Indianapolis May Festival
The Indianapolis May Festival was a classical music festival held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Ten annual festivals were held between the years 1889 and 1898.[1]
History
[edit]The Indianapolis May Festival (IMF) was established after a successful "Indiana Music Festival" was held at the grand opening of Tomlinson Hall (TH) in 1886.[1] The TH was inaugurated on June 2, 1886, as a part of the Grand Army of the Republic Music Festival that raised money for the construction of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument.[2] This event included a performance of Rossini's Stabat Mater with a 600 member chorus, an orchestra, and Lilli Lehmann as a guest soloist. As a result of the success of this event a May Music Festival Association was established to create a festival for Indianapolis that was modeled after the Cincinnati May Festival (CMF). The CMF was in turn based on the sängerfests in Germany.[1]
Carl Barus (1823–1908) served as the first music director of the IMF; leading both the 1889 and 1890 festivals.[1] The first festival opened on May 27, 1889, with the opening piece of the festival being the Leonore Overture from Beethoven's opera Fidelio.[3] Guest musicians on the first program included pianist Adele aus der Ohe, cellist and conductor Victor Herbert, tenor Jules Perotti, and soprano Emma Juch.[3] The 1890 IMF included a performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem.[4] Singers who appeared as soloists at the festival that year included Clementine de Vere, Therese Förster Herbert, Perotti, Charles A. Knorr, Charles Holman-Black, Emil Fischer, and Zelda Seguin Wallace.[5]
When Theodore Thomas took over as director of the 1891 festival, Barus remained on an his assistant. Barus also serverd as conductor of the festival chorus in 1892.[1] The 1891 IMF included a performance of Gioachino Rossini's Stabat Mater,[6] and performances with concert violinist Franz Wilczek.[7] Vocal soloists new to the IMF in 1891 included soprano Mary Howe, tenor William Lavin, and contralto Clara Poole King.[6] Walter Damrosch brought the New York Symphony Orchestra to the 1892 IMF, which also featured performances by Thomas's orchestra.[8] Soloists new to the festival that year included sopranos Anna Burch, Emma Fursch-Madi, and Margaret Reid.[9][10] One of the concerts at the 1895 IMF included an all-Wagner program with tenor William H. Rieger and soprano Lillian Nordica.[11]
Other soloists participating in IMF concerts in the 1890s included Nellie Melba and Emma Eames.[1] Other orchestras which toured to take part in the IMF included the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.[1] The final IMF in 1898 featured performances by the Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe.[12] A deficit of $3,000 in 1898 convinced the city that the festivals had become too expensive to continue, and the Festival Association disbanded.[1]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Snyder, Suzanne G.; Huber, Jen; McMahon, Alicis; Bonner, Liam; Gerber, Thomas; Little, Lee; Fischer, Jessica Erin (June 2021). "Classical Music: Early Music Festivals". Encyclopedia of Indianapolis.
- ↑ Vanderstel, Sheryl D. (1994). "Tomlinson Hall". In Bodenhamer, David J.; Barrows, Robert G. (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indianapolis and Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 1336–1337. ISBN 0-253-31222-1.
- 1 2 "Music Reigns Queen". The Indianapolis News. May 28, 1889. p. 1.
- ↑ "Indianapolis May Festival". Atchison Daily Patriot. May 14, 1890. p. 1.
- ↑ "Indiana State News". Bristol Banner. May 16, 1890. p. 1.
- 1 2 "Music's Conquest". The Indianapolis News. May 27, 1891. p. 1.
- ↑ "Review of the Music". The Indianapolis Journal. May 29, 1891. p. 4.
- ↑ "American and Foreign Orchestras". The Indianapolis Journal. May 1, 1892. p. 12.
- ↑ "Musical Celebrities". The Indianapolis Journal. May 9, 1892. p. 8.
- ↑ "Music In the Air". The Indianapolis News. May 25, 1892. p. 1.
- ↑ "Many Famous Artists in the Programs of May Music Festivals". The Indianapolis News. January 17, 1930. p. 33.
- ↑ "May Festival is Ready". The Indianapolis Journal. May 1, 1898. p. 14.