Eugene Ormandy

Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau in Budapest on 18 November 1899, died in Philadelphia on 12 March 1985) was a Hungarian-born conductor who became one of the most prominent figures in American musical life in the twentieth century. His name is above all linked to the Philadelphia Orchestra, which he led for several decades.

Childhood and training

His talent as a violinist showed itself very early. At only five he was proficient enough to enter the National Hungarian Royal Academy of Music, and by seven he was giving concerts. Around the age of nine he began studying with Jenő Hubay, and at fourteen he graduated with a master's degree. This early instrumental training formed the foundation of his later career.

First professional steps in Europe

Before turning twenty he had already served as leader of the Blüthner Orchestra in Germany and performed as a soloist on tours of central Europe. At seventeen he was appointed professor of violin. A concert agent persuaded him to emigrate to New York, which he did, though on arrival in 1921 he found work hard to come by.

Arrival in America and rise at the Capitol

The first years in New York were difficult. He was obliged to play at the back of the orchestra at the Capitol Theatre, a position he later felt as an indignity, but within a year he had advanced to leader. When the regular conductor fell ill in September 1924, he made his debut there as conductor, and in 1926 he was named associate music director. In 1927 he became an American citizen and met Arthur Judson, who helped him secure guest conducting engagements, mainly of light music for radio broadcasts, which supplemented his work at the Capitol.

Minneapolis and national recognition

In 1931 Judson brought him to Philadelphia to stand in for an indisposed Toscanini. This led to his appointment as music director of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, a post he held until 1936. There he became nationally known through his recordings, including the first-ever recordings of Kodály's Háry János Suite and Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht.

Philadelphia: the great period

In 1936 he returned to Philadelphia to share the podium with Leopold Stokowski for two years. From 1938 he was sole music director for forty-two years, until 1980, when he became conductor laureate. Under his leadership the orchestra undertook numerous tours across the continent and abroad, and he himself conducted in Europe, Australia, South America and East Asia.

Style and repertoire

Ormandy was quick to learn new works and usually conducted without baton or score. He had a notably fine ear and built on the voluptuous Philadelphia sound that Stokowski had created, adding even greater polish and precision. The orchestra paid its musicians well, allowing him to engage the best players, and he worked with them daily, often conducting more than a hundred concerts a year. His staple repertoire comprised late-Romantic and early twentieth-century works that showed off the lush sound he could command: Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, Strauss, Bruckner, Debussy, Ravel and reorchestrated Bach. He was less successful with Beethoven and Brahms. Critics often regarded his interpretations as vulgar or shallow, though his many awards and honorary doctorates, including an honorary KBE in 1976, recognised his achievements.

Premières and legacy

He conducted a great deal of new music and gave the premières of works by Rachmaninoff, Bartók, Britten, Hindemith, Martinů, Milhaud, Persichetti and Webern. His extensive discography includes the first recordings of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 4 and Cello Concerto No. 1, and of Mahler's Tenth Symphony in Deryck Cooke's performing version. He also frequently played American music and gave premières of works by Barber, Creston, Diamond, Ginastera, Hanson, Piston, Rorem, Schuman, Sessions, Thompson and Villa-Lobos. His legacy is bound up with the consolidation of the Philadelphia Orchestra as one of the great ensembles of the country.