cole
(Two Sketches for String Orchestra), Henry Cowell
, American Melting Pot, Movement 1 Chorale: (Teutonic-American), World PremiereGian Carlo Menotti
(Pastorale), Ralph Vaughan Williams
, British composer (Flos Campi
), US Premiere and others.
The Orchestrette and Petrides received much coverage and praise in the press. Robert Simon, writing in the New Yorker
on December 12, 1936 sums this up, “She concocts some of the best programs in town.”
was a young composer and unknown, it was Frédérique Petrides
and her orchestra who premiered many of his compositions. Eventually his works were conducted by Toscanini, Stokowski
, Ormandy and others. When he wrote Chant of 1942 Toscanini requested his permission to premiere the composition. Creston refused, saying permission would be granted only after the Orchestrette of New York played it. The piece was dedicated to Petrides and he remained true to the conductor who had given him his early opportunities. Eventually he added to the piece, and the New York Philharmonic
programmed the composition."
From then on, until the end of her career in 1977, Frédérique Petrides
conducted mixed orchestras and continued to program little known compositions by classical composers, and premieres of new works.
edited and published the Women in Music
newsletters, under the auspices of the Orchestrette. The only music periodical of its kind, it chronicled and championed the activities of women musicians from ancient Egyptian times to the then present. It was a publication with a circulation of over 2,500.
'I kept my orchestra small because I wanted quality musicians--most of the women in the group were studying at the Curtis Institute, and the Juilliard School
. One must remember that at that time only a very few women played bassoon
, oboe
, horn
, clarinet
and trumpet
. Parents did not want their daughters playing these instruments because they were not considered ladylike.
My idea was to keep the Orchestrette small and show what could be accomplished by good musicians--I did not stress women musicians. They were talented and many of my players were trained by excellent teachers from the New York Philharmonic
.
The concerts were unique since I programmed little-known works by the great masters, as well as premiering new works by young American composers.
The concerts were usually given on Monday evenings because the Philharmonic Orchestra did not perform that evening, and the music critics were available. We added a new musical dimension to the life of the city.'"
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...
(1932–1943) was an American chamber orchestra in New York
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...
made up of women musicians. Frédérique Petrides
Frédérique Petrides
Frédérique Petrides , , was a Belgian-American conductor and violinist. In 1933, she founded and conducted the Orchestrette Classique in New York...
(1903–1983), a pioneering woman conductor who led other orchestras in New York
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...
, founded it in 1932 and served as its conductor until it ceased in 1943. Petrides also founded the West Side Orchestral Concerts.
A musical anomaly
When, in 1933, Frédérique PetridesFrédérique Petrides
Frédérique Petrides , , was a Belgian-American conductor and violinist. In 1933, she founded and conducted the Orchestrette Classique in New York...
lifted her baton to give the first downbeat to the all-women instrumentalists of her Orchestrette Classique, this was an anomaly. Petrides was a pioneer, one of the first women orchestral conductors at a time when the idea of a woman wielding a baton was almost unthinkable.
Founder and conductor, Frédérique Petrides' early years
On September 26, 1903, Frédérique Jeanne Elisabeth Petronella Mayer was born into a privileged life in Antwerp, Belgium. Her mother, Seraphine Sebrechts, an artist of many talents, was a well-known composer and pianist, as well as an accomplished painter and photographer. It was she who taught Frédérique theory and composition. And in 1923, the young musician emigrated to New YorkNew 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...
with the aim of becoming a conductor.
The Orchestrette
In 1931, she married journalist, Peter Petrides (Petros Agathangelos Petrides; 1896–1978), who wholeheartedly supported her career, and encouraged her to found the Orchestrette Classique, of which he became the manager and publicist. Frédérique PetridesFrédérique Petrides
Frédérique Petrides , , was a Belgian-American conductor and violinist. In 1933, she founded and conducted the Orchestrette Classique in New York...
had learned that, in the 1930s
1930s
File:1930s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson show the effects of the Great Depression; Due to the economic collapse, the farms become dry and the Dust Bowl spreads through America; The Battle of Wuhan during the Second Sino-Japanese...
, the only avenue open to women conductors was to establish their own orchestras. And in 1933, she introduced the Orchestrette, an all-women chamber orchestra, which had, based on what was being played, thirty to forty players in the ensemble; and which gave five to six concerts annually in Carnegie Chamber Music Hall, now Weill Recital Hall.
American composers
During its twelve year existence, the Orchestrette Classique, renamed the Orchestrette of New York in 1942, programmed little known works for small orchestra by established masters, and new work mainly by native and naturalized AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composers.
Very little new music was being presented at the time and the Orchestrette premiered and played works by David Diamond
David Diamond (composer)
David Leo Diamond was an American composer of classical music.-Life and career:He was born in Rochester, New York and studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Eastman School of Music under Bernard Rogers, also receiving lessons from Roger Sessions in New York City and Nadia Boulanger in...
