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33-626: The Quartet was originally brought together when two students of Jenő Hubay  – Sándor Végh on violin and Dénes Koromzay on viola – as well as violinist Zoltán Székely and violoncellist Pál Hermann , were recruited in 1937. At that point Sándor Végh moved to the second violin desk, and in 1940 he left to found the Végh Quartet . He was then replaced by the Russian Alexandre Moszkowsky. The Quartet had made its debut in 1935, and met with swift success. Szekely

66-469: A 1967 study, "there was a singular reluctance in musical circles to admit him into the ranks of great conductors". He was thought superficial; Toscanini dismissed him as "an ideal conductor of Johann Strauss" and a similar remark is attributed to Igor Stravinsky . Donald Peck, principal flute of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra , reports that a fellow flutist was won over when Ormandy conducted

99-713: A German family of musicians in Pest, Hungary. He adopted the Hungarian version of his name, Jenő Hubay, in his twenties, while living in the French-speaking world. Hubay was trained in violin and music by his father, Karl Huber ( Károly Huber , later Károly Hubay ) from Varjas ( Romanian : Variaș ), concertmaster of the Hungarian Royal Opera House and a teacher at the Budapest College of Music . His mother

132-664: A dentist and amateur violinist, and Rozália Berger. His musical talents emerged early. Blau received his first violin lessons from his father at the age of three and a half and was proficient enough as a violinist to enter the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five, being the youngest student to date. From 1909 a student of Jenő Hubay , he passed the finals in chamber music and in violin in spring of 1915. From 1917 Blau undertook first tours in Hungary and Germany; among other things as concertmaster of

165-527: A separation," Mrs. Ormandy reported. However, she later filed for divorce, decreed 4 August 1947 "on grounds of extreme mental cruelty." Following the divorce she joined the faculty at the Philadelphia Music Academy while announcing plans to resume her performing. On 15 May 1950 Ormandy married Margaret Frances Hiltsch (1909–1998) in a civil ceremony in Philadelphia. In a statement released by

198-473: Is dedicated to him and the orchestra, Bartók's Piano Concerto No.3 , Britten's Diversions for Piano Left Hand and Orchestra and music by Ginastera , Hindemith , Martinů , Milhaud , Villa-Lobos and Webern . He did not neglect American composers, and among premieres he gave were works by Samuel Barber , David Diamond , Walter Piston , Ned Rorem , William Schuman , Roger Sessions and Virgil Thomson . Schonberg concluded his study of Ormandy with

231-503: The Beethoven quartets, both recorded in Paris : Jen%C5%91 Hubay Jenő Hubay von Szalatna ( Hungarian : szalatnai Hubay Jenő [ˈhubɒi ˈjɛnøː] ; 15 September 1858 – 12 March 1937), also known by his German name Eugen Huber ( pronounced [ˈɔʏɡeːn ˈhuːbɐ, ˈɔʏɡn̩ -] ), was a Hungarian violinist , composer and music teacher. Hubay was born into

264-532: The Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra , a post he held from 1931 to 1936. In this post he became nationally known in the US through his recordings, which included the first versions on disc of Kodály's Háry János suite and Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht . In 1936 he returned to Philadelphia as joint conductor with Leopold Stokowski . After two years he became the orchestra's sole music director; he held

297-589: The Peabody Mason Concert series. In 1958 the quartet completed a Southern Africa tour, much appreciated by the local audience In the 1966 issue recordings of the Beethoven cycle, it is stated that Székely plays the 'Michelangelo' Stradivarius (1718), Kuttner plays the 'Santa Theresa' Petrus Guarnerius (1704), Koromzay plays a 1766 instrument by M. Decanet, and Magyar has a cello by Alessandro Gagliano of 1706. (Examples) There are two complete cycles of

330-539: The Austro-Hungarian Empire, he used "Jenő B. Ormándy". At the time of his arrival in America in 1921, he was using "Jeno Blau", but by 1925 he was going by "Eugene Ormandy". The origin of the surname "Ormandy" is uncertain. Speculation that it was either his middle name or that of his mother appears to be unfounded. His father changed his surname to "Ormándi" on March 22, 1937, a few weeks before emigrating to

