Henry Lee Higginson creates the Boston Symphony Orchestra May 23, 1889; Boston Monument; Merry Christmas to All!

Henery Lee Higginson bust by Bela Lyon Pratt is just another tribute to great Boston leadership; this time in classical music.

On March 30, 1881, Higginson published in Boston newspapers his plan for a Boston Symphony Orchestra that would perform as a "full and permanent orchestra, offering the best music at low prices, such as may be found in all the large European cities." He advised his first music director, George Henschel , to hire only local musicians for the first year so as to avoid creating bad blood in local musical circles. For the first season's series of 20 concerts, prices were set at $10 or $5 for the whole series. Single ticket prices were set at 75 and 25 cents. For the weekly afternoon public rehearsal, seats were unreserved and all priced at 25 cents. The concert venue was the Boston Music Hall  and the orchestra would travel locally, offering concerts in such cities as Providence Portland, and Worcester, as well as several in Cambridge at Harvard University's Sanders Theathre.^] Soon, to address concerns about the availability of tickets, 505 tickets for the afternoon rehearsal concerts were sold for 25 cents to those who joined the queue outside the hall in advance of the performance. Tours to more distant cities followed, starting with Philadelphia and then New York. Casual summer concerts began in 1885.

"The scheme, half-baked, no doubt, was simply this: to give concerts of good music, very well performed, in such style as we had all heard for years in Europe; to make fair prices for the tickets and then open wide the doors."

-Henry Lee Higginson
May 23, 1889^[

For many years, the organization accepted support from no one other than Higginson, who made up the annual deficit himself. The annual deficit he had to make up never exceeded $52,000.From the very beginning through at least the first 30 years of the BSO, through Julius Epstein, a Jewish friend in Vienna, Higginson had access to a continuous stream of the best conductors in the world, all European and German-speaking. In 1906, he sent instructions to those hiring on his behalf that the person they choose should understand that Higginson cared neither for modern music nor "the extreme modern style of conducting." He elaborated his tastes in another letter:

If you see Walter or Mengelberg, you will have to say to them . . . that I do know something about music, and that I have very distinct ideas as to how music should be played; that I shall not meddle with modern music, but that I shall certainly ask them to play the classics as they were played. I was brought up in the Vienna school (as you know) and there were plenty of men living then who had heard Beethoven conduct, as well as Mendelssohn, and knew how he wished his music given. I have known Brahms myself and heard his music. You know well enough what I wish, and I shall not interfere unduly with any of these men, but I don't want crazy work (such as sometimes even Nikisch gave us, and Paur gave us too often), and perhaps you had better tell them that I hate noise.

Happy Holidays to all! "Boston Bronze and Stone Speak To Us" can purchased at Old North Church Gift Store, Best Sellers Cafe Bookstore, Malden, Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble book stores.