Klarinet Archive - Posting 000936.txt from 1997/02

From: Neil Leupold <nleupold@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: symphony vs. philharmonic
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 1997 03:56:35 -0500

Wed, 26 Feb 1997, Mrs. Starr Schaftel Wayne, Dr. John Wayne wrote:

> Good evening (11:00 P.M. for me) fellow clarinetists.

Gee, only 11:00? It's 1:00 for me!

> Does anyone have a definitive answer to the question: Why are some
> orchestras called 'symphony orchestra' and others 'philharmonic
> orchestra'? I've been meaning to find out the answer to this for about
> 20 years.

If you look up the two words in a musical dictionary, you'll find that
a symphony (in the Classical sense) is the central form of orchestral
composition, dictated by conventions in movement tempo and progressions
of relationships in tonality (not to be overly simplistic). Philharmonic
is a Greek-based word meaning literally "music loving". From these two
definitions it can be seen that the latter is a more generalized term.
The reasoning behind choosing to call one's organization a philharmonic
orchestra or a symphony orchestra is very likely an arbitrary one,
since neither one fully indicates the purpose of the ensemble, nor
are they really meant to. Since full-sized orchestras typically play
works of the symphonic genre, many orchestras include the term
"symphony" in their official title. The word "philharmonic", being
somewhat more esoteric, has a loftier connotation, but has no
specialized meaning in the context of an orchestra's title. It
just sounds good, although some might make the argument that calling
one's ensemble a "philharmonic orchestra" implies an understanding
that their particular ensemble is not limited to works in the form
of a symphony, but also performs works of different forms and genres
(i.e.; operas, oratorios, chamber works, etc.). This is not a great
distinction, of course, since "symphony orchestras" do the same
thing. They simply choose the more traditional title, linked
by history to the original primary function of an orchestra in the
Classical period.

Neil