363-521: The Berlin Blüthner Orchestra . In 1918 he became briefly professor for violin at his old university. From 1917 to 1920 he also completed a degree in philosophy. Motivated by promises made by a dubious impresario , he emigrated to the US in 1921. Until 1918 Ormandy used the stage name "Eugen Blau" in public performances, "Eugen" being the German equivalent of "Jenő". About 1919, after the end of

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396-500: The Chicago in Beethoven 's Ninth Symphony ; he told Peck that it was the greatest Ninth he had ever heard. The conductor Kenneth Woods ranked Ormandy 14th of the "Real Top 20 of Conducting," saying, Schonberg called Ormandy "an excellent technician with a technicolored approach". Grove comments that Ormandy may have contributed to this image by concentrating on the late-Romantic and early 20th-century repertory that showed to advantage

429-637: The Italians Gianni Pavovich , and Wanda Luzzato . He also taught the African American jazz violinist Eddie South . As a soloist, Hubay gained the praise of Vieuxtemps, Johannes Brahms and many others. As a chamber musician , he formed two string quartets , one while he was in Brussels and one with David Popper during his Budapest ( Budapest Quartet ) years. With Popper, he performed chamber music on more than one occasion with Brahms, including

462-602: The Philadelphia Orchestra Association, the two were described as "family friends for many years [...] Mrs. Ormandy came to the United States about 12 years ago from Vienna [...] shortly thereafter she became an American citizen. During the war years Mrs. Ormandy became a licensed pilot in preparation for the WASP training program. However, as the unit was then disbanded, she enlisted in the U.S. Navy and for two years

495-522: The Philadelphia Orchestra, but continued to appear as its conductor laureate. His last concert was with his Philadelphia colleagues at Carnegie Hall on January 10, 1984. His tenure, as chief conductor and then laureate was the longest unbroken association between a conductor and a major American orchestra. He died of pneumonia at his home in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , on March 12, 1985, at

528-694: The Philadelphians began a 23-year association with Columbia Records . His many recordings for Columbia include the first US recording of the Fourth Symphony of Dmitri Shostakovich and the first ever recording of Mahler's Tenth Symphony in the performing version by Deryck Cooke. (Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra gave the first public performance of the Mahler/Cooke Symphony No. 10 at the express invitation of Mahler's widow Alma.) In 1968, conductor and orchestra returned to RCA Victor, recording for

561-544: The United States. Arthur Judson , the most powerful manager of American classical music during the 1930s, first heard Ormandy when he conducted (as a freelancer) for a dance recital at Carnegie Hall by Isadora Duncan ; Judson later said, "I came to see a dancer and instead heard a conductor." At Judson's instigation Ormandy substituted for the indisposed Arturo Toscanini with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1931. This led to an appointment as musical director of

594-557: The age of 85. In honor of Ormandy's vast influence on American music and the Philadelphia performing arts community, on December 15, 1972, he was awarded the University of Pennsylvania Glee Club Award of Merit. He was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II as an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1976, and received of Yale University 's Sanford Medal . He

627-465: The ancient setting. The Hubay prize has been awarded by the Franz Liszt Academy of Music to a number of eminent violinists: Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau ; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra , as its music director. His 44-year association with

660-541: The city's Academy of Music. Soon after arriving in New York she took a position at Capitol Theatre where Ormandy was a violinist. For more than a decade she was harpist for the New York Philharmonic, the only woman on its roster. The two later did broadcast performances on WABC radio, where Ormandy was one of the staff conductors. In the fall of 1946, the couple parted. "There is no talk now of divorce [...] It's just

693-446: The compositional style of his chamber music partner, David Popper, continue the tradition of the German romantics such as Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann . Hubay's output also contains several operas, including The Venus of Milo , The Violin-Maker of Cremona , The Mask and Anna Karenina (after Leo Tolstoy ). The opening of The Venus of Milo is based on whole tone scales and archaisms that perhaps are meant to suggest

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726-422: The label until 1981. His recordings of Saint-Saëns 's Symphony No. 3, "Organ'" were considered the best ever produced by Fanfare Magazine which remarked of the 1974 RCA Red Seal recording with organist Virgil Fox : "This beautifully played performance outclasses all versions of this symphony." The Telarc recording of the symphony with Michael Murray from 1980 is also highly praised. Under Ormandy's baton,

