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Theodore Thomas in Cincinnati in 1902
By the end of the nineteenth century, Chicago’s reputation was well established as one of America’s fastest growing centers of commerce and industry. Even though Chicago’s structural and commercial growth was nothing short of phenomenal, a number of its leading citizens were concerned that the cultural development of their raw-boned metropolis was not keeping pace with other American cities. Accordingly, Charles Norman Fay, a prominent Chicago businessman, traveled to New York to talk to Theodore Thomas, the highly respected German conductor whose musical mission after coming to America was to develop a tradition of symphonic music in this country.
Fay finished his meeting with Thomas with the question, “Would you come to Chicago if you were given a permanent orchestra?” The maestro’s reply is now legendary: “I would go to hell if they gave me an orchestra.” One year later he had his own ensemble, having been appointed music director of the city’s new Chicago Orchestra (later to be renamed the Chicago Symphony Orchestra).
On May 7, 1890, Thomas married Rose Fay (sister of Charles Norman Fay) at the Church of the Ascension on North LaSalle. Rose Fay was extremely active in the community, and in April 1899 she became the founder and first president of the Anti-Cruelty Society (initially organized to campaign for more humane treatment of carriage horses).
It was Theodore Thomas’s aggressive mission to bring quality music to the far reaches of America that initially brought the charismatic conductor to the attention of Chicago’s civic leaders. In his first years as music director, he included the Chicago Orchestra in his mission, with tours to cities and towns throughout the Midwest. On a concert stop on March 14, 1892, a group from the Orchestra paused on the steps of the Saint Louis Exposition Hall for a formal portrait.
The Chicago Orchestra’s first performance home was the Auditorium Theatre, designed by Adler and Sullivan. Despite the hall’s excellent acoustics, Thomas soon became unhappy with the Auditorium — filling more than 3,000 seats twice weekly was an overwhelming challenge. For the concertgoer it was never a problem getting a ticket to hear the Orchestra, so season subscriptions were unmarketable. Thomas began a serious campaign for the construction of a new hall.
Lawrence & Dinius
Theodore Thomas and the Chicago Orchestra gave its inaugural concert on October 16, 1891, at the Auditorium Theatre. The program included Thomas’s favorite work, Beethoven’s Symphony no. 5, which he also programmed for the opening of Orchestra Hall.
Early in 1892 the directors of the World’s Columbian Exposition created a Bureau of Music and hired Theodore Thomas as the musical director. Fourteen varieties of concerts were planned, including free concerts by the Exposition Orchestra (composed primarily of members of the Chicago Orchestra). The majority of the orchestra concerts were held in the Music Hall, designed by Charles B. Atwood.
Theodore Thomas’s close friend, pianist and composer Ignace Paderewski, was the soloist on the fair’s May 2, 1893, inaugural concert.
This 1895 composite photo of the Orchestra reveals that the moustache was indeed de rigueur in the beginning of the century. Only four of the musicians “dared” to go without one.
Maestro Thomas works at his desk in March 1896, surrounded by the tools of his trade — metronome, music pages, inkwell and books.
For the construction of the Chicago Orchestra’s new home, the trustees bought land (for the purchase price of $450,000) just south of the imposing Pullman Building, located at the corner of Michigan and Adams. Occupying the site were two livery stables, in this photo barely discernable in the lower left corner.
Chicago Historical Society, ICHI 19460
A cartoon from the Chicago Daily Tribune of March 5, 1904, reacting to an announcement by the Orchestral Association that $650,000 had been raised to build Orchestra Hall.
Architect Daniel Burnham’s near-final elevation for Orchestra Hall, dated May 18, 1904
With Orchestra Hall nearly completed, signs announcing rental availability served as an invitation for would-be tenants. Ground was broken and construction began on May 1, 1904; the hall was finished in December of that year.
Although chairs for the Orchestra are stacked on the stage and construction is nearly finished in the main hall, installation of the pipe organ is far from complete. The influence of Beaux Arts architecture on Thomas and architect Daniel Burnham can be seen in the canopy-like construction above the stage, which Thomas requested that Burnham design to suggest a conservatory setting for concerts.
Orchestra Hall’s elegant second-floor ballroom as it appeared for the opening concert on December 14, 1904.
Construction of Orchestra Hall was behind schedule as the December 14 dedication approached. Thomas, however, was determined that the dedicatory concert take place on schedule and began rehearsals in the new hall even before the plaster had dried. It was believed that the damp and drafty hall contributed to the pneumonia that ultimately claimed his life.
The day after the inaugural concert, the front page of the Chicago Examiner proclaimed, “Brilliant audience hails city’s great orchestra. Society women, ablaze with gems, applaud Theodore Thomas’ and Chicago’s double triumph.”
Tragically, Thomas was only to lead five concerts in the new hall. He had contracted influenza during rehearsals for the dedicatory concert but continued to work with his customary vigor. Thomas conducted his beloved Chicago Orchestra in its new home for the last time on Christmas Eve, 1904; he died of pneumonia on January 4, 1905. (Left to right: Chicago Daily Tribune, New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Boston Daily Globe)
All images from the collections of the Rosenthal Archives of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association unless otherwise noted.