(Concerto for Chamber Orchestra), Commissioned Norman Dello Joio
Norman Dello Joio
- Life :He was born Nicodemo DeGioio in New York City to Italian immigrants. He began his musical career as organist and choir director at the Star of the Sea Church on City Island in New York at age 14. His father was an organist, pianist, and vocal coach and coached many opera stars from the...
, Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
(Quiet City
Quiet City (music)
Quiet City is a well-known composition for trumpet, cor anglais, and string orchestra by Aaron Copland.In 1940, Copland wrote incidental music for the play Quiet City by Irwin Shaw. The next year he knitted some of it into a ten-minute piece composition designed to be performed independently of the...
), Samuel Barber
Samuel Barber
Samuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...
(Adagio for Strings), New York Premiere Paul Creston
Paul Creston
Paul Creston was an Italian American composer of classical music.Born in New York City to Sicilian immigrants, Creston was self‐taught as a composer. He was an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity, initiated into the national honorary Alpha Alpha chapter...
(Partita for Flute and Violin with String Orchestra and Concerto for Marimba with Orchestra), Concerto Commissioned Julia Smith
Julia Smith (composer)
Julia Frances Smith, PhD , was an American composer, pianist, and author on musicology.-Life and career:...
(Episodic Suite), Commissioned Ulric Cole
Ulric Cole
Frances Ulric Cole was an American pianist, editor, music educator and composer. She was born in New York and studied at the Institute of Musical Arts in New York, at Juilliard and in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. After completing her education she worked as a music teacher and as an editor for Time...
(Two Sketches for String Orchestra), Henry Cowell
Henry Cowell
Henry Cowell was an American composer, music theorist, pianist, teacher, publisher, and impresario. His contribution to the world of music was summed up by Virgil Thomson, writing in the early 1950s:...
, American Melting Pot, Movement 1 Chorale: (Teutonic-American), World PremiereGian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. He wrote the classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, among about two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular...
(Pastorale), Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
, British composer (Flos Campi
Flos Campi
Flos Campi: suite for solo viola, small chorus and small orchestra is a composition by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, completed in 1925. Its title is Latin for "flower of the field". It is neither a concerto nor a choral piece, although it prominently features the viola and a...
), US Premiere and others.
The Orchestrette and Petrides received much coverage and praise in the press. Robert Simon, writing in the New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
on December 12, 1936 sums this up, “She concocts some of the best programs in town.”
Premieres by the Orchestrette
- May 1, 1939 — Samuel BarberSamuel BarberSamuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...
Adagio for Strings Carnegie Chamber Chamber Music Hall, now Weill Recital Hall, (New York premiere) - May 3, 1943 — Henry CowellHenry CowellHenry Cowell was an American composer, music theorist, pianist, teacher, publisher, and impresario. His contribution to the world of music was summed up by Virgil Thomson, writing in the early 1950s:...
American Melting Pot: Set for Chamber Orchestra, Movement 1, Chorale (Teutonic- American) Carnegie Chamber Music Hall, now Weill Recital Hall, (world premiere) - April 29, 1940 — Paul CrestonPaul CrestonPaul Creston was an Italian American composer of classical music.Born in New York City to Sicilian immigrants, Creston was self‐taught as a composer. He was an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity, initiated into the national honorary Alpha Alpha chapter...
, Concertino for Marimba and Orchestra, Ruth Stuber, soloist, Carnegie Chamber Music Hall, now Weill Recital Hall, (world premiere) - October 14, 1940 — David DiamondDavid Diamond (composer)David Leo Diamond was an American composer of classical music.-Life and career:He was born in Rochester, New York and studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Eastman School of Music under Bernard Rogers, also receiving lessons from Roger Sessions in New York City and Nadia Boulanger in...
, Concerto in E-Flat Major, Lonnie Epstein, soloist (piano), Carnegie Chamber Music Hall, now Weill Recital Hall, (world premiere) - December 10, 1940 — Nikolai Myakowsky, Sinfonietta for String Orchestra, Carnegie Chamber Music Hall, now Weill Recital Hall, (US premiere)
An addendum of interest
"An added note of interest--when Paul CrestonPaul Creston
Paul Creston was an Italian American composer of classical music.Born in New York City to Sicilian immigrants, Creston was self‐taught as a composer. He was an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity, initiated into the national honorary Alpha Alpha chapter...
was a young composer and unknown, it was Frédérique Petrides
Frédérique Petrides
Frédérique Petrides , , was a Belgian-American conductor and violinist. In 1933, she founded and conducted the Orchestrette Classique in New York...
and her orchestra who premiered many of his compositions. Eventually his works were conducted by Toscanini, Stokowski
Stokowski
Stokowski is surname of:* Ferdynand Ignacy Stokowski , a Polish officer* Leopold Anthony Stokowski , a British-born American orchestral conductor** Olga Samaroff Stokowski...
