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The word 'philharmonic'

Author: Kevin
Date: 2004-04-11 23:26

Another one of those curious questions of mine that came out of nowhere. What does the word 'philharmonic' mean and what are its roots? When did it first start to be used as names of orchestras, and why? Are there any differences between a philharmonic orchestra and a symphony orchestra?

After taking a peak at the dictionary, it apparently comes from greek prefix 'philo-' and 'harmonika', meaning theory of music.

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Re: The word 'philharmonic'

Author: EEBaum
Date: 2004-04-11 23:43

Phil can also mean "love". Sym usually means "together"

So, as far as I can tell, philharmonic approximates to "love of music" and symphony to "sounding together"

-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com

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Re: The word 'philharmonic'

Author: kdennyclarinet
Date: 2004-04-12 00:16

Check out this link for a pretty good explanation:

http://www.incompetech.com/music/philharmonic.html

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Re: The word 'philharmonic'

Author: GBK
Date: 2004-04-12 04:01

This has been discussed and answered before.

Read here:

http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=21689&t=21689 ...GBK

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Re: The word 'philharmonic'

Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2004-04-12 14:28

One of the better lines from Night Court:

Dan, the sleazy DA, has a derelict named Phil who serves him. Phil dies, and they learn that he was secretly wealthy and had endowed many good causes, including "The New York Harmonic Orchestra."

Dan says, "You mean the Philharmonic?"

Answer: "That's what it's called, now."

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