“This superb collection of essays breaks new ground. The scholarship by preeminent scholars relies on new archival sources. The volume’s contribution to the history of music in America is unique. Readers in many fields will benefit from Spitzer’s collection: an encounter with the extent of amateur concert life, the history of musicians’ unions and touring ensembles, and the origins of today’s professional orchestras in Chicago, Cincinnati, and New York. The richness and variety of concert repertoire in America, much of it forgotten, come alive. Playing and listening to orchestral music in nineteenth-century America assume a significance long underestimated. This is a long overdue contribution to understanding music within urban and public culture in America before 1900.”

Leon Botstein, Bard College

“To a remarkable degree, the ‘symphony orchestra’ is an American invention, distinct from the pit orchestras of Europe. And yet our knowledge of nineteenth-century American orchestras remains amazingly incomplete. Surely this volume will help build momentum toward an adequate understanding of a vital, even heroic chapter in American cultural history.”

Joseph Horowitz, author of Classical Music in America: A History

“Highly recommended.”

Choice

 “The text in toto presents a sweeping view of orchestras from about the second quarter of the nineteenth century to the end of the century; it is a more complex and diverse view than one might gather from standard music histories. . . . [It] describes in compelling detail how the orchestral movement got started and managed to become, in the opinion of some, ‘the cornerstone of America’s musical culture in the twentieth century.’ It is highly recommended, especially for conductors, orchestral musicians, and nineteenth-century specialists.”

Music Reference Services Quarterly

 “If this collection of essays is any indication, we can rest assured that scholarship on nineteenth-century American music has sprung to life and will remain relevant well into the future. From cover to cover, it draws a detailed blueprint of the complex world of orchestral music and musicians across the century and constructs a sturdy foundation upon which to build new understandings of orchestras then and now.”

Journal of the Society for American Music

 “This collection of diverse essays reflects well the fits and starts of American orchestra development. . . . While American orchestras’ leadership is beyond question, the path by which they reached it is shown to be much less direct and far more compelling.”

Journal of American History