, Ormandy and others. When he wrote Chant of 1942 Toscanini requested his permission to premiere the composition. Creston refused, saying permission would be granted only after the Orchestrette of New York played it. The piece was dedicated to Petrides and he remained true to the conductor who had given him his early opportunities. Eventually he added to the piece, and 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"...
programmed the composition."
A comment from a critic
The World Telegram on April 22, 1941 printed, "When Miss Petrides runs short of standard material, she never delves among the sub-standard. She seeks instead the new and unfamiliar, and not once in eight seasons of concerts has she offered dullness as a substitute for guaranteed pleasure."World War II
Because the Orchestrette of New York was an ensemble of outstanding women musicians, with the advent of the Second World War and the draft, many of its instrumentalists were, for the first time, offered positions in the major symphony orchestras, as replacements for their masculine counterparts who were joining the front lines. Petrides, not wanting to stand in the way of her players’ advancement, elected to disband the Orchestrette, which gave its last performance in 1943.From then on, until the end of her career in 1977, Frédérique Petrides
Frédérique Petrides
Frédérique Petrides , , was a Belgian-American conductor and violinist. In 1933, she founded and conducted the Orchestrette Classique in New York...
conducted mixed orchestras and continued to program little known compositions by classical composers, and premieres of new works.
The Orchestrette publication
In addition to leading the Orchestrette, from 1935 to 1940, with the help of her husband, Frédérique PetridesFrédérique Petrides
Frédérique Petrides , , was a Belgian-American conductor and violinist. In 1933, she founded and conducted the Orchestrette Classique in New York...
edited and published the Women in Music
Women in Music
Women in Music was an American newsletter founded in July 1935 by its publisher and editor, Frédérique Petrides, then the conductor of the Orchestrette Classique – an orchestra based in New York made-up of all women musicians. The publication ran until December 1940...
newsletters, under the auspices of the Orchestrette. The only music periodical of its kind, it chronicled and championed the activities of women musicians from ancient Egyptian times to the then present. It was a publication with a circulation of over 2,500.
About the musicians
"In 1981, some forty-eight years after she founded the Orchestrette Classique Madame Petrides said:'I kept my orchestra small because I wanted quality musicians--most of the women in the group were studying at the Curtis Institute, and the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
. One must remember that at that time only a very few women played bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
, oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
, horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
and trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
. Parents did not want their daughters playing these instruments because they were not considered ladylike.
My idea was to keep the Orchestrette small and show what could be accomplished by good musicians--I did not stress women musicians. They were talented and many of my players were trained by excellent teachers from 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"...
.
The concerts were unique since I programmed little-known works by the great masters, as well as premiering new works by young American composers.
The concerts were usually given on Monday evenings because the Philharmonic Orchestra did not perform that evening, and the music critics were available. We added a new musical dimension to the life of the city.'"
Images, guide to papers and miscellany
- Frédérique Petrides Images, New York Public Library
- Frédérique Petrides Papers. New York Public Library
- Julia Smith Correspondence Retrieved 2011-03-09
- The Women-in-Music-Movement, Then and Now. Keynote Address by Jeannie Pool, 1985 Retrieved 2011-03-08
Sources
- Frédérique Petrides Papers, Classmark JPB 83-3, Music Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing ArtsNew York Public Library for the Performing ArtsThe New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center houses one of the world's largest collections of materials relating to the performing arts. It is one of the four research centers of the New York Public Library's Research library system, and it is also one...
, Lincoln Center - Frédérique Petrides, Leader In Women's Music Activities, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, January 13, 1983 - Jan Bell Groh (1936– ), Evening the Score: Women in Music and the Legacy of Frédérique Petrides, University of Arkansas PressUniversity of Arkansas PressThe University of Arkansas Press is a university press that is part of the University of Arkansas. It was established in 1980, and the press issues an average of twenty titles per year. The press is a member of the Association of American University Presses....
, FayettevilleFayetteville, ArkansasFayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks...
(1991) - Jane Weiner LePage (1931–2008 ), Women composers, conductors, and musicians of the twentieth century, Volume ii, Scarecrow Press, Metuchen, New JerseyMetuchen, New JerseyMetuchen is a Borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, which is 8 miles northeast of New Brunswick, 18 miles southwest of Newark, 24 miles southwest of Jersey City, and 29 miles southwest of Manhattan, all part of the New York metropolitan area...
and LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(1983) - Women in Music – An Anthology of Source Readings from the Middle AgesMiddle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
to the Present, edited by Carol Neuls-Bates (1939– ), Harper & Row, PublishersHarper (publisher)Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins.-History:James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishing business J. & J. Harper in 1817. Their two brothers, Joseph Wesley Harper and Fletcher Harper, joined them...
(1982) - Pendle, Karin Swanson, PhD (1939– ), Women in Music, Indiana University PressIndiana University PressIndiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. It was founded in 1950. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana....
(2001)