Family Orchestra

The instrumentalists making their way to the stage of St. Louis' Kiel Auditorium ranged in age from 13 to 60. Some of them were housewives, others were students, disk jockeys, dentists, engineers. But when Guest Conductor Edouard van Remoortel rapped them to silence and led them into Beethoven's Egmont Overture, housewife and teen-ager played with astonishing competence. At the start of its 100th season, the St. Louis Philharmonic demonstrated again what its admirers have long claimed--that it is the finest non-professional orchestra in the world.

Only one U.S. orchestra--the New York Philharmonic--is older than the St. Louis Philharmonic. Founded 20 years before the city's professional orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, the Philharmonic has attracted generation after generation of St. Louis families to its ranks, has sent alumni by the score into virtually every major U.S. orchestra. Its quality amazes visiting conductors, especially Europeans unaccustomed to amateur playing on such an ambitious scale. Last week's concert included, in addition to the Beethoven selection, Mozart's Concerto No. 4 for Violin and Orchestra, Chausson's Poem for Violin and Orchestra, the overture to Rossini's Barber of Seville. The orchestra negotiated all of them with every minim and crotchet in place," and with a typical air of lyric enthusiasm.

The Philharmonic started business in 1860 with a program that included such contemporary crowd rousers as the overtures to Michele Carafa's La Prison d'Edimbourg and Francois Boieldieu's La Dame Blanche. Most of the time since, it has stuck to a rigid amateur policy; only the conductors and guest soloists are pros. Part of the orchestra's success stems from its organization; its governing board is made up of playing members, and each of the orchestra's 95 instrumentalists must survive an annual audition; if any player does not measure up, he loses his place, must give way to fresh outside talent. Every orchestra member pays $10 to play with the Philharmonic; the remainder of the $8,000 budget is made up from the sale of season tickets.

Whole families often play with the Philharmonic. S. Carl Robinson, vice president of the St. Louis transit system, plays the second flute while his wife is a timpanist and his 23-year-old son a French horn player. The rehearsal schedule is heavy: six 2 1/2-hour rehearsals for each of four concerts. What gives the Philharmonic its special quality? "They are amateurs," said Guest Conductor Van Remoortel last week, "in the old sense of the word--'people in love with something.' This group happens to be in love with music."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.