Source: Universal Musical Society ¹

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Location:

Philadelphia, PA, USA

Summary:

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Founded:

1900

Status:

Professional – Full Time – One of the “Big Five” American Orchestras

Endowment:

$ 212 million (2019) ²

Music Director:

Yannick Nézet-Séguin (since 2012)

Address:

1 S Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107

Official Site:

Philadelphia Orchestra

LC Authority:

https://lccn.loc.gov/n80125008

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Contents:

-other

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Bass Section – Current:

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Section Members:

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Section Organization:

( All details on section organization and hierarchy here )

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Audition:

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Audition Procedures:

(To be entered: full description of all audition procedures)

Audition Lists:

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Current:

(A pdf of a current audition list to be linked here)

Historical:

(List and link all former audition in pdf docs chronologically )

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Bass Section – Historical Overview:

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Section Members – Alphabetical Listing:

You will find here citations of all bass section members from the time of the founding of orchestra in 1900 until present. The bassists are cited in alphabetical order, followed by the section status and the years they were active in that particular status.

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Section Members – Chronological Listing by Annual Seasons

You will find here citations of all bass section members for each individual concerts season, starting with the first one of 1900/1901 and up to the present-day one. Each season entry consists of the season years (commonly the fall and the spring years) followed by the the bass section list in the form of three columns: the Principal or Associated Principal,  the Assistant Principal, and the section members as cited in the official program books. In addition, the Legend abbreviations offer an easy orientation on when have particular members joined, rejoined, vacated or retired from the section. By following the legend and the general hierarchy of cited members you may notice interesting patterns on how and when have the particular members advanced in section hierarchy, and likewise, when have they joined, vacated, rejoined or retired.

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Bass Section – Instruments:

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This section offers a listing of all documented bass instruments that were used in the orchestra since its inception in 1900. The Philadelphia Orchestra has a tradition of passing valuable instruments from one bassist to another, and here you will see which instruments, and for how long, have stayed with the section. The table is divided in three columns: The make of the instrument with the year of production, the bassists who owned and played the instrument, and the years that the instrument has stayed with the section.

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Performance Legacy:

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Solo Concerts:

Sources:

The New International Year Book, A Compendium of the World’s Progress for the Year 1914. New York : Dodd, Mead, New York :  Funk & Wagnalls, 1915, p. 478. Online View

Citation, p. 478:

“At one of its regular concerts, the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra (Leopold Stokowsky) brought out one of its members, Paul Rahmig, as a soloist on the double bass. Probably not one in the audience had ever heard the bass virtuoso. The composition itself, a concertstück by Stein, though rather uniteresting, gave an excellent idea of the possibilities of the instrument, and showed Mr. Rahmig as a consumate artist.”

Note:

This solo by Rahmig could be one of the first, if not the very first US solo bass perfomance with the major symphony orchestra in the US.

( it would be interesting to investigate if a score of this Concertstück may still  reside at the PO library today? )

Classical.net – Stokowski Concert Register 1914 – Online View

[ please check the year and date for the relevant data on this concert ]
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Chamber Music Concerts

  ( Work in progress – more concerts to be listed )

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Noted Orchestra Concerts:

( Work in progress – no concerts listed at this time )

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Premieres:

This is certainly one of the most famous Philadelphia Orchestra premieres, since the “The Symphony of the Thousand,” as the work is also informally known, has been performed on this occasion by more then 1000 musicians and singers. The following pages offer additional details on this event and how it was perceived and greeted by the contemporary Philadelphians.

• Mahlerfoundation.org – American Premiere of the Symphony No. 8

• Philhllyhistory.org – Stokowski Introduces Mahler to Philadelphia

• University of Pennsylvania Library 2015 – Stokowski and Mahler Exhibition

• Boradtreetview.com – The Philadelphia Orchestra Performs Mahler’s Eight Symphony (2016 – centenary performance)

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Noted Recordings:

Solo:

Online Video
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Orchestra:

Philadelphia Orchestra has recorded the music for the seven, out of eight segments, for this famous Disney classic. The recordings took place in Philadelphia during the April of 1939, and used the most advanced recording technology of the time. The bass section was in fact honored by its own separate chanel during these recordiings, which may have been the very first time in history that such a procedure was used. More on the recording at:

Wiki – Fantasia – Recording

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Bibliography:

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Orchestra Histories:

Listed chronologically starting with the earliest one first.

