Boston Symphony Orchestra history

For nearly twenty years, BSO concerts were held in the old Boston Music Hall; Symphony Hall, one of the world’s most revered concert halls, opened on October 15, 1900.

In 1915 the orchestra made its first transcontinental trip, playing thirteen concerts at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco.

Karl Muck's arrest as an enemy alien in March 1918 signaled the end of German dominance within the orchestra.

He so impressed the Trustees and Boston audiences that he was offered the conductor position in 1919.

When the orchestra lost more than 30 of its members as a result of the March 1920 strike, a cool-headed Monteux rose to the occasion, keeping the season going with minimal disruption.

These appointments marked the beginning of a French tradition maintained, even during the Russian-born Serge Koussevitzky’s tenure (1924-49), with the employment of many French-trained musicians.

From 1933 onward he was based in Paris, directing all of the major French orchestras and cultivating his relationship with the younger French composers whose work he was to introduce to the United States during his fourteen years as BSO Music Director and successor to Koussevitzky.

An early associate of Otto Klemperer and Arturo Toscanini, he held positions in Cologne, Prague, Frankfurt, and Berlin before leaving Germany in 1936 to become co-founder and first conductor of the Palestine Orchestra, later known as the Israel Philharmonic.

Koussevitzky was succeeded in 1949 by Charles Munch, who continued supporting contemporary composers, introduced much French music to the repertoire, and led the BSO on its first international tours.

In 1956, the BSO, under the direction of Charles Munch, was the first American orchestra to tour the Soviet Union.

Seiji Ozawa became the BSO’s thirteenth music director in 1973.

In 1979, the BSO, under the direction of Seiji Ozawa, was the first American orchestra to tour mainland China after the normalization of relations.

Launched in 1996, the BSO’s website, bso.org, is the largest and most-visited orchestral website in the United States, receiving millions of visitors annually on its full site as well as its smart phone-/mobile device-friendly web format.

When he stepped down in 2002 after twenty-nine seasons, he had surpassed Serge Koussevitzky as the BSO's longest serving Music Director.