759-438: The lush sound he could command in works by composers such as Debussy , Ravel , Richard Strauss and Tchaikovsky . Schonberg commented that Ormandy programmed very little Haydn or Mozart and approached Beethoven "in a rather gingerly manner". He conducted much less new music than his predecessor, Stokowski, had done, but did not ignore it, and gave the premieres of works including Rachmaninoff 's Symphonic Dances , which

792-529: The orchestra is one of the longest enjoyed by any conductor with any American orchestra. Ormandy made numerous recordings with the orchestra, and as guest conductor with European orchestras, and achieved three gold records and two Grammy Awards . His reputation was as a skilled technician and expert orchestral builder. Ormandy was born in Budapest , Austria-Hungary , as Jenő Blau, the son of Jewish parents Benjamin Blau,

825-590: The post for 42 years (1938–1980), before stepping down to be its conductor laureate. He took the Philadelphia Orchestra on several national and international tours, and appeared as a guest conductor with other orchestras in Europe, Australia, South America and East Asia. Ormandy built on what Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians calls "Stokowski's voluptuous 'Philadelphia Sound'" and added further polish and precision. Despite, or even because of, this, among many music critics and others, as Harold C. Schonberg opined in

858-402: The premiere of Brahms's Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor , Op. 101. Among his earliest recordings are ten-inch acoustic discs, dating from 1910, on which he was accompanied by the composer Zsigmond Vincze . Hubay composed four violin concertos and a very large number of encore pieces. His concertos incorporate themes from Hungarian music, and his "gentle breeze" pieces, which share features of

891-448: The words, "Ormandy does not conduct with the overwhelming personality of a Furtwängler , or with the ferocity and clarity of a Toscanini, or with the immense knowledge and classicism of a Szell . But he has carved out an area for himself, and within it he is secure, a perfect workman and a sensitive interpreter. And it is an area that takes in a great deal more than Strauss waltzes". In 1980, aged 80, Ormandy retired as chief conductor of

924-582: The world in the brilliant career which the group achieved after 1945. In 1950 they settled in the USA. In around 1956 the cello, and around 1960 the second violin desk, was reassigned, and in this new form the Quartet continued to maintain its busy programme of performance until 1972, while also undertaking teaching positions and the coaching of younger instrumentalists. In 1957, the newly configured Quartet performed in Boston for

957-520: Was a friend of Béla Bartók 's, and the group became rapidly known by giving the Hungarian première performance of the Bartok 5th Quartet, which it studied with the composer. By 1938, the group had been heard in every major city of Western Europe. During the war they were trapped in the Netherlands , and devoted the period to the intensive study of the Beethoven quartets, which were subsequently launched upon

990-609: Was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1977. After Ormandy's death the US Congress and President Ronald Reagan declared that November 18 would be "Eugene Ormandy Appreciation Day", with a recognition ceremony held on that date at the Academy of Music. On 8 August 1922 Ormandy married Stephanie Goldner (1896–1962). "Steffy" Goldner had come to New York in 1921 from her native Vienna, where she had attended

1023-797: Was employed at the Brussels music institute as the head of the department of violin studies. Returning to Hungary in 1886, he succeeded his father as head of the Liszt Academy. That same year, he established the Budapest Quartet with fellow teacher, cellist David Popper . Hubay's main pupils, aside from Joseph Szigeti and André Gertler , included Eugene Ormandy — who later turned to conducting — and Eugene Lehner . He taught many female violinists, including Stefi Geyer , Jelly d'Arányi and Ilona Fehér . Other pupils included Franz von Vecsey , Emil Telmányi , Carl von Garaguly , Zoltán Székely , Tibor Varga , Gerhard Taschner , Ede Zathureczky and

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1056-590: Was of Italian descent. He gave his début public performance playing a concerto at the age of eleven. At the age of thirteen, Hubay began his studies in Berlin. He remained there for five years, receiving instruction from Joseph Joachim . In 1878, following the advice of Franz Liszt , he made his début in Paris, which was a great success. Sitting in the audience was Henri Vieuxtemps , with whom Hubay formed an intimate friendship and from whom he received instruction. In 1882 Hubay

1089-569: Was then stationed at Norfolk, VA., in operations work at the Naval Air Station." The couple remained wed until his death in 1985. Ormandy's recording career began with the Minneapolis Symphony for RCA Victor in 1934 and included the first US recordings of symphonies by Anton Bruckner (No. 7) and Gustav Mahler (No. 2). He remained with RCA Victor after becoming music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1938. In 1944, Ormandy and

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