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Since the 1950s, the concept of the “Big Five” has become a huge ticket-selling factor for the most recognizable orchestras in the United States. The informal name caught wind after journalists categorized the exclusive group based on “musical excellence, calibre of musicianship, total contract weeks, weekly basic wages, recording guarantees, and paid vacations.”
For more information on the Big Five, read up on the Frederick Symphony Orchestra’s breakdown:
Boston Symphony Orchestra: The BSO performed its inaugural concert in 1881, conducted by Georg Henschel in the old Boston Music Hall. The vision of Civil War veteran and philanthropist Henry Lee Higginson, the BSO has reached millions of classical music lovers through concerts, educational programs and community outreach, television, radio, studio recordings, Internet presence, and its summer music festival, Tanglewood.
Fun fact: In 1956, the BSO was the first American orchestra to tour the Soviet Union, and, in 1979, the first to tour mainland China.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra: The CSO, founded in 1891 by its first music director Theodore Thomas, “annually performs more than 150 concerts, most at Symphony Center in Chicago, and, since 1936, in the summer at the Ravinia Festival,” according to the website. The orchestra also offers an independent label, CSO Resound; a digital multimedia magazine, CSO Sounds and Stories; and a weekly radio broadcast series on WFMT Radio Network.
Fun fact: The CSO has a total of 62 Grammys, including Best Instrumental Soloist(s), Best Engineered Classical Album, Best Orchestral Performance, and Best Opera Recording.
Cleveland Orchestra: The Cleveland Orchestra, founded in 1818 by pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, divides its time between Cleveland’s Severance Hall and Blossom Music Center. It has a recurring residency at Wiener Musikverein in Vienna, Austria and makes appearances at the Lucerne Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland; Lincoln Center Festival in New York; and Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.
Fun fact: As part of The Cleveland Orchestra’s educational initiative, the orchestra offers a flagship program for free admission for those under 18 years old. Now, 20 percent of concert attendees are aged 25 and under.
New York Philharmonic: Since its inception in 1842 by American-born Ureli Corelli Hill, the Philharmonic has appeared in 432 cities in 63 countries on five continents, according to its website. As the oldest symphony in the United States, the New York Philharmonic has been spearheaded by legendary conductors including Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky, and Aaron Copland.
Fun fact: In 2003, the New York Philharmonic was the first orchestra to ever make a solo appearance at the Grammys, and, in 2004, was the first major American orchestra to offer downloadable concerts, recorded live.
Philadelphia Orchestra: The Philadelphia Orchestra, founded in 1900 by its first conductor, Fritz Scheel, began performing in the oldest operating opera house in the nation, the Academy of Music. It moved to the Kimmel Center in 2001, but the musicians also make regular appearances at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Penn’s Landing, Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, and the Philadelphia Navy Yard as part “of the ensemble’s free Neighborhood Concert Series as well as its educational and community partnership program,” according to its website.
Fun fact: The Philadelphia Orchestra has had only eight music directors in more than 115 years: Fritz Scheel (1900-07), Carl Pohlig (1907-12), Leopold Stokowski (1912-41), Eugene Ormandy (1936-80), Riccardo Muti (1980-92), Wolfgang Sawallisch (1993-2003), Christoph Eschenbach (2003-08), and Yannick Nézet-Séguin (2012-present).
According to The New York Times in 2013, “the Big Five, when it coalesced, helped, with its cumulative weight, to put American orchestras firmly on the international map. No other country could boast of such a constellation.”
However, many argue that today’s relevance of certain orchestras largely depend on the economic and cultural fortune of the city and its people. For example, recent attempts to include up-and-coming orchestras, like the San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and St. Louis Symphony, in a proposed Big Six or Seven have repeatedly fallen flat mainly due to budget differences.
However, no matter how you look at it, the original Big Five have undoubtedly set a high standard of classical music and performance. Thankfully, a greater number of local symphonies, including the Pittsburgh Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and Frederick Symphony Orchestra, are being supported by their respective tight-knit communities in endless efforts to gain traction in the classical music world.
To see how you can help support your local orchestra and music education for children of all ages, click below to donate: