The
NBC Symphony Orchestra was a
radio orchestra established by
David Sarnoff of the
National Broadcasting Company especially for conductor
Arturo Toscanini. The NBC Symphony performed weekly radio concert broadcasts with Toscanini and other conductors and served as house orchestra for the network, beginning November 13, 1937 and continuing until 1954.
History
Tom Lewis, in the
Organization of American Historians Magazine of History, described NBC's plan for cultural programming and the origin of the NBC Symphony:
David Sarnoff, the president of RCA who had first proposed the "radio music box" in 1916 so that listeners might enjoy "concerts, lectures, music, recitals," felt that the medium was failing to do this. By 1937, RCA had recovered enough from the effects of the Depression for it to make a dramatic commitment to cultural programming. With the most liberal terms Sarnoff hired Arturo Toscanini to create an entire orchestra and conduct it. On Christmas night, 1937, the NBC orchestra gave its first performance—Vivaldi's Concerto Grosso in D Minor—in an entirely refurbished studio in the RCA Building. "The National Broadcasting Company is an American business organization. It has employees and stockholders. It serves their interests best when it serves the public best." That Christmas night, and whenever the NBC orchestra played over the next 17 years, he was right. [Lewis, Tom. "'A Godlike Presence': The Impact of Radio on the 1920s and 1930s," Organization of American Historians Magazine of History 6, Spring 1992.]
Mr. Sarnoff spared no expense in creating the NBC Symphony.
Artur Rodziński, a noted orchestra builder and musical task master in his own right, was hired to mold and train the new orchestra especially for Toscanini. Prominent musicians from major orchestras around the country were recruited for the orchestra. Conductor
Pierre Monteux was engaged to help in the effort as well. In addition to creating prestige for the network, there has been speculation that one of the reasons NBC created the orchestra was to deflect a Congressional inquiry into broadcasting standards.
