peoplessymphonyconcerts

F.X. Arens (LOC)

from The Library of Congress

• 2 older comments, and then…
• Jim Hamann said:

  Very cool dude. Could have been taken in 1980.

• bopo said:

  Kinda looks like Kevin Kline.

• Aloof Guitar said:

  Will Smith probably took that photo

• aware health said:

  Franz X. Arens, a composer and conductor, established the "People's Symphony Concerts" in 1900. The organization is still going strong: pscny.org/history.htm

• Wystan said:

  In 1913, the People's Symphony Concerts moved to the venue which remains their principal home, the auditorium of Washington Irving High School, New York: "In its early years, the series moved back and forth between Cooper Union and Carnegie Hall several times, sometimes offering concerts at both to accommodate the growing audience. A chamber music series was added in 1910, and in 1913 the chamber concerts took up residence in the 1,500-seat auditorium at Washington Irving High School. The school opened that year on what had been the site of the National Conservatory of Music, which Dvorak directed briefly in the 1890's. Except for a brief period in the 1970's, when the concerts moved to Hunter College and Town Hall, Washington Irving has remained the series' principal home. (The current Town Hall series was added more recently, to address the concerns of older concertgoers who preferred daytime concerts.) "