Personnel of the Philadelphia Orchestra (1900-1925), Apendix F, pp. 201-212 – Online View

[ cites all bassists who played in the orchestra from 1900 to 1925 ]

Soloists Who Have Apperared with the Philadelphia Orchestra 1900-1925, p. 219 – Online View

• Paul Rahmig, Double Bass, 1914, p. 225 – Online View
• Anton Torello, Double Bass, 1914, 1917, 1920, 1921, p. 227 – Online View
• Anton Toreelo, A Brief Biography, pp. 229-230 – Online View

Partial List of “First Perfomances” in America, Appendix I, p. 232 – Online View
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Page 83. offers a small anecdote on how highly Stokowski esteemed his Philadelphia bass section. While he conducted the New York Philharmonic the bassists there “complained that they could not perform high notes in his Bach’s Fugue in G minor orchestra arrangement.” Stokowski’s prompt reply was “I’ve got nine (bass players) in Philadelphia who can play it on the bass” Online View
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“This volume celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Philadelphia Orchestra. It describes some its most renowned musical directors such as Stokowski and Muti, and introduces the musicians and supporters who make it possible, as well as examining the orchestra’s educational programmes.”

( further check of all bassists musicians who may be featured in this volume )

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Other Books:

This section offers a listing of all other books, whether individual biographies or the other genres, that may contain any relevant information on the Philadlphia Orchestra bass section and its members.

[ The record if this item is not very speciffic but it appears that the material may consist of the early press and news clippings and other data the illustrates the orchestra activities from 1898 to 1903. Thus likely, some of these materials may mention bass players as well. ]
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[ Cites the Principal Bassists Paul Rahmig as returning form Germany at about 1916, which at that time increased the size of the bass section to 9 bassists, p. 149  ]

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Discographies:

( to be checked for all solo bass, chamber music and orchestra recordings that may cover bass repertoire, bassists’ accomplishments and be of relevance to bass field in general )

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Interviews:

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Theses:

( further check: this thesis may likely present the accomplishments of some bass section members as well )
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[ a biographical sketch of Anton Torello at p. 82. – Online View ]

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Articles:

[ The article offers many interesting insights into the bass section during the tenure of Anton Torello, the Principal Bass, 1914-1948 ]

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Lectures:

( This section to list all lectures that pertain to the bass section and the accomplishments of PO individual bassists )

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Citations:

( This section to list all citations in all printed and other media with  relevant information on Philadelphia Orchestra bass section and bassists )

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Autographs:

( This section to list all autographs of relevance to Philadelphia Orchestra bass section members and their activities )

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Online Bibliography:

The Online Bibliography is designed to feature all online sources that may offer any additional information on Philadelphia Orchestra bass section and its individual members.

This is a very useful source as it lists literally all of the musicians who have played with the Philadelphia Orchestra since the ensemble was founded in 1900. It commonly offers the musicians’ dates, some biographical and genealogical information and the years of services with the orchestra. Much of the information in these listings is derived from the existing book sources written on the orchestra history, and with some information likely coming from the other sources. Not all of the listings and citations are complete or accurate, which is understandable given the magnitude of the task.
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Similarly to the Stokowski.org Musicians List (above), the Principal Musicians offers details on all principal musicians for each section. The Principal Double Basses division offers more details on each principal than the general orchestra musicians list, yet unfortunately it does not cite any references on where the information was gathered.

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Orchestra Archive:

At this time The Philadelphia Orchestra does not offer a separate Orchestra Archives page with a contact information. Please contact the Philadelphia Orchestra general address at the top of the page for assistance.

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Iconography:

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Orchestra:

1912

1916

1919 ?

1925

1935

[ The entire bass section of 9 bassists well visible, yet without Anton Torello who should be on the far right, and was likely not caught by camera. There should have been 10 bassists visible alltogether. Check the 1935/1936 season roster for the bass section members. ]

1939

[ Stokowski on his famous Silver Podium ]

[ The first stand bassists Anton Torello and Albin Hase visible ]

1945-1946

Undated 1940s-1960s ?

[ the entire bass section well visible ]

Undated 1970s-1980s ?

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Bass Section:

ca. 1940

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